#now that i think of it ofc

[bones-of-rabbit]

feed your partner a salamander

[teal0v3rr]

i never posted this have i?

[zefferooni]

Bored af so Bloom redesign let's go!!

[kettlefire]

Prepare for the unexpected. (DPxDC)

Everyone knew about the reign of Pariah Dark. Even those who did not dabble in those realms have heard the tale of the tyrant. A power-hungry man who ruled over the dead with an iron fist.

Following the rise of Pariah Dark, his realm had been effectively cut off from communication. Many mystics and magic users knew better than to open the door of nightmares that could arise if Pariah Dark's reach went further than his own realm.

Except, the universe had plans to bring the realm of the dead back into the cards.

A new opponent, one that had all of Earth's heroes scrambling for options. A being with powers of a god over weather, destruction was on the horizon. A world ending threat.

It's the only reason the Justice League was doing this. In a deep bunker, far from close civilization as a precaution, the heroes looked on with grim expressions.

The world was already being threatened. It would be destroyed regardless of what the league did. So it only made sense to make the last ditch effort. To summon someone strong enough to defeat the threat.

No one wanted to do it. No one wanted to be the one to pull the realm of the dead back to the living. The consequences were untold if this succeeded. If Pariah Dark was freed and defeated the threat, whose to say he won't want control?

That was a problem for later. For the aftermath. For now, the league could only watch on with bated breath as Constantine completely the summon ritual.

They watched on as the shadows in the room seemed to darken and grow. As the sigil sputtered to life with a glow that was growing increasingly brighter. A sudden gust of wind rushed through the room, the temperature began to drop with eaching ticking second.

And then it was all gone.

The room stood perfectly still. Just as it had been moments before. Nothing changed. No giant king standing before them, no sign that the ritual worked.

The room stood deadly still for another beat before the murmurs started. The team trying to make sense of the situation, figure out what went wrong.

Constantine swore up and down that this was the correct ritual, taking offense that they would even think the problem was on his end. It only made it better when it finally happened.

A loud sound ripped through the room, pulling everyone's attention back to the summoning circle. Just in time to see a tear appear in the space above the circle.

A thin tear that ran the length of eight feet. The fabric of the dimension seems to curl at the edges, pulling back to reveal a deep glowing swirl of greens. A dark gloved hand reached through, fingers curling around the edge of the tear, stretching it even further.

A portal. The ritual had worked, but there had been a delay. A delay that had every hero nerves on edge. Each team member tensed, weapons at the ready as they watched the being stretch the portal to the right size.

Then, a foot stepped out with a heavy thud. A dark boot that looked otherworldly despite its similarity to mortal clothing. A deep black that seemed never-ending. A second foot quickly followed before a full body emerged from the portal.

Not many people in the room have ever seen Pariah Dark, let alone know what to expect. Based on what Constantine and Zatara had said, this wasn't Pariah Dark.

A man had stepped out of the portal, standing at almost seven feet tall, and built like a brick house. One glance at the glowing white hair, deadly red eyes, and shard teeth was enough to know this being was not to be messed with.

But there was no giant show of armor or royal garbs. There is no large crown at the top of his head or jewelry from the infinite realms laced around his neck.

Instead, the man stood before them in combat boots, worn-in ripped jeans, a graphic t-shirt, and a spiked leather jacket. Despite his almost normal clothing choice, the man's jacket seemed to be a never-ending depth of the dark night sky. If one was to look closely enough, the cosmos could almost be made out in the sea of darkness.

None of that would have prepared them for when the man spoke. His tone sounded more bored than anything as he took a step forward.

"Oh, so now you need the help of the dead." The man had spoken, running a hand through his hair. When Batman took a step forward to speak, the man raised a hand. Immediately commanding silence in the single gesture. "I'm on babysitting duty and have yet to have a cup of coffee. I'll be right back."

Just like that, both the man and portal vanished into thin air. Leaving behind a group of stunned heroes. Not only was the man not Pariah Dark, but he was also supposedly babysitting.

