#behold: lore!

[thedreamparadox]

Some long overdue Balan Wonderworld headcanons about the theater bros this time, plus some general Wonderworld worldbuilding.

I have several nicknames for them, most commonly the train twins (not to be confused with the Pokemon train twins), the theater twins, and the therapy twins.

They are both fully qualified therapists, though not licensed, so they are not at liberty to prescribe more than over the counter medications.

The duo basically just popped into reality within the Wonderworld. Whether or not there were Maestros before them is unknown. The theater existed long before they did, but that's the only thing they're actually sure of. They are, in fact, twins, and gender is a suggestion.

Balan is none gender with left sparkly theater. Lance is all the gender but only when he feels like it. Balan treats 'dad' as a title and simply prefers a more masculine aesthetic (after like 3,000 years of kids accidentally or intentionally calling him dad he's gotten used to it).

The duo weren't born with their knowledge of therapy and their theatric flair, that was developed over time and years upon years of study and trial and error. At the very beginning they treated the theater as a place to shelter from life's hardships and a place for others to feel seen and heard. While that hasn't changed, they've come a long way into providing extended assistance to those that need it.

Not everyone visits the Wonderworld. The Wonderworld only allows those that it can actually help through its doors. Anyone with a problem too big to be solved or too small to need their intervention would not be allowed in.

The Wonderworld works a bit like the TARDIS. It is sentient, though not in the conventional way, and very fond of its Maestros.

Theater denizens like Jumping Jack and the other costumes manifest when a Stage is connected. They are aspects of the hearts of guests filtered through the lens of stagecraft. Their magic exists in order to tell a story and that is about it.

The Negati were a real threat that existed in the depths of the Wonderworld proper since the theater's existence began. The existence of the Balan necessitates it. As there is light, there must be shadow. As there is healing, there is harm. The Negati used to lash out at anything that entered the Wonderworld on complete instinct, the species is nothing but concentrated negative emotions with no capacity for complex thought. By taking on the curse of the King, the Negati can be controlled, but they cannot be destroyed, for destroying them would destroy the balance and something stronger and more horrible would manifest in their place.

The curse of the King is a completely original idea of mine used to explain how Lance can control the Negati. (Having priorly written for Vanitas, I could have gone hive mind, but nah. While the Negati may act like they are a hive mind, they don't have enough brains to be one.)

Lance can intentionally spawn Negati from ambient emotions. He doesn't always do this of his own free will, though.

Outside of the Wonderworld, the curse of the King means that its current bearer can feel all ambient negative emotions with full intensity. This can be extremely overwhelming. In the Wonderworld, these emotions are not felt unless the current curseholder refuses to manifest the Negati formed by excess negativity. They normally simply spawn these Negati and go about their day with some extra in the hoard.

Negati exist within the heart of the Wonderworld, a place of nothing but darkness. It's so concentrated because of how sprawling the Stages are.

Tims are also called Positi. They manifest as naturally as Negati. Unlike Negati, they do not spawn from a source.

The magical train, while not seeing use in my posted fics, is a thing used extensively in the stuff I write with my friends. It is an infinitely long magical train with as many rooms as it will ever need. It can exist in any and all dimensions as needed simultaneously. The train itself is usually parked in one static spot while the doors open to other realities/dimensions. The train also links directly to the Wonderworld, but unlike the Stages in the theater, the Stages have to be intentionally built and crafted to link up since it is the theater itself that manifests full stages without input.

The final boss is, in fact, a puppet built by Lance. It's made out of fancy fabrics, paint, and chicken wire, primarily. Its frightening appearance is a combination of skill, lighting, and Lance using his powers to help animate it into something ferocious. The tendrils that poke out of it are Lance's. The eye thingies you have to hit are just props.

Lance is in charge of props and costuming. Balan usually handles anything to do with set design beyond what the Wonderworld does naturally and lighting (he was totally running the lights during the final boss fight).

[nerdpoe]

When Tim Drake ran into Killer Croc while infiltrating Arkham, he didn't survive.

To those not familiar with Batman Lore; there was an incident where the Joker was using Joker gas on a bunch of other villains, and Tim went to investigate. Croc snagged his cape, but he got away.

Unfortunately, the cape landed on a chewed-up skeleton, and the batfamily was misinformed of his untimely demise, and Dick Lost His Shit.

This is what led to the infamous incident of Dick beating the Joker to death.

So, slight change.

Tim genuinely did not survive that Croc encounter. He got away, to be sure, but he succumbed to his injuries deep, deep in the sewers.

Very deep into them.

So deep they probably weren't actually sewers anymore and were just an underground cave system filled with gross water.

