LOOK AT THESE GUYS I LOVE THESE GUYS WEEOOOO anyeay im feral over clones but what else is new

very devestated that kit fisto's clones arent explored much like dude i want a squad of purely aquatic clones like those guys have been living on water planets for AGES and have to learn to adapt to land all over again whenever they're sent to terrestrial planets

Heya I saw your GN Child headcannons and I pose this to you:

Reader is the youngest child of carmilla, adopted and wears a cute little horn headband to look like their sisters. I'd love fluff with not only Carmilla but Odette and Clara too!

-Monke Anon 🐒

A/n: yes! This gives me really big Star vibes from SVTFOE lol!

Pairings: Carmilla, Odette, and Clara with a reader that wears horn headbands

-platonic

~Carmilla~

-She finds it adorable. She loves having you wear those little headbands, you just too cute in them!

-She also doesn’t have any horns, her hair is just put up like that, so you two have something in common or similar to each other, you both wear or put something to act like you have horns.

-She probably bought you a small pair when you were younger at some cheap store since you wanted it, but after seeing how often you’d wear them, she started to buy you better ones, more sturdy and longer lasting, and in any color you want.

-She does always remind you that you look gorgeous even without your horn headbands, and that it didn’t matter how you looked, you’re always part of the family.

~Clara~

-She finds it adorable too. She loves the fact you’re trying to copy her and look like her.

-She seems like the type of person to help you decorate or help you with the horns, and even make personal horn headbands for you that look like her actual horns.

-She definitely starts a small competition between her and her sister of which horns you like the best, she’s always trying to beat her sister and makes you as much headbands as she can that looks like her horns.

-By the looks of it she’s a teenager. So she’s definitely got some other teen friends, and if their over at her house (which is rare since I doubt Carmilla would let other teens over), and if they make fun of you for your headband and tell you to “grow up”, then she’ll talk them Off and kick them out, and then comfort you afterwords

~Odette~

-She thinks they’re cute, but probably won’t express it often. She seems like the type of person who’s more closed off and serious?

-Though either way she definitely loved having you trying to copy her, she thinks that she’s a great role model for you, and having you want to look like her too? It’s felt great

-She definitely joins in the small competition with her sister, replacing the headbands she makes for you with hers, she just thinks her horns look better on you.

-She’ll comfort you too if anyone has done you wrong by saying your a baby for still wearing headbands, she’ll speak to her mother about after too, she wants this problem resolved not make it worse.

A/n: I hope this is okay! I don’t know much about the daughters and I’ll have to more research! Sorry this request took a while too!

Another Analysis Friday, another Hazbin Hotel essay! Y’all told me your thoughts on their posing as hellvangelists on Sunday…

And I’m impressed! I can’t tell if Alastor won just because we all love him though. 😂 I personally like the costumes equally.

But the best part is that these costumes and their associated roles play into Vox and Alastor themselves!

Vox likes clout. He may like to have it in a more mature, business way than Velvette, but he’s still a clout-chaser. So, posing as a televangelist during his song makes complete sense! Despite humility being a big thing Jesus focused on, televangelists are known instead for their bombastic, fake, hell-emphasizing, prosperity gospel-embracing sermons spread across the screen. I remember the days of early Saturday morning being plagued by these guys as a kid.

As for Alastor? He’s hard at work behind the scenes, just as nuns and monks historically have done forever. While not necessarily humble, he doesn’t chase attention so much as asserts dominance if anyone questions him. Alastor’s disarming smile downplays his real power, so people pay attention when he does make his presence known. Similarly we are still guessing about his intentions and deal, as he would much rather not have either announced. And, nuns aren’t trying to outdo each other, unlike the sorts of preachers seeking to get rich rather than help others. Alastor is so out of Vox’s league that he doesn’t even see him as competition!

Naturally, these takes are opposed to each other just like Alastor and Vox are.

And bonus points for personal details on their clothing! Vox’s signature static waves on his robes, and the x symbols (matching his death injury in life) on Alastor’s habit. Love that these are on his habit at all, as he was shot in the head.

As a fun extra bit of religious trivia today, let’s just note that the inverted cross only became a Satanic visual in the late 1800s due to Eugene Vintras’ possibly occult masses, and definitely his eccentric followers. Lucifer uses the pentagram himself, which has been a symbol of divine powers since Babylonian times at least. It also became Satanic in the same time period due to an entirely different reason.

I've included every Job I've heard people mention as speculation, no matter how unlikely I personally find it. Propaganda after the cut is all just my own feelings, and includes some very minor spoilers for recent MSQ events, Astrologian Job Quests, and the Shadowbringers patch 5.3 Dungeon:

CALCULATOR PROS: They have had some fun with Math Bosses, haven't they. It is a theme present in the game, and with precedent in earlier FF games. CONS: I can not imagine any configuration of this job that would function within the timing of FFXIV's combat. Applying simple Astrologian buffs is already tricky enough. Also, this was a real balance-demolisher in its main prior appearance.

GAMBLER PROS: FFVI has proven fertile ground for Job design concepts, between the Monk and Machinist revamps. And Setzer's armor is already in the game. CONS: Even more RNG dependent than Dancer? I don't much like the sound of that. And Astrologian has already claimed Cards as a primary tool.

GEOMANCER PROS: It canonically exists in setting. And it is on the dwindling list of Jobs in FFXI that haven't been reinterpreted in FFXIV. Probably a pretty strong contender, except... CONS: The Astrologian quests kind of ate its lunch, explicitly stating that they are heavily overlapping arts. That will be a common theme with entries on this list, Astrologian seems to be made of pieces of a ton of prior Mage jobs.

