#on this topic

[xerith-42]

What are some of your rewrite ideas regarding religion in MCD regions, worship of Irene and her comrades, and of the relationship Irene herself has with others (the divine warriors, normal people, lords, etc).

Also just ideas of the Divine warriors in general? I find them very interesting

[picks up Kul'zak by the scruff of his neck and shakes him around like a chew toy]

I have a lot of reasons to throw hands with Jess on some very personal levels, but I want to throw hands with Jess on a creator v creator level over how bad the Divine Warriors are handled. We have exactly one picture of Kul'zak and one picture of Menphina. I started spelling her name with an extra n during my original rewrite and it's just a habit that I picked up because she matters so little that I didn't even notice. It's not like I was going to the wiki page to find information about her BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING THERE!!

The fact that Shad and Irene have so much detail given to them, but the others get JACK SHIT will never not piss me off! Enki and Esmund get a little more, but it's still next to nothing!! These are key characters in her lore, and yet we know next to nothing about most of them.

So, I did some tweaks in my first rewrite that color how I view this world overall, so let's jump into it, starting with the most neglected of the bunch, Menphina and Kul'zak.

I believe Menphina was the Divine Warrior of Tu'la, and the first of the catfolk (oh yeah I call Meif'wa catfolk). The kingdom of Havas is the central kingdom and home to the primary church of The Furious, a warmongering kingdom that once controlled the main city and primary port, but over the years the King sought more and more power in the name of his divine. Menphina encouraged fighting for survival, not for conquest. Her Fury was not in the name of power, but in the name of fighting off those who backed her into the corner.

Much of Menphina's history has become lost on her people. They remember her as a fierce warrior, not the scared and cornered animal she once was. They remember her as a romance-less woman who only reproduced to continue her bloodline, the royal family. They've forgotten that she expressed love for Irene and Shad. They've neglected the pain that would have caused as Irene erased Shad from the story.

Her best friend was Kul'zak. They were akin to siblings, spending hours with one another around a lake in the Tu'la country side. A willow tree with rose vines climbs around it, and after the defeat of Shad, she turned it into a subdimension of Irene's (like the sacred tree Aph and Garroth met under). Her people know she was friends with Kul'zak, but few know the nuances of said friendship. They don't know how much these two would do for one another.

Kul'zak never had a kingdom, never had a church, the closest he gets is a following. Many wanderers and traders consider him a high inspiration, especially ones from The Gal'ruk Islands. Ru'aun has forgotten that he was a wanderer, not a keeper. He kept quite a bit over his travels, but lots of the treasures he gathered were meant for Enki. His closeness to Enki was well documented, if you could read their encoded messages to one another.

Historians call them best friends. If they remember Kul'zak. He doesn't lose sleep over whether or not the rest of the world remembers him, just that those who matter do. His friends, his fellow warriors, and his fellow wanderers. Those are who matter.

Kul'zak was at least a little in love with all the warriors (except Menphina, they're childhood friends and frequently call one another siblings). This isn't well documented or well remembered due to his... Odd expressions of love. The Divine understood it and no one else could.

Also here's a Picrew I did using Brights Picrew Hell of Kul'zak because he's my fave Divine Warrior (I held back talking about him so I can talk about the others)

Kul'zak lost his eye in the fight against Shad, and Menphina was also badly wounded, though details of her exact injury are unknown. She fled to Tu'la before any of her friends could see the real damage.

I think Enki used to be a man full of life and love, happily helping the islands he called his home. He's greatly remembered and highly revered by these people, though the details of his personal life aren't as well known. It's known that he settled down with a woman, and spent the rest of his days fighting the Demon Warlock.

As time wore on he became weary of his position and held resentment for all the knowledge he feels is now a burden. His extensive library started to feel like a prison. The only solace he got was whenever Kul'zak would visit. One day Kul'zak came and he just knew. He could tell by looking at both of them that this was the last time they would see each other. It was the happiest Enki had been in his entire life.

Esmund was also born in Ru'aun, but Ru'aun is only known as the birthplace of Irene. And as a protector, he doesn't mind at all. Some theorize that Esmund could have resented Irene for living in her shadow, but that's exactly what he wants. He wants to use his power to protect and uplift those he holds dearest.

There's no dedicated following to Esmund, but he and Irene ensured that the guard system was a success, and he lives on in the heart of every foolish guard willing to throw their life away for a lord.

Random headcanon that I treat as canon because there's literally nothing to contradict me: It was Kul'zak who suggested that they send Shad to the Nether. He first thought of it after seeing how sad Menphina got every time Irene and Shad fought. He wanted to see her smile. So he went to Enki and the two developed their method with the help of Esmund and the wyverns to seal Shad away.

