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sunnysunsins · 2 months

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RWBY kill count

Soooo we all know a lot of people have died over the span of the series. So i took it upon myself to count them up. All of them. Yes, the nameless grunts and dead bodies in the background. Yes, the ones that no way in hell would survive something like what happened to them. Every single death in this series.

This originally was a doc, but tumblr doesn't allow those, so i'll put all the research under the cut. And it's long, so buckle up.

Rules: 1. Dead person has to be shown on screen (off-screen deaths counted in rare circumstances - heard them, heard about them and details of their death enough to count). En-mass kills are counted up depending on previous scenes of this group and logic. I only count what i see and can logically assume from what's on screen and told by dialog.

2. Aura exists, so most fighters are assumed to survive unless the person doesn’t have active aura or there’s no way in hell someone survives that.

3. Salem «deaths» will be counted, but with an asterisk*, since immortal. Same for Ozes, we see an Oz - we count him, since we know all of them are dead by nature of reincarnation - an exception to «death off screen» rule. 4. Book information included as much as possible since i haven’t read them lol

5. Ascension is counted with an asterisk*, as it is death of self and rebirth into a new form (same as Oz, in a way). +intention of the characters ascending will be counted.

The count:

Volume 1:

Ep 16: 3 WF members (by Penny yoinking/slicing ships)

(total - 3)

Volume 2:

Ep 1: Tukson (shot by Mercury)

Ep 4: 32 car drivers (flipped into air by Roman, They’re civilians in cars, doubt they lived through that, not with 5 flips)

Ep 11: 12 WF members (thrown off train by RWBYO. Grimm and/or explosions got them if they didn’t die on impact)

(total - 45)

Volume 3:

Ep 7: Marcus Black (killed by Mercury)

Ep 9: Penny (acc. kill by Pyrrha), 12 atlesian pilots

Ep 10: Brawnz, Roy, May (killed by grimm), 1 man killed by Adam

Ep 11: Roman (swallowed by gryffon), Amber (shot by Cinder)

Ep 12: Ozpin (burned alive by Cinder), Pyrrha (shot by Cinder)

(total - 22)

Volume 4:

Ep 2: 3 villagers, 1 huntsman in Shion (killed by bandits, grimm)

Ep 10: An Ren (crushed by the house), Li Ren (killed by Nuckelavee)

(total - 6)

Volume 5:

Blake short: Ilia’s parents, 1 known dust mine worker (died in a dust explosion)

Ep 2: Percy the pilot, at least 3 more mistral pilots (woman said “everyone, abandon the ship” before it blew up from lancers), Pilot boi (died on impact), Sienna Khan (stabbed by Adam)

Ep 5: Ghira’s messenger (killed by Yuma)

Ep 8: 1 WF member, 2 guards

Ep 10: Fennec (crushed by balcony/blown up)

Ep 13: Vernal (bled out)

Ep 14: Lionheart (stabbed by a seer)

(total - 16)

Volume 6:

Adam short: 1 human man (by Adam)

Ep 1: 7 WF members (Adam’s hissy fit), Dee (mauled by grimm)

Ep 2: Mistrali woman (by Cinder)

Ep 3: 3 ancient warriors, Salem’s father, 1st gen humanity (163 shown), 4 daughters, *Salem: 5 *Oz: Ozma (x3), Ozma 2.0, old man, drunk, inventor, mustache, hermit-wizard, King of Vale (total 10)

Ep 5: 12 dead people (drained by Apathy; 2 corpses shown, 11 houses in the village, “it’s the same in every house”)

Ep 6: Dead huntsman (drained by Apathy) Ep 7: Tock (beheaded by Maria)

Ep 10: 1 Argus cct tower worker (killed by Adam)

Ep 12: Adam (stabbed by Blake & Yang, fell off a cliff)

(total - 208, 212*)

Volume 7:

Ep 2: Person Tyrian killed (seen blood, implication is clear)

Ep 3: Forest (killed by Tyrian)

Ep 6: 9 thirsty moms (killed by Tyrian)

Ep 12: Clover (stabbed by Tyrian)

Ep 13: Fria (passed away)

(total - 13)

Volume 8:

Ep 1: Councilman Sleet (shot by Ironwood)

Ep 6: Madam, step-sisters, Rhodes (killed by Cinder) Ep 7: ~ shown 303 atlesian soldiers (crushed by grimm army. There were a lot more, but those were shown stomped through)

Ep 8: 1 pilot (blown up by grimm), Hound faunus (finished-off)

Ep 9: 306 dead bodies, Hazel (blown up by Oscar) *3 Salem kills

Ep 13: 13 people (blown up by Cinder), 17 atlesian compound technicians (killed by Cinder, Neo and Watts), Jacques Schnee (blown up by Ironwood)

Ep 14: Vine (blown up by IW’s bomb and Harriet’s stupidity), Penny (mercy-killed by Jaune), Watts (burned alive), Ironwood (died on impact)

(total - 652, 655*)

Volume 9:

Ep 3: 2 toy soldiers* (beheaded)

Ep 4: Herbalist* (taken by the Tree)

Ep 5: Hawker (eaten by Jabberwalker) Ep 7: 15 paper pleasers*

Ep 8: Little* (stomped by Neo), Ruby* (suicide-ascended), Neo’s parents (killed by Neo and Roman, bodies shown in picture)

Ep 9: Alyx (killed by Cat)

Ep 10: Cat (eaten by Jabberwalkers), Neo* (ascended)

(total - 5, 26*)

TOTAL

Named characters/shown deaths/significant deaths: 71

Background | logic deaths: 907

*Salem: 8

*Oz: 12 (3 shown)

*Ascensions: 21

All people (no *): 970

Full total: 998

You may have noticed that i did not include Summer. Bc we still have no fucking clue what happened to her actually. We can speculate, but that's it. At that point last spring maiden has more reason to be added to the count than Summer. Once we find out what happened, she will be added. And if we add them both, the count will be a shiny 1k. I also didn't count the Jabberwalker bc it's unclear if Neo killed it or just made it serve her and the real one is among her copies. You can add 1 to the count if you wanna count it.

Deadly volume order: 1 -> (9) -> 4 -> 7 -> 5 -> 3 -> 9* -> 2 -> 6 -> 8

Murder board:

Cinder: 39

Neo: 19^ (personal 2)

Tyrian: 12

Adam: 11

Salem: 7

Penny: 3

Mercury, Ironwood: 2

Pyrrha, Maria, Blake, Yang, Oscar, Jaune: 1

Grimm: 29

And that's that. Fuuuun. Now let's hope for good future for RWBY and hope in future volumes we can get the count even higher. Though i doubt anything will pass v8 now, not with that battlefield bloodbath.

Thank you for reading till the end. Leave your favorite and least favorite death scene in the comments and nothing else, to confuse people. Not your fave dying, but the scene itself. Like, i don't care for Vine at all, but his death scene was beautiful. An then there's Ozma, who should've worn a mask and could've prevented the world from ending.

#rwby #rwby analysis #rwby kill count #rwby volume 9 spoilers #rwby spoilers #tw: death #this is a kill count duh #greenlight volume 10 #oh boy guess i need to tag them all now?#how about no #rwby crack #thanks for reading

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wackywheel · 2 years

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c!connor fic rec masterpost!

