#&&introductions of: dru

[underyoursnow]

i love dru and spike’s introduction. they show up, serve the most uncanny cunt fuelled with sexual tension, get their spike’s ass handed to them, and kill a child. the best villains of the show no doubt

[louisapennyfeather2021]

My sibling and I thought of a hilarious sub-plot for Season 2/possible main plot for future seasons of Hazbin Hotel:

First and foremost, it would require the introduction of Archangel Michael, voiced by the one and only Andrew Rannells. We just wanted him to be a part of the cast, but introducing Michael would be really interesting for a few reasons.

For starters, we know there will be discussions between Lucifer and Heaven. 1) He intervened in the Extermination(even though a Hellborn was harmed and Heaven broke their end of the deal). Heaven won't just let that go, especially since Adam is dead(now a sinner???) 2) Pentious was redeemed, so if Lucifer and/or Charlie find our, that would mean they have a LOT more conversations with Heaven.

Let's say druing one of these conversations Lucifer is at his whits end with Sera and the rest of the Heavenly Council. Maybe he makes a demand to bring the Big-Boss-Man into this. Well, you see, God doesn't get involved much unless it's really a big deal, so who better to send in his place than his Gold-Star Son, Michael???

(For the sake of this post, let's run with the idea that Lucifer and Michael are genuinely brothers. Just for the fun of it, we could even say that they're twins and neither can agree on who was "born" first)

And ohhhhh, how Lucifer immediately regrets it, not because Michael is necessarily a threat to Lucifer. No, no, no, Michael is essentially harmless right now. But Michael is Lucifer's "perfect" brother. The golden boy who stood by their father's side while his wayward brother Fell.

And boy, is Michael very well aware of the fact that he's the favorite. Lucifer mostly can't stand him because he's rather smug and entitled. He also 100% refers to himself in the 3rd Person and it makes Lucifer's eye twitch.

Michael isn't really an antagonist, more so an obstacle similar to Sera. He's like a weird mix of Adam and Sera. He's not vulgar like Adam, but he's not exactly the epitome of Heavenly Grace like Sera. Think of the most stereotypical entitled Cinderella step-sister or Sharpay Evans from High School Musical.

Michael has power, that goes unsaid. He's an archangel, of course he has power. However, when he initially defeated Lucifer, it was with the help of God. By all technicalities, Lucifer and Michael are on the same grounds for power. Maybe in the future, if we get an all out war with Heaven, it could come down to a fight between brothers/families. Lucifer might taunt Michael similarly to how he taunted Adam, but Michael is also one of the warriors of Heaven, stronger than everyone except God. This would be a fair fight between the two.

And imagine Charlie trying to process the fact that she has family in Heaven, but they had no interest in even thinking about her. Charlie's ideas of Heaven have already been tainted and she's aware of how Heaven hurt Lucifer, but to really process it and feel it first hand when Michael dismisses her like they aren't direct family? It could help drastically change Charlie's outlook on redeeming sinners into Heaven. Maybe it could push her to have a more radical opinion on Heaven and how it functions. That doesn't even take into account how she'll feel when she finds out where Lilith has been while Hell suffers Extermination after Extermination.

But all angst aside, can we just take a minute to imagine how hilarious it would be to watch Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Rannells banter on screen? It was great to watch Lucifer and Alastor play verbal badminton, but Lucifer and Michael?? Hell, maybe Lucifer and Alastor might finally agree on something and it would be their mutual disliking of Michael.

I also think it'd be really funny for Michael to call Lucifer "Lucy", but in a really condescending way that had Lucifer ready to launch into the most epic Sibling Cat Fight of all time. I also personal think Michael refuses to use forks because a certain Fallen Angel spent at least 200 years antagonizing his dearest brother with one.

This post started as "silly haha, Jeremy and Andrew being silly" and then I got distracted.

The big take away is that I really want Andrew to make an appearance in the show in the future and I think him doing that through Archangel Michael would be brilliant.

Kudos to @anymal28 for helping me with initial idea

[le-velo-pour-dru]

I have a slideshow to share with you all. Ahem.

Thank you for your consideration. ❤️

[ID 1: A title slide that reads, "Why Dallon Weekes is Really A VAMPIRE, By Dru". The word "vampire" is written in red in a harsher font and in all caps. To the left of the title is a photo of Dallon Weekes under purplish lighting during an iDKHOW concert. To the right of the title is clip art of a stereotypical vampire sitting up inside of a coffin, a glass of wine in his hand.

ID 2: A slide titled, "Introduction". The body of the slide states, "Dallon James Weekes. You know him. You love him. ...Or at least, you think you do. But what if he was hiding a more sinister secret below his floral print shirts and immense musical talent? In this presentation, I will prove that the Dallon Weekes you think you know is actually a bloodsucking creature of the night." An image is below this of Dallon with red eyes, smiling and giving a thumbs up. The caption says, "Ignore the h8rs and keep being a demon, guys. That's what really matters."

ID 3: A slide titled, "Reason #1: His Lyrics". The body of the slide states, "To start, let's take a look at his lyrics, specifically the lyrics of his song Kiss Goodnight." Below this is a screenshot of some lyrics from Kiss Goodnight, which read, "Should you invite me in / To spend the night on the floor / Oh please believe I'll believe I'll be a gentlemen / Or you can show me the door". There's more text below this, which states, "Pay special attention to that first line. He says, 'Should you invite me in', suggesting to his wife-to-be to invite him to her place. Now, why am I pointing this out? Because who is it that needs to be specifically invited to places before entering? That's right. VAMPIRES." The word "vampires" is bolded, red, and in all caps.

