#Escape from Elysium's Prisons

[weepinwriter]

Road to Heaven is an 18+ Dystopian fic which takes inspiration from popular media like the “Shatter Me” series and “Hunger Games”. It may contain distressing content like major injury to the characters, character deaths, blood, gore, body horror, amnesia and optional sexual content. More specific warnings will be given at the beginning of each chapter.

You are inmate No. 1441, incarcerated in Tartarus, the most notorious prison on the continent. You find yourself imprisoned for a crime that you do not remember committing, leaving you in a state of uncertainty about your own identity and purpose. The first memory you have is awakening to the sensation of a gun being shoved into your mouth.

Within the grim confines of Tartarus, you have been branded as the most dangerous criminal, feared yet hated by both fellow inmates and prison authorities alike. It becomes clear to you that in order to survive and unravel the enigma of your past, escape from this formidable penitentiary is imperative. However, achieving freedom will not be an easy feat, as you must navigate treacherous encounters with some of the most malevolent criminals known to humanity. In your quest for freedom, you find yourself entangled in complex relationships with three significant individuals. Firstly, your cellmate, whose icy demeanor suggests a deep-seated disdain for your very existence. Secondly, your best friend within the prison walls, whose seemingly excessive friendliness may harbor ulterior motives. Lastly, there is the warden, whose overtly amicable nature masks a peculiar familiarity with your past. As you navigate the perilous labyrinth of Tartarus, your ultimate objective is twofold: to survive amidst the most notorious criminals and uncover the truth about your forgotten past. In a world where danger lurks at every corner, you must tread carefully, for the path to redemption and self-discovery is riddled with uncertainty and perilous choices.

Fully customize your MC. Choose your pronouns, sexuality, appearance and more. Take control of your interactions with the characters and experience the world of Elysium City through a personalized scope.

Romance one of the 7 RO’s, and if you are charming enough, fall in love with any two of them. The four possible poly routes available are: The Cellmate and The Friend, The Warden and The Master, The Protector and The Master, The Cellmate and The Rebel

Struggle against the evil that wants you dead and uncover secrets about yourself

Accept your identity as an Esper and rediscover your powers, or completely reject them

Master your ability of Conscious Manipulation and perhaps learn a few things about yourself unexpectedly

Choose to make allies within Tartarus or antagonize them. Your choices have consequences

Lead a dying rebellion against the Hightable or join them as an equal

There are a total 7 romance options, each with their own personality and a story along with dark secrets for you to uncover

Survive

1. The Cellmate [f/m] | Enemies to Lovers

Subject Name : Twenty

A palpable enigma surrounds the inexplicable disdain they harbor towards you, leaving you to ponder if your past misdeeds have sowed the seeds of their ire. Your questions remain unanswered, rarely do they grace you with a response, and when they do, it arrives veiled in hateful glares and a tapestry of venomous words. The origins of their animosity remain shrouded in silence, with fellow inmates mirroring their reticence. Only when they are complaining about the prison's wretched conditions and the Warden's despotic rule do they momentarily shed their icy facade, revealing hints of vulnerability and human emotion. When they do smile, albeit rarely, it is a fleeting moment of breathtaking beauty. If only you could find the courage to tell them that.

[ Number 1579 is an S rank Arcane Tendency Esper with the Cryokinesis ability. They are under Libra’s Jurisdiction, and thus only follow orders coming directly from them. ]

Other Tropes : Emotional Scars, Nobody thinks it’ll actually work, Hate Sex

2. The Warden? [m] | ???

Subject Name : Nikita

There is an uncanny familiarity surrounding him, leaving you torn between the unsettling grip of dread and the elusive allure of desire. He claims to know you personally. Apparently the two of you were close friends before The Incident. Yet, when you press for details, he skillfully redirects the conversation before your emotions can catch up. "The past is but a fleeting shadow," he says, "no need to talk about something that can't be changed. Besides, you wouldn't remember anything." Evidently your memories had been erased. The question of who hangs heavy in the air, but his response remains enigmatic, offering only a mirthless smile.

[ Nikita is the Warden of Tartarus, the Reformation Asylum in Sector 10, 8th District. He is under Scorpio's jurisdiction. ]

Other Tropes : Slowburn, Betrayal, Puppy play

3. The Friend [f/m] | Friends to Lovers

Subject Name : Victor (m.) | Vanessa (f.)

A compassionate and devoted companion, V. shines as a beacon of light in the desolate depths of this grim abyss that became your world. From the moment you opened your eyes, they extended a helping hand, guiding you through the labyrinthine complexities of Tartarus and easing your transition into this unfamiliar realm. Unfazed by the venomous whispers that tarnish your reputation, they remain steadfastly by your side, unwavering in their loyalty. Their warm smiles and whimsical wordplay serve as a balm, mending your wounded spirit after every bitter clash with Twenty. How fortunate you are to be blessed with such an illuminating presence, brightening the shadows that consume your existence.

[ Number 1339 is an A rank Catalyst Tendency Esper with the Illusion Manipulation ability. They are under Scorpio’s Jurisdiction. ]

Other Tropes : Partners in crime, First Love, Good people get good sex, Slight yandere

4. The Count/Countless [f/m] | Forbidden Romance (relationship history can be friends with benefits)

Subject Name : Emir (m.) | Evara(f.)

A remarkable visionary and an exceptional entrepreneur, E. stands as an unrivaled figure in the illustrious realm of Elysium City. Holding the distinction of being the youngest Grandmaster in history and amassing unparalleled wealth, they reign as the CEO of the renowned Quinn Industries. E. is adorned with numerous titles within the esteemed echelons of society, serving as an icon of inspiration and a beacon of hope, while simultaneously arousing envy in the hearts of many. An arrogant and proud individual, their ugliness is conveniently covered by their astonishing fortune, combined with innate brilliance, seems almost mystical, as if destined for greatness from their very birth. Within Elysium City's grand social tapestry, few possess the persuasive prowess to sway the decisions of the Hightable itself, yet E. stands tall even among this select few. As an eligible bachelor, their daily inundation of love letters and marriage proposals is a testament to their allure. And yet, amidst all this splendor, it is you who has found a place of interest in their extraordinary life.

[ E. is a part of The Senate and thus does not fall under any District's jurisdiction. ]

Other Tropes : Belated love epiphany, Billionaire, Power play, Daddy/Mommy kink

5. The Master [f] | Forbidden Romance

Subject Name : Leo

In her calculated pursuit, you find yourself ensnared. Your allure captivates her discerning gaze, for you possess what she desires most. You are the coveted object of her desires. In this strategic game, you are but a pawn, a possession within her calculated grasp. Yet, curiously she maintains a measured distance. Her reason? She eloquently articulates, “Witnessing the growth of one's possession is a fascinating phenomenon.”

[ Leo is the Master of {DATA REDACTED}. They are the Ruler of the 5th District. ]

Other Tropes : Secret Identity, Second Chance, Blood play, Begging

6. The Protector [m] | Bodyguard Romance

Subject Name : Caesar

A battle-hardened soldier, Caesar bears the scars of a lifetime spent serving the FAE and the city. With an intimacy unparalleled, he has danced with mortality on numerous occasions, making death a companion rather than an adversary. Yet, behind that facade of strength, Caesar is a fractured soul, haunted by insecurities and a self-destructive nature. His journey, filled with shattered dreams and the weight of his daughter's aspirations, has brought him to the edge of despair. The immortality he once embraced now feels like a curse, a harbinger of misfortune that has become synonymous with his presence. In his eyes, he sees himself as not a protector but a bearer of ill fate. However, the stars, in an unexpected alignment, have granted him a final purpose: to protect you. Beneath the intimidating exterior lies a gentle giant, yet one plagued by a profound sense of self-loathing. He grapples with the belief that his very existence is a catalyst for tragedy, a vortex that draws calamity toward him and those he holds dear. Intrigued by this complex guardian, you see the duality within Caesar — an attentive and understanding individual burdened by the weight of his own perceived malevolence. As you navigate through the intricate layers of his psyche, perhaps you could help him ease his suffering, even by a little.

[ Caesar is a registered S rank Endura Tendency Esper with the Regeneration ability. He comes under Leo’s jurisdiction. ]

Other Tropes : Beauty and the Beast, Single parent, Stop calling me daddy

7. The Rebel [f/m] | Enemies to Lovers

Subject Name : Gael (m.) | Gwendolyn (f.)

You betrayed them. Or perhaps it's the other way around? You do not remember. The trust you once held dear has been shattered, and now you must face the price for your misguided beliefs. Like a fool enchanted by deceit, you must bear the weight of your choices. Remember this lesson, for betrayal's toll is a heavy one to pay. Proceed with caution, lest you become ensnared in the web of your own treachery.

[ There is no known information on this individual. Extreme caution is recommended. ]

Other Tropes : Amnesia, Revenge, Redemption, Breathe play

Links

[ DEMO ]

[ PINTEREST ]

[ THE DISTRICTS ]

[ THE HIGHTABLE ]

All asks and reposts are welcome 😁!

[bluerosesonata]

I played and finished Slay the Princess last night while I was puppy sitting. I had such a great time. She’s my scary wife now.

Spoilers + more detailed thoughts below the cut, but without spoilers:

[points at devs] haha horror podcast fans

I’ve always loved Nicole Goodnight from her first appearances on Nosleep. she did so excellent as the Princess.

Very impressive scope, even with the very definitive ending I got, I came away from the game feeling like there were still paths I hadn’t seen.

Just as a general tone setter, I love the opening card/disclaimer that ends with “This Is A Love Story.”

GREAT visual style and art. I’ll get into this in my breakdown below, but with my amateur eye I love how they took a non-traditional approach to way the images/characters are displayed in a renpy game

INCREDIBLE music.

Hard to avoid Disco Elysium comparisons with the aspects of the Self mechanic, which I’m sure is either a received as a high compliment or is a source of annoyance for the devs, lol

Highly recommend it for OELVN fans, horror fans, and lesbians.

First and foremost, I’m genuinely very impressed at the amount of variety to the paths.

On my first playthrough, I got on a loop where I kept the princess locked up, and then she came upstairs and killed me. The next loop, The Paranoid showed up, and when we went into the basement, it was all spooky and distorted. In this one, we had some great banter with The Princess before I ultimately decided to slay her, and trapped me in the basement by warping reality and removing the stairs, forcing me to kill myself to escape that loop. The Cold showed up in chapter 3, and I think that was when I tried to leave the woods.

In subsequent loops, even when choosing all the choices I made to the best of my memory, I couldn’t recreate that first loop at all. It really speaks to the scope of the game in an impressive way.

