#i merged both (they were both the same entity for me when i was little
Text
Tooth Fairy, the 242nd Known One.
#fae#tooth fairy#in France we have the tooth fairy and “la petite souris” (the little mouse) that have the same purpose#i merged both (they were both the same entity for me when i was little#i just read they arent exactly the same thing)#mouse#moth#insect#wings#tooth#the Known Ones#octem 121#aer 4#968#chimera#bestiary#monster#creature design#ink
350 notes
·
View notes
Text
A Brief AU Explanation
I noticed that there are a lot of new followers that do know Danny Phantom, and others that the know very little. I am also aware that I haven't fully explained - maybe NOT in too much detail - the "story" and plots of my AU. You only have the ideas that I've been telling of this story through illustrations.
This AU is all about reconnecting with one self, with Jazz and Dan as the main two of this particular game.
Jazz remains as the same character that is portrayed through the OG show. She has always been the psychology enthusiast of the group, the one that cares for others and help with whatever she can. For her, others come first. First being her family.
On the other hand, we have Dan, an alternate entity of Danny’s ghost half and Vlad’s. A new form of entity that lost his humanity. For him to show any form of emotion is null.
Jazz involvement in this has to do with her putting everyone else first and then herself, and being keen to the study of the human-psyche, and now ghost-psyche, she secretly partakes to the role of Dan’s therapist. This was kept in secret from the rest of her friends and Danny until she can gain more control over Dan.
This, of course, prove to be a VERY difficult task. With her having to hide her constant fears when facing that “particular someone”: he could go on a rampage, have uncontrollable outbursts, cause havoc, and that he could turn against her any day/time without any remorse. She knows this, but she also knows that deep down, her little brother is still there. She’s looking to rekindle that part of him again. Of course, never knowing at what extent this could go.
And this, apparently started to bear fruit, although at a slow pace. As Jazz stood closer and closer to him, she understood that he stayed alone his entire life, and after losing everyone he cared, his violent actions were his significance of showing the world "hurting". The hurt he have been caring so many years. Now he has that second chance. To “live” a new life and Jazz wants to help him out.
With this new information, each time Jazz got close to him, Dan, instead of seeing her as an obnoxious-human-parasite, he slowly starts bonding with her. His interest increasing each day he is with her and grows more comfortable being around her (something Dan originally despised).
***
Part of this AU, enrolls on a particular context that the ghost of a halfa is sentient. The original show as proven this*. When Danny’s ghost has been separated, his ghost has a mind of his own, but when staying together, human-ghost, the consciousness of the halfa acts as one.
*Episodes in question: What You Want, Identity Crisis, The Ultimate Enemy
This part that the ghost plays on the known halfas is a mayor plot point from this AU. Let me explain my concept briefly:
This roll that the ghost is part of the halfa is the one that caries the power of the wielder (human). The human can transform into the ghost and vice versa. The ghost powers remain within the ghost half. The human half acts as a vessel/host to the ghost half.
All living things have the instinct of survival. And on this case, the ghosts would do ANYTHING to keep their host safe as they are the means of a linked connection human-ghost. Not unlike the rest of non-halfa- ghosts that their link/host relies on the Ghost Zone -since they no longer have a corporeal body, the vessel for their survival is ectoplasmic energy, the one that emanates from the GZ.
***
Since Dan is no longer connected to a human, he became a full-ghost. An entity that merged from two ghost halfas. He can sustain himself alone, but strangely enough, he building a bond with Jazz, it rekindled what Jazz intended, but in an unusual way.
Jazz intention was to try and reconnect Dan with his long-lost humanity. Even if he didn’t have a human half, both his ghosts may have some little information stored deep within of what that used to feel like. And even though that started to give results, the ghost also retained that of his original purpose: Protect the host.
And as the bond Dan and Jazz grew more and more, unknown to them, it caused a physical manifestation: a white streak formed in Jazz’s hair. And even if this came up as a surprise to Jazz, she later discovered that this manifestation was much more than just physical.
Dan rekindled his humanity but he, unknowingly, intertwined Jasmine’s humanity to his. Her humanity is part of him. Jasmine’s emotions have an impact on him. Whatever she feels, he can sense it, let them be good or bad ones.
They both are this new form of halfa, both human and ghost are separate life forms, but from the ghost side -Dan’s perspective- Jazz is acting as his human half. His host. That’s is why his instincts respond to protect her at all costs.
No. This new form of a halfa representation doesn't mean Jazz has ghost powers. The one with that power is Dan. This bond is more of a psychic link.
(i.e. In European folklore, you “could” say Dan is Jasmine’s "familiar", although Jazz is not considered to be a witch, but imagine the possibilities of this small plot causing people or ghosts to think Jazz is a witch… idk… random ideas)
This is why Dan is more sympathetic towards Jazz and why their bond is very important.
______________
It's worth pointing out that I don't have a specific name for this AU, like many people do when they create these stories.
And NO. Please refrain from saying this is a romantic relationship. It is a sibling/platonic relationship.
2K notes
·
View notes
Note
With everything coming to a head, been going back and looking around for any unresolved threads. While I doubt that Bungie planted the seeds so far in advance, the Lost Prophecies on the guns from Curse of Osiris are starting to sound...clearer(though prophecies are always vague enough to have multiple interpretations). Even just the first one sounds a little /too/ clear to be pure happenstance
"Two siblings cleaved by time and space, reflections never found alone,
The ending of the eldritch race—a path long seen but never known."
Oh yeah, I mentioned that same thing the moment we heard that message from Ahsa! It instantly reminded me of that prophecy. And the prophecy is called "Garden Progeny." Mentioned it here when I tried figuring out what Ahsa's messages might be about! (guessed correctly) That line was actually what motivated me to look a bit more closely into it.
Two last prophecies to re-examine, Null Calamity 9:
A sacred eye that speaks in lies—upending futures in its path.
The way before us to the skies shall see itself in ancient wrath.
And Future Safe 10:
See who's robed as if a god, who stands with pride above the rest!
Destroy this ancient nameless fraud! Destroy the one whose death was blessed!
As you said, it's highly unlikely that they planned this so far back in this specific detail, but they could always go back and pull some of this stuff and frame new things in a way that could fit. Either way, it's an interesting look back to some of the old stuff that was left unresolved.
Both of these can somehow fit what we know now. The Witness speaks in lies and is upending futures in its path. It is most known for its rage aka wrath and it's the thing that stands between us and the "skies" (in a lot of different ways; we can't leave the system because of it or a more metaphorical meaning of the Sky capitalised aka the Traveler). Fits also "robed as if a god" as the Witness was created by merging a whole species in an attempt to become more and enact its will into the universe, thinking it can better shape existence. Despite it being called "the Witness" that not its actual name; in truth we have no idea what these individuals were called or even what their species was called or their planet. It is nameless. And in a way, its death was "blessed" as they died to merge into this entity, becoming more than they were before by sacrificing their bodies.
It fits in a really neat way, but that's the way of prophecies; a lot of things can fit if you look back at them with hindsight. In truth, a lot of things can fit here if we want them to. The lore tab for Future Safe 10 actually has a thing to say about prophecies:
Prophecies are tricky things: they change the future they foretell. When a seer shares their knowledge of a coming event—any event, whether good or ill—there will always be those who gather to prevent it. Say too little and your meaning is lost. Say too much and you have made the task of your enemies easier.
Thank you Osiris, you're so right bestie.
119 notes
·
View notes
Note
Yknow if were talking about rarepairs/crackships….how about Sammy/Grant? Listen hear me out- i think I started shipping them a few years ago back during the og fandom days, but since my interest in bendy has been reignited, so has my interest in this ship lol. And im ngl, have you ever noticed how similar Grant’s office is to Sammy’s Sanctuary? They both play that same whispering effect when you enter them, they both have an ink pipe in them, they both have a bendy item in them (sammys bendy plushie and grants bendy clock), both have writing on the wall…
Even just beyond that, its implied they died the same way too, from drinking ink? And how they both seem to put the blame on others for joeys mistreatment (sammys whole “useless sheep” bit in that newspaper and grants “STOP THE WASTERS!!” bit on his office walls). and even though theres like, BARELY ANY GRANT CONTENT IN CANON, he does have a minor connection to the ink demon, as one of the flashbacks in chapter 1 is of the ink demon on level S near his office, and although this probably doesnt mean anything, the fact that the first time we see sammys cult is when we open the door to the archives via a handle we had to get from grants office specifically….👀
Plus just the miscellaneous stuff like grants va being a musician, one whose song was specially placed in sammys office- idk, *marge voice* I just think they’re neat! :)
THATS AN INTERESTING ONE… I’ve seen it around a fair bit lately but it feels recent??
Before I dive in, I do wanna address the ink-drinking – I’m a little biased, since I tend to headcanon the ink-drinking as unique to Sammy, but I feel like Grant also drinking ink is not something that’s implied so much as a headcanon that got popular? We can pretty easily accept that Grant transformed at SOME point, and the shared whispers imply that they were both under some inky influence, but that doesn’t tell us that ink-drinking was to blame. The note in BatDR about Grant looking ill could certainly be used for an ink-drinking headcanon, too, but as far as Evidence I think all it tells us for sure is that Grant was Very Stressed. [also trying to merge BatDR Grant and BatIM Grant into one entity seems messier the longer I think about it but I CANT GET DISTRACTED BY THAT NOW, THATS FOR ANOTHER POST]
ANYWAY, all the little things about this one having a valve in that one’s office and this one being voiced by a guy who did a song that’s in the other one’s office are neat but ultimately I feel like that stuff isn’t want sells a ship, for me – the biggest thing is a compelling dynamic between the characters.
There’s so much between these two that complicates them –
-- good money and hiring his own people were Sammy’s two big asks when he took the Music Director job, so he could easily be a source of financial strain and seen as one of the “wasters” Grant is so frustrated with, and it’s also not hard to imagine Sammy blaming Grant as one of the useless sheep who can’t do his job right once paychecks start coming in late. Add to that Grant being described as having no creativity at all in the Employee’s Handbook, and trying to imagine what he would relate to in Sammy “my special interest is music” Lawrence. Though I don’t know, that one could be fun. Does Grant like music despite not “getting” it? Can Sammy and Grant relate to each other through the intersection of music and math? Or does Grant just conceptualise music as a kind of math, which Joey thinks is boring but Sammy knows is not far off, and Sammy with his partially jazz background is INTRIGUING to Grant because what he’s making sounds good but isn’t following the rules…? IDK, Grant and Sammy learning to understand each other through understanding each other’s work is a neat thought.
On the surface they’re both frustrated men who want things to be under control and are frustrated with Joey’s spontaneity, but while Grant is having a meltdown over WHAT WILL JOEY SAY?, Sammy is screaming about pleasing a god rather than a man and certain that he’s found the one who will Set Them Free. Grant’s characterisation could be taken in a lot of directions, but it’s not hard to imagine him as the phobic to Sammy’s counterphobic.
Which is INTERESTING, because you get a dynamic that seems to work, as Sammy gives the impression of a leader who can offer certainty and something to depend on – and you CAN depend on him – but he’s actually a follower at heart who desperately needs someone to answer to, someone to believe in, and I don’t know if Grant can be that someone. Sammy and Grant BOTH want to be the one behind the scenes with someone else in the spotlight. On the other hand… we know Grant’s massaging numbers and fudging things and illegally hiding assets. It wouldn’t be hard to characterise him with a bit of ruthlessness as well, someone who’s not afraid to break the rules when he feels he has to; while Sammy seems frustrated, overstimulated, and perpetually at odds with a system he doesn’t fit in, Grant is willing to learn the system well enough to bend the rules to his advantage and know how to get away with it.
If you go with this take, you get a pair that could be dangerously effective but also dangerously fragile. I don’t think they would challenge or change each other so much as just reinforce each other’s ruthless caution – as long as they’re in cahoots, they’d be loyal to each other and value no principle above each others’ well-being. But the instant either of them mistrusts the other, they’d combust.
