#it's the piss poor writing

[genericpuff]

STAY OFF MY TERRITORY - Time Travel in Lore Olympus (feat. Springlock, our resident time traveller)

AH YES. TIME TRAVEL. BUILDING COFFEE TABLES FROM IKEA. BOTH A MESS, BOTH SOMETHING YOU SHOULD NEVER ATTEMPT EVEN AS A GAG.

THERE WILL BE FASTPASS SPOILERS IN THIS ANALYTICAL DISSECTION OF LORE OLYMPUS' TIME TRAVEL !!!

Let's establish the "time travel" in LO first of all - it's briefly introduced by Hecate, who says that Hades isn't in a 'where' but a 'when' , hahahaha i so love time travel jokes /s THIS ISN'T A LAUGHING MATTER-

We had already covered this in the criticisms that Kronos' 'dream comas' would have been better allocated to his time travel abilities, and it seems now Rachel is trying to make that a reality at the last possible minute. I'm going to completely tear apart that reality to present to you why it doesn't work in LO.

Aw, Kronos' time abilities are finite? Get on my level, sir.

The caveat is the existential toll that time travel takes on the jumper, and the fact that in most cases, it's impossible to perform due to paradoxes. And Lore Olympus' time travel presents a lot of paradoxes. No wonder Kronos went crazy, I'm going crazy just thinking about everything that's wrong with this.

So Hades is trapped 'somewhere' in time. This isn't something I haven't seen before, but the issue it presents is getting someone back to their present time, as it presents the first paradox -

PARADOX #1 - There are no accidents. If someone is to jump into a timeline outside of their own, even if by 'accident', that would still have to be predestined by the timeline itself. This is in line with the grandfather paradox, which I will let the almighty Google define for us all to keep things brief:

You cannot travel back in time 'by accident'. If you were to travel back in time, it would have been written into the script of reality already, so any effects caused by your jumping would be purposeful, even if they seem like 'accidents' to you - such as becoming your own grandfather, Philip J Fry.

Moving on, in the most recent FastPass episode, Melinoe reveals that she was taken from her timeline by Kronos.

PARADOX #2 - Which version of Kronos took her? Was it the present version travelling into the future to take her from her timeline into his present? Or was it some future version of Kronos who has escaped yet again at some point in the future and then travelled back into the past to interfere with the events of the current present, possibly in an attempt to rewrite the script? If it's the latter, this means that Hera and Persephone can't feasibly stop Kronos indefinitely, as to stop Kronos would mean that he wouldn't exist in the future to take Melinoe from her future timeline and thus this present timeline of events would cease to exist. If we want to get even more granular with it, 'present' Kronos is still 'past' Kronos as it's the Kronos from ten years ago who got his hands on a deity to help him mess with people's dreams, and that deity has been revealed to be Melinoe, who would have had to be ripped from some point in their future timeline. This falls in line with a temporal paradox, or as most people know it, the 'kill baby Hitler' paradox, which designates that one cannot go back in time to kill baby Hitler, as killing baby Hitler would remove all the subsequent events that would lead up to you deciding to build a time machine and go back in time to kill baby Hitler.

Melinoe claims she's only been here a few days. That would be all well and good, as time is funny like that - I've done my fair share of jumps into the distant past only to return a few minutes later - but what doesn't line up is the present timeline of events that would only work unless she's actually been trapped for longer than a few days.

PARADOX #3 - So it's only been a few days, but Hades and Persephone have known about this child trapped in Tartarus for weeks, and we know Kronos has had her since the dream diving arc back near the end of S2. So unless Kronos is simply jumping to different points in time to cause shenanigans - which leads to even MORE paradoxes as you feasibly cannot travel to your own past to change it due to it creating a different future - then it can't have only been a 'few days' for Melinoe, it would have been at least a few weeks, giving some wiggle room to the past events of her appearing before Hades in his dreams due to her being the goddess of nightmares. Kronos escaping Tartarus after using Melinoe to put people to sleep and possess them was not something that happened in a pocket dimension, it was very real and very present.

Hades commits an even bigger sin, however, and the biggest issue with this 'time travel' plotline:

PARADOX #4 - I truly hope 'home' means 'home point in her timeline' and not their literal home. Hades and Persephone cannot take Melinoe, for two reasons: they haven't had their daughter yet, and the future timeline versions of Hades and Persephone need their daughter back. If Hades and Persephone were to adopt this version of Melinoe in their present timeline, it would create a clone paradox, as they would have a duplicate Melinoe from the future, OR it would create the grandfather paradox if they opted not to try for a child knowing they already have Melinoe which would erase the whole sequence of events that led to future Melinoe's birth in the first place.

Ultimately Lore Olympus' time travel suffers from the same issue many time travel stories suffer from - not having consistent rules. It is choosing now , near the finale of the series, to introduce time travel, rather than establishing it back in Season 1 when Kronos was first hinted at. It's also still not clear in what Hades' role is in this, as him being taken to a 'when' could still be read as a dream sequence rather than actual time travel. After all, Kronos supposedly "exhausted" his time travelling powers centuries ago - surely as a way for Rachel to have her cake and cover for the fact that she's had Kronos in the series since S1 and never actually had him do what he's known for - but now she's trying to eat it too by just giving him his time travel powers again for no reason besides rewriting the dream diving finale from S2 but with ambiguous time travel instead.

It's all a huge mess and the best thing I can do for myself is simply not let it keep me up at night. I have enough time travelling problems to worry about as it is. I will be sticking to the Austin Powers method -

(I am not enjoying myself.)

[autisticrosewilson]

Um if you write Jason having to get drugs for Catherine I want you dead btw. Not only does it tell me you assume the average drug dealer would give the hard shit to a very small child and then not supervise them at all (classist stereotype that all drug dealers are inherently evil + lazy writing with no grasp on reality) and you genuinely think that Catherine was CONSTANTLY high, as if that's even possible without overdosing far sooner than she did. That's without even getting into the bad mom Catherine propaganda.

[thelaurenshippen]

finally taking the time to read through the SAG agreement summary and oof, I hope they have an AI town hall soon because...well, there are things to discuss!

so, in case folks are curious, here are my immediate takeaways from the deal as a SAG actor, a SAG producer, and person who is not any kind of expert but spends a lot of time being skeptical of contracts I sign. this is a summation/commentary, not a holistic breakdown of every point, nor even an in-depth discussion of the points I do talk about. and it is, of course, in no way legal advice or voting advice.

this post is already maybe the longest post I've ever written on tumblr (lol) and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. to be clear, nothing I'm saying here represents how I'm going to vote, how I think other actors should vote, or my be-all-end-all stance on a particular issue. this is me reading through, flagging what concerns me, and asking myself questions. and I'm here to take your questions too! though of course my expertise is limited.