After managing to pull himself up from the water and onto a stone outcropping, with strange sigils carved into the floor, Timothy Jackson Drake falls into the arms of Death.

Danny, meanwhile, was minding his own business when he became aware of the tugging sensation of a summoning.

...And the distinct disgusting aftertaste that came with a human sacrifice.

By the time he arrived, the baby core was already humming discontentedly above a fresh corpse. A corpse that belonged to a kid that was far, far too young.

There was still a connection, albeit faint, from the baby core to the body.

So Danny, all of thirty and panicking something fierce, tries to force the baby core back into the body in front of him.

Nothing doing.

The body is willing to accept the core, to feed off of the ectoplasm Danny was willing to feed it and convert that energy into the life-saving healing that the kid needed, but the core was weak.

So Danny...improvised.

He reached into himself, and managed to painfully peel off a splinter of his own core, and fed it to the baby one. He'd be the equivalent of a swooning victorian maiden for a few years, but if the kid was able to survive it'd be worth it.

The baby core accepted it, ate the sliver of power it was given, and melted seamlessly back into the body.

Danny waited. And waited. And waited.

And waited.

And with a bright flash of light that seemingly changed absolutely nothing, the kid started breathing; his wounds started closing up.

Job done, Danny grabbed the kid and phased him through the earth and to the city above. He could already feel himself getting faint, so he just dumped the kid somewhere the kid's core recognized as a good spot and dipped back to the summoning circle, and back to the Infinite Realms.

Danny did not realize what he had just done.

Tim's body had, in that flash of light, had it's DNA changed much the same way Danny's had, if not more so.

Same in regards to Tim being a baby halfa, who has had no reason to believe he has any form other than his human one.

Different in that Tim's DNA now no longer reflects Jack as his biological father.

It reflects one Daniel Fenton.

[twoshotsoffandom]

This is their dynamic to me

Redraw of this:

[lunian]

us: *go to do Honour mode again but with Evil run because now we have no fear to lose it and we never finished a game as the worst baddies*

me: *doesnt want to get rid of Gale and also seeing him mad at us so just goes to play his Origin again*

me: *makes him paladin oathbreaker for some interesting changes*

Gale:

I'm having the worst best time of my life

[strong-with-the-sarcasm]

Part 1: what's lost can be found

"She won't make a sound, alone in this fight with herself and the fears whispering if she stands she'll fall down. She wants to be found, the only way out is through everything she's running from wants to give up and lie down. So stand in the rain, stand your ground. Stand up when it's all crashing down. You stand through the pain, you won't drown. And one day, what's lost can be found."  -Stand in the Rain by Superchick

Regent Masterlist Part 2

The decayed ghost siren echoed through the abandoned streets of Amity Park's Witching Hours. Its residents were well acquainted with what that sound meant, fear and exasperation a potent (strange) mix to keep them tucked in their homes, their beds, as the Fentonworks building seemed to come alive.  

Of course, figuratively speaking. 

(Nothing was truly alive there anymore.)

Jasmine Fenton had just arrived back from the Infinite Realms, muscles pleasantly sore from training with Pandora and very much looking forward to hugging her little brother before he begun his nightly patrol. The siren caught her attention before she’d stepped fully out of her portal, dread filling her gut like a rock dropped into a lake. 

Oh no. 

Team Phantom were young, no one could ever argue that, with some scars to show for all their battles to protect Amity from those that would claim their haunt- but no one outside the team understood just how paranoid they’d become since Pariah Dark and Dark Dan

The contingencies had begun when Jazz started to remember bits and pieces of a timeline that Danny himself had erased using the reality gauntlet. He’d never told anyone of what had happened, with Freakshow’s plan to make himself ‘ringmaster of all reality’ and all, but Jazz had somehow recalled flashes of sheer panic at watching her little brother accidentally reveal himself as Phantom on live tv, in the Fentonworks kitchen on that little box set. The white rings of light that emerged from his core to switch from half-alive to half-dead and vice versa damned him. 

The elder fentons had gone on the offense immediately, Jack’s screech of ghost! Echoing in the house and they raced down to the lab to get whatever latest weapon they’d built to capture Phantom. 

It didn’t matter that their son was dead, that he had died, that their ‘greatest work’ was Danny’s grave. That Jasmine was…well, she wasn’t entirely human anymore, not when she turned on her heel to follow her progenitors down down down into the darkness, sword tightly grasped in hand as her teal eyes glowed a sickly green.  

She hadn’t hesitated then, to protect her little brother. One slash, two, three

Danny hadn’t known she killed their parents in that timeline. She would never tell him. 

