#...Which might be a form of immortality; or a form of death. It's a mix of both.

[asjjohnson]

Immortality

(a ficlet written for Dannymay 2024 prompt 6: Immortal AU: What if Danny/Halfas couldn’t die?) Also on AO3.

---

He actually didn’t know whether halfas were immortal or just lived longer than humans.

Now at around age 140, give or take a few years (what year was it now? he could calculate it), Danny was an old man in his human form—wrinkled skin hanging from his arms and face like unironed fabric; hunched over to half his original height, bones grated down as though left exposed outside over the past decades; eyes milked over; ears inadequate despite their larger size; mind fogged.

He had no one to look to. A few years ago, or maybe a decade or two ago, he’d searched the Zone for any sign or rumor of the existence of other halfas. He wasn’t sure how long he’d searched, talking to distant ghosts, visiting places he never could have imagined existed, the Ghost Zone stretching on and on, toward infinity, before he’d given it up as a lost cause.

Vlad (though only a few years older than Danny and thus wouldn’t have been of much help anyhow) never returns to his human form. Had stopped living as a human altogether once he’d realized he was ‘growing old’.

Of course, this had been before Vlad was anywhere near an old man. Back when he’d only been about 60 years old. A few wrinkles and thinning hair, and his vanity and pride had had him abandoning his human half completely.

Not to the extreme of extracting that part of himself, of course—he had known better by that age—but of denying its existence; living solely as a ghost.

Danny had grown fond of humanity, however. The light touch of gravity, an embrace that kept him tethered to reality; the life found everywhere he looked, in the grass at his feet, in the air around him, or even just walking by him—so unlike the void of the Ghost Zone, the vast empty space with small pockets of ecto-life scattered across its depths; even the ache in his bones, the proof that he was alive, still belonging to this planet. It was all fondness.

Even as his senses continued to fade—the details of leaves and faces blurring even with thick glasses, the chittering of birds growing silent even with hearing aids, the difficulty of holding objects (connecting with the world around him) with pain and trembling hands—he clung ever more to the human world and its small wonders.

And though all his human friends from over a hundred years ago might be lost, he wasn’t alone.

They were still here.

Alive and well, living echoes seen in their grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and teenaged great-great-great-grandchildren. A town composed of familiar faces. And sometimes those echoes were so strong, he called someone by the wrong name.

Matilda wears a black shirt one day and, even with the pink floral patterns, Sam is so strong within her.

Derek tries out for football, and the way his smile pulls across his face is all Dash, even through the freckles and shaggy brown hair.

Nicky’s righteous glare is Valerie shining straight from his heart. Although the light in his eyes as he talks about psychology is all Jazz.

Danny was trying. Trying so hard to stay with them all, as they continued to live, fully alive, forever onward.

He didn’t know whether halfas were immortal.

[dxxtruction]

I do wish there was a bit more good faith discussion to talk about the phenomenology of IWTV vampires as vampires and how being a vampire does affect one's conscious understanding of their own world. It's a drastic point of view shift from being human.

Things such as:

Their baseline for the violence needed to survive starts at drinking blood to live, and most beneficially by killing humans. Which they also once were. It can really only go up from there.

Not getting blood in the beneficial way can be likened to an eating disorder based on being hung up on the morality of your own survival.

Escalation to inhuman levels of violence is something that's comprehensible to think of, since it's possible to do to someone else, or yourself, and to some minds it's hardly of any consequence or difference.

Question of what to do with one's immortality when stuck in this necessitation for violence. Occupying all that time. Confronting vampiric existentialism. Doing what one can to not be driven mad or disparaging by it.

In living forever all such violence risks becoming inconsequential to the conscious mind in how you outlive all of its importance. If not because of death taking it, then because time will simply weather it away. For the same reasons most things can end up carrying very little significance. Making one increasingly apathetic or nihilistic.

Because of above, enacting laws with consequence, even of death, naturally leads to some not really caring about them. Making them more useful as a means of power, threat, or as a way of committing suicide, than as something morally binding. If used in moral ways at all.

Those who survive the longest have to necessarily take on being okay with a level of violence that is incomprehensible to human scales. Necessitating that often the most violent, or accepting of violence, tend to become those who withstand the test of time.

Those fitting into this category extends fairly naturally towards walks of those accepting of or that act out other forms of immorality, dehumanization, and antisocial behaviors.

Your community is small and made up of violent killers. Developing paranoia or hostility towards violent killers is self preservation. You are also a violent killer, and take any hostility towards your person as an offense or threat. Without some kind of love, compassion, or trust in the mix, your community would quickly destroy itself.

Because of above vampires enter to greater degrees unfulfilling, pragmatic, or socially contractual relations with others they may dislike, or be indifferent to, and often might resolve interpersonal issues with fake shows of affection or remorse.

If you do happen to find a real relationship, the violence you enact out in order to survive can't ever enter into that relationship, without it becoming abusive. But the lines between those two can blur easily when you consider again how nurtured one has to be into violence to begin with.

Survival instincts look different based on their background for survival. And surviving as a vampire takes on different concerns for safety and endurance. How you survived being human is how you'd think to survive as a vampire, and those who had very little to survive through would lack a level of survival skills necessary to take on this kind of life.

Once you've seen a bunch of how this life is going to be you tend to take on a level of 'this is just how things are'. Since they can't place themselves in time, they can't place themselves properly in a forward progression. Those who last tend to develop a superiority on how to last through this the right way, or make judgments on who will or should be allowed to.

To make a vampire at all you have to actually decide on this last statement that there is anyone deserving of this life, and that it's a life one deserves.

You are stuck always in the bodily age of when you died. General feelings of stuckness are encompassing, as you're bound by your immortality, and often can only survive through those who are in it with you. Anyone and anything you knew in mortal life will be gone one day, and what you're left with are only those of your own kind.

In having such a substantially focused relationship to violence. One has to always make a hyper-conscious effort not to be violent, for the wrong reasons. Or just simply have a good conscience about such things. (some combination of the two)

One's life and culture as a human bleeds into who they are as a vampire. Even in rejecting humanity completely, they carry those ideas and understandings around with them. Including prejudices, ideologies, and sensibilities. Vampires lack a distinctly separate culture from that of humans, and instead live alongside it at perpetual outsiders. Only loosely being effected by it, and able to choose removing oneself entirely if they're white, or otherwise not subject to prejudice based on appearance. Vampiric alienation and loneliness is perhaps fairly common, and at a certain point this outside position lends indifference about the human condition and whats happening in the world.

Due to this, certain cultural shifts might take far longer to ever reach vampires, than it would in our naturally generative, and transformative human society.

Due to this as well though certain human hold ups about things such as homosexuality aren't very present in vampires.

The more vampiric you are the more it puts you into the throes of violence, while falling back into your humanity puts you at face with the qualms of your own morality.

Vampires have to find some way of justifying this existence has true worth to it despite such violence, and what it's done to their life, or simply abandon all sense of such morality, or care. Otherwise this fact of violence, and reminders of it, drive them to the flames or otherwise an all consuming resentment of all this.

The only ways you can die is suicide and being killed.

In trying to bring greater meaning to your violence you end up making a spectacle about it. Which fosters a manner of self importance, and egotism, about being violent. Or equally making it into a performance or ritualism.

BDSM is arguably a great way to contend with the fact you are violent, or can be subject to violence, in a controlled and consensual setting. It can be almost therapeutic, like taking power back from all the violence you can't control.

These sorts of things are interesting to think on when you don't have someone else making it apologia for abuse and egregious acts of violence. Because while they are violent by nature, they don't lack a consciousness about it. They have minds which can actively choose not to be violent, choose different paths to violence, etc. They're able to make decisions, and regret those decisions. And also, just like anyone in community with others, or in respect to themselves, have good reason not to be. They may possess inhuman abilities and understandings, but they don't possess inhuman feelings and are capable of being physically, emotionally, and mentally harmed or harmful.

And actually, given the fact they can take this to vampiric scales, is by scale, worse, not somehow made diminished by fact one can come easily to a conscious idea nothing has any real consequences when confronting one's own immortality. This inconsequentialness is a lacking and false understanding of immortality anyway.

Immortality can equally be about a constant uplifting of the present and future into something better, confronting their own impact on the world and those in it to generate some new way of living as a vampire, as opposed to stagnation, or depravity into cycles, and pits, of unnecessary and avoidable violence. Or just inevitable boredom.

A lot of those within this vampiric culture, don't necessarily foster well a society dedicated toward being as non-violent as possible. (I account for all forms of necessary violence, like self defense, as being non-violent.) Some might even find such an idea they could move in the direction of non-violence to be self hating. But the very fact they can be non-violent, choose that, and separate that for compassion, and love, and righteousness means their consequences and morality do end up mattering necessarily. If there's choice in that there's a way to effect things. An upstanding vampire, who's not just surviving through this, would have to dedicate themselves to consequences and morality as a good in itself, I'd think, to do right by others and themselves. To not give in to evil/violence as their only true condition. And somehow synthesize that information with how they can never be moral by a humanist standard, but those such standards are by nature more moral than their own. They can't fall into vampiric exceptionalism, but do have to accept the fact of themselves as vampires has special other conditions to it.