(what?? something I wrote got annoying long?? in my tumblr? it's more likely, etc. huge write-up after the cut)

the good

self-tape stuff: this is one of the more niche/the thing that the general public will find least interesting, but they've put in a lot of provisions to make sure self-tape auditions have limits (# of pages, no stunts, no nudity, doesn't have to be professionally shot, etc.) which is amazing because these types of auditions have gotten out of control since the pandemic. this feels like a great gain

data transparency: in no world did I think the streamers were ever going to agree to any data sharing with either the wga or sag so even though the data is limited, this still feels huge to me.

folks who sing and dance will be paid for both of those things now, which is great

they've added MLK day and Juneteenth as holidays (about time)

a performer cannot be required to translate their own lines

principal performers are required to be given hair and makeup consultation or reimbursed for obtaining their own services - this seems like a small thing, but it's being put in here pretty much entirely because HMU services have generally been appalling when it comes to textured hair/a variety of skin tones. there's also stuff in here about working to hire more diverse HMU artists

it looks like it's going to be easier/provide a path for folks getting IMDb credits even if they're not credited on screen

miscellany: there's a bunch of gains in wage increases, P&H increases, relocation fees, franchise language etc. that all seem good to me, though my limited knowledge on those subjects prevents me from going in depth on them.

this is not important, but it tickled me, there's a term to replace all instances of "telegraph" in the contract with "email & text" which like...why has it taken us thirty years to do that lol.

the "...hm..."

intimacy coordinators: oof. when I watched the press conference SAG gave, I was fucking thrilled when they said that the new agreement required folks to hire intimacy coordinators for nudity and simulated sex scenes. that was almost reason enough for me to vote for it tbh - not requiring it is the exact reason I voted no on our last contract. however, reading the contract summary now, the exact language is: "Producer must use best efforts to engage an Intimacy Coordinator for scenes involving nudity or simulated sex and will consider in good faith any request by a performer to engage an Intimacy Coordinator for other scenes. Producer shall not retaliate against a performer for requesting an Intimacy Coordinator." this....sucks. "best efforts" and "good faith" are not the same as "required". IMO, an intimacy coordinator is the same thing as having a stunt coordinator or, like, any number of health and safety requirements. OSHA doesn't say you must "in good faith" put your "best effort" to providing fire exits. it's great that performers can request coordinators for any kind of scene, and this is still the strongest language we've ever had in a contract but....c'mon guys.

residuals: look, I can't speak to these new terms in any concrete way. there are increases, there are bonuses for streaming success, there's a whole thing about a fund regarding those successes that I need explained to me more in depth, but overall, it looks like we made some in-roads here. as someone who employs actors under digital distribution contracts that has no residuals (podcasts), I know how genuinely cumbersome the unholy trifecta of "views-success-profit" can be (as in views do not equal success, success does not equal profit, etc.). I also have no sympathy when the majority of companies dealing with that cumbersome trifecta are massive media conglomerates. anyway, long story short, idk if this is good enough, I'm hoping to attend the next info meeting sag has.

the bad

the new hair/makeup provisions are explicitly for principal actors. while I hope it leads to better, more inclusive HMU services all around I haaaate that this implies supporting or background actors (who oftentimes also have to sit in HMU) don't deserve the consideration. (then again, background actors are usually required to do their own HMU/bring their own costumes, but for productions where that's not the case, the same HMU provisions should apply IMO)

as with every contract, there's language that could be stronger, clarity that needs to exist, and important things missing - but this isn't the final contract and I'm not a lawyer, so I'm gonna leave that stuff to the experts.

but, "lauren", you say, "what about all the AI stuff? where does that go?" well, reader, I was planning on including that in the above but it's the hot-button issue right now and I think it's wickedly complicated, so I wanted to break it down separately, after I had a chance to point out all the good-bad-in-between stuff that's not getting talked about.

a note: in my career, I've learned there's two big things to keep in mind when reading a contract you might sign:

what is the worst case interpretation of this language (thank you to my lawyer, prince among men, for teaching me how to do this in practice (that said, anything I say here is not legal advice, he'd also want me to say that lol))

what are you willing to lose/compromise on/what are the limits of your pragmatism? contracts are not about a company giving you everything you want out of the goodness of their heart - it is always a compromise. pragmatism has to be a part of the equation.

so, with that said, I'm going to play a little devil's advocate here, and a) try to find the good/the pragmatic and b) catastrophize the worst case scenario. but first, it might be handy to look at this SAG infographic for some basic definitions. let's go.

the AI good

a ton of stuff here requires consent. that is not a small thing, and the consent continues even after your death (whether it was a yes or no; though this can be complicated by your estate/your union)

the language does establish that the consent must be a separate signing from the employment contract, even if its in the contract, which is great (but more on that below - timing matters)

actors often do get paid for use of their digital replicas, though it's different based on the use/type of replica.

the actor must be provided with a "reasonably specific description of the intended use". this language is vaguer than I would like, because it allows producers to decide what "reasonably specific" and "intended" means - there's always going to be some vagueness when it comes to this specific thing, but a good start would be for producers to require not blanket consent, but conditional consent for each significant use of digital replicas.

if the replicas are being used in other mediums, that must also be consented to, thank god.

replicas cannot be used in place of background actor counts on a given day - if I'm understanding this correctly, this means a production can't just have a bunch of fake background actors by themselves, they have to engage real people up to a certain number first (which in this new contract is 25 for TV and 85 for movies). we're already filling in background with digital people or copy-pasting of the same crowd over and over and have been doing so since at least the late 90s, so it's good we're continuing to put up boundaries around that.

the AI "...hm..."

it's unclear (to me) when an actor can be asked to consent. IMO, everything is meaningless if the consent is happening as part of regular contract negotiations. these things have to happen when - and only when - the actor has already been engaged in a role and feels empowered to say no

the use of independently created replicas (replicas pulled from existing footage, not created by the actor) being allowed without consent under first amendment reasoning - this is obviously concerning a lot of people bc first amendment arguments are so broad. that said, there's a pragmatism part of me that understands this is already happening/has been happening for a while and used in ways I think are perfectly fine - I was just watching the new episode of For All Mankind (one of the best TV shows right now!) and it's an alternate history, which meant that in the opening scenes of this season they had some bonkers good deep fakes of Al Gore saying stuff he never said. I think that's okay to do in a fiction show that imagines a different US history! "but Lauren", you might be saying, "Al Gore isn't a member of SAG!" are you sure? are you positive? because I'm pretty certain he is - he was in several episodes of 30 Rock, way more people are in SAG than you think (every NPR reporter for instance), and the two worst presidents we've had in the last 50 years (yes, those ones), are both definitely members of SAG (even if one is dead). now, the other side of this is that public figures like politicians are under a different social contract than actors, and if they wanted to sue, they could, unlike the average SAG actor who might have their image abused. this is why this is in the "hm" column - deep fakes and parody/satire/commentary use of replicas is already here and there's always going to be a 1st amendment argument to make, so we need to figure out how best to limit those and protect the most vulnerable.