[img id.] a row of melon blocks, filtered with a gradient of pale purple, blue, and green so that they look pastel. in the bottom left, text reads, “please read these fics they’re so good.” in the bottom right, a sign reads, “eat pant conar.” [end id.]

i talked about making one of these a while back and finally got around to combing thru the tags to compile fics for it so, yo! if you're a fan of c!connor, are looking to figure out how best to characterize him for your own works, just wanna read about him, or any combination of the former, you're in luck!

while the main criteria for stuff to make it on here is that it characterizes connor accurately, nearly all of these are also just fics that i personally like LOL so while i'll try to be as objective as i can for the sake of my fellow c!connor enjoyers, i must be entirely transparent w y'all that this is mostly just fics that i, personally, really like. ...which is technically the purpose of fic rec posts anyways, but i digress...

fics are below the readmore! ↴

ok the way ive ordered all of these is both in categories of.. sort of pseudo genres ? basically theyre just paired/grouped up according to their premise, as well as loosely chronological according to ao3's recently updated filter!

(also, fics with an *asterisk before them are ones that i personally am biased about bc of who wrote them LOL)

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"connor is a god" fics

basically, these fics primarily focus on the hc of connor being a god/immortal that was very popular back before we saw much of him, beyond his appearances in his two tales episodes! while i'm not a huuuge fan of this hc, nor do i really have much to say individually about each fic, i still wanna give these fics props for setting the bar very high when it comes to treating c!connor with respect, reverence, and most of all agency, especially so early on during the post-nov16th months!

There Are Answers Here by angeloncewas

the constant by diapason

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connor & some/all of benchtrio fics

exactly what it says on the tin, this group of fics focuses on connor's relationships with other characters, but primarily with one, more, or all of benchtrio!

Stray Italian Greyhound by akuli holy shit this fic is an absolute classic when it comes to early c!connor content... connor confronts glatt in a very unique way that, honestly? i've rarely seen depicted when it comes to the two interacting! following that, though, connor and tubbo sit down and talk about schlatt in a wholly honest and cathartic way.

*Here Comes the Sun by BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk here it is! the first of many, many, of beatrix's fics i'm gonna rec to y'all! okay to be honest, clingyduo's inclusion in this fic is very very minor if we're gonna dig into semantics, but i otherwise had no idea where else to put this because of how genuinely unique it was for its time! (its time being pre-s2 finale) an indepth study of connor's hypothetical interactions with ghostbur here, flashbacks explaining schlatt's ties to the revive book there, this oneshot absolutely killed it, especially so early on in the lifespan of connor-centric works!

Ask No Guarantees by angeloncewas another connor & tubbo fic! there's an alternate reality where i became a devout c!tubbling i'm absolutely sure of it. to summarize it shortly, the two bond over their dead best friends! wahoo grief! there's also some very interesting discussion of in-universe religion which is always very fun imo!

*advice you’ve given other people that was really about yourself by antfrost ok here we go, first fic from beloved mutual connor timedeo lets go lets go character study of connor using conversations with benchtrio as a vehicle fuck YES sir this fic is great. i am an absolute sucker for character analysis, even when it's just little exchanges and acts of kindness from one hurt person to another (also in all honesty this fic was the one that made me change the section title to benchtrio instead of just tubbo/clingyduo LMAO)

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"connor showed up too late" fics

angst time bitches! despite how much c!connor's backstory is built upon angst, and how much i love the little guy, i'm honestly not a huge fan? anyways i fucking love these fics regardless so i think that must say something either about me or them. you decide

Brutus Is An Honorable Man by 2point5 if stray italian greyhound was a classic, then this fic is literally a loadbearing pillar of the c!connor fanbase. holy SHIT is she one iconic collection of words. the premise is pretty simple, connor shows up too late after getting a letter from schlatt asking him to come. he and quackity talk about schlatt. it does not go well. i cannot stress enough though. read this fic. like this is required reading this is canon its 100% canon cc!connor called me and said it is (lying) (theres just a lot of headcanons i like in it im biased) (not joking about the required reading part though)

People Die Every Day, I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way by orojiratsu ...and if brutus is an honorable man was required reading, then this fic is extra credit! ...literally! as in it was actually inspired by the last fic! very similar premise, but the author gets much more into detail about the aftermath of nov16th, including tubbo's reaction to connor's past with schlatt, as well as lending connor a bit more agency when it comes to going toe to toe with quackity's reaction to schlatt's death.

Lay here with me until the years go by. by zrkk a very short oneshot, but really impactful all the same! one thing i really commend this oneshot for is that despite its length, the author manages to get connor's verbal reactions to schlatt's death nearly spot on. go give it a read!

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"connor reviving / rescuing schlatt" fics

yessssss we're getting into the good stuff, the struggles that end either happily or bittersweetly all the same. these are fics that i constantly find myself rereading when i'm missing c!connor, and cannot reccomend literally all of them enough!

*The Friends We Refuse to Abandon by BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk ok this is what i meant before by many of beatrix's fics lol this fic is like. another one that's literally required reading if u like c!connor bc it has absolutely everything u could ask for. connor reviving and reuniting with his bestie? having agency in the narrative? helping people just for the sake of helping them? you name it, we got it here.

twenty thousand years of this by rosewitchx GOD this fic is so fucking iconic as well. i absolutely consider it required reading as well, bc both this one and the last one fill their niche incredibly well rosewitchx's writing and characterization of connor, as well as basically everyone else they write from what ive seen, is incredibly well researched and true to their characters, so this is definitely not the last fic of theirs im going to be reccing on this post lol similar premise to tfwrta, except connor wasn't the one to revive schlatt. regardless, he's still given the assertiveness and narrative agency when rescuing schlatt that makes this fic super cathartic to reread if you're craving that sort of thing! (also, this specific fic is from a series of the author's that explains certain headcanons much better than if you were to just read the fic in isolation. go give it a read over here!)

I'm Tired by Anonymous another short read, but still a very good one! props to anon! this fic emphasizes the 'bittersweet' point i made in this section's intro. schlatt has been revived, and he and connor have reunited, but at what cost of his own physical health?

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smplive-era connor fics

yessss fuck yes fuck YEESSS you people are NOT immune to me making you remember not only smplive, but that its CANON baybee its 100% CANON TO DSMP LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO

*Far In Time (we've got some catching up to do!) by connor6Silly wait hold on

*What Will Happen Will Happen by connor6Silly wait fuck these are literally all just my fics

bro did all of the good c!connor smplive fics all get purged or something ??? i literally cant find any that i like, let alone think characterized connor well bc they all do him so fucking dirtyyyy y'all its awful 😭 so uhh in lieu of that .. read my fics? pretty please? i have a whole promo post for the first one here if u wanna learn more :)

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syndicate/karl oriented connor fics

ok so if y'all know me, you know im a sucker for literally all of connor's relationships on the server that we never see actually explored canonically (s&c im talking about s&c) so to balance that out, here's his friendships that are like. actually fucking real! and tangible!

*THIS IS A PROTEST FOR YOUR HEART! by antfrost yessss another one of connor timedeo's fics this is sorrrt?? of?? an au? one where everything went a-okay on nov28th, and everyone in the syndicate is happy and alive and glad to be able to spend time together. connor especially! bc he has lots of people that are there to care for him now! very short, sweet, and fluffy!