[ceo-draiochta]

Hey there, this might be silly question, I have been trying to find a path/belief system that works for me. And I was wondering what is Gaelic polytheisms main worldviews? How are the Tautha de danann or other gods treated? Are they seen as representations of something? How important is praying to them? How does Gaelic polytheism interact with the divine?

Thank you!

Hello! Sorry just saw this now. Sorry for any wait. Thank you so much for your question, I will try and answer as best as I can. While a lot of this does apply to Scottish and Manx polytheism as well, I will be focusing on Irish polytheism as that is what I practice. Please note that everything I say is inherently going to be coloured by my experience and practice and that many people practice in ways completely different to this.

Uncertainty

Ok first things first, Gaelic polytheism is a modern attempt to reconstruct the religion that was replaced with Christianity in the Gaelic regions, this is a religion that for all intents and purposes died off, aspects of these belief systems are however present in the writings of christian monks collectively known as Irish Mythology. This of course means that many stories have inserted christian elements.

This basically means that there is no one right way to do things, and no exact step by steps like you'd find in other religions. Its more of a hot and cold thing. As such the answers to most of your questions cannot be exact "this is what all Gaelic polytheists do and don't", There is however answers that seem more likely and more accepted.

Worldviews

Important to note that there is no creation myth known. Generally beliefs include a certain level of animism, honouring spirits, honouring ancestors, immortality of/renewal of the soul, and the belief in the Otherworld (an t-alltar/an saol eile).

Worship

Honouring of spirits, ancestors and gods is a fairly combined procedure, the exact delineation between Aos Sí (fairies) and gods is blurred. There is also evidence to suggest that the gods Tuatha dé may have been viewed as divine ancestors so quite mixed up. (UPG alert) I would generally consider the Tuatha Dé the most powerful, the most prolific of the Aos Sí rather than something entirely different. (UPG end) Generally offerings are made to known/named gods and the Aos Sí collectively. Offerings to gods is usually something connected to their known attributes, such as a poem for one connected to poetry or alcohol etc. Aos Sí usually get some form of food, traditionally butter and milk. Historically worship would have been done at certain locations, usually a liminal space often involving water. This includes Holy wells, bogs but also megalithic structures and focal points in the landscape such as hills. However the modern pagan generally just has a little corner as an altar.

Death

It seems likely that after death it was believed that the soul crosses into the otherworld and into a place known as Tech Duinn, the home of the first milesean (basically ancestor to irish people) to step foot on the island. Transmigration of the soul (also known as reincarnation) is heavily implied to be a belief amongst pre christian irish people and so it is generally believed that the soul will transmigrate after an indetermined time in Tech Duinn.

Otherworld (an t-alltar/an saol eile)

The otherworld is a world either parallel or below ours (think parallel dimension ig?) where the othercrowd live, a lot of different attributes have been given to the Otherworld but generally time works differently and it is overall abundant. It can connects to ours at certain times of the year and at certain locations. There are those who believe you can visit there through out of body experiences though this is a more recent belief.

Treatment of the Gods and interaction

You will find many different attitudes to gods throughout pagan communities, some of which are uh bad ideas. Generally the attitude taken towards gods is respectful, like how you would talk to your landlord. Generally worship is done in a respectful manner.

Some people believe themselves to communicate with gods through dreams, meditation and various forms of divination. This can change how you interact, if they want to be more casual be more casual, if they like the respect be respectful. That being said communicating to gods like this is not a necessity of paganism only worship. You can just offer gifts and prayers and never speak to them ever if you want. I would say praying is reasonably important, at least try to do the 4 festivals at least. You really can set your own rules. One thing I will say is don't make empty promises, like don't say "I will definitely pray everyday for 2 months" and then don't. Just do what your able and be honest about it.

Representations

Generally they are more so seen as people with particular skills and abilities rather than embodiments of a particular element or force.

Sorry that was really long, I hope this was helpful to you in any way, even if you don't end up with gaelic polytheism good luck. One thing I will say is if you live in Ireland, maybe look up local legends and see if there are particular Sí or gods associated with your area, that's usually a good start. I would recommend Morgan Daimlers Irish Paganism for further reading.

If anyone else has other things to add to these questions please feel free to add on

[ryin-silverfish]

Chapter 11: Taizong's trip to the Underworld

-Fun fact: "Taizong's trip to the Underworld" is actually a tale that predated JTTW, and its earliest surviving form could be dated to a book called 朝野佥载.

-Another late Tang version could be found in the Dunhuang collections, in which Taizong's bargain with Cui Jue was a lot more complicated. In JTTW novel proper, Cui Jue/Ziyu was just another high-level official who took his work into the afterlife, but in the Dunhuang version, much like Wei Zheng, he was a living person working part-time for the Underworld.

-However, his position in court was nowhere as high as Wei Zheng's, so he took the chance to blackmail Taizong into giving him a promotion, and the whole exchange was full of subtle psychological warfare——Judge Cui offhandedly mentioning "Hey, you heard the ghosts crying next door? That's your dead brothers (whom you totally didn't murder in a coup)", Taizong being scared out of his mind but also trying to keep up appearances while figuring out the appropriate bribe for this guy…

-Fun Fact #2: Dead People Lawsuits were a common trope in Tang legends and folklore, where people explained sudden deaths as the dead getting a summon to the Underworld courts, or, in slightly more fortuious cases, appointed as ghostly officials.

-The novel sadly skips the courtroom scene and handwaves it with a "Yeah, the prosecutor had already been sent to reincarnation", which kinda defeats the whole purpose of summoning Taizong here, but whatever.

-On the plus(?) side, he got a free tour of the afterlife!

-I'm a big fan of Underworld tales in Chinese mythos, because, aside from all the brutal tortures and horrors, it can also be pretty damn funny.

-Like the Ten Kings asking Taizong for some pumpkins ("southern melons") just to complete their Directional Melons Set.

"Wait, pumpkins? Isn't that from the Americas? And aren't they still missing the 'northern melons'?"

-Precisely! This could actually give us some clue about when the book was compiled: pumpkins were most likely brought to Ming China in the 1520s by Portuguese ambassadors visiting Nanjing and Beijing, and the earliest JTTW novel was printed in 1592.

-So, when this segment was added, pumpkins were still considered a rare, exotic vegetable. Further research also suggests that, throughout the Ming and Qing dynasty, "northern melons" was just another name for pumpkins of lesser quality.

-How Taizong managed to find a pumpkin in 639 C.E. to give to our conveniently suicidal delivery guy is beyond anyone's guess. Hey, maybe the immortals of the eastern seas ran a cross-Pacific mailing service with their cranes or something.

-This is clearer in the Chinese version, but the law of Underworld's reality literally dictates that you cannot walk back from the way you come. So…does the road disappear behind you as you go? Are buildings in the City of the Dead constantly shifting and rearranging themselves like an Escher painting in Lego form? Or do you just have to go round in circles, a lot?

[A very rough map of Taizong's route through the Underworld, as I visualize it]

-In Buddhist canon, the Wheel of Reincarnation isn't like, a literal magical wheel. However, in JTTW novel and illustrations, this is very much the case, and might be a result of people mixing IRL scripture wheels (轮藏) with reincarnation (轮回).

-Personally, I'd like to see more creative reimagining of the thing; for example, a giant waterwheel on the Nai River that sifts through souls like droplets.

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

[novapark]

The Nova Family - Mainline Gen 7 (Background)

Okay let's talk about Bastian. His generation was a heavy mix of storytelling and gameplay so it's a bit of a mess. Especially because functionally gameplay wise he's sorta immortal? So he pops into later generations from time to time to help them with their problems. He has made a lot of mistakes in his own life so I like to think he does his best to help his kids avoid similar pitfalls.

Anyway, he was born in my game during a freeplay gameplay I did with his dad Maddox after I had finally given up on trying to fix my original save file. Oddly enough this loss of the original save file like ten years ago kinda led to a lot of the weirdness in my later generations since I don't play the family in a single save anymore. I tend to do multiple saves, either for one sim I'm stuck on, or a set of sims from the same generation. So explaining how the story went is a bit more complicated after this point cause there's a lot of mixed storylines and saves that come together weave together to form what I think is the definitive story of each generation. So with that said, let's get on to Bastian's tale.

So obviously his beginnings start with his father Maddox. Something I haven't brought up yet is my family (in sims 3) were witches with alien dna I called "Kasri" or "Kasari" in my older posts. There's a whole backstory to Cole and Ember but the short of it is, Cole was part of a culture that had a bad civil war and he used science to cut himself and his family from the majority of their power. He didn't want his children falling into the traps his ancestors did but a few generations in, my boy Maddox found out when he took over leading the town.

He was not happy about this so he immediately set to trying to undo Cole's work by doing DNA related experiments on himself. Then when that hit a dead end, he began working on his own personal breeding program. Ivy was the first result of that but after Allison died he went fully into it and got a job at a University as an excuse to do more research into occult DNA. There he met Petra, who's suspicious death paved the way for the first serious test of his new theories.

He created a "shadow clone" of her made mostly of the dark matter that gave his people their power (don't ask me how it works, *hand waves*) in order to produce a child with a much higher rate of alien dna (or in my speak voidcells). This pairing resulted in three children, Nova, Bastian, and Delora.