#this one's hard to talk about concisely b/c there are just a LOT of options for how to characterise Grant#but it's a neat concept...#grant x sammy#i'd say there was magic there#i know you have questions you always do
27 notes
·
View notes
Text
BALDUR'S GATE III VERSE
I'm thinking… to preserve as much about Varian as possible—because there are certain aspects of him that you just can't take away without him suddenly not being him—I'm going to kind of merge things a bit.
Please bear with me as Baldur's Gate III has been my first real venture into dnd and so I am having to piece together a whole lot of lore and whatnot as I go and might get things wrong. I am always happy for any and all constructive criticism so that I can better hone this verse.
Baseline now, based on what I have found and think I understand, I may say that, in his BG3 verse, Stormwind is another little kingdom along the Sword Coast—basically a city-state—that's located somewhere along the Coast between Neverwinter and Waterdeep.
Proximity to the spill over from the fighting in the Sword Mountains between goblins and trolls, has seen it besieged by those two factions, as well as all others at varying times due to its small size. It has fallen to those forces more than once [ including when Varian was a child ], and so has never really had time to flourish in the way that Waterdeep or Baldur's Gate have done. The constant upheaval and danger has kept it from becoming strong tourist or trade locations either, despite its place on the Coast and boasting some of the best architecture and stone masons along the Coast.
Varian was raised primarily in a Waterdeep [ link leads to map ] by wizards who had been friends of his father Llane and who had helped him to escape in the hopes that he one day would be able to retake his kingdom.
Before he was even fully into adulthood, Varian did just that, reclaiming his kingdom and the crown that was his birthright and leading those who had escaped it back to their homes. The process of rebuilding began—Varian married and soon had a child—but the joy of being returned to a home lost did not forever stave off the previous unrest, not in the least helped by an advisor of the king who was scheming for power.
The stone masons were cheated in underhanded dealings unknown to Varian though orchestrated by his advisor. Rioting began and, in the course of it, his wife was killed.
His spirit broken by the grief, Varian was easy prey for the machinations of his advisor—a fiend in disguise. Tricked into a contract, Varian's soul was split in two, one half manifested in the form of the mild-mannered and absent-minded puppet king she required to gain the power she wanted over the kingdom and the other in the body of a fierce and strong warrior, who she sold to a drow in the Underdark. [ After all, where would one be the least likely to accidentally see the King of Stormwind? With any luck, amidst the warring drow, he would be dead ere long. ]
What the fiend had not counted on was Varian befriending another, a half-drow who quietly helped him, first to survive… and eventually, when the time came, to escape.
Through an unfortunate but necessary series of events, Varian's young son, Anduin, realized what had happened and set out to right it, landing himself in grave peril—and inadvertently drawing the attention of both halves to his father's soul. In the events that followed, Anduin seized his father's contract and destroyed it, which saw the two halves reunited… but not quite the same as he once had been.
Because of the nature in which they were reunited, the two halves continued to be independent and at war with each other within Varian's mind. This led to more than a few conflicts—that almost drove away allies and son alike—until Varian managed to establish balance within himself… not in small part due to the help of an ancient entity of nature who had chosen him as its champion.
Varian has fought in many more battles since to protect all that he holds dear, but he was on a diplomatic trip to Waterdeep when the Illithid vessel darkened the skies. Never one to cower from danger, even in the face of insurmountable odds, the King of Stormwind took up his lighter armor and launched into action, directing people out of the ship's path and to safety… only to be taken himself.
He wakes on the ship to yet another presence within his mind, though this one far less friendly than ancient entity or even fiend.
Having already been an unwilling puppet once before, he has no intention to be so again. He is determined to find a way to stop this and to save all those other souls in peril—whatever it takes.
All of this is subject to change—whatever adjustments need be made to make it fit the best—but, for what I know now, I think that will be the best way to adapt Varian into the world.
His stat sheet:
And a few screencaps that I love. 😂
This last one is so perfect if you know anything about Varian's source material lore. 😂
And later additions:
The number of nature and history checks this man has passed, PARTICULARLY about the Underdark has left me cackling and is the reason that I realized he had been sold to the drow.
#|| some must fight that others may know peace || { about varian wrynn }#|| still alive; that's something || { v; baldur's gate iii }#long post
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Rules Pinned
Heya all welcome to lab-camp-kill, my new DBD multi-muse blog.
After realizing that with the amount of character blogs I had was getting unwieldy. I decided to consolidate and make it so that I only had to keep track of the one blog for the most part.. The older blogs will still be up for now, though after a time of archiving probably will go away... All new roleplay and questions should be directed to here from now on.
When doing asks or RP please tag or indicate which muse you are interacting with.
The muses that now inhabit this blog are as follows (There will be some tags the old blog for those wishing to dig through their old content while it still exists. Also by clicking on the name of each character you can go to each of their individual Rule/FAQ page which are stil currently hosted in the old blogs that might change over time.)
The Lab- Exy’s Lab his realm.
The Experimentity(Exy) @experimentity -The ExperimEntity most people call him Exy.. He’s my version of the Entity... a strange science obsessed being... Who also has become a little bit of a Daddy... Exy is the owner of ALL of the muses on this blog..
The Campfire- The survivor muses that I run.. these boys all share the same campfire and all know each other.. If you want to do asks/rp’s with them together that’s quite encouraged. (A special note about the campfire.. their campfire is also merged with @ask-the-dweets campfire, I don’t own those muses but we do a lot of RP together... if you are interested in doing shared campfire asks or RPs contact us both about that)
Steve Harrington @askgogglessteve - Steve as seen from Stranger things, for some reason this Steve refuses to take off his goggles.
James Sunderland @silent-daylight-james - James from Silent Hill 2, a sad man dragged into the entity’s realm after surviving a similar nightmare in the town of Silent Hill,
Brad Vickers @ask-dbd-brad-vickers - Good old chicken hearted Brad Vickers from the Resident Evill universe. This is OG Brad from the OG Resident Evil 3 not the Remake.
Dwight Fairfield @askgogglesdwight - This is my version of Dwight, for some reason Exy decided to stick him with his Chute Malfunction head and wont let him change it..
The Killers- My three killers they don’t share realms but they know each other also both owned by Exy.
Roman Bridger(Ghostface) @dbd-ghostface-roman - Now stuck in the Entitys realm Roman is the Ghostface from Scream 3, he has some anger issues especially over his half-sister Sidney Prescott.
Leslie Vernon(A.K.A. Leslie Mancuso)- Brand new to this blog, Leslie Vernon is a slasher killer from the super underappreciated gem of a movie called Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.
Johnny Slaughter/Sawyer- Recently created for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game. Johnny is a member of Bubba(Leatherface’s) family in the real world. Johnny is one of the more normal looking family members and he uses his good looks to lure victims to the family house. Recently Exy decided that he was perfect for trials so brought a version of him here to the realms. (Johnny is special, most of my muses are completely stuck in the Entity realms. But Johnny you can ask questions as if he were in the “Real World” of the TCM game as well like AU questions make clear that’s what you are doing if you do so.)
Rules-
- This is an ask blog for Dead By Daylight (DBD) muses
- +18 blog
- Asks not directed at a specific muse will be given to one at random
- Asks can be sent to all muses at once
- Interacting with mutuals and non-mutuals alike! You don't have to follow the blog to send asks or starters I still have final say on who I interact of course but
not following me isn’t the reason I choose not to interact.
- Please do not godmode (control) my muses.
#dead by daylight#leslie vernon#roman bridger#multimuse#steve harrington#dwight fairfield#brad vickers#james sunderland#the experimentity#the entity#killers#survivors#behind the mask: the rise of leslie vernon#resident evil#silent hill 2#stranger things#Johnny Slaughter#johnny sawyer#the texas chainsaw massacre
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
Fun with Symbolism: Saitama Mode
“We speak of the individual and the universe, but within every individual, there is a universe.” -- This was from an astrology book I had as a kid. I can’t find the book but I remember it very well, because it was the quote associated with my birthday :D
Looking back at the last chapter, this specific panel stood out to me:
Presumably... that’s Saitama, right? I mean, who else could it be? It’s not Garou (because we know what he looks like), and it’s probably not anybody from Garou’s past, because his memories are all featureless and fuzzy... (although he is able to imagine faces clearly, when he fantasizes about feasting upon the flesh of Eldritch horrors rolling out ultimate evil).
But in the webcomic, when Garou imagines their boss battle as a high-stakes playground fight, Garou just imagines him as... a smaller version of Caped Baldy, essentially.
So I’m wondering if copying Saitama results in picking up aspects of his Psyche as well.
That’s the point that ONE/Murata make: Saitama’s power (and arguably Garou’s power) comes from the heart. And that bittersweet-yet-emotionally-packed punchline is very on brand for ONE/Murata: there’s no technique to copy because it was never about technique. I’ve always felt that Garou’s kindness was his superpower, but his journey has taken him farther and farther away from that--hopefully so that he can better understand the value of his empathy (even when it pains him), and his relationship with it.
I’m always hesitant to get into the specifics of these kinds of things, because it always feels like a case of “feed the hyperfixation everything, including my daily meditation practice,” but the idea of mirroring is directly tied to empathy/compassion in both Psychology and Buddhism/Hinduism.
In the human brain, “A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another.Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting.” (From Wikipedia). It’s hypothesized that these are linked with our ability to experience empathy, but that’s still an ongoing debate.
In some schools of yoga, the goal of meditation is to still one’s energy (prana, similar to chi, presumably the same thing that Garou can expertly manipulate) to reflect the universe as it is--because, arguably, we don’t see the world as it is, we see it as we are--part of the goal is to see oneself clearly, but also by stilling energy you reflect the universe and eventually (Dhyana)... fall into it, which leads to Samadhi (Bliss/Enlightment). Dhyana and Samadhi are complicated and mean different things to different people/can be interpreted different wants depending on school and context, but that’s how it was explained to me. I talked about this a little vis-a-vis Atomic Samurai and the Sun Blade, because it seems like this was the concept that was being referenced/alluded to.
When we’re getting into theological debates like “is God omniscience” or “is non-duality possible,” there’s an ongoing argument as to whether “an outside entity knowing what you are/knowing your mindspace” is the same as “an outside entity knowing what it means to be you/live as you,” but honestly that’s a debate that has always been a bit beyond me. Somebody ones explained it as “five fingers on the same hand” but unfortunately that did not help.
Anyway, who knows!? Merging with the Cosmos is generally considered to be a positive experience, but in Garou’s case it’s just terrifying. Who knows what the fuck is going on here.
Anyway, file this under “crack theories” and “copium.” :-/ I just want everyone to turn out okay.
25 notes
·
View notes
Text
Armus
They had begun years ago. Odo, his old life entirely cast away with the end of the war. Returning to the Great Link had been healing, in some ways. Perhaps he'd even had an impact on them—he liked to think he had. But when he had left, Weyoun 6 his only companion, he had known, for the first time in his existence, with utter certainty, exactly what he needed to do.
That, of course, did not make it fast work.
They had travelled almost randomly, first, searching out tales and legends and history from everyone they encountered, but Odo had quickly fallen into the habit of scouring old records of exploratory vessels for signs of his lost people. That was what had led them here, to the forbidden planet Vagra II.
Nearly two decades previous, the Enterprise and her crew had encountered a hostile entity without clear form and rather than negotiate, they had tricked it, then marked the planet off limits, stranding it there alone once more.
Odo had never hated Star Fleet so much as when he'd seen the conclusion of the report. Not only had this creature, changeling or not, been left utterly alone, but it had been denied, by Federation law, any rescue by others.
If he was asked to pay for this crime of compassion, he would do so, but he could not leave Armus alone any longer.
-
The pair of them beamed down to the surface of the planet with some apprehension, but that didn't stop Odo from immediately approaching the dark puddle. "I'm so sorry," he whispered immediately. "I'm sorry that this was done to you. I'm sorry for what the Federation damned you to, with so little evidence. To arbitrarily decide-"
Odo cut himself off, then recentered. "We've come to help you. I believe- I believe you and I may be members of the same species."
"I am not," Armus' replied, speaking for the first time. "I do not require your pity. But I am a member of no species. I no longer exist as anything but evil. Who are you?"
