#The universe doesn't know where to place his scale of power

[syntaxaero]

Would love to know more lore about Stratus and their lance weapon. Are they a soldier? What's their designation as an angel mean in your lore? Who of your other sonas can they beat?

YAY I GET TO INFODUMP ABOUT THE MOST LORE DENSE CHARACTER/SONA OF MINE (THEYRE SORT OF THE GLUE THAT HOLDS ALL MY CHARACTER LORE TOGETHER) So! Hmm wheres the best place to start?

What is an Angel?

Angels can be described as soldiers, or trained specialists who serve The Creator (I don't exactly have a permanent name for them currently, but I usually call them "Big Median". 'Normal' Median is actually one of Many Medians that are essentially just. Tiny Instances of The Creator.) Their primary objective is to combat and keep Entropy (The Creator's opposite, ultimate adversary) under control, ultimately preventing Entropy from destroying every single one of The Creator's universes.

Anyone can become an Angel, though that is up to The Creator's decision. As a part of this contract, Angels receive a portion of The Creator's power, typically in the form of a halo and weapon, and the ability to hop between universes, to do as The Creator commands!

What is Entropy?

Figured I should maybe include this, since they're sort of the driving force behind the creation of Angels.

Essentially, at the start of The Creator's Realm (or multiverse, whatever you wanna call it), The Creator had severed Entropy, one single being at the time, into countless pieces, limiting Entropy's power to the best of Its own ability. However, all these fragments have formed into souls and beings all of their own.

These beings, Fragments of Entropy- or Deities/Gods of Nihility as they're sometimes called-, can have GREAT power, though their power can only grow through the destruction of mana (through converting it into an anti-mana that only Entropy can wield.) Although each of these beings are essentially born from Entropy, and reincarnate once defeated, they are still independent beings, with their own unique bodies, thoughts, and desires. Aurex is one of these beings. He is capable of endless destruction. However, for no known reason, he doesn't appear to thirst for said destruction.

What can Angels do?

The typical Angel is generally capable of slaying one of these nihility gods all on their own, with relative ease. They receive a ton of training, and report back to The Creator during missions. In terms of power scale, they surpass mortals and gods (dragons capable of using elemental manas), and are on par with Demons (Dragons made by The Creator to maintain the afterlife of each universe. They're actually good guys!).

Some Angels do use elemental manas, if they were capable of doing so before becoming an Angel, but most are trained to use pure "divine" mana, and sheer physical force (hence the weapons!). They can travel at multiple times the speed of light, are protected from any and all poisons, illnesses, and most weak attacks. They can only really be hurt by particularly powerful gods, nihility gods, demons, other Angels, and of course The Creator Itself.

So, what about Stratus?

Well, the exact specifics about what led Stratus to becoming an Angel aren't exactly clear. The Creator doesn't speak Its motives. Though, Stratus does have an innately strong ability to detect manas of both divine/standard types and anti-mana, and even more peculiarly, the ability to directly influence mana itself- capable of borrowing it from other beings. As such, Stratus is one of the most powerful Angels, and popular among the Angels--

Despite their strengths, The Creator simply tasked Stratus with keeping Aurex alive- only because if Aurex is killed, his reincarnation would likely go on a destructive rampage like all the other Fragments.

Ultimately, Stratus is the most powerful of all my characters. Only The Creator or a fully powered up Aurex (/Entropy itself) would really be capable of defeating Stratus, at their theoretical strongest.

anyways all stratus really does, since they're chilling with aurex, is worldhop to try out tons of different foods-- cloudbeasts are naturally silly critters and stratus is a particularly food-obsessed one!!! once in a while stratus may be called in to assist other angels with handling a Fragment of Entropy, or universal anomalies, but most Angels can handle their assignments without much issue.

:3

Feel free to ask specifics, or if you'd like more clarification on something!!!

#Stratus #lore #oc lore #important #ask

[nelkcats]

Be Not Afraid

Danny's forms were pretty stable in the Infinite Realms, and well, his own dimension. The problem was when he had to run certain errands elsewhere (Clockwork's fault) and the universes didn't know where to put him.

Despite having two defined forms in his original dimension. The other dimensions seemed to decide that Danny didn't need that, and his humanity had to go, or something. The halfa couldn't understand it.

So of course, he ended up looking very amorphous and strange when he traveled to other dimensions. Sometimes with multiple eyes, at other times his body was made of pieces of ice, there were times when he was just a toxic green eye that glowed and blinded whoever saw it. The only thing that remained constant was that he didn't look human. Which made most of his tasks difficult. People feared the unknown after all.

When he arrived in the DC universe he didn't expect a welcoming committee. He even told them "Be not afraid" the moment he landed on a crowded street, but apparently that was counterproductive, since they classified him as some kind of avenging angel.

With a sigh, Danny kept exploring and the strangest things happened to him: Two glowing rings chased him everywhere (One was black and the other was white, but he had a feeling that taking them wouldn't be the smartest move, the ring and the crown were very jealous since he was crowned after all)

And a British magician... flirted with him? Danny was pretty sure the hellbazer was seeing him as eyes and ice floating but that didn't seem to stop him from trying. The halfa didn't know if he was flattered or worried.

Anyway, he couldn't find Dr. Fate, nor "Justice League Dark", whatever it was. But the wizard, Constantine, was willing to take him on a date. The rings continued to follow him while some people with green rings looked in the background (they looked strangely scared) and a new religion had been created for "The Great One" which reminded him of Frostbite.

Traveling was hard.

#dpxdc #ghost king danny #yes he's the King #but Clockwork still uses him to transport some things from the Realms to other dimensions #what's the use of your student being the ghost king if you're not going to take advantage of it #Plus Danny didn't want to be at his meetings either #Danny's form is unstable #The universe doesn't know where to place his scale of power #dp x dc #dc x dp #john constantine #The League is confused by the new religion #Constantine is determined to date that fucking God #The Lanterns are extremely concerned #The rings of life and death are chasing the thing as if nothing #and it seems to be ignoring them #Danny knows better than to make his own objects of power jealous #The Ghost King's crown and ring can be very vengeful #and revive some people if they want #Batman just wants to know what the fuck is going on

[harmonysanreads]

When you hug them for the first time.

characters : al haitham, neuvillette, scaramouche, furina

cw(s) : very gentle yandere themes, everyone is surprised pikachu in different styles

──⚝ al haitham

For the first time in his life, while being at least two consistent steps ahead of everyone — Al Haitham finds himself at a loss.

Perhaps that had been your intention as well, a part of him suspects. You were certainly not the first in this endeavor, seeing a usually composed person behave contradictorily to their nature is, unfortunately, the source of amusement for a specific group of people and, bewilderment for unsuspecting onlookers. Albeit, the Scribe doubts the former to be your main objective because, the last wicks of rebellion were snuffed out by his persistent hands. The mesolimbic pathway of the brain is known to regulate incentive salience and many reward related behaviors, Alhaitham knows this much because of continued perusal. Indeed, science can explain many things, logic can place things on a concrete scale.

The Scribe may also try to rationalize the feelings you create within him in ways that fit his comfort zone, but, more often than not, they fail to prove satisfactory. You alone have the supreme power of luring him out of his shell by simply existing beside him, and he, the foolish scholar parched in search of enlightenment, follows the mirage's call each time. Many have tried to tear his ataraxia to shreds and only one has succeeded. Which is why, he remains still, unmoving, muscles terse from the pull of his pride. Maybe giving a last chance to his ego, seeing, if ignoring this gnawing addiction would shoo it away for good, and of course, he is a foolish man.

He hadn't done anything in that precise moment but, later that night, he had held you tighter than he ever had.

──⚝ neuvillette

It is universally acknowledged that justice bends to no one, but, what verdict should be declared upon the person, who drives the very symbol of justice insane?

