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analexthatexists · 4 months

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(semi-outdated) Ultraviolet!Sans Lore/Info + Some Art

I'm bored and I have some doodles to share so let's do this.

(Scroll to the near bottom of the page to see some art of his alternate form once he possess Corrupt Nightmare, Ultraviolence.)

For their base form / First look: https://www.tumblr.com/analexthatexists/739439912172011520/seeing-everyone-posting-their-cool-sans-aus-made?source=share

GENERAL FACTS:

Because Nightmare was such a bookworm, UV's a big fan of comics, especially superhero ones (Anti-Hero stories are his favorite)

Due to latching onto negative essence rather than a SOUL, UV's able to understand negative emotions better, and his have been greatly boosted, making him more easily angered

UV's a lot less energetic than most other Fresh variants but tries his best to have high energy, though he usually can't and is a little more serious than other variants

He HATES, I repeat, HATES modern slang (Like, Gen Alpha Skibidi Rizz type stuff) and he'd rather die than have to speak such slang

He commonly uses his fists to fight, but also makes use of his surroundings (EX: Fighting in a kitchen and throwing a chair at someone or using kitchen utensils as weapons)

He tries to teach people how to "treat themselves right" (Keep themselves safe and trying to mentally help them) through generic, cheesy methods you'd find in 90s safety videos or anti-bullying programs, which usually never go well. (This is obviously based off Fresh!Ink's C.A.R.E)

People like Killer and Nightmare are some of his most disliked, really anyone who's known for killing people without reason and/or bullying

Despite his semi-disliking towards violence and murder, he will resort to violence when necessary or if he's having a bad day. If he's real fed up with someone, he's not afraid to beat them up. However, killing is, as he sees it, "Too uncool to do, yo", so he usually refrains from doing any fatal damage unless it's a serious threat to him or his brother

Most people see him and go "Oh, it's that guy again" or scream "DANG IT BOSS, IT'S THAT ANNOYING GUY WHO KEEPS TRYING TO STOP US FROM MURDERING PEOPLE."

UV really likes energy/soft drinks and sodas, especially the very acidic ones that should have been banned from stores years ago

Yes, UV is aromantic.

AFFILIATIONS:

Dream Sans (While he dislikes literally every other version of the skeleton, the Dream that belonged to Nightmare, the body UV's parasite uses, is actually someone he kind of cares about. He blames the vessel for having such a bond that went on to become a part of his character, but continues to protect the guy out of instinct. Dream himself isn't too fond of his brother being used as a body for a parasite (I mean, when did he ever, am I right?) and didn't even realize what was going on at first, but he's too afraid to try and test UV, as he could probably overpower him easily if he so desired, so he just hangs out with him like he would his brother. Besides, he's close enough to the original Nightmare...Right?)

Nightmare Sans (Originally, UV meant to take over this guy, as he would have been a wonderful source of power (I mean, feeding of negativity and sorta being immortal? Who'd pass that up?). However, after latching onto Passive, he's begun to change his mindset. Sure, he still wants to someday snatch Nightmare's body and all that (Again, who'd pass that up?), but he's started to grow distasteful of the guy. He's absolutely sadistic and messes with his brother! Again, he blames his vessel's ideals and such bleeding into his, but he can't help but hate the guy just a smidge.)

Killer Sans (Nightmare's a pain, but UV absolutely HATES Killer. Not only is he working for Nightmare, but regardless of whenever Killer wants to or not, he's a pretty murderous guy who usually doesn't take UV seriously and/or tries to kill him.)

Shattered Dream (If these two were to meet, UV would HEAVILY dislike him. He'd stay away from them as much as possible, though if interaction's made, he'd simply taunt and annoy him to death in hopes he'd assume he's just a mindless, dumb Sans that isn't worth pestering. He'd also make sure he'd never find his Dream. If Shattered ever tries anything with his brother, he'd literally hunt them down as Ultraviolence.)

Fresh Sans (These two would be bros, though UV could never keep up with the more energetic colorful Fresh.)

Error Sans (UV's actually pretty chill with Error, though Error thinks he's just another abomination that wants to pester him. UV understands that balance needs to be kept in the Multiverse, and that destruction would be necessary, and he'd like to talk with the guy for once. However, Error never seems to stick around for long enough or tries to erase him.)

Among Us Blue (God forbid these two are in the same space, because UV would punt him into the Sun. For context, Among Us Blue's a joke character made by a friend basically poking fun at Blueberry Sans' existence. He speaks in Gen Alpha slang and is a general annoyance to everyone around him, which is two reasons as to why UV hates his guts.)

STORY:

BACKSTORY: A Fresh Parasite manages to enter Dreamtale searching for Corrupted Nightmare wanting to take over his body and basically become an all-powerful being. However, this goes awry when he ends up taking over Passive Nightmare instead. And so, Ultraviolet's brought into the world against its own will. Confused and kind of panicking, he was interrupted mid-freakout by Dream, who, at the time, didn't know what was actually going on and assumed Nightmare simply changed his outfit. Ultraviolet, deciding he wouldn't blow his cover so quickly and was still destined to find his actual target, decided to play along for now. As time went on, he'd begin to become a bit fond of Dream, and the two would usually be seen wandering the Multiverse doing their own things, UV serving as a protective brother to Dream.

IMPRISONMENT & BREAKOUT: Ultraviolet and his brother were eventually imprisoned by a more royal, maybe even stronger variant of Nightmare known as King Scorpius. UV was able to break out, but was beaten to near death after getting caught. His physical body was destroyed, and the parasite escaped through a vent duct. It ended up finding more imprisoned monsters, and, as luck would have it...One of them was just the Sans he was looking for. It was Corrupt Nightmare, who wasn't having much luck escaping. The parasite then latched onto him (not willingly) while Dream escaped themselves. Dream was nearly caught and potentially killed by the same people who "killed" UV, but before they could do anything...

...They were...let's say..."interrupted" and mercilessly beaten to death by a new presence emerging from the shadows.

The newly formed Ultraviolence, after lazily putting together a name (At this point, there was more to consider than a cool name, like not dying and breaking out of this place), then escaped with his brother, who by this point was unconscious. Dream woke back up in their base homeworld, only UV was nowhere to be seen. UV was, still in the form of Ultraviolence, elsewhere pondering whenever he should continue using this form as originally desired or find another Passive body to revert back to Ultraviolet. Despite his plans originally set on becoming an all powerful immortal being of negativity, he decided that wasn't very rad anymore and went with the latter idea, stealing the body of a nearby Passive Nightmare from another timeline. Though, as he did so, he wondered why there was an absence of a Dream Sans. Don't these guys usually have brothers? UV didn't think too much about this and returned back home to his brother, acting as if the whole "King Scorpius castle breakout giant neon octopus man" thing was simply a nightmare.

Speaking of, here's what their design looks like!

And now, here's some stuff about Ultraviolence!

He glows in the dark and is able to go invisible. The saturation/brightness/glow can be affected by physical and mental state (When he's real worked up or feeling sadistic he has high saturation, and when he's wounded badly or low on energy, he has a more desaturated, more dull look.)

Whenever invisible or not, he'll always leave a trail of cyan footprints behind him (They fade at a medium rate but are pretty helpful when it comes to spotting UV when invisible)

The tentacles UV has are mostly for display or boasting; he rarely uses them in favor of a pair of batons (Inspired by Daredevil)

Ultraviolet was pretty calm and collected with a short temper, but Ultraviolence is anything but. He's ruthless when it comes to getting his way and the hesitation to kill or harm's gone out the window. Though, he will make things entertaining while he's at it, cracking jokes and making light teases while snapping people's necks and breaking bones. In other words, he's very sadistic yet playful.

It's unclear whenever in this state Ultraviolence feels empathy towards Dream or not, as he makes sure to never be around him whenever in this form, doing this out of survival instinct because Dream's Nightmare's #1 weakness, though there could be other reasons as to why.

Blood is censored in the form of bright, neon colors (commonly pink cyan or lime). Nobody really knows how UV's able to do this, similar to how people don't know how Fresh's able to censor people's swearing

Speaking of swearing, UV usually has to censor himself whenever he's in this form, as his whole "very cautious about swearing" thing gets a bit twisted due to Corrupt Nightmare's influence.

ABILITIES:

Ultraviolet (Base):

Hands-on combat

Censorship (Swears are censored with %#*@&! rather than 90s slang and what not similar to how comics censor swearing)

No other abilities, such as having the base Sans abilities, are known to be possessed by UV

Ultraviolence (Corrupt):

Invisibility

Bioluminescence

Weapon Manifestation (Forming weapons such as batons, firearms, knives, etc)

(Probably) Same abilities as Nightmare Sans as well as Base UV

King Scorpius belongs to @teaspiiier

#ultraviolet!sans #sans au #underfresh sans #fresh sans #dreamtale #nightmare sans #utmv #sans oc art #dude i wrote like an entire fandom wiki page about a stupid purple skeleton oh my god #sans oc

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sinecosinewheel · 1 year

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@galaxirin @bornetoblood

😭 i rly am the amelia guy huh (nm about it!)

- How I feel about this character

to start, she is my funny guy. in-game i think she's an awesome depiction of the healing church's state, the last vicar is powerless to do anything but pray, alone, clutching the medallion of her predecessor who all but set her up to fail. she's both a tragic figure, and the highest remaining member of the organization who doomed the town. in my hcs she is all of that, and she regularly mulches and beheads people, and she likes bugs. she is my funny guy!

- All the people I ship romantically with this character

hmmm. melia x early retirement. jshdj fr I don't have any specific characters? maybeeee henriett? ok wait i like to think she's henryk's great grand niece or smth and theyre really on the nose w/ the names. ok divergence, my henriette hc is that she was rejected from the church hunters and inherited her old mans Old Hunter style duds nd started vigilante mushing beasts w/ her kirkhammer pro bono. so tool of the institution x bitter rogueish vigilante. plus u summon henriett for melias fight so putting down an old flame .... i have successfully talked myself around to this ship let's get it 🎉

- My non-romantic OTP for this character

she really could've used some guidance other than laurence in her life, so i like to think she would've found a mentor in maria, had maria lived long enough to meet her. rlly tho most people were scared shitless of her and/or intimidated by her status so she had no non-killing, non-laurence social outlets. i haven't arbitrarily picked and made up a backstory wholecloth for an npc hunter to be her dead friend yet but also them lmao 😭

- My unpopular opinion about this character

slamming my fists on the ground beating my head on the wall SHE DOES NOT LOOK LIKE, I QUOTE, 'THE SEXY DOG FROM OLIVER AND COMPANY'!!!!!!

ok that's a personal grievance but i stand by it. umm i wish she showed up again? not sure if that's unpopular but i don't think many people think of it. like maybe she could've showed up in the hunters nightmare...even as a gorpse.....or had more item descriptions ab her!! i want the bell ringing woman set!!!