She would never tell him how they hadn’t even noticed her presence, her ever loyal weapon Faithkeeper about to take their lives, how she hadn’t even needed to summon her armor. She would never tell him how they begged for their lives, not to protect their children, but to kill the ghostly menace. 

Danny never knew she’d dumped their corpses in the landfill.

(Right where they belonged.) 

WIth the rewrite of the timeline, reset to the same day of the ill-fated Humpty Dumpty concert, Jack and Maddy Fenton’s deaths were undone, but not the blood on Jasmine’s hands. 

With Danny’s defeat of Pariah Dark, came another revelation. 

Jasmine was still mostly alive. Somehow she’d survived her childhood, but Danny hadn’t. She’d looked away for five minutes, forgotten to lock the lab after their parents left and he’d died for it. 

With the weight of being schrodinger’s hero, could her little brother withstand becoming king of the infinite realms? 

Perhaps not while he was still learning, still gaining his own grip on his strange existence. In time, he would become a great king- one of mercy and benevolence, but he still had a long ways to go. 

Jasmine had borrowed ancient ghost law books from Ghostwriter and locked herself away for three days, cycling between crying for her and Danny, reading through the complicated laws of ye olden times, and writing down her findings- just in case another reality rewrite was due. 

Jasmine had accepted Regency on Danny’s behalf with a grace she didn’t know she possessed. 

It had been a small ceremony, with Danny and his friends present and Pandora, Jasmine’s mentor, acting as sentry as she accepted the Crown of Fire. She knew it was a long road till she could pass it down to its rightful owner, but Jasmine was prepared to shoulder the burden for her little brother. 

Pandora had simply laid one of her many hands on Jasmine’s shoulder with a solemn air, in understanding. There was work to be done before any of them could have peace. (Not even the afterlife was safe from paperwork.)

Her favorite journal contained the scraps of her hope and dreams bound in maroon leather, soft with age and imprinted with every emotion Jazz had unwittingly (and later knowingly) poured into every word. 

Its pages were a kaleidoscope of her life. 

Sure, it began with the soft tinge of curiosity-exasperation-fondness, some sentiment of better times before her progenitors began working on that damned portal, constructing the future grave of their son without the slightest clue. 

The emotions began turning a darker turn when the work turned into an obsession. Jazz had plunged into her schoolwork and part-time jobs to afford whatever was needed for the siblings to survive, fondness becoming slowly poisoned by anger. Anger for the portal. Anger for the food other kids had, that they didn’t have to work so hard for. Anger that she knew what starving felt like. 

Anger that she was so weak. 

Then the day of Danny’s death. 

The darkest part of her history, the last embers of her hopes and dreams, of the siblings escaping smothered. Danny’s death scream forever etched into her brain. 

(It should’ve been her.) 

She hated those pages of her journal, the emotions of grief-anger on her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to rip them out. No more than she could destroy the confessions of protect-rage-grief, the confessions of the darker timeline she shouldn’t remember. 

On very last page was the contingency plan Jazz herself had created.

Code Graverobber.

That siren wasn’t any ordinary ghost siren, no, it was the one Tucker had programmed himself- it was the quickest way to alert every member of Team Phantom and Tucker had made sure that none of them could mistake it for a Fenton ghost alarm. No, Code Graverobber was in effect. 

Phantom had been captured by the elder Fentons. 

(Fate has a way of setting itself right.) (Death wants its due.) With a bleeding, sobbing and vivisected Danny cradled in her arms, Jazz left Amity Park behind for what she prayed to the Ancients was forever. The Fentons died that night, though the official records would claim they were killed in a explosion due to the highly unstable inventions they created, taking the lives of their children as well. No one really dug around in the wreckage of Fentonworks, not for the bodies of the family within, with the chance of another explosion happening should rubble be shifted the wrong way. 

Jack and Maddie Fenton died.. 

But Jasmine and Danny Nightingale lived on, in Gotham City.

The last of those three days she spent locked in her room, Jasmine wrote a letter to a future version of herself, tucked inside one of her favorite books now lost in the destruction of Fentonworks. To my future self, Forget me in your happiness.    Love, your past

A/N: BEHOLD!

Ahem. This is the original chapter 1 that I never finished or published. It's not my favorite or my best, but I unburied it for the 300 milestones. Thanks for reading!

