#without which there are no survivors

[funishment-time]

something something Keebo is named after the Japanese word for "hope." something something he was the only person close to Miu. something something he says after her death that Miu had a childlike innocence. something something Miu canonically tries to act like he's just a robot but in multiple again canonical or semi-canonical universes they are essentially each other's only friends. am i getting my meaning across a little. about innocence. and hope

[fantasticgothicpeachsludge]

Sometimes I think about Cal being an explorer/archaeologist for the Order if it had never fallen and I cry

[chipthekeeper]

lately i have been a bit miffed by the lack of awareness when it comes to queer characters, and more specifically sapphic characters, in the Star Wars canon. so, in my capacity as the patron saint of lesbian visibility, i've decided to quit whining about it and be the one to spread some knowledge

without further ado.....a very long and obnoxious lesson

now let me tell you about them. in detail. through very specific categories

you don't have anything else to do, right?

CATEGORY ONE: GAY. ON. SCREEN.

they're gay. on screen.

CATEGORY TWO: THE A WORD

Doctor Aphra and her web of lesbianity

CATEGORY THREE: HANDGAYDENS

Padme Amidala and her gay handmaidens

CATEGORY FOUR: THE HIGHLY GAY REPUBLIC

all the many, many queers of the golden age of the jedi

CATEGORY FIVE: VIDEO GAYMES

queers from the Jedi games and related media

CATEGORY SIX: GAY FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW

characters created for or made queer in the From a Certain Point of View books

CATEGORY SEVEN: COMICALLY QUEER

wlws from comics not involved with Aphra

CATEGORY EIGHT: BOOKED AND GAY

characters who are gay in books, even if nowhere else

whew. still here?

thank you for scrolling all the way through this. if you are interested in talking about any of these people or want to know how to learn more about them on your own, my inbox is always open!!

and seriously folks, if you’re interested in any of them i implore you: read their stories, write fic, make art!!! the more we show that these characters are appreciated and talked about, the more likely we are to get more like them, and hopefully more that are even better and more visible rep

that’s all from me. have a gay day

[dxxtruction]

Louis' "You're boring!" Could mean so many things, but I think what's most apparent about that line is that Armand takes no initiative just for himself. He's not really anybody, because he never goes out and finds himself or gets attached to anyone but Louis. Without Louis as his guide he's literally just sitting on a couch picking lint! That's the thing.

He orbits constantly around what would make Louis happy, and never really fully going what would make me happy? Ultimately that drive to please Louis is what drives him to torturing Daniel, not so much that he'd care to just do it. Ultimately, not giving proper care to Louis is just a way to make sure Louis knows he has to orbit around him as well, with shoving Lestat onto him just that other nail on the coffin. So, even if he fails to figure out how to make Louis happy with him, he still knows what Armand is good for, and better than.

That dependency is what drives Armand's abuse. It really just comes down to that. Armand doesn't even realize how suffocated he is by his own dependency. This is just how life is to him. (It shouldn't be lost either that dependency is a theme considering this episode also deals with addiction).

Daniel's fascinating because he's just so driven to be somebody. He's largely independent, he seeks things because he wants them. It's his drug to poke and prod at all the things that he shouldn't. Daniel's exciting because he lets Louis in to something different, lets him in to all this potential in another person that he can also do the same with for himself. It's a real connection. A two way street. It's easy to tell how Armand can be smothering then because he's never introducing him to anything really new, and most the ways both of them connect are all painful and traumatic. It's never just fun because there's always that layer of that pain. Fun died with Claudia.

50 years on they've gotten to a lot better place, both of them, but it's still that same shit. No seriously, "How is this any different from last time, Louis?"

Well... Because Armand's going to be, at the very least, making one [1] decision only for himself - and that's to hold power over Daniel's life. Fucking sick foreshadowing.

They aren't driving each other to the brink anymore but "The vampire is bored" STILL. Maybe it's even worse, despite being in better places, because Louis' sort of just been defeated by it. (I mean, can he even really leave this either?). He's accepting the dependancy cause he kind of has to. He'd literally ended up letting all the enjoyment be up where he can't reach [The book shelves]. Armand so desperately wants Louis happiness but what really ends up happening is that Louis ends up having to give Armand all his own. He's got no one or anything else to get it from. But like an iPad and an over the top eating ritual. Two extremes of what's just more lint picking.

