#mana maniac

[sarsaparillasister]

I have an entire folder on my phone for my nefarious internet spells.

I plan to learn many spells over the next year.

I will update you once the spellbook hits a new milestone.

#spells #wizardry #sorcery #spellbook #magic #arcane arts #mana maniac #spellcaster #shadow wizard money gang

[artbyblastweave]

I've never made any connections between Worm and the Captain America mythos before. Spill some ink?

Okay, so from a purely aesthetic perspective, the gimme is Miss Militia. She's the most obvious "Captain Patriotic" in the roster, she has the power of GUN, she's the only one who actively buys into the mythology of America specifically. She's a Kurdish woman occupying an aesthetic niche generally held by a rugged squinty white guy. She's an output of the melting pot narrative. She's sort of a rendering of what a grounded superhero who somehow became very aesthetically into America might look like. Not in the craven marketing-driven way of Homelander or Comedian, not in the jingoistic maniac way of USAgent or Peacemaker. She buys it in the broadly left-liberal (USamerican connotation of that term) safe, friendly, reclamative way. Why, what a great rehabilitation of the archetype!

She's also deeply, deeply afraid of rocking the boat. She's got a deepseated childhood trauma related to the bad things that happen when she puts herself in a leadership role. She goes along to get along. When she's proactive, it's usually to point a gun at Tattletale to stop her from upsetting the status quo. She sits through a lot of situations where Steve Rogers, as commonly modeled, would probably plant himself like a tree by the river of truth and go, "Hey, this is fucked up." She more or less capitulates to Undersider domination of the city, in a way that predisposes us to think of her as a voice of reason after all these total nuts that Skitter's been up against- but would Taylor "to relinquish control is a form of ego death" Hebert really be willing to leave someone in charge of the local Protectorate branch who she thought couldn't be corralled? She looks like a beacon, but doesn't- indeed, probably can't- ever truly behave like one. I mean, you can debate the on-the-spot morality of any given one of her judgement calls, that's actually one of the less exhausting Worm Morality Debates to have- but in aggregate, a person in American flag garb who actually meaningfully criticizes the paramilitary organization they're part of is not gonna survive long in that role!

So again, she's the gimme from an aesthetic standpoint. But what I don't really see a lot of discussion of is how Cauldron plays into the riff.

Captain America is institutional, but in a comically morally uncomplicated way. The serum was originally mana from heaven, granted to a living saint, conveniently divorced from any nitty-gritty sausage-making process and even-more conveniently divorced from the horrible consequences of giving the, uh, the U.S government a replicable super soldier process. And in fairness to Captain America, this is 100 percent something the overall mythos eventually patched to my satisfaction; the sausage-making process eventually revealed as prototypical government fuckery driven by human experimentation on black servicemen, the overall Marvel Setting littered with failed attempts by the U.S. Government to recreate that golden goose so they can have their fun new jackboots. (In Ultimate Marvel, this is how almost all contemporary superhumans were created, and this is a state of affairs with a body count in the millions or billions.)

Cauldron draws you in with the same noble rhetoric about greater goods, the same one-off proprietary irreplicable formula- but you don't get the luxury afterwards of representing nothing but the dream. You aren't partnering up with a plucky crank scientist with a heart of gold. You're selling your soul to an organization with an agenda. The narrative makes no bones about the fact that everything you do is fundamentally tainted by the fact you opted into an end product created through torture, kidnapping and human experimentation. You don't get to pull a Kamen Rider by going rogue or opting out or making good use of the fruit of the poisoned tree; you are owned, and everything you do has this Damocles sword hanging over your head- when are the people who bankrolled this going to come to collect?

So that's the question of "who would willingly dress like that" covered, and the question of who creates a serum like that. What about the question of who takes a serum like that? I'd argue that Eidolon is the examination of that. Pre-Cauldron David reads to me like pre-serum Steve Rogers viewed through a significantly bleaker lens. They're both sickly kids desperate to serve, rocketed to the pinnacle of human capability by an experimental procedure. But for Steve Rogers, the crisis was that he had a specific vision of the world and was frustrated by his inability to carry it out. Before the serum he picked fights over what was right and wrong and got his ass handed to him; afterwards he picked those same fights and just started winning instead. The serum neatly solved a problem he had, and to the extent that his mindset is influenced by his pre-serum experiences, it's generally constructive; a desire to protect the weak, help the helpless, an appreciation for people who stand up for what's right even when they're clearly gonna get pancaked for their trouble. So ultimately there's no dark side, downside, or underlying neurosis ascribed to his initial impulse to take that serum.

But with David, it's not a tragic case of the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak. He isn't a preternaturally-noble soul, out to represent the best elements of the American ideal- he kind of represents the inverse, a guy who's been failed at every level while utterly convinced that he's the problem. He's actively suicidal because he's a wheelchair-bound epileptic in an economically-depressed socially-backwards rural town in the 1980s, and he's spent his 18 years of life internalizing the idea that he's worse than useless unless he can somehow find a way provide value to something larger than himself. Doctor Mother finds him in the aftermath of a suicide attempt spurred by his rejection from the army- and he didn't even want to join the army specifically, necessarily, he just needed his situation to be literally anything else, and he took what he thought he could get. And then he finds himself in a position to become a superhero, so he does that, molds himself into that, subordinates himself to that, builds his entire sense of self and values around the value he can provide in that role. No grand design or sacred principles carried over through the metamorphosis. Just relief at finally, finally having something that looks like an answer to the question of what he's supposed to do.

And you know, you know that if Steve Rogers was facing down the barrel of being depowered, he'd smile and nod, he'd Cincinnatus that shit. It's happened before. But for David, the emotional trauma and self-worth issues that caused him to roll the dice on a Steve-Rogers treatment never really went away. When would it? He's been Providing Value as a ten-ton Hammer Against Evil for thirty years. No family, no social life. Certainly, no incentive on his handler's part to lance his Atlas complex. So he barrels towards atrocity in the name of remaining useful. Admittedly, this is where the comparison breaks down in a significant way; Captain America is much more of a symbol than he is an irreplicable powerhouse, so it's not catastrophic if he's taken off the board. Eidolon is so unbelievably powerful that his myopia and self-centeredness actually do align with a real problem everyone else is gonna have if he loses his powers. But in terms of the starting points- I think that Steve Rogers embodies the myth about why you'd want to join the army that badly. Eidolon is, I think, much more closely modelling why you'd actually want to join the army that badly.

#apologies for the delay in responding #worm #wildbow #parahumans #worm meta #eidolon #thoughts #meta #miss militia

[tgrailwar]

Tumblr Holy Grail War: Wave 7 - Day 3 (Masters from Beyond)

The Masters of Tumblr chose to summon a Foreigner-class!

The Masters put out a call into the abyss… and the abyss SHRIEKED back. Happily. Gladly. The voices from beyond the void would gratefully lend any one of their treasured Servants for your endeavors. The abandoned church shuddered and quaked, the bounds of the Grail War's already fragile reality beginning to rip and tear apart.

The 'Servant' set to protect the Grail, useless for all other things, stumbled forth as his perch began to corrode and twist.

"You geniuses decided to pick FOREIGNER? Listen, I can't speak for all Avengers, but at least they want to keep reality intact! I told Team Rider that Ruler was already waterlogged with data, and so you called up a virus? What exactly was the plan there? Remind me NEVER to ask you guys for computer help!"

Before the 'Nothing Servant' could complain further, a shape began manifesting. Not simply the Spirit Origin of a common Servant, but one that caused the fabric of reality and logic itself to crumble and twist.

It was shapeless, yet solid. Chaotic, yet aligned. Tendrils of smoke shot outward, draining away whatever it could from the dilapidated church, taking in magical energy as it hungered for an answer.

'Who will answer the call?'

The 'Nothing Servant' drew a pair of reverse-fanged blades, clutching them tightly in his hands. His own mana signature- as pathetic as it was- began to flare up around him. A Servant worse than any other Servant, but greater than any human. Stuck in the middle of being 'something' and 'nothing'.

Of course, that made him a perfect match for a Servant that 'wasn't quite anything', at least for now.

"...Her rule-- the ruling of 'Ruler'-- was that there were seven Servants, excluding herself. Two are out, so that means there's a gap left for this thing... and me!"

As confident as he was trying to sound, the pathetic Servant was already desperately trying to dodge out of the way of the incoming corrosion lest he succumb to it, trying to hide the clear panic in his voice.

"Okay, we can't stop the summoning, but maybe we can mess with the connection a bit so that they don't crawl out of the summoning circle at full power. If at least half of you aren't total maniacs, I'll need you to lend me your mana in order to pull this off! Sorry, but I'm breaking my promise, Overseer! Guess I'll need to be somebody! Nice to meet you all! Just call me 'Avenger' for now!"

In order to survive, Avenger needs at least 50% of the total votes!

#ruler adjudication #team foreigner #team avenger #prep phase poll #thgw story

[whatsthatmagiccard]

I've made you a puzzle! I think I narrowed it down to exactly one card

Transcript just in case Tumblr compresses it:

As it turns out, your friend's cube constructed deck is much harder to beat than expected. They've used Waste Land and Crucible of Worlds to decimate your mana base. Your creatures have been obliterated by fireball after fireball, and you're staring down 14 Rukh tokens. Your modern food combo deck looks like chump change at this point. Luckily, you've found a way out with a card that you stole off your opponent a while back in the game. The board state is thus: Your opponent has an empty graveyard, after abusing You're In Command and mutate shenanigans to put pretty much everything into their command zone just to flex on your sorry ass, aside from a Gitaxian Probe on top of their library. They still control an island, 14 tapped Rukh tokens, an Ali from Cairo, a Laboratory Maniac, and 3 life. They resolved a blossoming calm last turn. Your hand is empty and your library is just basic lands at this point, and you've already made your land drop this turn. You have in play 4 food tokens, one Rat token (WOE), 3 wastes, and a mv 1 artifact that'll win you the game this turn. What is it?

(This some kind of trick question or what?)

