Mother of Pearl

once again thinking about the worldbuilding in the riordanverse of "names are power" / "belief is power."

The Tri were only able to become immortal through convincing enough people to worship them that it became true. Monsters and immortals only exist through continued belief, and if enough people believe that they're dead or gone then it becomes true, like Pan. Their varied forms exist and manifest as they're believed in and called upon. Names call attention and epithets summon aspects. They're acknowledgement. Belief. Putting a name to a concept creates it as an individual.

And that's so fascinating when you start applying it to demigods. How much of their abilities are based on belief in themselves, in expectations of each other, in their parents' expectations of them? We've seen mortal figures who became immortal in some form or another because they were remembered. Even the lares - ancestral house gods, who persist because they're remembered. They have a legacy.

At what point does a demigod achieve that status? Rumors and whispers about them so persistent that they slowly become true. "I heard that Jason Grace is the son of two gods, does that make him a god?" "I heard Percy Jackson defeated a titan single-handedly. That he can create hurricanes without breaking a sweat. That he can control blood." After awhile, after enough rumors, does it become impossible to tell where they end and the legends begin? Isn't that what being a demigod is; half-legend?

i really adore how the fandom agrees bi-han would be a good father. he'd still be a dick, make mistakes, is a little too harsh with his children, but he doesn't want to put his kids what he went through as a child at the hands of bis father. Idk, i just really love that. it would be so easy to write him as a horrible father who doesn't care for his children, but this man would die and murder and kill and smile for his children in a heartbeat. they'll be great martial artists, trained from birth to break anyone's hip flexor, but they will also have a father who loves and cares for them.

it definitely doesn't come naturally to him tho. he wants to do this but it's kinda a whole new way of thinking for the man. bi-han isn't exactly one to open up or show any other feelings other than anger and mild annoyance- but eventually, with his never ending want to not be his father, and with the help of his partner, it's easier for him to really be the father he wants to be.

to hug his children, read them bed time stories, praise them when they've done well, praise them when they haven't done so well. not view his childrens' s emotions as weak. it's a huge mental adjustment for the cryomancer, but he does it.

also, I don't think he'd be set on "only having a son to pass on his legacy" idk, call me a woke liberal feminist (or a partner who'd beat his ass) but I don't think he particularly cares, he just wants a child or children who can eventually be the next grandmaster and uphold lin kuei principles.

catch this bitch having five daughters and obliterating the very being of a lin kuei lackey who he overheard talking negatively about his daughters. they will all be killing machines who love tea parties and watching my little pony, and he'll be right there with them (he knows the theme song by heart)

bi-han is a girl dad through and through and you cannot convince me otherwise.

[Tw: Rape, suicide]

I was browsing through Magadon's story for Raphael Reasons and...

Is it time to kill Mephistopheles? I really think it's time to kill Mephistopheles.

(Note, since Magadon mentions his mother surviving: The lore about cambions' mothers dying during birth comes from The Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix, which is 2e, and Expeditions to the Demonweb Pits, which is 3e [both editions are also interesting for consistently putting Cambions in with Demons]. The 5e Monster Manual seems to imply that Cambions' mothers might live: "Cambions grow into ruthless adults whose wickedness and perversion horrifies even the most devoted mortal parent. Even as a youth, a cambion identifies its rightful place as an overlord of mortals. It might orchestrate uprisings in towns and cities, gathering gangs of humanoids and lesser devils to serve it." 4e only says that cambions can be raised in one realm or the other without getting into specifics.) (All this to say that I support any means of torturing Raphael possible and highly encourage finding new and exciting ways of doing it, BUT it isn't necessarily inherently keeping with 5e that the cambion's mother HAS to die.)

wish i knew the forgotten realms lore better...how am i meant to make my little ocs in this state of ignorance

so, i’ve been putting off writing this post for a while, telling myself that i didn’t really need to do it and everything would turn out fine but honestly. some of the asks i’ve been getting recently have been very upsetting to me personally and they’re sort of mounting up in my inbox and making it feel not very pleasant so i thought i’d just. get this post out of the way...

since the demo was released i’ve been getting an increasing number of asks that seem as though they’re designed to try and push me away from including polyam options in the game or attempt to try and goad me into admitting that the ROs prefer monogamy and consider any polyam relationships “lesser” than “proper” monogamous relationships.

this has ranged from direct criticism of my characters (”don’t you think it’s unfair that Lithiana won’t give up sleeping around and become monogamous if mc is romancing her”) to what i’m sure are intended to be subtle attempts at manipulation (”don’t you think it would be Healthier for [RO] if they were monogamous so that they could Know that mc Truly loves them and Only them and they’d be so much happier in that kind of relationship”) to attempting to shame other players for being happy about polyam options being included.