alteration: with this language, a project can digitally alter without consent if the script and performance stays "substantially" the same. again, this language is too mealy-mouthed. I don't know that I have a huge problem with a line of dialogue getting replaced with a digital version of that actors voice if, for instance, a word was mispronounced, or wind garbled the sound or whatever - yes, it would eliminate the need for ADR, but if we put some limit on it like..."if there are more than 5 lines in a given episode/movie that require digital alteration in the service of clarity, the actor must be engaged for an ADR session or paid for the digital replacement" then I could see this being workable. I'm also personally okay with things like costumes being digitally altered but, again, we need limitations on that. digital altering cannot replace the art of costuming but, for instance, if a costume needs to be altered to include a hate symbol or something, I think that's fine (example: I have friends who worked at the VFX house for an alternate history TV show that involved a lot of Nazi costuming and set design - a huge part of that VFX house's job was to put swastikas in places, rather than props making nazi flags. I'm okay with that!) but again, these fringe cases do not a compelling arugment make, and this contract language can be interpreted too broadly for my comfort! like everything else in this "hm" category, I need to see the final contract language to decide.

the AI bad

there's a bunch of circumstances in which actors don't get paid for creating their replica/use of it and those circumstances are too broad for my taste.

synthetic performers - this is just awful. no. no, we should not be allowing AI to generate entire actors. just............no. there's some language about the producers having to talk to the union if the synthetic performer is "used in place of a performer who would have been engaged under this Agreement in a human role" but this doesn't apply to non-human characters so....wouldn't that be all roles?? leaving the producers room to be like "this role has to be synthetic, we never would've cast a human!" is bullshit. also, even if we're having AI create a magical talking unicorn whole cloth (which, like, also no, we have artists for this), that unicorn still needs to be voiced by a human person. this whole section is a disaster.

the exceptions to consent for digital alteration are bad-bad. I talked about the potential ADR replacement above and that has a whole host of issues with it that I didn't even get into, but I can see the argument. the rest are very troubling:

there is an exception under "any circumstance when dubbing or use of a double is permitted under the Codified Basic Agreement or Television Agreement" - okay, so does this mean we can replace dubbing artists and stunt performers entirely? this section is about digital alteration, but who's to say alteration couldn't turn an actor broadly miming a fight into an entirely digital, expertly performed fight that usually a stunt double would have done? with AI translation technology, does this mean we're replacing VO artists for dubs entirely? bad!

similarly, "Adjusting lip and/or other facial or body movement and/or the voice of the performer to a foreign language, or for purposes of changes to dialogue or photography necessary for license or sale to a particular market" - Justine Bateman has a great twitter thread on the terrible puppetry potential of this but I want to draw attention to the particular market bit - we all know that selling to china is such a huge part of studios' strategies that they'll remove entire scenes or lines around queer stuff. to me, this clause makes all of that so much easier. I know the argument here is going to be "we can replace swear words and license it for kids!" which.......sure? fine? but, uh, we already have ways to deal with that? and the potential for abuse here is terrifying to me. with all the digital alteration stuff too, there's just so much icky implication for the beauty/body standard to get so much worse.

if a background actor’s digital replica is used in the role of a principal performer, they'll be paid as if they actually performed the days for that role, which, sure, but uhhhh why are we saying it's okay for a digital replica of a background actor to suddenly be a leading role!?!?! I can't think of anything more demoralizing than going to set to act in background (a job I've done! an important job! a fun job a lot of the time! but creatively limited) and then getting a much bigger role (the dream!) and.....not being able to, you know, act that role or be in scenes with other principal actors or do the thing that you've dedicated your life to doing. nightmare stuff.

woof. there's so much more to say but I'm going to leave it there. these are the concerns I'm going to go into SAG's meetings with, and the concerns I'll be considering as I decide how to vote. I know there are things I didn't address and very possibly things I misinterpreted or misrepresented - if you're an actor, I highly recommend a) reading that Justine Bateman thread and b) attending SAG's meetings to ask questions and express your concerns. and I'd love to hear what y'all think! my ask box is open.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Prompts!

Classic LU, pit the boys against one of your favorite/least favorite Zelda enemies

Sky Link encountering unfamiliar creatures on the Surface and misjudging whether they’re friendly (could be funny or angsty)

HC boys on a really truly awfully busy couple of shifts, or on a strangely quiet shift

Pick one of Link’s companions and write from their perspective (Epona, Crimson, Navi, Proxi, Ezlo, Midna, King of Red Lions, Phantom Zelda, etc.)

Is Abel okay though (any of them, honestly)

Warriors had never experienced anything like this. He felt impossibly light and heavy, warmth seeping out of his very being, permeating the air and distorting it. He chest heaved in an automatic response to stress, but no air moved within his lungs. Looking around frantically, he saw one of his brothers-in-arms on the ground, motionless, and he hastily knelt down at his side.

"Come on, farm boy," he ground out, shaking Twilight. "Wake up!"

As he shook him, he noticed with alarm that his friend looked strangely... distorted. Waves of light akin to the reflections of water washed over Twilight, and as Warriors looked at his own hand, he saw similar movements. Everything was bathed in pale green, and he felt like he was swimming, floating, and pushed into the earth all at once.

Where were they?!

He was trying desperately to remember how they'd even gotten here, only recalling that he and Twilight had been patrolling the area when the world had faded away to wake up here. They'd been looking for Sky, who had been late returning from his own route.

Twilight groaned, sniffling and coughing, and Warriors noticed with alarm that the grass beneath his friend did not move in response to the action.

Were they... had they...??

"What in Hylia's name is going on?" the captain whispered, staring at his hand.

The hair on the back of Warriors' neck stood up, and Twilight sprang to his feet, nearly knocking the captain over. "Sky?"

Warriors jumped, whirling around to see their companion watching them silently. At this point, the captain also noticed that a strange ring was on the ground around them, alongside intricate patterns that glowed in a similar eerie green as the rest of the place, bright and ethereal. Sky also had that strange watery reflective nature to him as they did, but he... was... floating? His feet hovered just above the ground, hair waving about as if he were underwater. Strangest of all, he was dressed a little differently - his green tunic was the same, but it lacked his red sash and his treasured white cape, while he sported a green hat very similar to what many of them had worn in the past.

"Sky, are you okay? Where are we?" Warriors called, walking towards the teenager. Why was he dressed different? Why was he looking at them like that? Sky was never this somber, something was wrong.

As the captain moved towards him, Sky stepped forward to meet him halfway. The movement was specific, Warriors could tell from the ground he covered. It was an awkward gait, determined but too small for the usual stride he took. He practically stepped on Twilight's toes, blocking both their path, standing on the edge of the circled that encased the elder pair.

"Link, what's wrong?" Twilight asked softly, also noticing that something was very off about their friend. He reached out, placing a hand on Sky's shoulder reassuringly and worriedly.

Sky gasped, flinching away from the touch and hugging himself, bending over slightly as if he'd just been burned. Warriors and Twilight exchanged confused glances, and the captain's chest clenched even more.

"Let me see the wound," Warriors ordered, stepping forward.

The world turned red.

