#but the idea of someone (God or not) being so selfless in their creation of a person or in general is so unrealistic

[i-cant-sing]

I am in love with your yandere ideas, I don’t know where they come from

Probably some deep dark internal place where god has long since shown his light

Yes💖💖💖 but speaking of God, you know what type of yandere I want? The type we all deserve?

A religious yandere who is on knees every single day, praying and crying to God for you. A yandere who is a firm believer that you're two soulmates, that your name was written along side his way before the creation of the universe.

A yandere who does excessive charity and good deeds, asking everyone to pray for him that his God grants him the one he loves.

And perhaps the yandere has tried to get you, but he wasn't successful. Maybe it's because he's poor, maybe it's because you're not compatible with him, or maybe it's just because he's a walking red flag with his inability to take no for an answer (for real, you've threw your shoe at him too when he showed up at your door

Soon, people start to pity him/admire him for his persistent and pious self, and when they hear the way he describes you, how utterly and completely in love he is with you, their heart just breaks.

So, now people start to slowly pressure you into accepting him, telling you that his love is pure, and that no one will ever love you/care for you as much as him.

You turn them all down, telling them to mind their own business and of course, they're hurt by your rudeness. They tell yandere about how mean you are and how he deserves someone much better. The yandere shakes his head and smiles sadly.

"Her. Only her. God has made her for me, and I for him." He'd say, before going back to praying and it's only now that people realise that that's all he does. He prays for you, all day, all night. And it's starting to show that he's also stopped taking care of himself, spending his all of his time doing selfless good deeds and praying for you.

They are moved by how... devoted he has become. Watching how even when he's sick, dishevelled with the high fever, all he could mutter is your name over and over again like a broken record. And they ask him, why do you not ask your God to grant you health? And yandere would smile and reply, "I'd never ask Him to take away any suffering he gives me, for perhaps he'd take pity on me and grant me my beloved Y/n."

With him becoming a sort of Saint now, and being impressed by his love and devotion to you, the yandere mentality starts to spread to them. Soon, the town people form a small cult. Their mission?

To bring you and yandere together.

And since you're not taking the easy way, they're gonna go ahead and kidnap you, keep you locked up in their basement where perhaps once or twice a day, you're tortured by someone, telling you this is how your life is gonna be from now on.

While you're slowly breaking down every day, the yandere is worried now that he can't find you anywhere. He starts running around panicking, looking for you everywhere, heart sinking when he can't find you.

And that's when the town people's second part of the plan begins: guide yandere to where you are and let him be your Knight in shining armour.

The yandere finally finds you (after all the hints from the people) and he looks like he can finally breathe again when his eyes find yours.

"Y/n." He breathes out, walking towards you, but restraining himself from hugging you, for he remembers how you told him that you're repulsed by him, he remembers all the terrible things you'd spew at him.

But then a miracle happens. You throw yourself at him and start crying, begging him to save you- to get you out of here.

He feels like his world stopped for a few moments when you touched him, his rapidly beating heart finally coming at ease, matching the rhythm of your heart.

He nodded, inhaling your scent (despite you being sweaty and grimy) and telling you that everything will be alright.

And when he takes you home- to his small, humble abode, taking a washcloth to clean the dirt of your face, the town people can't help byr watch from the windows as their plan succeeded. The yandere tells you to sleep, that he promises that he won't do anything unbecoming of a man before leaving his house to get you something to eat.

And the people can't help but ask why he looks sad right now. Didn't their plan work?

The yandere sighs. "I'm worried. Y/n, she was hurt by someone. And- and I don't want to think what would have happened if I didn't save her. But..."

"But what?"

"But now she wants to leave the town. Says its too traumatising for her to stay here." He sniffles. "What will I do when she's not here? When I can't even see her anymore? What if someone hurts her again and I'm not there?"

What the fuck?

-

A day or two later, when reader starts packing her stuff, some people from the cult come to hera and lay down the law for her.

"You're not leaving, Y/n. Because if you do, we'll make sure it's in a coffin." They start threatening you, even thrashing you.

Another part of the cult goes to yandere and starts putting ideas in his head.

"You can't let her leave."

The yandere sighs sadly. "What can I do? I can't force her to stay here-"

"Yes, you can. Yes you can! Don't you see? She's your soulmate, the one who was created for you. You can't let her go- that would be like rejecting God's gift to you!" They begin brainwashing him. "She's too naive to see what's good for her! It's upto you, her better half, to save her!"

"But she wants to leave-"

"She doesn't know what she wants is not good for her. She doesn't know what she really needs! What if she wanted to jump of a cliff? Would you let her? What if she she wants to put herself in danger? Would you let her?"

The yandere's eyes darkened. "No."

"Then save her. Save her from herself."

-

By the time yandere comes to your place, you're all bloody and bruised from the beating from the mov earlier, and yandere growls as he asks who did this to you.

This time, he doesn't think twice about touching you as he picks you up and carries you to the couch, and starts cleaning up your wounds.

"They- they won't let me go! Please, you gotta help me leave town!" You cried, and his heart breaks a little at your tears.

He wipes them away. "I'm afraid I can't help you."

"Why?!"

"Because I can't protect you if you're not with me." He cups your cheek. "You're God's gift to me, and I am His gift to you. You are mine, and I am yours. And we cannot be apart from each other, Y/n. Don't you see how much harm it has already caused you?"

The cult outside couldn't help but smile as they watched you begin wailing and trying to escape yandere, only for him to tackle you down and kiss you.

They decided to leave you two alone (not really, a few of them still stood outside in case yandere needed their help capturing you or you tried to escape/hurt yandere.

The rest of the cult now began the third phase of their plan: making yandere and you as the cult leaders.

Should I make this an oc? A new one or perhaps an old one?

[lychee-angelica]

nakshatra observations p1 ✩‧₊˚

punarvasu, chitra, rohini, anuradha, shatabhisha, ashlesha, mrigasira

✩please don't plagiarise! the following is my own research and observations, so if something doesn't resonate please let it go✩

punarvasu nakshatra ｡⋆ boundless imagination

this star relates to the idea of repetition & patterns that occur within the concept of other things. classically symbolised by arrows being placed upon a quiver over and over again. or the idea that ruling deity, goddess aditi is recognised to be the mother of her own father. unity and wholeness cannot be broken in punarvasu nakshatra

this nakshatra prominent in a person's chart usually indicates someone with a boundless imagination and a youthful curiosity for conceptually complex thought. it is a beautifully intricate star which resembles our desires to explore the great wonders and awes of life. i imagine these people becoming so lost within an immersive day dream that they can easily lose sense of reality. however, their strong sense of nostalgia tends to wash over and refreshes them, finding themselves once again. punarvasu natives are usually highly sentimental and fond of reflection

chitra nakshatra ｡⋆ beautiful ingenuity

this star relates immensely to the design and talent it takes one to create beauty, typically in it's physical forms. ruling deity, visvakarma is often described as the chief of detailing and designing. he is who is talented enough to create palaces, cities, weapons, jewels and even replicas - quite literally anything you can think of, beauty and wonder is embossed in it's formation

i often notice that these individuals have such a keen eye for beauty and detail. their ability to create anything beautiful and aesthetic is expectational, no matter what it is they may wish to create. they are the types to even go to such lengths of adding little details where no one will even see it, they are truly dedicated to their craft. additionally, women with this star prominent can literally embody physical beauty and have an amazing sense of physical adornment, but of course that is not all there is to her. she is talented and multifaceted woman x

anuradha & shatabhisha nakshatra ｡⋆ love vs lust & the celestrial nymph

one interesting aspect of these two stars is that their ruling deities mitra & varuna share mythological affinity. anuradha’s deity mitra is god of day-time & shatabhisha’s varuna is god of the night-time. these deities exemplify love & pleasure as a polarity in it’s higher & lower dignities. the story is as follows, the two deities once were of a singular body when they met urvasi, a celetrisial nymph & made love with her. mitra & varuna sepearted into two bodies as there was disagreement, mitra sought after the nymph for selfless love & varuna propositioned urvasi for sex & selfishness. urvasi desired mitra although varuna became too excited & ejaculated too early - urvasi felt bad & birthed varuna’s children through an artificial womb

anuradha resembles the highest order of adoration, love & devotion. another thing to note is that shatabhisha is not primarily a sexual star, it just has sexual & lustful potential. although, in this story the star of shatabhisha portrays it's lustful & pleasure seeking side. anuradha is all about companionship & mutual union - it is a beautiful star to be born under. anuradha people are usually adored and admired lovingly, shatabhisha people may simply be lustful or ignite these lower desires in the minds of others. i also find it fitting that the birth of varuna's child was artificial, as other research of mine correlates this star to the idea of parasocial relationships (will get into this in a different post)

rohini nakshatra ｡⋆ red-girl

rohini’s ruling deity is brahma, the forefather & god of all creation. when rohini’s context is taken into sexual regards there are some impurities present. brahma being the god of creation had once desired to create his own wife in order to reproduce, his other children had protested against this idea as his wife was of his own creation. brahma became ashamed of himself for pressuring her. brahma discarded his body & created a new one to wash away impurity of thought. his old body lived on as a fog of danger & darkness

rohini nakshatra is the star of fertility & creativity, passion & beauty. the word rohini means red-girl, symbolising a woman’s menstrual cycle or the blushing or rosy cheeks of a woman. all is well in rohini for creativity, imagination & fertility but there is some other aspects to this star are not so favourable. rohini nakshatra may at times attract the wrong kind of attention & affection. women in general can become subjected to other’s infatuations & desires that are shameful, wrong & impure. this dark side of rohini resembles insidious external influence that comes way toward women

extras ｡⋆

punarvasu & ashlesha nakshatra ｡⋆

people with these nakshatras prominent in their chart usually love cats! they are the types to probably identify heavily with being a "cat person" as clique as that sounds. i find it so cute how pushya separates these stars, a nakshatra that symbolises milk

rohini, mrigasira & ashlesha nakshatra ｡⋆

these stars are all symbolised by serpents. the most flexible and movable among all the relevant animal representatives, and also the only one without four legs. for this reason these people have the potential to become talented and amazingly hypnotic dancers! even if they don't dance, they may move and walk in a very mesmerising way

[thesensteawitch]

How Will You Find Love?🔔💘🔔💘🔔💘🔔💘

Pick A Pile Reading

🩵(Left to Right- Pile 1, Pile 2, Pile 3)🩵

Hello, Senstea Souls!

Welcome to another collective tarot reading. This reading will talk about when and how you will find love. Remember love doesn't need to be romantic in the reading, it can be platonic too.🩷

For private readings refer to the links mentioned below:

Booking Form

My Rate Card

Pile 1

Hello, my beautiful pile 1. You will find love through selfless service. Perhaps while helping others. Currently, I see that your heart chakra is blocked. You feel lack. Healing must begin before you find love. You'll gain love through communities. When you free yourself from the idea of love that you have in your mind, you'll find love. When you focus less on the idea and work towards spreading love or embodying love, you'll experience what love truly means. You cannot give with an empty cup and for your cup to be filled with compassion you are being called by the universe to relieve the past hurts and negativity stuck in your energy centers. You are hurting yourself by looking for love in all the wrong places. If you look closely you'll find yourself to be loved beyond measure. I heard someone say that if God created tiny creatures with so much care then he must have had a beautiful idea and so much love in his hands while creating you. You too are created with love and with purpose. It's a blessing to be human and be able to express emotions. I also feel that you are being called to know your limits when it comes to giving to others. You need to know how much to give and when to stop. As you heal others you'll heal a part of yourself too. Start doing something about your emotions. Don't sit and let the tears roll out for nothing. With every teardrop create something new. Channel your emotions towards creation. Let go of the narratives that you have been repeating to yourself for months. As you release the toxic energy you'll get closer to finding and experiencing love. A new cycle is beginning in your life as something old is dying. If you need a personal reading on your situation then feel free to DM me.

Pile 2

Hello, my dear pile 2. Before jumping into finding love you need to contemplate what kind of love are you truly looking for. You can't have whatever is being served to you. Think and be firm about what you truly want from love and stick to the idea. Soon you'll see that you'll be attracting the right kind of people. The kind of people you thought did not even exist will enter your life. So don't settle for less. Be firm but don't forget your soft side either. Weigh the scales before you allow anybody in your life. As the year begins you'll see people knocking on your door. It's up to you to whom to let in. You're not blind to the truth and can peak through people's true intentions. Make use of that ability. Even if for some time you end up alone. Because either way you are going to attract the tribe that matches your vibe. How about you take care of your vibe? There's also a warning here. In the quest for finding the right person don't forget that we are all humans with flaws. So do not expect anybody to be perfect. Don't put too much burden on others to behave the way you want them to. Instead, observe how they behave and judge them based on that. Don't try to change anyone. Your words will hold power over people. Make sure you use the right kind of words and don't roam around bruising people with them. You may take your past hurt to be the motivation behind your current attitude. Don't be cruel. Don't spoil the relationships that you are left with. You can't keep crying over spilled water forever. Nor you can let your hurtful emotions be the driving force behind your current personality. Love is kind and gentle. Remember that. Love is neither fantasy nor a foul play. The more you are hard on yourself the more you'll be hard on others too. Take care of your attitude and you'll see love knocking at your door very soon. If you need a personal reading on your situation then feel free to DM me.

Pile 3

Hello, my beautiful pile 3. I see that Universe is offering you love in some way but you are not seeing it. It's exactly when you feel you have nothing left or you're not loved enough you'll find love. But you need to be optimistic to truly look at it. Sometimes our perception blinds us to what we are receiving. I feel some of you are also loners. But it doesn't matter when it comes to manifesting love. You seem to be looking for love for a very long time now. It seems like if there's a rulebook on love you have read them all. You may give people advice based on what you have learned through books. Love is right in front of you, you are neglecting to see it. For some of you, I see that the person you like likes you back. You both may have similar qualities. You both mirror each other in the best possible way. If you guys communicate then your communication is intellectually stimulating. I feel it's just sometimes you don't know what is the right thing to say. You both are so logical that you forget to speak through your heart. I see a lot of people. For some of you, there may be third-party involvement. Hmm...I think you need to communicate before committing. Either you are confused between two people or the other person is. The situation doesn't look good. Justice will be served no matter what. The truth will come out. Hearts will be broken. But eventually, everything will settle down. It's time to communicate with honesty and through heart. Love is complicated in your book. I hope everything ends well for you, pile 3. You need to set strong boundaries. I hope your situation gets better. If you need a personal reading on your situation then feel free to DM me.

[mrpenguinpants]

Venti: First Meeting and Friendship HCs

First Meeting HCs

————————————————————

The god of freedom certainly lived up to the title. A truly free spirit who only wished the same for others. He shaped the many hills and cliffs of Mondstadt with his own hand, and graciously bestowed his powers unto those he deemed worthy. And yet…there he sat - teetering on the edge of a barstool, completely and utterly intoxicated.

The red-head manning the bar rolls his eyes at the sorry display the archon was creating, and resumes cleaning the glass in his hand. However as a bell rings out - signaling a new patron - he looks up.

You enter the famed “Angels Share”, the best tavern in Mondstadt - or so you’ve been told. Really, you’ll decide that for yourself - is what you think as you slide into an empty seat at the bar. Eager to unwind after a long day of adventuring, you order your drink and attempt to relax.

But really, your night didn’t end how you’d hoped at all. You ended up with a loud and incredibly clingy bard hanging off of your shoulder spouting barely comprehensible rhymes and poems. You would’ve found amusement in the spectacle if you weren’t so tired. Shrugging him off did no good, as he was surprisingly strong for someone so small.