The first vessel I managed to provide was The Tower. (It was the outcome of being mauled on your first encounter with her, then perceiving her as a dominating, inevitable force.) After discovering my new objective, the endings I saw were The Prisoner (It’s the ending where you just wait for the cell to rot away around you), The Razor (GOATED route, I will be calling her ‘Knife Wife,’), The Damsel, and ended with The Adversary (devil horns), before reaching Awakening.

These are the only routes I can talk about, but I’m certain there were at least 2 I missed/didn’t get to see. It’s an EXTREMELY impressive scope, and fully voiced, to boot, so my hat is off to the devs on that front.

(The next few paragraphs are about the voice acting, if you want my story thoughts, I made a small heading for that bc my VA thoughts got a bit out of hand lol)

Voice Acting

While I’m on the subject of the game being fully voiced: Nicole’s voice acting really shines here, and it’s absolutely essential to making this game what it was. I think a version of this game without it would be very Good, but not nearly as Haunting. The sheer variety of reads on certain lines based on how you first approach the princess is incredibly impressive, as well. (Again— scope!!!)

As far as the narrator VO goes, i can’t deny that Jonathan did a great job, and with his history of being the main narrator for The Magnus Archives, he was a good fit for the tone and audience of the game. I would even posit that, even if there were other people who were considered in the early phases of development, the cross-promotional potential of drawing in even a small section of an audience already primed for cosmic, reality-altering horror via TMA was a very smart business decision, and I applaud them for it. That being said, I think one unintended side effect of his casting may be that people familiar with his TMA character (a…semi-reliable narrator) might immediately come in primed with doubts about the Narrator. They seem to have anticipated this, though, and included skeptical and suspicious dialogue choices with him right off the bat in the first chapter, which is fun.

(A brief aside: If it seems like I am being very measured with my thoughts on the Narrator, it is not because I have anything negative to say about his performance. I am being measured simply because the narrative devices the game employs makes it impossible to not draw comparisons to Big Hitters like The Stanley Parable and Disco Elysium— both incredible games that I personally would be both delighted and terrified to be brought up when discussing a game I created or a role I was playing.

These games did not Create the idea of “a narrator you interact with and who is sometimes rude to you” or “multiple voices with distinct Traits butting in on your current predicament,” but both games are incredibly prolific in how implemented those devices and the vocal performances involved….so it is not a fair comparison.)

Story Thoughts

The subtitle for this section could also be “Faron ranks how hot they find all of the versions of The Princess.” jk.

I am not going to do summaries here I’m just going to assume most people reading this have played the game.

But let’s start again with the sentence at the beginning of the game: “This is a love story.”

Not long ago, there was a big discussion on tumblr about the statement that horror is “about love”, (it might have even been spurred on by TMA, lol) and that lead to a lot of justified (but not always kind) posts from my fellow horror fans being annoyed by that take. I’ll spare you a rehash of all of that. But it is exactly Because of that discourse (and my general gothic preferences) that I like the choice to open with this a whole lot. The phrase “This is a love story,” written in bold, at the end of a disclaimer saying ‘there are no wrong choices, just different paths,’ has an immense power to it. It is a mic drop way to open up a story, as a way to prime the audience to be open to the Princess as more than a monster, and creates the anticipation for a greater relationship to be uncovered between the protagonist and the princess.

It could also be that the phrase hit my brain in a weird way because of Fata Morgana. I don’t think The House in Fata Morgana had a similar line in the actual game— but my roommate who handed me Fata Morgana very specifically told me, “it is a horror game, and it is a tragedy, but at its core, It Is a Love Story.” And that’s always stuck with me. (I digress.)

A Brief Address to Loops and the Popularity of the Looping Narrative

I could sit here all day and talk to you guys about looping metanarrative structure and the different approaches to it, but you’ve probably all played a VN with that before. (If you haven’t, and this is your first time encountering something like this and it blew your mind…Go play Zero Escape: 999. Run, don’t walk.)

I believe very strongly that reviews should be about what a game Is, and how well it accomplished what it aims to be, not about what you wish the game was. But it is an even stronger opinion of mine that loop narratives, especially in visual novels, can sometimes get too bogged down in the details of “why am i in a time loop.”

I am extremely glad that this game (mostly) avoided this, bc it offers an opportunity to say something about the subgenre as a whole.

At the end of the day, looping narratives mainly exist as a metanarrative device in VNs to acknowledge and offer a reason why your character’s behavior (and/or your choices) change. It’s an easy way to create ludonarrative harmony, and to inject some extra drama with little extra effort.

But BECAUSE it’s easy, it can also feel Extremely Overused, and starts to become an expectation.

I won’t go on a soapbox about it, especially because I feel like this game handled it very well, and the looping, metanarrative aspect is suited to the themes and character subject matter of Beings Who Are Concepts, even if they Why doesn’t really satisfy. At the end of the day, this is a love story, and the why matters less than the feelings involved.

Specific Path Thoughts

All versions of the Princess are incredibly strong concepts, and the game is structured in a way that I very much would enjoy seeing how different people’s first loops influence their opinions on her. It’s got IMMENSE “streamability” in that regard.

Someone that encountered The Damsel version of the princess first would have an INCREDIBLY different experience than someone who encountered the Adversary first, which ties very neatly into the subject of the greater love story and can also generate some great post-play discussion.

I think, undoubtedly, the Aspects of the princess that made the biggest impressions on me were The Adversary (demon wife) and The Razor (Knife Wife). Part of this is due to the sheer length of their paths, as both of them take 3+ loops (correct me if I’m wrong) to reach the conclusion of their sections, whereas The Damsel, The Tower, and The Prisoner all only took 2. (See the next section for more on that). Thinking about it, every path was similar in the amount of sheer resources created for them (illustrations, animation), but these two create the illusion of having more than the others simply due to being the longest action sequences and loops in the game.

The Razor has an OUTSTANDING design, and the sequence to slay her would have been an incredible finale in its own right, as we get introduced to EVERY Aspect of ourselves as we die over and over again, even shoving the narrator out of the way so we can just jump to the cabin and fight her again, and the PC reasoning that “if there’s enough of Me, I might be able to overcome her”. For this reason, and because of the big knife skeleton body, I think that the Razor path is more Fun than the Adversary’s.

Flavor-wise, however, I feel like The Adversary is a much stronger character and narrative thread. A princess who doesn’t want to escape— she just wants a good fight. She wants you at your best, and she won’t have any less. That’s exactly the sort of character dynamic that really gets me going. I love single-minded women, and I love a main character who meets them on their level of crazy.

Both of these paths involve the Aspects of Self “The Hunted” and “The Stubborn,” and they are the aspects of the PC that by FAR have the most color to them (besides the lover, who is more of a buffoon.) I think they were my favorites.

That being said, I adored how exhausted the Narrator got during the Damsel path, and I thought there was a very quiet, profound power in the Prisoner version of the Princess. She had an austere, quiet pride to her, tinged with an undeniable sorrow.

I really do appreciate the variety of ways they provide for one to approach your dialogues with the Shifting Mound after every loop. They really create a lot of space for the player to decide how they feel about her. Even if it sort of bothered me that every time there was a choice to tell her you would slay her once it was all over, I appreciate the option being there. (And, again- the sheer amount of dialogue!! Sheesh!)

Lastly, the finale. It was incredible, going through all of the forms, reliving all of the choices you made. But this is the part that the amount of options started to detract from my experience.

Again- I love that they left a lot of space for people to decide how they feel. I like the amount of responses provided, and I get the impression they don’t change the final choice in any way, just the dialogue she says to get to it.

But it bothered me that there was an option to just…opt out of seeing every vessel, either by submitting to her or by killing her. I can’t see a world where anyone playing a finale like this would WANT to cut the big final movement short. It seems silly.

The payoff was worth it, though. It was a beautiful end and one that definitely will stick with me.

(And Obviously I decided to take her hand and remain endless with her! How could I not!)

Mechanical Musings

Note: I am a dabbler in Ren’Py, but I have been a dabbler for over a decade, and I went to college for game design. (You’re allowed to laugh) I’m not GOOD at programming, and I forget the class names for basically everything unless I’m looking at it.

All of this is all to say I am PURELY speculating on how certain parts of the game were accomplished.

UI/Display/Visuals

The choice to omit a typical text box was an objectively correct one for this game, in no small part to how they decided to do the visuals on this game. It kept the game looking clean and drew the eye to the stunning visuals. The right aligned prompt box similarly aided in that respect, and I think that being forced to scroll down to resist during certain tense sequences was a great touch. Makes me wonder if there’s a timed element on those responses.

The choice to eschew using typical talk sprites (outside of The Long Quiet scenes, the sequence with The Damsel, i thiiiiink the confrontation in the basement maze, and the finale) in favor of using scenes/displayed images really aided in the storybook vibes, and the animated loops they had on those images gave the pencil work an amazing kinetic energy for the scenes where the princess is just standing or sitting still. (For the uninitiated- It’s incredibly simple to program animation loops using static images in RPY, but I’m not clear if that the most memory-efficient way to do so; I’m going to assume they did this though)

The menu Ui is what gives it away as Renpy to me, but you know, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, lol.

I’m sort of surprised there wasn’t anything like a scene viewer or gallery that unlocked at the end, but I guess that might sort of be immersion breaking.

Gameplay

Just from my hobbyist eye, I can tell there’s a looooott of dialogue flags in this one, where they track previous things you’ve said in the scene. There is absolutely a variable for “Princess hostility,” just based on the fact there’s several like reads of her answering the questions you can ask in chapter one, but since I only did a single run where I didn’t pick up the knife in chapter 1, I can’t be sure if it’s points based or binary “has knife = true.”

My guessssss about how the Aspects are inherited is that it might be a point based system combined with a flag indicating how you died; this would explain how I inherited “the paranoid” in ch2 my first run, but never after that.

I can say with almost complete certainty from the way it completely locked me out of deciding to leave the princess locked up after my choice to leave the woods that there is a true/false variable tracker for each path that stores if you’ve reached the Long Quiet or not, bc no matter what I did I could NOT do that again. Either that or there’s a flag where the narrator will lock you downstairs after seeing that screen once.

There’s also probably some variables tied to your appearance changing in the mirror, but i would need to double check achievements to be sure that text isn’t just set to appear after X vessels being provided.

There’s also a distinct possibility there are different “pools” for the princess’ aspects to be pulled from after each “level” of ascension; this would set it up so that it’s impossible for you to end with an event that is only 1 loop long, and it would be easier to assure story pacing that way.

(Ex: “If Vessels < 2, use Event_Pool_A, Else use Event_Pool_B”, where pool A contains vessels that use less than 2 loops to complete)

All in all, if I ever got the chance to crack the hood open on this, I would. I highly recommend it.