- One thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

hrmm i wish we could have gotten to see more of her in general!! the fight intro cutscene is fucking iconic but maybe she could've been an npc u can talk to... and then u have to fight her when u progress the night farther... n u could start her fight early like the dancer in ds3 by attacking her and get an alt intro cutscene....basically just any content of how the church worked, or what her role was before everything exploded i think

- My OTP

apparently amelia x henriett! news to me. real enemiesish to lovers opposing forces attract type shit here

- My crossover ship

ourgh. hmm maybe millicent elden ring or emerald herald ds2? maybe the ds2 miracles lady lmao melia would in her head b like my dads a much better grifter than her...shes silly i like her :) n the miracles lady is into muscles maybe. idk lmao it could be unhealthy, it could lead to melia unlearning some toxic shit bc the miracles lady is like a cartoonishly over exaggerated version of the people she was raised with, i don't even remember her name though x.x

- A headcanon fact

i stg this entire post has been a headcanon fact lol 💀 uhm uh oh lol we are ending on a sad one heehee. so u know how vicar amelia boss form is covered in bandages? after the school of mensis began kidnapping blood saints the healing blood of the healing church began to run dry, leading yharnam citizens to seek it from other sources, like certain prostitutes with special blood. seeing no other course and to uphold the legitimacy of the church's special blood, the vicar underwent the mysterious process of becoming a blood saint herself and all but bled herself dry to make up for the demand

#wheeltext #ask game #long post #be upon ye #sorry if this is incoherent im having a weire one lol #ty guys for the asks!! :]c <- not a sad man with a handlebar mustache #vicar amelia #bloodborne

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haxorus-imp · 2 years

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We know negativity can manifest into all sorts of different creatures and monsters in LBP, but why do you think that happens? Why wouldn't a negatively charged cerebrumbilical cord just make a nightmare world?

There is possibly a nightmare world!

The developers of LBP may have simply never thought of such a thing existing in the canon. I like to imagine that there's a flipside to the imagisphere or the cosmos.

Ever heard of 'void zones' in space? Since the cosmos is based off of space, void zones would be where the negative energy is charged or is bleeding through a rift in the cosmos from a nightmare dimension that we haven't seen yet. As for why negative energy in the imagisphere makes monsters, I think that since the "orb of dreamers" isn't always a happy place all the time, it has a balance to keep. While some kids are happy and imaginative, you have to think about kids that are in worse living conditions or situations and how it affects the imagisphere. For example. In the original LBP3, Newton was supposed to be the only evil doer in the game, as there was no such thing as the titans. There is even a particular soundtrack that can still be found in the game called "burning town ambience" in which you hear Newton saying something in the background while a village burns to the ground. Also in the original version of LBP3, there was a audio clip of Newton talking about how his father wasn't coming back and how Captain Pud abandoned him and his mother.

Which is something eerily similar that happens to children who are in those dire negative situations. I even think craftlings can fall into the 'dark side' of things, like original Newton, who felt abandoned and wanted to lash out at the world because of it. That also means that there's different types of negativity, like Vex's "Uproar" and the Negativitron's "Negative Energy". They stem from the same source, but they take on different forms and as LBP3 has shown, it can even grow inside of craftlings and turn them against their kinder natures. The Negativitron even mentions this at the start of his boss fight.

"I AM ALL OF YOU. FEAR, VANITY, SHORT TEMPERS, AND SELF ABSORPTION. IF YOU DESTROY ME, YOU'LL BE DESTROYING YOURSELVES." Negativity is in EVERYTHING and it can stem from anywhere. If you have a flaw or a weakness or a fear... The negativity is already inside of you.

#LBP #lbp #little big planet #lbp3 #LBP3 #anon ask #anon asks #anonymous #haxorus imp #cosmica galaxy

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thon717-fmp · 3 months

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Sources that relate to my theme

Immortality - some games have bosses that you kill multiple times, for their loot some games also have special bosses that are just there to kill you as a joke but you can respawn with the boss gone. some games have infinite spawners with 'immortal' enemies, they are 'immortal' because they will just respawn, I could have it so they respawn by getting glitched through some kind of portal

corruption - if i keep the game idea then i could redesign the enemies to being courrupted versions, looking distorted and glitchy and the main play you can glitch out and change dimensions to obtain special items or something looking at this made me think of some games where you have to fight bad people or places being controlled by these people

illusion - i could add hidden items into the game that you have to find out by playing, illusions might have to be discovered with some kind of special item, such as some kind of vision goggles or something

natural disasters - twisters earthquakes and stuff like that i could have tremors that could show that the game is 'breaking' with a time limit and if you fail the work breaks and you loose

two sided stories - everything that happened before phones were a thing, books that were written in the 1600 were written by monks who could write and they could have chosen to write whatever they wanted to show that they were being controlled by the king at the time to write whatever made them look good in the future

dreams and nightmares - sleeping can either have dreams or nightmares, i could add beds you could sleep in to heal but you could have a nightmare, when looking at this it made me think of special rooms that you can get into when sleeping and some games let you sleep to skip to dawn. most people end up dreaming about being chased by something, failure or physical aggression

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chaozsilhouette · 2 years

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Game Night

Due to the time constraint, it makes sense that they couldn’t show too many levels, but I would have liked to see a few hints or flashes to more bosses and characters to make the game feel more authentic. Definitely would have made the premise easier when we start demanding a playable version. Assuming there haven’t already been dozens of threats made.

Since Monkey King is strongly implied to have created this game, I included a few demons he probably would enjoy seeing humiliated in a virtual setting for all eternity. With this, the game went from three bosses to eight.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

MK just could not get that voice out of his head.

Picked the wrong successor.

Whoever or whatever that thing was with Spider Queen was the source of her near success during the new year’s festival. She was the reason Monkey King was captured. She was the reason they had to barge into the Celestial Realm to rob the place. She was the reason he saw those spider bots in his nightmares.

The lessons Monkey King had been sending over weren’t cutting it. He pushed himself to the grinder and yet with each new skill he mastered all he could see was how hopelessly vast the difference in power between himself and that demon. He had to do something. He needed more power. An edge. Something to finally put the ghosts in his head to rest. He couldn’t fail, he couldn’t lose them.

Which began his day off heading to the docks with Mount Huagou as his destination.

Mei had been talking to Sandy about a new project when they saw MK approaching and waved him over. He explained how he was going to visit Mount Huagou to see if Monkey King hid any extra lessons. The two agreed it made sense as the monkie was a well-documented trickster and hiding lectures in plain sight would be a lesson itself in the importance of observation. They agreed to join him and used Sandy’s boat to make the journey.

This time General Beng was the monkie to greet them upon their arrival.

MK was quick to explain why he had arrived. The general was doubtful MK would find anything of value, but he knew that look. Knowing nothing he would say could persuade the youth he allowed the young prince to make his way to the King’s residence while he observed his companions.

The girl of dragon origins was occupying herself by taking photos of the flora and the curious monkeys who called the mountain home. The water demon happily took in the sights with his treasured cat. Beng watched as the massive demon used the utmost care in peeling stubborn fruit and passing it to the younger monkeys. The general was curious as to how a being of such strength could interact with such delicacy, not even his king could compete with.

Resulting in Beng guiding Sandy to the kitchen, apparently, the dark-furred general was the mountains’ resident baker. While MK sorted through every inch of Monkey King’s house Beng regaled Sandy and a bored Mei about the delicacies he spent weeks perfecting for the light of his life. As MK inspected a weird cube-shaped thing that vaguely resembled a fruit, Beng offered a freshly baked fluffy cherry cake to go with Sandy’s excellent tea.

While she enjoyed the cake, Mei couldn’t deny she was bored watching the two exchange recipes and romance stories. Seeing nothing else for her to do, she deposited her plate into the sink and joined MK in the main room. It was a wreck.

Every chest and drawer had been opened with its contents scattered about. Scrolls had been opened and tossed aside. The window was lined with curious faces, proving that even the infants knew MK was acting weird. The only testaments that order once held true were the untouched tv and coach, where Mei found something more her speed.

It looked like an old VR headset and game controller. Noticing the console plugged into the tv, Mei strapped herself in knowing anything was better than nothing. Turning it on she was immediately immersed in a virtual world that spoke heavily of ancient China. Slowly she learned how the controller and headset were linked to the tv, but something caught her attention.

It was the old, saved files.

It was reasonable to assume these were the Monkey King’s as this was his house. What was unreasonable was the fact over 10,000 hours had been recorded under a single name. She was familiar with perfectionists in the gaming community, people who wouldn’t stop until they had uncovered every secret in the game’s code, but even this was a step too far.

From what she could see, the game itself was a combination of street fighter, exploring, and platforming based on the Journey to the West. Mentioning it to MK was both a good and bad thing as he stopped searching for something that didn’t exist but began to hyperfocus on a game in hopes it would provide him the wisdom he craved.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Mk’s rush to skip the tutorial would definitely come to bite him in the ass, but as he bought the game's most powerful attack he couldn’t be bothered to care. Although the exhausted expression on Master Tripitaka’s face looked a touch too familiar to be comfortable. One had to wonder how many times the monk wore that expression during the journey.

Anyway, on to the first level.

It almost looked like a replica of Mount Huagou, but in all the wrong ways. The pants looked as though they had been drained of all vibrancy, they were limp and graying. The water was murky and flowed more like sludge than a river. The monkey he passed didn’t playfully frolic or try to trick him out of his food. If anything, the inhabitants mirrored the mountain itself, as if someone had robbed them of all happiness and hope.

A primal roar shook the mountain. The few monkies that had been desperately scavenging scattered in fear. Smirking MK directed his avatar towards the clear sign of danger. And lo and behold at the Water Curtain Cave was a towering ogre-like demon. He was wearing light armor but his design encouraged the player to focus on the massive dao that acted as his primary weapon.

This mountain is now my territory! All who attempt rob me of my servants shall pay the ultimate price!

Looks like Hunshi Mowang decided to move in while I was gone. You’ll have to defeat him to free this land from his control.

The Tutorial King advised while looking more than a little infuriated.

“Hold on. Isn’t this the Demon King of Confusion that moved into Mount Huagou when Monkey King was training?” Mei asked.

“I think he is. What a perfect way to start training.” MK grinned. Launching his freshly purchased attack, the so-called ‘demon king’ went down in one move. Followed by a short animation of the avatar using the demon’s own weapon to decapitate him after cutting him in half from the bottom up.

MK laughed at his easy victory. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

MK traveled until he came across a village in ruins. The NPCs were in various states of disarray and panic. By approaching the grieving inhabitants, he is able to slowly piece together a grim story. It all began mere weeks ago, everything was normal until a terrible demon emerged from the mountains. He tore apart every building and storehouse they had until nothing remained but destruction. With a mighty haul, it returned to the mountains as they struggled to rebuild.