[autisticlalna]

Twitch SMP Lore Transcript Masterpost!

welcome to the cozy town of Aquarium Gravel! we've got time loops, alternate reality selves, eldritch horrors, places that Should Not Be, possession, cool item symbolism, things pretending to human that very much are not, and a guy that hallucinates scarecrows talking to him.

as someone with a burning drive to analyze as much lore as i can get my hands on, as well as someone who has trouble tracking down specific clips in hours-long VODs to back up my analyses, i decided to start transcribing VikingPilot and Rubyco's lore!

this is a bit of a massive undertaking, and there are likely going to be mistakes due to length. shoutouts to Rubyco and ghostsgone for the help on this project!

right now this only covers Viking and Ruby's plotline - if other people want to transcribe the lore streams from the other Aquarium Gravel members i 100% encourage it because everybody's got a really cool story to tell! however, i have given myself one heck of a workload, so i don't think it's in the cards for me. i would love to see it though

this post will be updated as more transcripts are finished! in the meantime, here's what we have so far!

TRANSCRIPTS:

Jan 29 - It's just so you. - A hypothetical future. Feb 8 - It's gonna be great. - Ruby confronts Viking about his weird behavior after he gets an IOU out of Miyaki. Feb 15 - Sleepwalk - Viking and Ruby investigate the strange signs Ruby leaves while sleepwalking. Feb 20 - Signposting - Ruby meets another Viking. Feb 21 - You see me. - Sapphire leaves a message. Feb 28 - Biking Pilog - An error in the timeline. Feb 28 - You belong to me. - Jay has an encounter. Feb 29 - What are you running from? - An introduction to Fiv, and a conversation with Sapphire. Mar 4 - Time and Space / The Clocktower - Viking and Ruby find a clocktower and get more questions than answers. [WIP, 1/2 done] ▷ [ Navigator & Sapphire's conversation ] Mar 10 - Snails. - Aquarium Gravel has a snail infestation. Mar 19 - Homesick - Fiv finds common ground with Ruby... or a Ruby, anyway. Mar 21 - Changed Your Mind - Fiv wants out of the deal and Viking wants to know a little more about his business partner. Mar 27 - Vintage and Ruby go on a date. [WIP] May 23 - Ruby remembers, Viking dies, Navigator returns, and Sapphire argues. [WIP]

[morp]

Behold. The featured beasts

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

dragoon theorycrafting: FRESH DRAGOON LORE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS (new Rising story)

SIX YEARS.

FINALLY WE ARE GIVEN A NUGGET OF DRAGOON LORE.

(I'm counting the Stormblood side story in this yes)

HERE HAVE MY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS UNDER THE CUT

-----------

So where to begin? First off, we're setting Estinien to the side and the fact he's drinking off to the side as well. We'll get back to it, don't worry.

MOTHERFUCKING HALDRATH MAKES A GODDAMN APPEARANCE! AND WE ALSO GET A NEW DOT ON THE OVERALL TIMELINE!

Ratatoskr's death is in 545. Twenty years later puts this in 565, which means Haldrath has been witness to the gross rewriting of history that's taken place in Corethas.

(also shoutout to @mariyekos and their Haldrath -> Estinien theory let's gooo~~)

So the first Azure Dragoon's shown up, and he is not in a good way. Nidhogg's Eye (the first) has fused itself to his armor, and is now effectively corrupting Haldrath's flesh. He's beginning to have fits more frequently and intensely --moments where Nidhogg's will threatens to override his own. Haldrath has been a solitary hunter of dragons for twenty years, and he is fucking tired. His will is starting to falter.

He passes out from fighting another dragon, and wakes up a while later to find himself in a tavern. And much to his surprise and pleasure, he's among friends-- one of the original Twelve knights who survived and (wisely, I might add), fucked off once Nidhogg was robbed of his original eyes.

Ser Aureniquart de Cordillelot, who decided to open a tavern, and is insinuated in lore to have been the founder of the Forgotten Knight. It's his daughter Berteline who found Haldrath, and she's been raised on stories of him as the dragonslayer. She wishes to be a dragoon like him too!

Berteline however, admits that she didn't find Haldrath on her own, that a voice that sounded like 'storm winds' led her to him. Haldrath, who has recognized that Berteline has drive and passion, realizes that the young woman's been lured by Nidhogg's eye.

(And here is when we enter the territory of fuckery)

At this point, Haldrath makes a choice. He's doing this on the fly, but also probably had been stewing on his thoughts for a while. He's tired. On his last legs. This is probably not how he wanted to do it, but he's got no choice. And Halone seems to have merciful enough to let him be in a safe and warm environment among friends.

Haldrath tells Berteline that she's heard Nidhogg's voice, that the Eye seeks out those who desire power. That it's fused to him, that it's corrupting him, and he is in danger of becoming the elder wrym's thrall. And if that happens, he will be a mighty threat to Ishgard, which is still finding its feet. He looks Aureniquart in the eye and asks that his old friend, his brother knight, kill him before that happens.

