#Prague: Where Love Awakens!

[praguian]

When authenticity shines through... #hearts #shorts #psychologylovefacts...

[yinandyanglifestyle]

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha

by: Icie

One thing to know about me, I was an interior design major back in my home country. I absolutely sucked at it, but I fell in love with Art History. In that minor, our professors taught us about different art styles through the ages and bit by bit I saw the progress of art through the ages. I loved the OG Gothic Style, Romanesque, was disillusioned with Baroque and Rococo from the west... It was too Western focused and it didn't interest me as much (because I was an Asian kid) until we got towards the end of the 19th century where the grandparents of weebs (of which I am a part of) hailed from and Japonisme was a thing. Japonisme inspired so much beautiful art and it triggered a domino effect that ultimately led to Art Nouveau where Alphonse Mucha was a main character.

This was it. My favourite art style! I can never go back to loving other art styles after discovering Art Nouveau. It spoke to me about how feminine it was and it awakened something from my mostly masculine soul. I wanted to see more of these beautiful girls surrounded by flowers and stars, wearing kimono-inspired clothes in pretty pastels. The macaroni hair only added to the romanticism of it all. This is what love is like, but in art form!

Fast forward to 2024, The Mucha Foundation collaborated with the Art Gallery of New South Wales to host over 200 of this master's works which was "the most comprehensive exhibition ever seen in Australia of this visionary artist's work". I had to see it. I needed to see it! I am a big fan of Mucha and Art Nouveau, and one of my dreams was to go to Paris, Brussels, and Prague for all of the beautiful swirly-whirlies. Being a Brisbanite, I was exited. Please come to my city! Please, please, please! But AGNSW said "sorry, it's exclusive to Sydney."

Dammit. It's off to Sydney I go. I donned my Sailor Moon dress, packed my bag for a 3 day trip with my partner just so I could see this legend's works and boy, I was not disappointed. I learned to love Mucha and his works even more. We landed in Sydney, didn't check in our hotel, and went straight to the main quest:

Outside, they had this big banner of Mucha's name. Inside was this glorious area that showcased Summer (left) and Rose (right). Oh wait, the exhibit is next door. So we went to the more modern building, down two floors, bought tickets, and enjoyed the art.

In the newer building next door, I was treated to pre-art nouveau Mucha. We learned about what his life was like before his popularity. He designed some clothes for a theatre, hung out with everyone's buddy Paul Gaugin, Ludek Marold and Annah the Javanese. The tour guide said, "if he wasn't a painter, he would've been a great photographer".

Then we were treated to the meat of the exhibit: the Sarah Bernhardt stuff, his lithographs, his sketches, but what struck me most were his concept art to reality. (Excuse my phone's shadow. For some reason, AGNSW decided to put these works on a 45° angle under bright lights. The girl beside me even said "fucking glare!" and I wholeheartedly agreed.)

We were treated to so many wonderful works and I cried when I saw parts of Le Pater. I'm an atheist but this made me think that maybe there is a god. Maybe. But still, beautiful artwork that left me speechless.

I got to stand next to my favourite work of his: White Star. Joy!

At the end of the exhibit, the tour guide talked about how Mucha who was somewhat influenced by Japan, now influenced Japan. Now we come full circle with anime and manga characters depicted in art nouveau styled paintings and posters. Oh boy, we had our Lord Yoshitaka Amano's works in the gallery as well. I was so lucky to see works of my two favourite artists in one day!

It was almost 2PM by the time we finished the tour. We spent at least 4 hours in the gallery after landing just because I fangirled and was willing to spend money on Mucha. Yeah, I bought stuff. A reproduction of Alphonse Mucha's original "Documents Decoratifs" which focused more on his industrial design work (jewellery, cutlery, furniture etc) which I rarely see on the internet, a set of badges and make-up from Japanese brand MilleFée.

I went to Sydney for Alphonse Mucha and it was worth it. I end this rabid fangirling with the parting words of the Art Gallery of New South Wales' tour guide: Mucha's style has never been as well loved and as well represented as it is in Japan.

[cabeswaterdrowned]

book recs? My fav books are trc, aftg, soc, shadowhunters/riordanverse etc and the likes (so basically the most basic literature taste known to man) thanks!

well I enjoy all of those and trc is my fav series so will give you a couple of my main fantasy recs along those lines or not dissimilar and throw in one of my fav thrillers which is very gay and explores dark themes for aftg adjacent rep, and then another suspense book i love. I sort of went with books i could draw some type of lines of comparison to at least one of the books you mentioned.

•The Diviners series by Libba Bray — this is my go to ya fantasy rec these days, it’s historical urban fantasy with some horror and mystery elements. It’s set in 1920’s New York, book one opens focusing mainly on Evie and a specific case of a ghost serial killer but introduces other chars, after the first book it becomes more about an ensemble cast of Diviners who have different supernatural powers and their dynamics, also the main antagonist is bigotry and hate which I’m aware is a concept that can be done poorly in fantasy and I won’t pretend every beat of it is flawless but it is my favorite example of a fantasy series take on that concept that I’ve read. More importantly stunning character work I especially adore the female chars among the diviners Evie Theta and Ling, Ling is one of the most special characters ever and these books should be worth reading because of her INTP canon ace lesbian with autistic swag realness alone. 

I definitely would recommend it to TID/TLH fans for the historical setting and atmosphere as well as some of the playing with man vs machine + to TRC/TDT fans for the characterization and also the second book is largely about Henry and Ling learning about their dream powers and developing a friendship through this and also Ling has a narrative foil in dreamspace she’s gay with just think some of those idea would resonate with trcers + to SoC fans for the ensemble dynamics. 