Thankfully, you got your sweet freedom as the bartender cut him off for the night, presenting the smaller boy with the shockingly large bill. A wave of pity washes over you as his face drops at the number.

He laughs awkwardly, attempting to convince the bartender that he could pay by other means, but the stoic man only sighs, trying to explain to the drop-dead drunk bard that he cannot keep the tavern open with “songs and sonnets”.

Really you were quite done with your failed attempt at relaxation - wanting to go home and just sleep the night away. Sliding a bag of Mora across the counter you state that it should be enough to cover both of your tabs. That was essentially all you’d earned via commission today, though, you can’t really find a reason to be mad about the extra expenditure. Helping people out - that’s just what you do. You don’t look twice as you exit the bar, though you feel a pair of eyes on your hooded figure as the door swings shut.

And that was that - you never saw the drunken bard again. Or so you thought. As the very next day you spotted him out of the corner of your eye while scouting around a Hilichurl camp, but as soon as you looked he was gone. And then that very same evening as you sat down for dinner at Good Hunter. Then several times over the next few days.

It was ticking you off, not just the fact that you had pretty much obtained a stalker, but the extra stress he brought with him as you now had to worry about his well being on top of yours during battle. You even started taking less dangerous commissions to further guarantee his safety. You didn’t really know or like the guy, but you certainly didn’t want him hurt, or worse; dead.

And by that point he wasn’t even trying to hide or disguise himself - trailing a few feet behind you nearly everywhere you went, drawing perplexed gazes from the townsfolk as you wandered from store to store for supplies. You were trying your best to keep your composure - to pretend he wasn’t even there in the first place - but the longer the charade went on the more cracks that appeared in your mask.

You didn’t mean to snap at him, honestly, but you were tired of putting up with a complete stranger following you around for no good reason - so you yelled at him. Right there in the middle of the market, the bard stood stunned - taken aback by your sudden outburst. He recovered quickly of course, smiling up/down at you like he hadn’t just been shouted at in clear view of the publics eye.

He hastily explains his actions, identifying himself as Venti - a travelling bard seeking inspiration for his next story. That night in the bar, he had been there lamenting - drowning his sorrows in wine over his recent pieces. They were all lacking ingenuity - a certain bit of flair that makes a story truly unforgettable. And that’s where you came in. You had caught his attention with your selfless act of generosity, so much so that it had given him that spark he he had been searching for. So naturally, he followed that spark - hoping it would continue to present him with the same creativity as before.

As you listen to his reasoning, the initial anger you felt mellows. You’re more than relieved that he’s not actually a creepy stalker, just a bard looking for inspiration.

Apologizing sheepishly for your actions, you scratch the back of your head. In that moment it was impossible to look into the boys eyes. You felt bad, truly. You had misread the situation entirely - thought it wasn’t all your fault. If the bard had simply approached you in the first place this whole fiasco could’ve all been avoided.

As you voice these thoughts to Venti he hums in understanding. He returns your apology with one of his own - bowing deeply with his beret in hand - shocking you and the few random townsfolk still paying attention to the scene.

Deeply embarrassed by the confused gazes the bard was drawing to them, you hastily accept his apology, tugging your hood further down to hide your hot face. Honestly the idea of just running away from the situation sounded quite appealing, but instead you restrain the urge - opting to walk past the boy as quick as possible.

Just as your shoulders brush, a hand latches onto your wrist - stopping your escape in its tracks. This time it’s Ventis turn to look sheepish, as he officially asks to accompany you on your exploits. He offers you entertainment and conversation, as well as any other skills he may or may not have - the latter only serving to confuse rather than convince you.

“Your journey would be far more enjoyable with a skilled bard such as myself by your side. Perhaps you would even allow me to write a ballad of your conquests?”

It’s not entirely uncommon for a bard to travel with an adventurer for inspiration, you suppose to yourself. Though you’re still more than a bit apprehensive on the matter. It’s not that you don’t want his company - really it does get quite lonely alone out on the road - it’s simply his safety that concerns you. But upon voicing this Venti simply chuckles, exclaiming that he’s much stronger than his appearance lets on.

Now - with no real reason to refuse - you accept his offer, earning a cheer from the bard. And so your joint journey began - you and Venti against whatever tasks or monsters needed tackling.

Friendship HC 

————————————————————

It goes without saying that if you didn’t have a vision before, you certainly have one now. Within the first week in fact. Waking up in the early hours of the day to a soft blue glowing vision beside your head was not something you ever thought you’d experience - but of course you’re not complaining.

Upon shaking the bard awake to show him your discovery he only gives a rather tame reaction - as if he already knew you had it.

“Hmm? You woke up to a vision by your side? My, my - what luck you seem to possess! Perhaps now you may go into battle with less distress.”

Travelling with Venti is never dull, as he fills the silence with stories of old - tales of the long deserted original city of Mondstadt, the creation of the seven nations themselves and other obscurities that you don’t remember hearing about in any history book. Often times he interrupts his own story to spill his own hot take on a major historical figure or deity - hearing him call Andrius a “mother hen in denial” had you spit out your drink. His storytimes often end with you wondering how exactly someone so young would have knowledge of times long gone. He always shrugs it off, quickly changing the subject with a smile filled with secrets. For a boy so young he talks as if he’s been around for centuries.

Any looming worries over his well being are quickly dismissed once you see him fight. His nimble fingers and sharp eyes shoot down all matter of foes in rapid succession, and his skills at utilizing anemo are completely unparalleled. Really, you’re left wondering how he’s not the adventurer here.

You will absolutely fall victim to his pranks there’s nothing you can do about it. Whether it’s the wind blowing your cloak around in your face, extra jueyun chilies in your food or a slime condensate down the back of your shirt - you cannot escape the impish bards mischievous side. It’s when he suddenly falls quiet that you have to worry. A silent Venti is a scheming Venti.

However this is not a one-sided deal at all, he welcomes - no, insists - that you prank him back. He doesn’t want you to be left out of the fun after all! So get him back for that frog he put in your pack, or the time he kept pushing air currents in your direction so you couldn’t land your glider. Really; the more creative the better. If you’re able to prank him successfully he’ll laugh with you as you celebrate, praising you for your victory. But be warned that his next scheme will be twice as good as yours.

If you ever need a break from his shenanigans, go hang out with a cat. He won’t approach you while the animal is around, however he will be pouting up a storm from a distance.

You’ve gotten to discover many quirks of the bard clad in green over time, like how the tips of his hair seem to glow brighter when he’s in a good mood - especially when he laughs, and that he’s completely repulsed by cheese. If he ever bothers you too much you can get him back by chasing him while holding the stuff. Some of that nasty, stinky stuff Sara has at Good Hunter should do the trick. Mind you that the boy is incredibly spry - so good luck keeping up.

Eventually, he ends up revealing his true identity to you after the guilt of lying begins to eat away at his heart - making it harder to keep up his persona. Really he’d wanted to tell you for months at that point, but a lingering feeling of apprehension - a worry that you may no longer see him the same way - kept holding him back.

“Y/N, I wish to tell you a truth I’ve been hiding. You see…in reality, I am Lord Barbatos.”

“…”

“That…actually explains so much…”

He’s relieved to find that nothing has changed between the two of you after his revelation. You still treat him like Venti the bard, just as you always have. It’s a weight off his shoulders to be sure, and you can tell his overall mood has improved too.

It’s still kind of shocking when he switches to “Barbatos mode”, as you’ve taken to calling it. Spouting bars of philosophical gibberish at the most random of times leaves you blinking in utter confusion and often times just hurts your brain.

At the end of the day, the God of freedom is incredibly lonely. The best way to describe it is that he’s detached - he’s out of touch with his ever-changing homeland and the people that reside in it. Only ever appearing to handle a major problem or calamity at hand and then sending himself into a deep slumber for hundreds of years.

Waking up each time is like mental whiplash for the poor god, as he sees towns rise and fall, people come and go and things change again just he’s beginning to get used them. It takes a toll on him - though he won’t let anyone see that.

He craves companionship and the feeling of belonging that comes with it more than anything. Placing unconditional trust in someone else, backing them up when the goings get tough and having them do the same in return. Providing a shoulder to lean on in moments of weakness and being so comfortable that breathing easy becomes the simplest thing in the world. That’s what he wants. Barbatos may not be human but his vessel is.

That’s why Barbatos cherishes his friendship with you so much. He knows you - like all other humans - have a finite amount of time in this world. In time, wrinkles will adorn your face, and strands of silvery gray will appear in your hair. You bones will ache as age seeps into your body. And yet he will experience no such afflictions - forever wearing the face of a young boy from another time. Ever ageless, frozen in time.

The dull ache that spreads through his chest at the thought of watching the one who he considers his closest friend wither away in front of him is…crushing. Even though he knows your time alive is brief, and that your death would only cause him more pain - he can’t stop himself.

He’ll spend nearly every day by your side, telling you tales of yore, pulling pranks and practical jokes, covering your back in battle and being there when you need it most. He wants you to experience the land and all its freedoms. He wants you to get the most out of what little time you have in such a vast and expansive world.

You’re the closest friend he’s had since the real Venti - and he sees bits of him in you too. You help fill the gaping hole of loneliness in his chest - one stemming from a millennia of duty and repressed guilt.

He knows you’ll eventually leave him, and one day hopefully he’ll come to terms with that. But for now, he’s content with you by his side, racing off into whatever dangers lie ahead.

————————————————————

This turned out so much longer that I thought it would I’m so sorry ;-;

I know you said all you wanted were headcannons but I think I went a lil too far…ok ALOT too far

I had fun though…so thanks for giving me something to work on!

—

No need to feel sorry! I loved it so much. Headcanons, fics, whatever you want^^ I stan talent and you have it 💕💕

I don’t know if you lads remember but when I was struggling over Venti HCs, this was the friend I asked for crumbs of inspiration that ended up giving me an entire fic. I went absolutely feral over it and wanted to share it with you all. 

So thank you to @fulltimeventisimp​ [alt account] for your beautiful work and feeding us all Venti crumbs. I swear to god, if there is a Venti re-run and you don’t get 6 venti’s in one 10 roll it’s time to riot. 

[No worries about tags] 

Also, I know this isn’t my work but I’m going to tag you all in this 

  @mikeysbike​​ @unionwitch​​ @musekala​​ @sunnshiii​​ @stanzastic​​ @akaasea​​ @xoneaboveallx​​ @adoring-ghost​​ @asheseiler​​ @childelover​​ @dilucsz​​ @dai-tsukki-desu​​ @thicmitten​​ @nonniechan​​ @htnicayh​​ @genshins1mpact​​ @morthecreator​​ @aanne2601 @aklxojjk​​ @hanniejji​​​​

[adifferenttime]

Andrew Ryan vs. Robert House

On almost every House post I make, someone in the notes will reliably reference Andrew Ryan. I totally get it - they look similar, they're based on the same guy, the parallels are so clear that the NV dev team added an achievement for killing House with a golf club - but I think these commonalities tend to engulf both characters, blotting out some of their more interesting ideological/personal differences. It's useful to examine them in relation to one another, but part of that is figuring out what distinguishes them, which is just what I’ve attempted to do.

It's difficult for me to talk about Randian objectivism because I don't think it's sound enough to address on its own terms, but considering this is the philosophy Andrew Ryan has adopted, I kind of have to. What I’d identify as the core premise of Randian ethics is this: altruism is a moral wrong. Some Randians have argued that isn't really what they believe - that the real point is anything resembling altruism is self-interest in disguise - but they're departing from the beliefs of their icon when they make those claims. Per Rand:

The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute is self-sacrifice – which means self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction – which means the self as a standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.

The way Rand defines altruism is by linking it to self-sacrifice, which she uses to differentiate it from kindness or benevolence. Aiding others at no cost to yourself is benevolent, but not altruistic, and therefore not evil. Sacrificing your happiness to help another human being is, from Rand's perspective, evil, as is any philosophy that prioritizes the other at the cost of the self. This whole idea has been broadly rejected by most scholars on account of it being really fucking stupid. What justifies the leap from "man is naturally selfish" to "selfishness is good"? If selfishness is moral, wouldn't the most moral behavior be to exploit others through whatever means necessary, favoring force over the market? Rand defines happiness as "using your mind’s fullest power," achievable only when you "do not consider the pleasure of others as the goal," but why is this the only definition? What if your only options are self-sacrificial in nature? How do you weigh them if neither sacrifice is linked to values, individual achievement, or "your mind's fullest power" at all? Rand didn't care because she was too busy trying to ethically justify cheating on her man with her best friend's husband, but nonetheless, this is the philosophy Andrew Ryan’s adopted. He claims that "Altruism is the root of all Wickedness," in what's almost a direct quote from Rand herself.

To that end, Ryan builds a system that doesn’t just accept selfishness but actively incentivizes it. Every other principle he expresses is subservient to the ideas that selfishness rules man, and that for Ryan to act on his own selfish impulses is the highest good in the world. His lesser political principles (individual liberties, negative rights, the creation of a stateless society) don’t matter to him as much as the central precept from which they stem: that selfishness is his moral imperative.

What is the greatest lie every created? What is the most vicious obscenity ever perpetrated on mankind? Slavery? The Holocaust? Dictatorship? No. It's the tool with which all that wickedness is built: altruism.

It doesn't come as a particular surprise to me when he starts imprisoning dissidents or executing rivals or banning theft (standard practice in most societies, but not what an egoist would pursue; if you can get away with taking it, you deserve to have it, or so the thinking goes). I’ve seen him described as a hypocrite, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true considering everything he does is in line with his opposition to altruism. He'll adhere to his other principles only if they don’t sabotage his pursuit of personal power. This is evident in the fact that he only adopts a negative perception of Fontaine when his own interests are threatened, but doesn’t give two shits what Fontaine might be doing to sow conflict and harm people before that point. A guy named Gregory asks Ryan to step in against Fontaine early on before Fontaine's fully established himself as a threat to Ryan's power, and Ryan's extremely blase about it.

Don't expect me to punish citizens for showing a little initiative. If you don't like what Fontaine is doing, well, I suggest you find a way to offer a better product.

Contrast this with how he reacts when Fontaine has risen as a genuine business rival. This is from the log titled "Fontaine Must Go."

Something must be done about Fontaine. While I was buying buildings and fish futures, he was cornering the market on genotypes and nucleotide sequences. Rapture is transforming before my eyes. The Great Chain is pulling away from me.

This double standard is the natural outgrowth of his prioritization of self-interest. If your most deeply-held belief is that you should never give up your interests for others, ancillary rules become flexible in times of personal crisis, and Bioshock makes the case that putting someone like that in charge of a city will leave you with a crumbling, monstrous ruin.

Superficially, House has some similarities. Ryan executes political rivals; House has you blow up a bunker of his ideological opponents. Ryan is the highest authority in Rapture; House is the absolute monarch of Vegas. Their goals and moral codes, though, are almost diametrically opposed. When you ask House why you’re expected to trust him when he’s openly admitting to installing himself as the despot of the New Vegas Strip, he says this:

I have no interest in abusing others... Nor have I any interest in being worshipped as some kind of machine-god messiah. I am impervious to such corrupting ambitions.

Most of his resources are devoted to large-scale, impersonal projects, aimed either at building the power of Vegas or securing his long term goal of “progress” as he sees it. He’s rejected selfishness as a moral good because House is very far from Randian objectivism. He's a Hobbesian monarch.