*The Planet With a Thousand Sunsets by BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk another beatrix fic!!! and GOD this one is a lot of fun, as well as a companion fic to tfwrta! this fic goes all in on connor and karls friendship, framing it as if it were an actual tales episode with a cast list and everything! as of me making this post (5/22/22) the fic is not complete, so if y'all want to read more of it, i'd really suggest commenting and sharing what you liked about it! (but Do Not pester beatrix about if/when shes going to complete it bc if i hear that shits happening y'all will have hell to pay >:(((( )

*all the broken can find hope (in the most unexpected places) by BeatrixGtheMaskedDogNoobsomeExagerjunk last fic of beatrix's, as well as another syndicate fic! yipee! now, technically this fic might be better suited to go into the final section of this post, but connor's inclusion is not only accurate enough, but also the setting is very much relevant enough for it to slide into here by means of relating to the syndicate. connor's role in this fic is mostly by means of an exploration of his friendship with schlatt, juxtaposing it with emeraldduo's own close bond. two bad bitches (close friendships that came long before the dsmp ever did) kicking ass together instead of fighting one another for relevancy you love to see it <3

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connor-centric au fics

so technically most of these fics could technically be classified as aus, but thats sort of just the state we're in when it comes to actual canonical content of c!connor. Anyways! here's some straight up 100% aus that very much are either in entire other settings, or diverge early on enough in the timeline that the result is completely unrecognizable from what actually happened in canon

god of arepo (series) by rosewitchx this next rosewitchx fic... isn't technically a fic, but a series! the god of arepo series is very much a product of its time (post-exile, pre-doomsday) but it's still 100% a classic in my eyes basically, this au shows the product of the world being entirely claimed by the egg, and how connor, with ghost sweaterduo in tow, deals with the aftermath. again, very much a product of its time, but i think that makes its state as a sort of fandom-time-capsule all the more appealing <3 break the cycle in half by rosewitchx holy shit this au is an absolute trip in the best way possible??? i've never consumed any of the madoka magica franchise, but you don't really even need to do that to understand the fic tbh after losing all of their loved ones to an unavoidable, inevitable disaster, connor and karl both become magical boys in order to go back in time and save those they lost or die trying

*and the universe said i love you by antfrost if i had a nickel for every c!connor centric meguca au there was on ao3, i would have exactly 2. which isn't a lot, but it's really funny that it's happened twice now! beloved mutual connor timedeo's take on the au is similar, yet still entirely unique on its own! after schlatt gets got during a mission, connor makes his wish to be a magical boy in order to save him. he does not know what he's getting into, to say the least </3

panacea by rosewitchx YESSSSSSS I GET TO TALK ABOUT THIS FIC again, technically it could be classified in the next section of this post, but i feel like the amount of canon divergence it features definitely earns it its place here! while the fic's actual author's notes give a better description of its context, i'll give y'all this quick synopsis- quackity figures out how to revive schlatt right after nov16th, but he comes back... a little different than he left the first time. thus, hijinks ensue.

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fics that aren't fully connor-centric, but still characterize him accurately enough that i'm reccing them

again, exactly what it says on the tin; these fics really don't focus too much on c!connor, so i won't go into much depth about them, but his cameos still pass with flying colors imo, so i'd absolutely reccomend em!

the definition of a dwarf planet by WreakingHavok a short and sweet pre-nov16th sweaterduo fic that recontextualizes a lot of their interactions with smplive as a focal point

when i’d make you oh-so afraid by rosewitchx charlie and connor, but the former especially, both grapple with schlatt’s death and how they feel about it.

I never, never want to go home by rosewitchx a look back at l’manberg, set a year since the 16th.

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aaaand there you have it, folks! a collection of the best of the best when it comes to c!connor! if y’all have other fics you really enjoy centering on mr eatspants, please feel free to send them to me in an ask! i’m sure there’s still just a little bit of gold hiding out in the swathes of badly mistagged fics that are flooding connor’s main tag atm -_-

but yes! i’ll probably update this within the next few months if any new, notable c!connor fics pop up, so keep an eye out!

#connoreatspants #c!connor #connor dsmp #dream smp #smplive #mcyt #mcyt fanfic #dream smp fanfic #dsmp fanfic #mcyt fic rec #dream smp fic rec #dsmp fic rec

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moonlight1234 · 17 days

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rpg and scenario idea

i never really posted in tumblr, so be nice, but this is two of my ideas that i am mixing into one and i will explain them both here in a long post, one of them is a directional guard system for a combat system and the other is capitalists that grow in divine(?) power as they get money

i will start with the scenario and its stuff because its more interesting, basically i wanted capitalists that are morally neutral but do evil and grow in power magically as they get more money, the way i did that is to make so labor or work can be given to a divine entity to give them power, usually by willingly trading or offering it to them, it has to be willingly(big asterisk), gods are human creation and can only live as long as people keep offering things to them, with no way to get power on their own and sustain their immortality they will waste away and disappear with no one to remember them. so there is 2 'factions' of gods, the bureaucrats that are slow and work with the mortals to exist while having extremely complex burocracy that stops them for interfering too much into mortal world, and the capitalists that work between the lines of divine laws and mortal trading to accumulate power quicker and exponentially instead of only working with offerings like most gods do.

this is the fundamental idea, and to be placed in a industrial revolution time period so its very clear the changes that capitalism does to feudal places and, well, you can kill them, just for them to be replaced with someone else to keep the cycle of exploration.

the divine laws:

no god can trespass one another domain, unless invited or if they share the domain

no god can steal another's god symbol of power

gods need permission of the mortals to infere in mortal problems

gods can only fight demigods or mortals if they are challenged or hit first

very inspired by Percy Jackson because gods are fun in Percy Jackson. other things are like, you can talk more easily with minor gods using drugs, gods tend do develop the personality and ideals of their followers and represent ideas and institutions, gods can give powers to mortals.

quick lightning round of stuff, inspired by pointy hat, avatar, the summoner, league of legends and monster hunter. this is more things i want instead of things i actually did.

ghosts like pointy hat

solar punk communists druids

flexible lich's rules

learn magic thru enviroment

ghost weasels

divine born, both actual demigods and what pointy hat did with aasimar

vastayas

curses as needs and wants

familiars as the summoner, its really cool, later i will go into detail

rules for prophecies to have things like Percy Jackson, they are cool

mega fauna, like monster hunter

and then i separated magic system into some stuff

soul, life, death and heal

time, gravity and entropy

prophecies and divination

enchantment and illusion

transport, transformation, manipulation and creation

then i separated into more useful classes

noble pokemon master: heal, enchantment, divination and transport

bending like avatar: manipulation and transformation

druid solarpunk: life, death, entropy, illusion, creation and transformation

bards: soul, heal, prophecies, enchantment, illusion and creation

missionaries('clerics'): all of them, depending on the god they serve

that's it for lore, more or less, i need to polish a lot of it and i would like feed back and to explain what its badly written :).

rules i will do on another post here because this is long, have a nice day

i will post the rest of the system and scenario in this blog

#ttrpg #writing #world building #pjo series #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #game design #indie games #indie rpg #rpg worlds #creating #for fun #:3

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fictionaladoptionpolls · 11 months

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March

Age: 4*

Home: Ninannah (To Your Eternity)

Likes: Dolls, crabs, climbing trees, being a mama

Dislikes: Hurting or using people, Fushi going away

TYE is recent enough that I don't want to spoil it, but…the asterisk is there for spoiler reasons.

March is a young girl from the Ninannah tribe. She has a happy peaceful life, until the Yanome choose her as a sacrifice to Oniguma, a monstrous bear. Then she met a shapeshifting immortal being, which was good for two reasons—he helped March escape the Yanome, and she gets to be his mama! (At this point, the immortal is very young, and March is roughly the second human he meets.)

March is only a child, but both her influence on the immortal and her personality in general are clear. March has a strong sense of right and wrong. It's good to respond to people when they talk to you, and weird if you don't. It's nice to make mud pies for older girls when they make dolls for you. It's wrong to kill wounded monster bears, or anything.