•The Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray

This is one I used to describe to people as The Gangsey all girls au set in Victorian London and that’s not fully accurate but it works enough to be a pitch, but basically it’s about this group of four girls who go to a boarding school together and discover a sort of parallel world where they can bee free and realize their ambitions detached from society, but in the real world they’ve awakened horrors they must deal with too. I need to reread this one but it was deeply formative, if you love messy complicated female friendship dynamics and paranormal/mystical plots that are just creepy enough this is for you. Also my favorite character in it is a gay blonde mean girl character who is ambitious and wants autonomy above all else but does also love her friends fiercely Felicity Worthington you will always be famous <3 if you enjoy Jessamine Lovelace and Grace Blackthorn from TSC she has strong parallels to both those chars imo and is better written/handled arc wise. But I will tell you that the other wlw char in the book who is her love interest dies there is byg, just so you no one gets mad at me for that. But still very worth the read imo. 

•The Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy by Laini Taylor

this series is a mix of urban fantasy and high fantasy, the first book is set mainly in Prague but large parts of the other books take place in a fantasy world called Eretz so there is a fun parallel worlds element. But it’s about Karou who is one of theee protagonists of the 2010s yet got paid dust justice for my girl, and she’s an art student in Prague who was raised by a family of monsters (chimeara), her surrogate father is Brimstone and he has a business of selling wishes for teeth that Karou sometimes helps with but is frustrated that she isn’t allowed to know why or what they’re for. Karou’s dynamics with the chimearas and with her best friends Zuzana who is also a wonderful character and inspo for my letterboxd url rabidfairy09, are really lovely and the prose is so beautiful… but the story really takes off when the love interest Akiva is introduced I won’t go into details about that because spoilers, but they have one of my absolute favorite romances in the genre that does subvert and play with those paranormal forbidden star crossed romance tropes in ways I think are quite fascinating. Books 2 and 3 are more complicated to describe there is an essential conflict between chimeras or devils vs angels in this world so there’s your modern tsc connection, and very lyrical prose although I find Lainis even lusher and more elegant than trc prose. 

• Sawkill Girls by Clara Legrand 

Ya horror book that I remember reading over the summer in high school and I think it’s a good summer read tonally, part of the plot is one of those stranded on an island survival stories but it’s less intense than like Yellowjackets (no cannibalism), I don’t actually have much to sell about the plot I just enjoyed the vibes and also there are lesbians one of whom is an ambitious driven abuse survivor who had an arc I remember really liking.

•Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie Mclemore I actually really love all the books by her I’ve read but I think this is a great one to start with. Basically there are multiple generations of women who are all witches living together (300 fox way vibes), and Estella has several cousins and she and them are all in love with the same woman who is the daughter of the man who owns the estate, and there’s a thing where boys and this family keep disappearing and then one of them shows up and resulting drama. The main romance is m/f but like all the female chars being bi, it is a good romance from my memory but the main event is the familial dynamics, the main character Estella’s arc around dealing with her internalized self hatred and a lot of anti colonial themes those anti colonial themes and themes of multigenerational trauma are very relevant in all the Mclemore I’ve read so yes, very much would read her starting with this book. Also very gorgeous prose as is in all her magical realism stuff. 

•this one is already quite popular on tumblr so you may have read it but The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, if you enjoy the cutthroat gang in SoC and that high fantasy world I think you would enjoy it I also get some Zoya vibes as well as Kaz vibes from Jude the main heroine. Won’t bother with detailed description because again, very popular books. 

•Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire

basically a series of portal fantasies or fairytales for adults, they are all novellas and it’s an ongoing series following several different chars not all of whom appear in each book. But I enjoy them and I think if you like Riordanverse this is like an adult fantasy take on similar concepts in a way, even though it’s not directly mythology based.

•The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

This is the other tumblr popular series on the list and has a good amount of overlap with trc/aftg/soc fans so will only give the brief pitch that it’s adult sci fantasy and about lesbian necromancers in space. You will be very confused at least some of the time but it is worth it, trust me. 

•Black Iris by Leah Raeder 

new adult psychological thriller with a sapphic romance that slaps so hard. Delaney Keatings is one of my favorite unreliable narrators and also just an A+ character, there’s not a lot I can say about the actual plot because a lot of it is psychological but will give one other plot hint: vigilantes. Definitely look up trigger warnings before reading this there’s a lot about homophobia and also references to sexual violence, drug use a lot more it’s very in line with Aftg in terms of like, grittiness in that regard. Do highly recommend. 

•Dare Me by Megan Abbott 

like with Mclemore I love this author in general and would recommend everything I’ve read by her but this was my first book of hers so it’s a good introduction, and also a lot of it is about girls on a cheer team having homoerotic psychosexual dynamics as well as the murder, so it’s also in line with aftg thematically in that way. gay sports media. 

There are a lot of others but I don’t want to make this list ridiculously long so… here are some recs <3 thank you so much anon for letting me ramble and I hope you like them!

[grainjew]

1119 SPOILERS BELOW

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HAHA. I LOVE BEING RIGHT.

Technically the contents of 1119 do absolutely nothing to further or detract from my read of the Nika cult as a crypto-religion. If anything, the latest chapters have had me leaning away from the "Joyboy was shandian" theory I outlined in pt 3 and towards him being a buccaneer, although predicting One Piece like that has always been a fool's game and I'm just splashing water around for fun either way.

HOWEVER.

While, of course, we haven't had an intro card or explicit confirmation to the effect, I don't think it's reaching to say that chapter 1119 tells us the Iron Giant's name: Emet.

(Or, as every non-official translation I've seen has chosen to render it after some frantic wikipedia reading, Emeth, which is a more archaic transliteration of the same Hebrew word, אמת, which means truth. Emet is a prettier transliteration imo & also how the word would be pronounced in the modern day. So I will be saying Emet.)

Now here's the thing. If you're not Jewish or up on Jewish mythology, that name will slip right on past you. So allow me to elucidate.