It was a gut lurching, disturbing feeling, and the strange, cool wateriness of the world became scorching hot. It was as if electricity was shooting through Warriors' entire body, something akin to adrenaline but somehow terrifying in the fear that froze his muscles for an instant. Twilight whirled around frantically, eyes wide, immediately searching for threats.

They didn't have to search long. Warriors could hear the clanging of heavy footsteps, metal armor clinking, swords being unsheathed. They were ambushed quickly, surrounded by beasts Warriors was completely unfamiliar with, all made of metal and bearing one to two massive swords. One beast came up behind Sky, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him closer, almost protectively, making Twilight call out in alarm. Warriors reached for his sword--

Only to realize he didn't have one. And Twilight wasn't armed either.

What had--where did their weapons go?!?!

Warriors swore uncharacteristically, looking at Sky once again to see how he was doing, but the metal beast protecting him was backing away a little as two others floated into range, swords raised in attack. Warriors and Twilight both moved to duck and roll, but they were quickly being surrounded and their maneuverability was limited.

This was bad this was bad--

The swords came down, but no pain followed.

Warriors could hear his and Twilight's frantic breaths, having both braced for impact when they'd had nowhere else to run. Looking up between his arms that he'd held to guard his face, Warriors saw... Sky. Sky was standing over them both, towering, posture strong and fierce, feet spread wide and arm raised as if in a block. His white cape was back, hat gone, red sash nearly imperceptible in the bloody haze all around them.

What...?

Sky bore neither weapon nor shield, yet all the monsters were held at bay with his arm held in the air. Wrapped around the extremity was what looked like ivy, a plant of some sort. Twilight gasped at the sight of it.

"Are those tears of light?" he asked, before continuing, "Sky, are you--what the heck is goin' on, you were--"

"What are you guys doing here?" Sky interrupted, the plant and petals glowing brightly, pushing the monsters away. Suddenly, as soon as the beasts were outside of the ring in the earth, the world turned aqua green once more, placid like a lake.

"We were... looking for you..." Warriors explained halfheartedly, looking around in bewilderment, heart still racing. "What's going on?"

Sky turned to face them now, helping them stand. Without an explanation, he moved them to the center of the ring. Warriors looked around, a vague sense of worry filling him as if they were missing something. The space that Sky had occupied earlier when he'd dressed a little differently and behaved strangely was empty, but the captain swore he saw movement where that one metal soldier had retreated with him.

When the three stood in the center of the ring, Sky directed them to place their hands on his shoulders. They did so without argument, both still trying to keep up with what was happening, and then Sky dug his right arm into the earth as if digging, the plant wrapped around it glowing in response.

Everything grew dizzyingly blurry, and Warriors felt the ground shift beneath him as the world faded to black. When he awoke, his body felt heavy and exhausted, but normal once more. Nothing was in a strange hue, he wasn't partly glowing or shining or whatever it was he had been doing before, and Sky and Twilight were both there, alive and safe.

"What was that?" Twilight demanded, shooting to his feet faster than the captain could even get his bearings.

"A silent realm," Sky answered, offering a hand to his elder knight. "Pieces of the sacred realm designed by Hylia. But I'd not seen one here before. I wonder if we're... somewhere... well, it doesn't matter. I'm just surprised you two managed to fall into one. It usually isn't open to anyone."

"Sacred realm...?" Warriors repeated, awed. That was... Sky was right, that wasn't supposed to be something mere mortals could access.

How did Sky know how they worked?

Sky smiled reassuringly at them, his face gentle in his care, and he pat both of them on the arms. "Come on, we should get to camp. Let's make sure nobody else stumbles into this area."

Shakily, Warriors nodded, looking back at the place, seemingly innocent amidst the forest. He'd... rather not face those beasts unarmed again.

[crash-bump-bring-the-whump]

Psst this is just some advice from someone who grew up with the Wild West version of the internet but:

Just don't engage with mean spirited asks or people.

They want attention. Don't give it to them. Delete it, block em, scroll away, take a deep breath, and move on. They want to waste your time, so waste theirs instead.

They came into your house and tried to start shit in probably the most milquetoast way possible, so just block, delete, and move on. Don't even mention that you did. It'll be a fun little thing that you know and they know but no one else knows, and that's so much more satisfying.

Nothing you can say will "win" the conflict or change their mind. Just put them in time out by deleting their ask and you'll feel much better. :)

[multi-lefaiye]

MAZZAKARR - THE LORD OF SLAUGHTER

HERE WE GOOOOO MAZZY BOY LORE DUMP!!! this isn't all the lore i've come up with for this character and the fictional religion surrounding him, but i figured this is the best general overview i can offer at this time.

CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THE LORE DUMP: child abuse, cannibalism, torture, and murder. all just mentions, but still, tread lightly if any of that bothers you.

art/writing/random lore taglist: @anexor @skitzo-kero @invaderskoodge @vacantgodling @chaieyestea

@albatris @void-botanist @kk7-rbs @moonflowerrss @corvus-rose

@angsty-prompt-hole @astral-runic @paradoxspir1t

--

(also, a lot of specific terminology and locations mentioned here are related to locations in d&d, but you don't need to know those to understand this i think)

Names / Titles. Mazzakarr, The Apex Predator, The Lord of Slaughter, The Master of the Hunt, The Father (many variations of these titles are acceptable)

Pronouns. He/Him

Domains. Death, Strength, Bestial, Blood

Home Plane. Mazzakarr is a prisoner in Carceri, specifically in the realm of Cathrys. Once, however, he was a spirit of the Beastlands.

Alignment. Neutral Evil.

Visage. Mazzakarr is a tall, broad being with a strongman’s physique, built of powerful muscle cushioned by body fat. He has burning hot, green-tinted skin and thick patches of dark brown fur on his body, including a mane down his back. Most strikingly, he has the head of a spotted hyena, with four glowing red slits for eyes and a grin full of jagged teeth. He wears no armor and minimal clothing, often just a pair of black trousers and heavy, adamantine-toed boots. As a prisoner in Carceri, Mazzakarr wears an enchanted metal collar around his neck, and a pair of gauntlets disguising the cuffs around his wrists. Though the chains holding him in place are invisible to mortals, he feels their presence weighing him down all the same.

Voice. Mazzakarr’s voice is a deep, booming growl, with a strangely melodic quality despite his animalistic demeanor and appearance. Many of those who hear his voice whispering to them say that it sounds almost like a lullaby, the Apex Predator’s song lulling them to embrace the ways of slaughter. Like the hyenas that share his face, however, Mazzakarr has a very distinct laugh, which echoes around the jungles of Cathrys as he stalks his prey.

Commandments / Tenets.

Fight for survival, and never allow yourself to grow complacent with what you have.

Cull and consume the weak-willed who do not fight for themselves. Only the strong must survive.

Kill or be killed. Adapt or die. Move forward or fall behind.

