#notion collector page

[koobinha]

🫧☆ notion collector page !!

⊹ 🪐 . . ݁ ࣪paginas inclusas

homepage;

wishlist (c/ prio, quero, sonho, a caminho, tenho)

controle de coleção (c/ infos sobre gom/seller, preços [card e frete], datas)

ko-fi

se precisar, entre em contato comigo: twitter | pinterest

[singemall-stayallnight]

Jimmy Page 2023 Guitar Player Interview

“I Owe It to All of Them”: Jimmy Page Explains How His Love of the Blues Fueled the Fire for One of Rock’s Biggest Bands

You can read the full interview at the link above.

“The blues is scary,” Jimmy Page says. “It’s threatening. It’s saying: ‘I’m coming to get you.’”

“The blues – I mean, it’s just undeniable,” Page says. “It was just an undeniable element of everything that was going on in Led Zeppelin. If there hadn’t been that sort of movement in Chicago, back in the ’50s, and all that sort of riffing, then you wouldn’t have got what came through in various bands later – certainly for me and how it affected me in Led Zeppelin.

“In those days, all the guitarists were learning from records. I was lucky that I had a blues collector called Dave Williams. Through him I got to hear stuff like Elmore James. You weren’t going to hear that on the radio.”

Given his legacy, Page doesn’t owe anything to anyone as a guitarist, but he waves away the notion. “I owe it to all of them,” he explains. “That’s how I learned. My breakthrough was when I understood how to do bottleneck guitar. That’s the point when open tunings first come in for me. Boom! That’s it. And that whole world opened itself up for me. I wasn’t actually trying to play note for note what anyone else had done.”

How did Zeppelin’s treatment of the blues differ from, say, John Mayall’s and Eric Clapton’s three years before? “Well, it’s the atmosphere and it’s the attitude that’s created on something like Muddy Waters’ ‘Standing Around Crying,’” Page says. “It’s like Howlin’ Wolf: When you hear Wolf, he’s not messing about. It’s like, ‘I’m coming at you – and I’m gonna get you!’ And that’s why I love him.

“So let’s put it this way: Whether it was the first album or whether it was ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ [from Led Zeppelin III] or ‘Tea for One’ [from Presence], whenever Led Zeppelin do a blues, it’s not like anybody else doing the blues.”

Remarkably, Page says he wasn’t Zeppelin’s biggest blues fan. “We all had our roots,” he explains. “Each and every one of us had played the blues in some sort of department or other.

“What I would say is that Robert was a blues aficionado, but he was very into the country blues. He was a damn fine harp player.

“He was used to playing that acoustically, but I was keen to get him playing it through an amp. So then you get things like ‘When the Levee Breaks,’ which is really gonna scare the pants off you with what he does on harmonica.”

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1D

Book summaries below:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

Fantasy, portal fantasy, metatextual, atmospheric, adult

Like Other Girls by Britta Lundin

After getting kicked off the basketball team for a fight that was absolutely totally not her fault (okay maybe a little her fault), Mara is dying to find a new sport to play to prove to her coach that she can be a team player. A lifelong football fan, Mara decides to hit the gridiron with her brother, Noah, and best friend, Quinn—and she turns out to be a natural. But joining the team sets off a chain of events in her small Oregon town—and within her family—that she never could have predicted.

Inspired by what they see as Mara's political statement, four other girls join the team. Now Mara's lumped in as one of the girls—one of the girls who can't throw, can't kick, and doesn't know a fullback from a linebacker. Complicating matters is the fact that Valentina, Mara's crush, is one of the new players, as is Carly, Mara's nemesis—the girl Mara fought with when she was kicked off the basketball team. What results is a coming-of-age story that is at once tear-jerking and funny, thought-provoking and real, as Mara's preconceived notions about gender, sports, sexuality, and friendship are turned upside down.

Contemporary, coming of age, sports fiction, young adult

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Realm of the One Eyed King

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

Philthrax grimaced as the carriage hit yet another hole in the road and he lost his place in the novel he was reading. He knocked on the carriage wall behind him that separated him from the driver.

“For every bump you make me endure from now on I shall have a guard beat you.” He spoke loud enough for the driver to hear. He didn’t hear the driver’s response and in truth did not care what they would have said anyway. He had spoken and that was the law.

Frankly even the notion of the beating would give him little joy as this entire trip had been pointless to Philthrax. Yet the king had asked him to investigate why the outlying villages had ceased paying their taxes. He’d have sent one of his underlings to handle such a mundane task had it not been a direct request so here he was riding out to the middle of nowhere.

An hour passed with no further bumps when the driver knocked on the roof of the carriage.

“We’ve reach Wixten, my lord.”

Philthrax said nothing in reply and closed his book. He took a look at himself and straightened his clothes before reaching for the tax collection records for Wixten. Flipping through the pages rapidly he was able to memorize all of the information regarding the small hamlet and returned the documents to their storage just as the carriage came to a stop.

The door slowly opened and Philthrax saw the guards lining up to either side of the door.

Unfurling himself from the ornate seating Philthrax stepped out of the carriage and deployed his umbrella. At this time of day the two suns would be at their peak and the light would be overwhelming to his eyes. A point of pride amongst the nobility ironically as it showed that he could remain indoors longer and still maintain his wealth without needing to work outside like a peasant.

As he looked around he saw that he and his retinue were on the main street of the town. To either side were the kneeling residents of the town as knelt in front of shops, gathering places, and a few homes; but Philthrax noticed something odd at the opposite end of the street. In place of what should have been the statue of the king stood a tall metallic structure the tax collector was not familiar with. It towered over the other buildings of the town and at the top stood a metal bowl with rod pointing outwards.

“You there,” Philthrax pointed to a random town folk, “what is that?”

The peasant looked up from the ground at the tower, then back the tax collector. “That is the transmitter my lord.”

“Transmitter?” Philthrax repeated. The word was unknown to him and sounded somehow wrong against his tongues; and he was well versed on every language this side of the continent.

“Yes,” the peasant continued, “our king gave it to us and told us to activate it should we ever need his aide.”

The mention of the king gave Philthrax pause. He had not been informed of any new construction projects, nor would one of such scale be placed in an isolated backwater like this. He pondered this until something odd about the peasant drew his attention.

“What are those things upon your eyes?”

Standing up the peasant put his hand on the blocky object covering his eyes.

“The king provided these for us town people so we can work in the sun without its harmful light. He called them “Goggles”.”

“The king was here?”

When the peasant nodded Philthrax motioned to the guards who went over and grabbed them by the arms. The rest of the town’s people gasped at this, looking to each other, but did nothing else as Philthrax approached the peasant.

“What is your name?”

“Temerania, my lord.”

“Well Temerania,” Philthrax spoke calmly as he stepped to just in front of them, “is there a reason you would lie to me?”

Before Temerania could respond Philthrax swung his umbrella across their face with a heavy blow. A deep gash opened on their cheek and purple blood began leaking from it as they cried from the pain.

“The king was setting off for the Dem region when I left the capital,” Philthrax began, “which to your idle little mind is in the opposite direction by thirty leagues; so there is no way he could have arrived before me.”

He leaned down closer and grabbed Temerania’s face. “Now tell me, who gave your these objects and who built that tower?”

Normally he could see the fear in the eyes of those he questioned by the blocky “goggles” hid them from Philthrax behind a blank visor that reflected his own image.

“I swear to you,” Temerania pleaded, “it was a gift from the king. The one eyed king gave them to us all!”

“The one eyed king?”

The title made Philthrax and his guards laugh at the stupidity of it. “Your king does not have one eye,” Philthrax countered, “and he is very much displeased with your lack of taxes.”

“Wait.”

Philthrax turned to see another peasant who had been kneeling raise their head. “So you are not from the metal mountain?”

“Metal mountain?” Philthrax repeated snidely. “Has everyone in this shithole lost their mind?”

Several of the towns folk looked amongst themselves before one of them nodded and began running for the metal tower.

“Seize them!” Philthrax shouted and a pair of his guard ran after them while the rest of the town’s people scattered indoors.

The guards had nearly grabbed them when they reached the base of the tower and flicked a large red flap of metal. In a flash strange lights along the tower appeared and a booming wail emitted from it like the song of banshees. Philthrax dropped his umbrella to cover his ears as the wailing grew in volume.

One of the guards grabbed the town’s folk who had activated the wailing tower while the other flipped the metal flap back and the wailing ceased. Yet when the wailing stopped Philthrax heard a new sound. Like the roar of a great wave as it approached the shore it grew in volume as the guards and Philthrax looked around in preparation.

Philthrax squinted his eyes as he looked to the sky and saw several dark trails of smoke rapidly approaching the town. No sooner had he blinked his eyes did the trails of smoke hit the town street by the metal tower and knock the tax collector and his guards from their feet.

When he opened his eyes the town was draped in a thick dust cloud. He coughed and swept his hands in front of him to clear away the dust when a booming voice drew his attention.

“UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF THE STARWAY PACT, THIS LOCATION AND ALL WHO RESIDE HERE ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE TERRAN COALITION. ALL ACTS OF HOSTIILITY WILL CEASE IMMEDIATELY, OR LETHAL FORCE WILL BE AUTHORIZED.”

Never before had Philthrax heard such a powerful voice and he turned his head to follow it, only for tilt it upwards at the large figure now emerging from the dust cloud.

Towering over the surroundings stood a giant clad in metal. Strange markings and symbols dotted the surface of the giant. Gauntlets capable of swallowing Philthrax’s head held a strange metal staff,while a single red glared at him.