It is both Neuvillette's delight and agony the control you have over him. You keep him dangling by your finger and the odd thrill that spreads across his soul from it, entices him to further entangle himself in this intoxicating chase. Sometimes, he's yanked to awareness by his conscience, it should be insulting for a man of his stature to be so helplessly smitten. The thought that he, the mighty Sovereign of Hydro, is just as susceptible to temptation as an ordinary man is, should appall him. Perhaps, they did concern him initially. Would it not have been wise to uproot the source of this burgeoning obsession from his heart when he still had the chance? Before this exact scenario which he knows will plummet him to a trench he won't be able to—will not want to—return from?

Yes, that would have been a reasonable decision. But, it'd not be so exhilarating. A drowning man from whose fingertips the surface has already escaped, finds peace in the feeling of sinking to the unknown depths. Neuvillette embraces his fall and, you'd think such desperation was impossible from one single man if you didn't feel it pressed to every inch of your skin. The Iudex's sigh will blow over your hair and in your arms will he rediscover his breath. How utterly foolish of him, why did he deny himself this sanctuary for so long?

Neuvillette is so dazed from the peace that, he wouldn't mind dying in that moment, if only he could remain in your embrace.

──⚝ scaramouche

It really is a mistake to give a man an inch who unashamedly steals a mile, but, it's too late for you to reconsider now, isn't it?

Innocent Kabukimono likes the feeling of being in your arms, it reminds him of a distant night where his mother brushed his tears aside. But, a part of him knows the way your gesture translates to him isn't quite what he had felt from his creator. Your embrace makes him secure, just like hers — but, it makes tiny sparks bloom in his vacant ribcage as well. He doesn't know what it is, or, if he wants to know. All he's certain about is that, he wants to remain in your arms forever, tucked away from the merciless eyes of fate.

Kunikuzushi's wary eyes dart across you in anticipation of a dagger at his back or, a triumphant smile for having discovered his weakness. It's not that he doesn't like this, but, more so that he can't bring himself to not complicate the gesture. Why do you give him something that no one has bothered with? He thinks it's better he remains careful—though he doesn't pull away—because, it'd break him beyond repair if you betrayed him, too.

The Balladeer is startled, out of every one of your tricks to render him speechless, this one has been the most effective yet. You should probably stick to this from now on (not that he'll say it out loud). The Harbinger would rather swallow those tooth-rotting dango than admit that there is some genuine kindness left on this cursed planet. As much as he suspects you of fostering ulterior motives, he isn't as caught up in it as Kunikuzushi that every other detail eludes his judgement. He makes a show out of how annoying he finds it, how much inconvenience you're causing him by the grip of your arms. You'd believe his words and ‘irritated’ body language as well, had his fight with the curve of his lips wasn't so blatant. Perhaps, you should apologize for hugging him without permission with a kiss, hm?

The Wanderer wonders what beget this expression of kindness. In his lone vagrancy, he's encountered the sight of these gestures periodically. His curiousity yearned to know what significance was contained in an embrace, how it felt and why he was never at the receiving end of one. These questions were pushed at the depths of his soul—or whatever it is that lets him ‘live’—where they festered into want and then hunger. This slumbering appetite was emboldened on the day he willingly bore the memories of his past. But, the weight of a lifetime rendered him tired. For once, he did not want to think, suspect or tease ; he only wished to be held without restraint.

Which is why, Wanderer is the only version of this puppet who returns your embrace.

──⚝ furina

Not even acute mastery over the art of improvisation could've prepared Furina for this out-of-script situation.

It should've come as no surprise to her, she's been the center of a nation's adoration for five centuries, people of Fontaine flock in line for the chance of catching a glimpse of their Regina. You must've been unable to contain the immense affection you have for her, just like everyone else! But, for some reason, that thought feels bitter on her tongue when applied to you. She realizes that comparing your affection to the one her people shower her with leaves her with a howling dissatisfaction. The warmth of your being and the tentative tightening of your arms make her legs wobbly, send her heart prancing and her stomach twisting in the most pleasant way.

Of course... the citizens of Fontaine love her for her performance, for the role she plays ; not and never for herself. But, the percipience that you may love the cowardly, lonely and pathetic girl she truly is — tumble upon her like a plethora of bricks and almost make her faint. When she lifts her arms next, the notion of her returning the hug is tossed promptly in the flurry of tickles. You're forced to succumb to the enticement of hearty chuckles and, she joins you — hoping that, the raucous sound of laughter will conceal the tears streaming down her face.

And she prays that, just for this one moment, she wouldn't be judged guilty.

happiest new year to whoever is reading this, you are lovely and you'll continue to shine in the next year(s) as well<3

#they need it a lot #yandere #yandere genshin impact #yandere genshin x reader #yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere alhaitham #yandere al haitham #yandere neuvillette #yandere scaramouche #yandere wanderer #yandere furina #yandere furina x reader #yandere wanderer x reader #yandere neuvillette x reader #yandere alhaitham x reader #yandere al haitham x reader #yandere scaramouche x reader #yandere imagines #furina x reader #neuvillette x reader #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #alhaitham x reader #al haitham x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #yandere genshin x you #yandere genshin imagines

[queerfables]

'Wilson' as an episode fucking slaps. I'm obsessed with Wilson's complete lack of boundaries and I'm obsessed with the way he acts out to express resentment while still being completely incapable of saying no. He gave a patient part of his liver!! The man is in no way hinged.

For all the emphasis that gets placed on Wilson's failed marriages and infidelity, we don't ever actually see it directly on screen. This is a narrative choice I love, for the record. We see Wilson's relationships through House's eyes and it allows us to understand Wilson as a deeply flawed person without ever making him unlikable, because Wilson's flaws and contradictions are what make him irresistible to House. It's so effective, the way these failed relationships say so much about Wilson's character while being constructed largely out of inference.

In this episode, though, we watch his inability to self advocate play out in real time, and I guarantee that this is what every one of his relationship meltdowns looked like from the inside. On some deep fundamental level, James Wilson doesn't believe "I don't want to" is a valid reason not to do something. You know the fantasy trope of an obedience curse, where the victim is inescapably compelled to obey other people's requests? Wilson casts that spell on his own damn self, and he'll hold true to it even to the point of violating his own bodily autonomy. When you lack boundaries like that, it becomes almost impossible to even know what you truly want, let alone to act on it. So Wilson says yes and yes and yes until it breaks him, and then he still can't say no.

When saying yes feels like surrendering to torture and saying no feels like committing murder, the only option left is escape. So Wilson goes out drinking to trash the liver he's going to donate. He gets dinner with the pretty nurse instead of going home to his wife. All of it is him scrabbling at the bars of his cage. And the irony is that the cage is unlocked, he just has to walk through the open door, and that's the last thing he could ever bring himself to do.

I'm pretty sure that when he went to Cuddy and told her his plan to donate, he wanted her to say no. She almost did! And I think she should have, because her first impulse was right, it is insane. Unfortunately this is the Insane Lack of Boundaries Hospital, and she can't actually be expected to guess when her employee's mouth is saying yes but his eyes are saying dear god no. By the rules of universe that House MD operates within, this doesn't even break a 7 on the "unhinged measures to save a patient" scale, and Wilson invoked the power of friendship. What was she supposed to do?

And through all of this, House is the person Wilson lashes out at. I love, love, love that House is the person Wilson lashes out at. Wilson can't even admit to himself that he's angry about the position he's in. How can he be angry when he's the reason the patient needs a new liver? But House sees right to the heart of everything going on with him, and he says all the things Wilson wants to be true and can't afford to believe. Because if he lets himself believe this wasn't his fault then he might not be able to say yes. And he's going to say yes. And he hates that he's going to say yes. And he hates that House knows he's going to say yes.

So he gets angry with House, because it's safe to get angry with House. He lashes out, because with House, he can. He tells House he's wrong about him, and demands House move out, and that's not at all what he really wants but he feels helpless and coerced and he desperately needs to exercise some kind of control over his own life. The fact that he can let go like this with House is in part about knowing House isn't ever going to leave him - the closeness of their relationship is always defined by what Wilson wants, House has never once pushed Wilson away and fights to reconcile when Wilson wants distance. But it's also about knowing that he can't hurt House by setting boundaries with him. Mostly this is because House will walk right over any boundaries he considers unacceptable, but in fairness, the fact that House is kind of a terrible person is part of his appeal. If Wilson had issues around other people violating his stated wishes, House would be the last person in the world that he should have anything to do with. But Wilson's issues lie in the fear that not being compulsively available and accommodating to everyone around him might permanently fuck up the life of someone he loves. House's fucked up life is never going to be Wilson's fault and even if it was House would still kind of deserve it, so Wilson's anxious people pleasing compulsion can chill the fuck out for five minutes at a time.