The First Hunter. Though his name has been lost to history, an important piece of mythos for Mazzakarrans is that of the First Hunter, the first mortal to hear the whispers of Mazzakarr and embrace the spirit of slaughter. He was a mere civilian lost in a hopeless, endless war, who had lost everything he had to an invading army. Before they could kill him, however, he fled from them, and for three days and three nights, they chased him through the wilds.

Then, one night, as the Hunter struggled to stay awake, terrified of being found and killed by those searching for him, he heard the voice of the Apex Predator.

If you want to survive, you must kill them before they kill you, Mazzakarr whispered to him. Devour those who would stand against you. Take what is yours. Fight, and you will escape.

And the First Hunter listened. When daybreak came, his pursuers found him, and he slaughtered them one by one. And then, he devoured them entirely--mind, body, and soul.

After the war finally came to an end, the First Hunter continued to spread the word of Mazzakarr, encouraging others to accept the spirit of slaughter into their hearts. Many modern Mazzakarrans see him as a prophet-like figure, the first follower of their god.

The Blood-Kin. Of Mazzakarr’s most devoted followers, none compare to the blood-kin, those chosen to share his blood and become his prophets.

At a very young age, the prospective blood-kin are selected to be taken and raised by acolytes of Mazzakarr to embrace his ideals. Each child is assigned one dedicated caretaker, who raises them in isolation from each other. It is this caretaker’s responsibility to feed and nurture the blood-kin, all the while training them to fight, to struggle, and to remain loyal to their Father, the lord of slaughter himself.

At some point in the prospective blood-kin’s youth, whenever they are ready to ascend, their caretaker will try to kill them. If they succeed in killing their caretaker to save themself, they earn the right to ascend and become one of Mazzakarr’s chosen. If they fail, they die, and their corpse is discarded to rot.

After proving themself, the prospective blood-kin is taken to the High Temple, where the ritual to bind them to their god is performed. The exact steps are kept a tight-lipped secret, but the blood-kin is to remain conscious and aware as their body is broken and reshaped by the high priests, and as Mazzakarr’s essence enters their blood.

If they survive, from that day on, they are Mazzakarr’s blood-kin. All that’s left is to choose their weapon.

As soon as the blood-kin is able to stand following the ritual, they are led to a secluded chamber, where they are presented with a wide selection of weapons from which to choose. They have only a moment to consider their choices, however, before another Mazzakarran attacks them.

Whatever weapon they instinctively grab for to defend themself is theirs from that day forward.

The Blood-Kin Trials. Once the blood-kin have ascended and claimed their place as one of Mazzakarr’s most faithful, the real trial begins. For the god of strength through hardship would never simply grant someone the title of prophet, regardless of what they suffered to achieve the rank. No, they must fight for his favor.

After their ascension, the blood-kin begin a lifelong manhunt of each other. They are compelled to hunt and kill each other, to cull the unworthy who do not have the strength to carry their Father’s blood. This is their life’s purpose, what every other trial they’ve passed has been building toward.

For the most part, anything goes when it comes to the blood-kin hunting each other. They are permitted to do nearly whatever it takes to hunt and kill their “siblings.”

There are only a few rules they must follow when hunting each other, so as not to draw Mazzakarr’s ire:

A blood-kin can only be killed by another blood-kin--they cannot seek outsiders’ aid in slaughtering each other.

They cannot fight each other in the high temple; only slaughters approved by Mazzakarr himself may take place in this holiest place.

When a blood-kin is killed, their unworthy blood must be spilled, and whatever their killer chooses not to eat must be left to rot.

When there are only two blood-kin left alive, they are compelled by Mazzakarr to return to the High Temple, where they will duel to the death under the watchful gaze of their Father. Whichever one wins will then become his sole prophet, having earned the title through the slaughter of their kin.

Origins and Ascension. All Mazzakarrans are taught the story of Mazzakarr’s rise to godhood. For he did not start his existence as a god.

Many lifetimes ago, he was one of two sons of a nature deity known as Kozmas, the goddess of the hunt and the endless cycle of life and death, of predator and prey. She created her sons to represent two sides of the same coin, two different perspectives on survival in a harsh wild.

One was to represent the lone hunter, the solitary creature relying on only its own strength to survive; the other, meanwhile, was to represent the pack hunter, relying on a community of its kind and working together.

The younger son, the spirit of the lone hunter, would one day become Mazzakarr. And so, for many lifetimes, the brothers shared the wilds, dutifully following their mother’s words and watching over the many beasts of the world.

Even in his early years, the younger son was very clever, and he recognized his own strength compared to that of his brother, who was much more passive and agreeable. The lone hunter thought it redundant to have two sons, when one would have done the job just fine. It was short-sighted of their mother to create them both.

He explained all of this to the pack hunter, and the eldest son understood. Only one of them was needed to watch over the world’s creatures. And so, he gave himself to his brother, and the would-be Mazzakarr devoured him--mind, body, and soul--until there was nothing left.

With this fratricide, two souls became one, and Mazzakarr was born. He ascended to godhood, almost surpassing even his mother. And with this ascension came an all-consuming hunger, a desperate need for bloodshed and death.

Kozmas saw what had become of her sons, and she was left furious and grieving, at least as much as a god is able to feel such emotions. She was unwilling to accept Mazzakarr’s ascension, and she cast him out of the Beastlands. He was no longer her son, but a savage wearing his skin.

For the sin of murdering his brother, Kozmas confined Mazzakarr to Carceri, sentencing him to an eternity of prowling the Scarlet Jungles of Cathrys. If he was so hungry for death, he could sharpen his claws on the mortal sinners condemned to his new realm. But he would never again see the hunting grounds he once called home.

Many, many years passed, and slowly, Mazzakarr grew in power and notoriety. Soon, he came to reign over Cathrys, becoming a king rather than a mere prisoner. And as his power grew, so did his hunger for more and more of it.

And so, Mazzakarr turned his hungry gaze to the material plane.

The Devoured God. Mazzakarr’s brother’s name is lost to history, and in Mazzakarran holy texts he is only referred to as The Devoured God. In much older times, the Devoured God had followers of his own in the material plane, those who revered him and the sense of community he fostered among his disciples.

Following Mazzakarr’s ascension, his followers nearly wiped out those of the Devoured God’s, erasing all records of him and killing those who believed him. To this day, the followers of the Devoured God have yet to return, as far as anyone is aware.

Freedom From Carceri. Mazzakarr’s ultimate goal is to free himself from Carceri and to enter the material plane. Everything he does with the cult of Mazzakarranism brings him one step closer to freedom.

And when he is free, he will drown the material plane in its own blood, and remake it as he sees fit.

