#my main reason is to say i'll play them at church

[jellymeduza]

1250 followers gift - take a peek at my medievalish fantasy game (part 1/?)

I've reached 1250 followers milestone way faster than I expected. Curiously enough, there was influx of new followers after I opened my poll regarding the gift. Has the promise of a showcase of my game lured you in? 😉

The showcase of my game won by the vast majority of votes. Hardly anyone wants me to build a lot. That is probably a right decision. xD

As my medievalish neighbourhood is much older than my modern gameplay, it'll be divided into more parts - there are more Sims, more backstories etc. Translations are going to be inconsistent once again, some names will be probably difficult to translate as some of them are made up to be puns and don't exist in the real world.

I'll start with explaining the rules and lore for this neighbourhood. This is my only neighbourhood that has any rules.

The kingdom is called "Ciemnogród", which can be literally translated into "Dark castle", but has also other meaning: it is used to depict a place or a group of people as superstitious, xenophobic, intolerant and of conservative beliefs. According to the Great Polish Dictionary it's a neologism created by Polish writer Stanisław Kostka Potocki. Wikipedia tells me that the word used in his work has been translated into "Dunceville" and let's stay by this option.

So, backstory for this neighbourhood is that there are two royal houses in the kingdom: Dariuses (red banner) and Claudiuses (blue banner). The houses have fought over the throne, leading the kingdom nearly into a collapse. Economic repercussions of that civil war are felt by every social class: nobility is even scarcer, once prosperous merchants dress not much wealthier than those who used to be middle class merchants. Crime is on the rise.

August the Mad of house Claudius and Konrad the Ginger of house Darius decided to put an end to the madness started by their fathers and agreed to diarchy. Moreover to make the houses more bound, they agreed that their eldest sons would marry their daughters. After the marriage daughters are allowed to keep wearing the colours of the house of their maiden name. Additionally, the third child of each couple, should they have so many children, shall wear the colours of its mother's maiden name house.

The problem is that the kings who signed the pact are dying out and their children can hardly remember the atrocities of the war as it was ended when they were still very young. The royal children, soon to become co-rulers are hungry for power and co-ruling brother-in-law can be an obstacle. Not to mention that the loyalties of their wives are uncertain - will they choose houses of their maiden names or houses of their husbands should a new war start?

Humans and supernatural creatures live in peace, however supernaturals are not allowed to live within city walls. They can own a business and work in the city. The only exception are witches and wizards who can live in the city. Royals respect wizards as they are useful servants and make good advisors. Some people speculate there are more reasons why wizards are treated favourably, especially by the Dariuses - it is said there's a blood curse cast on the house, hence some of its members have red eyes (e.g. Konrad the Ginger and his daughter Fiona). Some say it were the wizards who cast it and Dariuses in fear went lenient on wizards. Other say wizards played a positive role and earnt the privilege by fighting off the curse, red eyes being curse's last remnant.

The kingdom is divided into sections. At the center there is royal district. Between the castle of Claudiuses (on the left) and the castle of Dariuses (on the right) there are gardens of reconciliation, built to commemorate the end of civil war. Opposite the gardens there are public baths.

The main part of the city is filled with merchants' houses and their businesses. It is also inhabited by wizards, monks, knights and beggars. There's the central town square, a church, a library, a pub, training fields, fisher's shop, buthcer's shop, tailor's shop, potter's shop, greengrocer's and a store with magical artefacts.

The third part is only partially a part of the city as it is divided from the rest of the city by inner city walls, but is has its own city walls as well: it is the seashore. The only living family in this part of the city are the fishermen (who when fish don't want to be caught resort to piracy). There's also a public beach with docks.

Now onto parts of kingdom that aren't parts of the city. There are woods outside the gate guarded by a noble family of knights. In the forest lives a family of werewolves and a family of bigfeet. Further towards the borders of realm there's a settlement of fairies and elves - they are uninterested in the affairs of humans and tolerate the short-lived specimen as long as they don't bother them too much. They are also suspicious of elves of other settlements.

In this part of map can be found a cemetery just outside the gate, a lake, fairy park and a forest.

Last but not least, rural area on the other side of the city. It is inhabited by a family of an elf of another settlement than the forest elves and a plantsim. In the furthest part of the are there's a single man who is trying to run away from responsibilities (and the consequences of his actions).

There are some empty settlements busy with farmers before the war. The only public lot in this part is a wooden temple.

There's also university district and vacation destination - far east. I'll show them once I'm done with the main map.

I hope you'll find the journey through my neighbourhood interesting. 😊

part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8

[rubykgrant]

Okay so I know you brought up an AU with freelancers alive before, like all of them even Niner and the triplets and Florida and Connie, but here's what just interested me: how is Maine with everyone? Reds, Blues,, Freelancers, Locus, etc.

I had a whole post with some different Freelancer thoughts, so I'll copy-past the Maine bits from there, and also add a few more-

-Other people keep taking the “Grifshot” and hiding it somewhere Maine can find find it, and he ALWAYS gives it back to Grif... who is like a timid little bunny rabbit in that situation

-Maine will also just stand around and watch Tucker do stuff. Tucker feels like this is some kind of INTIMIDATION act, but Maine literally just thinks Tucker is cool

-Doc and Maine hung out together for several days before even discussing stuff about O’Malley and the Meta... nobody is entirely sure what was said (which is fine if they want to keep it private), and this seems to have resulted in Doc having absolutely NO fear of Maine (even when other people still get intimidated), and Maine has all these inside-jokes with O’Malley

-Sarge called dibs on Maine, South, and York. He truly feels like they are integral to some kind of grand scheme that makes no sense to anybody else. Maine is fine with it, he likes the Reds. South immediately jumps on the SUCK IT BLUES band-wagon (because guess which side her bro got absorbed into). York hams it up, like woe is me, I am on the opposing side of a feud from my dear friends, knowing full well this does not matter

-When Maine seems to be getting especially “isolated”, it’s actually Locus who knows how to gently approach him and pull the guy into a different train of thought (both having once felt like they were “just weapons”, and learning how to be people again). Maine returns the favor, but with a different method; when Locus is in a self-destructive and depressed mood, Maine will just pick him up, then go pick up somebody else, like Wash or Caboose or whoever might be right for the moment, and they have a Friendship Adventure (which usually involves watching cartoons)

-Church and Maine have this silent shared feeling that... doesn't really have a name. Or at least, not one single name. What Maine went through being the Meta, the Fragments all coming together but still feeling that they were "missing" something... and Church, who forgot he was the Alpha AI, and for a long time, never had the chance to be with everybody he cared about, all together... Church has his Fragments again, and they can also still visit with Maine, but none of them will ever be the Meta again, and it still feels like somebody is lost; there is a lot of regret, but also a sad sort of comfort in knowing they can still live. On a happier note, Church and Maine like to cook together~

-Carolina and Wash are in a similar situation of seeing shared pain in each other's eyes; "I tried to kill you" and "I didn't understand you" playing in the back of their heads when they look at each other. What finally helps them get through it is almost pretending like they are just "regular people" meeting for the first time, learning how to share interests and parts of their lives they haven't been able to experience in a while (Carolina spends time watching movies with him, while Wash will enjoy outside/nature activities with him)

-Caboose intuitively understands what Maine is thinking about/trying to say even when he feels like he can't communicate (Maine has learned how to sign, and has a keypad as well, but sometimes it is difficult to just express thoughts into words at all). Maine wishes he could return the favor, but it is much more difficult to understand Caboose... that doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate the effort~

-Donut and Maine are obnoxious together, they do this good cop/bad cop thing when they want the others to participate in re-decorating the living area (for some reason, Maine is the "good cop", but also the "strong silent type" who just backs up all of Donut's weird demands)

-Kai is happily surprised that Maine is so impressed with how flexible she is, so she teaches him all kinds of crazy stretching techniques (it helps with a lot of his muscle-knots and old injuries)

[multongsisig]

uhm sorry for the silly question but you said elias is your top3 and ohara 6 and i wanted to know the whole list ._.