GREEN MAGE PROS: The presumptive favorite in most of the chatter I'm reading, because of a symbol on a thing in a very "we're teasing new content" feeling MSQ cutscene that matches the design of Green Mage in one of the Tactics games (I think?) CONS: Ok great but what the heck even is a Green Mage? Their whole shtick appears to be long-duration buffs and debuffs that would have been categorized as Black or White Magic in other games... and FFXIV has been very steadily removing those kinds of powers, aside from a handful of DoTs. If they crib this aesthetic, the actual mechanics will likely be something entirely unanticipated, or possibly overlapping with one of these other options, rather than a Buff/Debuff Mage. Or maybe they've just been removing long duration powers from other classes to... consolidate them? I really doubt it, but maybe.

NECROMANCER PROS: It's a solid concept, an RPG classic, and the Necromancer Boss in the Heroes' Gauntlet dungeon looks sick. Rumor has it that all the bosses in that dungeon were concepts once considered as alternate branches of base classes in the same way Arcanist splits into Scholar and Summoner, before they ditched that design. In which case it probably would have split from Thaumaturge? CONS: Rumor also has it that cultural considerations in certain key markets made this something SE didn't want to pose as a heroic archetype. Also, pet jobs. They've been pretty steadily gutting the pet mechanics of Scholar and Summoner, and I can't imagine they'd be in any hurry to add another full scale Pet Job. Maybe a Limited Job though. Also, in FFXIV the art to animate and control the dead seems to be closely related to the summoning of Voidsent, and Reaper is already doing the Demon Magic thing in a big way.

ORACLE PROS: I'm gonna be real with y'all, can't actually think of any. I see this as having zero chance. But the name keeps coming up in conversation. So maybe I'm wrong, and the apparent fan support will keep the idea afloat. CONS: Like Green Mage, it's mainly been a place to dump debuffs that originally belonged to other magic types. And the theme of prediction and prophecy has been thoroughly raided by Astrologian.

PICTOMANCER (A.K.A. Artist, Painter, Ink Mage, etc.) PROS: As I mentioned under Gambler, raiding FFVI has been a solid move, and Relm Arrowny's power set deserves a less-buggy reinterpretation. Also Ink Mages are the only common enemy in the Heroes' Gauntlet that doesn't match a job we have available. Also Yoshi P's TMNT shirt at the first fanfest may have been hinting at Leonardo's dual swords and a Ninja's scouting armor sets for Viper, but it could also have been a reference to the Renaissance Masters that the Turtles were named after. He's clever like that. CONS: The only reason this isn't my #1 guess without hesitation is that pesky Green Mage emblem. I have a theory though that Green Mage and Pictomancer might get combined and have the "green" be about painting landscapes, in which case it might also be borrowing from Geomancer turf a little. Who knows!

PUPPETMASTER PROS: Also on the short list of FFXI jobs that haven't been reinterpreted. Mammets are a big part of this setting and there would be a lot of cool aesthetics to potentially draw on. CONS: Pet jobs. I just can't see them ever doing another full Pet Job. Also the FFXI version was a blend of technology and martial arts, not a caster per se.

TIME MAGE PROS: One of the missing FF classics, with a lot more potential spells than you expect, since it also usually deals with Space Magic. CONS: Haste powers and traits became a huge balance headache in FFXI and I can't see them rushing back into that. Also, once again, Astrologian already swiped several key ideas.

Hylas

Been talking a lot about my Tav Hylas and uh. I still haven’t. Shared them on here??

So here’s a post dedicated to my darling Hylas (they/them)!

(Under the cut is their lore/backstory and some doodles of them and Gale, so if you just wanna see the screenshots you don’t gotta go any deeper)

Hylas Lore

Hylas was born in Baldur’s Gate to a Human mother and Wood Elf father (side note: I think more Wood Elves should be green. It’s my reality, so Hylas is tinted green bc of their dad’s genes).

Dad bailed pretty early on, and because mom couldn’t afford to be a single mom, she gave custody of Hylas to a nearby Monastery of Lathander.

Hylas didn’t have to become a member of the clergy/monk, but they liked the teachings of Lathander and decided to dedicate their life to him as a monk. They started studying and archiving at 13, and didn’t start martial arts training until 15.

They trained as an Open Hand monk (I like to think their specific style is a mix of Shanghai- and Southern-Tiger Kung Fu style; I tried to draw them in a Tiger stance above) and they perfected their speed and placement of attacks.

At 25, the monastery was attacked, and Hylas was put in charge of getting the younger students to safety with another monk. They were attacked, and Hylas fought tooth and claw to protect the kids and the fellow monk, who was critically injured. The ordeal nearly killed them, and it left them with long-lasting scars, but if given the chance they’d do it all over again. Defending the people they love is the most important thing to them, and the monastery is their family.

A stereotypical “monk” pose from when I first drew Hylas—way before I actually put thought into their martial stylings. See it as a show of their flexibility, I guess!

At 31, they left the monastery to travel Faêrun on their own for the first time—they’d only ever known brief glimpses of Baldur’s Gate and the monastery. They traveled up and down the Sword Coast, meeting with other temples of Lathander (they even met Gideon Lightward from Elturel; they felt he was a little too ‘fire and brimstone’ to be a true priest of the Dawn Father, but they enjoyed his company and tutelage nonetheless).

After years of studying being an archivist, Hylas has a borderline unhealthy fixation on collecting books/missives/texts. It is, in fact, a problem. They read the Tome of Thay because of it. They don’t know they have a problem, and the fact that they’re romancing Gale doesn’t do them any favors.

And 10 years after they left—Baldur’s Gate 3 happened! So Hylas is 41 during the game; 20-25 in Human years! They got set back to Level 1 like the rest of the gang (and they were VERY mad they had to rely on a staff again. They spent a DECADE breaking their fingers to punch things into dust, dammit!/hjk).

Some fun facts about Hylas:

When their dad was still around, he took them to see a ballet performance (this is my reality, and in my reality Elves invented ballet, huff my jorts) and they wanted to be a ballerina SO BAD

Since they DIDN’T get to be a ballerina, they spent some of their 10 years traveling Faêrun learning some dances! It was fun to do, connected them to their past, and helped them keep in shape when they weren’t training.

They’ve had their vitiligo since childhood, though it’s grown over time.