Aureniquart refuses to pick up arms against Haldrath.

(side note: I'm wondering if Aureniquart was possibly Haldrath's First Knight/general 2IC.)

Haldrath, before the Eye tries for the final time to take him, also officially recognizes Berteline as the new bearer of the evil orb and names her his full successor.

Berteline de Cordillelot is now charged as the second Azure Dragoon. We won't have another named Azure Dragoon show up until 761, when Valeroyant fends off Nidhogg. (Valeroyant dies two years later in 763).

We are also given confirmation that Azure Dragoons essentially are on a limited lifespan once they receive the Eye. This possibly gives new meaning to this:

When searched on Google, score is equal to twenty years. Two score and ten equals 50 years. Ere means 'before'.

Basically? 'Your ass will be dead before you turn fifty.'

Which in the story, makes sense because:

Aureniquart has aged. It's possible that by this time, he and Haldrath were in their mid-40s, if they were in their 20's back in 545.

Becoming the Azure Dragoon is a death sentence. And now your mileage is gonna vary, because not everyone's gonna have the same mindset regarding power and duty and protection of Ishgard. We have the door open for some high level shenanigary here! An Azure Dragoon who may not have wanted to pick a successor? An Azure Dragoon who might have been forced into the job?

(No no we're not discussing Alberic don't @ me I'm typing this out on my phone and it's taking me forever WE WILL POKE AT HIM LATER)

Anyroad.

Haldrath feels one final fit coming on, and knows this is the one that he can't fight against. Nidhogg will claim him. He needs to die. He realizes almost too late that Aureniquart can't kill him, because of the bond of love/friendship/battle blood/loyalty to my liege and he's cursing him to suffer another sin. But Berteline steps up to the plate, puts her hands on the spear, and helps her father perform the mercy kill.

Shoutout to @autumnslance for this spot on commentary on THAT:

Aureniquart: Perma-traumatized now. Man gets like twenty years of peace and then it just gets blown outta the water. Had to kill your leige-lord as he lay dying on your floor, under your roof, violation of sanctuary and hospitality and your sworn oath to protect him, to spend your life before his own so he could be safe...

What?

Anyroad. We have one final interesting tidbit.

This...is interesting. Sovereignty has various meanings, but the one that stood out the most to me from Merriam-Webster was 'freedom from external control'. There was also 'supreme power over a body politic', 'controlling influence' and then 'one who is sovereign, especially: an autonomous state'

It's said in lore Nidhogg was dismissive of mankind. And at that point can you blame him? He's lost three siblings to Allag, his other brother's lost his damn mind mooning over some elezen before consensually participating in voreplay, and his sister drank ALL the mortal Kool-Aid.

Oh and baby brother? Is hiding somewhere.

That also possibly has Ascian fuckery hiding somewhere in the depths. What exactly, I don't know what to say or imply. But a good friend of mine pointed out that Nidhogg's attitude towards humans could have been a rather toxic ingredient that could have maybe been added to a growing resentment of dragonkind that had been festering. Maybe old grudges that had been settled by Shiva's sacrifice were coming back from the dead. Maybe mankind was growing too much in the region and was straining natural resources.

We don't know.

Last but not least, Estinien. Nevermind that this man decided to hit up a bottle of Raz-at-Han alchemist-made liquor.

Estinien. Pls.

However there is real world historical context for alcoholic spirits being used to help a body and mind relax so that one can see visions/perform magic. And as I stated one time, we don't know fully about all the changes Estinien has undergone ever since absorbing the remnants of Nidhogg's essence. This could be a random fluke--brought on by unpredictable draconic magic mixing with whatever unholy abomination against the gods concoction this particular Hannish alchemist thought to brew.

(listen Raz-at-Han alchemists fear neither gods, nor man, nor dragons, nor aliens. YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT)

But it's definitely interesting to see more of a solid connection between the first and the last Azure Dragoon. Especially since Haldrath hasn't shown up in anything dragoon connected since the level 50 questline, in which he helps you violently snap Estinien out of a Nidhogg-induced frenzy.

Hoping this story leads us to more dragoon stuff, especially considering the class is getting a revamp in 7.0!

[alsopartgekkos]

extracurricular activities

[biweeklyhermitcraft]

Day 27: a Jimmy to round out the trio

all three siblings collected

[halichor]

"Quell your emotions, my child. I expected your temperament to be less fickle than your forebearer, but I stand corrected. Though Heli's volatile mood lead to tranquility between howling winds and tumultous snowfall, your muted and subdued emotions reflect in the frigid desolation of Karig's peak. Your resentment must run strong, Huilan, for it takes no more than a furrow of your brow to disturb the stillness and turn it into a violent storm."