[tea-you-later-losers]

everyone look me in the eyes:

sometimes,, a series is best as an isekai to allow for someone to overcome the trauma of their past life to learn to life a full existence of love and appreciation for simply Being (Faraway Paladin, Ascendance of a Bookworm, and MAYBE, begrudgingly, mildly, Jobless Reincarnation)

and SOMETIMES it makes no sense for it to be an isekai because the past life has NO effect in EITHER character personality and growth OR helping them out in the new world (By the Grace of the Gods, Magical Revolution)

[lilacs-stash]

People who don't want Nickel & Suitcase to make up realize that they're the two most important people to Balloon right. They realize that them not making up would cause a lot of unnecessary conflict between the three. Right? Like do you really want Balloon and Suitcase to have conflict no no one wants that

[ace-of-d1am0nds]

the message of the end of season 3: defeat (in their case literally) the image of the life your abusive parent created for you

the message of season 4, apparently: go to a different timeline in which your parent didn’t abuse you (a reality that will never happen in our real world because, unfortunately, timeline hopping does not exist), receive validation by “proving” to them that you were never worthy of abuse (you should never have to prove to anybody you are not worthy of abuse, you are inherent deserving to not be abused), and then subsequently await the incoming death you “deserve” by simply existing (you do not, in fact, deserve death for having been created despite what your abusive parents may have convinced both themselves and you)

[kennyomegasweave]

Listen! Tharn has horrific trust issues and doesn't trust anyone, not just Phaya okay!

Like he clearly doesn't even trust Yai and the Abbot because of his issues! Because yes he knows Yai, basically his brother, believes Phaya would rather die than hurt Tharn so much he flat out told Phaya he can't die cause he already gave him Tharn to protect. And yes he knows the Abbot, who raised him, has continuously told him he needs to fully trust Phaya will take care of him. But he has trust issues okay! Those just don't go away! He can't just trust Phaya okay!

Though he does trust Chalothon and thinks he's a good guy. Even when he knew about Phaya's dreams that only Tharn knew about and basically accused Phaya of losing his mind, clinically, in front of everyone at their work at a crime scene. But it obviously makes complete sense he trusts him implicitly and never questions anything cause he's known him his whole life! That's not something you can just throw aside for some boyfriend, soulmate or not, you know!

But then, wait...why doesn't he trust Yai and the Abbot the same?

But I'm glad he knows Chalothon is the problem now. Sucks for him about everything because of it. Hope it works out for him in the one remaining episode. Don't really care either way anymore regardless.

[doctorwhoisadhd]

you know that tweet thats like about when male writers find out their big passionate audience is women and they do dumb shit to punish them? i just saw a version of that post where someone said steven moffat do that with doctor who. and like im not even saying that steven moffat doesnt do that cause i only know his dw work but ????? what the absolute fuck are you talking about. he absolutely did NOT do that with doctor who. like????? if anything he did the opposite???????

[rustonyourfingers]

Usually I don't share unfinished works, but I need all the encouragement I can get to finish this thing, so here, a little something I'm working on 🥰

~*~

He could feel it underneath his fingers – the jittery thump thump thump of Felix's heart, becoming more and more rapid with each second they held each other, not even a breath apart. Oliver wanted to hear it. Oliver wanted to taste it. Oliver wanted to put his tongue on the sweat covered skin of Felix's neck, follow the fluttery trail down to his collarbones and chest, and drink it in, until both of their bodies froze and faded, until the drugs in their bloodstreams turned them to stone, leaving nothing but an echo of life behind.

But Felix took a breath – so impossibly close that it could've been Oliver that did it, not Felix, and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference, not now, not ever – and said:

"I don't know what you are–"

Oliver was standing on the gallows, heart beating out of his chest; the faraway music pulsed through the earth and reverberated through his very bones.

Waiting.

Waiting waiting waiting waiting–

"–but I do know you. You make my fucking blood run cold."

Just like that – the lever was pulled, the ground fell out from underneath his feet and Oliver was choking.

Just like that – he was scrambling to take a breath, but the darkness was too vast to elude it.

Just like that – he was alone, alone, so awfully alone.

Felix Catton. His sun, his god, his executioner.

Did his heart also feel like it was being ripped apart? Did he have to fight the urge to drop to the ground and howl?

[avnasace]

raise your hands who else almost cried like a baby through jace and rhaenyras conversation :')

[harryjpotter-shitpost]

I can give Dudley the redemption arch because he was a child following after his parents (very abusive behaviors) but people are really defending Petunia and Vernon???? What the fuck?? Like it pretty much says in the first sentence of the whole series that they’re assholes! And it is canon that both Vernon AND Petunia were physically, emotionally, and mentally abusive to Harry until the last moment he left private drive.

The only reason I can give Dudley any kind of redemption or forgiveness is because we see him change in the books after the Dementor attack. I don’t think he and Harry will ever be close or very friendly, but I can see them having a civil relationship at least for their children. Or even just to make up for their shitty childhood that they shared together, as Dudley was also abused too. But this would definitely be after years of therapy and trying to make amends, it wouldn’t happen until many years after the war was over.

You would be surprised on how many posts I’ve crossed where people almost worship Petunia and say that Vernon is the one who forced her to hate her sister!!!

I believe that Dudley deserves redemption cause as you said he was a young person living in a very toxic environment. However, I’m always rather conflicted on how his relationship with Harry is post-war. I’ve read a few fics that had different perspectives on what their relationship have come to, and they’re all very interesting! But I’m not set out on one opinion. Sometimes I think Harry would try to leave it all behind him, but sometimes I think that maybe they’d reconnect as Dudley was obviously a very huge part of Harry’s life (even though it was horrendous) and the same goes the other direction. But I’m sure of one thing; I don’t think they’ll ever have a “close brotherhood” kind of relationship. Maybe sending presents over the holidays or reconnecting every few years, but never close, yk?

But anyways let me get back to my rant about Petunia. It’ll be under the cut :)

CW: mentions of abuse

Let’s get one thing straight: Vernon did not make her hate Harry nor was he pulling the strings in that house and the abuse regarding his nephew. It was Petunia. She collected ALL the hatred in that house and made sure it was taken out on Harry. Why? Because she’s a petty, small-minded and disgusting woman who abused the power she had over a child. All that to let out some of the childish jealousy she had against her DEAD little sister.

Here are some quotes from the books to use as a starting point:

“Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister,”

“They didn’t want Dudley mixing with a child [Harry] like that.”

“she [Petunia] always got so upset at any mention of her sister.”

"He [Vernon] cleared his throat nervously. ‘Er — Petunia, dear — you haven’t heard from your sister lately, have you?’ As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn’t have a sister. ‘No,’ she said sharply.”

“Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he’d heard the name ‘Potter.’ He decided he didn’t dare.”

“‘Harry’ [Said Petunia]. ‘Nasty, common name, if you ask me.’”

So these quotes are from the first chapter of the first book (Philosopher’s Stone).

As you can see, pretending the Potters don’t exist is a mutual decision from both sides and it seems that Petunia is more bothered by the mention of her sister than Vernon is because when he tries to bring up the Potters his main concern is upsetting Petunia. Never once does he mention his own disgust with them when trying to bring them up. No, it’s Petunia’s reaction he’s worried about. This doesn’t seem like a behavior of someone who is forcing his wife to hate her sister.