I don't want to idealise, there are times in their relationship when Wilson absolutely makes fucked up sacrifices for House. I don't think it's the case that he earnestly wanted to every time. But it's also true that House brings out authenticity in Wilson that few other people manage to. House knows him. House allows him to give in to his selfish impulses without guilt and consequences, and for all the people who love the best in him, House knows and loves his worst. While Wilson is caught up in trying to bend himself into whatever shape someone else needs him to be, what House wants more than anything is the truth. For Wilson, who is so out of touch with his own desires, being an object of fascination to someone obsessed with drives and motivations must be a rush. And if we accept the throughline of this episode, it might just be the case that House's boundary pushing and obsession is something Wilson needs.

#house md #fable talks

[adventures-in-mangaland]

I'm going with 10 All Time Classics from the Captain America (MCU) fandom. I mean, they're all classics to me, at least. In no particular order:

1. This, You Protect by owlet

First installment in the Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail series, which are all amazing. It's a “Bucky escaping Hydra and rebuilding his sense of self” fic, which he does while spying on Steve. With eventual Avengers Family and a lovely cast of OCs bonding with Bucky in the meantime. It has a very distinctive perspective and writing style; Bucky's in constant internal (and sometimes accidentally external) dialogue with himself, making it hilarious and tragic all at the same time. I love it. I've recently been getting into The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and this Bucky has a similar sassy-but-vulnerable vibe? Read this if you like that, anyway.

2. The One Who Knows by Dira Sudis (dsudis)

This is a Political Animals AU, in that no-powers Steve is inserted into the Political Animals world and Bucky is TJ. Discusses being outed and depression but is ultimately hopeful. The author is one of my all time faves and has written lots of great stories for this and many other fandoms.

3. Blue Scales by chaya

Steve is a merman AU. He's still Captain America, though. It's crack with heart, I love it.

Best line: "May your scales and your love story be our weird secret forever.”

4. Our Lingering Frost by eyres

AU where Bucky is rescued from Hydra in the 50s (?) and so is around for Steve to be found.

5. Assets Out of Containment by follow_the_sun

It's a classic to *me*, OK? Bucky goes undercover at Jurassic World just as that movie's plot kicks off. They're Hydra dinosaurs! It's just great. Also has a podfic and crossovers with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

6. Not Easily Conquered (series) by dropdeaddream and WhatAreFears

Some of the greatest fanfiction I've ever read, the whole series is epic. Anyway, it's a "Steve doesn't go into the ice" AU with added queer angst when (never sent) love letters from Bucky resurface. I particularly like the second installment in the series The Thirteen Letters, which are just Bucky's letters and are insanely well-written.

7. to memory now I can't recall by Etharei

Time travel AU! Featuring post-CATWS Bucky accidentally switching places with CATFA era Bucky.

8. If Wishing Made It So by Leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)

Genie!Bucky AU! This author is great at writing AUs with fantasy/genre elements, it was hard to choose. They've also written an excellent werewolf!Steve AU and a horse!Steve AU that I really love.

9. Into That Good Night by Nonymos

An Interstellar AU! Very angsty and tragic but with an eventual happy ending.

10. Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Speranza

Speranza must be one of the best writers in the fandom, so it was hard to pick just one of their fics. Other strong contenders were All the Angels and the Saints and The Fifties, so check those out too! But this one has a special place in my heart. Steve, Tony and Natasha accidentally time travel to WW2 London, leading to an accidental run-in with CATFA-era Bucky. The author does tragic and romantic time travel tropes so well, but with a happy ending.

I now realise that most of these are AUs, so here’s a bonus rec for a non-AU in-universe story that’s severely underrated and deserves more love:

+1

Heart, Have No Pity on this House of Bone by Sena

This story follows Bucky in-action in the Pacific Theatre. It’s very well written and, from what I can tell, well researched. Steve only appears in Bucky’s imagination and the story focuses on the horrors of war rather than romance, but it’s gripping! And it explores unrequited love, being closeted and period-typical homophobia, which I also enjoyed. I’m still holding out hope for a sequel.

#wow throwback #found this in my drafts #originally intended for international fanworks day #yikes #anyway #fic recs #fic rec friday #international fanworks day #captain america #fanfiction #mcu #stucky #nostalgia #kind of an old fandom for me now #but still #classic fics #fandom classics #stucky fic recs #stucky fic #my fic recs #my fic rec posts

[comicaurora]

Have you ever notices the weird trait that a lot of the mytic Greek monsters are decendents, or otherwise related to posiden (all sea beasts, cyclops, medusa, minotaur ect) were mostly slain by children of zeus? The rest of the mytic Greek hero's mostly slayed children of typhon and echidna.

Do you think this is somthing to do with the fact that posiden used to the ruler of mychnain pantheon, and zuse took over, so the mytology reflected this by having posiden monster children slain by the heroic children of zeus?

Have you ever noticed any similar patters in mythology involving the chainge of the dominat god?

It's hard to say! The Mycenaean pantheon is very poorly understood since we don't have anything like the corpus of literature we have from Archaic Greece, and as far as I can tell it's mostly been reconstructed from ledgers and the equivalent of receipts - this many jars of stuff to the temple of this god in this region, etc etc. And the idea that Poseidon was central - while apparently widely accepted - doesn't really tell us how Poseidon was characterized back in those days, or how (or if) things shifted to be Zeus-centric later on.

And in the broad scale, it's hard to know for sure if a pantheon's myths reflect an actual shift in what the dominant/central god being worshipped was, or if something else was going on. Mythology rarely maps one-to-one to the historical events it was running in parallel to. There are lots of mythologies with god wars or former leaders of the gods being replaced - Tyr with Odin, Nuada with Lugh, Ra getting merged with a half-dozen different gods to give them his oomph and authority at various times - and it's not clear when a god conflict reflects a real religious shift in who's being worshipped and when it's something else. For instance, classical Greek mythology has loads of themes of sons usurping fathers, starting with Kronos usurping Ouranos and followed by Zeus usurping Kronos - but it doesn't seem like Kronos was historically worshipped in the time before Zeus or anything that simple and clean. Kronos doesn't seem to pre-exist that space of mythology at all.

However, there are tidbits in Greek mythology where a god kills a monster and takes up residence in their place of power, like Apollo killing Python - a monstrous child of Gaia that seems to have potentially been actually worshipped for oracular reasons before Apollo showed up and took over, which would make it a mythical parallel to a real shift in local religious practices. Although again, that is very hard to confirm (and some of the researchers who think that seem to wanna believe it because it very conveniently lets them tie it in with the bible)

this kind of thing is why the deep-dives are my favorite kind of nightmare to subject myself to

So it's hard to say if a myth of a conflict between gods reflects a real-world conflict between religious practices, but all that said, that is a very interesting pattern to note - that Poseidon is more consistently a father of monsters, while Zeus is almost universally a father of heroes.

#asks #not aurora

[imminent-danger-came]

MK Breaking his 1x01 Seal (I am insane)

Soooooooooooooo *twirls my hair and kicks my legs*.

I made this post like, a day ago, about a theory where the seal Wukong places on MK in 1x01 was broken in 4x07. The more I've been thinking about it, the more I think it might actually be the case, so here's a more in-depth post on it!

Let's start off with looking at how powerful MK starts off in 1x00 "A Hero is Born".

He's zipping around, he's punching the Demon Bull King with incredible force, and his final blow to DBK shifts the planets and cracks the earth:

This use of power is clearly uncontrolled. MK pretty much levels a good portion of megapolis, and in the next episode 1x01 Bad Weather, he needs a seal to be placed on his powers in order to function.

