#just not an actual 'i know im a seer i have actual prophecies'

[booksanddarkchocolate]

Anyway here are my live reactions on episode 6:

- Did they- did they cast Kronos already?

- Iris messages!!

- Luke what are you doing in Chirons office 🤨

- They really do act like an old married couple 😭

- “Everyone is picking sides” SO YOU BETTER PICK A SIDE (live, love, laugh tlt musical)

- Nooo they didn’t have the “because I’m your friend, Seaweed Brain, any more stupid questions?” interaction 😭

- And they’re not showing that Percy can talk to horses yet? I wonder why they put that off and when we’re gonna see it

- Okay I love book!Grover, but show!Grover is toptier, Aryan is so amazing and Grover is such a mood

- Especially the ‘oh yeah people.. but the animals are safe!’ part

- Percabeth 🥹 I love their friend era so much too

- Levitating is not what I was expecting to hear, I don’t know what I did expect, but it’s not that lol

- No but why do they suddenly have to know everything before they experience it? I understood it with the other monsters, but why here? Like surely they would know about the loti (lotuses?) in the Odyssey but the connection is not that obvious here

- WISE GIRL

- Wait so is Sally a Seer too? Or will they specify the difference between seeing through the Mist and seeing the future?

- Grover seeing another Satyr getting sidetracked on the Pan quest 😭

- Oh I’m not sure if I trust Augustus

- Percy being so perplexed when Annabeth admitted she didn’t know lol

- LIN LIN LIN

- Smooth location transition

- What was that 😳

- Sad baby Percy in a police car 🥺

- Annabeth pickpocketing Hermes is such a slay

- “I’m multi-talented” love that

- Is it my delusion or was Percy lowkey in awe with Annabeth for stealing Hermes car keys

- “Is it dangerous? Not a dealbreaker, just curious” 😂

- “Are we late because of me?” 🥺🥺 Grover better get his memories back soon >:(

- Also Augustus did nothing wrong lol he was just playing a video game 😂

- What’s smarter, giving a random cabdriver a creditcard with infinite money and letting him keep it or driving a cab themselves? I’m not sure honestly lol

- Did they just get hit by a truck?

- Right it’s a magic car

- They are so cute ugh

- Wait why did they pick this chapter title as the title and not show a zebra 😭

- I’m intrigued by the Nereid’s design, not sure if it’s in a good or bad way

- Wait they changed it so that the deadline is already over? Okay 🤨

- “What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea” it’s a seAshell

- Ngl I’m not sure if that was a book quote (it probably is), but the musical will always be the first thing that comes to mind

- Huhhhh four pearls? Sally is allowed to come with them?

- What are they gonna do with the “and you’ll fail to save what matters most” line in the prophecy? This is a change that does actually keep me on my toes lol

Preview:

- THEY DIDNT CUT CRUSTYS THEY DIDNT CUT CRUSTYS THEY DIDNT CUT CRUSTYS

- I WAS SO CONVINCED THEY WERE GONNA CUT IT AND IM SO HAPPY THEY DIDNT

- Next episode is gonna be wiiiild

- Someone has a theory that the sandy place in Percy’s dreams is a time turner and I’m so convinced that’s true

[multishipperofgaydeadwizards]

oKaY listen! Jegulus is my OTP and I LOVE me some Bartylus too, but REGULUS & PANDORA 🥹🥹🥹

My babies!!!

Just that they understand each other in a way nobody else can and and and AHHH

1. Okay first of all: SHIP NAMES

Their most common one is Regdora which - kinda boring? Like it’s not bad, but when we have names like STARCHASER or NOBLEFLOWER or FLOWERPOT for other ships that just won’t do. Therefore my suggestion:

Stargazer

Because Star - Regulus (no explanation needed) and like gazer as kind of a synonym for seer?? Alternatively I have Starseer or Waterbox (Water for Reggie like in Moonwater + Pandoras Box yk), but Stargazer just sounds so Stargazer.

2. I OBVIOUSLY love them as an „Arranged Marriage I don’t want AT ALL (why are there butterflies in my stomache??) trope“, BUT also as the „we are queer best friends and jealous of each others partners, but idk why” trope!!

Also how many AMAZING Dynamics they have??

- Grumpy x Sunshine

- I hate everyone, but you and you love everyone, but you love me the most

- Soulmates

- Best Friends to Lovers

- ENEMIES TO LOVERS (Arranged marriage trope)

3. The DENIAL the both of them would have (especially when they are both seers) like:

„I saw a prophecy that showed me and Reggie in a Cottage with a child that could be related to us - MUST BE BECAUSE HES THE GODFATHER“

„Had a Dream abt Panda standing in front of me in a wedding gown - GOOD TO KNOW IM GONNA BE HER BEST MAN“

DO YOU GET WHAT I MEAN??🥹

or the Arranged Marriage Trope??

„Dream Abt making out against a door with Regulus - HOW WEIRD”

“Wow Pandora looks like a goddess in that dress, her glare makes me feel fuzzy and I want to smooth the frown on her forehead with my fingers while she looks up at me - IVE GOTTA REALLY LIKE THAT DRESS TO THINK LIKE THAT”

4. Once they ACTUALLY start dating they would literally be inseparable. They would cuddle and kiss and talk 24/7! Even their me-time they both need turns into us-time and is just as effective. They would start to panic if they don’t see each other for more than a DAY. Also their dates would be sooo cute!! No matter whether it would be the cozy queer cafe around the corner or the flashy pureblood dance balls. They would have such a comfy aura and nobody would mind their pda cause they would be so comfortable with each other.