In Jewish folklore, there's a type of construct called a golem. You've almost certainly heard of these guys, they're frequently stripped of their cultural context and turned into generic fantasy monsters in a way that irritates me extremely. There's a lot of variance and disagreement on the topic across the thousands of years of Jewish history (the only time the word occurs in the Torah it's describing Adam of Adam and Eve fame's creation!), but most stories agree on the general principles for making a golem:

A person, usually a rabbi or learned individual (because that's usually who's doing magic in Judaism) will create a roughly human-shaped figure out of clay, and then attach or imprint the word אמת, emet, truth, around its neck or on its forehead. It then becomes a sort of semi-sapient helper or defender of the community, a sort of proto-robot. To turn it off/deactivate it, the rabbi (in some stories at least, especially ones where some circumstance or other causes the golem to rampage uncontrollably) must remove the letter א from its inscription, changing it from emet, truth, to met, death.

The word emet is intimately associated with golems. The golem, especially in the story's most famous iteration as the Golem of Prague, is intimately associated with being constructed by a leader of an oppressed and marginalized community to defend that community from violent hate, eventually going on an uncontrollable rampage, and finally being deactivated and placed in the attic to eventually be reactivated should it be needed.

The Iron Giant, named Emet, hails from the Void Century; can be presumed to have been created or influenced by Joyboy, the previous user of the awakened Nika fruit; disappeared for centuries; reappeared rampaging uncontrollably in such a way as to protect the oppressed people of Fishman Island from violent hate during the conflict 200 years ago which led to their recognition as a sapient species with rights and the ability to join the World Government; and then ran out of power until reactivated by the drums of liberation when the time was right.

Emet is a golem, in the most literal, folkloric sense.

I think that's pretty great actually. I think chapter 1119 was a present just for me actually. Joyboy was apologizing in his Poneglyph for something Fishman Island related- it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he left them Emet to keep them safe.

And here I was trying not to be presumptive and assume Oda knew anything about Judaism while writing the original post! Tis I, the fool. He did that on purpose. The Nika cult is a crypto-religion in the manner of the crypto-Jews of Spain and Portugal.

And also there is a golem.

Nikaposting Pt 1: Crypto-Religion

This is the first of a series of posts about Nika & associated religious practice in the One Piece world. As I write and post the rest of the series, I’ll add links to this header.

Pt 2: Symbology & Syncretism | Pt 3: Joyboy was Shandian | Pt 4: Sun God Tropes

Enormous credit to @oriigami for being my discussion partner through all of this and having a substantial influence on the final product. Check out our ao3 series Joyful for a narrative rather than analytical take on the Nika tradition, and definitely go read her OP blog @kaizokuou-ni-naru for meta and translation fun facts.

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The Nika Cult is a Crypto-Religion

Terminology note: I will be using cult in these posts in the sense of “cult of worship,” rather than in the modern pejorative sense. Additionally, I tend to use “tradition” rather than “religion” as a general term, because “religion” is a messy and difficult to define concept, while “tradition” is much more inclusive of traditional practices, folk beliefs, and cults of worship that may not be considered religions by Western scholarship.

Raise your hand if you saw Kuma’s church and Bible, concluded “oh, the Nika stuff is basically One Piece Christianity,” and moved on with your life.

It’s an easy assumption to make, and for all I know authorial intent may well stop there. I’m not Oda. I’ll never be able to guess what goes on behind those fish eyes of his. But a second look at the worldbuilding around both Nika and Christianity in One Piece brought me to a very different conclusion: that the Nika cult is a crypto-religion and is, in Kuma’s case, using the outward appearance of Christianity as camouflage.

First of all: We have ample evidence that Christianity (or some variation of it- I’m fascinated by the implied existence of such things as One Piece Jerusalem and the One Piece Council of Nicea) does exist in the One Piece world, and is both fairly widespread and quite legal. Flevance was pretty explicitly Catholic (Law went to church as a kid), Miss Monday and Mother Carmel masqueraded as nuns to imply harmlessness, many if not most of the graves shown in the series are crosses, whatever Usopp was on about with that exorcism equipment, and, yes, Kuma’s church and Bible.

Even mentioning the Nika cult, on the other hand, is grounds for the government to assassinate you with extreme prejudice.

A crypto-religion is what happens when a religion is suppressed to the point that its practice is grounds for exile, torture, and/or execution: Some people will convert. Some people will flee into exile. Some people will die. And some people will outwardly adopt the dominant religion, but will continue to practice their own traditions in secret; ie, they’ll create a crypto-religion.

One of the more famous examples of this is the post-Spanish Inquisition crypto-Jews of Spain and Portugal, who converted to Christianity in public but kept what Jewish traditions and rituals they could in private. To this day, descendants of these conversos whose families have been Catholic for centuries are discovering that their family tradition of lighting two candles on Friday or not eating pork on Saturday are in fact the legacy of a violently suppressed heritage. There are countless other examples of crypto-religions throughout history, both among Jews (my own personal field of knowledge) and among other traditions (for an example that would be known to Oda, the crypto-Christians of Japan).

There’s no way the Nika cult could have survived except in cryptic form. If it ever had physical infrastructure in the form of temples or pilgrimage sites, the government would have sought them out and demolished them long ago if they were not adequately disguised, especially in World Government member states like the Sorbet Kingdom. Likewise, anyone foolish enough to speak publicly about Nika will be summarily assassinated.

In fact, I have doubts that the Nika cult ever existed outside cryptic form, at least in a significant or long-lasting manner. It was specifically introduced as a slave tradition, likely nigh-exclusively oral, practiced in secret either from its inception—if Nika was a figure created by slaves, including the buccaneers—or for a very long time—if it was the cultural or ethnic tradition of the buccaneers, which spread from enslaved buccaneers to non-buccaneer slaves because Nika was a figure that resonated with them. I tend the favor the second option, but either has merit.

As @oriigami said when we were talking about this, Kuma has a church. Kuma has a bible. Kuma worships a god about whom absolutely nothing is written except in the oldest texts.

