bluegekk0 · 4 months ago
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Finished designs for the FPK Dragon AU! Very happy with how they turned out, I'm definitely going to draw more art for this side AU in the future
Some short info and close-ups below
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General AU stuff:
I don't have many story or world details yet, but in general it would be quite simplified and changed in a lot of ways
The vessels are not a thing, though The Radiance does exist and the infection would still happen in some shape or form (I haven't thought of the details yet). Holly's purpose would still be to put a stop to it, but the whole aspect of emotionless void beings is not included
Humans don't exist in this world, so the one above is simply to get an idea of their scale. The dragons in that world are sapient and live in communities, a lot of them can use magic and similar powerful abilities
More info to be added as I brainstorm it, and I might design more characters for the AU in the future
Character specific stuff:
Vyrm - a lot of his backstory is very similar to the main AU, his kind is considered extinct (the reason would most likely be different), though he never changed his form to be smaller, which means his large wyrm form does not exist here. His relationship with WL was also basically the same, as was his journey of discovering his love for Grimm. And just like in the main AU, he ended up losing his status as a leader and hibernating. Unsure whether he would also lose all his powers, since I want to keep his workshop hobby and I like the idea of him having powers that he learned specifically for that purpose (not to mention, doing any kind of precise engineering would be difficult with his dragon anatomy). So we'll have to see.
Grimm - once again a very similar backstory to his main AU counterpart. He is one of the most powerful dragons to exist, and The Radiance is still his sister in this AU. He was banished from his homeland and stripped of many of his powers, losing his status as a higher dragon as a result. I'm still brainstorming how NKG comes into the AU, as of now my idea is that it would be closer to a god-like beast form than a being in another realm, but it may still change. And I'm still thinking how to reconceptualize the ritual to fit this version. Even though he's much weaker than in his prime, he's still more powerful than an average dragon, especially in the NKG form (if that is the direction I take with him).
Lewk, Asta and Milo - basically the same as in the main AU. Lewk and Asta can fly just fine, Milo however is incapable of it (and will likely remain that way even as he gets older, with his wings being too small and weak for flight).
Hornet - in most aspect she's the same, though her half-spider origin would be changed to something else; Herrah is not a spider in this AU, though she would still be quite beastly and unique in her appearance. She has two pairs of wings, which are a trait inherited from her mother's side. She knows silk magic, which she learned as a young dragon.
Zote - he's the most unique here body plan wise, I based his design on pterosaurs. I loved the mental image of him being this annoying, bird-like dragon. In basically all aspects he's the same as his main AU counterpart, though being a dragon I imagine he would have a more impressive lifespan than an average bug in the main AU. He's a herbivore dragon, his mouth resembles a beak, and he has no powers, only a nasty attitude.
Holly - as mentioned before, they are not a vessel in this AU, nor a void being. Instead, they're a hybrid of Vyrm and WL, who is a powerful higher dragon, and were trained to stop The Radiance and put an end to the infection from the day they hatched. Though they did end up learning void magic to aid them in the fight, I think that would be a nice way to preserve at least some of that aspect and it would explain the color of their body in this version. They have a mouth, though they are still mute, likely as a result to battle damage. Like in the main AU, they lost one of their eyes and a limb, and I'm considering designing a prosthetic wing for them at some point to mirror their counterpart.
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youremyheaven · 7 months ago
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Rahu & Ketu: The Mystery of Being
TW: abuse, rape, murder, abduction, childhood trauma, violence
The more I study Nodal energy, the more I realise how truly hard it is to remain within its influence, it escapes your grip or eludes you so easily and I think even Nodal natives feel this way, its really hard to have a stable/consistent self image or strong identity because with Rahu you are sooo many different things and your energy is dispersed completely (Rahu being the "head") and with Ketu, you're in the dark completely so you feel unable to identify with anything permanently i.e you outgrow things quickly (Ketu being the "body"). Both Rahu & Ketu are malefics and generally considered to be inauspicious but please don't be discouraged!!
The reason why they're considered inauspicious is because Rahu creates excessive immersion in the material realm as these natives are always looking out of themselves/seeking external things to centre themselves around. Since they're stuck in the head (literally) they're unable to be grounded or tethered. This causes overindulgence and gluttony. They might seem greedy on the outside but truly this is driven by their boundary-less nature where they literally do not know when to stop, nothing feels "enough" for them, they never feel "full". Since they're so vastly spacious internally, they can accommodate a lot, this makes them very tolerant and accepting of virtually every one and every kind of experience. But this internal spaciousness also means that they feel empty, just because its hard to "fill up" all that space and feel "fulfilled". This causes them to overexert themselves and go above & beyond. They do this just because they can. This is why they're such obsessive lovers. They have so much space, so much to hold, they need a great deal of stimulation just to feel normal. In social settings they may come across as very hyper, very loud, very extra, always doing the most, eager to please everyone (its similar but different to Jupiter energy). This over-attachment to the physical or sensorial realm means that its hard for them to transcend beyond it to attain true spiritual liberation. They can never fully let go because its very scary to be cut off that way. Its like floating in space, nothing to hold on to, no gravity, nothing to fall on, you can't stay still, its all very disorienting.
The reason Ketu is considered inauspicious is because it causes extreme detachment from everything. These natives don't have a strong sense of self, they feel themselves dissolve almost and they're always wandering in search of something to connect to. This complete lack of attachment to anything material or concrete means that these natives lack grounding. In order to care about something you have to be firmly rooted in reality and Ketuvians struggle with this because they're never fully here. They may intellectually understand or support social causes but its a torso without a head, which means they dont have the energy to be committed to sustaining interest in anything. They're the type of people who go through a lot of different "phases". One can only transcend if one is connected to life in the first place, these natives aren't. It DOES make spiritual understanding easier and Ketu is considered one of the most spiritual planets but it is difficult to be rooted or grounded in this or be disciplined about it because like I said Ketu is detached. They inherently understand certain spiritual truths but its very rare (unless other positive placements are present) for these natives to fully immerse themselves in spiritual pursuits.
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(table by me😎hehe)
Its very interesting to me that none of the Nodal naks have the purushartha ("motivation") of Moksha (liberation). All 6 naks are evenly split between Artha, Kama & Dharma.
This again points to how even though Nodal influence helps one grasp spiritual concepts better and naturally embody certain spiritual truths, these natives are not motivated by it.
But often what happens is that these natives are unable to enjoy or benefit from their successes. Their lives are full of ups and downs. The shadowy nature of the planets and the fact that the lack of physical existence of these planets creates a very "boundary less" energy that makes them susceptible to every kind of influence, good and bad.
Pierce Brosnan- Ardra Moon
Pierce Brosnan’s hardships pretty much started at the very beginning. Born into a poor family in rural Ireland, he was swiftly abandoned by his father, who he would only go on to meet once. His mother was forced to send him to live with his grandparents while she worked as a nurse in England, then his aunt and uncle, and then onto a boarding house. His mother visited twice a year until he could move to England at age 11, at which point he became the focus of school bullies.
In 1980, Brosnan married Cassandra Harris and adopted the 3 children of her late-husband, adding one more to the mix for good measure. But in 1991, Cassandra died in his arms after a 4 year battle with ovarian cancer, which would later go on to take the life of their 41 year old daughter Charlotte in 2013. By then, he had become estranged from his son Chris, who had a major drug problem resulting in fights, thefts, and 2 drunk-driving crashes in 2 years. The crashes may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Brosnan had already narrowly avoided losing his son Sean at 13, after Sean’s cousin drunkenly drove off a 200-foot cliff. In 2015, the $18-million Malibu home he lived in caught fire and sustained $1 million in damages.
Kelsey Grammar, Shatabhisha Sun, Mars in Ashwini, Ketu in Ardra
Kelsey Grammer’s troubles started early in life, with his parents splitting up when he was just two years old. His mother’s parents took them in, and helped raise Kelsey until he was 12, when his grandfather died of cancer. The following year, his father was murdered by a home intruder who had started a fire, all in front of his new family.
Then in 1975, Grammer’s 18 year old sister Karen was abducted, raped, and murdered by four men who left her for dead. Sadly, Karen had enough strength to make it to a nearby house, where bloody handprints revealed she was attempting to ring the door. The house was empty. Kelsey identified his sister’s body one week later. 2 years later, both of his half-brothers died in a scuba diving accident.
Shockingly, Grammer has appeared at the parole hearings of the last remaining member of the gang who killed his sister. In 2014, he spoke directly to the killer at the hearing, stating “You could not have come to a better person in the world than me to advocate for someone who has made some bad choices. I accept your apology. I forgive you. However, I cannot give your release my endorsement. To give that a blessing would be a betrayal of my sister’s life.
Nicki Minaj- Mula Stellium (Mercury, Venus & Ketu)
Throughout her childhood, Minaj had to contend with her abusive, drug-addicted father, who would regularly beat her mother, punch holes in the walls, get arrested, and sell their possessions for drug money. At one point, he attempted to kill her mother by lighting the house on fire. Despite all this, the pair are still together, and Dad apparently isn’t too happy when she tells that story. To this, she says “It’s the price you pay when you abuse drugs and alcohol. Maybe one day your daughter will be famous and talk to every magazine about it, so think about that, dads out there who want to be crazy.” Nicki is currently married to a paedophile and convicted rapist so there's that as well.
Terrence Howard, Mula Moon, Ashwini Venus conjunct Saturn
Terrence Howard suffered physical abuse not only at the hands of his father, but his mother as well. When he was two, he witnessed his father stab a man to death, for which he was convicted of manslaughter. His mother raised him until his father was released, at which point they divorced, and he was sent to live with his grandparents. At age 16, Howard had himself legally emancipated, moved to New York, and lived off welfare while he tried to make it as an actor. While that was undoubtedly one of the hardest decisions he will ever make, it seems it was the right one.
Jennifer Hudson, Shatabhisha Moon
In 2008, Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Donnerson (57) and her brother, Jason (29) were shot to death by her estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour. Hudson's nephew, Julian (7), was reported missing, but found three days later dead of multiple gunshot wounds.
Roy Orbison, Ashwini Sun, Jupiter in Mula & Ketu in Ardra
In 1966, Roy Orbison's wife, Claudette Frady, was killed when the couple were riding motorcycles. She was hit by a semi truck and killed instantly. Just two years later, Orbison's house burned down, killing two of his three sons. In 1973, his older brother, Grady, was killed in an auto accident while traveling to spend thanksgiving with Orbison.
Shania Twain, Magha Sun, Mars in Swati She was born into poverty with five siblings in rural Canada. Throughout her childhood, she endured and witnessed abuse to her mother from her stepfather, who lived with the family. Aside from the abuse, her family often didn't have money to have food for lunch or shoes for the winter. Even more tragic, her parents were killed in a car accident when she was 22 years old, and Twain began singing gigs to provide for her siblings. She told Oprah Winfrey in a sit-down interview, "Coming from where I came from, it was unimaginable to ever be wealthy. That was just too far out of my reach." She then went on to become one of the best selling female pop and country artists of all time.