Sometimes they would just spend a day in absolute silence but a COZY COMFY DOMESTIC ONE yk???

Also the “I hate physical touch except for when it’s you” trope!!

5. Just then going to a pride parade together with matching outfits in like their 30s, already married and a bi flag on Reggie’s cheeks and a Pan one on Dora’s and they would be so PROUD.

Or just the courting process in the arranged marriage trope PEAK!!

6. They are love. They are soulmates. They are Stargazer (or Waterbox still unsure bout that one)

This got WAY longer than I originally intended but oh well :)

REGDORA!!! FAIRYSEEKER!!! MY LOVES <33333

you don't understand how much I adore them. I love love love them. they're my everything's <3 my hunnies <3 my sweet little babies <3

okay so, 1. I actually don't mind the name regdora, but yes, it's blant and ugly compared to everything else. personally, I know them as fairyseeker, which is what you can find them under on my blog lmao. stargazer is a GORGEOUS ship name... though I think of regularly every time I hear it lmao

i LOVE the name waterbox. idk why I just adore it

2. yesssssssss!!! istg they have the best troupes (next to bartylily). them as arranged marriage partners sounds so fun. imagine they're just kids when they first meet, and they're told they're supposed to get married when they grow up to combine the rosiers/lestranges

at first, they don't mind (they're tiny and have no idea what being married even means). they start hogwarts, and both realise that they're into their same gender people (once again, i bring up my mtf dora + ftm reg). so both spend a lot of time just convinced they aren't into each other. reg is a lesbian after all, and pandora is gay... then they come out as trans and both are like: oh-

3. grumpy x sunshine is so them omfg

them bith as seers???? Christ. them being so fucking blind is just so fitting. they never even consider that they might like each other

them as oblivious little fuckers so true. they are in deep denial fr. regulus is foaming out the mouth at how pandora is, but it's completely platonic

4. HSEIBSIEBSOENSO YESS OMFG

All they need is each other. they're always together, getting one of them alone is impossible. you can try, and you will fail

that trope is SO them. it's insane

5. they would definitely love their time at a pride parade. they're having the time of their lives and they've been happier

6. I love it when asks go this long. it just sucks because I usually can't add anything on because you guys are just so correct already 😮‍💨

thank you for sharing your brain with me. I appreciate it a lot <3

[zazzander]

i saw a joke post of "if hera did the demigod swap on another pair of demigods camp halfblood would send octavian back" and i went "that would not fucking happen" but lacked the knowledge and proper depth to elaborate. your octavian character analysis was incredibly in depth, analyzing every single moment and dissecting his character in a way that shows a clearer grasp of the character and who he is more than the supposed pieces given but never expanded. the fic has shed a new light on a character and explained exactly why i liked him so much in son of neptune.

so therefore i propose a question for you: if hera actually did swap octavian into camp halfblood without any of his memories with another greek demigod into camp jupiter (nico, rachel, etc), what do you think would happen?

apologies for any inconvenience! your take was exactly the thing i was looking for, and im so thankful that ive found others who share the same love of octavian. have a good day/night!

Thank you for the ask! This answer is potentially very simple or very complicated.

To begin with, the issues with Octavian being part of the switch:

Firstly, Hera would never. While she's isn’t openly against Octavian, I get the impression she didn't want him to interfere at all. Possibly because he'd tell her all the ways her interpretation of the prophecy are wrong (lol).

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Octavian is a legacy and Camp Half-Blood is only for half-bloods (it's in the name!). Octavian would likely struggle to enter the camp to begin with.

So the short answer would be... they'd just be very confused by Octavian and likely treat him as a clear-sighted mortal. They wouldn't kick him out so much as just like... not let him in?

But that's a boring answer.

The More Complicated Answer

In this scenario, the switch would probably be led by Apollo and, yeah, Rachel would be the other side of the switch. With Rachel missing, the Greeks are more likely to see Octavian as her replacement, but it still might be awkward.

Also, Octavian’s “team” would have to be different, primarily because Octavian isn’t a great fighter – Octavian effectively replaces Piper in terms of abilities. So they’d need some muscle for any quests.

When the Greeks realise that Octavian can see the future, they will likely make the connection between him and the missing Rachel. The gift of prophecy is rare. So at the point they realise Octavian can see the future, I don't think they'd drive him out without just cause. After all, prophecies are how quests begin – without their Oracle, Octavian is their only alternative. They are definitely not going to let him go easily!

Like Jason, with his memories gone Octavian wouldn't have the prejudices nor the knowledge of history and legend that Canon!Octavian does. He wouldn’t view the Greeks as his enemies.

At the same time, I don't see Octavian taking the loss of his memories in his stride in the same way Jason does. Octavian is the opposite of chill. So I think a great deal of panicking and yelling ought to be expected.

However, we also know that Octavian has a dream: becoming a hero. This isn’t something seers usually get to be, they just help the heroes on their journey. So I think Octavian could quickly become very motivated to achieve whatever quest Apollo gives him. And a determined Octavian is a forced to be reckoned with!

One thing I can see happening is that the Greeks not being all that keen for their maybe-Oracle-who-is-definitely-a-mortal wanting to go on a dangerous quest. And even without his memories, Octavian would take exception to that. Unlike Jason, Octavian doesn’t care about breaking the rules. I don’t see him waiting around very long once he’s foreseen what he needs to do.