Hearing further marching feet, the tax collector saw smaller versions of the metal giant emerge from the smoke alongside their giant and stand at attention. They held metal staffs just as their giant companion but had no eyes or faces that the collector could see.

His guards were transfixed with fear from the metal beings but Philthrax would not be kowtowed. Rising to his feet he swept the dust from his clothes and fixed the giant with his most authoritative stare.

“I am Philthrax, chancellor of finances for the kingdom of Hei, and this town and its people belong to us!”

“NEGATIVE.” The giant replied coldly. “UNDER ARTICLE 39 OF THE STARWAY PACT, HAVING PROVIDED TERRAN COALITION FORCES SUPPORT THEY HAVE BEEN GRANTED PRELIMINARY CITIZENSHIP. AS SUCH THEIR HOMES, BUSINESSES, AND ALL OTHER FACILITIES AND LANDS UNDER THEIR OWNERSHIP NOW ARE PART OF THE TERRAN COALITION.”

“Support? What support!?”

Philthrax rounded on the towns folk but saw that they all had hid within their homes leaving only his guards in the street with the metal men.

“How dare you turn traitor to your king!” he yelled into the buildings. “You shall all hang for this treachery!”

“NEGATIVE.” The giant spoke again. This time it and its smaller kin raised their staffs and pointed them at Philthrax and his guards. “REPEAT. UNDER ARTICLE 17 OF THE STARWAY PACT, THIS LOCATION AND ALL WHO RESIDE HERE ARE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE TERRAN COALITION. ALL ACTS OF HOSTIILITY WILL CEASE IMMEDIATELY, OR LETHAL FORCE WILL BE AUTHORIZED.”

“I do not know of this pact of which you speak, nor does the Kingdom of Hei recognize such treaties!” Philthrax countered. He motioned to his guards. “Draw your weapons and drive these creatures back-“

“HOSTILITY DETECTED; NEUTRALIZING.”

The last sound Philthrax heard was the roar of twenty assault guns and one hammer cannon firing at the same time before his world went black. -------------------------------------

Report 3-71-8395 Automatous Commander 3X-Z Acting Commander of Heaven’s Bounty until rescue.

- Hostile forces encountered at the settlement of Wixten. - Citizens activated distress transmitter requesting aide. - 3X-Z and twenty CG9 assault forms deployed to town and neutralized threat. - Hostiles identified by locals as associates of neighboring hostile power. - Calculation of further hostile actions set at 87% following termination of hostiles. - Deployment of CG9 assault forms to surrounding settlements deemed necessary for continued security. - Organic compounds obtained by grateful citizens of Wixten. This unit recommends upgrading citizens from preliminary status to full citizens if support continues. - Repairs to Heaven’s Bounty progressing. Organic compounds allow reactors to maintain power supply for vessel.

- Long range communications are still offline. Damage from fleet engagement and crash landing sits at 63% of vessel. - Industrial printers still online, though usable materials are limited. - Mining machines have been fabricated and have begun harvesting of metal ores for forging. - Recent hostile actions will halt further mining machine fabrication as additional CG9 units are needed for security. - Once situation has been stabilized reconstruction of the long range transmitter will continue.   - End Report

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

Okay, maybe not. There are parts worth saving.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Like what?

Friends and family.

The pleasure of contemplating art!

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Do you even *have* those?

I've got Kim.

I might. I just need to find them.

I did, but I lost them.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Just make sure you don't lose him. You'll not find another like him...

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - It's true in more ways than you know.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - But then what does this book know? It's just a poorly made piece of pulp garbage, made to be consumed and discarded.

4. I don't have any more questions. I've figured it all out.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - So who did it, detective? Who killed Charlie Spillane and Deanna Deneuve?

Love did them in.

The dirty police captain?

The junkie art collector?

The politician's twat son?

Uh... Dick Mullen?

You know what? I don't even care. (Close the book.)

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - What? That doesn't even make sense. There's never a straight answer with you, is there? You just get hooked on random stupid notions and then repeat them every chance you get.

Now go on, find out who *really* did it.

Finish the book.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - You begin furiously flipping through pages. Even as you know these books follow a series of well-worn tropes, you find yourself completely engrossed. You're turning pages so fast you don't even notice the ancient spine coming unglued...

REACTION SPEED [Impossible: Failure] - You try to grab the pages as they come loose but your fingers aren't quick enough... they're gone.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Dozens of pages scatter across the floor. The last fifth or so of the book seems to have been lost. It's possible that you could gather and reassemble the pages, but it would take way too long.

"Stupid old horse glue."

"Gah! Now I'll never know!"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Too bad, detective. If it's any consolation, the resolution is almost never very satisfying..."

"And on that note, perhaps we should get back to making sense of our own case?"

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Last year, more than 71% of murders in Revachol went unsolved. In Revachol West, that number was closer to 85%.

Level up!

This point is going into Half Light.

DICK MULLEN AND THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY - In your hand, you hold four-fifths of "Dick Mullen and the Mistaken Identity."

Fuck, hold on, we can salvage this.

ANNETTE - "Hi, ace detective." She smiles warmly. "Are you here for more books?"

"Little girl, help. My Dick Mullen book ripped before I could get to the end. Do you know what happens?"

ANNETTE - "Which book was it, sir?"

"Dick Mullen and the Mistaken Identity."

ANNETTE - "Oh..." She frowns. "I'm very sorry, sir. I haven't read that one yet. I wish I could help you."

2. "Okay, bye. See you around, Annette." [Leave.]

PLAISANCE - "It's always nice to see you here. You bring good energy."

2. "Uh, this Dick Mullen book fell apart before I got to the end. Do you have another copy?" (Show her the item.)

PLAISANCE - "Oh, I'm very sorry, sir. Some of these old paperbacks just don't have the durability. I would be happy to sell you another one, but unfortunately it's the last copy we had in stock."

Damn. I guess there really is no way to know.

In the spirit of Dick Mullen, I equip the fedora and pinball coat.

LOGIC - Give up. You'll never find the answer. There's no other copy of "Dick Mullen and the Mistaken Identity" here.

But, why?

There's got to be a way to solve this.

I guess that's it. Maybe it's better this way. [Finish thought.]

LOGIC - Because that's how the world works. Some stories never get finished. You shouldn't expect there to be a tidy, satisfying ending.

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - But... but... what if you never find out how *your* story ends?

There's got to be a way to solve this.

LOGIC - There isn't. If only you had more time... more resources... who knows what you could have come up with?

Maybe if there had been more money... and less speed...

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Easy: Success] - Or *MORE* speed!

LOGIC - Or *that*, yes. Either way, you might've been able to come up with an answer. But not like this.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - Hang on, you can do this. *Use your imagination*. You know who the suspects are, just... make it up.

So, who killed Charlie Spillane and Deanna Deneuve, detective? Just fucking pick one.

[queeratlast]

Episode 1 - La Maupin

Take a closer look at the illustration we discuss during Episode 1, which focuses on Julie d'Aubigny, or La Maupin as she was known - an incredible figure whose life blurs the boundaries of fact and fiction. See end of post for references.

The image (shown above) is an illustration by Aubrey Beardsley made for Gautier’s Mademoiselle de Maupin A Romance of Love and Passion. It has several queer connections in its own right.

The book

Mademoiselle de Maupin A Romance of Love and Passion was published by Theophile Gautier in 1899. The story was inspired by the life of La Maupin, but rather than attempting to be a facts-based portrayal of her life, it takes her identity as a cross-dressing swordswoman and runs with it. The story centers around a young couple, Chevalier d’Albert and his mistress Rosette, who have both fallen in love with the dashing "Théodore de Sérannes". Unbeknownst to either of them, Théodore is in fact a woman in disguise.

While d'Albert has a sexual identity crisis (a classic trope: the Li Shang of the 19th century, if you will), Rosette attempts to seduce "Théodore" in a very erotically charged scene. Finally, the truth is revealed and "Théodore" reveals herself to both her lovers, spending half the night with d'Albert and the other with Rosette. The reader is left to draw their own conclusions about what could have transpired between the two woman, something that could not be explicitely written at the time.

In the morning their mysterious lover has gone, leaving only a note:

Comfort poor Rosette as well as you can, for she must be at least as sorry for my departure as you are. Love each other well in memory of me, whom both of you have loved, and breathe my name sometimes in a kiss.

Theophile Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin: A Romance of Love and Passion

In 1922, the novel was condemmed for its portrayal of adultery and homosexuality by the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice.

The artist

Aubrey Beardsley published six illustrations for this work in 1898 - he had originally intended to illustrate the entire novel, but the project proved too intensive and costly and was abandoned. You may well recognise the style of the illustration - Beardsley was a very well known artist from the 19th century whose distinctive art nouveau style was inspired by Japanese woodcuts. He was deliberatively provocative: as Tate Britain put it, "his works explore the erotic and the elegant, the humorous and grotesque."

His works explored sexual freedom and gender fluidity, and he loved to include provocative elements in his drawings. Some of his drawings were particularly explicit and "obscene" - so much so that they couldn't be published, but were instead distributed to private collectors through discrete channels. Beardsley was part of the asthetic movement, a group of artists who strove to create art freed from Victorian notions of morality and rigid establishment ideas, to create a "cult of beauty."

As part of this movement he came into contact with Oscar Wilde, and Wilde comissioned the young artist to illustrate his play Salomé. Beardsley's drawings were incredibly erotic and upturned conventions for portraying women in the era. This was a daring take for a play already in hot water for its depictions of biblical characters. When Wilde was arrested on charges of gross indecency, Beardsley was dammed for his percieved association with the playright. A mob attacked the office of the magazine Beardsley worked for and he was forced to resign from his position as editor.