If anything it seems to me that Petunia have explained to her husband how much she dislikes the mention of her sister (and her sister’s entire family too) and so Vernon got the memo that the Potters should never be brought up. Which shows that Petunia is the one who fuels the hatred for the Potters in their household.

Now I’m not saying that Vernon is completely innocent, no he’s hates the Potters too. But his is more personal. After the whole double date incident when he felt that James was taking the mickey out of him and undermining his power. A bully like Vernon who likes to show off his money and power being insulted by a teenager made Vernon hate James’ guts.

“…James was amused by Vernon, and made the mistake of showing it. Vernon tried to patronise James, asking what car he drove.”

“Vernon could not tell whether he was being made fun of or not, and grew angry. The evening ended with Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant.” -Pottermore

And I think that Vernon usually likes to pretend that the people he hates don’t exist, he’s way to high to be bothered by a cocky teenager who ‘doesn’t have a future’. He feels way too superior. During his wedding he made sure not to give James any attention, but made sure to return the humiliation he felt during the double date.

“Vernon refused to speak to James at the reception, but described him, within James’ earshot, as ‘some kind of amateur magician’.” -Pottermore

After Vernon obviously felt satisfied with his comeback, he never gives James a glance.

That’s why when mentioning the Potters he doesn’t even mention the double date incident because technically who’s that James next to him?? No, his wife’s reaction is the main concern.

And that’s the difference between the hate Vernon has towards the Potters and Petunia’s hatred. Whereas Vernon hates James specifically for undermining him and his money and power, Petunia hates them all because she ‘knows’ she’s less superior and special. This fuels her jealousy and anger towards them.

Therefore; Vernon’s ultimate superiority and Petunia’s ultimate loathing.

And you can see that Petunia already has it out for Harry even though she hasn’t met him yet; calling his name “Nasty”. Now I know some of you might interpret her sentence as Petunia criticizing her sister’s choice of names, but if that was the case she would’ve claimed the boy’s misfortune of having such a name or the kid’s misfortune on having parents like the Potters. But no, she mainly focused on the child. Which gives the impression that she’s disliked Harry the moment she knew about him.

“she [Petunia] received from Lily and James the announcement of Harry’s birth, and after one contemptuous look, Petunia threw it in the bin.” -Pottermore

These things sets the foundations for her dislike towards Harry. So when the moment comes where she actually meets him, he will be connected to the ‘detestable’ announcement and the ‘nasty’ name.

Then the times comes where she has to handle that child’s responsibilities and raise him.

And she did take him in, no one’s denying that, but this happened:

“She did it grudgingly, and spent the rest of Harry’s childhood punishing him for her own choice.” -Pottermore

She spent the rest of Harry’s childhood punishing him for her own choice.

She took him in. She hated every single moment of having to raise him. So she made sure he was punished for it.

If that is not abuse as some people like to say, then what is exactly???? Punishing an innocent child for taking him in? Are you guys serious?

That’s why her character disgusts me so much. I cannot stand her at all. Because if anything this is a psycho level of behavior. A sane person wouldn’t dream of hurting a small animal let alone a child. Her nephew.

And as for Vernon’s hatred towards Harry it stems out of the humiliation he felt when he met James. The fact that Vernon made sure to return that humiliation during the wedding satisfied Vernon and he didn’t have to think about James anymore. But Harry ( the carbon copy of James) serves as a constant reminder of that feeling, so his hatred towards Harry stems out from his injured masculinity. As Pottermore says:

“Uncle Vernon’s dislike of Harry stems in part, like Severus Snape’s, from Harry’s close resemblance to the father they both so disliked.”

So ya this is my rant about them. Sorry if this is all over the place, English isn’t my first language and this topic pisses me off so much🙂.

And I’d like to conclude that I hate them both, but hate Petunia at tad bit more :)

[acoolka]

I now have a Euclidian sona to project onto because I am obsessed with how their anatomy is

So this is the ref and an extra explanation of how it works

This is all i could draw today due to circumstances-TM

This is an angel-demon thing due to being inspired by angel bill art:

INFODUMP BIG LORE WARNING TEXT

Their story is that instead of destroying euclidia - while bill was in the process of “freeing them” - he miscalculted and what happened instead was he was pouring his life force into turning euclidians into 3d beings. Obviously, rewiring the whole being of, like, millions of shapes took much more energy than he expected; which he only realized about quater way in. Which was already way too late to change anything as he was being torn asunder into thousands of pieces.

The result of that was about a thousand of mildly empowered and very disoriented euclidians floating in the middle of space-nowhere, with only, like, a couple of them knowing vaguely what happened (due to listening to bill’s crazy public rants).

It took the survivors an unknown amount of time to gather together and compile a comprehensive picture of what happened and what to do next. [Insert massive timeskip here]

Billions of years down the line the now re-established euclidian society knows of the The Catalyst Event as such:

The legend goes: Once upon a time, when we lived in a world much more simple and pleasant. Sometimes - a shape with mystical powers was born. Some had unnatural strength - to lift things much bigger then themselves, some could bend light to their whims. Such things were very rare, and Cipher was one such shape. His ability most unusual of the rest: he could see into another world. Built so unlike our own - that it was impossible to conceive, nevermind describe. In our native world - the concepts he brought up - such as stars and “up” were considered immensely absurd; And thus he was known as the crazy councilman’s son.

We do not know much of the in-between time, but those who saw it say: “For long he talked about made-up things in the middle of the street, most of us thought he’d been on drugs. However we hoped he might’ve calmed down after not being seen for some time. And the next thing I know - the image of him is superimposed all over my vision. It was everywhere. I could not look away. I think i understood in that moment what he meant by “up”, and yet at the same time it was incomprehensible. Everything swam, but everything was on fire. Blue fire that flowed like the ground and like the people around me. Their organs dripping out of their body through the holes that arent there. Their screaming was all I could hear, but mine too, joining them in the neverending chorus… And through all of it, him, the crazy councilmans kid, he was in “the up”, screaming with us, breaking into pieces. I was more, I was cold, I was burning alive. There was something inside of me that was foreign, it was taking up the space that I didn’t have, too much, too much. I couldnt handle it, i screamed and screamed, for that was all I could do, hoping that would be enough, that if I flailed a bit more - the visions would take pity on me. But I was too numb, I couldnt think, I couldnt bear to move, praying to the unmerciful triangle that his apparition kills me sooner than later… And I woke up. My vision hurt, however strange that sounds. Couldnt feel anything in my body other than that. Only me that did not feel like me anymore, And an infinite void, sparkling with something, and my thoughts. It hurt to think too, for a while.”

Needless to say, we dont tell this part to kids.

After The Event - those of us who survived (and kept most of their mind intact) - did their best to find each other. We found almost a thousand, if there are more - they would be very lucky to be found in this infinity. We did our best to organize ourselves and make plans to rebuild whatever we have left. Nothing good came out of that mind you, travelling together as a monolith kind of group was unsustainable at best and a horrid idea in general; And we had no base to build anything anywhere, as our memories and bodies were all we had left. We were also all different people, too different, and keeping any sort of communication is impossible out here, with nothing to make, and the only way to communicate being face to face - to the disappointment of many - the only way we could progress and survive is either in small groups, or alone. Going to explore the nothing for any news and help at all, hoping we will find each other and reconvene once again in some future.

