#a branch of knowledge

[inexorablyinsecure]

Sinclair winces, for a moment, as Kromer takes the hand. It's clear from her reaction that it isn't from pain, but from... Worry. The worry that she'll see, and be disgusted. That she'll hate it. "S-Sorry, I... I know it's..." the words die in her throat, but there's an implication to them. Disgusting. Terrible. It... Was unappealing to look at, as it healed, and yet...

Sinclair shook her head, and nodded. She continued to lean against Kromer, if she let her.

"I... I know," Sinclair's voice sounded a little more put together. A little more... real. "I... I didn't even mean to vocalize that, I... I just..." her voice trailed off, a slight metallic wheeze to it. "...I... I know it, um... Sounds silly, I guess, but I don't like seeing my friends get hurt... I-I know that's obvious," Sinclair blushed a little. "...But..." her voice trailed off, unsure of how to proceed.

How would she even say it? That it hurt more, because it was a friend she felt like she could protect? That it hurt more, because it felt as if that was its job? To help, and protect the people it cared about, because... Because that gave it a purpose? Because that was something it could choose to do, instead of...

...Right.

Sinclair's eyes focused, again, as Kromer spoke. There was... Something in her eyes, as she listened. A slight ripple, behind the red. Tears, but they only welled. They did not fall. Instead, there was... A smile, on her face. Small. Exceedingly so, and yet heartfelt. Warmer, than most she had held in her life. More comfortable, too. "...You've changed," she said, after a moment; that same robotic tinge, that came out previously.

When she couldn't control her words, and voice; her feelings, and thoughts. Passing through the vocal buffer without having a moment to process them. But there wasn't anger to them, as she spoke. There was a gentleness, as she 'thought' outloud. Her eyes seemed distant, for that moment. As if she...

Didn't even know she was speaking.

"...I... Don't think the Kromer I knew, would have had such a selfless view of it all... And I know she wouldn't have accepted help, either. No matter who it was from, she would have tried to stand tall. To shoulder everything, and... Probably find a way to shift the hardship to someone else. Think that her time was greater, more important, than almost anyone else around her could know. You, in contrast... Have shown them a warmth, and care that I think even some of our bus would struggle to share. You truly wish the best for them, and that's... That's wonderful, and..."

Her voice trailed off, as her eyes seemed to come into focus. There was a moment then, her voice hanging open; the last syllable hanging even quietly, as she brought a hand up to her mouth, and... felt it open. Her eyes shifted, growing smaller, for a moment, as she began to look around, and realized that she had been speaking. That... That wasn't internal.

Her heart dropped.

"I-I, um..." Sinclair's voice trailed off, as she stammered a bit, blushing as she looked away. "R-Right, um... M-moving on..." she muttered, eyes shifting and dilating for a moment, as she tightened her free hand into a grip, and began to fiddle with the edge of her skirt. "...I'm glad that you have friends like that, who you care about, on your bus. I... I'm glad that in your world, where I couldn't be there for you, there were people who could. That... That you have people that you feel you can relax around," she smiled, gently, as she spoke--

And then paused, a small loading screen in her eyes for a moment, as she finally processed the last section of Kromer's words.

The question.

"A-Ah. Um..." her voice flickered. Static seemed to fall into her words, as they caught in her throat. She... Didn't understand what 'Baoyu' was talking about. About... Demian. That meant that... Demian had a much smaller presence, in her world. Before she had killed that world's version of Sinclair. "I... Didn't know he wasn't the one from our world, and..." she trailed off, her eyes dimming slightly. "...No, he... Just mentioned someone, who I have... A complicated opinion of, is all," she... Lied, her voice flickering between realistic, and mechanical, as she spoke.

Sinclair, Do you need help? I'm hearing.... Noises from the changing room.