"I have one aim – the grotesque. If I am not grotesque, I am nothing"

Aubrey Beardsley, 1897

References and further reading (and listening!) for this episode:

Illustration:

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/aubrey-beardsley/exhibition-guide

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-the-aesthetic-movement

https://archive.org/details/mademoiselledema00gaute/page/n1/mode/2up

La Maupin's life:

Dictionnaire Des Théâtres De Paris, Volume 3, 1757

Women In Men’s Guise, Oscar Gilbert, 1926

Gallant Ladies, Cameron Rogers, 1928

By the Sword, Richard Cohen, 2002.

https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/julie-daubigny-la-maupin-and-early-french-opera

https://www.historicmysteries.com/history/julie-daubigny/26646/

https://kellygardiner.com/fiction/books/goddess/the-real-life-of-julie-daubigny/

https://podbay.fm/p/bad-gays/e/1679976000

https://clairemead.com/2022/06/17/la-maupin/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0cncgq8

[destiny-aesthetics]

^ Page 13-14 of 'Cayde's Treasure Island Book'; A Copy of 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson, that Cayde-6 as turn into a makeshift journal.

-----------------------------------------------------

Destiny [Bungie] | Taken King [Collector's Edition]

[left page] You wake up and look into the cold spaces between circuitry (galaxies?) begging for answers. None come. But other voices wait. At your center, safe and untouched, sits the original You. Just a little box tucked at the back of a closet, filled with trinkets and odd notions kept for no obvious reason. You have no idea when you last spoke to this tangle, but that's what you do now, using a whisper and the lightest touch, being all sorts of cautious because you're afraid of frightening whatever wants to speak with you. And then it speaks, and instead of answers, it begins with the only question that matters. "Do you want to know what happens next?" Realigning . . . This one ain't mine. It's someone (something?) else entirely. But it's the most important memory I have.

[left page; bottom right] All this time I've been busy stirring up the past. Never thought about what I was really after.

[right page; top] Trinkets and odd notions kept for no obvious reason. Do they matter?

[right page; Bottom] Maybe it's time we let the past alone and climb down from our walls. There's gotta be treasure that shines brighter than any we've been digging up from the bones of our lost world. Has to be a better hand than the one we've already played. I say we get after it. See what's really waiting for us out in that darkness. Maybe even light it up some. Dance in the ash and flames.

[wordsandrobots]

You mentioned a while ago a Gundam Eligos. I’d love to hear about your… process I suppose (how did you go about thinking it up, what influenced you decision to make it the Eligos, to arm it as you did etc.).

I mention it because I suddenly remembered a little while ago the existence of these two fake Ibo Gundam’s (I think that became popular around the second season) and I got curious on what your perspective would be on them, if any.

I apologise if you already mention this in one of your fanfics. I’m afraid Iron Blooded Orphans just isn’t really the sort of series I seek out fan fiction of (though if that ever changes, your stuff’ll be top of the list).

Oh, yeah, I quite like that fan-art (original links are these, I believe https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/60410296, https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/58286615?), though I feel the aesthetic skews away from IBO's baseline. Halphas in particular doesn't look right to me and I think that's because it's aping UC or 00 style 'suits too closely.

Anyway - no need to apologise; I get having things you don't seek fan fic out for, I'm the same. I'll note for the record that what I'm going to say contains spoilers but with one (highlighted) exception, they're broadly unimportant.

In total, I made up two Gundams, four pseudo-Gundams, and one adjacent 'new' mobile suit for Wishing on Space Hardware. If you'll indulge me, I'll go through the logic behind each of them in order of appearance.

The first Gundam is little more than a placeholder. I literally needed something to fit between Barbatos and Gusion in a line-up of frames for two characters to walk past. Due to misreading a wiki page, I originally labelled this Seere, which obviously is a Gundam that already exists, at the other end of the number sequence. But then I found this list which is easier to follow and renamed it Paimon (ASW-G-09). I described it as a scout model, slender and winged, which doesn't quite fit with the description of Paimon the demon. However, since that demon's rank is King, like Bael, describing it as similar sort of works. Clearly, my thought process on this one wasn't especially deep! The background I gave Paimon was that it had been in a private collector's war museum in a non-operational state. Some rich guy bought it from salvagers and put it on display. This seemed like a reasonable fate for a Gundam frame to have suffered and I used it later to bulk-out a list of extant frames.

The psuedo-Gundams are all copies of Flauros. Very easy! The idea behind them is that following The Incident, Gjallarhorn authorised an attempt to reproduce the Gundam frame with a view to better controlling the technology. A recovered Flauros was used as the template owing to the transformation mechanism, the Dainsleifs, and the fact that Shino very nearly killed Rustal Elion with it, which created a lot of shock-waves (it's a thread in my fics that this has as many long-term consequences as Barbatos' final rampage, while everyone kind of forgets about Gusion).

I hand-waved the difficulty of building new Gundam frames on the notion that 1) nobody ever tried before, 2) the problem of running two reactors in parallel gets solved over the course of the fics, and 3) the resulting 'Flauri' are technically inferior anyway, being less powerful and less resilient compared to a real Gundam frame (a fact that, as of writing, is about to become extremely important). All this said, the chief reason for making them Flauros-copies is thematic: this is a story where Shino narrowly survives and is taken prisoner. It's a big part of his arc that Gjallarhon takes everything uniquely 'his' and twists it for their own ends.

The Flauri start out as unpainted copies of Flauros' short cannon form, using Gjallarhorn railguns. F-4 remains more or less in this configuration throughout; F-3 switches out its guns for a laser cannon and an electro-harpoon weapon designed to disable enemy 'suits; F-2 is given the full original Flauros weaponry; and F-1 is refitted for melee combat with a set chainsaw/claw weapons in place of the stabiliser feet on the arms. Then, as the story progresses, F-2 gets outfitted the same as F-1, which in turn...well, that actually is a spoiler I don't want to share just yet! Point is, Gundam Flauros has a nicely 'neutral' design compared to a lot of the IBO 'suits, so it was very easy to picture how different weaponry would be bolted on. (Also, while Flauros becomes the template for the completed 'suits, development of the frame was based on an impounded Dantalion, so the idea of switchable equipment is there from the start.)

The long and short of this segment: I started with the thematic idea and thought about how far I could stretch it, following the logic I'd established in the story.

The 'new' mobile suit is another output of the above project: a Reginlaze-like frame that incorporates Flauros' transformation gimmick. The Leopard (named for Flauros the demon's common form) is basically an IBO equivalent of a Guncannon and sort of a joke that swings around to being serious. They were rolled out quickly as a way to shore up Gjallarhorn's relationships with the Earth blocs and Mars when there was a risk that the above Gundam-replication might be publicly exposed. As such, they've got a massively sub-par performance compared to actual Reginlazes. However, this doesn't stop a couple being stolen by terrorists and used for long-range sniping operations, or Gjallarhorn deploying their own, higher-spec models as fusiliers. The high-brow justification for this is as an illustration of more consequences of Tekkadan's actions, but honestly? I just thought mashing Flauros' design elements into a Reginlaze would work nicely.

And finally - to address your actual question! - Gundam Eligos.

OK, so, context: Eligos is not actually called Eligos for the majority of the story. It goes under the pseudonym 'Skoll', as in 'Hati and Skoll', the wolves who chase the sun and moon in Norse mythology. Being a 'moon-chaser' is a loaded double-meaning given that its pilot is one of the Tekkadan survivors. Likewise, due to who it is fighting for (a different terrorist group, apparently headed by a new 'Montag'), its modern appearance is patterned on the Grimgerde: red armour, swept-back fins, shields on its arms. That is principally why it has the armaments it does: shorter versions of the rare-metal blades built into the shields (which themselves flip around to reveal guns are the other end, because seriously, how many of those rifles did Mackie throw away?). It's also fitted with a booster pack for the majority of its appearances: big, triangular wings loaded with additional reactors to allow it to move incredibly fast compared even to normal Gundams. This thing is built for hit-and-run, designed to cut through enemy lines as swiftly as possible, because for a long time it's functionally the only mobile weapon this group has at their disposal. While it is later joined by 'Hati' (a Schwalbe Graze variant), that 'suit serves a very different purpose.

[To whit: Hati is equipped with the combination of a Dainsleif launcher with a beam-weapon, intended to negate the resistance effects of nano-laminate. The javelins it fires are hollow and filled with reflectors, creating a path for the beam. As you might imagine, this is a precision weapon to a frankly ridiculous degree, so Hati is functionally static while in operation. Ergo, Skoll has to handle any mobile suits in play while Hati targets enemy ships.]

The reason I'm starting with all this is because it's what came first. I made Skoll up before I picked which Gundam frame it was built around. I wanted a Grimgerde/Gundam hybrid that ran with Tekkadan's 'one man commando unit' concept. I decided it had been recovered with very little of its original armour intact, so its original identity was irrelevant in terms of what it could actually do.

However, obviously I couldn't leave it there! So: which to use?

I wanted a relatively low number, because the backstory I settled on was that this Gundam had been involved in the battle that left Barbatos (ASW-G-08) abandoned on Mars. Strictly, there was no reason to focus on the low-end of the sequence since I roped Flauros (ASW-G-64) into the same scenario, but it was a way to narrow things down. Another thing I used was association with the colour red (because Skoll is very much the 'rival' machine for these fics).