Many had tried to escape, tried to find help. But none have returned. The villagers had given up and many were waiting for death. One detail stood out, however, the demon in question could change forms but usually appeared as a bear.

It appears a demon by the name Heifengguai has been attacking this village and robbing them of all their food and their finest cloth. You’ll have to deal with him in order to clear the way.

The Tutorial King explained once MK talked to all the villagers and killed a few stray lesser demons that looked like bear cubs mixed with imps.

MK was directed towards the mountains, more specifically a cave where the demon resided in between attacks. The demon had the features of a black bear dressed in fabulous black and green silks. His spear was decorated with a single black tassel.

No matter your strength, hero, your tale ends here!

The battle was almost an entirely physical one. Heifengguai would send out burst of wind to knock MK off balance while he spun his spear around to unleash a barrage of attacks. Occasionally a crate would fall into the arena and from hours of gaming MK knew it contained something important. The crates contained the stolen cloth and by throwing them around Heifengguai would panic and rush to put them neatly back into the crate.

MK took this time to attack and one combo later resulted in a satisfying victory.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

As MK was walking through a mountain range his path was suddenly blocked by a wall of wind. Descending from the sky was a demon dressed in dazzling yellow robes, wielding an edged trident. The demon himself looked to be a massive marten and was clearly itching to pick a fight.

Those who oppose me shall face the wrath of the wind!

Looks like Huangfeng Dawang won’t let you pass unless you beat him. Watch out for his long-range attacks and get in close to deal some real damage.

Tutorial King claimed as he fixed his headpiece that was knocked askew.

Following the advice, MK stayed ahead of the tornadoes and whirlwinds the marten demon sent out. He would also have to watch the battlefield as the growing shadows were the only warning he’d get from the massive boulders the wind knocked in his direction. It took a while to get the timing right between each attack, including to watch out for the trident when he got within striking range. The worst part about the fight had to be the phrases the demon would spout in between launching his attacks. They were all about his mastery of the Divine Samadhi Wind and how any attempts to defeat him were pointless.

Merciful Buddha! It felt good watching him being impaled on his own weapon.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Then came the match with Zhu Ganglie and MK had to admit Mei was onto something.

The character was obviously bigger than his beloved Dadsy and had a rougher voice but there was a connection. And why did Sandy seem so eager to cut Mei off before she could finish her comment? It was almost as weird as listening to Tripitaka in the temple calmly speaking to him with, and just let his finish, Tang’s voice. That wasn’t just him, right?

You heard the similarities too, right?!

Anyway, this boss level had to be the easiest so far. Zhu Ganglie just charged forward with his rake raised, there weren’t any tactics or hidden abilities. One hit from Wukong’s Fist of Fury left the oversized pig demon collapsed and his rake snapped in two.

There was an extra animation of the Tutorial King coming down and mocking the demon for his pitiful state. MK guessed this character’s design was based on Monkey King’s past grievances with his younger brother.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

MK struggled a bit against the demon brothers Jinjiao Dawang and Yinjiao Dawang as their level was more like a series of five different puzzle games instead of a straight-up brawl. There were memory games, accuracy tests, and even a trivia portion. For some reason, there was a dance party option. Naturally, he had to do it.

Instead of a traditional battle, the brothers would use one of five mystic artifacts to trap him in a strange pocket dimension that would only release him if he won the challenge. When he was released, the item would no longer be able to be used and once he completed all five the brothers would run off swearing revenge. In all honesty, it was a weird change, but he guessed that was to showcase the chaotic nature of the brothers.

Although, if MK was honest their design and voices did bring another set of brothers to mind.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

The battle against Sha Wujing was definitely a challenge.

It was a shame. MK could tell Monkey King put a lot of effort into this level. The reflections in the water and how it flowed looked so lifelike. Sha Wujing himself was masterfully created. The towering demon seemed to exude power and confidence. His movements were fluid and controlled. It was pretty obvious who was his favorite sibling.

Sha Wujing took full advantage of the river to launch waves that flooded different parts of the screen. Sometimes the sand would come alive and try to grab him. MK had to jump to different boulders to keep above water and avoid attacks from beneath. The demon was as strong as he was clever, soon the riverbank was dotted with massive craters from failed attacks.

Only when he managed to squeeze enough hits in did MK notice Sandy was unusually quiet during this boss. Normally he could hear the gentle giant flipping pages of a book or sharing commentary with Mei, but this time it was eerily silent.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Night had fallen.

The darkness was illuminated by the light of thousands of stars and a flawless full moon. A gentle breeze tickled the trees and lifted the flowers blossoming in all shades. The most captivating sight was the tranquil lake in the center of the grove. Even in the darkness, its crystal-clear waters allowed one to peer into the bottom revealing a hidden world of life and beauty.

Of all the landscapes MK had the chance to witness, clearly this is the one Monkey king put the most time into. Even the music track was designed to put one at ease instead of gearing them up for a fight.

A white monkie dressed in colorful silks appeared before MK, but this one was very strange. Proudly on display were six colorful pointed ears nestled together like lotus petals. Much like Master Tripitaka, he seemed to be surrounded by a heavenly glow. Although for this monkie, his golden eyes appeared to literally sparkle in the moonlight.

Well now. Not too shabby traveler.

I’m surprised to see you.

Like magic, the Tutorial King appeared on the other side of the screen, although it didn’t look like he was going to warn him about this demon’s fighting style.

Likewise.

Was MK imagining things or were they leaning very close together?

Ain’t ya going to introduce us?

This is Liu’ Er Mihou, also known as the Six-Eared Macaque.

Was Tutorial King’s tail curling into a heart?

Please call me Macaque.

“Macaque?” Mk repeated almost in a daze. The boy stared at the new character in confusion. This couldn’t be his mentor. He had black fur and only one pair of ears. Of course, he could have dyed it or used a glamor but…

“Six Eared Macaque? I don’t remember anything like him in the story.” Mei commented. Due to being MK’s friend and a frequent customer of Pigsy’s Noodles, she enjoyed her share of Tang’s stories and MK’s fanboying.

It didn’t make any sense. Up to Macaque, they had been able to identify every character as a demon from the Journey to the West. So why did the Monkey King choose to change things now?

“Well, he’s in here,” Sandy said not seeing a problem, flipping through the latest book he found in the Monkey King’s pitiful excuse for a library. Or maybe he hides the impressive documents as a precaution from any deranged lunatics? “Maybe he was one of Monkey King’s old friends that the story didn’t mention. I mean the guy has lived for thousands of years. Oh, found him.”

“Where?” The two nearly shouted.

“The game manual. In the character section.” Sandy showed them the book he had been skimming. Right where Sandy said was a picture of the six-eared monkey, with a slightly flirty expression, next to a short description.

The Six Eared Macaque

A long-time ally and friend to the Monkey King. The Macaque King is highly skilled in redirecting attacks and copying the powers of others. His specialty is shadow magic. If he is approached wisely, this monkie can be a source of great wisdom. But without caution, only destruction and regret will remain.

“Well, that’s not creepy at all,” Mei stated with an exhausted frown. This character was definitely something else.

For MK, this was a sign. The two of them knew each other, but for some reason, their friendship fell apart. If the description was any indication, Monkey King still viewed Macaque as a friend but what could have caused Macaque to see things differently? If their bond was still strong surely Macaque would have joined him in visiting Mount Huagou to catch up or at least criticize his training techniques.

Narrowing his eyes, he pulled the visor back into position. “Okay, Macaque, what do you got for me?”

I’ve been watching your progress traveler and you’ve piqued my curiosity. Let’s see just how much you’ve truly learned.

“Looks like you’ve been invited to a little sparring session. I’ll just wait over here.”

Tuturial King said, a bag of peach chips in hand.

Macaque’s fight proved to be a the hardest one yet.

Sure, MK could launch Wukong’s Flaming Fist of Fury, but none of that mattered if Macaque kept diving into his shadow to dodge. The monkie would then follow up by striking from MK’s own shadow. This cycle repeated until MK learned the timing between Macaque’s dodges and retaliations, another thing to watch out for was his tendency to literally divide in two to avoid attacks. The exploding spears he conquered from his shadow were cool, but the range was a real pain.

The key was to watch the thickness of the shadows to see where he was going to end up and when to charge up his attack. Unlike the other bosses, Macaque required four hits with the powerful move before his health bar reached zero.

MK smiled as he watched the pale monkie collapse on screen, his blood pumping loudly in his ears as he gasped for air.

Macque reappeared onscreen, no worse for wear.

Not bad traveler, not bad at all. Tell me, why are you on this journey?

“Looks like it’s multichoice.” MK unintentionally muttered.

Three choices appeared on screen.

{Seeking to better myself}

{Seeking power}

{Seeking enlightenment}

Well, if the key was to be honest. “I’m gonna say p-”

“Wait!” Mei warned from the coach.

“What? What is it?” MK asked as his head darted around to see what was wrong.

“The description said that ,if he’s approached wisely he can be a great source of wisdom’. Maybe if you don’t pick the right response there will be a penalty.” Mei deduced as thousands of hours of gaming flooded her mind.

“But if you make the right one, it could unlock a new super move,” Sandy finished with a happy grin. Admittedly he didn’t have much experience with games outside those he played on his phone, but this chapter really broke up the monotony.

Scratching the back of his head, MK conceded that they did make good points and a bonus super move was tempting. “Okay, then which is the right one?”

“Since this is based on the journey to the West, either the first or third answer could work, but I’d have to go with the last one.” Mei theorized.

“That sounds about right.” Sandy nodded although he secretly was confused. Both answers could carry the same meanings but could also be used in vastly different contexts. It was tricky, but he’d have to go with the professional gamer.

“Okay, here we go.” With nothing else to lose, MK selected the path to enlightenment.

Seeking enlightenment, eh? A noble cause if I could believe you. Your past demonstrates exactly what you crave.

The screen turned black.

“Wait, what happened?” MK panicked as he randomly pushed buttons, but to his dismay nothing happened. The screen remained unchanging.

“Is it over?” Sandy asked.

“Is there a glitch in the game?” Mei enquired. This wasn’t normal. If they chose the wrong answer normally the game would just say it, but this was disturbing. “Is this why we’ve never seen it before?” Plenty of games were delayed due to errors that needed to be fixed before they could be safely released to the public. If this bug was never fixed then it made sense as to why Monkey King had the only copy, but not as to why no one decided to fix the problem.

Suddenly two glowing purple eyes snapped open on the tv framed by six rainbow-colored ears followed by a fanged grin.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

A monkey-like screech filled the cabin. Forcing the three to cover their ears in a desperate attempt to filter the noise.

“What...the fuck...what that?” MK struggled to ask as he repeatedly smacked his ears in a vain hope to clear out the ringing.

Well, you royally fucked up.

The Tutorial King’s voice echoed from the speakers. From what MK could make out the digital version of his master was not happy.