And so it went. The multiverse became familiar with a new nomadic species - weird flat shapes with stick-like limbs, that had various magical abilities: some more powerful than others. They were categorised, and labeled a bland name, “Shape demons”, for how they are shapes, for their disturbing shared ability to be summoned as if corporeal spirits, and for being able to forming binding magical contracts. Each of those creatures has an different affinities and power, so it would be wise not to mess with them and be specific when negotiating.

It is happy that some were able to come across and pass on a terms of infinity communication; so while not all, a lot of us formed a sort of disjointed community at last. A social media for the lost; Looking if there is a place to make a home.

So much time passes, none alive could measure it. And yet we live and we remember. Searching for nobody knows what. However only but three human centuries ago, just one square, certainly smarter than most for sure, found a place to rest on a plane inhabited with very complicated and gross creatures. But only after a bit discovered that they couldn’t leave a small village, prevented by a barrier. Of course, asking the locals proved futile as neither understood each other, and the creatures with houses were either fearful or hostile, never-mind the aggressive fauna and flora! The smart square was very fortunate to have found one resident that is quite reasonable, and it was smart too! Together, the genius minds taught the other their language, and worked towards many great things. The pair built a portal into the multiverse for easy access to resources and contact with other shapes, then, with other found alien minds to weigh in, they figured out how to break the wretched barrier. It was not considered, then, that such action would also let out the hostile and difficult to handle flora/fauna - that, as it turns out, did not exist on the rest of the planet! That was a mess and a half to handle, thats for sure.

In “modern” times however, humans have worked hard to acclimate to the onslaught of the supernatural. A shaky truce was established in the last 50-or-so years; non sentient creatures handled by a special task-force, the sentient ones have forced through a negotiation of “human” rights (they worked, and still work, for freedom alongside the marginalised and dehumanised groups of humans. Who surprisingly, for the most part accepted their aid). Shapes that have decided to settle on Earth of this universe are… very few. It is a rarity to see one, usually an occasion of seeing a shape demands a selfie and a blog post at least.

As for Euan, their story is not complicated.

A travelling Shape demon couple had an unintentional offspring. They travel a lot, and frankly - care not for wasting time and energy on raising a whole new person. Earth-08356 came up on their radar, a fine place to look for any bleeding-heart creature who longs for a young of their own. A spiritual human was recommended a ritual by a friend of a friend, for a guardian spirit - that, for a price, can grant any wish. The woman couldnt carry one of her own, as a miscarriage too many made it too dangerous. She partook to many religions in search of an answer, a cure, but despite the supernatural and the weird now permeating the planet - there were none. The ritual was supposed to be one of many, yet it became a solution. The shape couple answered the summons, ‘perfect, just what is needed’. The never yet mother begs for a magical cure, for fertility and health to carry a small one to spread her love and want that she could not contain. The Demons respond, ‘ you will recieve a young all of your own, to love and raise, and it will love you in return. We will not demand payment, yet for a neglect of some of your wish. The child will not be of your blood. It will not bleed red, nor be a human child at all. Your want is of a mother yearning for a helpless little person to love without condition. So the deal is such: You will gain an offspring of your very own, it will love you eternally, you shall teach it all you know; But can your love be pure? To love still, an alien so far removed from any creature you have seen? It will love you for as long as you love it, yet it will be hard, many do not like that which is different. Will you accept it? Can you protect it?… Will you? ‘

And thus a human gains a child. It is cute, it loves, and it is loved. The demons did not lie, Euan was a challenge after challenge. In fact, the challenges do not seem to stop. It is hard, and very taxing on every resource she has. The child is good and full of warmth, but by the infinity do they not fit into human society, no matter how hard they try or what is done - the only saving grace is that mental illness is similar in such different beings.

—

That is all lore-talk for now, now onto more technical stuff:

Their parents’ ability is to make ones body into liquid, and the other ones is to fall apart into smaller copies of themself/ or grow when enough energy is consumed. Euan, thus, can usually shapeshift their body like a constructor of two triangles, and manipulate their facial features and limbs to a disturbing degree. Yet they’ve always felt dysphoric for… something.

I have not yet figured a way to do this, but I planned for them to somehow get infused with a copious amount of energy (like, idk, spontaneous wormhole be upon ye) - and unlock like, near infinite shapeshifting. Or something along the lines of danny phantom aka unhealthy amounts of multiverse magic radiation exploded with them in the middle and now they can walk throughwalls disappear andfly- take any form and rip space matter apart due to being everywhere and everything all at once.

-

Extra ref with the infinity bag and some glitches?? not sure where I was going with this…

[poststealer]

some tips for working out your brain

hydrate it by drinking lots of water/water based liquids. if you are someone who cant stand drinking still/unflavored water, thats fine! dont believe the lie that "drinking juice/soda/other non water drink is worse than not drinking anything", the only drink that will actively dehydrate you is alcohol. its better to drink water, but drink what you can drink, your body will get the liquid from it either way

eat foods high in antioxidants; dark chocolate and blueberries and walnuts and salmon are common ones but there are many many others

play little brain games on your phone; wordconnect, water sort puzzle, i love hue, etc. anything that makes you think!

read books. It’s simple but necessary. join a book club (in person or online), read with a friend, post about the book in its fandom tags etc, so you can have discussions about it after. reading fanfic counts too! if you have trouble reading, try finding audiobooks online or finding a text to speech program that will read the books to you. this will improve your reading and media comprehension.

do puzzles - it doesnt have to be sudoku; you can play rhythm games like project sekai or piano tiles on mobile and OSU! or geometry dash on the computer, you can play tetris or pac man, you can do an actual physical puzzle on your coffee table, etc. anything that makes you think and use strategy is a puzzle, and theres a puzzle out there for everyone!

learn a new dance - even a tiktok trend dance. learning new dance moves are proven to strengthen synapses

go bird watching, foraging, hiking, anything outdoors that requires you to explore pattern recognition and visual searching. even if you're just identifying bugs and flowers in your back yard!

watch a movie with the intent of analysis. this is best done with a cinephile friend. talk about tropes and symbolism and character growth

cross stitch, knit, sew, or do anything that gets your hands moving and your brain thinking. if you don't have the dexterity for sewing you can also draw or paint, do coloring or color-by-number pages, connect-the-dots, gem painting, etc.

play or learn an instrument! if you don't have access to a physical instrument, try recreating songs you like (or make your own songs!) in a digital music program, like beepbox

develop a consistent sleep schedule, or as close to consistent as you can get

when eating, try to identify the ingredients and individual flavors you’re perceiving. pretend you're a wine sommelier, or that ice cream taster guy

i hope this helps you take care of your brain 💖