#ramblings and ravings

[yolkcheeks]

possible new rotation subject: Tyrian World Religions 201

I was reading the wiki for funsies (as one does) and noticed in the article on Lyssa a throwaway note that the norn consider her a “spirit of action” with a footnote to an archive of Guild Mag. Indeed, on page 14 a developer went into how the different races filter conceptions of their fellows’ gods/spirits/philosophy thru their own experiences, such as the asura seeing human gods as larger equations in the Eternal Alchemy and the norn see the human gods as spirits of action, with Balthazar being War and Kormir being Knowledge. They would be called such by norn—obviously this is lore that didn’t make it into the game because norn NPCs and PC dialogue options alike refer to Balthazar not (Spirit of) War.

Which already- war can be a domain or an action but knowledge is a domain. One would think the action would be learning or study or observation or something… tho I appreciate the alliteration. But it of course doesn’t go further into it so we don’t know how the other gods’ domains translate for the norn. They aren’t all as straightforward, often having dominion over multiple areas both due to the shifting over time as gods fell or ascended and the doylist need to have a particular god of whatever class you pick.

Balthazar, dominion over war, fire, and challenge. Spirit of War, and boy does he live up to it. *

Kormir, dominion over order, spirit and truth. Spirit of Knowledge. Interesting choice since humans tend to focus more on her aspect as Goddess of Truth. *

Dwayna, dominion over healing, air, and life. First of the gods to arrive on Tyria from the mists when they put humans there. Church of Dwayna worships as Goddess of Life. I perceive her as the head of the pantheon, with additional influence over medicine (human story) and motherhood (see below). Possibly Spirit of Healing? Or of Assistance, given the nature of prayers/flavor dialogue associated with her.

Grenth, dominion over death, ice, darkness (and being baby boy. In-universe mari llywd probably.) Associated with casting off of illusions, defeat of false gods, etc. Worshipped as God of Death. Obvious answer would be Spirit of Death but due to Dhuum and also I prefer more action, how about Spirit of Fallow or Spirit of Inevitability (per statue description)

Melandru, dominion over nature, earth, and growth. Considered the oldest & wisest, worshiped as Goddess of Nature.

- May have had an aspect named Mellaggan (bounty, wealth of the ocean) who appeared to the Quaggans but was killed by krait at some point in the distant past.

- obviously all the spirits are part of nature, so I suspect she’s the Spirit of Growth.

Lyssa, dominion over beauty, water, and illusion. Worshipped as Goddess of Beauty but her parables and associations with chaos seem to more emphasize illusions. Possibly Spirit of Inspiration given her favoring art and culture? Interested in the implications of Lys & Ilya + triple-faced sigil.

Abadon, dominion over deep water, knowledge, and magic. Titled God of Secrets. Lore snippet suggests he used to appear in the form of a handsome & calm man with wings as blue as the ocean, appearance changed over time thru torment into squidhead we know and love. Apparently made the Sirens Landing reliquaries, further cementing Secrets as his main thing so I feel safe saying he would be (have been) the Spirit of Secrecy.

Dhuum, dominion over death undeniable, voice in the void, etc. also has a helmet with fuckassbig horns, both more and less humanoid than Grenth. Spirit of Annihilation sounds good to me.

Menzies the Mad, Lord of Destruction. Yeah I know we aren’t sure he’s a god but I feel safe assuming he basically would be one if humans worshipped him. Allegedly is more associated with destructive/deceptive battle than valorous & honorable Balthazar, but given recent events… possibly the Spirit of Bloodthirst or Vengence?

The three queens! Lesser spirits of defense/wrestling/etc? No idea.

Anyhow. That’s some thoughts.

[peri-helia]

I have spent the majority of my day on the phone or in meetings and only one actually resolved anything. And I just remembered I’ve got another one in ten minutes and its literally going to be to schedule another appointment. 

[hollowboobtheory]

hey fun fact, people are allowed to complain about side effects. yes, even side effects on lifesaving treatments. no, it doesn't make them shallow. no, it doesn't mean they don't fully grasp that the treatment saved their life.

like i follow this girl on tiktok who's had a double lung transplant and somebody asked if she had any dietary restrictions because of it, so she answered the question, including a little mini rant about how much she missed caesar salads and she got a ton of people getting pissed at her because she should just be grateful to get a new pair of lungs! she was so lucky, how dare she miss eating her favorite food!

hey. sick people are allowed to express negative emotions. they're allowed to feel things that aren't pure *~*Gratitude*~*. and they're allowed to care about things you personally find insignificant.

she was getting called shallow and accused of having her priorities out of order when like. she did still get the transplant. like she chose lungs over salads. she did in fact still make the "right" choice. she's allowed to miss what she lost because, get this, in a fair world, she wouldn't have had to make that choice in the first place.