Additionally, I’ll expand on this more in pt 2 of this series, but the pendant Kuma leaves for Bonney, a large circular sapphire surrounded by eight smaller circular sapphires, matches the circular symbol inset into the crosses of his church. Bonney immediately identifies the pendant as a sun even though it really doesn’t look like one, and it can be surmised therefore that it’s a Nika amulet, and the sun with disconnected rays a Nika symbol. Following this read, and especially because this symbol occurs across the world in other contexts (see pt 2 for my thoughts on that), its presence in the church is a very careful bit of architectural sleight of hand on the part of whichever of Kuma’s ancestors built the place- echoing a very common practice of real-world crypto-religion adherents to mark the true nature of their allegiances and houses of worship in ways only those in the know might recognize.

And on a storytelling level, Kuma’s entire presence in the narrative and in the world has been a tragic saga of appearing to be one way until he’s revealed, again and again, to be the opposite. It makes thematic sense for him to be fooling the world about his faith as well!

[bubblesandgutz]

Every Record I Own - Day 656: Perfume Genius Set My Heart On Fire Immediately

This is an album highlight of 2020. 

Being able to investigate new music in spaces other than my couch is something I’ve missed in 2020. My most profound musical awakenings usually happen somewhere outside of home, where I hear something new in an unexpected context. Maybe it’s hearing a song in a bar, or a bandmate putting something on the van stereo, or maybe it’s even some random song popping up on a playlist while I’m out running errands, but I generally need to hear things in a context other than scoping out a stream on my laptop while I’m in my pajamas to really be blown away. Before I started the Every Record I Own series here on Tumblr, I did a few similarly styled posts under the banner of Time & Place, where I talked about albums that held very specific and intense memories for me. As I’ve mentioned here before, there was a lot of great music in 2020, but it was difficult to forge that memorial bond in a year where every day felt the same. 

I have very intense memories associated with Perfume Genius albums. Put Your Back N 2 It immediately transports me back to the Russian Circles tour van in 2012, where its simple piano-and-voice torch songs were the perfect salve to the nightly barrages of roaring guitars. Too Bright took longer to sink in. I was initially a little disappointed by the fuller arrangements and more elaborate production choices. It didn’t feel like you were peeking in on Michael Hadreas’s private bloodletting ballads... it felt more like a strange pop album. It wasn’t until a year later that the album sunk in. We had flown to Prague to begin a European tour. We’ve done enough international touring that we know the struggle of jet lag all too well, so we now arrive a day early, book everyone their own hotel room, and let folks spend the first day abroad on their own so they can do whatever they need to do to adjust their sleep schedule. I spent the afternoon in my hotel room doing yoga and changing guitar strings while constantly refilling my coffee mug with the hotel’s complimentary tea and listening to Too Bright. And for some reason, being alone and deliriously exhausted in that cramped little Czech hotel room was the perfect setting to properly absorb these strange and intimate pop songs.

2017′s No Shape was also a slow-burner for me. I knew from my experience with Too Bright that it was going to take some time for the songs to sink in. But this time the album’s appeal revealed itself in a more traditional manner: I fell in love with it after seeing Perfume Genius at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. Every time I hear the opening Arvo Pärt-esque piano line of “Otherside” explode into the technicolor synthesizer baths, I can feel the warmth of the stage lights flooding the room and see Hadreas’ body arc and contort into an impossible modern dance shape, as if he was about to be pulled up into heaven by his umbilical cord. 

So when was Set My Heart On Fire Immediately gonna hit me if I wasn’t going to be in a tour van or a European hotel room or a concert hall in Brooklyn? Turns out it grabbed me almost immediately, because the day after it came out in May my husband and I took a drive up to the mountains and played it on the car stereo. Maybe this seems a little anticlimactic, but in 2020, any excursion outside the house felt like an adventure. Additionally, we’d just bought our first vehicle after 18 years of not owning a car, so the fact that we were free to go wherever we wanted was a new experience for us. And we were just getting out of one of the long gloomy stretches of weather typical of the Northwest spring. After being shut away at home for two-and-a-half months, being able to hit the road with no other destination than “the mountains” and feeling the sunshine on our faces for the first time in weeks was extremely liberating. 

And that’s what Perfume Genius sounds like to my ears: liberating. It’s the sound of celebrating the overcoming of hardship. There’s still sadness. There’s still struggle. But there’s this overall sense of beauty in knowing that you survived another day. And that certainly resonated with me. 

[maevelin]

Did you ever post In Blood and Sin?

No. The drive I had stored the outline for that story got damaged and I lost everything I had saved in there and I didn’t have any backup for that story. So I kinda of let it go.

But the premise was more or less this: 

I remember I was planning for Klaus to create a universal triangle of dark magic in order to bring back Kol. The supernatural hot spot would be Prague that has supernatural history and would be one of the places Klaus has lots of power in and would be known as a neutral ground for all the Originals. A blood pact they had made centuries ago to never harm each other in the borders of that town.

Klaus would need some intricate magical objects to create the triangle that would need him to get to the catacombs of Paris, to the pyramids in Egypt and places throughout the world that would be known to be haunted. He had already gotten what he wanted from New Orleans. And he already had the most important thing too. In order to create a universal triangle of dark magi that would be connected to different natural places in the globe, aside from the dark objects he would plant at the three points of the triangle in the center he would need a supernatural battery that would emit the kind of energy he would have to harness in order to keep the triangle working enough for Kol to be resurrected. That would be the spawn’s bones. In my story the demon baby would have been too powerful for Hayley’s body to be able to carry it to term. It basically sucked the life out of Hayley and wasn’t been able to be born because of it and that’s why the witches wanted it and had the whole curse of it being the end of the witches since its power could create the triangle to begin with. That’s why Klaus wanted the baby so much. In order to use it for canon fodder to bring his brother back. (hold on to that thought.)

Caroline and Stefan would tag along in this adventure. Stefan for Caroline and Caroline of course since she was blood bound to Klaus and Elijah and Rebekah would join them in the future. Klaus shows Caroline the world. Literally. Through cities and the supernatural aristocracy and underbelly. He show her all the potential vampires have and she reminds him how it was to be carefree and less gloom and doom. And their connection grows. Even their dreams and memories interact. As does their desire for each other. Also they kind of share blood constantly which fuels their feelings more.