But March is also four. She follows her moral code a bit more consistently than you'd expect from a preschooler, but only a bit. She also wants to grow up and become a mama, until she can mama the immortal, which she does with about the finesse you'd expect from a preschooler. But even with that clumsiness, she left a positive impact on him that lasts long after her death.

(The fact that March dies isn't a spoiler; Fushi is immortal, March isn't. Do the math.)

What does Tumblr think of March?

March is the worst month ever. Bad luck happens every minute and every day for us. It can go from small to big suddenly. March is cursed.

Ah, hold on, wrong March.

Fushi eating out of March's hand and knocking her food away is peak humor.

March also takes this into account during important decisions, like when Fushi consults their friends on whether they should [SPOILERS] and she calmly tells them that the choice is theirs.

I'm not crying you're crying.

#march #to your eternity #anime child adoption bracket #profile

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bestworstcase · 1 year

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I'm sorry if you're not familiar with the RWBY game Grimm Eclipse but I was wondering how you imagine Salem interacting with the games antagonist Dr Merlot if they ever met.

not only have i played grimm eclipse this specific question is something i have spent a normal amount of time thinking about. although i am going to be brief (<- actually) because i may or may not have Plans™ for him

(with the asterisk here that my feeling on grimm eclipse generally is that it has interesting ideas but is also fundamentally and to its detriment a video game uninterested in worldbuilding and most of this thinking has been in the context of picking the things i like out of the broader framework of “toxic slime mutates grimm into grimmier grimm” and amalgamating those bits and pieces more thoroughly with the text being alluded to, which is to say that in my head dr. merlot isn’t trying to make bigger and badder grimm he is trying to make people, dr. moreau animal vivisection style. i have to shout out jeff williams for giving me a solid leg to stand on here bc lusus naturae Gets It.)

grimm eclipse is really interesting in this regard because i do not remotely get the sense that merlot even knows of salem, let alone knowing her personally—contrast it against V1-2 and the dearth of subtle hints toward her existence is very noticeable. so on the one hand we have an actual immortal quasi-divine grimm lady, and on the other a mad scientist trying to transform the grimm into sapient beings primarily to feed his own god complex. the grimm lady despises her creators and has dedicated untold millions of years to getting rid of them forever; the mad scientist sees the grimm as mindless raw material that he is sculpting in order to ‘perfect’ it and be worshiped by it for doing so; and, importantly, the common perception that grimm are mindless beings (or at best acquire a crude sort of intelligence over centuries if they survive long enough) does not seem to be accurate at all, as we’ve seen even very young grimm exhibiting emotion and individuality as well as coordinating with each other and even using tools (<- bricks my beloved).

i think there is a fundamental incompatibility here. i think salem would find merlot’s quest to twist grimm nature into a vehicle for self-aggrandizement repulsive, and i think merlot would both take her existence as living proof of his own rightness (that the grimm can be remade into “higher beings”) and want to subjugate her (because he styles himself as god to the grimm). it is difficult for me to imagine a scenario where they come face-to-face that doesn’t end with merlot a messy smear on the floor unless he does a very good job of masking his true ambitions—which isn’t impossible, given that merlot industries seems to have been a well-regarded corporation prior to the destruction of mountain glenn. (that he knows ozpin socially/professionally well enough to call him oz is also suggestive—while ozpin’s opinion of him now is obviously quite poor, there’s grounds to think they were on friendly terms at one point, prior to the destruction of mountain glenn and subsequent discoveries of what merlot industries had been doing.)

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autumnslance · 2 years

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LynMars’s FFXIV Write 2022 Master Post

Writings completed for this year’s daily challenge. As usual any of my ship-related content is marked with an asterisk (*) to seek or avoid as needed.

The goal this year was to write less than I have in previous years; to allow myself shorter scenes and not push myself on free days. To actually relax, have fun, and not stress about writing “enough”. To make my prose just as long as it needed to be.

Overall, I succeeded in said goals.

Breakdowns and commentary under the cut for those interested!

1. Cross - Two travelers’ journey over time & adventuring together. 2. Bolt - Iyna doing her duty as a rebel versus the Empire. 3. Temper - Midgardsormr keeps a promise to forge a hero. 4. Free Day! 5. Cutting Corners - Dark Autumn after a company officer meeting. 6. Onerous - Thancred & the Immortal Flames, post-Ifrit. 7. Pawn - Emelia obtains passage for her family to Thavnair. 8. Tepid - Zaine realizing he doesn’t belong with the Radiant Host. 9. Yawn - Aeryn escaping the Bloody Banquet through the tunnel. 10. Channel - C’oretta’s thought processes. 11. Free Day! 12. Miss the Boat - Urianger, Moenbryda, and regrets. 13. Confluence - Venat tracing the flow of fate. 14. Attrition - Ser Ompagne has a brief theological discussion. 15. Row - Dark versus a certain baby behemoth. 16. Deiform - Dark, Aeryn, Iyna, & C’oretta in Delubrum Reginae. 17. Novel* - Aeryn, Thancred, & a borrowed book over time. 18. Free Day - Memory* - Aeryn & Thancred discuss his possession. 19. Turn a Blind Eye - Lahabrea contemplates his mistakes. 20. Anon - Ryne learning two opposing definitions of the word. 21. Solution - 2 Azems discuss the plans for the Final Days. 22. Veracity - In a possible future, Iyna ensures history’s truth. 23. Pitch* - Thancred knows how to distract Aeryn when necessary. 24. Vicissitudes - Ascian viewpoints on their stolen mortal bodies. 25. Free Day! 26. Break a Leg - Iyna & C’oretta help the dancers at a recital. 27. Hail - An Estinien PoV of the final fight in the Aitiascope. 28. Vainglory - The Warrior of Light isn’t what Jullus expected. 29. Fuse - Tanzel thinks of ways to handle his stepchild’s temper. 30. Sojourn - A family of travelers, in 1 lifetime & perspective.

Totals: 18,813 words.

A bit more than my 2018 (around 16k), less than my 2019 (21.4K), and way less than 2020 and 2021. I was realistic about my time and energy, asked myself what is the core idea or scene I really want to get across, and any spot-editing was for tightening wording and phrases. I feel like it got harder to keep writing shorter as the month went on and my focus slipped--and I really got into a writing groove!

I could have definitely gone on longer for some of these, and do have other scene ideas and notes in the drafts. But for the 24 hour challenge I tried to keep them short, though they’re each as long as they need to be.

I did mean to put out old WIPs again on free days, but that time/energy factor combined with busy weekends, so I took them off. "Memory" actually came out of "Yawn" and was plinked at over the week before it went up for the 18th.

Only a couple wolcred fics this year; got in a good mix of NPCs and OCs, with Iyna taking a bit more of a POV spotlight in the non-Aeryn-focused stories, though all the girls got at least one. More Ancients and Ascians than I generally go with, though still made sure some favorite Scions got in there. And a bit more of Aeryn's family and backstory, as getting Thavnair finally has put that forefront in my brain.

I was hoping something would spark an idea for an Avengret chapter I feel is "missing" but I may have to resign myself to the fact that chapter doesn't want to be written as I continue revising last year's unexpected longfic. Thankfully this year's prompts were all standalones.

More Breakdowns:

Longest: 17 Novel, 2073. Shortest: 15 Row, 220.