#i'm opening the floor on this one because i'm not getting it #only thing i'm seeing that can do shit is the millenium calendar and that definitely isn't supposed to be an answer #there's ways to mill the opponent but that just makes them win with labbyboy #i went through all the mv1 artifacts i could find. but i'm also exhausted so i might've missed something

[poopyballz28]

Collection of poopyballz28 baki idea's and thoughts

While I get back into writing, I thought I'd compile a bunch of stupid thoughts that aren't worth having their own post. This is a pretty long one so please laugh. Also ignore that Kiyosumi rant I don't know what got into me guys i swear

-poopyballz28

remembering, like, a year and a half ago when I described Kaoru as being built like a garage door. Never forget. I even liked him back then, I DONT EVEN LIKE HIM NO MORE! He's a meanie fo feenie i dunno, the karate boys are better.

me (number one kiyosumi katou fanboy and knower) watching other writers write kiyosumi falling in love with a woman and being super sexually dominate and it freaking me out because I have been blowing his back out in my brain for like 2 years:

I feel like I don't stress enough how genuinely submissive Kiyosumi is. I don't really write a whole lot of nsfw generally but JESUS CHRIST GUYS LOOK AT HIM. His build is insane where are you guys missing this. Women don't see the visions like I do. They just...cant see it. Perhaps I am too bara obsessed but no...I know the truth about his character...I would know...I'm the number one Kiyosumi Katou fan.....I know....

It's not even JUST his body, ITS HIS WHOLE CHARACTER. uptight, spunky, ego maniacal karate fighter that's super fucked up in the head who puts on this tough, intimidating act but behind closed doors he's a timid, embarrassed, submissive little dick taking asshole with issues that have gone unchecked FOR OH SO LONG. GRAAAHHH nobody sees him as i do ohhhh the LONELINESS how it pains me

yeah sorry guys for...all of that. lets move on to actually funny interesting stuff I thought of.

I was never much of a sporty, working out type of guy so I guess I wouldn't really understand, but whats up with all gym bro Baki fans being obsessed with and idolizing Yujiro and Jack. I just, don't see the appeal. One is a serial rapist and murderer AS WELL as a dead beat father and the other is just a drug abuser. How is that motivating to you people. Why obsess over the virgin Hanma's when you can obsess over the chad karate boys?! But its okay, because I KNOW these people are probably mentally ill, so that's why one day I'm going to open up a HOSPITAL. And a REHABILITATION CENTER for all deranged gym bro Baki fans. Please send funds via my cashapp, $kiyosumiballsucker3000. (thats not a real cashapp guys im trying to be funny)

I'm into REAL characters, that are actually interesting and cool, such as, 56 year old karate veteran and his three autistic and/or mentally ill sons, british, silly highschool girl who causes problems for no one, and not to forget, incredibly (and probably accidentally) gay coded kukendo man who apparently nobody cares about but me. That's right, I'm a REAL Baki fan.

Wondering when I'll expand on that Kureha and Kosho visual-kei band idea. Just THINK ABOUT IT. Kureha on vocals (and perhaps guitar) and Kosho on bass and bg vocals. IMAGINE. Kosho wears beautiful goth makeup and is rocking that deep shade of purple lipstick, AS THINGS SHOULD BE. I will never forgive Itagaki and the anime for removing it. It's just, never gonna happen. The two are in these, fucking, elaborate and gorgeously made outfits christ I'm a fucking genius. Kosho would 1000% wear an elegant (but still incredibly badass) lacy, vkei dress, looking like that fucking mana-sama guy (ourple edition) Ohhhh dude. I need to write some more for this idea.

To all my hardcore artist followers, if y'all want to draw v-kei Kosho and Kureha, I give you free reign over the idea, do your magic.

Wouldn't it be fucking hilarious if Yujiro died from like, the most random, insignificant thing in the world.

He's the strongest man- no, creature, in this world. He can brutally defeat animals larger than half his size with his bare hands. He can stop (and probably start) earthquakes at will. He died of a urinary track infection at 37.

Talking specifically about the english speaking fandom here, why do you think Katsumi is so overlooked and underrated. LOOK AT HIM. He is genuinely (I'm serious here) one of the most attractive manga characters I have ever seen in my life. Not only that but he's been through several arcs and has been included in a large amount of fights, HE'S PRETTY MUCH A MAIN CHARACTER YET NOBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT HIM!?! HOW!? On both sides of the fandom, Wattpad girls barely write fanfiction with him involved (thank god actually) and the gym bro's barely make their shitty edits of him (DOUBLE thank god) It's just so confusing to me. He's everything I've ever wanted in a character. Ever-growing strength and morals, an adorable and lovable face, a kind but fierce personality, and not to mention that sweet, sweet rack. Gorgeous pair of tits. Absolutely stunning. need to bend him over.

You ever just be reading a Y/N x Baki nsfw fanfiction and they mischaracterize Baki...in like every conceivable way. This guy DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT SEX IS. BARELY. How are you people so clouded by horniness you completely forget his character. He's an awkward little boy, why are they writing him like a flirtatious sex god?! Baki doesn't know what fucking "flirting" is, he's an idiot. He wouldn't freaking "punish" you in the bedroom guys, if he did he'd be so awkward and stumbling over every other word. AND STOP MAKING HIM SAY SUCH VULGAR THINGS YOU FUCKING FREAKS. Baki doesn't know what "eating out" means, he doesn't say curse words often and most of all, he doesn't. understand. sex. He's had sex ONCE with his wonderful girlfriend and they both barely understood what the fuck they were doing ☠️

How about you guys write him like how he actually is. Wouldn't it be adorable if there was an x reader with Baki where you two have like, loving but awkward sex for the first time and you try to guide him and help him understand in a wholesome way!? Wouldn't that be so much more true to character AND unique?? God, I have to do everything around here. Fuck.

Katsumi playing basketball and pointing at you and going "This ones for you, babe." then completely missing the shot.

Have I ever brought up that Kureha childhood headcanon where I think Kureha would find (or even kill) small creatures just to do little experiments on them and dig in their guts. Kosho walks in like "Nii-chan 🙁 what are you doing..."

Another Shinogi brother hc, I think it'd be hilarious if that blackish-brownish color of Kosho's hair isn't actually his natural hair color, and his real hair color is the same as Kureha's. THINK ABOUT IT THOUGH. He want's to be different from Kureha so he dyes it every now and then to differentiate himself. Plus he thinks it looks totally cool. Sometimes you can see his blonde/orange roots when his hair grows out. And yes, Kureha does tease him about this sometimes. Kosho fucking hates it.

Now that I'm thinking about it, Kureha teases Kosho about, like, everything. His v-kei obsession, his dyed hair, his fighting, everything. Not really a cute or funny headcanon either ☠️ Kureha is literally just a manipulative and judgemental asshole. I whole-heartedly believe that to be true. And in a way it is, I mean he is pretty much canonically like that. Kosho doesn't deserve this. Love that little goth guy, he deserves more.

Thanks for reading all this goofy goober shit all the way through. I'll probably be working on something else by the time you're reading this, so be prepared for content. Love you guys 👍

#why did i sign my own post #i need to KILL MYSELF #sorry guys #kiyosumi katou #katou kiyosumi #baki the grappler #baki dou #grappler baki #baki hanma #baki son of ogre #baki headcanons #baki x reader #orochi katsumi #katsumi orochi #kureha shinogi #kosho shinogi

[akiraak4]

Champagne, Cocaïne,Gasoline

A/N: This is my first time posting on this website, but I thought, why not? It is inspired by Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time by Panic! at the Disco. I do not own the character Cú Chulainn, yada, yada, yada, English is not my first language and all. CW: self-destructive behaviour,(slight) addiction, misuse of drugs and alcohol, drunk driving, self-harming behaviour, depression Wordcount: 2500 Underlying Cú Chulainn x Reader PART 1| PART 2

You jolted awake, a haze before your eyes, a siren whaling in your ears. Your throat leaves a groaning sound of pain as your eyes try to focus on something - anything at all if you will. Nothing seems to be in your reach, as you try to grab something as you work your way to stand, but falter and end up on the ground again. Your knees are like pudding and your fingers have no feeling to them. Your brain is pounding in your skull and you shakily exhale - letting the exhaustion get a grip on you again.

But this is not the beginning of this story. This is rather the end of it - if we would have followed a common structure.

And you weren't the one to tell either.

.

.

.

He has unusually taken form as a Berserker. Some factors of his summoning also caused all of his equipment to change and reversed his temperament. His expressions become cold, and the crimson demonic spear that is his Noble Phantasm has been mixed with darkness, overflowing with a foreboding aura.

.

.

.

Cú Chulainn Alter was your servant long enough by now to have a grasp on your behaviour - even though, you rather should have had a sight over his madness. After all, it seems like he is the one who has to have an eye on you most of the time. You have surrounded yourself with some of the most absurd servants, he could have imagined. Mostly because they are so engulfed in their own worlds - and their ideals - that it sickens him to even watch them. You always look a bit exhausted, but even if asked (by one of the few kind souls your summons have answered), you just dismiss the call by ignoring them or just saying that your mana was drained. But this was not the case at all. Your resources of mana were hilariously huge and no one really needed that much energy to sustain themself. 

The mad king was by your side - like most of the time (probably because he was your go-to servant). His crimson eyes follow your every move. You've pulled out your phone and texted someone. The profile picture was the same as the days before and he had concluded, that you have been texting with someone - very regularly and mostly frantic, jabbing texts into your phone like a maniac. But this time, your moves were a lot more controlled as you let your phone fall. He did not bother trying to catch it and watched as the screen broke, diagonally through the middle. 

Your message cannot be delivered. You have been blocked by this number. 

.

.

You were chugging your who-knows-how many shots, in some derelict bar you'd found on the way to who-knows-where. The berserker was still next to you - in a tight-fitting black suit he got a while ago. Most of his more macabre features had vanished - mostly his tail, which would hinder him from following you. But the crimson tattoos were still under his eyes and on his arms, as he rolled up his sleeves. His muscular features got rid of most of the crazy humans that were trying to hit on you in your current state of drunken daze - and those who even dared to walk in your direction went away faster than a flash after he snarled his canines towards them.

You have had enough of being betrayed by the ones you liked, your allies. You felt like a wounded animal, but instead of licking your wound, you turned towards the things, you yearned for most of your life after pain was inflicted onto you - the rush of alcohol, the numbness of everything and the happiness that comes with a little help of a line or two. 