The oldest, Nova seemed to be just what he wanted. A high count and a natural aptitude for spells but unfortunately as she got older she started to display a common genetic instability that ran in his family they had nicknamed "Brielle's" because it first appeared with his older sister. He didn't get along with this sister and quickly gave up interest in Nova once he discovered this trait in her.

(Flashbacks to his sister's non stop teasing probably didn't help their relationship.)

Bastian was less promising to him, especially because he had some serious faults from the start. First, he seemed lazy and uninterested in his education at all which was a great insult to his genius father.

Second he struggled to sleep all night from day one which for someone that liked the privacy of night time studies but worst of all, he was disobedient and rebellious.

Maddox never tolerated people not listening to him or obeying well so he and Bastian had a lot of problems getting along while he was growing up. Even so there was one trait Maddox noticed as Bastian aged that might com in handy to his plans. He was absolutely obsessed with girls.

So when he found his younger sister Delora to be even less governable and irritating, Maddox settled on Bastian as the main topic for his newest research: Could exposure to more void cells increase his son's connection to power? He didn't know but his curiosity eventually got the better of him.

So soon after Bastian's 18th birthday he asked him to join him in the lab to help him with some experiments. This wasn't uncommon so Bastian thought nothing of it but after that day he'd never be the same.

[dailycharacteroption]

Prestige Class Spotlight 13: Brightness Seeker

(art by Beaver-Skin on DeviantArt)

The Tolkien idea of elves paints them as nearly immortal beings of great wisdom but also unearthly grace and mind, and while Pathfinder’s elves don’t live quite that long, they certainly can cultivate that sort of air about themselves, especially those that follow the philosophy of brightness seekers.

Such figures believe that death is merely a step on the journey, and that reincarnating over and over again while learning from one’s past lives is the true path to enlightenment. Indeed, those that master this path may potentially reincarnate several times as animals or other beings before returning to their elven selves time and time again. What’s more, that experience gives them some familiarity with the threads of fate, giving them a talent for noticing useful threads in the futures of others, lending some certainty to their coming days.

This prestige class very much evokes the idea of naturally-magical elves that can be sought out for any problem, especially since it can work with any class, though as we’ll see, druid has the most natural synergy with it.

Additionally, this prestige class is another case of a pre-pathfinder option, so some slight conversion work is needed before using it, but it shouldn’t be too hard.

Keen perception, survival skills, and knowledge of nature and religion are all that are required aside from a strong will and elven heritage for this archetype, opening it up to nearly every class.

By spending time with another creature, these seekers can create a horoscope of the individual which will aid them in the near future, giving them advice that can bolster a single action or moment in their near future to strike true, act with surety, or avoid harm at the right moment.

As wizened elders of their kind, brightness seekers can count on other elves treating them more favorably as long as they value the same philosophy.

Drawing upon the memories of a thousand past lives as humble animals and other beings, these mystics can briefly manifest various physical traits to aid them, ranging from natural weapons, movement adaptations, enhanced senses, and so on.

Their natural tranquility and old souls makes them extremely resistant to fear, viewing such stressors as mere hiccups on their journey.

Their attunment to nature also gives them a druid-like ability to calm and commune with animals.

The druid comparisons don’t end there either, as they also learn the art of wild shaping, either separately or improving upon their druidic training into the art.

Brightness Seekers have such a strong bond with nature that they can meditate to make contact with the spirits of the wild to ask questions of them.

Later on, their tranquility is so potent that others find themselves calm in the face of fear as well.

Finally, the most powerful of these mystics find violent and unnatural deaths do not stick for them, as they can choose to reincarnate as an animal within a week. While weakened in this state and likely very noticeable as an elf-sized version of their current bestial form, this offers them another chance at life, allowing them to return to their elven form after learning a bit more in this form, or with the help of reality-warping magic.

This is one of those smaller prestige classes, only having five levels, but it offers a mix of druidic and almost paladin-like abilities, as well as passing out omen-based bonuses for allies to use at critical moments. While druid or shifter seems like the natural fit for it with their ability to synergize with the wild shape of those classes, in truth any class might benefit from this prestige class, be they skillful wise masters, nearly unkillable warriors, or mages whose wisdom transcends lifetimes.

While this prestige class is thematic for elves, they’re hardly the only ancestry associated with reincarnation and long lifespans in modern Pathfinder. I could easily see this being repurposed for samsarans or even a conversion of automatons and the like, changing a few abilities to match the themes of those ancestries.

They say a ghost haunts Beloc Keep, which has stood up surprisingly well despite being abandoned. The elven wanderer Yenva, however, knows better. The spirit in question is a dunagh, a kami devoted to warding the homes of family with strong bonds, and this spirit patiently waits for a Beloc to return and bring glory back to those halls.

Having seen many things throughout their long, artificial life, P-0109 is a Circuit Warden, a positively ancient android who’s body has undergone renewal with new souls and identities many times, but a shadow of those past lives lingers, making them an important shepherd of their people on the world of Crash, where the ship of the ancestors fell from the heavens long ago.

On the world of Meshannan, magic is slowly dying, and with it many wonders. However, some pockets of mystique still remain, such as the house of Tevas the Wise, last of the great elven lords. Those prepared for great and important tasks would do well to seek him out, for her advice has proven prophetic and and life-saving for as long as mortal memory persists.

[f4nd0m-fun]

So I've had a couple of AU ideas since I've gotten back into the fandom and I'm kinda curious on what people think about them.

Monster AU - Snake and Shifter

In which Ran is only half human and Shinichi is only partially inhuman. Shinichi is descended from a line of shapeshifters who have mixed with humans so long the shifting is more or less danger driven, so good deaging was more his subconscious trying to protect him than the actual poison, meaning AI also has something like this going on - what if all the Blacks are shapeshifters to some degree? Meanwhile, Ran's mother was a Naga while Mouri is a human. Not much going on here but Ran probably has a stronger sense of smell than a human but weaker than a Naga and eventually, tho it may take a bit, realizes that Conan and Shinichi have similar scents. If the drug/deaging changed his scent then maybe she doesn't notice until after he manages to temporarily return as Shinichi, and his smell is similar to Conan's. She joins in on trying to help him re-age or something. They also aren't the only creeches but I dunno what the others would be.

TLDR, Shinichi and Ai have shapeshifter DNA and Ran is half Naga, she realizes Conan and Shinichi are the dang person because of scent and starts helping him.

Immortal AU - Don't trust magic

This one is both the least different and the most, in a manner of speaking. Shinichi, in an attempt to permanently reage himself, manages to succeed far longer than any previous attempts, and returns to Ran to try and salvage their relationship. Something happens and there's a backfire of sorts, not only reverting Shinichi back to Conan in front of Ran but unknowingly affecting her as well. It's not immediately obvious but, within a few years, it's noticed that doesn't really seem to be aging. Eventually, Shinichi returns to his age naturally or something, and realizes that Ran still hasn't gotten any older, when she should look at least ten years older, and soon he stops aging as well - they're stuck at the age Shinichi was trying to return to. They probably end up trying to reverse the situation, not knowing what would happen if they do, but if they fail at least they have each other. Speaking of which, I want to give them a supernatural ability thqt only works when they're holding hands or something but that might be too much.

TLDR, Shinichi tries magic or something to reage but indeed him and Ran are immortally stuck at the Shinichi's actual age and they're probably trying to find a counter spell.

Shifter AU - Cat to Kitten

Shinichi has always been able to turn into a cat, but it's something he hid from even Ran. But when he gets deaged, he becomes stuck in his cat form. Ran eventually finds him and takes care of him, naming him Conan after Shinichi's favorite author. Eventually he regains a partially human form, and Ran helps him hide the ears and tail. From here the story continues relatively the same, but with two secrets on the line. Also, beach episodes but instead of staring at Ran or something he's chasing birds and trying to avoid the water.

TLDR, Shinichi can turn into a cat and got forced into the form of a kitten, eventually the normal events of the show happen but with attempts to hide his inhuman features included.

Time AU - Physical Flashbacks

Ran is the reincarnation of a goddess or demigoddess of time, but she can't control her abilities. Mostly she gets visions, but sometimes she'll end up a few hours or so in the past in a bit of a time loop until she figures out why. This has allowed her to save Conan several times, but most of he times saving him were merely her own mortal skills. Eventually this fails. She's found out the truth, but Shinichi is dying, and she keeps trying to change things, and it's just not working. Somehow, the next time she goes back, she ends up at the beginning, after Shinichi has already been shrunk though, and has to figure out what to do in the past to prevent that death from ever happening, while also trying to decide if she should tell Conan she knows he's Shinichi.

TLDR, Ran is a reincarnation of some divinity tied to time but she can't control her abilities, she ends up in the past when Conan first showed up after Shinichi died and is now trying to prevent that death

[dogtoling]

What can kill an Inkfish? Not splat them, kill them. Pretty sure old age is confirmed somewhere, but one else?

Lots of things, INCLUDING being splatted if the environment is hostile or otherwise unsuitable for regaining form over a long period of time. Inkfish only get splatted when their bodies are in an unstable state - which means if they've recently changed forms and their tissues haven't settled super properly yet. While their bodies are unstable, inkfish become splatted and lose composure and form if they're smacked around too much, severely wounded (the body tissues just come apart wholly instead of an actual wound opening), or hit by a big enough impact for example. This is actually pretty beneficial and surprisingly improves their safety, because squidlings for example are rarely alone, so if something that would normally damage you "just" ends up splatting you, there's usually other squids around to give you some ink to help you back up.