Hylas’s non-binary/transmasc identity is loosely based on my own experiences as a demiboy! They actually made me feel more comfortable with my own they/them pronouns and I’m toying around with using them over he/him.

They’re very much romancing Gale—they find his intelligence and passion for knowledge and teaching very sexy.

Gale was also their first… well, almost everything relationship wise! First significant other, first hand hold, first time.

The only first Gale didn’t get was kissing, and that’s because when Hylas was young, they and another monk-in-training kissed each other to see what all the fuss was about. They both swore to keep it secret (intimacy was a no-no for monks at the monastery), but they both caved due to guilt and separately fessed up to the same monk. They had a LOT of extra chores that month.

(Hylas never sought out a relationship after the monastery simply because they didn’t really… see the point. The monks had drilled celibacy into their head for so long they just kinda. Didn’t seek it out. And then they pulled the wizard from the rock and everything changed…)

Spoilers for Act 3 for this one: in my play through, Hylas drowned in the Iron Throne along with… a lot of the hostages. They made sure Wyll’s dad got out safe, and kept the Sahuagin from getting to the sub while everyone else escaped, but they went down with the prison and have a phobia of water/drowning now (as well as a LOT of guilt over all the dead Gondians—they probably won’t ever forgive themselves for that).

Post-game, I think Hylas would become a priest of Lathander or a scholar/archivist—they’re done fighting for a nice long while. (They still train regularly though—gotta keep the mind and body sharp!)

Karlach is their bff. The SECOND Karlach could touch others, they JUMPED to hug her.

Hylas’s favorite stuffed animal growing up was a sabertooth tiger—and in my play through, Halsin became a sabertooth tiger a LOT :3

They let Volo take their eye. They. They did that. Volo they trusted you. Do you know what an honor it was for them to meet you, Volo? VOLO—

Between Hylas’s open hand attacks and Gale casting Disintegrate, these two are fucking lethal as hell. Lucky for you they just want to study and talk about books with Tara.

Hope y’all love my baby as much as I do—I have so so SO many thoughts about them. Once I’m able to draw digitally again I’m gonna be doing SO much art of them and Gale 💕

ALSO if you want to ask about them, or talk Tavs/BG3 in general, please feel free to drop me a line! I love talking about this stuff, it’s incredibly fun for me and I love seeing other people’s Tavs 🥰

Lye „Lyke“ Lychen as a sacrifical altar (to Aterika’Kaal) (but he's also kind of the sacrifice)

my @secret-samol gift for @bronanlynch! for the Aterika’Kaal/Lyke prompt of „what if things had gone differently and Aterika'Kaal was still with Lyke“.

notes on this under the readmore!

AU

In this scenario Lyke would succeed in getting the heart of the Motherbeast in Episode 47 and while Alaway would notice & probably still call out to Aterika’Kaal the way he presumably did in canon, Lyke would be there and get to make a compelling case to Aterika’Kaal the likes of „If you stay with me I am going to feed you. I’ve taken care of you until now, I’ll keep doing that“ (argument supported by the fact he’s currently holding the heart of an incredibly powerful dead god). Aterika’kaal agrees and they barely escape through the Sanctum of the Stone Chorus portal. I think it's fun if Lyke then stays there after the hour described in the move is over, maybe knowing he can't convince Pickman & the others that what he's done is actually good, and fine, there's not even anything to worry about he has this totally handled, But yeah he then sets out from whereever in Sangfielle Aterika'Kaals domain is (Austin did say it was an actual place somewhere), and the rest of the Blackwick Group is left to wonder what the hell happened since Lyke just vanished! Alaway has possibly fucked off too after losing the heart. And them getting fired, the Carnival of Moted Light etc. would still happen (and I guess Chine would succeed at what they were doing since Lyke isn’t there?) and who knows if they’d take any action in finding Lyke after that! All that aside though, Lyke basically offers himself to feed on (through blood and/or energy) and to sustain that he keeps consuming(not literally eating) powerful objects/artifacts/resources and possibly eventually living things (I’d imagine he'd still take work as a „please deal with this weird shit for us“ person and when he has to kill a cursed beast or whatnot... might aswell feed Aterika'Kaal?) (What also plays into that decision, and is part of Lyke justifying this to himself, is that without him, Aterika’Kaal would become too powerful. So he aims to function as kind of a conduit & control the power intake so to speak. I think this probably doesn’t work for very long.) I think this eventually goes bad for him because it’s super taxing on his body and the whole deal kind of flips with Aterika’Kaal feeding/keeping HIM alive. He starts finding bodies in the domain again (alternatively, Aterika'Kaal gets better at hiding them because it knows Lyke doesn't particulary like it when it does that). Lyke probably gets stronger due to this power/magic wise, but also way more fragile (he's constantly anemic!). („I love you. I want us both to eat well.“ - Christopher Citro) („When I write of hunger I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and it is all one.“ M.K. Fisher) Notes: I put some resources Lyke’s canonically had in-game + some extra stuff in this picture (the arrow is a reference to Marn’s epilogue, the bugs are bugs (with possibly sinister connotations. If you want them to have those, it’s optional) and the fur is from the Ravening Beast). Another detail I came up with I might aswell tell you because otherwise noone might ever know: the ring with the blue stone is a gift from Es. Sketch Notes: 1. Lyke turning his head to kiss a rose / exposing his neck was one of my very first ideas/sketches I made while working on this, and I liked it too much to not include it. 2. This is supposed to be Aterika'Kaal giving Lyke a blood transfusion but it rather looks like it's feeding on him instead...! I like how the relaxed pose turned out. 3. I wanted to draw something smaller in a simpler style to fill the big canvas I was drawing these on (even though now I put them in separate files anyways...). The day I drew this I saw a tweet about a medieval monks sketchbook, so I was still thinking about that. I didn't even plan to color it originally but I ended up getting invested, haha

Inspired mainly by these 3 quotes: „KEITH: I’m a walking- I am a shrine to Aterika’Kaal.“ (Sangfielle 12: The Secret Ledger of Roseroot Hall Pt. 4) „KEITH: There's a version of dealing with Aterika'Kaal that ends with Lyke being satisfied that he rehabilitated a god or at least it looks […] like what he thinks Aterika'Kaal would have been before the YVEs showed up. That's probably his main retirement path, but it also might kill him instead.” (Sangfielle 47: Wax, Iron, and Ichor Pt. 4) „AUSTIN: As you’re fading, the last thing that you do is make this blood sacrifice to Aterika’Kaal. Your own blood.“ (Sangfielle 52: Six Travelers: Lyke)

Incoming: Tumblr Tav Tuesdays

Ok, preview of coming LTB attractions, thanks to helpful feedback and tips from some kind folks to this post. What I'm gonna do is post somewhat substantial entries for each of my eight Tavs that have made the most progress in the game.