ID 4: A slide titled, "Reason #2: His Youthfulness". The body of the slide states, "Look at Dallon in the 2000s." Below this is a photo of Dallon from when he was in The Brobecks. He's looking to the camera with a smile. The slide then says, "Now look at him today." Below this is a photo of Dallon during an iDKHOW concert. He's speaking into a microphone and holding up a water bottle. At the bottom of the slide, it says, "Not much difference, right? Twenty years have passed, and he still looks as young as ever. Now, who else are known to stay looking the same age across long stretches of time? That's right. VAMPIRES." Once again, the word "vampires" is bolded, red, and in all caps.

ID 5: A slide titled, "Reason #3: His Hint Hiding In Plain Sight". The body of the slide states, "Now, the final reason. I've saved the best for last. For our final piece of evidence hinting towards Dallon's vile vampirism, let's look at Le Velo Pour Deux, shall we?" Below this is a screenshot of some lyrics from Le Velo Pour Deux, which say, "Vampires never have to complain, / Of living a dull circumstance / So let's all pretend that we are undead, / In turn of the century France." Below this, it says, "Again, pay special attention to the first line. Or even just the first word! Because what is it that he refers to? VAMPIRES. This begs the question: how would Dallon know anything about the way vampires live? Well, if you take all the previously discussed evidence into account, it becomes clear that the only possible reason for this is that he himself IS a VAMPIRE." Both instances of the word "vampire" are bolded, red, and in all caps.

ID 6: A slide titled, "In Conclusion...". The body of the slide states, "After viewing this slideshow, it must become clear to you that Dallon Weekes is, in fact, a vampire. This just goes to show you that you can't always trust your first impressions. Where you may see a kind, funny, charismatic father of two with outrageous musical talent, there may actually be a bloodthirsty, fanged monster lingering just beneath the surface..." Below this is clipart of Dracula edited to have Dallon's head over the normal head. /end ID]

[shadowbooksmx]

Secrets of Blackthorn Hall [Reading order]

If you want to read SOBH, but don't really know where to start, this post is for you. Cassandra Clare never really added an index to the official SOBH tumblr page, so reading it is a bit messy because you have to go to the archive page and go all the way down. That's a waste of time, so here you have a list of all the chapters of this short novel in publishing order. You just have to click on each link to read it.

Introduction- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/648643292320448512

Chapter 1- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/656254352236986368/dear-cristina-from-emma

Chapter 2- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/659689393496424448/dearest-magnus

Chapter 3- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/660328098120777728/julian-to-mark

Chapter 4- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/660958384974151680/emma-to-dru

Chapter 5- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/661593025962721280/from-the-diary-of-tatiana-lightwood-december-27

Chapter 6- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/662227098031800320/emma-to-diary

Graphic content [Chapter 6.5]: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/662861361780555776

Chapter 7- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/663506480591405056/kieran-to-general-winter

Chapter 8- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/664129561068453888/mark-to-ty

Chapter 9- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/664763679067324416/ty-to-julian-and-emma

Chapter 10- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/665397726655217665/the-very-secret-diary-of-miss-tatiana-lightwood

Chapter 11- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/666031883258413056/dru-texts-kit

Bonus content [Chapter 12 teaser released for Halloween]: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/666575964536553472

Chapter 12- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/666666065263296512/emma-to-diary

Chapter 13- https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/667304014500839424/julian-to-magnus

Chapter 14: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/667938417871634432/dear-alec-before-anything-else-i-just-want-to

Chapter 15: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/668572250353680384/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 16: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/669206811642052608/emma-to-jem

Chapter 17: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/669838995566510080/tessa-to-maryse

Chapter 18: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/670476065741881344/jem-to-emma

Chapter 19: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/671110225954324480/emma-to-bruce

Bonus content: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/671560367406743552

Chapter 20: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/674279860072595456/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 21: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/674913667738927104/julian-to-mark

Chapter 22: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/675094607592357888/mark-to-julian

Chapter 23: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/675547836032729089/julian-to-kieran

Chapter 24: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/676181777256153088/emma-to-bruce

Bonus chapter [Chapter 24.5 (this one is not on Tumblr; it was sent via newsletter)]: https://mailchi.mp/cassandraclare/20211217-7907875

Chapter 25: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/676816198443352064/julian-to-magnus

Chapter 26: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/677450122405232640/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 27: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/678081530229293056/hypatias-translation-of-the-diary

Chapter 28: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/678714961764204544/julian-to-helen-and-aline

Chapter 29: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/678896588234653696/julian-to-helen-and-aline

Chapter 30: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/679349523695435776/tessa-to-sophie

Chapter 31: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/679983692049006592/dru-to-kit

Chapter 32: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/680163317054046208/helen-to-julian

Chapter 33: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/680617253190991872/emma-to-bruce-partly-tatianas-diary

Chapter 34: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/681252171490131968/julian-to-magnus

Chapter 35: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/682067915844075520/cristina-to-emma

Chapter 36: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/682519835606958080/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 37: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/683154000468705280/ty-to-julian

Chapter 38: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/683787176902868992/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 39: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/684422588778332160/julian-to-alec

Chapter 40: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/684603261448273920/cristina-to-emma

Chapter 41: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/685056514324660224/emma-to-cristina

Chapter 42: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/685689719933353984/julian-to-mark

Chapter 43: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/686325109820211200/ty-to-dru

Chapter 44: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/686958914380660736/letter-from-kieran

Chapter 45: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/687592592210313216/invitation-to-faerie

Chapter 46: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/688227415184588800/julian-to-kieran

Chapter 47: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/688593026565750784/ash-to-janus

Chapter 48: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/690130561075986432/emma-to-jem

Chapter 49: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/690762997183987712/kit-to-dru

