#Good luck y’all!

[reflection-s-of-stars]

Harrow nova au thought (plus more thoughts later): if all the necromancer/cavalier pairs are swapped, the sixth and ninth houses will suffer each other’s fates.

So in the Ninth corner, you have Gideon Nav (Gideon Nonagesimus? Man idk), a self-sacrificing necromancer head over heels in love with Dulcinea, and is extremely upset about the big reveal. This is a recipe for some Very Bad Things to happen to our dear Griddle.

You also have Harrow Nova, who’s willing to do some unreasonable things to protect Gideon. This is a canon quality of hers, but here, it’s also been bred into her as Gideon’s cavalier. There’s no distance she wouldn’t go to protect her adept.

You might notice that this dynamic looks a hell of a lot like the Sixth’s in canon.

I think the way this would end is for Gideon to die fighting Cytherea (or maybe Loveday), and for Harrow, perhaps with myriad-old notes left behind by the OG cavaliers, to find a way to keep Gideon’s soul alive. Maybe she traps her in a river bubble (perhaps with a historical smut book), or maybe she does something else. Gideon is confused and hurt that Harrow won’t let her die for her, but she’s Gideon! Harrow has to protect her, she’s Gideon!

Meanwhile, with the Sixth, you’ve got Palamedes- also madly in love with Dulcinea, also self-sacrificing, and now he’s a cavalier, so that’s to the max. He loves Camilla, too, he loves her with all the strength in his heart. And we see that one of his worst fears is her getting hurt.

And then there’s Master Warden Cam, who’s an odd case. The insane level of devotion that makes her her might be applied to her House, but Palamedes would still be her number one. Permanently losing him would still be unthinkable.

And that’s a good recipe for a very bad start to Lyctorhood.

Palamedes tries to appeal to “Dulcinea” after Gideon is found dead, and the Sixth gets attacked for its troubles. Camilla’s badly injured, and Palamedes is angry- angry enough that he pools his thanergy and explodes himself, catapulting Cam to Lyctorhood. Between that and Cytherea’s (or maybe Loveday’s) weakened state (turbo cancer), Camilla has no trouble beating her, but her grief is almost enough to make it not worth it. And the prospect of immortality doesn’t balance it out if it’s without Palamedes.

It makes sense- switch around dynamics, and the possible outcomes are going to change. The devoted necromancer of a self-sacrificing cavalier will go unwillingly to Lyctorhood, and the devoted cavalier of a self-sacrificing necromancer will carry their soul to the end of the earth.

More thoughts on swapped necros, cavs and pairs:

The Fourth and the Fifth switch. Baroness Jeannemary Chatur and Sir Isaac Tettares are killed shortly after their shared birthday party. Isaac is fourteen, Jeannemary is fifteen. Lord Magnus Quinn and Sir Abigail Pent are heartbroken, but they don’t stick around much longer either. Abigail and Harrow have some version of the “why’d he have to get stupid now” conversation. (Also I need you guys to know that this Abigail is a weapons nerd who can use pretty much every offhand under the sun)

The Third is less swapped than it is rotated. Coronabeth is a flesh adept who ends up a semi-reluctant Lyctor. Ianthe is her twin and cavalier primary, who dies for her sister’s ambitions quite willingly. Naberius is their cousin who would’ve been sent to the front lines if he hadn’t claimed to be necromantic, but is left out of the twins’ scheme and captured by Blood of Eden along with Harrow. (You also need to know that Corona cuts off Ianthe’s hair to use it as a weapon and grows it back later)

Captain Marta Dyas is an extremely competent necromancer with accolades upon accolades and a great Trentham education and a brilliant future in the Cohort. Lieutenant Judith Deuteros is her cavalier whose dad is a fleet admiral. They work together very well, and though Judith does get her ass kicked by Palamedes in a duel, she holds her own against Teacher for long enough that Marta can escape. Marta gets captured by Blood of Eden along with Harrow and Babs, which is very good for her blood pressure. (Marta and Babs do not have an As Yet Unsent romance. She has a boyfriend back at Trentham. She gives him romantic advice.)

Duke Protesilaus Ebdoma of Cypris is a sick necromancer who’s realized he doesn’t have much time left. He’s taken a new cavalier to make his last days more comfortable- Miss Dulcinea Septimus, just out of school and eager to prove herself. They, of course, don’t last very long- Dulcinea is killed and impersonated, and Pro’s body gets wheeled around with a wave of the hand and a “my adept’s not feeling very well.” (You also need to know that Dulcie dresses like she’s in Barbie and the Three Musketeers and has a stunning array of very cool hats with feathers)

Speaking of the murder of the Seventh, I’m not sure what to do with the Lyctors. It makes more sense for Cytherea to be the one to impersonate Dulcie, but also! It’s my roleswap AU and I want Cristabel Oct!!! She hasn’t got the intellect ordinarily found in a sandwich or an orange and I think she should be immortal!!!