A happy grin was stretched wide over your face as you took another shot, but as you pointed at your empty shot glass, the barkeep just shook his head, denying you your next drink. A snort of annoyance escaped you. You turn on your heel, the world twisting a bit too much as you walk straight to the door - or what you thought of as a straight line - your servant (of course) right behind you, following your every step.

The engine of the sports car roared as you speeded down the street, not really caring about the thought that you could cause an accident or die while driving in this state. The berserker next to you also seems to not give a single fuck about the way you drove the streamlined car. After a short while of driving you found the next best thing - a high-society nightclub, you have visited maybe once or twice in your life. You passed by the line of peasants and right into the club - the bodyguard just watched you puzzled as he was pushed aside by the mad king, who followed you into the club. The club was busted with people, dancing skin-on-skin and some sketchy guy was passing on little sachets in exchange for fat roles of cash.  You walk towards the bartender, pointing out a bottle of absinthe and try your best to negotiate a price, but in the end, you just paid a whole bunch more than you could imagine. Take a sip from the high-percentage alcohol, letting it burn down your throat as you walk to the sketchy guy, offering him a bundle of cash. The man slowly fumbled in his jacket: "Babe, if you go on, you might pass out in a drain pipe", he mumbled, taking the cash in exchange for the little bag, while you just grinned, taking another big sip.

"Oh yeah, don't threaten me with a good time"

The mad king was very much not amused as you stumbled out of your car, into the bar and basically threw your money at the barkeep as you took the booze. You were high and drunk - and you still wanted more, it seems like this, as you were taking a strange bag from this peasant. He snorts in annoyance. What were you thinking? The absinthe in your hand and the drugs, in the neckline of your dress, are hidden from sight as you walk into a corner of the club, scaring away the people that sat and letting yourself fall onto the couch as your servant took his place next to you. He was very unpleased with your behaviour. But alas, he could not change your mind right now as you start to chug down the burning liquor. You cross your legs, one hanging in the air as your eyes cloud even more, getting dull by the minute as you put down the booze. An exhausted sigh leaves your mouth as he inhales your liquor-stained breath. It was really disgusting. You slowly close your eyes, exhaustion seems to take over your body and he is ready to get you back home. His eyes wander over the crowd, but stop as he hears the sound of you opening the little bag and inhaling it content before taking another big sip. The crimson of his eyes was on you as you stood up, headed toward the dance floor.

You were thrown out of the club again - not really sure why - as you stumbled towards your car, opening the side of the driver, falling halfway in, as you thought you'd throw up into your own lap, but pulled yourself together as you watched Cú Chulainn get into the passenger seat, still smooth and with a stoic, calm face, watching you pull out of the parking lot and onto the empty street. You drove like a mad lad through the streets and stopped at a gas station after you noticed the low of your tank. You grabbed the fuel faucet and started to pump gas, after missing the tank the first time (you really wanted to throw up at the smell of gasoline on your dress, but you didn't). But you got it after some trying - much to the displeasure of the man behind the counter. He yelled at you, something about wasting precious resources but he was silent after you smacked some hundred dollar bills onto the counter and left, the clacking sound of your small heels followed you as you sat back into the car. Your eyes wander towards your servant - or were there two of them? Since when did you have two Cú Chulainns in your front seat? "Ah, fuck it", your voice sounded strange to yourself, a troubled mumble while you start the car - starting off with too much speed, making the car jump forwards before you got to the right speed. Your fingers just loose over the steering wheel, letting it slip from your grip as you drift off the empty road. Luckily for you, you were out of town and Alter pulled the wheel straight, grunting slightly. You're letting fully go off the steering wheel as you push the gas pedal down to the ground. Your servant seems a bit in distress or confused as he steers the wheel to drive. You start laughing - you never thought he would do that (you really believed, he would have let you drive into your death, but to be honest with yourself, you forgot he was her for a while). After some time, your laughter died off and as you arrived in the new city you let go of the gas pedal, bringing the car to an unpleasant halt as it died off, stuttering and in the middle of the road.

Cù Chulainn Alter was kinda exhausted as he was technically forced to drive for you at this high speed until you just - stopped. He was confused as to why you suddenly were so eager to get out of the car but followed you after turning off the car and taking the key (just in case). You've stumbled towards a guy in a chiffon skirt, muttering some words of exchange, he could not hear as he stepped up, being next to you again, as you started to empty a beer bottle. He would have been impressed with the speed you tried to do it, but it took not too long, before you nearly suffocated yourself, as the beverage poured all over your chest as you tried to breathe for a short while. The stranger smiled wide as he handed you a pair of hot pink high heels. You on the other hand were not that happy as you slipped off your original shoes and put on the heels. You were a bit wobbly at first, trying not to fall, as you started laughing with the stranger, leaving the mad king very confused, you turned around and waved your goodbyes, walking away wobbly, trying not to break your ankles while walking. Still laughing, you started twirling. It was probably far past midnight and it was way too cold, even though it was summer, the nights were still freezing. And you only got a dress on. Cú Chulainn sighted, as he changed into his ordinary outfit - seemingly out of nowhere his armour was back in place, the big fur coat hung in bright crimson red over his shoulders and his tail slowly swung from the right to the left. Glancing over at you he clicked his tongue as he threw his coat over you. You stumbled and nearly tipped over from the sudden weight added to your small frame, as you threw the coat off your shoulders. 

A grunt escaped you, captured by surprise as Alter threw his coat over you, leading you to stumble and nearly fall over with the heels. You tossed the coat back to your servant, grunting in annoyance. "Leave me the fuck alone", you hissed. Stomping away, your servant still on your heel. Your mind was misted by the rush of the alcohol and the drugs you took. Gripping harder onto the bottle of beer you still got from the stranger. You've had enough of the play of sympathy and fake affection people try to throw in your direction to lure you in. Only to break you and throw you away, after they got tired of you. "I said fuck off!", you yelled, throwing the bottle at the berserker, who dodged it smoothly. "If I would 'fuck off' you would die", he said - probably the first words he said the whole night. "And if so. I don't fucking care, okay? Just - just let me die then", you hissed, ending in an exhausting sight, turning your back to the servant, starting to move forward again. Tears started to pool in your eyes as you slowly dragged one foot in front of the other. Slightly sniffing as you wipe away the wetness of your eyes. "As if anybody would care", you mumble. Clearly, your up was over and you've hit rock bottom - or it feels like this as you keep walking, ignoring the servant behind you. 

After a while, you found yourself back in another bar, but it was not too long and the barkeeper told you they would soon close. After a short discussion, you've got a bottle of booze to take with you as you left the bar behind you. Again stumbling through the streets of a strange city you didn't know. You were exhausted and really just wanted to lay down, or sit down or something like that...  Another big sip emptied the bottle in your hand. You shook the bottle, disappointed from the sudden loss of your last joy as your eyes started to wander over the place. No one was there. No one. Not even your servant. Strange. He really just went away after all. He probably was tired of taking care of such a useless master, who could not even take proper care of herself and turned to drugs and alcohol to wash away the problems that towered over her. A sad sight escaped your mouth as you turned to walk again, but you stopped.

"Take a seat, master"

The berserker stood next to a shopping cart, the chain that normally holds the carts together was ripped apart. His huge coat laid out in the cart as his crimson eyes wandered over your sad figure. You were not moving, just holding back miserable tears. He stepped into action, picking you up and laying you down into the cart, carefully warping the crimson coat over your shivering figure. Your eyes were matt and dull, exhausted from the small bit of world you've got to see. But that small part of the world was not really kind towards you and it just ate you up and spat you out again. He pitied you, as your eyes moved to hover over his huge frame, which seemingly took over your whole vision. 

"The world is no kind place for such a soul as yours.

 But no worry, master. 

My spear will never fail you."

#cu chulainn alter x reader #cu chulainn alter #cu chulainn fanfic #x reader #reader is female

[silvyavan]

I finally fucken read the scanlations of the chapter and imma be real with yall, Tabata fumbled this immensely.

Allow me to explain.

All things considered, Jack's "death"* feels incredibly bland, not just how it's handled but also how it affects his character and the overall theme Black Clover has.

*(Tabata has a trend of coping out deaths, so I'm hoping this is a red herring to sort of divert our attention from probably the fact that Yuno's spell won't hold on forever, so we're, ironically, on a race against time. This also may be a sort of Fuegoleon situation, considering we haven't seen the Earth Spirit/Gnome yet, so considering Jack's blade magic is a sort of "final" earth form (earth>> ore>> metal>> weapon>> blade) but maybe that's just me on copium. We Shall See)

With his character, the death feels kinda bland and showy. Tabata's main good ability in writing characters is by putting a different spin on them or flipping the tropes. In Jack's case, he's supposedly the bloodthirsty battle maniac trope, with his complicated and restrictive home life actually being a reason for his carefree battle attitude. The PROBLEM here is that Tabata put too little time in his development/roster, not really enough of his own thoughts, and the last slash ends up being less of a "I choose how I will die, and I'll die swinging" and more of "all I can think about is slashing and that's what I'll do dying", which completely fucks up the whole character.

Jack is, as we know it, the ONLY Clover born commoner captain. Everyone else is either nobility or immigrants with ridiculous magic (Yami may have been technically considered nobility but his foreign status is more important to his character, we have so little info on Dorothy's life I'm not even gonna speculate). By all sense and means, Jack was likely the only captain who even accepted commoners and peasants with average skills. One could argue he was probably the first commoner captain, considering Zara was the first peasant magic knight, only about 20+ years ago.

This, coupled with Jack's very vague character writing, shows that Tabata didn't really know HOW to write him in an interesting/meaningful way. So he essentially kills him off because he doesn't know what to do with him.

This falls back into how the death itself is contradictory to the themes BC has. The theme Black Clover has, by essence, is that "peasants/those weren't born lucky or talented can strive to reach great, if not greater, heights as those above them using hard work and determination" as well as "the class system affects everything, and by being inherently bigoted, it infects every other system in regards to it". The problem here is with Tabata's writing falling into "tell not show" categories (whether its because of page limits, editor influence or other things), by trying to show both themes at the same time, he ends up punishing the underdogs MORE than those who are inherently privileged (nobles with lots of mana), if not actively rewarding them.

This could be attributed to either how much time Tabata spends on other characters vs those he ignores or how very few of the cast with ACTIVE roles in the story belong to the middle/lower class.