Chapter 50: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/691398026631217153/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 51: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/691668923393916928/ty-to-emma

Chapter 52: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/692032675967614976/kit-to-ty

Chapter 53: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/693299956246790144/livvy-to-julian

Chapter 54: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/693937002091053056/magnus-to-alec

Chapter 55: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/694568297733177344/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 56: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/695203276064505856/kit-to-jace

Chapter 57: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/695837806397898752/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 58 [Exclusive bonus chapter from the Kickstarter print edition]: https://x.com/fayrchilds/status/1808192914520170652

Chapter 59: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/696471730738397184/emma-to-cristina

Chapter 60: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/697286698428694528/jem-and-tessa-to-alec

Chapter 61: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/697740081442832384/emma-to-bruce

Chapter 62: https://secretsofblackthornhall.tumblr.com/post/698374167105585152/dru-to-kit

[jaimrennnn]

The person who offers the most potential as a character in TWP is

Jaime. Listen. Characters that have little no backstory, have not been explored much or retain an air of mystery but are set to be a significant character often have the most potential.

We don’t know that much about their personality, their secrets, their POV. We still aren’t familiar with the character and that’s what makes them very intriguing.

the way Jaime was introduced had to be one of the best character introduction in TSC series. When we first heard of Jaime. He’s depicted as a power hungry asshole who betrayed Cristina his soon to be parabatai but when we met him he seemed fine. He didn’t come off as a bad person. Very normal in fact. He also displayed strong loyalty to Cristina and his family when he was wounded and sick in prison along with his brother which is a complete contrast to what we first heard of him in Lady midnight.

His first flower card reads ‘changeable moods’ to which many people theorized as him changing sides often and there are some who interestingly interpreted it as bipolar personality disorder. There is a strong possibility that Jaime might be an Anti Hero character. Which could lead to a very compelling arc in the books. Something usually different than the norm in TSC series. Jaime could be one of the best morally grey character in the series if done right. Personality wise he has a charming personality, he does have a very mysterious and a ‘wild’ aura to him. I want to know the backstory to the tattoo he got. And I remember someone mentioning that Cassie said one of Jaime’s tattoos signifies his ability to control his temper which further raises alot of questions about him. The last thing we heard of him is him missing in Faerie when he was sent on an important mission. What was this mission? Was he kidnapped??? We needs answers!!!!!!

Through Jaime we could learn more about the Rosales. Their relationship with the fair folk. Their family heirlooms,the Mexico City institute, Their history and how they became one of the most important and rich Shadowhunter families. In Lady midnight Mark says Cristina comes from a very old shadow hunter family which makes her sort of a princess or royalty.

I’m really excited to learn more about Rosales family since we keep having characters mostly from Herondale, blackthorn, Carstairs and Lightwoods who are mainly white European families (I still love them all🫶🏻). It will be so amazing and iconic to have a Latino, Hispanic and POC family to have so much importance and exposure in a series.

Lots of fans dislike Jaime for very reasonable reasons for what he had done to Cristina and the possibility of him being in a relationship with Dru due to age gap differences. Jaime as a character is always brought up or mentioned in context of his relationship to Dru but very rarely individually as his own. I just hope Cassie doesn’t change her plans in order to side track Jaime to appease fans because that means giving up on a character with so much potential. I hope she keeps Jaime as a significant character in TWP as originally planned.

many fans just minimize TWP to their faves reunion, possible love triangles and relationships angst when TWP has so much to offer than teenage romance. It’s freaking based on Arthurian legend! Cassie has stated many times that the shadowhunter world won’t be the same after the events in TWP which certainly leads to high expectations for this series.

@cassandraclare

I would definitely ask about Jaime next time Cassie opens her Q&A.

P.S. sorry if this came off as incoherent and all over the place. English is not my first language and it’s sometimes hard to express my thoughts in long paragraphs.

[spikedru]

we can love quite well, if not wisely

as much as people talk about spike throwing OG vampire soul lore out the window, we should talk about how drusilla does it just as much, and i feel the quote above examplifies it so well. the season one vampires are defined by their complete lack of humanity, the demon moves in and there is nothing left of the person they were etc. they cannot love, they have no true human emotions. angel is an anomaly, he has his soul and therefore has full access to his humanity. but even towards the end of s1 we see cracks in this dichotomy. the master grieves darla, for what reason? besides the fact he cared for her? darlas anger towards angel, stemming from her hurt over his (in her eyes) betrayal after he is cursed with his soul. why else would she carry this hurt with her for over a century if it was not the result of a deep love? and then in s2 its completely wrecked by the introduction of spike and dru, a pair of vampires so completely devoted to each other, their whole deal is that they are the hellmouths new power couple. spike is defined by his love for the women in his life, and drusilla is defined by her love for her family. she still cares for her human family, enough where she lashes out in anger when torturing angel, reminding him he took them away from her. this love still comes through out of her vampirism and madness. she loves her vampire family, wanting them all to be happy and together, reacting with glee that her family is whole again when angelus reenters the picture, siring darla because she thought giving power back to her would make her happy. she can love so well, its just not tempered by anything else so it becomes all consuming. its that little selfish piece of humanity left over no longer bound by anything besides raw demonic strength that pushes you to take what you love and keep your claws in it no matter what it takes. even dru breaking up with spike, her ability to see the future, she knows if he stays with her it would never be quite as fullfilling to him as if he is left to find his own path of actualization. battling with herself over wanting to keep this soft thing she made for herself versus knowing she cares for him too much to let his potential waste away. dru loves so much even when its painful

[theseventhveil1945]

the best part of school hard is the introduction of spike and dru the plot itself is boring as hell