After sending Shad to the Nether, Irene tried to erase him from the story. Obviously she wasn't able to erase him completely, people still knew who he was, but she spun a narrative that he became power hungry and betrayed them. She made sure there was no record of Kul'zak coming up with the plan, and solely took any blame for it. Afterwards Irene became far more reclusive, and far less kind.

Not that she was hostile, but she responded to the plight of mortals with a general "Learn to take care of yourself" statement. She would only step in if absolutely necessary. This caused many to become disillusioned with her over time, often moving to other regions out of resentment. They expected her to bring their fallen relatives and friends back to life. She never did that after Shad left, not even to her own loved ones. Death seemed like a luxury to them.

And Shad. Man, I FUCKIN HATE THAT NAME. Listen we love renaming shit in this fandom for very understandable reasons, and I think we need to rename Shad more. Like, I don't object to the cast of MCD calling the Shadow King "Shad" as a way to shorten his name in conversation, I think that's fine! I really wish it was that! But noooo, Jess had to be clever and make that the name of the Divine Warrior even though it's a really dumb fucking name. It's not sinister, it's not intimidating, it's not even a good name. It's just Shad. It's a sad Chad.

I'm personally a big fan of calling him Araphel (so much so that I forgot his name was Shad when I first got back into MCD), and that's what his name is always going to be in my brain and my rewrites. Now that I've gotten that out of the way--

I think Araphel is a truly sad, pathetic, broken man. One who once had it all, but it wasn't enough. He needed more, he needed to have something else, he felt he was owed the romance he desired with Irene. And while she reciprocated, it felt inauthentic. As if he loved her more than she could ever love him. Araphel was doomed not by a desire for power, but a lust for someone he could never fully have. Lust turned into desperation, desperation turned into anger, anger to rage, and rage to resentment.

During his rageful state was when he was sealed away. It was during this rage to resentment that he created the Shadow Knights. He knew exactly what Irene and Esmund wanted, guards who would lay down their lives for lords, and lords who would lay down their lives for their people. That's why regardless of your previous attachment, if you're a guard assigned to a lord, your calling latches onto your lord. No exceptions. No excuses.

The thing Kul'zak, Esmund, Enki and Menphina were fighting for was to stop Irene and Araphel from fighting. In the end, they failed. Araphel made his Shadow Knights, and Irene had her lords. And one day, a reincarnation of both were born and sent on a collision course towards one another without any hope of stopping it. In the end, they could never stop finding, falling, and fighting.

#whooo that was long #and I still have more to say #theres another ask in my inbox #on this topic #y'all don't understand #how much I can say #text post #minecraft diaries #aphblr #aphverse #mcd headcanons #mcd #divine warriors #none of them have tags huh? #wont stop me #Kul'zak the Wanderer #Mephina the Fury #shad the destroyer #irene the matron #enki the keeper #esmund the protector #okay so it was just Menphina and Kul'zak #i wonder why #ask answered #queued post

[tessa-quayle]

A popular Pedro Pascal Instagram fan account (stainsofpascal) posted this on 6/24/23.

The post is meant to be a lighthearted look at Pedro from a year ago, but it's also a painful throwback to a dark day in American history - 6/24/22 when Roe v Wade was overturned. Pedro and Sarah Paulson were at a Brandi Carlile concert in LA - Sarah turns the phone to Pedro and he shouts "abortion rights" 🥺

Another reason Pedro Pascal is the best: a great ally for human rights.

#pedro pascal #sarah paulson #abortion is healthcare #i am anonymous on here for reasons #but did write a thing in a mainstream publication last year #on this topic #what a dark anniversary #donate to abortion funds y'all #and vote

[regardingjenmish]

Man, some people really have a problem with everything... i mean this in the nicest possible way but if you get bothered or angry/upset by random shit that's not even bad, maybe it's time to get off the internet for a bit and take a step or two back. It's not that serious

#i keep seeing people on here and bird appp upset by thee most RANDOM shit ever all day already #like calm down #take a breath #and thats all im saying #on this topic #anyway byee

[auntieoneandauntietwo]

The way I picture pern, the telgar lord holders are literally the only blonde people on the planet and basically the palest too

Which is funny to me because hehe they’re very inbred but also explains why people would find kylara so special or whatever

#on this topic #the fact that kylara larad thella and famira are siblings is SO ENTERTAINING #pern #dragonriders of pern #kylara pern #stubbornly tagging pern characters names

[wizardnamensalex]

Lying is very common and normal and doesn’t make you a bad person actually. Lying is part of human communication actually

#i could write an essay #on this topic #lying #lies #I should write an essay #falsehoods #deceit

[dndspellgifs]

look, I know I've talked about this essay (?) before but like,

If you ever needed a good demonstration of the quote "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", have I got an exercise for you.