But i did say splatting only happens when their bodies are unstable. Now, if their bodies are stable meaning they haven't transformed recently, the aforementioned things will not cause an inkling to be splatted but rather will damage them accordingly. If you got hit by an Ultra Stamp outside of a turf war, it would probably give you a MUCH worse time than just a splat you can shrug off...

Inklings have no bones or defense structures in their bodies other than their defensive abilities of ink, beak and claws, and squid are notoriously low on the food chain. The majority of existing predator species (EVEN SOME BIRDS) just TEAR through inkling bodies with their beaks or fangs, and they don't even need to be particularly sharp or powerful for it. Inklings have great regenerative abilities and can regrow missing limbs over time no problem - their wounds close pretty fast in comparison to those of humans, and they generally recover well from such things. However, Inklings can and WILL perish from flesh wounds, badly placed wounds (the torso or head) and infections that may occur even though inklings typically have insanely good immune systems (due to their shapeshifting ability exposing them A LOT). As a result, historically, predation has been a major cause for inkfish death, though the statistics have drastically come down in recent years...

Inkfish do also die from old age. We do not have canon confirmation for how long inkfish live for. Cuttlefish and Octavio being active and spry at a measly 130+ years old heavily implies that inkfish are indeterminate growers that don't naturally die of old age - they just keep on trucking (and growing). Indeterminate growth wouldn't be a population problem with inkfish or anything - as per the previous paragraph, inkfish are low on the food chain and it was probably extremely rare to make it to "old age" before mixed species societies existed.

But honestly, nothing we've seen about inkling society implies that inkfish are indeterminate growers. To be honest, Cuttlefish and Octavio are probably ridiculously old because Splatoon is a cartoon. Just the fact that they are clearly Old means that they ARE at the tail end of their natural lifespan, which inkfish wouldn't really HAVE if they were true indeterminate growers... and Cuttlefish would also need to be drastically larger than Literally Smaller Than The Player. Old age is definitively something that inkfish die to, and I would assume their typical lifespan is around the same as a human's, if not a bit shorter due to them being cephalopods. Smaller species likely live for less time than larger ones.

Other than that, Inkfish obviously experience illnesses and ailments of different kinds and just like in every other animal out there (to my knowledge), they can lead into death if left untreated... Inkfish are definitely NOT immortal despite what they want you to think, even if it might seem as such at first glance.

[multifandomshorts]

Harry Transported into the World of Vanitas no Carte (Crossover AU/Fanfic Concept)

General Overview

To combine my current hyperfixation (Harry Potter) with one of my other long-term hyperfixations (Vanitas no Carte) my brain very frequently likes to put Harry through the MochiJun Experience (because he obviously hasn’t suffered enough)

Taking advantage of the Department of Mysteries’ endlessly ✨mysterious✨ nature, we’re gonna throw 15-year-old Harry, fresh from battle, into the world of VNC. Let me set up the small bit of background that I bothered with. A device constructed by a long-vanished vampire who ended up alone in the Wizarding world, whether by choice or exile, gets hit by the chaos of battle. Harry, the main character that he is, happens to be alone with it when it activates. He’s whisked away to the time of the interlude chapters, just after Noé and Vanitas have their attempted murder divorce (courtesy of my son, Misha).

Tada! Harry can add isekai protagonist to his resume now too. But he has to relearn how to use magic in a world with a different framework. A world where he doesn’t have so much weighing on his shoulders. He gets to be free from the prophecy, free from the Horcrux, and it makes sense that Vanitas would notice something off about his soul. I consider True Names and souls to be in the same realm of things. They’re a person’s essence, the shape behind their magic. “Dr.” (this man’s never been to medical school) Vanitas swoops in and gets Harry set right. To ashes and dust with the Horcrux. 

Throw Harry into the midst of characters who make him question the structures around him. He’s no longer in a school dividing its students by personal characteristics and life outlooks. Now, he has to keep company with a wide array of dysfunctional companions. They’re also mostly a few years older than him (in the case of the main cast), or a few years younger than him (in the case of Mikhail). Then there’s one who’s actually about his own age (Astolfo). He has to get accustomed to having drastically different people around him. But still, he can relate to them in ways he couldn’t with anyone in his own world. He especially empathizes with the Dhams because the social inequity they face is similar to the kind he understands from what he’s seen before. Sometimes, he feels guilty for appreciating being able to relate to characters like Vanitas. Of course, he misses everyone back home…but…it’s so nice to feel seen.

Harry’s similar to Vanitas in that he’d rather greet death than be transformed into an immortal being against his will. I’d like to make him suffer as Vanitas has. This comes in the form of Faustina marking Harry, taking his choice to greet death with open arms. The mark of the Crimson Moon and his eyes burn like the fire of a phoenix. It’s a horrifying rebirth, and he harbors the same anger as Vanitas over it. Of course, there are somewhat different feelings mixed in there. The vampire who marked him was an enemy rather than family, after all. Since we don’t know much about the fights to come in VNC, I’m keeping the conflict vague. There’s war again. Vampires vs. vampires, vampires vs. the Church, and whatever’s being set up with the Dhams right now. Harry’s there for five years, and it’s during the later stages of this conflict that he’s marked. The events of VNC have played out at the end of that time. Vanitas and Faustina have died, leaving Mikhail as the last to inherit Luna’s powers and Harry as the last to inherit Faustina’s powers.

This series of events will most likely be completely blown away by the canon timeline when it comes around (which I of course look forward to).

After all this, Harry returns home, back to the very moment he left. It was a toss-up whether the device would send him back to the time he left or if it would send him back with the same amount of time having passed in each world. It might depend on what the device’s user does. They’re still figuring out how it works. Naturally, Harry’s goal is to seek out the vampire who made it, and usually I make that vampire a de Sade. Now Harry has to figure that out in addition to the Voldemort shit. Not to mention the new personal issues that he has to work through.

Oh, to be changed and feel almost like a stranger when returning home. Five years have passed for Harry. The battle is the same as he left it. Will he try to hide the changes in himself to keep a sense of normalcy, the sense of nostalgia? He’s not quite human, and not quite a vampire just yet. I love the idea that he comes back wrong, returning to his world, but now with his very soul and magic rewritten.

If my brain’s craving a little chaos, then I’ll throw in some other versions of Harry Potter characters, whether displaced across time or worlds (or both!). They’re like dolls to me. It really depends how far from canon I want to diverge (usually not terribly far since I’m a bit of a stickler for it, at least in the case of characterization).

Anyway! What I wouldn’t give to know more about what’s coming in VNC! There’s so much that’s up in the air right now. We know we’re in for a lot of pain soon, so maybe playing around with the possibilities is a bit of a comfort. What would a war in the setting of VNC do to Harry’s development? How would the different approach to writing affect him? How would he view the people he left back home after everything?

Those are some things I like to think about within the larger story. The larger plot itself is easy enough to change, but the little tidbits remain about the same. Each author has such a different approach to world and character building. I’m so fond of MochiJun’s writing (less so of Rowling’s), and I also appreciate Harry as a main character. It would be awesome to see how MochiJun would approach the story of Harry Potter, and playing around with the possibilities is a great deal of fun to me. Rewriting Harry Potter through her lens would be a much larger undertaking though. So, instead, I send Harry into her world.

Other Tidbits

1. I like the idea of Harry becoming good friends with Domi. She has an interesting mix of characteristics that would make it hard for Harry to view her through the house framework, and I think becoming friends with her would be a big part of him reconstructing his view of people. He shares some traits with her (and other characters) that would push him to self-reflect in interesting ways too.

2. Imagine Harry hearing about Luna and being reminded of his loyal friend by the same name (ough ough the angst)

3. Following that, I think he would understand her better now. VNC would have untethered him in some ways. In addition to more life experience, he would have grown to understand that which is outside of his view more than before.

4. Thank fuck he would be in a text that explores and criticizes abuse in a way that doesn’t echo Rowling’s weird dynamics that cast women as less capable of being perpetrators in certain contexts (namely those of relationships and sexuality). If there’s one thing I appreciate about MochiJun, it’s that her women can be awful freaks just as much as her men can.

5.  I like to think about the ways vampires get inside each other’s heads. They clearly have some supernatural mind abilities (like we see with the Archivistes, Naenia, and Ruthven). That could be interesting to explore in the context of Wizard mind magic, though I know Occlumency is often over-utilized in fanfiction. Exploring the variations of how the magic works is interesting. The Archivistes’ ability is similar to Occlumency in that you need more direct contact, though it’s a one-time use. However, we still don’t know much more about that clan’s abilities. Naenia/Faustina has far more open access to the minds of others. It seems like she needs minimal contact. Lastly, Ruthven’s is probably the most similar to Occlumency (if you threw in a little Imperio, yikes). I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out more in the future. (Fingers crossed)

6. I’m curious about Loki Oriflamme since we know so little about him. That makes it fun for me to play around with him as another character Harry could become involved with.

7. Also, I’m absolutely using the timing of this AU as an excuse to keep Sirius alive. It would be a lot of fun to explore their relationship after Harry comes back so changed. Harry would have become more reserved in ways that might be beneficial to Sirius, and help him grow as a person too. Harry’s a lot more understanding now.