Odo's distress was clear in the way his form's edges softened. But all he did was hold out a hand.
"My name is Odo. Our people did us both a great disservice–you more than me. They abandoned us before we were old enough to know what it meant to be alive, as a way of seeing how solids would respond to changelings among them. But I'm here to correct that mistake. You don't need to be alone anymore." He took a step forward. When Weyoun reached out as though to stop him, concerned for his safety, Odo reached back with his other hand to tangle their fingers, just for a moment, offering reassurance. He may not have irrefutable evidence, but he was certain nonetheless. Armus was one of the hundred. He could feel it, and Odo would not contribute to their pain by avoiding them out of fear. "You never should have been alone. None of our people were ever meant to be."
Armus lashed out, swatting at Odo as if to throw him back and away, but Odo's form shifted just as quickly, fearlessly entwining with Armus'. In a matter of moments, all struggle had ceased and the differences between the two were fading. Colors merged, textures smoothed. The two of them settled into the puddle.
Within the Link created by the two of them, Odo experienced such sorrow that he thought it might be unmaking him. Never before had Armus experienced a kind or gentle touch. Never before had they experienced the peace or completion of this most natural connection.
Odo had always hated what had been done to him in his childhood, but it could not compare to the horrors of an entire race projecting their superstitious hope for separation from evil onto Armus. They made them their receptacle for every negative thought, emotion, and impulse. They made them a symbol of their separation from negativity. They made them worse than a demon. And then they'd left him alone.
Odo's form, combined as it was with Armus', shuddered. But he remained.
For hours, he pushed away Armus' attacks against him. He softened anger, blunted fear. He soothed the loneliness. For days, he shared the pain. Then he shared the joys he understood, offering to Armus the light and good that existed in the universe and could be a part of their existence as well. For weeks, Odo remained in the Link, doing all that was in his power to heal his sibling. And then, gently, with so many reassurances that he thought it might take as long to be himself again as it had taken to get to this point, he pulled away. And after only the briefest of communications with Weyoun, he returned, fulfilling his promise, building trust.
More and more, Odo was able to separate. First for seconds, then for hours. Armus lashed out less and less. Only twice, they directed their anger at Weyoun and were firmly rebuked. Odo refused to see or Link with them for days, after the second time, and he spent that time fussing over Weyoun instead, making his pride and gratitude clear in every way he knew how, even as Weyoun offered him a place to share his pain and fear.
Finally, Armus was well enough, separated from the physical toxins they had absorbed and capable now of some degree of trust. Odo suggested, "It's time to take you home."
"Home?"
"To the Great Link. They need to see what they've done to you. And they need to teach you." He hadn't even begun to teach Armus how to shift correctly. "You needn't forgive them immediately, or at all. But I want you to experience the full Link. At least once. And Armus, I cannot remain here with you. Not forever."
They hesitated, dark golden form moving over soft sand almost anxiously. Then, they agreed.
"...Home."
7 notes
·
View notes
Text
if all stars fell at once (3) | xiao
pairing | xiao/reader
word count | 3.8k
genre | fluff, light angst, developing relationship, overall domestic
warnings | eventual smut, nightmares
Dark and suffocating. Every corner had entities reaching to restrain you. You were panicked, running down unknown streets despite lead-heavy legs— despite not being able to scream. Like a thick syrup, the stress crept into your chest, filling your lungs as your eyes darted back and forth looking for an answer, a way out.
This warped reconstruction of memories and experiences with sinister manifestations was never ending. A second weighed on you like a century; trapped in the box of dreams conjured by your mind.
The Sea of Clouds was nothing more than a desolate wasteland. Buildings you'd known for years looked unsettling with details that were a little off— stairs that led to nowhere, the shadowy forms that lurked in the deepest corners of your peripheral vision… This was the inescapable circumstance of the environment your mind constructed. Like a labyrinth of the mind that left a sense of impending peril. Though there wasn’t a soul that could be found in any of the deepest recesses of the harbor, there was an ever-present feeling of being followed— watched.
Something was after you. Down deserted streets and abandoned alleyways the ambiguous figures followed you. By the ominous presence of a colorless sky above the harbor, you knew anything encountered here would not seek to be well-intentioned. And still knowing this was nothing but a nightmare, there was always something that filled you with paralyzing trepidation at finding out what fate awaited you if the evil entities consumed you.
Fear of the unknown.
It was always like this. Yet you could never stop the suffocating dread that enveloped your form and drove you forward as adrenaline fueled your heavy limbs.
With legs fighting to continue forward, you take a sharp turn to increase the distance between yourself and the malevolent figures inching closer.
‘I’m scared.’ But your thoughts echoed helplessly around you.
The entities dripped with malice, pouring out of cracks in the buildings and trudging through the stone paths. No longer holding a cohesive form, they began to merge and fight to walk over each other to reach the nightmare’s victim.
You tightly squeezed your eyes shut, body seized with recoiling anxiety. But nothing came. Instead, there was a gentle hand that placed itself on your shoulder.
‘I’m here,’ Xiao’s voice reassured. He pulled you towards him, delicately holding you in a protective embrace. There was an immediate shift in the air around you. ‘I won’t allow them to hurt you anymore.’
Behind him, you could begin to see the harbor chip away into ashen particles that glowed wispily. The dark entities seemed to melt away, seeping into the cracks and grooves of the cobblestone like a murky syrup.
Your body became light and airy in his hold, and you wanted nothing more than to stay in his safety for all eternity. Now more at ease, you slowly raised your clouded gaze to meet his golden irises, firm and reassuring.
‘May this nightmare release you from its hold.’
Tenderly, Xiao pressed his lips to your forehead and the crumbling mind-space around you was forgotten. It was as if the nightmare was unraveled and recondensed within the palm of his hand, and left you feeling like a wave of drowsiness settled in to fill it’s absence. Everything went blank, feeling like you succumbed to another slumber within your slumber.
Euphoric and warm. Finally, peace found you for a restful sleep.
—
Distant hums of mourning doves and the tranquil drips of raindrops playing melodies on puddle surfaces greeted Qingce Village as morning settled in. The sky was grey yet maintained bright as the sun still managed to break through much of the condensed clouds. The sluggish morning greeted you with a breath of ease.
With a stretch and a yawn, you peered one eye open. Across the room, you spotted Xiao seated against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as his head slowly nodded off to the side. He was dozing off, if not already asleep. Had he stayed the whole night? You clutched the warm blankets a little tighter around your cozied-up form, eyes fluttering shut to try and recall your dream.
...Nothing.
No matter how much you tried to recall anything, even the vague feeling of the dream, ultimately you were left empty-handed. Though it wouldn’t be the first time that you woke up being unable to recall a dream, this time felt deliberate. There was a distinct feeling lingering in the back of your mind you couldn’t quite describe. You could only imagine that it meant the nightmare was eaten as Xiao mentioned.
You glanced back over at the dozed off yaksha, his face peaceful and loose stands endearingly strewn about his face. When he had first mentioned dream eating a few nights ago, you got the feeling he was a little reluctant to do so. Despite his usual calm, aloof demeanor, there was some body language you learned to pick up on. Xiao is never one to lie to you, as he is curt and blunt in his own polite way, so you could only hope he wasn’t putting himself in danger with this.
You force the spiral of thoughts away before it festers any longer. No use getting in your head about it. It would only worry you sick if you kept deliberating. And much like Xiao is straightforward, perhaps you, too, should just ask him about it. You’d think about it.
With quiet movements so as to not disturb the sleeping adeptus, you waddled over draped in warm covers to put around him.
‘He looks really tuckered out,’ you noted, brows furrowing ever so slightly with momentary worry.
The moment you crouched down to brush a strand of hair out of his face, his hand quickly shot out to grab your wrist. His golden eyes opened frantically, narrowing momentarily at the sudden disturbance only to be met with your startled whimper and remorseful expression.
“I–I’m sorry to scare you awake!” you apologized hurriedly. Upon seeing it was only you and not an enemy, his expression returned to a more neutral state as he released his deafening grip on your wrist. “I thought you might be cold sitting on the floor so… I…”
Xiao wordlessly eyed the large blanket that practically swallowed your entire form and trailed behind you. It made you look so tiny in comparison.
He eyed the way your fingers absentmindedly massaged where he gripped with a little too much force. Concern settled in, and his gloved fingers gently reached out to check the tender flesh.
“Your wrist— did I injure you?” His eyes searched your face intently for any hint of pain or discomfort.
It only tingled, the prior pressure lingering and slowly subsiding. You shook your head, gingerly draping half of the blanket over him and huddling up next to him. He didn’t protest the gesture, the gentleness of your actions becoming something Xiao’s grown fond of.
You offered him a reassuring smile. “No, I’m okay. I startled you pretty badly… Were you having a bad dream?”
He hummed, pensive as he leaned his head back to thump softly against the wall. “Adepti don’t dream. When a mortal dream is consumed, it lingers in fragments that soon disappear not long after. I can only briefly be part of that dream as a means to get rid of it, so it’s as close to dreaming as I can experience.”
Perhaps dreams were akin to adeptal realms, and he left such inferences at that. His only goal was to rid you of the nightmares that resurfaced as of late.
“I see...” You contemplated, both perplexed and enthralled by this ability Xiao had proven to possess. And though you didn’t actually witness it, the inability to remember last night’s dream was proof enough that it worked. “So, does that mean you got rid of one of my nightmares?”
“Yes. It’s fragments are mostly gone.”
With a looming sense of guilt, you asked, “Are they scary? The nightmares, I mean.”
“No,” he responded without second thought. Considering his past— the likes of which you were still vastly unfamiliar with— any nightmares he had consumed were few and far in between. “Nightmares are conjured by the mortal mind as visual human fears. Often adepti will not be able to experience this except for myself through dreams I consume, but I’m not afraid of what I encounter. No matter what I see, I know it’s only an illusion. The feeling of the dream only lingers similar to the taste of food.”
You felt like a curious child; asking too many questions about something that piqued your interest. Still, Xiao entertained you all the same, answering your questions about dream eating with all the patience in the world. It made for a nice morning chat on such a drowsy day made to be spent huddled under warm covers.
The sparkling glint your eyes held as you hung on every word, or the way your soft, pink lips parted slightly with a silent gasp as he elaborated— it never tired him. It made his chest ache sweetly with that recurring feeling. Perhaps if his range of emotions were similar to yours, he would be smiling like he biggest love-struck fool right now.
“So, think about it, okay?” You finished with a beaming grin.
Oh. You had been talking. How long had he been distracted? He can’t even remember the last thing you said, too busy sorting out his mind. The adeptus could only blink confusedly at you as you stood up, hands on your hips lacking admonishment with the amused smile that quirked the edges of your lips up.
Rare was the moment you would catch the highly-attentive Conqueror of Demons off guard. Though his face remained neutral, you didn’t miss the momentary bewilderment in his eyes when he wasn’t sure how to respond. You took that as cue that his mind had momentarily drifted elsewhere.
“I said I wanted to repay you for helping me with the nightmare issue, but you seemed distracted. Did you fall asleep with your eyes open?” you jokingly teased as you waved your hand in front of his face.
Xiao averted his gaze, lightly scoffing, “Don’t be absurd. Adepti have no need for sleep. And payment isn’t necessary— I did this because I wanted to.”
There are many things you know about Xiao, and perhaps twice as many more things you had yet to learn about him. Your knowledge was already far surpassing what most mortals knew of him, but your advantage lay within the boundaries of a more personal relationship with an adeptus— a true rarity indeed. However, the subtle shade of scarlet twinging his ears as he hid his composed facade behind dark teal hair… there was no doubting it, much to his unvoiced chagrin.
Ah, you noted, so he’s embarrassed.
A relationship, unclearly defined by little gestures and subtlety in words that were mere whispers of deeper pining. There were complex feelings at hand, but the universe would show kindness and move for you both at the pace needed to meet each other halfway. Not rushed, but never stagnant. It was achingly slow and sweet to share moments of vulnerability among each other, here within walls that weren’t privy to prying eyes. And it was moments like this that fell into a rhythm— a wavelength— that seemed to pull an invisible string connecting you both together.