They'll happen for the next eight Tuesdays (because Tav Tuesday of course) beginnning April 23. I previously did this on a fun Discord that I'm part of but Discord stuff tends to scroll away and get lost, so maybe this will be a better venue for it.

Content will be a combo of 5e/BG3 backstory (in-game and out), builds/gear (because crunch is fun), BG3 playthrough highlights (romances, unique events, etc.), and selected screenshot dumps (ideally beyond "standard stoic Tav" poses). The cast will star:

4/23: Cannor Coth, the Lost Singer (human swords bard). You've heard of heroic anti-heroes, but anti-bard bards? This guy is that guy, a little bit of everything without being Too Much.

4/30: Zafraia Zital, the Banished Bandit (human thief rogue). A cynical con artist who's seen everything and found it sorely lacking. No Guildie is good enough, no Zhent is safe.

5/7: Drem Sion, the Relentless Defender (human shadow monk). Bare-knuckle brawler with a heart of gold, this one—but since things are never that simple, neither is he.

5/14: Olinitza Cuel, the Silent Sentinel (half-drow gloom stalker ranger). A righteous rebel out to afflict the powerfully corrupt, avenge the downtrodden, and clear her name in the process.

5/21: Farago Heli, the Elven Exile (wood elf hunter ranger). Strong silent types have nothing on this ex-soldier, who's pining for a place to settle down once this adventuring stuff is all over.

5/28: Qiranna Jasti, the Raven's Right Hand (seldarine drow archfey warlock). The merely curious and ambitious have nothing on this moxie-fuelled mage. She wants the world and wants it now.

6/4: Ruy Acavés, the Realm's Reckoner (human knowledge cleric). What's a nice nerd like him doing in a nightmare like this? Why, collecting all the maps, arcana, and lore he possibly can, of course.

6/11: Sianed Arie, the Silver Stargazer (wood half-elf land druid). A shrewd sage who'd rather scan the night sky than shapeshift or strive for balance, she's at home in both wild frontiers and urban jungles.

There may be a few more after that, but these folks are my Elite Eight who've seen the most playing time, so they come first. Stay tuned!

Two points of contrast between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are jumping out at me immediately as I replay Breath.

1.) Oh my goodness Tears' weapons inventory management QOL changes are small but incredibly significant. Being able to drop things from the quick-select and being able to drop things when you open a chest... Ugh, I miss you already.

2.) Oh my goodness Tears' downgrade in how the Lights of Blessing are handed out vs. the Spirit Orbs is small but incredibly annoying.

Like, both involve short cutscenes that play whenever you conquer a shrine. But while the Breath ones are pretty much the same every time, the Tears ones are exactly the same every time, which is a huge difference.

The Sheikah Monks are all posed slightly differently, and there are occasionally minor variations in what they say at the end of their trials, say by acknowledging the equivalent of Rauru's Blessing shrines by saying you already proved yourself just by reaching the Shrine entrance. The Shrines of Light, though?

Exact. Same.

Every. Time.

Admittedly it may also have something to do with the Zonai chanting in the Shrines of Light being just high-pitched enough that it hurts my ears a little, but even so. When I first played Breath of the Wild, I don't think I skipped any of the Sheikah Monks. I'm still not skipping them in the replay. They all feel like individuals. Each Sheikah Shrine was someone's final masterpiece.

By contrast, by about the tenth Shrine of Light I was mashing that skip button. I waited for a few like the first Rauru's Blessing and for Unlit Blessing, but, no, not even any variation there. They're just as fun in terms of gameplay, but in terms of feeling like a part of the story it's just... Thank you for the purging magic but also, whoopdie-freaking-doo, Rauru and Sonia made another puzzle room. Whatever. Skipskipskip.

I'm sure it made a bit less work for the dev team, but it's a small yet massively significant downgrade for me.

As mentioned by the wonderful @foreverinthepagesofhistory, there exists an anecdote about Tatiana Nikolaevna's wig falling off in 1913 and her running to hide from everyone out of embarrassment. This comes from the book 'Four Sisters' by Helen Rappaport:

"One day, when she was playing a skipping game in the park with Maria Rasputin and some young officers from the Corps de Pages, Alexey’s dog had run up to her barking; Tatiana got her foot caught in the rope, tripped and as she fell ‘her hair suddenly tumbled down and, to our amazement, we saw a wig drop off’, Maria recalled. Poor Tatiana ‘revealed to our eyes and those of the two embarrassed officers, the top of her head where a few short, sparse hairs were just beginning to grow’. She was absolutely mortified, and ‘with one bound she was on her feet, had picked up her wig and dashed towards the nearest clump of trees. We saw only her blushes and vexation and she did not appear again that day.’"

Rappaport references Matryona 'Maria' Rasputina's book 'Real Rasputin' here. I unfortunately cannot find this version of her memoirs anywhere online (I think she wrote about three, and 'Real Rasputin' was her first), so I sadly can't check the actual quote for any more information.

If I'm being entirely honest, I don't know how much I believe this. Neither Olga nor Maria Nikolaevna's diaries from 1913 ever mention Rasputin's children Matyrona (Maria), Dmitri, or Varvara visiting them for fun and games, though they do talk about sometimes being in their company.