This led me to the page on that same roleplaying wiki I linked above for Eligos. Which is absolutely not an academically rigorous source. I spent a good fifteen minutes just now tracing the source for describing this demon as wearing a red coat (apparently it's from 'The Red Book of Appin' though I don't have the energy this morning to confirm the exact quote). Fortunately, it doesn't really matter because Crowley's edition of the Ars Goetia is sufficient to explain my final reasoning:

ELIGOS — The Fifteenth Spirit in Order is Eligos, a Great Duke, and appeareth in the form of a goodly Knight, carrying a Lance, an Ensign, and a Serpent. He discovereth hidden things, and knoweth things to come; and of Wars, and how the Soldiers will or shall meet. He causeth the Love of Lords and Great Persons. He governeth 60 Legions of Spirits. His Seal is this, etc.

I'm not wedded to the idea that the demonic descriptions need to be a one-to-one match for the machines or the pilots, but there's some fitting stuff here. First, it's 'goodly' as in 'handsome', which is beautifully ironic for a variety of reasons. Second, the lance. As I fleshed out what had happened to this frame, I realised I needed to have it use a spear or lance, because while I'd decided the katana was Barbatos's original weapon, the circumstances I was inventing required it to wield a longer weapon at a dramatic juncture. Therefore, that needed to come from another Gundam. And third, there were the references to knowing the future and matters pertaining to wars.

(Due diligence note: slightly more major spoilers for the fic follow)

.

.

.

This is what solidified the pick. You see, something I omitted from my description of Gjallarhorn's Gundam replication project is that the frames are only part of it. They also wanted the means to reproduce the piloting abilities Tekkadan showed. This led to the creation of the 'Alaya-Vijnana Type Zero', an AI model fed on battle data from people (Shino) who used the A-V. This enables the creation of new Type E systems sans the necessity of wiring dead people's brains into a mobile suit. As a concept, this met with mixed success but it's relevant here because the group operating Skoll got their hands on a copy of the specs and incorporated it into their Gundam alongside a standard A-V. This ramps up the information processing capacities of the system so it can very precisely identify incoming threats and respond accordingly, allowing someone with only a single whisker to operate at the level of someone with two or three. It becomes a 'sixth sense' for the pilot, which fits Eligos' realm of knowledge perfectly.

(And to confirm the obvious: yes, it's a Gundam Wing reference.)

With this established, I back-filled what Gundam Eligos (ASW-G-15) had been like. In appearance, it takes cues from 00's Gundam Zabanya, having an articulated 'cloak' of shield panels used to deflect incoming attacks and let it muscle in close to its target. Its primary weapon was designed for skewering and it would probably have had beefed-up thrusters to enable this mode of combat. For its original incarnation, the connection to 'knowledge of wars' is that its pilot was strategist for Gjallarhorn's Mars contingent.

To summarise the finalised backstory: Barbatos, Eligos and Flauros were deployed to the Chryse Planitia to combat a squadron of Hashmals, but the mobile armours split up, forcing the Gundams to do the same. Flauros ended up using its Dainsleifs at very close range, burying itself along with the Hashmal that would later reactivate thanks to Iok. Barbatos and Eligos fought the remainder but were overwhelmed. In a last-ditch effort, Barbatos used Eligos' abandoned lance to puncture the Ahab reactors on one of the Hashmals. The resulting gravitational upset blew Barbatos into the middle of the desert and ripped the armours to bits. Eligos was caught in the blast and crushed by the wreckage, the frame left repairable but its equipment written off.

And to summarise the answer to your question: there you have it. A mix of ideas that I then matched to the entry in the Ars Goetia I felt fitted best with where I was going. I'm both a 'what would be cool' or a 'what serves the plot best' writer when it comes to creating stuff for fanfic/fanart, but I do like to work through a justification for whatever I invent, even if it doesn't get much focus.

Thanks for asking! I know I've rambled on a lot, but that's simply because it was fun to collate my reasoning in one place.

[Addendum: There is one additional 'new; 'suit I included (past obvious things like Shidens using the two-horned alternate mask from the options set and that one random Hloekk with forklifts for arms), which is the J-class Reginlaze, a high-mobility variant that's basically a normal Reginlaze with Julia-style wing-thrusters on its shoulders. This is mainly by 'rule of cool' logic: overall, I have been trying to resist throwing in new 'suits at every opportunity because I really enjoy IBO not doing that. But sometimes, the urge to be self-indulgent is hard to fight!]

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: ‘Slayers’ Collector’s Edition #3

Slayers Volumes 7-9 Collector's Edition (Slayers, 3) by Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, Elizabeth Ellis

adventure

fantasy

magecraft

magic

swords and sorcery

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The fascinating. The powerful. The corrupt.

Each shadowy entity wreaking havoc on this mortal plane has manufactured an array of ignoble philosophies to justify its dark deeds. Some of these philosophies are brutish and rudimentary (e.g., demons are creatures of ill omen, who feed off the ill intentions of others), and some philosophies are dangerously, monstrously complex (e.g., demons vying to reduce all existence to nothingness, for only in nothingness is there true calm). And yet, through it all, a tiny sorceress with a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, might be the only person capable of keeping everyone in check.

SLAYERS Omnibus v3 includes the bookend chapters to the novel series' first major arc. This collection delivers all of the good stuff: strange and incredible spellcasting; clever but not over-the-top magecraft lore; villains who get their comeuppance; and new characters with plenty of issues all their own.

In book seven, Gaav's Challenge, readers are treated to a plethora of entertaining narrative elements, some of which regrettably snare very little time on the page. Lina and the gang trudge toward Dragon's Peak, at the edge of the Kaltaart Mountains, to access a remnant of the Claire Bible. The mythos surrounding the Claire Bible is immense, but filters into readers' purview with somewhat less flair than in the anime, but the reasoning is valid (e.g., there are other access points).

Conceptually, the Claire Bible is remarkable. In execution, however, it's wildly underused. The notion of a body of knowledge stored on a blithely accessible plane of reality, hoarded by those who have no use for it? The Claire Bible is a great example of how fantasy storytelling is both parallel to, and a paradox of, the real world's social, cultural, and political machinations. Lina, of course, is a genius, and she's keen to use it to figure out the universe's darkest magic ("I'm afraid I'm not an enlightened enough being to just roll over and die for something I don't yet understand," page 76).

This book is stuffed with a lot of action and a lot of lore. The fight at Dragon's Peak includes several full-demons, a revelation or two concerning Xellos's true nature, and a deliberate broadening of the novel series' narrative scope. Of the last of these, stepping onto the stage are Hellmaster (Fibrizo) and Chaos Dragon (Gaav), two of Ruby-Eye's five high-ranking demon servants. These are two seriously bad dudes with massive power at their disposal. For readers, the orientation and allegiance of each high-ranking demon is muddled (but assiduous note-taking might resolve this in due time). The good news at this point is that Kanzaka, the author, is dead serious about narrative continuity. Of less good news, this book has plenty of character dynamics that are easy for readers to lose track of (e.g., Amelia almost dies; Gaav isn't an egotistical villain on the lam, he's a sympathetic anti-hero).

In book eight, King of the Phantom City, it's back to Sairaag. Fibrizo artificially resurrects the City of Magic and craters Flagoon (ancient tree) in the process. His baiting of Lina, Zelgadis, Amelia, and also Sylphiel to tread into his so-called Hellpalace, of the City of the Dead, is typical villain stuff. And Fibrizo's snatching up of Gourry, as a hostage, makes the story's climax intuitively time-contingent. But as fans of the franchise likely already know, Fibrizo's ambitions are much, much darker.

The balance between books seven and eight is okay in the moment, but upon reflection, feels slightly off. Book seven is packed with information and intrigue; book eight, essentially, is the open-ended struggle to apply that knowledge. One imagines these volumes were slightly more difficult to consume, on their own, during their original printing.

In any case, book eight is a treat, insofar as spellcasting goes. Lina intuits the limitations of the powers of the higher-ranking demons, she discerns the network of power-sharing that enables her to cast certain dark magic, and lastly and most importantly, she learns the truth about the Lord of Nightmares. Lina does, in fact, "cast the perfected giga slave" (page 204). Controlling it, of course, is another matter entirely. Fibrizo's end is not to be missed.

Altogether, the book's conclusion is excellent, and lacks the fun but romanticized version the anime pulled together. Lina is a pragmatic character, but she's not so stubborn as to ignore what she learned from the matron of chaos firsthand.

Book nine, The Mystic Sword of Bezeld, begins a new story arc. Notably, the novel series pivots in a direction one might have wondered about for years considering the apparent fate of Gorun Nova, the Sword of Light. In the previous book, Fibrizo zapped the magical blade back to the astral plane.

The challenge this time around? Lina is blunt: "Gourry and I were presently on a quest to find him a new magical monster-carver," because, as she notes to the man himself, "I'm not getting a half-decent night's sleep until I find you a half-decent magical sword" (pages 218, 220).

Here, the story shifts onto a lighter beat and reduces the core cast down to Lina and Gourry. The slower pace feels good. And the stripped-down emphasis on characters fighting for one another, rather than fighting to save the whole planet, roots the novel in familiar territory. Sure, there are assassins clad in black. Sure, there are mysterious swords-for-hire hunting for the same treasure as Lina and Gourry. But the scope and scale are manageable.