Man, I meant to answer this as soon as I saw it but then it got away from me. I took this ask as an opportunity to yap, but even I was like oh this got too long so here's the list itself, and I'll leave the explanations if you're interested in that under the cut. This is ranked mainly by how much brainrot they give me.

Shuri

Richelieu

Elias

Jeremy

Nora

Ohara

Reihe Family (Alice, Hermann)

Ali

Theobald

Explanations:

1. Shuri I adore Shuri more than anyone else in the manhwa. Like do I even need to explain. She is such a strong multifaceted character, so full of love and kindness in spite of her heartbreakingly tragic history. I've seen people call her boring, but I really can't see it especially after the Jeremy trial in S1. This is a person who will sacrifice herself, completely forego her own happiness, for the sake of those she cares about. Yet this sacrificial tendency is also motivated by her fear of being abandoned, not simply from innate kindness. Characters like that I am always weak to and will always love.

2. Richelieu If you follow me I doubt this is surprising, he's so fun to me. He's a terrifying villain who's actually a real threat and challenge to the main characters. I like how his motivations are well established, so all his actions just make sense you. Religious villains aren't uncommon in rofan, but in my experience it's typically the [Good Church was secretly Evil mwahaha] trope you know? So I find him, a character with time given to actually expand on his POV, very refreshing, very alluring. Though, what initially drew me in was his being a narrative foil to Shuri, the parallels in the connection he perceives them to have with the "2nd life", the visual contrast constantly at play in their encounters to an almost genre bending degree… I go bonkers for shit like that between protagonists and antagonists. It's because of him that I picked up asm again in S2 and truly fell in love with the story. I'll keep it at that lest this gets too long.

3. Elias Elias… Elias my beloved problem child. He's kind of framed as being the more emotionally perceptive sibling, so the fact that most of his conflicts are internal ones bleeding out into bad decisions just makes me so 😩😩😩 His feelings of alienation and separation issues within his own family endears me to him, I'm very fond of black sheep characters He also hides all this with his friendly and comic relief demeanor which makes me love him more… the multiple arcs we had with Elias as a main figure solidified him to this position.

4. Jeremy Honestly the gap between him and Nora is so so small, but Jeremy makes me just a little bit more insane because of the tragic aspect of his character in his quiet love for Shuri that, thanks to their unfortunate circumstances, could never be, despite those very circumstances being what allowed him to grow such love for her. Aside from that, it's the usual obvious things people love about him, his protectiveness, sarcasm, kindness beneath the rbf, etc etc. It's always great to see him interact with other characters, especially Shuri or Nora.

5. Nora I don't have much to say that hasn't been said by others, he's a beloved and popular character for a reason. I grew to like him a lot more in S2, we got to see more sides of him and see how he's grown since S1, especially in his scenes with Jeremy and Shuri. Also, he's an artist so I feel a sense of kinship… the whole sketchbook thing and shuri painting was so real. His conflict with his family is also tragically compelling. That last chapters that had him in S2 hit me in the guttt.

6. Ohara Mentioned most of what I like about her in the last ask. Ohara's got problems and she's very dear to me for it!!

7. Reihe Family (Alice, Hermann) I really liked the glimpses we've had of them in the manhwa. I became fond of Hermann, the Neuschwanstein's uncle aka Elias look-alike, upon rereads because of the parallels with him and Elias, they're both the black sheep of their families 🥺 one day I'll finish that Alice & Hermann comic...

8. Ali My initial impression was just that he was a sweet boy, but then it showed he's quite the sharp cookie like his sister and I went ooooh! He navigated those political situations in S2 so cleverly. He's def going to be even more of a force to be reckoned with when he's older.

9. Theobald He's 9th on this list of favorite characters but I can't say I like him more than everyone not mentioned above. I enjoy his relationships is all. Like, anything with Richelieu is just great. There's also Shuri, Nora, Jeremy, Letran/Family of course- it's crazy how messy all his relationships are 😭

And thennn it's everyone else. Even if the character isn't on the list doesn't mean I don't like them or don't like reading about them. Personally, I find that every character in the story has something you can chew on!

[iphigeniainaulis]

Summary: nothing important, just my personal opinion on the symbolism of eyes, accessories and the Moon in Ikevamp

Warnings: minor spoilers for all routes, mild spoilers for Shakespeare and Faust

I just want to say that Ikevamp is probably one of the best otome games in terms of character design. So many tiny details, and the more you read, the more hints you actually find. 

Let's take, for example, Shakespeare. The Act 1 suggests that the Bard of Avon is the main villain of the story. He knows about the revival of the Duke of Wellington and Antonio Salieri, plays a major role in Vincent and MC’s separation, helps Gauguin to bring Theo to the cliff where they play cops and robbers and just acts suspicious in Leo’s route. Many routes include this chapter where Comte rushes to Will’s private villa and asks whether he is behind the drama with historical figures being brought back to life.  

However, Act 2 slowly but gradually dents our confidence. Here we get a chance to meet with the mysterious ‘shade’ in church and find out that during all this time Will has been a double agent. As the story unfolds, Shakespeare’s portrayal also begins to change, especially in terms of his attitude towards Vlad’s ambitions and methods used to achieve them. William from Act 1 acts like a mad genius who is in desperate need of a tragedy that can move everyone's heart, and he won’t hesitate to do everything he can to create his masterpiece. But Will in Act 2 reveals the duality of his soul, showing us that behind that mask of evil goodness there is room for fears, questions doubting the fundamentals of his lord’s moral views and actions Will has to perform himself as his agent on the way to building ‘a perfect future’. In Jean’s route, for example, William is genuinely frightened with Vlad using his power to control Gilles de Rais’s mind, driving the former solder to the point of madness, and Dazai’s route proves that this feeling of pure horror further leads to triggering Will’s psychological trauma as he receives the greater vampire’s ‘gift’. Shakespeare’s own route puts an end to Will’s moral searches, giving an answer regarding what side the writer chooses to be on.

The looks and costumes help us to follow the character’s story. The most catching part of Will’s appearance seems to be his famous heterochromia, the symbolism of which has been probably discussed earlier, so I'll point at the key moments. The bard’s right eye is the color of gold while his left eye is crimson red. And for a good reason.

The red color is considered to be polysemantic. In some cultures it is used to describe love, energy and the welcoming heat of fire, in others — it stands for blood which reminds of wars, danger and violence. There is, however, one thing that unites all these feelings, and it is called passion. Passion can give us energy and strength to move forward, but it can also blind us with anger and jealousy.  

Shakespeare is blind both physically and metaphorically. His red eye is blurry with blood as a result of a childhood’s disease, thus he can’t see anything with it. At the same time, William’s mind is obnubilated with the fear of being not good enough — which is basically the main symptom of the impostor syndrome, hence his desire to write the best tragedy possible in order to prove everyone, himself included, that he does have the talent many praise him for.

The other eye is golden. Here my guess is that this color is mentioned as the opposite to the darkness caused by William’s half-blindness. Golden is another word for ‘light’ desired by Shakespeare’s kind side. This bright side of him makes Shakespeare cherish and enjoy his friendship with Vincent (though it still doesn't prevent him from using the painter as the main source of information coming from the mansion). This kindness dictates Will to help MC when she is attacked by those bastards in the first chapters of his own route. And this very gentleness of his heart is a driving force for his inner protest to Vlad’s wish to kidnap MC in Comte’s route. As you remember, Shakespeare obeyed his lord’s command only under the brainwashing spells and later expressed sincere regrets regarding not being able to stop the pureblood.    

The combination of good and evil, red and golden is an allusion to William's connection with both Vlad (whose eyes resemble crimson moon) and Comte (in the prologue MC describes his gaze as ‘spun gold’). 