This whole relationship is one I find just tragic inside and out. You have to just pity it, really. There's ways in which you can find yourself feeling bad for both of them. But you can only really be mad at Armand for any of it. Armand, who isn't even 'free' in any sense, having so little concept of his own independence, but is at the same time so controlling over other's. It's a tragic cycle. It's an infuriating one.

Louis at least has the mind to know when enough is enough. If just needing that extra push to get there. Armand's too scared of it being over to even try.

[deservedgrace]

cult jokes are a symptom of and contribute to the simultaneous sensationalizing of cults (cults are all dark cloaks and animal sacrifices and devil worship and group suicide and despicable/unhinged beliefs) and diminishing of cults ("uwu come join my CULT XD we're gonna make cookies and WORSHIP SATAN teehee"), but i'm realizing how they go so hand-in-hand with the mindset of "only ~stupid/evil/crazy/etc.~ people could possibly join a cult. if it were me i would simply not fall for cult propaganda."

the diminishing part means that people don't take you seriously if you say you're an ex cult member or talk about your experiences in a cult or believe you are a current victim of a cult, because cults are just silly little groups that have weird beliefs but are otherwise innocuous. the sensationalizing part means people will also not take you seriously because if it was Actually a cult cult, that does harm and has evil beliefs, you should've known better because any reasonable person would have seen through it. the other side of "only an [xyz] person joins a cult" is "i am not an [xyz] person so i will never join a cult or be victim to propaganda and other cult tactics." the other side of "if it were me i would simply not fall for propaganda" is "someone falling for propaganda is fully a choice and a personal failing on their part." and combined they make: if you were [xyz] enough to join a cult and fall for propaganda, that means you deserved it.

people who would never make jokes about any other kind of abuse but feel perfectly fine making cult jokes used to kind of baffle me, because why is joking about personal abuse a problem but large-scale/group abuse is fine? why is it suddenly funny when you're the one that wants to perpetuate the abuse? but if your belief around cults is: "your experience wasn't that bad [diminishing], and if it was that bad [sensationalizing] it was your own fault and personal failing [i would simply not fall for propaganda], which means you deserved what you went through [only stupid/evil/crazy/etc people join cults]" and you don't understand how cults or cult tactics work, cult survivors/victims probably feel like a fair target for jokes (they are not, to be clear).

[rebelangelsims]

How it started vs How it's going

Originally Lilith here was going to one of the timeline versions for Edith.

And now she has officially became her very own oc; Her backstory has inspired me to make a Fallout story (Currently making sure I've wrote down Lilith's lore so I can make sure it's constant within the storytelling) but I'm excited for this, to start writing this.

[flecks-of-stardust]

prompted by a conversation i had with my roommate and also a surprisingly common phenomenon i've noticed. explanations and elaborations always welcome!

oh wow you can edit post bodies now, how nice. anyways this is for whichever region you entered first, no matter which one you ended up exploring more later. if your first gate out of outskirts was drainage, but you died then went to industrial later, please still vote drainage.

[randomwriteronline]

The port was bustling with beings of all sorts. If the noise hadn't already been enough to make him as sick as a De-Matoran exposed to the faintest buzzing of a far away Rama, the bodies shoving him around like an empty sack and squashing him between them would have gotten the job done.

If somebody apostrophed him he either did not notice or did not aknowledge it; frankly, in a place like this, it was better that way.

Masks, teeth and snouts melted in his vision as he passed through them, struggling to breathe as the tremors that had started rattling him half to death hours ago still refused to give him any respite. Within the swirling typhoon of his own thoughts he realized numbly he had nothing on himself - no currency of any kind, no object to trade, no means to survive beside his own tool.

Then, like a dream, an unusual Kanohi flew past him.

His yellow eyes fixed on it.

He managed to move only as it was disappearing off towards the docks, devoured within the shifting mound of bodies: he bolted off after it with newfound energy as he shoved his way through the much larger beings blocking his path.