Basically, Octavian would sway his new buddies to come on a technically-sanctioned-quest-because-I’m-the-seer-and-I-say-it-is quest. While the Romans would hate this, I think the Greeks would be more inclined to let it slide.

In summary, while it would take a bit for Octavian to settle in, I think Octavian would be a lot quicker to fully enculturate to Camp Half-Blood. A lot of his personality fits better with the Greek side than the Roman – there’s a less of a demand from the Greeks that everyone be a warrior, for example.

I once joked about how, if Octavian had been switched, he’d never want to go back to the Romans – and that’s kind of true. The Greeks respect prophecies and those who provide them. Whereas the Romans never respect Octavian. They assume that they’re going to be perfectly fine with or without him. I don’t see them looking for him at all. They’d just mark him as a deserter and washing their hands of him.

Octavian really just wants people to like him, honestly. And while he’s definitely prickly on the outside, so are a lot of Greeks (see: Clarisse and Michael Yew). I think they’d respect him, even like him, a lot more than the Romans do.

That all being said, Octavian has a strong sense of loyalty to Rome. His loyalty doesn’t falter even when those he’s loyal to stop caring about him. Even if the Romans hate him, he will try to save them. So it’s not like he’d ignore the peace mission. But also don’t see him getting his memories back changing his opinion of Greek demigods.

If Octavian would be able to actually sway the Romans on his return is the real question. Furthermore, the reunion would then lead to the tricky scenario with Rachel returning to the Greeks, and Octavian being left in the lurch. The Romans probably don’t want him back – but now he’s not useful to the Greeks.

I could see his character arc being about him becoming more than an augur, where he develops his other skills and becomes a strong fighter. And eventually getting his wish of being a hero.

TLDR:

That joke post was half-right, but not for the reasons they were probably thinking. Still, if the hurdle of Octavian being a legacy and not a half-blood were overcome, then I don't see Octavian ever leaving the Greeks' side.

Once again, thanks for the ask and thank you for reading my blogs & stuff!

[chaotic-average-child]

Ik sonic underground is full of plot holes due to the general development issues but like...

the royal family was confirmed to have access to future info w the aid of seers, and their ancestors knew many years prior about Eggman...

Ik people have argued that the oracle could have lied or had his own plans, but like... their ancestors knew about it...

There's no way they weren't at least aware, it couldn't have just been the oracle lying, the only way that'd make sense is if their ancestors decided to keep it hidden for generations. Which would still imply they didn't want it to be stopped...

I'm not saying that it was malicious or anything but it's a suspicious plot hole... A lot of characters in Underground are suspicious actually...

The Oracle most likely at least gave an idea to Aleena about where to put her kids, and the fact they didn't course correct Manic somewhat implies they had a much larger pool of knowledge about what would happen.

I don't think the prophecy was vague, I think the Oracle and Aleena both knew exactly what would happen and when, especially since Aleena, who doesnt seem to have any omnipotence, always knows where to be and when.

It can't just be a danger sensor, as the triplets get into danger more often than she appears, and it's too often to just be coincidence...

ik in the archie online comic the scepter has teleportation properties but that honestly only aids my thoughts here.

Also why the FUCK does their country have a crystal that can tell you exactly where their current monarch is... WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA???

is it like a proper heir detector...? is the crown jewel the decider of who succeeds...

Also how did Eggman gain access to anything in Underground??? I know its explained in SATAM but I can't remember if they elaborate in underground. And while I know ppl assume its the same as SATAM where he betrays the royal family, that doesn't entirely make sense, as again, they knew someone would take over, CENTURIES in advance...

Sketchy as hell...

Anyways im just having underground thoughts again

[cat-alyzing]

WAIT WAIT SORRY I WASNT READING I WAS IN THE CAR DONT DO MY REQUEST

Haha it’s fine! I can actually say I have a few ideas, since he’s like just before the first arc I’ll make a pass.

Icestar is a lot different in my rewrite, she goes through a whole lotta stuff that hurts her a ton. But the main event that pushed her down this route, staying by herself, blaming herself for a lot and never getting help. Is her mother’s death.

In this time period the cliques are pretty vile. Incredibly aggressive, unreasonable xenophobic, and relying a lot on their ancestors.

At this time, while I do love Goose (I’ve made literally so much art of him I think that’s pretty obv) I think I kinda want to make this like damned seer character. His whole life has been destroyed over and over by these dreams he was apparently gifted with and he hates their ancestors so much. It’s a curse but everyone tells him it’s a blessing.

He starts going against their afterlife. He has Brindleface with some cat (still haven’t decided who), he tells Pinestar to go leave to be a kittypet, he saves Tiger from the illness that had killed his littermates. But after everything he does the ancestors punish him. They kill his mate, they force more horrifying visions that literally make him nest bound. He can’t fight them anymore so he just obeys. The next sign he gets is the battle but to his horror his own sister is killed in it. As he stares over the moors and sees his nieces weeping over his sister he gets the prophecy of poor shattered Ice’s destiny. Unable to stop anything he has to watch her get worse and worse knowing she has to be this was to fulfill the role she was supposed to. Until he finally dies and is freed from his visions only to be cast to the dark forest for fighting their ancestors.