- @dreamsoftheredchamber

Sinclair swallowed uncomfortably. She felt the foreign, mechanical musculature move, swallowing her spit, and yet it still felt foreign. Like there was a piece of phlegm, or mucus stuck that she couldn't remove as she tried to open her mouth. Her chest ached and her eyes were... Sore, in a way. They ached, from tearing up, and yet she knew that it wasn't right. It felt different. It felt foreign. It was a mimicry.

It was false.

Still, as the knock rang out, she set her PDA down, and shifted her hand, towards her wrist. She opened her mouth, and pushed past the oddity of the new form, and allowed her voice to echo out.

"A...A... U-Um... I'm, not sure?"

Her voice was worried. Shifting. Unsteady and... A little higher, than she remembered it. It was afraid. Scared. And most of all, there was a slight tinge. A slightly, mechanical tinge, the perhaps only she could hear, and yet it was there, all the same. It was hideously panicked.

"Th... The, um... Anon-- Th... They changed me and I... My head hurts, and these memories, they're...!"

She tried to explain. Explaining would... Make it easier, and yet she knew she sounded insane. Her head hurt. It ached, and everything was wrong. Her hands gripped at her arms, and her 'breathing'... No, the simulacrum of a breath stifled itself in her chest, as she tightened her grip. It hurt. It hurt so much. But it didn't feel right.

It felt... Like it had back / t h e n . When she had f / a / l / l / e / n .

When she had f a i l e d .

When even Glass Slippers had been unable to save her. To save Abe, or... Anyone.

Her head hurt.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 291

You know what? I’m feelin’ a Prompt with the whole halfa family, all the clones and everything. 

See, Danny? He’s grown up, he’s moved out, started looking at colleges himself after spending a few years travelling and learning about himself without the threat of a ghost attack. 

He’s kept in touch with his friends, both living and dead, and ignores Vlad for the most part now that they’ve reached a truce of sorts, and honestly? He’s just living his life. 

But see, it’s kind of hard to figure out what college to pick, with his admittedly not-great choices. Look, he might have a new-ish ID but he’s still visibly not exactly human (though thankfully doesn’t have to worry about the GIW after a… summer activity that ended with several missing buildings) 

And most people he goes to? Finds him ‘too unsettling’ which excuse him?? How is he unsettling? He’s a twenty-five year old with six kids ranging from one to six! How is that “scary” huh? Ancients, and all this is making him use the cash he’s saved up over time. 

And then- as though all of this isn’t stressful enough and he’s not genuinely worried that he won’t have enough money to feed the kids if he goes to school- a hero nearly trips over Jordan and starts freaking out. He is so fucking done. 

[starsstardust]

They asked this question in my undergrad med finals today and all i could think about was how Ronan kept dreaming Gansey epipens and antidotes and armoured skin which he almost killed himself dreaming but was still afraid because he wouldn't know whether they worked until it was too late.

[geekgirles]

Listen, I love Stitch as much as the next gal. Seriously, the only Disney merchandise I give two shits about is the one with Stitch on it.

But both as someone who's practically an elder of the Trolls fandom and who knows what she's talking about, I can objectively say Poppy would crush the competition in a dance battle.

Don't y'all know nothing about the franchise? The trolls literally live to sing and dance (and hug, though that's mostly the Pop Trolls). In fact, musical talent is so ingrained in them, other species can try to literally siphon it out of them to become better performers themselves (hello, Velvet and Veneer from Trolls Band Together. How are you doing?).

So, sorry, Stitch, baby. You know I love you, but this time I'm with the hyperactive, overly optimistic ball of pink sunshine.

[inexorablyinsecure]

…Sinclair hadn’t gotten a chance to see the ask, when it was sent. Nor had he seen the minute expression, which went with the fearful noise which had escaped Kromer’s throat, just before-- But he had heard that, just in time, to look and see the… Change.

It was sudden.

It was always sudden.