Between 1500 - 2000: 24 Vicissitudes (1522), 29 Fuse (1678) Between 1000 - 1499: 18 Memory (1034) Between 500 - 999: 3 Temper (537), 8 Tepid (500), 10 Channel (586), 12 Miss the Boat (824), 13 Confluence (702), 14 Attrition (683), 20 Anon (839), 21 Solution (532), 22 Veracity (857), 28 Vainglory (864), 30 Sojourn (989) Between 200 - 499: 1 Cross (386), 2 Bolt (299), 5 Cutting Corners (445), 6 Onerous (488), 7 Pawn (300), 9 Yawn (375), 15 Row (220), 16 Deiform (375), 19 Turn a Blind Eye (277), 23 Pitch (481), 26 Break a Leg (462), 27 Hail (485)

General WoL: 1 Cross, 3 Temper, 13 Confluence, 22 Veracity I tend to default to feminine pronouns when writing Generic Default WoL.

WoL Aeryn (as an adult): 6 Onerous, 9 Yawn, 16 Deiform, 17 Novel, 18 Memory, 23 Pitch, 27 Hail, 28 Vainglory, 30 Sojourn

Wolcred: 17 Novel, 18 Memory, 23 Pitch.

Child Aeryn: 7 Pawn, 29 Fuse

Aeryn’s Family: 7 Pawn, 8 Tepid, 29 Fuse, 30 Sojourn

Other OCs: 2 Bolt (Iyna), 5 Cutting Corners (Dark), 10 Channel (C'oretta), 15 Row (Dark & Violet), 16 Deiform (Iyna, Dark, C'oretta, Aeryn), 21 Solution (Pandora), 22 Veracity (Iyna), 26 Break a Leg (Iyna & C'oretta)

Ancients & Ascians: 13 Confluence (Venat), 19 Turn a Blind Eye (Lahabrea), 21 Solution (Venat), 24 Vicissitudes (Lahabrea & Emet-Selch)

Other NPCs: 3 Temper (Midgardsormr), 12 Miss the Boat (Urianger, Moenbryda, Louisoix), 14 Attrition (Ser Ompagne), 20 Anon (Ryne, Ran’jit, Thancred), 27 Hail (Estinien, other Scions)

#Final Fantasy XIV #FFXIVWrite2022 #Lyn Writing #Aeryn Striker #Dark Autumn #C'oretta Khell #Iyna Cauld #Scions of the Seventh Dawn #Endwalker #Shadowbringers #Stormblood #Heavensward #A Realm Reborn #Backstory

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senadimell · 2 years

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It’s so funny to me how ridiculously arrogant Gavilar Kholin is.

“He has potential you do not see, that one.

‘Dalinar? Of course he does. If I can keep him pointed the right direction, he will burn down entire nations.’ Gavilar just had to keep him plied with alcohol the other times, so that he didn’t burn down this nation.

He could be more than you think.

‘Dalinar is a big, dumb, blunt instrument you apply to problems until they break,’ Gavilar said. ‘Best to keep him occupied otherwise—so he doesn’t get ideas and start seeing you as a problem.’ Gavilar shivered, remembering a time on a battlefield, watching his brother approach. Soaked in blood. Eyes seeming to glow red with hunger for the throne, the life Gavilar had...

That ghost haunted him at times. A vision, sure as the ones the Stormfather gave him, of what Dalinar could have been. Fortunately, the man was a kindly drunk. Both his pain and his addiction made him easy enough to control.”

Stormlight 5 prologue draft

oh yes, i am the smartest guy who has ever lived and i am so much smarter than stupid spren and my stupid brother. i am so much better than him because he has no self control and i make him drunk so i can manipulate him like a puppet. i am solely responsible for every single good thing in my life, and that’s why i’m going to get immortality. who else could deserve it but me?

let’s unpack that, shall we? (probably typos ahead)

Gavilar was weak. He intended to give up his momentum and rest upon what Dalinar had won for him.Well, there was one way to make certain the war continued. One way to keep the Thrill alive. One way for Dalinar to get everything he deserved. He was running. Some of the men in Gavilar’s group raised hands in welcome. Weak. No weapons presented against him! He could slaughter them all before they knew what happened. They deserved it! Dalinar deserved to— Gavilar turned to him, pulling free his helm and smiling an open, honest grin. Dalinar pulled up, stopping with a lurch. He stared at Gavilar, his brother. Oh, Stormfather, Dalinar thought. What am I doing? He *let* the Blade slip from his fingers and vanished. Gavilar strode up, unable to read Dalinar’s horrified expression behind his helm. As a blessing, no shamespren appeared, though he should have earned a legion of them in that moment. [ommitted: conversation about the people Dalinar killed] “Dalinar, you wonderful, terrible man!” Gavilar turned toward his soldiers. “Hail the Blackthorn, men! Hail him!” Gloryspren burst around Gavilar, golden orbs that rotated around his head like a crown. Dalinar blinked amid their cheering, and suddenly felt a shame so deep he wanted to crumple up. This time, a single spren—like a falling petal from a blossom—drifted down around him. *He had to do something.* “Blade and plate,” Dalinar said to Gavilar urgently. “I won them both, but I give them to you. A gift. For your children.” [...] [Dalinar’s wedding will happen within the month]. As would, likely, the official re-coronation where—for the first time in centuries—all ten highprinces of Alethkar would bow before a single king. Dalinar sat down on a stone, pulling free his helm and accepting water from a young messenger woman. Never again, he swore to himself. I give way for Gavilar in all things. Let him have the throne, let him have love. I must never be king.

Oathbringer, Chapter 26, Blackthorn unleashed (bolding and asterisks added for emphasis)

what’s that? literally possessed Dalinar saw you and was about to kill you but realized what he was doing and stopped himself? And vowed he would never do it again? and was willing to do literally anything it took, including giving away magic armor worth kingdoms? and it was all a conscious choice and act of willpower? (in the face of possession, no less)

(I don’t know if this is the incident Gavilar was thinking of in the prologue, as the helm was covering his face, but it seems likely. Unless Gavilar saw him in a later battle and thought huh. All anyone could want in life is what I have, so maybe I should do something about him...).

Let’s look at Oathbringer chapter 5, Born unto Light. Also, important to note for the quotes below: when Dalinar is dreaming of war, it’s not generally PTSD-style “horrors of war.” No, it’s literally “wow I love war so much, it’s the best thing ever and it’s the only time I’m alive (because unbeknownst to me, I get magic possessed-drunk-high.) I sure miss war.”

[Dalinar uses firemoss to get high.]

Here, with a good drink and a little help pressed between his fingers, he could finally relax. Here nobody cared how presentable he was, or if he drank too much.

Here, he didn’t have to listen to reports of rebellion and imagine himself out on those fields, solving problems the direct way. Sword in hand, Thrill in his heart...

He rubbed the moss more vigrorously. Don’t think about war. Just live in the moment, as Evi always said. [...]

What’s that? he is intentionally self-medicating because he misses war so much? eh...wait, let’s keep reading

Dalinar took his mug, but didn’t drink. For now, the firemoss was doing its job. His wasn’t the only plume rising in the dim stone chamber. Gavilar hated the stuff. But then, Gavilar liked his life now. [...]

what? he's not drinking because of The Alcohol? the alcohol that Gavilar thinks he loves so much?

Dalinar closed his eyes.. He felt as if he could drift off, maybe get some sleep without worrying about Evi, or dreaming of war...

[Ommitted: Dalinar is reminded of war by wrestling sounds] Dalinar stood up as others, ahead of him, raised their hands and cheered.

The contest. The fight.

That led me to almost kill Gavilar.

Dalinar sat back down. [...] Dalinar reached to the floor and picked up the firemoss. He tossed it onto the table and stared at it, then took a pull from his mug of wine. The next wrestling match started, and he winced as the two competitors collided. Storms. Why did he keep putting himself into situations like this?

huh...wow it’s really hard for him to avoid his war addiction. Another point for “intentionally self-medicating.”