'After dinner [I] played, at Papa's request, religious things [music] and everyone went to Anya's where Father Grigori's entire family was present: Paraskovia, Feod[orovna], Mitya, Matryona, and Varya... and Zhenya.' - Olga's diary, Christmas day 1916

It's also important to note that Maria believed in Anna Anderson for a time, and a common criticism for those who supported her claim was that they didn't actually know the family well at all, so she might have put this anecdote in her book to try and combat this. Knowing that Tatiana wore a wig might have added to this supposed closeness she was trying to convince readers of.

Her memoirs have been questioned time and time again as to how accurate they actually are - she tries to paint her father, Grigori Rasputin, as having been framed for the downfall of tsarism, and she believes him entirely innocent of the various allegations against him. There are more inconsistencies. For example, in her memoirs she writes degradingly about Felix Yusupov (who was involved in the murder of her father), then named her two dogs 'Youssou' and 'Pov' after him... Also, the cover of her memoirs are quite funny, it reminds me of a bad film poster lol, but that is besides the point.

Also, Tatiana's album has photos of her posing on the Standart and on the beach with her wig off, which might suggest she was at least a little comfortable showing her shaved head to some people, like her favourite officers. When OTMA had their heads shaved in 1917, they also posed for various photographs and found it funny, not embarrassing - but it could be argued that was because they were going through it together, rather than Tatiana being the 'odd one out'.

Personally, I also don't enjoy 'Four Sisters'. Helen Rappaport sadly put quite a few misconceptions and outright lies into her books, so her quoting from a very unreliable source doesn't surprise me sadly.

I also want to add that despite being a little harsh here about her memoirs, Maria Rasputina was a fascinating woman. She actually worked as a lion tamer in a circus for a few years, and there's a video of her doing this which you can see here. She ended up being mauled by a bear whilst working for the circus, but continued working with the company and advertising herself as the performing 'daughter of the mad monk'. She also claimed she was psychic and held seances. She needs her own book about her!

Can you please do Terry (or twig) losing his v card to beloved 💌

Okay, but lets make a little funnier and it's this era of Terry;

And him just flat out lying he's a virgin. He's lying. His justification and explanation for his lack of action is (and I'm making this up as I go along and so is he) that deliberate celibacy and sexual ascetism is good in preserving high levels of chi and chakra energy, that witholding from physical pleasures strenghtens the body's core and makes a person a better, more disciplined fighter due to surpressed aggression and he knows this for a fact, because after learning Tang Soo Do under his Master in Korea and returning from Vietnam, he's also travelled all over Asia and observed the Shaolin monks do it. Yes. Shaolin monks. He strived to emulate the best of the best since. Isn't every man's goal in life to be the next Bodhidharma incarnate?

Might even gift you with a book on the subject.

You know, for references and sources.

You could land yourself with a tome called The Private Lives Inside the Shǎolínsì.

It takes all the willpower in the world not to royally chortle at that one even as he says it. So, he's well into his thirties or even early fourties, it's the 80's, and yes, he's a virgin by choice. Of course, again, he's lying and making things up for the fun of it. Mainly to gage your reaction. See how you'll treat him for it. How you'll act. What you'll do. If you'll be surprised. Disappointed. What your opinions on the matter even are. If you'll even like him after that. If you'll believe him because the man isn't a fool and he's aware of what he looks like and the effect he tends to have on people. There's no particular gender or age limit to virgnity but he also knows he isn't the usual poster child for purity. Maybe it'll add to his mystique in your eyes. Maybe you'll try to dissuade him from maintaing such a strict standard of living and he can act all coy and hard to get about it. Maybe you'll admire him for it and he'll pretend to be humble. He doesn't know, but he wants to discover because it holds so many possibilities and it is also so damn amusing, this little social experiment, and lets admit; the man's very much a troll. Just the entertainment value of it turns him on, and there's always the chance of him roleplaying being despoiled and being on the recieveing end of it without you knowing it is all pretense. Of course he's not a virgin, though. Far from it. Which makes this whole thing even more schemey, sinister and juvenile. He's quite possibly ludicrousily experienced and has apetites to match for every vice under the sun and he's, pardon my language, bullshitting you, for lack of the better word, but does it so convincingly and sweetly one can never tell. Could even be a test he poses for himself; to see what type of misiformantion he can sell to people and get away with.

How well he can act certain things out.

Not to mention how much he wants to dangle himself in front of you like the forbidden fruit you can't have because of his, ahem, convictions and beliefs. Convictions and beliefs he doesn't even really have. Quite the contrary. The handomest man you've ever met also being sexually celibate? He wants you to explode with desire and frustration and him having the last laugh.

But, Terry Silver is definitely the type of man who would land himself in bed with you, after much back and forth and pretending celibacy goes hand in hand with his particular style of martial arts, and believably pretend not to know what to do once he gets to that very same bed. Worse (or better) yet. Doing something like this isn't nessecarily a sign of his distaste for a person. Could very much like you and still play a prank on you.

[ID: A digital art piece of a D&D character standing against a simple background. The character has dark skin and hair with yellow eyes, pointed cat ears, a flat nose, and claws. She wears a deep red tunic tied together with a belt, long arm and leg socks, hand wraps, and two-toed shoes. She is standing in a matial arts pose with a smug look on her face. The background is baby blue with darker blue and green shapes, such as circles and wavy lines. End ID.]

Commission for @notcuddles and their dnd character- a fun werecat goblin monk!

I love everything about her style and design, and had so much fun drawing this omg

Commission Info Here!

💖 for Little Lao!

