#hell they might even /like/ each other!

[a-mere-dream]

I think it'd be hilarious if Shen Yuan transmigrated into, say, Qing-generation disciple era as Shen Jiu's twin, and he's doing his absolute best to make sure his brother doesn’t get suspicious of his changed behaviour--and it's working. As far as he knows, Jiu-ge suspects nothing!

Meanwhile, a reincarnated post-PIDW Shen Jiu is doing the exact same, trying not to let on how he has no fucking clue how to act around this random guy with his face (he isn’t meant to be a big brother! Is this feeling genuine protectiveness?? Ew, what the fuck, stop it--)

So they just awkwardly shuffle around each other, both feeling like they are doing so fucking well, look at that idiot, he suspects nothing.

A-Yuan speaks a strange language? Okay, why the hell not, it's not like Shen Jiu knows what the boy learned while travelling with Wu Yanzi. Jiu-ge's skills are up to par with fully grown Cultivators? Yeah, sure, that makes sense--he'd have been a very boring villain if he sucked at everything.

It takes literal decades until they finally realise the truth.

Bonus points if Yue Qingyuan has been shot here from a svsss-adjecent timeline, is undergoing about twelve Revelations a minute, and is vibrating from the sheer excitement that comes with getting to dote on the 'new' version of Shen Qingqiu that he's grown fonder off than he ever wished to without that meaning he has to give up on his history with Shen Jiu. It never once occurs to him that the Shen twins don’t know what is going on.

[mockingmolly]

The 30′s episodes in c2: In our mutual acknowledgment that we’ve been going about things in ways that are A Bit Fucked Up, with much deliberation, and on the condition you still Do Not Ask abt my personal history, I’ve decided to trust you to hold me accountable in an attempt to do better moving forward. Maybe you’ll allow me to do the same? Oh and btw we still think you’re SUPER cagey - could you stop making blood pacts maybe? :/

The 30′s episodes in c3: We’ve only known each other for less than a couple months but we’re family and you all know me better than I know myself. We would and have died to keep each other safe, and those left that *haven’t* died would go through literal hell to return those that did to life. A couple of you have outright tried to kill the rest of us but honestly nbd! we all have bad days :)

[topaz-mutiny]

I think the fans are underestimating how differently people can process things.

I am consistently seeing posts say "Ashton/Tal were repeatedly warned the shard was not for them/will 100% kill them", when this was absolutely not the case, and, more importantly, it is very likely for groups of people to completely misinterpret the warnings. Even if they've known each other and loved each other for a decade.

I certainly thought the warnings were not clear or frequent enough so I was shocked like lightning in the latest episode that they were meant to be absolute death flags.

Please note that I'll mostly refer to the fictional characters, I don't want to bring the people behind the characters too much into this.

First, I would like to point out, the show takes place over weeks and months with plenty of breaks and interruptions. That is plenty of time and opportunity for memories to get faded, muddled, crossed-over with other memories, etc.

The "warnings" happened two weeks to a month ago. And even when they were fresh on the cast's mind, here are the warnings verbatim (bold is my emphasis):

But be warned, holding the strength of the two in one vessel might sunder it. You bear the dormant strength of the empress. Find and bestow the might of the emperor.

- Evontra'vir, episode 74, aired October 5th. The conversations move on to unrelated things with no followup.

Ashton: He also said it might be dangerous for these two shards to intermingle. Or he didn't say dangerous, he said that-- it could destroy me. Orym: --A chance the vessel could break. Laudna: --The vessel <air quotes> could break. Fearne: Wasn't there something if you put them together with the right thing that it'll be okay? Ashton: It might come together and be okay, yeah. -- Dancer: Maybe if it were to meet one of its own ilk, it could awaken. Allura: What you said as a point of warning likely is true. To have both within a singular vessel, it's possible one could survive, but it's also highly possible that it would rend you into a thousand pieces. -- Allura: We're in a strange area of experimentation and unknown knowledge. -- (after finding out Ashton has a fascimile of a Luxon beacon in their brain) FCG: So he's got two things in him or them? Allura: It would seem, which is why I'm a bit--Well, you're either the greatest weapon we could hope for in this time, or will be our end. I couldn't tell you. Orym: Boy, maybe we don't add a third thing. Ashton: I was put together by bits and pieces. This was not an intentional thing and it, I honestly shouldn't have survived it. It was, literally, I was put together with junk. Allura: In an odd way, your fragmented nature might be what keeps all of this in check. ... Perhaps we don't put another powerful entity within your form.