[purpleqilinwrites]

nanami "booping your forehead with his forehead is his pda" kento

[athenahennah]

Dude I thought people were exaggerating the sheer sapphic vibes of Bronya and Seele—

“If that’s the future you want, I’m willing to build this bridge with you.” UM HELLO? Let’s make a future together? While we stand in an abandoned city and I look lovingly into your eyes?

[giggly-squiggily]

So my sister and I have this running joke in which we call octopus and octopus-themed things “Bob” cause they’re my favorite animal and calling them Bob is funny to us. This extends to Pokémon as well.

My sister just texted me this with the caption “The Bobs are fighting again”

[ravewing]

thinking about flame again (as per usual).. genuinely i dont and never will understand wof fans who saw him be bitter and angry and cold and shut off from years of never having a home or real friends and feeling isolated and say "yeah, no, he's evil."

he lived his whole life in the talons, constantly moving and never having any place to tether himself to emotionally. imagine the impact that must have on a literal child. i know i like to headcanon that he and viper and ochre were friends but nothing in the books actually indicates that he found any emotional consolation in ANYONE with the exception being his mother, who probably never even really got to spend much time with him. i dont really remember what exactly the talons did though so idrk. he probably had to witness the horrors of war via the aftermath of battles that he likely saw when traveling, and even though he was shielded from being drafted into the skywing army that still doesnt lessen the emotional impact that that'd have on a fucking kid.

imagine you go through years of that, and finally, one day, some big, majestic, 'allknowing' nightwing shows up and tells you that you're a part of the fabled dragonet prophecy, and you finally have some hope that maybe it was worth the struggle, that you are actually worth something, just to find out that you were nothing but a replacement. and don't even get me started on when he and the other alternates were transferred to the nightwing volcano, where they went without food for DAYS and were forced to fly nonstop to some remote island and for probably the first time in his life, flame met other skywings- just to watch them burn alive in front of him. all while he is STILL A KID.

then the literal NEXT DAY he is forced to fight the other alternates, and winds up with an unimaginably (both physically and emotionally) painful scar that makes him feel like an unlovable, weak, ugly monster. all while he watches a dragon who's essentially his sister die right before his eyes in the lava.

this all makes him wall himself off from other dragons, because he's scared that they'll think he's as weak as he sees himself; it makes him angry and bitter at the world, it makes him hate himself and it eats him up inside. we get a really good insight on this in book 6 when moon reads his mind, where he thinks that he doesn't even deserve his mother's love because of how scarred he his, where he thinks that nobody takes him seriously, where he thinks that he has no friends nor allies.

and then people still have the sense to call him evil because of, not despite, the emotional barriers he has from the turmoil and trauma he's experienced.

[bloodborne-on-pc]

I was about to say something completely different but POST CANCELLED DARK SOULS 3 IS ON FUCKING SALE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE WINTER 2021!!!! THIS IS NOT A FUCKING DRILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN FINALLY GET THIS FUCKING GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[see-arcane]

Everything is happening so much in today's entry and while the Bloofer Lady bloofing all over the place is meant to be the co-star of the show, alongside the Great Document Exchange of Vampire Lore between Mina and Van Helsing--or, specifically, Mina entrusting Van Helsing with her husband's private diary and a desperate hope that she can trust this man with this and her own turmoil over the subject and that of Lucy--listening to the @re-dracula version kind of veered my focus off track. Hearing the dialogue in action will do that.

And now I'm left fitfully, unhappily re-chewing on some of Van Helsing's least sparkling attributes in the novel. Not the worst! Those are coming, and all of them still very much well-meaning! But the well-meaning does not take away from the fact that a lot of his commentary has and will continue to make me want to grind my teeth into dust.

Now, does the narrative manage to take all his benign sexism/secret keeping from those who need info is best! bullshit in its very sharp teeth and ragdoll it mercilessly with The Consequences of Acting Like This are Very High, Actually repercussions? Yes.