"Did that just-"

The Flash had been the first voice to speak up, his eyes trained on where the man had once stood. Except he had barely made it through the first few words before the man was suddenly back.

The man that now had a child hanging off his shoulders and another teen being held up by his scruff. Unlike the man, these kids looked human.

Too human for Bruce's liking. The dark black hair and bright blue eyes had every heroes eyes flickering to Batman for just the briefest moment.

"This isn't fair! I'm not even the king. Why do I have to be here!" The teenager had been complaining the moment the man had reappeared. Arms crossed tight over his chest and seemingly used to being held dangling. "Besides, who brings kids to a show down! Wait til I tell mom about this."

"Aw, come on, Danny. This is gonna be fun!!" The younger girl seemed in much better spirits than the teen, Danny. She had climbed up the large man, sitting on his shoulders and resting her arms on the mess of glowing hair. "It's like take your kids to work day! Ooo, Dan! Can we fight too!?"

Unlike the two kids, the man looked purely exhausted and annoyed. The man, Dan, dropped Danny like a sack of potatoes as he took a long drink from the travel cup in his hand.

It didn't take a genius to recognize the look of an exhausted parent in Dan's expression. A look many of the league members were well acquainted to. A look that even had Batman grimacing with sympathy.

"Can it, little shits. You two were grounded, remember." Dan had growled at the kids before shifting his focus back on the team of heroes before them. His glowing eyes set in a deadly glare. "Pariah Dark isn't coming, and he never will. He's been dethroned and banished. We're the best you've got."

A summoning that started with a group of on edge and scared heroes looking for the ghost king, ended in a way no one expected.

No one was even sure if it made any sense. They weren't sure if they should feel hopeful or in despair.

Because truly, what was a ghostly man with two seemingly human children against a godlike foe with the control over the weather?

The unspoken question of power and ability seemed to vanish following Dan downing the metal travel cup of coffee, and crushing it in his fist.

He tossed it to the side, straighting up his posture as he looked over the heroes. Dan might not be a hero, but he's been playing family for too long.

An almost feral, bloodhungry grin spread across the man's face, sharp fangs on full display. The look made the man suddenly look even less human. He looked closer to a demon from the pits of hell rather than the exhausted parent he looked just a few seconds ago.

"Point me in the direction of this bastard. It's been too long since I let loose and had some fun."

[snarkspawn]

O displaced soul, where does your path now lead?

[crowliphale]

Ok I lied earlier sorry. Even older Lily upon ye

[fraternum-momentum]

[beetlbi]

Gravity falls httyd au, is that anything? Transcript under the cut, more thoughts in the tags

Texts says “red” “very protective of Stan, messes with him a lot” “doing much better than in canon bc he isn’t alone + has someone to take care of”

[wohyunz]

GET TO KNOW ME —» BIASES ↪ stray kids: lee know

[clumsypuppy]

(guy who has never played cotl) haha au time

[ruporas]

trigunned the hades or hadesed the trigun (id in alt)

[welcometogrouchland]

♫ I do what I want/Crying in the bleachers and I said it was fun/I don't need anything from anyone ♫

(ID in Alt) you guys ever think about your own posts and get upset?? Anyway Damian Wayne I love you I'm so sorry your life is like that

[wu-does-art]

dumb sf au idea where everything is the same except the gang all knew eachother since they were kids not pictured: todd observing the affects eating a bug has on sal. also bonus salvis i found in my files:

[asshatproductions]

It’s almost time for my favorite time of year…

NEURODIVERGENT CHRISTMAS

[medowlarken]

now that i've finished the game and have had time to digest, i can't stop thinking about Maelle's act 1 and 2 dialogue lines that i had initially thought were just odd, but now make me go insane

full game spoilers under the cut!

i specifically mean her comments about the gestrals. she's the only character who blatantly comments on their intelligence (or lack of) and she does so on multiple occasions. they attacked us not caring that we're not nevrons? what do you expect, they're gestrals. Gustave shouldn't bother apologizing to that one guard he yelled at; it's a gestral, it'll forget the whole thing in a minute anyway. she even comments on Monoco, arguably the most 'human' of the gestrals after he fails at his wannabe suave introduction ('i guess he really is a gestral after all').