Ashley Judd, Ashwini Sun & Mercury, Magha Jupiter & Ascendant
This actress comes from a famous family, with both her mother and half-sister being country music artists. Judd’s parents divorced when she was four, and she moved all around the southern United States while her mother sought success, attending over a dozen schools. Judd is the survivor of three sexual assaults, and one of these awful instances resulted in an unwanted pregnancy, which Judd terminated. The harmful treatment didn’t stop there. Judd alleges that she was also sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein, whom she later sued.
Christina Aguilera, Mula Sun
Christina’s father Fausto worked for the US Army, meaning that the family moved around a lot, even going as far as Japan. On top of this lack of stability, her father emotionally and physically abused her. Her parents divorced when Aguilera was six, and she subsequently became estranged from her father. Aguilera used music to escape her turbulent home life, and her talent was obvious from a young age. This talent took her far, and she is now one of the highest-selling artists in the history of music.
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Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Princess Soraya, Ardra Stellium (sun, mercury & venus)
Soraya was his favourite wife and supposedly his "true love", but since she was infertile and he had no sons from his other marriage, he had to divorce her to marry another woman, Farah Pahlavi, Ardra Moon, Magha Rising (who did end up giving him 2 sons out of 4 children). Soraya lived in Paris following their divorce and did fall in love again but she did not live a very happy life (her partner died in a plane crash). Farah Pahlavi's reign as Queen was cut short by the Iranian revolution following which both Reza & Farah were exiled from their own country, they lived in many places, Reza passed away 2 years into exile and Farah has since lived in obscurity in the United States. 2 out of her 4 children committed suicide and it is widely assumed that the family has gone broke.
Tragedy can happen to anyone and no nakshatra or planet will protect or prevent it but Rahu influence creates sudden gains and losses. What is quickly gained is also quickly lost. This is why Rahu is deeply connected to entertainment because not only is the entertainment industry entirely illusory, it also does not guarantee anything. You're a glorified freelancer basically. If you're not wise, you can lose everything in minutes. There is so much temptation all around you, you're surrounded by so many false promises and its very easy to lose yourself in all of it. We often see celebrities and idolize their easy lives but very very very few get to be stars their whole lives and live lives of convenience and comfort. For 90& of people its a very scary, tragic, difficult experience of immense highs and lows.
Nodal success feels dissatisfactory because Nodal people are unable to ground themselves in anything solid (unless other aspects that can do this are present) its very very easy for them to lose themselves in Maya or to be so completely detached that they do the necessary "maintenance" work that it takes to be a fully involved human being in anything.
Many say that the reason Farah Pahlavi's life was so tragic was because she took Princess Soraya's rightful place and Soraya's sadness had "cursed" Reza & Farah's marriage. that's stuff of urban myth but don't you think its interesting that a woman who wasn't of noble birth, rose to the ranks of Queen at the age of 21, lived a life of luxury very few can even conceive of and produced 2 male heirs!! which is all that the King wanted🙄🙄but ultimately none of it mattered? Reza having an "heir" made no difference because the Iranian Revolution overthrew the monarchy, they had to leave their palace, their luxuries, their maids and servants and every kind of comfort behind to live like nobodies in exile. They watched their treasury grow smaller and smaller year after year and obviously, no one was used to "working" so nobody got a job to take care of themselves or the others (I mean Farah and her 4 kids btw). They can never go back to their homeland or regain what was once lost. They're in a position that very few (other exiled royals) can relate to. They are socially and culturally isolated. All of these are Nodal themes.
Another Princess with nodal placements and a similarly tragic life is Princess Diana, Ardra Sun & Mercury with Moon conjunct Ketu
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There are many royals who've lived more moderate lives or less tragic lives. Having it all and losing it all is a very Nodal theme.
It reminds me of SUGA's Interlude by Halsey (Swati stellium) where she sings:
I been trying all my life To separate the time In between the having it all And giving it up, yeah (Hey) I wonder what's in store If I don't love it anymore (Hey) Step between the having it all And giving it up, yeah (Hey)
Success is a very illusory experience for these natives. Its like trying to build sandcastles on the shore. I am by no means suggesting that Nodal people can't be successful, just that if they depend on "success" to give their life meaning, they're setting themselves up for failure. You ruin anything you singlehandedly obsess over, its important to know when to stop, when to withdraw.
These natives tend to go to extremes just to feel something
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Zayn Malik- Shatabhisha Rising and Gigi Hadid- Ashwini Sun & Rising
idk anything about their sex life together but if we're to go by the songs then its 👀 giving bdsm
After that horrendous Revati video that Claire did years ago (and has deleted since I think) people associate BDSM, sexual deviancy and all around freakish behaviour with Revatis but you know who is actually crazy in bed? Nodal people
pornography impacts the brain much like an addictive drug by triggering ever-increasing amounts of dopamine. Over time, the brain builds up a tolerance to the excess dopamine and requires either more access or more extreme content (or sometimes both) to achieve that same level of perceived pleasure. In short, when viewing pornography, your brain gets less pleasure while wanting more, often causing desensitization and an escalation in behavior.
Kanye West, Venus & Mars in Ashwini
Kanye West's first encounter with sexual desire came during early childhood, fueling a dependency on sex that would set in during adulthood. “My dad had a Playboy left out at age 5 and it’s affected almost every choice I made for the rest of my life," West told Elle in 2019. "From age 5 till now, having to kick the habit and it just presents itself in the open like it's OK and I stand up and say, ‘No, it's not OK.’” The singer also credited his faith in God with helping him overcome his struggles. James Franco, Ashwini Sun
Actor James Franco developed an addiction to sex while he was recovering from an addiction to alcohol. On The Jess Cagle Podcast, he admitted to sleeping with students who were attending an acting school he previously ran. “It’s such a powerful drug,” he said. “I got hooked on it for 20 more years. The insidious part of that is that I stayed sober from alcohol all that time.” Since 2016, Franco has been in recovery from sex addiction and continues to work towards a healthy lifestyle.
Billie Eilish, Mula Stellium (Sun, mercury & ketu)
Billie Eilish went through her own struggles with pornography addiction after viewing her first pornographic video at only 11 years old. In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, the "Bad Guy" singer said she used to watch porn to feel like "one of the guys," but has since distanced herself from it entirely. "I think it really destroyed my brain and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn,"
Charlie Sheen, Mula Moon
he is a pretty well known sex addict and sexual assaulter :/
Michael Douglas, Mula Moon
He's been candid about his struggles with alcohol and sex addiction. Michael even went so far as to say that his throat cancer was caused by performing oral sex on so many women.
Every good thing can be "bad" if its used as a coping mechanism and this includes sex.
Ketuvians are like black holes that absorb all the light, they have to suck everything in. They absorb easily but they don't feel rooted in anything beyond a short period of time. many say that Nodal natives have no moral compass or that they're thrill chasers or that they're not "good people" but honestly Nodal energies are just really hard to master. some people turn it into art, or work or something else where they can channel their obsessive energies fully without holding back. compartmentalizing things is hard for these natives so its important to have areas where you can go all out whilst exercising some modicum of boundary or balance in others.
Maladaptive daydreaming is another big struggle for Nodal people. they're also prone to nihilism and cynicism because they can't enjoy life in the same way as they need a lot of stimulation (they're desensitized to ordinary levels of stimulation of any kind). This means they struggle to find meaning in life. Apathy is their natural state of being. Its just hard to care because in order to care you have to be firmly rooted which Nodal people are not.
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This is a quote by Werner Herzog, Ardra Moon who is a filmmaker known for his nihilism and scepticism.
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Dos Passos did not have any major placements in any Nodal naks save for his Mars in Mula and Rahu in Shatabhisha but I thought his quote by him really explained things
The real danger of Nodal influence is the indifference and apathy that its natives experience. But Nodal influence is such that you have no place in reality, you exist in the shadows, you live behind the curtain, when your whole life is one long tunnel its hard to "care" or be immersed enough to fully take in their feelings. Nodal natives experience emotional impermanence which means that if you do not actively see proof of or feel a particular emotion, you believe it does not exist. they have to consistently see "proof" of your love for them to believe you. they seldom believe that the feelings others have for them are "real". they think they are the only constant in their life.
its hard for these natives to be passive and consume something without interacting with it. Moon dominants thrive in passivity whereas Rahuvians need to become one with that thing to truly experience it. Ketu also craves this sort of complete union but its different since Ketu pulls you into themselves whereas Rahu wants to pull themselves into you.
Nodal influence creates natives with a very nebulous self-perception and identity. They do not know who they are, they are a mystery even to themselves. Do you ever talk to a guy and think that he has no personality because its hard for him to list favourites or describe what he likes or dislikes etc? He probably has Ketuvian influence. Ketu people try on new aesthetics/personalities like its a makeover game, for a couple of months they'll have a hippie phase, now they're emo, later they're into retro glam or whatever. they like to try on different personas to see which one they like the best, i know this sounds kind of creepy?? but its truly because Ketu natives lack identity and rely on external things to give them a sense of self. This is why they're very uninvolved in the lives of others. They cannot give themselves too much because they dont know enough about themselves to "give" to others.
In vedic mythology, at the beginning of time when the devas and asuras churned the ocean of milk to extract from it the amrita (the elixir of immortality) Mohini, the female avatar of Vishnu, started distributing amrita to the devas. However, one of the asuras, Svarbhanu, sat in the row of devas and drank the amrita. Surya and Chandra noticed him and they informed Mohini; however, by that time, Svarbhanu had already become immortal. Vishnu, as Mohini, cut off Svarbhanu's head with his discus. Svarbhanu, henceforth referred to as Rahu and Ketu, could not die, but his head was separated from his body; his head came to be known as Rahu, while his body came to be known as Ketu. 
Pertaining to this origin story, I have noticed how people with Nodal influence seldom benefit from "nourishing energy". This could mean they were neglected as children, lacked a good family environment, were abused or taken advantage of by others in their life (all of this is also subject to other placements in ones chart). Svarbhanu was a demon who temporarily became immortal because of a mistake. Like I mentioned with fame and success before, these natives struggle to "maintain" what they achieve, especially because their early lives were marked with deprivation of some sort. This could also mean absent parent figures. But there is a sense of "you shouldn't have been where you were".
Rahu energy manifests often as a very manic hyperactive energy
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Ranveer Singh is the best example I could think of. He is known in the media for being an eccentric, hyperactive, loud cokehead lmao
He has Ardra Sun, Shatabhisha Moon
Ketu energy is more detached, more reserved, still weird and chaotic but overall less "hyper"
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This interview with Lady Gaga is a good example, usually the people being interviewed are walking or moving around and trying to pretend its not scripted but she just sat there for the whole thing lol
Gaga has both Rahu & Ketu influence
She has Rahu in Ashwini in 1h as well as Swati Moon conjunct Ketu
i know i said last time ill make a post about the positive manifestations of nodal influence but its gonna have to wait a little longer 😬😬these are just some things i observed and i thought i should share them. hope this was informative.