- Various, episode 76, aired October 19th.

To me, these warnings were not clear in the slightest.

To me, these warnings were interspersed with so many words like "possible", "might", and "chance" that I completely misinterpreted the situation as "For Ashton it is dangerous but doable" instead of "The Game Master is telling you Ashton's character sheet will be ripped up."

This is the problem with using in-character voices and using descriptors that imply chance or flexibility. They can drastically weaken the meaning of a phrase such that people like me will mistake it for something else.

Because that's how my brain works. "May", "chance", "perhaps" suggest to me a reasonable set of odds for an action and does not come across as the grave warning a game master would want.

And as a reminder, these muddled warnings were weeks apart and weeks away, which can make remembering the meaning even worse if you've already misinterpreted them. That's why I was 100% on board with Ashton taking the shard. It seemed reasonable but dangerous, so when Matt said "I warned you." in that grave tone and with that grave look I was thrown for a loop. I went "oh no! those were serious warnings!?" and the panic started setting in.

Also a contributing factor was the pressure and lack of communication from Bells Hells.

Fearne did not want the shard, and finally stated that thought aloud to Ashton. For Fearne and Ashton, that meant the only choice left was Ashton, because, for one reason or another, the 5 other people in Bells Hells repeatedly assumed and pushed the shard onto Fearne and wrote themselves out of the equasion. FIVE characters absolved themselves of being active participants. Once the idea of Fearne came to mind and this Emperor Fearne/Empress Ashton/Callowmoore shipping dicotomy, Bells Hells just stopped talking about it and never once considered if any of them should take the shard should Fearne refuse.

So... yeah that's how my brain works.

[cerise-on-top]

Can i request fluff alphabet with graves? I dont mind what letters you do x

Hey! I did the first eight letters of the alphabet!

Fluff Alphabet for Graves

A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?

If it was up to him, then he’d go grilling with you every day. Loves teaching you how to barbecue, telling you about how hot the grill should be, what its components are, how long the meat and sausages should be on the iron, that sort of stuff. Graves also loves inviting his Shadows to a barbecue as well. That way he gets to unwind with you and them and you get to know the people he works with. Those are the small celebrations he looks forward to the most.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them?

On the one hand, he loves the fact that you’re independent and can go a long time without him. It’s necessary since he’s away a lot of the time. On the other hand, he does love how dependent you can be on him. Even just the small stuff gets to him, such as you having forgotten your wallet and wanting some ice cream, or you leaning into him for comfort when you’re watching a scary movie together. Yes, he loves you, but he also loves it when you need him. You’re his world, and he’s yours. He’s the big, strong man in your relationship and he’ll protect you from everything there may be.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

I feel as though he’d try to give you some unsolicited advice. You’re more than welcome to tell him to shut up, though. But other than that, he’ll try to crack some jokes here and there to get you to smile again. Also not above cuddling you and holding you close to make you feel protected and loved. Your panic attack wouldn’t be the first one he’s experienced, in all honesty. Sometimes, he helps with calming down his Shadows. Will calmly talk to you, play some games to help you get your mind off things as well. Will breathe with you too, if you’re okay with that.

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o?

If it was up to him, then you’d be living on a ranch together. He grew up on one in Texas and sometimes wants to go back to that life. Just you being surrounded by cattle, sheep, horses and other kinds of animals. You’d have a nice German shepherd together and would tend to the animals together. Of course, he wouldn’t give up his PMC either, but he can dream about that sort of future. He doesn’t think it would ever become reality anyway. However, as long as he gets to spend his future with you, he’s happy.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

He leans more towards being the dominant person in your relationship, but he can be passive at times as well. Usually has his hand on you somewhere as well as an act of dominance. Loves having you sit on his lap too, sometimes even in public when there are no chairs. People should know that you’re together and that he’s the one protecting you. He’s more than happy to consider your suggestions, but it’s usually him who decides where you end up going. Especially if you’re indecisive.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?