[justhere4kpop]

Haven

Fallen God!Park Seonghwa x Reader

w/c: 3211

Genre: Fallen God, enemies (?) to lovers, fluff, some angst, fantasy. (let me know if I missed something)

warnings: major character death, sickness... (again let me know if I missed anything.)

~Collab piece for @cromernet Elysium Falling~

a/n: This is my first time posting angst so I really hope it's okay! also thank you Chippie @jaehunnyy for being my first beta reader! I love you!!! I really liked this piece so I hope you guys do too. (2 for 1 on new works this month yay!)

~Masterlist~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trapped and forgotten, that was what his life had become. Trapped where no one would ever know about them. Forgotten by worshippers of the “Olympian Gods.” He and his brother had grown tired of people forgetting them, they lead the sailors where they needed to go and now they have turned their backs on them? Often they would disappear from the sky to lead the sailors astray, rebellion in their eyes, betrayal by the elders. This lead to their damnation in what is now called the “Devil’s Triangle.” Guarded by the demons under Hades control Seonghwa found new friends in those of his other “fallen” comrades. He had hatred in his heart, betrayal from them. “They turn their backs on us!? US!?” he yelled once more. “The very stars that lead them in the sky?!” “Hesperus-” his brother Eosphorus called. “I do not answer to that name!” he spat back. “What good will anger and resentment cause if we are trapped?” his brother called back with a roll of his eyes. “I’ll get out of here, one day I will.” the evening star growled.

As luck would have it, escaping eternal damnation monitored by Hades’ demons was not as easy as the evening star thought. Over the century he was locked away he and his cohorts found ways to leave unnoticed, however they would loose their otherworldly powers if they did, a metaphorical shackle if you will, eventually dragging him back to the wretched prison he was doomed to. He never found the mortal realm all that interesting either he just longed for his home in the sky again. He would often visit at night and stare off where he balanced in the sky directing those lonely sailors, he missed the view from the heavens. He would spend his nights staring at the sky hoping. Perhaps this is what remorse feels like, longing, loneliness. The cool ocean breeze hits the man standing in the sand, the smell of salt and the sound of waves crashing in the distance. Yes this feeling in his chest was longing, longing for what he once had.

“Now it should be around here somewhere, it’s been 18 years since it was last here.” a voice echoed in the distance. The star perked up at the noise. He came over the sand bank to see…a person? There you were, looking up at the night sky just as he was. “Hello.” I called out to the man peering over the sand. “What are you doing mortal?” he questioned. “Mortal?” I chuckled. “I see how you are. I’m looking at the stars, I’m trying to find one. It’s bright, hangs just along the horizon in the west.” He hung in the west, that was his sky. “I’m assuming you’re looking for a constellation.” he came a bit closer. “Oh no I know where those are, you see up there is the bears, Ursa Major and her cub Minor. Over there you’ll see Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra, Vulpecula, and Anser….oh and over there you can just barely see Scorpio.” I smiled looking at all the stars, all my friends. “You know the stars?” he perked up. “I should hope so for an astronomer.” I smiled at the tall man. “I’ve studied for quite some time.” “That’s Sagitarrius.” he pointed. “Hmm?” “That’s not Scorpio, it’s Saggitarius.” he repeated. “Oh?” I took out my binoculars. “Oh…my mistake.” “Some Star Expert you are.” he scoffed. “Astronomer.” I corrected again. “Mortal.” “Oh and someone’s got their panties in a twist.” I rolled my eyes. “Do you have a name?” He’d been praticing for this moment. Just say it…Hwaseong. Mars. “Seonghwa.” DAMMIT. “Seonghwa? Well smartass it’s nice to meet a fellow astronomer.” “You?” he asked…although he couldn’t care- “y/n.” I said looking at the sky again. “Y/n.” “Well mortal I am actually-” “Oh I see it!” I shouted running past him into the waves looking at a bright star in the sky. Only…it wasn’t the star I wanted. “Maybe I should try again at dawn.” I sighed. “What star are you looking for fool?” the blonde hair man asked. “It doesn’t matter tonight….I’ve probably missed him already.”

For months Seonghwa would pester you when you came to look at the stars, his stars, his home. He would correct you on the constellations sometimes even if you weren’t wrong he’d find something to say. He’d tell you it was wrong and he’d roll his eyes as you correct yourself, but he’d also have a slight smile on his face.The slight teasing of “Mortal” on his lips. He always called you that, never by your name, you had adopted a rather odd nickname for him as well, “Stardust.” you said it’s because his head is in the clouds if you catch him staring long enough. He had told you if you like the stars so much why don’t you draw them, or even marry them he had joked.

A few months ago you had started drawing something everytime he saw you, it was strange someone drawing in the dark, the sea breeze much to strong to keep any candle lit long enough. You’d glance up and look back down at the strange parchment writing and drawing before repeating the action.

“What are you doing?” Seonghwa asked coming up behind you. “Oh Christ!” you jumped. “A warning! You’re silent.” you held your chest tightly. “Have you ever heard the of Andromeda?” “Hmm? Like Perseus and Andromeda? Yeah, those stars are-” “Over there.” he pointed in the same direction you were looking. “Why?” I asked. “What would you do if you were chained to a rock to be devoured by a sea monster?” “I’d like to see them try to catch me to chain me to a rock.” I chuckled turning back to my map of the constellations. “I’d like that too.” he had this far off look in his eyes. “Yeah I’m sure you would, then you could look at the stars in peace right?” I looked up at him. “No I’d like to hear the names you call the men who try.” “Oh they’d have nightmares about me for sure.” I chuckled and looked up at the sky. “Seonghwa? Do you live around here or something?” “You could say so, I don’t really have a home. Or I did but it’s gone now.” “So you’re homeless?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do you ever eat or anything?” “I do.” he’s fed by the guards when he needs to be. I sighed. “Come on.” “Hmm?” he looked at me. “Come on.” “You’re kidnapping me mortal?” “No Stardust, I’m getting you a homecooked meal. You look like a damn skeleton.” I pulled his arm. “Besides….seems like he’s hiding from me again tonight.” “y/n?” “Yes Seonghwa?” “What star are you looking for?” “What star? Oh no I’m not looking for A star, I’m looking for THE star, I’m looking for Hesperus, the evening star. I saw him once when I was a child.” I played with the star necklace on my chest. “He waved hi to me, I used to talk to him for hours when I had nightmares. And I’d greet his brother in the morning before the sun would come up….if I was up in time.” I smiled to myself. “Come on you look hungry.”

Seonghwa’s world came crashing down in that moment, you…a mere mortal, were looking for him? His very being, his reason for existing in the sky as the evening star. You. You were looking for him…not a sailor but a scholar of the stars just to find him in the sky once more, where he will never be. Was this? Sadness? Joy? What was this feeling he had grasping at his heartstrings. He felt himself glow, was it a physical glow? Metaphorical? He felt warm. “Are you glowing?” I asked. “Hmm?” he looked up at me. “You know how they say pregnant ladies get this glow about them….you’re doing it….what are you pregnant Stardust?” “No!” he defended himself. “I cannot get pregnant mortal.” “Just checking, you got quiet dummy.” I smiled softly at him.

“Brother.” Hesperus…Seonghwa had called out upon returning to their prison. “She knows about us, the human. y/n.” “The one you’re in love with?” his brother rubbed his eyes. “I….I am not in love with that stupid mortal!” he defended. “Oh sure, is that why you go to see her every night.” “I am merely looking at the sky. Our home.” “And why you talk about her so much?” “I do not.” “All you do is talk about her brother.” Eosphorus said. “Because she is annoying! And…and stupid! And…a pain in my ass.” “Is that why you called her her name instead of mortal?” he raised an eyebrow and rolled over leaving the man stunned. Could he have really done something so…so careless as to not call you mortal? Your name? It fell off his tongue so naturally. How could he…no he wouldn’t it was…it was a mere infatuation with the stars, he loved correcting you. Loved bothering you…yes yes that was it he needed to be the best, the smartest when it came to himself anf his domain.

He had decided to stop visiting the beach where you had met, he couldn’t have…fallen for such a silly creature such as yourself. You were below him…beneath him…he wouldn’t…would he? You were dumb and spoiled, and…and you always had your head in the clouds looking for..him..and you had a smile that shone just as bright as the moon when you listened to him talk about the stars. The constellations even. Sometimes he just wanted to ask about your day so you would smile at him…is this…is this truly the feeling of love?

You weren’t there when he came back some nights later. In fact you weren’t there for months after he had left you, perhaps you had moved on away from him, perhaps you had chosen a different place on your quest for the man that was always in front of you. “Seonghwa?” your voice called out to him weakly. “y/n.” he had seen you peaking over the sand dune. “Where have you been? You know you aren’t allowed to stop looking on this beach until you…” his voice died down seeing my weakened state. “Sorry, I wasn’t feeling too well and the doctors kept me in the hospital. You wouldn’t believe the view they have there at night. Although its much too focused, I couldn’t see the horizon at all. Did you find him?” I asked a little hopeful. “Find him?” “Hesperus!” he flinched at the name a little. “I thought you’d help me look at least.” I chuckled. “N-No…sorry I uh. I’m sorry I left.” he stated shyly. “Oh is that cold exterior coming off now Hwa?” the nickname made him feel warm. “What cold exterior.” he protested. “Ah not quite.” I smiled at him.

Seonghwa was always my cute little helper, he’d help me draw the maps and name the stars, he’d write when I started blabbering about things and he’d listen when I started talking about the stars. He always tried to keep up his too cool front but deep down…he’s my star, like always. Maybe we did start off on the wrong foot, but isn’t that always the best way to start, you immediately bond over something you’re passionate about. Yes that was my star, abrasive and cold, but kind and sweet if you just ignored the first part. For years we had met together on the beach most times at night but sometimes during an eclipse or if he wanted to see me during the day. Our first date had been the small cafe on the beach, our second he had taken me to the nicest restaurant in town. Lots of money for someone like him. Hwa finally said “I love you.” under the clearest night on our year anniversary, I told him I had always loved him, even when he was a stubborn dickhead correcting me.

The first time he ever saw problems were when my hands cramped up and I couldn’t move them, I had pushed it off as I had been writing all day so they were just tired, he accepted this and kept going, our own little date night under the stars. The second was when I had almost fallen at night, I blamed it on tripping over a stone in the sand. The third was when I had asked him the name of the star on my left which I had known the week before….This was when he started getting suspicious, he let it go as his nerves ate away at him, but he was always cautious in the back of his mind…he had planned to propose on top of the hill that overlooked the town he had everything ready until my legs had given out and I tumbled down.