8. I think it would also be fun to see how Harry handles interactions with Snape. At this point, he’ll have developed a much different management of his emotions and temper, so I think it could be fun to see them snipe back and forth a little, lol. Who knows, maybe he could have an effect on Snape too (albeit one Snape would find intensely irritating, lol).

9. I love the parallels of Harry’s rebirth with that of a Phoenix. See the burning colors of one in the signs of the Crimson vampire. Death as a human, slowly being born as a vampire. Reborn in body and soul. More than that, he’s changed as a person.

10. He would have grown into his trait of exceptional loyalty during his time in the world of VNC. More than that, it comes from love. A key point of MochiJun’s characters is that they’re deeply, deeply flawed, and love comes in spite of that. They have so much depth to them and they inflict a great deal of conflicting feelings on the reader. So, Harry would come to have more forgiveness to his loyalty, more tenderness. He still burns with it, but it’s a more controlled flame. He’s already canonically loyal to the people he cares about in spite of disagreement and anger, but after VNC, this trait reaches an even greater extent than before.

10. Lastly, I couldn’t go without mentioning my favorite Harry Potter blorbo: Dumbledore. Harry’s parallels with a phoenix and his growth as a person make him so much fun to play with regarding that relationship. Dumbledore is flawed, though not as much as some of the people Harry has grown to care for in the world of VNC. Harry sees the other people he cares about in Dumbledore and feels the need to comfort him. The self-hatred, isolation, and masks that Harry’s companions also share become visible to him now that he looks at Dumbledore through mature eyes. Regret. It’s something he’s seen countless times in the eyes of vampires, muggles, and magic folk alike. It’s what he sees when he looks in the mirror. If Dumbledore can’t forgive himself, then Harry will forgive him in his stead.

[princessasmosprincess]

Lisette Beaufort

I wanted to introduce my OC Lisette. She pops up a couple of times in Charmed, I'm Sure as a side character. The first picture is from 1909 (I did my best) and the second is modern times.

Lisette is a witch and a former high society socialite and heiress. She originally summoned Kallios to help her get out of her engagement to her fiancé whom she didn’t love (he sucked, he only wanted her for her money and how many babies she could give him). She refused to give Kallios her soul in return for their pact, leaving him to figure out some other sort of payment. Along the way she and Kallios fell in love, and she married him and moved to the Devildom where she was able to pursue her dream as a fashion designer. She currently owns and runs Majolish and Devil Style magazine, and has done so for the past 100 years. She's a partier and is good friends with Asmo and Mammon (Mams says she's the only witch he can tolerate, probably because she pays him and not the other way around). She’s not exactly immortal, but her skill in magic combined with her bond with Kallios froze her at the age of 30 and extended her life. She is gifted in divination (mostly through tarot) and she receives prophetic dreams but she can’t control what she sees or when they happen. Kallios's death devastated her and she was only able to get through it because of her dear friends, she cherishes each and every one deeply but she hasn't ever loved anyone else the way she did Kallios.

For her character design I wanted her to be almost "perfect" but just off. She's slim and tall, and always fits the fashionable silhouette. But her hair is light, which wasn't the popular hair color when she was younger, and she has unique amber eyes some might find off putting.

I answered some Get to Know My OC questions too:

1. She likes champagne and overly sweet, fruity cocktails. For non alcoholic drinks, Coca Cola is very nostalgic to her, something that hasn’t changed that much in all the years she’s been alive. She also likes tea.

2. Favorite flavor: Sweet, mostly.

3. Favorite food: She likes food in general so she doesn’t have one set favorite but if you asked her she’d probably say chocolate ice cream.

4. Dinner is her favorite because it’s the best time to dine with her beloved and friends, and after dinner comes dessert.

5. Once again, she’s not too picky about food but she doesn’t like meat that’s too bloody or fish that’s overcooked or too fishy.

6. At first she had difficulty tolerating spicy foods but living in the Devildom for over 100 years has raised her tolerance.

7. Favorite animal: Birds, specifically parrots. Kallios gifted her a hell cockatoo that she named Adonis.

8. She wears a nightgown to bed, usually something silky.

9. She sleeps on her back but sometimes she’ll sleep on her side, clutching a pillow (she really misses sleeping next to Kallios).

10. She’s more of a night owl because she loves to party but once she’s woken up in the morning she becomes alert rather quickly.

11. She’s usually an average sleeper, but on nights she gets prophetic dreams, she sleeps heavy.

12. She likes to sew on rainy days, there’s just something so cozy about the sound of the rain mixed with the clicking of the sewing machine.

13. She loves the smell of white florals and vanilla, also fresh herbs

14. What does she smell like: In the past she would have worn Jicky by Guerlain. Now she still keeps it very classic, she wears Chanel No. 5.

15. If she had the time she would take a leisurely bath every day.

16. Her cooking skills are pretty decent. Not gourmet but she can follow a recipe. She loved cooking together with her husband, it was quality time for them.

17. She loves fall, the weather is perfect.

18. Halloween, but she also loves Jill’s day because that was the first time she visited the Devildom.

19. She prefers making gifts for her loved ones. Usually it’s in the form of clothing she designed just for them, with love in every stitch.

20. She’s 5’7/170 cm

[aspoonofsugar]

Hi! Hope you're having an alright leftover months of this year. Do you still do RWBY analysis? If you still do, can you do an analysis that focuses mainly on Ozpin, both the headmaster and Oz incarnation? All the posts I find about him merely mentions his relations to the subject instead of the man itself, so I am intrigued by what you would say about him, his relationships with himself and others, his thematic importance to the show included. I'd also take any speculations you may have about him, his past, his possible Semblance, and his future at RWBY's finale.

But even if you don't, I'd like you to know that I am a huge fan of your works. Drink lots of water, sleep and eat regularly, and move around a lot!

Hi!

Thank you for the nice words and sorry for the long wait!

So, I may not be the best person to ask about Ozpin because I have yet to fully analyze/develop proper thoughts on him. However, I will do my best!

Before starting, 2 things.

I have talked a little bit about him here and here.

I am not sure if you differentiate between Ozma and Ozpin... personally I don't and I don't think we are meant to, so this post is about the character as a whole

When it comes to Ozpin, I think the best way to analyze him so far is to go through his 2 key relationships: Salem and Oscar.

OZMA AND SALEM: LOSING HUMANITY

Ozma's story starts with his death:

Jinn: Ozma, the infallible hero of legend, fell ill. And where all the beasts and blades of the world had fallen short, a single sickness prevailed.

Ozma's death is important on multiple levels.

Plot-wise it kicks off Salem's conflict with the Gods

Thematic-wise it is there to convey a key theme: death is part of humanity.

Ozma dies out of illness. His demise isn't a violent one. It isn't a Grimm or another human killing him. Hell, it is not even the Gods deciding his time has come. He dies of illness because no matter he is such a great hero. Deep down, he is human like everyone else.

Humans are by definition a mix of Creation (The God of Light) and Destruction (The God of Darkness). This makes them creations with a limited lifespan. Their beauty is who they can become with this time at their disposal.

This is what Ozma's death means, but Salem refuses the idea and sets up the conditions for both Ozma and hers immortality, which isn't framed as something positive, but as a curse:

God of Light: You must learn the importance of life and death. Only then may you rest.

So, Ozma's resurrection starts his personal arc, which is built on a pretty neat contradiction. On the one hand he slowly loses his humanity (1). On the other hand this happens precisely because of his very human flaws (2).

1- When I say Ozma loses his humanity, I don't mean he becomes a monster, but that with time he starts feeling detached from life and necessarily different from others. It isn't something he does consciously or so openly as Salem. After all, differently from her own immortality, Ozma's gives him the chance to truly live with others:

God of Light: Until your task is complete, you will reincarnate, but in a manner that ensures you are never alone.

And he learns to live with humans rather than above them:

Jinn: And as the centuries went on, Ozma began to learn the importance of living with the souls with which he had been paired.

Still, the tendency to think of himself as different and somehow above others is there and it starts with Salem:

Salem: We could become the gods of this world. Our powers surpass all others. Our souls transcend death. We can mold these lands into whatever we want, what you want, create the paradise that the old Gods could not.

Salem: Don't you see? None of that matters anymore. Why spend our lives trying to redeem these Humans when we can replace them with what they could never be?

These 2 ideas might seem opposite, but they have the same root. It is about making Ozma and Salem stand abover everyone else. Be them as Gods or as a New Human Race. The difference is only in form because the result is the same: Ozma and Salem are more powerful than others and can twist and mold the world as they want.

When Ozma breaks up with Salem he refuses this belief, but unconsciously it keeps rearing its ugly head here and there throughout the centuries. This is shown in 2 ways:

a) From a symbolical point of view Ozma and Salem's battle mirrors the Gods' conflict. Ozma steps into the role of Light, while Salem into the role of Darkness. Light and Darkness are meant to represent complementary, so they are built on dychotomies...

Light is day, life, creation, order and rationality. Still, it can degenerate in control.

Dark is night, death, destruction and emotions. Still, it can degenerate in chaos.

Similarly, Ozpin thinks about the bigger picture and puts the world's destiny above his personal wishes. He even accepts Light's mission and becomes the de facto Champion of Light. Salem is instead driven by her emotions. Her love dies? She is gonna fight Gods to have him back. He leaves her, though? Then, she will go in his way and hurt him in any way possible. She is the Champion of Darkness not because Darkness has invested her, but simply because she is close to his ideals and mentality. Her affinity is conveyed also by Salem controlling and creating Grimms, like the Brother used to.