You didn’t tease him for the embarrassed pinks on his cheek, and for that he was grateful.
“Still, I want to do something for you.” You stopped him before he could protest, turning at the door frame of your washroom. “I’m doing this because I want to. It can be anything you want, as long as it makes you happy.”
With that, the door clicked shut and he was left with his lips parted in quiet bewilderment. Distant sounds of running water filled the deafening silence as he sat back with a deep sigh. Adepti are the ones relied on for favors and wishes. How strange— to have a mortal so readily offer to fulfil an adeptus’s curiosities with your limited capabilities. To bring him happiness… Something he didn’t see any benefit in, nor did he think he was capable of feeling happiness.
Xiao thought deeper into it, analyzing what exactly it was that filled him with a strange unease. Something that made him happy…
Happiness. He scoffed at himself at the mere thought. He was made to kill, to defend the land by any means necessary. His happiness… It was never a factor in his contract. It played no greater role in how swiftly he cut down blighted monsters. Happiness was not the weapon he relied on in the face of evil he vanquished. So, why was he giving himself a headache trying to figure out what made him feel happiness? An emotion he wasn’t very familiar with to begin with.
Here you were, showing— what? Mortal arrogance? No. His perceptiveness as an adepti was far too knowing, and perhaps the truth was what puzzled him more. What you showed him was genuine kindness, and perhaps a shred of naivete you clung onto.
He found himself warm with amusement when he thought about it— about how you treated him like you would any human. Where most would tremble at the sight of him or treat him with the reverent idolization that mortals do, you were instead treating him like one would a close friend. And maybe, if it were anyone else, he would see it as blatant disrespect. But if it’s you— since it’s you, he oddly sees no reason to raise a fuss about it despite himself.
It was a nice change of pace to feel at ease around you. A lighthearted reverie of mundane human life, and a moment of freedom from the heartache that burdened him as an adeptus.
Languidly, he scanned the room with unfocused amber eyes, your distant hums echoing in a muffled melody from beyond the other room. The glaze lilies from the other night had been moved to the desk by a window, the closed buds subtly glowing as they picked up on muffled hums of wordless songs and opened up shyly to your song.
Much like it’s difficult to find the right harmony favored by the delicate flower, Xiao wondered what made you bloom… and decided he would find happiness in figuring out your melody.
——
You blinked, mouth wordlessly opening and closing just the same. The words even made you fumble with your needle as you were stitching some intricate embroidery.
Finally gaining some composure, you cleared your throat but still ended up stuttering out, “W–Wait, I– Um– Could you…run that by me again?”
He had returned later that same day, when the moon was high in the sky and fireflies illuminated the still fields of Qingce with their soft glow. Seated patiently across from you, Xiao held your gaze firmly with arms folded across his chest.
“I’d like for you to enlighten me more about mortal emotions. If I want to get to know you better, I can’t avoid being a bit more knowledgeable about them.”
The way he held your gaze firmly and with undeniable resolve meant he truly deliberated this for a while, though you hadn’t expected him to actually come forward so quickly. Truth be told, you expected him to take on an adeptus stance and simply pay you no mind.
With a softer voice, he added, “Consider it the one thing you can do for me. I want to… understand you. Fully.”
“A–Ah, I see. Okay, so I did hear you right the first time.” You were already starting to put away your materials. Better to avoid any mistakes while your mind was taking a second to refocus. “Well, it’s… it’s a bit of a broad topic, and I’m no Sumeru professor. But, I’ll still give it my best.”
Dealing with a battle-hardened warrior in an area they were unsure of was a little intimidating. But, you’ve seen moments where Xiao has shown you a gentler side, one more tender and soft. It gave you hope that things would come naturally to him over time. More than anything, your heart was taking the heat of the nerves. There was just… so much and yet so little to emotions— taken for granted when they were embedded into you without much second thought. It was a little dizzying to figure out how to best help him comprehend things he hasn’t experienced much.
You shook your spiraling thoughts away before they over-complicated themselves and made you short-circuit. “So, uhm, are there any specific emotions you don’t fully comprehend?”
Xiao hummed, eyes closed and brows slightly scrunched as he racked his brain. In the end he came up empty. “I’m not sure. I’ll leave it up to you.”
With a slow nod, you pieced together possible ways to go about this. For the span of time you knew him, Xiao always expressed his puzzlement with how humans worked— not out of disdain, but rather voicing his disconnect with them. To hear him want to finally break the surface rather than choose his usual path of avoidance, was surprising to you in every way.
Still, humans are social creatures by nature and such interactions are what sparks the reactive emotions as a result. You were positive his curiosity didn’t warrant the desire to be put head first in a sea of emotional enigmas. He wasn’t a ‘people person’— something you knew all too well. This desire to learn was something Xiao allowed himself to entrust you with. You and you only.
“I have no desire to figure out how every mortal works,” he explained, hoping it would help narrow down your jumbled thoughts. His voice lowered just a fraction— volume just above a whisper meant for you alone to hear. “Understanding you alone is enough for me to work with. Don’t overthink it.”
There was an undeniable heat that twinged your cheeks. Xiao was looking to unravel your feelings for him without even knowing it. But there was a slight excitement you felt at the idea of the dense yaksha in front of you figuring out what the ties that wound you both together meant. There was plenty to explore.
“Alright, well,” you started, “What I think you need is just… experience. On a human level. Maybe then some things will click easier.”
He felt the warmth of your hand as you sidled over next to him, hand reassuringly placed over his gloved one. Xiao nodded slowly, a little apprehensive at the prospect of needing to adjust his perspective.
You cleared your throat, anxious to be prying more into his personal being. “So, what makes you happy, Xiao?”
There was a brief pause, the gears visibly turning in his head as his brows knit together. He was left staring blankly at you. “Could you… explain?”
“Oh, right… Sorry,” you apologized. “It’s whatever makes you feel… uhm, pleasant. Like a warm, sunny feeling in your entire being. Sometimes it makes you smile or laugh, but in the end always leaves you feeling satisfied for a fleeting moment and then everything doesn’t seem so bad— no matter how much you’ve endured. It makes things worth the effort.”
“I see,” he nodded slowly. “What makes you happy?”
Avoiding the question— though it’s not like you expected him to answer easily. Some examples would probably help him understand best and you reasoned this would be a very hands-on learning experience for him in the end, anyway.
“Me? Hm…” You pondered it a moment, absentmindedly fiddling with the adepti amulet he gifted you. “Sitting under the stars. It’s one of my favorite moments of peace under the calm of the dark sky… The world around us shifts every moment that passes, but it’s a comfort that the stars remain a constant when I look up for hope to get me through another day.”
There was a distant look in your eyes that didn’t go unnoticed by Xiao. However, something about the delicacy of the moment told him now wasn’t the moment to prod into the heaviness that weighed on your heart. There was a reason you were still here, much like him— your will to go on became your greatest strength. You visibly snapped out of your musings, a rosy hue high on your cheekbones.
“Sorry for… that— Where was I? Oh, right. It’s not too hard to find something that makes you happy if it’s something you like doing. Reading books, the people I love and care about, the colors of the sky as the sun sets— all of these make me happy, too.”
The subtle embarrassment that tensed your shoulders at first was subsiding, settling into comfortable conversation. Maybe it’s the attentive way Xiao sat with his face propped on his fist, expression relaxed as he took in every little detail you gave— it was hard to feel flustered for long.
He leaned back against the wall, his arms folding over his chest as he exhaled from the effort it took to think long and hard about what sparked some form of happiness in him.
“And if I were to say that what brings me happiness is you,” Xiao starts, his amber eyes glowing subtly as they focused on you, “what would be your response?”
There would be many ways you could respond, but the instant the words registered in your head you were suddenly at a loss for words.
“T–That would depend… on what you consider me,” you stuttered out, voice slowly growing meeker under his burning gaze. The moment of silence as he hummed in thought felt like it lasted an eternity, your heart pounding loudly in your ears.
“I consider you my person.”
Your plush lips were left parted in quiet awe, eyes glittering like the sky you so dearly loved as they visibly widened. Any words you were going to stumble over were cut off when soft lips pressed at your cheek. The tender revelation didn’t need words, as Xiao was a man of communicating best through actions. Both mortal and immortal sat in the stillness of the room with matching rosy cheeks adorning their features.
“You…” The heat in your face seemed to match the intensity of the ache in your chest. “Kissing me so freely… You want my heart to stop, don’t you.” But you were smiling as you buried your face into his shoulder to hide the increasing redness on your cheeks.
Xiao shrugged, “You do it all the time.”
...Screw it.
Any other lighthearted remark he was about to say was cut off by your lips silencing him in a rushed kiss. It was hasty and sweet, your eyes tightly shut as you chose to respond in actions like he did. Golden irises widened briefly before fluttering shut, letting the feeling lead.
It was warm— the feeling in his chest, the shy innocence reddening his face, the gloved hand that settled on top of yours as it tenderly cupped one of his cheeks. Here before him you bloomed so beautifully that it made his heart ache and his mind go blank momentarily. Yes, he was positively sure of it now.
You made him happy.
#adeptus xiao#Xiao#genshin impact xiao#genshin fanfic#mii writes#genshin#genshin xiao#xiao fluff#fluff#eventual smut#pwp#developing relationship#xiao x reader#xiao/reader#dream eater#fic: iasfao
234 notes
·
View notes
Note
I like to merge the Echoes backstory for Grima with their Support monologue in Heroes: they could've turned out a decent entity, but Forneus was The Worst, and the world reacted in fear. And then Grima was locked away in isolation. It's a theme of Fire Emblem (and especially Awakening) that evil blood doesn't make you evil, so I strongly HC this as a case of Nurture over nature. (Blood does play a part of it, but it's not as important.)
Oh, I think you're right. I absolutely believe it's nurture over nature here... "Evil" blood is nonsense anyway... I mean, the kind of crimes at issue here require intent...
(Putting the rest of this under a read more because I accidentally started rambling about my interpretation of Grima despite not being asked for it... oops, haha...)
Although personally I think that Forneus and the isolation was only the beginning... I mean, FEH Grima talks like they helped humans for at least some time ("They have no qualms asking for divine assistance when it meets their fickle needs... But how quick they are to shun their benefactors once they get what they desire.") so that's why I believe that Grima trusted humans at some point and had that trust betrayed...
But I really hope that people don't think I'm trying to exculpate Grima just because I think they were wronged... Grima says "it's the world that wants me to be evil" but Grima's the one who decided to embrace it. "Humans are selfish. And the ugliness of mankind has turned me repulsive." They know full well what they're doing... and I'd say it's fairly obvious that they hate themself as much as everyone else. And yet they keep sticking to their choice... "Memories or no, I will lay waste to the world all the same. You think me so fickle I'd change my mind?" Okay so... is it only stubbornness that keeps them sticking to their plans?
But that's FEH Grima... I write Awakening Grima a little differently...
The way Awakening Grima insists so strongly that what they're doing is "fate" really gets me sad because... okay, first of all you have to know that I first played Awakening after my first year of undergrad as a psychology major and I *immediately* thought that Grima read like a representation of learned helplessness... And keeping in mind that I think Robin and Grima are the same entity, that means that the original timeline sees Grima get to live among humans the way they always wanted to ("If I were human, and able to live among you, then perhaps..." in FEH, which is very reminiscent of "I wish that I were human! That I could have lived a normal life with you!" from the Future Past DLC) and it very well could have been worldview-changing for them... Except what happens? Emmeryn is assassinated, never getting to make the sacrifice that would convince the majority of the Plegian people to stand down. Nevertheless, Chrom is still victorious against Plegia and Valm... but he dies at the end! In FEH, Grima (who, remember, has amnesia) says "If you think there's someone out there capable of leading the world with such high-minded ideas of love and bonds... I'd love to meet them." Well, they DID meet someone like that and both Emmeryn and Chrom DIED. Does that not "prove" to Grima that they were always right about humans? FEH Grima may still talk about despair, but it's Awakening Grima who has lost all hope... The fact that they cling to "fate" just reads to me as an admission (lacking in self awareness) that they didn't want this to happen, that they no longer feel that they have a choice...