Do I hope with every fiber of my being that, when Certain Events happen, and Van Helsing has to contend with--

SPOILERS BELOW

Jonathan going full ice cold Fuck You, Fuck This, Fuck God for letting this happen and then burning her for it, come October 3rd,

and Mina being the one to take the brain reins of the operation out of his hands,

and Jonathan Blowing Right the Fuck Up at the old man for saying Mina has to come along with him to Castle fucking Dracula, with zero explanation, assuming everyone will just go along with this decision sans explanation, complete with Jonathan cementing himself as Not One of Van Helsing's Ducklings if he, like God, does not start pulling some sound logic and results out of his ass right this fucking second,

--that the Re: Dracula audio hammers home that VH is not only a flawed character rather than the Mega Genius Does-No-Wrong Scholar Vampire Hunter Hero, but has to reconcile with the Harkers existing outside the mold that we'll have come to find the Suitor Squad locking into (and that the Harkers themselves very very grudgingly squeezed into for a time, grating against every minute of it) because the Harkers do in fact have equal or greater intel/ability on their side than he does.

I don't say any of this to crap on the character of Van Helsing. He's honestly a great vessel for all the pluses and minuses of the Elder Generation That Means Well, But Fumbles Details. The man is genuinely self-sacrificing and earnest in all his efforts to help these young people he barely knows, and then works with the tools and people he has on hand to try and root out an unthinkable supernatural peril before it can start drinking the whole country into the grave. We'll see in much later chapters how down he is to throw himself and his life on the line to give someone else better odds. And even if it's only by (still period-accurate sexist) inches, he does learn a little better eventually.

...But god damn, does his quirky sexist/secret keeper/Follow My Orders No Questions Asked, Silly Incapable-of-Understanding Children mannerisms need their fucking teeth kicked in. I sincerely pray that Isabel Young and Ben Galpin get to deliver on flipping the table in audio drama format with all the thematic tune bells and whistles they deserve when the time comes.

[witherfide]

they had the spring bonnie suit!!! i really hope they do a springlock scene! and afton is so mysterious in this trailer….only one clip!! im in suspense!!

also the ending was a bit cute! are we having a glamrock freddy situation? idk but i’m so ready!!!

[dragonkingz159]

No I can’t. I won’t rant about the cephalopods. That there are pictures of what look to be nuclear waste disposal sites and ideas of how when humans are long gone how we’d terrify away sentient life with the disturbing pillars. Of what appears to be a dead whale skeleton and how that could be referencing a “whale fall” where an entire ecosystem develops around the carcass as it decomposes and is eaten by hundreds of creatures smaller than it. Like how splatoon world and culture is influenced by what dead humans left behind (and their hopes and dreams). Of how everything looks to be taken over by bleached coral, the results of algae (responsible for the magnificent colors of reefs) fleeing coral due to stress from pollution and climate change. Of potential new Marina and Pearl lore and more Agent 8 and memory dives and an authoritarian regime that seeks to erase your entire being and make you into a colorless disposal clone for their use. I can’t…

Unless someone asks me to. In which case I will ABSOLUTELY RANT ABOUT ALL THAT!!!

[yolkcheeks]

Catching a random episode of Sailor Moon R and it’s the one where ChibiUsa’s dealing with the news about Usagi being *gasp* Sailor Moon and the introito Esmeraude and oh my god she is such a massive bitch I love her.

Also i am imagining NQS talking openly about her friends around Chibs so much she tunes it out. Like I get that part of the deal was NQS was so poised and elegant but I can’t imagine an Usagi who is quiet or cold- not in the OG anime at least, I love Princess Sailor Moon.

And now I made myself sad because the way she interacts with Ikuko… you might not recognize your cool adult mom as s goofy teen but grandma and mom aren’t as far apart as life stages, from a kid’s perspective. So in Crystal Tokyo I, Ikuko was long dead, small lady never got to meet her grandmother.

Also dang even knowing exactly where everything is going, the music cords and pacing still get me! Oh no! She ran off with the brooch! Key don’t work!! Oh no!

Fuckin delightful

[theradicalace]

[hollowboobtheory]

STAGE ONE BITCH

[crowfonder]

Idk what that noise he made was but i feel in my fucking soul

[mitzi-doodles]

Terraria doodles, ft. Guide and Arms Dealer, and my personal headcanon design of Painter and Party Girl.