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indigo-casson · 11 months ago
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something that i've been thinking about lately is the parallels between star wars: andor/rogue one and tamora pierce's trickster's queen duology. primarily because the star wars brainrot is real and the tamora pierce obsession is forever, but also because they are kind of both tonal and thematic departures from their main 'verses in some similar ways?
in both the star wars verse and the tortall verse, the majority of the media has focused on one individual (or a small group of individuals) who make a profound difference in the world. Whether that's alanna singlehandedly finding the dominion jewel/becoming king's champion/making way for female knights, or luke skywalker blowing up the death star, or daine and numair going to the divine realms during the immortals war, or anakin skywalker becoming a sith and dooming the republic, most of the original material has seen battle and political change as something that is affected by either an actual chosen one or simply a single very plucky and well-placed individual.
trickster's queen and andor, however, really look at rebellion as something that has to be done by a diverse group of flawed people who work together despite their differences. mon mothma knows that her role is raising money. ulasim, chenaol, and the other members of the raka conspiracy each take their individual roles in the rebellion, and recognize that even though they might not want to work with aly or the luarin nobility, they need their skills and influence to make it happen.
both stories also show rebellion as extremely costly and something that requires making tough calls. nobody has their hands clean by the end of a civil war. notably, trickster's queen explicitly narrowly avoids having the protagonists kill a group of 5 year olds. luthen is ready to kill cassian when he becomes a liability, and cassian does kill lots of people, including some allies whose only "crime" is being susceptible to giving up rebellion secrets.
in rogue one, we don't like davits draven because he orders jyn's father killed, and that just feels wrong. jyn is our heroine and it upsets her, so emotionally it's distressing. but of course, draven and cassian and jyn are all working towards the same goal. draven did what he had to--galen erso is a liability as long as he's alive. dove and sarai's little brother elsren has to die because he's a direct heir to the throne, ahead of his sisters. it doesn't matter that he's five and totally innocent. as long as he lives, a luarin has a greater claim to the throne than a raka, and as long as that's true, the rebellion can't succeed.
in the star wars original trilogy, people for sure die! i'm not trying to say that they don't, but it's definitely not something that's shown affecting our protagonists on a deep, emotional level. they're all side characters, or else they come back as force ghosts. the prequels are uh. fucking tragic, but at the end of it, almost all of our heroes make it out. even the casualties of the war are droids vs clones, which is to say, totally interchangeable cannon fodder on both sides!
the number of character deaths in the tortall 'verse is fewer, probably because it's primarily created for middle grades, but even when people do die, they're either demonstrably bad people or minor enough characters that the emotional resonance isn't the same.
by contrast, at the end of trickster's queen, almost the majority of the main conspirators die in battle, not to mention those who don't even make it to the final conflict. at the end of rogue one, all of our heroes are dead, and people aren't exactly making it out of andor s1 in good shape either. more than half of the aldhani team dies on that mission.
I could go on further, but I think my main takeaway is that once you've invested a lot of time and attention and fandom into a 'verse, you have a lot more leeway to tell different kinds of stories. tamora pierce could not have written trickster's choice until after the values and world of tortall were so clearly established, and if she had, it wouldn't have had the impact that it did. similarly, part of what makes rogue one/andor so striking is the fact that it is such a departure from the preexisting values and story format of star wars.
for every chosen one we see in media, there are hundreds of people working behind the scenes to make their big, death star destroying moment possible. the only way to improve society is through collective action, and part of that is that everyone's hands are going to get dirty. i think lots of people want to imagine that they could be like luke skywalker and swoop in 2 weeks before the battle of yavin and become a hero, but the fact of the matter is that that's not how the world works! war requires us to do things that would ordinarily go against our values, but in the context of a drawn out, bloody, thankless battle, maybe we decide the ends justify the means.
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alexxncl · 7 months ago
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‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 32 SPOILERS‼️
normal and hard
masterlist | all lessons | season 2 | lesson 31 | lesson 33
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i know i said i like angst and this is exactly what i meant by angst but OUCH ????
and ik i've (probably) said this about satan but i wish they'd show and tell levi how much they care about him to his face, like it'd at least help his self-deprecating and self-loathing tendencies be pushed to the back of his mind at least for a little bit yk
everyone needs a bit of reassurance, especially when they're so deep in a cycle of self-hatred that their default setting is to think the worst of themselves and believe that everyone around them thinks the same
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also i feel like it's pretty obvious that levi and lotan are in the flood equivalent of the "eye of the storm" right? RIGHT???
he's completely submerged, which means he's still at least near the HOL, which means he's still in his room in his tub-bed right ?????
also, jealousy and envy are two different things, though they're very similar. jealousy is the threat of losing someone or something, evny is wanting what someone else has. we've seen levi act on his envy all the time, but the fear of losing mc forever is something he's never had to deal with until now. imagine they left without saying goodbye?? then he'd be envious. if the avatar of envy jealous is this bad, the avatar of envy being being envious is realm ending
also, this is the first time we've seen levi use his powers to this extent in the entirety of both games if i remember correctly. have we seen mammon and lucifer do the same ??? imagine what that would look like...
there's already a power gap between levi and mams, but the power gap between lucifer and the rest of the brothers is immeasurable. like lucifer ripped 2 of his wings off and birthed the 4th most powerful of 7 and is STILL the most powerful of all of them by a long shot. if this is what happens when levi's almost completely acting on and engulfed by his sin, what would it look like if lucifer did the same? or worse?
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maybe i'm getting ahead of myself and thinking too hard, but what if levi's little d is lotan? like what if he can shapeshift or smth???
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see now i'm really thinking his little d is lotan, bc how else would they teleport from the castle back to levi's room in the HOL and be underwater while being able to talk if lotan/no. 3 hadn't hadn't bought them there ???
"consumed by a snake" or whatever the fortune was, what if this is jonah and the whale type shit ???
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SOBBING
ok so i was right about him being in the HOL, but not his room. he's in mc's room from the current timeline
"our love transcends time" or whatever the login screen for the game's opening is, this is a physical and spiritual manifestation of that. they love mc so much that even in different universes, they still feel an indescribable and irreplaceable connection to them. even in his darkest mental state, levi still seeks mc's presence, or at least the remnants of it, for comfort. the same can be said for the others
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HE INITIATED THE KISS I'M GONNA CRY
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while yes, he did kiss them to save them, the fact that he was able to push away his anxiety to save someone he cares about with no hesitation is proof that he's also deserving of love and affection and care regardless of what he thinks about himself. and the fact that he's still blaming himself for having feelings (even though the intensity of those feelings did end up flooding the devildom) makes me so sad
i just want him to be happy and love himself as much as he loves his brothers and mc and as much as they love him :(
he's getting there though, and i love how the devs take time with exploring how difficult it is to break yourself out of such a detrimental mental state not just for levi, but for everyone
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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 4 months ago
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I am aware that Miss Raven is her own character and not a Yuusona, but I wanted to ask— are there any similarities between you (admin) and her? I personally find myself putting at least some small similarities on my ocs even if they're practically the opposite from me, so I'm always curious to know >.<
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I think we all put ourselves in our works to some extent! Could be a little, or could be a lot. It’s a natural consequence of creating; it’s just easier for us to pull from what we know, or to at least use that as a starting-off point.
As for me and Miss Raven, hmm 🤔 I think we’re similar in that we’re both very curious, but in different ways. Miss Raven hasn’t experienced a lot of the human realm (since she was a wild animal for most of her life), so she’s eager to try out things we consider mundane. I’m curious too, but in a more hyper-specific scientific (and sometimes morbid) manner. For example, I often think about how beastmen/merpeople/fae anatomy and physiology work, or wonder about what the logistics for J word’s book 4 betrayal revenge plan look like. Miss Raven is more full of juvenile wonder while I’m over here calculating how many megawatts Sebek’s voice can produce 💡
Another big thing we have in common the struggle to express ourselves. Again though, it’s for different reasons. I’m not very good at emoting, especially when I talk about myself (which is why I frequently use emojis to help indicate what I mean)… It’s what I was taught, and this is pretty normalized within my family and culture. Miss Raven is what you may call a “tsundere”. This developed from a betrayal she experienced, which then snowballed into a distrust of others. She tries to act mature as defense mechanism, so she comes off as abrasive or bluntly professional at times. And, of course, she has that curse which discourages her from truly being vulnerable with her loved ones. For her, locking up her true feelings is a survival mechanism. For me, it’s just how I was raised my whole life.
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chronic-shinposter · 3 months ago
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who the fuck is this guy?? (daima speculation post)
Because I am desperately clawing at information and checking the news every 10 seconds compulsively, I thought I'd put my energy into speculating what Dragon Ball Daima is going to bring us because oh my god i'm so excited So my object of my interest is this person, who is very clearly the same species as the Supreme Kais. Here are my very cool, totally high quality screenshots (they are not)
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The safe assumption is that this is a Makaioshin, a Demon Supreme Kai, which I think is likely true and likely the route they're gonna go. All fingers point to Goku and Shin's adventure taking them to the demon realm, and the demon realm is also a topic we've seen Shin have a ton of knowledge in (some reasons unfortunate)
BUT WHO IS THIS??????
So okay I have 4 theories, some I believe a bit more than others. insert my very cool art that I spent several hours on (i did not) ---
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1.) The person in the trailer is Shin's twin or sibling and poses as his natural opposite. This is one of the simpler theories and also my favorite. It would be a lot of fun for the narrative, because it brings a lot of personal weight as to why Shin would want to be a part of this journey and also possibly give some insight as to why the majin/folks from the demon realm seem to have it out for the Supreme Kais so badly anyway. We know that this person likely holds a grudge from the Buu Saga ordeal, but the contempt for the Supreme Kais seemed to predate Bibidi and Buu invading the Sacred Land of the Kais. It would be interesting if there is family drama and jealousy is a factor, maybe this person was meant to be a Supreme Kai's apprentice anyway but Shin got it instead. It could be Shin's fault that they're in the demon realm at all. The possibilities are endless! (Also I would really love on-screen lore about their species)
I also really like this theory because Beerus also has a twin brother and the design differences I find very amusing. Also it would track that Beerus's twin hates Beerus because one time he ate a cake or whatever, but Shin's twin wants to eradicate everything Shin knows and loves because he looked at him wrong or something ---
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2.) There's some interdimensional timeline bullshit happening and the person on the screen is actually a Shin fusion. I feel like there'd have to be a lot of plot shenanigans for this to work, but the idea that this person is actually a fusion has been thrown around some and I think it's neat. Most notable to me is that they look VERY SIMILAR to Shin but with some key differences, mostly that he's tall and has a different nose. Eye shape and hair are pretty similar and I also found it interesting that the coat is very similar to Shin's palette in Super, though with sleeves/pants/boots matching Shin's Daima palette. It is totally possible this is just a coincidence, especially since Kibito has pretty much the same palette as Shin in Daima but they're not connected at all
So, narratively, what would this do? The timeline placement for Daima is a big point of debate because we're given conflicting information: the two biggest points people point to is Shin and Kibito being defused which only happens around Battle of Gods, and Chi-Chi and Bulma's hairstyles which we only see after Buu Saga in DBZ. It is extremely likely that Daima is canon especially because Akira Toriyama was heavily involved in the story and characters, but how it ties in to the canon right now is a big question mark. It's totally possible that a very huge fuckup happened to cause a "fall from grace" that couldn't be fixed with dragon balls, maybe even the very same adventure that Goku and Shin are on at that point in the anime, and the character we see here is trying to prevent it while working in the demon realm. It's possible he's not actually a villain either and has multiple motives. He shows contempt after seeing Shin on screen, possibly lamenting past actions. I don't really think this theory is that likely (I think a lot of the similarities can just be explained with someone who knows Shin), but it goes down a thread that I think is pretty cool. ---
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3.) Entirely new character with no connection to Shin other than mirrored occupations. I think this is the most boring option and probably also the most likely one. I'm down for new characters but I just find them having a more personal connection would be way more fun. Still, he seems to hate Shin (and it's likely that Shin knows him) so it'll be interesting to see what's going on there!