that last bunch really, really hurt me. i get a not insignificant amount of asks from people being happy that polyam options are included or that they simply won’t be shamed for being promiscuous but i’ve gradually. stopped answering these because i almost always get an ask shortly afterwards that reads something like “i do [rephrasing of something that was mentioned in the original ask] ONLY with [their favourite RO who i won’t drag into this], because i’m a GOOD LOVER ;)” and it feels like absolute crap, every time. (and of course tumblr being tumblr blocking this anon ask sender simply doesn’t work, because Webbed Site  🙄)

i’ve seen authors get backlash for including (and especially Adding) polyam routes and readers getting possessive over “their” ROs but i never realised people were just as mad about the. idea that other players could be doing non-monogamous things elsewhere and not being shamed for it. and that... really boggles my mind and saddens me a lot.

to the what i assume to be minority of people for whom stuff other players are doing is apparently a problem, i hope you can understand that other players being polyamorous doesn’t affect your playthrough of the game in any way, and there’s no need to just. be mean to them about it. and if you’re actually mad simply because people aren’t ashamed of being polyamorous well... that’s pretty cruel, i have to say, and we probably wouldn’t get along if we knew each other, because i’m also polyamorous. i’d appreciate it if you’d stop trying to use me as a platform to shame other polyam people, and maybe just unfollow if it bothers you so much.

to the people who have sent asks that mention or talk about monogamy in a sensible non-judgy way who may have noticed me not answering them - i’m sorry, i haven’t felt like answering these for a bit due to the other batch of asks and me feeling icky at the idea of galvanising the other group despite there being nothing wrong with your asks in particular. i’ll probably keep them in my inbox and maybe answer them in a while if this dies down.

to everyone else, thank you for supporting me and i’m sorry to have to talk about this but it’s really been bugging me recently lmao. i appreciate each and every one of you that Isn’t sending me these asks lmfao<3

gale/durge is funny if just for the "am i the first mortal you've been with question"

i, at least, like to assume the durge is immortal or at least nigh immortal since bhaal seemingly intended them to be the last living soul. they'd need plenty of time to get all that murdering done. and who knows what being made of god flesh and blood does to a mfs lifespan. but even if they aren't they're still godspawn. gale just can't stop attracting gods and their ilk even when he's not trying

does anyone else ever think abt ai no uta. the song released in tandem with pikmin 1, and included as an easter egg in pikmin 2, sung from the pikmins pov about how they are aware of and embrace their own mortality, how disposable each pikmin is, how they'll follow their captain to the death even if the captain doesn't care for them. "today again we'll carry, multiply, fight and be eaten" can anyone hear me. it's so dark in here

Someone said there wasn't a lot of Frieren fanfic and I looked and there's barely 250 total on AO3 and now I'm like.

I have a Frieren plot bunny.

I could write a Frieren fic.

(Bandit. Finish. The rough. Of OAFC.)

totally agree with you on lmks pacing, it works for me because pretty much every plot element thats supposed to matter, even if it only lasts for 2 or so episodes (i.e possessed wukong) is treated with weight

that and there arent characters/scenes that take away a substantial amount of spotlight from other things that could be focused on (smartie kid not withstanding)

YES EXACTLY. EXACTLY

Like, with possessed Wukong specifically I got everything I could have wanted from it. We had him attack MK no less than 3 times, we had MK trying to reason with him (and failing), we had MK believing in SWK (and getting him back), we had possessed Wukong fighting Macaque, it retroactively added to Wukong's "reaching for more power/immortality" arc in sick and twisted ways. I love it here.

And, look. I said *maybe* you could cut Smartie Kid from s3, with tears in my eyes, because honestly I love that episode and what it contributes. It shows us how Wukong is going to gain his strength back, and most importantly it re-establishes MK's powers and shows us how he's feeling about not having those powers. That and 3x03 takes a big bright highlighter to the fact that MK's "someone special"/"hey it's not normal that he can lift the staff", and I love that MK get's his powers back playing a rigged game. I also love that MK literally bets his friends in order to force himself to win (aka "going too far in the pursuit of power", because that's what monkeys do). MK deciding he was going to be the "smart one" after losing his sense of identity as the "Monkie Kid" is such a him choice. That was so MK of him. Plus, I think it's a nice transition episode between "The Great Grand Dragon of the East" and "The Winning Side".

back on my bullshit reading the twilight saga for the fanfic and i feel a crit analysis a-brewin and i kEP THE FUCKMEYER HANDLE JUST IN CASE THIS EVER HAPPENED BOYS WE'RE BACK AT IT AGAIN-

thor 3 would've been a thousand times funnier if loki had just. had kids the entire time and never mentioned it. or just assumed everyone already knew

Ohhh you have me thinking about Durgetash with a mind flayer Durge now (au where Gortash lives or where Durge ceremorphs earlier or etc idk). Any thoughts? I want to say that Gortash would still love them (because I’m not sure anything COULD change that, Gortash being Mr “This Changes Nothing” after all) but I also don’t think their relationship could be normal. Not that they ever had a normal relationship before lol but you know, even LESS normal. Or maybe he would be totally pragmatic about it and even a bit excited about the potential the way Minthara is?