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

No okay bcuz actually I DO want to explain my thoughts from this post here because I love analyzing things and I think talking abt Vox's relationships thru the lens of "this is just like Buffy fr fr" could be fun :)

FIRST OFF: VoxVal as Spike & Drusilla. I do not know their ship name and tbh I'm probably never gonna talk about them again so whooooo cares. To state the obvious, in this situation Vox is Spike and Val is Dru. Now, it's been awhile since I've watched Buffy, but from what I remember, Spike & Drusilla really are THE toxic villain couple, in that they're both like. Not very good to or for eachother, all things considered, but goddamnit they love eachother SO MUCH- which really is the generous interpretation of Staticmoth. I'm not gonna go super in depth into the fucking. Is Staticmoth abusive debate rn. Because I have one million other posts that make my stance on that pretty clear I think. But the uh... nicer interpretation of their relationship is very much Spike & Drusilla I think. Like right down to the headcannon of Vox liking how Val's shit eyesight & temper tantrums makes him kind of dependent on him. Again, could be misremembering, but based off of how Spike was w/ Dru while she was weakened(and based off of how he rebounded w/ Harmony of all people 💀), I get the distinct vibe that, despite his frustrations, Spike did like having somebody relying on him the way Dru(and later Harmony) did. Vox def seems like the type of guy that would get a kick out of feeling Needed and Relied On(why else would he literally route the entire Pride rings power grid through himself-), and Valentino is. Well. Valentino. I'm not gonna go over their interaction before Stayed Gone because it makes me ~genuinely uncomfortable~ for reasons I have, once again, gone into in depth before, but suffice it to say that it's definitely in character for Vox to be into Val relying on him like that. Oh also, like somebody pointed out in the reblogs on the original post, the reason Spike & Dru broke up from s3 all the way to their reunion in s5 is that she cheated on him and that's. Yeah that sounds about right.

And second, the Staticradio twins: Spuffy and Spangel. Why the fuck did I call them the Staticradio twins? I don't know I'm tired as shit and just used most of my brain power on the VoxVal segment now get off my back- anyways, these two are actually pretty easy to explain so I'll just get right into it! Most of the similarities between Staticradio and Spuffy can really be summed up in the song Reat In Peace from Buffy's musical episode. One-sided, obsessive crush on someone who you know deep down will probably never reciprocate. You want them to just leave you the fuck alone and stay gone(hahahahahahahahah), but they just. Aren't. Like even the bits about being a dead guy without a heart beat are spot on because Vox is a motherfuckin DEMON who is a ROBOT!!!!!!! Also the Alastor Body Pillow fanon(which IS fanon. It is. I'm sorry to say but that wasn't a thing on the Instagrams y'all-) does line up with the uh. The Buffy sex bot- it does line up with the Buffy sex bot. Anyways moving on to the Spangel section-

"You were my sire man!" - Spike, to Angel, in his introduction episode. I don't remember if this was retconned in season 5(or 6?) to be Dru siring Spike? It might've been. But for the sake of this post lets pretend it wasn't. Angel was basically Spike's mentor for a lot of their time together pre-show. They ran around in their weird little vampire polycule causing problems for everyone and life was good! Then Angel got cursed. Bro got a soul and then ran away for years without a word to anyone. Then, cut to current day, and Spike is hyped to see him right up to the point he realizes Angel has Changed. And from that point onward to two are RIVALS!!!!! Narrative foils, even. And while it isn't exactly the same as Alastor and Vox's history, it's pretty damn similar right!? Al was(presumably) Vox's friend and mentor for YEARS, like to the point of being comfortable taking a picture with him. Then something happens between them, causing a rivalry to form. Throw somewhere in the mix Al's deal & him fucking off for 7 years... it's like the same pieces being put together in a new way to make a different puzzle. Is Rosie Darla in this analogy? Unclear. Val is still Dru though. Do y'all get where I'm coming from? It's far, FAR from the same thing, like there are so many fucking differences and that's just going off of the stuff we DO know(I want to know more god I can't wait for season 2-), but the dynamics ARE similar. They're narrative foils with a deep history w/ eachother where they were probably-definitely friends, something caused them to become RIVALS, and also one of them is cursed and dissappeared for several years-

Whoo boy this got kinda incoherent- Anyways, that brings me to my brand new fun and interesting point: Vox and Spike are kinda similar characters. They're both antagonists who wanna be Big Tough Scary guys so bad, and like. They are. They are big tough AND scary. Sometimes. But for the vast majority of their screen time, their emotions, capacity for love(no matter how twisted their version of love is), and the consequences of that love going wrong continually get the better of them and cause them to look to us, the audience, like silly pathetic wet cats we found on the side of the road. Then they get Weird about it(Vox's "rivalry" w/ Angel and the. Buffy sex bot.) and we remember oh yeah this guy is EVIL! They also both wear long jackets and are bisexual :)

[kinslayersadvocate]

wish I had any artistic talent to draw a bunch of very drunk revellers stumbling upon Dru's public lecture on the Correspondence... inspiring one of them (incidentally, the not very drunk one who joined them more for protection than anything) to follow this path.

(p.s.: i had no idea where this was going when i started to type the post, but it seems that Whitscar's introduction on that timeline was revealed to me by some dark divine force. which means this now is a reminded to write this tale... once my exams are over, of course. fortunatelly, hallowmas will extend beyond this hihi)

[drusilla-carstairs]

What do you think about The First Heir concept? What's so special about this?

Hmmm I’m not entirely sure what you mean by this question so I’ll answer it two ways.