“Tutorial king?” MK asked in a daze, earing ringing.

What made you think that was a good idea? Seriously? Macaque was not amused to have been lied to. In exchange he took one of your techniques, you can get it back at the main temple, but it will cost you. Maybe you should rethink your approach.

“That seems a little harsh,” MK muttered, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t bounce back from this. “No worries. After tanking all those bosses, I have coin to burn.”

“So, what did you lose?” Sandy asked, having lost track of MK’s skill set after eight hours.

“Wukong’s Flaming Fist of Fury! NO!” MK let out a breathless cry at the loss of what was the key to his every victory.

“Makes sense. It’s the only super move you bothered to learn.” Mei commented, not at all surprised.

Taking a deep breath, the student steadied himself somewhat successfully. “No problem. I can just buy it again.” And with that he made a beeline for the main temple, happy to see it right where he first bought it. But with one little difference. “What! It’s twice as expensive!”

“Does that mean you can’t buy it again?” Sandy asked.

All the while Mei was secretly praying the answer was yes.

“No, no I can.”

“Maybe this is a sign you should choose something else,” Mei said, hoping MK would choose a different tactic other than relying on brute strength. If MK wanted to grow stronger then he should look for ways to make himself less predictable.

“No way. I’ve beaten every boss with this move.” One click of a button later and all the gold he had collected vanished from his storage. “And I’m broke again.”

Couldn’t focus on that. Just one more level to go.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

And so the young traveler continued on his journey until he was forced to seek out the wisdom of Master Tripitaka in the art of passivity. Finally, after learning a counter move MK was able to claim victory over the Rhino King and learn the unplanned lesson.

Patching up Monkey King’s house was easier with Sandy and Mei lending a hand. The three of them talked about whatever popped into their heads as they repaired the wall. With everything fixed the trio decided to head back to the city after spending almost three days on Mount Huagou, but MK still had so many questions.

Thankfully he knew the man who was most likely to have the answers.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

Taking a deep breath, MK passed the threshold into Pigsy’s Noodles. As expected, a familiar face was happily sitting at the counter reading while a hot bowl of noodles rested just to the side. From the sounds coming from the kitchen, Pigsy was in the zone preparing for the next batch of customers.

Clearing his throat, the Monkie Kid closed the distance. “Ah, Mr. Tang?” MK asked.

“Yes, MK.” The scholar looked up from his book to face the young man only to raise an eyebrow at the youth’s appearance. “Yeesh. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like you’ve spent the last five days running around with no sleep. We’ve talked about this; you need to have time for yourself. We are not having another Clone Incident.”

“Sorry, sorry, but it isn’t like that.” MK was quick to dissuade the notion he had gotten clone happy again. That Porty Clone still gave him the creeps. “So I heard about this demon, one that the Monkey King knew very well, but you never mentioned him in any of your stories.”

“There are countless demons roaming the earth, of which only a fraction humanity has managed to document. I can’t be expected to know every last one. But there is a chance I’ve heard of them. Just who is this demon?” He asked turning to his noodles, feeling he would need the support of his good friend’s masterful work.

“The Six-Eared Macaque.”

*splurk* Tang choked on his noodles at the name. Cutting his bite short, he repeatedly beat on his chest and coughed to clear his airways. Wiping the sweat off his face, he turned to face a shocked MK with an anxious look.

“That is a name I haven’t heard in a long time.”

“So you do know who he is?” MK was almost scared to learn what kind of legacy the monkie had left behind to warrant such a response.

“Not exactly.” Pushing aside his bowl, Tang turned to full-face his most precious unofficial student. “As you know, while my main focus is on the Monkey King and the Journey to the West, I spent just as much time devoted to learning about the world their actions were influenced by and in turn how their actions influenced the world. Sun Wukong truly is one of a kind, a being that does not fall into any other category of creation. But what few do not know is that there are three others who fall under that description as well.”

“So there are four stone monkies?” MK asked getting comfortable.

“No,” Tang said, cutting a boy’s dreams of a stone monkie army short. “Supposedly the Buddha claimed that the Monkey King was one of four celestial simians, each with immense strength and impossible abilities born to each of the fundamental aspects of existence. There was the Long-armed gibbon, the red-faced baboon, and the Six-Eared Macaque. Each of these simians had the potential to match the Monkey King in combat, but while there is practically nothing on the former two the same cannot be said for the latter. Supposedly, he was the Monkey King’s perfect match, the yin to his yang if you would. Born from the four winds, it was said that he could listen to the past, present, and future granting him near omnipotence.”

“Hidden within old rumors and spiritual warnings, there are whispers of a Macaque King that gathered the outliers of society, both human and demon, and spirited them away on the new moon.” Tang looked down into his own reflection as though contemplating an old “Certain disasters were supposedly caused by the Six-Eared Macaque after someone had insulted his Court or those he took pity on. Some historians have reported that during his early years, the Monkey King was accompanied by another monkie, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this.” Tang muttered the last bit quite bitterly.

Letting out a quick cough into his hand to cover up his little slip up he faced his captivated audience, who was looking more than a little disappointed. “I’m sorry but that’s essentially all I know. MK, I would never keep something from you if I thought it would help you.”

“I know Tang. It’s just why don’t we know more about these monkies?”

“Not every demon can be the Monkey King, leading to several books dedicated to their life which inspire hundreds of adaptations in every conceivable form of entertainment.” Tang shrugged as he really didn’t have an answer for that. “Maybe they saw how much trouble he was getting into with powerful forces and choose to keep a low profile. Maybe they weren’t interested in causing untold chaos. Maybe any actions they accomplished were simply overshadowed by the Monkey King. Maybe their stories weren’t passed down through the ages letting them be forgotten. Any one of those could be the reason, but unless you actually find them all we can do is guess.”

“Yeah...guess.” MK knew it would be a long shot to assume Tang would know about a demon who clearly valued his privacy and knew how to keep a low profile. Either way he was glad he asked, he got to walk away with knowledge he never expected. “Thanks for hearing me out.”

“Any time. But you should seriously see about taking a shower.” Tang playfully said to the youth who rolled his eyes at the remark.

Ordering his own bowl to go, MK climbed the stairs to his apartment. Taking a quick shower, he sent a clone to pick up his meal leaving him to think about everything.

That game really had a lot of details. One day he’d have to take Mei’s advice and take time to properly absorb all the detail that went into each level. Who knows what else he overlooked? What other powers he could have unlocked?

That wasn’t even getting into the weirdness he felt about how Monkey King chose to recreate certain individuals. He chose to recreate his brothers as enemies to reflect how he first encountered them through combat. Fine, he could get that. But why were those two bathed in a radiant light?

Did Monkey King have a crush on his master or did he view the monk as a divine being of compassion and kindness? Was he in love with Macaque? How close were they?

Whenever Macaque talked about the King, he always used his first name ‘Wukong’, meaning they had to have been close. Or were they close but keeping things casual? Were they an item before his imprisonment and never regained the old spark? Did things turn south after Monkey King returned? Was Macaque forced away due to court politics?

So many questions. Nowhere near enough answers.

Just another day.

§~~~~§~~~~§~~~~§

In the Silken Web Cave, things weren’t so relaxed.

“The shadow lantern? The symbol of power for the Macaque King. The personal creation of one of the celestial monkies. An artifact capable of transforming an enemy force into an army of slaves. That Shadow Lantern?” The Spider Queen repeatedly asked, wondering if her little aide had finally lost it.

“Yes.” The Lady stated calmly as ever. Once again, she was carefully studying the intricate runes and spellcraft of the box. It would not do for her to come so close only to fail due to overlooking the foundation of one of the greatest constructs ever imagined. “It is one of the artifacts we need.”

“And how exactly are we gonna get it? Hmm?” The Spider Queen enquired. “The Mosaic Court is protective as fuck of their ruler and he’s no slouch when it comes to power.” Anyone who could go toe to toe against that furry pain in her ass in a straight fight deserved the proper level of caution. “We can’t just waltz in, take it from their palace, and skip out without a care in the world.”

The biggest difference between Mount Huagou and Shattered Eclipse Mountain was the nature of its population. The Monkey King was essentially surrounded by normal monkeys, apart from the Stalwart Generals. In contrast, Shattered Eclipse Mountain possessed a wide range of demons and human warriors that could and would defend their home with every trick imaginable.

With her clan reduced to a precious few, Spider Queen would be committing her people to a merciless slaughter if she even thought of setting foot in that territory.

“It is needed to fulfill your destiny.” The Lady pressed, growing impatient with the Queen’s resistance.

“Well then, I suppose destiny better come up with a substitute, cause I ain’t risking what little I have on a siege doomed to fail.” The monarch hissed.

She refused to back down, not on this. Not on what she had clawed and struggled to protect and nurture ever since she lost everything. She craved revenge more than she craved food, but not when it would force her to relive that nightmare.

The small child’s neutral expression was threatening to become visibly slightly annoyed. Until she sensed the arrival of her trusted servant.

Bowing before his mistress, the disguised creation presented a poster he had acquired from its glass container.

The Lady only needed a single glance to determine the artist responsible for creating such a simple yet elegant piece. A smile appeared as destiny once again proved to be her faithful ally. “It appears a siege is not needed after all.”

Leaning down to see what made Little Miss Mystery so happy, the Spider Queen raised an eyebrow. “A play?”

“A shadow play,” the young girl said as her smile became anything but innocent.

#Vanishing Shadow Au #lego monkie kid au #monkie kid #lmk mk #mk #mei #lmk mei #sandy #monkie kid sandy #general beng #tang #lmk tang #video games #sibling rivalry #anxiety #past relationship #lady bone demon #spider queen

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nevermindirah · 2 years

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Sooooo since the female body doesn’t register pregnancies as a threat or causing bodily harm(in most cases) would that mean in theory Nile and the other immortal women could get pregnant? And let’s say ends up pregnant with Booker’s kid… How would he respond with that? Would they raise the child, or would Nile reach out to her family and leave the kid with them??? So many possibilities. Your thoughts.

CONTENT WARNING FOR ANON'S MESSAGE: transphobic/cissexist language

Additional content warnings for my response:

discussion of the impact of anon's transphobic language

discussion of pregnancy and childbirth

mention of abortion

mention of suicial ideation

This message stresses me the hell out for several reasons. This anon probably meant well? Maybe? I hope they meant well at least. But it's been a long week and I don't have the energy to write a kind response to this anon. So instead I'm going to address my fandom friends who might see this, and I'm gonna talk about why this message stresses me out, and then maybe I'll have the energy to engage with the potentially fun kernel of BoN ideas buried under the stressful shit.