Why do I mention the character’s costume at the beginning? Because it enables us to answer what side Will is on even without reading his story. 

If we look at the attire of the Evil Trio, we can actually see that everyone wears a small crescent moon shaped brooch — a particular sign of belonging to their secret community.

William doesn't have one. 

🌙

This is where I was originally planning to stop. In spite of it, I got really interested in the meaning behind those brooches, so I decided to delve a little bit deeper. Again, these are only my own speculations. Probably, Vlad’s route contains the explanation, and I'm dumb. But I haven’t read it yet, so let’s continue.

In general, we can analyze the symbolism behind the crescent moon in two different ways, relying on our knowledge of either mythology or heraldry. 

The crescent symbol has been used in various legends as a divine attribute. In Ancient Greek and Roman mythology the crescent moon is said to represent Selene/Luna, lunar goddess, and some stories suggest that the curves of the crescent shape remind the bow used by Diana, the goddess of hunt. In ancient Egypt people honored the moon god Khonsu whose name can be translated as ‘a traveler’ — a pretty interesting coincidence, considering Vlad’s abilities to travel through times and spaces as an immortal vampire and by using the door. Thus, the crescent shaped brooch may point at the pureblood’s divine origins, explaining on of the reasons why other immortals call him ‘the son of God’. 

On the other hand, the brooch can be a reference to Vlad’s homeland. 

This picture illustrates the coat-of-arms of the Hunyadi family from which, according to some historians, comes the coat-of-arms of Wallachia, the region ruled by the House of Draculesti. A black raven is depicted in the center with a ring in its beak. Later on, the Hunyadi coat-of-arms was added with the image of the crescent in the top right.   

This tradition was further fixed during the reign of Mircea I, the grandfather of Vlad the Impaler, though it slightly differed from the original image as we can see the cross occurring in the central part of Mircea’s seal.

The same image was on the seal of Radu IV, Vlad’s nephew, with the moon replaced to the left. 

Not only that, during the period when Vlad was the Voivode of Wallachia he ordered to mint new trade coins. Up until today only two such coins were described in Romanian numismatic papers. This is one of them with the image of Vlad’s coat-of-arms inside the inner linear circle. Inside the first field there is a waxing half moon and a six ray star below it.

Curious as it is, if we overlay the shapes of a moon and a cross one another, we’ll get the image most close to the original version of the Trio’s brooch. 

Nevertheless, I wouldn't dismiss the third idea that the crescent brooch represents fate that brought everyone together in the XIX century. 

To begin with, the moon plays several roles in the game. Visibly, it acts as a mirror reflecting MC’s feelings and inner thoughts. The prologue shows how much she is frightened of the sudden changes in her life and the prospect of not being able to go back home. XIXth century France is dangerous, and this specific view of the world is emphasized with the nature descriptions. That's why in Arthur’s route the crescent moon is written as a ‘gibbering madman’s smile in the dark sky’, in Vincent's route — as a ‘mocking grin’ fueling MC’s anxiety. 

The Moon in Ikevamp universe, however, is often described as a silent embodiment of fate, the theme of which runs through the story like a golden thread. The crescent moon takes the role of a powerful force, guiding MC through the door (in Isaac’s route MC even asks herself, 'Had that moon guided me? Was I under its sway?'), dominating behind the walls of the Musee du Louvre (in Leonardo’s route MC thinks, ‘I wound up in an eventime world ruled by a crescent moon’).

The epilogues of some of the stories contain the scene where MC is shown to enjoy the view of the sky and remembers how the same crescent she saw on her very first night in the mansion was a harbinger of a major turning point in her life. A very clever choice of structuring writing as it allows to logically loop the plot. 

🌗

This is where I need to stop, but I want to say just a few more words about two other members of the Trio. Faust and Charles. What does the crescent mean for them?

Now, I’m not a huge fan of searching for a black cat in a dark room, especially if there is no one there. This is the exact reason why I had to abandon the theory about the link between the brooch and Charles's past as an executioner. It's too far-fetched whereas we have a far more satisfying answer. Wearing the brooch, Faust and Charles show loyalty to their sire. At least, in the case of Charles it does seem true, taking into account his obsession with Vlad.    

But with Faust it's a bit more complicated. 

The central conflict in his route is called 'man against self' or, more precisely, a priest searching for and finding the lost faith. These searches stem from a plethora of moral dilemmas such as the right of a man wearing a cross to rebel against God watching the injustice of the world; the existence of so-called ‘fair sacrifice’ when in order to save hundreds of lives you have to kill one or vice versa.

Faust himself is portrayed as a ridiculously cynical and unprincipled man who doesn't scorn to experiment on corps and sincerely despises any sign of human weaknesses. At the same time, this very man is the one who supplements the citizens with the medicine without taking any money, spends his free time with orphans and despite looking genuinely annoyed cares about their well-being, knowing too well what it's like to be deprived of love and compassion. He’s given up on merciful Heaven because he’s never been a subject of mercy. Still, everyday he goes to church and listens to confessions of his parishioners. 

I don't want to spoil other details of his route, but I think it's of particular importance to discuss MC’s words she tells him in the final chapters. As I understand, their meaning is somehow close to 

‘your hands are what give others hope’

This is such a beautiful and touching way of saying that despite Faust telling her multiple times that he sees no hope in the future, in reality he carries it deep inside his heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't see the point in being revived as a vampire and rebelling the very principles of the world’s existence, he wouldn't listen and give a helping hand to the praying people in church, knowing a common belief that a person can to speak to God via priests as his voice on Earth.        

No matter how hard the obstacles were, how painful and lonely he felt, Faust never wanted to lose hope and faith in his abilities to change his destiny by creating a world where everyone’s prayer can be heard. 

How on Earth is the crescent moon involved here?

At this moment you should know I am a myth nerd.

The crescent was associated with goddess Hekate in the Roman Time Period and in Late Antiquity. While she wasn't originally a lunar goddess and a part of the Pantheon, Hekate was still known as the deity of dark magic, medicine and necromancy. Faust, as mentioned before, is attracted to alchemy, pharmaceutical and paranormal studies as well as experiments on the dead. According to the legend, he also used to practice witchcraft.   

Alongside with that, Hekate had an important mission of guiding the lost souls. A crescent, her attribute, was incorporated in many poems and writings as a metaphor for hope that the moonlight gives to travelers as they try to see the road in the darkness of the night. 

So, Faust’s crescent shaped brooch in the game may be another way of proving that in spite of all his bravada and claimed indifference, the truth is he always wears hope on his chest, though he can't see it as he doesn't listen to his heart (that's why the brooch is on the right and not on the left). 

Hope drives him forward, makes him use everything he can —knowledge, experience, will — to create a brighter future. Hope creates aspiration, and aspiration nourishes hope. In fact, this is what brings Ikevamp Faust close to Goethe's character.   

In Part I Scene I: Night there is a marvelous monologue of Faust addressing the moon. 

‘O, may you look, full moon that shines,  On my pain for this last time:  So many midnights from my desk,  I have seen you, keeping watch:  When over my books and paper,  Saddest friend, you appear!’

He wishes to leave the material world he lives in in order to achieve his greatest goal — to learn the irreversible laws of the universe. As he speaks, the moon becomes something more than a lifeless object, it represents his aspiration, distant and difficult, almost impossible. 

‘… And need you ask why my heart  Makes such tremors in my breast?  Why all my life-energies are  Choked by some unknown distress?’   