In that respect, he shares an outlook on human nature with Ryan that I deeply disagree with (that human beings are essentially selfish), but in terms of what that means for the structure of a utopian society, House takes a very different position. From his perspective, human nature breeds suffering, not industriousness, and the only way to stamp out conflict - and, in a post-nuclear age, ensure the continued survival of the human race - is through a strong sovereign. The purpose of a state as laid out in Leviathan aligns very, very closely with the one House expresses.

...the foresight of their own preservation, and of a more contented life thereby; that is to say, of getting themselves out from that miserable condition of war which is necessarily consequent, as hath been shown, to the natural passions of men...

The monarch's successes are reflected in his society and the well-being of humanity as a whole. To subvert his goals is to subvert society's goals, and to doom humanity to the war, death, and suffering that exist in a state of nature. When you destroy his Securitrons/kill him, he doesn't plead for himself or get offended on his own behalf. He accuses you of betraying not him, but mankind.

Single-handedly, you've brought mankind's best hopes of forward progress crashing down. No punishment would be too severe. Fool... to let... personalities... derail future... of mankind? ...Stupid! Slavery... the future of... mankind? What... have you... done?

An important corollary of this idea which again distinguishes House from Ryan appears in Leviathan’s description of the political/moral responsibility of a monarch to his subjects:

...that great Leviathan, or rather, to speak more reverently, of that mortal god to which we owe, under the immortal God, our peace and defence. For by this authority... he hath the use of so much power that, by terror thereof, he is enabled to form the wills of them all, to peace at home, and mutual aid against their enemies abroad.

Hobbes and House give the monarch virtually unlimited power but match it to the monarch's duty, which he lives to fulfill. His obligation is to speak for the people, act for them, and protect them from all threats, internal and external. House generally abides by this, orienting his decisions around his goals for society irrespective of the personal cost (the negative consequences of his actions are a product of his fucked evaluations of what’s best for society, not personal greed). It’s not just a departure from Ryan’s philosophy but a complete refutation of it. He's almost died for what he's misidentified as the greatest good.

Given that I had to make do with buggy software, the outcome could have been worse. I nearly died as it was…. I spent the next few decades in a veritable coma.

This is not the behavior of an egoist. This is the behavior of an extremely arrogant but marginally altruistic (from a Randian perspective lmao) guy. This is some distorted “from each according to his ability” shit if you’ve managed to convince yourself your abilities exceed those of everyone else who has ever lived and that you can get the Mandate of Heaven by being really good at statistics.

The reason these guys develop such similar structures and hierarchies despite the ideological gulfs between them is because both of them are elitists who’ve experienced a massive failure of self-consciousness. They’re unable to conceive of other people as being fundamentally like them. Ryan separates people into the clearly-delineated classes of “producer” and “parasite,” ignoring the fact that everything he’s ever “produced” was reliant on a huge, coordinated effort between workers, architects, accountants, middlemen, and others, all of whom, in conjunction, contributed more to the realization of his dreams that he ever could have alone. Rather than realizing his own position is more parasitic and reliant on other people’s labor than that of anyone else in Rapture, he adheres to his doctrine of selfishness even when it’s not reflective of reality and is ruining the the lives of an entire city of people. He deludes himself into believing he’s a superman among ants instead of one flawed man who is reliant on the goodwill of others to help him survive, as are we all.

House, too, thinks he’s exceptional. Unlike Ryan, he acknowledges the necessity of the worker to a functioning society, but while he’ll accept his reliance on that labor, he doesn’t trust the laborer enough to share political power. House knows he’s invested in humanity’s survival and the creation of a better world, but he refuses to consider that he might not be alone in this goal. He chalks up the existence of the Legion to fanaticism/the ambitions of a sultanistic dictator and attributes everything the NCR has done to greed, without it ever occurring to him that the massive harm these nations have done was partially motivated by the same goals he’s devoted himself to - and that the atrocities he’s committed since his rise to power are, in some respects, very similar. House knows himself to be invested in the well-being of humanity, but he’s too arrogant to ask himself if his methods are wrong or trust other people to build a new path, one that doesn’t necessitate his complete control over the land and people of the Mojave. Ryan and House’s worldviews are distinct, and their flaws, as highlighted by their respective narratives, say some interesting things about how each set of devs view power and the pitfalls of elitism.

Anyway. If you put these two men in a room, they would probably try to murder each other, and I think that’s great.

[anarchyforcanon]

following this post from @ramseynatural

i like the idea that lucifer takes on the form of mothers to manipulate talk with the people he wants to on a more personal level

following my hc that eve was the first true vessel of lucifer, i like the idea that lucifer either possessed or just took on the form of eve to manipulate convince cain to kill abel. this is following the more biblical story of cain and abel by ignoring cain's version of the story in spn

>using death/guilt over death as manipulation

even though eve isn't dead dead, i feel there's a lingering feeling of guilt that can be held over cain. there was an inherent sacrifice that eve made, for free will and knowledge, which in turn made her lose her immortality in the garden of eden and the favor of god. cain having a sense of guilt that he's now been gifted these things from his mother and it not being "worth it," is something lucifer would most definitely hold over cain

>being strong enough/the only one strong enough

lucifer has spent years around michael and knows all the buttons to push to get an eldest brother to take on their own self created definition of "responsibility." lucifer making cain believe he's the only one worthy of god's favoritism, that cain can later use this favor to make god forgive adam and eve - even infusing the belief that abel might not care as much about his family as cain does. cain wants god's favor for all the selfish reasons, but lucifer convincing him for all the selfless reasons as if handing him off as a matyr has cain eating right out of his hand.

>emphasis on having to do unsavory things to get the job done/do what's right

who better to tell someone how the world works and how you need to personally act in the world than your own mother? cain knows eve had felt god's "righteous" anger, and that the tale was spun that it was a needed action. and unknowingly to cain, lucifer has also felt this righteous anger, so it's not as if lucifer is lying on how to shimmy around the brunt of it

>emphasis on justice

lucifer spewing out a speech of how the older brother deserves god's favor the most, how the killing of god's creation as a sacrifice was undeserving compared to cain's nurturing god's gift of seeds, ect ect. cain's life was a large injustice in his own eyes and lucifer used that to his advantage.

-

lucifer constantly using the nurturing and trusting aura of a mother to his continuous advantage throughout the years is something i love so much. its such a cruel role to play while also undoubtedly brilliant. lucifer being a wolf in a sheep lined dress my beloved <33

[sentient-rift]

Dimensional Skits: The Weight of Being the Rift

Days earlier, taking place at the same time as the Valentine's Day Party, RiFT continued to monitor the dimensional gateway, seeing if there were anyone in need he could help. As he was, many thoughts ran through his head. This job he was created to do... This mission he wanted to accomplish... Was it really worth it when he knew that no matter how hard he tried, there will still be those out there he couldn't save? And more importantly, even if he had good intentions and he planned to use his powers for good, was it right for him to have them? Was what he's trying to do... Even right to begin with?

"Do you ever take a break?"

A voice suddenly came from behind RiFT, startling him a bit. The voice was all too familiar, though, and he knew who it was before even turning around to see her.

"Shouldn't you be at the party, iCO?"

"Parties aren't really my thing. Besides, I could ask you the same thing."

The female Deep Log Reploid walked closer to RiFT, looking his way before looking at the gateway.

"You take your job so seriously..." iCO said, "It's a good thing and all, but you shouldn't overwork yourself."

"You're actually giving me a pep talk?" RiFT asked, "Looks like you care more than you'd like to admit."

"Don't get the wrong idea... I mean, I do care, but not like I've become all buddy-buddy with you guys. It's just that you're important to this mission... And to my research."

RiFT could see right through her, but decided not to press on. Though not to the extreme as Solo's case, it would seem iCO has what Welch calls "Tsundere tendencies," and doesn't like to admit when she cares about someone. He decided to change the subject. He wished it could be a more lighthearted subject, but... What was on his mind continued to bother him... And he really needed someone to talk to about it.

"iCO... Do you ever wonder if... What we're doing is really right? Do you ever wonder if... Having these powers are even right to have?"

iCO was taken aback from this sudden epiphany.

"What's this all of a sudden? You actually think what your doing is wrong when you have such noble intentions?"

"Having good intentions doesn't automatically make what I'm doing right..." RiFT lowered his head as he spoke, "You have to remember that many with 'good intentions' are villains. They thinks the ends justify the means, which is not true. They think it's okay to do what's wrong if it will lead to something good, or at the very least, what they believe is good. It doesn't matter if I have good intentions behind what I'm doing. What matters is if I reach that goal the right way... By the right means..."

"...You sure you're not over thinking it?" iCO asked, "It's almost sounds like you're sorry you've helped changed the lives of miserable people for the better."

What she said made RiFT ponder some more.

"...Are you sad that you've made people happy? Are you upset that you gave them hope? A second chance?"

He still wondered if it was really right to mess with other dimensions, even if it was to help people, but the question iCO asked was one RiFT knew he could answer.

"...Of course not."

iCO made one of her rare smiles.

"That's what I thought," she said, "You're worrying about this too much."

"I just... Don't want to make a mistake I'll regret. I don't want to make things worse. These powers are chaotic and dangerous if used incorrectly. They aught to have been given to a perfect being or only used by God Himself... Not an imperfect creation like me who can make mistakes. Plus, I have to fight against the temptation to act on my selfish desires..."

iCO tilted her head. Sure, she was the new girl and appeared very recently to this dimension, but for the short amount of time she's met RiFT, she concluded that he has a selfless heart that would rival X's. Kind of ironic when one remembers that RiFT's core is within Copy X's body.

"What selfish desires could you possibly have?" she asked.

"...To save everyone."

iCO was silent for awhile, processing what he just said.

"...How is that selfish?" she finally asked.

"Because I can't do that without damaging the fabric of time and space. That's the hardest part of my job; I can't always save everyone. No matter how much I want to, I'm sometimes left with the choice to save one or the other. If I choose both, it could lead to that dimension reaching a bad future... Or even collapsing on itself. And sometimes... I'm forced to watch someone die or suffer because they have to remain in that dimension if I don't want to destroy it. Many believe I'm all powerful, but I'm not. My powers have limits and it has rules I must follow... And all it takes is for me to decide to ignore them, and I could possibly destroy a world... Or even many worlds."

Copy X was not created to cry, but just from the expression RiFT made on Copy X's face, iCO knew he'd be shedding tears if he could.

"...Geez! I kind of wish RiCO was the one to come cheer you up, and not me," iCO said, "She's much better with this than I am..."

The Deep Log Reploid took a deep breath before she continued.

"Look... You've done a great job so far. I may have only shown up recently, but from all the stories I heard about you, you are a teammate and friend everyone values. You're doing your best, and that's been more than enough for the team."

"...I thought you said you were no good at cheering people up," RiFT said with a small smile.

"Wait, it actually worked?" iCO asked, legitimately surprised.

"A little," said RiFT.

"Well, thank goodness. I was afraid I had to resort to having to hug you or something. That would have been so weird..."

"You... Would have hugged me?"

iCO suddenly became defensive.

"Hey, don't get the wrong idea! That would have been a last resort if nothing else worked!"

iCO calmed down before she continued.

"It's what RiCO would do to cheer others up. If she were here, it would have been her first resort. Especially regarding you, since she had a secret crush on X and all."

"Does she now?"

"Oh... I wasn't supposed to say that."

RiFT just chuckled.

"Looks like she had a hand in X having the most Alts in X Dive."

"Maybe..." iCO actually chuckled herself.

"Was that a laugh?" RiFT asked.

"Hey! Just because I'm not a cheerful person doesn't mean I'm emotionless. I can find things amusing sometimes."

"Sorry... It's just nice to see you happy is all."

iCO averted her eyes away from RiFT upon hearing that. There was a small silence afterwards.

"Can't you take a break from this?" iCO broke the silence while looking at the gateway, "No one can break through without your permission. Why not close it up for today and have fun with everyone else? Didn't you say you're using Copy X's body so you can get close to everyone? Well, start getting close to them. Talk to them, have fun with them. Save the monitoring for tomorrow. And when you get back to this, remember to take a break at some point. Stress and exhaustion is an easy way to make a mistake."

"Hmm..." RiFT gave it some thought, "Maybe you're right..."

As if on cue, the gateway detected something. RiFT viewed it to see a world of floating islands being destroyed. There, he saw a girl and her unusual cat trying her best to save her world, but failing miserably.

"What's going on?"

"This is one of the Alternate Bad Futures I've been talking about. That girl trying to stop the catastrophe of her world, she did a heroic sacrifice to save it in her original universe. This is showing us what would happen if she failed."

"I thought you had control over the gateway. How come it gave you an urgent alarm?"

"It's because it was the last dimension I was looking at before we had our conversation, and I've yet to close the gateway's view mode. I've made it to alert me whenever something like this happens so I don't miss anything..."

The gateway's view of the dimension began to grow dim and blurry until it became completely blank.

"Is something wrong with the gateway?" iCO asked.

"No. This happens when a dimension has reached its breaking point. When a world is destroyed, there's not much to look at, and that area becomes blank. I can't look further in."

"But you can look back, right?"

RiFT looked at iCO after hearing her say that.

"Yes..." he said, "But this isn't a dimension I can save..."

"But can you save at least one person?" iCO asked.

RiFT looked at the gateway, then back at iCO.

"I believe I can," he answered.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

With a smile on his face, RiFT rewound the gateway and pulled out the one person he could save from the bad future; The girl who tried her best to save her world and failed, along with her cat. Upon hitting the floor, the girl looked at RiFT, barely awake.

"...An... Angel?" she said, "Am I... Dead?"

"No... I saved you just in time. You'll be safe here."

The girl stared a little longer before passing out.

"...How do you think she'll take it when she learns her dimension is destroyed?" iCO asked.

"No one ever takes it well when they care about it," RiFT answered, "Especially those who tried all they can to save it. But hopefully she understands the situation she's in. Her dimension is more like a branching path of a Prime Dimension... As if it was a curious 'what if' scenario that ended badly."

"You make this sound like a video game or something."

RiFT looked away while clearing his throat upon hearing iCO's last comment.

"When she comes to, I'll explain everything to her. Then we can get to the party."

iCO nodded.

...

After some time, RiFT and iCO finally made it to the Valentine's Day Party, along with a new friend. They were quickly greeted by ViA.

"Glad you're finally taking a break," he said, "You had me worried. By the way, who are your new friends?"

The girl stepped forward to introduce herself.

"My name is Kat, and this is Dusty. I guess we'll be staying here with you guys."

(New muse coming soon!)

[cirichan]

REREADING BLACK CLOVER

Chapter 1

(2/2)

We are introduced to the concept of grimoire - a book containing spells and allowing its user to channel their magic more efficiently. Grimoires were ‘magic books’ containing spells and rituals that had been used by early Christians, but also by many other middle-eastern and indoeuropean religions and cults. It supposedly granted a power to summon demons, spirits and angels as well as heal or curse others. The idea of having an artefact that is entirely yours and reflects your personality/potential is very close to me, my old soul thinks of wands and patronuses from Harry Potter LOL.

Lol Tabata you perv, we know it’s all about technique.

That panel makes me think that young people are considered an adult by the society once they receive a grimoire. They gain rights to work, move or hmmm, marry?

Yuno the best boy goes there and slaps everybody else clean across the face with his new fancy book.

tiny SPOILERS:

Even considering that we know of Yuno’s linage now, a four-leaf grimoire is still very rare, as they say, an item from legends. I suppose there is no more than one mage at the time using a four-leaf grimoire and I’m very curious of what would be the equivalent of it in the Spade? It looks like Yuno was predestined to either a) great things so the tool he uses to achieve it doesn’t matter b) the LUCK from the four-leaf kept him safe through his childhood and ensured he received his grimoire due time. Either way he’s cool.