Even if this theory is the one that's the most likely, I still think it'll be a great time and I think would still open an avenue for us to learn a lot more about the Supreme Kais, the canon Demon Supreme Kais, and the demon realm as a whole. I really hope they can deal with this in a great way that doesn't cause any imbalance with the God of Creation/God of Destruction stuff ---
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4.) Shin and this character are LITERALLY two halves of the same person who changed in their environments, kind of like Kami and Demon King Piccolo. I feel like this isn't the most likely route either because it would kind of dampen Kami and Piccolo's whole thing AND it would make no sense because Zamasu is an evil little bastard and their species is shown to have their own morals/values on a spectrum of good/evil, but I think this opens up an interesting can of worms that maybe the Supreme Kai's species can split themselves in order to fulfill certain roles for the universe (considering they can also split entire planets/duplicate life)
No one I know of has talked about this and it's driving me crazy but I think there's going to be a subplot about Demon King Piccolo for specifically for two reasons: 1.) BLUE DRAGON BALLS 2.) This screenshot
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WHO THE FUCK IS THIS DUDE????? THAT LOOKS LIKE A NAMEKIAN TO ME Also he's DEMON KING Piccolo, he was the demon king (I assume) before Dabura, who our mystery character likely served as well. However, it's also totally possible I'm speaking out of my ass and Demon King(tm) is just a nickname for Kami's other half pre-our Piccolo, but I think that would be kind of lame so I like to think he was an actual demon king.
This is to say, maybe Kami learned how to expel all the evil from himself by seeking guidance of the other gods, and it's something that the Supreme Kais have done before and kind of need to do to keep tabs on the demon realm. OR this is just Namekian stuff and I desperately want to combine lore. You decide!
It is certainly fun to think about though! I think even if this route is possible, it doesn't mean that Supreme Kais are always going to be inherently good; their experiences shape them, and we also see this happen with Kami's evil half in the newly reborn Piccolo. Characters born to be evil do not necessarily stay evil, and characters born to be good do not necessarily stay good. Even so, I think this route would kind of fuck a lot of balance that the story tries to establish already so I think the Namekian stuff will probably be separate from who this character is. Still, I wanted to throw this out there
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IN CONCLUSION... I dunno I still think the twin route is the most fun but I think there are really interesting plot threads that could happen. I feel like Daima will be lore heavy even though it's framed as a lighthearted adventure, so I hope to learn a lot. I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but when news is scarce I can't help but speculate the shit out of what we have. Feel free to let me know what y'all think!
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tokiro07 · 4 months ago
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Still thinking about past Zeldas getting their own games
Obviously not all of them have enough going on to really warrant their own games, though that shouldn't stop anyone from giving them something to do, but which ones lend themselves to getting new stories the best?
Ocarina of Time is a pretty easy one with a seven-year gap for her to train herself up as Sheik. Sheik is extremely popular and has a lot of demand for her own game, even getting optioned for one by Retro once, so it's both the easiest to pitch and seems like the most likely to happen
Wind Waker's Tetra is similar, being super popular and having a large gap in her history that could easily house any number of adventures. Tetra spent who knows how many years at sea, and could easily have fought all kinds of monsters or discovered all kinds of treasures. We could even get her and Link finding the land that will become New Hyrule, defeating some kind of evil before its founding, like Malladus perhaps
Skyward Sword also provides ample opportunity with Zelda going on her own adventure one step ahead of Link at pretty much all times, though literally "Skyward Sword's levels but playing as Zelda" doesn't sound like a very worthwhile story. If they can find a way to keep it fresh, I'm all for it, but it may be better to have her exploring the Surface after the people of Skyloft begin migrating down to it
Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom has a gap between games, while also having the events of the Imprisoning War, though neither seems much like something they're interested in continuing to explore since we got to see so much of it already. It might be easier to just continue exploring the Depths or the lands surrounding Hyrule to get a deeper understanding of the Zonai's culture and historical impact
Pretty much all of the other Zeldas weren't very active in their own stories and don't leave a lot to the imagination, so any stories involving them would definitively have to be post-game rather than mid- or pre-game. Of these, the most interesting candidates would likely be:
Twilight Princess's Zelda investigating the Twilight Realm and looking for a way to reunite Link and Midna to repay them for their help in saving Hyrule. This could give us an opportunity to see more of the Twilight Realm and understand its ecology and culture while also giving us more insight into Midna herself. Personally I'd rather have a Midna game than a Twilight Zelda game, but I have a harder time seeing that pitch going through
Link Between Worlds, same thing, but Hilda and Lorule; Zelda may go back to check on how reviving their Triforce worked out and may end up facing some new villain who's trying to steal it. Again, I'd like to play a Hilda (or Ravio) game, but I'll accept any excuse to spend more time in Lorule and expand on its history and it's version of the Triforce; does it symbolize different traits, does it have its own goddesses, what?
Adventure of Link's Zelda I is definitely not a well-remembered or beloved character, but I think that the story angle of a princess waking up after countless years to find her descendant has taken the throne provides an excellent opportunity for characterization. Perhaps she feels out of touch with her kingdom having been away for so long, or maybe she feels unneeded since there's already a reigning princess? A search to find herself and possibly a confrontation with the spirit of the wizard who cursed her would make for a great plot, especially if they can find a way to incorporate the other Zelda like having the player control both with different abilities to help differentiate them. Unlikely, but certainly the most novel and the one I personally want to see most
Spirit Tracks's Zelda returned to her body in the end, presumably removing her ability to control Phantoms, so it's harder to see how she'd get to go on further adventures. However, it was stated that Byrne would reincarnate sooner or later, so that would at least provide a story opportunity even if new mechanics would be necessary
Minish Cap, Four Swords, and Four Swords Adventures don't really give Zelda much reason to go on an adventure post-game, but again, neither did Link to the Past, and if I'm right Echoes of Wisdom is branching off of a hypothetical ending where Ganon took Link with him as he was defeated, so I'm sure any number of excuses could be given for them
Minish Cap's Zelda had the most personality, but FSA's story is a little easier to see continuing, since Vaati or Ganon could well be revived again afterwards. Still, they're both pretty weak as inspirations for new stories, even if more Vaati content would be wholeheartedly appreciated
It's not very surprising that the biggest name Zelda games have the clearest routes for expanding on their stories, but since the opportunities still exist in all of the others, I would hope that Nintendo would try to do more than just the most obvious options
Or they might just make up new Zeldas and eras entirely without any regard for the timeline or previously undeveloped story segments, that seems like something they'd do
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the-owl-house-takes · 9 months ago
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The ask about racism in TOH made me realize, the show really is kinda racist?
Even tho the main character is afro latina, the crew is almost completely white. The one Black latina crew member (who Luz was named after, and who ✨inspired✨ the creator into making her afro latina) didn't even get to be a cultural consultant, let alone a writer. Instead, she was demoted to storyboard supervisor (AKA correcting other's drawings to make them in model, one of the LEAST creative roles of the bunch).
Then, there's the characters and setting. The demon realm "should" be a place of horror and awe, full of weird and bizarre creatures. And yet, all the important characters are human adiacent and far removed from any demonic trait. Even a supposed demon was stripped of his demonity (?) once it was time for him to become important.
Demons are, effectively, treated as an underclass by the narrative. Their only use is as spooky decorations, unnamed background characters, or comedic one off villains. They're never allowed to be complex, compelling or interesting. Even though the whole premise is about exploring a demon world full of different kinds of people, only the humanoids (AKA the people most similar to "us") are worthy of the show's time.
In a similar (but less obvious) vein, TOH excludes its POC characters from being actually important to the plot. Luz's cultural background is never properly explored outside of few background details and "speaking Spanish". Her being "afro" is never actually shown, being only mentioned outside the show. Her part in the big story, and her development, come much later than other characters, with a contrived time travel storyline.
Willow and Gus contribute very little to the overall story, and feel like network mandates. Gus especially gets overlooked all the time, inside and outside (post hoots, interviews) the show. His only few moments are overshadowed by some big character moments, like kisses.
Other POC characters are even more marginal (Raine, Darius). Meanwhile, Camila's characterization ping pongs all the time, before landing on "secret nerd all along" and hastly closing her arc.
Another way you can see the bias is in the world building. It should represent all of Earth's myths, but instead feels like reguegitated european fantasy. What about Willow being Korean? It doesn't get rep in the show since Korean culture never gets explored in any way. Just another informed attribute, a way to avoid the show saying "oh yeah she's not white she's... Asian" without putting the effort to actually represent Koreans (ik her va is Korean but Hunter's is Black... You shouldn't have to scroll imdb to find the rep).
And the show as a whole feels like this. It's "diverse" in a way that doesn't actually challenge the status quo, it shows different kinds of people but, at the end of the day, who gets the spotlight always falls into the same category of white/white passing, "good" looking, not too different in body frame, and aligned in values/behaviors to the norm.
TOH might pride itself for being "daring" because of the queer content... But it's a very "white" kind of queerness, only really welcoming to a very specific kind of person.
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qeireinier · 5 months ago
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I think what Original Luo Binghe did to Shen Jiu parallels what happened between Wei Wuxian and Wen Chao. Let me yap.
Look this might sound stupid to you but I just rewatched MDZS and I JUST saw some similarities with PIDW. After coming out of the Burial Mounds, WWX literally tortured WC before his death. The Burial Mounds is a place of literal torture and WWX went through HELL in it without his golden core. Because of what? Because of WC, he's the one who threw him into there.
It's an eye for an eye. WWX must've gotten his organs rearranged, bones crushed by constant attacks from walking corpses, eaten corpse fingers to survive, and many other horrors MXTX didn't mention. So WC SHOULD feel all of that, as payment for his sins to WWX and all other people he inflicted.
With LBG and SJ, the Endless Abyss is almost no different than Burial Mounds except it's festered with demonic instead of resentful energy (I think they're not really the same type?) and various types of beasts iirc. So even with his golden core, it's still harder for LBH because he barely knew how to avoid or fight them, where their weak spots are, etc. And instead of 3 months, it's 5 YEARS so it's enough time for his hatred for SJ to fester like a fairytale witch's soup. In the very beginning, he must've also gone through hell. Maybe the beasts ripped his limbs apart, stabbed his eyes, pulled his tongue out and only because of his Heavenly Demon blood that he recovered himself back (probably). It's very different from running away from resentful corpses because you KNOW just how to fight them off, even though it's just impossible for their number.