So, the Gods' conflict is reproduced in Ozma and Salem's dynamic. An example of this mirroring is given by the couple's 4 daughters. Light and Darkness create Humanity and give them 4 Gifts. Ozma and Salem build a Family and give birth to 4 Daughters. The Gods end up destroying their own creations, just like Ozma and Salem's fight kills their children. Still, Light recreates the Gifts through 4 relics and Ozma gives birth to 4 Daughters again through the Maidens.

In short, both the Gods and Ozma/Salem are beings more powerful than humans that have a conflict going on. This conflict is both thematic and personal and it ends up becoming a problem for the whole world.

b) From a practical point of view, Ozpin has built a system that runs on secrecy and is organized around his person. He may not want to, but ends up being quite manipulative of his comrades.

For example, he asks Pyrrha to be a Maiden without even telling her about Salem (like, you wanna know about that if you are to become one of her main targets). Similarly, he hides Salem's immortality with the excuse it would demoralize people. In this way, he decides what is better for others in their stead and takes away the chance to make informed choices.

2- Ozpin's flaw is his inability to trust. This tendency of his comes out in the Lost Fable, as well:

Jinn: As Salem and Ozma recounted the events which had brought them back together, each withheld parts of their story. Salem, fearing Ozma would reject her, blamed the end of the world on the Gods. Ozma, still unsure of where the truth lay, kept his task and the Relics a secret.

Ozma doesn't trust Salem, which is one of the many factors that contribute to the end of their relationship. Ozma knows trust and faith are good in theory, but because of his many struggles he forgets "trusting is a risk" and "risks are necessary". He sees trust as only a dangerous bet, rather than as an opportunity. So, he stops trusting and adopts some controlling and manipulative tendences.

Both his belief to be above others and his lack of faith come out in volume 6, when the protagonists strongly confront him.

In Ruby's words:

Ruby: So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else?

Humans have to believe in him, but he doesn't have to believe in humans. This is what a God asks of others. Not a person.

OZPIN AND OSCAR: FINDING FAITH

Ozpin's confrontation with the rest of the group is a huge setback for him, which ends with his "break" from the mission. This choice is a pivotal moment, which kickstarts his development and changes his balance with Oscar.

Ozpin and Oscar's stories and allusions are intertwined. Ozpin alludes to the Wizard of Oz, while Oscar alludes to Ozma. Both are characters from the Oz series, but their stories are different.

The Wizard of Oz is a normal human, who plays the part of a Wizard

Princess Ozma is the rightful ruler of Oz and a magical being

Basically (and oversimplifying) the Wizard is a fraud, while Ozma is the real deal. Still, Ozpin and Oscar's foiling is slightly more complex. As a matter of fact Ozpin's real name is Ozma, while Oscar's name is that of the Wizard of Oz. Basically, Ozpin and Oscar have mismatched names.

What does it mean? It means that Ozpin is magical like Ozma, but not as infallible as others think. In a sense, he is "below expectations", like the Wizard. Oscar is instead a normal boy like the Wizard, but he is growing to become able to succeed where Ozpin fails. So, by the end he would be the "rightful ruler" of himself.

In short, Ozpin presents himself as Oscar's mentor, but in the end he is the one who learns from Oscar. In this way, he is able to grow and to work through his flaw:

Ozpin: But, Oscar-- Oscar: You want him to trust us? Then trust me.

Oscar: He trusted my judgment and it saved us. I want to reciprocate that trust. There's a lot to sort out, but… Oz really wants to help.

He starts to slowly trust again. This means he is learning to truly live with others again and to depend on them again. This is the essence of being humans, after all.

So, Ozpin and Oscar's shared story is one where they discover who they are:

Man: Thank you. Please, tell me your name. Who are you? Suddenly, Ozma's newest reincarnate has trouble speaking. Oscar: He didn't know…

Specifically, Ozpin must rediscover his personhood, while Oscar must reach self-actualization.

SEMBLANCE

All of this brings me to your question about his semblance. Basically, I don't think Ozpin's semblance is important at all, while I think Oscar's is.

After all, it has been mentioned twice now:

Oscar: Semblance? Nora: You know! Like your very own superpower! Everybody's got one. It's just a matter of finding it and mastering it.

Oscar: You guys are evolving and I still don't have my Semblance. Ruby: Well, I bet we'll all be jealous when you do.

Which means it is going to be an important moment. This makes sense because semblances are symbolic of self-actualization. So, Oscar should activate a semblance that defines him as his own person, different from even Ozpin.

As for Ozpin himself, he has shown us no semblance and I wonder if he even has one. As far as we have seen, both Ozma and Salem have kept their magical abilities. I wonder, then, if they are unable to use semblances/do not need them. Wouldn't it be interesting if none of Ozpin's reincarnations has ever activated a semblance because Ozpin's presence made it both unnecessary and impossible? After all, how can you become yout own person if an intruder enters your mind and fuses with your soul?

If so, Oscar activating his would be an exception, which marks something new happening in Ozpin's story.

FROM SALEM TO OSCAR

Ozpin's arc so far has been one where he has progressively moved from Salem's POV to Oscar's. From distrust to faith. From immortality to humanity.

Now, it is too soon to say how his story will turn out. However, I think that he should solve things with both his major relationships. Specifically:

He must overcome his relationship with Salem, which means letting go of her, but also seeing her humanity. Personally, I don't think they should go back together (I think the abusive framing is too on the nose and would be distasteful if they magically fix things). Still, I think Ozpin should empathize with her.

He must make sure Oscar survives and becomes his own person and not one of his lives. So far, Ozpin has ended up absorbing others' life, while this time, I think he should be the one absorbed. This should not be seen as something negative, but as him finding his humanity again. As stated in the beginning, humans live and die. Ozpin should do the same. He should probably choose Oscar (a personal connection) over his mission. In this way he can go back to be an individual rather than an idol. He can be free rather than burdened by an impossible duty.

In short, I think Ozpin is going to empathize with Salem and to die either at the very end or a little bit before in order to save Oscar.

Personally, I think Ozpin leaving the narrative before the final battle works best for his character. It means:

1 He is leaving the mission behind. He can be himself and not a hero

2 He is breaking the endless game he and Salem are playing with humans as pawns. This can be a sign of him also breaking their toxic bond and moving forward

3 He would be entrusting the kids with the future. He leaves the fight in their hands, which means he has restored his complete faith in others. He believes they can save the world and help/stop Salem better than he can

Obviously other possibilities are still on the table. However, as for now, I am pretty sure the reincarnation cycle has to stop before the end of the story.

Thank you for your ask and sorry for the wait! I hope your beginning of the year has been wonderful and that it keeps going on well :D

[neg-im]

Of deities and immortals

Vajra as Great Old One of Chaos

I've been thinking about how godhood and immortality works in the SE universe (and how can I use the lack of stablished rules to my evil motives).

Today I want to talk to you about the Great Old Ones an my headcanons about them.

So, based in the manga and the anime, the Eight Shinigami Legions are the same thing as the Great Old Ones. They were chosen as Lord Death companions for a reason, they were incredibly powerful and, somehow, almost everyone ended up being a being closer to a eldritch deity than a human.

Except the ones who Asura ate of course.

So

G. O. O. of Order: Shinigami

Fear: Asura

Power: the octopus

Wrath/Rage: Excalibur

Knowledge: Eibon

Also, there isn't a lot of clarity about Vajra being only Asura's partner or if he was an oficial member of the eight, but I consider him as one since I think that he should have been an already powerful and skilled weapon to be Asura's weapon, plus he probably was from the very first weapons ever so I think he might have ended as a Great Old One too if it wasn't for Asura eating him.

And to me Vajra could have embodied the Chaos. Let me explain.

Since we don't have a lot about Vajra, we're gonna stick with my interpretation of him, which is based in my own HC and all the info I have absorbed from friends and Tumblr users who have their own versions of Vajra.

The Great Old Ones are inherently tied to madness, showing us that madness itself isn't inherently wrong, but the specific kind of madness and the way people choose to use it is what makes it dangerous.

In the case of the madness of fear (Asura), it enhanced the primal responses "fight or fly" (sorry if I'm using that wrong but i hope you'll get the point), making people a risk to themselves and to others.

People have a natural inclination to certain types of madness, but if there's a specific wavelength acting over them, that natural inclination can change or be mixed, like Stein

Even if we don't get a canon answer of what kind of madness he primarily had (putting aside that "madness" can be an allegory for mental illness and/or neurodivergency), I think that his madness at the start of the story was more atune to Madness of knowledge (Eibon), but the influence of Asura and Medusa's snakes made him switch to a combination of that and the madness of fear. We can see how his "disect this, vivisec that" behavior was strongly inclined to a "let's do it for science" attitude, but after Asura's resurrection it was more tinted with the violent impulses of harming someone, which Stein himself reconogized as something unusual and way out of his control.

So, coming back to Vajra.

The behavior that Asura shows himself is of pure fear. He's terrorized of being near another being and never initiated combat. It was always defending himself or his crazy (unwanted) followers trying to provoke Shibusen. Yeah, he's like "I'm gonna destroy your order, Shinigami-sama" and all that but he doesn't really try to attack anyone directly, the boy is a fucking coward (affectionate).