As a general concept, I think The First Heir fits well into the established lore of TSC, and has the potential to finally wrap up the strife that the faerie world has been in since The Mortal Instruments (and earlier in the timeline, but book-wise). I think it makes for a good conflict for TWP, though I do wish sometimes that TWP wouldn’t be focused so much on another faerie plot right after TDA, but narratively it does make sense. + We’ll also be getting princes of hell content, so I can’t complain too much.

I think that the stories we have gotten about The First Heir—about Kit’s family line, are interesting, if not my favorite of the more obscure TSC lore. I’m not super compelled, but I don’t think they’re bad by any means, yknow?

All that being said, I’ve been pretty clear on my blog that I’m not the biggest fan of Kit Herondale and all he stands for meta-narratively (CC and her obsession with the Herondale family and its borderline copy-paste members, the fact that he’s the most super special boy ever, etc). I hope that going into TWP I grow to like Kit better, and this plotline, but I’ll be very disappointed if Kit being The First Heir’s descendent turns into just another way for him to be overpowered. I think it undermines a lot of everything else we’re getting in that series—Dru and Ty’s times to shine, Ash’s introduction at all, I don’t want him to be redundant—and I also think it would just be. Lame. He’s a distant descendant of TFH. He’s not her directly. He shouldn’t be the end-all-be-all.

[viofitz]

McDonald's Happy Meal Despicable Me 3

Introduction:

A Happy Meal is a kid's meal sold at the American fast food restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard box with a yellow smiley face and the McDonald's logo. The packaging and toy are frequently part of a marketing tie-in to an existing television series, film or toyline. In this review, it's from Despicable Me 3 (DM3) movie aired in 2017. The line up had 22 toys in total counting from every region releases, unlike it's predecessors the line up expanded by featuring several human characters and a robot with different functions. It features Gru, Lucy, Agnes, Balthazar Bratt, Clive (there's Dru, Margo and Edith as well but, there's no physical toys of them), 12 minions figures, 2 kinds of board games, dominoes and a playing card game. Their gimmicks are very different compared to the predecessors such as shooting toys, wheelie toys, movable parts by button or just simply tapping their head, passing toy, hockey game, board games and playing card. The whole toys doesn't have any electronic gimmicks anymore which I'm quite okay since replacing the battery are kinda pain in the butt.

Human

New to this line, there're 6 human characters in total which 5 toys riding/driving their own vehicles (animal for Agnes). However, I don't have 2 Balthazar Bratt's toys including his robot sidekick Clive since I don't like them. In this review, only 4 of them that I will show, most of them are wheelie toys but, each of them got their own unique feature:

Gru's Hydrocycle, has a shooting feature which you need to attach Gru's Hydrocycle with his sub-marine cover then pull the button to shoot him out of the sub-marine. Gru's head is movable very little due to his head is close to both of his hands. This gimmick was made to recreate when Gru emerges out with his hydrocycle from the sub-marine (Although, we only get to see Lucy performed this while Gru and his minions are shown offscreen). In Indonesia, he can be bought by mcdelivery only.

Lucy's Hydrocycle, is a pull back bike which you only need to roll its rear wheel backward then release it to go forward in fast motion. Lucy's head is also movable and can rotate 360 degrees. Until now, this is one of the few toys made for her. Lucy is only exclusive to Australia and Canada.

Agnes' Rockin' Unicorn, it's Agnes riding her fluffy Unicorn doll. It has one wheel underneath the unicorn, when you roll them, Agnes toy will wiggles due to the mechanism made for this toy. Agnes head is also movable slightly.

Despicable Duo, a wheelie car toys that has rolling drill part by rolling the front wheels. The cockpit can be opened to reveal the interior and there's an attached sticker featuring the twins; Gru and Dru. The actual name of this car is Villain Wheels and was originally belongs to Robert Gru (Gru and Dru's late father). While the car is cool looking but, I really wished they'd made a mini figure of Gru and Dru for driving the car instead of a sticker but, it's understandable for a happy meal toys.

The Minions

There're 12 kinds of minion toys in total:

Minion Tongue, has tongue out feature by the button on his jumpsuit pocket, and he also got movable arms. Most sources claimed it's Dave but, he can be anyone that has similar looks to Dave. The toy packaging doesn't mention the minion's name.

Banana Launcher Minion, it's a shooting toy that is similar to Gru's Hydrocycle and Crab Bite Minion but, this has longer range. While I like the gimmick of this toy but, the banana design is kinda lame despite it fits for them. I was hoping like a gadget just like they did on Despicable Me 2 series. He has combed hair similar to Dave or could be his lookalike.

Crab Bite Minion, has a jumping hat gimmick by pressing the button on his backpack. I think this was meant to be Jerry since he's the only one who wore this kind of hat in the 3rd movie but, the toy got combed hair decal like Dave.

Minion Hydrocycle Surprise, has open lid part on the rear part of his hydrocycle to show an art of presumably Jerry. Which you need to push the button on the front wheel. This toy features Minion toy in mini size due to his large vehicle. They would later released more mini minion toys in Minions: Rise of the Gru line up. Minion Hydrocycle is exclusive to Asian region.

Rocket Racer Minion, this minion has wheels underneath his butt and pull back feature but, you'll have to slide the toy forward to make him go backward and will spin several times showing like a rolling rocket. The minion in this toy got also got messy hairstyle which presumably meant to be a spiky hair so, he could be Carl. I think they don't want to waste more materials to make a separate buzz cut hair part like they did in the previous releases.

Pumping Iron Minion, the feature is simply moving the peg on his back right to left to swing both of his arms to show he's having arms exercise by lifting heavy metal dumbell (since the dumbell was painted silver). This minion is shown with angry expression and he got a tattoo on his left temple. Despite having jail uniform, the uniform still got sculpted "Gru" initials on his pocket. Meaning this was supposed to be a minion with his usual jumpsuit. He looks similar to Stuart since he has combed hair.