But that didn’t make it any less terrifying, any less horrifying, to see happen in real time. Flesh being encased in metal, being subsumed by it, as it sunk inwards and metal took its place. His eyes widened as he watched her head even become encased, in a cube; much like his mothers. For an instant, a fearful look flashed in his eyes, even, as he recalled… A nail piercing through that eye, as if damaging the very window to the soul.

He grit his teeth, and bit deep into his cheek. Sanguine. Copper. Metallic. He couldn’t let fear paralyze him right now, for as scared as he was-----

He knew she was terrified, before she had even begun to shriek. Before she had fallen, and before she had crumpled, he had stood up; and for a moment, he wondered if her fearful cowering was because he had stood. Sinclair had to wonder, if… The suddenness, with which he stood, had scared her. But as she tripped over herself, as she curled up against a wall, he…

He couldn’t just do nothing, could he?

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but paused, cutting himself off as he squeezed his left hand into a fist, reassuringly, behind his back. Everything he would suggest, every thought on his mind… Perished, before they had a chance to be spoken. Advice like ‘take a deep breath’, or ‘close your eyes’ were… Wasted here. They would only make her feel worse, as they reminded her of what she could no longer do. He had to focus, instead, on what they could do. Full body prosthetics… They could still feel. In some respects, their hands, shaped for precision work, could feel even more than a humans; but he would have to hope in her fear she wouldn’t notice, as he knelt down beside her, on his knees, and…

With a worried expression, held out his hands, devoid of his gloves (for he had lost those with the Maid Dress’ acquisition), and… Placed them gently, in the palms of her cold, metal hands.

…Hold onto my hand, and squeeze. Squeeze as hard as you need, but… F, Feel their warmth, okay? Everything… Everything is going to be okay.

M!A your now in a fully body prosthetic and or have limbs replaced with prosthetics depending on what the mod decides for 3 days

Huh...?

[There is pure fear in the only noise Kromer is able to make before her body changes. It's almost as if she changes into an identity, the sound of film being wound and a black shadow falls over the 11th Sinner before her body changes to that of metallic skin. Her head appears like a cube-- similar to Sinclair's own mother-- but in the center of her face is a single grey camera lense. The eye stares at Sinclair in shock, her mind not yet caught up to the reality of the situation.]

[Kromer... can't breathe. Her body is heavy, her brain having to work extra hard to move the unfamiliar weight of her new limbs. Kromer feels nothing of what makes her feel human. Small imperfections of her body that she took pride in even if they were inconvenient: the slight ache in her neck after a long days work, the hunger that came with the Sinner's Meal Rations, even her limited vision due to her hairstyle. It all was gone. Disappeared out of her hands in seconds.]

[Kromer can see colors more vividly than she thought was possible, she can hear down the bus' corridors and into her coworker's rooms. Kromer can't even blink or close her eyes to get away from this. It's all too much. The things others would count as blessings... They became Kromer's shackles. Her choice to be a human was torn away from her.]

A...aha...hhh..

[Kromer's voice didn't even sound like her own. A certain buzz rang through the air, her voice being joined with an unnatural noise. Kromer doesn't even know how she's able to speak. She has no mouth, no tongue. She probably doesn't even have vocal chords anymore... She lacks the lungs to draw in a breath, to exhale with a scream.]

[Kromer is shocked into silence.]

[Her body starts to shake, as if her mind has finally caught up with the idea that she just lost everything her morals stand for. There's a rattling noise that accompanies the trembles, as if metal and wires were rubbing together. The woman tries to pull away from Sinclair-- possibly hide in shame. Yet, she is much too inexperienced with her body to walk yet. She trips over her own feet and crashes to the floor with an unforgiving noise. She settles for dragging herself as close to a wall as possible. As if to cower. Kromer seems... terrified. As if her entire world has collapsed around herself.]