And when the story is manageable, the worldbuilding can finally breathe again. Losing the Sword of Light gives Lina, as narrator, permission to chat about all of the other fantasy blades that populate the world (and possible swipe for Gourry): the Blast Sword, the Bless Blade, the Red Dragon Sword, the Elemekia Blade, the Dark Lord's Hungry Bone Staff, Ceifeed's Flare Dragon Sword (pages 209, 217). The idea that readers could spend the next few volumes sword-hunting with these two idiots, getting into trouble and feuding all of the way, sounds like an absolute blessing.

But as fate would have it, Lina gets in the way of someone else's carefully laid plans (again). For the umpteenth time, Lina barges in on a high-level demon's plan-in-action, decides she can't quite let things be, and resolves to fight her way through. Granted, the young woman has zero interest in fighting off a "hyperdemon" smothered with the curse of Raugnut Rushavna, but what's a woman to do? When an assassin is transformed by a demonic curse, and is then simultaneously possessed by a demon, the end result is a constantly regenerating creature of death and destruction.

SLAYERS Omnibus v3 is solidly entertaining. The author's increased focus on continuity gives the story a genuine sense of fated consequences (e.g., when a high-ranking demon dies, spellcasters can no longer call upon their power). Further, the book's higher emphasis on character mythology really shows, and portends greater revelations down the line (e.g., if Xellos is a creation of Greater Beast (Zellas Metallium), then who are the priests and generals to the other five servants of Ruby-Eye?). And some facets of the story are just too fun to ignore. Like how Lina's super-powerful big sister is known as "Knight of Ceifeed," but is stuck waiting tables back home. Or how Gourry, apparently, has a sixth sense for sniffing out demons. (Except, he's just too simple-minded to actually do anything about it. Twice in this collection, the guy just goes with the flow.)

The balance between what the narrative reaps and sows isn't perfect, but in reading these three books all at once, one finds the disparity is minimal. Reading about the wicked intensity Lina feels when weighing the ragna blade in her hands never fails to send a chill down one's spine, and the absolute shock of a double-Dragon-Slave still makes one giddy, but alas, there's always more story to tell.

❯ ❯ Light-Novel Reviews || ahb writes on Good Reads

[cocktailsfairytales]

We're celebrating the release of epic fantasy Stormvalor by Starr. Z. Davies! There's also a stunning deluxe hardcover edition coming out this month that is a collector's dream!

Stormvalor: A Noblebright Fantasy (Divica Stormborn Chronicles # 1)

Release Date: June 9, 2025

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Friends to lovers

Fake Dating

Strong female lead

The Bachelorette vibes

Rich fantasy world

Dangerous assassin

Gladiator-like tournament

Spice

Empire in decline

Gods are gone

Evil imperial overlord

Noble sacrifice

Lost prophecies

Court intrigue

Multicast POV

Touch her and die

She falls first, he falls harder

*This is a long list, so I recommend choosing the ones you would like to share

In the heart of a tournament, where legends are born and destinies forged, the fate of kingdoms hangs in the balance.

Aethan Starkling, a lord with dreams as vast as the realm itself, has long yearned to prove himself in the prestigious Stormvalor Tournament.

Aslyn Kiernan, destined to ascend the throne of Novavito, faces her own dangerous trials. An ambitious suitor from the Emperor's court schemes to force her into a marriage that would jeopardize her kingdom's future. Confronted with treachery, Aslyn must navigate the perils of the tournament to secure her destiny—or risk losing everything she holds dear.

As the tournament unfolds, Aethan & Aslyn's path intersect—pushed together by parents who seek a strong marriage match, and drawn together by the threads of fate. Together, they discover that strength and honor alone are not enough to secure victory. The price of winning is far higher than they ever imagined.

Bast Blackblade, a hardened assassin, lives by the edge of his lethal blades, dismissing the notions of gods and friendship. But when his final payment for a completed job vanishes, Bast embarks on a treacherous journey that leads him to the heart of Stormvalor, where he seeks to disrupt the budding romance between Aethan and Aslyn for his own purposes.

As alliances shift and secrets unravel, Aethan, Aslyn, and Bast must confront the truth of their own beliefs and the price they are willing to pay for victory... and for love.

REGULAR EDITION HERE https://books2read.com/stormvalor

DELUXE EDITION HERE https://www.starrzdavies.com/product-page/stormvalor-deluxe-edition

Content Warnings:

This book contains coarse language, blood, graphic violence, dismemberment/decapitation, murder, psychological manipulation, minor physical assault, on-page consensual sex.

IG: @s.z.davies @rrbooktours

TIKTOK: @starrzdavies @shannon_of_rrbooktours

#rrbooktours #rrbtStormvalorTour #stormvalor #stormbornchronicles #epicfantasy #romanticfantasy #fantasyseries #releaseday #newbookrelease #newbookalert #fantasybooks #booktours

[n1k0la1-blacksh0res]

❝ Ah- Hold on. The gear is malfunctioning again… ❞

┈➤ Nikolai

┏━━━━━•°•°•❈•°•°•━━━━━┓

╰┈➤ ❝ Oh… hey, nice to meet you. I’m Nikolai, a member of the Black Shores, one of the guys responsible for the Lament predictions. It’s nothing perfect yet, of course, but we’re still working on the accuracy. ❞

┗━━━━━•❃°•°•°•°❃•━━━━━┛

➤Basic information:

┏━━━━━•°•°•❈•°•°•━━━━━┓

╰┈➤ ❝Data collector of the “Black Shores”. His job is managing and handling the equipment, the resonance abilities often coming in handy during power outages. Even with his tired and lost-in-thought demeanor he still is still a sharp-tongued young man. ❞

┗━━━━━•❃°•°•°•°❃•━━━━━┛

➤Reference page:

Notion page in progress hehe

➤Rules & Info:

┏━━━━━•°•°•❈•°•°•━━━━━┓

No NSFW

No racism, ableism, homo/transphobia, etc.

(( )) for OOC

I'm fine with any ships including OCs as long as they are.... normal (no incest, minors, animals, you get it)

I'd appreciate it if you didn't flirt with me, the mod, unless we've talked outside of rp for a while

┗━━━━━•❃°•°•°•°❃•━━━━━┛

[unfoldingmoments]

The Debt That All Cartoonists Owe to Peanuts

Even the least critical reader can sense falseness and fakery on the part of an unskilled—or, worse, dishonest—cartoonist. And, because the comic strip is a valueless throwaway, the cartoonist must win the reader’s trust without benefit of critical backing, museum walls, and monied collectors. The best comic strips present the cartoonist laid bare on the page; they are a condensed sum-uppance of the artist’s notions of, ideally, what makes life funny, but also of what makes it worth living. This artistic effort has to occur not over a career punctuated by a handful of masterpieces but every single day. The skeptical reader arrives cold to a little slice of comic-strip newsprint and gives the cartoonist four, maybe five, seconds: “O.K., make me laugh.” It’s no wonder that Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts,” woke up feeling funereal, or like he had a term paper due every morning. Or, as he also said, “In a comic strip, yesterday doesn’t mean anything. The only thing that matters is today and tomorrow.”

It’s not the skill of the drawing, or the lines, or the lettering, or the funny words that make a strip work. Timing is the life force of comics. Without a sensitivity to the rhythms and the music—a.k.a. the reality—of life, a comic strip will arrive D.O.A., nothing more than a bunch of dumb pictures. When the comic-strip reader moves through those four panels containing those little repeating hieroglyphs, the characters must come alive on the page with as much ferocity and resonance as the people in one’s own life and memory. The reader doesn’t just look at Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, and Snoopy but reads them as musical notes in a silently heard composition of hilarity, cruelty, and occasional melancholy.

Due to an essential tremor in Schulz’s drawing hand, as the result of a quadruple-bypass surgery in 1981, this distillation felt shakier in later years; he sometimes even steadied his drawing arm with the other, to reduce the tremors to a minimum. But this difficulty did not change the strip’s essence, or Schulz’s devotion to drawing it: “I am still searching for that wonderful pen line that comes down—when you are drawing Linus standing there, and you start with the pen up near the back of his neck and you bring it down and bring it out, and the pen point fans out a little bit, and you come down here and draw the lines this way for the marks on his sweater, and all of that . . . This is what it’s all about—to get feelings of depth and roundness, and the pen line is the best pen line you can make. That’s what it’s all about.”

Schulz’s mind, and then hand, transmuted the “Peanuts” characters onto the paper and then into the eyes and minds of millions of readers, and he knew those readers trusted him to “make the best he could make.” He never gave up on them. Besides, no one else could have done it; despite the deceptive simplicity of a “Peanuts” drawing, faking one—let alone four of them in a row—is impossible. If there is one accomplishment in the art of cartooning for which Schulz should be credited, it’s that he made comics into a broader visual language of emotion and, more importantly, empathy. For this, all cartoonists—especially those of us who have attempted “graphic novels”—owe Schulz, well, everything.

This excerpt is drawn from “The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life,” out this October from the Library of America. Ref: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-debt-that-all-cartoonists-owe-to-peanuts Written by Christ Ware, New Yorker

[faneposting-my-beloved]

My issue with Godwoken graphic novel and its execution

I think it's time to make it into a coherent post instead of just letting bits and pieces known in asks or random replies so let's go. Godwoken Graphic Novel was my first contact with the medium. Not great, but it is what it is. Now with several Witcher ones under my belt, it's definitely easier to pinpoint all things done wrongly, misguided, or in a simply disrespectful fashion.

The premise:

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Godwoken - Collector's Edition Dive into this brand new hardback filled with six brand new adventures; telling the origin stories of Rivellon’s godwoken; Ifan, Lohse, Red Prince, Sebille, Fane and Beast.