[hanakihan]

Vienna/Salieri related Singularity below because I needed to share my brainrot full of nerd arcane knowledge from my music classes in 5th grade so expect nerd arcane knowledge with added references, delusions, bad life choices and inaccuracies (also since its a delulu setting watch me screw entirety of FGO canon) ANYWAY FUCK IT WE BALL THAT’S MY SINGULARITY

Vienna: Revolution and The Little Tragedy of a Kapellmeister

- Events take place in 1825, in Vienna at time of ruling of Francis I when Holy Roman Empire fell and Austrian Empire was established. More specifically it takes place after May of 1825, and significant story divergence takes place after Francis I have died 10 years earlier than he was supposed to in 1935. This event is supposedly connected to a group of people that desire the return of HRE to its former glory and reestablishment of an absolute monarchy.

- Upon arrival in singularity, it’s pretty clear that entire thing was successful and countries that were established after HRE’s fall exist no more. Results of HRE’s fall and French Revolution were also annulated. this in itself threatens human foundation because as a result it shows futility of revolution and results in social and law stagnation.

- When collecting an information about current situation and facing an aggressive response from imperial army, Guda and Mash were aided by Camille Desmoulins (Archer, because as witness accounts state ‘… Desmoulins [was] among them arming himself with a bayonet rifle and two pistols, and embarked upon the Storming of the Bastille’) and Maximilien Robespierre (Berserker, because Robespierre faced growing disillusionment among others due in part to the politically motivated violence advocated by the Montagnards), who are also hunted by imperial forces due to being two among many famous figures who instigated French Revolution that ultimately led to fall of monarchy not only in France but later in Europe as a whole. These two are reluctant to work together and constantly exchange acidic comments, mostly Desmoulins, because he’s angry at his ex-friend for betraying their goal of freeing the country of an absolute monarchy and Robespierre being a supporter of Terror policy and resulting in their ultimate executions. These two agree to set aside their bitterness and work together with Guda to set human history back on track, because they were the ones to start French Revolution, even if it didn’t turn exactly the way they wanted it, it was still a big moment in humanity’s history.

- Further information gathering put things to more clarity: current ruler of New HRE is Joseph II who by this time is supposed to be dead. Main crew does get a chance to encounter him but ultimately is unable to defeat him as he’s now - he’s clearly in possession of a Holy Grail but appears to be in clear enough mind to be negotiated with. Furthermore, Joseph II is clearly aware that his existence contradicts proper flow of human history, he acknowledges that his actions ultimately will bring destruction to foundation of humanity, and he’s genuinely sad he has to do it, but he also wants to do it because everyone he held dear were destroyed by humans with excessive cruelty. At that moment Avenger Marie Antoinette appears and upon seeing Robespierre and Desmoulins initiates battle out of anger towards people who started her downfall which resulted in beheading. Clearly being overpowered, Guda and company retreat. After that Joseph and Marie decide to pay a visit to Salieri.

- While being pursued by imperial soldiers, they are aided by Marianna Auenbrugger (Caster) and Joseph Haydn (Caster) who escort them to a hideout where other various musicians and composers are hiding. It’s pretty much a company of Casters and a Berserker (Beethoven) who are puzzled at such turn of events - if Joseph II has issues with Revolution and downfall of monarchy as a whole, then why all of them - musicians and composers - were summoned as well, at the same time. Furthermore, they all are also being actively hunted by imperial soldiers.

- Back in Palace Marie is happily chatting with barely conscious Salieri. After she leaves, small shadow materializes and approaches Salieri promising him a soon arriving salvation. At the same time, Joseph has a conversation with Napoleon, but it’s not going that great. Joseph understands Napoleon’s desire to become an Emperor once again but he’s also not allowing him to take rule over country again, not after such spectacular failure. Multiple monarchs do not mix well. Aside from desire to reclaim his position, Napoleon also wants a rematch for that shameful result of Battle of Borodino.

- In middle of discussion among Guda and others arrives Pyotr Bagration (Rider, since in Battle of Borodino he was injured while riding a horse) and informs others that apparently they need to move or else they’ll be found and none of them are in proper state to fight back. In middle of moving they meet Andrei Bolkonsky (Saber) who gladly agrees to join and discusses with Bagration their real and fictional experiences at Battle of Borodino. Bolkonsky also mentions that he saw Pushkin wandering streets of Vienna until he was chased down by soldiers. Bolkonsky himself was ignored by soldiers despite being a man who participated in war, yet a writer and poet is chased aggressively.