“I’m afraid it’s terminal.” the doctor had told Seonghwa while I was still being tested for further bumps and bruises and broken bones. “Terminal?….You mean…my…my star is dying?” “Ms. y/n has been sick for a while…I’m sorry you had to find out this way? I’m afraid there’s only a few years left with how fast it’s been progressing.”

Dying. Sickness.

All words that played over in Seonghwa’s mind as he watched your smiling form chat away with the nurses about what a silly fall you took. You were dying, sure he knew it was silly to fall for a mortal, he would never age and he’d watch as you do, as you turn with the seasons…but here you are plaguing his heart with that infectious smile you always wear when he’s around.

“Darling you’re-” “I’m sorry.” I looked at him sadly as his eyes finally met mine. “I know I should’ve told you but…it never felt like the right moment…I didn’t want you to find out this way.” “How long have….have you known?” was he angry? Upset? Was this sadness? “When I fell in the sand…I came for a check up.” That was months ago…You’ve been suffering silently for months in front of him and he was none the wiser, he had been acting a fool walking you around town when you could’ve fallen any moment..What an idiot he’s been and he has the nerve to say he loves you? “Seonghwa?” your voice snapped him back to reality. “Don’t give me that look.” you roll your eyes. “Look?” “The same one everyone gives me, that I’m a piece of paper who can’t do anything, that I’m frail and weak and…and helpless! Don't give me that look!” “Darling I-” “Not you too….It’s just a fall…Please, don’t look at me any different.” tears stung my eyes. “My love.’ he came cupped my cheek. “They just reflect the temporary worry for my favorite pain in the ass.” he smiled softly. “You’re one of the strongest I know. I won’t have it any other way.”

We were engaged a week later and had bought a house on the beach. Now for the hard part. “Darling what if I told you I was Hesperus? The star you’re looking for. That I am an immortal god who has been banished from my home in the sky, my haven….to then find a new on with you here on earth?” “I’d tell you I’ve always known idiot.” I smiled at him while playing with his wedding ring. “Remember…you’re my best friend, of course I would recognize you.”

You always had a way with words, actions…with everything. You asked him questions well into the night, drawing and completing more of the maps of the stars you loved. You asked to meet his brother which…he wasn’t too keen on but would eventually agree. Eosphorus more than happy to meet who finally calmed the evening star. You had gone through many trials with your star but none have ever made you question your time or love. Time passed and your body grew weak, Seonghwa found ways to help, he found ways to be the perfect husband you wanted, you’d always tell him he was already everything you needed. Your years together were filled with nothing but love.

You and Your Evening Star.

As your frail hands held onto the pieces of parchment in your hands making your book you felt your grip weaken. The sickness had long since sapped your strength but you held on for him. For your star. “Darling?” Seonghwa’s soft eyes had come down to meet you in your frail state. A warm hand on your knee. Some of the papers flew in the breeze but he’d run to catch them. “What are these?” he smiled brushing your graying hair behind your ear, he still looks as the day you met him, perhaps not as cold. “Our story, my love for my star.” I smiled weakly at him. “My maps, and research you helped me with….I want you to have them Hesperus….my Seonghwa.” “Don’t say that like you’re dying this moment….you still have plenty of life in you my love.” he kissed your forehead. “Please take them Hwa.” I mumbled and pushed them towards him. “My hands can’t keep them long.” It wasn’t fair he fell in love with a mortal, for he would stay here, in this form, at this age forever…while you…his very sky were turning grey, changing and aging before him. It wasn’t fair for either of you, not when you had grown sick. Not when any moment could be the last. There was no cure for you, he could only watch you slowly fade from existence. His sky, his love, his happiness. “Darling? Would you like to walk on the sand with me?” he smiled and took your things from your hands gently placing them where the seabreeze wouldn’t disturb. “I’d very much like that.” I nodded and took his ringed hand in my own, our matching rings a symbol of our own starry sky. When your time came you were held in the embrace of the man you grew to love, the only man you’ve ever loved, your Hesperus, your very own evening star. You felt the tears in his eyes hit your face as your own welled up. “Seonghwa?” I breathed out holding onto him. “I love you. Be kind to me in our next life too. Stardust.” the smile on my face being held under our starry sky by the man I love. “Please…Please take her.” he pleaded with the sky. “Please let her hang for the world to see. My own star. The only foolish thing she ever did was love someone like me. I want the world to see her forever..please…please don’t take her from me. I’ll stay in that cursed prison forever just please…please bring her back to me.” the pain in his voice unrecognizeable.

“If you so wish, my son.” a voice called out. He watched as your body changed…Stardust….a new star had formed in the sky that night. One he could see from his prison, the brightest one just for him, from where he had hung in the sky…his very own Venus.

[signsoftheunholy]

✩‧ SOTU PREVIEWS: THE SUBPLOTS

UNDERGROUND MAYHEM: The shady world of gangs, mafias, and crime of Bennettsville.

SHARDS OF POWER: While escaping Purgatory due to the crack in the veil, the ancient spirit of a powerful witch was destroyed in the fray, shards of the soul getting absorbed by escapee spirits. Now, they are exhibiting uncontrollable displays of power and are actively hunted by poltergeists.

CULT OF THE BEAST: An informal gathering of familiars who are working for an entity simply known as the Beast, who claims to unshackle familiars from their witch contracts to unlock their full potential independently.

THE GRACEFALLEN: Guardians who have escaped the prisons of Elysium after they turned on their ward for different reasons - maybe they abandoned their faith and turned evil, maybe their ward turned evil and they did it to save the world. Point is, they are now actively hunted, and some even have their memories wiped.

MIDNIGHT PATROL: A group of human volunteers who have had strange supernatural experiences and are determined to uncover what they believe to be the big secrets of the town.

[calebwittebane]

disco elysium is a pretty great game if you're a mentally ill gay communist from a post-ussr country, so long as you do not participate much in fan spaces. holy shit the amount of bad takes and ppl assuming their analysis is the most Correct and just generally being... . personally it did also sow some seeds for catharsis, but if i hadnt played the game before it blew up i probably wouldnt play it now. anyway do you have any "slower" game recommendations? ideally something that could be run on older computers?

the myst series!!! 100%! its one of my favorites! in case you're not familiar beyond "oh, theyre that steampunk-ish series of 90s-00s games where you solve puzzles and get things to work", let me ramble about them a bit. II (Riven) and III (Exile) are the best ones, but i am Known as the weirdo with an obsession with Uru (the complete chronicles version includes both expansions so it is the one youll want), which takes place long after the main series' events and was supposed to be a multi-player but that didnt work out (and the studio was driven to bankruptcy) and the resulting single-player game feels so lonely and serene--in a good way, in my opinion. the games are ridiculously pretty, like, visually they aged extremely well. im extremely fond of this particulr way of combining of live actors with pre-rendered environments and other animations. Myst V and Uru are a bit of a different story, as in you move around freely and (most of) the environments are rendered in real time, but man, this particular (relatively) low-poly beauty of them, theyre so aesthetically sophisticated to me. gameplay-wise, theyre based on exploration, and require you to pay close attention to your surroundings and solve puzzles, such as getting various mechanisms to work, and often times they create something akin to an escape room experience, and sometimes following clues and trails left by other characters. and while obviously The way to play them is to try and figure things out yourself, and it does get challenging, even if it gives you enough trouble that you end up consulting a guide, or already know the solutions (i know many of them by heart at this point), its still a lovely experience. looking at the environments and objects and architecture, taking in the ambiance, learning the lore behind things. most of the characters you interact with (especially the one you interact with the most, atrus) are also Extremely Flawed People and it is reflected both in their actions and in the ages they write (if you don't know what that means, youll see), in their ideas of "prison" and "idyllic paradise" and the implications thereof and so on. it is engaging stuff.

also peter gabriel was involved in the series at some point (songs and voice acting) and for 7 year old me who already loved myst And was a fan of and had a sort of parasocial relationship with peter gabriel it was a mind-blowing crossover

[astra-galaxie]

"Fuck! I thought for sure you'd blame Pandit for it!" - Gustave Olofsson

Biographical information

Full Name: Gustave Olofsson

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

Status: Incarcerated

Age: 60 (season 1)

Birth: 1953

Race: Human

Nationality: Swedish

Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden

Residence:

Grimsborough, USA

Chhattisgarh, India (formerly)

Gothenburg, Sweden (formerly)

Profession(s): Surgeon

Affiliation(s): Switch Laboratories

Profile

Height: 6'0" Age: 60 (season 1) Weight: 213lbs Eyes: green Blood: O-

Gustave is a Swedish man with light skin, slicked-back black hair, a trim goatee and cold green eyes. He wears a wrinkle-free blue dress shirt with a black silk tie and black slacks. His dress shoes are polished to a shine, and he has an orange lab coat with a Switch Laboratories pin on the left side.

As per his suspect appearance in A Shock to the Team, it is known that Gustave eats Singhara ki Barfi and knows biology.

Synopsis

Gustave was the killer of his ex-boss Victoria Holt. He was a surgeon for Switch Laboratories back when it operated in India before U.N.I.T. destroyed it and the team's entire research. He knew about Victoria's plan to secretly develop custom poisons to be sold on the black market, but he didn't know about her allegiance to SOMBRA. But he enjoyed the money he was making by helping Victoria, so he never questioned who their "private investors" were.

After U.N.I.T. destroyed the laboratory, Gustave was arrested and spent several years in jail for his involvement. He hated Victoria for abandoning him and the other scientists to take the fall for her work and vowed revenge. Every day that he spent behind bars, he plotted how best to destroy the woman who destroyed his life.

After being released from prison, he moved to the United States to find new work using a secret laboratory hidden under an abandoned iPear store. But he didn't anticipate Victoria coming out of the shadows to find him and ask for his help in restarting Project Elysium. He couldn't believe that Victoria thought he would just forget about what she did to him, and he wanted to kill her right then and there.

But he decided to wait and see if Project Elysium could be restarted before he eliminated her. If they could resume their work, Gustave would become rich again. But he wouldn't let Victoria leave him under a destroyed building this time. Instead, she would be the one taking the fall. So when he found out that Victoria had located Nathan Pandit, the man who had helped destroy Switch Laboratories and who had the key to recreating their work, he knew victory was within reach.

So, Gustave and Victoria created a plan to kidnap Nathan and take him away from Grimsborough. But Victoria deviated from the plan and tried to take Nathan behind Gustave's back. When the Swed found out, he was furious and was even more enraged when he discovered that Nathan had escaped his kidnapping, leaving Victoria unconscious in Gustave's laboratory.

While he was angry at Victoria for the betrayal, Gustave saw this as the perfect opportunity to kill her and take Nathan himself. He tied Victoria to a chair and connected jumper cables to it and the fuse box for the shop's neon sign. With a flip of a switch, Gustave watched as Victoria was electrocuted to a crisp.