Minion Antics, similar to Pumping Iron but, the gimmick is to spin his right arm like he's spinning a chain by pressing the button on his back. This Minion also has messy hairstyle so, he could be either Tom or Phil.

Groovin' Minion, this plump minion is given a swinging 2 arms gimmick by pressing his head to show like he's dancing and his legs will also shrunk down to his body. But, you can still make various position arms for him like dancing or playing DJ. He's wearing green colored headset and has buzz cut hair similar to most of fat minions, he's the only fat minion included in this line up. He could be Jerry the fat one or anyone.

Hillarious Hockey Minion, it's an air hockey toy which has 2 minion toy sitting as paddles and a hockey puck inside the paddles. The 2 minion toys are similar to Dave and Stuart.

Banana Flipper Minion, this toy is kinda special I think... Since he is included with 3 accessories; that is a red hoop and 2 bananas. The purpose of that hoop is for Tim/Kevin holding the hoop for us to flip the 2 banana accessories into the hoop hole. This tall minion can be either Tim or Kevin or anyone that has their looks. He's only exclusive to America and Australia continent.

Pass The Minion, like the name you play pass the toy with your family or friends. In order to determine the winner and loser, there's a wind-up gimmick located on his back which you'll need to spin, then toss the toy to your opponent's hand then your opponent also do the same to you. If the toy starts vibrating on you or your opponent's hand, you or your opponent lose. The vibration came from the wind-up's mechanism but, the trick on how the toy was able to hold up the vibration is because it was locked by the minion's hair sticking up. Another tall minion that has Tim and Kevin's likeness, he's only exclusive to America and Australia continent.

Variety Games

There're 4 kinds of variety games included in this set and all of them were only released in either US and Australia but, I only have Despicable Deck and Despicable Checkers:

Despicable Deck, this isn't actually a toy since it's a playing card, it features many characters from DM3, that is; Agnes as a ace spade, Unicorn doll as a ace clover, Edith as a ace heart, Margo as a ace diamond, Dru as a jack, Lucy as a Queen, Gru as a King, and Balthazar Bratt as a joker. While the minions as respective numbers, kinda surprised on how they designed the numbering cards features different kinds of minion arts. All artworks featured in this set were drawn in 2D style instead of using 3D renders. The card only available in Australia and US.

Despicable Checkers, It's a checkers game which requires 2 players to play the game. However, I don't know the purpose of the minion toy included in this but, we can make him glowing and his hat's headlamp will like flashing a light by putting flashlight/smartphone (flashlight mode) on the bottom of his foot. The glowing part is similar to Stuart Light Up Grabber but, without electronic mechanism inside the toy, and I like how the minion toy came to be in solid color except his foot and his headlamp. I think that's the only feature of this toy has. He may have Dave lookalike but, could be anyone with different hairstyle since his hat is sticked onto his head. He's only available for Australia release.

Thoughts:

Comparing between 2013 to 2015 line up, I gotta admit DM3 was the time where Happy Meal featuring Despicable Me franchise at it's peak as the details of the toys are even better than the previous 2 movies. Although, I kinda miss the electronic gimmicks but, this is a big improvements on the moldings. Minion's jumpsuit has sharper details such as seamline details, protruding Gru logo details, detailed shoes including shoe soles and paint quality is much cleaner for the minions. However, I still prefer the separated buzz cut hair part they did on the previous instead of simple paint dots or simply messy hair. And the variety of the toys are also interesting such as human characters and several board games, I'm amazed that they actually nailed their likeness as well, except Gru's nose😂. It is unfortunate, they went downgrade in 2020 onwards so, I'm nolonger interested collecting them anymore but, I'm interested on the 3 Minion toys featured in Japanese Happy Meal Universal Studios line up. I will review them along with other toys that I'm interested in. So far, Hydrocycle toys and Groovin' Minion are my personal favorite.

[tetsunabouquet]

