#War of the God Monsters

[butlerkitty-art]

“Baldur was the greatest gift Odin granted Freya; the one thing she treasured from their marriage.”

“The death of a child is not something a parent gets over easily.”

[themeeplord]

More doodles from @maudiemoods' magma!

Jörmungandr from God of War and Nergigante from Monster Hunter >:3

[tvshow-enthusiast]

[bonefall]

So, your Clear Sky post is absolutely horrifying, but it was very needed, so thank you. What are your general thoughts on tackling his abuse for the AU? Like you've said, pretending he's a good guy is not the way to go, but are you planning on toning down *some* of the situations, just to give some of the cats a break? Clear Sky is a very realistic depiction of abusers, but that seems to come across even without victim number 25, yknow? I'm very curious about how you'd like to go about this.

My most recent big change was bringing Slash back into the fold, because I realized that it was actually a disservice to not address where DOTC's themes dip into Colonialism. It's a hard topic, and I'm still trying to work out the details, but I realized it was important.

With how BB!DOTC is such a MASSIVE overhaul, to properly address abuse and the ways it impacts you, ableism and its violence, and xenophobia broadly, a huge reworking of Slash belonged here too. He's one of the greatest examples of how badly WC demonizes non-Clanborn cats. I shouldn't dance around it.

That's what I need to do with Skystar.

MANY of his victims have happier endings than canon, though. Bumble is one of the most famous, bumped up into a major character and directly responsible for the formation of ThunderClan. Bright Storm is taking most of Gray Wing's roles. Birch and Alder are getting examined, with either a father who wants his kids back or Milkweed as the mate of Misty.

A lot of people will die because of him, even more will be hurt, but I see BB!DOTC as a story about victims and survivors.

Others might grab POVs here and there, but as a response to canon which I feel is Clear Sky's story told in many parts, I center this rewrite around Thunder Storm. The path of kindness he marches down, with love and with anger, and the people he helps.

So BB!Star Flower...

Previously I was playing her as ENTIRELY just manipulating Clear Sky. She was loyal to One Eye and trying to get at Skystar to bleed him dry for 8 lives to sacrifice; but connected to Thunderstar over recognizing him as a victim who deserves her idea of justice. So, she offers Thunderstar the final kill, so her father will be grateful to him and he'll get power AND the death of his abuser.

(When Thunderstar looks upon Skystar, pathetic and neutralized down to one life, he thinks about the collateral damage that will descend upon the forest if he accepts the deal. He decides that he has found the line between Justice and Justification. Of course he wants the power to make his enemies cower, protect his people, and eliminate Clear Sky so he never threatens them again; that's not the problem.

He can still do these things. He wouldn't NEED the power of a war god to do so.

But if One Eye returns, he will be endlessly hungry, ruthlessly dedicated to revenge, and set out to devour the whole forest. Everything would get worse, and even more people he loves would die. It's where his desire to destroy a monster would lead to him BECOMING one.)

Even on its face, it was previously missing an element. There's a step between "Starf decides to bring One Eye back" and "Starf offers Thunderstar the final kill" that was bare. This is the piece that was missing-- That she, herself, is trying to reach out to the only person who's ever really understood her.

But more importantly... I do feel this topic belongs here, in BB!DOTC. Abuse is a MAJOR theme. SKYSTAR is a monster already. He's harmed two wives in BB (Bright Storm and Falling Cry) and played toxic games with all three kits (Thunder Storm, Pale Sky, Tiger Sky).

And I'd avoid Star Flower being abused... why? Because it's uncomfortable to confront the pattern that Clear Sky displays? That in-canon, he tries to cut all his victims into the same ideal shape, from Storm to Thunder to Star Flower? ...it should be uncomfortable. Everything that I described in Clear Sky Is A Monster is rooted in the same desire for control, power, and punishment most abusive people share, he just happens to be a severe example.

Yes. That includes how he treats his child and romantic partners. The parallels that are drawn between Starf and Thunder are there because he wants power in the form of obedience. Starf replaces the son as a narrative award for his "growth" of not killing random people anymore for a while.

A cookie cutter is an effective tool because IT ONLY MAKES ONE SHAPE.

You know what's more uncomfortable? Reading canon!DOTC and seeing someone who hurt you reflected almost perfectly in the character the writers think did nothing wrong. Because of "good intentions" that were not there.