of course it's not serious--they're more jokey little snipes here and there when one of them does or says something silly. and the gestrals are supposed to be comedic relief created by a young boy, hence their childishness. but when i first heard those lines, i couldn't help but think it was a little...odd. they stuck with me, made me go 'huh' every time she said them. they're passive, almost unthinking condescending little comments that, while not malicious, show that Maelle doesn't really consider the gestrals to be on the same "level" as the humans. they're dumb little sillies who like to fight and that's about it. and maybe all the expeditioners feel that way, but the thing is, she's the only character that says so out loud. not even type A scientific brainiac Lune ever implies she thinks of gestrals as lesser. it's only Maelle and she does so more than once.

to me, this was the very subtle first instance of Paintress Alicia poking through the Maelle paint shell. how Painters feel about the inhabitants of their Canvases seems to vary, but it's def not as equals. how could they? they're literally gods. the humans in the Canvas were only created to populate Aline's fantasy city and her care for them stops there; Clea straight up does not gaf and uses them as tools; we don't ever see og Verso's pov, but seeing as how Monoco and Esquie are based on his dog and childhood toy, it's not very hard to guess. after Maelle/Alicia regains her memories, i was fully expecting for the sentience of the Canvas' inhabitants to be a talking point, especially when arguing with Renoir about why they should preserve it. like, the humans and non-humans living there are alive. destroying the Canvas would be murder, right? that's how Maelle/Alicia should feel, and that should be her main motivation, right? right???

except she doesn't. in all her arguments with Renoir she only ever talks about how they need to preserve the last sliver of Verso's soul residing in the Canvas. about how it's her home, how much she needs it to exist to be happy. it's kind of about her brother, but it's mostly about her. not once does she say "you can't kill my friends because they're people who don't deserve to die because of our family drama". the only time she brings it up is in her fight with Verso, and even then it comes off more of an attempt at (well-meaning) manipulation. because after she realizes what she is and the power she has, i don't think they're fully people to her anymore. not really; not in the way that her and her family of Painter gods are. it's like the gestrals in acts 1 and 2. this is painfully apparent when she talks about Verso in front of painted Verso--not once does she acknowledge his agency. she insists that Verso would want his Canvas to live on despite his literal painted clone repeatedly trying to kill himself and everyone else. she talks about him like he isn't there, because obviously she would know better than he would. she's the original's sister. the Paintress. they're hers and she needs them.

ironically, the only Painter who really shows respect for the personhood of the inhabitants is Renoir. he apologizes to painted Verso for his fucked up existence and listens to Lune and Sciel when they speak to him directly. he acknowledges Sciel's grief for her husband and unborn child. that doesn't mean he won't erase them all because ultimately his family comes first, but it's still more respectful than any of the other Painters. he also agrees that destroying the Canvas is the best course of action for everyone. the Canvas is broken beyond repair: it's been twisted by his wife's grief, his eldest daughter's anger, and now his youngest daughter's obsession. and the inhabitants caught in the middle will never be able to do anything but suffer through the consequences; they've actually done nothing but suffer in the humans' case, since they were never supposed to be a part of Verso's world in the first place. they only exist to play make-believe with Aline, and now she's gone and their world's creator is dead. to Renoir, destroying them is the same as saving them, and being the benevolent god his family can't or won't be ('strange to offer oblivion as recompense').

that isn't to say that Maelle doesn't love her friends, because she does with all her heart. but they aren't the reason she wants to preserve the Canvas. and you can love someone and still not necessarily respect them. after act 2, she doesn't mention Gustave once, and it's not because she's accepted his death. it's the opposite. death is meaningless now that she can reverse it for everyone. as their goddess/daughter/sister/friend, they will never be on the same level as her, and her need to protect herself from grief and pain means that in the painted ending, she probably will ultimately break her promises. she will never let Verso go. no one will ever die or get sick or change in ways that she doesn't like; they'll stay exactly as she needs them to be, for ever and ever because who is going to stop her? in the painted ending, it doesn't seem like anyone knows the truth of what's happened besides her, Lune, Sciel, and Verso. maybe Gustave would say something, but it looks like he's too busy being happy with Sophie (as he should be; Maelle made sure of it).