Now, we don't ever see MK that powerful again, not until after this moment in 4x07:

Between this and Sun Wukong's 1x09 comment when MK uses the staff to further destroy the mural—"Look kid, using that much power, your body can't handle it."—I'm thinking MK's seal in 1x01 also sealed away his monkey form, and that in 4x07 he broke that seal.

Bonus kinda scary MK shot:

Now, there are also these scenes in 4x13 during MK's fight with Azure:

There are a number of outer-space/world shots in this show, typically used at climactic points to show how overwhelming the battle is. In both 1x00 and 4x13, these shots are prompted by MK alone. The exception to this is 3x14 (and 3x11, more on that later), where everyone working together makes one giant magic circle to stop the Lady Bone Demon, engulfing the whole universe in light.

Next, we have the seals.

Now, it's very intriguing to me that these two seals are the same in design. The Chinese characters on both of course mean "seal", but the rim around them is also the exact same. It's a very interesting design choice, and something that could have easily been avoided had the intention been to not draw a connection between the flower fruit mountain seal and MK's seal.

(It could be that they wanted to keep Monkey King's seals consistent, however this is what the waterfall seal looks like in 1x00 and 2x01: )

(These are different, meaning the LMK team explicitly chose the seals from 1x01, 4x01, and "The Emperors Wrath" special to look the same.)

Here's what especially get's me: this same seal is used to seal away both MK's powers, and to seal away the powers of the Jade Emperor.

Mei with the Samadhi fire and Azure Lion with the Jade Emperor's power had both characters acting as containers for their world ending power source (here's that pesky 3x11 outer-space shot I mentioned):

Mei: "You mean—if I lost my cool on any of the million training exercises we've been doing, there was a chance I could have exploded and destroyed the whole universe?" Red Son: "Yes, that could have happened, but it didn't. My guess is that somehow your dragon ancestry has protected you. And if your strong enough to contain the samadhi fire, your strong enough to use it."

(3x11 This Imperfect World) (Gonna be real I don't think it was Mei's dragon ancestry that protected her, I think it was MK, but that's a theory for another time lol)

-

However Azure, unlike Mei, fails as a container. He fails to control his power, almost destroying the whole universe and sacrificing his life to stitch the world back together.

You know who ALSO doesn't control his power at the cost of others?

MK, even if it is on a much smaller scale, loses control of his powers in 1x01:

And, he loses control of them so much so that he needs to put that same specific seal on his powers until he can learn to control them better.

And well, the moment that seal comes off? We get this:

MK grappling to control his powers and a shot of him in a crater. Interesting!

And so, now that MK's seal has broken (assuming any of this theory is correct lol), I think he's going to struggle to be a container for his own powers. He was already frighteningly explosive against Azure, causing irreparable damage to flower fruit mountain and literally splitting it in half:

He also happens to look like this before entering his monkey form:

If that doesn't look like "struggling to contain his own powers", I don't know what does!

#this was longer than I was planning. #whoops #oh well! #It's canon. to me. #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk theory #monkie kid #lmk MK #I've never mentioned the outer-space shots before but by god have I noticed 'em. they're weird! #why would I write 2 theory posts in one day. Why would I do this to myself. #eamk theory

[isa-ghost]

Could I mayhaps have some hc!philza headcanons? Could be him in his hardcore, or how his time in hardcorr affects him now maybe? :D

OUGH YES.

So these will be operating off the theory that qPhil is hcPhil with his memory fucked up by the Federation. I'm gonna aim for "pre island, this is how qPhil was" but we'll see what happens as I actually write these LOL

What if I call these Pre-Dilf Edition in the masterlist SKFJSKFJSKFHF

10/10 would read the hardcore deity set I did recently to go with these :D

qPhil headcanons masterlist

He either had a flawless sleep schedule (early to bed early to rise ass mf) or no sleep schedule at all (spending 3+ nights hyperfocused on smth). It made for a very loopy Phil sometimes, which his murder of crows very much enjoyed

This man can fit so much joy and whimsy in him. Everything is awesome, everything is a breathtaking work of art and everything is decades of rich history to uncover. He loves life, he loves the passage of time, he loves teaching the murder about what he finds & restores

That's his main hobby besides being a survivalist, restoration and an informal form of archiving. He sketches the builds, takes notes on the deities, adds his own little touches to each place to make it a little prettier

He could fly for hours. Sometimes he'd fly aimlessly into late into the night, too immersed in sight-seeing and chatting with the murder

He had little altars in Flowerfall, Nether Void & Greater Spawn Islands for OO, BE, and Rose respectively. He'd leave little shiny things, trinkets that made him think of them, offerings like cooked fish or blaze rods or flowers in little offering bowls. Just as a nice, more direct way of giving them thanks for creating something so beautiful and allowing him to restore it to its former glory

He fucking loves swimming and fishing and hanging out at Endlantis, he'd just very aggressively avoid the cave that is EK's tomb. It was extremely haunted, he never got good vibes down there

He sometimes considers making his own remarkable build as a sort of "I was here, I too am a mark upon this history" but looks at his house and is like "mmmmbetter not" (he's an idiot, he could 100% build something cool, just probably not on the scale of the builds the gods have created. He'd probably create it for Goddess of Death, not even himself 💀)

Obligatory gapple addiction mention. It didn't start because of the murder, but he definitely used them as an excuse to further indulge once he started devoting eating one to the crows who'd been in the murder for a year. He never really had a reason to quit, or worry about the addiction, so he never experienced negative effects from it. Gapples aren't exactly harmful, just.. tinged with just enough magic to infect the brain. (He never experienced withdrawal misery on QI bc the Feds wiped his memory so his body had no idea it should be having a bitch fit =) )

Semi-related, he loved the days where he and the murder lacked the motivation and focus to do restoration things so they'd just fuck off in a random direction for ages and go on loot sprees. Nothing more exciting than hunting for more god apples :D

He started out liking fishing. The murder got too obsessed and it became the bane of his existence. But he loves the murder, so he does it anyway. Besides, he wouldn't trade chill talks with them for the world. :')

Btw he doesn't know this but it was equal parts the Ender King & the Feds ripping rifts between the universes that got him caught and taken to QI. EK didn't plan for that to happen, he just wanted to escape to a new reality to find a vessel to come back to power. Which is why once Phil was on the island, EK went "Fuck it, I'll use that asshole since he's not only compatible, but from the same plane of existence"

Mobs never scared him much (except Enderman) despite the fact that they were very dangerous and he's a survivalist. He was practically a mob whisperer, it's how he trapped trophy ones, made certain farms and why he was 99% fearless when farming charged creepers. QI has so many mobs he's never seen in his life that his chill instincts are suddenly like AAAWTFWTF

He never felt truly alone despite being the only humanoid. He felt like Rose was always with him, very rarely OO, and the murder ofc. He could understand them and he'd talk to them all day every day. Not only that, he had pets like Pog and Champ and there were quite a few times he'd humanize inanimate objects, which scientifically helps keep you sane in isolation such as survival. He always felt like he had Something to socialize with

That said, he IS still a bit weird socially on the island. Socializing with humans is way different than crows, other animals, gods, and objects.

Btw Ian is God of Chaos (a lesser god like Goddess of Death) and other mods like Birder, D3 & Wolfy are notably larger or perhaps a different species of corvid that hang out among the murder :D

#qsmp #qsmp philza #philza #q!philza #qphil headcanons #hardcore season 4

[ineffable-endearments]

The Crow Road and Good Omens: Further-Out Thoughts

Here are a few more thoughts; they're more interpretive yet than the ones in my original post about The Crow Road.

I see some similarities between Prentice and both Aziraphale and Crowley.

Prentice feels this need to believe there's something beyond this life, in large part because this life can be ended so quickly and so easily, and it isn't fair. Throughout the novel, he is never very interested in organized religion; his interest in spirituality is truly about the feeling that there has to be a deeper meaning to existence than this one life.