For example, Yuno's abilities and powerups in Spade arc and this current one FEEL like asspulls, mostly because despite being one of the main trio, we're not given a lot of time to SEE how he gets it/develops it. If we had previously seen a montage of him training to develop his skills in the 3 day period before the raids and the 3 days before Lucius comes knocking or even the 1.5 YEAR TIMESKIP, a LOT of the complaints about it being an asspull would be null because we'd actually see the work being put into it.

The opposite can be said for Jack. Jack falls into essentially the same category as Asta and Magna - people of lower classes that have to work harder than those above them to reach the same heights, but by putting more effort into it, the underdog status triumphs over the naturally gifted.

This could be seen all the way back in Spade arc, with Jack developing skills mid battle to face off/stall Dante, then being the one to silently kill him off to not sour the victory Magna got. Its GOOD that it was Jack who assisted in the kill because he was of the lower class like Magna and Zora and Asta. In addition, keeping silent about it doesn't sour the victory either because Jack likely knows the feeling of having hard earned kills being stolen.

Even the contribution against Lucifero is, even if minor, still valued because he's not the only one who got beat up, ALL of the captains got smacked up to show the threat Lucifero was.

The problem in character writing falls in this recent chapter, with Jack being the first fatality.

One could say that Lucius is being inherently bigoted in his own way - he's born of a noble lineage, all of the paladins are of nobility as well and its implied that the legless angels, who were described as "rebels" were actually peasants. Its a good choice, considering that Lucius is supposed to be the almost last antagonist, so he essentially HAS to show that he's a bit of a racist to uphold the themes of the story. He's both the Puritan and Calvinist wave in Christianity, while also claiming that those born with less mana are inherently more weak and should be erased and "rebuilt" to have the same amount of magic as everyone.

The problem in it is that not only does it undermine a lot of the peasants/commoners who actively got merit through hard work, it's also giving eugenics and the Christian idea that you "deserve" flaws that you were born with/can't control and thus further pushing classist/racist ideology. Lucius is still commiting genocide against the lower class and still is falling into the idea that "once everyone has the same amount of large mana, there will be no wars :)", indirectly blaming the lower class for disparities done by the upper class.

However, with his attack on Clover by fighting against those struggling to still live, would clash with the peasant/commoner ideology that no amount of effort gone into bettering yourself is wasted. All effort to become better is still valuable and Clover Kingdom fighting against the sentries/paladins/Lucius would SHOW that.

The problem is that Jack dying is not helping the idea or the narrative. Even the final slash only so much as leaves a massive canyon in the ground and kills off maybe 2 or 3 sentries, while Morgan is "miraculously" still without a scratch. Its equal parts infuriating and makes Jack's death feel for naught. Even the final regret of not being able to slash Yami only makes him fall more into a 2 dimensional character trope. It ends up with Tabata actively punishing the underdogs and trying to get rid of the characters who he's SUPPOSED to be able to write, as per the story.

Unless the final massive slash somehow does something to either turn the tides/bring Asta home/hell, even just getting him a spirit/demon contract, it falls flat for the narrative and doesn't progress his character.

So far there's no ACTIVE show that Jack is completely dead and done for outside of a forth of his grimoire already disappearing, so maybe there's still some last minute death save for him. I hope, because otherwise, Justice 4 Jack.

#black clover #black clover manga #black clover spoilers #jack the ripper #black clover jack #jack black clover #as you can see im passionate about beloved stickman surviving #cmon tabata let our trans commoner hustle king live

[failing-to-write-again]

The Dancer and The Deadbeat

The poll has spoken and so here is the first installment in the Shu rewrite.

Since these releases are a series, if you want to be tagged to be alerted when the next part comes up just say so in your reblog. :)

I hope you enjoy it, this is a new thing for me so constructive critiques are appreciated.

Contents page will be linked HERE.

Prologue Part 1-Ch 1

“So he's dead.” 

“Lizzie! Show some respect”

“He’s hardly deserving of it anymore, Charlotte. But yes Liz, that's what the report said, he went ahead with that ridiculous plan for her and was killed by the sons.”

“He’s still the one who took us in, Adelaide. That has to be deserving of some respect.”

“He was being selfish, he was the one who could keep spoiled vampires away from us. Without him we are going to die.”

“Victoria!”

“Don’t ‘Victoria’ me, it's true. We’re human no matter how long we live. The second word is out everyone who knows of our existence will be on us. We might be able to keep them away, but those who do not know our history will be harder to dissuade.” 

“Since when has that been our approach?”

Eyes all turned to the latest addition to the conversation. Standing in the open door was Evelyn, the oldest among them, and within the foyer of the recently deceased Richter Sakamaki sat four women. The five of them looked to be no older than 21, however, they had long since passed that age by centuries. 

 You see while vampires are naturally immortal there are magical ways to keep humans around should they be useful. Richter had taken the girls in, and while the occupants of the foyer would doubt his intentionality, each of them worked well together and filled in each other's gaps as ‘sisters’. Yet Richter had never sought to turn them, so really who is to say what his thought process was.

 Adelaide was leaning against a side table. She was the second eldest and was taken in with her biological sister Evelyn. Her hair was dark and long, when not in the braided updo she wore daily, it fell to her mid-thighs. Her eyes were a sharp, cold blue, near ice like in colour identical to Evelyn. Her crisp white blouse tucked into waist high flared black pants, giving a baggy effect which defeated the point of the corset she wore. Something about bras being less comfortable and feeling less secure, always the traditionalist. Incredibly irritating chess opponent as well. From the frizz-less top of her head, past her manicured, black painted nails, all the way down to her red-bottom clad toes she was the image of a bond villain.

 Victoria sat, one leg crossed over the other on a chaise. Her bobbed, blonde hair a stark contrast to Adelaide, yet their expressions could not be more alike. Well put together in a maroon commuter suit, not an eyebrow out of place or revealing more emotion than vague disinterest. Hazel's eyes focused on the new entrant, waiting for instruction. Also a nightmare to play chess with, and poker. Far too competitive really. She resembled the CEO you expect to encounter in those Hallmark movies where Christmas and joy are illegal.

 Nearby Charlotte was leaning back in a wingback chair, fingers laced together resting by red stained lips and legs crossed as comfortably as a black pencil skirt and grey shirt allowed. Her collarbone length brunette hair blocking the sides of her face from view, brown eyes lost in thought. For a survivor of the Reign of Terror her maintained humanity was shocking. Unlike Adelaide and Victoria, when it came to chess you had a chance to beat her on the board if you didn’t let her talk. She wasn’t as overtly maniacal in appearance. More akin to the secretary you write off who’s really the one who holds the entire operation up.

 Elizabeth was half laying back on the other end of Victoria’s chaise. Arms crossed and legs kicked out in front of her and crossed the ankles, boot clad feet rhythmically tapping against each other. She sat scowling at the fire crackling gently, probably running through garden management to stretch resources to lay as low as possible for the foreseeable. Her black skinny jeans still held grass stains regardless of how many washes they were put through, and a wide strapped tank top displayed well tanned and toned arms with odd scratches and marks. Hates chess, last time she played she flipped the board to be permitted to return to her own devices. 

 Leading this small group was Evelyn, flared blue jeans with heeled boots, matched with a white sweater acting as almost an alternate reality Adelaide. While she had tawny hair in a ponytail sitting considerably shorter than the thigh-length locs of her sister, her blue eyes could have been copy pasted. As the charismatic elder she tied together her sisters to view a more bigger picture approach, abysmal at chess however, gets too bored with the idea of line memorization.

Taking her seat in another armchair Evelyn tossed a letter from her back pocket onto the coffee table in the centre of the group.

“Karl Heinz knows Richter had human women, he’s planned to spread them out between vampire allies of his. He thinks the head of staff is the butler and left the head of staff as responsible for where each of the staff is sent.”

At that Victoria stood scoffing in exasperation. 

“Exactly as I said. Yet you tell me we have a different approach rather than face the reality! Are we not even his heirs?”

Holding up a hand Evelyn began once again.

“No, it isn’t. He wants to send his sons and adopted ones some of us, with orders to not kill them.” Pausing, it was Elizabeth who spoke this time. 

“What are you getting at here?”

“So we pick our poison and bind our time?” Adelaide’s arms rose to cross her chest as she gleaned the meaning of her sister’s words. 

 When dealing with vampires it was the strong belief of the group that it was easier to let them think you were going along with them to a degree. While vampires often threaten to kill boring prey it is always troublemakers who die fastest, if you let them think you’re fairly docile you can generally bend the situation to favour you in some way. At least that's how every other vampire Richter allowed within his castle was, annoying until you could get them to hang themselves in front of Richter. He didn’t take lightly any attempts to get close to his so-called ‘children’. That and the fact young dukes and barons are so averse to acknowledging the fact they were raised to be repressed fools. Give them some attention, toss them some compliment and they start doing what you want while denying they are for weeks. Vampire’s being a more predator-like species aren’t as directed towards social interactions to the level of humans, their habit of looking down upon what they view as lesser often bit them in the ass. The mere existence of vampire hunters makes that point far more evident than any extensive essay on vampire culture could. 

 The majority of the true humans kept about by Richter were released upon his death as per his will, the few remaining were prisoners of no consequence and sent off. The exception being the five girls meant to be inheriting the estate, alas the fool had not changed the will as he wanted to wait to be on his deathbed to not give anyone time to try to slip in to replace them. From all of Richter’s musings they had discerned enough to know, while not ideal, the Sakamaki sons and Mukami brothers were a safer choice. That and the Tsukinami… prince? King? Safe may be a strong word but predictable reactions meant at the bare minimum you could prepare.

 “No way is Reiji a smart idea. He is going to be cut throat from all accounts.” Evelyn chalked her cue as she watched the ball she hit bounce off the table edge millimetres off target. Adelaide lined up a shot at a corner pocket as she gave an admittedly weak defence of her choice. 

 “I agree, but it seems he hyperfocuses that aggression on manners. All you have to do is stick to proper decorum. Shu is more likely to pass you off to one of the younger ones who will kill you and fast.” The ball spun once hit falling into the table with a click. The decision of where Charlotte, Victoria, and Elizabeth were going was made quickly. Elizabeth and Charlotte as the youngest, paired with the loyalty the Mukamis seemed to have towards Karl Heinz, meant it was not a hard choice to send them where they were least likely to be harmed. Victoria, being younger than the blue eyed pair had to accept their decision in sending her to Carla, a vampire suspected to be suffering from the Endzeit virus. How could someone being actively weakened by disease pass up on compliant food? The remaining issue serving as a sticking point was neither Adelaide or Evelyn felt comfortable with the other going to a Sakamaki brother.