First of all, "women" and "people who have a uterus" are overlapping but distinct groups of people, and claiming otherwise causes me personally a lot of dysphoria. Please never ever do this where I, or any other trans person, or any person who cares about trans people, can see it. If you, personally, are a woman with a uterus, you can totally talk about your identity as a woman and also your uterus and anything you might be doing with that uterus! Talk about your personal experience all you want! But having a uterus isn't what makes you a woman, and talking about uterus-havers as if we're all women when many of us like me are not or talking about women as if they're all uterus-havers when many of them are not causes a lot of people a lot of harm. Don't ever do it again.

And then there's the claim about uterus-havers' bodies not registering a pregnancy as a threat or a source of bodily harm. Pregnancy can be a life-threatening condition for the pregnant person for a variety of reasons, even before the additional series of life-threatening things that can happen during childbirth. We don't really know all that much from canon about how immortality works, but we do know plenty from real-life science about pregnancy causing bodily harm. Many people survive pregnancy and childbirth just fine, even through multiple pregnancies and births, and that's beautiful — for people who want to carry those pregnancies. Maybe I'm just sensitive from the big pile of dysphoria but this anon's language is giving me anti-abortion vibes.

I typically headcanon all these immortal characters as cis because it would be an absolute nightmare for me to have to navigate hundreds of different cultures' assumptions about my gender. To constantly have to withstand new misgendering from new people and in new languages, to constantly have to either explain myself in words other people can understand or just tolerate the dysphoria their misunderstanding causes me until I can get away from them — FUCK that sounds exhausting. We know from canon that immortality doesn't heal mental illness because Booker's right there with his severe depression and suicidal ideation, and if I with all my social dysphoria were immortal, I'd be right there with him.

But on the flip side of we don't know all that much about how immortality works, sometimes it brings me joy to think about immortality potentially being awesome about trans bodies, how immortality might heal the wound of body dysphoria by providing the magic version of transition-related medical care! Here's a post I wrote a while back about that.

Greg Rucka's said that immortals are infertile and immortals with uteruses don't menstruate. He's not the boss of us though and sometimes it's fun for fic reasons for immortals to retain their fertility!

The one last thing that stresses me the hell out about anon's message before I just focus on the fun stuff is that the very most important thing if Nile were to get pregnant with Booker's kid is how Nile would feel about it. Anon talks as if abortion isn't an option and that's fucked up. Abortion is an option! It's a great option! If you don't want to experience pregnancy, or if you need to make the parenting decision to not bring a child into the world when you're not able to care for them at that time, thank G-d abortion is here to save the day! Please block me if you disagree.

Ok I think we're finally ready for the fun part. I'm gonna rewrite anon's message to remove all the stressful shit so I can focus on the fun part.

So what if immortals who have a uterus could get pregnant and carry a pregnancy to term and give birth? If Nile has a uterus and Booker has sperm, and they get bored of all that cunnilingus and pegging we know they love so much and they have PIV sex without a condom and Nile gets pregnant... How would she feel about that? Did she want kids before, and is she interested in carrying a pregnancy now? What does she think about coparenting with Booker? What does she think about bringing a baby into their very complicated lives? And how the hell might Sad Dad TM Booker feel about all this? If Nile ends up giving birth, what would that baby's life be like? Would Nile and Booker take a hiatus from missions? How might they involve the other immortals, and maybe Nile's mortal family if they're still alive in this timeline? Let's not curse Nile with eternity with an immortal infant, but what if the kid becomes immortal on like their 21st birthday? So many possibilities!

I tend to think that before she first died, Nile thought "yeah probably someday kids would be cool" but didn't have a specific plan or anything, and I think she'd have complicated feelings about immortality blowing up how she'd imagined maybe being a parent someday. If immortality means infertility, I think she'd be really upset that the option is gone, but if she did retain her fertility I think she'd have major concerns about bringing a child into her life that now revolves around violence.

I think Booker would be 80% blissed-out thrilled and 20% "oh no what if it happens again what if I fuck up again and they hate me again and they die in pain again". And I think Booker would be the BEST partner of a pregnant person. I mean, let's just extrapolate from canon. "I brought you a change of clothes" and "you're gonna be great for the team" to "I brought you a snack and a blanket and a portable fan, do you want me to rub your feet?" and "you're going to be the most wonderful mother (or parent or whatever word Nile wants to be called here)" and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

And now I'm a little bit obsessed with the idea that once the kid's old enough that Nile and Booker are willing to be away from them for more than 10 minutes, they essentially start coparenting with Nile's brother. "Ok sweetheart time to go to Uncle Indy's house while Mom and Papa go out of town for work!" On the serious end of things, so many conflicting thoughts and feelings about "we're murderers how dare we raise a child" vs "we're fighting for a more just world for our child and everyone else's children" and how their work and the social isolation and grief that comes with immortality might affect their kid. But on the fun end of things, "yay I love going to Uncle Indy's house!! I'll miss you so much but Papa can you help me pack up my crayons so I can make you both lots of pictures to show you when you come home?!"

Here's a ficlet I wrote a while back featuring Tired Parents of a Five-Year-Old BoN, and my dear galaxy-brained friend @sindirimba recently gifted us all with this take on BoN as parents!

#fandom friends #transphobia #cissexist nonsense #i'm so tired #abortion is healthcare #book of nile #fic recs #trans things #tog meta #tog #mine

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dirk-has-rabies · 3 years

Text

Bro Strider (ongoing as i add more sources)

im gunna clear something up for the people on tiktok (and probably other places) who think that just cuz they read the wiki that means they know everything about a character and their underlying story and personality.

Bro strider has a background.

a statement that shouldnt be considered bold or cancelable.

let me start of by saying that this is an explanation NOT an excuse for his actions. Bro strider is abusive yes, that is not the argument, but HE doesnt think he did wrong.

pg 48 book 3 “in round 1 of daves strife with bro, he warms up against his old puppet sparing buddy, lil cal. bro operates cal so fast you cant see him. it is suggested this is a pretty common battle routine for the strider brothers, an extreme training regime to prepare dave for battle. its almost like bros training him to face the last boss. or it would be if the last boss had the slightest thing to do with this creepy puppet,which of course is preposterous.”

bro knew dave was coming before he was even born which we know since he was waiting with a pair of tiny shades for the meteor carrying dave.

he orders an extra copy of the game not for himself but for dave just to make sure he can get in the game because he KNOWS that the end is coming.

the first thing he does besides joke around and train with dave is save his life by cutting the meteor in half and then upon entering the game he instantly goes to the biggest boss he can find to fight so dave will be safer.

bro is influenced and corrupted by lil cal. cal from day one is a juju containing the soul of caliborn, gamzee, and arquiussprite. the cal that bro has is a future version of the cal that dirk goes to earth with and an even MORE future version of the cal in daves nightmares. cal is corrupt and corrupts and controls those around him. He can move when bro isnt alive or around because he can have YOU move him. he has bro, dave, and gamzee move him in canon, dave not even realizing hes doing it himself. not even bec nior can turn away from cals influence as he disposes all the “trophies” except him as cal needs to move along to “hatch” so he has bec keep him. doc scratch literally calls him “the most important character is homestuck” even caliborn calls the evil puppet for what it is by telling alphadirk to chuck him out as he is a “nightmare who curses all who live in the same universe as it”

staring into cals eyes brings out insanity (as seen by both gamzee and jack doing this) this is why bro and dave wear shades. it protects them from the puppet which he is tasked to protect and serve by fate.

even dave calls out the puppet for being a large factor in bros personality on page 7749 of homestuck

DAVE: i guess it didnt help either that we lived with what we have come to understand may theoretically be the most evil doll to exist in any universe ever DAVE: in fact its my tenuous understanding that he came down to earth with that thing and like actually grew up with it DAVE: maybe... DAVE: maybe spending 30 some years being unseparable from that hell puppet had some effect on him?? DAVE: maybe if it hadnt been casting a pall over our apartment 24/7 since he took me in...

according to the skaianet documents: “He(jake) just set up an infant from the sky named Dirk(bro) down in Texas with a trust fund, setting him on a path to be of use to the company.” proving that bro grows up knowing about the game and is influenced by cal and HIC to get ppl to enter the game so she may take over.

Bro cares about dave. Bro loves him truly, he just doesnt know how to do it correctly. a big part of his story resonates with people that were forced to help raise their siblings and ended up being the bad guy since the parent who should of been raising the kids never taught them how to do it correctly. bro was just a year or two over 20 when dave landed (hes 32/33 when dave is 13 according to hussie) he was not trained on how to raise a kid (not to mention all of dirk and bro is autism coded so most of his problems correlate with that) he was only trained to fight and to train others to fight. and so thats what he did.

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moonlitceleste · 3 years

Text

straight up villain (Villain AU)

This is a songfic based on “Villain” by K/DA ft. Madison Beer and Kim Petras. There’s really no plot to it; I started with a vague idea and just went along with whatever my brain told me. It kinda jumps around and I didn’t proofread this at all, so sorry if it’s confusing!

I’d suggest listening to the song and watching the visualizer video because it’s honestly such a vibe. If I could animate I’d totally make a video full of epic fight scenes, but unfortunately I don’t have that talent learned yet.

This version of the song is a little more chill, so if you find the original too intense you can always listen to the slowed one instead.

On the low Only love myself, no more Take you to the grave, I'll ghost I know I can be so cold In the dark Where I like to keep my heart Know I'm all bite, no bark Like to catch you way off guard

A shiver ran down the crime boss’ spine.

His eyes darted around the room, searching through the darkness.

Shadows flickered. He swore he could see movement in them.

The night was crime’s time to rule; people feared the darkness it brought.

Now, he was the scared one.

I'll stay so deep inside your brain And take you somewhere far away

“Who’s there?”

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, revealing his false bravado.

Shaking hands gripped the gun around his waist, knuckles turning white with pressure.

Creeeakk.

The man whipped around, heart hammering in his chest.

Who—or what—was lurking in the shadows?

A snap echoed through the air as he fired a round.

Silence.

The only sound came from distant echoes of Gotham’s nightlife and the frantic beating in his throat.

He swore he had seen something sweep out in the corner of his vision, if only for a moment.

Perhaps it was the paranoia.

He slowly lowered his gun, shoulders relaxing—

Only to whip around when he felt a phantom hand brush his shoulder.

A pair of eyes flashed in the darkness, gone the next second, but he knew what he had seen, what he had felt.

Icy fear seized his body, taking hold of his limbs.

Something was watching him.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling Straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling

“Stop toying around.”

The gravelly voice was met with a cackle, almost cat-like in nature.

That was his only warning before it stepped from the shadows: a creature out of his nightmares, shrouded in darkness like part of the night itself.

Sharpened black claws glinted under the streetlights, and dark black orbs pinned him in place as it slunk forward. He couldn’t move, frozen like a deer in headlights.

The thing was so human-like in shape, but it was too monstrous to be one.

A wicked smile spread across its face, and his face blanched as he caught sight of the fangs protruding from the top.

The creature stalked forward like a predator chasing its prey.

Then, it pounced.