So, seeing LBH making SJ into a human stick doesn't surprise me too much. It's the case of an eye for an eye. No, it's still wrong, I'm not justifying it. I'm just making my analysis. THAT'S why it reminds me so much of WC's death.
Even both of the MCs have a demonic object in their hands, the Stygian Tiger Seal and Xin Mo. Both are untamable and capable of driving their holders insane. What differs our MC however—is that WWX has things to lose, and that's why he's often shown to be holding himself back from a killing spree. Hell, he's even the actual most righteous character in the novel.
While LBH doesn't have anything left to lose. He doesn't have a family, friends, all these wives and servants probably don't mean much on him. Also, his demon blood affects his mindset, giving his brain more "predatory instincts" as I'm gonna call it. Added with the fact that he spent more time in the Endless Abyss and how his mind had been corrupted by Xin Mo, LBH would pull a "No More Mr. Nice Guy, Heh >:)". That makes him not so kind as to give SJ the mercy of death. He probably wanted to keep SJ alive for 5 years or maybe forever til his brain finally decides "yep, that's it, go die or whatever idc anymore". Yeah, until BingggeMei extra happened and we could probably assume SJ's death is never gonna happen, but that's for another story nevermind.
However, it does mean that the latter won't hold himself back. The point where he crosses the line is when he burns down the CQMS, kills the Peak Lords, and even went so far as to merge the demonic and mortal realms. That's what differs him from WWX, so much. It's literally canonically said that he's not the nice kind of protag.
SO in conclusion—when I see people talking about how "SJ didn't deserve all that", I'm between agreeing and disagreeing. What LBG did to SJ is terribly inhumane, but that's to be expected from a demon emperor like him. Hey I'm a SJ stan, it doesn't mean my views are completely biased. Especially considering what LBG possibly went through in the Endless Abyss for five years as a mere disciple without a sword like Xuan Su.
I think this is why PIDW readers rooted for LBG, because the story was from his POV. Tragic MC, thrown into the pits of hell by his cruel master. Our perspective is widened through reading SV and we can see the tragic POV of SJ and so we start to root for him too. No, it doesn't mean that either of these 2 are completely right in their choices, the both of them are very flawed and they're trapped in this cycle of abuse, very harmful to the surroundings. We can't fully fault or justify them. Yes, they need therapists, perchance one hidden behind a very powerful barrier in case any of them decides to attack the poor therapist.
But this realization—the parallels between LBG&SJ and WWX&WC—just kind of amazes me. Okay, ted talk ends, thank you for surviving through, if you don't have any nice words to say please scroll away :(
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0aurelion-sol0 · 4 months ago
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(So before we start with this theory & new post of mine for a long time since my semi-hiatus, I want to repeat that I do not want any new informations about season 5 or anything related to it whether true or not, same for any leaks, set photos whether true not. I ESPECIALLY DO NOT WANT THOSE!!!!! or interviews that are the slightest bit too revealing UNLESS I haven't looked at it myself and even then, easy on any of these. I know something minor about this season & have seen two things about it but that's it, nothing more.
These theories & analyses might be proven wrong or false already or in the future but I don't care, I do this for fun & as a way to explore different possibilities about the story that can be interesting or could have been at least. I hope everyone understands this & will not be a party pooper towards me just to have a "GOTCHA!!!" moment... With that said, let's get into it, shall we ?)
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The Thessalhydra:
Back To The Future &... The Beginning.
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For this first post, I wanted to go back to season 1 as I found it was fitting to explore one of the earliest major fandom theories of Stranger Things since it's final season is on it's way.
"The Thessalhydra as the final threat from the Upside Down."
And while at first everyone at the end of Season 1 thought, obviously, that this creature would be the next threat in it's second season, the Mind Flayer poked it's head and said "not yet!", "I need to experiment with my minions first!" with a Vecna also slowly planning his own armageddon as well. And as much as I don't like him (& his season... 😒), he's here and he proves to be useful from time to time when it comes to theories or analyses because he still part of the show & can help up in terms of parallels, themes & plot.
But now, let's remember the last episode of season 1! The boys playing their new campaign about the Thessalhydra taking a similar turn to the one they did at the beginning of the first season (*wink wink*) & this time Will does a 14 (*wink wink*) & kills the Thessalhydra with a fireball. (*wink wink*)
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Now if this wasn't a tv show with multiple seasons, I would tell you that the boys obviously staged the whole thing for Will to win so that he can be happy and because they're all very nice friends & also not repeat the same game at risk of making him vanish again especially if the monster this time is the size of the Empire State Building, (sorry with the luck these characters have, I simply can't believe they can have a happy ending such as this one. WILL HAD UD SLUGS INSIDE HIS BODY, WTF GUYS???!!!) but this is a tv show with multiple seasons. And now, it has definitely become foreshadowing for what's to come.
Especially since in it's fourth season now, we basically have Nancy having an apocalyptic vision of Hawkins with a large creature which is describe by having a "gaping mouth".
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And if you look at her face here, she definitely did not find that thing beautiful in the slightest, though she is probably more terrified about the fact that she saw most of her family dead. 🤭
But would you look at that ?! What creature in ST fits that description ? Quite a lot actually but obviously you know which one I'm talking about, yes The Thessalhydra! And oh my god, look at what I've found on the Forgotten Realms Wiki:
"Thessalhydras were hideous and terrifying creatures. They had a large, reptilian body with a long tail, 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, which ended in a pair of large, sharp pincers. It had no head, instead eight hydra-like heads, each about 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length, surrounded a gaping mouth filled with teeth and acidic saliva."
Well well, after that, it's difficult to argue what else could that large creature be!
End of theory! Bye guys! Thank you for reading!
...
Except I also can do that... 😅 Because I have reason to believe that this future Thessalhydra is a creature we have seen before. One whose campaign mirrors another campaign from the same season.
Yes. I have reasons to believe that the Thessalhydra and The Demogorgon from Season 1 are one and the same.
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Do you remember this ?
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Of you course you remember this, what a stupid question. It's part of a series of trauma that affected us deeply as a fandom, for different reasons (at least for me) but it proves to be an even more important parallel than we originally thought.
I don't need to tell you about the thematic importance of the parallel or what it means for the characters, we've all already gone through that already, I am more interested in it's significance for the plot.
So El kills The Demogorgon & Henry the same way. By disintegrating them. But that action doesn't seem to end the same way for the both of them & El herself.
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What is interesting is that the three of them dissapear in some form, Henry into an Upside Down gate but ends up falling forever through the Hellscape (a different dimension than Dimension X/The Upside Down though likely connected, the same way that Dimension X & The Upside Down probably are the same thing but it's not fully confirmed yet.) before ending into Dimension X/The Upside Down in some way. And we all know what happens from here on out, at least what we know of it since Season 4.
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I have a theory for why he ended up there, what is the nature of that place and did not simply disintegrate like The Demogorgon who I also do not think simply disintegrated but we will not go fully through that in this post.
El though ends up in the Upside Down after being taken by the disintegrated part of the Demogorgon or by disintetrating herself (though it didn't really seem that way to me) which I think is probably because the Demogorgon used it's powers on her since he could open gates or send anyone to the UD in season 1. (We will also get into that but not in this post, same for why he was so different in Season 1, both physically and in the way he behaved.)
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But the Demogorgon, from what we saw simply disintegrated and we never heard or saw any significant clue of it's existence again. Which again leads me to believe, if we follow the logic of what happened to Henry & to El in some way, it is still alive, somewhere.
And I believe personally that it is in the Hellscape right now, and in the same way that Henry got electrocuted while free falling in that place which marked the start of it's transformation as Vecna, I think the same is happening to The Demogorgon and is slowly being transformed into the Thessalhydra.
I think that El when she disintegrate something, she sends them into the Hellscape which is connected to Dimension X/The Upside Down as some sort of passage for someone who didn't enter via a gate the "original" or "right" way per say. Because being launched into Dimension X/The Upside Down in a state or in a way such as this one could be fatal so it's some sort of transition in a way.
And while Henry technically went through a gate, he was disintegrated before it's opening & that gate couldn't last more than a few seconds which I think is a result of the barrier between the worlds not being thin enough. Plus I think El gave way more strength into Henry than she did the Demogorgon with her powers which in turn also opened a gate behind him.
So as a result, he went into the Hellscape as some sort of "safer" transition between the two dimensions since as we know, and I hope, no gate before that has been opened in Hawkins before.
And as for the Demogorgon, again I think it's a point of it fighting back against El & using it's own powers against her plus again El didn't seem to launch the same type of strength of her power as she did onto Henry since she was standing much closer to the Demogorgon than she did Henry while also using an important memory of hers to defeat him.
Now as to why we haven't seen that Demogorgon or Thessalhydra in ST again, I think it's because the Hellscape was connected to the original version of The Upside Down, Dimension X in a way that it's not anymore with The Upside Down because what happened November 6th, 1983 changed more than just the environment but also the workings of those dimensions since the barriers between the dimensions are now thinner.
So I see 3 possibilities for the Demogorgon, to me it is still free falling through the Hellscape being slowly turned into the Thessalhydra or somehow ended up in Dimension X instead which is still connected to The Upside Down but is seperate it's own plane in some way since The Mind Flayer still come from there or is in a version of The Upside Down that is still Dimension X outside of UD Hawkins.
But still, some things are still up for speculation for how exactly it all works out in the end.
As I said at the beginning of the post, you take Nancy's description and apply to other creatures in ST like the Meat Flayer/Spider Monster (whatever you wanna call it) of Season 3, a gaping mouth with multiple hydra-like heads who in a way also gets defeated by fireballs via Lucas and it's fireworks which we see Will throw with him but the Demogorgon also fits that description with it's own gaping mouth blooming like a flower whose petals could look like different mouths coming from it.
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And in a way, it would be ironic for The Demorgorn from season 1 to be The Thessalhydra because if we follow the boys' campaign, the very thing that took Will back then, that he couldn't defeat would also be the same thing he will defeat in it's final season as some sort of karmic consequence for The Demogorgon & The UD as a whole but also as a way to tie it's final season with it's first season in a more concrete way.
It started with Will and it will end with Will.
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writerfae · 6 months ago
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Okay! Here's the promised ask! (Idk if I'll get to everyone's parents, so sorry for everyone who gets left out)
Now, I don't know if you meant writing for them before they had kids, so this will probably be a mix
Starting off with Ranva and Milan, of course! (Their's will probably be the longest because... yeah)
Milan seeing Ranva for the first time and he's jaw drops, because look at her!