"Whexie!" he cried out: "Whexie!"

The white-armored Toa stopped in his tracks and looked around, a puzzled expression beneath his mask.

Relief swept over him as he recognized the Calyx.

"Whexie!"

The Toa's gaze fell onto the golden Hau, and lit up.

"Lhi!" Whexie shouted back at him, arms raised and already hurrying over to him: "Lhi! Brother of mine!"

They joined fists in a quick salute before Lhikan was pulled into a tight hug: "Great Spirit," he wheezed as he grabbed onto the cold armor like his life depended on it, "It's been so long."

"It has! Ah, it really has - how many years? A thousand, two, three?"

"What are- you," the Ta-Toa struggled to speak "What, what are you doing here?"

His friend pointed to a ship docked not too far away, all abuzz with Toa of Ice: "Just stopped to restock - we're off to get some brothers and sisters for a team or two. What about you?" a laugh snaked into his voice: "Don't tell me they're still sending you off on errands!"

Lhikan would have laughed about it too, because he'd always hated running errands, and maybe he would have groaned before confirming his punishment, or playfully shoved him off for assuming he was still being treated like a freshly turned novice after all these centuries of hard training.

But the Toa of Fire only managed the momentary ghost of a chuckle, and though he tried, and tried, and tried, his words failed him.

His grip onto Whexie tightened, shivers wrecking him once more; his brother's smile dropped quickly as his friend's condition visibly worsened in the span of only a few seconds.

Before he could press on, Lhikan spat out a single word: "Frostelus..."

The Ko-Toa stiffened: "An attack?"

"The," Lhikan stuttered, "The fortress..."

Whexie's hold on his arms turned steadier, his eyes resolute - they'd known each other for so little, all things considered, back when he'd come along to a visit to his cold brother's own fortress, but his readiness to action was the first thing that had stuck out to him and that he had so terribly envied even after the two had become fast friends: "How far is it from here?" he asked quickly. "If it's close enough it'll take us nothing to--"

But Lhikan shook his head, and his voice sputtered out of him like dirty water from a faulty faucet: "N- n- Whe- Whexie, no, it's - gone, it's gone, it's gone, the for- fortress is, it's... It's..."

He stopped only as kind arms wrapped around him again.

"Oh, Lhikan," he heard breathed into his audio receptor. He clung again to the white armor while a hand pressed comfortingly on his back. "How many of you escaped?"

The tremors turned harsher. "Me," the Ta-Toa started as if making a list; but no names followed his.

The hug enveloping him squeezed him a little tighter.

A kind chill seeping into his muscles offered a welcome respite.

The hold on him shifted suddenly, slipping around his shoulders to press him against his friend and sustain him, as though he was going to fall to the ground at any moment.

In all fairness, with how hard he'd started shaking again, it wasn't that silly of an assumption.

"Come," Whexie said with such a tone that it almost sounded like an order while beginning to drag him away from the spot he'd seemed to root himself in: "Come, brother of mine, come with us. We'll take care of you."

Lhikan struggled to stand his ground, to halfheartedly pull away from the kind grip: "No, no - Whexie, there's- I'll, I won't--"

"It is no good to walk alone in a universe as vast as this, even with masks as powerful as yours and mine," the Toa of Ice cut him off. His frigid tone melted a little as he tugged his poor brother closer, so much that their heartlights could have been mistaken for a single one from a distance: "You'll always be welcome among my kin. And I told you, didn't I? We're setting off to assemble a team or two. I know there is no one beside whom I'd want to fight more than you."

The lone Fire Toa's yellow eyes wavered briefly.

His head laid hard against Whexie; stiff shoulders at last sinking with a long sigh which was equal parts grateful, relieved, and still so awfully guilty, he allowed himself to be taken to the ship without offering any more resistance.

"Mata Nui sent you here, brother," he whispered before one of the more seasoned Toa could stop his work to holler down at them, demanding to know who he was.

He felt a cold hand squeeze him comfortingly: "I'm glad he did."