The Eighth is also there. Silas’s offhand is a net. That’s all I have going now, I don’t know or care too much about them

Wow this got long. I guess it turned into a whole Harrow Nova AU planning post? Idk I just really like roleswap AUs and Harrow Nova is fueling my love for them like nothing ever has. (Red OSP voice) So yeah!

[indefiniteavatar]

hey poor as hell people who need an apartment, section 8, waiting list is open for the next few days. Here’s the link even if you don’t need it, please signal boost. They are not making nearly enough people aware about this shit.

on.nyc.gov/section8-application

http://on.nyc.gov/section8-application

[thatbuddie]

again this is if only one can be confirmed!!! i know some (or most) can go together but the show would only do or explicitly acknowledge one! so choose your preferred one.

[breezemoonriver]

I’m back posting art baybeeeee!!

I’ve been dealing w/ art block since around May and this is from way back in March but eh happens xD

This was originally supposed to be a color key but then I got too into it and fully rendered it :3 try to spot all the symbolism(especially in the stained glass)!

[carpetbug]

a little mullo for your troubles

[saturngalore]

i hope that anyone here who is going the widespread protests that are happening later today have a safe travel, stay masked up (for covid and safety/identity reasons), and make sure to know what to do if you have to deal with police or get arrested/detained. pls wear nonidentifying clothing, leave your phone at home and get a burner phone if you can, and research for more tips for protests, and be safe 👍🏾🇵🇸

[truegoist]

nagi hates it when you get up in the morning and leave him all alone, whether it be for work or for breakfast.

he misses your warmth beside him in the bed, the loneliness making it impossible for him to go back to sleep peacefully

that’s why he now resorts to more underhanded methods, such as laying directly on top of you

he likes nuzzling into you and burying his head in your hair while leaving you to suffocate under his weight

oh you need air? just stop breathing. That’s the least you can do for your beloved

and yes, even if it may get fairly annoying(especially when you need to go to toilet) having the warmth of him surrounding you is quite nice and the way his hand knead your body reminds you of a cat

so maybe you’ll sleep in. Just this once

[spineless-lobster]

Thinking about the deep, soul crushing love and devotion achilles and patroclus have for each other and how if I don’t experience that kind of love at least once in my life I will wither away like a dead leaf in winter

Love me in a way that makes the gods tremble in fear and I will love you even if it kills me

[finisnihil]

Analysis with Penacony spoilers ahead, read at your own behest

I love Acheron so so much and one of the main reasons is how human she tries to be. She‘s trying so hard to stay human, to be human.

She’s killed people the blood debt is a burden she carries. She only sees the world in black, white, and red, but she gets lost easily and guides strangers home and she thanks you for trusting her even though you don’t have to and she protects a little boy from the mafia and she mourns your friend with you even though she didn’t know her because she knows you’re hurting and she helps you calm down after you watched your friend die horribly and she stays with you and looks after you and tells you to stay level headed and she apologies for being held back from protecting those you love because she isn’t human anymore and then she does one of the most human thing of all and blesses the soul and mourns her with you, guides her home like she did with you. Acheron is gentle like a psychopomp, like Death. She cries blood but it’s still crying.

Onto the allusion, the name Acheron comes from the river Acheron, one of the five rivers of the Underworld in Greek mythology. The Acheron is the River of Woe/Pain/Lost Souls. The River Cocytus (River of Wailing/Lamentation) and River Phlegethon (River of Magma) both flow into the River Acheron and the River Styx (River of Oaths/Border to the Underworld/Makes one invulnerable if they bathe in it) stems from the Acheron. The final river is the River Lethe which causes forgetfulness when bathed in or drunk from and usually used by the souls of the dead to be reborn. These allusions fit Acheron well, as she cries blood which is fitting for one named after the River of Woe. Her difficulty to hold onto memories is also reminiscent of the Lethe, especially now that we know she’s an Emanator. She was technically “reborn” as when she became one.

Building off this, she fulfills the role of a psychopomp. In folklore and mythology psychopomp are entities that guide souls of the dead, such a Thanatos in Greek mythology who is the personification of peaceful death (Who Seele has allusions to but that’s another analysis). Aventurine associates Acheron with the Finality a few times and we see her act like a psychopomp when she does things like “take us home” when we first meet her and she mentions guiding again when she sends Firefly off. She gets lost in the waking world but never seems to in the Dreamscape.

Building even more off this allusion, in Greek mythology the twin brother of Thanatos is Hypnos, the personification of sleep. Sleep and death are often tied together even outside of Greek mythology, like the Epic of Gilgamesh where Gilgamesh is literally told he can’t think about conquering death when he can’t even conquer sleep.