[Ommitted: a conversation about war] “We won’t be going,” Dalinar said. “You’ve got men to train. And I...” Dalinar drank more wine. “I’m going to be a father. My brother can handle the Rift with diplomacy.”

Havar leaned back, flippantly dropping his mug to the table. “The king can’t politic his way past open rebellion, Dalinar.”

Dalinar closed his fist around the firemoss, but didn’t rub it. How much of his interest in the Rift was his duty to protect Gavilar’s kingdom, and how much was his craving to feel the Thrill again? Damnation. He felt like half a man these days.

[Ommitted: Dalinar wants to join a wrestling match but no one will fight him because he left three men permanently disabled; Dalinar did not know this and is dismayed to find out.]

Dalinar crossed his arms on the table, grinding his teeth. The firemoss wasn’t working. Yes, it gave him a quick rush of euphoria, but that only made him want the greater headiness of the Thrill. Even now, he felt on edge—he had the urge to smash this table and everything in the room. He’d been so ready for the fight; he’d surrendered to the temptation, and then had the pleasure stolen from him.

He felt the shame of losing control, but none of the satisfaction of actually getting to fight.

Dalinar seized his mug, but it was empty. Stormfather! he thew it and stood up, wanting to scream.

wow this does not sound like a man who can’t control himself, does it? some mindless beast controlled by urges who would seize the throne if he wasn’t thrown into battles?

[Dalinar is distracted by the news that Evi went into labor. Adolin is born and Dalinar is on cloud nine until Gavilar comes around with news from the Rift. Turns out, Gavilar is already dreaming of Radiant glory.]

“It is time to show the kingdom we are not soft, Brother.”

Oh no. Hours ago, he would have leaped in excitement. But after seeing that child...

You’ll be anxious again in a few days, Dalinar told himself. A man can’t change in a moment.

“Gavilar, he whispered, “I’m worried.”

“You’re still the Blackthorn, Dalinar.”

“I’m not worried about whether I can win battles.” Dalinar stood, throwing back his chair in haste. He found himself pacing. “I’m like an animal, Gavilar. Did you hear about the bar fight? Storms. I can’t be trusted around people.”

“You are what the Almighty made you.”

huh, is that what you think of yourself, Gavilar? that the almighty made you different? special? i’m pretty sure you don’t believe in the almighty or you’d treat his spren better (actually it’s odium making the magic-hunger, btw. magic emotion manipulation can do so much to a man)

also note that Dalinar is being very responsible here and telling his brother “um, hey, so i might be addicted to killing people and that’s historically really bad for someone in my position, so maybe it’s bad to feed my desire to kill people?” He’s legit warning the man, but does Gavilar even notice? nah.

“I’m telling you, I’m dangerous. Sure, I can crush this little rebellion, bathe Oathbringer in some blood. Great. Wonderful. Then what? I come back here and lock myself in a cage again?”

“I...might have something that will help.”*

(* “help me, I mean. because you are clearly waiting to usurp me, right? that’s what you mean by living in a cage. you just want to usurp me.”)

“Bah. I’ve tried living a quiet life. I can’t live through endless politics, like you can. I need more than just words!”

“You’ve merely been trying to restrain yourself—you’ve tried casting out the bloodthirst, but you haven’t replaced it with anything else. Go do what I command, then return and we can discuss further.”

a classic. “have you tried having more self control?” (aka this is just your moral weakness isn’t it. that’s why you have problems and i don’t. disability? addiction-as-disease? never heard of her.)

or how about “have you tried not getting addicted by a godlike being who gets you magic drunk-high when you fight in our culture that extols male prowess as the highest social and religious virtue and also secretly idolizes being drunk-high-possessed by said magical being?

[...] Dalinar stopped near his brother, then took a single purposeful step into his shadow. Remember this. Remember you serve him. He would never return to that place that had almost led him to attack this man [...]

Gavilar met Dalinar’s eyes. No...he was not soft. He thought like a king now. He sought the long term, but Gavilar Kholin was as determined as ever.

“It will be done,” Dalinar said. Storms, this day had been a tempest of emotion. Dalinar stalked toward the door. He wanted to see the child again.

ah yes.

“hahaha yeah my brother could never understand anything. he doesn’t get anything other than bashing people. he could never possibly appreciate anything i do for him. the man doesn’t even know the power of words in our culture where male literacy is practially heresy.”

precisely Gavilar. you understand your brother perfectly. /s

“Brother?” Gavilar said.

Dalinar turned back and regarded Gavilar, who was bathed by the bleeding light of a fire reaching its end.

“Words are important,” Gavilar said. “much more than you give them credit for being.”

“Perhaps,” Dalinar said. “But if they were all-powerful, you wouldn’t need my sword, would you?”

“Perhaps. I can’t help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.”

Oathbringer chapter 5, Born unto Light

look at this clown. clownery!

you’ve got dalinar being a reasonable guy here, thinking that his brother’s talk of words is about things like “statesmanship” and “good governance” and “economics” and “taxes” and “accounting” and “diplomacy.” Yeah, words. books. numbers. Cool. Necessary, but they haven’t eliminated war, have they? (also notice how Dalinar knows Gavilar is using him, and has chosen to go along with it, something Gavilar has never given him credit for (come to think of it, he’s never given anyone credit for a single day in his life)).

then you’ve got actual clown Gavilar who is not talking about statemanship. He is not talking about diplomacy. He may sorta be talking about things like “legacy” and also “literacy,” since sometime he taught himself to read and learned that there was a lot he didn’t know.

but no, what Gavilar’s actually talking about are literal magic words.

hahaha my dumb brother doesn’t know the power of words. *memorizes a book and quotes it so he can get magic immortality words*

it’s almost like...he never actually learned why words are powerful

Stormlight 5 prologue again

“If I should die,” Gavilar said, quoting The Way of Kings, “then I would do so having lived my life right. It is not the destination that matters, but how one arrives there.”

Not even close, the spren said. Guessing will not bring you to the Words, Gavilar.

Yes, well, the words were in the volume somewhere. Sheltered among the self-righteous moralizing like a whitespine in the brambles. It wasn’t any of the obvious quotes, so Gavilar had begun to say the ones that were less obbious. And if this didn’t yield fruit, and the quest for Urithiru proved to be a dead end...well, he had other avenues.

Gavilar Kholin was not a man accustomed to losing. That was how the greatest men lived their lieves. The didn’t accept failure or loss. People got what they expected. And he expected not just victory, but divinity.”

Literal. Magic. Words.

and he actually. said the words. not exactly, but in principle, which is what matters, because the spren would give him the words if he was ready to swear to the principle)

but Mr. I’m The Bestest And The Reason I’m Better Than Everyone Else Is Because They’re Too Weak To Want Things Enough, Unlike Me, Who Has Earned Everything In My Life, Ever, thinks that if he can get a magic spell right he can continue to manipulate everyone and then become Divine, so he can make sure everyone knows how good he is, forever.

Like. The man has never conceptualized that others have an inner life and make choices, has he? He’s got gloryspren when he sees his **brute brother** finish hacking people, and it’s not because he’s proud of his brother. he’s proud of manipulating his brother. Pride of having such a powerful tool that to obey him.

on the very day that Dalinar decided that he was willing to wreck his entire life rather than do something like murder a brother he respects.

the man loves nothing in life except making other people do things for him and claiming it was all him when they obey, and that’s the guy everyone won’t speak ill of and went to war to avenge? if that isn’t an indictment of alethi society, I don’t know what is.