Only is it love or addiction? 

Elijah would help Caroline realize that in order to battle any kind of addiction (as she would be addicted to Klaus’ blood) she would have to find something that she truly wanted more than that. Something stronger that would put the one desire to rest but it would be almost impossible to find something like that and even if she did she’d then be consumed by the other stronger desire which would be just as dangerous if she couldn’t balance it. 

In the end Caroline would grow to realize that her inner desire to embrace the vampire who was and could be was much stronger than her blood addiction to Klaus because it was in the end what fueled the addiction to begin with. She’d have to give in to the vampire in order to retain her humanity and freedom and in doing so she realized that what represented that for her was her desire for Klaus himself. Not only his blood but for what he was for her. For how he awakened her darkest desires, for the world he offered, for everything he helped her learn and overcome in their journeys and in the end she’d be free from the blood addiction and Klaus’ hold only because she’d be the one choosing.

Of course the blood addiction was also a spell Rebekah had created in order to avenge her brother because she knew all along what Klaus and Kol had done to Philip because she had heard them that night in the ship and eventually knew this was why Klaus daggered Kol. In order to not lose her because he was afraid she’d find out the truth. Only she knew and she was biding her time. She waited for her brother to finally one day love in the way she did and then she’d take her vengeance and she found that opportunity when Klaus met Caroline and Rebekah saw herself the lengths he was willing to go for her so she wanted to hurt him where it’d hurt the most. In his Original pride and in his delusions over love. Rebekah’s plans would be revealed through her relationship with Stefan.

There would be a fallout between Klaus and Rebekah and even Elijah. But in order to bring back Kol they’d need to unite because the most powerful witch covens in the world would not allow the triangle to happen due to the natural repercussions.

The Originals manage to create the triangle with Bonnie’s help that was willing to do so in order to help Caroline. She’d have followed Caroline to save her from Klaus originally and help her break the blood bound spell even though Caroline managed to do that herself.

The triangle works but the resurrection is not one. Every edge of the triangle brings back an Original. Klaus knew that so he manipulated the two points of the triangle. One brought back Kol. One brought back Henrik. The other? Klaus knew he’d bring back two more so he used Finn’s ashes to bring him back. He was willing to do that in order to bring back all his brothers.

By the time the story ends Klaus and his siblings venture to find their brothers. The triangle worked but because witches intervened those that came back to life are somewhere around the globe and not at the designated points of the triangle that backfired and brought down parts of borders that connect the world of the living with the world of the dead. Basically the magic from the dead bones of the baby detonated and took with it the witches that tried to oppose the triangle and that magic became poison infecting and instantly killing their bloodlines throughout the world. Just as the vampires from Kol’s and Finn’s bloodlines had dropped dead now witches all around the world got infected and died spreading a virus that has the potential to wipe out the whole supernatural world thus bringing the prophecy for that spawn to life (something of that sort anyway because I had seen that from blogs here in tumblr since I wasn’t watching the Originals).

So it basically apocalypse now and because the borders of life and death cracked Mikael and Esther managed to get through too.

So all the Originals are back. 

It is war.

Caroline decides to follow Klaus. He doubts her intentions at first believing they are remnants of Rebekah’s spell and her blood addiction but Caroline makes him see this is her choice. Stefan goes with Rebekah and Elijah leaves with Bonnie that through it all has created a supernatural link with those she resurrected from the triangle and has visions of what they see and where they are and somehow it is Kol she is more connected too. Probably because Kol sneaky as he always was managed to use the whole mess in his advantage not only to come back from the dead but also to manipulate the dark magic Bonnie used to his favor and resurrect his powers through her, despite him being an Original Vampire.

The world is a far more dangerous place than every before and the dead are alive. 

And that would be an open ending unless I would decide to write a third part LOL

[keshetchai]

This is a little inaccurate. I understand where the impulse to believe this is purely "outside" the Jewish folkloric tradition of golems comes from. But golems DO go haywire in Jewish folklore. (This is actually important because golems are imperfect creations which cannot match the creations of G-d. Also notably when it does go haywire during normal, non-protective tasks, it's because it is working on Shabbat...)

From The Jewish Story Finder: A Guide to 668 Tales Listing Subjects and Sources, 2nd edition. Sharon Barcan Elswit — entries 353 & 354:

353. The Last Tear

Nadia Grosser Nagarajan, Jewish Tales from Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe.

The Golem obediently assists the rabbi in his work, but sometimes now he becomes moody. Rabbi Loew often erases the last letter from his forehead so the Golem can rest and find peace over the Sabbath. When the rabbi's wife, Pearl, uses the Golem to help with shopping or household tasks, it sometimes backfires. Once the Golem keeps fetching buckets of water until the house floods. He does not stop until Rabbi Loew arrives. Pearl no longer asks the Golem to help with menial tasks, but the shammes's wife often bribes him with delicious foods, which the Golem develops an appetite for. He also falls in love with her beautiful daughter, Sarah, and follows her longingly with his eyes.

One Sabbath when Rabbi Loew has forgotten to remove the letter, the Golem becomes very edgy and starts breaking everything in his path. Sarah runs into the kitchen, horrified at the destruction. The Golem scoops her up and gives her a crushing hug. Her mother runs for Rabbi Loew. When he hears the rabbi's angry voice, the Golem obeys and puts Sarah down.

Rabbi Loew leads the Golem to the attic of the synagogue, where he orders him to lie down. The Golem quivers as if he knows what is coming. The rabbi tells him that his work there is complete. The Golem looks at him beseechingly, with sadness in his eyes. His expression is so human that the rabbi wavers for a moment, but then he erases the letter from the Golem's forehead. As the Golem's body turns back into dirt, one last tear rolls from his eye. Rabbi Loew is filled with sadness and the wonder of God.

You might recognize elements of this variant — from Fantasia:

There are twelve different citations for "how else the story is told," and then:

In the stories below, the Golem needs to be destroyed when the creation meant to protect the Jews runs amok.