 Adelaide maintained that while more open to violent methods,of the recovered sacrificial bride autopsies were to be believed, seemed to be the most likely to have a reasoning behind his actions. From what Richter had told them Reiji ran the daily household events and was a stickler for manners. Adelaide being the most ‘stiff’ of them all would seem ideal to Reiji as a source of blood easier to keep alive. She felt Shu, what with rarely showing up at events you would expect him to, and passing over brides to his brothers to dispose of meant he was less likely to bother preventing harm to her sister. She was arguing that Evelyn should go with Reiji.

 Evelyn meanwhile agreed with nearly all points aside from the fact that Adelaide wanted to go with Reiji. In her eyes Adie would not last a day with Reiji, nor would any of them. Evelyn was confident she could at least avoid him until able to get a proper exit strategy made for them. The theory of Adelaide being mannerly enough to have an easier time handling him was too risky. In response to that Adelaide repeated how Evelyn’s ballet history means she would be liked by Shu, who had been seen by Richter at many Royal recitals. Whereas she would be too stiff and boring, thus easier to send to the wayside.

Ultimately, a decision had to be made, Adelaide’s concern of Evie being left in the hands of a vampire so lazy to avoid eating losing to the age card. That did not, however, ease any of the oldest’s concerns when her sisters were split between three cars, their phones taken, or meeting said creepy vampires . She especially did not like how Laito and Ayato had looked at them, or how Reiji reacted to the announcement he was to be paired with Adelaide. The only comfort being that Shu lived up to expectation exactly; he would be easy to work around to afford her time to form an escape plan.

 As the five brothers dispersed after introductions, only she and Shu were left. Evelyn let her eyes trace around the room as she slowly turned in a circle before finally returning to land on the blonde lazing under a window. Evelyn could appreciate that he wasn’t too hard on the eyes, and seemed to be closer to her age than most other vampires she had been forced to interact with. 

 While busy musing over where in the shit to good scale her situation lay, he opened his eyes and began to speak.

“I’m not going to bother draining you so don’t look at me so expectantly.”

“Excuse me?”

“And I’m not going to sleep with you either, you’re staring like you expect me to do something. You’re not worth the effort.”

 Sealing his position as manageable asshole, Evelyn resigned to stand and look rather cross as a signifier of her less than stellar mood. Her fingers drummed to the tempo of some dance long forgotten, a waltz maybe? It was hard to say what it was just a melody passing through her brain from a long lost memory. 

The vampire spoke again.

“Women like you are all so boring. You offer your body to try get close to the head of the household. You’ve chosen the wrong person to do that, I have no interest in such things.”

“I honestly have no idea what you're on about. I didn’t choose to be here and I’ve just met you.”

“God what a pain.”

And then he was gone.

#shu sakamaki #diabolik lovers #shu sakamaki x reader #The Dancer and The Deadbeat

[simpingforthisonedeer]

𝐎𝐂: 𝐀𝐢𝐤𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫

— “All time ever does is pass and all I ever do is remember.”

— “May Death be proud to take us! Let us live, since we must die! Die with memories, not dreams!”

— Aika is currently raging in a snowy valley in Demons Run, not knowing that two children will save her life.

— In Planting Camellias, Aika is caught off guard by this Time Mage she has been searching for decades.

Name: Aika (???) Tolliver

Alias(es): Ains, Sarkany, The Blade(she hates this one), The Forgotten, The Widow

Age(s): 34-35(in Planting Camellias), 36-37(in Demons Run)

Gender/Pronouns: Gender Fluid, she/her, he/him

Species: Half-Human, Half-Devil

Affinity: Time Magic, Necromancy

Birthday: October 15th

Zodiac: Libra

Height: 175 cm(woman), 190 cm(man)

Blood Type: AB

Family: Alicia † (Mother), Faven † (Father), Sordello † (Father), Thorfinn † (Brother), Evan/Ivan (Son), Holly (Daughter), Holly † (Ex-Wife), Arthur (Ex-Husband), Julius (Lover), Raymond (Uncle), Lydia (Aunt), Styrmir (Future Son), Anastasia (Future Daughter)

Other Relations: Morris (Ex-Lover), More To Be Revealed

— 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬

Demons Run (NSFW)

Demons Run (SFW)

Planting Camellias

— 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

Pale-skinned woman with long, black, wavy hair with undertones of violet. Her eyes are lavender and has a pert nose and pink lips. She often wears black leather gloves that limit her mana, a white blouse and black, high waisted pants, both with gold buttons. Some days she wears a crimson half-cloak with a steel pauldron. From the shoulder plate, hangs an upside down cross connected by a gold thread in reference to the martyrdom of Peter the Apostle. At her waist, hangs a long sword, once wielded by her father, Sordello.

In her teens, she had a strong desire to be a man so she would be respected more. A nearly unachievable desire turned to despair and she manifested transformation magic which allowed her to turn into a male version of herself. She called herself “Ains” in this form and used male pronouns. Ains was 6 feet 3 inches and had short curly hair and wide shoulders. Aika’s strength was much more visible in the form of muscles when she was Ains.

reference 1 reference 2 reference 3

— 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

She is kind and reserved with those who she respects and is close with, but cold and standoffish with most other people. She will put up masks for the sake of politeness but it’s rarely ever genuine. She lies very easily to get what she wants but she finds it difficult to lie to those she likes. In battle, she is often described as a maniac when faced against many. They say that as a battle drags on, she cannot hide the sadism on her face. Even when faced against an enemy stronger or smarter than her, she is relentless and persistent to the point of recklessness to overpower her opponent.

She is known for out of box thinking and her ability to use her vast knowledge in any given situation. Her greatest asset is her ability to spot potential. Due to this, she is often motherly to those she takes under her wing. This side of her helped her build a successful company/guild that she still runs to this day.

Her love is as deep as her hatred. No matter how many times love has hurt her, she never stopped even if it’s difficult to verbally express it. As of right now in Demons Run, Aika loves her two children Evan and Holly, and her lover, Julius.

— 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

Aika was found by her two Fathers, Faven and Sordello in the giant demon skull in Hage, between the legs of her dead mother. She was born slightly premature from a coffin birth. They buried the woman and took her pocket watch as a keepsake for Aika to have. They named her “Aika” which means “time” because of the watch, and as a reminder that the passage of time has both ends and beginnings. They took her home to Alicia, their lover and Aika’s mom to be, and adopted her despite Alicia’s hesitation. She conducted a blood adoption ritual that made Aika their own daughter, changing her appearance from a brunette with pink eyes to dark hair with lavender eyes, her appearance taking after each of her three parents.

They raised her preciously like their own for three years and Alicia gave birth to Aika’s brother, Thorfinn. He had dark hair like her and bright blue eyes. Aika loved her brother to death. While she was barely showing signs of magic, Finn was spewing lightning magic since the day he was born, hence the reason why he was named after the god of thunder. When Finn was three and Aika was six, they were playing in the backyard and Finn accidentally struck Aika’s back with lightning. She died but was resuscitated again by a smaller zap of electricity. She has a scar on her back till this day and the only scar she hasn’t healed despite her ability to do so, as a reminder of her brother.

Throughout Aika’s childhood, everyone were confused as to what her magic was. When she was in a bad mood, plants and little animals around her died, and in a good mood, they flourished. Aika was terrified of her own magic sometimes when it killed fauna so she learned to withdraw her magic so much due an irrational fear to the point where she was slightly sick all the time because of the lack of mana coursing through her.

Instead of using magic, she focused on using her own strength and talents. Her father Sordello was a blacksmith and a swordsman. He taught her everything he knew. Her other father Faven, was an artist: a painter, musician and a writer. Her mother Alicia was the smart one. In Aika’s eyes, she seemed to know about everything. Aika wanted to be all of them and she was. They taught their children all that they needed in life and more.

Around the time when Aika was fifteen and didn’t have a grimoire yet, the whole Tolliver family was traveling through the neutral zone when a pack of bandits attacked them. Her fathers and her brother fought them but they were trapped. Alicia forced Aika to run away while they all withered away to dust by an Ash Magic User.

Aika despaired and manifested her grimoire and something else as she blacked out. When she woke up, everyone were seemingly gone. Aika assumed she somehow killed them. She gathered her family’s ashes and marched to Spade Kingdom. She couldn’t believe how life can be taken so easily, she was still in shock, so she went to the Spade Kingdom War College and proved her worth so she could study Necromancy and bring her family back.

She learned quickly that she couldn’t but she was too far into forbidden magic to stop so she didn’t. She paid her way through college by fighting in underground fighting rings using her freakish strength and studied medicine and forbidden magic. She also dated Morris, a blind boy from the Diamond Kingdom. In her final year of college, she begins to show interest in divinity so as her final project, she conducts a ritual called “Imago Dei.” Directly translated, it means “The Image of God.” In the ritual, Morris and Aika bear the Image of God. They find that God doesn’t appear in one vision, rather it’s a concept, a feeling, a reflection of oneself and everyone all at once.

They of course go insane after everything was said and done but they do recover mentally. Physically, Aika stayed blind for a year. During this time, she found out that Morris was just using her and leaves him. She went to the Heart Kingdom to study Mana Zone under the High Priestess of Undine because of her blindness. She later comes to discover that she has a weak form of clairvoyance as a residue from the ritual she performed.

After Aika recovers her sight, she leaves the Four Suits Continent Aika left the Spade kingdom after she graduated from Spade Nation War College at 21 years old and worked as a necromancer at a funeral home in a country past the Spade Kingdom! She used to help the dead move on peacefully, exorcise any poltergeists, conduct autopsies, keep company for any ghosts at the adjacent cemetery and comfort the living. It’s a job that comes with a lot of responsibilities and she certainly didn’t get paid enough for it.

She then moved on to another country to work as an independent mercenary then worked as a mercenary knight for the royal family of that country. Aika then met and fell in love with the crown princess but their love was forbidden because of the difference in status and obviously, for being homos. But they eloped because it wasn’t forbidden by law and they had a happy few months before the kingdom fell and she couldn’t protect the princess. She died. The princess’s name was Holly.