#dalinar #cosmere #kowt prologue #kowt spoilers #kowt speculation #stormlight 5 #stormlight 5 spoilers #gavilar #gavilar kholin #branderson

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psychicglittermentality · 2 years

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I just finished rereading ‘The Son of Neptune’ and I really wish Rick had put something in it. In the scene where Percy fights Polybotes, I wanted Polybotes to challenge Percy to do some trash talk, like what Porphyrion challenged Jason to do in ‘The Lost Hero.’ Just so we could see Camp Jupiter be completely in awe of Percy’s accomplishments. Like, we (as far as I remember lol) never got a list of the incredible things Percy has done. I’ll list a few (the ones I remember, and the biggest things that he’s done) that would have been pretty cool to see in the books, in (mostly) chronological order.

1) Defeated the Minotaur with his own bare hands

2) Cut off Medusa’s head

3) Fought Echidna and the Chimera

4) Fought and injured Ares in one on one combat

5) Fought the Hydra and received the Golden Fleece

6) Fought the Manticore

7) Defeated the Nemean Lion*

8) Defeated the Titan Atlas* and held up the sky

9) Defeated the son of Gaea Antaeus

10) Defeated Geryon*

11) Befriended Daedalus and travelled through the Labyrinth

12) Defeated Kampe*

13) Blew up a cruise ship filled with monsters

14) Swam in the River Styx and became invincible

15) Defeated Hyperion*

16) Defeated Kronos*

17) Offered immortality “by Zeus himself”

*The asterisks mean that he didn’t do it by himself. In some cases (Kampe, Atlas, etc), he fought them, but others actually killed them. I am aware of that, but it just seems to impressive, don’t you think?

Feel free to add some more of Percy’s impressive feats!

#percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #the lightning thief #the sea of monsters #the titan's curse #the battle of the labyrinth #the last olympian #the lost hero #the son of neptune #the heroes of olympus #percy is so powerful honestly #this isn't even everything #remember he fought the pig in manhatten?#and the furies on the bus?#yeah he's kinda cool

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thegirlwiththelantern · 2 years

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Hey! I write book release posts on my book blog, China Sorrows. But I like them to be specifically for books I'm personally excited about. In looking for 2023 releases I came across quite a few books I don't want to read but which would probably be really exciting to other people, so here some are.

Quick note- because I'm not covering them on my blog I didn't hunt through various sources and if the one I found doesn't list a synopsis, I won't. I also don't list synopsis for sequels in case of spoilers.

I'm going to cheat this time and include some books which I am excited for! They're marked with a little asterisk* for ease.

The Surviving Sky (Rages #1) by Kritika H. Rao (queer)*

High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below. Charismatic, powerful, mystical, Iravan is one such architect. In his city, his word is nearly law. His abilities are his identity, but to Ahilya, his wife, they are a way for survival to be reliant on the privileged few. Like most others, she cannot manipulate the plants. And she desperately seeks change. Their marriage is already thorny—then Iravan is accused of pushing his abilities to forbidden limits. He needs Ahilya to help clear his name; she needs him to tip the balance of rule in their society. As their paths become increasingly intertwined, deadly truths emerge, challenging everything each of them believes. And as the earthrages become longer, and their floating city begins to plummet, Iravan and Ahilya’s discoveries might destroy their marriage, their culture, and their entire civilization.

Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai (chinese)*

As a descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, Elle was destined to be a doctor. Instead, she is underemployed as a magical calligrapher at the fairy temp agency. Meanwhile dreamy half-elf Luc, the agency’s top security expert, has his own problems and secrets. In this xianxia-inspired contemporary fantasy, a Chinese immortal and a French elf navigate romance, family loyalty, and workplace demands.

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (indigenous)*

Anequs, a fifteen-year old indigenous girl, has never been away from her isolated island community. But Anequs has just bonded with a dragon hatchling, and thus become the first Nampeshiweisit – person in a unique relationship with a dragon – that the island has seen in more than two hundred years. That’s something that does not go unnoticed by the colonizing powers that be. Now, in accordance with the colonizers’ laws, Anequs must attend an academy on the mainland and prove her competence in dragon husbandry and magic. If she can’t or won’t perform to their very specific expectations, her dragon will be put to death. Anequs must navigate two cultures’ worth of traditions and wisdom, trying to fill a role no one has held in two hundred years. There are no mentors who can teach her precisely what she needs to be, so she must find her own path. She rekindles lost traditions, pieces together new ways of doing ancient things and traditional ways of doing new things. She must comply with the laws and regulations imposed on her by colonizers while also staying true to her people’s values and beliefs.

Fake Dates and Moon Cakes by Sher Lee (queer, chinese)*

Love wasn’t on the menu… Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition for teen chefs—in memory of his mom, as well as to bring much-needed publicity to Wok Warriors, his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn. Enter Theo Somers: charming, wealthy, with a smile that makes Dylan’s stomach do backflips. Their worlds are sun-and-moon apart, but Theo keeps showing up. He even makes a sizable donation to Wok Warriors. Feeling obligated to return the favor, Dylan agrees to be Theo’s fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons. In Theo’s glittering world of pomp, privilege, and crazy rich drama, their romance is supposed to be just for show…but Dylan finds himself falling for Theo. For real. Then Theo’s relatives reveal their true colors—and with the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being distracted by rich people problems. Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart—or will he fail to do both?

Your Wish is My Command by Deena Mohamed (egyptian)*

Your Wish is My Command is the story of three people who are navigating a world where wishes are literally for sale. Mired as they are in bureaucracy and the familiar prejudices of our world, the wishes that are more expensive are more likely to work as intended. Three wishes sold at an unassuming kiosk in Cairo link Aziza, Nour and Shokry, changing their perspectives as well as their lives. Aziza learned early that life can be hard, but when she loses her husband and manages to procure a wish, she finds herself fighting unreasonable regulations and inequality for the right to have – and make – that wish. Nour is a privileged college student who secretly struggles with depression and must decide whether or not to use their wish to try to ‘fix’ this depression. And, finally, Shokry must grapple with his religious convictions as he decides how to help a friend who doesn’t want to use their wish.

Changelings: An Autistic Trans Anthology edited by Ryan Vale (trans, autism)*

Nothing about us without us! A young adult anthology of stories about trans autistic characters by trans autistic authors. These last few years have been difficult for the transgender community. This has included frequent attacks on autistic trans people, claiming we can’t possibly understand who we are or what we want. This book focuses on autistic trans people telling our own stories. It aims to explore autistic trans joy and challenges and to show all the autistic trans young people out there that they are not alone.

Hamlet: Prince of Robots by M. Darusha Wehm (queer)*

Something is rotten in the state of cybernetics. Elsinore Robotics is on the cusp of a breakthrough—the company is poised to create the first humanoid androids powered by true artificial intelligence. Their only rival, Norwegian Technologies, lost a publicly streamed contest between their flagship model, Fortinbras, and Elsinore’s HAM(let) v.1. But when the first Hamlet model is found irreparably deactivated, the apparent victim of wild malware, the field of consumer cybernetics is thrown wide open. However, Hamlet v.1’s memories were not entirely lost in the accident. Hamlet v.2 swears to avenge his progenitor, but is plagued by the aftereffects of integrating Old Hamlet’s backup into his own neural matrix. Beset by doubts about whether his feelings are truly his own, he worries his love for his boyfriend, Horatio, is an illusion, all the while driven by a consuming need for revenge. While he has a method, there is a madness in it, and Hamlet’s actions will leave no corner of Elsinore unscathed.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran (vietnamese, queer)*

When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised. But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat. Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.