Likewise, I tend to interpret Aziraphale as willing to consider that the people who make up his institution are fallible, but still stuck on the idea that Heaven is performing an essential role: someone should be up there Doing Good, or, more accurately, encouraging people to Do Good. He has reservations about the existing spiritual establishment and how reflective of truth it is, but he still has this feeling that there has to be a greater power and a greater meaning that can be given to people, himself included, because otherwise, what would be the point?

Then again, there is a nonzero amount of Crowley in Prentice, too (and I know the point is that everyone has a little of each). Prentice is a college-aged young man trying to figure himself out in a world that can be profoundly unfair, and he wants to be allowed to experiment with the idea of life after death. Considering perspectives different from one's parents is part of growing up, after all. Kenneth is determined to steer his sons toward a specific worldview, and as much as Kenneth's perspective on spirituality is supported by the narrative, his stubbornness is also ultimately the thing that gets him killed. Prentice observes his mother's hands-off approach to ideology may have ultimately been more effective.

Doesn't this sound a little familiar? Prentice wants to be allowed to question, and he isn't willing to just shrug and accept unfairness without an argument. When he can't find satisfactory answers, he also tends to drown his anxiety and depression in alcohol and other substances.

All in all, I feel we may have seen the conflict between Crowley and Aziraphale playing out in Prentice's character development; they are the angel and demon on his shoulder, as usual. But the conflict was resolved in the way that I think and hope Crowley and Aziraphale's will be on a grander scale. Prentice ended up having to surrender his philosophy, especially the life-after-death stuff, but then his deep need for a sense of meaning was satisfied much better by finding that meaning here on Earth.

There's also an interesting interaction between the two stories in relation to the afterlife. Namely, The Crow Road takes place in a universe that presumably works just like ours, while we know for sure that in Good Omens, there is an afterlife of one kind or another. We can't be sure how it works, but we've seen human characters in both Season 1 and Season 2 maintain their consciousness after death. I wonder if maybe in the world of Good Omens, human mortality is somehow being exploited by the higher-ups?

Anyway, as a result of this difference, Good Omens also has a special opportunity with the "death doesn't give life meaning - life gives itself meaning!" message. Its main characters are immortal. The book already subverts the whole "oh, being immortal sucks, everyone eventually wants to die" trope by portraying Crowley and Aziraphale's motivation to maintain their Earthly lives instead of starting Armageddon. Season 2 added depth to that, and Season 3 has an opportunity to fully flesh out why exactly life on Earth is where meaning is created even when there is no time limit, even if people don't have the inevitability of death looming over their heads.

Another thought: something a little ironic in The Crow Road is that the incident that led to Kenneth's death "should," theoretically, have made Prentice believe in higher powers, if it was really about that. It certainly convinced Hamish. However, the whole conflict between himself and his father was more about the meaning Prentice sought, so instead, it pushed Prentice toward Kenneth's ideology.

I am wondering if this points toward an event that Aziraphale "should," theoretically, take to mean that Heaven is right or all-powerful or otherwise can't possibly be defied, but which will be the very thing that convinces him the entire system is wrong.

Finally, @loverdosis brought up the great point that memory and history are also major conceptual themes in The Crow Road. In The Crow Road, memory and history give the characters their sense of identity. Prentice also mentions it as one way people can achieve a kind of continuity that doesn't infringe on the importance of life itself. And all of that meshes with Good Omens. So far, Gabriel's plot has involved a very strong focus on memory issues, and through that, we've seen that there is something going on with Crowley's memory as well, although exactly what it is - how much of his memory is missing, who took it, whether he can or wants to get it back - is uncertain. Beelzebub described Gabriel's memories as "All your...you," implying that memories are the majority of what gives Gabriel his identity. The memory wipe punishment is very much a death sentence.

After consideration, I would not be surprised to see memory make a roaring comeback as a theme in Season 3. It could even bring themes of identity and purpose with it.

#good omens #the crow road #go3 speculation #s3 speculation #go 2 spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #go s2 spoilers #good omens book club

[ask-fgod]

Hello from @mcnotok! My name is Snap, and my answers will be tagged as "mod snap". I am an avid fgod Enjoyer™ :]]. I mostly enjoy Nightmare and Error, but every character in this universe is so fascinating to me.

and im @my-names-kris! which my name is uh. kris, obviously. answers from me will be tagged as "mod kris". i usually like blueberror in most utmv aus, but theres something about ink in this one that grabbed me by a stranglehold. also an avid fgod enjoyer, to the point where it actually got me to start writing for the first time ever!

RULES:

DONT SPAM

NO RP

NO ASKING CHARACTERS NOT LISTED HERE

DONT BE A JERK TO THE MODS

PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE CHARACTERS IS VERY MUCH IMPOSSIBLE, QUIT ASKING (BUT YOU CAN SEND OBJECTS)

Story:

The backstory of this blog takes place after Error jumps into the void after he was attacked. Fate, annoyed but viewing him as replaceable, grabs a Swap!Sans, Blue, from his multiverse into the Anti-Void, and in a rushed manner, makes him into an error and the new God of Destruction. Destiny, angered by this and knowing Error would be too, tells him about what had happened to Blue, now known as Blueberror. Wanting him not to be alone, he returns, along with his newly adopted children, Void and Null that insisted to go with him.

Characters:

Error:

The first God of Destruction, jumped into the void wishing for death, and was sent to another multiverse instead with Destiny's help. Returned upon learning that Blueberror was made the next God of Destruction in his place, bringing two children named Void and Null with. Arguably the most powerful of the three gods, holding the ability to make a universe crumble with his very step. Despite this, he is normally a chill (and rather quiet) guy when you haven't done anything to anger him. It takes a lot to anger him, anyways.

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

Nightmare:

Nightmare is so detached from his past life that he considers himself a completely different person, but he is not. He hates all reminders of his detached past before the corruption, as they make him feel complicated feelings and thoughts he'd rather do without. Doesn't view Dream as a brother, but a part of him that he hates feels as if that feeling should be there. Due to the multiverse oversaturated in negativity, he has extreme mood swings. Took in the murder-time trio in an attempt to spread SOME positivity. It didn't do much, but he ended up keeping them anyways. (my mans is soft)

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

Dream:

Dream is extremely loyal to Ink to a fault, never believing the truth of the multiverse's oversaturation, even when Blueberror starts destroying. Due to this, he neglects his duties of spreading positivity, as that would disrupt Ink's creations... even if he suffers for it. Ink's right-hand man ruling over the Star Council. Is used as a mascot for the "happiness" that Ink can spread. Has only ever been used as a beacon for positivity, so when someone genuinely treats him as a friend, he gets very attached.

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

Ink:

The God of Creation, Ink, is the only god out of the three that was unable to hear Fate. Despite this, after hundreds of years go by, he figures out the instability of the multiverse he has caused. Knowing this, but having formed a council and an image of himself along with it, he still insists that he has been doing nothing wrong. Ink is extremely strict about his creations not being disrupted by any outside source, even when the scales of emotion are tipped in negativity's favor. Holds a hatred for Nightmare for taking the murder-time trio in. Hates Error and now, Blueberror, as well for their insistence that he is the one in the wrong. Very close with Dream, not really ever realizing how he's hurting his friend.

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

Blueberror:

Blueberror was a well-liked Swap!Sans (teetering on the edge of being a swapfell!sans) before he was snatched by Fate. It was to the point where he was even asked by Dream and Ink to join them. But being a neutral party, he refused. Before he was snatched, he sometimes travelled the multiverse, helping out anybody, no matter which side they were on. After Fate snatched him, he became the second God of Destruction. He is significantly less merciful than his predecessor, Error. Still helps out people in other universes, but less often due to his new duties.

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

If you’re asking “what is fgod?” Go here!:

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

If you want to read the blogs posts in chronological order, click here!

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

If you want to see everyone's heights, go here!

📍 • 𐀔 • 📍

Discord Server link below!