another line that stuck with me was when they enter the forgotten battlefield and she says "i don't want to see that [death] anymore". not, "i don't want anyone else to die", or "i want the deaths to end". she doesn't want to see it. what i thought was just odd phrasing now makes me crazy over the implications, and the foreshadowing for her painted life ending. because in that ending, she doesn't have to see anymore death because she removes it completely, whether the inhabitants like it or not. it's very those who walk away from omelas, with Verso and og Verso's soul suffering for the sake of Maelle's utopia. it also runs against the whole 'for those who comes after; when one falls, we move forward' mantra, because there is no more moving forward. everything and everyone stays perfectly preserved and stagnant.

of course, that's until she ultimately dies from Canvas exposure and either Renoir or Clea just nuke the damn thing. or maybe the whole cycle just starts over again. horrific either way.

anyway this was long and rambly but basically i love Maelle and her fucked up family of artist gods and i'm so glad the devs didn't pussyfoot around with a neutered, feelgood ending. tragedies should be tragic and the fact that the two choices you get are both fucked despite one of them being lowkey the 'good' ending is based and i love it

[burningcheese-merchant]

I like the fact that the devs agreed and added the parallel that the ancients are all very kind to themselves, even at their worst, how vulnerable they can be. In chapter 10, HB accepts Lily's wrongdoings, and despite the fact that it took her a while to process her trauma, she tries to make peace with her.

Now with the beasts, it's so different because, if you notice, despite having a problem, they don't try to change their ways. That's why most of them don't understand each other; their philosophy clashes greatly. Despite one of them claiming to be very close, in reality, each and every one of them feels so alone. It's undeniable how many people still believe they're close.

It's fascinating to see their parallels. It's good to know they're not close; it's complex and interesting. I want to add about episode 10 i feel outraged by the fact that no one talks about how complex ES's character was the last part of the episode made me cry because i know she only had one purpose when she was created and the fact that HB proposed to her to leave their garden and go with her was the most painful and touched me so much. (seriously my friends asked me if i was okay because i cried a lot LOL) everyone thinks it's an unrequited love, if it wasn't reciprocated HB wouldn't take the time to understand ES and explain to her that the world doesn't have to be perfect like she describes it. it's an episode with a queer tragedy explained in the hardest but sweetest way possible... And the game is from a country that litteraly is a sin to be like this or not good received as well.