Heir To The Lands Chapter 35

Working Out The Next Move Masterpost

After Catarina left, the group decided to gather in the garden of Dimmet Tarn. Everyone had helped gather some chairs from the house as the group was far too large to sit around the dining table. As a result, it was a mismatched and hilarious sight with all the young Nephilim, Livvy and Gwenneth the goblin gathered around Tessa and Jem. With the final bit of magical strength she had, Tessa had conjured up a table and Jem brought as many food items as he could find around the kitchen for everyone to snack inbetween the conversation. She was sitting exhausted, Mina babbling around her ankles before she picked her daughter up. 4 years old or not, this girl wanted to be part of the conversation. Kit gathered all his courage, decing to break the ice. "Hello to all who have gathered here. Before we start talking about the crisis with the Seelie Court and the big questions, please introduce yourselves. I am Christopher Herondale, the lost Herondale and the descendant of Auraline the First Heir and the High King of Faerie, I suppose. It's nice to meet all of you." As he sat down, the tall boy from Dru's group decided to stand though he had a bit of an nervous look. "My name is Tomas Grünlicht from the Köln Institute and the only thing special about me is that I have a rare eating disorder that causes me to sleepwalk and eat in my sleep." Kit was honestly not expecting that, but Tomas did lighten the mood as several chuckled. The girl next to him stood up, "I'm his primary victim of food theft, Octavia Boomkikker from the Dutch Enclave. Me, Tomas and Zeynep are basically a parabatai combi-package." Dru looked like she was having a hard time not to burst out laughing and Kit thought it was nice that Dru became so popular. The girl with the thick glasses was the next to introduce herself. "Hi," she said with a melodious soft voice, "My name is Zeynep Aksoy. I'm Tomas' cousin and raised at the Antwerpen Institute, nice to meet everyone." She and the the other two sat down, almost entirely in synch. The girl that Kit recognized as Thais stood up. "Hello, I am Thais Pedroso from the Rio Institute and Dru's best friend. I hope we can all get along." Without standing up, the Asian girl waved. "My name's Laura Ke, I'm from Australia and I'm a distant cousin of Jem Carstairs." "Hello everyone, my name is Anush Joshi and I'm Ty's assistant from the Scholomance if you will." Kit tried not to focus on him too much. "I'm Jaime Rosales and used to be the Seelie Queen's captive witness." Some of Dru's friends seemed to study his gaunt face in pity at the introduction. Gwenneth then decided it was her turn. "And I am the other witness, the one and only superstar of Faerie, Gwenneth." "I've never seen a pink goblin before," Tavi said, looking at the creature with interest. "I know, I am as rare as a flying sugarpie." The group chuckled again. Ty waved a bit shyly as he said, "My name is Tiberius Blackthorn, you can all call me Ty. I'm Dru's older brother." Now Dru took that as her cue to adress the group. "And I'm Dru, nice to meet you Anush." He nodded towards her and then Jem decided it was his turn. "I am James Carstairs, please call me Jem. I am Tessa's husband and before the Dark War I was a Silent Brother. I hope I can guide you with everything I know." Tessa took a deep breath. "I am Tessa Gray, daughter of Belial and Adele Starkweather. The only hybrid of my kind and the most knowledgable for when it comes to fighting the Princes of Hell." Anush and Dru's friends looked at her with such big eyes that they could fall out of their eyesockets.

Janus bowed to the enraged Seelie Queen who looked like she wanted to tear out his vocal chords for admitting he had failed and that someone was trailing him. However, he had seen into some of the papers as he checked the bag's contents on his way to Central Park and he grinned carelessly. "Do not worry, my Queen. I did manage to catch glimpse of something very interesting we could use."

[redead-red]

Thoughts on drusilla? :^]

LOVE Drusilla! love love love love love

omg. Dru is so fantastic in so many different ways. I mean first of all, I adore the idea of her being gifted with sight, but because of the psychological torture that Angelus put her through, she has a hard time expressing to those around her what she's seeing. It really showed how long it took Spike to understand Dru, as there were so many times when Angelus would take something Dru said literally and Spike would be like "you can't see stars. there's a ceiling in the way."

idk that would make me laugh all the time

I also really like that they made how she hunts different than the other guys, giving her a distinct style. Using her thrall to hypnotize people with that cool finger pointing, especially with her long nails, always looked really cool to me. And I mean, she was able to bag a slayer so that's pretty hype.

and GOD her entire relationship with Spike and Angelus. So interesting and messy. I mean, the entire introduction of her and Spike was so GOOD. Like vampires that are devoted to each other? Who are so in love? Absolutely incredible. But then as it goes on, you can tell that she does not love Spike in the same way or capacity that he loves her and that's so interesting to watch!

Ugh. It's too early and I haven't had coffee so this is rambly but. Love Dru. The tier list is like Spike ultimate Blorbo, then Angelus in a distant second and Dru right behind Angelus.

[dakotabone1213]

Personal ranking of the Despicable Me/Minions movies (1 being the best)

Please do not attack me like you're on PX41 serum, this is just my opinion ;-;

5. Minions: The Rise of Gru

Don't get me wrong, I love this movie, and it was hard having to put any of these movies at the bottom of the list, but to me at least, it's really only at the bottom because of the sort of drab and/or uncreative dialogue choice, and parts of the plot just felt a bit uncreative to me. That's really it, because I love the characters in it, it's funny, and I just love the movie in general!

4. Despicable Me

Don't get mad at me please. Like I said, I hate having to put any of these movies near the bottom, and this movie is so iconic. I mean, this is where it all began! It's so creative, and it makes sense why it was so successful. I'm really only putting it here because I don't personally enjoy it as much as the other movies.

3. Despicable Me 3

This movie is really good actually. It's hilarious to me, I love Dru, Bratt, and Mel as new characters! Also come on guys, the prison scene is iconic. The reason I put it at rank 3 is because the idea of a twin brother is a bit unoriginal to me, Dru is a great character though, so that makes me forget about that.

2. Despicable Me 2

Ok, between DM 2 and 3, it was a hard choice, but this movie has such a nostalgic chokehold on me that it pushed my brain further to this decision. Plus, this movie is just very enjoyable in general! The introduction of Lucy was great (I'd definitely put her near my top favorite characters... I'm going to have to make another list aren't I?), I love the idea of evil minions (though arguably, that's about as cliché as the twin brother trope), and plus Dave is one of my personal favorite minions (how can you not love him? He's such a happy hyperactive little guy :'3)

1. Minions

Oh boy, this movie. This movie holds an even stronger nostalgic chokehold on me than DM2 does, but that's far from the main reason I chose this as the best. I see a lot of people mention that it's a pretty unnecessary origin story for the minions, but in my opinion it was executed very well. I love the 60's and 70's soundtrack in the movie, the characters are amazing, the storyline is in my opinion more creative than any of the movies (besides DM 1, I mean, that movie started it all man), and the minions are always enjoyable to have on screen. This is without a doubt my favorite movie of the DM/Minions franchise, and very possibly always will me.

That's my list :3 this is just my personal opinion. Every single one of these movies are incredible so it definitely wasn't easy for me to choose.

That is all. Thank you.