#ref sheets #fgod #forced god of destruction #ink sans #ink!sans #dream sans #dream!sans #error sans #error!sans #nightmare sans #nightmare!sans #fgod ink #fgod!ink #fgod dream #fgod!dream #fgod nightmare #fgod!nightmare #fgod error #fgod!error #blueberror sans #blueberror!sans #fgod blueberror #fgod!blueberror #utmv #undertale au

[muninnhuginn]

Fun time loop scenarios I've seen in various series that I think would be fascinating to apply to other shows:

You're a looper, but you don't know it. Outside of when you're reverting time, you retain no memories of your powers. However, the timeline still feels echoes of its previous self and sometimes, you do too.

The world takes a backup every year at the same time and date. If anything world-ending happens, you revert back to this same checkpoint. It has to be something on a world-ending scale though. Your girlfriend's death? Tough luck. Unless there's an apocalypse in the next few months, you're not getting her back. You shouldn't wish for the world to end, and yet.

You've had a lonely childhood, but finally you're free to properly live. You meet a girl and she's kind. Genuinely kind, no hidden motives to it. But she dies. So does everyone else. And what can you do, but go back and try to save her? You'll keep trying until you succeed. Until you're able to pay her back and keep her safe. Or so you think. Turns out that your very actions to save her have, in fact, doomed her to a worse fate. And because she's kind, she takes that fate and uses it to save everyone but herself.

You were in a time loop, but you escaped. It lasted years, maybe centuries, so perhaps you're not as fully past the whole ordeal as you pretend. You think you need some distance from the place where it happened. Sure, you grew up there, everyone you know lives there, but it's so tainted that you would just rather move on. You start school elsewhere, and for the most part, it's going well. You make new friends and you finally fit in in a way that you never have before. But then, you're back. Not just back to the village of your childhood, but back to the same loops you had thought you were free from. Is this your punishment? What sin have you committed to cause such a thing? Perhaps you'll never learn.

You're in a time loop with a stranger and you will find your way out of this if it kills you. And it has, several times. Still, this isn't as simple as figuring out the mechanics. No, the universe seems to be out to get you to learn some kind of lesson. And if there's no other way out, you guess you'll give it a shot. But, see, you were with your stranger. And now he doesn't recognise you. All that progress together is gone. Or is it? It's all very ouroboros, but your final loop was his first loop and vice versa. In some other universe you can't see, he is there with a version of you who hasn't met him yet. Your lesson? You both have to save each other.

#time loops #feel free to guess the series. I think at least one of them is super obvious #pls don't ask why second person. it just happened.

[respectthepetty]

Midnight Museum Symbols & Theories

Listen up, mi gente! It's Midnight Museum theory time, so put on your tin foil hats and follow me down this rabbit hole of chaos and tarot cards.

The Waxing Moon

The waxing moon (or a crescent moon) shows up a lot. It is a symbol of life and death. The waxing moon is the Midnight Museum's logo on the card, but it is also the tattoo the kid who comes back to life has in episode four.

And the tattoo the mysterious woman has

And it's the symbol hanging over her door, and the same place the boy in episode four tries to run to.

The High Priestess

In the trailer, we see the mystery woman tell Khatha she will take everything from him, but before that we see someone holding the High Priestess card. The card features a crescent moon and deals with mystery, secrets, and hidden talents.

In the beginning of episode three, Dome mentioned seeing our life flash before our eyes as we die, then we saw flashes from his life. One of those looked like a high priestess. Could this be the mystery woman? Or someone else like the next door neighbor we saw praying at an altar with the red dressed bride in the first episode?

Tarot Cards

What if we are going through the deck with each episode? Have we seen the Lovers (Moth & Rin) and perhaps the Tower (the kids at school) up until now. Was Jib the Fool?

Could Bam, the cop, be Justice? Could Triphop be the Hierophant who acts as the counselor? Both talked about going against arranged marriages and tradition in the second episode. This is a key element in those cards. Could June, whose gown is filled with red flowers be the Empresses whose gown is decorated with red pomegranates?

More importantly, this is the description of the Emperor - he is depicted in red and holds a scepter in his right hand and a globe in his left. Who fits that description?

Khatha's office has a crown featured front and center on the table.

And when he went to Dome's room, he noticed the crown necklace

Also, his scepter holds a similar rock to the evil one we saw in episode four.

But what is the number one card? The Magician who stands between the spiritual and physical realms as well as symbolizes untapped potential. The Magician can do all things.

The Spiritual Realm

Is Dome an alien or tapping into another realm?

In the first episode, we saw him transport to a different plane when he was knocked out from the red dressed bride. In episode four, we saw his eyes look very similar to the keychain he has attached to his bag.

Which resembles a universe, and when the universe or someone on the spiritual plane speaks to him

It is something similar to what we hear in the trailer

But Dome can't decipher the entire message

Is his mission to usher in a new god or is HE the new god/ruler? The current ruler would be the Emperor, and if both of them are immortal, they will be of the same kind.

Immortality as a Curse

In episode three, when we see Dome's life flash before his eyes, we see him drowning (it's hard to see, but if you watch it on .25 speed, you can get a glimpse of it)

At the end of episode four, we see him arrive in the past in a boat on a lake full of dead bodies

And the hat he wears has the zodiac signs on it with a scale

If Dome is the Magician and has only tapped into some of his power, what if he died by drowning and was thrown back into time where he met Khatha, who we saw standing on the pier.

In the flashbacks of Dome's life in the beginning of episode three, we see these two memories

The first one seems to be from when he awakens on the boat, and the second appears to be when they begin to know each other. If this is the case, THIS is why Khatha asked Dome in the first episode if Dome remembered Khatha. Dome doesn't, perhaps because he is a time and space traveler since he can move between planes, which might explain him popping into other people's bodies?

June reminds Dome that immorality is a curse because immortals must watch those they love die. In the flashes of Dome's life, we see him near fire.

This is a similar shot to the one we got of Khatha looking horrified in front of a fire in the first episode when the cursed body reacted to the chaos.

If Dome drowned and was thrown into the past, then Dome dying in the past might have thrown him to a different time.

If that burnt cursed body was Dome's previous body, the mystery woman getting it could potentially tap into Dome's power OR control Dome himself since the body was snatched by her minions at the warehouse.

Because Khatha was somehow tethered to Dome in those dying moments, he, too became immortal aka cursed.

June was cursed. She tells Khatha they are the same. She says she, in a sense, cursed herself because she was a ghost haunted by her choices that ended with the love of her life dying. That made her immortal. She tells Khatha he is the same.

Khatha lectures Dome about not connecting to cursed objects because then Dome will become cursed himself.

As stated above, Khatha's specter holds a similar stone as the evil one in episode four. It even did something similar when Khatha touched it in episode two at the warehouse. During the moths episode, Khatha wears a shirt with moths on it.

What if Khatha, in an attempt to right his wrong (which ended in his lover, Dome, dying), searched for objects that would help him 1) bring back memories of his loved one like the moths do, and 2) bring back the dead like the evil stone does? Those are only two of the objects HE collected, so in his search for redemption, did he curse himself?

Stray Thoughts

What's behind that wall in the real Dome's room?

Why was the real Dome snatched on his 23rd birthday 202 years AFTER the time traveling Dome ended up in the past (May 1820)? Is the real Dome stuck on a spiritual plane?

And finally, Dome's shirt had a black heart on it.

Either Khatha and Dome were/are in love or I am losing my mind.

Thanks to @slayerkitty for spoiling all the scary parts for me, so I can keep watching this show!

#Midnight Museum #symbols and theories #I'm losing it #tin foil hat time #Khatha x Dome #Ain't no other way #They were in love

[ben-10-setting-omnicrom]

Given the release of X Men 97 and the fact X Men Evolution is easily my favorite version of the team, I've actually been kicking around the idea of doing a crossover fic where Ben joins the X Men after being stranded in a Marvel world and researching the various superhero teams he can join.

Like obviously he'd be the most powerful Avenger/X Men since he can literally go to cosmic scales at the drop of a hat and do shit like casually hand Thanos or Apocalypse their ass with zero effort but seeing as he'd likewise know that I honestly think he'd make the conscious decision to join the X Men out of any given superhero group because there's no way in hell he'd allow all that genocide and lynching and shit that happens to mutants all the time slide.