Real sad fate my poor little kitty gets :(

The only other thing im kinda playing with is maybe having Tiger be a GoosePine kit. Him and Brindle could be from the same litter but I think it’s kinda interesting since yknow he kills her to fulfill his dog plan. Feedback on that I’m alright with since I’m still iffy on it

[nikethestatue]

People are now saying elriel wouldn’t have a plot (but in the same breath gwynriel would?) because gwyn is connected to the autum court blablabla can you give your input what plots elriel could have that actually are somehow stated in the books?

Hi Anon,

Are those the same people who say the next book will be set in Illyria and Gwyn will be rescuing Illyrians from their wicked ways? LOL

There are actually an OVERABUNDANCE of plots!! I sincerely think that there are too many plots at play now, but let's see:

Autumn Court (Im sorry, Gwyn is connected to AC?? Because her grandma seduced a AC fae? THAT's the connection? LOL) -well, obviously Elriel is a TAD more connected to AC. Seeing that Rhys's prohibition arose directly from how the relation between Elain and Az will potentially affect the relations between AC/NC/and human lands, since Lucien is tied to all of them. Elain is a mate to Lucien who is at least now, is viewed as a prince of AC. That entire love triangle, plus political implications would have to be resolved. Bond breaking/rejecting/un-Making.

Elain is the only person left with her Cauldron powers. She can find the 4th Trove object. I am going to venture a guess that she is going to have to have some help with that and won't be gallivanting on her own. Enter Azriel, who is the only available IC male left. Nesta specifically states that she saw the 4th object--potentially a bit of bone veiled in shadows. Part of Elain's prophecy is 'bone' and who has shadows? Azriel.

We know Koschei is very interested in Azriel for some reason and states that 'he's been preparing for him'. Why? What does he want from him? Does he want Elain? What did Koschei tell Azriel that scared the crap out of Az?

Koschei is a death god who cannot be killed, much like Lanthys, for example. You'd need power of the Cauldron or a Made person (Elain) to get rid of him. Just like Nesta did with Lanthys. We already know that Elain can and did kill a very powerful being, but Koschei is probably much more powerful than the King of Hybern (actually a god, not a powerful ancient Fae). There are also some parallels to how the baddies go down in SJM novels--it's the females who ultimately save the males. Feyre did it with Amarantha with Rhys (directly and indirectly) plus when she revived him after the Cauldron reforging. Nesta did it for Cassian when she killed Lanthys and then Braillyn. Now, Elain will mostly likely do it with Az.

We also require about 150 pages of explanations and flashbacks to the Elriel relationship, just to get answers to ALL the questions--how did he know she was a Seer? Why did she step out of the shadows when she killed Hybern? Why did he give her TT? Specifically her? Why did he scream when she was dumped into the Cauldron? Why can he smell Elucien's bond? Are Elriel mates? Did the Cauldron give a false mate to her? Why? Do we have a double mate situation to which SJM alluded? etc., etc.

There are a ton of other themes floating around that I won't even touch upon--the Dusk Court, the High King situation, what's up with Elain's Seer powers? what does Mor know about Elriel? Because she certainly knows something judging by her reactions to them throughout the books.

I mean, I literally can go on and on and on. But you get the idea.

I really have NO WORRIES about Gwyn and her 'plot' in the next book.

[savrenim]

mx savrenim! mx. savrenim! I have a writing question: Im writing a story about people who can see the future, and I'm wondering how you made it feels more like a memory not like, a gut wrenching tragedy? Its deffo painful, but Im pretty sure you mentioned wanting to give it a happy ending? If so: how. The concept of future vision is so cool but the implications and the way it plays out is horrifying and heartbreaking rip. I just wanna give my characters some chance at a happy ending

gods okay this is a good question that I have a lot of Weird Strong Feelings about bc time is the single thing that I have the strongest opinions about let’s go under the cut

so the thing that makes your question interesting to me-- “how do you make a story with future powers not a gut-wrenching tragedy”-- is that..... to me, at least, there is absolutely nothing inherent in the setup of future-seeing powers that should imply that the story should be a gut-wrenching tragedy? your problem is assuming that there has to be anything tragic involved. free yourself from that perception and you will be free to write whatever you want.

ifmlam is a gut-wrenching tragedy right now because the feeling that I was going for was “hmmmm the exact gut-wrenching feeling that The World Was Wide Enough makes me feel” and it’s having a happy ending because I decided to write a fic bc “goddamnit I need a fix-it, like, right now.” Seeing the future is cool but it’s also just a plot-and-setting device. and the story feels the way it feels because I designed how it works around exactly how I wanted it to feel?

my current other major project, trash novel, is about a seer who hunts down other seers for dramatic stop-the-world-from-devolving-into-war-and-maybe-ending reasons. except the vibes are... SO different. the vibes are “shit there’s like a dozen way way overpowered teenagers and twenty-something-year-olds who hold the fate of the world in their hands except they’re being dumb assess getting overly involved in personal drama with one another and are maybe going to blow up the planet.” and so instead of this quasi-religious worldwide honor around a single Seer and visions of the future that work one particular way and the main character being this poor fragile darling that needs to be protected and the reverence with which the plot treats the usage of future-powers, the main character of the opus series named herself “Fuck You” and has the power to see like ten seconds tops into the future and uses it to be really fucking good at magic fistfighting and accidentally gets involved in trying to take over a foreign/soon to be enemy government while trying to make friends with the ambassador that it’s her mission to protect him and like spy on that government to make sure they’re not messing with the future, but because he’s really pissed off at his ex and his shitty parents kind of for trying to force him to marry his ex and also his entire home country for siding with his ex he decides to take advantage of the fact that Saes thinks that overthrowing a government is maybe appropriate friend bonding activities to Take Revenge. and overthrow the government. meanwhile his cousin just outright admits in her second scene that she is trying to take over the first their government in then the world and is like 90% of the way there and really isn’t trying to hide the fact that she has committed to a plan that makes everyone think she is The Villain but Saes in particular bc Saes doesn’t want her home country to be conquered, but while Saes thinks this makes them moral enemies Asterna thinks that Saes is very hot because Saes is the single person who can beat her in a fistfight. they get into a misunderstanding fake-dating relationship for at ~80k words of the first arc. the ex is also trying to take over the government partially bc he feels the family pressure to continue their influence and partially bc he’s still in love with Luka and wants to try to win him back. at least three main characters have very poorly thought out one-night stands with other characters just for spite. there’s a character whose name is “Godkiller.” 