Interestingly in Irish folk it have been said that four-leaf clover granted the power to see fairies and did not suit those faint of heart. The barer of it would also recognise witches and demons and it was said that four-leaf is the only true protection against the evil eye. Tabata clearly was aware of those tales (enter : Bell) so I wonder if he’s going to tap into folklor again while developing Yuno in the future chapters (projecting Yuno the Demon Hunter if the gates of hell opened, can someone write a fic about it?).

The chances of coming across the four-leaf clover are 1 : 10 000. Pretty special, huh? I’d say once in a life time there will be a mage with four-leaf grimoire. The lesser known fact about Irish Folklor is that four-leaf clover isn’t the luckiest symbol there is. The FIVE-LEAF clover is considered as the one that brings the most luck and stability to the person who finds it. The odds skyrocket to 1 : 1 000 000 so it is pretty safe to assume that Asta is one of a kind, once in an era mage. That’s SUPER FREAKING SPECIAL.

Tabata sets up the story giving us the opposites.

Handsome, collected, talented Yuno vs

Shrimp, loud mess, seemingly no power Asta,

but, we all have been tricked, becasue the special one, from the very first chapter, is Asta. One in a million mage blessed with the abitility to use an unique power not available to anyone else combined with a pure heart and perseverance. The only thing Asta needs to succeed is a strong rival, someone worthy of competing against - that’s why Yuno seems OP to some fans on the beginning, but again, I’ll touch on this in the next post about rivalry. I think so at least, it’s not like I plan anything in advance lol.

Well yes, thank you Yuno, Asta is, indeed, a CHOSEN one, he just doesn’t know it yet and to be fair he’s too selfless to ever self-reflect so he’d be living in a bliss oblivion for a while.

Touching on the Devil dwelling in the grimoire, I guess that doesn’t need explaining anymore if you read manga. I will just say that I think that the last arc of Black Clover might be a massive celestial war between races/worlds (devils, dwarfs, humans etc) becasue if you have devils and demons, naturally you’d expect to see some angels too. Maybe like one of those stories that God abandoned their creation and left the races to self-govern, but as always, shit hits the fan so human kind has to unite, probably being lead by Asta and Yuno? Story kinda goes this direction. ANYWAY.

Yuno’s fringe squint reminds me of my cat’s LOL

Okay, that’s it for now. I guess I have to close Chapter 1 with a post about kids’ promise. Thanks for reading, feel free to talk to me or ask any q and don’t be fooled, all I actually want is to talk about ships.

[blooms-of-ice]

Wyda is officially retired...for now. She had a good run, and I loved writing for her! GOD the existential dread I felt as I drew closer and closer to running the event that would end her.

Her story continues through another. Give a follow here! :D

I’ll be keeping this blog up as an archive, although I might still post every now and again. But since her arc is done, here goes! An unedited, unfiltered slurry of words-directly-from-brain-to-keyboard about Wyda! I’m warning you, this is true farm fresh to you stuff. And spoilers for many events in FF14. Read on if you dare.

Strap in, it’s going to be a long and bumpy ride.

Did I say that I love Primals?

Primal lore gives the FF14 devs a lot of creative freedom when it comes to designing bosses. Want the arena changed? Want something/someone to look absolutely wack? Want to spin up a threat without having a villain train for years prior? Bam, primals.

It also gives us, the players, the same creative freedoms when it comes to roleplaying!

The requirements to summon one are humorously low. At first, primals result from misguided and zealous beastmen shenanigans. Ifrit, Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, Garuda...but then we get a bunch of weird summonings. Like when Ga Bu summons a funky version of Titan through his despair alone. Or when Yotsuyu brings forth Tsukuyomi because she really, really wants to see the world burn. Hell, Gilgamesh just thinks about his friend Enkidu in the presence of some crystals, and that’s enough to bring forth a primal. So I guess the only requirements for a primal summoning are 1) crystals and 2) thinking kinda hard? Strong feelings, especially negative ones, seem to be more effective but then again! What the heck happened with Gilgamesh? Who knows?!

But this is one of my favorite things in FF14. It’s a powder keg of a situation that will, and HAS, gone off multiple times.

Being tempered, meanwhile, is a fate worse than death. You’re forced to change sides and fight for the enemy. You don’t even find peace when you die - tempered souls linger in Eorzea thanks to how messed up they are by the process. But you don’t become a mindless servant either. *Points to Emet-Selch who is....kinda...on your side (???) but also on Zodiark’s side*

Things aren’t nearly as dark now that tempering can be cured. I’m very thankful, since otherwise my campaign would’ve had a very, very depressing ending. One that I originally planned for but STILL. I’m weak. ;_;

Riding off the Rails

Primal lore is flexible. In ARR, the rules are established, but later expansions took those rules and went “Well, what about this? And this? And this?” In other words, this is me admitting that I’m shameless and will stretch this lore until I reach the moon.

Developing Wyda was a ‘chicken first, egg later’ sort of situation. Though trite, I gave her amnesia in order to give myself an excuse for knowing nothing about FF14 lore (and because I was new to roleplaying). When I finally sat down to flesh her out, my mind kept returning to primals. I love ‘em and their potential for drama! So yeah, I was determined to make it work.

There were a lot of questions I had to answer. If Wyda is a primal, then why isn’t she tempering everyone she meets?! How is she getting away with being a ‘normal’ person? And how do I avoid power creep? I know, for a fact, that if I walked into an RP event and just said...hey. My character is a primal, are you cool with that? The answer would be a solid no. Nooooo! I’d tell that to myself! So I wanted to solve these questions in a fair way that would allow others (and myself) to remain immersed in the roleplaying world. Luckily, FF14 lore is like a bottomless chest of building blocks. It was just a matter of stacking them carefully.

Primals are summoned when someone thinks around some crystals (Ah, Gilgamesh...)

The primal’s purpose is based on the summoner’s desires, but with a monkey’s paw twist (Ga Bu’s Titan punching the other kobolds away is indicative of this)

The amount of aether used in the summoning determines how powerful the primal will be (Shinryu being beefy as hell)

Primals can be summoned out of thin air, or be channeled into someone’s body

When a primal is channeled, the summoner needs the Echo to resist (Ysalye and Ryne). Otherwise the summoner is tempered by their own creation.

Now, with those blocks in hand, I started spitballing...and it led me to this thought. If a primal’s purpose is to NOT be a primal, what happens?

Would they know that they’re a primal?

Can they still use their primal powers?

What happens when the primal is based off of someone who still exists?

For Wyda, I chose to swing this way.

Her memory is garbage because she’s a primal based on someone else. Even if you know someone really well, you can’t perfectly recreate/emulate them.

She’s normal-powered because all her primal magic is going towards suppressing her powers. Extremely inefficient. And she’s very human-like because she’s possessing someone else’s body, as opposed to being made purely of primal aether.

Primals temper whether they want to or not - aether leaks, and it corrupts. To solve this for Wyda, instead of leaking aether out of the wazoo...thanks to the nature of her summoning, she just leaks a tiny bit all the time. Not enough to temper.

But I also wrote myself into a corner. If Wyda isn’t going to behave like a primal, then how does she exist for so long? They need a constant source of aether to survive, and she’s not doing primal stuff since she’s too busy being human. And so...the answer is that she doesn’t. Once her aether runs out, then poof.

See? Fun! (But also pain. So much pain.)

Playing with Fire

Eorzea (like most fantasy RPG settings) is a nightmare factory. Most, if not all, who make their living ‘adventuring’ are scarred from what they have to face. For every success story (WoL), there are countless more tragedies (Avere). And even if you survive...who wouldn’t get trauma if you were an adventurer and it was normal for your buddies to be eaten by a beast, tempered by a primal, possessed by a ghost?

Which is to say, Wyda's scars run deep. Shit goes down. 

To repeat that in slightly more words: Wyda is an accidental byproduct of Cravendy’s grief and longing. At her lowest moment, Cravendy (a Seawolf pirate) thinks of her friend Dots and the unfairness of it all. And oops, there are crystals nearby. So now, we got Wyda walking around in Cravendy’s body, thinking that she’s someone named Dots. By the way, Dots is still alive! Very awkward.

Wyda is a denial incarnate. She is Cravendy’s dream for safety, family, and happiness for Dots. But denial does not erase the past, nor does it change how you feel. By existing, Wyda suppresses those feelings for Cravendy and freezes the other woman in the past. With the both of them like this, Cravendy will never accept her trauma and Wyda will be plagued with a stranger’s guilt.

Primal souls are weird. I have no idea where they come from, but they seem separate from the summoner’s. So as Wyda’s influence wanes, Cravendy’s soul begins to resurface. This forces Wyda into a cycle of self-discovery and self-destruction that, unfortunately, convinces Wyda that she ought to disappear. It’s a tragic conclusion she reaches after having her worldview shattered. She’s a copy of Dots, she’s a primal. What’s real, and what’s not? What even matters?

The Power of Love

Love is a persistent theme for all of my characters. For Cravendy, love is why she hurts, so she would rather forget it than bear any more pain. But Wyda is the opposite - she loves too much. When all else is a sham, Wyda trusts that the love she feels is real. And ultimately, this love dooms Wyda and saves Cravendy.

Wyda’s fatal flaw is her self-destructive selflessness. Thanks to being mistaken for Dots all the time, Wyda develops a low sense of self. Then events of the campaign erode that into nothingness. She’s a second rate copy full of brittle memories, she’s a fake! And discovering Cravendy’s sleeping soul only pushes Wyda further into her flaw. Here is my purpose, she thinks! My original! And I’ll save her no matter what, because she deserves to live!

But it’s a mistake. Certainly, Cravendy is saved, but Wyda deserves to be saved too. Although she loves with all her heart, Wyda never learns to love herself and see her own self-worth. She doesn’t understand that her friends don’t share her view of herself - as a worthless copy that can only find value in saving another. Her selflessness loops into selfishness.

Maybe Wyda will come back...She certainly has a lot to learn still!

The TLDR version of all this is that I accidentally pulled a Kingdom Hearts plot with this character, and now I understand, Nomura. I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU BRING BACK YOUR CHARACTERS. ;_;

[meme-scout]

I choose to enjoy life, no matter what form the experience may take.

It is through selfless action that I experience my own fulfillment.

When my work is done, it is forgotten and returns to nothing. That is why it lasts forever.

I know that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is The Way.

I choose to ignore the seductive lure of acquisition and fame.

I release my attachment to all objects, status, people, and institutions.

When my cup is full, I will stop pouring.

I find the bliss of eternity in my contentment.

I live in a state of radical appreciation. I give humble thanks for all that I have. Paradise is wherever I am.

I work at eliminating all my judgments of others.

I do not put myself above others or see myself as superior to anyone. I am like the great ocean, where all streams flow to me because I stay low, and thus, I am a servant to all.

I am a Divine creation of God, as are all others. I cast out no one. Rather, I cast out wickedness by elevating others with my deeds.

It is my choice to be kind to those who are kind. It is my choice to be kind to those who are unkind, because the nature of my being is kindness, and that is all I have to give away.

I am pleased to offer my surpluses to others. I can keep on giving because there is no end to my wealth.

I fully trust that others know what is best for them.

I work at allowing all others to trust in their highest nature, rather than imposing my rules and regulations on them. Moreover, I am free to be myself. I do not have to live by anyone else’s rules.

I act righteously. I do not need rules to be kind and just.

I live out the three treasures of mercy, frugality, and humility in all of my dealings with others.

I am profitable, and intelligent, regardless of what any transcript or statement might say.

The experience of inner peace is my true gauge of all accomplishments.

The softest of all things overrides the hardest of all things.

I choose to be strong by being soft and pliable, rather than inflexible, brittle, and hard.

I resist any brokenness by being flexible and bending when storms appear.

In all of nature, no storm can last forever.

I have the ability to stay poised and centered regardless of what goes before me.

Those who know do not talk. Those who talk do not know.

Because I know that I do not know, I am guided to find my own way.

When I refrain from thoughts of harm directed toward others, I accumulate all the benefits of life.

I eschew any and all forms of aggression, and take the path of least resistance.

Whatever I fight weakens me. By cooperating, I save my strength that others may have use of it.

Someone must risk returning injury with kindness, or hostility will never turn to goodwill. I choose to preclude any future conflict by emanating love and kindness.

I allow my highest nature to come forward by bringing love to the places where I used to live in hatred.

I am replacing my desire for power over others with my efforts to understand and master myself in any and all situations.

I realize that all things change; therefore, there is nothing for me to hold on to. By not fearing death, there is nothing that I cannot achieve.

The things I love, I must learn to leave alone.

I seek out obscurity by suppressing any desires for attention or recognition.

I remain serene in the midst of sorrow and therefore prevent evil from entering my heart.

I trust that a happy, contented mind that is sick of being sick will have a happy, contented body.

My body is perfect, born at precisely the right time, and this is my perfect age. I accept myself as I am, and I surrender to the natural course of my body’s destiny.

I accumulate less, give more, and release my attachment to everything in the world of 10,000 things.

All under Heaven have a common beginning. This beginning is the mother of the world and my eternal mother.

All in Creation constitutes the pieces, while God Himself is the whole.

I am a piece of the whole, and I act in accordance with the wholeness of God.

I bow to the All Creative Power from which I came and to which I am returning.

I trust my true nature. Acting according to that nature brings me into harmony with God.

My deepest desire is to live in accordance with my true nature.

I trust in the perfect goodness of God to guide and direct me wherever He will. I allow my thoughts and ideas to be carried by the great wave of God’s wisdom.

If I have even a little sense, I walk in the way of God, and my only fear is straying.

By following the way of God, I do not become complicated, extraordinary, or prominent. Rather, I become subtle, simple, and uncomplicated.

There is no greater loss than losing my connection to God.

God has no expectations for me, no demands, no battles or wars to fight, and no history to live up to.

It is my intention to emulate heaven’s way by listening more, speaking less, and trusting that my answers will come without any screaming. I slow my pace so that it harmonizes with heaven’s way.

I want to think like God thinks, and act as God acts, that others may see Him through me.

[boopypastaissalty]

Here sre some of my Sanders Sides theories. Long post btw so yee

Roman and Remus were originally one all-encompassing creativity, then they split and become the two different sides of creativity, or the "Creativitwins". Their names seem to follow a theme: Ancient Rome, specifically the legend surrounding the creation/beginning of Rome. I think that the original creativity's name was Romulus. Here's why: Remus killed Romulus over a land dispute and then started the city of Rome in his brother's name. Citizens of Rome are called Romans. Though it could be argued that Thomas's moral sense as a concept, not necessarily Patton, separated the two, thus "killing" the original creativity.

Patton may have suffered from anxiety and could have created Virgil as a way to relieve some of his stress, therefore making him Virgil's "dad" in a sense, in Patton's mind warranting him calling Virgil "kiddo" all the time.

We all know that Patton is allergic to cats, but what about the others? What are their weaknesses? My speculations are that Virgil is iron deficient, as he doesn't like to rise up because it makes him dizzy, he is also described by Roman to be the "fairest of them all" and then admitting it was a pale joke in Virgil's expense. Roman is lactose intolerant, as when Patton is feeding him cream of broccoli soup, Logan says that it will "upset Princey's stomach". Logan is OCD: Always planning and organizing things. He gets upset when things don't go exactly as he plans it. He also feels the need to always be right and to make sure everyone else is kept in line. Also: Patton seems to suffer from depression. Oftentimes depressed people crack jokes and give people the general idea that they are happy. They also try to make other people happy. Patton also sometimes gets into these sad funks and even says "I had this problem where I'd hide my less than awesome feelings, so when I would feel like sobbing I'd just smile and crack jokes. I thought that was coping, only joking, never showing sadness, hoping it would just go away".