[serpentface]

Do psychotropic drugs and/or ritual play a role in any of the blightseed cultures? A pretty broad question, lol

Yeah that’s a very broad question, the answer is about as much as it tends to play roles in real history. Alcohol is pretty ubiquitous (outside of cultures that abstain from intoxicants) and used for a variety of purposes, opioids are commonly used in some parts for pain relief or recreational purposes, stimulants (usually in mild, natural forms) are used to provide extra energy, and hallucinogens are most commonly used as part of a larger religious framework (rather than for recreational purposes). Any more elaborate answer kinda has to be case by case in a certain culture or part of the setting.

I'll just take this as an opportunity to talk about the one established sect that pretty much REVOLVES around psychoactive use. This is the Scholarly Order of the Root, which is a sort of mystery religion + elite community of scholars who currently occupy the Ur-Tree and its forest in the far southern Lowlands (southeast of Imperial Wardin, on the same land mass).

The Ur-Tree is the obligatory Huge Fucking Fantasy Tree (and its surrounding forest). It’s a mass of vegetation about a mile tall and almost as old as Plant Life Itself, its upper branches are primeval plants, which become more modern the nearer they get to the ground (and each 'level' holds tiny ecosystems, some containing descendants of LONG-extinct arthropods/other small animals). Its lowest branches and the surrounding forest are contemporary plant life, and all is connected and protected by an incomparably MASSIVE fungal mycelium network (which is itself a living god).

A lot of the Scholars' more secretive practices revolve around experimentation with substance use with the goal of expanding the Mind and transcending the body to fully connect to the Dreamlands, and they have a supply chain of traders and mercenaries called Rootrunners who traffic substances into the Lowlands. Most of their psychoactive use is in a very intentional capacity and not just like, for fun, but a LOT of them are just straight up addicted to cocaine (in the form of alchemically refined bruljenum, which is used for practical purposes of its stimulant effect during long hours of work).

All known psychoactives are desirable for experimentation (particularly hallucinogens), with each having properties that either allow expansion of the Mind, transcendence of the body, or outright divine communion. Their effects are logged in great detail and interpreted to form the basis of the Scholars' understanding of the natural world and reality itself.

The most important substance is Ur-Root, which is root matter from subterranean levels of the Ur-Tree that have both their own intrinsic psychoactive substances and a very, very high concentration of living god mycelium. The tree root contains DMT and the mycelium has its own wholly unique effects (being an actual living god). They alchemically refine it into a purer, more potent form, and use it to expand beyond the body and directly commune with the Giants, a group of entities they have identified as the only true gods.

An Ur-Root trip starts off with minor visual distortion, which turns into shifting fractals that slowly obscure the vision. Eventually the senses are entirely taken over by a 'tunnel' of rapidly shifting fractals and geometries. In a complete trip, the experiencer gets a sense that they have been pushed through a membrane and entered another realm, finding themselves in a distinct experiential Space.

At this point they may encounter entities which communicate to them in a language impossible to describe but wholly understood. These beings are understood to be the Giants, or at least aspects of the Giants that mortals are capable of comprehending (they often take familiar tutelary forms of the Mantis or the Snake, or appear resembling the same type of sophont that the experiencer is, all composed of ever-shifting geometries). The experiencer often feels a sense of unconditional and endless love from these beings, though the Giants may be more hostile and may appear in the form of the Trickster (usually a cultural figure regarded as malicious, be it an animal or otherwise) in a bad trip.

(^Up until this point, this has mostly just been a DMT 'breakthrough' experience ft. 'machine elves' and the like).

They are then removed from this space and returned to something that feels like the real world, but is nearly unrecognizable. They have a sense of rapidly moving through time, and will usually see 'the spires' towards the beginning, which just so happen to look like this:

(source + some context via Implication- the spires are exactly what this art is depicting)

The experiencer continues to move across an unfathomable amount of time, occasionally 'seeing' other such flashes of unfamiliar landscapes and creatures, and yet also being devoid of all their senses, the 'seeing' is pure, unfiltered experience. There is a sense of interconnectedness with all life, and that one has become the forest (or even Life) itself. The sense of time is wildly distorted, the trip lasts only about 5 minutes but feels like an eternity and is understood as literal hundreds of millions of years.