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of drеad 'Til you go pow

It was common knowledge within Gotham’s criminal underworld that the Arkham Knight worked alone. He played by his own rules, merciless in his distribution of justice.

But lately, it was rumored that the Knight had an ally.

There was no proof of this, no sightings to go by, but there was a subtle shift that could be felt—an underlying sensation of imminent danger.

Gunfights and confrontations lessened, and the Knight’s enemies started disappearing without a trace. No blood, body, or evidence of struggle could be found; it was as if they had simply ceased to exist.

Whoever this new player was, they were dangerous.

Is it really a surprise if I'm playing with your mind And I treat you likе a prize, then I throw you to the side? And am I really that bad if l love to make you mad? And get happy when you're sad, only care about a bag

Jason shook out his hair, metal helmet in his hands, and leveled a glance at his companion.

“Did you really have to take so long to kill him?”

The two were in one of their few safe houses, recuperating after their long night of fighting.

“It’s the thrill of the chase.”

Marinette, no longer transformed, stated this as if it were obvious—which it was. Jason had been with her long enough to understand her concept of fun. She leaned forward and stretched, looking much like the animal after which her magic ring was themed.

“We can’t waste time playing around. There are more important things to be done,” he growled.

Marinette simply giggled, bounding over to bat her eyes at him with mock innocence.

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “You know what you’re doing.”

Her smile grew wicked, arms darting out to wrap around his waist.

“You look so good when you’re mad,” she purred.

Jason leaned down, and their lips met in a kiss.

In control That's how I like it and I'm never letting go, nah Never had a soul (soul) So you ain't taking nothing from me when you go, nah

Crack.

Marinette smirked as her staff made contact with the target’s skull.

Normally she would use Cataclysm for a more swift kill, but the remains were needed in order to send a message to Arkham Knight’s enemies.

They were growing more volatile, more desperate to expose whatever they thought she was.

Phantom Killer, they called her. The name sounded like something out of a badly-written horror movie. Marinette much preferred the one she had already: Reine de L'ombre.

Of course, she didn’t need a title, but Jason had come up with it. She was pleasantly surprised by his naming skills—it meant Shadow Queen, for she was a queen, and Jason her knight, as he put it.

She didn’t feel any remorse as the pile of bodies below her grew. Perhaps this made her soulless, but she didn’t need one anyway.

Marinette had all she wanted right beside her.

I'll stay so deep inside your brain And take you somewhere far away

“...you do what you gotta do, am I right?”

Marinette nodded at the man standing across from her, a smile on her red-painted lips.

He had been leering at her from across the bar the whole night, and although that was the goal, she was still disgusted. He had to be at least twenty years older than her. Heck, he was old enough to be her dad.

The intel she and Jason had acquired said the businessman had a thing for younger women, which was apparent. According to the same source, the company he ran was also a front for trafficking and drug rings.

Marinette wanted to see him bleed.

“How about we take this to my room?”

The comment was abrupt, and Jason would probably kill her for her indiscretion later, but she was getting tired of the man’s blabbering.

Her hand moved up his arm, the expensive material of his suit cool against her fingers. She bit her lips seductively, which seemed to convince him.

Bingo.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling (yeah, yeah) Straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling

Marinette gritted her teeth as the man tried to reach for her butt again.

She attempted to stop him by saying she wanted to wait until they entered her room, but he was persistent. She couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

As soon as she opened the door to her hotel room, she shoved him inside and up against the wall. He seemed to be expecting a kiss, but she punched him hard. For a crime lord he certainly wasn’t a good fighter. Maybe it was the drugs she slipped into his drink earlier that contributed to his quick defeat.

Marinette cuffed his arms behind his back with a pair she had stashed earlier. She could have waited for the man to undress so she could ensure he didn’t have any weapons, but she had gone through enough torture already. Her eyes didn’t need to see that.

She turned him around, giving him a smile that promised warmth and kindness, before pulling out a dagger and pressing it to his throat.

“Now talk.”

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of dread 'Til you go pow

“Claws in.”

Marinette’s black suit faded away, revealing her now blood-spattered red dress.

She flopped onto the couch, not bothering to remove her shoes or dirty clothing.

After hours of trying to get information out of the businessman, she only managed to wring a few coded phrases from him. He seemed to only be a figurehead of his shady organization rather than its actual leader.

A Cataclysm later and here she was, back to the drawing board.

“Jay?” Marinette called.

It was unusually quiet in the safe house; usually after solo missions they’d greet one another with a kiss. Now, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Jason?”

Silence.

Marinette huffed. She knew exactly what this was about.

Bang, bang You can do anything No fear, no pain Listen to your brain go Go stupid, go dumb, go stupid and Then we go insane, woah Just do what I say Follow me, I'll lead the way

“Are you jealous?”

Jason whipped his head around, caught off-guard by the appearance of his girlfriend in his doorway. It seemed as if she wasn’t wasting any time.

“I’m not jealous. That guy couldn’t get you if he tried.”

“Then why are you mad?”

His jaw clenched.

He wished he hadn’t agreed to let Marinette extract the information alone; Jason almost wished he was there to see the man in pain.

“He was putting his hands all over you.”

“It was for a mission. Besides, I thought you said he couldn’t get me even if he tried?”

Her last words were said with a lilt, and Jason knew she was riling him up. He couldn’t stay mad, anyway—she had a point.

He deflated and leaned forward to brush his lips against her. Marinette smiled into the kiss, then pulled away. She looked him up and down, a glint in her eyes.

“I guess I’ll have to make it up to you, hmm?”

She paused, then wrinkled her nose.

“After I take a shower. I don’t want this guy’s blood on me any longer.”

Maybe they acted stupid sometimes, but the two always followed one another in the end.

Time to roll the dice, you know I'm the type Type to risk my life, not afraid to die Type to make you cry, type to put a price (Woo-ah) All up on your head, do just what I said I'm a straight up villain, straight up villain Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling Straight up villain, straight up villain (Yeah) Yeah, no feeling, yeah, no feeling (Woo-ah!)

Marinette panted deeply, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

A mass of bodies surrounded her, but she wasn’t paying attention. This wasn’t just a battle. It was war.

It was a fight for her life, and she wasn’t going down now.

Reine de L'ombre tore through her enemies like a terrifying force of darkness, one after the other. The Arkham Knight fought by her side, fueled by pure destruction.

Maybe they wouldn’t make it out, but they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

I'm alive, but I'm dead Hear my voice up in your head Watch it fill you full of dread

'Til you go pow

A week later, a couple rose hand-in-hand from the ranks as new rulers of the Gotham Underworld.

Reine de L'ombre and the Arkham Knight—a queen and her king.

PERMANENT TAGLIST @avengerthewarrior @enternalempires @freesportspalacesalad @h1sss @nathleigh

#maribat #celestewrites #jasonette #cel's fics

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brave-clarice · 3 years

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“Clarice” Liveblog: Episodes 5 & 6

Since these are extraordinarily late, I tried to keep them more concise/focused than before. I’m sorry for how long it’s taken me to (almost) catch up. And to the handful of you who’ve enjoyed these and encouraged me to do them: thank you!

Episode 5, “Get Right With God”

the music at the beginning of this episode might just be in the maintenance guy’s headphones(!) but it was still a…Choice.

there’s something so tragic about watching Clarice be unable to use her legs… :’(

this whole scenario feels like a twisted parallel universe version of the end of Hannibal.

glad to see Ardelia finally has her priorities straight and is going to fight for her best friend! let’s forget her Episode 4 subplot ever happened.

good: the warrior finding a weapon even in the direst of circumstances!

bad: those damn moths are back. at least this time they might be drug-induced.

“she worked Bill alone” no, she didn’t. not really. (Hannibal: I’m right here.)

stop trying to make Likable Paul happen, it’s never going to happen!!!

I HATE the “Reesey” nickname, y’all. HATE. IT.

plus, we know that her dad called her “Baby”?

her father’s appearance doubles down on the end-of-Hannibal vibes...Not Sure If Want.

wow, Clarice is being literally tortured? thanks, I hate it!!!

really doubt that Clarice’s Pinto used to belong to her father (who drives a truck in the books??)... weird flex.

and how would she even have gotten it? her mother would either have driven that car into the ground out of necessity or else have sold it for the money the Starlings needed so desperately.

Pintos also weren’t super high-quality cars and were definitely not built to last ~20 years.

Clarice already being able to chat with her father whenever she needs to really undermines the therapy Hannibal will eventually give her, but…I guess they’ve already accepted they’ll never make it that far?

“you’re trying to get in my head” yeah, and she’s doing it, too–’cause she learned from the best!

“you get an answer, I get an answer, Felker.” she’s Hannibal’s girl all right.

this episode’s had flashes of brilliance before diving back into…whatever tf watching one of your favorite characters of all time being tortured is.

I really wanted Ardelia to say that no, but Clarice was like a sister to her.

it took FIVE episodes to get some lamb imagery, but we’ve been looking at moths for the entire season?!

oof, Clarice voicing her own insecurities about her childhood abandonment and using them to twist Felker’s arm...painful but smart.

HANNAH!!!

I would die 4 baby Clarice

after all that, Clarice is going to apologize to Ardelia about last week? this episode SUCKS.

Good: Clarice playing mind games with Felker like Hannibal did to her; Ardelia going to bat for her bestie, lamb flashbacks, baby Clarice, and HANNAH!

Bad: So much. Clarice being medically tortured multiple times, moth hallucinations, the several-years-premature (imo) Daddy-as-Guardian-Angel plot device, “Reesey”...did I mention Clarice getting repeatedly tortured?!

Ugly: Krendler backstory + making out with his wife. Ew.

Wow, this episode was a hot mess, and I kind of hated it. I loved Clarice’s really Hannibalesque approach to Felker, and I’m so thrilled that Hannah got mentioned at all (tho...did they need to be so heavy-handed with the helmet and gun and everything?) Also nice to see Ardelia behaving much more in-character. That said, it was sickening and imo totally unnecessary to further traumatize Clarice the way they did. To make her almost helpless.

Clarice, and by extension Rebecca Breeds (who is fantastic and deserves better), has been given very little range so far. She’s frequently been shown as miserable, afraid, desperate, traumatized, angry, resentful, but I also want to see her joyful, laughing, silly, relaxed...something else that will give her depth. Her life wasn’t miserable 24/7, 365. It was just unfulfilling. We got glimpses of this in the first two episodes. PLEASE bring it back!

And rn I’m questioning how Clarice’s career can possibly drag on for another six years after this. Her apparent PTSD is already interfering with her job performance as it is--this experience is only going to make it worse. Her “body count” in Hannibal was around five, iirc, and that was enough to slap her with the “Death Angel” moniker. In the show at least four people have died in close proximity to Clarice in the space of like...a week. How does she come back from that, even as the savior of Catherine Martin? It’s a PR nightmare for obth Clarice and the FBI.