[glasswinggames]

ooohhh!!! i see i see! i had a feeling that it was something to do with magical stones! ive been around the isekai manga/manhwa/manhua scene to pick up on some common tropes for those (clearly. not the same as this game but like. u know theres been the whole. what i am saying is that i recongnize the magic stone as a power source thing from multiple fantasy settings, this game has NONE of those isekai story vibes minus everyone being soooo hot amen) but i also find it hilarious that helios is the one who basically launched idols into being more readily accessible, cold duke is the reason you can watch your babygirl trip on stage on that note, I am SO curious about Noah- he seems like the most overtly sweet out of all the interests so far and I am so damn curious about his actual religious views- the world believes the saints to be chosen by the gods right? does Noah believe that the Saint has been chosen by the Gods? or is there another reason Noah has such faith in the temple and/or the saint? (if u cant answer this without spoilers that is) im also just curious about any religious facts of tidbits you could give me! i love exploring religion in fantasy settings

I'm so sorry for the delay in answering this!! Things got super hectic over the holidays and I ended up using social media very little! 😅🙏

I'm also a huge fan of the isekai manhwa scene (I've literally just finished reading the latest chapter for Villains are Destined to die) which honestly thinking of it, has probably inspired certain elements of the world! I definitely do try to make it different though as much as I can and create something new! But yeah I love the idea of magic stones as a power source it's just neat! /insert the meme here

It's also so funny that Helios, the man who swears by only classical and serious music (who is also secretly a theatre kid at heart) essentially propelled the idol scene 😂 it's his secret internal grumble.

There is only so much I can say about Noah but I'll do my best to answer as much as I can! His route is one of the two locked routes, and religion, or at least the God's play a huge part!

For his actual religious views, he does believe in the God's, and believes that you, the MC, has been brought over by the God too. Though he believes and has incredibly strong faith, he doesn't enforce or follow the doctrine as closely as others do though, so he's not very strict and is happy to help you with whatever you need and want to do, even if it bends the rules, because he can relate to your situation in a lot of ways!

Some religious facts!!

> The church is split into sectors, each following a different God, There are three main sectors, each for the three Supreme Rank Gods: Caitel (The God of Materia), Yuliana (The Goddess of Anti-Materia - my physics nerd is showing with her haha) and Tenebra (The God of creation). Noah is under the God Caitel, but he believes in all the God's. There are smaller sectors for the High Rank God's and for medium and lesser God's these are worshipped on a personal level.

> It's not just people who are brought over! Occasionally, different items come over from other worlds, which church scholars can spend decades trying to figure out how they work! The otherworldly travellers can help answer a lot of those questions 😂

> The church used to be equal to the throne, however, due to Helios work developing health care, the increased mercenaries who can be hired for protection, and a sudden appearance of new religions, they have lost power with the people which they desperately want to gain back. Some sectors believe the MC can do this for them, other sectors believe the MC will simply make it worse.

A long answer! But hope this all makes sense!! ☺️🙏 💕

[thirstyforred]

so im still thinking about Roderick and Albrecht and the whole thing in general z and I guess the main thing that puts them at each other's throats (and connects them, unfortunately) is ofc JdA. no brainer that one. but what I mean is that while for funny/torturing/even thematic to a degree reasons Rod never had sex with JdA (tho they were intimate in "weird fucking ways" that aren't exactly about sex 😌), Albrecht did fuck.

and you may ask, but thirsty, didn't you say that Albrecht is straight and doesn't believe in bisexuality as well? i did, and that's still true, and I'll say that his same-sex experiences we're just more about power (extorted on him by JdA, or power struggle against Rod), it's just way different than his experiences with women (even older ones that technically also involved some sorts of power plays)

JdA/Alvin/Jack (JdA is like a spoiler for what's coming, wrong in so many ways, Alvin is too personal, besides it's a secret for Rod but not Albrecht, Jack is fun, is playful, is a transitional lie, perfect for this purpose) approached Albrecht he was still in Ban Ard, years before the Order, before the Nilf Wars. In some tavern in the city, slightly older than young students, but not that old, interesting, but spewing nonsense. I imagine Jack would just drop the bomb of Source, time magic, maybe even a hint or two about White Frost, the Spiral, in some dark corner over shared drinks, enough to start the fire of curiosity. Sex is just a spice - imagine being young and brilliant, predisposed to look for approval for others, suddenly getting mysteries of the universe and prostate orgasm? Hooked.

but Jack actually doesn't want a Ban Ard mage, later Salamandra is likely full of those, what he needs is someone understanding theory and applying it somewhere else. Priests hate the thought, but really what's the difference between a miracle and powerful spell? And so, Albrecht's role is to join the Church. He doesn't get it at first, reasons why, why take your time with meticulously planning in the first place, so Jack has to give him hands on presentation. Albrecht has this big burn scar on his arm, shoulder and side, it happened while at Ban Ard, not at Ban Ard, and there was no more Ban Ard for him after that. Something something, sometimes devotion can be born from the least like places. Like cruelty. (But in some way it fits with evolution of Fire in the Church, the return of mage hunters)

(i have another thought about Albrecht's family, Kovir and mage hunting, but there would be tiny spoilers for my ttrpg campaign ig, so i shan't)

anyway, aside from annoying Rod with all of it (the amount of time, the sex, the scar that wasn't healed away), I feel like there's a need to sort Alvin x Hubert situation as well, like was Alvin cheating? bc the timelines are fluid for one of them, and anyway I like to think that they were together since Alvin's twenties, when he was in Rissberg. There is some sort of agreement - Alvin thinks of Hubert as his soul mate but understands and he deals with something that's no human (no matter how good he wears that suit). I can see however Hubert being annoyed and frustrated about the thing with Roderick, it's weird, it's too intimate, just fuck him and be done, or better let me just eat him... But he straight up doesn't consider Albrecht. Ig they would know each other, both involved in the Church, but Hubert has no opinions on him. (While in turn Albrecht is curious, bc he can see there's something deeply running between JdA and the good doctor (but funnily, unlike Rod, he's unaware that Rejk isn't human))

[animehouse-moe]

Torture Princess Volume 1: Grim, Gory, and Maybe Even Garish

Well, nothing like clearing out your reading backlog, right? I bought all of Torture Princess a good while ago, but due to pre-orders and the business that always accompanies summer, it's taken me quite some time to get to it.

Anyways, a dark and violent story about a self-proclaimed Torture Princess hunting down and torturing demons at the behest of the Church. Pretty solid idea right? I'd agree, but have a bit more to add to it than just that.

So let's start with each of those adjectives I used to describe this volume. I'll go back to front to make it a little more fun. Garish, not necessarily a bad thing, but in a few circumstances it is. Breasts aren't a bad thing, in fact, I'd say quite a lot of people like them. Besides their typical appeal, they can be well used to play into the feelings of horror or grotesque depend on what it is they're attached to, and for what purpose.

In spite of that though, Ayasato employs quite the garish inclusion of descriptions. A princess in an all-too-revealing dress that is referenced frequently at the beginning, an automaton who's immediately distinguished and described by her chest, and a tutor who's mind is unwinding having a paragraph referring to her figure. I'd say it nearly borders on childish in how it's approach/written. There's simply no need for it.

The good side of Garish however, is very nice but may flip flop for some. The methods of torture can get very creative at times and the descriptions are impressively well done as they ride the line between reasonable and excessive quite well. I think at times however, the characters involved in the torture can cause it to be too much. The use of women and children is to be expected, but it sort of pervades all layers of the process, which is somewhat of an issue considering the Torture Princess' backstory.

Speaking of backstory, let's talk gory. The Torture Princess came to be by torturing her entire town/kingdom, pretty grim, right? Right from the opening of the volume, you're treated to description after description of violence and all manner of terrible acts. Most surprisingly, you never quite become desensitized to these descriptions, and Ayasato remains rather inventive in how scenes play out. Sometimes I do think they may be too verbose or detailed, but that's more to do with the structure of their writing which I'll talk on later.

And last, but not least, grim. This is probably my least favorite adjective in regards to the series. Providing a heavy air requires levity and lighter emotions to counteract the weight, but we don't really get that in the first volume. It's a spiral that continues downwards endlessly without rest or reprieve, so when emotional or truly grim moments do arrive, they fall on deaf ears. Like a young boy sacrificing himself for our isekai'd main character Kaito. There's no weight to the moment, there's no passion or regret or anything of the sort that appears.