The experiencer has usually lost any remaining sense of Self and individual consciousness during this phase (in which case this time distortion is usually a neutral or even peaceful experience), but some retain a fraction of their identity, and find themselves trapped and conscious while experiencing what feels like eternity (which can be LIFE-CHANGINGLY distressing, even after the fact).

(^This latter part of the trip is the effects of the Ur-Tree fungus).

The trip ends with a sense of rushing through the ground and back up into one's body, at which point they will abruptly return to their senses and consciousness. The details are then immediately retrieved via interview and recorded in immense detail. The whole experience is understood as having been full comprehension of the Dreamlands, communion with the Giants, and then a tour through the act of creation.

This is done as part of the initiatory practice into the inner mystery-religion of the scholars, and as needed for study by high scholar-priests. It is not taken lightly, both as it is absolute communion with the gods and reality, and in that it can be a very, very difficult experience. People who have gone through this often walk away with a permanently shifted perspective, often in a positive and/or comforting way- a sense of interconnectedness with all life, a peace with the concept of death, seeing less of a point in individual ego and the concept of Self, and comfort in the sense of divine love they (may have) experienced. This heavily influences the philosophy of the Scholars and has had effects by proxy in the religious worldviews of the region.

Details of this experience are closely guarded, and initiates are given absolutely no prior knowledge and expectations for their trip. This is seen as a necessity- their naivety will allow for a true, unfiltered experience, and can be used to gauge whether they should or should not be accepted. Those that have a distinctly bad trip upon initiation may be assumed to have been 'rejected' by the giants and thus denied full priesthood, though this largely depends on How they interpret their distressing trip- those who identify this as a test and harsh lesson in a journey to enlightenment may be accepted (as this is how fully initiated scholar-priests interpret and handle their bad trips).

This inner priesthood is only a small fraction of the Scholarly Order, and its greater function is as a hub of education and repository of knowledge, and Scholar-trained doctors can provide some of the best medical care available in the setting ('best medical care in this setting' only means so much but it's pretty solid, relatively speaking). Only a chosen few Scholars ever get to commune with the Ur-Root, and most of the divine secrets revealed in the process are kept hidden (though they indirectly influence the politics and worldview of the entire order).

[eyehunger]

Forgot to do proper layers rip but a Concept

[inexorablyinsecure]

Anon Gift(?)

Hong Lu(?) Is in your room now!

Maybe he can comfort you....

Maybe

A horrid, gurgling hiccup. That was all that could escape Sinclair's throat, as she tried her best to curl up further, and further; hands shifting to grip at the front of her face, her forehead. A light whimper escaped her lips as she tried to focus, and yet she couldn't help but feel...

Useless.

Like a failure; like she was broken.

Like she had failed.

Like...

She deserved, whatever was on the other end of that beep, from her PDA; no matter how horrible it wound up being. She deserved it all.

[inexorablyinsecure]

Ah...! Then you do know a way? Would you mind showing me? And- Would you be alright coming with me to be an... Impartial judge, of our duel? Ready to step in if either of us starts to, um... Accidentally go too far?

Hey, um... Gregor, I-I know it's a long shot, but, um... I've got a friend who's from a different Mirror World, who wanted to, uh... Spar with me, and I was wondering, if you knew a way to cross over...? I'd ask the others, but I'm afraid they might try to punish me, or make fun of me, so...

~ @inexorablyinsecure

Jeez, as long as neither of you distort I guess it shouldn't be too big a deal...

Just don't tell Outis. Or Ishmael. I don't need an earful from them.

[darklight-owl]

Making this in case my non-ecologist professors dare to use the term "more evolved" again.