He’d be somewhat petty and resentful, but he wouldn’t let it out on you. He wouldn’t really let it out on anyone, he’s far too mature for that. However, you’d have to apologize to him for him to forgive you. As long as you’re being nice about it, he will. It’s rare for him to apologize unless he’s truly hurt you. When he was in the wrong about some fact he’ll usually ignore it. When he fights he gets a bit louder, his accent becomes a bit stronger, but that’s it. He won’t call you anything mean, but it will be known that he’s upset with you.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

He’s pretty grateful. Not as much as other people, though. He doesn’t always consider everything you’re doing for him. Not that he takes it for granted either, far from it, but he just doesn’t always think when he doesn’t need to. However, generally speaking, he is grateful for what you do for him. Will show it by either taking you on a nice date to somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, or by taking care of your home in your stead for a while. You, too, deserve to have a day off from it all, after all.

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?

There are plenty of things he doesn’t tell you. Sure, it may seem like he’s very open about his job, but you’ll always get the feeling he’s not being entirely honest with you. However, aside from job related things, he’s a very honest man. While he may sugarcoat some things for you sometimes, he will tell you pretty much everything. You can ask him about any personal detail and there’s a good chance he’ll tell you about it. In fact, I encourage you to do so, Graves enjoys talking about himself to you. Ask him about his plans for you and him and he’ll get quite sappy too and won’t stop talking for an hour.

[sparring-spirals]

I just really appreciate the Bell's Hells Patented Problem Solving Brand, which is like a spiritual evolution of "when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail" except they all have hammers of varying size, effectiveness, and potential-to-explode-on-impact. Their solution is always just Whatever We Think Of First + Fixing The Repercussions Of Whatever We Thought Of First. It's not even a two step plan. The backfiring is part of the plan. The backfiring could even BE the plan. This could probably be a meta but I also just think its really funny. in this case its the "yeah we can cast turn undead! i'll just grab laudna :) nice." but tell me this isnt the vibe in general.

Its like. all of them trying to cross a river with completely separate tactics, and 50% of the energy is doing their own thing and 50% of the energy is countering or aiding what other people are doing. And then someone falls into the river anyway. And they fish them out. BUT THEY END UP OVER THE RIVER. and look we have a fish :)

[shorlinesorrows]

qpr jean and neil. that's all i'm gonna say.

do you see my vision?

[crown-ov-horns]

My Good Omens fanfictions are kicking off. Or, should I say, Lady Crowley is. In one of the stories, she was supposed to end up with Hastur. No, she decided she wants to be with Michael.

I guess, I'll need to come up with a seperate F!Crowley x Hastur storyline, because I'm not letting go of that ship.

F!Crowley x Michael... I like the sound of that. I really do.

Has happened to all of us, hasn't it? Your superior in the military waltzes in, and seduces the love of your life. Not to mention, that's his pregnant girlfriend, and when he finds out, it's too late.

Whatever, Calla Crowley can still end up an astronomy-obsessed, equestrian pastel goth, if General of the Heavenly Host is her stepmother.

I must say... In one story she's with Satan, in the other she'll be with Michael... Lady Crowley, honey, you keep pulling the Olympians. Good for you.

P.S. - I don't know how accurately to Good Omens I'll portray Michael, since I haven't seen season 2, and it doesn't matter. I have a very particular way I like to see the figure. Honestly, if she isn't the General, and the leader of angels in Good Omens, it's a crime. Because, if she is, why haven't I seen her in armour/uniform in any of the screencaps?.. Either way, her version I intend to paint is amazing.

[jacksoldsideblog]

truly nothing more depressing than seeing a blog glorifying self harm in the fight club tag in an unironic way and you click through to see its an anorexic 14 year old :/ i wish i could communicate like... it doesn't make you cool or better, it's not an actual way to control things in your life, i am so so sorry you think this is the sexy answer. but also jesus why do you blog about it

[todayisafridaynight]

kids are dickheads

[boimmeup]

thinking about how when mariner came back to the cerritos in the s3 finale she ran and hugged boims so tight

walking right past her (presumably ex) gf, and not giving the same treatment to her other two friends

in all honestly it's not even just bc it's so shippy (though it definitely is and i do love them that way as well). i just love their friendship so fucking much. the fact that they have come so far as people from seasons 1 and 2, the way they have both been humbled by their experiences and value one another above all else.

i love lwd so much. i'm so excited for s4 and beyond.