Hell he'd probably even agree with Magneto and absolutely sympathize with his already being a Holocaust survivor once already and not wanting his people to do it again. Though obviously Ben would disagree with his methods.

Oh and since mind scapes are big things in Marvel I figured the Omnitrix would basically make him immune to psychic tampering because it'd be his mind scape and thus have all of the esoteric defenses in place the Omnitrix already has as well as the various fail-safes.

Like that isn't to say he'd cooldown his heroic drive in Marvel of course, he'd absolutely get involved with stopping Galactus or whatever and not really abide by the whole "people being too busy or otherwise occupied and thus not able to help with the given crisis of the day" thing that's so common in Marvel stories even if it's nominally a shared universe.

Just look at everything that happened in Genosha and shit.

Given how often he'd interfere plenty of heroes really wouldn't like him lol since Ben would absolutely be ok with killing a motherfucker. Like the Maximum Carnage storyline? Ben wouldn't hesitate to kill Carnage and probably end up fucking hating Spider-Man for stopping other people from killing him in the first place.

It'd actually be pretty interesting to see how his presence would affect the canon of Marvel.

Like he could pretty easily make Galactus a non problem by using his super smart aliens/Galactus's own help to make a machine that can just fucking make planets for him to devour. The Galvan entirely remade their planet in less than 6 months after it was blown up by the Highbreed. Working with Galactus it'd be fucking trivial to give him a endless buffet of planets to feed on so he doesn't have to target planets with populations on them, something Galactus himself doesn't even like doing.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Galactus straight up made Ben his herald or something assuming the watch couldn't just scan him since he has DNA and shit.

If anyone would be down to co write this or something hmu in the comments or pm lol it's incredibly fun to think about the realistic consequences of a twist of fate like this.

#ben 10 #ben tennyson #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 discourse #character exploration #x men 97 #x men evolution #spider man #marvel #ben 10 crossover #my writing

[paperclipninja]

So I've been obsessing over Crowley's crank, and its significance in the way we've seen it utilised throughout the series so far. There has been some amazing commentary around its use as a tool and the way it plays into Crowley's creativity, but I keep fixating on the link between his use of it to start the nebulae, the fact Crowley can stop time and its function as a car starter (a car that is somehow connected to Crowley like it's an extension of the demon himself).

Is this all pure conjecture on my part? Absolutely. Might it get a little wackadoo? Highly likely. But I've been mulling over this darn crank for so long that I need just to get it out, so here goes.

If Crowley played a part in creating space (or a part of space), then he played a part in creating time. We know that space and time are inextricably linked and that space-time can bend and curve (full disclosure: I am absolutely not a scientist, just a tv nerd who likes reading about space and is obsessed with fictional characters, so apologies for the extremely rudimentary understanding or any inaccuracies!). While there are a whole lot of other fascinating impacts that things like gravity can have on time, my theory is that Crowley has the ability to play with time because he understands it in the context of the ever expanding universe that he had a hand in creating.

He knows the stars intimately; where they are located, how to get there, each pocket of the nebulae he created clearly mapped in his mind. So doesn't it make sense that Crowley can navigate time in a similar way? He can find those places where space-time bends or curves and grab onto it, draw it to himself in a time of need. He only uses the crank to restart time when with Adam, so perhaps this is because when he freezes time in that instance, he is freezing time in heaven and hell too, not just an individual person, and far more energy is required to get it going again. And just as his little part of space was started with the crank, he restarts time the same way. Because they are, in a sense, the creation of the same thing: re-starting time is simply a continuation of what he already set in motion when starting the nebulae.

(the other, perhaps slightly more tenuous and definitely less formed, idea is the link between Crowley giving light to the nebulae and speed of light in relation to stopping time, though that would also mean there would be no light or sound if there was some manipulation of the speed of light and a) that's not what we see happening during the time stops and b) my brain isn't big enough to comment further on this)

And so what of Crowley's beloved Bentley? Yes, the crank is practical in the way it literally starts the car, but if this crank is linked to time and space then it is also linked to matter and energy. You know what else is made up of matter and energy? Humans and animals (well, everything tbh so cars too, yes, but just stay with me here).

I'm gonna throw it out there that the human or pet-like characteristics we see in Bentley are a result of the crank being the source of the car's energy. The same crank that helped start the nebulae in which Earth, and therefore life, exists. The same crank that has been used to stop time in order to save lives, connected to space and time and energy and matter, all in the hands of Crowley, from his time as an angel through to his demon times. Angel, demon, the crank doesn't care, it exists as a tool with which Crowley can create on any scale.

Now I've thought a lot about Crowley's connection to the car, what does the crank have to do with the way he and Bentley are seemingly attached and communicate? It is undoubtedly a lot to do with him using his own powers and nothing to do with the crank, but his ability to sense what is happening when Aziraphale is in the car, for example?

If we're going to stick with the idea that Bentley is charged with life-like qualities as a result of receiving its energy from the crank, then perhaps it isn't a leap too far to suggest that Crowley remains connected to the car much the way he is connected to the stars and knowing where they are and what they're like at different times of the year. Because he helped imagine it. That energy source, the crank, was part of Crowley's inspiration and imagination coming to life, and so the Bentley houses those parts of him inherently. The car is an extension of him because it contains his energy.

So that might provide possible speculation as to how Crowley is connected to his car, but then how and why does Bentley change while Azirapahle is driving? Well, I personally like a choose-your-own-adventure approach to thinking about this one. Reasons Bentley changes for Aziraphale could include:

Just as humans or animals react and respond differently to different people/celestials (I assume??), Bentley is able to adjust its response depending on who is driving

Something about how the different energy and matter of Aziraphale might impact the car's response that someone with more science knowledge than me would need to talk about

Aziraphale and Crowley's energies are linked from that moment of creation, when they started up the nebulae together. And so, Aziraphale's energy is also a part of Bentley and Bentley recognises it when Aziraphale's driving and adjusts accordingly.

So that's where I'm at, a whole lot of questionable ruminations about a crank, a car, a demon and the universe. I mean, it could also just be that using a car crank to kickstart part of the universe is pretty darn hilarious, there's absolutely no deeper meaning or more to read into it. But that wouldn't be nearly as fun to write about.

#good omens meta #good omens #crowley #aziraphale #crowley's crank #i think I've thought about this to the point that it no longer makes any sense at all #and the crank is probably just a joke lol

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

This is going to be a weird question to ask, but...to what extent do the endless have influence over each other? We see delirium mention that she could have trapped morpheus inside her realm forever, every single one of the endless have expressed certain types of despair or desire, and obviously they can all die... They are all theoretically equal in power, but with their realms overlapping so much, how does that affect the way they perform their duties?

oh that's an interesting question, thank you for asking it!

i mean, first off, i don't know that they are equal in power. the way they kinda split themselves into older three and younger three, the way desire and despair in particular like to team up (often with delirium's help) when going after one of the eldest, and in particular this line

suggests to me that dream is more powerful than desire, and they both know it. (and in turn, destiny and death are more powerful than dream)

another good indicator is overture, the one story where desire is undoubtedly the hero, they are the only one acting solely to save the universe (even dream is just trying to cover up his past mistakes, and none of the other endless are getting involved at all. but desire does it without credit because they know it needs to be done)

when dream gets trapped in the black hole, desire can't pull him out of it on their own. so they bait the hook by dropping a dream fragment in destiny's garden, which makes destiny free dream to question him about it (and he manages it, though he mentions that took a lot of power)

i think the endless probably scale in power the older they are, which makes sense given that the more intrinsic to life functions were born first. it just doesn't often get called into play given how they're not technically supposed to be interfering with each others' duties

in terms of influencing each other... yes, desire and despair and death and so on are all things they all can experience. they're all kinda immune to their own element (except delirium sometimes), but not to the others'

and i think they can force those things on each other, if they need to, which is one of the few places where the respective power levels are relevant. we've never seen dream get influenced by desire directly, even in all their fights, and we don't know whether that's because desire's not interested in messing with dream's head or because they can't. when delirium threatens him, she makes a point to add "you aren't even wearing your helm"

dream could probably handle her in a direct fight, if it ever came to that, but right now he's not trying. he's coming to her unprotected, without his full strength, because he's trying to show her he means no harm. his apology is to make himself deliberately vulnerable and trust she doesn't actually want to hurt him

but when it's not a fight, or coercion, when they're just living their lives - do the others dream, for example?