And ok, I've said that madness can cause different reactions, but I don't think that every one of his followers shared the same unicellular brain, with the same response to fear so... How resulted in everyone being so chaotic and violent under Asura's influence?

Well... Because Asura's wavelength isn't entirely his.

Asura has 2 souls inside him. His own soul and the remaining of Vajra's.

When Asura ate him, he was probably still alive.

I have the headcanon that some weapons can live longer if they're in their weapon form, and if they get injured in human form they can turn into weapons until they can get medical care or the injury heals (but this require a lot of practice and a somewhat strong soul).

Vajra probably survived for a long time inside Asura that way, and when Lord Death sealed them in Asura's skin he was slowly losing his humanity and the ability to turn back to his human form and even the ability to communicate to Asura through their soul resonance, but their souls were still connected in some way, so, the Madness that emanated from Asura was both, Fear and Chaos.

[cold-reviews]

The Fire Within My Heart (Scarlet Cherie: Vampire Series #1) Review

Ayshen Irfan @thevampireaesthetic kindly sent me a copy of this book to review. I will start by saying I have immense respect for them as a self-published author. I think that’s frankly kick ass and incredibly inspiring. The last couple of chapters especially gripped me and I have a lot of thoughts I wish to convey. I’ll try to keep the first part spoiler free and then add some thoughts after going more in-depth. Disclaimer: These are just my personal thoughts, not aimed to hurt or offend anybody. If you disagree or have a different opinion that is just as valid. I'd love to hear your thoughts as well. I strongly encourage anyone to form their own opinions by reading this book regardless of what I have to say about it.

Review:

The Fire Within My Heart follows Scarlet as she is catapulted into the world of the supernatural after being horrifically murdered by a serial killer and next granted immortality when the vampire Nikolaus finds her before she can take her last breath. Throughout the book, we follow her navigating seeking justice for her murderer, her new supernatural existence, and her complicated romantic relationship with her vampire master.

The story unfolds in a rich universe mixing your classic vampires with high fantasy and the arcane. I’d say that for the most part, the lore of the world and the supernatural powers are explained and described in a way that makes it easy to follow and doesn’t feel too heavy.

It has a great cast of characters. I think it’s very apparent in the text that the author has a great affection for their characters and there are some great character dynamics. I especially loved the ragtag family dynamic that develops amongst the most unlikely of supernatural creatures. The strength of the story in my opinion is really the characters and their strong and yet at times troubled ties to each other.

There are undoubtedly some heavy themes in here of death and violence and very questionable morals at best but the book manages to balance it with humor. There are tropes in here that I loved as well. The main character and her vampire master share a special bond almost like a contracted demon in which they can feel each other's pain and emotion. I thought it an interesting layer to their dynamic and I’m curious to see how it will develop. That said, the romance here is not a slow burner and the attraction between the two is apparent instantly. Some people might enjoy that, although for me personally, it felt a little rushed and I didn’t quite buy into the justification that the vassal/master relationship justified the instant attraction.

Ayshen's iteration of vampires takes the symbolism of vampires and makes it very literal. The sensual and tempting are explicit. It’s described in various places how vampirism in this book is quite literally sex, orgasmic, all the guilty pleasures you know you shouldn’t enjoy but do. An iteration I’m inclined to think writes itself into a wave of continued contemporary vampire fiction. It’s an evolution in vampire fiction that I’m interested in but haven’t read enough contemporary works of this sort to form a conclusive theory on.

The language in the book I feel can best be described as purple although I know this tends to have a pejorative meaning and that’s not my intention. It’s very rich with descriptions. Illustrious with poetic and ornate metaphors and imagery. I find that it’s very much a matter of taste whether this style is something that engages you or not. Personally, there were some parts I loved and found beautifully phrased and cleverly constructed. In some scenes, I appreciated how detailed a picture I was painted to imagine. Without any spoilers, I can’t come up with examples but in general, everything has a very gothic and decadent vibe. Other times I found it a bit redundant. I didn’t always care to get a detailed description of every character's outfit and sometimes I felt like the description of rooms or feelings stunted the pace of the narrative. I’d forget where a conversation was going or had to be reminded what the characters were doing amongst all the beautifully described scenery. Towards the end, I felt it may have added unintentional suspended tension waiting for the plot to move on or for someone to reply.

I’m still not sure what to make of Scarlet, the main girl of the book. She seems like she has the potential to be a great strong female character. First-person narratives are hard because the narrating character is under the constant scrutiny of the reader. I loved when she’d put Nikolaus in his place and insist on her independence. That to me was the real meat of the story. At other times I couldn’t sympathize with her in scenes where I’m pretty certain I was supposed to. She seemed very self-aware almost as if the narrator anticipated the reader's judgment. In general, I think I would have liked Scarlet better if she wasn’t so carefully written to be sympathetic and likable, I found myself almost rooting for someone to corrupt her a little to make her more interesting emotionally.

My final thoughts will contain light spoilers, you have been warned.

This mix of vampires and high fantasy is something I’ve only encountered in Empire of the Vampire and I’d say it’s a fun subgenre of vampire fiction that can be fun to explore but It’s not a genre I normally gravitate to. I think that my experience with the book is very much affected by the fact that romance and fantasy are two genres I’m somewhat cautious with. I think people who are avid readers of these two genres are gonna love this book. For me, all the supernatural stuff about her exploring her heritage and powers just wasn’t that interesting to me and all the feeling of aura and metaphysical battles just got too aloof. I felt like some of the potential of the plot was wasted on it. I would have loved it if the serial killer wasn’t a supernatural creature for example. I would have loved it if there had been a point to his murders. I would have loved it if Scarlet’s gift for reading memories played a bigger part in finding him. I got very excited at first thinking they were gonna go around and revive the undead to read their memories and piece together a puzzle to catch the killer, like the vampire version of Pushing Daisies. Instead, she reads the memories of ten zombies in paraphrase just to practice and then subtracts the killer’s identity the first time she tries. Even that I thought could have led to more. Like when discussing altering a memory could prove fatal I thought “oh! She can’t just sit and watch the victim be murdered, she’s going to alter the memory!” but no. I’m left to conclude that some of these things might not get a payoff until later books perhaps and furthermore that the serial killer plot wasn’t the focal point of the story. As much as I would have liked a more intriguing mystery, the priority in the story was on Scarlet figuring out what she was, and to some people, that’s a riveting story too. Her being a nymph is almost more centralized than all the vampire stuff.

I found the most gripping part of the story to be the strange dynamic she has with Nikolaus. The climax of the book to me is the confrontation she has with him right after he kills her killer, robbing her of the justice they all worked so hard to get her. The way he reveals himself to her. Reveals that he takes pleasure in her fear, how she’s just another vulnerable woman to him who gave herself to him blinded by his beauty. The fact that he isn’t at all very different from the person who murdered her, he loves murder himself. There’s so much at stake here, one because she can’t sever her ties to him because of the master/vassal relationship, and two because not only has he revealed this but he also proved to be terribly selfish and emotionally inept in a situation where she needed his understanding and support the most. He turns out to be more harrowing in my eyes than the two-dimensional serial killer. This was a moment I felt actually had some weight to it because it was built throughout the book. Their lust at first sight, magical connection, and insecurities come to a collision. After this fight, when there wasn’t a confrontation later, no talk or apology, no consequence I was left looking at my kindle in disbelief haha. I really hope this goes somewhere in further books. There’s potential for some interesting outcomes. Either Nikolaus becomes powerful enough to control Scarlet and their love turns into hatred, or Scarlet somehow manages to become the master because her powers keep growing too, what would that do to his wounded pride and desire to own her? Maybe they do sever the connection, I can almost see a sort of Geralt and Yennifer dilemma here of not knowing if you’re in love or just under a spell. Or perhaps Nikolaus manages to admit his faults?

In conclusion: This is a typical contemporary iteration of vampires with an arcane fantasy twist. The plot is a little simple to give way to the main character's self-exploration. The mystery of the narrative is just a backdrop to project the complicated character dynamic between the two protagonists but it does hold its punch. For anyone who enjoys romance and fantasy with ornate language, this might just be your thing. I had some hesitations with the genre but ultimately still found lots of things to like about it and I’m curious to see how the story develops further.

Thank you again, very much for letting me read this. I appreciate the art you put into the world and the bravery it takes to share it. You can buy the book on amazon.

[warriorfae]

The Fae

APPEARANCE

The Fae, also known as the Fair Folk or just the Folk, resemble humans for the most part, with the most notable difference in appearance usually being their pointed ears. Historically, they've also had unusual skin colors - such as blue or gray - and occasionally had animal-like characteristics, like having horns or a tail. However, these more unusual traits became fewer and further between as the fae mixed their bloodline with humans.

Modern fae are identified by their pointed ears and unbelievably beautiful appearance, along with the presence of an animal companion (their daemon). They can also be identified in darkness by the reflective light of their eyes, as the Folk are nocturnal creatures.

The fae are individually known as faeries - the term fae or Folk tend to refer to faeries as a group, inclusive of their different types.