you can probably tell from the description that it’s very VERY different vibes from ifmlam. there are seers with more longreaching abilities than 10 seconds in the setting, who are trying to use their powers to seriously manipulate outcomes of events, and some deep political implications of that; it’s not all flashy ridiculousness. there are parts of it that get tragic (gods do parts of it get emotional and gods are some of those emotions tragic), but it’s never terribly tragic for very long, and it never feels like a heart-wrenching tragedy as a genre. everyone is a gay mess, extra emphasis on the gay AND the mess, and it reads like ridiculous action drama intrigue almost like a DnD campaign? 

and it’s because of both (a) the seer powers that are being highlighted work differently but also (b) the seer pov character has a fundamentally different perception of themselves. Aaron Burr sees himself as pretty much a McGuffin and he hates it and there’s a large portion of his character and character arc and hence the plot itself that revolves around him not feeling like he has any sort of control over his life or the impact of his powers. he’s afraid of himself and what he can do, he’s afraid of letting people in and being used, he’s afraid of the impact that he or someone wielding him might have on the world, and he doesn’t quite see himself as a person, more like a glass statue of one housing powers -- and that contributes to the tragedy and vastly affects the tone of the whole thing. when the viewpoint character feels helpless, when the viewpoint character doesn’t believe in themselves, when the viewpoint character is pretty much a McGuffin: incredibly powerful and useful to powerful people, but unable to control their own fate -- that gives the story a certain feeling.

Saes Imirin is nothing like Aaron Burr because Saes isn’t afraid of herself. Saes is completely at peace with what she can do, and actually thinks it’s pretty cool. She’s working for the people she’s working for because she’s decided that’s probably where she’ll do the least harm in the world, and also because she likes her apartment. if she changes her mind she changes her allegiance. she has stared down armies and has never really feared for herself, because she’s a fucking badass, and she knows that she can always pick the future where she wins so why should she ever feel afraid.

if you don’t want your characters to feel tragic, then don’t have them be afraid of themselves. don’t have them doubt themselves. but also, construct the way that future-seeing powers work so that they’re not set up to be a tragedy. the biggest being the most important pair of questions: how accurate/specific are the powers? and how unchangeable is the future?

Saes Imirin’s powers are 100% accurate and 100% specific, albeit contained to usually one to three but at most ten seconds. The future is also 100% changeable; the way her powers works is that she sees all possible futures and then physically moves the way that she did in the one where she’s won. Aaron Burr’s powers are..... death visions I’d put at, like.... 90sh % “accuracy”? in that they always show a possible and in fact usually most probable for the timeline we’re on now sort of death for someone. but they’re also very changeable. but time itself has a momentum and “pushes back” against those changes in the plot of ifmlam (someone doesn’t die in one duel will die in another, etc) which lends to a strong feeling of inevitability despite the relative amount of freedom those powers have. 

imo, future-seeing usually lends itself to tragedy when it’s about seeing something terrible/attempting to subvert something that cannot be fixed because it is the future. if you establish early on that all visions/prophecies must come true exactly, that will usually put a fair amount of tension on your plot and it will make things feel tragic, especially if characters end up getting a future that they really really don’t like. the more unchangeable things are, the more it usually tends towards tragedy.

(I say “usually” because, like. I’m still waiting for a story in which future-seeing is absolute and someone gets a prophecy that “and if you choose to go forward and step through this room your fate will be sealed, you will die on this specific day in this exact way and nothing in the universe can change that”, the character goes “cool”, does it, and promptly begins taking advantage of their immortality up until that day to do Utterly Ridiculous Things to become a weird hyper luck-based superhero of, like, “I can jump off this building bc in the vision I was fine and unhurt so I can’t get wounded in any sort of way that’ll make me unable to run and jump around” “I can totally try eating this mystery goo let’s see what it does” “hmmm the enemy fired their superbomb into the heart of our capital guess I just have to sit here next to it so that it will keep malfunctioning in some strange unspecified way and not going off because it can’t kill me here and now my fate is set in stone” etc. just. someone give me that comedy p l e a s e. I’m picturing Monty Python level of shenanigans.)

but yeah, usually, the more set in stone a future is, the more likely a story is to take a turn for the tragic, because when the future isn’t ~set in stone~ prophecies function more as useful warnings that can be interpreted to do useful things and save the day and not terrible foreboding omens of doom. high accuracy with high changeability is a cool superpower. low.... specificity, at least, leads to stories where usually you go “oH SHIIIIIT” afterwards as you get the end and the last thing clicks in place and now the entire plot in hindsight is So Much Different and they only lend themselves to tragedy if they’re useless as warnings and are just “fuck oh THAT’S what it meant and if I understood it I could have changed it”. and then inherent low changeability is both easiest to lend to tragedy and imo the hardest to write because you write yourself into a corner? (and you also make some pretty deep philosophical statements about determinism and free will depending on how you characterize time.) but so long as everyone has a chance to change things, the story won’t feel hopeless.