Gustave left her body there, uncaring if anyone found it, too confident in himself to think he would be caught. But he was caught, and he cursed the police for sending him back to prison. He would never regain his lost wealth or get revenge on Nathan for the part he played in ruining his life. Now, he would spend the rest of his life behind bars, a poor, sad excuse for a once-famous surgeon.

Story Information

First appeared: A Shock to the Team

Trivia

I think I was referencing Gaston from Beauty and the Beast when I designed him, but I'm not positive about that! It's been too long since I created him to remember…;-;

When Jones punched him during the arrest for claiming no one would miss Nathan, he broke Gustave's nose

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)

[pod-together]

Day 3 Reveals!

There's A Dinosaur In The Medbay [text, audio] (The Transformers (IDW Generation One)) written by autobotscoutriella, performed by Gilraina Summary: In which Brainstorm's latest science experiment escapes the lab. Instances of Grace (Flight of the Heron - D. K. Broster) written by Garonne, performed by Luzula Summary: On his first morning in London, two days earlier, Keith had opened a newspaper to learn of the trial of four Jacobite lairds and their condemnation to death. The first name was Ewen Cameron of Ardroy, printed in irrefutable black on white. howling ghosts who reappear (Hades (Video Game 2018)) written by GwenChan, performed by GoLBPodfics Summary: When during a run through Elysium Patroclus finds himself a casualty of cross-fire, Zagreus discovers just how deep Achilles' affection for his companion goes and the old fury that still brews beneath the surface. Torn Asunder [text, audio] (Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types) written by nemorps, performed by GhostCwtch Summary: "Geralt?" Ciri asked in barely more than a murmur. "Hmm?" "What… What was Roach like?" Roach, the horse, was standing not ten feet away, dozing peacefully. Geralt heaved a sigh, rolling onto his back to stare up at the empty canopy. Only the barest hint of stars made it through the foliage. "She isn't gone." "Isn't she?" Geralt shook his head, though Ciri likely couldn't see it in the darkness. "I can still feel her. In my mind; in my heart. She's there." The Bunny Hop (陈情令 | The Untamed (TV), 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù) written by FlutterFyre, performed by pezzax Summary: In the middle of serving punishment in the Library, Wei Wuxian disappears. Lan Wangji spends the next few days searching unsuccessfully for the missing disciple. Meanwhile there is an adorable bunny who has moved into the Jingshi. Who Let the Constructs Out? (The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells) written by CompletelyDifferent, performed by AirgiPodSLV, ArtemisTheHuntress, averytree, blackglass, ffg_podfics, Flowerparrish, GoLBCollabs, horchata, kalakirya, kittona, mistbornhero, and with Summary:

“Why,” Dr. Ayda Mensah asked, “am I looking at a ship full of augmented cats and dogs?” “You aren’t,” said SecUnit. “They’re constructs.” Only approximately 5.9% of my full floorspace is occupied by fauna, said the Perihelion. “Also,” said Three, “six of them are birds.”

Dr. Mensah attempts to piece together one (1) single mission brief from the three oral reports she receives before Iris comes back with more kibble (or anyone needs to use the litter box).

Sink My Teeth (Formula 1 RPF) written by LoveLeah, performed by growlery Summary: Writing the summer menu feels like writing his vows. Sunrise/Sunset (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types) written and performed by Ghost_writing Summary: A random day of war during the clone wars. 一家人 | One Family (魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)) written and performed by dragongirlG and PandaReads Summary: Lan Qiren awaits the arrival of his family members, both old and new, on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Clipped Wings [text, audio] (镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)) written by Mo_on_raccoon, performed by flamingwell Summary: The strange weights move along Shen Wei's back. Heart hammering in his chest, he reaches backward and cannot swallow a cry of surprise that echoes off his narrow prison. His wings. His wings are back. But Ye Zun is nowhere to be found. Zhao Yunlan isn't here either. And Shen Wei is trapped. Wolves of Washington (DC) (Teen Wolf (TV)) written by melly_diamond, performed by readbythilia Summary: It should have been over. Completed, utterly over. Bartley should be a distant memory, spoken only of under a therapist's supervision. Mexico should never be spoken of at all. Special Agent Stiles Stilinski is a shell of a man; abandoned by everyone, he goes through the motions of his daily life, waiting for the end; it has to come sooner or later, doesn't it? But before nature takes it's course, a werewolf comes to his door. Quite literally. Captain Derek Hale of the Elk Grove Police needs his help - his, Stiles' and when he tells him why, Stiles understands that closing the final chapter on that part of his life is one last thing he needs to do. Stiles and Derek return to Bartley to put it all to rest. Everything. Everything.

[ladyleonster]

Breakout or Freak (pronounced frake) Out

@forrisen @toaedgeofeden

Night has fallen and the market place truly comes alive.

Elysium warns that they should consider escaping before someone decides to buy and Ethlyn is of a mind to agree with him. A crowd has begun to gather to peruse the wares for sale and the hawking of their captor is a grim reminder that the three of them are included in that. Eyes peer in at them, judging, and she suddenly feels rather self conscious.

She moves to the back of the cage and pink eyes scan their surroundings. There's a booth next to them selling all sorts of things. Animals, trinkets, food, weapons. Even with her petite structure, Ethlyn thinks she could reach at least something. She isn't quite sure what the object is, but she can tell it's metal. If she could grab it, they could use it to break the lock.

"Robin," she whispers, "stand in front of me. I think I have an idea."

Ethlyn reaches her hand between the bars of the cage and stretches as far as she can. She manages to get through all the way up to her elbow and, cheek pressed against the bars, she feels around until she touches the barrel of that metal object with the very tippy tip of her middle finger. Biting her lip, she keeps stretching, hoping to bring it closer but it falls to the ground.

But it rolls off the table where it's been displayed for the masked and gleaming-eyed customers passing through the alley, and when it hits the ground, fires off a bright shot of explosive magic toward the other side of the alleyway (think: roman candle). Shrieks erupt from the crowd, which quickly becomes as chaotic as an ant bed with its top kicked off.

Then, Ethlyn can't tell who or where came from, she's poked through the bars by something that causes her body to seize up for a moment (she's been tazed), and the seller, who has been giving his best vulpine smile to his customers now scowls furiously at her, a threat "next time I'll cut your fingers off," or something to that effect, hissed through his teeth.

Ethlyn's own scream blends in with the shrieks in the crowd. The seller used some sort of spell on her. Some sort of thunder magic she guesses though she hasn't felt a spell effect her quite like this before. She slides her arm back through the bars and glares. It takes quite a bit of willpower to resist firing back a snarky remark of her own. Instead she slinks back to the other two prisoners' sides.

This plan may have failed, but Ethlyn is not about to give up. She's a proud descendant of Crusader Baldr not some damsel in need of saving.

[justavulcan]

The Heavens Are Empty: Belierin Warden

The first thing you think on seeing this creature is that it’s a giant dragonfly.  As it draws closer, your initial impression is proven incomplete: it is indeed a stick-thin, flying insectile being with murky greenish-blue skin, but its head, while dominated by two huge eyes, broadly resembles a human’s.  In its hands- and indeed they are proper hands, if segmented like an insect’s carapace- it clutches a polearm with a wide, U-shaped head, which it brandishes with intent.

The wardens of the prison-marsh of Belierin are an odd lot: quick on the wing, slow to judge, and absolutely, blazingly, fast to drive evildoers away from their home plane.  Born mostly from the souls of prison guards tending their charges with humanity and dignity, the wardens of Belierin have never been many in number, but they make up for this with constant and unwavering vigilance.  As their charges include some of the most dangerous beings in the multiverse, they do all they can to ensure that they never break free.

Belierin Wardens vastly prefer to engage intruders than avoid them, and rarely do so without at least even numbers to ensure a potential combat engagement goes their way.  They take full advantage of their weapons’ reach to keep enemies at range, and lean into skirmish tactics if they can’t establish or keep a grapple.  If they can, they forcibly separate their opponents, dragging them away to deeper mires to subdue them more effectively.  Should they be outmatched, they disappear into the fog, seeking greater celestial aid from one of the many bastions across the marshy terrain, trusting the rough ground to make their foes’ going slow.

Belierin Wardens are native to and almost exclusively found on the third layer of Elysium, Belieren.  The only exceptions are wardens currently engaged in missions to recapture escaped prisoners, or those called upon by other celestials to aid in the defeat or imprisonment of entities suitable for their care.

[weepinwriter]

Eve, has anyone been able to escape Tartarus?

HMMMMMM- dunno whether it could be considered too spoilery, but YES there was ONE instance when an inmate did escape from Tartarus, although there is little to no information on them as everything has been erased from the system to hide any traces of this rare humiliation from the so called best prison in Elysium. This inmate, who had been sentenced to Tartarus for being involved in anti-government activities would escape by the skin of his teeth and later become the leader of the biggest rebellion in the New World's history. Too bad they failed and were publicly executed to set an example for the rest.

[cordeliaflyte]

My dream... So I was escaping The Horrors and I had many universes to choose from. But the one I chose was one where rich celebrities had these parties on teeny tiny boats where they only invited other celebrities. I am not a celebrity. But they let me into one of the boats because I was friends with Charlotte Brontë (??). Anyway. Taylor Swift was on this boat. She was dating one of the famous Chrises who was also on this boat. His surname was Hemingsworth. But his first name wasn't actually Chris it was Adam. But he was a famous Chris okay... Anyway. My name happened to be Christina Hemingsworth and I had a brother named Adam and me and Chris (Adam) were like wow what a coincidence! Also I had a very ridiculous accent. Taylor Swift was SO jealous she thought I was trying to steal her man even though with every second it was becoming more and more obvious that her man and I were closely related. Anyway. Then paparazzi came on another boat and they were like ummmm can you leave? You're not famous :/ and I was like girl we're in the middle of the ocean where am I supposed to go. But then a small motorboat went by and their driver had suffered a concussion and I knew how to drive a boat so I became their driver. We had fun we sang Can't Take My Eyes Of You by Frankie Valli.

Then I woke up (in real life) and went to have a glass of water. Then I went to sleep again. This time there was this small tent where I was with a few other people and I was trying very very hard not to have a panic attack because it was very small and there was barely any air. There were these small air vents which I kept opening but the others were like close them it's cold!!! And I was like we're all going to suffocate and die!!!