And I mean, it seems obvious from an outside perspective that no, they absolutely did not have to kill all their old friends, raise a risen army, torment Lucina and her cohorts, chase them back in time, etc. but... I don't know, there's one line Validar says to Robin in Chapter 23 that really gets to me... "Have you considered what happens should I fall? These followers of Naga will spurn you now that they've learned what you are. Kill me, and you incur the wrath of the Grimleal as well... Would you truly choose to be so utterly alone?" Because if that's how their original timeline self felt... it's kind of understandable that they might feel there was only one way forward, only one course of action that they could realistically take... even if they had once wanted something different from the world.
42 notes
·
View notes
Note
I’m getting annoyed with Flake’s willful ignorance regarding the GDR. He always insists that the system was perfect and completely just, when two of his own bandmates were victimized by the Stasi. I never cared for him but the fact that he basically insinuates that Till and Richard are drama queens at best, outright liars at worst is making me go from apathy to active dislike.
This is going to come with a MASSIVE disclaimer:
I both am not German, nor someone who has studied that time period hardly at all, so this is speculation coming from a very uneducated place. Take this with a few giant spoonfuls of salt. That said, it's more a look at Flake's personality rather than the state of affairs.
I think he has a hard time putting himself in the shoes of others, even his close friends. To him, the GDR was very nearly perfect, but that caveat is HUGE: *to him.*
He's a person who likes limited choice, lots of rules and restrictions and having some large entity tell you what to do, in a way. He also was very privileged to be able to say "fuck the system" at the same time while not suffering any bad repercussions for it. He got lucky with the groups he joined, like Feeling B, because they were able to skirt around stuff a LOT more than your average person (I think, from the little I've read). So, to him, everything was grand because he didn't get fucked over and could essentially do as he pleased. He is a simple (in a nice way) man who likes simple things, and the GDR was simple to him.
Then the wall fell, and his life was forced to change very very dramatically. If you know Flake, that's not a good thing. He liked what he was used to, and I think a lot of his bitterness and negativity comes from the way the two were merged (or according to his retellings, all hints of the GDR were obliterated).
I can sympathize with that, in a way, having your whole "life" changed in such an abrupt and massive way. I had a similar thing happen, as my family was forced to flee the country we'd been living in for many many years. It sucks, and I remember looking back with such fondness at the country and how things worked.
Big distinction though-- now that I'm an adult, I see how absolutely horrible the country was that I lived in. I was just young and didn't know better while I lived there. Flake I don't think has had that, maybe because he can't let go of what he saw as good and beneficial (even if it's not good or beneficial to most other people), or maybe because he can't get over how it was destroyed.
I think his rose-colored glasses are staggeringly dark xD very limited view of it all. However, I wouldn't get upset on any of the rest of the band's behalf. Flake is not someone who hides his thoughts, so I guaran-fucking-tee they have heard his ramblings many times over. And they're still friends regardless. That, I think, is the most important part. If Flake were being truly malicious, there would have been issues way before in the band about it, I have no doubt. And maybe there were; we don't really have a way to know unless one of them tells us.
But take heart that, most likely, the rest view his views as a very rosy, nostalgic look back by someone who vehemently loved his country. I think they understand very well that it's not a dig at them.
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
Shadows House
I have a lot of thoughts surrounding this particular show, both good & bad.
Allow me to give a quick summary for anyone who hasn't seen/read it!
Shadows House is about 'a faceless family of nobles who all live within this giant manor, the Shadows House.
When a Shadow comes of age they receive a 'Living Doll' to both serve as their face and to clean the soot they emit from their bodies.
The most important rule of the living dolls is "don't fret over trivial matters"
A task which is difficult for the ever curious doll Emiliko.
Watch this tale unfold as Emiliko & her mistress Kate navigate this ever mysterious Manor together.'
For a fan of slow burn thrillers, horror, slice of life, supernatural & mystery series' this has been an absolute blast!
It's not quite the combination of genres you'd expect from a show, but it works really well here!
In fact I was so into the anime that this is actually the first show where I broke down and read the manga!
Unfortunately there's no official English release, but at least there are some people translating the series!
As much as I'd like to go on about the manga, this post is meant to be more so about the anime so I'll (try to) leave it at that.
Though i feel obligated to warn anime onlys I'll likely refer the manga a lot in a spoiler section latter in this post I'll try to be vague but I can't guarantee anything. For anyone worried about that I'll lable it do you can read on until then.
Everything from the animation to the music was amazing & completely fit the mood of the story! I remember a couple scenes where I actually teared up because of this!
The Ending theme is an absolute banger! I've listened to that on repeat ever since I first heard it! And the Opening is also great! It's cool for it to be an instrumental, stuff like that is pretty rare! I also heard the song in the op as a motif in the music throughout the show! It really sets the right mood in each scene it's in! It's amazing for getting into each episode!
In terms of adaptation almost everything from the beginning to the end of the Debut arc was done amazingly well!
Even with the stuff they cut it still holds true to the spirit of its source.
The main important part that was cut is something that could easily be introduced latter if they decide to go for a second season, so I'm not too mad about that.
However! Everything after the debut is a bit of a different story.
There was a lot I liked about the last couple episodes but there were some parts that were immersion breaking for me.
I've been being vague up until this point l, but I'm planning on going into spoiler territory for both the anime and manga after this. So I'll make a quick spoiler free summary of my thoughts before moving onto that.
I really really loved this show but in my opinion the last 3 episodes were the weakest of them all. They went anime only for the ending. I don't mind that on it's own, but it was rushed and the writing was sloppy at times.
Now I'm not telling you to not watch the show! Most of It's really really good, and I can still see people enjoying the parts I'm talking about if they want to give the anime a try. Overall I've fallen in love with this series and I could never recommend it enough.
If what I'm saying is giving you bad vibes the manga is available and doesn't have the issues I've mentioned. You can look for a translation online, it didn't take me long to find one so don't worry too much about that.
Also! if you're an anime only who's finished the series and want to know where to pick up the Manga I'd recommend at least skiming through the beginning. I know it might not be what you're looking for but there were a bunch of small scenes that either got cut or were merged for adaptation purposes that I think are super cute & give more context to different aspects of the setting. However! Pay close attention during the "night watchers part" something important got cut .
~~~Now for spoilers!!!!~~~
I don't want to make it sound like I'm some manga purist who hates the very thought of the slightest change from the source. I'm anime only for a lot of different shows and I've always despised it when that type of manga reader reared it's ugly head.
While I'll admit some changes did bother me I won't make a fuss about the smaller stuff.
With that said!
I hinted earlier in this post that I didn't have a big problem with Robe-same being cut. That was because without them there it does make for a more complete story if they only get one season to work with.
If there is another season they can easily be introduced latter on. Like maybe Emiliko & Shaun can meet them when the Debutant class reunion is going on before they talk on the roof (or right after that) I actually think that would be the perfect time to introduce them (other than the time they were supposed to appear, but I digress)
Louise teaming up & being friendly with Kate can be explained with some dialogue changes at the first Debutant Class Reunion. Louise can say she was just trying to show off or that she just wanted to get back at Edward and that she isn't interested in helping Kate with her problems. Things can then go on as they did in the manga.
Kates being reckless & telling everything to John can be explained by her being extremely panicked when Emiliko went missing, as long as there are some lines of dialogue adressing this it's fine. Though I do wish she tried to keep some stuff a secret but couldn't because Shaun tries to interfer because he's still brainwashed, or something along those lines. It felt a bit weird after she just told Emiliko to keep that stuff between them. Still that could be explained by how panicked she was.
There are other things, but I don't want to drag the post on too long. Most of the issues can be fixed with little changes here & there.
I never had a problem with the idea of them going in an anime only direction. I just want to have a good time with the show.
Unfortunately I can't 100% vouche for the direction the show went in. There were elements that I can't excuse, even viewing it as it's own entity instead of an adaptation.
My main complaint with it is how they handled the brainwashing of Ricky & Lou. They didn't say a word when the Debutants were talking badly about Edward & even went along with a plan to go against him. It makes absolutely no sense!
Shaun freaked out when John only suggested that he didn't have to be loyal to the house. These guys were flat out rebelling against an adult! It felt like Ricky & Lou didn't have a purpose & were just there to be there.
The whole point of the coffee is to influence shadows against doing stuff like this. It makes the coffee seem pointless and the adults seem dumb for relying on it to control the kids.
I haven't even brought up the fact that both of their brainwashings were broken by something as simple as a few kind words. It straight up contradicts the rules established by both the Anime and Manga.
This becomes very apparent when you consider all the trouble John & Kate went through to free Shaun & Emiliko.
This was my biggest complaint, but I have some other issues as well.
The next big one is how they handled Edward.
1. Why on earth would he even consider kidnapping Emiliko when he had complete control of the childrens wing? Before this point he was depicted as being a lot more crafty than this. He could easily have Kate monitored or something.
2. Why didn't he use his powers to stop them like what he did to Maryrose & Rosemary when they fought back being taken to the adults wing? He's already shown off his power at this point, why not?
3. Why did he reveal his soot powers at all!? Especially while using his face in front of the kids! The whole unification thing is one of the biggest secrets of the house for good reason! There's no way he wouldn't get in huge trouble for exposing it to children!
Here are some other related questions.
Why didn't Kate, Emiliko, & John react to Edward using soot powers? They shouldn't know about unification yet so why didn't they act shocked, or say anything about it?
Is Edward being banished even an option in the Shadows House? Wouldn't the third floor lords just dispose of him rather than risk letting him leave?
How did John even get a veiled dolls outfit? Louise had to use her powers to get Kate one & she left a long time ago.
I can't think of much else at the moment, but I think you get my point.
Please don't take this as me saying that I hate the show because of these episodes. Even if I consider them the weakest of the series I still found a lot of parts to be very enjoyable!
Like I thought it was adorable When Edward was attempting to interrogate Emiliko & she kept being her sunshine self pretending to eat & falling asleep.
Barbara getting to tell off Edward for breaking the rules was great!
I loved seeing Shaun hatch the plan to get Kate into the adults wing to save Emiliko.
Seeing John (attempt to) sneak around the adults wing had me rolling!
The ending scene of Shaun, Ricky, & Lou singing gave me the chills.
(Though I wonder how they'd handle Shaun & Emiliko being brainwashed again since they already used the scenes where they're freed)
Kate & Emilico being propelled by John back to the children's wing was absolutely amazing! I found Shaun & Ricky running over to catch them to be super sweet! (Not to mention the way that scene was animated was absolutely gorgeous!)
Getting hints to what was supposed to come after the debut was nice, at least the groundwork is there in case this gets a season 2!
To (try to) wrap this all up while there were a lot of things I loved and disliked about this show I still had a really fun time watching it!
I kinda hope there's a season two just to see if they can tidy up the mess that the last few episodes created.
Regardless of whether that happens or not I came out of this with a series I absolutely adore.
Heck I could make a whole other post about the manga. (Hopefully one that's less ranty)
Anyway! I won't take any more of your time.
I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! And I hope to see you in my next post!
(Sorry if this one was a bit of a mess!)
#Shadows House#Shadows House Review#Shadows House Anime#Shadows House Manga#anime#anime review#seasonal anime
20 notes
·
View notes
Text
Facebook vs Australia
There's an old Irish joke whose punchline goes, "If you want to get there, I wouldn't start from here." That's basically how I feel about the so-called Australian "link tax" and Facebook's retaliation.
Let's start with the fact that it's not a link tax - it's a form of arbitrated collective bargaining that's meant to correct an imbalance in negotiating power created by monopolization.
The problem that the system is supposed to ameliorate is that the ad-tech platforms cheat. They lie about the reach of their ads. They lie about the performance of their ads. They rig markets so they can price-gouge. They collude to rig prices.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3500919
They design their systems so publishers leak intelligence to them, then they exploit that leakage to gouge the publishers further. It hurts advertisers, readers and publishers, and it's the result of an illegal, collusive, corrupt ad-tech duopoly.
https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/06/surveillance-tulip-bulbs/#adtech-bubble
The existence of an advertising duopoly, meanwhile, is the result of lax antitrust enforcement. Facebook and Google were permitted to execute a long string of anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions, producing the hyper-concentrated market we see today.