- Just as they move, they stumble upon Pushkin being cornered. After helping him out, Pushkin (Archer, he himself is puzzled at being summoned not as Caster but as Archer due to his last duel) provides information that hunt after him was a specific priority order from Joseph II. Eventually it was deducted that the reason for specific hunt after Pushkin and other musicians is because of Salieri, whose role in this Singularity is unknown. More accurately to say it’s because of Pushkin’s ‘The Little Tragedies’ cycle, specifically ’Mozart and Salieri’ that was one of the reasons for Salieri’s false fame as a jealous murderer. At the same time palace if full of masterful piano play. In his chambers Salieri patiently listens to a child playing a piano. Salieri, still tired and barely conscious, praises said child before falling asleep. Child goes out and stumbles upon Joseph. ‘Keep going and you’ll forever erase my existence from his. That’s what we both want, aren’t we?’

- After circle of soldiers becoming smaller and smaller it was agreed to launch an assault on Joseph’s residence and claim grail from him, especially now that they know the reason for his actions. At entrance they’re greeted by Napoleon who refuses to let them pass. Bagration isn’t happy to see familiar face, just as Bolkonsky. Fight ensues and in middle of it appears Dantès to aid a little because apparently he’s not a fan of Napoleon and remembering whole thing that was the reason for him imprisonment he can’t deny himself the chance for a little revenge. In the end, Bagration, Bolkonsky, Dantès stay to deal with Napoleon. Before separation Pushkin jokes about meeting Dantès but not the one who shot him (d'Anthès) /a play of phonetics because in Russian both d'Anthès and Dantès sound the same/

- Further in Palace they encounter Marie Antoinette. She does mention how it’s ironic how she and them (Desmoulins and Robespierre) were beheaded for sake and as a result of Revolution. She asks them if ending like they did was worth it. They in return ask if beautiful and compassionate queen that held her head high at her own execution and loved her people would bitterly destroy bright future of her people and country over bitterness and anger. Marie desires to behead them herself just to see how it feels to be on other side of guillotine.

- Guda and Mash with others encounter Joseph and ask him why exactly he’s doing that. Joseph doesn’t really answer, but does mention that it’s not only about anger and frustration, it’s also about love and compassion. He does mention that humanity is plagued with idiocy and lack of thinking, and thus it has no right to exist. Joseph also mentions that he doesn’t care about restoring monarchy, it was about his closest people he cared the most about, but seeing Napoleon being summoned it did paint a clear picture of natural power struggle. As of seeing Pushkin, he becomes clearly obsessed with targeting him. ‘After all you’re one of the reasons he ended up like that. Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable. It’s a shame Mozart wasn’t summoned, I would’ve liked to put my sword through his neck.’

- After Joseph’s defeat appears a little boy and takes Holy Grail. Disappearing Joseph calls him ‘Salieri’ before bitterly correcting himself and calling little boy ‘A cursed abomination’. Supposedly ‘Salieri’ stabs him with Blade of Wildlife saying that Joseph himself did an awfully bad job at granting Salieri’s wish and by analogy getting rid of ‘him’. After that ‘Salieri’ addresses Pushkin as ‘one of his creators’ and uses Grail to fully transform and don Wailing Facade. After near defeat he, barely holding himself together, runs away. Guda and others chase him only to find a little ‘Salieri’ with damaged spirit origin protectively covering a man on bed whom Beethoven recognizes as Antonio Salieri. Both boy and man are Servants and have awfully unstable yet almost identical Spirit Origin.

- Actual Antonio Salieri comforts little ‘him’ and thanks him for granting his actual wish of seeing people he loved once again. ‘Salieri’ retorts that his true wish was desire to get rid of ‘Salieri who murdered Mozart’ and humanity as whole, that was the thought of dying Salieri. Salieri explains that it was a momentary hate and bitterness that colored his last moments in life he ultimately never regretted. Just as he embraces ‘Salieri’, he says, that despite everything he does not regret ‘Salieri’ or ‘Gray Man’ existence, because despite their weird and unstable situation he’s the one keeping Salieri’s Spirit Origin somewhat whole and allowing Salieri to manifest at all, since myth is much more famous than actual person.