354. The Golem

L Peretz. In Irving Howe and Eliezer Greenberg, A Treasury of Yiddish Stories.

Eastern Europe.

When the Jewish ghetto of Prague is under attack, Rabbi Loeb creates a figure made out of clay. He breathes into its nose and whispers into its ear. The clay awakens. It rampages through the city, killing the enemies of the Jews, until the head of the ghetto begs the rabbi to make it stop. Rabbi Loeb whispers the Holy Name into the golem's ear again and the golem becomes clay once again. The golem remains hidden in the attic of the rabbi's synagogue in Prague. No one remembers now how to awaken it.

353 is the variant where the golem just goes haywire and has to be put to rest. 354 is the one where it rampages protecting the community. Both exist in the Jewish folkloric tradition.

Edit to add: pathfinder 2e is an EXCELLENT game by the way!!! It's FULLY FREE online (all rules ever!) and basically has everything you could want in a heroic fantasy ttrpg. If anyone is interested in the game I am HAPPY to gush on and on about it forever and ever, introduce people to it, etc.

Paizo had also renamed "phylacteries" already due to (frankly way more problematic) fact that it's literally just a term for tefillin, which was...not a great term for "thing that houses the soul of an evil undead magic user".

Actually their logo is (was?? Wow I kinda hope they didn't change it) a Golem, which I actually loved bc the boxes would say "the golem's got it!"

Second edit: I highly recommend the above cited book for anyone into Jewish folktales! I bought the Kindle edition bc the paperback is expensive but it's fantastic!

Hope you're doing alright. Recently in Pathfinder, the term "golem" has been removed in reference to certain monsters and replaced with other terms like Effigy in order to avoid cultural appropriation. I was curious about the original source material and in my search found that the Golem of Prague can be allegorical for a bunch of things, notably the hazards of aggressive resistance to bigotry. I found it enlightening and tragic, given the current bloodthirst on display so often.

I am gripping my sanity with both hands like the reins of a half-trained mule, thanks for asking! /hj

As for the golem, the Jewish Virtual Library says:

Often in Ashkenazi Hasidic lore, the golem would come to life and serve his creators by doing tasks assigned to him. The most well-known story of the golem is connected to Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the Maharal of Prague (1513-1609). It was said that he created a golem out of clay to protect the Jewish community from Blood Libel and to help out doing physical labor, since golems are extraordinarily strong. Another version says it was close to Easter, in the spring of 1580 and a Jew-hating priest was trying to incite the Christians against the Jews. So, the golem protected the community during the Easter season. Both versions recall the golem running amok and threatening innocent lives, so Rabbi Loew removed the Divine Name, rendering the golem lifeless. A separate account has the golem going mad and running away.

Indeed, an interesting lens through which to view current events — and equally so, that the exact message varies greatly based on whose story you tell. 🙂

[positivelyamazonian]

A brief summary of my fics

So, yesterday @angel-in-shadow asked where I post my fics and if they could be found here in Tumblr. Admittely I’ve posted many times about this and even answered many asks about the chronological order in which the fics must be read - which is important as they are all a continuum - but to be honest, Tumblr search engine is so bad I can’t find those posts anymore.

That’s why I feel obliged to make that post again. Sorry for those who are a bit fed up with self promotion - I know you exist! But duty obliges.

My fics, which are all TRAOD sequels and all Lartis (LaraxKurtis) OTP centered, can be found in the next websites: Fanfiction dot net, DeviantArt, Wattpad, AO3 and Inkitt. Every website has its pros and its inconvenients, it’s just a matter of choosing which one is more comfortable for you to read. 

Just to name some, DeviantArt, Wattpad and AO3 have the pro of being illustrated by the wonderful artists @hydraballista and @adayka who, among others, had the courtesy and the kindness to draw for my fics during these years. That makes the reading, maybe, more entertaining that if you chose FF dot net or Inkitt, where illustrations are not allowed. Plus, you can find Spanish versions of the fics both in FF dot net and Wattpad. I erased these versions from the others because it was too exhausting to update them for the 0 feedback they were getting.

Finally, only two of the fics are in Inkitt, while all of them are available in the rest of the websites. It’s up to you, really. Also, I post always my regular updates and the fanart drew for them in this Tumblr account, but as I said it’s kinda tricky to find them by the search engine.

Now, for the fics themselves. I’ve written a lot, but they are pretty different between them, though they constitute a continuity, as I said. So they are best read if read in this precise order:

The Louvre Affair. Oneshot. Very basic, the first one I wrote 10 years ago. Lara and Kurtis’ encounter at the Louvre as seen in TRAOD. Part of a TRAOD “novelization” I never got to complete. All audiences.

Edit banner for The Good in Him by @anentireamazon

The Good In Him. Oneshot. Set after the events in Egypt (TR4) and before TRAOD. Lara returns to Croft Manor and gets a desperate call by her mentor, Werner Von Croy. But is it worth to attend his demand of help? All audiences.

Edit banner of The Golden Seal by @anyathebloodshell

The Golden Seal. My first TRAOD sequel. 29 chapters. Set after the events of TRAOD, Lara searches for Kurtis after being missing in Prague. And the events that follow. Written 10 years ago for the Spanish community of TRAOD fans. All audiences.

Edit banner of Lilith’s Scepter by @anyathebloodshell

Lilith’s Scepter: A sequel to The Golden Seal. 53 chapters. Lara and Kurtis are reunited two years after the events of the previous sequel. This time, the challenges and ordeals to face will be more terrible and serious. +18. Mature content. Sex and violence.

Daughter. Oneshot. Set after the events of Lilith’s Scepter. Lara faces her own personal challenges in an unexpected family experience and reflects about the bond between her and her deceased mentor, Werner Von Croy. All audiences.

Edit quote for A Stack of Photos made by @anentireamazon

A Stack of Photos. Oneshot. Lara faces a terrible threat from a Chinese mafia boss and does what she knows best, with the cooperation of Kurtis. +18. Mature content. Violence.