this has gotten long and rambly bc it’s ungodly o clock in the morning and, like, if the heart of the thesis of your story is “knowing the future is Fucked Up and Fucks You Up” and your story is on the deep seated societal implications about a world where some measure of seeing the future exists, like.... there are ways in which things might be tragic, but there are ways to counter that by making things mundane? a la lightening benders in legend of korra working at electricity plants. having seers with tiny mundane powers and/or who don’t really care about their powers and don’t use them too much or who just think of them as annoying side noise, but at the heart of it, oops stealing also from mob psycho 100 bc oops I just rewatched it and am mildly obsessed with it and its message and just dear gods how it manages to pull off its emotional impact....

psychic powers are just another trait. like people who can run fast or who study hard or sing really well or have strong body odor, or have psychic powers. they don’t make you any more special than anything else. who you are and what you do isn’t set in stone, it’s choices that you can make.

and finally, if your world is tragic bc you’ve decided to lean into the “the public perceives seers as special / dangerous / other “ and so you don’t want to adjust how the powers themselves work and how the public sees it, there’s always the trick of just, like.... let characters’ actions have meaning. let them win. and it won’t be a tragedy, not really.

[ynseulyi-blog]

hello! i’m excited to be here hoho this is gu seulyi, yeongji’s resident seer & astrology hack from huangmok! she’s like 8.33% sure of all her horoscope-related prophecies lmao but she does actually get some very specific visions so its a toss up in the end : ) here’s her file & under the cut is some additional info! & the usual yknow like this to plot hehe c: i don’t have premade plots yet but feel free to hmu on ims/ask for discord!!

pureblood seer from a very short line of seers! only her dad’s side’s great great grandmother & her grandfather were seers, so this divination thing is a relatively recent addition to the gu family. one of her great great grandmother’s prophecies made the gu family pretty rich, but they’re generally not highly regarded in the wizarding world since they don’t have the history to back themselves up. her mum’s family is the opposite - lots of history, no money whatsoever. therefore - marriage of convenience!

wand wise: hyeonmu scale core (usually denoting wisdom & strength, and turtle shells are used in oracle telling) & silver lime wood (the typical seer wood!) it’s a p stubborn wand that values honesty - it’ll only work for her & people she trusts, and it casts spells that are followed to the exact letter & spirit

her visions are like frames of a movie: she gets a few snapshots and then has to fill in the blanks for everything else. not very useful but very very accurate : ) unfortunately actual divination is a bust for her bc seeing is like breathing to her, and divination is asking her to make the bottom of a teacup breathe. its not happening!!!

went to hogwarts when she was 11 for the ~history~ and was sorted into slytherin. she was p ambivalent about it since she didn’t have any prophecies related to it, and she had some fun there! she fit in surprisingly well bc she is p driven when it comes to things she wants/sees & thinks she wants, plus yknow general pureblood status helped?

was therefore a shock to everyone aside from her when she got sorted into huangmok. on one hand she did lie on the sorting quiz (but! she admitted it at the end & asked to be in huangmok anyway! was that brave enough or was that just fate doing its thing? no one knows) but on the other hand she also saw herself in the huangmok dorms wearing their colours so she was meant to be in this house

there was a bit of a fallout bc her mother’s side have been in jeolgang since the school was founded and the jeolgang kids see her as having ‘betrayed’ their house’s rls w her family while the huangmok kids see her as a jeolgang kid who scammed her way into the house so.... oof

took a gap year bc she Saw herself travelling in sicily in autumn & she figured she couldn’t be in school in that case lmao

astronomy major so she can figure out dates from highly specific placement of planets and shadow angles and which constellations are visible - she remembers almost everything in her visions, so she uses those clues to date her prophecies

the astrology column isn’t really accurate because she takes the prophecies she knows will happen that week & estimates which sign gets which prophecy. unfortunately they’re also highly specific (cancer: if ur from inmyeonjo someone is gonna spill an entire bottle of ink on ur shoes. if ur not from inmyeonjo ur gonna be the one spilling that ink. practice ur scouring charm!) so everyone doesn’t take it that seriously but the cancer kids prob did avoid ink bottles that week anyw lmao

there’s a very thin line between predetermination/free will & she walks it p closely... a lot of her choices are made based on what she sees, so they sort of become self-fulfilling prophecies, but it might have also just been fate?? its not certain if her visions happen bc she saw fate or if she saw it and then made it happen (chara dev in progress ig)

this is too long alr so personality tldr: driven, impartial, attentive, approachable but also detached, inflexible, obsessive, calculative; gets v in her head about things like truth and cause and effect and she’s paradoxically open-minded until she sees something, then she’s v short-sighted about it

sry this was v long, thank u for enduring :’)

[grimmjowjaegerjaquez]

actually fuck it im just gonna give yall the update nuada lore bc hes the only character i managed to rewrite the backstory of. i have not proofread this at all so the sentences are probably really stupid BUT YOU GET THE IDEA::::