Rivellon is coming to the world of graphic novels! Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Godwoken is the accumulated history of the six godwoken of Divinity: Original Sin 2. Who were they before their trails with the Divine Order, or before travelling to the Hall of Echoes? Everyone starts somewhere. Everyone has an origin story.

Explore the events leading up to the start of Divinity: Original Sin 2, from the perspective of all 6 Godwoken heroes of our tale.

This 300+ page full-colour graphic novel will take you on a journey through never-before seen areas of Rivellon. Ever wondered what Fane looked like in the flesh? Curious about Red Prince’s life as the crown jewel of the Forgotten City? Journey with Ifan as the Divine’s right-hand man, and explore the lives of Sebille, Beast, and Lohse up to the moment of the ill-fated Kraken attack that starts the epic tale that is Divinity:Original Sin 2.

Let's tackle down the hydra starting with the heads. #1 Inconsistencies Ever wondered what Fane looked like in the flesh? This is what personally prompted me to buy the book in a spirit of hype-fueled urgency, in collector's edition no less, and free my wallet of more or less 300 PLN (or 6 Witcher Ronin novels - 128 pages each). I read the entire thing as a zealous inquisitor would the Bible - rapidly losing steam with each flip of the page. Why? Well... Ifan, a Magister before the existence of Magisters

The Lorebook of D:OS2 states plainly: 1235 AD The Divine Order after Lucian

Under Lucian, the Divine Order grew large, and after his death it grew fractious. Its core function remained – to serve the Divine – but Lucian was no more. Without a leader, the Order began to fracture. Without a Divine, the Order struggled to protect the people of the world from the Voidwoken. The hope brought by Lucian’s hard-won peace was soon replaced with despair amongst the people and tension within the Order. Resolving this conflict is one of the most pressing issues for the Order’s new leader – Alexandar, Lucian’s only surviving son.

That Magisters as a fraction of the Order existed only after Lucian's death. What's more, we know that before this schism happened - Lucian's Order consisted mostly of Paladins - we play as one during the events of Beyond Divinity (1238 AD). So if Ifan served under Lucian well before that time (Chaos War 1233 AD) he'd have to join the Divine as a Paladin - most of which were of noble descent but did not overlook gifted and dedicated recruits of other walks of life. Recruits, as opposed to Magisters, Paladins are said to go through meticulous military training before joining the ranks proper. This notion may or may not be inspired by an older organization - Source Hunters who are known to train in Academies as far as 4 AD. Meanwhile, we see Ifan wear a Magisterial Red-Gold-Silver combo as opposed to Paladin gold and white

Old Paladin design:

(the picture limit might kick my ass in this post but I want to include as many sources as possible) Naturally, this inconsistency extends over every Magister we see in Ifan's chapter. A notable technical inconsistency on pages 5-9 | 13-14 is that Lucian's eyes randomly flicker between normal, human ones and Divine all-white sclera, and his cloak disappears in the panels on page 5 A bard and a....who?

Now, this is not my own complaint, but my boyfriend frequently pointed out that Nick's appearance is quite random and was not mentioned in the game at all. While I can excuse it with Lohse's memory going more or less blank during her 'episodes' and the indication that Nick might not be real at all - I see it could be jarring to introduce a character this important with no covering in the base material. While Loshe's chapter is among the few that get their job done quite well storytelling-wise I will discuss a few instances from here in another segment regarding worldbuilding and pop-culture references. An assassin in the pale moonlight

Not much to add here either, my biggest irk is visual and regards Sebille's hair color that is portrayed as black while the concept arts and key arts show her with brown hair. And maybe that the Needle is, in fact, a dagger and not some intricate lizard war needle was a bit disappointing, and that her tattoos are mixed together on her arm while they should be separate, but in comparison to other inconsistencies, they really are minor. Kudos for getting the D:OS1 goblin designs spot-on. It was a breeze of fresh air to see accurate portrayals. Again, just as with Lohse's chapter, the biggest sin is not in writing per se, but in the graphical portrayal of certain things that I will discuss at length later.

Beast o' the seas

Honestly, besides Isbeil not looking like herself, there's not much negative I can say on Beast's part. And I am RELIEVED to say that. The old sailor deserved that much. His story suffers only from constraints (like all of them, this SHOULD have been a series) Gods bless Beast's chapter.

The Spouse of the Sun

Once more, his part works. Minus the horrorscape/dream snippet - Sadha looks nothing like her in-game model or concept art, plus on page 254 the color of her scales looks green-ish? Sometimes you just can't have everything. Still, a positive overall.

The scholar of a bygone....oh God

I bitched, I bemoaned, I wailed and I cried over the mishandling (mutilation?) of Fane's chapter and the vitriol in me threatens to overflow still, so let's get straight to it.

If Elves in Ifan's chapter could speak in their own language, so should Eternals - Including the differences in Fane's name (Fane is a 'placeholder' he picked in place of his own, and Xantezza is referred to Xantessa in old sources)

Architecture......just.......no. Just for formalities' sake.

The appearance of the Eternals......Gods please, anything but 80s fantasy standards (especially when the concept arts are so detailed)

The King audience should be played off differently (maybe not in front of the WHOLE court (full of randos?? Where's Aetera??) I also expected Harina to be there with him.

CRIMINAL LACK OF AETERA IN FLESH I REPEAT - A CRIMINAL LACK! It's even a more slap-to-the-face that she's included in one of the additional arts at the end of the Collector's Edition

Eternal Guards should not probably wield swords and look like background characters from The Red Prince's chapter.

Dallis should have been playing with her mask - a good opportunity to explain HOW IN THE HELLS DID HE DO IT WITHOUT ETERNALS DYING OFTEN TO GIVE HIM A CORPSE/FACE TO MAIM

Fane's wife is ugly - the only win in this chapter (I know I know, I'm joking no I am not)

Fane's laboratory......point 2 and let's move on.

Eternals had paper (or a substitute) - in the form of scrolls, yes. But not BOOKS to permanently record knowledge - that is what tablets and memory banks were for! PLEASE.

The Seven...Point 3. I beg of you.

The concept of food as shown in the secret meeting panels is quite questionable. We know Eternals feed on Source (Source Vampirism is their racial skill) and that their digestive systems seem to be 100% efficient (hence why Fane is appalled by the concept of advanced digestion later on) so ????

Why are the Guards tying him with a linen rope like it's a bondage session?

The tombs that look...nothing like the tombs we see in the game! Neato!

Oh, so now Fane can distinctly speak Eternal and not be understood...? Okay...Okay?

Fane in-game > abhors violence, feels bad about purging that other guy dead. Fane in the novel> Hello, would you like to talk to the handaxe I pulled out of nowhere? Also being the brilliant wizard that I am?

If a knife and a face were all that Fane needed to make his mask, his bitching in Fort Joy would never have happened.

His elven face looks nothing like the one in the game (it does in my copy of the book, I sharpied it)

And now, the absolute cherry on top... Let's point something out. In Ifan's chapter - Ifan's wolf is shown. In Lohse's chapter - Lohse's Maddening Song is shown. In Sebille's- break the shackles. In Beast's and TRP - both demonic stare and tempest are used. So please do tell me, why in cold hell is Fane's MOST unique ability of them all NOT SHOWN AT ALL. We still don't know HOW he mastered time manipulation! Why! Nothing!

#2 Worldbuilding and pop-culture references

A graphic novel is a finely controllable medium - unlike a videogame, the consumer has generally only one way of interacting with it - reading. Now, every panel should move the story further but while this is the core function of a comic what happens in the background has an equally important role - building a wider picture. The buildings, peoples, and things happening in the background can be just as informative as the foreground. The question is: do we want to fill a section with informative details or cram in as much junk as possible? Godwoken novel's approach is very lax in regard to worldbuilding, up to a point where relatively important information gets replaced by a joke. By no means should there be no humor in graphic novel layouts, but there are more or less apt places to do it.

Let's look at this particular scene from Sebille's chapter - it's quite a powerful moment in the whole scope of her character. I'd like to note that Mindaran is the elf she was made to kill within the pages of the novel - a list of her victims was kept on her right arm and the names on the left - were the ones killed for revenge. But, well, maybe it was an issue with running out of pages and was done for brevity's sake. Let's let it rest. What, in my opinion truly detracts value from this scene is all the funky 'reference' names written on her arm. Rubus is the nickname of the artist - less known and quite within reason (and within bonds of the history of artists' signatures). Boromir and Drizzt however share none of those excuses. It feels somehow disrespectful, especially in the context of Sebille's tattoos to put random pop-culture names in there. Was she the one to kill Boromir? Really? On a more serious note, this wouldn't be too bad if we had other, unbiased source about Sebille's victims - but it just so happens that we do not and somewhat important information (to us - lore enthusiasts, and to Sebille herself) gets buried for the sake of a quip. There were definitely better places to make these references than Sebille's skin. Same with Lohse's chapter and the reference to the Hobbit. I love Hobbit as the next child raised on Tolkien's stories (it's even a school lecture where I come from - the only fantasy book on our reading list) But I'd much rather see a reference to older Divinity, rather than a completely foreign universe. Zandalor's character is a walking reference to Gandalf! Why not use him here with Arhu as Bilbo.