@hatxtoss

💖 AND I'LL GIVE OUR CHARACTERS A RELATIONSHIP SUMMARY FROM THIS MEME || ACCEPTING

How likely they are to enter a relationship with them:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Would they…

Make the first move? Yes | No-ish Lao is a unique circumstance where the two are on such a similar page that he will beat Zuriya to the punch by little more than a couple of minutes. Which her competitive side will huff over for a moment, but his arrogant satisfaction and that joy in his eyes is more than enough to make any frustration dissipate on the spot. Say “I love you” first? Yes | No Zuriya said 'I love you' first twice. The first time, it was bittersweet and rang a bit hollow because as much as her feelings were legitimate, they weren't on the same page. Lao felt like a novelty to her, and Zuriya was guilty of fuelling these self-deprecating feelings because she WAS loving him like a novelty. She was only scratching the surface because she, thanks to her trauma, feared connecting with him deeply because of the chance he'd leave her once he learned what she was actually like. After that first 'I love you' though and all the growing pains of moving past her demons that hamper genuine love, she told him again, but these times, the words rang like a sharp hook to the gut, and it destroyed them both in the best kind of ways. Cheat on them? Yes | NO Zuriya is a party gal, but once her heart, damaged as it is, sets itself on someone she loves for life! She would never turn to another, not for love or physical affection, and she wouldn't be afraid to exercise her voice both to scream at a creep to back off or to proclaim her love and lust for her lovers. Be the jealous type? Yes | No SHE IS SO CONFIDENT OH MY GOD, Lao may be a catch and a half with an arrogant charm she knows will have most swooning. But she is confident in herself, her value, and more importantly, his character. She knows and trusts Lao. He'll lead on a flirt or two for fun, but his heart and soul is true to her beyond the fun and games. The passing comments are great for the ego but she knows after he's had his fun, he'll turn them down and come back over to her with that 'did you see that?' grin on his face, brush it off and they can both laugh about it into the sunset. Plan the dates? Yes-ish | No Zuri will drag Lao to fun and lively places that draws her naturally extroverted spirit, but complex planning? Not at all! Making reservations may actually kill her, and Lao is more than happy to pick up her slack and make those phone calls for organized fun! Initiate the first kiss? Yes | No Zuri's ass stared at Lao wantingly for so, so long, but her heart was too worried about all the rumours she'd had about Earthrealmers and overstepping her love's boundaries. She heard tales about monks not even being allowed to touch other people, as in handshakes, from members of the court. Let alone the conflicting tales from her stories. She doesn't want to hurt him or drive him away. She likes him FAR too much for that! She doesn't know how to pose the question without seeming ridiculous (because she is being silly). But meanwhile, as she's stuck in overthinking. Lao is just taking her by the cheeks and giving her a big smooch. Leaving her with massive stars in her eyes! Remember anniversaries? Yes | No THESE ASSHOLES ARE THE FUCKING PEOPLE THAT ALWAYS POST THOSE ANNIVERSARY POSTS WITH GIFTS AND OFTEN MATCHING OUTFITS

BOLD WHAT APPLIES:

Their Relationship Is:

friends to lovers | rivals to lovers | enemies to lovers | still just enemies | mutual pining | star crossed lovers | old married couple | perpetual honeymoon phase (after the initial misunderstanding and settling in) | stable and boring | stable but not boring | secret lovers | best friends hiding their feelings | and they were roommates | friends with benefits | coworkers avoiding HR | one-sided affection | weird sexual tension | it’s complicated | toxic relationship | a secret affair | an actual dumpster fire | other

Lao PSPSPSPSP'd Zuri from team Outworld and being extremely morally ambiguous into team Earthrealm with the lads. I cannot for the life of me think about better words to use to describe this, but he looked at the hot giantess sorceress and said, 'I can fix her' AND HE FRIGGIN COULD!!! Now, if only she could help him with his humbleness problem!

PUBLIC Displays of Affection:

hand holding | kiss on the hand | kiss on the cheek | kiss on the forehead | kiss on the lips |  cuddling | hugging | affectionate messages or comments | pet names | pictures together | no displays of affection

PRIVATE Displays of Affection:

hand holding | kiss on the hand | kiss on the cheek | kiss on the forehead | kiss on the lips |  cuddling | hugging | affectionate messages or comments | pet names | pictures together | no displays of affection

And even more NGL, Zuri keeps the sappiness toned down in public because Lao will get teased about it, but put her in private, and she'll be sappier than a hallmark feel-good special!!

Do they stay together?

yes, this is endgame | yes but someone is gonna die tragically | something is keeping them apart | they part ways as friends | they part ways as enemies | they’re on-again-off-again | they have a super messy breakup | it was just a fling | other

Zuri will end up outliving her Lao by thousands and thousands of years, but she couldn't stomach the idea of that. Of watching him wither and die in front of her, years chipping away at his light. She would beg him to let her use some magic or sorcery to prolong his life and stay with her forever. It would lead to a lot of fighting, a LOT. Sadly, it was just one of those things they could never really get over. In the end, rather than being able to bring herself to watch him fade away while she remained helpless. She left but would ultimately return to be with him in his last years, for his sake, even though it destroys her heart in the process because she'd never stop loving him. Per his wishes, she would not take his soul into her gem after he passes; she'd let him return to the Earthrealm Jinsei, and she'd return to Outworld and likely the temple. For additional heartwrenching facts: Zuri gets her heart and hopes up every time she hears that another descendant of the great Kung Lao has emerged and taken the mantle of the last. Every time she hopes that somehow his soul has reincarnated and she'll find his light again, but it doesn't happen. They're all different, even in minor ways, and she'll leave again. She wants no imitation; she misses him. (which also, like, rip any Kung Lao descendent that comes to her in hopes of getting her approval of 'oh yeah, they're just as good' because her hurt and heartache would make her so bitter. like how dare you stand where he stood, you aren't even his shadow. WHICH OUCH, Lao would be so disappointed in you Zuri, but also strangely aroused and left warm and fuzzy from your devotion to him)

BONUS

What terrible pet names would they give each other?