[hopestrope]

What I mean by "before the beginning of the books" is like the flashbacks where we saw how James and Grace's relationship began. They were technically a part of the series, but the time they took place in was before the current timeline of the series.

[lavienbleuuu]

A more solid concept might be the most prominent distinction between Tutur Batin and Yura Y’s previous albums.

Three years after her second record, Yura Yunita finally released her third studio album titled Tutur Batin. Consisting of her voice in numerous social phenomenon, this record sounds like Yura’s attempt to level up her versatility in arraying multiple nuances between jolly, lamentation, contemplation, and perky. It is proven how diverse genres are presented in under 40 minutes.

Starting with “Dunia Tipu-Tipu”, it is lovely to experience how patient Yura is in intensifying this track. Opened with simple acoustic guitar accompanying her vocal, she adds a little touch of minimalist piano followed with the introduction of the electronic drum at the second verse and finished the track with alluring children choir while Yura’s thrilling vocal is floating around glamorously. Although she meticulously crafted the tension, she seems to lose sight of her songwriting since it only communicates one verse repeated twice and a chorus repeated thrice. The fair wordplay she uses could not justify how poor the track is in delivering solid and diverse messages. It is quite interesting to acknowledge Yura bringing up a heated issues our society is currently facing since we are entering a fabricated world in which almost every aspect is altered to some degree just to fit what is appropriate and accepted in our society. However, this track is merely a manifestation of her gratitude toward someone who is being real and honest within the stream of phoney attitudes instead of broadening its damaging issues as the ramifications.

Yura also celebrates the ghosting culture by releasing a track about it although she only writes it to fit what is mostly experienced by ‘ghosted’ people instead of imparting its core issues. “Hobi — Ghosting” offers a bass-driven track with jazz-pop sonic that sounds grand. Soft playful jazzy piano lingers thinly at the back of the track while the trumpet revolves at its best timestamp to catch our attention. The attitude to singing on a different note between each syllable at every end of the chorus is clever enough to leave an impression on the track although it is similar to what Tulus always does in most of his songs. Another jazz-pop demeanour is also felt in “Duhai Sayang”, yet this time is without the trumpet and more slow-tempo and somehow feels bland, especially in the way Yura delivers her voice.

In several songs, Yura attempts to carry and evoke the emotion by utilising various implementations of instrumentations. “Mau Kemana”, for instance, is a ballad presentation with beautiful piano play accompanied with distinctive and bold string in questioning the direction of her relationship. She stresses more to evoke your emotion while listening to the simple and relatable lyric by also stressing in articulating some words to deepen the nuance. Listening to the intro of “Sudut Memori” would immediately throw you to Kunto Aji’s quintessential “Pilu Membiru” since it shares similar guitar resonance and chords. A little bit of inconvenience on how this track conveys the sound of Yura adjusting her saliva before pronouncing some words. Moreover, the vocal and the minimalist piano and guitar presentation in this track have no strong embodiment between one another. On the contrary, “Tenang” delivers a calm, positive, and colourful ‘reliance-on-God’ narrative with the sound of acoustic guitar picking, bright keys that in harmonies with Yura’s voice, the soundscape of water drop to reinforce the serene, and another choir presentation while Yura’s delivers vocal style à la pesindhèn flowing around at the end of the track that feels like the burst of Yura’s emotion in believing in God.

A different narrative of self-love and self-acceptance celebration is presented in “Tutur Batin” with another presentation of minimalist and thin guitar picking accompanied with piano followed with loud string and electronic drum. Its bridge might mark this track as the only track that successfully highlights Yura’s finest vocal potential although the progression and songwriting of this song are far from jaw-dropping. “Hoolala” is another song sharing the same narrative with “Tutur Batin” with 180° contrary since it carries another bold and groovy bassline with a catchy guitar riff presentation within a disco vibe that makes it sound spirited. Although “Hoolala” introduces another solid choir arrangement, this track represents Yura’s weakest songwriting since it feels like she only has the intention to create a catchy, memorable, and repeatable song to be played on radios without considering the aesthetic of her writing.

Speaking of vigorous tone, “Bandung” might be Yura’s most ambitious venture to present a zestful, positive, and vibrant kaleidoscopic track with multiple transitions from catchy jazz presentation of guitar strum with groovy bass and drum shifted into electronic moved to Sundanese-electronic-jazz switched into Sundanese-jazz vibes. However, the spacious-electronic transition fails to catalyst Yura’s approach in adding vibrant colour to the track since it sounds dull, empty, purposeless. Nevertheless, you would easily perceive how sparky the tone is when you listen to its sonic although you may not understand this Sundanese narrative. Yura’s vocal performance sounds naked and without any burden in articulating the joyful tone.

Closing to the end of the record, “Mulai Langkahmu” delivers another electronic approach with deliberate treatment on the piano not to harmonise with other instrumentations. When it comes to its drop, it is hard not to think Jungle’s Keep Moving since it share an identical groove and trumpet with the same treatment on the loud and bright choir and vocal layering. After getting blasted with an upbeat and light-hearted track, we experience another 180° tone with “Andai Saja” as the last song. For unknown reasons, Yura’s vocal sounds hazy, weak, and unclear in the mix, especially when Yura reaches high notes, compared to the previous songs. Perhaps this is the only track in which Yura tries to experiment with ambient and ballad, yet the tension or emotion in her last song fails to create an engagement with myself, personally. However, her minute treatment harmonises her voice when singing the bridge.

At last, Tutur Batin sounds like any other Yura’s previous records with a bolder and better concept this time. The daring attitude to jump from one tone to another might be a bold move in spicing up this record. Tutur Batin still proves how immaculate Yura is in bursting her talent in a decent manner and how lovely she is in presenting jazz-pop.