Then I woke up (in real life) and went to have a glass of water. Then I went to sleep again. This time I dreamt that there was this guy called. Gaston Martin. Yes like the character in Disco Elysium. But he went by Martin even though it was his surname. He had a fascinating backstory where he used to work for a company doing unspecified shady business stuff including forgery. He took the fall for his boss's crimes and went to prison. When he finally got out he became a... Criminal postman forger??? Idk it made sense in the dream. Anyway he teamed up with Veronica Lodge of Riverdale fame to take revenge on her ex friends for torturing her mother. These ex friends were. The Scooby Doo gang. And also coincidentally Martin's boss. He threw them all off a spiral staircase and for some reason him and Veronica called the police before to notify them that a killing spree is about to happen? Also I remember Martin being bisexual and Veronica not believing him because she was absolutely convinced that with his mannerisms he had to be gay?

[purpleprey]

Chapter 11: 2105 Coup

*Five months later*

It was almost New Years Eve by the time our plan was perfected and ready to enact. We'd been trying to adapt to prison life for a while now, just looking for the right opportunity, but life here was certainly rough. Almost as rough as the facial hair that had grown on Venus' perfect face. That's right, we'd been here so long that Venus had grown stubble for the first time since we met. It was perfectly shaped, as if it had been expertly groomed, though it was indeed natural growth. I would be lying through my fucking teeth if I said it didn't actually suit him. Watching his ever-changing but always gorgeous face was the only thing that kept me sane during the months that went by. Well, that and the thought of our inevitable escape. It was mostly Elly, Cosmic and Venus that figured out our exact plan but I wouldn't give them all the credit, they wouldn't have had a chance without my encouragement. The only glaring problem was we didn't know exactly what Avian Dust and Bionic Arcadia's key was for. Elysium had deduced from her experiences that it was, in fact, the key to a door, but that's all we had.

However, we decided not to dwell on that fact too much given that even Cosmic, who basically knew this prison moon inside and out, had no clue on the use of this key. Besides, it wasn't as though we could snoop around wherever we wanted, since The Headmaster tightened security on us, which was probably the right call in all fairness. Since we did plan to defeat him once and for all on our way out.

It started where all good escape plans start: in the gardens. A place where we had the best view of all the guard stations, which allowed us to learn their schedule. The only issue was indeed the Headmaster, and though he rarely emerged by his own will, in our time of playing the role of model prisoners, we did see at least a few newbies unfortunately summon him. We don’t know what became of them after they were sucked into the Headmaster’s office but one could only assume the worst. Most are not as gifted as yours truly, Obsidian Leviathan. Watching this go down, however, did give us an idea as we knew that the Headmaster’s office was the one area in the prison most likely to hold the keys to escape. As well as this, we had concluded that without a leader, the operations of the prison would cease to function. We had to cut off the body's head(master).

It began when we were introduced to a new prisoner. All of us were hard at work in the turnip garden when I grabbed Cosmic by the collar and yanked him closer to me.

"You look the most credible as a gardener," I whispered un-empathetically. "Tell the new guy to plant thirteen turnips,"

"Are you suggesting manipulation, Obsidian!?!?" Cosmic cried loudly whilst I tried to silence him. "ARE YOU SUGGESTING I MANIPULATE THIS NEW PRISONER TO PLANT THIRTEEN TURNIPS TO SUMMON THE HEADMASTER TO KILL HIM??" Everyone in the garden looked over at us, except the newbie. Maybe he was hard of hearing since Cosmic was practically screaming.

"Yeah." I whispered, gazing into Cosmic's soul. He nodded, now understanding the plot, though his soul looked wrecked with guilt.

Cosmic swung around to face the new guy who was right beside him, holding the gardening spade with a weak grip that suggested such a mundane task disgusted and offended him.

“Excuse me, sir.” Cosmic Tomorrow began and, although he wasn’t facing me, I could tell that he was starting to tear up again, “Perhaps you should try planting those turnips over there.” He sniffled very loudly and I doubled over in a desperate attempt to stop myself from swinging Cosmic back around and slapping him for being such a terrible manipulator. I shouldn’t judge though, not everyone is as good an actor as I.

The stranger turned to face Cosmic with great speed, almost slapping Cosmic in the face with his bleach blonde hair that would make any mother shake with unrelenting fury.

“Thank you for the suggestion, good sir.” The stranger replied. “My name is Moorish Zealous. Cheesed to meet you! But, unfortunately, I do not plant turnips, no thank you!!!😊" He said this emoji verbally. My face contorted with disgust at this and I nudged at Cosmic, hoping this would spur him into action and I wouldn’t have to listen to this fool any longer. Even Cosmic seemed to not like this guy.

"well, I don't like you either little Cosmic ass bitch, little short ass bitch, little overall-wearing ass bitch, little ginger ass bitch" Moorish Zealous scoffed, turning his nose up. That was rather unwarranted, even by my standards. Cosmic looked around nervously at the three of us, searching for support. Cosmics pleading eyes landed on Venus who let out a heavy sigh. Moorish Zealous followed Cosmics gaze, seeing Venus for the first time.

Moorish Zealous' jaw dropped to the floor, his eyes popped out of their sockets accompanied by trumpets all the while his heart beat out of his chest. An *awooga awooga* sound effect could be heard just as Moorish pulled a chain on a train whistle that had appeared next to his head as steam blew out. He slammed his fists on a table, rattling any plates, bowls or silverware as he whistled loudly. fireworks shot from the top of his head, he panted loudly as his tongue hung out of his mouth. After this vulgar, cartoonish display, Moorish Zealous wiped a comically large bead of sweat from his forehead, cleared his throat, straightened his tie, and combed his bleach blonde hair.

"You look very lovely," He said to Venus who, unlike the rest of us, did not seem to outright detest this person.

"Thank you." Venus nodded and I gritted my teeth until my jaw locked. I was silenced, unable to say anything to bring Venus’ attention to me so I was forced to just stand there and watch as Venus introduced us to this Moorish Zealous character. As Venus referred to each of us by name, Moorish nodded, but never tore his eyes from Venus which was VERY rude of him. Were I in his shoes, I would pretend to be more interested in Venus's words >:(.

After this introduction, we all stood in silence and watched as Moorish stared at Venus and, to my horror, Venus appeared to be looking in Moorish’s general direction! I panicked and ran at Moorish, grabbing him and using him like a ragdoll to plant the turnips. Moorish gasped loudly in offended, British shock.

"I-" he began, though he wasn't interrupted, he did not continue his sentence. It took a long while to plant all thirteen of the turnips and it was quite an uncomfortable ordeal which only made my resentment of Moorish grow even more. I couldn’t believe anyone would make me do something like this. I felt demeaned.

"I'll have your head, Obsidian!!" He Britished at me, shaking his fist. I was surprised he had remembered my name, but not as surprised as Moorish Zealous became as the earth (or rather, moon) beneath him began to shake.

I jogged away from Moorish, who was frozen in place, and backed up to where my friends were standing as the Headmaster once more rose from the ground.

“Who dares to summon me?” He boomed and Moorish turned around to face me, betrayed. I merely joined the rest of the prisoners in pointing a damning finger at him.

"How rambunctious of you, Obsidian and co.," He glowered. "Fool me once, I-" he stopped his sentence abruptly again and we all waited for him to finish, but he never did.

The Headmaster placed a hand on Moorish’s shoulder and slowly turned him around to face him, a menacing scowl adorning the Headmaster’s face. The scowl unfurled into a wide, ominous smile which prompted Moorish to chuckle nervously.

Venus turned to look at me suddenly, pointing at The Headmaster and Moorish.

"Would you say he is cheesed to meet him?" Venus laughed, attempting to mirror Moorish Zealous' strange, strange greeting. Despite the high tension between Moorish and the Headmaster, he whipped around so fast his round glasses flew off and chortled joyously.

“Moorish Zealous,” he began, “I know all about you. Every thought and desire that has ever crossed your mind has now been viewed by me.” Moorish blussed a lil and glanced at Venus shyly. I let out a short high-pitched sound of frustration.

“Would you care to step into my office for a moment?” The Headmaster asked kindly. This was it. Just as I had predicted, Moorish Zealous attempted to flee. He tried to sprint away though his polished shoes kept sinking into the earth like quicksand. His defiance would buy us enough time to slip into the inter-dimensional hole The Headmaster had left in his wake.

The four of us darted forward but were stopped short by the sound of Moorish’s screams behind us. We turned to see that, surprise surprise, the Headmaster had caught up to him and his inappropriate-for-the-situation-at-hand footwear. Moorish struggled in the Headmaster’s grip and before anyone could warn them, they were at the top of a nearby staircase. The Headmaster placed Moorish at the top, but as Moorish turned to face his attacker, he tripped over his own feet.

He began to fall backwards in slow motion. We all gathered around to watch the show. When Moorish eventually reached the ground, a shimmering necklace of pearls he was wearing broke, and the pearls scattered, framing him dramatically, also in an altered flow of time. Luckily, he was also wearing a second string of pearls. He looked up at us in shock, extending a hand towards Venus before a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"F...facial… hair…? Ew..." he rasped, winded and definitely dying from his fall. A single tear that shone as brightly as his pearls escaped his eye before they fluttered closed. Forever…

Venus brought a hand to his stubble self-consciously. I had never seen him in such a state and it enraged me to the point where I considered flying down those steps and mangling Moorish Zealous. Venus looked down at his feet with a thoughtful look on his face.

“I never liked that guy at all anyway.” He muttered, so quietly that I was sure I was the only one to hear him. I wasn’t. From the bottom of the stairs, Moorish let out a wail of agony and despair before finally dying. I placed a hand on Venus's broad shoulder.

"Don't worry, buddy. He's gone now," I reassured before making brief, nervous eye-contact with the special-guest reader.

The Headmaster looked slightly miffed at this turn of events.

"Well," The Headmaster sighed, his head leaves quivered in exasperation "I may as well rejoice in my victory." He slowly and deliberately began to descend the hardwood stairs to the moorish body.

The window of opportunity was once again open. I formed a conga line of my team and we headed for the inter-dimensional rip. Our train chugged along and into the hole where we landed in a heap on the floor of The Headmaster's office.

The office had definitely undergone renovations since I'd last been there, likely due to the damages we must've caused. The desk, the LED surveillance screens and the void door were all in fundamentally the same place. There was a new cabinet and a coat rack, adorned with a black scarf, now stood proudly beside it. But now, there was a door on the far side of the office that had not been there prior. I walked over to this mysterious new door while the others searched his desk. I thought this door might be what our key was for but instead of a keyhole, there was only a place for swiping cards. There must be a keycard somewhere.