[kurara-black-blog]

Shadow Milk Cookie would absolutely hate me if I were in Pure Vanilla Cookie's place cuz he'd go "all your life has been a lie" and I'd be like "it felt real enough to me, so no, I don't believe that" and he'd be like "I control your every decision" and I'm "prove it? Are you the one telling me to blink right now? *blink blink blink* Also, if you really have been controlling my life all this time, you're fuckin shit at it, make better choices, you're supposed to be smart, aren't you?"

[inexorablyinsecure]

Um... I... I don't think I'm doing that. I- I, uh, already have a fistfight planned, sorry.

Dear Meursault,

Due to having a BL ID, you will be smacked around with the Yaoi Paddle until lunch.

Please spread this message around to all sinners who also have a BL ID.

Glory to yaoiville,

Anon 🌹

Very well then.

@fly-perfect-wings, @donqui-real, @sinnerofwalpurgisnacht, @inexorablyinsecure, and @hadapurpose, please prepare to face the "yaoi paddle" (unsure though I am of what exactly that is) until lunch time.

[ruvviks]

kaida [xe/he/any] & akane [it/she/any] || [x]

[satanfemme]

i actually enjoyed reading your thoughts on Ai and i think you should talk more when given the chance

thank u o7 idk if u should be enabling me tho I already feel like I talk about it too much I just have strong opinions on it for all the obvious reasons (I try to be class conscious; I have an understanding of the history of technology vs. luddites and those who fear new technology; I have an understanding of art history and historic "what is art" discussion; etc)

actually I guess I'll use this opportunity to talk about an aspect of the AI conversation that is always seemingly ignored in favor of reactionism which is that there are genuinely horrific uses of AI technology namely in service of policing and military action. this isn't new, "AI" is a broad label that has been applied to many technologies for decades, but as these branches of AI advance it's only going to give these oppressive forces more tools to harm us with.

but same as the more innocuous forms of AI, you can't un-invent the technology. once we've discovered the science and math, which we have, that can't be put back into the box any more than you could un-invent calculus or un-invent the knowledge of how to build a gun. at most we could maybe regulate what technology the police/military is allowed to use, but, you know. "regulation" is kind of an unwinnable battle liberals tell themselves is possible so they don't have to fight for complete abolition (which is also an uphill battle, but at least one that's possible to win). so as always we need to fight for the defunding of the police and military, fight against colonialism, and also be aware and educated about how these forces are changing and how they might change in the future as we enter an age of technofascism.

[erazonpo3]

saw ur post the other day about Cynthia being a Lady Gaga fan (very true tbh) - what else do u think her and Luculia would be listening to in a present-day modern au? (and maybe also Diantha/Malva if u have ideas for them too 👀)

Hehe I've tossed ideas back and forth in my head and the reason I posted that was because I think it fits Cynthia's Goth-lite thing that she's going on, where personally I can't see her getting into the really obscure and esoteric stuff but she'll enjoy the stuff that only an elder up in the mountains will consider rebellious.

I don't listen to the genres much myself but I can see her being a little into punk and rock but only the more mainstream palatable stuff, and gravitate more to that Dark Pop kinda vibe. But I do think she's also a classical music enjoyer at the end of the day, and at her point in life is more likely to go out to see an orchestra perform than a band.

Luculia I think is more of a genre chameleon? She likes a little bit of everything, even if her taste within each genre is a little specific. She's hard to pin down for that reason, because her playlists would be all over the place with lots of different music in different languages and in different subcultures, occasionally giving Cynthia psychic damage.

I see Diantha as having pretty vanilla music taste, nothing really wrong with that. Easy listening stuff. Classical music and opera, but also most music that comes out of the musical theatre scene.

Malva's music taste I imagine being very defined by her teenage years, which you never really grow out of taste-wise. In particular I associate her with the techno scene of 1990s Paris, and I see her being pretty into EDM in general, but I can also see her being into all those grunge bands of the 90s too

and special shoutout to Serena the hyperpop princess

[inexorablyinsecure]

...Can't be you. Got a Lead?

Shit...