After the death of the princess, at 24 years old, Aika began to lust for power. She spent 3 years in peace, forgetting what suffering and helplessness was truly like. She couldn’t save her family because she couldn’t figure out what her magic was. And she couldn’t save the love of her life because she was complacent. Even if she was strong, someone will be stronger than her. So she raced for the peak, to be the strongest of the strong. And she also wanted to find someone who had Time Magic just like her.

She found Evan after the fall of the kingdom. Aika wasn’t sure of his species, but he had devil horns and showed signs of being experimented on so she used her own blood to stabilize his condition and took him under her wing as her adopted son. Evan Tolliver wasn’t only a protégé, but also the witness and the biographer of Aika’s life. He saw both her brutality and compassion. Her losses and victories. Life and Death. The Beginning and End of Worlds. He is definitely the person who knows and understands her the most and is content to stay in her shadow.

Because of Aika’s use and overuse of forbidden magic, she has curse where her mere presence causes people’s emotions to turn very negative, almost like insanity. Another curse of hers is that she cannot sleep. She has given up part of her humanity for better control and power of forbidden magic so while she can sleep, she will be stuck in a nightmare world for 8 hours so she simply doesn’t sleep. The only people that can be around her for long periods of time are other dark magic users, 100% non-humans and people who have affinity with her magic.

It’s implied so far in Demons Run but for the next 10 or so years of her life, she fought war after war for whomever that will take her. Revolutions and invasions. Reconnaissance and strategy. Amidst all the wars, she also grew a greater understanding of magic. She wrote a few books on her observations and discoveries.

Because people coveted Aika’s Time Magic, she made a deal with a Faerie named Arthur. In exchange for her first born, Aika’s magic would be erased from the world’s memory. Aika soon gave birth to Holly, a child between herself and Arthur while they were briefly married for contractural purposes, and the deal was sealed. Aika gets to see Holly few times a week but mostly on weekends.

Aika was infamous for her terrifying recklessness. She would continue fighting even after she had been brutalized. She fought with both her arms chopped off. She even fought after being decapitated. The enemy was too shocked at her for moving even after her head flew off so they were killed instantly at her hand. The reason why she is alive after all these fatal incidents is because her stats raise by 500% when she is near death. The perfect buff for a necromantic warrior.

While out there, she made a guild out of all the people who followed her. It was a company that dipped its toes in every industry and when she was settling into business rather than war, Aika slowly started coming back to Clover Kingdom.

There she met the Wizard King and he often commissioned her to help and advise him. Year or two later, they found that the Wizard King’s younger brother was Faven, Aika’s father. There, she had also came to find out that Julius’s magic was Time Magic. They were keeping it under wraps for tactical advantage but the Wizard King revealed it to her. From there, Julius and Aika’s story in Demons Run begins.

#black clover #julius novachrono #oc: aika tolliver #julius & aika #bc oc #black clover oc #gah dayum this is so long😩 #oc Info Post

[cleaetpauline60]

These are all of my Heroine Otome Game posts. If he misses a heroine please let me know in PM. ;) Thanks ! List #1 here : https://cleaetpauline60.tumblr.com/post/692735314756796416/these-are-all-of-my-heroine-otome-game-posts-if

M-

Mana [ Noise ―Voice of Snow― ]

Marine Stuart [ Fantastic Fortune 2 ]

Mary Crow [ Danzai no Maria ]

Mary [ Edel Blume ]

Menou [ Jooubachi no Oubou ]

Meriela [ Elkrone no Atelier ]

Mihagi Sono [ Teikoku Kaigun Koi Bojou ]

Mihara Suzu [ Possession Magenta ]

Mikoto [ Hana Awase ]

Minami Yuri [ Vitamin X ]

Minase Arisa [ Trick or Alice ]

Minato Ai [ Kokuchou no Psychedelica ]

Misaki Hana [ Koibana Days ]

Mito Aoi [ Bunmei Kaika Aoiza Ibunroku ]

Miyanagi Hana [ Iza, Shutsujin! Koi Ikusa ]

Mizuhara Ichigo [ Kimagure Strawberry Café ]

Mizusaki Mai [ Ikemen Sengoku ]

Mochizuki Aoi [ CRAZY RABBITS ]

Mochizuki Kazune [ ROOT∞REXX ]

Mochizuki Mutsumi [ Kurenai no Homura ]

Mochizuki Nao [ Hanasaku Manimani ]

Momose Shio [ Goes! ]

Morinaga Satsuki [ Sorayume ]

Motomiya Akane [ Harukanaru Toki no Naka De ]

Mugibata Akane [ Issho ni Gohan ]

N-

Naala [ Koezaru wa Akai Hana ]

Naaya [ Matsurika no Kei ]

Nakayama Hinako [ Kenka Bancho Otome ]

Nanami Haruka [ Uta no Prince-sama ]

Nanami [ L2 Love×Loop ]

Nanase Suzuna [ Brothers ~Koi Suru Onii-sama~ ]

Narushima Ayako [ Ai wa Nikushimi ni Yoku Niteiru ]

Nasca [ Armen Noir ]

Natalie Taylor [ Confidential Money ]

Niina [ Real Rode ]

Nomiya Yuriko [ Chou no Doku Hana no Kusari ]

Nonohara Nono [ Ore-sama Kingdom ~Koi mo Manga mo Debut o Mezase! DokiDoki Love Lesson~ ]

O-

Odette Scarlet [ 12 Ji no Kane to Cinderella ]

Ogawa Aoi [ Natsuzora no Monologue ]

Okazawa Midori [ Enkeltbillet ]

Olympia [ Olympia Soiree ]

Ootori Kureha [ Gakuen Tokkyuu Hotokenser ]

Ootori Madoka [ Fushigi Yuugi Suzaku Ibun ]

Ousaka Chise [ Koutarichou Jin'youtan ]

P-

—————————————————————–

Q-

—————————————————————–

R-

Ran [ Senjou no Waltz ]

Reisaki Hiroka [ Suuran Digit ]

Rian Lawrence [ Soukai Buccaneers! ]

Rin [ Yoshiwara Higanbana ]

Rinka [ Bad Apple Wars ]

Risty [ Queen of Darkness ]

Rosa [ Tears of Themis ]

Rosalia Scarlet [ 24 Ji no Kane to Cinderella ]

Rose Dinoire [ Majo'ou ]

S-

Sakaiya Ayumi [ Onedari ShareMate ]

Sakaki Mio [ Oumagatoki ~Kakuriyo no Enishi~ ]

Sakazaki Hinako [ Lovers Collection ]

Sakuraba Asuka [ ALICE=ALICE ]

Sakuraba Suzuka [ Bakumatsu Renka Shinsengumi ]

Sakuragawa Hitomi [ Otometeki Koi Kakumei★Love Revo!! ]

Sakurai Haruka [ Haruka na Koi ]

Sakurai Momoe [ Dare ni Demo Ura ga Aru ]

Sakurai Nana [ Prince of Stride ]

Sakurai Nanako [ Dare ni Demo Ura ga Aru ]

Sakurai Tsubasa [ Abunai Koi no Sousashitsu ]

Sakurajousui Kurumi [ Ijiwaru MyMaster ]

Sakurako [ Hoshi no Oujo ~Uchuu Ishiki ni Mezameta Yoshitsune~ ]

Sanjou Yunoha [ Yunohana Spring! ]

Saya [ Genrou ]

Sayama Kotori [ Butlers ~Meshimase Ojou-sama~ ]

Sayori [ Yo-Jin-Bo ]

Seguchi Haruka [ Dessert Love ]

Sena Hiyori [ Charade Maniacs ]

Sendou Futaba [ Nekketsu Inou Bukatsu-tan Trigger Kiss ]

Seychelles [ Gakuen Hetalia ]

Shanaou [ Bilshana Senki ]

Shiera Rozan [ Crimson Empire ]

Shihara Mana [ Nise no Chigiri ]

Shiina [ Library Cross ∞ ]

Shiki [ Shirahana no Ori ]

Shikigami Sangou Sayuki [ MIYAKO ]

Shindou Ringo [ Club Suicide ]

Shinoda Honoka [ Nyan Love ]

Shinomiya Yui [ Hatsukare☆Ren'ai Debut Sengen! ]

Shinozawa Mai [ Double Score ]

Shiraishi Hina [ Mizu no Senritsu ]

Shiraishi Mizuho [ Kare to Kare no Hazama De Saikon Kazoku Hen ]

Shirakawa Seri [ Vamwolf Cross† ]

Shirakumo Misaki [ O*G*A Oni-Gokko Royale Hunter wa Field de Koi o Suru ]

Shiranui Nanami [ NORN9 ]

Shirien [ Jakou no Lyla ]

Shizumiya Amane [ Utsusemi no Meguri ]

Shunka [ Akai Suna Ochiru Tsuki ]

Siena [ Machi de Uwasa no Hakushaku-sama ]

Sonozaki Mia [ Believer! ]

Sorano Fuu [ Binary Star ]

Soratani Asuka [ Asuka! ~Bokura Seito Kouko Yakyu Dan~ ]

Sugano Fuu [ Kaeru Batake DE Tsukamaete☆彡 ]

Sumeragi Runa [ Kago no Naka no Alicis ]

Suzue Shizuka [ Oumagatoki ~Kaidan Romance~ ]

Suzumori Yukina [ Toki no Kizuna ]

Suzuno [ Ayakashi Koi Gikyoku ]

Suzuno [ Kimi wa Yukima ni Koinegau ]

Sylphis Castries [ Fantastic Fortune ]

T-

Tachibana Ema [ Bocchi Musume x Produce Keikaku ]

Tachibana Fuzuki [ Crank In ]

Tachibana Kisa [ Jack Jeanne ]

Tachibana Ritsuka [ Dance with Devils ]

Tachikawa Kasumi [ Butterfly Rouge ]

Tachikawa Saeko [ Katakoi Contrast ]

Tachiki Karen [ Monochrome Wizard ]

Takachiho Suzu [ Hisui no Shizuku ]

Takakura Karin [ Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 2 ]

Takanashi Yuuki [ Paradigm Paradox ]