I began to wildly rummage through his desk drawers, looking for anything at all that could help us, but instead I just got a dozen paper clips somehow stuck into my hand. I threw my head back and shrieked in anguish. Cosmic came over to where I was and rummaged through the same drawer, becoming impaled by a baker’s dozen paper clips. He let out a small “hmph” noise and just continued to rummage. I fell to my knees. He mustn't have felt it through his calloused farmers mits. Suddenly, Cosmics hand halted and we heard a small click as he lifted the bottom of the drawer, exposing a hidden compartment. Inside was what appeared to be a children's pink, faux-fur covered diary. He called Elly and Venus over to where we were standing and handed the diary to Venus, stating that he wasn’t comfortable reading someone else’s private diary entries. I rolled my eyes and, judging from the look on his face, he heard it. Venus began to flick through the book, mumbling quietly as he read to himself and slowly beginning to tear up. We stared at him in anticipation. He finally glanced up at us.

“I think this is the Headmaster’s diary,” he said slowly, “but what is written in here is so emotional and raw.” He shook his head softly. I snatched the furry book from him and opened it to a few random pages.

-----

Entry 34

Dear diary,

I must reiterate, I never asked for this life. This moon had been my home long before this "prison company" started construction and long since they forced me to take physical form. I’m not sure how much of this I can handle. I’ve glanced into my future and found it too bleak for any hope to remain. The construction, however, remains in its early stages. I wanted to reverse or at least slow progress, however even if the moon stays pure, I've already been altered in ways I cannot undo. I look down at these hands I cannot fathom as being my own and damn them for grasping for power over all but myself.

Entry 70

The first few prisoners have been moved in, along with a handful of guards. I can feel their misery and hopelessness as easily as my own. The prisoners work in the garden during the day and I see that the guards have left out turnips, the exact right amount that would beckon me to the call. I do not want to be ripped into their reality today. When I looked to the sky, there was an eclipse. I had never felt so lonely, so I cannot spare my sympathy for the prisoners here. Oh, how I used to long to meet with her again. But I know better now.

Entry 142

Something strange happened today. Another of the prisoners pulled me into their garden so I did what I always do: I went to reprimand him in my office. But before I could say my piece this boy… he… kissed me? I have to be more cautious, and let it be known that this behaviour is criminal activity. Though the lowly boy faced my wrath, for just… most fleeting moment, I thought of her. I will never show care for these inmates. They think they know the feeling of being imprisoned but my burden is surely the greatest to bear. Callisto… I will find my way to you at any cost, I can promise you.

However, things are seeming to grow more difficult by the day. I've discovered that my creator has made a fail safe, as he calls it. A way to stop me forever if something “went wrong”. I knew he meant to use it and I feared it would happen soon. How dare humanity force me into this world, which is not my own, only to have the gall to tear me out of it, forever, should they declare me unfit. Have I not suffered enough? I am unimaginably furious, but more than this, I am afraid.

However, my life is no longer in the hands of others. I will not allow anyone to have this kind of power over me. I have hidden this so-called “fail safe” where no one will ever be able to retrieve it. I've hidden the access card in the one place I know to truly belong to me alone. It is a coward’s attempt, though I do feel far safer than I felt this morning. I stay safe, only for you, Callisto.

-----

After reading this, I began to search frantically through the rest of the diary until a keycard fell out of the book and onto the office floor. Before I could explain a thing, Elly snatched it up and gave it a thoughtful look.

"I've put two and two together," Elysium announced, "this must be the keycard for this here door." She strode over to the door and swiped the card. She threw open the door and the cupboard handed her a gun.

Elly walked over to me and handed me the gun.

"No no, please no!" I roared, knowing that my aim was rather terrible, and it was hard to hold both the gun and the fuzzy pink diary. I tried to give the gun back to her so that she could give it back to the cupboard but she simply stared at me blankly. I then tried to offer the gun to Venus and Cosmic but they gave me the same blank stare.

"The Headmaster had this gun locked up." Elysium explained, "It must have some importance. I bet this is his one weakness."

I stared at Elysium in awe of her deductive reasoning. I tried desperately to recount what I had just read but I was too overwhelmed to manage more than a few choked squeaks. Elly appeared quite unhappy by this. I lowered my gaze and fumbled with the gun and the book, where I found the last entry. I knew we had gotten what we had come for, but I had to know how the story ended, as it was rather gripping.

-----

Entry 399

It has been a rather gruelling ordeal but I have finally figured it out. We’ve been parted so long, Callisto, but I have finally found a way to bring us back together. I know how and believe me, before this week is up, I will. Callisto, my beloved, our souls will intertwine in the cosmos once again, and though my form, my body, will never be what it once was, my heart will always belong to you. I will see you soon.

-----

I wiped a tear from my eye. I was so happy for them my heart was aching. I doubled over from the pain of my heart burn. I popped a few pills of Gaviscon Heartburn Medication and stood upright, just as the Headmaster arrived in his office.

He zeroed in on me immediately, as I was holding both his private diary and his only weakness. He charged towards me and I collapsed onto the floor in a panic. I’ll admit, it wasn’t my finest moment. I heard his high heels clacking toward me and I felt so much fear and guilt, I hadn't even realised what I had done until after the sound of the gun firing.

The Headmaster was on the ground when I finally opened my eyes. Elly and Venus seemed pleased with the supposed victory. Cosmic appeared a little dismayed by the violence but seemed relieved nonetheless. I, however, could only feel a slight emptiness. I rose shakily to my feet and tiptoed to the Headmaster’s body. He was looking straight up past me with unfocused eyes, he was shivering like he was cold. He reached a feeble arm up to the LED screens which abruptly vanished, revealing the void surroundings of the office, throwing me off completely. I looked up just as an image of the night sky and a large, bright moon faded in.

“Callisto.” he offered weakly, a single tear running down his stern face, before coughing harshly, his arm dropping back down. With that, we were completely inside the pitch black void again.

“Callisto,” he tried again, softer this time. “I’ll be there soon.” He erupted into another round of coughs before beginning to mutter to himself. "I'm… so sorry, my love," he smiled weakly as his eyes closed. As I went to reach for him, his body fell apart like dust and he scattered into the expanse of the void. He would never be with Callisto again. He let out one last heaving breath. Humanity had betrayed him one last time.

Just like that, he was dead.

I leaned forward and rested my hand on his forehead. No pulse, no breaths. After all I had found out about him, nothing had come of it. Such a pitiful end to a powerfully awe-inspiring being.

[djinmer4]

Genshin Impact x Hades Crossover

TBD with Murata and the Tsaritsa, but I thought it's far enough along to at least make a start on this.

Traveler (either Kong or Ying by choice) as protag, going through the stages to get answers about their sibling.

Decided to combine or split the character roles.

House of Hades/Mondstadt: Starting area, get teleported back every time you 'die' in a run. Shops, currency exchange, quest bulletin board, get your own house? to decorate and show off collections and accomplishments. Should be very pretty. Maybe a fake sky?

Characters in this area:

Xiao and Ganyu as Thanatos and Hypnos, generally hang around and offer gossip (or ". . ." I suppose in Xiao's case). Both occasionally show up in your runs to offer help, Xiao offers you a challenge the same as Thanatos, Ganyu offers a complete heal. Each can only appear once per run, although they may not appear at all.

Katheryne as Hades, hanging around always doing paperwork. She makes commentary on your run, like Hypnos except much more obviously sarcastic. She also gives out challenges/bounties and you can purchase decorative upgrades from her. (I originally was going to put Jean here, for the paperwork, but Katheryne seems to make more sense.)

Noelle as Dusa, mostly just commentary and can increase relationship values here.

Diluc as Achilles, offers combat advice as you try out new weapons and boons. Maybe also offers to spar with you for practice? Unlike Skelly, he fights back though.

Dori as the Wretched Broker, exchanging artifacts for currency or vice-versa. She also takes the place of Charon during the runs, offering items, boons and artifacts in return for currency, either in person or at shops. Maybe an extra boss if you steal from her, but not THE bonus boss.

Skirk as Nyx, more commentary, maybe the one who advances the plot?

~~~

Tartarus/Liyue: First hostile area, shown mostly underground, as opposed to Mondstadt. Mostly dark with gold accents, very luxurious looking (as opposed to Tartarus appearance of a prison).

Dainsleif is the merchant in this area, implied to be sneaking around for unknown reasons and should drop hints in conversation on how to advance the plot.

The boss for this area is an Abyss Lector, either one or a combination of Enjou, Egill and Agnarr. Enjou would be the only one who really talks and is friendly to the Traveler. None of them show up in Mondstadt.

~~~

Asphodel/Fontaine?: Definitely full of rivers, maybe frozen over. Elegant in appearance, lots of fountains.

The merchant is Faruzan. She's in a comfortable, luxurious palace with lots of resources, but implied to be stuck only in the palace and ironically without the items/artifacts she needs to get out. While normal items can be purchased with the regular currency, advancing the relationship with her would involve bringing her artifacts so she can build something that would allow her to escape.

The boss for the area would be the All-Devouring Narwhal.

~~~

Elysium/Sumeru: Rooms should alternate between jungle and desert decorations. (I really wanted to do Mondstadt here instead, but I decided it worked better as the starting area.)

Kaeya is the merchant in the area. He's a lot more snarky than Patroclus but maybe some hints of depression still. Advancing both his and Diluc's friendship points means helping them rebuild their relationship, usually by passing messages back and forth to each other. (Personally, I'd like the idea that you can make choices to tilt the relationship to be either romantic or familial, but we know that developers would never go for it.)

La Signora and Childe are the bosses, with La Signora being the Theseus expy and Childe as Asterius. NB: while La Signora shows both Pyro and Cryo abilities and Childe Electro and Hydro, they can only summon the Tsaritsa for an aid attack. Maybe stick a relationship path with Childe, maybe advancing by doing certain challenges?

~~~

Temple of Styx/Greece: Not sure what to put here. It would either be Khain'rieh or Celestia, neither of which have been seen yet.

Cerberus would be Durin, except instead of finding a Fetid Sack, you'd pick up a Mondstadt souvenir instead.

The final boss is the Traveler's sibling. Each time you defeat him or her you get a chance to ask one of three questions. But not all questions advance the plot and if you choose the wrong one, well you just have to go again. Not sure what causes the Traveler to return to the beginning each time.

TBC

[lukedanger]

WIP Wednesday

Thought I would share some of the WIPs I did during and after my Pathfinder playthrough with an angel paladin of Iomedae; first one is a discussion of where it could have gone based on choices. Whether the choice was genuinely the KC's, or if that was player interface for what 'in-universe' was shaped by things not necessarily in their control, and that they might wonder how it could have gone differently.

“Champion, there is something I wish to ask you.”

Elaina looked up from where she was sitting, removing the last few pieces of her leg armor. “Certainly, Hand. What did you want to discuss?”