The Awakening. Short fanfic. 6 chapters. Lara gets lost and trapped at Sri Lanka amidst a civil war. Now, she has only one person to rely on so that she can escape that hell. +18. Mature content. Extreme and graphic violence.

Mr. Vance Renner. NSFW oneshot. Written as a birthday gift for @kim-v-croft Lara and a mysterious gentleman enjoy a very special and intimate evening in Dubai. But not even there can she avoid some trouble. +18. Mature content. Graphic description of erotic and sex scenes.

The Legacy. IN PROGRESS. 16 chapters (for the moment). After the traumatic experience in Sri Lanka narrated in The Awakening, Lara and Kurtis’ love and loyalty will be put at stake. Only their common bond and new challenges to face personally will remind them what’s really important. +18. Mature content. Violence and sex.

That’s it, for the moment. Soon I’ll update again The Legacy, in which I am working after being inactive for almost a year due to my obligations of job and private life. I hope I can complete this fic soon, anyway.

Thank you so much @angel-in-shadow for your interest and I sincerely hope there’s not too much for you to read and you can enjoy them. I have also to say that the first ones are admittedly weaker than the latter ones since, as happens with everyone, I’ve improved during all these years, or so I think.

Feel free to reblog and review, of course! Any polite and constructive feedback will be appreciated.

[yourdailykitsch]

Taylor Kitsch, Michael C. Hall, Logan Marshall-Green to shoot ‘Shadowplay’ in Prague

In the footsteps of Whiskey Cavalier and Carnival Row, another major international TV production will begin shooting in Prague and throughout the Czech Republic later this month.

Shadowplay is a Berlin-set post-WWII drama from Swedish filmmakers Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, creators of the acclaimed Scandinavian series The Bridge, which has been seen in 100 countries around the world.

In the English-language, Berlin-set Shadowplay, Taylor Kitsch (Waco, True Detective, Friday Night Lights), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), and Logan Marshall-Green (Upgrade) will star with Prague filling in for the German capital circa 1946.

Kitsch stars as Max McLaughlin, a Brooklyn cop who travels to Berlin to help set up a police force in the immediate aftermath of WWII. German actor Sebastian Koch (Never Look Away, The Lives of Others; Homeland) will play his main rival, “Englemacher” Gladow, a criminal underworld boss who has taken control of the city following the war.

But Max also undertakes a secret mission to find his brother Mortiz, played by Marshall-Green, an American soldier missing in action who has been secretly tracking and killing Nazis in post-WWII Berlin.

Michael C. Hall plays a character named Tom Franklin, though no further details were given about his role. Shadowplay will also star Nina Hoss (Phoenix, A Most Wanted Man) and Tuppence Middleton (Sense8, The Imitation Game) in featured parts.

Shadowplay’s initial 8-episode shoot will get underway in Prague from April 29, with an additional 8 episodes to be filmed in the Czech capital in 2020.

In Prague, filming for Shadowplay is expected to take place in studio and other locations in and around the Czech capital.

Location shooting is also scheduled to take place in other cities around the Czech Republic, including Karlovy Vary and Cheb.

“For me as a writer, Berlin in 1946, a lawless city with no order, is the ultimate arena to tell a story of strong but broken people trying to mend,” said Mårlind, who will direct all eight episodes of the upcoming shoot in Prague from a script co-written with longtime collaborator Stein.  

“To seek peace where there is still war. To find trust where there is no loyalty. To find love, because that is all.”

Mårlind and Stein’s highly-acclaimed series The Bridge, which has found fans not just in Scandinavia but across the world, wrapped its fourth and final season last year. The duo also co-created the Swedish-French drama Midnight Sun, and directed 2012’s horror sequel Underworld Awakening; coincidentally, the subsequent film in that series, 2016’s Underworld: Blood Wars, was also shot in Prague.

Produced by Studiocanal, Shadowplay is part of a lineup big-budget European TV series on their upcoming slate that also includes a new adaptation of War of the Worlds starring Rafe Spall, ZeroZeroZero, an Italian drug smuggling drama with Andrea Riseborough, Dane Dehaan, Gabriel Byrne, and the BBC political drama Years and Years, starring Emma Thompson.

[richincolor]

New Releases

2018 was such a great year for diverse books and 2019 looks to be even better, especially since we're starting off the year with a number of highly anticipated novels. 

Week of January 8th

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi

Balzer + Bray

Black Enough is a star-studded anthology edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi that will delve into the closeted thoughts, hidden experiences, and daily struggles of black teens across the country. From a spectrum of backgrounds—urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—Black Enough showcases diversity within diversity.

Whether it’s New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds writing about #blackboyjoy or Newbery Honor-winning author Renee Watson talking about black girls at camp in Portland, or emerging author Jay Coles’s story about two cowboys kissing in the south—Black Enough is an essential collection full of captivating coming-of-age stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America. — Summary and cover image via Goodreads

The Girl King (The Girl King #1) by Mimi Yu Bloomsbury YA

Sisters Lu and Min have always known their places as the princesses of the Empire of the First Flame: the eldest, assertive Lu, will be named her father’s heir and become the dynasty’s first female ruler, while timid Min will lead a quiet life in Lu’s shadow. Then their father names their male cousin Set the heir instead, throwing both girls’ lives into chaos.

Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu is forced to flee, leaving Min to face the volatile court alone. Lu crosses paths with Nokhai, the lone, unlikely survivor of the decimated Ashina, nomadic wolf shapeshifters. Nok never learned to shift–and he has no trust for the Empire that killed his family–but working with the princess might be the key to unlocking his true power.

As Lu and Nok form a tenuous alliance, Min’s own hidden power awakens–a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set’s reign . . . or allow her to claim the throne herself. But there can only be one Emperor, and the sisters’ greatest enemy could very well turn out to be each other.