[reliquiaen]

Dear Respawn Entertainment,

Since I know you'll insist on putting those horrible traversal challenges in your inevitable Jedi Part III, please consider doing one of those pan shots like in older 3D platformers where you can see the whole level and the rough path to take. Because as they are, the traversal tears are nightmarish creations that really force people to experience your namesake to learn the paths. Perhaps the camera pan could be a lower difficulty setting option for those of us who aren't masochists.

Thanks

[teafiend]

Ep 7 is one of the saddest and most heartbreaking episodes amongst a cacophony of tragedies in the series.

(The Trio floored in the visuals/aesthetics + dynamics department, not to mention every second of KGY is just breathtaking beauty 😳☺️ and awe)

[lonepower]

okey here we go! this game has already endeared itself to me by letting me custom map the controls (seriously the bar is on the floor, WHY are console games so bad about this), plus heists and cool robots, so you're surely going to hear a lot about it unless you blacklist chi plays outlaws and/or chi liveblogs, yall know the drill~

[cyraen-ae]

Random Dragonfable Theory : the Twin Dragons and Hawkscry

So, a while back, the DF devs posted this Pantheon Chart

So a bit of time ago I decided to take a stab at it, with... mixed results

However, the one I'm currently focusing on is this one

Clearly, the two green squares made alongside the Avatars by the Aequilibria are the Twin Dragons. However, this singular square beneath them bothered me... a lot. I couldn't find a proper idea of what it could possibly be And then, an idea struck me Let's go back to a poem that was the source of a previous theory of mine for me : the Hawkscry Calamity Poem

The first three animals are references to Mechquest and GEARS, right? But what about the Dragon. A reference to their disappearance in MQ? Maybe, but... how does it relate to Hawkscry But, there is something else that relates to dragons and disappearances

The twin's first Death, directly described by GenoKratos and implied by a book in the Falconreach Libraseum So, to recap Hawkscry's destruction, according to the AF2 Poem, involved a dragon, somehow, somewhere, and it resulted in this dragon's disappearance The Twin's first death was also explicitly described as a disappearance, with the source of their death unknown What if these two are linked? What if whatever caused Hawkscry's destruction also resulted in the death of one or both of the Twins. What if they were actively responsible for Hawkscry's destruction, or were simply present and caught in the explosion. Of course, all of this could be circumstantial evidence, nothing concrete... however there is one more thing that has been on my mind. And it's the text that appears if you hover your mouse over the Fissure in the Travel Map

Symbolism much?

[forcedhesitation]

the “criticism” that larian should never have added good minthara recruitment and that that was just “pandering” to fans is so unbelievably ridiculous. what else were they supposed to do about the sheepthara exploit?? attempt to patch it out and likely fuck up plenty of people’s game files? the solution they offered literally just acknowledges the exploit without dramatically changing anything, other than the player’s ability to have both minthara and halsin in their camp. if you want to kill minthara, recruit halsin, and play an authentic good run, then do so. if you want to abandon halsin, attack the grove, and authentically recruit minthara, then do so. the sheepthara method being simplified and added into the game has absolutely zero bearing on anyone’s ability to play the game normally. some people are just making a problem out of nothing. perhaps go complain about something actually worthwhile, like the lack of content for wyll and karlach.

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

trying to find diplomatic but firm ways to articulate 'hey man this is really fucked up, please reconsider' about wan/derhome--or whether to make a post about it at all--because its creators seem like the types to approach it in good faith, but i have no idea how it would go over or if they'd even see it at all. but i finally decided to take a look at it after getting it in a charity bundle last year, and as a disabled mentally ill trauma survivor god that was incredibly hurtful and upsetting, holy shit. days later i'm still not super okay over it, let alone that it won awards and is considered a masterpiece in the medium

[engagemythrusters]

I don’t think the trontoshell could feasibly live on Koboh.

[trans-soapberry]

as a certified Aromantic Asexual (I should make myself a certificate) I genuinely don't Believe there is systemic oppression that specifically targets Aromantic or Asexual people.

I do however believe that people Cannot be normal about ppl who don't have sex or romantic relationships, and that can Really Impact Aromantic And Asexual People.

Also like. Aros n aces are still. Experiences Other forms of oppression that can interact with the aro and/or ace-ness