Somebody made a small article explaining the basics of atomic theory but it's written in Anglish. Anglish is basically a made-up version of English where they remove any elements (words, prefixes, etc) that were originally borrowed from romance languages like french and latin, as well as greek and other foreign loanwords, keeping only those of germanic origin.

What happens is an english which is for the most part intelligible, but since a lot everyday english, and especially the scientific vocabulary, has has heavy latin and greek influence, they have to make up new words from the existing germanic-english vocabulary. For me it kind of reads super viking-ey.

Anyway when you read this article on atomic theory, in Anglish called Uncleftish Beholding, you get this text which kind of reads like a fantasy novel. Like in my mind it feels like it recontextualizes advanced scientific concepts to explain it to a viking audience from ancient times.

Even though you're familiar with the scientific ideas, because it bypasses the normal language we use for these concepts, you get a chance to examine these ideas as if you were a visitor from another civilization - and guess what, it does feel like it's about magic. It has a mythical quality to it, like it feels like a book about magic written during viking times. For me this has the same vibe as reading deep magic lore from a Robert Jordan book.

#off topic #literature #language #linguistics #science #science history #science fiction #fantasy #physics #atomic theory #anglish #chemistry #robert jordan #the wheel of time #uncleftish beholding

[trans-cuchulainn]

my adblocker prevented the nyt from loading the paywall banner so all i got was this

#why ARE american #(drivers getting worse. was the article topic)

[lesbianfakir]

You’re placed in a room with an animal. The door is closed and you cannot leave. The animal is completely calm and has no intent of harming you. You are in no danger unless you provoke the animal in some way.

#having a conversation about pathological fears of animal #if you put me in a room with the worlds chillest nicest chimpanzee I would be in hysteric #it’s been that way ever since age 12 #that scene in ​nope was the most validated I’ve ever felt in my life #lea off topic tag #I just want to gauge if people have specific phobias of certain animals

[cordspaghetti]

haha!!!!

#meant to finish this for halloween but instead finished it for the true mcr jump scare date monday november 13th #saur off topic rn but have it anyway #mcr #gerard way #x

[chimaeraonwards]

John Cusack, the voice actor for Dimitri in Anatasia (1997), shared his statement on Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

P.S. He has been a Palestinian supporter for years

#palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #west bank #free west bank #“if you're there - what choice do you have?” #john cusack #anastasia 1997 #israel #israel occupation #israel apartheid #anastasia #update to tags: yes i know he didnt just do anastasia but thats the one that stood out to me i love anastasia #the way everyone is like ok this is super serious topic but ANASTASIA??? is so amusing to me pls keep them coming #also please continue sharing about palestine!!!! FREE PALESTINE

[itsbansheebitch]

This works for YouTubers as well lmao

#lgbt #lgbtq+ #lgbtqia #lgbtq #us politics #politics #queer #trans rights #one topic #one topic at a time #the click #emotional support demon

[castielsprostate]

i hate you "influencers", i hate you tiktok, i hate you "content creators", i hate you "unalive" and "s€x" and "dr/ügs", i hate you instagram, i hate you consumerism, i hate you family friendly, i hate you puritans, i hate you facebook, i hate you family vloggers, i hate you violating other people's privacy, i hate you modern day social media

#sjonnie.text #i just saw someone make a 50 SECONDS reel about combining movie genres and movies and it was scream and romance and it was 50 SECONDS and #they said “i'm sorry i unalived all those people” go actually fuck yourself. #IF YOU CAN'T SAY THE WORD MURDER KILL DRUGS SEX ETC YOU ARE NOT READY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THOSE TOPICS #AND SHOULD NOT PRODUCE CONTENT OF IT #i hate this “family friendly” aesthetic jesus fucking christ #text post #anti instagram #anti tiktok #anti influencers #anti capitalism #20k

[daz4i]

nikolai

nikolai

#have you seen him? now you have #i edited the original post bc someone added a pic of one of the founding fathers in the comments so i was officially done with it. #edit: decided to add some text. to spice it up #originally i wanted to add a pic of skk. given the topic of the original post. but all of my top posts are skk anyway yknow?

[tiredfoxtf]

No, but this is actually crazy in the most dystopian sense.

#> tired shitpost #ai topic #mcyt

[scribblyspaceskeleton]

Speaking up and educating people on why the most hated life forms on the planet are important and meaningful is a thankless task.

How do we reach out and get people to care about insects and spiders when the average reaction is either "EEWW KILL IT WITH FIRE" or blind panic?

Arthropods are crucial to the survival of life as we know it. Yes, even commonly vilified bugs like wasps and mosquitoes have ecological niches that the world CANNOT do without.

I cannot overstate their importance.

#serious topics #bugs #insects #arthropods #spiders

[general-illyrin]

#I thought it would be interesting to see an average of the number of total side blogs each user has. #(And am I the only one who uses private side blogs to organize my likes or posts I want to save by topic?)