They’ve also sort of forgotten that the Martins existed while continuing to flesh out Krendler’s (?!) character? It’s weird.

I almost don’t even want to watch Episode 6 after that. But here goes...

Episode 6, “How Does It Feel to Be So Beautiful?”

the freaking MOTHS again, I hate them!

frankly, yeah, Clarice should be on leave.

Clarice’s nondescript monochrome suits and constant ponytail are just so boring. in the book she’s described as never having to put effort into making her hair look good--so why is it always pulled back in this show?

I’m not sure it’s very in-character for Clarice, at this point in her career, to go over her boss’s head to get out of admin leave (one she really needs to take tbh) even for the sake of solving a case

lol what the actual hell @ AG Martin guilt-tripping Clarice, who was very recently tortured and almost died, for not calling Catherine back? Clarice is not Catherine’s therapist!

THIS is what my Vogue-reading heroine with burgeoning great taste wears for a night out? so disappointing.

never in my life did I think I’d be sitting through Krendler’s personal drama in a show ABOUT CLARICE STARLING.

her costume sucks and her hairstyle’s from years in the future, but dang does Clarice look gorgeous.

and I love thinking of her getting a taste of the luxury she’ll enjoy with Hannibal. :)

you know what? I think I was actually fine with them forgetting that the Martins were in this show.

whyyy is Krendler being made so sympathetic?!

now Catherine Martin “loved to sew” just like Frederica Bimmel? hmm. (tbf, maybe this is in the novel, and I’ve just forgotten.)

her gift for Clarice is sweet, though.

so beautiful, indeed

Christ on a cracker, that confrontation between the Martins was painful to watch (not a criticism). this show’s AG and her daughter are very much two of a kind in terms of emotional manipulation.

I stan one (1) doofus

now either Catherine’s gaslighting Clarice...or Clarice’s trauma (over BILL! again with this!) is so pervasive that it’s twisted her memories. either way, I hate it.

so Krendler’s lawyer is dirty and that’s why he’ll (probably) turn against Clarice? but WHY? why can’t Krendler just suck?

Good: Clarice looking gorgeous, Ardelia continuing to fight for Clarice, female characters in positions of authority everywhere

Bad: Clarice’s underwhelming costumes, Clarice’s primary/worst trauma apparently STILL being Buffalo Bill & having Clarice break down crying again (and NOT over what happened last week, which would tbh make a lot more sense).

Sad: Shaan’s backstory about his wife, everything involving Catherine

Ugly: Krendler subplot. Ugh.

I just don’t know how I feel about this installment. Wish I cared more about the overarching conspiracy plot, but I’m really only here for Clarice and Ardelia. And while no show can stand on the shoulders of a single character, for a show about Clarice, there seems to be quite a bit of screentime devoted to her bosses, Martin and Krendler, and even to her team members. And all without Clarice herself getting much character development. They don’t seem to be exploring much of her character other than her traumatic backstories, and I’m no longer very hopeful that she’ll be much more fleshed out in the last four episodes, either. It’s a bummer. I really think Rebecca could shine like Jodie did if she were given a chance.

Most of the scenes with the Martins were visceral and felt so real that it was hard to watch. That said...the AG Martin/Catherine content all strikes me as being somewhat detached from the rest of the show, as if the writers are making it up as they go along with no real end goal in mind.

Man...these two were rough going. Very little humor or warmth and absolutely no joy. Of course the source material is dark, so a somewhat dark crime drama is to be expected, but I really think the show needs a slightly less intense, bleak and (dare I say it?) unpleasant episode. But they writers have really dug themselves into a hole by zeroing in on Clarice’s PTSD. And unlike in Hannibal, there’s no love interest with whom she (and by extension, the audience) can flee her misery and pain.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the rest of the season. A lot of the ingredients are there, and despite my many criticisms, it’s been great to spend time with a character I love. Fingers crossed that they finish strong!

#Clarice Starling #cbs clarice #clarice #rebecca breeds #spoiler warning #bc I know a few of you haven't quite caught up either #long post for ts #media [cbs show]#actor [rebecca breeds]#char [clarice starling]#char [the night watchman]#char [paul krendler]#char [ardelia mapp]

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indurarinks · 3 years

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stygian dagger

a sneak peek Like clamouring thunder intimidating a planet during a hot summer day, a small group of highly trained Tavali, the renowned pirates and travellers of the Universe, quickly dissolved themselves in the crowd as if each individual had always belonged to the scene. Bursting at the seams, the makeshift arena placated the savage desires of the rowdy public through violent, gruesome fighting. Their bellows demanded blood and guts from the unwilling practitioners of cage fighting, sold to this business for the purpose of serving the sick pleasures of the rich. Filling the pockets of greedy masters with abusive hands. Though illegal, the fights were wildly known throughout the Nine Worlds, beckoning hefty wallets with the promise of a night of indulgence. The three Tavali, fearless and unrelenting and heavily armed, approached the round stage, a fenced cage that had been electrified to discourage any contestant from trying an escape. Ushara, Davel and Trajen slowly descended the rows of stairs with a single purpose in mind. Rescuing Jullien eton Anatole. The bastard of the Ichidian Universe. “How do you want to do this?” Davel, Ushara’s older brother turned to her. Ushara Altaan, Vice Admiral for the Gorturnum nation (one of the four nations of Tavali) and the bastard’s best friend, thirsted for vengeance the moment she learned of Jules captivity. But despite the spiralling emotions, she led the rescue operation with military expertise. The Fyreblood in her was built for war, after all. Her breed of Andarions possessed the talent of pyrokinetics with their fiery breath that put them at great advantage in battle. “We have to find where they’re keeping the fighters. We grab Jules and get the hell out of here before I burn this shithole to the ground and cause Trajen here even more trouble.” The glance she threw at her boss and friend catapulted them both to a few months prior when she flew without proper papers and authorisation into Steradore to rescue her son and executed ruthlessly her son’s kidnappers. That was also when Jules crashed into her life. “Let’s start by looking for cells underground. I bet my money that’s where we will find him.” Trajen added quickly, the air of ancient wisdom surrounding him like royal robes as his eyes held a faraway look. Returning to the task at hand, the group proceeded through the darkened corridors, merging into the shadows like fading mist. Away from the main event and prying eyes, the three of them advanced into the house of horrors’ lowest pits where its security relied mostly on a few guards, now lying unmoving after quickly being neutralised, and the highest technology one could acquire in the black market. The collective tension thickened the atmosphere with Trajen’s warning. “I don’t know how long I can keep the interfering with the system’s security.” Visibly concerned for her boss, Ushara, who marched at front, turned back and gave him a look that silently asked him if he was alright. Though his expression had now been contorted into one of extreme suffering, Trajen nodded with a dismissive shrug. “Let’s keep looking.” Expecting the alarms to go off any second, inevitable frustration was slowly mounting between them as their options to find him grew scarce with the nearing of the end of the row of cells. “Where is he? Titana ræl. He has to be here somewhere.” Trajen’s curse surprised the others. Their Admiral was nothing but an infinite well of wise ponderation and heedful shrewdness. But this restless, almost sloppy version of him gave the others a marginal idea of the potency of the bond he shared with Jules. And where his loyalties lied. His purpose was clear. Despite Trajen’s many efforts to remain isolated from those under his protection, Jullien eton Anatole quickly wormed his way into their secluded leader’s heart with his wits and scars. In him, he found a brother, a kindred spirit. Both, a product of the brutality of their pasts. Drenched in darkness, Ushara refused to let old fears roar back to life as she searched each cell thoroughly. Those demons poked their incessant torment on her mind but she wouldn’t give way. No way in Tophet. “Jules! Jules! Dammit, dark heart. Where are you?” Her desperate bellow echoed through the hall. “Ah, shit.” Followed by a string of mouthful expletives, Davel run both hands through his tousled hair in evident denial. “What have they done to you, drey?” Terrified by her brother’s words alone, Ushara moved slowly toward Davel. Suddenly her legs weighed a ton, and all her instincts screamed at her. She wasn’t ready for what she was about to see. Her gasp of horror came without warning. Lying on the filthy floor of the smallest cubicle of that hellhole, he was in fetal position, back curved and head bowed to make himself smaller. His eyes resolutely shut, Jullien remained eerily motionless. Almost as if… “Jules..?” Low and soothing, her voice wrapped itself around him. “Please.” She begged. No reaction still. Lost to her panic and petrified by the shock of her best friend’s predicament, Ushara’s angry tears fell like an unexpected hurricane. This entire nightmare began when one of her cousins and his crew sold him as punishment for something he played no role at. Hate is an ugly creature whose talons infect the soul upon their impaling. And there is no recognition between right or wrong. There is just the ugly need for vengeance, the hunt for a twisted form of justice that’s justifiable through past suffering and grievances. Davel’s strained grunts catapulted her back into reality. For the time being and Jules’ sake, she vowed to abandon her thirst for retribution against those who sought to harm her best friend. Both her brother and Trajen joined their efforts to break him out. Between mighty brawn and refined brain, the electrified door of his dungeon held no chance against them. At the first opportunity, Ushara crawled toward the entrance on hands and knees. She outstretched her hand toward Jules. “Jules?” She tried once again. Only then did he shift his position, daring a tentative look at her as if afraid she might be only a mirage. “It’s me. Shara.” Her body ached from the awkward angle of it. “Come on, let’s go home.” When a single tear rolled down his face, her entire world shattered along with her heart. The agony and misery reflected upon those beautifully hybrid eyes, a mix of human and Andarion, clutched her insides before twisting them until she felt what she could describe as a poor replica of the same pain. Yet bravely, he offered her his bloodied fingers, silently accepting her strength to escape this house of horrors. As he dragged himself along the ground, Ushara confirmed all her fears. After the years of unthinkable abuse Jullien had fallen victim to, she feared he would resort to shutting everybody out to deal with yet another trial in his lonesome road of redemption, one he endured after she had promised him he was safe with the Tavali. She failed him. And she hated herself for that failure. Stoically, his face an unreadable mask of indifference, he stood awkwardly as Ushara embraced him in relief despite her reservations regarding his mental stability. “We better get going, guys.” Davel interrupted their reencounter with good motive. It wouldn’t be long until the alarms went off. “I sense trouble incoming, too.” Trajen added with a distant look. His impressive powers at work. As if on cue, the blaring sound of sirens threatened to awaken even the dead. “Let’s get out of here!” Ushara’s hand sought Jules’, tugging him behind her as the others hurried before them. Without uttering a word still, he followed after her. They were halfway down the hall when he broke contact with her fingers, turning toward a group of inmates, all female, as his fingers curled ferociously around the metal bars of the cell. His knuckles white, Jules tugged at the bars with a frightening growl. Eyes now full of untamed fury, he kept yanking and yanking. Unable to understand the source of Jullien’s outrage, Ushara spared a glance at her brother and Trajen before joining her best friend. He was clearly set on opening this specific cell. Mildly confused, she helped him by unleashing her fiery breath over the unyielding lock. It took some work as the ancient metal resisted more than first predicted but once it fell apart, he was quick to get pull the door open and venture into the room’s darkness. Tempted to go after him, she bit her lip. She shouldn’t. Right? Jules knew what he was doing. He had to. Right..? Praying for her friend’s mindfulness, she raked her fingers through her white hair while readying herself for the swarm of hostiles. “Shit.” Unholstering both blasters, Ushara aimed them ahead, patiently waiting to feed her need for violence. To sate her hunger to spill enemy blood. Surely enough, the first party showed up next. An eerie smile descended upon her lips. “Come get some, bitches.” She murmured dangerously, mostly to herself. Her blood singing in delirium for a chance of revenge. It was then Jules emerged from the shadows of the dungeon with a female stranger leaning heavily against him. Vulnerability surrounded this woman, obviously injured during her captivity. She was a vision, absolutely breathtaking. And totally human, it seemed. Golden skinned and green eyed, she beckoned every gaze in the room like a siren singing to her sailors. Finally, all hell broke loose. Ushara’s first two shots came as warning. After that, she was all business, no play. She went ahead of Jules and his companion, assuming her offensive stance before engaging in further confrontation. With envying expertise, she blocked every attack while ensuring their inevitable escape from this shithole by counter attacking tirelessly. She was an animal in the game of warfare. When every opponent lied lifelessly on the ground, Ushara released a breath of relief before holstering her blasters again. The barrels still singed her flesh if she were to touch them directly. Her babies were well used today. Collecting their breaths, the five of them exited the house of horrors without so much as a backward glance. Only Jullien hesitated briefly to bend his upper body forward so he could pick the woman up and carry her in his arms, regardless of her protests that claimed she could walk on her own. Once safely inside her ship, Ushara urged Davel to initiate the flight commands to get them all back home and far, far away from there. Trajen, the silent watcher, joined her while the both of them observed from afar the exchange between Jullien and the woman he refused to leave behind. “Is she trustworthy?” She whispered her concerns to her boss, hoping he could give her some sort of endorsement. Instead, he shrugged. “Time will tell.” Helpful. She grumbled quietly on her way to the pair. Despite Jules current inability to interact with the world outside of his well of misery, he still managed to put the human’s needs before his. A feat she probably can’t even begin to appreciate but Ushara’s version of a very malicious green monster was quickly suffocated by her immediate thought to not throw judgements before gathering proper insight. “Hi there. I’m Ushara.” The female warrior extended her hand toward the other female before pointing at Trajen. “That’s Trajen, and the mountain of a man at the front of the helm is my brother, Davel.” She finished with a sincere smile. “I—I’m Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett.” She cleared her throat to mitigate the hoarseness in her voice. “It’s nice to meet you all.” As she took Ushara’s hand in hers, she couldn’t help but noticing Jullien’s retreating form as he sought solitude to quiet his roaring demons.