The thumbnail for "Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux" has a character selection screen telling the viewer to "select a side", but one thing I noticed is that there is a blank box, indicating a locked character or a character who hasn't been revealed yet. Another thing I noticed is that the sides have a rainbow theme going on. Thomas even says that he is "full rainbow all the time" as an allusion to his sexuality, and possibly even the sides in general. Roman is red, there is no known orange side, Janus is yellow, Remus is green, Patton is light blue, Logan is indigo, and Virgil is violet/purple. Red is the color of physical strength, power, confidence, and passion, which suits Roman's personality. Yellow can be happiness and joy, but also directly means cowardice and deceit, which is self explanatory. Green is a color of healing, life, and vitality, but the flip side being greed, jealousy, pessimism, and superficially. Blue is the color of trust, loyalty, faith, wisdom, truth, patience, and understanding, which sums Patton up pretty well. Indigo resembles wisdom, integrity, fairness, impartiality, and justice, which is all right up Logan's alley. Violet is the color of ambition, dignity, devotion, pride, mystery, independence, magic, being cynical, and mourning, which all makes sense in Virgil's case. Now to orange, which resembles joy, sunshine, risk taking, adventure, enthusiasm, creativity, attraction, success, rudeness, frivolity, and untrustworthiness, which is a balance of traits that both Roman and Remus have and directly resembles creativity, so orange could be a fusion of Roman and Remus, the original creativity before they split. Another possibility for the next side is someone who resembles ethos, as we have pathos and logos (Patton and Logan).

All the sides have an ancient Rome theme going on. Roman and Remus, after the legend surrounding the beginning of Rome. Virgil, after the Roman poet Publius Vergilius Maro, who is often called Virgil. Janus (formerly known as Deceit) after the Roman god of the same name (Janus is the god of new beginnings and transitions, often depicted with two faces facing in opposite directions, one for the past and one for the future). All of the sides except for Patton and Logan, whose names are derived from pathos and logos, an ancient Greek concept proposed by Aristotle. And have you noticed that they mirror each other in almost every way, suggesting that, much like Roman and Remus, they are brothers, possibly even twins?

Dukes tend to not be a part of the royal family, but if so they are princes who have gotten married. Does this mean that Remus is married?!?!? If so to whoooo?

Welcome to me overthinking things again! What if Roman has control over the other sides? Like he's creativity and the sides are figments of Thomas' imagination, so like what if one day he was just done with Logan's nonstop fact train he just (this is extreme) went: "Fuck you, Logan, you're dead now" and Logan straight up dies? Like where would his power end if he could do that? Overthinking things can be scary kids, let me do it for you.

If you overthink it: Patton basically just was like "Nah" in POF SvSR. So he said in SvS that going to the wedding would make Thomas feel good, something that he basically controls because he is Thomas' moral sense and at the center of most of his feelings. Basically Thomas went to the wedding and Patton was like: "This is nice and all and you did the right thing, but uhmmm about those happy feelings. No." And then got all sorts of frustrated about being wrong. So yee. I am just doing the overthinking things thing again.

What if creativity split solely as a big "Fuck you, Logan"? Like I just imagine: C: "Hey Logan, I'm performing mitosis"

L: "Yes, your cells- *he looks up* Whaaaaa?"

R&R: "Cha cha real smooth, Logan"

And thus the twins were "born"

Logan thinks feelings are bad and claims to not have feelings, even though he clearly does (cough, cough, Crofters the Musical? Getting angry in some episodes? Logan, you're a bad liar, bud). So he bottles up most of his feelings, for all practical purposes making him a ticking time bomb. Something's probably going to happen and he won't be able to hold it all in and he'll have an emotional breakdown of sorts. Another thing is he will not duck out. He knows he's too important to Thomas' mental wellbeing for that. He is also getting progressively more angry as the others listen to him less, so he's probably going to overwork himself trying to get everyone to listen to the point where he physically can't be there for Thomas. Cuz like I suspect Logan leaving would have the same effect as Thomas having a massive stroke: The right side of his body wouldn't work, he wouldn't be able to talk/communicate, and his reasoning skills would be gone.

Janus just loves philosophy. Every episode in the main timeline, he makes references to famous philosophers to get his point across.

Patton is always the first of the light sides to accept the dark sides. First with Virgil and then with Janus. He may be taking them in as his troubled but lovable children who he will defend under almost any circumstance.

Virgil's name is not Virgil. People think his full name is Virgilius, though Thomas and Joan have previously stated that it isn’t. Bc of that, some people have theorized that Virgil was lying about his name, or that when he moved to the “light sides” he changed/used a different name, and maybe they’re going to reveal that sometime. Like the scene with Remus and Vee where Re goes, “I would never hide anything from you” looks pointedly at Virgil, and you assume it’s bc he took forever to tell Thomas, but what if it’s bc he was lying about his name from the moment he told Thomas??? And also the moment when Janus says "It takes a liar to know a liar" and Virgil says "Don't" and the response was "What? I'm only talking about your name" I think his name could be Acanthus

Ya know, Patton probably has an indirect role in how the other sides look. Not like "But you're anxiety, you wear the hoodie" but closer to Thomas beliefs of stuff like lying is bad and the fact that Janus often plays devils advocate, so he has a snake face

Random thoughts:

Virgil has the most ace/demi aesthetic and I love that

SvS: Multi part episode, "bad/evil/dark" side gets accepted, the FEELS, angst. Hmmm…

The twins getting along and just like sitting at a table causing minor chaos.

Patton randomly hugs everyone. He just does.

Janus and Patton: animal bros

[ladyvialana]

Fic: The Fight Still Lingers

Supernatural fic. Dean & Amara. Background Dean/Castiel.

Summary: Heaven is not what it seems. So of course it isn’t Sam who meets Dean at the bridge: it’s Amara.

Notes: post-canon fix-it, spoilers from 15x18-15x20,

Also on Ao3.

Heaven hasn’t been anything like Dean expected. So, when Dean turns to give his brother a hug after a death and lifetime separated, a tiny part of him isn’t surprised to see that it isn’t his brother standing by the impala. It’s Amara.

She is as otherworldly and imposing as ever and her smile is twisted with an unsettlingly familiar sadness.

“I’m sorry.”

Dean doesn’t know why she’s apologising to him; last time they saw each other, he lied to her and basically convinced her to kill herself. Dean should be the one grovelling for forgiveness.

“He’s not coming,” she continues.

“Bullshit,” he says, rage at the injustice of Sam being denied the peace of heaven finally giving him enough of a boost to break through the shock and confusion to speak. “No one deserves this more than him.”

“No one deserves this Dean. Not your brother, not me, and especially not you.”

What did she mean? Wasn’t this the goal? The end to a fulfilling life? Heaven? Peace? Rest?

But the pieces start adding up in his mind. The emptiness and quiet of the landscape, eerie and unsettling instead of beautiful and peaceful. Sure, maybe Jack hasn’t got around to finishing all the minor details yet, but even Bobby mentioned other people that should have been around. They’d met at the Roadhouse. Where were Ellen and Jo? Ash? Hell, why hadn’t his parents been there to meet him if they lived so close now? Where was Jack? Sure, he said he was hands-off, but obviously heaven didn’t count. Didn’t he want to see Dean again? Was he really so busy he couldn’t spare a minute to say hi? And what about what Bobby let slip about––

Dean opens his mouth to ask, but no words come out. He tries to shout, straining his throat so much that – were he still alive – he should have burst a blood vessel.

Amara’s gaze is achingly heavy as she watches his struggle.

“I’m so sorry Dean,” she says again. “This isn’t heaven. And you didn’t beat my brother. This is just an illusion he’s using to keep you contained and docile.”

He wants to deny it, keeps trying to yell at her, tell her she’s wrong, but can only manage to shake his head. She has to be lying. They’d won, they were free – they’d beat god himself and got to live their lives they way they wanted to. He was not a helpless plaything to be tossed around by the whims of cosmic powers anymore.

But the words won’t emerge from his lips. An invisible hand tightens against his throat, choking him as he tries to assert his free will. He can hear the echo of Chuck’s laughter as he desperately fights to speak.

Dean can only fall to his knees in silence.

***

Dean drives; he’s still capable of doing that. Amara sits shotgun. It’s weird, but less weird than he expected. He’s used to having someone at his side. It hurts that it’s not Sam with his ridiculous hair blowing into his face all the time and bitching about the music on the radio, but it’s better than being alone.

Dean surprises himself by speaking. “I am sorry for what I did to you.” Guess he’s still able to talk, as long as the topic of conversation has nothing directly to do with whatever the fuck Chuck did to him.

Amara looks over at him and smiles. “I forgive you.”

Dean swallows and refuses to take his eyes off the road. “Why?”

“I understood why you did it. You were scared and desperate and my brother made you feel like you had no choice but to betray and kill those you cared about to ensure your freedom.”

It sounds even worse said aloud by one of the people he betrayed and killed.

As through sensing his spiralling thoughts – and she probably can – Amara reaches over to brush her hand gently against his arm, just above the elbow. “I’m not angry or upset. I mean it when I say I forgive you and I understand. I was scared too, when I realised your intentions, but even more so when I realised how deftly my brother had driven you to such extremes. When I realised he had done the same to me.”

“Why did you do it?” Dean asks, unaware of how desperately he wanted to know until the question bursts out. “Why did you join with him?”

Amara pushes back into the seat as though the firmness of the upholstery will lend her strength. “He’s my brother and I love him. I was scared to be without him. And I suppose I was scared to think about what I was capable of doing if he was capable of doing what he did to you.” She looks over at him, eyes wide and bare to the centre of her being. “You know what I am Dean, better than anyone in existence.”

Dean considers this for a long moment.

“I do know you,” he finally says, turning his gaze – but not his attention – back to the road. “And I believe you when you say you forgive me. So, I can’t believe that you’re capable of doing anything like––” his voice cuts off with a squeak. Dean growls in frustration and finishes his thought by gesturing vaguely around at everything.

She laughs; it’s hollow and dark. “Is this not what you and I schemed to do to my brother?”

“No,” Dean is able to say. “You’re not cruel – malicious – not like him. You care. I know you care. And you try. You try to understand, you try to see things from other perspectives. You wouldn’t want this for anyone. Chuck, he revels in it.”

Dean is the one to reach out to Amara this time: hand open, palm up. Hesitantly, Amara slides her own hand into his and lets him offer comfort with his firm grasp.

“You care, Amara. Not just about yourself, and that … that means everything.”

She squeezes his hand. “You might have had a little to do with that.”

Because of you, I cared.

Dean pulls his hand back, scratching at the back of his neck as though embarrassed. “Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad. And I’m sorry.”

“Dean, I’ve already forgiven you.”

“Not about that. About what Chuck did to you. I’m sorry he locked you up again.”

Amara sighs. “My brother is very convincing. He promised me the one thing I ever wanted then ensured that I would never have it.”

The one thing I want is something I know I can’t have.

Dean clears his throat, but his voice is still scratchy as he asks, “What is it?”

“Balance. True balance. Light and dark. Creation and destruction. Working together. Existence as it was meant to be.”

“Huh.” Dean had never considered it that way, not really. Darkness, destruction: they were names, ideas, that the human mind associated with evil and wrongness. But Dean knew better – had always known better. He’d lived on the edges of darkness his whole life; he’d destroyed and killed and ended many lives (his own included at times), but he’d never truly considered himself evil. Wrong, sometimes, but he’d also had to make hard and difficult choices that served a long term or bigger picture goal that others might have considered wrong in the moment. Darkness was far more multi-faceted than right or wrong. As was light for that matter.

“You always did understand me, Dean.” Amara is smiling, gentle and content. She is more beautiful than Dean has ever seen her. He wants her to keep smiling.

“I don’t regret it, you know. Freeing you. Sure, some of the circumstances before and after kind of sucked, but I’m glad you’re free. I’m glad I know you.”

“Flirt.” She dismantles the heavy atmosphere and pushes at his shoulder. Dean laughs.

He drives in silence for a time, watching the unchanging empty scenery half-heartedly as he plans what to say. If he can even say it.

“It won’t work,” Amara interrupts before he can pose the question.

“We have to try.”

“My brother is all powerful. Nothing is beyond his control. It won’t work.”

You asked what about all this is real. We are.

Dean smiles. “I know a guy.”

Amara shakes her head. “Why? Why do you do this, knowing you can’t possibly win? How can you still have hope?”

“Because you were right. I don’t deserve this. And you don’t either. And until I’m actually dead and my ashes scattered to the ends of existence, I will keep trying.” He’s a little surprised that he was able to say everything he wanted, but he’s glad. Amara needed to hear it and Dean needed to say it.

Amara sits back, still staring, but hopeful now rather than resigned. “You’re a good man, Dean Winchester. And you deserve to get what you want.”

You're the most caring man on Earth.

You are the most selfless, loving human being I will ever know.

I love you.

Dean smiles. “Yeah.” Maybe he can start to believe it. “Let’s get to work.”

[starttheanarchy]

@thehandsomeasshole from x

Jack did smile at the little sass she threw his way, despite himself. “Well, empty, those things weigh nearly five tonnes. So, nice try. I guess.” He chose to ignore her initial comment about using the loaders for their designed purpose. There was not enough patience in Jack’s body to unpack all of that right now.

“Oh, the vaults are definitely a curse. But, once you get the ball rolling around here, there’s not really anything anyone can do to stop it.” Jack shrugged lightly, scanning through the first four pages while he spoke, “You just… gotta do what you can before another idiot comes along and screws everything up even worse than you did.”

“Nah, you’re right. Princess made me feel a little icky. How about… I- I’ll get back to you, I’ll think of something real good.” he laughed lightly, beginning to scribble down some notes on the papers before he continued.

“You sure as hell act like ‘em, you and your bandit buddies. Just exactly how many things or people have you killed since you got to Pandora? Hey, look, I’ll even give wildlife a pass cause- Well, you could kill a hundred skags one day and the next day there’d be two hundred more. Let’s just focus on people. Maybe you’re not running around screaming about meat bicycles, and maybe it is a little rude of me, but it’s also correct. You just don’t wanna admit it.”

“The people who are still decent in this universe are few and far, kid. In my entire life, I’ve only met two people who were truly selfless.” One’s dead and the other’s… worse. “But, you do realise that if it wasn’t me up here, it’d just be someone else? Hell, Dahl and Atlas would still be plowing through planets like they’re big balls of paper and slaughtering everyone in their way while going off about fighting for those planets’ freedoms and peace.”

“Ooh, I love tyrant! Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Always considered myself more notorious, than anything else.” The sharp, almost humorous-sounding edge to his voice gave the impression he was teasing her, “Kid, it’s nothin’ I haven’t heard before. You really think I’m gonna be kicking it anytime soon, anyway? Nah. Nope, not happening! I got way too much to do.”

Jack’s brows knitted together and slowly raised in a mixture of surprise and confusion. Sure, maybe she didn’t care, he’d just never had a person who hated him ask for his side of the story before.

He decided not to express his shock.

“So, I’d been working on Helios since it launched, I was, uh-… A- a programming and engineering specialist for Hyperion for ten, fifteen years, maybe. I was in charge of most of the construction, getting together schematic proposals to give to my bosses, all that kinda shit.”