If Tomorrow Doesn't Come by Jen St. Jude (queer)

On the morning nineteen-year-old Avery Byrne plans to end her life, she learns an asteroid will end the world in a matter of days. She fights her way home from college to help her family and be with the girl she loves, but while they chase their final tomorrows, can Avery embrace her own?

Board to Death by C.J. Connor (queer)

Board to Death is the first in a queer cozy mystery series featuring a 30-something professor-turned-board game shop proprietor who juggles keeping his father's Salt Lake City-based board game shop alive, a budding romance with the handsome florist next door, and a murder that threatens the game shop's livelihood.

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao (queer, polyam, chinese, disability)

[sequel]

Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto (filipino)

Chloe is officially off the waitlist at USC, and thus one step closer to realizing her dream of becoming an animator in the United States. But before she leaves home, her auntie insists on planning a traditional debut for Chloe’s eighteenth birthday (think sweet sixteen meets debutante ball). To make matters worse, her father, intent on finding Chloe the perfect escort for the party, keeps setting her up on one awkward kaishao—or arranged date—after another. But . . . why does her dad suddenly care so much about her love life? And what happens when she actually starts to fall for one of the guys, only to have to leave at the end of the summer?

The Otherwoods by Justine Pucella Winans (queer)

Pitched as TOO BRIGHT TO SEE meets DOLL BONES, the middle grade novel follows River, who can see monsters and enter a spirit world called The Otherwoods--but would rather avoid both at all costs. When their crush is kidnapped and taken to The Otherwoods, River must face their fears and find the confidence to believe in themself in order to save her.

The Song of Us by Kate Fussner (queer)

Love at first sight isn’t a myth. For seventh graders Olivia and Eden, it’s fate. Olivia is a capital-P Poet, and Eden thinks she wants to be a musician one day, but for now she’s just the new girl. And then Eden shows up to Poetry Club and everything changes. Eden isn’t out, and she has rules for dating Olivia: don’t call. Don’t tell her friends. And don’t let anyone know they’re together. But when jealousy creeps in, it’s Olivia’s words that push Eden away. While Eden sets out to find herself, Olivia begins a journey to bring Eden back—using poetry. Both Olivia and Eden will learn just how powerful their words can be to bring them together . . . or tear them apart forever.

World Running Down by Al Hess (queer, trans)

Valentine Weis is a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Wrestling with body dysphoria, he dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City – a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk are much less likely to be shot full of arrows by salt pirates. But earning that kind of money is a pipe dream, until he meets the exceptionally handsome Osric. Once a powerful AI in Salt Lake City, Osric has been forced into an android body against his will and sent into the wasteland to offer Valentine a job on behalf of his new employer – an escort service seeking to retrieve their stolen androids. The reward is a visa into the city, and a chance at the life Valentine’s always dreamed of. But as they attempt to recover the “merchandise”, they encounter a problem: the android ladies are becoming self-aware, and have no interest in returning to their old lives. The prize is tempting, but carrying out the job would go against everything Valentine stands for, and would threaten the fragile found family that’s kept him alive so far. He’ll need to decide whether to risk his own dream in order to give the AI a chance to live theirs.

Caught in a Bad Fauxmance by Elle Gonzalez Rose (queer)

Aspiring artist Devin Báez's winter vacation devolves into hijinks after his family's long-time rivals, the affluent Seo-Cookes, challenge them to a bet that could cost the Báezes their beloved lake cabin. But when the enemy's attractive son comes to Devin in desperate need of a fake boyfriend, he reluctantly agrees to set aside loathing for love to take down the Seo-Cookes once and for all.

The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis (queer)

In 1996, 16-year-old Audre is having trouble fitting into her new town, where everyone seems to believe there's a Satanic cult in the woods. But when the pastor's daughter—Audre's crush—goes missing, she starts to wonder if the town's obsession with evil isn't covering up something far worse.

Shoot the Moon by Isa Arsén (queer)

Pitched as THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS meets THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE, about a queer female engineer at NASA working on the 1969 space race and her unusual discovery linked to her childhood in the 1940s, which explores the high human cost of scientific progress and the driving need for both intellectual fulfillment and romantic love, no matter the time and place.

A Prayer for Vengeance by Leanne Schwartz (queer)

After centuries trapped as a statue, plus-size Gia wants revenge, but if she's going to kill the immortal man who doomed her and usurped her sister, she needs to get her hands—and likely her blade—on the handsome autistic poet whose prayers woke her. Publication is slated for fall 2023; Lee O'Brien at Irene Goodman Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.

Nightbirds by Kate J. Armstrong

The Nightbirds are Simta’s best kept secret. Teenage girls from the Great Houses with magic coursing through their veins, the Nightbirds have the unique ability to gift their magic to others with a kiss. Magic—especially the magic of women—is outlawed and the city’s religious sects would see them burned if discovered. But protected by the Great Houses, the Nightbirds are safe well-guarded treasures. As this Season’s Nightbirds, Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer spend their nights bestowing their unique brands of magic to well-paying clients. Once their Season is through, they're each meant to marry a Great House lord and become mothers to the next generation of Nightbirds before their powers fade away. But Matilde, Aesa, and Sayer have other plans. They know their lives as Nightbirds aren't just temporary, but a complete lie and yearn for something more. When they discover that there are other girls like them and that their magic is more than they were ever told, they see the carefully crafted Nightbird system for what it is: a way to keep them in their place, first as daughters and then as wives. Now they must make a choice—to stay in their gilded cage or to remake the city that put them there in the first place.

#book #books #booklr #2023 #my lists

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lungsandlips · 7 months

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Felix seems really interesting. Can you describe him in a few sentences. Like what is he truly? What’s his personality like.

I haven’t gotten to use Felix in so long but he’s on my main muse page because that needs to change.

Anyway, deep down Felix is just a man who has always wanted to mean something to someone. He’s sweet but maybe too quick to trust. Tell him he’s your muse, tempt him with art and pretty words and he’ll be putty in your hands. If someone has ever truly needed to be loved it’s Felix.

The asterisk in his bio affords him a time where he was loved so fiercely and intensely by someone with such power they were able to trade a piece of themselves for his immortality. Unfortunately gods are fickle things and that love faded leaving him to exist for all time alone.

AKA: Sad boy needs hug.

#Felix

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charonean · 8 months

Text

List of fun facts about Hybris as discovered this past session

Was once just an actual goat until he stumbled upon a very young Dionysus (still a demigod type young Dionysus) and then was turned into a Satyr.

He is, and I quote from my DM here, "Mortal but with an asterisk attached" aka He's been around Dionysus long enough (read: several millennia) that's he's not entirely mortal anymore, but he's not immortal.

He generally appears around 50 or so, but really it fluctuates between 30-60 based on how much he's had to drink (the more he drinks, the younger he looks).

Going off of that, he's always drunk, but has a remarkably high tolerance from, y'know, always being drunk. So he gives the appearance (to immortal figures) of aging, because it takes more for him to get drunk enough to look younger.

So in tonight's session, he just invented champagne* and infused it with blessings from like twelve different gods, and now he looks about 18. (*not produced in the Champagne region of France)

Is in a Very Open relationship with Dionysus and Ariadne

Has travelled all around the world, but it's been ages since he's been places, so he only speaks archaic forms of most languages. He does speak "modern Greek" (as per the campaigns setting), but he only writes in Linear B. People might assume he's illiterate instead.

#Hybris

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 2 years

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19th June >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

(Liturgical Colour: White)

First Reading

Genesis 14:18-20

Melchizedek brought bread and wine.

Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing:

‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.’

And Abram gave him a tithe of everything.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 109(110):1-4