Continuing on from that thought, I believe it to stem a lot from the writing. I do like it a lot, but I think there are rather noticeable pitfalls. The pacing of the story is messy, the characterization of Kaito falls a little flat as he circles the drain continually, Elisabeth's character is far too transparent for a single volume, and a few other extraneous pieces. To reiterate, I do think the writing is really solid, but the stronger pieces expose the weakness that lie in the others.

The chapters tend to have a sort of formula to them, but Ayasato has bent that formula to their will to create something more recognizable than it is repetitive. The dialogue between characters for the most part is surprisingly exceptional and speaks to the distinctiveness of the characters in the story. As I had touched upon before, the creativity and ingenuity in how the process of torturing appears is greatly appreciated, and gives readers confidence in the length of the series. And just for good measure, the world is really well fitted to the circumstance. You feel the weight, the dreariness and dread that resides within so many, it wonderfully elicits the feeling of grey.

So why then, have I outlined more complaints than praise? Well, when you're on the cusp of a breakthrough, it's easier to point out the flaws than it is the perfections. The first volume is a treat to read, despite some of its shortcomings, largely thanks to how Ayasato writes. However, it comes with the caveat of how do things continue? This first volume ties a surprisingly neat bow on the story. Not in a way that fully completes it, but in a way that addresses the character arcs of Kaito and Elisabeth in a surprisingly succinct manner. There's more to be had, but aside from hunting down demons, I'm unsure of what can be done for our two main characters. I suppose I'll find out when I read the next volume.

[noxious-fennec]

PLEASEPLASEPLEASE rant more about ur ocs im fucking dying over your tags.. played like a cheap kazoo.. good god... the way you summarize megatons of plot into a few lines.. my god.. please.. please share anything else please. whos the mf w the glowing eyes and scars now. which oen's that. ptlease. in shambles

HII yes FINALLY my friend you've provoked a beast that's been waiting for AGES. You're in for a long one.

Crimson Night is a 2 year long running project between me and my friend @artist-from-outersp-ace !! And as a preface, cn is less traditional story telling and more like me and my friend made a long-ass-dnd-campaign scope story. Like when I say at least 10 characters have main character backstory and development, i mean it. Also I have no idea how to start this lmao so I'll give a brief look into the main character's (mf with glowing eyes) backstory in the most broad of strokes

Khaled Ben ali!! Aka the Tragedy ridden, doomed chosen one

He was born the younger twin of two (trans)boys 16th of april 1877 to hajer al naser and khalil ben ali in yathreb, carthage. 7 years later, due to complex political issues, his country was invaded by the luminian empire and his city was ambushed one early February morning in 1884, his father was killed and he was taken away as a part of a government program to regulate the carthaginian youth. He was soon thereafter taken in as protégé by the marshal general of luminia, Anton philippe armagnac, given the name william A. Phillip, and admitted into the baskan military academy.

When he's 13, he's given as a subject for trials for crystal augmentation (in which a gem is fused to the body in order to give it more power) of which he's the only survivor. His gem, a Ruby, grants him the power to change the chemistry/physics of anything he touches but causes him debilitating pain to use, takes a lot of energy and comes with heightened senses that are hell to live with (he starts smoking at 15 to cope, later when he turns 17 he starts drinking heavily). He later becomes the empire's youngest champion gladiator, at only 14, and goes undefeated for the next 8 years (ends there because he refuses to do it any longer).

In 1895, at 18, he graduates and takes an oath to never betray luminia, which is a requirement, then is sent to serve in carthage, as there's been unrest and many attempts at revolt, as lieutenant general. He serves for the next 6 years, periodically coming home to piles of bureaucracy, aristocratic bullshit, and a shitty apartment above a pub in the southern district of Calis (capital of luminia).

Over the course of his backstory he meets 3 important people, in the following order:

Eden Claeys (they/them), child of the lightless wonder (god of the moon, the tlw church's deity) and prince of luminia. They grow up very close but drift apart at a certain point. Eden goes by "isra", a name that means journey through the night, which was suggested by khaled.

Genevive Thomas (he/she), godsister of the prince, an important businessman's daughter and is betrothed to a nobleman from Caspeterra. She's also a ballerina. the two meet, when they're 16, after a particularly unsavoury night for Genevive and they become good friends.

Anastasia Kiers (she/her), bartender at the pub underneath Khaled's apartment. They meet through Khaled's alcoholism. She's also a famous singer and a reasonably wealthy lady, luminian society doesn't think highly of her because of the "lowly" entourage she keeps and her rebellious sentiments.

The story proper begins on his 24th winter solstice, on which he was invited to a royal ball, but im not gonna go into it cus that's proper spoilers and it's long. I can't even get to the bitch that got played like a cheap kazoo cus that's even more complicated than this. That being said if prompted I would rant about it for hours :)

[9voltt]

The Seven Churches

> The first church was big, imposing, but having visited the rest on my trip I'd say it was more average sized than it first seemed. The walls were made of polished stone, with some sparse bronze decorations and a couple framed paintings on the walls. Two halls to either side of the main space housed different altars depicting various religious figures.

I sat down in silence, contemplating my surroundings amongst a crowd of around 20 people. Everyone listened intently to the red-robed priest's sermon, though I didn't get to listen to it all. Regardless, the first step of a journey is always special, notwithstanding of if it truly stands out - but I cannot say much else about this one.

> The second church was by far the largest of them all, it almost felt like a museum. Many paintings with golden frames and other such decorations adorned the veined marble walls, much like the different statues, carvings, altars and other such artifacts encased in glass. The structure was largely the same as the previous one, but even more rooms and wings were accessible from the sides, some with beautiful stained glass windows. One such room housed a stone bath for baptisms too.

There were more people in this one, yet nobody important was currently talking. A crew appeared to be setting up some cameras at the front of the main hall, so perhaps something would be going down a bit later on in the day, but I wasn't going to be here to find out, my journey had just begun after all.

Despite the wonder I felt while on my little exploration of this place, the sterile white walls and the silent atmosphere made me feel somewhat detached from everything. It was majestic, but the majesty felt cold.

> The third church, in contrast to the previous, was probably the smallest one, though that might not say much considering they're still relatively large buildings. The outside and surrounding area looked a bit worn down, but I've found it's not really what you find on the outside that matters. I'll say the same for all the other churches too.

Stone walls, marble pillars, a couple stained glass windows here and there, It felt almost quaint. No side halls either. The ceiling had a carved pattern but upon closer inspection it turned out to be flat, an optical illusion pasted on, which I found funny. Couple that with the, frankly, low quality fresco at the end of the main hall and low number of people to get what one would assume to be a subpar experience. But you'd be wrong, for no other reason that they were playing music.

A simple uplifting song, a woman's soothing voice and the silent prayers of those present. I took it all in for a moment, letting tears well up in my eyes. It's always been my weakness really. I left before anyone noticed me like that and dried my eyes with my sleeves outside, planning the route to my next destination. I wish they were all like that.

> The fourth church I have to say was my least favorite of them all. Before entering I was stopped by a couple of homeless people asking for money, had I had spare change I'd happily oblige, but I did not plan ahead and politely had to refuse. Then, once I entered, the irony of the situation just made me straight up angry.

Unadorned marble walls, with a few bronze chandeliers, but many wooden seats, as if their regular affluence of churchgoers was way more than average - and it truly felt like it, there were a lot of people inside, more than the other churches at least. Instantly, two printed signs caught my attention on a notice board, asking for donations, as maintaining a church is hard work.

A priest was issuing a sermon, but the whole aura of the place felt oppressive in a way it's hard for me to describe. A couple old men walked around the seats with hemp baskets, wiggling them over the believer's faces, who happily dropped multiple wallets' worths inside. One walked up to me, but I declined, had I had spare change maybe I could've given them something, but no, probably not. So I quickly left the place behind, I did not feel at peace at all.