This all leads me to a theory about why Acheron said she had no choice in whether to draw her blade. She wanted to but she had no choice in the matter. We’ve seen her draw her blade twice so far in the story and it was to wake the Trailblazer and to fight Sam. If Acheron is an agent of the Finality maybe her blade can’t be drawn because it can only be used against those dying or dead or not living? We know Firefly was dying and we know she has a weird connection with Sam. The weird “Death” monster also seemed to target Firefly. I think Acheron couldn’t draw her sword against the “Death” because she is also an agent of Death and cannot attack one of her own, but she can use it against Firefly because Firefly is dying and it would be seen as a final severing of the soul from life or as “harvesting” the soul. Of course I could be completely and utterly wrong I’m literally just making an analysis based on allusions and motifs but still I think it’s interesting. Plus Aventurine calls Acheron and Sam enemies and Sam uses fire, an element typically seen as representing life.

Pulling a little bit away, Acheron sees the world in black, white, and red. The red is fleeting according to her and it reappears when a choice is made. If Acheron is a psychopomp this makes sense, she would mostly see the world as the living and the dead and the red could be a tie to the idea of the red string of fate, as we know destiny is a major theme of HSR’s story. When we make choices that change the direction of fate, we interact with the red strings of fate. This could be another reason she’s at odds with the Stellaron Hunters, they adhere strongly to the idea of destiny but to death destiny would have a different meaning. Her sword has an eye and is adorned with red which is where the majority of the color in her design is centered, going back to my theory around her sword it could represent how it cuts strings of fate and the eye matches the one on the “Death” nightmare.

We also know she apparently hijacked the Ever-Flame Mansion party to come here, maybe because she sensed there would be a lot of death here and came to collect the souls?

Finally, I would like to reiterate I do not play HI3 this is just something I’ve noticed, so correct me if I’m wrong:

She seems to be a Raiden Mei Expy and I know nothing of that character but I did notice when she says “Do you remember me?” there’s the answer of no and yes, and she akins us to a dear friend she had. We, the protagonist, fulfill the same role in this game Kiana (I think that’s the HI3 protag) does in HI3 and I’m vaguely aware Raiden Mei and Kiana have some sort of relationship in HI3. This asking if we remember her could be two things to me: Either she’s asking if we remember her as we have faced death before or she’s asking if we the player remember her from HI3, which she may have an awareness of if she is a personification of death and that may link her to knowledge of the Imaginary Tree as trees seem to be associated with death in HSR when you remember Yaoshi is associated with trees as well and the fruit of their tree on the Xianzhou gives immortality, where if Luocha is an Emanator he would have that tree motif too and we know he has tree motifs because he’s an Expy of Otto who did interact with what I think was the Imaginary Tree and that carried over when Luocha was given the element of Imaginary (Of course I had to talk about Luocha who do you think I am)

Anyways there’s so so much more but this post is already really really long and probably incomprehensible so if I think of any more I’ll make like a part II post anyways thanks for reading this far if you did and feel free to add discussion, mwah!

[smckesprite]

@anchoragestarters    ↯    CAP ( UNDECIDED ) DATE & LOCATION — MAY 25, 5:41PM ↯ SLEEPY CAT BOOKS

it’d been a little too long since he last offered his services—having a full shift—at the local bookshop, but he’d been there for most of the day already. it was a little too slow for a saturday, but the lack of patrons gave him a lot of time to ponder, and that was truthfully not exemplary for mireu’s psyche, and if overthinking was considered a sport, he would be a professional. roo welcomed any individual who would walk past the shop’s threshold with a smile on his face, answering any sort of questions they had... despite not knowing the answers to most of them. mireu merely worked here for some extra income as a part-timer, but it was the thought that counted, right? either way, he’d rarely look up from the cash wrap and wasn’t too curious about who came in through the door, be it those who recognized him or not. closing seemed so close, yet so far away...

[traggalicious]

Archivist??? OC WIP! This is Jupiter!!!! The pearls and circles on her clothes represent her moons! And she has some pisces traits bc traditionally Jupiter repped Pisces but Neptune stole it ):< (She and Neptune are homos for each other. Yell heah) The centaur thing is cos Sagittarius. Enough said.

I’m also gonna do Europa bc i love you Europa!!!!! Shout out to Europa. And all Jupiter’s moons. Love y’all. Planets <333

[whirlybirbs]

you just don't see the gang orca truth! rather it be gang orca than all for one, whale in suit is better than potato head in suit

this ask is fundamentally hilarious because no one is holding a gun to your head and telling you that you need to pick or die, you’re just holding the gun yourself

[whathasangramainyudonewrong]

Wrong #536

Tax evasion

[dianamations]

[pun-wizard]

Two of them

[animemusicbrackets]

Hewwo everybody! first of all: happy Juneteenth to all my African American friends! Second, I have update on the semifinals: i am traveling for a convention (anime ohio) and don’t have access to a computer, so semifinals will go up next weekend, not this weekend. Had a lot of stuff going on including con crunching so I kinda.. forgor to make the next bracket round….. so it will have to wait til I get back. sorry. Please be patient with me 🥲