“The first time I met Lilith and Roland was when Dahl decided they wanted to massacre all the workers on Helios and take it over. They… They didn’t discriminate. If you worked for Hyperion, they’d gun you down without even batting an eye. They killed so many of the workers up here, I knew them all personally. We- we didn’t even have a real military then, for God’s sake! They shot workers out of the sky when they were trying to evacuate. That was the level of murderous psychopaths we were trying to deal with. We defended as best as we could, but even the freaking loaders weren’t weaponised yet, I had like… Six hours to get them into a position to defend themselves, and you bet your ass I did it. I guess that actually answers your earlier question, too. I used them for a job they weren’t made for out of necessity, the damn Lost Legion shot at them when they were running away, too. Assholes.”

“I managed to get the vault hunter’s I’d hired down to Elpis in a moonshot, think you’ve met a couple of them. They got to Concordia thanks to-” Shit. He hadn’t actually thought about Janey in a while. He’d ask Athena how they were both doing, but she’d probably curb stop his head before he could even say hello. “-uh, this mechanic. They asked Lilith and Roland to help cause, y'know, Dahl had stuck a jamming signal somewhere on that moon and I couldn’t work Helios’s defences until it was shut off. They knew people on Helios were dying, and they said no.”

“They only started to help when their lives were in immediate danger and Dahl got control of the moonshot laser and start firing away at Elpis. I really did trust 'em to help us, y'know? Like they promised they would.”

“I guess they kinda did. We managed to get control of the laser again and… They blew it up. They nearly took the whole space station down just because they didn’t want Hyperion having it. That stupid laser could’ve saved Pandora, you know. It could’ve- The blasts were so concentrated we could’ve wiped out an entire bandit settlement and their nice neighbours next door would’ve barely felt the ground tremble. I’d worked so hard on that laser. You have any idea how hard it was to make? How much progress they destroyed when they blew that damn thing up? A lot! A whole, freaking lot and-… Sorry. Off topic. Uh…”

He made a small noise, “Oh, yeah. Anyway, after that it was just a rush trying to get to the vault before anyone else did. Dahl was already there, but after what happened with those two I wouldn’t have been surprised if they got to the vault first just so we couldn’t.”

“But, we did. My vault hunters took care of the- The Empyrean Sentinel, I think they called it. Big bastard, more human than the other vault monsters. Freaky stuff.”

“So, the Sentinel was dead, and we finally got to the vault relic. It looked like… Nothing. Very underwhelming. Just a weird little floating vault symbol. I decided to touch it and-…” Jack went quiet for a while, his knuckles growing white with how tightly he was gripping the armrests of his chair, “And I saw… everything.”

He felt sick even talking about it. The pit in his stomach growing deeper and he knew if he didn’t stop soon he’d fall into a full blown breakdown. So, he took a shaky breath in and continued.

“Wasn’t long after that when Lilith made her grand entrance. She destroyed the relic and- blasted the fuck out of my face. You ever had your face branded by some freaky eridian technology? It sucks. Real bad.”

He let his head drop back, and he rubbed his eyes, “So, there’s my side. Think I can quit my day job and become a professional story teller?” Though he tried to make a joke, the fire in his voice seemed to have dissipated. He just sounded… tired.

A rumbling high pitched cry of a living creature, the soft hum of a laser heating up. Before the spiderant can fully leave the ground in its attempt to launch itself at the red head, a quick shot from the head of DT turns it into ash. Moments later the large floating torso of a robot moves its way over to where the rest of the spiderants are and begins clearing the area with ease. "To be fair DT is a floating robot, I should get props for him being able to lift anything over a tonne at all." Is all she can say as she watches her creation be used not exactly for what she had originally intended.

A noise of agreement left her as she nodded her head, this was a mess that she was playing catch up on. Every step revealed a new and sometimes old issues or problems, and untold horrors that would explain some of the residents insanity.

"Oh so what am I suppose to not fight back and die? Self-defense is a thing." She keeps her lips tight on the actual number of people, she knows it is higher then she ever wanted.

Another reason to the countless hours she was stuck away while the others rested. But that is a mental spiral that no one has seen yet even herself, and Gaige wasn't going to break that record.

"Do you realize that it doesn't matter who, I would still be here. I would cause just as much chaos even if it was Maliwan or Torgue, the company doesn't matter, it is the enormity of the actions that are taking place that I have a grievance against. So once I am done with this, I got a whole check list to work through."

A small tsk as her eyes roll once more, she could already feel the odd ache from rolling them too often. But to want the title of tyrant why trying to claim being a hero? And he was calling her a hypocrite, the gall. But then there is silence after her offer. It is enough to get her to move forwards, the area now clear of deadly wildlife, and to sit down on top one of the ridges. And she could hear him begin in her ear, truly starting fro the beginning.

Her hand goes to her vault buckle, slipping it off and clicking it open to show a hidden system of her own design. A small holoscreen flickered to life above it and she began to take notes, to be able to keep her questions to herself and not interrupt. But before she could really take much, she had to slowly turn her eyes back to that giant floating H as he began to talk about the first real blood shed the station ever saw. No one deserved that kind of fate, let alone those who can't even fight back. And she could understand why loaders were used for what they are, even if there had been enough time to design something new.

Through out the whole story she let out the occasional hum or tsk in reaction, but also to let the man on the other side of the echo understand she was still listening.

A mechanic on Concordia? Something to ask others later on, there couldn't be many considering the lack of them on Pandora. As well as to ask on the reason why for the initial no considering at that point the vault hunters as far as she was aware had no issues with Hyperion, let alone Jack.

And she was torn on the laser because she could understand the pain of such handwork just ripped away. And she had a vague idea on how challenging it was with the laser that rested inside DT's head. But at the same time, she would never want anyone to have a laser of that magnitude considering if it could do that to a bandit settlement. Well it would only be a few tweaks away from being able to glass planets.

She paused in her notes when he mentioned seeing everything, it was hard to believe but there was something in his voice that made her believe he certainly saw something he shouldn't have. Gaige was going to have to go back onto that one on a different day since she could tell that right now was a horrible time to do so. And even as he talked about what Lilith did and the reason why he wore a mask, she could head just how this was not the cocky Jack from earlier.

This was a person who was done but still going. Something that it seemed being near Pandora did to people.

"Well I would say quit your day job regardless and stop all this without anymore murder. But we both know we are too far in to be willing to stop." A small click as she closed the cover on the buckle to once more hide away her person little holounit that stored information that she kept only for herself. The notes saved for review for another day. "I do have questions, but you sound..... Rough. Would you rather a topic change? Or just end this call? I do have things to do, and I'm sure you have plenty of ill placed paper work to finish."

[skeletorific]

CLASSPECTING TIME

You have no idea how fucking long this took. Also I’m willing to like hear ideas about this but as these are my personal headcanons don’t be like….weird about it ahfdksafd classes are FAKE AF and we are all just guessing bitches out here.

Ardata Carmia: Maid of Doom. A Maid is typically understood as “one who creates [aspect]/creates though [aspect]” for the benefit of others. The Doom aspect represents death, suffering, misery and destruction, something Ardata quite literally serves up on a silver platter for her subscribers. She creates (relatively) low stakes of misery for her subscribers to watch and enjoy, as well as to feed her lusus’ hunger for blood. Despite the apparent selfish motivations, its clear that Ardata doesn’t really enjoy what she does. At least, not for its own sake. Its a means to fulfill the role she believes society demands of her, even if filling it makes her actively miserable and very, very lonely. 

Diemen Xicasi: Page of Hope. A page is typically understood as one who “provides [aspect]/provides through [aspect]” for themselves. While his meal of choice may be some savory meat products, Diemen’s real bread and butter is his unwavering optimism. Not to say he’s always looking on the bright side, merely that he allows the miserable realities of being a homeless rustblood on Alternia to wash off his back. Like other pages that have proceeded him (Tavros Nitram and Jake English), Diemen has been noted to have an effect on people that makes them want to help him, without any apparent psiionic tricks to force it out of them. Furthermore, when he really wishes for something (and its usually hot dogs), well, things have a way of working out in his favor, no matter the twists and turns it takes to get there.

Amisia Erdehn: Heir of Mind. I’m gonna be honest, Amisia was tricky. Mind doesn’t on first glance seem like a natural fit for her. However, while there’s a variety of definitions for what an Heir does, I prefer the description of the Heir as someone who strives (or succeeds) to wholly embody their aspect. As such, Amisia is the pure embodiment of both Mind’s decisive problem solving and single-minded logical framework. Need paints? Well, blood is multicolored. Actual creation is difficult, yes, but when it comes to getting the right materials, well, there’s no one more driven and no one less deterred by mere sentiment. This isn’t to say she’s emotionless, merely that emotions are often an obstruction to her true potential, rather than an aid.

Cirava Hermod: Prince of Hope. Awful dark class for such a chill motherfucker, but like most things about Cirava, it makes far, far more sense in context. Hope is about convictions, about right and wrong, about doing what your internal code compels you towards. And, there was a time when Cirava felt like this. They would constantly get into fights on Chittr with highbloods, despite knowing it was risky, because they felt it was wrong to take credit for their work. However, the Prince is ultimately one who bring about destruction through/destruction of their aspect. Cirava certainly brings about destruction in a physical sense: they destroy their eye in order to prevent injustice. Likewise, they take the time to try and destroy their own connections to the hopeful aspect, attempting to kill off their morals and content themselves with keeping their head down and quietly streaming.

Skylla Koriga: Knight of Time. While Time is perhaps the aspect most bound up in the mechanics of Sburb/Sgrub, its ultimately defined by a determination to triumph despite the odds. In Skylla’s case, like Dave Strider, that desire is tempered by a sense that what she does should be for the sake of others. Skylla is one of the most selfless trolls we encounter, expressing generosity and kindness to a stranger even at her own personal costs and even expressing confusion when others (like Konyyl) are not so kind. Skylla, while she may slip into despair when the situation is pulled beyond her control, ultimately refuses to take anything lying down that she can fight against.

Bronya Ursama: Sylph of Breath. The typical verb applied to a Sylph is “one who heals through/heals their aspect” for the sake of others. In general, I prefer the verb “restores”, as it has a broader application. However, in Bronya’s case, that healing is for the most part literal. Breath is the aspect of freedom and individuality, which seems an odd choice for the rules-oriented Bronya. However, by looking at the people in her life it begins to snap into greater clarity. Bronya may restrain herself, but her presence provides freedom to so many characters: she gives the reject wrigglers a chance at new life even when the culling system would condemn them to death. The other jades are allowed the freedom to explore themselves and the world around them because, on some level, they know Bronya will protect them from consequences as much as she can. Bronya does not serve freedom or necessarily provide it wholecloth, but she restores it to others who would have it taken from them otherwise.

Tagora Gorjek: Thief of Space. Space is hard. Like time, its an aspect very bound up in the mechanics of Sburb. How Kanaya describes it, as concerned with propagation, didn’t seem to have much to do with a guy who doesn’t seem concerned with much more than the propagation of his own wealth. This is part of why Thief felt natural for Tagora: “one who steals/steals through their aspect” for themselves. However, as we’ve seen from Meenah and Vriska, while the motives of a Thief may often be selfish, it doesn’t mean that they are necessarily harmful to the party. The Thief will take the most direct path to getting what they want, but if what they want is the good of the party, then they make powerful allies. Space heroes, like Tagora, are creative and very aware of the way they go through the world. Tagora is environmentally aware, which is part of what makes him an effective legislacerator (and an effective con artist).

Vikare Ratite: Mage of Mind. The Mage, like the Seer, is bound up in knowledge about their aspect. However, they are often cursed by either an excess of or severe shortage of their aspect. Vikare, arguably, suffers from both an excess AND a shortage of Mind. On the one hand, atmospheric flight a logical first step before interstellar flight, and the fact that Alternia didn’t take that step is in fact, pretty fucking wild if you consider it. Vikare suffers by being (apparently) the only one aware of this level of absurdity. However, in other respects, Vikare is cursed by a lack of Mind when it comes to decisive action. Rather than actively pursuing his desires, he hides them behind an apparent embrace of his true role, and eventually has to have flight “forced” on him for him to truly enjoy it.

Polypa Goezee: Rogue of Breath. Polypa here can be seen to be stealing her aspect in two regards. One, she is literally stealing “breath”, or life (not to be confused with Life GODS ASPECTS ARE HARD) from her targets. Two, she is in some sense stealing their movement and independence, in particular from highbloods, who are not used to the fear of death impeding their choices in the way it impedes the lowblood. However, unlike the Thief, Polypa steals for the sake of others, whether it be working as a hired killer, getting vengeance for her lost lusus, or protecting her friends from the uncomfortable truths that would force them to act against their true wishes (as with Tegiri).

Zebruh Codakk: Heir of Doom. One who invites misery and despair wherever they go. Definitely sounds like how it feels when Zebruh walks in a room. Jokes aside, Zebruh is drawn to situations of misery and destruction (e.g., his attraction towards lowbloods) out of some latent sense that he can exploit it. If the Heir is someone who reaps the benefits of their aspect, then Zebruh certainly fits the bill. Likewise, the world is affected when the Heir is finally allowed to “Become” their aspect. Easily one of the endings most literal about it being a “doomed” timeline is Marvus’ bad ending; notably, its also the only ending where Zebruh dies. When Zebruh finally fulfills the promise of doom, the entire timeline goes down with him. That is very possibly some powerful godtier commentary.

Elwurd: Witch of Hope. One who changes their aspect/changes through their aspect. Elwurd doesn’t believe in shit if she doesn’t want to, and if she wants to believe something then damn it if she won’t make it true. She commits herself consistently to relationships that she knows are a bad idea under the presumption that she can change them. You can’t ever properly convince her that she’s not hung up on her relationship with Bronya. In the end, the only one who can change Elwurd is Elwurd.

Kuprum Maxlol: Knight of Hope. optimistic Duelist has a good video already on the topic and while I disagree with their classpecting for Folkyl ultimately I don’t really feel the need to add much onto it. Suffice to say, Kuprum defies fate for another person. Rather than let voidrot run its course, Kuprum volunteers himself as a battery for his moirail. While its perhaps a short sighted plan, its one that stems wholly from Kuprum’s belief in his ability to make a difference, if not for society at large, at least for one person.

Folykl Darane: Seer of Void. One who is wholly in sync with their aspect, in full understanding of it. Folykl is entirely aligned with the nothingness and emptiness associated with Void, being quite literally denied vision, power, and even the ability to ambulate on her own. Likewise, though, she has a clarity of vision in the metaphorical sense. She accurately assesses both Kuprum’s feelings towards Trizza and Trizza’s worthiness of those feelings, emblematic of Void’s disdain for a comfortable lie. However, true to the passive nature of her class, while she often chastises Kuprum for his feelings she isn’t ultimately willing to do more than bicker about it. 

Remele Namaaq: Page of Space. Initially I thought we might end up with two Thieves of Space, but what important to note is that whle Remele does steal artwork, theft isn’t necessarily her true nature. At her core, she’s an artist that has been forced to become cynical because of the society she lives in. Sburb roles aren’t just meant to embody you. Often they’re meant to challenge you. As such, her more derivative works can be seen less as the final fulfillment of her role and more the beta stage of her coming into her aspect. While it may not show in her artwork yet, Remele demonstrates a great potential for on the spot creative thinking that could potentially be bolstered into a powerful force in its own right. Likewise, like Diemen she demonstrates the Page’s intuitive ability to get people to aid her in her quest, regardless of whether or not its in their own best interests 

Konyyl Okimaw: Prince of Light (because gendered classes are FAKE NEWS). One who destroys/destroys through their aspect. Light is associated with both fortune and knowledge, and Konyyl can be seen destroying (and destroying through) both. Her matesprit, Azdaja, is the Mind aspect: he supplies knowledge to Konyyl, who in turn uses that knowledge to destroy the lives of others. Likewise, she’s heavily resistant to doing the thinking for herself, seeming to intuitively sense its not her role. She’s also a bit on the unlucky side (I mean, what are the odds of an adult troll being there at that exact drop off point) but can destroy the luck of others. By killing them. Worst luck ever. Also she’d look cute in the puffy pants don’t tell me otherwise.