Takaoka Izumi [ Last Escort -Club Katze- ]

Takatsuka Azusa [ Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 6 ]

Tama [ Gunka o Haita Neko ]

Tanaka Kanata [ Love Drops ]

Tanimura Aya [ Gin no Kanmuri Ao no Namida ]

Tatsuta Ui [ Hyakki Yakou ~Kaidan Romance~ ]

Teresa [ Angelique Maren no Rokukishi ]

Teuta [ Bustafellows ]

Tiana [ Akazukin to Mayoi no Mori ]

Tiana [ Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama ]

Tifalia [ Radiant Tale ]

Tiny McDaniel [ Tiny x Machinegun ]

Tokizawa Narumi [ Towa no Sakura ]

Tomoe Nakahara [ Sanzen Sekai Yuugi ]

Tooko [ Oni to Hanazuma ]

Toono Sayo [ Shinigami to Shoujo ]

Touchi Aoi [ Tlicolity Eyes ]

Touchi Natsume [ Tlicolity Eyes ]

Touchi Sakura [ Tlicolity Eyes ]

Toyjo Hibari [ Variable Barricade ]

Tsugomori Akari [ Usotsuki Shangri-La ]

Tsukishima Hikari [ PsychicEmotion6 ]

Tsukishiro Iori [ Tsundere★S Otome ]

Tsukishiro Michiru [ Jewelic Nightmare ]

Tsumori Nazuna [ Gekka Ryouran Romance ]

U-

Ueda Chiyuki [ Lover Pretend ]

Ueno Enju [ Hyakka Hyakurou Sengoku Ninpou-chou ]

Umino Riko [ Butterfly Gloss ]

V-

Violette [ Reine des Fleurs ]

Vivian N.M.N. Wingfield [ Tsubasa no Oka no Hime ]

W-

Wendy Darling [ Okashi na Shima no Peter Pan ]

X-

—————————————————————–

Y-

Yahisa Tsukiko [ Starry Sky ]

Yamada Hana [ Sangoku Rensenki ]

Yamada Oscar [ Shiritsu Berubara Gakuen ]

Yamashiro Koyomi [ KLAP!! ]

Yamate Midori [ Uwasa no Midori-kun!! ]

Yaotome Rei [ -8 ]

Yatsuse Kotoko [ Taishou Kitan ]

Yoshikawa Kei [ Meiji Katsugeki Haikara Ryuuseigumi ]

Yoshioka Misaki [ Pri-Pia ]

Youran [ Lian Yu Zhi Zuo Ren ]

Yousen [ L.G.S ]

Yuki Ayaka [ SA7 ]

Yukimura Chizuru [ Hakuouki ]

Yume Kitamura [ Pretty☆Witch☆Academy! ]

Yuri Evangeline [ Vampire Sweetie ]

Z-

—————————————————————–

#Heroine Otome Game #tag list #otome heroine #otome

[kyukicho]

@ofsavior asked: “For the love of god, we already had one person in this house who broke their arm, we don’t need another!” (Takashi to Mikey)

Sounds of maniacal laughter from all three of them died down to a giggle here and there. Mikey stood there for a moment, Mana still held aloft above his head. Slowly he lowered her down to the ground, where all three of them sat down and stared at Takashi.

"Psst...Taka-chan's upset." He whispered to the two girls who simultaneously nodded their heads. "Don't be mad Taka-chan, I can lift you up too if you want." Mikey held out his hands causing giggles to erupt from the siblings.

#( & ) mikey ( ic ) #ofsavior #sdfgsdjfsg

[sexhaver]

god that last video made me so nostalgic for climbing to Legend in Hearthstone and Mythic in MTG Arena. at a certain point you get so in tune with your own deck and the other meta decks that every game becomes a tightly choreographed dance. Hearthstone was arguably better for this since the mana system guarantees that you curve out every game. i can still play a game with Hybrid Hunter circa 2016ish if i close my eyes. t1 leper gnome. t2 glaivezooka to buff the gnome to a 3/1, hit face with the gnome and use the zooka charge to kill their 1drop. t3 play the second gnome and hero power. t4 play piloted shredder and trade to protect it. t5 eaglehorn bow + freezing trap. t6 savannah highmane. t7 hit face with highmane, game is over, gg ez no re.

MTG was similar but most of my memories there involve either throwing a cat into an oven 3x per turn or this specific play sequence:

1. bring back Mayhem Devil with Call of the Death-Dweller to give it deathtouch and lifelink

2. crack the Fabled Passage i played 3 turns earlier and sat on for this exact reason, point the Mayhem Devil's 1-damage-ping-with-deathtouch at their 7/7 dude with All That Glitters on it to kill it

3. they respond by sacrificing Alseid of Life's Bounty to give their dude protection from red or black

4. i cackle maniacally as Mayhem Devil sees this sacrifice and puts another instakill ping on top of the Alseid's sacrifice trigger on the stack, pointed at the same creature, meaning they just paid {1} to sacrifice a creature for no reason on top of losing their biggest creature

5. they shame concede, leaving with a valuable lesson about Reading The Card

[quinnpriv1]

His body—this version of his body—feels like home, feels like what he never knew he needed all along.

(howling like a fucking maniac ANON YOU GET ME SOOOOO MUCH YES YES YESSSS!!!! slurps this up like mana from the heavens

you didn’t specify a pairing/ship or anything so this is just. a sort of thinkpiece character focus but in my head everyone is silently simping for him bc I Need This 🫡🔥)

Rules. Rules, for Riddle, are his way of organizing everything, remaining authoritative. There are dozens of results about desserts and the circumstances of partaking in them but even he can admit that deep down, some of the things he says (with complete confidence, no less) are simply excuses.

It’s fine, he assures himself. Some of these desserts simply didn’t exist in the Queen of Hearts’ time. Who would he be to disgrace the most important meal of the day? Her words, not his.

If Overblotting has taught him anything, it’s that letting his walls down from time to time is good for him. Trey is certainly pleased about this turn of events, handing over his ‘science experiments’ more frequently. Cater, too, pushes over his unwanted sweets, happy to see that they’re not going to waste.

He’s aware that his clothes are getting tighter. He’s aware that he should slow his role, but eating brings him inner peace in the way very few things do. There are some transgressions be simply cannot abide, but there are more pros than cons.

He allows nature to take its course, following his stomach. He keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to take him to task about the way he pooches over the waistband of his proper school trousers, to say nothing of his dorm uniform, but everyone is simply…kind.

It touches his heart. He’s flattered.

The silent acceptance encourages him to eat more, growing and growing. He feels eyes on him all the time and some part of him knows he should be humiliated…but the attention isn’t bad.

If he were a smidgeon more aware, he might go so far as to call it licentious. Floyd certainly made a habit of lingering overlong and he was far from the only one. Riddle uses magic to mend his seams when his clothing becomes intolerably tight, chub spilling everywhere.

He doesn’t wake up one morning and all of the trauma disappears. His life is still his life, but his friends love him and he has goals and aspirations outside of his mother’s agonizing expectations. He has plans to tell her about them, even, to take something else for himself.

His body—this version of his body—feels like home, feels like what he never knew he needed all along.

After pinching his hips and struggling to pull up his trousers, he scurries off to the kitchen.

After all, he’s hungry, and only dessert will do.

#twst #txt #retro fills #wg

[historyhermann]

The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! Review

In recent years, demons have graced TV screens, from Vivienne Medrano’s two interrelated web series, Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel, to Castlevania on Netflix, and are set to premiere in the upcoming series Satina and Far-Fetched. One such series brings this to the fore: a funny slice-of-life Japanese anime series named The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!, which is airing on Japanese television networks and airing on the streaming service Crunchyroll.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs, my History Hermann WordPress blog on Jan. 11, 2023, and Wayback Machine. This was the fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on October 13, 2021. I used some images in this article which wouldn't have been allowed on The Geekiary, like the second image specifically, as they are a bit prudish.

This anime series is based on a manga by Wakame Konbu, seven volumes of which have been published, three of which have been released in English. As a big fan of Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, RWBY (with its elements of horror), the space fantasy Final Space, or Disenchantment, which has a demon named Luci, this series, with some mature themes, drew me in from the time I watched a clip on the Crunchyroll YouTube channel. While I watched many anime before, this one seemed unique in its own way and pulled me in with its situational comedy,  which has a key role in the plot, whether from the actions taken by the protagonist or the funny situations she comes across every day.

The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! begins with Jahy, a beautiful and powerful brown-skinned demon, voiced by Naomi Ōzora, who has been thrown into the human world, stripped of her power and privilege, after the Magical Girl smashes a huge mana crystal, source of her power into thousands of pieces. Unlike in her previous world, where she was the second-in-command of the Dark Realm, with everyone at her beck and call, in the human world she is destitute. She is living in a run-down apartment, for which she refuses to pay rent, and works at a local pub, run by her the sister of her landlord, Ryou, as a waitress, as a literal wage slave. Due to her loss of power, she can only remain in her “true” adult form, wearing an outfit that makes her less than half-clothed but shows off her physical features, for a short period of time. As such, she spends most of her time in the body of a young elementary-school-age kid, only wearing a ratty white shirt. But she is not sexualized, and neither is any other character on the show’s cast unlike other anime.

The 20-episode first season of The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! began on August 1, and it is currently more than halfway through its order. It starts with Jahy beginning her search for mana crystals, is helped by humans like the manager of the pub where she works or a young girl named Kokoro, and comes across a bigger mana crystal. Saurva, a tomboyish girl who wants to push Jahy from her role, but ends up improving her reputation instead, Jahy catches a cold, with her manager looking after her, and Ryou calls the police on the real Magical Girl, not the man who had been cosplaying as one. In following episodes, the Magical Girl snatches Jahy’s huge mana crystal resulting in Jahy getting drunk that night. Following this, Jahy gets into an exercise routine, goes to a public bath with her manager and Ryou, accidentally traps herself inside her apartment by setting traps for the Magical Girl, and Jahy learns that the Magical Girl wishes to destroy all the mana crystals so people can be saved from misfortune, a goal which horrifies Jahy.