The obvious remedy to this situation is to break up the monopolies, but that is off the table (for now). 40 years of neoliberal orthodoxy says that monopolies are efficient and breakups don't work, so we're left yanking on other policy levers.
For example, ad-tech pioneered a long, accelerating trend to surveillance. Their reach meant they could gather data on nearly everything that happened online (Facebook Like buttons, Google Analytics). Their capital meant they could strangle privacy laws in the cradle.
Eventually this became too much to bear. The EU passed the GDPR - but without breakups or other explicit antimonopoly measures. The result was that FB/Goog had to look down the back of the sofa for change to pay for compliance.
Meanwhile smaller, EU-based competitors (who were much dirtier than FB/Goog because they needed to behave worse to be economically viable in the cracks left by the duopoly) were driven out of business, handing even more market-power to Googbook.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3477686
Which brings me back to Australia. It's undeniable that publishers get ripped off by Googbook. Their ad marketplaces are frauds from top to bottom: fake metrics for fake users seeing fake ads, run on bid-rigging and self-dealing.
Publishers that complain about this get slammed: Googbook uses the fact that they have created anticompetitive, vertically integrated cartels to tie a willingness to submit to crooked ad payments to traffic.
That means that publishers who make a stink about being ripped off - or who take measures to prevent leakage of their internal business data - have their traffic switched off. This is possible because regulators permitted vertical mergers between search/social and ad-tech.
This vertical integration is the source of confusion about whether this is a link-tax. The goal of the regulation is to clean up the ad markets, but Googbook use links as a stick to beat up publishers when they don't submit to corrupt ad practices, so links get implicated.
But the regulation's primary levers are transparency: it forces Googbook to disclose which data it harvests from publishers and how it uses it; it forces Googbook to disclose algorithmic changes that will result in significant changes to ad performance.
Just as importantly, it forbids Googbook from using their search/social business to retaliate against publishers who object to bad practices in their ad-tech units.
At Matt Stoller writes, the idea "is to mimic a healthy market, where there is transparency of data and a robust set of buyers and sellers instead of a few dominant platforms."
https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/facecrook-dealing-with-a-global-menace
The hope/wish is that all this transparency and guaranteed of non-retaliation might means Googbook ending their market corruption so publishers will get a fair price for their ad-inventory. And if they don't, there's an arbitrator who hears both sides and sets prices.
This is how collective bargaining often works - when you have one side of a deal who has all the power (like a big employer) and a diffuse set of actors who lack power (like workers), an arbitrator hears both sides and hands down a deal that's meant to be fairer.
But of course, this isn't a negotiation between workers and employers: it's a bargain between a cartel of news organizations and a search duopoly. That's not ideal! For starters, it means that the government gets to decide who is a "news organization."
That's *ripe* for abuse. News organizations are expected to report on the government *and* the government gets to decide whether they are entitled to participate in collective bargaining with Googbook, which could mean the difference between financial viability and bankruptcy.
Remember, one of the problems this system is supposed to resolve is powerful entities (Googbook) using their power to punish news organizations for complaining about their behavior - governments were in that game long before Googbook came into existence.
And there's another problem: the structure of the Australian news market, which is yet another highly concentrated industry, dominated by a rapacious billionaire who uses his power to manipulate politics: Rupert Murdoch.
Murdoch conquered Australian media the same way Googbook conquered the net: through anticompetitive conduct that was waved through by collusive regulators who never met a monopoly they didn't view as efficient.
It's not wrong to say that the only reason this regulation got off the drawing-board is that Murdoch viewed it as a way to shift a few balance-points from Big Tech's side of the ledger to Big Media's side.
Can't we - journalists, readers - hope for something better than being dominated by a different set of giants and praying that the new boss drops a few more crumbs than the old boss?
Goddamned right. The Australian reg tries to get a fair shake for the independent press as well as the Murdoch press, setting out some objective criteria for who is entitled to enter the bargaining unit.
But the fact is that monopolies reproduce themselves. As David Dayen describes in MONOPOLIZED, when a monopoly forms, all the other participants in the supply chain have to monopolize or die.
https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/29/fractal-bullshit/#dayenu
Big Pharma gets monopolized and squeezes hospitals. Hospitals monopolize to fight back and squeeze insurers. Insurers monopolize and squeeze...us. We're the only ones who don't get to organize to push back.
The people's countermonopolistic entity is the democratic state.
The state's job is to prevent monopolies from forming, and it has failed to do that job for 40 years. Now it's stuck trying to fix the effects of monopoly without fixing monopolies themselves.
40 years ago, we got rid of the idea of fighting monopolies because they corrupted our governments and working lives - we replaced it with the neoliberal idea of "consumer welfare," which held that only "bad" monopolies should face enforcement.
What's a bad monopoly? It's when companies conspire to raise prices. That's why the US government clobbered the Big Six publishers when they leaned on Amazon to stop engaging in predatory ebook pricing.
But while the "consumer welfare" monopoly enforcement is aggressive when two or more companies collude to set prices, it has n*o problem* if those companies merge with one another and then do exactly the same thing.
When the CEOs of two companies conspire to set prices, it's illegal. When they merge their companies and engage in the same conspiracy, it's not. Collective bargaining is out, monopolization is in. That's why the Big Six publishers are now the Big Four.
"If you wanted to get there, I wouldn't start from here." The highly monopolized news sector is mainly controlled by extremist billionaires and private-equity looters. The principal beneficiaries the Australian regulation are part of the problem.
That doesn't change the fact that Googbook are a corrupt, collusive duopoly. It also doesn't change the fact that there are a *bunch* of indie news-outlets that got to ride on Murdoch's coat-tails in this regulation.
As with the GDPR, the question to ask is whether this will strengthen or weaken monopolists, and there, I think, is some cause for hope. Forcing Googbook to reveal their data-collection and algorithmic practices and prohibiting retaliation is a solid anti-monopoly move.
Likewise, establishing a precedent for inter-industry collective bargaining is a useful harm-reduction measure for dealing with a monopolized market while we muster political will for breakups. It sure beats the alternative of merging every industry into its own monopoly.
It's a confusing issue. Link-taxes are bullshit and they're *pro*-monopolistic, since big companies can afford them and little ones can't. But this isn't a link tax - the only reason it seems like one is because links are the stick that Googbook beats its supply-chain with.
Image: IPWAI (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Australian_newsagency_Pinewood.jpg
CC BY-SA:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
A host’s perspective on Molly, Lucien, and approaching identity (spoilers for c2e117)
This is NOT going to be as eloquent as I want it to be and I can only speak for myself and my own opinions, but this is for @creativside and anyone else who wants to hear this particular perspective. Again, I’m speaking only for myself, not for every single system, especially not for Molly or Lucien fictives. I’m also referring only to DID systems here but OSDD systems, I see you.
I don’t really advertise it on this blog (or anywhere), but I’m the host of a DID system. My relationship with the system is not quite the same as other systems we’ve gotten to talk to but nevertheless communication has greatly improved since our diagnosis and I dare say that I feel “valid” enough to try to sludge through how I’m feeling about the whole situation with Molly/Lucien. Put under a cut b/c it’s long
For anyone who might not understand the connection I’m trying to draw: a situation where there is one body that has been inhabited by two different consciousnesses who are not otherwise aware of each other and who have different personalities, abilities, and ambitions is a situation that directly parallels the textbook DID experience. Having people call you by a different name, talk about things you supposedly did with them but have no recollection of, and having people ask or expect that they will be able to talk to this other person in your body whenever they want are all things that pretty much every system goes through. I’m not saying that Lucien has DID, but there are a lot of identical and/or incredibly similar terms and concepts being thrown around regarding him, so for the sake of this thinkpiece I’m essentially going to be acting like he does.
I’m going to make some bullet points and just try to give my two cents on how everyone is approaching this situation:
Molly was a real person, just as much as Lucien. This was discussed by some of the characters, but I’m just validating it. Lucien called Molly a “fragment” of himself-- fragment is a term systems use to describe a certain “type” of alter. DID fragments are alters who typically aren’t as “developed” as some of the others in the system, meaning that they may only exist to feel a particular emotion, store a certain memory, or carry out one very specific function. In my experience, fragments do have names just like any other system member, but likely don’t have much distinguishing personality beyond that. From what we know about Molly when he first “woke up”, calling him a fragment would be accurate. He was, originally, a consciousness who only knew a singular feeling-- emptiness. That’s all he was. But he was still his own consciousness, his own unique person, and as we all saw, he was able to grow beyond his emptiness and develop into a fully realized creation (to borrow a term). His being a fragment wouldn’t have invalidated him as being his own separate person in the first place, but the Molly we knew was no longer a fragment; he was just... a person! By the time we parted ways with him, he was just as complex and unique of an identity as Lucien is. He is not as simple as Lucien is making him out to be, we know this.
Lucien implied that Molly integrated into him and is not dormant. What do these terms mean?
Dormancy (or becoming dormant) is experienced a little bit differently for each system, but generally an alter becoming dormant means they no longer appear in the headspace/inner world, cannot communicate or interact with any system members, and will not be able to front/switch out (take control of the body). In our system, becoming dormant is equivalent to becoming comatose. Due to the way our inner world is constructed, we do know where the “body” of our dormant alter is, but we cannot interact with her in any way, nor does she interact with us or appear anywhere else in the headspace.
Integration, on the other hand, is better explained in the context of fusion from Steven Universe. A few years ago, I (the current host) integrated with our gatekeeper & primary protector (basically the one who managed the functioning of the system). Where once we were two separate consciousnesses who inhabited the same headspace, we are now joined together into someone who is a little bit of both of us, just like when two gems fuse in SU. I also happen to be the core (the consciousness who was in the body when we were born), so it could be seen as her simply “returning” to me, or fusing back with me after having broken off during her formation. Complete system integration is the end goal of some therapies, but there are some alters who view integration to be the same as dying, since the alter as a singular unique consciousness no longer exists but is instead “merged” into the consciousness of another system member.
Lucien said something along the lines of his soul having been fragmented but now fused back together. He appears to believe that he is the only consciousness currently in his body. This means that Molly is not “trapped” inside somewhere waiting to be set free. It also implies that it would not be possible to “get Molly back” as we remember him without finding a way to fracture Lucien’s soul again. Depending on your view of integration, you can view this two ways:
Molly is Lucien, and/or Molly is dead. Matt’s slips of the tongue in continuously calling him Mollymauk further supports the idea that Molly is integrated, not dormant, and therefore is Lucien in one way or another. Molly was, after all, a part of Lucien all along, and despite having developed into his own personality in the wild 2 years he was fronting for, all that he was are now part of what Lucien is. That being said, it is clear that Lucien, just like Mollymauk, is his own person with his own goals, quirks, abilities, and personality traits. Aspects of Mollymauk do live in him, but being fused does not mean that we’re going to recognize all parts of who Molly was in who Lucien is now. Lucien (we’re assuming) is the core, the original consciousness of the body, and is thus far more developed than Molly ever had the chance to be. They’re the same person in the sense that Molly is no longer a separate entity, but not the same person in that Lucien has any of Molly’s memories or would suddenly feel compelled to start acting more like him just because they integrated.
Mollymauk is not back; Lucien is. The Mollymauk we knew is not there anymore, and it’s a good time to mourn him. I don’t know what kind of DND fuckery Matt or the cast might be able to do, but from my perspective of what’s going on, Molly isn’t going to suddenly pop out or break free or anything like that. Mollymauk as an individual died when we saw him die, and I think the Mighty Nein are at least starting to realize that. Lucien even genuinely offered his condolences. Again, it’s DND, there’s always some chance that they might find a way to talk to their friend again, but by this point the idea is making me uncomfortable. Trying to separate Molly from Lucien again at this point feels... unnatural and disrespectful. No one has ever sought to de-integrate the alter that I integrated with, but I would be very disturbed if they did, and the idea of doing that even in this context unsettles me. Find hope in the possibility if you want to, but I’m probably never going to support it. Molly is a part of Lucien now and I think both we and the Nein need to accept that. Lucien may be evil, but he has just as much right to be in control of his own body as Molly did (arguably more, but I’m not getting into that debate). Whether you like Lucien or not, it’s his body, now only his, and no one has any right to take that away from him.