Tyzias Entykk: Page of Blood (damn there’s a lot of pages in here its almost like most of these characters have yet to come to their true potential or something). While its not always the case (Jake English being a notable exception, to my mind), Pages may often start the game with a deficit of their aspect. Tyzias has a deficit of friendships. She mentions she doesn’t have time for any quadrant but her matesprit, who is arguably the only troll on Alternia more overworked than she is. Beyond that, her social circle is restricted to people she meets in class. Despite this, Tyzias has a unique capacity to reach out to other people, which, once tapped into her, makes her a force to reckon with, especially so far as the empire is concerned.

Chixie Roixmr: Witch of Mind. GODS Chixie was so hard. However, what ultimately unlocked it for me was the rap battle. A witch is one who manipulates/manipulates through their aspect. Chixie, for as sweet as she is, is a pretty effective manipulator. She keeps Zebruh on the hook without getting forced into a quadrant with him, she manages to sway the crowd into her favor (despite the fact that no one in their right mind should be siding with a bronzeblood in a highblood owned club), she even manages to get the Reader to act in her favor on certain occasions. She does this through clear, decisive action, and through careful combinations of absorbed information, all of which come to a head in the rap battle. Despite potentially risking everything she’s worked to build, she forces herself onto that stage and, under pressure, synthesizes everything she knows about the band from social media and her own encounters with them into some pretty sick lyrics.

Azdaja Knelax: Thief of Mind. Azdaja, as previously mentioned, is the information half of Konyyl’s duo. Utilizing powerful psiionics, a quick grasp of strategy, and a willingness to do whatever it takes (all of which can be understood as part of the Mind aspect), Azdaja manipulates scenarios into ones that will directly benefit him. Often, he quite garners literal monetary gain, but equally as powerful for him is the added notoriety his actions gain him.

Chahut Maenad: Knight of Hope. No title more fitting for a defender of the faith. Chahut has strong convictions that run to the core of her being, something vital to a Hope player. However, while her convictions may render her single minded, they do not necessarily render her selfless. When the player does not antagonize her morals Chahut seems happy to benefit them (although most players would probably not view being a sacrifice as a benefit). She is happy to learn at the feet of people who have earned her respect, and defend those like Amisia who she considers worth protecting, all of which render her an apt candidate for the Knight category.

Zebede Tongva: Heir of Light. One who embodies their aspect, often perhaps to the point of excess. Zebede is many things, but he is certainly knowledgeable, in particular about his interests. At times, that interest can be cute, but at other times it can lead him towards creepy and possessive behavior. He knows everything about Cirava, to the point that he feels comfortable posting fanfiction about their life. Likewise, he displays frustration and anger when he is not allowed knowledge (or, in a meta sense, is denied union with his aspect), as in hs bad end when the Reader implies they are talking to other people while at Zebede’s house. Zebede, though his method of expression isn’t the healthiest, at his purest form is really just curious about the lives of the people he watches, and allows that curiosity to overcome him. 

Tegiri Kalbur: Rogue of Void. If Tegiri embodies anything to me, its how much the temperament of a person affects their expression of their classpect. On first glance he and Roxy Lalonde have nothing in common. However, like Roxy, Tegiri has the ability to “steal” nothingness by replacing it with something else. He replaces it with order, imposing laws whether otherwise no sane troll would think to enforce them. By doing so, he’s not only stealing away the chaos associated with the Void, but also the sense of meaninglessness he might otherwise succumb to if he ceased to believe in Alternian law (much like a few other teals I could mention). Also like Roxy, Tegiri seems troubled by the sense that he may be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, and becomes determined to impress his status as a hero of the blade upon us as quickly as possible.

Mallek Adalov: Witch of Time. Ok this one’s a little weird, but hear me out: a Witch, inherently, is about a refusal to accept your aspect as it is. Mallek demonstrates an understanding of the lacking nature of Time. With his Rites of Maturation perigrees away, he has a hard time coming to terms with how little time he has to do everything he wants to do. This might imply a Mage or a Seer, but what strikes me is not that Mallek wants to understand time, but that he is frustrated with his inability to do anything about it. We aren’t really told what he does after his conversation with the reader, but it can perhaps be assumed that, inspired by their words, he is doing what he has to to give himself the time he needed. Were an sgrub session to take place, he would be given the literal chance to do just that.

Lynera Skalbi: Maid of Rage. Again, whipping through an unusual class combo. The Maid is one who creates their aspect, for the benefit of others. Rage is not just about anger (although Lynera certainly has that in spades), but about convictions and truth. Lynera creates her truth and beliefs, and makes them in alignment to the people that matter to her. When she understands that keeping under the radar of Alternian society is important to Bronya, she becomes the bad cop needed to enforce those convictions. When she understands her making other friends is important to the Reader (and to Bronya), she immediately latches onto them as her nearest and dearest friendship. Ultimately we never see Lynera at a healthy place with her aspect, but she’s a dedicated soldier, ready to evangelize (or, create convictions) on behalf of the people in her life to matter to her.

Galekh Xigisi: Seer of Blood. The Seer is of course, associated with understanding. However, its important that unlike the Mage, one who already understands and suffers from it, the Seer is rather one who invites understanding. They may have a large knowledge base already as regards their aspect (a la Terezi with Mind) but are constantly on the hunt for more to the benefit of their party. Galekh, while he can be pompous and uptight, at his very core wants to understand people, and the people who matter to those he cares about especially. He is one of the few trolls to approach us with the explicit intent of forming a relationship (and deepening an existing one with Tagora). That wordiness and sense of self-righteousness likewise aligns him with our other known Seer of Blood, Kankri Vantas, although Galekh has arguably gotten more of a chance to mature than Kankri got.

Tirona Kasund: Thief of Heart. Tirona seeks to override the convictions, and by extension the “soul”, of others, whether by force or by persuasion. Her memeaganda is one branch of this, ingratiating the Heiress to people in a way that will make them forget the various ways in she has harmed her. Likewise, she goes rooting through the offices of their friends to dig up details about their personal opinions and politics in order to expose them for her own gain. Heart Players really can’t catch a break outside of Boldir huh. Speaking of…

Boldir Lamati: Muse of Heart. Unusual, I know, but then, she’s an unusual lady. Not much is known about the muse class, given that our only Muse is Calliope. Typically, the verb that I would assign to the Muse is “inspires” or “unifies”, as a contrast to the Lord’s “command” or “dominates”. Boldir’s strong unity of the self would likely explain how she demonstrates an uncanny awareness over the strange time activities. She is, arguably, on the verge of becoming her ultimate self. Likewise, simply by being around her the reader becomes deeply aware of their alternate selves. However, unlikely Dirk’s existential dread in the face of his splinters, Boldir inspires that peace and independence unique to the Muse class which allows her to transcend the division of self so often toxic to Heart Players.

Stelsa Sezyat: Knight of Blood. Together with Galekh, they’re two halves of a whole Signless kin. Knights defend their aspect and defend through their aspect. In the case of relationships, Stelsa does both. She is a loyal and caring friend, always on call for both the Reader and her matesprit Tyzias even when she disagrees with their actions. Likewise, Stelsa’s strongest asset, in addition to her boundless energy and organizational talent, is her capacity for networking. More so than perhaps any other troll, Stelsa understands that the key to victory sometimes isn’t what you can do, but who you know. In the event she goes godtier, though, the first thing she’s doing is ditching the hood. Not subjecting her hair to that, no sir.

Marsti Houtek: Heir of Void (side note, Inherit Nothing by phemieC may have been written for Equius but it is a jam and a half and kind of snaps this class into greater perspective for me). Like every troll on Alternia, Marsti has been forced most of her life to confront her limited options under the hemocaste system. True to her nature as a Void player, she seemed to have accepted her apparent irrelevance in the grand scheme of thing. As an heir, she embodies not only this irrelevance, but the enigma around it. We’re never truly given an insight into how Marsti actually would want her life to go. She seems resistant to any attempts to force her into some kind of emotional arc. Rather, she frames her actions in terms of simple “this is what I do” statements. Marsti is content with her own nothingness, and is frustrated by people who cannot accept that about her.

Karako Pierot: I uh…..really like the Lord of Mind theory. There are a lot of mind players in Hiveswap, but Karako, to me, embodies the karma aspect of Mind more clearly than any that proceed him. He either gets justice against his attackers, or, should he be killed, the reader feels compelled to enact that justice on others. Karako at once breaks the rules of his aspect (his illogical speaking patterns, his afterlife return to the Dark Carnival, the embodiment of whimsy and mystery) while commanding it through his will and the forces surrounding him. 

Charun Krojib: Sylph of Rage. If Lynera embodies the part of Rage that deals with convictions, then Charun embodies the more anarchic, confusing parts of the Aspect. However, they do not seem to use it for destructive purposes, but deconstructive. Charun meets the player at a point when they are feeling low and burnt out and angry. However subtextually, Doc Scratch’s imposition over their narrative is starting to chafe at them a bit. Charun utilizes that anger and that confusion into a tool for healing via their art. They encourage the Reader to make something. Doesn’t matter what: if it turns out crap that it can just be stripped down and made again. And working with those nebulous guidelines, the Reader is able to process their frustration into art. Art that has no set meaning, but who’s lack of stakes and general confusion bring healing to the reader. Thus, Charun embodies the Sylph’s restorative role. 

Wanshi Adyata: Seer of Doom. Seers are often seen as already understanding their aspect in some respect, but the role of Seer is one who is perpetually learning and understanding more about their aspect. Notably, Rose and Terezi are both still having revelations about the nature of their aspects and abilities even as late as Act 6, where most of the other players have broadly figured out their own as far as they need to. Wanshi has demonstrated a proclivity towards knowledge and understanding, being a voracious reader. However, we as the Reader are there with her as she takes her first steps into her aspect. Though no stranger to the suffering of Alternia, we see her experience death in the most direct way she has at that point in her life, and struggle to comprehend it. Depending on how Hiveswap goes, as she grows older she may be forced to reckon with this role, and part of her maturation will be whether she buckles under the negativity of doom, or successfully incorporates it into her worldview, allowing it to inform her without sinking her. 

Fozzer Velyes: Bard of Heart. Man, heartbound derse players just canNOT catch a break….criminal. In any case, the heart has to do with the self, the soul, and the identity. The Bard is not someone who destroys, but someone who invites destruction of (or destruction through) their aspect. Notably, bards often demonstrate avoidant personalities, often refusing to directly confront the things that scare them (as Fozzer with the ghosts), and are prone to talking big game but falling victim to minor hitches in their plans (as the Reader notes contrasting his cowardly reactions with his revolutionary spiel). Fozzer’s self is in fact destroyed over the course of his route, and rewritten by forces beyond his control. Its possible he will continue to enact this role on others. If we’ve seen anything from homestuck, its that bards are the ones to watch out for.

Marvus Xoloto: Seer of Time. Alright, so like I said, I’m like 99% sure we’re do for some kind of twist with Marvus. However, the Caprist sign he’s been previously associated with is timebound, and based on his bad end especially I’d say that’s a good fit. The Seer is the role I chose because Marvus doesn’t really seem to exert any particular control over his aspect, nor does he feel bound to serve it (actively defying it, in fact). Rather, he demonstrates a more in-depth of the machinations of paradox space and “canon” than any character prior, arguably even more than Dirk. Marvus may not successfully wrest control of the narrative, but he provides further insight into the function of doomed timelines, as well as some possible hints as to how paradox space’s pull can be resisted by means other than the retcon juju. 

Daraya Jonjet: Rogue of Hope. Something notable about rogues is that in their immature stages: a lot of them seem to initially covet their opposite aspect. Roxy, Rogue of Void, struggled with a desire for recognition from others (Light). Rufioh, Rogue of Breath, tries desperately to forge relationships that ultimately he isn’t ready to live out (Blood). Likewise, Daraya seems desperate to perform the anarchic and embittered Rage aspect. Her bad ending is her giving herself fully to these bitter teen “burn it all down” impulses. However, that’s not ultimately how she’s happiest. She is at her best when she learns to redistribute Hope to other people. Notably she’s the first person we make legitimate effort to connect with Tyzias’ revolutionary actions. Tyzias is a powerhouse in her own right, true, but she’s one person, and though her Blood aspect gives the the ability to connect to other people, as we’ve seen she’s not the best at rallying the troops (given that her attempts at a pep talk with Daraya fall flat with the Reader not there to help). Daraya, as she grows into her role and partners more with Tyzias, may be able to help with that, stealing the Hope so long denied alternian trolls and giving it back to the people with her rebellious actions. One things for sure: the two are stronger together than they are apart.

Nikhee Moolah: Knight of Rage. She weaponizes anger into her powerful arsenal, but arguably does do it for the benefit of others. In her good ending she strengthens the reader to their utmost, actually reaping muscular benefits as a result. Likewise, her fights are (arguably) a place of catharsis for Alternian trolls and may draw in more outsiders (given the only non-clown purple we have ever seen is….there PLEASE SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS NOT CLOWN TO ME WHAT’S THEIR STORY). That anger becomes just as powerful a tool turned against the Reader as it is for the Reader, but ultimately Nikhee seems to do what she does for the good of her audience.

Lanque Bombyx: Thief of Life. Insert mandatory vampire joke here, but its not far off from how Lanque goes about his day to day. Life isn’t just about literally being alive, its also associated with growth, betterment, and positivity. We see Lanque take these things, especially from Lynera. While the amount of growth Lynera really demonstrated is VERY debatable, its hard to argue that Lanque immediately shut down the first attempt at reaching out to someone romantically that Lynera has done for anyone but Bronya, immediately turning it into an opportunity to put the moves on someone else. This may nudge him into the Prince class, but I think its more accurate to assert that Lanque isn’t destroying his aspect, necessarily, as he certainly seems to benefit from it. Instead, he’s simply ensuring that no one else gets it. Lanque is childish in temperament, and may assume that other people are as slow to mature as he is. Likewise he displays the Thief’s attitude that “I should get what I want if I’m smart enough and strong enough to take it” that we see with both Meenah and Vriska. Like both of those characters, he’s not necessarily doomed to evil behavior, merely that its more realistic to hope that he’ll start to see the good of the party as beneficial to him as well, rather than wish he’d just lose his self-interested ways (as Bronya does).

Barzum and Baizli Soleil: the fact that these two embody two different aspects (Breath and Doom respectively) seems to imply that there is at least some difference between the two twins, but whatever it is is hard to riddle out, given that they effectively switch personalities on a whim. As such, its possible to see Breath and Doom as merely two potentials towards which they could drift, either becoming more and more individuated as they embrace their Breath aspect or more and more singular as they embrace Doom. As such, I would probably assign them both the page role, as they are both untapped potential yet to mature enough to really embody anything but chaos.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Had a thought…

… I think… I think Aruto has HumaGear a little… On a pedestal?