Nuada was a former prince of Barragan's court, or at least as much as an Arrancar can be considered a prince. He was well-renowned in the court for his powers of prophecy, his talent for song and dance, his gift of high-speed flight, and for being a rare natural-born Arrancar - much like the king himself. It was for that last reason especially that Nuada had quite a few high expectations thrust upon him from his king. Unknown to most, however, the only prophecies he was ever privy to were ones dealing in failures, tragedies, and calamities. And even then they tended to be spotty and vague - only seeing the outcome itself, and none of the circumstances that lead to it. It's a power he vehemently dislikes, and one that he has no real control over. The visions happen whether he wants them to or not. He has theories about what triggers them, but they're too inconsistent for him to be certain. As a prince, he had the honor of serving as a commander in the king's war games. In the vast empty deserts of Hueco Mundo, there isn't much else to do except wage war on each other, and under Barragan all sides answered to him, fighting for his entertainment. The section of his majesty's domain Nuada was left in charge of was the hollow city of Negal. Under his direction, it was a haven of towering glass spires, untouched and unscathed by the ravages of his fellow princes. That he was able to keep it as such was a point of pride for him. Of course, seer of tragedy that he was, he knew it wasn't to last. The favor of the king was a fickle thing, and normally those that had it could request more soldiers for their domain. And despite having his king's favor, Nuada was denied this same privilege. In the words of his majesty, he had no need of the extra defense. He was clever enough to make do without it, he must be. He was his prince, a favored prince. And he would do well to remember that in the battle to come. Nuada disagreed with him, begged him, pleaded with him. If not for him, for those that lived in the safety of Negal! But his cries fell on deaf ears. The king did not care for the plight of whatever meager beasts eked out a living in his vast empire, only that whatever fight they managed to get caught up in was magnificent. So Negal fell as Nuada knew it would, razed by his brothers and sisters, with only him and a scant few (too few) surviving. Even though he knew this would end in his title being stripped from him (and perhaps even his life), he still fought. He continued to argue that this never would have happened if he had just listened to him! It had been a long time since Barragan had been so disappointed. Then, just before his eyes, Nuada had a new vision - one he knew the king would never believe, but would enrage him all the same. How sweet it was that Barragan's stubborn refusal to ever heed his warnings would finally pay off! It was to be his parting gift to his majesty: his defeat and subjugation at the hands of three strange men. At first, the king merely dismissed it with a laugh. As Nuada stood still and stern, he grew furious. Barragan's court descended on him at once. but he proved too quick to catch and flew fast and far from Las Noches. His majesty didn't need to bellow it out, he already knew he could never return. At least, not until his prophecy came true. Although it would be quite a long time before it did. When the new king of Las Noches revealed himself, Nuada finally came back. And as much as he was loathe to admit it, he knew just from looking at him that he had no choice but to listen to him. He kept his trust to himself, however, even when this new king - Aizen he called himself - offered to perfect his form. Nuada would serve him dutifully as a soldier for as long as he would be king - which he knew wouldn't be long. For the first moment he laid eyes on him, he knew just how his rule would end. And he also knew that just like Barragan he would never listen. So he never told him. And when all was said and done and this Aizen and his crumbling orb were sealed away, Nuada left Las Noches once more. He took his sword off somewhere far off and away, stabbing it into the sand, then walked away. That part of himself - the noble prince, the dutiful soldier, the glass knight - he vowed to leave behind. In his mind, after having been ignored so many times, after knowing how it always ends, there was no one worthy of his blade.

YEEHAWwwwwww

[inforapound]

Since Vikings s6 is soon upon us (just 3 more days!!) what are your hopes for each character this upcoming season?

I want a battle of epic proportions lasting a number of episodes.

I think Bjorn should rule Kattegat and yet I never warmed to his character and his superficial storyline with a zillion wives. I do hope that we see Rollo materialize and save Bjorn. I would dig the cheesemo of that father/son moment.

I hate what happened to Lagertha’s character and yet I don’t want to see her kick back and mentor her grandchildren. I want her to fight to her death and ultimately be killed by Ivar. I want his promise of killing her fulfilled. If it doesn’t happen, I will feel like I did at the end of GOT.

Harald - well, what can I say. I’m in love with him and yet season 5 diluted his ruthlessness. I don’t know if he stands a chance against Ivar with Oleg’s backing but I’d hate for him to get lost in the chaos. Please give this beautiful man some glory. And a baby....

Hvitserk - He’s been treated as a side character this entire series and I hope we see some meaningful scenes between Hvitserk and Ivar, even if it’s one killing the other. I had a dream Marco was the lead in the GOT prequel and I woke up delighted.

Ubbe and Torvi- go away with your miscellaneous children and farm. The writing for Ubbe’s character fizzled out for me long ago.

Floki - Im glad he’s back. I didn’t dig his story line last season. He’s an iconic character which I didn’t truly warm to until I started writing him. Now I want to climb Gustaf‘a leg like a monkey. If Floki actually dies, I hope it’s in defence of Ivar.

Ivar - I want to see him run an incredible campaign. I’d love for Floki to drag him out of there but, it just wouldnt be Vikings. I need some Floki and Ivar scenes. I think the Seer’s prophecies of Ivars eyes deceiving him will relate to the Freydis look alike but his death won’t. I wonder how the snake in his skull prophesy will play out. I would like to see some moments of redemption. He’s that anti hero that I hate to love but I do. Blindly. I just can’t see him sitting on a throne again.