OH GOD, this gal, she has so many for Lao it isn't funny. The first would be ruby, such a bright, flaming, regal, attention-grabbing stone. It's just like him, capturing her eye and attention. But then he's her little bee, so silly and funny, always buzzing around. But at the same time he's also her love, her heart. Her lion, so strong and brave. And--

list 8 tv shows for your followers to get to know you ★ i was tagged by @disappearinginq

Psych - My first true obsession since the X-Files went off the air in 2001. My biggest obsessions of the past were all WELL before streaming was a thing which meant you HAD to be in front of the TV when it aired or you simply missed out. For example, I missed the final episode of the OG MacGyver. I didn't get to see it until I bought the complete DVD box set decades later. (special mention of Monk which led me to Psych back in the great days of USA Network)

Sherlock - I was late to the party and didn't start watching until after the last season ended. This is, since 2017, my biggest current obsession. I have a strong attachment to detective shows and can't believe how long it took to finally watch. I love, in particular, the portrayal of the characters by Benedict, Martin, Amanda, Mark, Louise, Rupert, and Una (rip).

Fullmetal Alchemist (OG and Brotherhood) - Same, @disappearinginq! My love for this world never ends! Like you there are things I love about both versions. The way Brotherhood developed characters and the wider world (plus the ending) are so so good!! Meanwhile the first series handled certain emotional episodes SO much better!!! I'm sure you know WHICH one in particular. This was also one of the only times I took part in a writing group to help develop the multi-arc vision of a writer who goes by Heathenesque. I didn't write much as most has been created by her but it was so much fun! It still exists on LJ, as well as Mediaminer and The Pit (FFN).

Cowboy Bebop - The first anime anything I ever saw. My brother-in-law had it on VHS back in the day and was watching it at our house. I took an interest and was immediately hooked. I have lost track how many times I've rewatched episodes and there's a reason its considered one of the best anime series created.

Good Omens - WE NEED SEASON 3!!! Entirely quirky and initially feels like just comedy. But my GOSH there is so much depth under the humor and it poses very solid questions about faith and religion as well as friendship, love, what being human means, etc. And that was just the first season. I'm still not emotionally recovered from season 2.

Star Trek - Again, like @disappearinginq I love this show - TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager. I even had them on VHS back when cassettes were sexy lol. Star Trek was one of my earliest fandoms and I had such a crush on Spock.

Doctor Who - Thank goodness for streaming cause I watch this on repeat aaaaaall the tiiiime!! I consider it a comfort show and I don't get tired of it no matter how often I rewatch. It may be packed with, often, silly effects (particularly early on) and deeply questionable science. But I also haven't cried harder from the most wrenching scenes and emotion it triggers.

My Foundation - I'm dedicating this last one to the shows that built the tastes I'd have as an adult: MacGyver, Simon & Simon, Hart to Hart, Remington Steele, Scarecrow & Mrs. King, The A-Team, Magnum PI, Airwolf, Blue Thunder, Beauty & the Beast, The Fall Guy, Knight Rider, Moonlighting, as well as Saturday morning cartoons, The Electric Company, and Sesame Street.

Tagging: @sgam76 @theleftpill @mrs-n-uzumaki @mamahanu @villaniouslyawesome @ceruleanmindpalace @copperplatebeech @ariaadagio @aelaer

Do I agree that The Foxglove King reads a bit like YA instead of adult fantasy or with the fact that the dialogue sounds too modern for a Versailles inspired court piece? Yeah, there is a contrast between Hannah Whitten´s beautiful descriptions and how the characters spoke, and many readers may find it unbearable, but I did not pay it too much attention. On the contrary, I found the dialogue funny and refreshing. Plus, what's the point of creating a whole fantasy universe if you cannot play with how people there speak? This is not historical fiction which would have to follow all the period drama rules. Overall, I felt these things too, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it very much.

The Foxglove King is a very engaging dark fantasy with an intriguing magic system based on death magic called Mortem and life-force Spiritum, ever present poison, court debauchery, religion centered plot, a protective and bit brainwashed monk (he gets out of it, don't worry) and dark-haired prince charming (who knows how to take a punch). “Heresy,” he said, voice hoarse from shouting. “Evil!” “Melodrama.” Lore’s lips felt numb, and so did the rest of her. I thought the magic system was unique, and I enjoyed reading about that. Necromancy magic may not feel THAT special, but the way it was described here was definitely original. Just imagine a death magic wielder, who can sense death in all objects around as well as dead animals and people, and can pull the essence of death out and then give it back to revive the dead, making them essentially zombies that can be given instructions to follow. Not to forget that people of Dellaire live with a literal decaying death goddess Nyxaria underneath their city, occasionally leaking out deadly magic which the warrior-monks from Presque Mort have to stop. It was so cool! I love how Hannah Whitten works with fantasy religion and the sub-themes that it brings. “The Bleeding God knows our plight and gives us benediction to do as we must in His service.” The story also focused on the use of magic/poison to prolong one’s life and how it slowly and literally transforms greedy people into monsters. The imagery of how manipulating Mortem affected the body was amazing. I loved how dark and macabre it got. Generally, I love when the use of magic has its consequences and here it is one of the important themes, with a bonus of showing how the highborn and rich can easily circumvent the laws as far as their benefit is concerned. Yeah, this court may seem all gold and glitter, but it's actually rotten to the core. I loved Lore. She is unapologetically taking care of herself to the very end. She is thrown into the royal court to get close to the Sun Prince Bastian Arceneaux and spy on him for his father, the Sainted King August, and his uncle Anton, the Priest Exalted. To provide a cover for her, a Presque Mort monk-slash-duke Gabe returns to court to pose as her cousin helping Lore with the introduction to high society. I loved how cautious she was about all of it. “Lore was selfish. If it came down to her or the world, Lore chose herself.” Gabriel is a brooding bodyguard with an eyepatch covering one eye and a celibacy vow which does not stop him from looking at Lore as no cousin and monk should. Despite wanting to yell at him to wake up and not to believe the church and Priest Exalted so blindly, I could not help but to get to like him. The court's heir, prince Bastian, was so compelling. He's got long dark hair, tends to make dirty jokes and tends to wander around half undressed. Plus, he's got layers and I could not help but be intrigued by him. Watching him navigate the court while tending to his own plans was so much fun. I craved more scenes with him and the only thing I wish for when it comes to the next book is to get more of him. “I have been told I possess magic fingers, but the context wasn’t anything holy.” Since both of the male leads captured my interest, I did not mind the romantic triangle at the center at all. The trio of determined spy heroine, tormented monk and rebel prince works perfectly together. All three of them are reluctantly drawn in court politics and machinations in the end finding unexpected allies in one another. The suspense between them was SO exciting. They absolutely work the best when they are all together. I simply love dynamics like this one. Overall, The Foxglove King was a fast and very entertaining read for me. The ending was AMAZING! I can't wait to see where the story will go in the next installment. I am excited for the trouble our main trio will surely cause. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Day 9 of Downpour