MAGIC & ABILITIES

All of the Folk have some magical ability, varying from great acts of sorcery to cheap party tricks and every shade in-between. Nearly all of their magic is rooted in the art of illusions, movement, shape-changing, and enchantments, though some of the most powerful fae have also dabbled in curses and powerful enchantments with great success.

The most 'essential' use of their magic is called glamour, something that can be used both consciously and unconsciously. Usually unconsciously, they use glamour to heighten their ethereal beauty and to make their clothes and jewels seem more magnificent and beautiful. But when used consciously, they can easily trick humans with illusions, and even fool other Folk if clever enough.

All of the Folk are immortal. Though they will age on pace with humans from birth, once they reach maturity (about 25 years old) they will stop aging and maintain their youthful appearance and strength for eternity. Despite this, fae are not invulnerable to death - they still quite susceptible to illness, injury, and accidents. The only type of death the fae can avoid is death by aging.

WEAKNESSES

It is well-known that fae are vulnerable to cold iron, and not just the cold iron of a knife - any iron at all will do the trick, as contact with it will burn their skin instantly. Unfortunately for humans, this changed after the Second Iron War, when the barrier between the human world and Faerieland crumbled and became physical, in the form of the Starless Sea. A swim in the Starless Sea causes any creature originating from Faerie to become impervious to the usual burning effect of iron. Today, the Folk are as vulnerable to iron as any human would be - which is to say, it's only especially dangerous when it's pointy!

Though iron no longer burns, certain herbs like yarrow are poisonous to faeries, and salt will render their magic ineffective.

Additionally, the Folk are completely unable to lie, which conflicts with their proclivity for trickery. The closest they can get is to express what they believe to be the truth.

DAEMONS

Each and every faerie has a daemon - a physical manifestation of their soul, taking the form of an animal. Humans believe the Folk do not have souls and this finds some truth in the existence of daemons - fae do not have souls inside their bodies as they exist outside their bodies only.

With this comes a significant vulnerability - if harm comes to the daemon of a faerie, that faerie would be hurt along with it. Consequently, if a faerie's daemon is killed, the faerie would immediately die with it. During the Iron Wars, it was a common (and abhorrently cruel) practice for humans to force fae into compliance by seizing their daemons.

Within Folk society, even touching another person's daemon is seen as a great and terrible taboo, to the point any accusation of it occurring results in immediate exile from their Court or Clan.

The relationship fae have with their daemons is slightly akin to the relationship one might have with the voice in their head that narrates their thoughts, but it's also something more than that. A faerie and their daemon complete each other - one is not whole without the other.

A daemon and their faerie are able to communicate both verbally and non-verbally - they share physical sensations like pain and cold as well as emotions like fear and desire. It's unusual for a daemon and their faerie to dislike each other, but it's not something that's unheard of. In each and every case, their relationship is something that's deeply complex and personal. Additionally, fae usually have heightened senses, as their daemon's senses can be used as an extension of their own.

More details about daemons can be found here.

[fgrobichiko]

Case 2022Q - Imperium

[Subject: the testimony of an allegedly immortal man, Part [REDACTED], edited for relevance]

"The beast was nightmarish beyond belief, a terrible roaring mountain that sounded like the great horns of heaven. It's face was a vast, mouthless mix of spears and shields, a writhing, constricting snake coiling up and giving off that horrible bellow.

They descended from the mountains, lashed and tamed by our foes by some maddening method. They bore entire forts on their backs, from which the invaders poured shot after shot, allowing the monster's terrible weaponry to smash and gore and crush any that survived.

This war could never be won by mere mortals. A general that employed such terroble, weapon-laden hecatoncheires as their opening gambit... what forsaken nightmare might be deployed next? What titan of old might they unlock from the roaring sea or broken earth? I saw my brother mashed into a grim paste by the nearest beast and I screamed. On some level, I have never stopped screaming. On some level I have never stopped hearing their screams.

The invaders rampaged through my country, I have heard they only stopped when their devilish king was slain by plague, no mortal weapon able to lay him low. In the centuries since, I have never experienced a horror such as the creatures unleashed on us."

"I heard tales of the great khan, he who sired countries, who used plague as a weapon. The overkill, the excess, of his wrath was dread-inducing. But the gifts and pleasures of those who joined him were like delirium compared to the squalor before. He was unlike the other killers - a builder of peoples, for as many as he slew he would welcome his enemies as friends, should they yet survive. They said he was a Christian man, for they could only see themselves in one so dreadful."

"The worst I saw of plague was as a weapon for the weapon's sake, when the vile, unwashed children of greed infected and scoured an entire continent. I do not wish to speak of it, but the fires could be seen from... no, I will not say. Ten thousand years all but eradicated, and for nothing but another empire of filth and toxic materials to spread across the earth. They claimed it in the name of their god and then they killed eachother over who reaped the rewards.

These same murderers, not content with their unleashing of laughing, putrifying death, as though... as though from a cruel creator to an ungrateful child, they would invent nightmares of iron and flame, blood-splatters in the form of weapons that would soak a plain in red and ichor, hatred and rage in repeating mechanical form that could turn rivers to red, and pile skulls high for no reason other than their bezerk hatred of those they waged war upon, people they care not for but as the holders of land they had no concept of ownership over.

Perhaps this is your own country. Your own nation. Descended not from builders, but slaughterers, those that shackle monsters for petty gain, who maim and enslave and infect. My people are long since dead, with only myself to remember them, and now, unable to kill me, you have simply stolen me, as you have all that cannot be erased. I will remain. You will not. You are just another dreadful empire, and the dead will always, always have their due."

[recording ends. The accounts align with the campaigns of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, the colonisation of America and the Zulu war, among others. The apparent lack of knowledge of elephants as natural creatures, as well as correlations to redacted subjects, suggests that these stories were not learned through research. The subject is known to be resistant to harm, including of chemical and biological varieties. More research is required to determine the truth of the subject's claims.]

[themovieblogonline]

Rome Flynn Steps into Frank Lucas in Godfather of Harlem

Harlem in the 1960s wasn’t just a place; it was a battleground. As the civil rights movement sparked change across the country, the streets of Harlem were a war zone where the Mafia, street gangs, and Black power brokers vied for control. The show that encapsulates this tension, Godfather of Harlem, is back, and this time, it’s bringing some serious heat with Rome Flynn stepping into the role of the legendary Frank Lucas. The New Face of Harlem's Underworld Rome Flynn, who many might recognize from his roles in How to Get Away with Murder and The Bold and the Beautiful, has joined the cast of Godfather of Harlem in its third season, and he’s not just filling big shoes—he’s creating a whole new pair. Taking on the character of Frank Lucas, a role immortalized by Denzel Washington in American Gangster, Flynn has some serious expectations to meet. But judging by the first-look photo released by MGM+, he’s more than ready. In this first-look image, Flynn channels Lucas's mix of charisma and menace, perfectly embodying a man on the rise in the dangerous world of Harlem’s crime scene. Flynn’s version of Lucas is younger, hungrier, and has his eyes firmly set on the top, which means Bumpy Johnson (played by the ever-impressive Forest Whitaker) better watch his back. A Season of High Stakes Season 4 of Godfather of Harlem is set to be a rollercoaster of power plays, betrayals, and, of course, some serious turf wars. Bumpy Johnson, having already faced off against the Mafia and rival gangs, now has to deal with a new threat in the form of Frank Lucas. And let’s not forget, this season takes place in the aftermath of Malcolm X’s tragic death, a loss that will no doubt have ripple effects throughout Harlem. Flynn’s Lucas isn’t just another gangster; he’s a calculated businessman with a vision. While Bumpy is fighting to maintain control over Harlem, Lucas is quietly building his empire, using his connections and cunning to become one of the most powerful figures in the city. It’s a clash of the titans, and only one can come out on top. Frank Lucas: The Real Story For those who need a refresher, Frank Lucas was a real-life figure who made a name for himself by cutting out the middleman in the drug trade, buying heroin directly from Southeast Asia and flooding the streets of Harlem with it. His rise to power was meteoric, and his fall, equally dramatic. Flynn’s portrayal will likely delve into Lucas’s complex relationship with power, loyalty, and the American Dream—albeit one built on crime and corruption. But what makes Godfather of Harlem so compelling is how it intertwines these criminal stories with the broader narrative of Black empowerment and the fight for civil rights. Bumpy Johnson isn’t just a criminal; he’s a man trying to reclaim his neighborhood from outside forces that want to exploit it. The addition of Frank Lucas adds a new layer to this story, one that promises to explore what happens when two very different visions for Harlem collide. What Rome Flynn Brings to the Table Rome Flynn’s casting as Frank Lucas is a move that’s sure to shake things up. Flynn has a way of bringing depth to his characters, making them relatable even when they’re doing things that are, let’s say, less than legal. He’s got the charm, the intensity, and the chops to make Lucas a formidable opponent for Bumpy Johnson. In Godfather of Harlem, every character is a player in a larger game, and Flynn’s Lucas is poised to be one of the most intriguing yet. With his arrival, the show is set to explore not just the battle for control of Harlem, but also the personal battles within these men who are trying to carve out their own piece of the American Dream—no matter the cost. By targeting these keywords and terms, the article is well-optimized to capture the attention of viewers eager for the latest on Godfather of Harlem and its newest star. This season promises to be one for the books, and with Flynn in the mix, things are about to get very interesting in Harlem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXQBmfzwdGY Read the full article