and i think the answer to that is no, but by choice

partially because they don't need to sleep, but also we see in song of orpheus that orpheus, as dream's family, is aware when he's in the dreaming, and often cuts his own dreams short to go talk to his father

i think the same would apply to the other endless - they could visit dream's realm through their sleep if they chose, but unless dream was deliberately trying to hurt them (see again: power levels), they'd be aware of where they were and why

and other than maybe death, they don't want to

which isn't just down to the rules. yes, they're not supposed to interfere in each others' duties, but we know desire shirks that rule all the time. no, it actually bothers them, being in one of the other realms

i almost wrote a meta on this, i may yet still, but i think the endless are fascinating in that you can take pretty much any two and make an argument for why they're the opposites of each other. and that feeds into how they see each others' realms, it runs really counter to how they work, so being there feels wrong. and thus they only willingly visit each other when they have specific business with that sibling

(death isn't part of this equation because all things end up in her realm eventually, even her siblings. she is a part of everything, and therefore never unnatural)

so when it comes to the question of whether or not they "experience" each other, i think we can divide this into three categories:

just the general components of living. having hopes, fantasies, desires, despair, free will, eventually dying, etc. these aren't personal and i think the answer here is yes, they do experience all of the other six they don't have dominion over

visiting each others' realms - particularly for dream delirium and maybe despair, where their realms are places mortals frequently visit, where their gift actually happens. they all can visit their siblings' realms, but they will be conscious of it happening, and they will feel unnerved by it (until, of course, they die, which they do like any other being). and also their sibling whose realm they're in will be aware of their presence, and that could lead to some awkward conversations, so better not (they get enough of that every family dinner)

deliberately inflicting their abilities on each other. they can, but elder trumps younger in that equation, and because the elder ones are a lot less likely to start fights (death and destiny in particular will not get involved, and while dream is easily riled up he's also extremely beholden to The Rules), this isn't usually a problem

and yes, there is overlap in what they do, there's a bit of overlap between all of them. but i think the core of what they do is so different, different to the point they get uncomfortable in each others' realms, that there's no real clashing unless they want there to be

#sandman comic spoilers #destiny of the endless #death of the endless #dream of the endless #desire of the endless #despair of the endless #delirium of the endless #ask #mine #meta #the sandman

[jojotier]

The professed ult-Dirk in Homestuck^2 Post Canon isn't ACTUALLY the Ultimate Dirk.

I think he says that, partially because he's desperate to believe it so that he doesn't have to face the fact that to be a truly ultimate Self he has to admit that there are splinters that have worthy, heroic qualities and therefore that he is not only capable of positive change but required to Do So if he ever wants to keep his class from eating him alive, and partially because it makes him seem scarier than he actually is.

Because think about it. Why does the search for narrative relevancy take him away from Earth C? If anything, Earth C should be the perfect place to Cement that relevancy as a villain, like he claims he was always meant to be. He's God! He has an entire kingdom to run! Not only that, but he's even stronger than all the OTHER gods because of the narrative powers.

But you might be saying, Earth C is too small! It's chump change compared to an entire universe to conquer! To which I say: this motherfucker has lived through an entire apocalypse where the Condesce's battle plan for conquering Earth and other such planets was well documented. He knows how an entire planet can theoretically be mobilized into a military force. Why isn't Earth C his starting position?

But conquering an entire universe is still too small, you might be arguing! Dirk's seen multiple universes at this point! He wants relevancy within the metanarrative itself. He's aware of what everything is and he wants the story to continue! He wants to keep the fabric of existence woven! To which I say, why was turning himself into a universal threat necessary at that point?

From a metanarrative perspective, the narrative relevancy of a character is not solely based upon how they move the plot- it is also contingent on the emotional weight of their character arc and their relationships with other characters. What does Dirk accomplish in splitting Post-Canon into, effectively, two separate storylines with vastly different stakes? No, seriously, what the fuck does he actually accomplish here?

What Post-Canon has done is effectively divide the plot between the overarching metanrrative battle for the reality of a universe and the social, societal struggle of a single planet. Simultaneously.

And while these plotlines on paper aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, what has Dirk actually done in that bigger, more important struggle he's trying to set up? He turned Rose and Dave into robots, sure. He wrecked some minor shop and then mind controled Jake to be in love with him again for some ego shit. Then... He's... annoyed a single troll and debated his now robot-daughter for like three years while forcing some others to chase him and just ignoring whatever the hell's going on on Earth C.

He's also not really done anything on the ship either, other than set up for some genetic shenanigans later on, which he's pretty vague about the significance of. He's on a new planet now, but there's no word on whether it's actually inhabited or not. It could just be an empty world he's trying to play scientist on, which is like, morally dubious at best.

Which, admittedly. That may just be via the nature of the fact that Post-Canon is just never gonna be finished, so maybe his plans, when more fully revealed, will show that he's actually doing some pretty dastardly damn deeds. But for now, based on what we know, the bigger threat that's actually impacting the most people is Jane back on Earth C, by nature of her plans actually effecting society on a global scale rather than like 10 people and a distant, likely empty planet.

But even more than all of this. Even more than the fact that if Dirk truly sought narrative relevancy, he would have just assisted Jane, if not stolen her storyline altogether, and even more than the fact that his attempts to make Dave and Rose 'Ultimate' like him might or might not be out of some twisted form of wanting to help them in such a way that he could justify it to himself later as being villainous and only for purposes of 'using them', there's just one more little detail.

""Ult-Dirk"" doesn't have all of his splinters, pretty much by design.

And you might be asking. What? But he's tapped into every splinter- he's got Hal, he's got Lord E by nature of Hal, he's got Bro and he's got all the game versions of himself-

but he doesn't have Brain Ghost Dirk.

And you might be thinking that shit man. That doesn't count. BGDirk is a projection of how Jake sees Dirk- the hope that Jake has for the kind of man that Dirk could be. To which I say, yes. That is entirely correct. But that doesn't mean it doesn't count. After all, why would Jake have that Hope in the first place?

Do you believe that belief in other people comes from a vacuum? That the Hope that someone can be better can ever exist without that person ever expressing good qualities? No- Jake's Hope for who Dirk can be is there because Jake has glimpsed the seed of a good man. He's seen how Dirk handled the game- how he was willing to behead himself (multiple times! multiple times!!) simply to keep everyone safe and in the running. He likely has heard of his reconciliation with Dave and has had many years to see how Dirk has imagined a meeting with said brother- years of seeing the kind of person Dirk is.

Because just as Dirk is the kind of person to become too intense and overstep boundaries and fight too hard to hold on too tight, he's also the kind of person who is deathly afraid of himself. He is deathly afraid of what he can become to other people. Enough so that, when he couldn't bear the thought of the villain ""ultimate"" self, he decided on a different fate in the candy epilogue.

And that is why Dirk Strider is running away from the planet he's meant to manage, for better or for worse, for an entirely more abstract ideal. Because he's trying to corner himself. He's trying to sow the seeds of his own destruction under the guise of it aiding his 'narrative relevancy'.

And that is why Ult-Dirk is not actually his Ultimate Self- because he hasn't yet realized that he has the capacity to become a good man, too. Because if he does, then he has to bear responsibility for his actions on his own, rather than creating a roundabout way for others to punish him instead.

Then he has to face the fact that this isn't just the way he is.

#homestuck #dirk strider #ultimate dirk #homestuck^2 #homestuck epilogues #spoilers #listen man i just have many thoughts head full #admittedly its been a bit since i read post canon or the epilogues so im probs forgetting something but lol