> The fifth church was probably the standard I envisioned before starting my journey. A large, pristine white marble space with opulent golden decor, majestic ornate chandeliers, intricate mosaics and brilliant natural light coming through the colorful stained glass. Many altars housed many statues and depictions of different religious figures, each accompanied by a framed painting. There was a certain calmness in the air, of people preparing for the sermon and sharing quick pleasantries.

It seemed I was here just in time, as everyone quickly shushed when a red-robed old man prepared his microphone and promptly flipped through the pages of a book. He started reading aloud, but in my heart of hearts I could not bear to take him seriously, his voice was simply too nasally, he slurred some words and was generally difficult for me to understand.

I stared absentmindedly at the striking art pieces as the man's voice droned in the background, not quite paying attention to what he was saying. I quietly nodded to a man standing by as guard for the experience, but swiftly headed out, the sermon was not for me, and I did not wish to stay any longer. Lest I actually started giggling.

> The sixth church was my shortest visit, but not bad in the slightest. I arrived at the site just after pretty much everyone had left, with just about 5 other people inside, probably on a visit just like mine. They seemed to be closing too, so I had to make it quick. But oh, how I wish I had more time. This was probably the most stunning one of the churches.

An unassuming front housed a grand marble interior, but each pillar had a somewhat orange/golden protruding side that made them stand out. The altars were made of masterfully carved marble, painted a brownish gold, with simple but striking patterns and golden decorations. At the center of the main hall, a massive fresco adorned the ceiling.

But the most impressive of all was the lighting. Incredibly, no lights were on, save for a couple candles, but almost the entire place was illuminated by the golden rays coming in from the dome at the end of the main hall. I looked up to see an incredible yellow spirograph pattern covering the entirety of the dome. It was simply breathtaking, as if I had caught a mere glimpse of heaven itself.

And then I noticed everyone else was leaving, so I followed suit, looking back for a second before stepping back into the colorless streets and starting the final leg of my journey.

> The seventh church was not unlike the fifth, but less decadent and what I'll set my standards to in the future. Marble, dark wooden and bronze altars, painted ceilings, orange and blue accents, and paintings and chandelliers and etc, etc. The truth is, the experience in this church came not from the place itself, but rather those inside.

I sat down with the rest, and was offered a card by a friendly old man, with a certain saint and a prayer on the back, which I now have on my shelf. The red-robed priest wasn't particularly having a sermon, rather he was talking about the planned activities for the upcoming weekend. But for some reason I felt like I had known this man for my entire life, it was down to earth, genuine. He even made people laugh at one point.

A few prayers later and then everyone got in line to revere a wooden cross they took out, as a small choir sang in tune to an acoustic guitar. So, given everything, and the music, I almost, ALMOST cried again. But I didn't. I closed my eyes, thought about nothing, listened for a bit, said my thanks, and then left.

My journey was now over, and I felt fulfilled to a degree. But still, I had a long way to go back home, so really, did it ever really end?

[followthestarpath]

My beef with every organized religion

This might seem blasphemous but honestly it's just my observations and if that makes me a heretic, then so be it. I still believe in God. I guess it's just in a different light.

Christianity

Well I was actually baptized when I was 8 and attended church regularly but I was always secretly agnostic. It didn't make sense to me how so many things in the Bible contradicted what we were learning in school. (I think I blame Santa for jumpstarting my urge to question everything).

When I went away to college and went through my own self discovery, only then did I feel comfortable enough to reveal my agnosticism. The first person I ever told was a Muslim and his response was that I have to believe in something or else I'll go to hell. Safe to say, I went back to keeping it secret.

Since the beginning of mankind. We have used religion to justify colonialism and Genocide. If Jesus and his followers happened in one side of the world, how would people on the other side know? If it's your job to spread the good word of The Lord, then why would you slaughter people who have never heard of Him? How could they by anything other than heathens if you don't even get them the option.

Also I can't handle the circular reasoning. Where does it say you can't be gay? Ok, well who wrote that down? Where's the proof? Oh okay. If we ever get time travel, I will bet a million pesos that Peter, Paul, and whoever were buttfucking each other in an orgy.

In Matthews when Judas betrayed Jesus, he kissed him to reveal his identity to the angry mob. To which Jesus replied, "Friend, why have you come?" which to me does not sound like something someone would say if their friend kissed them for the first time.

Why does it say it's wrong to get information from the stars? Cause it's witchcraft? Oh okay, well why is that bad? Cause the book says so? But how did the three Wiseman know Jesus was born?

Astrology was started by royal astronomers hundreds of years before the common era and they were pretty much one in the same. It wasn't until Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD that it became taboo.

The Book also talks about slavery and it doesn't condemn the philosophy of it at all. It's right there in the The Ten Commandments. Everyone knows, "thou shall not kill", "though shall not steal" and maybe a couple more but what about the rest? You don't just get to pick and choose which parts to listen to.

(Fuck, why is this so long? )

My point is that if I blindly follow someone's advice on how to navigate the world from two millennia ago, that would be dangerous in any field. And I also think that if a stranger said not to listen to anyone else but them and follow them to live for eternity, I would think they were a super villian.

If your truth is so Supreme, then there shouldn't be anything against exploring other options because they would come back every time. Or does God think we're all idiots that would get lost if no one was there to guide us?

If I wrote a paper in college and my sources were from even 50 years ago, the whole paper wouldn't be credible. So how did we all choose to follow this book with no amendments ever?

And is Catholicism so big that the Vatican needs to be considered its own country? That's gotta be gluttony or pride or something.

Judaism

My main critique is that anytime someone mentions that Jews control the world, they immediately get canceled and labeled as antisemitic. But I don't understand why that is taken as such an insult. And the fact that it goes down like that makes the claim seem that much more accurate. Have you seen that documentary Three Identical Strangers? All I'm saying is that they came off real shady.

Not to get too political, but during the current situation in Gaza, Israel is seeming to play both, victim and abuser.

Islam, Buddhism, Christianity (again)

My perception of a lot of religious stuff is that someone found one way to do something, wrote it down, and somewhere along the line, it became the only way. Because Muhammad thought pigs were dirty, people shouldn't eat pork? Because Buddha didn't do drugs that means that no one should else should try them. Jesus turned the other cheek so I'm not supposed to defend myself against enemies? Spoiler alert: that did not end up being well for him. I'm all for peace and love but at no point in time will I ever not fight back against people attempting to nail me to a cross.

Atheism

I never meshed well with nonbelievers who only care for what science says. We used to believe the earth was flat, you could fly to the sun, and that flies were born from rotten meat. There's a reason why the Big Bang and gravity are still considered theories.

Paganism adjusts and upgrades frequently. Back when tarot was developed thousands of years ago, the major arcana was proposed as 22 cards represented by the 12 zodiac signs and 10 luminaries. Even though we had not discovered 10 luminaries yet. Uranus wasn't discovered until 1781, Pluto in 1930!

Astrology updates with the times the birth chart house associated with work used to represent slaves and the house associated with friends and community now includes social media. When the outer planets were discovered, they filled in the missing spots and made everything more even. It's kind of like when the Texans joined the NFL.

So what I do enjoy about science is that it is constantly reviewing information and reconsidering the truth. So now we know for sure that the earth is super round, the sun is hecka far away, and that flies are flipping disgusting. That is something that none of the big three seem to be open to (and even four if you wanna count Buddhism)

Mattafack...

Buddhism (again)

For a long time, I thought my ideals aligned with Buddhism. Cause I'm all about peace, meditation, and being one with nature. I really appreciate the idea of reaching Nirvana as a goal but their actual ultimate goal is to ascend past samsara and basically erase yourself from the ether. You aren't supposed to desire anything and should never be upset cause that's poison for your spirit. That is the only way to beat suffering but I feel like that's like chopping off your hand cause you can't stop sucking your thumb. I much prefer Shintoism because it simply just is and that's it. And maybe even Hinduism? I'll dig more into those.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Growing up, I never understood why Jehovah's Witnesses weren't allowed to celebrate holidays. After researching, the best answer I could find is because they contribute most of them to paganism paired with the belief that celebrations displease God.