#charmeddelicacy #stygian dagger

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blooms-of-ice · 3 years

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Wyda is officially retired...for now. She had a good run, and I loved writing for her! GOD the existential dread I felt as I drew closer and closer to running the event that would end her.

Her story continues through another. Give a follow here! :D

I’ll be keeping this blog up as an archive, although I might still post every now and again. But since her arc is done, here goes! An unedited, unfiltered slurry of words-directly-from-brain-to-keyboard about Wyda! I’m warning you, this is true farm fresh to you stuff. And spoilers for many events in FF14. Read on if you dare.

Strap in, it’s going to be a long and bumpy ride.

Did I say that I love Primals?

Primal lore gives the FF14 devs a lot of creative freedom when it comes to designing bosses. Want the arena changed? Want something/someone to look absolutely wack? Want to spin up a threat without having a villain train for years prior? Bam, primals.

It also gives us, the players, the same creative freedoms when it comes to roleplaying!

The requirements to summon one are humorously low. At first, primals result from misguided and zealous beastmen shenanigans. Ifrit, Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, Garuda...but then we get a bunch of weird summonings. Like when Ga Bu summons a funky version of Titan through his despair alone. Or when Yotsuyu brings forth Tsukuyomi because she really, really wants to see the world burn. Hell, Gilgamesh just thinks about his friend Enkidu in the presence of some crystals, and that’s enough to bring forth a primal. So I guess the only requirements for a primal summoning are 1) crystals and 2) thinking kinda hard? Strong feelings, especially negative ones, seem to be more effective but then again! What the heck happened with Gilgamesh? Who knows?!

But this is one of my favorite things in FF14. It’s a powder keg of a situation that will, and HAS, gone off multiple times.

Being tempered, meanwhile, is a fate worse than death. You’re forced to change sides and fight for the enemy. You don’t even find peace when you die - tempered souls linger in Eorzea thanks to how messed up they are by the process. But you don’t become a mindless servant either. *Points to Emet-Selch who is....kinda...on your side (???) but also on Zodiark’s side*

Things aren’t nearly as dark now that tempering can be cured. I’m very thankful, since otherwise my campaign would’ve had a very, very depressing ending. One that I originally planned for but STILL. I’m weak. ;_;

Riding off the Rails

Primal lore is flexible. In ARR, the rules are established, but later expansions took those rules and went “Well, what about this? And this? And this?” In other words, this is me admitting that I’m shameless and will stretch this lore until I reach the moon.

Developing Wyda was a ‘chicken first, egg later’ sort of situation. Though trite, I gave her amnesia in order to give myself an excuse for knowing nothing about FF14 lore (and because I was new to roleplaying). When I finally sat down to flesh her out, my mind kept returning to primals. I love ‘em and their potential for drama! So yeah, I was determined to make it work.

There were a lot of questions I had to answer. If Wyda is a primal, then why isn’t she tempering everyone she meets?! How is she getting away with being a ‘normal’ person? And how do I avoid power creep? I know, for a fact, that if I walked into an RP event and just said...hey. My character is a primal, are you cool with that? The answer would be a solid no. Nooooo! I’d tell that to myself! So I wanted to solve these questions in a fair way that would allow others (and myself) to remain immersed in the roleplaying world. Luckily, FF14 lore is like a bottomless chest of building blocks. It was just a matter of stacking them carefully.

Primals are summoned when someone thinks around some crystals (Ah, Gilgamesh...)

The primal’s purpose is based on the summoner’s desires, but with a monkey’s paw twist (Ga Bu’s Titan punching the other kobolds away is indicative of this)

The amount of aether used in the summoning determines how powerful the primal will be (Shinryu being beefy as hell)

Primals can be summoned out of thin air, or be channeled into someone’s body

When a primal is channeled, the summoner needs the Echo to resist (Ysalye and Ryne). Otherwise the summoner is tempered by their own creation.

Now, with those blocks in hand, I started spitballing...and it led me to this thought. If a primal’s purpose is to NOT be a primal, what happens?

Would they know that they’re a primal?

Can they still use their primal powers?

What happens when the primal is based off of someone who still exists?

For Wyda, I chose to swing this way.

Her memory is garbage because she’s a primal based on someone else. Even if you know someone really well, you can’t perfectly recreate/emulate them.

She’s normal-powered because all her primal magic is going towards suppressing her powers. Extremely inefficient. And she’s very human-like because she’s possessing someone else’s body, as opposed to being made purely of primal aether.

Primals temper whether they want to or not - aether leaks, and it corrupts. To solve this for Wyda, instead of leaking aether out of the wazoo...thanks to the nature of her summoning, she just leaks a tiny bit all the time. Not enough to temper.

But I also wrote myself into a corner. If Wyda isn’t going to behave like a primal, then how does she exist for so long? They need a constant source of aether to survive, and she’s not doing primal stuff since she’s too busy being human. And so...the answer is that she doesn’t. Once her aether runs out, then poof.

See? Fun! (But also pain. So much pain.)

Playing with Fire

Eorzea (like most fantasy RPG settings) is a nightmare factory. Most, if not all, who make their living ‘adventuring’ are scarred from what they have to face. For every success story (WoL), there are countless more tragedies (Avere). And even if you survive...who wouldn’t get trauma if you were an adventurer and it was normal for your buddies to be eaten by a beast, tempered by a primal, possessed by a ghost?

Which is to say, Wyda's scars run deep. Shit goes down.

To repeat that in slightly more words: Wyda is an accidental byproduct of Cravendy’s grief and longing. At her lowest moment, Cravendy (a Seawolf pirate) thinks of her friend Dots and the unfairness of it all. And oops, there are crystals nearby. So now, we got Wyda walking around in Cravendy’s body, thinking that she’s someone named Dots. By the way, Dots is still alive! Very awkward.

Wyda is a denial incarnate. She is Cravendy’s dream for safety, family, and happiness for Dots. But denial does not erase the past, nor does it change how you feel. By existing, Wyda suppresses those feelings for Cravendy and freezes the other woman in the past. With the both of them like this, Cravendy will never accept her trauma and Wyda will be plagued with a stranger’s guilt.

Primal souls are weird. I have no idea where they come from, but they seem separate from the summoner’s. So as Wyda’s influence wanes, Cravendy’s soul begins to resurface. This forces Wyda into a cycle of self-discovery and self-destruction that, unfortunately, convinces Wyda that she ought to disappear. It’s a tragic conclusion she reaches after having her worldview shattered. She’s a copy of Dots, she’s a primal. What’s real, and what’s not? What even matters?

The Power of Love

Love is a persistent theme for all of my characters. For Cravendy, love is why she hurts, so she would rather forget it than bear any more pain. But Wyda is the opposite - she loves too much. When all else is a sham, Wyda trusts that the love she feels is real. And ultimately, this love dooms Wyda and saves Cravendy.

Wyda’s fatal flaw is her self-destructive selflessness. Thanks to being mistaken for Dots all the time, Wyda develops a low sense of self. Then events of the campaign erode that into nothingness. She’s a second rate copy full of brittle memories, she’s a fake! And discovering Cravendy’s sleeping soul only pushes Wyda further into her flaw. Here is my purpose, she thinks! My original! And I’ll save her no matter what, because she deserves to live!

But it’s a mistake. Certainly, Cravendy is saved, but Wyda deserves to be saved too. Although she loves with all her heart, Wyda never learns to love herself and see her own self-worth. She doesn’t understand that her friends don’t share her view of herself - as a worthless copy that can only find value in saving another. Her selflessness loops into selfishness.

Maybe Wyda will come back...She certainly has a lot to learn still!

The TLDR version of all this is that I accidentally pulled a Kingdom Hearts plot with this character, and now I understand, Nomura. I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU BRING BACK YOUR CHARACTERS. ;_;

#Aiswyda Nuthalwyn #me as I got myself into this mess: pain #lots of pain but #but also very rewarding #I hope you all give Cravendy a follow!! lol I keep making new blogs for organizational purposes #ff14 rp #art

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