“I spoke to Desna’s protege, and she mentioned something that I had to verify.”

Elaina’s gut tightened. “Arueshalae is not in trouble, is she?”

The Hand chuckled, “No, she has not sealed herself in - what is the mortal term, ‘horn prison’? - rather I asked her what had drawn her to you.”

“I know you mean well, Hand, but she is very sensitive about what she used to do.”

The Hand’s halo of swords dimmed, slowing in their rotation as he held a hand up. “Be at peace, Champion: I had hoped to reassure her after the false shaman’s revelations shook her confidence.”

“Camellia shook many of us,” Elaina added, hoping the relative evasiveness would convince him she was not eager to talk about it. “You had a different question, though.”

“Indeed, and a happier matter! Arueshalae mentioned that when you appeared to her through the Dreamer’s shrine, you appeared differently. With iridescent wings, a silvery sheen to your eyes and lips, and clad in the finest armor.”

The paladin frowned, though relaxed. “Yes, I had appeared as a ghalae in the vision. I had assumed that it was Desna’s work to hide the crusade’s advance. Though if that was the case, She picked the wrong type of azata.”

The Hand’s halo almost twirled in its rotation. “Perhaps! But she also mentioned that you had the song of Elysium in your heart - it has fallen silent since Drezen’s liberation, but it had been as genuine as any azata’s song.”

Elaina finished removing her sabatons, setting them on the workbench so she could inspect them for damage later, then stood in her arming jacket. “Yes, I picked up… something when I was sent to Elysium in Kenabres. Not a physical token, the melody that the Desnans insisted I hear.”

“You had journeyed to Elysium by its song,” the Hand’s halo of swords glowed brighter. “And it embedded in you the same way that Lariel’s sword had.”

“Initially I considered refusing,” she admitted, “as a paladin I cannot allow the chaos of Elysium, well meaning as it is, to turn me from just order. And yet…” she inhaled, as if she was about to confess. Who am I kidding, this is exactly what it is, she decided. “And yet I could not. Would not. I want to remember that sense of freedom, that fulfillment of a dream since I was an oblate at the abbey.”

The Hand’s halo dimmed, though he gestured towards the unused workbench and after receiving a nod, sat down. Elaina sat in the nearby chair - he would tower over her either way.

“Being an oblate in service of the Inheritor gave me purpose from a young age, but I also felt trapped. I was free to find my place as I wished - first as a healer, and then as a paladin, but it was always to be within the Inheritor’s mortal ranks. I would often dream of what life might have been like outside of it, an escape from the cycle of prayer and work as I slept.”

“Such dreams are the purview of mortals, burdensome as they might be,” the angel explained. “Yet you clearly understand the difference between dreams and the reality around you, and there is no shame in such! Rest is needed for all, even the immortal. We are not without our own desires, after all.”

“What kind, if I may ask?”

“Our desires to see the planes live in a just peace, of our swords being unneeded as there is no injustice to fight. The hope to triumph in our own personal crusade, to raise the value of life or strike down those that demean it. I long to crush the Echo of Deskari beneath my bootheel, if only to save Eliandra from his clutches!”

Elaina smiled. “Or for the crusader factions to stop with the petty insults and actually work together?”

“Indeed!” He paused. “But outside of contacting Arueshalae, has the Song of Elysium come to you?”

“Once more,” she admitted. “When I unfurled the Sword of Valor.”

It had been a confusing cacophony - the rage within her screaming against the Light of Heaven, and Elysium’s song calling her from it. Yet she seized the Light of Heaven firmly, allowing it to suffuse and remake her body. It was afterwards that she realized that the song had forever dimmed.

“I cannot help but wonder if I could have become partially an azata then,” she admitted, “much as I am now somewhere between human and archon, but not an aasimar.”

“You wonder if you had rejected the freedom you once dreamed of?”

“In a way. We know so little of what is happening to me, I cannot help but be curious as to what other forms I may have taken. For good… or for ill.”

Silence fell, but soon the Hand broke it. “For what it is worth, I believe that you would have been responsible with the capricious spontaneity of Elysium. Yet I would urge you to not weep for avoiding that path - I also believe that you would ultimately have been unhappy with it, much as a mote archon eventually leaves a brijidine.”

Will that happen to me and Arueshalae? They had butted heads a few times, such as over her adoration and observation of mortal love, yet they had been able to talk it out…

“True enough,” she finally said. “Though I do hope that some of Elysium’s children will aid us, even if only in their own way.”

“A hope that I share - I would not trust them to organize a campaign, but I am happy to fight alongside them any day. Far better to be shoulder to shoulder with them than Hell’s minions.” With that, he rose. “Thank you for your time, Champion. I will let you get back to your own affairs.”

“And thank you for hearing me out.”

“Of course!”

[drunkenskunk]

The other day, I was streaming on the purple app, and something happened that I can't get out of my head. One of the channel rewards I have is "Visible Liver Damage," where I will immediately finish whatever drink I currently have. Since it was the start of the stream, the drink in question was a completely untouched gamersupps shaker full of Tanqueray and orange juice.

So, I downed the whole thing as quickly as I could. Then, the Visible Liver Damage button was hit several more times, and I happily obliged. Personally, I thought it was a great bit, especially when I got hit with multiple "Hydrate" rewards and I pulled out a gallon jug of water. But one of my viewers was absolutely horrified. And I was left very confused by that. Like...

Mate.

Do you not know where you are?

There's a reason I go by The Drunken Skunk lately, and it's not just because I'm a furry. No, it's because my only unique selling point is being a suicidally depressed alcoholic fuckup, so other people can have a good time by laughing at what a pathetic loser I am.

I am 36 years old, and I've lost all hope. I genuinely didn't think I was going to live this long. I am constantly in pain, I no longer take joy in any of my old hobbies, and the only thing I genuinely look forward to every day is the moment I can finally collapse in bed and Not Exist for several hours. And it feels like even that is getting shorter and shorter; if you think I can genuinely get a good 8 hours of sleep, then you haven't been paying attention. Why would I want to prolong this misery?

When I finally shuffle off, it'll be unloved, unmourned, and forgotten within a decade. No one else is going to care. Why should I? Whatever happens, happens.

Like, there's a reason I sympathize so strongly with Harry DuBois from Disco Elysium, despite being so terrible at the game that I've never actually finished it. It's because I, too, am an alcoholic burnout fuckup ("HARRY YOU WORHTLESS GOD DAMN PIECE OF SHIT!") who desperately doesn't want to be this animal anymore. That conversation at the beginning of the game, where his Ancient Reptillian Brain is trying to convince him to let go and fall into the warm, sweet embrace of oblivion to escape the pain and misery of this prison we call existence? That's a conversation I have with myself every single morning.

I have no future worth looking forward to. I might as well try and enjoy what little time I have left as I run out the clock on this game I've already lost and have no hope of winning. And most days? That means drinking myself numb, so I can, very briefly, Not Feel Anything.

So, no. I don't think I will remove the Visible Liver Damage channel reward. Hell, most days, I'll just do that shit without any prompting anyway.

Cheers.

[astra-galaxie]

Victoria Holt

Biographical information

Full Name: Victoria Holt

Alias(es): Nerium Nightshade

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Lesbian

Status: Deceased

Age: 60 (season 1)

Birth: 1953

Race: Human

Cause of Death: Electrocution

Nationality: Dutch

Origin: Holland, Netherlands

Residence:

India (formerly)

Holland, Netherlands (formerly)

Profession(s): Scientist

Affiliation(s):

Switch Laboratories

SOMBRA

Profile

Height: 5'4" Age: 60 (season 1) Weight: 137lbs Eyes: blue Blood: A+

Hailing from the Netherlands, Victoria Holt was the owner of Switch Laboratories. She had strawberry-blonde hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. She wore a simple red dress, an orange lab coat, and a DNA pattern scarf.

Synopsis

Victoria was the victim of A Shock to the Team.

She used to own Switch Laboratories, a lab that, on the surface, was working to cure diseases. But behind the scenes, they were creating custom poisons to kill people. Victoria and Gustave were the only ones aware of SL's true intentions; the rest of the employees thought they were doing good work.

But unknown to Gustave, Victoria worked for SOMBRA, who also funded her operations. SOMBRA was using Victoria's poisons to "weed out the weak" but killing their enemies. Because Victoria's poisons were so unique, it would appear like people died of natural causes, such as a heart attack or stroke. She also sold her poisons privately on the black market, and no one traced these murders back to Victoria.

But Nathan eventually discovered Victoria's devious plans. He learned the truth while autopsying one of the volunteer test subjects. After realizing that Project Elysium was killing people on purpose instead of saving them, he contacted his grandfather, the Director of U.N.I.T at the time. With the agency's help, they destroyed the lab and research, arresting many of the employees.

But Victoria fled with SOMBRA's help and vowed revenge on Nathan for his betrayal. She couldn't believe after everything she did for him; he would stab her in the back. She gave him his sight, helped with his education, gave him a job at her lab, and that was how he repaid her?!

She stayed a free woman for many years as she evaded U.N.I.T. Victoria tried to recreate her work, but without the data, she couldn't do it. And then she realized that Nathan would be the key to helping her. He helped U.N.I.T. confiscate her work and was sure he would have remembered the formulas and know how to recreate them.

So, Victoria contacted Gustave, who was now out of prison, and the two tracked Nathan down to Grimsborough. They also found other old employees of SL, but no one wanted anything to do with them. But the two were persistent and tried to restart their work in a secret lab hidden underneath an abandoned iPear store Gustave owned.

Victoria even went as far as to threaten Nathan's son Avi. The coroner agreed to go with her to the lab so that she wouldn't hurt the boy, but once there, he attacked Victoria, knocking her out. He tried to destroy the work inside but found no files, so he fled before she woke up.

But Nathan knocking Victoria out would make it easier for Gustave to murder her. Gustave was angry when he saw that Victoria had failed to get Nathan back. He knew he could get the coroner to cooperate with the right incentives, and if she were going to be useless, he wouldn't risk her ruining his chances at a better life.

Gustave strapped Victoria to a chair and hooked up jumper cables to it and the shop's electric panel. With a flick of a switch, he turned on the shop's sign and electrocuted Victoria in the process. He left her burnt corpse inside and began formulating a plan to escape Grimsborough, taking Nathan with him.

Story Information

First appeared: A Shock to the Team

Trivia

The name of the case she was a victim in, A Shock to the Team, is a reference to the pilot episode (A Shock to the System) from the cartoon Static Shock

The SOMBRA connection was a change I made after I edited my first story, The Case of The Criminal, in 2021

She sold her custom poisons on the black market under the disguise of Nerium Nightshade

She wore a mask when making sales; the most common ones looked like skulls

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)