I will say though, just to be clear; I don't see a purpose in being more than PG-13 about serious topics for this project. I promise none of my intentions have changed. Nothing will be more graphic or gorey than canon WC-- just more intentional.

I'm keeping the sacrifice because it's dope. No one is taking this from me. Girl Moment: Killed her awful husband 8 times to count as 8 sacrifices and offered the last life to her buddy as a show of good will. How else do you make friends outside of high school

But I know now that Star Flower NEEDS to keep the canon fact she has very little agency, UNTIL that moment she snaps.

She's sacrificing one abuser to try and bring back a bigger, badder one, because in spite of everything, her father One Eye always made her feel safe. Even though he promised her off to Skystar, and expected her to be willing to die for him. She's followed every command, every order, past the death of his mortal vessel.

The first, and only, selfish choice she's ever made was in reaching out to Thunderstar to offer him the power of her father.

Thunderstar's Justice is a story about a Thunder Storm at the pinnacle of his arc, how the survivors of his Clan are settling into the new normal after the carnage of The First Battle, how Skystar's arrogance brings a violent god to the Forest... and the connection Thunderstar makes with the daughter of a monster.

[gebo4482]

God of War: Raganarok by Stephen Oakley

[angermango]

freestyle shitposting with the Huldra Bros (+some other guys but this ain't about them)

and an alternative take for the first one:

[madcat-world]

God of War: Ragnarok - AnatoFinnstark

[cloudyysworld]

Moff Gideon being all cocky confident and shit in front of Mandalorians but the second some blond twink with a green glowing sword shows up to pick up his husband and son:

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was living in the forest with a pet bunny inside a fallen over log. For years we lived like this until one day we were pushed out of the forest by some humans. In response we became Kaiju monsters, waging a genocidal war against all human kind. They built mechs to fight back, for a time it worked. Until we made a deal with a colossal dragon god so big it could wrap itself around the world. Gaining powers bestowed upon us and transforming into dragons we were finally able to whip out all of humanity.

[anuspastor]

how many packs does he smoke per day? one an hour ur welcome 🚬🚬🚬

[ao3-anonymous]

Fastest Growing Fandoms on AO3 This Week (10/30/2023)

Every week I pull data on how many fics are in each fandom and compare to the previous week, then calculate the percentage increase to determine fastest growing fandoms.  Since this naturally skews towards smaller fandoms, I have included the same data filtered to Over 1k, 5k, & 10k fics.

Overall:

Over 1,000 Fics:

Over 5,000 Fics:

Over 10,000 Fics:

Source: AO3 Fandom Dashboard

[doctorslippery]

And the giant, beyond planet-sized horrors off the shipping path going to Kessel. Hyperspace whales is not the biggest leap of or suspension of disbelief in the Star Wars universe.

Shhh...sorry, dude, it's space fantasy. And that's okay.

[totes-tubulardude]

I mentioned before that some modified troopers were more wary than others about telling their Jedi generals about their specific mutation. This is born from abuse they received from trainers on Kamino, a sense of fear that others that aren’t their brothers will think they are monsters and need to be feared.

So when they first meet their Jedi generals, they don't bring it up or mention it. They still are trying to get a feel for their Jedi and the last thing they want is to scare them away.

Inevitably they will need to use their mutation, either to protect themselves or their battalions or in battle.

Anakin was absolutely amazed at Rex's ability when he first saw Rex use it. The captain was not expecting the list of questions and enthusiasm he received from his general at all, shocked that the man hadn't immediately transferred him off to a different battalion.

He was still too wary to tell Commander Tano when she joined them.

Commander Fox didn't have much use for his mutation when he was transferred from the frontlines to Coruscant. He did not inform the Chancellor or any senators he was in charge of protecting because he'd seen how his men were treated on the Capitol Planet. Even when it could save his own life he didn't use it.

That all changed when Senator Chuchi and Senator Amidala were suddenly under direct threat...

-

I have a name for this au now! Te ori bal te kih which is mando'a for The Big and the Small

[upn-the-sky]

🔥

[gebo4482]

God of War: Raganarok by Stephen Oakley

[sorayax]

Clarisse La Rue Book Clarisse La Rue

Edward "Ed" Teach (ofmd) Book Edward "Ed" Teach

Ares - greek god of war Book Ares

I'm rereading Percy Jackson book, "The Sea of Monsters" (the chapter about Circe, aka. Percy becomes a guinea pig), and I just realized that these two in the Percy jackson universe are canonically siblings, and this is their father!!