Now I really appreciate them not pretending that there isn't a direct correlation of Christmas to Saturnalia and Easter to Ēostre (which is why the date is so dependent upon the equinox and full moon and why there is a rabbit that lays eggs) but to dwindle down birthdays as paganism just seems like a reach. Sure the pagans kept track of the sun but if that’s your thinking then you might as well ignore the whole Gregorian calendar.

There are some good points like refusing to join the military and pleging aligience to flags cause fuck war and nationalism but everything else just seems so stiff. My personal philosophy is to celebrate as much as possible. Shoot, one of my resolutions is to celebrate more small victories. So if that sends me to hell then so be it, I won't have any regrets.

Anyway shuning people for not living in your same truth, restricting simple pleasures, and trying to convince strangers in book stores that they need to conform to your ideals if they want to live forever seems like a pyramid scheme wrapped in a cult. So it's a no from me.

Speaking of cults...

Latter Day Saints

Mormons, oh boy. Seems like a ploy to just have a bunch of wives and sex. If there is a greater goal than that, I can't tell. Not for me.

and of course,

Scientology

I bet you could make up some random conspiracy like "scientology planned 9/11" and it would probably hold some validity. I already gave my views on science and my communist ideologies just won't even let me think about this too long.

Amish

Not a cult but I honestly don't get it. I googled "why don't Amish use technology" and it came up with an FAQ from the Amish community website so then I was even more confused.

Everyone and everyone else

This sentiment goes across most religions for me: if having fun is a sin and the only way to reach salvation is to eliminate them all when I go to heaven, will I have fun then? Or will it be the same restrictions? I gotta chew on that one for awhile.

[doctor-candy-bonez]

I know this is going to get no traction because it's not one of my art posts but im just venting my frustrations into the void and pretending like someone is listening

So i got this friend group and these people are like my absolute besties I'll list off codenames I came up with as I'm writing this. So we got Imp, a tall horribly awkward dingus who means well but has a lot of misunderstandings, Cat, this man is an aspiring internet funnyman and music creator who is almost always joking around and having a good time even if he seems a bit abrasive with his memery, Elf, elf is the one I know the least but we're cool even though I jabent gotten enough time to get a read on her personality, Vamp, bro is an absolute hyperactive goofball him and Cat are a duo and together they can get a laugh out of just about anybody, Chef, my persinal bestie and the final part of the friend group and she is the sweetest person you could ever meet despite being the main one involved in this massive heap of drama I'm about to talk about (also small note that might play into what happens here. I try to pick up everyone in the friend group when I hug them and Chef is the easiest to hold cause she's very short).

So recently I had went to a party at Imp's house along with everyone else aside from Elf who couldn't make it. The party was a blast though unfortunately I learned I couldn't pick up Chef at all because her parents saw it as "inappropriate" because apparently picking a person up as a joke when the person being picked up is completely in on the joke is wrong somehow, and Chef herself had to go talk to them and even that didn't convince the people so yeah the main funny thing I do with everyone in the friend group is considered "inappropriate". So more party stuff happens it goes great then it's over and I'm the last person to leave because my own parents were watching hamlet and I also just like talking with Imp alone since we have the most interesting conversations about our nerd interests, I eventually leave because I needed to be home today to set up for a party and after I get home the group talks a bit in our group chat about the fnaf movie (we were planing to watch it on November 1st) and everyone is available to go and all of our plans are set and we're going to have a great time in the next few weeks. I go to sleep for the night and then wake up to go to church I check the group chat and see Cat making last checks to see everyone is good and yes we are all set for November to watch funny animatronic movie, a few hours pass i check my phone and see that Chef, and Elf are no longer in the group chat leading me to find out that apparently chefs sister, that's right her sister who has nothing to do with our group in the slightest told Imps mom that Imp was making her "feel unsafe". Yup you heard that correctly the person who HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR FRIEND GROUP felt unsafe around the AOCIALLY AKWARD NERD WHO ONLY TRIES TO BE NICE TO PEOPLE and apparently that means Imp and Chef can't be friends anymore and can't be in our group chat and since Chef and Elf are more of a packaged deal she also can't be in so yeah that bullcrsp happened, and I think "oh ok I can still text Chef because I have her number" so I try to talk to her only to learn that "her parents are made at her" for some reason so she cant talk me for a while and now I'm just very mad at these people for not letting an essential part of our group just can't hang out anymore and also according to Chefs brood of vipers for a sister we were saying "inappropriate things" despite our group being as PG as possible due to small children being present so I have no idea what the frup that's about either.

Well that's about it sorry for making you sit through my angy spat of words I'm just incredibly ticked that these people instead of minding their buisness just start making decisions for one of my best friends (who also happens to be older than anyone else in the group) and the person they don't like is one of the nicest people I've ever met who's just trying his best

[nightraiderwrites]

✿▵ (yee they say all the world's a stage) :))

✿ did anything major change when you started writing [fic] to when you finished?

Grian was not supposed to be the main character. Initially it was supposed to be around Pearl and BigB, and THEN I needed a reason for them to cross the Veil, so, y'know... I killed Joel and Jimmy.

There are smaller details that changed, such as the title, relationships, little things like that.

▵ pick a fic and I’ll tell you my favorite line

Oh gosh, it's so hard to pick, so I'll pick out my absolute favorites hehehe

“Oh, one more thing,” he says, turning back to Cleo. “I don’t think we’ve run out of sand just yet. So don’t give up hope yet, okay?” -Grian, Chapter 4

I like this one because of the subtle reference to limited life. It's also quite a hopeful segment.

“Monsters aren’t born monsters, Scott,” Pearl says. “We’re made. What flames do you think forged me?”

-Pearl, Chapter 6

I love this one so much because it's such a raw piece of dialogue, but it speaks to how much pain and trauma they've gone through

Grian Moon says all this like a confession, like he's a sinner at a church, asking forgiveness for all the things he should’ve done. -Chapter 9

I think it's obvious why I like this one.

A child’s toy is laying on the floor. Ink is still splattered against the dirt.

-Chapter 10

Ah, the inherent tragedy of the implication of a child previously existing to play with the toy.

The seasons have become bookends to their stories, shutting one book only to open another. Winter is around the corner, says the faint whispers in his ears. It’s almost been half a year.  -Chapter 11

The concept of passing time is always quite difficult for me, but this makes it pretty clear how much time has passed, and yet the grief is still there. It doesn't leave, your life only grows bigger around it.

[theworldwalkerswols]

The Warrior of Light and his Loves

A Kyler & Polycule Playlist

Take Me to Church by Hozier, with dance by Sergei Polunin | Aymeric

My lover's got humor [he]'s the giggle at a funeral knows everybody's disapproval should have worshipped [him] sooner

If the Heavens ever did speak [he]'s the last true mouthpiece every Sunday's gettin more bleak: fresh poison each week

"We were born sick" you heard them say it

My church offers no absolutes [he] tells me: "worship in the bedroom" the only Heaven I'll be sent to is when I'm alone with you

I was born sick, but I love it Command me to be well Amen, Amen, Amen

Take me to church I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife offer me that deathless death, O good God! Let me give you my life!

If I'm Pagan of the good times my lover's the sunlight keep the Goddess on my side: She demands a sacrifice drain the whole sea, get somethin shiny somethin meaty for the main course that's a fine lookin high horse what you got in the stable? We've a lot of starvin faithful that looks tasty, that looks plenty this is hungry work

Take me to church I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife offer me my deathless death, O good God! Let me give you my life!