I haven't seen anything similarly tactless in Witcher novels, and they were filled with references to the brim! (Several ones made me pause and re-evaluate the context to get them, but it was amazing to have that 'eureka!' moment)

And this pretty much wraps up my feelings about the novel. A lot of goodwill executed terribly poorly and with, well, I'd like to say profit in mind, but that would warrant a series and not one-shot book, so maybe with a riding-the-wave tendency instead? The book did come out whole 3 years after the game too, so there was more than enough time to reconsider the direction, but seemingly not enough time for quality control. (As a side note, my book was bought in 2021 and it's already falling apart - the hardcover really wants to go its own way after sporadic, careful use). I think by then Larian already was in the BG3 deal, and if they really wanted (just like Witcher devs) they could find a studio to handle comic distribution for them and get the Divinity fans something to latch on to during Baldur's development. Not to mention it would be a great solution to filling or straightening up the plot holes and bridging the gap between old and new lore. Alas, it is what it is. Pity.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Bonus Marathon - Rapunzel’s Journal Replica

Introduction

When Disney first released the pilot on DVD, they included this miniature journal replica with it as a promotional item.

To date, this is the only actual reconstruction of Rapunzel’s Journal. There are toys and the My First Year as Princess book, but none of them are a straight up reproduction like this. 

And the only way to get it, is to buy the Before Ever After DVD. I recommend buying from the Disney store directly if you want to make sure you get the journal. If you buy it secondhand or from a third party seller like Amazon, it might be missing.   

Content

The book is exactly what it says on the tin. The fist ten pages of the replica are recreations of what Rapunzel would supposedly write and draw in her journal. Then you have several blank pages after that, because it’s only the pilot and Rapunzel presumably hasn’t gotten around to filling the rest out yet.

Every other page talks about Rapunzel’s desire to see the world and how she currently feels trapped in Corona, and in-between that she has pages dedicated to the townspeople, her parents, Eugene, Max, and Cassandra.

You can tell a lot of this was early production work and notes. Nothing about the rocks or her hair is mentioned, just vague notions about how she feels her destiny is calling to her from outside the kingdom walls. She also mentions Eugene proposing to her and her not feeling ready yet.

What really informs the reader about how early in production these pages come from though, is that none of the townspeople who are named appear in the show. There’s a locksmith called Canlier, a grocer and his family named the Rollet’s, Madame Bouvier, who washes the laundry, and some kid who’s last name is Fouquet. He lost a tooth.

Also everyone is called Monsieur or Madame, which hints to that “Corona is really France” bullshit that the series kept teasing but never fully committed to, and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given that Rapunzel is a German fairy tale.

Presentation

The recreation is about a third of the size of the what the novel in the series is meant to be. It’s easily able to be held by one hand or by a child’s hands. The size is most likely reduced so as to fit in the DVD box.

The cover is a hard, but thin plastic printed to look like leather. The cord to close it is either fake leather or suede though. The tassel is a lock of fake hair and a little hard plastic bottle. 

On the inside the replicated pages are printed on glossy paper while the blank pages have a printed texture to make them look like parchment, along with the series logo printed in the bottom corners. I think Disney designed the book with the idea that little kids would write or draw in the blank pages themselves, but the glossy print seems a be counterproductive to that end. Oh well, I guess that’s why the actual toy journals exist. 

Like I said, the art work is clearly lifted straight from the per-production art and is nice to see. There’s even an early Cassandra design where she’s in her knight uniform.

If there’s one complaint, is that, while authentic looking, the messy handwriting is often too hard to read. Especially when there’s any large amount of text to decipher. Which is certainly not helped by the reduced size.

Like I just completely gave up even trying to read this page....

Even I have handwriting better than that, and I write like a doctor!

Would I Recommend It

Only if you’re a hardcore collector. With the complete series blue-ray DVD now for sell, there’s no reason to pay full price for the solo pilot. And only by buying it new from the seller are you guaranteed to get the journal. That’s $16 dollars for the product and another $10 dollars for the shipping, plus tax. Not gonna lie, it’s a neat piece of memorabilia, but I don’t think it’s worth $28 bucks though.

Next Up

It’s our first appearance of Varian in the marathon with the double episode novelization of What the Hair and Great Expotations.

[darkpurpledawn]

For @racketghost 's 13 days of Halloween, prompt "graveyard"

7:00

Agreed to take ‘graveyard shift’ at bookshop for the angel. Angel worried about unscrupulous collectors getting their covetous hands on his first quartos during his trip to Edinburgh. Probably third most adorable worry this year. Fourth, counting the badgers.

Promised to pull wriggling-maggots gambit on any would-be thieves, did not promise to refrain from eating leftover palmiers. Angel oddly concerned about ‘what the shop might get up to.’ Assured him working at night is nothing new, have a saying in Hell that ‘it’s always the graveyard shift somewhere.’ (Was inspiration for the signs about five o’clock, for which received award for Special Contributions in Intemperance.)

Angel left. Briefly brushed shoulders as he was putting on coat, i.e. life still unendurable disaster.

7:33

Should be preparing conference paper for annual Hell all-hands in Las Vegas, can’t be bothered. Intend to waste entire night watching tv humans make complicated desserts and posting misattributed Victorian quotations. Not going to ransack Aziraphale’s kitchen, doze off, or go looking in obscure cabinets.

8:15

Woke up as snake coiled around till amid palmier crumbs. Not good, not supposed to be sleeping. Weird dream in which dressed in white, waiting for a dog, angel had curly moustache. Moustache should not have been attractive, was. Bugger it all to Heaven. 

Made tea in the angel’s atrocious kitchen, caused eviction of mouse family when retrieving kettle, probably instigated fall of mouse civilization. Kettle one of those disgusting 1950s flower-patterned nightmares, of course. 

Checked email, heaps of bids for own illegal listings on eBay. Should be able to fulfill lust quota for month with posts selling purported toenails of celebrities. Played d*vil’s adv*cate on Twitter (not allowed to actually write that down or Office of Infernal Counsel will send a c&d for making overstated legal claims), started rumor that cauliflower is actually dehydrated human brains. 

Heard shuffling sound. Should probably go check for quarto thieves.

8:30

Could not find source of shuffles anywhere. Looked in back room, nothing unusual. All ten zillion throw pillows angel insists on burdening sofa with appear to be in place.

Have had too many thoughts about that sofa. Picked up nearest bottle and went to kitchen to drown idiocy in several teacups of whiskey.

9:00

Got bored, started poking around. Found mildew stain that appears to be accurate map of Antarctica. Considered eating preserves noticed in back of cabinet, but unable to verify that it was made subsequent to Charlemagne’s accession. Briefly entertained notion of reading a book, came to senses and scrolled through 15 articles on phone about dogs that look like famous dictators.

Continued papery-sounding noises in the background. Would not be shocked if angel has white noise machine designed to sound like someone rifling through dictionary pages.

10:00

Got bored-er. Attempted to clean grime from windows experimentally and lost nerve about ten seconds in. 

Peeked into bathroom on second floor (which have been unconditionally invited to use but have only entered once to vomit in after regrettable work event in fourth circle). Angel apparently hoarding soap from past three centuries, in least surprising development of modern age.

Washed hands to get rid of window gunk. Refrained heroically from sniffing any towels.

Heard whispering from downstairs. Neighbors? Cannot believe anyone is actually waiting around to steal first quartos from world’s unfriendliest-looking bookstore.

10:12

Finished whiskey. “Cauliflower Is Brains” trending on Twitter. Found own decades-old tie deep in sofa cushions, not that was examining these too closely.

10:50

In attempt to trace whispers, entered stacks. Began imagining scenarios in which unexpectedly holy book toppled and caused catastrophic injury. Do not want angel to return to smoldering pile of ex-demon on his unspeakably dusty floors. Also do not want to be smoldering pile of ex-demon, naturally.

Obtained gloves the angel uses for book repair from end table. Also took umbrella from its place hanging on hatstand and partially opened as defense against falling books. Probably looked like Edwardian wanker. 

Proceeded with stack-examining. Organization system unclear. Slightly alarmed by discovering volume of Galen with recent takeaway receipts seemingly serving as bookmarks for easy reference. May explain why angel still refers to all colds as ‘excesses of phlegm.’

Too difficult to navigate narrow shelves with umbrella. Abandoned umbrella, substituted trilby hat for protection from falling sacred texts. Have never looked more ridiculous, very much including all of 17th Century and that time had snakebite piercings and mullet with short fringe.

11:21

FUCKASPIDERCRAWLEDONMYHANDFUCK

11:24

Can never go back to Hell, spider might be waiting there. 

11:30

Well. That’s certainly interesting.

Section of one bookshelf protected by some kind of holy bond-of-secrecy-whatsit. Should have left alone. Could have broken it with hellfire, but am in most flammable location in known universe, decided that was terrible idea. Managed to undo holy bonds using profane combination of two parts own venom, one part hoarded soap spritzed through a salad mister.

So. 

The angel has about two hundred books and fifteen scrolls concerning how to summon and bind demons. Thought at first maybe was for professional development. Too many. Angel has copy of the Big One, the one that can force a demon to do whatever summoner requests. 

11:32

In fact, angel has all known copies.

Have only had it used twice before. Once some pissed aristocrat wanted to steal Love’s Labours Won, turned into whole thing. Second time group of students got very desperate trying to complete science fair project. Learned way too much about thermodynamics.

12:00

Theoretically should be extremely horrified that the angel has all extant copies of Big One and can summon and bind demons at any time. 

Feeling am experiencing is...not horror.

12:15

Relevant pages in the Big One crossed out in indelible ink, ‘absolutely not’ written in weird cursive angel was using four hundred years ago. Impossible to see incantation. 

Theorized why this might be throughout second bottle of whiskey. Enjoyed feelings of profound relief. Ignored feelings of vague disappointment.