I know it’s not exactly the same and it’s probably not how people mean to come off, but I can’t help imagining me in this position. If someone was very close with the alter I integrated with and did everything in their power to try to make her split off again, even if it meant harming me or making me lose autonomy over my mind & body... you can see how that’s a very uncomfortable thought, at the least. Again, I’m not saying anyone is inherently bad for wanting Molly back or missing him, I’m just saying that the situation we’re being presented with is that it’s only Lucien now and we & the m9 should respect that. If you want to mourn Molly, now’s as good a time as any. You even have Lucien’s blessing. That being said...
Lucien doesn’t want to know about Molly, and that’s fine. As someone pointed out (I think Jester?), Molly didn’t want to know about Lucien either. As is the case with a lot of systems who don’t have well-developed communication, they’re practically strangers to each other. All they knew about each other is what was on their body when they woke up and what other people (also strangers) told them they supposedly did once. Again, parts of Molly exist in Lucien, and I’m sure aspects of Lucien existed in Molly, and even now there are some similarities to draw. But neither Lucien nor Molly have any obligation to feel kinship towards each other. In their eyes, they are two completely different people who have never interacted. Systems only start to feel like families after a long time of having good communication, of developing relationships, of working through trauma or the complications that come with having DID. From what we’ve been told, Molly and Lucien likely never even developed a headspace or been in a situation where they would’ve had the possibility of actually meeting. People are just talking to them about someone they didn’t know and honestly the typical response is to just nod along in the moment and decide if you really want to unpack that later. And not wanting to explore who this stranger who inhabited your body was is a completely valid response! Especially given that Lucien doesn’t explicitly have DID-- he doesn’t have the goal of trauma recovery, nor does he have any reason to find out more about who Molly was given that he’s now supposedly fully integrated.
Again, it’s more a matter of autonomy. Lucien is his own person, and to him Molly might as well have been something he called himself when he spent 2 years blackout drunk (which, let’s be real, is a pretty accurate comparison). Sometimes it’s fun to hear accounts of what other system members got up to when they fronted, but that’s only after years of therapy and working through my own feelings about having DID. Before that, there were times when it felt like a frustrating invasion of privacy, or an unnerving sense of losing control of not only what I did, but what it meant to be me. I don’t really see Lucien struggling with these things, but I’m just saying that there’s only so much he can be expected to care about who Molly was given his circumstances.
This got super long and I’m never sure how to conclude these things, or if that’s even all my thoughts on the matter. Send me asks if you want to I guess, just please be respectful. I’m not trying to start any arguments, I’m just giving my perspective/how I feel about this situation as a system host.
tldr; Molly integrated with Lucien and it’s more respectful/probable to assume that he’s not coming back the way people wanted him to. Getting Molly back the way people expected is incredibly unsettling to me because it takes away Lucien’s autonomy and basically says that Molly is more important than Lucien’s control over his own body because we like Molly more. Their situation does resemble the experience of being part of a system in a lot of ways and I don’t know how to feel about it besides just kind of awkwardly going “ahaha” and looking around to see how singlets are approaching this.
Again, not saying there’s a right or wrong way to feel about this, nor am I “diagnosing” Lucien with DID. Just talking about connections I’ve made and the things that I relate to/make me uncomfortable. Whether Matt is aware of how much this situation resembles DID or not, I think that he’s handling it incredibly well and have no complaints about Lucien or Molly’s characterizations.
#cr spoilers#did#dissociative identity disorder#mollymauk tealeaf#lucien#the nonagon#cr c2e117#c2e117#spoilers#not sure how this post is gonna go over but here it is
42 notes
·
View notes
Text
Title: Black Dog - part eight
Word count: 1900± words
Episode summary: When Sam gets an anonymous phone call with information about his father, Dean receives a text message with coordinates to different location. The brothers clash and split up, one following orders, the other trusting his instincts. Meanwhile, in the wilderness of Cascade Range, Washington State, Zoë loses grip on a personal case and is forced to confront her demons. Without back up, this might very well turn out to be her final hunt.
Part eight summary: Sam finally arrives in Nashville and is about to begin the search for his father, when an unexpected call comes in.
Episode warnings: Dark! NSFW, 18+ only! Angst, gore, violence, character death. Description of blood, injury and medical procedures. Supernatural creatures/entities, mentions of demon possession. Swearing, smoking, weaponry. Descriptions of torture and murder. Illegal/criminal practices. Mentions of nightmares and flashbacks. Descriptions of suicidal thoughts and tendencies, depression, panic attacks, hallucinations.
Author’s note: Beta’d by @winchest09 & @deanwanddamons. Thanks, girls!
Supernatural: The Sullivan Series Masterlist
S1E03 “Black Dog” Masterlist
Nashville, Tennessee
December 3rd, 2005 - Present Day
With a sigh, Sam gets off the bus. The rain beats down on him straight away, but instead of being annoyed by it, he finds it refreshing. Finally, he’s in Nashville. It’s taken him three days to get here. Three days of torture - which included waiting for his damn transport to arrive in the first place, being forced in a seat made for someone who is 4’8, and having to change twice to get to his final destination - but he’s in Nashville.
Of course, he could have hopped on a plane for a journey of only several hours, but he had a hunch he would have a bit of trouble getting through customs, carrying a duffel loaded with blades, guns, and ammunition. He might always be complaining about his brother’s driving skills or his collection of Metallica, Motorhead, and Black Sabbath tapes which he plays over and over again while he sings along, but seventy-six hours of traveling to get from Texas to Tennessee wasn’t a joy either.
He watches the touring car take off into the night, continuing its trip, the droplets that run down the side catching the light of the overhanging streetlights. The sound of the engine fades as the carrier merges into traffic again. Suddenly, he feels alone, left behind, and not just by the bus. It’s not the first time he experiences this uneasiness, because Sam has pondered about the fight he had with his older sibling more than once. Truth be told; he never expected Dean to leave him on the side of the road. He called his bluff, and when his brother didn’t give him an inch, he himself refused to surrender as well. If he’s completely honest with himself, he started regretting this impulsive act the minute he saw the Impala drive away, but he couldn’t let it show, he couldn’t let Dean win. He is so tired of being bossed around and being treated like a little kid. Stubborn? Maybe. Guess it runs in the family.
Sam can take care of himself, but tracking his father will not be an easy task without Dean. When it comes to Dad, the oldest son knows him best and Sam realizes he’s going to be missing him on this search. He hopes the woman who set him on this path will call him again, because he could use a lead.
So, what now? He decides it will probably be best to settle down in a motel and get online, see if he can find some information, then he will start asking questions. There’s not much he can do right at this moment, considering it’s 2.30 AM. It’s going to be quite a task, finding a man in a city covering 550 square miles with over 600.000 citizens. And all he has is the word of a girl he has never met, of which he didn’t even catch her name.
“This is insane,” he mutters, looking around.
A voice of reason whispers in his ear again: go back. Dean’s words had some truth to them. What if this is a trap? What if he’s walking straight into it? Sam’s doubts will not make him turn around, though. He is here and he is not going to stop searching until he finds Dad.
Sam keeps his head low and buries his hand in his pockets, protecting himself from the rain as he shivers. It’s not particularly cold for this time of the year, but 39 °F isn’t anything near Texas. Raindrops bring down the temperature as well and continue to fall down on the hunter as clouds block out the moon.
He starts to walk in the direction of what seems to be a hotel. The interstate, which lays directly next to the parking lot, crosses Highway 70. Lines of cars travel by, their white headlights and red tail lights lighting the road like it’s Christmas already.
Through the curtains of water, the young Winchester spots a neon sign at the entrance of the building he’s approaching. He was right; it is a hotel, funnily enough one from the same chain where Zoë spent the night in Paragould. The Hampton Inn Bellevue looks like a fancy place from the outside, and remembering the luxurious room of the huntress, he reckons this hotel will not be any different. Sam doesn’t like to waste money, but he will do anything for a decent bed after being crammed into that touring car like a canned sardine. Not that he’s planning to sleep much; he has better things to do. He has to find Dad, it’s all he can think of.
Right when he’s about to enter the establishment, he hears his cell phone ringing. Hastily, he takes his Blackberry from his pocket, hoping it to be the anonymous caller who tipped him off three days ago. The display announces the caller as ‘unidentified’, it might not be so far fetched. Sam picks up immediately.
“Hello?”
A relieved sigh sounds from the other side. “Hey, Sam.”
It’s a feminine voice alright, but it’s not the ‘mysterious lady’, as Dean called the woman who passed him the information about their Dad. He does recognize the person on the other end, though. She is the last human being on earth he expected a call from.
“Zoë,” he concludes, stunned.
“Yeah… hey, listen,” she cuts to the chase. “I’m in deep shit.”
Sam stops dead in his tracks. He thought she might be after she left so abruptly back in Arkansas, but the fact that she’s admitting that she’s in trouble means that this is serious.
“Where the hell are you?” he asks.
“I’m just outside Darrington, Washington State.”
“Are you hurt?” Sam asks worriedly.
“Yeah, but that’s not the point.” She pauses for a moment, knowing what she is about to say might come as an unpleasant surprise. “Your brother’s here.”
Completely staggered, Sam stares ahead with his phone still close to his ear. What did she just say? Dean is there? With her?! A million questions pop up in his head, but he finds it difficult to choose the first one to ask.
“What?!” is the only thing he can cry out.
“Yeah, I thought you might say that.”
“But, how the…? He went out to do Dad’s dirty laundry!” he recalls, stunned.
“Are you calling me dirty laundry?”
Sam’s eyebrows reach his hairline, remembering the coordinates John sent his brother. “You are Dad’s dirty laundry?”
“Apparently, but it doesn’t matter.” She interferes before the receiver of the call has the chance to ramble on. “Listen, Dean’s life is in danger. If he stays here with me, he’ll die. You have to get him out bef--”
Now, it’s Zo who gets interrupted. Puzzled, Sam stares at his phone for a moment, assuming the connection might be bad. When the display shows three bars in the right upper corner, he presses the Blackberry against his ear again and listens carefully, trying to identify the sounds he hears. It seems like Zoë is fighting someone over the phone, then he hears Dean in the background.
“Give me the damn phone! Give it!”
“No! Let go!”
“Zoë!”
“Don’t Zoë me, you son of a--”
“Hand me the fucking phone!”
The line cracks, but then the noise of static stabilizes. Dean has apparently won the fight over the device, because he can hear his voice loud and clear.
“Sam?”
“What?” he replies coldly.
“Whatever you do, don’t hang up,” Dean pleads before Sam does something he will regret later.
“I thought you were on Dad’s job?” the younger brother confronts, still angry with his brother.
“I am, this is the job. The coordinates led me to Zo,” he explains. “This is not some ghost hunt, Sam. This is unlike anything I’ve ever faced before.”
The hunter hears the concern in his sibling’s voice and he immediately swallows back the smart response he had waiting for him.
“I need you to get over here, and while you’re at it look up everything you can find about hellhounds,” Dean demands, calm but stern.
“Hellhounds?” Sam repeats, perplexed. “As in the actual soul claimers of the crossroad demons?”
“Yep, and we’re on the menu.”
“How did that happen? You have to make a deal before they claim your soul at the arranged time,” Sam remembers from one of the lore he studied.
“They were let off the hook,” Dean claims. “Sam, you have to find out a way to kill them.”
“You can’t kill hellhounds, Dean,” Sam replies.
“No, you don’t understand. You have to find a way to kill them,” Dean repeats slowly, making sure the words sink in.