No masters or Kings when the ritual begins there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sins in the madness and toil of that sad earthly sea only then I am human, only then I am clean Oh...oh! Amen! Amen, Amen...

Take me to church I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife offer me that deathless death, O good God! Let me give you my life!

Yeah yeah this is cliche at this point but I don't care. Also I HAD to do the ballet video, because of course I did!! It's SO GOOD!!

My interpretation of the Halonic church and Aymeric are deeply impacted by being raised with staunchly Catholic extended family. That is one of many reasons why this song speaks to be so incredibly deeply.

My Aymeric headcanons have always included 1. Aymeric has a contentious relationship with the Fury, and 2. Aymeric has always has a tendency to privately lean into or relish his "sins" of choice cough, gay sex, cough as part of that contention. Both of those headcanons come into play in this song for me.

I also deeply enjoy the bridge for its nod to social strata - "that's a fine lookin high horse / what you got in the stable? we've a lot of starvin faithful ... this is hungry work." It works so well for Ishgard.

[jennyyyeeettt]

Christian thingies!!

GO DRINK SOME WATER FIRST main thing of the post: If you are like me a Christian struggling with having time or forgetting to take time for God GLORIFY APP is actually so nice, highly recomend. It can take you like 5 mins or so and there's an option that u can listen, so if u r doing something u can sorta like play it in the background or something. hope it helps someone ----- the rest is just ramble, you can ignore it. - I AM a christian But my actions don't define christianity bec I'm just a human. and actually no human can be the definition of any religion, I'm not the most perfect christian, but that doesn't cancel the fact that I believe in God. (I'm saying that bec im tired of being judged bec i don't act "christian enough" according to some people) i'm human and im born with flaws!!! >:C So as a person who's born a christian I have gone to many churches. I've discovered that every church is different, some are boring i'd rather die than attend and some are too fun it makes u dont want to leave for some reason, in my case the closest church to my home is like 10 mins away and its a bit boring and awkward while my fav. one is 2 hours away and it's perfect - tho i dont know anyone there - As an introvert it's been hard bec I don't like praying out loud or participating in activities and it's so hard for me to make friends bec church people here in my coutry are strict and you never know what to expect if you opened up to them about some stuff, plus i already have trust issues lol. so anyways, and Im not the type to pretend im a good girl in church and act different outside (not anymore) so I don't have church friends and i don't attend as much as i like and so I dont get encouraged to read the bible anymore or even listen to anything that have to do with that, bec tbh my brain is always like "we want something fun" yano.. like a human's brain ... so anyways i've discovered this app. Glorify, and it's so calming and sweet, and im trying it so i hope it makes a difference, I kinda stopped having high expectations, and forcing myself to act good bec it only makes me dislike it more and i know im doing it wrong bec i feel forced to pray and worship and all that, cuz im sure im supposed to enjoy it. but to be realistic it's almost impossible to enjoy it as there are some obstacles in my case like being anxious to talk in a crowd or the distance as i said or having other things that i gotta do ... sooooo I'm trying .. I'll see how it goes.

[stargazingpsychotic]

gonna get a new clarinet and saxophone next week :)

[allthehetalia]

Yandere!Canada Headcanons

This is gonna be a little long so Imma put it under the cut... also because there is a small N$F/W section. A huge massive brain dump because he is one of my favorite Yanderes to write.

Character: APH Canada

TW: yandere behavior, violence, N$F/W content, some drugs mentioned. Basically a Minor DNI post.

Danger zone: 10/10

🍁 I'm gonna premise this by saying that his main yandere traits are: Worship, codependent, and delusion.

🍁Note, he does show traits of obsessive as well.

🍁I will also say that these are ramped up to the MAX. Matthew has been pushed to the back his whole life so when he meets you it's no holds bar, you are his everything even his own god/goddess and church.

🍁 The boy loves hard, and I mean HARD, everything is over the top with him. Reject him, he's a blubbering mess; accept him, he's still a blubbering mess but now nuzzling and laughing. Eventually, you'll crack since there is no calm with a love-sick Matthew.

🍁 With everything at max it's safe to say it's easy to make Matthew snap, even seeing someone look at you in a way that he doesn't like will make him lash out, not at you though. Never at you, it's the offender that's taking a beating, and please remember Alfred is his brother and we all remember his insane strength... now add desperate yandere to it.

🍁 Now life with Matthew can be domestic, fluffy, and seem as normal as a toxic yandere relationship can be. You may even convince him to see a doctor or therapist about his erratic tendencies, leaving out the fact that he's holding you captive.

🍁 Drug TW: He may be prescribed something for it but Matthew will stop taking it, he hates the way it zombies him out. How will he be able to watch after you if he's sitting on the couch zoning out?

🍁 Drug TW: With that, you may be able to talk him into recreational weed, and hey if you smoke it's a win-win situation. He stays calm and in his head, and you get to relax because he's less likely to tip over the deep end.

🍁 Drug TW: High cuddles? High cuddles, I mean his normal cuddles are nice but he does tend to hold you too tight and smother you but when he's on cloud nine and loose they're the best. It is the right amount of comforting and warmth, you two may even dose off due to it.

🍁 Okay now that's over let's talk about living with him. It's not bad since once you're either talked into moving in, which is a best-case scenario, or kidnapped he has less of a reason to burn a whole town looking for you so fewer casualties.

🍁 After a while there becomes a comforting lul to your routine, Matthew leaves to do country business and you stay home reciting the rules to him as he hurries out the door a hot cup of coffee in hand.

Don't leave the house, the furthest you go is the mailbox. Don't answer the door, especially if it's Alfred. Don't hurt yourself while he's away. Don't answer the phone. Don't try any funny business.

🍁 It becomes very black and white, same thing different day. He does do something special on your birthday like planning a movie night and ordering pizza, he of course gets the door. Can't have the pizza guy's wandering eyes on you.

🍁 I hope you like hoodies too because you suddenly have accumulated a lot of them thanks to Matthew not wearing anything but hoodies outside of work. I hope you're ready for grey sweatpants season too he owns tons of them.

NSFW TW HERE ON OUT

🍁 Unlike some yanderes Matthew does not want to force himself on you, remember you are his everything from the air he breathes to his own personal church (TAKE ME TO CHURCH, I'll show myself out now), doing something so heinous to you would be the last thing on his mind.

🍁 He waits for you to come around, knowing that the move, if you can call it that, was a lot it probably killed your mojo. He'll settle with cuddles and kisses until you start to show signs of wanting him too. With you, by his side, he can play the waiting game.

🍁 Of course body worship is on the table, he loves praising you telling you how much he loves you and how beautiful you are inside and out.

🍁 Pillow talk > dirty talk. He'll gladly take it if you're a dirty talker, yo that's kind of hot, but he prefers the sweet nothings and sweet compliments. France really did rub off on him huh?

🍁 Now if you turn the tables and praise him it's automatic NUT. Call him a good boy and he's putty in your hands.

🍁 He's definitely a switch with more service top energy but if you prefer to be the dominant one he's a-okay with that. Just praise him dammit.

🍁 Lowkey has a stuffing kink, loves to see the belly pouch out after you eat, and seeing the pain on your face after he feeds you more than what your poor tummy can take.

🍁 He's not the best at oral, he's a little too shy, but he tries for you and he's getting better every time he tries. Now take his hair in your fist and guide him while you praise him and that's when the real fun starts.

🍁 Will go nuts if you go down on him, doesn't know what to do with his hands but they'll soon find purchase in scratching your scalp as he lets you know how good you're doing.

🍁 His pace is mid-range and kind of sloppy, he sometimes pulls out too far and slips out but that's all the fun right?

🍁 He's not very experienced, he tried to save himself for you so if you know what you're doing it's best to show him and learn with him.

🍁 Damn does he know how to do aftercare though, he'll run you a bath with some essential oils, get you water, cuddle you, just say the word and he's at your beck and call.