I have never loved the Vikings series. I do like it though. The holes in the writing are a distraction but I will watch every episode. The trailer for season 6 looks amazing. What I do love is the fandom and I hope it continues long after the series.

Thanks so much for the ask @edythofhastings . I was actually thinking of you this week.

[isaacathom]

ok so i had a really weird dream.

im a student at a pretty run down, general garbage school. the teachers are good, but the school doesnt have much cash, and theres just general decay everywhere. but you get by. as a nerdy, quiet kid, i generally just go about my own business.

at some point, i hear that in the performing arts center (which looks suspiciously like a church lol) theres a girl who can read futures and pasts. and im a little curious, arent i. i dont have anything i really want to see. but i wanna know! so i head on over, and its one of the most dilapidated and overgrown buildings, to the point where its technically off limits. and there are already some people there, talking to this girl who looks like a yr 10 at most with long dark hair and dark eyes providing prophecy. and i hang back to sorta see this play out, but she calls me out. but i dont really have anything i want to see! so she offers to show me some of her older visions to sort of prove that shes legit. gives me real brief sneak previews, involving the PAC in the past (but still as dilapidated) w/ a young boy and his mom, and another vision. and she suggests that i go home and think about which one i want, and that i will see that vision in my dreams that night.

so i head home. but i really cant choose. aside from not being /positive/ i believe she can induce visions in others, i feel uncomfortable seeing other peoples private lives. from even the brief glimpse she showed me of the boy and his mum, i know they arent good memories, and i dont really want to see them. so when i go to sleep, i end up not seeing either.

so i go back to see here the next day to ask about that, and she’s actually really excited to see me. something about me not choosing either path, affirming something. something something suffering and misery ignored? like i guess the idea is that she was only ever sought out for Bad stuff, and id somehow contradicted that by refusing to see her depressing visions of the past? idk. but she was really happy! and suggested we hang out, maybe eat some crackers, yknow. so we do, and we become friends, and just sorta stop mentioning the visions entirely.

and the school suddenly starts to improve!! some of the mould on the walls just disappears overnight, the paint on the walls becomes more vivid, the wonky chair leg finally stops wobbling, etc. and everyones talking about how clearly someone must have donated money, and when i mention this offhandly to the Seer she laughs so hard she almost chokes on her biscuit.

the PAC where we hang out undergoes the most drastic change. every day when i come back, it seems to be less overgrown, and on one occasion i notice that a new glass window seems to have been put in during class, which i bring up to the Seer. and she’s generally very vague, but she mentions seeing workers. which sounds very false.

the thing about her is that she never seems to leave the PAC. a lot of people do know about her, though not by name like i do (i dont remember what name she had but i assume i knew her name), but noone recalls having ever seen her leave the building or attend class. but i decide not to really bring it up, because asking her personal-ish questions makes her really uncomfortable (like with the visions thing). 

with the PAC suddenly restored, the drama teacher at the school decides that we should hold a small musical to celebrate the changing fortunes of the school. nothing short of a small miracle, he says. everyone titters, he’s a bit weird like that, they all say. they select a play, and i tell Seer about it. and she suggests that we should both join! and im taken aback, because, well, im not a drama student. but she’s really enthusiastic, so i eventually agree, and we both go off to talk to the drama teacher about joining.

he takes the fact that i, probably still a quiet studio art/vc kid/computer kid, want to join the musical very much in his stride, as does the fact a heretofore unknown student also wants to join. again, as a guy who clearly accepts weird shit in his stride, it works well. we join up, as do a bunch of others, and we start working on the play

ill be real, i dont remember what the play was about. i know there was a chameleon involved, weird paint splash stuff, and that i was sorta annoyed it was all about Academic students and not artsy ones (or vice versa? idk). but it was fun! im not sure what role i had, or the role my friend had, but we’re all having fun.

at one point, after a late night performance, i decide to stay back with two friends (seer and caleb), but we’re promptly busted by some construction workers who have been floating around to help make sure the PAC is, in fact, structurally sound. its like, 11pm. and i say ‘no, its cool, i have a key’ and they just ACCEPT that. why did i have a key? im not sure. odds are solid Seer gave it to me. and they say fine, sure. so we stay back, ostensibly to practice a duet that caleb and i have, but we’re actually just chilling out. and suddenly most of our other members are there, and its just us hanging out in this church like building with some balling acoustics laughing and singing. we finally get busted by the teacher, who makes up pack up some of the chairs and such as punishment, and then laughingly sends us off.

the dream actually ends there, tho not before the teacher makes a joke about us ‘going out and having fun’ and i make a “joke” about not seeing any of saturday because ill be hungover. we all laugh, we all leave, curtains close on the dream.

im not explicitly sure that Seer was originally a part of the dream, as she only showed up after the dream ‘ended’ and then seemed to reboot. i assumed they were related. it definitely makes sense to me, because the theatre in the first half remained VERY church like even before Seer was introduced in the “flashback”. so hey, what can you do.

my guess is that Seer was some sort of spirit of the school who had slowly been falling into spiritual depression over how much the kids these days seemed to seek out misery, and me refusing to see her vision (by accident, admittedly) proved empathy was alive and well and that people DID want to see happiness. so with her being happy, the school itself improved, and then she helped psychically arrange for a musical to be held because hey!!! happy celebration!! literally what she was made for. odds are solid that after the musical closed she would disappear. which sucks, because she was cute and nice. that, or she’d become human again? that would also be nice.

it was cute and fun, is the thing