The show excels at subverting anime tropes, like a master-servant relationship, or themes within the magical girl genre. In terms of the former, Jahy’s former lieutenant, Druj, is very successful at exploiting humans through her role as a corporate executive and lives in a high-end apartment. Embarrassed that her former subordinate is now doing better than her, she is jealous, attempting to hide her true living situation, where she is living poor and destitute. In the case of the latter, the Magical Girl appears to be a jerk at first and is shown in a negative light so the audience empathizes with Jahy, despite the terrible acts she had committed in the past. The show, similar to Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, and Villainous/Villanos, encourages the audience to root for the “villain” rather than the “hero.”

Although the magical girl genre has been lampooned in series like Magical Girl Friendship Squad in the past, this is the first anime series I have seen that does the same to the genre, although not the same as the surrealist 2001 original video animation titled Puni Puni Poemy. In the case of The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!, the Magical Girl and Jahy both have their own transformation sequences of sorts, with Jahy able to transform from her childlike form into an adult form, and the Magical Girl going from her form as a high school girl named Kyouko Jingu to a magical girl, making the series, in this sense, resemble the magical girl genre.

If The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! is renewed for a second season, it will hopefully encourage more to lampoon the magical girl genre. For one, the series could confirm that there are LGBTQ characters in the series which are in the main cast, rather than having those who appear in only one episode like Theoda and Pothina in one episode of Cleopatra in Space or the recurring character, Xochi Jalapeno, in a number of episodes of Victor and Valentino. Even if this doesn’t happen in a second season, the show still shines through with its animation, voice acting, writing, and hilarity, unlike others that are airing, especially when it comes to animation. It also shares characteristics with other series in that Jahy herself has an identity crisis, trying to discover who she is as a demon in the human world.

In the end, the series is exciting and fun to watch, especially with Jahy’s vigor and ambition. It is something that everyone should watch, despite its mature themes and very rare fan service.

The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! is available on Crunchyroll for streaming.

© 2021-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#the great jahy #the great jahy will not be defeated #anime #magical girls #demons #fan service #tomboys #hazbin hotel #helluva boss #villainous #puni puni poemy #magical girl friendship squad #cleopatra in space #victor and valentino #crunchyroll

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

I've never seen what magic usage looks like in VADD but if I were to build a magic system for that setting I'd do one where magic is harnessed/activated via complex arrays and formulas and equations, an incomplete one won't activate and one must take great care to not get stuff incorrect. Best case scenario the magic won't activate, worst case scenario your flesh might just slough off your bones and you die a horrible death. Or blast an area. Or both. Magic is dangerous. Imagine Penny (OG Penelope ofc, it's me you're talking to) hurriedly scribbling a formula on an alley wall in a foggy setting, just in time for the area to burst into flame when her pursuers get there and she's a safe distance away. Pre-written formulas, intentionally incomplete so that the wizard can just add the one component needed to activate it on the fly... I tend to visualize VADD's setting as very grim and foggy in aesthetics for some reason, so yeah. “Bounded Fields” aka an area surrounded by an array that can serve multiple purposes depending on the symbols included— wanna drain the life force of anyone who intrude? Wanna punt them away from the guarded area? Zap them really hard with electricity? Just wanna sense whoever trespasses the boundary? That sort of stuff would be also cool. Maybe symbols can be etched onto objects to give them certain properties, permanently or no.

As for WMMAP, I haven't gotten a solid rule down but I'd like to think magic is more diverse and fluid, not so rigid as the array-bound wizardry of what I gave VADD. Want to strengthen your body by channeling magic into it? Yeah! Crafting magical artefacts? Sure! Reinforce objects, temporarily or not, via magic? Hell yeah! Illusions? Fireballs? Sure thing! Conjuring stuff, or outright transforming them into smth else entirely? Uhhhh that's not gonna be possible, sorry.

If you conjure an object, the world itself tries to reject and eliminate it, the same way our bodies eliminate any foreign entity that enters it. Conjured objects don't last long, maybe a couple minutes at most. If a mage tries to hold their existence longer than it should exist the object begins to warp. Glitch. Becomes a weird thing that... isn't the object as we knew it originally. We become unable to perceive it normally let alone make use of it. If some maniac decide to specialize in that, then well good fucking luck to them. Transformations don't also tend to last long, if you hold it past its limit it's gonna glitch and disintegrate just like the conjured object did.

On that topic, I kinda see Jennette's creation as trying to bypass that law of nature, as did past Obelian emperors. I don't have the specific mechanics down yet, but the way the royals' mana gets too out of control it's actively killing them... sounds a lot like nature trying to reject individuals of such massive mana because they're unnatural going by our own theory of “Obelian royals did black magic and incest to increase mana volume but also keep kids alive”. Have their cake and eat it too. But black magic too has a price to pay and it eventually catches up anyways. So... yeah.

Pre-written formulas...that's a unique idea! I can picture incomplete formulas and equations scratched or engraved into the wall plaster of taverns and houses in balatant sight of the authorities and no one pays it any mind. Powerful defense and attack spells that survived from ancient civilizations but they are interpreted as a kid's doodles or an act of vandalism and either ignored or scrubbed away. Imagine a magician's child unaware of their origins accidentally activating an attack spell by writing something silly like adding dick drawing to a prewritten formula and blasting an entire city wall away without meaning to. The anti-magic faction would, of course, use these incidents of accidental magic to demonize magicians further. Penelope could've had her first contact with magic when she was still living in the slums, hiding in a dark alley from the guards that are chasing her because she stole a loaf of bread, her fingers are itching, in the darkness she find the engravings in stone and finishes the escape spell almost out of instinct, writing it out with the dirt and blood on her hands.

For wmmap I have the rough idea that you essentially drain your own life force to use magic, contrary to baby Jennette who probably drained the life from Penny and I hc is later capable of draining it from the people around her. Using your own life force isn't a problem with the Obelia family since they are practically immortal and possess an extraordinary amount of mana. The non-wizards are simply people who have barely enough mana to life. Magic use would almost definitely kill them. And having someone force magic into you is also bad for their bodies since they aren't meant to contain that much mana. Lore-wise I have some ideas how the Obelias became that powerful including them stealing a fruit of the world tree, which turned them into half gods and made the world tree unable to go against them since they now possess the same type of mana. It'd also explain why Athy is linked with the world (prophetic dreams) and has permission to change the essence of the world.

Just like you I don't like the idea that you can just conjure objects out of nothing with no repercussions or whatsoever. I'd prefer a Law of Equivalent Exchange or that you can turn an object into the one you want for a short amount of time provided they share a similarity. Turning wood into a gold coin would be harder than a key from metal for example. And it might not last as long until the spell wears off.

About Jennette...yup I too see her as a conjured object. Except she has been created from a scratch of something and has to be constantly fed (mana maybe?) to prevent warping or disappearing entirely. It's possible that she could achieve a human like status if she has consummed enough souls/or mana and lived long enough as a human. Basically fake it until you make it.

The world tries to eliminate her as it does to all things that don't belong there (I hc that this is also one of the reasons why most wizards don't travel between parallel worlds. Your are basically putting a target on your back. And if the world doesn't manage to kill you it kills your other self and traps you in the world you travelled to because only one of you two has a place there.) Anyway I think it starts really harmless in her childhood with small accidents that get bigger, more frequent and more complex as she ages. For example at first it's just a flower pot almost falling on her head but suddenly there are bizarre accidents happening around her caused by an unseen force creating complicated chains of cause and effect, that most often than not harms those around her instead of herself. Her magic doesn't neutralize the curse it only repells it. It kind of bounces off her and clings to the person she is closest to, leading at best to a serious injury and at worst to their untimely end. Even if ther black magic is there to protect their host, it still can't go against its nature to destroy.

The world becomes slowly aware of Jennette's presence and tries to reject her. Did the world once see her only as an annoying fly and tried to swat her occationally when she gets involved in the prewritten destiny of others, it now sees her as something sacrilegious against God, a wretched thing that tries to disrupt the order of the universe. I imagine it gets worse the more Jennette interacts with other people (and inevitably twists their destiny). So when Jennette, someone who shouldn't have existed in the first place, gets put as the ruler of the Empire on the throne, a position where all the threads converge to link up the world/story, the universe is furious. Perhaps the poisoning incident was set in motion by this mysterious force and originally meant to kill Jennette (fr why would Rosalia do something risky like poisoning her own niece to get rid of Athy who wasn't even first in line to the throne? isn't risking Jennette's life to get Athy exiled a little bit too extreme considering Athy posed no threat to her?) but her black magic protected her and Athy was the one who ended up dying. A life for a life. Magic always demands a price. And Athy was the perfect price to pay to justify her existence since they were both too similar to one another.

#world building #wmmap #the theme of magic in “who made me a princess” #death is the only ending for a villainess #jewel shards and broken bastards #jennette is a construct made of black magic theory

[sablegear0]

I enjoy playing EDH/Commander because I love assembling Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions out of Magic cards, watching my horrible janky creations chug along and sow chaos as they go.

Today I think I assembled my least efficient extended combo to date (While 'Goldfishing', I doubt anyone would let me get away with this, especially my play group):

Sidisi, Brood Tyrant on the field (Commander), plus some zombie tokens

Ashnod's Altar on the field

Play Rooftop Storm

Play Havengul Lich for free

Sacrifice a zombie token to Ashnod's Altar to pay for 2 activations of Havengul Lich. This is where the fun begins.

Cast Stitcher's Supplier and one other creature from the Graveyard for free (Havengul Lich + Rooftop Storm).

Sticher's Supplier mills 3 on ETB, possibly makes a zombie token (Sidisi, Brood Tyrant).

Sacrifice Stitcher's Supplier for mana again, pays for 2 Havengul Lich activations and mills 3 again (another possible Sidisi trigger).

Recur Stitcher's Supplier (mill 3, maybe get a zombie) and another creature.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 ad nauseum until you've burned through your deck and amassed a stupid amount of zombies.

(Alternately, once you've recurred your entire stable of creatures, continually sac/recur any creature and net 1 mana each time.)

From there I had a few options; Villainous Wealth in hand, Increasing Confusion in the Graveyard (sac my whole board for X mana), and Laboratory Maniac in the Graveyard (mill to 0, force a draw with one of several sources). Since this was all still my turn, I could probably have safely attempted all 3 (again, 'goldfishing' so no opponents but still. lol. lmao even.)

#sable talks about games #magic the gathering #mtg #edh #mtg commander #this post is for nobody lol #cementing my reputation as a 'Johnny'