The youngest gulps, realizing how much trouble Zoë and his brother are in. He has read some books that mentioned these creatures, but he never found anything about killing them. He turns around and stares up, letting the rain fall down on him, the water clumping his brown hair together in strands. The hunter scoffs; and he thought he made it to his final destination. He just traveled half the country to get east, now he has to travel all the way up north?
“This better not be some excuse to get me away from Dad, Dean,” he warns.
“I wish it was, Sam,” Dean says, concerned. “Hurry it up, will ya?”
“Will do.”
“And - uh, about what happened down in Texas…”
“That’s not important now. We’ll talk about it later,” Sam replies to Dean’s unspoken words.
Knowing they both can bury their pride and work this out, the younger brother closes his eyes as a burden falls off his shoulders. It must, for him to be able to carry a much heavier weight on them. Zoë’s and Dean’s life will depend on him.
“One more thing,” Sam states, before hanging up. “You do know what happens when these things catch you. You don’t just die…”
“I know. You go to hell,” Dean finishes.
The young Winchester nods his head, although his sibling can’t see that. A short silence follows, after which Dean ends their conversation.
“See you soon, Sammy.”
The line disconnects and a tone beeps in his ear, but it takes a few seconds before the young hunter actually lowers the phone and puts it away. Well, that changes things. There is no time to lose; he needs to get to Washington State and fast.
Determined, he stalks back onto the parking lot, observing his surroundings. No bus ride this time, he needs faster transportation. His gaze glides over the parking lot. Then he spots a silver 2005 Chrysler Crossfire Roadster amongst them. He nods, approving, knowing that the vehicle would make good time, but his conscience kicks in soon enough. He can not just connect some wires and steal a car like that! Or any car! But the thought of his brother and Zoë ending up dog food because he was too civilized to go grand theft auto isn’t something he could live with either. He’s left with no other option.
Reluctantly, Sam groans and eyes the vehicle, but then steps towards it while shaking his head and mumbling to himself, “I am so gonna regret this.”
Thank you so much for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to reblog my work or buy me coffee. Link in bio at the top of the page.
#Supernatural: the Sullivan Series#Supernatural series#Dean Winchester series#Sam Winchester series#Supernatural OFC series#SPN#Supernatural#Dean x OFC#Sam X OFC#Dean Winchester x OFC#Sam Winchester x OFC#Dean angst#Sam angst#dean winchester#Sam Winchester#STSS#Black Dog#1x03 Black Dog#Zoë Sullivan#Kate Huntington
30 notes
·
View notes
Note
Could Jason and Chris Kent have become friends? I know nothing about Chris or the comics from Jason's Robin era. I heard that Chris is the erased eldest son of Superman? I'm intrigued, but that means even the children of the biggest superheroes ever can be erased?
Ugh, I love Chris Kent and miss him (the pre-Flashpoint version of his character) a ton. And y’know, there are a couple ways you could manuever him and Jason into a friendship, though I don’t think they ever met in continuity. I don’t know how well they would have gotten along if you just went with the versions of the characters that both existed at approximately the same time, but they do actually have a decent amount in common, like with some tweaks it could work. Ironically, character wise they probably would have gotten along really well when Jason was Robin, but continuity wise, Chris didn’t even debut until after UTRH, though he rapidly aged from a young kid to a young adult after just a couple of years.
But lemme back up a bit because Chris is, umm, complicated.
SO. Christopher Kent was born Lor-Zod, the son of General Zod and Ursa, while they were held captive in the Phantom Zone. They were abusive asshats to him, and he’s not a fan. But for some reason which had to do with blah blah blah invasion plot blah blah, Zod made a spaceship from inside the Phantom Zone that he sent Chris to Earth in, because due to being born while in the Zone, Chris was actually able to take physical form, unlike the Kryptonians trapped there as a prison.
When Chris crashed on Earth, he was taken by a government agency aimed at monitoring extraterrestial ‘threats’ and treated as such. Cue Clark finding out that there was another Kryptonian on Earth, he was a kid, and he was being treated as a prisoner and it was like, See Clark Run. See Clark Mad. See Clark Raze The Department of Extraterrestial Affairs From The Earth With His Searing Hot Eyebeams Of Rage and Also Destruction.
And then Clark took Chris home to the Kent farm, and eventually he and Lois ended up adopting Chris and raising him as their own. Lois was the one who gave him his Earth name of Chris, which he’s always been shown to vastly prefer over his birth name just like he can’t stand his birth parents, as they are abusive asshats. He used to call Lois “Mama Lois.” It was adorable.
There’s a lot of back and forth about calling him Clark and Lois’ adopted son versus foster son, depending on various wikis and even issues, but its the same kinda thing that happens with all the Batkids at various points, and like, I remember issues that actually called Ma and Pa Kent Clark’s foster parents, so just do what I do and groan and sigh and accept that DC habitually employs writers and editors who just flat out don’t understand how fostering and adoption works. And its not that there’s anything wrong or lesser about fostering, and its absolutely the better way to go for some, its just foster son and adopted son are not remotely interchangeable, they are two different things, and DC has GOT to stop playing take-backsies with adoption, like just don’t do that, don’t make that a thing.
Anyway, for awhile it was Clark, Lois and Chris and they were quite happy together. Chris existed well before Jon Kent and they were never raised as Kents at the same time, unfortunately, and he did have some cute scenes with Conner, though this was mostly when Conner was characterized as seeing Clark more as an older brother and never really raised by him. (Similar to YJ-verse, but I have a lot of issues with that in YJ-verse because of HOW that played out, that I don’t have in pre-Flashpoint comics, where it felt a little more natural for Clark and Conner to have a brotherly relationship, mostly due to the fact that I don’t recall Conner ever expressing a want for the relationship to be otherwise in the comics, and having a strong bond with Ma and Pa Kent himself. I could be wrong here though as I skipped a lot of Conner’s writing when Geoff Johns is behind the wheel because I just....really miss 90s Kon-El who was practically a totally different character BUT I DIGRESS).
But then because comics gotta comics, eventually Zod escaped from the Phantom Zone to fuck all that up, and invaded Earth because he’s like I’m Zod and invading Earth is like, my entire personality, its the only move I’ve got in the deck, what do you want from me. And Luthor eventually cooperated with the heroes to stop the invasion by configuring some sort of cosmic vaccuum cleaner to suck all the Kryptonians with a connection to the Phantom Zone back into the Phantom Zone, but then this didn’t seal the Zone up again once all the invaders were back in and Chris realized its because even though he was just born there, he was technically connected to the Zone too and it wouldn’t close up again as long as he was outside it. So he sacrificed himself to save his father (Clark took quite a beating from Zod in this) and the world and dove into the Phantom Zone, which sealed up behind him.
BUT he was saved at the last second (and without anyone else knowing for awhile) by someone named Thara. She was the security chief of Kandor, and she took Chris to protect him from the revenge of the Phantom Zoners who would have blamed him for their re-imprisonment. And off-page, during the years between Chris getting sacrificing himself to seal the Phantom Zone before his reapparance, Chris had a comic-book style growth spurt uncannily like the one Jon Kent got when Bendis started writing him, resulting in an uncannily similar dynamic between Chris and Clark and Lois when they reunited as Bendis wrote Jon having with Clark and Lois when they reunited. Why do I emphasize this, is it because I think Bendis is overhyped and I’ll never stop complaining about how all his biggest story beats are blatantly just recycled story beats from less well-known writers and characters, no that can’t be it, must be something else.
Anyway, Chris eventually returns to Earth, now a teenager, and now going by Nightwing while Thara went by Flamebird. This was around the time Bruce was lost in time and Dick was Batman, and there was never like, any crossover. Which sucked because Dick would’ve been fine with it as Chris had more of a claim to the name than even him (it wasn’t like with the Nightwings in the Ric Grayson arc, who became Nightwing BECAUSE of Dick’s persona, but rather that Chris and Thara were basing their personas purely on their own Kryptonian myths and what they represented to the Kandorians who were now living on Earth at the time. Totally different situation). But really it was just missed opportunities, IMO, as I think Chris and Dick also would have gotten along really well and their paths just never really crossed.
Somewhere in there Chris got another random growth spurt and ended up in his early 20s, he and Thara ended up in a relationship which was not my fave cuz of all the aging shenanigans but whatevs, Chris kept having random aging growth spurts which had Lois really worried about him and she tried to get the hero version of Dr. Light (Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi) to help him thinking maybe it had something to do with light or radiation, but they never really got around to trying to fix it because Lois’ douchebag dad General Lane showed up and tried to capture Chris, and he and Thara fled. And then they ran into Supergirl, who at first tried to kill Thara because she hated her because Kandorian Backstory I honestly do not remember, but then Chris revealed himself and was like Kara, its me, we’re cousins, and then they had adventures with Kara for a time, then there was this whole thing where Thara and Chris were both briefly possessed by and then merged with the actual Kryptonian gods/entities of Nightwing and Flamebird and then the entities left them and were like okay, we’re all done with whatever that was, as you were.
Chris thwarted his evil birth parents again, blew up some stuff, there was more Phantom Zone shenanigans and then General Lane and Lex Luthor turned the sun red to try and kill all Kryptonians, Thara fixed it by sacrificing herself, Chris tried to join her but then the Nightwing entity hijacked him and was like nope, and then not long after, Chris sacrificed himself again to push Zod back into the Phantom Zone AGAIN (seriously, it was like they were on a loop at this point, ugh) and he ended up in the Zone himself, but for real this time....and for some reason that turned him back into the age he should’ve been if he’d been aging normally this whole time, and the last we saw of Chris, he was like ten years old and in the Phantom Zone and being helped by Mon-El, and then the New 52 happened and rebooted everything and wherever that was going no longer mattered.
And then New 52 Lor-Zod showed up at one point as like, Zod’s loyal little son-minion, and DC has never shown a hint of intending to pursue an actual Chris Kent storyline in the New 52, and I hate that lots and lots because its like lol, this character was an abuse survivor in his original incarnation and you guys were like, lol no big deal, we’ll just make Zod the exact same asshat he’s always been but now this version of his son is just like him and likes it, why would that be a problem. WHATEVER.
Basically, New 52 Chris Kent doesn’t exist, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Which is a fucking shame, because Chris and Jon Kent as brothers being raised together WITHOUT ANY WEIRD AGING SHENANIGANS with their cousin once removed, Kara, and their older sorta brother sorta uncle Conner could have been like. So great.
So anyway. There’s LOTS of directions you can take Chris, and he’s really a great character. If you’re aiming to make him friends with Jason specifically, my go-to there would be to just have the events that led Chris to Earth originally just....happen a lot earlier in the continuity of your story. So have Chris arrive on Earth and be adopted by Clark and Lois roughly around the same time Jason steals the tires off the Bat-mobile, and you’re pretty much in business.
(BUT if you do go this route, keep in mind that Jason died before the Death of Superman storyline, which is where Kon-El debuted, so even if Kon/Conner’s still older than Chris here, Chris would already be an established part of Clark and Lois’ family by the time Kon-El arrives on the scene, which would change dynamics there, not just between Chris and Kon/Conner, but potentially between Kon/Conner and Clark and Lois as well).
OR you can keep Chris’ arrival as happening roughly when it did in canon (2006 was the year he debuted), and just have him do a little aging up, like, as a treat, and so be his older self when Jason returns and starts interacting with the cape community again, with their first interactions being when they’re both young adults who for completely different reasons missed out on large chunks of childhood. There’s some potentially interesting angles to explore there too.
Just depends on which way you want to go with that.
(PS, I think aging up is an overused trope most of the time in comics anyway, but its not so much aging Chris rapidly to a teenager and then young adult that I had an issue with, so much as doing it largely to put him in a relationship with someone who first met him when they were already an adult and he was ten. Its the initial age gap being an established part of the overall dynamic with an eventual love interest thats the issue, not that an age gap existed before two characters ever met - if for all other intents and purposes - their dynamic treats them as if they both were effectively always around the same age).
18 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
daimonclub
Daimon Club Organization
parkersrevenge
Schrödinger's Cat
nageshchandramishra
Untitled
siragius
Siragius
laducthong
Lã Đức Thông -CEO Trực Tiếp Bóng Đá TV