I was just thinking about that shot in the OP where he’s crawling through the wreckage and then Izu offers him a hand up, and there’s all that light behind her… And the way he behaves and talks about them…

I’m sorry, I feel like I had a moment of clarity in explaining the ‘tools of good’ concept… Like, he thinks of them/envisions them as these exclusively benevolent entities that will support/carry humans into the future in an almost angelic, saintly way. The whole ‘machines of our dreams’ thing… Like, it all feels very… Like he wants them to be these pure sources of benevolence and ‘good’ and perfect kindness and complete selflessness. Every time he’s like ‘HumaGear are amazing’… It seems like he’s looking at them as these… Kinda ‘perfect’ beings of ‘pure goodness.’ Again, very angelic and saintly. That’s his definition of a ‘good’ HumaGear. He can’t accept/comprehend Jin and esp Horobi bc they don’t have that ‘perfection’ (maybe symbolised by their lack of earpieces??? In particular Horobi’s cracked face???). Horobi’s angry, and Jin is a child who was brought up by that anger, but also… He’s a child. Despite Horobi telling him not to act like a human… He grew up and learned and lived like a human. He was never conditioned from creation to support humanity or to be ‘perfect’ and ‘compassionate.’ He was raised almost like any human child would be raised by a parent who was that frightfully angry and hated something that much. I say almost bc Jin did have compassion, bc I agree w/ that actors that, esp while they were in their own bubble in Daybreak for however long pre-show, Horobi was a kind father, though probably rather a workaholic. But he wasn’t, like, absolutely, one hundred percent, ‘perfectly’ benevolent and compassionate and selfless. He got upset, had tantrums, pouted. He was a person. When they fought, Jin was in the midst of hysterical grief, probably magnified by the Ark, over Horobi’s death. He was an emotional mess, angry and broken. And I think Aruto just… Couldn’t equate that w/ his idea of how HumaGear were meant to be?

Like… He’s got this idea that HumaGear are absolutes. Izu and those like her are ‘good’ and MBJR were ‘bad’ to him. He couldn’t talk Jin down bc Jin was a HumaGear and had learned ‘evil’ things, and could not be educated on how these things would be ‘bad’ bc obviously he is a HumaGear and ‘that’s not how HumaGear work.’ HumaGear are these perfect, semi-angelic beings, or they’re ‘corrupted’ and can’t be saved. Gods, he thinks it’s like the dark side of the force in Star Wars. He tries to save the MaGear bc he’s like ‘they’re good, they’ve just been hacked and are getting forced to do this, I should be able to remove this external ‘bad’ thing’ whereas w/ Jin and Horobi, it’s like ‘they’ve learned ‘evil,’ they can’t be talked down.’ Like, in SW, you poke a toe to the dark side, and that’s it, you’re screwed, you can’t come back. I feel like that’s a little how Aruto thinks about it.

But… That’s not really… Respecting someone as a person? Just, expecting them to be so compassionate and selfless that they’ll weather anything and always exclusively support others, and then if you cross a ‘line,’ you’re ‘evil’ and cannot be talked down.

Bc, of course, the world isn’t like that. And people in general esp aren’t. And regardless of how they initially awoke to singularity… HumaGear are going to find that out eventually. They’re going to learn about the darker side of humanity. Eventually, they’re going to be in situations where they should feel upset or angry or hurt. And when you introduce singularity, esp as a concept of AI surpassing human understanding and reaching self awareness, reaching feelings and having their own thoughts and having their mind begin to work more similar to a humans… They’re not going to stay as those perfect, supportive, completely selfless beings Aruto expects them to be/sees them as. Like I said, I don’t think a HumaGear who reached actual, full self awareness could ever fully go back to their ‘usual’ life, and I think that’s what Aruto would expect from them—but that wouldn’t work. HumaGear shouldn’t be ‘angels’ who lift humans into the future, but equals who walk beside them.

… I am very tired. I don’t know if any of this made any more sense than anything else I’ve said.

[nekomiras]

Since I didn't see anyone ask about the homestuck au I feel obligated to ask as a fellow Homestuck (insert Homestuck police image (you know the one) here)

Oh fuck oh no the homestuck au oh shit

 There’s not much content here, I just organized them on classpects I thought they’d fit and put some of them as trolls (Also, alternia here is quite different from canon) 

 I think the most fun on this au is explaing my process to thinking why I decided what I did, so this is gonna be a quite repetitive and long post, sorry y’all

Kids:

Evan: Witch of Breath, his aspect basically because he has the leader role but it’s not something he takes control himself, it’s about the freedom he seeks and then incentivating others to join him, I chose the class of the witch since it’s the active change class, wich means he changes the aspect/changes through for himself, let’s think about games for me to explain you- he hates games where he has to do something like it tells him to, and love the games where he can use his liberty to have fun in whatever way he finds. I also have him as a prospit dreamer for reasons that I don’t really want to explain since it’ll get so repetitive, you guys getting the moons I say so >:)!

Tyler: Actually a Rogue of Time. I can’t lie I really wanted a timeplayer on the kids side, but I think I got a good thinking here, stay with me- The fighting aspect, the fact they don’t accept things as they are and act to change instead of just waiting things happen, the impatience- I quote the extended zodiac definition of time players: “You can’t tell them to sit still and look pretty”, plus, the rogue part of his title, the passive stealing class, someone who steal the from/through the aspect for others. A rogue can be generous and receptive, with strong ideals, on the worst cases they can bee too impulsive and apathetic. I’m not like 100% sure but I needed him as a time player and this classpect with him as a derse dreamer fit so well on how I expect him to be in this au, looking really self-centered and yet doing all he does for others instead of himself!

Nogla: Green boy is our Knight of Space! I mean... With Tyler’s description you might expect him to be te opposite, as a space player his job is to not worry about where things go, and pretty much enjoy the ride! He does understand that he needs to do things so they go the way you want to, he just don’t usually worry about it that much, he worries more about how he’s doing something than what he’s doing, and that gets him to the creative aspect, wich is why he, as a space player, is the one with the mission to creat the new universe! But that’s not all, he’s a knight!! The passive serving class are known to have a mask that’s supposed to make their friends trust them more than they trust themselves, Nogla’s is that he acts way more positive and stupid than he actually is so people around him believe him to be trustworthy, it also makes him feel safer around people that he trust are not using him. Sometimes the mask has a different effect and people thinks he’s annoying tho. But the thing with knghts are that they want to be there to help his friends, always, so he ends up being way too selfless and, well, as Tyler says: Actually stupid. He’s also a prospit dreamer, he’s just baby I love him.

Our last kid is Marcel!! He’s a Seer of Rage! His aspect comes from his chaotic side, as a rage player, he believes that society is full of lies, and there’s nothing he hates more than someone not telling the truth to him, he wants to know what’s actually happening so he can act on his passive knowledge class of seer, someone that looks to know more so he can be able to help their colleagues by acting his advices himself, he can get easily frustated when things don’t go the way he wants them to, and in the worst case can get upset enough to become agressive, as a derse dreamer he gets even more chaotic and easily frustaded. Besides, both his dream pajamas and his god tier pajamas are purple and he looks amazing in the color ;)

Trolls:

Now we go for the alliens, the descriptions will get even longer since I have to tell what’s their blood is, I won’t be explaining aspects and classes that are showing up again on this case, but if you want a more especific analysis from me in one of the boys just send me another ask!

Cartoonz: Rust blood- Adventurous, craving for new experiences far from home and often not cautious enough when agitated? Well, that makes me feel less bad about choosing his blood on the color red lol. Jk, I mean, his blood I chose on color, but I also believe that he’d do a great alternian lowblood rebel! And as a derse dreamer Prince of Time? Well, the aspect you get what I mean from Tyler description, but boy, the active destruction class does fit him in the way I wanted, he can get way too confident on his habilities, with motive of course! He’s capable of incredible things!!! But his confidence can make him impose himself on others as authority, his ideals are important for him and he’s difficult to change his mind, he does what he deems right while still showing how much he cares for the little things around him. He’s someone trustwothy and a incredible good leader besides not being in the relationships side of aspects! Plus, what’s better than get our infamous King Toonz as the prince in the game?

Squirrel: I mean... Bronze blood?? Obviously?? Warm and generous?? Slow to open without having someone else besides them?? Open hearted?? Afinity to animals??? Needy of attention and affection?? Polite when upset?? Basically babies??????? Yup! Plus, once again the color guided me this way-- But anyway! He’s a (oh my god I forgot I put him as this but fuck yeah) Thief of Doom! Doom y’all know as the bad aspect about death and shit but listen to me! The extended zodiac explains that doom players tend to be sufferers, that through their difficulties became wise and empathetic of others surffering, not the advice friend, but the friend that can confort, we’re talking about our sweet Dead Squirrel here my guys! And then I got this idea of putting him as a thief and oh my gosh I hate thieves but I loved this idea so much I kinda want use it in a homestuck rpg I do with some friends! The thieve is the active stealing class, wich means he does what a rogue does, but for themselves, while rogues give away what they steal for others, thieves keep it for themselves, it’s normally interpretated as egoist and that’s why I hate them, but being the boy we’re talking about, even if Squirrel steals the doom aspect to keep it for himself, he does it in a selfless act of trying to protect his friends from it, you can interpretate him as a knight kind of person here but I’ll stay with a derse dreamer Thief of Doom!

Smiity is our gold blood and it’s not because of the vibes he and Sollux share with red an blue glasses yOU SHUT UP! But for real, yellow trolls have the whole psych thing but what I ended up loving about putting Smiit as one is the facts that, they like to talk even if the people around the don’t wanna hear, they tend to accidentaly force their opinions in other people and if the person feels sorry about it all they can get axious easily about their actions, but still do it because it’s themselves, and I love to take this as Smiit’s careless way to act combined with his canadian way to be nice and I love it! He’s a derse dreamer Rogue of Rage, I explained both before, so really basic: he straight up just spreads chaos.

Brian: He’s our mutant lime, our candy red blooded troll!! Decided on his decisions (”if i wanna do it i’ll do it fuck you”), he can be quite the drama queen, he exagerates his feelings since he can’t hide them, he’s has caring and empathetic instincts and he’s so goddamn loyal, Once again quoting the extended zodiac: “ Romance is extremely important to Lime Signs, and when they fall, they fall hard. They don't take rejection well, and a breakup can send them into a tailspin requiring an extended period of recovery.”. And he’s our sweet derse dreamer Knight of Breath! Another one who was already basically explained, his title makes him the one who wants to bring freedom to his friends. His mask is of a confident flirty while he himself is scared of not being what people expects him to be. Fuck I love this Irish handsome bitch.

Panda: He’s an olive blooded troll! They’re described to be generous and sweet, ready to help if someone needs, they’re not really good with changes but they’re the type to drop anything to get into helper mode. But oh damn, they’re not afraid of just getting up and going out if something is not as they like. He’s a prospit dreamer Seer of Life, seer was already kinda of explained, and I put him as life bounded because of their empathetic side and how I can see Anthony as a (sometimes moody) healer! I can’t lie that his was one of the last classpects that I thought of and I wanted to fit him as a Life player, if there are other suggetions I’d like to hear too!!

Moo: Well, jade bloods are basically the default moms right? I mean, this is supposed to be expected right? I mean, I can’t even quote the extended zodiac because I’d be just copying and pasting what’s written! I’ll gladly do so in another ask but for now just accept it. And if you think that being a jade blood is not mom enough, don’t worry, I got ya, he’s also a prospit dreamer Sylph of Blood. Sylphs are the passive creation class, creating the aspect / creating through the ascpec for others, they’re curious and can get intrusive when they get worried too much, they wanna know what’s wrong and they wanna help so bad, even when their help isn’t wanted, they’re gentle and the bringers of care for their groups, and holy this isn’t enough already? No, cause he’s our fucking blood player, the aspect of union and relationships, pretty much natural leaders that bring people together by becoming friends with every single person in the group and then forming the group. Y’all think he’s mom enough?

Ohm: I completely didn’t choose Ohm to be a teal blood because he gave me Terezi vibes just like Smiity shut up. He does a good teal! They’re social and can be really flirtatious even accidentaly, they got strong morals that may get them to commit mistakes and let them down easly, they trust people way too quikly, they’re often better alone but with the right companion they can do so much!! Plus, he’s a prospit dreamer Heir of Space! We already talked about space bounds so just let me tell you, the most known point in a heir is their innocence in a determined subject, It’s a thing that I personally can’t really explain tho, they’re the passive changing class, so they’re easily adaptable and open, they care a lot about what their impact may be in others so they may hide facts about themselves, they not only change themselves for others but they incentive others to change for better, they’re caring, friendly and understanding, in the worst case they can be way too easly manipulated.

Mini: Our ladd here is a blue blood! The blood color that’s described to be capable of causing the most good but also the worst harm. They’re nice to have around as friends, and can easly become one, they’re adaptable and people magnets, they vallue their friends, wich also means they can be hard to forget a fight and get easly moody towards people they once considered close. And he’s also a derse dreamer Bard Of Light! As a bard he’s the passive destruction class, they’re devoted and faithful, they can be easly offended by criticism towards what they think is right, possibly getting open minded if the critic is someone they’re devoted at, a close friend or partner, they’re helpful, willing and friendly, but can also be inflexible in cases. As a light player Mini can be described as willing to learn more about what’s interesting him at the moment, he’s a seeker and he sees rules as suggestions to what he should do. He’s also one that I chose last so if you have a suggention I’m open!

Scotty: The boy is our indigo blood! Friendly, cheerful, energetic and curious! He can be easly attracted to anything that gets his interest and that also means he loses said interest easly, he is stronger than he thinks he is and can be careless about himself and others around him, he’s one that need to have an eye on to make sure he’s fine, and of course the person need to be prepared for so much energy! As another one that I couldn’t easily decide and became one of the last ones I chose, he’s an prospit dreamer Maid of Mind. The active creation class is kind of a favourite of mine, but kind of hard for me to explain as well, what I can tell you about them is that they are born to a fate they don’t like, and once they envolve in the game they decide to do their own fate by expressing themselves on their creations or something, I’m not really sure but I love this class!! And being mind bounded means our fuckboy tries to be rational most of the time, often that means he overthinks a lot, he sees most if not all possibilities of a decision and he’ll think over them, he’s mostly a person that’s slow to act, but when he does he knows what he’s doing, so just do how he says!

Delirious: I’ll get people getting mad at me that I didn’t put him as either teal, blue or indigo blood, but for real can you really judge me to choose him to be a purple blood when they have the clown make up and creepy as hell aethetic? And plus, the fact their description says they’re hard to trust on others, they can be mysterious and are great at keeping secrets. They’re decided and hard to change minds, they often want to refuse to be helped even when they need, but after all, when they trust someone they become devoted, putting way too much trust on them. I mean, yeah?? And he’s also our prospit dreamer Page of Void. The active serving class is another one of my favourits, being the people full of potential, they compare themselves to other and then create an ideal of who they want to be in their mind, some persona they want to become with characterists they don’t see themselves having, their nature on believing they can be what they build on their minds show their innocence and kindness, they sometimes can shut themselves inside their personas and act like how they want to be and less how they are, at best, they’re caring, charming and big dreamers, while at worst they can be manipulative and selfish by forcing their persona on others. And with all that, Del is also void bounded, meaning he’s a great secret keeper! He’s attracted to mystery and the unknown is his best friend, while others want to find out what they don’t know, Del is convicted on doubting what’s said to be the truth, he can be easly described as intuitive!

I’m not really sure but I believe our violet blood will be Lui by being a Witch of Hope prospit player, I’m not gonna talk so much about why because I’m getting out of time sorry----

Last boy will be Kryoz as our fuchsia heir, derse dreamer and Mage of Heart, he’s one that I thought first in the au and I’d love to explain more, but once again I’m going out of time, you can ask me about him separetely if you want to!!

Sorry for just yeeting myself out of explaining in these last two, I have been writing this explanation for two days now and I had to start again like twice because I was running out of time, I’m also sorry if there are any grammar mistakes I hadn’t had the time to revise it efhdgdgfed