All of the BxA r Indeed were pure art but with different narratives as well

Yeah definitely!! I've always loved the parallels between the Beasts and Ancients - not just individually, but as groups. While they both endured equally great suffering, in the end, the Beasts chose the easy way out. They chose darkness and despair. They chose to inflict their suffering onto others instead of properly addressing themselves and their shortcomings. And what's fascinating is that, for a time, the Ancients chose similarly: Golden Cheese succumbed to delusion and hid herself in a fantasy world in order to assuage her grief, Hollyberry abdicated and ran away from her family and her people and her life, drinking and fighting and partying her woes away, Dark Cacao built literal and figurative walls around himself and shut everyone out, Pure Vanilla was an amnesiac for a while, thus technically foregoing truth (albeit not necessarily by choice), then he allowed himself to be a Cookie of Deceit for a while, White Lily... we know what happened to her lol. But they managed to save themselves because they had each other. For each and every one of them, their salvation and enlightenment came when they remembered their bonds with each other and with others they care for. It was that sense of connection and community, which never ever broke despite everything that happened to them. And then opposite to them are the Beasts, who broke apart and descended into villainy because they themselves did not have those connections; not just in reference to them never having had the chance to live as normal people, but in reference to their bonds with each other specifically. I believe now more than ever that they never REALLY cared for each other. That they were never REALLY friends. If they were, why didn't they help each other when they started corrupting? Example, Burning Spice: I believe that what he needed the most was assurance that the cycle of change is not and does not need to be inherently painful or bleak. That there is good and meaning in that endless repetition. What would've helped was him having a constant in his life; someone or something that was always there with him even while everything and everyone else slipped away, as the cycle of change mandates. For all intents and purposes, the other Beasts should have been that constant; they're immortal too. They're gods too. They're his friends. They WERE his friends. Or... were they not? I don't really think so anymore. What the Ancients have together, the Beasts either had a very weak and fragile copy, or never really had at all. IF they were ever friends, they were pretty shitty ones lol. And that's a big part of why they corrupted, and why they're all so bitter and lonely: they each feel as though no one ever understood them or their struggles, not even their supposed "friends". Then these 5 thieves come along and inadvertently give them that lifeline, to which they all react differently (in how they express their attachment, I mean. They're all obsessed but they let it show differently and to different levels), but underneath those differences lies a shared feeling: "oh God, someone finally understands me, someone finally feels what I feel, I can't ever let them go, I need them". It's so horrendously sad and disturbing and darkly fascinating. I love it. I love these pairs, I love talking about them, I can do it forever

And I agree with you that Eternal Sugar is a complex and very interesting character, and I'm disappointed in the people that think otherwise (I hate saying this, but a lot of the complaints kind of sound like they're just butthurt that Eternalberry was canonized and they're looking for any excuse to tear the update down because of it). She seems to be a step above Mystic Flour in that she really, truly thinks she's doing something GOOD (MF behaves this way as well, but ES is legitimately delusional). She actually thinks she's helping people. Deep down, she DOES understand that she's a bad person and she's only hurting those she claims to care for, Hollyberry included, and this dialogue demonstrates such:

She seems to have succumbed to a form of insanity above that of other Beasts; she is still clinging to her old desires to carry out her godly duties and make people happy, but her perception of such has become so warped that she actually thinks things like keeping people in jars forever is making them happy. Furthermore, she purposefully orchestrates situations that "prove" her mindset and ideals correct (allowing people to leave the garden if they wish ("see? I'm not controlling! I'm not desperate! I'm not a dictator! You can leave, it's ok!"), but having them leave while smelling like the perfume that permeates the whole area so Beast-Yeast monsters are drawn to and attack them, thus forcing them back into the garden and further convincing them that it's a safe haven and they belong there). So much confirmation bias with Sugar, it's crazy. SHE is crazy. She is LEGITIMATELY crazy, a sort of crazy that the others aren't, not even Shadow Milk. It is delightfully awful. She is delightfully awful

And oh... Holly... Holly and Sugar... Passion and Sloth... Them...

One begs the other to stay... The other begs them to wake up and leave. Holly is now the second Ancient to fully, directly express understanding and sympathy towards their Beast. She's now the second to fully, directly state that she wants to be with their Beast.

She's HAPPY at the prospect of them being together. Of being two halves of a soul. She would GLADLY complete Sugar and let Sugar complete her... but Sugar has to wake up first. She has to see the error of her ways. She has to leave her garden. And Sugar agrees to this. She probably didn't really mean it, she was probably just swept up in the Yuri Wave and saying what she thought Holly wanted her to say, but even so. I think it's meaningful. Out of all the Beasts, I think Sugar has the best shot of being redeemed. And she has just the right Ancient to help her with such a thing. (Tbh I think they can all be fixed. Not easily, not right away, absolutely not. It would take time and effort and a lot of very painful conversations and realizations on everyone's part. But I think it can be done. Each of them has shown that one little seed of doubt, of regret, of disillusionment. Each one of them has faltered, if only for a moment. Because of that, I think somewhere deep down inside of them is someone worth saving. But that's just me haha) Beast x Ancient is 5 different, delicious flavors of a beautiful and compelling tragedy and they kill and resurrect me several times a day