I think hearing about the time when Milan helps Ranva get away from the fae realm would be really interesting (plus baby Henry 🥺)
Ranva having the exact opposite problem of Henry, as in he had to adjust to the fae realm and her to the human realm (the parallels of these two kill me every day)
I'm actually really interested in the time before Aiden was born (as in they're already in the human realm, but he's not born yet), because we never hear about it
(or rarely)
Fenna and Cyrus
Ngl I keep thinking about modern au them, because cute baker Fenna is top tear!
Also, that thing you mentioned about Fenna holding Cyrus after their son died
Also, them just bickering 🥺
Hela's parents
I don't think I know a lot about her dad (or if I do, I forgot again)
And her mom looking for her, and her being mischievous is adorable ❤️
Now... I know very, very little about Maya's mom... so... sorry❤️
And meanwhile I want to come up with something fluffly for my guys but I've got nothing...
But listen 👏 (I think I made a post like this actually, but I was listening to the song again, so:)
Bendegúz: The soldier
Ákos: The poet
Endre: The king
Adél: The one who's singing
(Yes, I love going on rants about songs and my ocs. When I go on a rant about an Odette song that will be... well, you know what she's like🤣 there'll be emotions( but her playlist is one of the best)
Also, can you imagine Endre holding up Ákos to your ocs lion king style 🤣
Thanks, that’s so nice of you ^^
My initial thought was to write fluff for them as couples (with no kids) but since I have no actual plans for this god knows when I’ll even get around to do this I’m open for everything!
Milan was completely star struck when he met Ranva. Ranva’s sister noticed it first and told her. They were both giggling like crazy stealing glances at him stealing glances at Ranva xD and at one point he gathered his courage and really formally introduced himself, with hand-kiss and all.
To be honest, Ranva’s sister, her teacher and her maid were the ones who had the most part in arranging her and Milan’s “escape”. More interesting is probably the time before that (their secret meetings, Ranva telling Milan about Henry and about wanting to leave with them) and after (Milan helping her adjust, helping her with Henry, refusing to hunt for people who talked bad about his wife).
The way Henry’s story is mirroring his mother’s (but reverse) is one of my favorite things about the two. Also how different yet similar their way of freedom looks like!
When Aiden was born, Ranva already spent six years in the human realm. In the time till his birth a lot of her adjusting and dealing with missing home happened. Her learning some customs she had to adopt. Her making friends with Holly. Her, Milan and Henry being a happy little family despite some sullen grumbles from other villagers.
I wouldn’t really know what to tell you about it though, if you don’t have specific questions…
Fenna is already adorable, but baker Fenna from the modern au is even more so! Her and young Cyrus meeting in France is so cute too. I like thinking about younger them lately, even in canon. Not that they’d play any role significant enough for me to think about them, but I do and I adore them xD
The thing is that Fenna loves Cyrus. She remembers the man he used to be and she still sees that man in him, deep down. She’s hoping to one day get him back out. He might never be the same like he was before they lost Thorin, but she holds on to him because she knows deep down he’s still a good man. Flawed, but good. And she loves and believes in him still, though she doesn’t approve of the way he handles his relationship to their kids.
Halea’s parents’ names are Arian and Sofia. They are actually least developed, so I can’t tell you much about them. Except for that Sofia is originally from the Oak court, where her mother was one of the queen’s ladies. And Arian is head of the House of Hummingbirds, who married her and took her to the Willow court with him.
It’s funny how you know little about Maya’s mother, yet she’s the first parent beside Milan and Ranva that actually got a backstory xD
Gwen is a witch. She and her family before her, like many witches, were follower of the old ways. Which is what you call people in the human world that still believe in the old religion (the goddesses, the existence of fae and magic…) and follow old customs.
She grew up living with her grandmother and mother in their little cottage by the forest. She learned the old ways and her craft from them. Now she couldn’t do real magic, since humans are incapable of it, but she knew old rituals and little “spells” and knew how to make potions and (lucky) charms and she knew lots about herbs.
She and Maya lived from what Gwen sold on the big market in their hometown. Things like wool, eggs and goat milk and woven baskets. Dried herbs, balms and medicine. But also charms, potions and other stuff for the more “superstitious” people. Ranva was one of her customers, too.
Gwen was never interested in marriage. But she did want a child. Which is why she wished for Maya!
Oh yeah I remember you mentioning that! I think it fits your characters very well (both the song and the positions you applied to them like who’s the king and who’s the poet…)
Music can be a very good way to get close to our characters! I like doing that a lot too!
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lucianalight · 10 months ago
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Odin's Family Dynamic - Part 7
It's been days and I still can't stop thinking about What If 2x07. So I decided to write my thoughts down. While I did mention Hela in previous parts of this series, there wasn't enough material to do a complete analysis of her role in the family. But with this episode we have a more complete picture. Reading Parts 1, 2 and 5 might be necessary for a better understanding of this analysis.
Part 1- Odin: The Narcissistic Parent
Part 2- Thor and Loki: Golden Child and Scapegoat
Part 3- Frigga: The Enabling Parent
Part 4 - Can Loki Trust Thor?
Part 5 - Did Odin Love Loki?
Part 6 - Is Loki a Narcissist?
Hela: Golden Child Turned Invisible
In a relation to this series, I was asked what would happen to the golden child without a scapegoat. The answer is the dynamics of a dysfunctional family with a narcissistic parent are not set in stone. The roles the narcissist assign to members of their family can change based on the needs and desires of the narcissist parent. And sometimes a person can have multiple roles or change roles. Usually the only child of a narcissistic parent is given the role of the golden child by default, but they're also prone to having multiple roles.
We see Hela as a happy kid who loves her pet wolf and can't even stand seeing him chained. It is interesting that her first reaction is protesting his imprisonment not that Odin stopped her playing with Fenrir. The scene shows that she cares about others and doesn't want to harm anyone. But Odin seeks to control and tame anything that might be a threat to him, and as he chains Fenrir, he chains Hela too. He grooms her to be a fighter, to never pass on a chance to end a life, to be his executioner and consider that a great honor. He couldn't do that if Hela remained as sweet and caring as she was when she was a kid. And Hela reveling in the love and attention stayed his golden child.
Until Odin decided to stop at the nine realms. Now it's never mentioned why Odin suddenly made that decision. It definitely wasn't because of the goodness of his heart. He still sought powers he deemed others unworthy of with the excuse of "protecting peace". But what caused him to stop his conquests? The answer might be his "new girlfriend who is a dreadful woman" according to Hela and one of the people Hela has a quarrel with.
But why Hela doesn't like Frigga? They have two different personalities for start. While Frigga is a fierce warrior, she doesn't enjoy fighting or war. Definitely not the way Odin, Hela and Thor do(one of many similarities Loki has with Frigga). Also from TR we know Hela was aware of having a sibling but never met them. So her banishment happened when Frigga was pregnant. Stopping the wars and protecting peace might have been Frigga's condition for marrying Odin. It is also possible that Odin pitted Hela and Frigga against each other through triangulation, a manipulation method to provide him narcissistic supply.
"Basically, the game involves two or more people who get pitted against each other and usually they don’t even realize what’s happening. They’re just aware of the conflict between each other and there’s always this conflict. Maybe they can’t figure out what’s going on or where the conflict is coming from. Or maybe it’s very clearly this parent or this other person. Essentially the narcissist does this because they want you to turn on each other while having the loyalty of you both."[1]
The prospect of having another child could be the reason why Odin banished Hela without a second thought. But that's not all. Narcissists don't see their children as people with their own thoughts, feelings and needs but rather as an extension of themselves. The golden child is the positive extension of narcissist but only until they act exactly as their parent wants.
"Narcissists will turn on the golden child when the golden child stops being a source of validation, admiration, and reassurance. Even though narcissists give the golden child many opportunities, privileges, and resources that the other family members don’t get, they still view the golden child as expendable."[2]
That's because the "love" the narcissist parent has for their child is conditional. And if the golden child do anything that contradicts the narcissist's sense of self, they become the negative extension of narcissist and therefore will be treated as a scapegoat. Which happened to Hela. She was banished and imprisoned and forgotten for more than a millennium. Odin turned her literally and figuratively invisible to the world, because she was a reminder of his shameful past and his failures. No surprise that she went mad. She was treated like a tool and discarded as soon as her usefulness ran out. She didn't have any place in Odin's new future.
WI Hela on the other hand got the chance to know herself and choose her own path when she realized what she wanted all along was freedom from Odin's control. Which is a theme that repeats both with Thor's arc in TDW and Loki's arc. Because what Odin did to his children for all their lives and every punishment he sentenced them to, was ultimately for controlling them.
Sources:
[1]Scapegoat & Golden Child | How and why narcissists assign these roles (and not just in the family!) 
[2]Does the Narcissist Ever Turn on the Golden Child?
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ladytauria · 6 months ago
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25, 38, 43
(jaytim) bratty alphas
alpha!jason and omega!tim are sharing a safehouse for mission reasons, and jason is being obnoxious <3 tim gets tired of it, lmao, and finally bites back.
the following snippet is pretty much all i have... (also pardon the brackets; i have not figured out exactly where in the safe house this is taking place)
Tim’s scent flares with irritation. “Knock it off,” he snaps. His usually tight self-control is fraying around the edges. The alpha flashes him a sharp smile; the light catching on his teeth. It’s the kind of smile Tim thinks would provoke a very different response in many omegas. He just scowls. “What, baby, am I bothering you?” Jason asks, stepping into his space, forcing Tim to have to look up at him. A low growl builds in Tim’s chest. He doesn’t even try to fight it. Instead, he shoves at Jason’s chest; the move clearly startling him. He stumbles back, bumping up against the [wall | table | couch]. Tim is the one stepping into his space the time; kicking apart his ankles. He grabs his collar, pulling him down until they're nose-to-nose. His scent has swelled now; the thickness of it overpowering Jason’s alpha scent. “I said, knock it off, alpha.” Jason’s eyes are wide. Musk leaks into his scent. “I-I—“ He catches his bottom lip in his teeth; a flush spreads over his face. “Y-yes, omega.” Tim pats his face. “Good,” he says condescendingly. He grips Jason’s jaw. “You’ve been nothing but a brat since we were assigned this job,” he says, the words rumbling with his growl. “I’m tired of it.” Jason makes a soft noise, round eyes focused completely on Tim. “I—I’m sorry,” he says. His voice is smaller than usual. Tim’s teeth itch. Hunger gnaws low in his belly; a flame searching for kindling. “I don’t believe you.” He grips Jason’s face a little tighter. “But you’re going to be.” The whimper Jason makes goes straight to his groin; cock twitching, cunt clenching. God. He’d forgotten how much he loves having an alpha at his mercy.