I am... honestly just in general not fond of the mind flayer ending. The idea of my character turning into a squid thing just kinda icks me out, I don't like it. Also it annoys me that the mind flayer ending gives you that fun little thing in the epilogue about struggling to contain your desire to eat your friends' brains and all redemption Durge gets is Jaheira bothering them about children like an elderly relative, Larian had the weird and fucked up origin and gave someone else the weird and fucked up epilogue dialogue options, what's with that. Also illithid transformation involves the tadpole eating your brain so by all rights whoever transforms should be fully dead with anything left of their personality just being an echo of the host's and the fact that no one seems all that bothered by the fact that whoever transforms on a very real level might not be the same person feels like a major cop-out. And it makes no goddamn sense that it's even necessary because we know of a good mind flayer who would for sure be willing to help out, why even introduce this one and only truly good mind flayer in the game with Omeluum and then make a big deal of it being in Baldur's Gate with the Iron Throne rescue sequence if you can't so much as suggest asking it to help with the one situation in this game where what you really need is a good mind flayer? I think if you rescued it from the Iron Throne you should've been able to ask it to help with the brain instead of siding with the Emperor or transforming a party member, but even without actually being able to ask it it feels really dumb that you can't even raise the possibility of asking it. I can understand the half-illithid thing (that one I only refuse to do because the concept is icky to me personally) but the full mind flayer ending just feels really forced to me, I don't know.

Anyway. Gortash should be fully against it (because everyone should be fully against it because if you become a mind flayer the tadpole eats your goddamn brain and whether or not you're even the same person or just an echo is in fact a huge question that everyone should be asking), but I guess since Larian apparently forgot about that bit he'd probably accept it. Since if you're fucking a demigod of murder them having tentacles and wanting to specifically eat your brain instead of just kill you now probably wouldn't be a deal-breaker. I don't think he'd like it, though.

you know, i appreciate the work Susan Sontag has done for people appreciating Camp and stuff but i feel like if you are still using Susan Sontag as the authority on Camp in the year of your lord 2023, using notes that were written in 1964, as if the landscape of art and our relationship to art hasn't fundamentally changed since then,,, it's like, you need to catch up babes, a lot of those points are still really relevant, i'm not saying throw it out, but like update your understandings of Camp beyond that one authoritative text that's at this point almost 60 fucking years old. Susan Sontag is not the fundamental authority on what art today is or would be considered Campy, build off of those basics, please dear gods, evolve your understanding of what Campy art today actually looks like rather than trying to apply a prescriptive label from a text that can kinda boil down to 'Camp is whatever you feel like, and you'll know it when you see it because it won't be like traditional art' because the attempt to define it is so wide, calling every non-traditional piece of art campy is fucking pointless and not how anyone is obviously using the fucking label, people are very deliberately talking about one specific feeling they get from the piece of art, and it's got very little to do with aesthetics, at least as far as TV shows are concerned (movies are a different conversation), and much more about presentation and tone and intended effects and what the whole fucking point of the piece of art actually is, which is a lot more than what is afforded to most things considered Campy, like 90% of the shit people call campy at this point is just called campy and then it's left there, because it's a "oh you can't say anything about it because it's campy" like at this point it almost functions as a conversation ender because anyone you're talking to about any aspect can just go "yeah that's meant to be that way, it's campy" and it's like. okay, where do we go from here? should the piece of art not be analyzed as a work of art? does it not deserve to be evaluated in good faith and treated like any other piece of art? i understand the urge to defend the use of the term, as like "oh we're using it because people are misunderstanding art and what it's trying to be", and as a Riverdale-truther (as in genuinely love it as a piece of art and what it says and does, it's not fucking campy i swear to god, none of you fucking know what pulp art is!), and as a TASM2 truther (best Spidey movie after ITSV, and definitely best general movie after ITSV, and i don't care what your opinion is) i understand the urge to want to defend it as camp, but like, what's the piece of art actually doing and trying to say, what are the deeper layers at play? or are you really just satisfied saying something is Campy and stopping your analysis of the piece of art there? is your soul really okay correcting someone's interpretation of a show and saying it's campy and not doing anything beyond that? what does it being campy actually change? what the fuck does it actually do for the piece of art, if the piece of art is even campy at all?

you know what, i don't wanna do formal intro posts (i will…… eventually). meet the new pjo kids. like this & i'll come to your dms for plots. click their name to be redirected to their pinterest board for a vibe check.

ceader oliver simmons.

son of cupid. 26 y/o. retired legionnaire, finished his tenure four years ago. name was misspelled on the birth certificate. homeschooled since birth by a crunchy mom. now a silky bitch. anger issues of a mars kid.

cyrene kelsey kamel.

daughter of khonshu's avatar. 22 y/o. legionnaire in her fifth year of service. college athlete: hockey player at iowa univeristy. died at 6 y/o but was brought back by thanatos & osiris. also has the anger issues of a mars kid.

garnett noëlle alaska.

daughter of skadi. 22 y/o. legionnaire in her second year of service. college athlete: figure skater at iowa univeristy. immune to the cold. super sweet & super lazy. shortens her middle name to masculine spelling.

spencer stetson sanders.

son of athena. 25 y/o. goes by his middle name. montanan cowboy. former chess champion. co-parent to a 6 y/o named savvy w/ his ex-gf. need a conversation starter, mention his daughter.