Rivulet puts the ball in the goal and suddenly the route is over. Artificer achieves her goal and suddenly the route is over.

Rivulet

Now that I have the rarefactor cell, it's holding it on the main menu instead of the bubble plant! Such a cool detail

I went from Chimney Canopy down to Industrial Complex, and decided to check out the Pipeyard. I ended up finding a new gate from within the region, but it was to Sky Islands which is the opposite direction to where I wanted to be, so when I died I went elsewhere and found a gate to the...subterranean...ew

Shelter failures still happen even in this long-cycled state. Everything was underground so nothing much happened from the intermittent rain other than screen shaking. I do know there is a gate to Shoreline from it, which I went up to and now I'm in Shoreline. There are some long greeny water lizards in the water parts of pipeyard and subterranean, and some in shoreline.

I apparently can't just give Moon the thing, I have to go into her new region to activate it -_- this is gonna be annoying

Actually no I like this region it's cool. It kind of reminds me of subnautica

The new region contains at least one giant jellyfish. There's a lot of swimming, but activating the cell makes it superspeedy and fun.

There was a leviathan but the cell had run out so it chomped me and I died, but the cell exploded with a round screen-warpy effect and killed it! I didn't know they could die

I left the game to write this down and when I came back it had floated in such a way that it was completely straight and had straight fins almost like T-posing

I got the cell to the room, and when everything activated I got whooshed out of the area by water and ended up somewhere snowy. It has Aether Ridge vibes. It *almost* makes me want to try that region again except that said region is extremely aggravating.

Moon is saved! She's starting repairs, and broadcast to Pebbles at the end and I was nearly crying tears. I know pebs is dying but pls pls pls let him reply...

He didn't reply, but the ending art showed him still alive and getting a message. Yay he knows it wasn't in vain!

And now the route is over and the menu art is of Moon and Rivulet chilling and it's adorable. I wonder where Rivulet came from. It must have come from someone, since it started with a pearl

Artificer

So I found a scavenger leader, which I assume I'm meant to kill. It's under a big dome on top of the house of braids area. It's kind of hard, especially given once I aggro it the other scavs in the area come to help fight me. I died loads of times, and killed it mostly out of luck. If I had to get past the other scavs and sleep to save the death I would've been so mad, but fortunately no, it just fades like meeting an echo. The leader has 'monk' level karma from holding it.

After it faded to the karma screen, Artificer lost the higher karma levels I gained from echoes and went back to just wrath, and there was a cutscene where she fought all the watching scavs and claimed its mask and now the route is over??? I had a orange pearl I wanted to show to pebs but I guess I can't do that now

The 'game completed' screen for the route is her wearing the mask and looking v scray, rather than a ghost like the others.

I want to do this again and try actually ascending. The Echo implied that there might be a way to turn away from the path of endless rage, which I assume is by finding all the other echoes. I never even tried to get to Moon, which is probably going to be very different from normal.

#26 - Break a Leg

Cedric gathered his cadets for what was supposed to be a fun, in-house field trip: the Lightfeather Proving Grounds. What better way to grow and learn to fight than to put yourself on display for all to see your mistakes? It was more or less be a private affair with an audience of solely Temple Knights, but after word of a match amongst the youngsters and a seasoned instructor, a few troops filed in until the seats were relatively full.

After a few years under his belt, Mattisaux marched in, confident and ready to fight. These small bouts were nothing to take seriously. No killing, not too much blood, it was always entertaining to see how well he could hold back and how quickly he forgot what restraint was. This event, however, was a little different.

When there was just the right amount of nerves and liveliness buzzing the air, an audible door creaked open. An Elezen, tall and with decent authority, emerged into the circle. The young soldiers scattered themselves to one half of the circle, facing him.

With a friendly enough smirk, he propped his knuckles against his hip. “So this is our future, uh? I will try to not beat too many of you into the ground afore you can walk.” His voice was intense with hardly any effort, easily speaking over the hum of the crowd. “Welcome to the Lightfeather Proving Grounds, children. I am Arséne Vaillancourt.”

As a light show, Arséne held a fist into his palm over his chest before breaking into a martial dance. At his fingertips, he allowed glittering blue aether to flow, highlighting both hands as they arched in hypnotizing motions. “Everyone here appears to have seen around sixteen, mayhap seventeen, summers, so you ought to know about how we Ishgardians went to aid our sister states from the encroaching Ala Mhigans in the Autumn War. As expected, the moment we joined the Gridanian ranks, we triumphed with ease, which comes to no surprise given our daily enemy being more than just human.”

A few girls jumped when his movements snapped into a few punches aimed toward them, the man smirking to their reaction. “However, Ala Mhigo may have had the upper hand had their monks come to their rescue. See, they are a special group, able to use their aether, something they call chakra, to flow in and out of their bodies. It guides them and pushes them beyond the limits of a normal person. Of course, it is not only their aether they worry about. If you can’t throw a punch or pick up a spear, what good are you? So...”

In one swift motion, he struck a pose, lifting one hand high and the other out toward the group with rising a knee. “Who wants to be first?”