[variousqueerthings]

actually you know whose reaction I'd be really curious about, potentially coming across fourteen in the shops? Francine!

[synthville]

questions about seven and raffi that i need this episode to acknowledge and/or answer include ‘are they together?’ and ‘literally why are they acting like they never met let alone got engaged in 21st century france at the edge of a crumbling chateau’ and ‘it’s been 2 whole episodes why haven’t they mentioned each other at all like is this a deep cover kind of thing or did y’all (writers etc) give up on their relationship because y’all were never legitimately invested in the first place🧐’ and ‘seriously what is going on with these two there hasn’t been one meaningful or offhanded mention about their relationship status and is the silence on the issue meant to be an answer because if so i hate it’ and ‘do y’all (writers etc) know that stable relationships are actually not boring or illegal like you can just write that and no one will arrest you it’s fine’ and ‘did seven get to see raffi in her sexy spy get up before they parted ways because i think she would love it as much as or even possibly more than me (known raffi enjoyer)’ and and and—

[discluded]

loving the mileapo fan service of giving us pretty much nothing for their birthdays and v-day. slaaaayyyyyy

no service for fans kings! 🥲🥲🥲 they do not care about us

[nostalgia-tblr]

Just saw someone's post that demands "Bots DNI" and like... do you REALLY think that'll help? The bots will read that and go "oh this person said DNI bots, I shall leave them alone" will they?

[sisterdivinium]

I think someone mentioned mixing WN with D&D on Twitter a while back and I hope that, if so, "D&D" was being used as a synonym for RPG rather than actual D&D 5e (which you shouldn't really do because they aren't synonymous, but I know it's a common thing).

Adapting Warrior Nun into 5e rules seems a bit like fighting the system rather than working with it, at least to me.

Here is a game that depends on character classes -- how will you make it work when all characters will probably share the class of sister warrior? If the idea is to differentiate them through skills, then isn't it better to just ditch the concept of class altogether? Maybe take inspiration from something like Knave, Maze Rats, Cairn if one wishes to stick with a D&D-ish aura.

Fights in WN aren't all that long if you think about it; so how will you conciliate that with the HP sponges that 5e characters are? (An anecdote: the other day I saw someone complaining about their weak initial character, who had some 20 HP. Playing old school D&D, I've had players start with 4. Ask them if they weren't scared shitless of dying -- and if this fear didn't make them play smarter and end up valuing their PCs much more when they levelled up!)

The economy system of 5e (well, of D&D as a whole, really, including older editions) has very little in common with the one our favourite ass-kicking nuns would use -- would it even be necessary, if we assume the Vatican is responsible for providing them with gear?

I'm not asking any of these questions simply because I dislike 5e (which I do, I admit) or to dissuade people from mixing WN and RPGs (I even did it myself once and might or might not be doing it again with another play style and basic system in mind), I just ask that they take mechanics into consideration. 5e can be good for what it's made for (or so I'm told), but in this particular instance it seems inappropriate for WN.

If I may be so bold as to offer amateur designers some suggestions...

I'd start by taking a look at Nathan Paoletta's RPG Design Zine, just because it helps you think about what the hell you're doing.

Generic systems are just that, generic, but they can be much easier to adapt than something so heavily-coded for a certain type of game as 5e is. They can be more complicated (maybe GURPS, though you could go for Lite and consider getting, idk, Religion, Martial Arts, Low Tech, High Tech... Go explore) or lighter. I am a gigantic fan of Freeform Universal Classic, but you could do something cool with FATE or FAE, Mini Six, hell, I don't know! There's a good deal of generic systems out there.

You could be a little more daring, if versed in PbtA games, and hack one up yourself, why not?

All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be wrestling with the system to make this thing. Have it work for you, not against you; find something that can "translate" the show more easily than 5e does.

There's a whole world of games out there, a wealth of inspiration to work with. A lot of creators stick to 5e because it's popular and it helps them get visibility for their products -- and I don't fault them for it, but you aren't going to sell this, are you? You're not the IP owner. Others use 5e because "everybody knows the rules" -- which isn't true and, honestly, if you're going to change the whole thing up so it matches WN, then what's the use of knowing how rangers in a high fantasy campaign progress if you're playing nuns with guns?

I guess my point is: just don't tire yourself out trying to make an apple pie out of ingredients meant for chocolate cake.

[trashbaget]