Theory one: angel at one time planning to use Big One, decided not to. Reasonable theory, but does not explain why every copy is in this bookshop.

Theory two: angel bought every copy with the express intent of crossing out incantation so no one could completely control a demon ever again.

Unreasonable theory. 

Will never mention any of this unless perhaps world ends. Probably not even then. What would that really change?

[axdently]

𝑬𝑾𝑨𝑵 𝑴𝑰𝑻𝑪𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑳, 𝑯𝑬/𝑯𝑰𝑴 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑺, 𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑻 𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑹𝑰𝑶𝑹

To ELRICH DIONYSUS SPEEDWAGON, the whole world looks like an open page. with a leap of faith, their ability of BLOOD SOLIDIFICATION grows a little stronger. they’re pledged to the HOUSE VANITAS to defend the enchanted lands of cagliostro with their BLOOD STONE MASK for TWENTY- FIVE years, they have survived a world of magic with both their CHARM and MANIPULATION. they work as a AIR-FLYING PIRATE & BLOODSMITH, but if they could change their fate, they’d want to FIND A NICE CASTLE TO WEAR SILK PAJAMAS IN

─── 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐒.

With a single sapphire eye, your gaze captures both the allure and the enigma of the unknown, and your eye patch shrouds secrets even deeper. Your words are like finely honed weapons, their edges sharp with derision and condescension, slicing through the banalities of conversation. Your communication of calculated cadence, a composition that keeps others on their toes, unsure of whether they are witnessing your true self or merely a façade. Yet, beneath this bravado and manipulation, there's a complexity that's hard to miss, a depth that hints at layers you guard with the vigilance of a sentinel.

In the presence of finer things, your heart finds solace. The glint of exquisitely crafted weapons, the warmth of dragon whiskey trickling down your throat, the sensual touch of silk against your skin—they are your retreats from the ordinary. Freedom is your creed, and the notion of confinement is abhorrent. The world isn't a place meant to be observed from a distance; it's a realm to be captained, a stage for your pursuits as a blacksmith, a collector, and a captain.

Beneath your hardened exterior lies a mission that fuels your every step—a quest for revenge against an age-old feud. In the meantime you find yourself leaping for glory of any kind. Elrich Speedwagon, you are not just a captain, nor merely a swordsman, but rather a reflection of the intricate interplay between desire and vengeance, vulnerability and strength.

─── 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒.

NAME: Elrich Speedwagon NICKNAME: Captain DATE OF BIRTH: March 25, 1988 GENDER: Cisgender Man HEIGHT: 5′ 10″ MARKINGS: A scar that runs 9 inches directly over one of his eyes. Where the eye has been gouged out, a single sapphire jewel or eye patch rests to cover. There is also a faint scar on his cheek and a stitching scar gone bad running from his ear to his collarbone. He has calloused fingertips, rough hands. TATTOOS: a compass over his heart, a swallow on his hand, a sleeve of his ship sailing roaring ocean waves with poseidon’s face in stormy skies. PIERCINGS: Double earlobe piercings on each ear, and one stone in the cartilage of his left ear. DECORUM: Exudes an air of confidence with a touch of the rugged. Sharp and calculated, moves with the grace of a predator, every gesture deliberate and poised, often adorned in pirate clothing that speaks of adventure and defiance or blacksmith’s clothing. SCENT: Carries the scent of aged leather, brimstone musk, with a subtle undertone of saltwater breeze, sometimes the hint of dragon whiskey twinges his sweet breath. GOALS: To exact revenge on an age-old feud, to command his own destiny FEARS: Losing control of his emotions, being betrayed POSITIVE TRAITS: Charismatic, strategic, determined NEUTRAL TRAITS: Reserved, disciplined, pragmatic NEGATIVE TRAITS: Manipulative, guarded, prideful ZODIAC: Aries Sun, Aquarius Moon, Sagittarius Rising ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil TEMPERAMENT: Melancholic ELEMENT: Water PRIMARY VICE: Envy PRIMARY VIRTUE: Fortitude TROPE: The Anti-Hero, The Charmer with a Dark Side, The Manipulative Bastard, The Cynical Mentor, Mysterious Backer, The Stoic Gentleman INSPIRATION: Complex characters with shades of gray like Jaime Lannister, Loki’s sinister shapeshifting and cunning abilities, and Captain Jack Sparrow’s affinity for adventure. OCCUPATION: Airship captain, skilled blacksmith RESIDENCE: His airship, and plenty of Inns, and/or brothels. HOBBIES: Swordplay, collecting rare artifacts, reading history HABITS: Running his fingers through his hair when agitated, spitting while talking in a conversation, tapping his fingers rhythmically when lost in thought.

─── 𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒.

BLOOD SOLIDIFICATION The power to condense blood into a tangible form. Users can solidify, or give solid-like properties to blood by causing the fluid particles to come together with the level of solidity going from loose coagulated jelly to metal-like hardness or beyond. Users can shape, and manipulate blood. Users can concentrate blood into a single point, and shoot it out akin to bullets, or sharpen their blood to the point that they can slice and tear flesh with ease or solidify blood to use as rock-hard ammunition. VARIATION 1. BLOOD CONSTRUCTS

When wearing the famed BLOOD MASK ( Hewn from a deep, dark-hued stone resembling bloodstone, with intricate veins of crimson across the surface of the mask, reminiscent of blood vessels coursing beneath skin. )  the ability to create weapons and other constructs out of blood including but not limited to: armor, barriers, objects, platforms, restraints, structures, support, and even vehicles in extreme cases.

VARIATION 2. BLOOD COMBAT

Users are able to utilize blood with their physical combat, creating weapons or tools, enhancing their own abilities. The power to use blood as a form of offense for the following:

BLOOD BOMB GENERATION: Create bombs/explosions of blood.

BLOOD SPIKE PROJECTION: Project blood spikes.

SWORD BEAM EMISSION: Release blood blasts from swords and other such bladed weapons.

SCATTER SHOT: Release blood blasts that split into multiple fragments.

BLOOD BULLET PROJECTION: Fire in short sequence over a wide area.

─── 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘.

1. BRACERS OF SEA GIANT:  Movements, whether in the sea's embrace or on solid ground, are seamless, unhindered by the weight of water when wearing these. Imbued with THUNDERWAVE, ready to unleash a resonating boom.

2. NECKLACE OF PEARLS: Each pearl ingested bestows 24 hours of underwater prowess. Breath flows smoothly through water, and the language of the ocean becomes second nature, creating an intimate bond between the wearer and the sea.

3. CRIMSON AMPLIFIER: Push a finger on the needle tip of this pendant, and it drains a single drop of blood into the pendant. A glass gem pulses at this amulet’s core, amplifying magic in response to the wearer's command in exchange for blood.

4. COMPASS OF TRUTH: An unwavering companion in the uncharted. It guides, protects, and empowers those who hold it. This compass is more than mere directions; it's a talisman of adventure, guiding the bearer through the unknown, towards safety, treasures, and even ahead of adversaries.

5. INTERVENTION: In the midst of conflict, this musket is a tool of intervention. Its shots echo with resolution, punctuating the battle's rhythm, and raining blood upon those below.

6. SPYGLASS OF THE SEASPECTER: Imbued with SPECTERS FOCUS & EYE IN THE SKY, this spyglass magnifies objects twice their size.

7. STORMEYE SLING: Short-sightedness has claimed the careers and lives of many a pirate. But for those with the foresight to look past the surface, this mysterious eyepatch grants a peek behind the veil for a short period of time.

8. SHARD OF THE SEA: A relic rooted in legend, the Shard of the Sea is said to be a fragment of a once-great crystalline city beneath the waves. It holds the essence of the ocean within its radiant core, a conduit to harness the sea's power. It's a piece of submerged wielded into a dagger.

9. BLOOD MASK: Imbued with Blood Gust and Blood Fog.

─── 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

1. THUNDER WAVE: a wave of thunderous force surges outward, encompassing an area extending roughly 15 feet. Objects without secure anchoring within this range are compelled by the spell's might to shift up to 10 feet away from them. The unleashing of this spell is accompanied by a resounding explosion akin to a distant thunderclap, echoing audibly for a radius of 300 feet.

2. SPECTER’S FOCUS: A spell to increase spellcaster’s focus– while holding the spyglass, combat attacks are increased and defenses are stronger

3. EYE IN THE SKY: When invoked this spell captures a panoramic scene to its user, functioning as an aerial scout, a vigilant observer of events below.

4. BLOOD SACRIFICE: Through the ritual of Blood Sacrifice, Elrich infuses his constructs with the furious essence of Vanitas blood magic. The constructs gain heightened strength and resilience, transforming into formidable allies on the battlefield. 

5. BLOOD FOG: The sinister magic of Blood Fog marries mist with malevolence. When invoked, an ominous crimson haze blankets the surroundings. This dense fog obscures vision and infuses the air with a metallic scent. Shadows shift, whispers echo, and unease takes hold, as if the fog itself holds a malevolent consciousness. Those caught within its clutches are enveloped in an unsettling aura, feeding both dread and uncertainty.

6. BLOOD GUST: By uniting the forces of his blood magic with the power of air, Elrich conjures a devastating wind funnel of red-hued energy. This spell crashes into adversaries with tremendous force, causing both physical damage and debilitating effects. 

7. PIRATES’ PARLEY: or “discussion, conference,” If a pirate is captured by an enemy, he has the right to declare parley, or temporary protection, until he may have an audience with the enemy captain. When spoken at the right time, Elrich incants a true protection spell against his captors.