(jaytim) neither a bang nor a whimper
a jaytim time travel fic~ i loooooove time travel fics and i want(ed) more of them, so... i started one! i started it after reading "Where's My Fucking Dinosaur" by njw for like... the third time. it has a somewhat similar set-up, with tim facing an end-of-the-world scenario.
he gets to choose his destination, though, and after weighing his options (he has no idea if the time travel device will send him back as he is or if he'll be stuck in the body of his younger self) he decides to be selfish and go back to a few days before jason died <3
he then teams up with his younger self to save him <3
The trek to his old house is familiar, though its been some time since he made it. He hops the fence with ease and passes by the old tree he used to use to sneak out. Instead, he climbs the steps to the front porch and and rings the bell. It’s nearly three in the morning—but he knows his younger self won’t be asleep. Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, the intercom buzzes to life. “Who are you?” The static of the intercom allows younger Tim to make a passable attempt at sounding older. If he didn’t know he was talking to a twelve year old, Tim might have been fooled. He doesn’t bother giving his name. Instead, he utters a single sentence—a code phrase an even younger Tim had come up with, to indicate he was talking to his future self. After all, in a world regularly beset by alien invasions, it didn’t seem that outside the realm of possibility. There’s a pause, filled only by the soft static of the intercom. It cuts abruptly, and the door swings open. Younger Tim stands just about chest height with Tim, wearing Batman-themed pajamas. His hair flops into a face still round with baby fat, big blue eyes staring at Tim with something like wonderment. “I’m a superhero?” he breathes, taking in Tim’s disheveled Red Robin costume. Tim smiles tiredly. “Vigilante,” he corrects softly. “But yes. Can I come in?” He pauses. “I need your help.” It doesn’t seem possible, but somehow, his younger self’s eyes get bigger. He steps aside, letting Tim come in. “You need— Um. I don’t know if I can—” Tim can’t resist the urge to ruffle his hair. Younger Tim’s eyes go heavy lidded and he leans into the touch—a gesture which makes Tim’s heart ache in a way entirely unexpected. He swallows hard. Fuck. None of the lectures he was forced to attend about time travel mentioned what to do if you felt an overwhelming affection for your younger self. At least he didn’t have to leave. “You can,” he says. “I need a place to rest up for a bit, an internet connection, and funds. And I’m pretty sure you have access to all of those things.” His smile widens. Younger Tim bites his lip and nods. “I do.”
(jaytim) the color of hope (canary yellow)
reverse robins au! i more or less know what i'm doing with this one, it's just a matter of writing the second section. i LOVE the trope of tim being like... obsessed with jason, especially during his robin days, and, well. i also adore reverse robins, so this was pretty much bound to happen, lmao.
it is. so tempting to paste all 800 words of this in here <3 but i. will not do that.
“I’ve been watching you.” Jason swallows. “Don’t say it like that, dude. You sound like a stalker.” He keeps his eyes fixed on Tim, half-wary; half transfixed by the slow, sinuous way he moves. Tim tilts his head.  The blank whites of his domino bore into Jason’s face. “And what if I was? Would that scare you, Robin?” He can’t stop his breath from hitching. “N-no.” His heart picks up its pace, and his mouth feels dry. Tacky. Everything about Tim puts him off balance. He feels suspended, caught in the moment between fight or flight. Tim chuckles, low and deep. It makes something stir in Jason’s gut; something just a little like hunger, a little like fear. He finally comes to a stop, just inches from Jason. It forces him to tilt his head back so he can keep meeting Tim’s eyes. Jason’s heart pounds. His hind brain screams for him to run, but he feels caught in Tim’s gaze; pinned in place like a frog to be dissected. “I had to see if my replacement was worthy of the role.” “And was I?” Jason’s voice doesn’t sound like his. There’s a huskiness to it he’s never heard before. Tim’s mouth twitches. Jason nearly flinches when his hand cups Jason’s jaw; his thumb tracing the seam of his mouth, the gentlest kiss of leather on his skin. Jason parts his lips automatically. His skin prickles with heat. “Yes,” Tim breathes. The—Jason can only describe it as reverence—in Tim’s voice nearly takes him out at the knees. His eyes flutter shut as he leans into Tim’s touch. He’s trembling, he realizes. How many times had he asked himself if Tim would be proud of him? How many times had he compared them, and found himself wanting? And now here Tim was— “You are everything I could have asked for in a successor, Jason Todd-Wayne.”
[ wip ask game ]
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another-lost-mc · 6 months ago
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Which of your oc would make the brothers freak out the most if they dating mc? 😂
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I think most of the OCs have potential to cause waves among the canon cast once they learn MC is dating someone. (This got a little long, sorry!)
Lucifer - There's bad blood between him and Belial, Azra, and Gabriel in that order. Things might be a bit tense with Meta at first too. The OCs he'd approve of most are Karasu and Seraphiel.
Mammon - He freaks out no matter which demon MC dates, except for Karasu. He's planning their wedding after their second or third date. (He's kinda like a proud older brother in that regard.)
Levi - Karasu based on the Feathered Friends narrative. He doesn't know or interact enough with the other demons to care that much, but he'll back up Mammon or Asmo if either of them have complaints about someone specifically.
Satan - Sometimes I wonder if he would have any subconscious resentment towards any of the angels based on Lucifer's past before the fall. An instinct like, I don't know you but I know you hurt my brother and that's good enough for me. I can see his first potential meeting with Michael and possibly Gabriel being very...tense.
Asmo - I love the idea that he would support MC instead of being upset/jealous that MC is dating someone else. He's very excited about MC and Azra dating, though - two of his closest friends ending up together sounds like something out of a cheesy romcom and he loves it. The three of them shopping together sounds like a blast.
Beel - He's concerned about Azra and Belial who have the most notorious reputations. Things might be awkward for him if MC dated Seraphiel or Uriel as well.
Belphie - Glossing over lesson 16 implications, I think his feelings would be similar with Beel's. He's not sure why Karasu doesn't like him but he finds it amusing and would definitely try to stir up trouble just for a bit of fun.
Diavolo - Karasu doesn't worry him, but the other demons give him some pause. When it comes to the angels, he's torn between disappointment that MC didn't find a partner in the Devildom (aka him) and the opportunity for MC to help strengthen the bond between the two realms.
Barbatos - He's wary of Belial and Zee the most. He'd approve of Gabriel or Meta since they're some of the only angels he knows with any familiarity, but of course, he knows that Diavolo would make a better partner for MC than any angel.
Solomon - Oh boy. He has opinions about nearly all the demons, but especially the ones he has pacts with (Belial) or that he has shaky history with (Tenebris and Azra). He's a bit jealous if MC and Meta end up together, but it's hard to say who exactly he's jealous of - probably both of them. Gabriel doesn't find Solomon's antics amusing which has caused some "differences of opinion" in the past, so there might be tension there too.
Simeon - Jealous of anyone MC chooses to date that's not him, honestly. It might bother him more if MC chose to date one of the angels. Seeing them together in his home realm packs a punch that hits differently, and not in a good way.
Mephisto - I don't think he would complain very much about MC being with one of the demons. He's on good terms with Azra (and by extension, Zee) but he and Belial are more like fair-weather friends. MC dating an angel might mean they visit the Devildom less and he knows that would upset Lord Diavolo and his little brother quite a bit (aka that's unacceptable and should be discouraged).
Raphael - I don't think he would outwardly complain very much (he only wants MC to be happy, even if it's not with him). However, there is obvious tension between him and Azra, Zee and Meta to a lesser extent but he wouldn't instigate any conflicts that come from that - the hostility would have to come from them first. He'd be very happy for Seraphiel or Uriel if they ended up with MC.
Thirteen - Doesn't matter who it is, she's building new traps for all of them.
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scalproie · 9 months ago
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whatever. tekken hadesgame AU
or as I like to call it: "what if Kaz raised Jin: God Edition lmao"
so. to lay the groundwork:
They're all gods/powerful immortal beings of an unspecified pantheon (but still loosely inspired by a pretty famous one I'm sure you'll recognize)
Big Bad Thundergod King Heihachi (whom I am now realizing shares quite a lot of similarities with good ol' Zeus), after getting bored and worried he's raising a weakling unfit to be his heir, still threw his little son down a cliff, except this one was from the highest heavens to the deepest hells, to make sure that if the little godling died, well, the death would actually stick. Which it did.
UNTIL another deity who's the personification of the devil gene (and who kinda look like Kazumi-but-it's-unsure-wether-or-not-it's-actually-Kazumi) took pity on him and revived him by giving him part of itself/hell aka the devil gene. So now Kazuya is "alive" and immortal again, but he's now bound to hell, aka he can't live away from it for very long. And yknow what they say, if you're stuck somewhere, might as well become it's ruler. Especially if you've gained the favors of the entity that embodies the place and that you've found a new life goal in making daddy dearest's life unbearable.
Anyway eons passed and Kaz's brothers (his adopted one Lee whom ascended to godhood on one of Heihachi's whims as a way to counter his annoying firstborn's meddling, and his heroic half-brother Lars) reached out to him one day to propose an alliance to take their tyrannical father down. Kaz only agreed on the condition that he get to expand his domain once Heihachi is out: if he cant leave hell, no worries, he'll just make hell bigger. Anyway Heihachi's children rebelled against him and with their might combined they managed to take him down, with Kaz even having the honor and pleasure to deliver the killing blow.
For the aftermath tho, when it was time for Kaz to begin his conquest, his brothers came back on their word to let him, bc Lars Actually Gives A Damn About Mortals and he knew full well that Kazuya wouldve had exactly the same rule as Heihachi if they let him, so they didnt (and Lee is more neutral on his views toward mortals but he gets along with Lars FAR better than he ever got along with Kaz so the choice on who to back up was easy). And even though Kaz 100% wouldve been as bad as Heihachi is he was allowed to rule over mortals as Lars thought he would be, and Kaz KNOWS it, that doesnt mean hes not gonna be mad that his brothers didnt keep their words to let him be evil in peace.
Well if he cant have what he wants the fair way, might as well try to take it by force. And thus Kaz resumes his battles against his brothers with his attempts at invasion of the mortal realm.
This goes on for awhile with things going great for Kaz as he is the stronger sibling out of all of them, until his aggression puts him on the path of one Jun, who counters him in a most efficient, masterful and complete manner. Basically he was doing too well at bringing evil onto the world and she had come to balance him out.
In a most unforeseen turn of events, as they get acquainted over the course of their different confrontations, they discover that they respect and admire each other's strength and actually get along pretty well, even enjoy each other's company.
Anyway being around Jun makes Kaz chill out MASSIVELY and soon enough you'll notice the amount of invasions from hell have greatly diminished.
Eventually they get in an actual relationship, with Kazuya even wanting her to become the queen of his domain. And Jun is not opposed to this proposal, quite the opposite in fact. But complications start to arise when Jun began moving in hell: she is everything it's not and vice-versa, and the environment itself even seems harmful for her the longer she stays. Even the devil-Kazumi-entity, for all that it's/she's fond of Jun as a person, cannot meet her physically for she would eradicate it/her should they come into contact.
Jun bears it as long as she can bc Kazuya Literally Cannot Leave Hell and she wants to be with him as much as he wants to be with her, and Kaz promises her that he's working on finding a solution (and by "working on it" I mean Kaz is threatening the dead soul of a demi-god known as Gepetto Bosconovitch, reknown for giving life to things that didnt have any, into fixing this).