- After Salieri’s death, his bitterness and rumors along with fake accusation merged into ‘Salieri’ who shared feelings and memories of real Salieri. Gaining his own sentience as ‘Salieri who murdered Mozart’, this ‘Salieri’ was angry at humanity for doing this to a simple man who was too nice to be treated like that at end of his life and decided to carry out his last wish with Grail that was given to him. To maintain proper existence he used grail to summon Salieri. Then Joseph, but Joseph despises ‘Salieri’ for being a product that ruined actual Salieri he cares about. ‘Salieri’ proposes a deal: Joseph can’t kill ‘Salieri’ for it will send both him and Salieri back to Throne or even worse completely damages their Spirit Origin so they’ll never be summoned again. Instead, Joseph can take this as a chance to destroy the world that executed his precious little sister and completely twisted his beloved kapellmeister. By doing that Joseph will erase future where Salieri is known as ‘Salieri who murdered Mozart’, which means Salieri won’t have to suffer anymore.

- In the end Salieri apologizes for all the trouble. Salieri says that he doesn’t regret ‘Salieri’ being a part of him and asks ‘Salieri’ to give Grail to Guda. After it’s done, Singularity starts to fix itself, Salieri disappears first as a summon of Grail and ‘Salieri’ follows. Salieri wishes that next time they’ll meet it will be a willing peaceful summon for them both as whole, much stable existence.

- After that in Chaldea before Salieri is summoned, Joseph is summoned first because he needs to keep an eye on both his sister and beloved kapellmeister. After that Salieri is summoned as a Double class - Antonio Salieri (Ruler) and ‘Antonio Salieri’ (Avenger) /aka local tired man keeps check and adopts a shy but feral child who occasionally wants to stab Mozart, Pushkin and Joseph II with different states of success/.

[ringleaderising]

For lore asks: Tell me some fun facts about about Ducky

There are many facts about Ducky- it is up to everyone else to decide if they are 'fun' and not 'mildly to very concerning on the whole.'

He's always been particularly magically attuned, but his contact with a member of The Host set his talents on the fritz. His 'pearls' are actually fractured pieces held together by a subtle static/electrical charge, small, jagged pieces of his mind that are impossible to mend- until the INTRUDER is slain.

He's adapted his now-wild magical talents and the physical representation of his broken mental state into a weapon. Essentially a living railgun, his electromagnetically bonded pearl shards are capable of completely separating from where they sit at rest, in the shape of a cracked, albeit together set of small pearls, and being propelled violently not unlike a bullet with even very subtle agitation. He's a deadeye with these 'rounds' and their sharp, almost glass-like edges are capable of deep lacerations. He's only ever used this method of attack in self-defense, living in constant fear of being made a victim once more after his Beholder Incident.

Before he was made a Beholder, he was in the band ECHO! ECHO!- A group of young dragons that hang out at The Ever Constantine Mall as their lead singer- he sounds like this! He just had a consistent habit of sneaking off to the arcade when they were supposed to be passing out flyers or promoting- which led to his isolation upon the arrival of the INTRUDER.

He's the only Beholder connected to one of the members of the Host created in the immediate fallout of The Splintering- which because of the odd way time works in the Gaplands, makes him both the very first, and most recent Beholder.

He has a mild lisp, and "Ducky" is a nickname someone special to him gave him when he was much younger- it's all he really remembers about who he used to be, so he's clung to the name, despite perhaps, it seeming out of place as the title of a veritable prophet.

[gaywarcriminals]

Cursed AU idea:

Stringent atheist/ bible anti-fan Shen Yuan transmigrates into his [least] favorite book as God, and is forced to cast his favorite character, Luo Binghsatan, out of Heaven.

[tojisun]

telling people (usually from uni or work since theyre in a whole diff city) where exactly i live in is always a trip because they always have such intense reactions. like, i had one research partner (back when i used to take evening classes and they’d end around 10 pm so id usually be home by 12 am) say she’s already afraid of travelling to my city in the morning so doing it that late was beyond her. i mean its really not bad here but it always fills me with surprise when ppl are horrified for me lmfaoo

[ramblingoak]

3 Random Facts About Me

Thanks for the tag @kissingghouls and @ghuleh-recs 💙 (I might have shared one of these before idk I can't really think of anything)

I have a degree in Parks and Natural Resources! While I don't do anything with it career wise I go on lots of hikes with my dog and occasionally volunteer at a local nature center. Mostly I lead kids on walks in the woods or teach them about frog and bird calls.

I am scared of clowns and also twins, triplets, etc. (basically multiples of the same person idk it's weird)

I once got bit by a cobalt blue tarantula and yes, it hurt.

Tagging (no pressure!) @conjuring-ghouls @copias-juicebox @pinklunarprincess @copias-fluffy-asscheeks @portaltothevoid @blacktie-whitenoise annnd anyone else that wants to (pls tag me so I can see 💙)