Eventually Jun reaches her breaking point when their son dies a stillborn because he bears her blood and he is much weaker than she is, bc he's a baby. This is the last rejection of this place that Jun can take before it potentially kills her, esp since that last event took such a toll on her, and even tho she loves Kaz as much as he loves her, she has to leave and WANTS to leave. Kaz, in a rare moment of compassion, let her go and spares telling her the news that, ironically, Bosconovitch JUST finished his work and managed to make a garden, indentical to the ones she would have on the surface, grow in the deepest level of hell where she could thrive.
So Jun is gone and Kaz is miserable, so much so that he doesnt even have the mind nor heart for conquest anymore. The only thing left of her being the corpse of his child that he decides to bury in the unused garden.
But just as the tiny body touches the soil, he begin to scream as he takes his first breath and the initial shock then WAVE OF RELIEF Kazuya feels as his son is alive surprises even himself bc he didnt even want the damn baby in the first place. This is probably the most outwardly loving Kaz will be with his son as he's holding his tiny body while being hit with a fucking storm of emotions but hey we take those.
"This is great! Their son is alive and the garden works! Now Kazuya only need to reach Jun and they can-" Except Kaz Will Not bc he does NOT want to reach Jun. Not bc he doesnt love her anymore but 1) bc he now knows the pain of losing her and bringing her back into his life means getting the risk of getting hurt again and he neither wants to feel that pain ever again nor even knowing he has that "weakness" in the first place so he'd rather cut her off from his life, he'd rather deal with loneliness than heartache, and 2) even he realized that what his domain is, what he is, brought Jun pain, and some part of him does NOT like to see Jun in pain.
"Well if he doesnt want Jun back into his life, why doesnt he send her their son?" This is objectively the best course of action. But Kaz is Not A Good Person. He's selfish. And again. Their son is the last thing he has left of her, and goddammit if he doesnt have her eyes, her nose, her face.
So Kaz is now stuck with this lame baby and only partially vibe with it. Problem is, that baby cannot live in this tiny garden for the entirety of his immortal life. Thankfully the devil-Kazumi-entity offers Kaz a solution: the baby not only carries Jun's blood but also Kazuya's, and that makes him able to be a receptacle for the devil gene, binding him to hell as well, yes, but keeping him alive in there.
So now Kazuya is raising his son whom he named Jin based on one (1) short conversation he once had with Jun but didnt forget. He is also personally training him in the art of combat, bc sadly Kaz does take a bit after his father, and he would not have the prince of hell be a weakling.
OKAY BACKSTORY ESTABLISHED FINALLY now onto the main course:
So Jin grew up and similarly as in the game, he eventually learn that his family is not just him and his dad but he also have a mom somewhere, and he wants to find her. Bc one day he steps into the famous garden that Kaz had closed off after That Day and Jin figured that his asshole dad would NOT have such a pretty garden made without reasons so after a few researchs behind Kaz's back he eventually found out the truth.
Long story short, Jin wants to leave hell, Kaz doesnt want him to, and they antagonize each other constantly.
Jin eventually comes into contact with both his extanded family and multiple allies who wants to help him leave (without anyone knowing yet that just like Kaz, Jin cannot live outside of hell for long. tho Jin can survive longer than Kaz thanks for his mom's blood)
The people from outside helping him are:
Lars: his heroic half-uncle, OF COURSE Lars was going to help him.
Lee: his adopted uncle, he does like Jin but mostly he helps him out so Jin can run a few crash tests for him on Kaz's minions, AND he gets to piss off Kaz in the same move? Excellent.
Alisa: an ascended goddess who relate to Jin due to their origin, she as well was "dead at birth" until her father found a way to bring her back (in a way) tho he was cast to hell for it.
Leroy: the grandfather-figure Jin wishes he always had.
Asuka: she insists to him they're related and that once he makes it outta hell, she'll teach him about their side of the family.
there'll be more down the line but I need to workshop this...
Anyway Jin has two goal: 1) escape dad's hell, and 2) find mom. whom he will discover has straight up disappeared from everyone ever since she left hell herself.
So Jin starts from the bottom of hell and has to climb to the top where the entrance lies, in the mouth of a volcano. Wink wink fucking nudge nudge
When he falls he ends up back in his father's home where he can meet a bunch of friendly dead souls:
Lucky Chloe: usually the first person he sees after falling down, she's kind of the court jester, she was spared damnation bc Kaz thinks her annoying people is really funny as long as its not him, thats where the "Lucky" come from.
Azucena: she provides delicacies from the surface to hell (for a price), Jin can find her as he's running up to the surface and she'll happily sell him things to help.
Jane: she provides Jin with some sort of "bestiary" and she actually does not mind that he keeps beating Kaz's minions (the JACKs among others, tho they are her favorites) bc she get to improve them thanks to the data gathered afterward.
Bruce: Kaz's chief of security. When Jin didnt trained with Kaz, he often sparred with Bruce. Bruce will let Jin try his different styles against him before climbing back up hell again. He's fond of the kid :)
"Kazumi": Jin can never get quite a good read on her/it, but she's/it's always kind to him.
and others that I will also figure out...
But that's not all the people Jin meets, as he's ascending, he also encounters a bunch of people, tho not all are friendly.
Nina and Anna: contracted by Kazuya to stop Jin. Tho they spend more time fighting each other...
A reptilian monstrocity by the name of Alex.
Some strange crystals take him to a bizarre location where he can meet Azazel, who present himself as the progenitor of the devil-Kazumi-entity, making him technically Jin's great-grandpa. Via him, Jin can fight Devil Jin and gain more access to his style (more on that later)
Xiaoyu: a phoenix Jin befriended, the only reason she's in hell is only bc she can cheat death. She is not bound to hell, so she technically can come back to life if she manages to escape, until she dies again on the surface. They often run into each other and have a friendly competition to see who can defeat the most of Kaz's minions, if she loses, Xiaoyu will leave Jin with one of her feathers, that increases his health. Jin can also meet her sometimes back at the house. It's rumored that she spend more time in hell recently to hang out with the hellish prince🧡
Hwoarang: another dead soul of a great warrior contracted to stop Jin, but he couldnt care less about what Kaz wants. He wants to defeat Jin, so he will hunt him down everytime he hears that Jin is trying to escape again. Over time he and Jin have come to enjoy their rivalry. Jin can also meet him sometimes at the house🧡
And more yknow the drill...
And of course, once Jin finally manages to come to hell's entrance, who waits for him there but Kazuya. The two have a nice little father and son fight to the death between immortals where they can work out their problems in an healthy manner: with extreme violence, and the winner get to throw the other down the volcano cliff aaall the way to the bottom (bc sometimes the best way to work out trauma is thru exposure therapy. wink)
Jin starts by only knowing his father's style, but after finally finding his mother, and after the initial story-related reunion (and the tragic realization that just like his dad, Jin cannot stay out of hell for long), they bond with Jun teaching him her style. And Jin can work his way to the top again using her style to learn more about it. When dueling Kaz with it, he's preeetty conflicted like: My traitorous son is using another style than ours👿 -> omg that's Jun's moves... 🥺 -> HE'S NOT EVEN USING THEM RIGHT👿👿👿
And basically, Jin has multiple styles: his dad's, his own, eventually his mom's, and devil style. He gets to pick the one he's going to stick with at the start of every ascend.
Anyway this is the story of a child of divorce trying to reunite his parents who are both extremely stubborn and extremely still in love with each other, bc if Jin has to live another day with just his father he's going to LOSE IT.
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newvegascowboy · 2 years ago
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Proposal based on your food post and some things in Fallout.
:readmore:
Homemade sodas and sweet drinks are incredibly common based on home recipes passed down through the generations.
In Fallout new Vegas, and in Fallout 4 you can make drinks such as Nuka-Cola.
Filtering water and making it drinkable will be a big priority wherever you go. But making it palatable will also be a big goal.
Local settlements will probably mix sweeteners like syrup, juices, or even honey to mix it in the water.
Tea will be very popular too with all kinds of local teas made from local plants, sweetened with local sweeteners, and traded or even sold to each other.
Tea has the advantage of being boiled, filtered, and flavored making it a popular drink with massive variants between region to region and even settlement to settlement.
Brahmin milk will have a lot of nutrients and apparently good for treating radiation so odds are its also used as a medicine and a big part of a lot of diets.
Some rare drinks may still be possible but take a lot of work such as coffee, and ice cream.
Coffee needs specific growth and a lot of space to grow. So maybe it'll grow in small quantities.
There's ways to make ice cream without machines but it takes a lot of salt, ice, and milk. So you'd have to be very wealthy or very well located to have it
Shaved ice with simple syrups and fruits may make good treats in areas where there's a lot of ice
I fully agree with all of this! Not including it was probably a bit of an oversight on my part, but this is exactly the kind of extrapolation and worldbuilding I was aiming for.
Soda was invented in the mid 1800s, so I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility for people to have reinvented soft drinks. Originally, the water was taken from springs that were naturally carbonated and today, we can do it at home with compressed CO2. Even if the drinks aren't carbonated, I totally believe and agree with the idea that they're making sweet drinks.
I was going to mention in the original post and forgot, but lemons? Those things totally still exist. Citrus is too much of a botanical freak not to have survived. It might not be lemons (or limes, or oranges) as we know them, but they are OUT THERE and that means lemonade is real.
Tea is canon within the realm of fallout because you can brew several different varieties in 76. Also, hot drinks are comforting, especially in the winter and I think it's totally reasonable to think that new brews have popped up with the addition Coffee grows in Mexico at a similar latitude to Florida and parts of the southern united states, so I think you could claim that certain strains have been cultivated and grown in those areas, though it might be rare and extremely expensive.
Ice cream's origins are known to reach back as far as the second century B.C., although no specific date of origin nor inventor has been undisputably credited with its discovery. We know that Alexander the Great enjoyed snow and ice flavored with honey and nectar. Biblical references also show that King Solomon was fond of iced drinks during harvesting. During the Roman Empire, Nero Claudius Caesar (A.D. 54-86) frequently sent runners into the mountains for snow, which was then flavored with fruits and juices.
Ice cream is one HUNDRED percent a thing in the wasteland. The milk and cream is easy to source from Brahmin milk. Cane sugar can be grown in Florida and Louisiana, so it's not unreasonable to think that that's another rare and expensive import. It would be easier and cheaper to get your sugar from tree sap or malt grain or reduced fruits, but cane sugar is out there. Making ice cream is a pretty popular thing for kids to do -- put some rock salt and ice in a bag with cream, sugar, and vanilla, and shake it until it freezes. On the coast, salt is probably pretty abundant, even if it's time consuming to harvest, but vanilla is probably one spice that nobody has access to in the wasteland.
Ice houses and cold cellars are probably pretty common in the wasteland, so ice could be available all year round. Plus, refrigeration is useful in the process of preserving foods rather than canning or bottling.
I think it's important to keep in mind that people are smart, and just because the bombs dropped, we didn't revert back to the stone age. The knowledge of canning, bottling, making jams and preserves, cold storage, curing meat, making cheese -- all that knowledge is old. Just because modern technology makes it easier doesn't mean people couldn't do it two hundred years ago. If the knowledge is lost, logic and human ingenuity will rediscover it eventually.
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