Told in three distinct points-of-view, this first book in a sweeping fantasy series weaves a story of ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden Bloomsbury YA

As a young black woman in 1880s Savannah, Essie’s dreams are very much at odds with her reality. Ashamed of her beginnings, but unwilling to accept the path currently available to her, Essie is trapped between the life she has and the life she wants.

Until she meets a lady named Dorcas Vashon, the richest and most cultured black woman she’s ever encountered. When Dorcas makes Essie an offer she can’t refuse, she becomes Victoria. Transformed by a fine wardrobe, a classic education, and the rules of etiquette, Victoria is soon welcomed in the upper echelons of black society in Washington, D. C. But when the life she desires is finally within her grasp, Victoria must decide how much of herself she is truly willing to surrender. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Week of January 14th

96 Words of Love by Rachel Roy & Ava Dash jimmy patterson

Ever since her acceptance to UCLA, 17-year-old Raya Liston has been quietly freaking out. She feels simultaneously lost and trapped by a future already mapped out for her.

Then her beloved grandmother dies, and Raya jumps at the chance to spend her last free summer at the ashram in India where her grandmother met and fell in love with her grandfather. Raya hopes to find her center and her true path. But she didn’t expect to fall in love… with a country of beautiful contradictions, her fiercely loyal cousin, a local girl with a passion for reading, and a boy who teaches her that in Sanskrit, there are 96 different ways to say the word “love.”

A modern retelling of the classic Indian legend of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi Wednesday Books

Paris, 1889: The world is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. In this city, no one keeps tabs on secrets better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. But when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To find the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin will need help from a band of experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian who can’t yet go home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in all but blood, who might care too much.

Together, they’ll have to use their wits and knowledge to hunt the artifact through the dark and glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the world, but only if they can stay alive. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday by Natalie C. Anderson G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

When Abdi’s family is kidnapped, he’s forced to do the unthinkable: become a child soldier with the ruthless jihadi group Al Shabaab. In order to save the lives of those he loves, and earn their freedom, Abdi agrees to be embedded as a spy within the militia’s ranks and to send dispatches on their plans to the Americans. The jihadists trust Abdi immediately because his older brother, Dahir, is already one of them, protégé to General Idris, aka the Butcher. If Abdi’s duplicity is discovered, he will be killed.

For weeks, Abdi trains with them, witnessing atrocity after atrocity, becoming a monster himself, wondering if he’s even pretending anymore. He only escapes after he is forced into a suicide bomber’s vest, which still leaves him stumps where two of his fingers used to be and his brother near death. Eventually, he finds himself on the streets of Sangui City, Kenya, stealing what he can find to get by, sleeping nights in empty alleyways, wondering what’s become of the family that was stolen from him. But everything changes when Abdi’s picked up for a petty theft, which sets into motion a chain reaction that forces him to reckon with a past he’s been trying to forget.

In this riveting, unflinching tale of sacrifice and hope, critically-acclaimed author Natalie C. Anderson delivers another tour-de-force that will leave readers at the edge of their seats. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Firestarter by Tara Sim Sky Pony Press

The crew of the Prometheus is intent on taking down the world’s clock towers so that time can run freely. Now captives, Colton, Daphne, and the others have a stark choice: join the Prometheus’s cause, or fight back in any small way they can and face the consequences. But Zavier, leader of the terrorists, has a bigger plan—to bring back the lost god of time.

As new threats emerge, loyalties must shift. No matter where the Prometheus goes—Prague, Austria, India—nowhere is safe, and every second ticks closer toward the eleventh hour. Walking the line between villainy and heroism, each will have to choose what’s most important: saving those you love at the expense of the many, or making impossible sacrifices for the sake of a better world.

[comicteaparty]

September 18th-September 24th, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from September 18th, 2019 to September 24th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What webcomic(s) have you created fanart/fanfiction for?  What inspired you to make it?

seetherabbit

During last years inktober, I had a theme which was "quick fanarts" where every piece was a maximum 30 min drawing of a fanart. Did lots of fanart of webcomics, including 32'Kickup, Maiz, Jasper Gold. Just to name a few. I'm thinking of doing it again this year, since it was a lot of fun.

The Q

What a great idea! I definitely want to make more fanart of webcomics and niche podcasts!

spacerocketbunny

Oh gosh I try to do fanart every once in a while and I've accumulated a lot!

Job Satisfaction https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/187511608156 Superpose https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/187365212571 O Sarilho https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/185824775876/spacerocketbunny-summer-witch-vibes Tiger Tiger https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/183426693926/spacerocketbunny-felt-like-drawing-some Never Satisfied https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/179577275446/spacerocketbunny-i-got-the-chance-to-do-guest Shaderunners https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/175472239131/spacerocketbunny-happy-third-anniversary TINF https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/127396963621/spacerocketbunny-j-ust-kiss-alre-adyyyyy-its Parallax/ Devil's Candy https://spacerocketbunnyart.tumblr.com/post/116639381141/spacerocketbunny-felt-like-drawing-some(edited)

And more for Devil's Candy, Awaken, Prague Race etc!

spacerocketbunny

I'm always want to show love and support for the comics I read so there's always something I can draw from!

AntiBunny

Now this is a topic I can sink my teeth into.

For Sluggy Freelance http://sluggy.com/ of course. This art's a bit old (I should make some new stuff) https://www.deviantart.com/fragraham/art/Bunbun-114266731

Gunnerkrigg Court http://gunnerkrigg.com/ https://www.deviantart.com/fragraham/art/Antimony-679410561

seetherabbit

https://www.instagram.com/p/BoeRdLzh4rn/ Jack Legend

AntiBunny

I've done several pieces for Da Pukas http://dapukas.com/ but this one is my personal favorite https://www.deviantart.com/fragraham/art/Let-s-Draw-Malo-734648837

seetherabbit

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1d6GEBUV5/ Maiz

https://www.instagram.com/p/BowTc50hLt0/ Paranatural

AntiBunny

For Latchkey Kingdom http://latchkeykingdom.smackjeeves.com/ I did this one a while back https://www.deviantart.com/fragraham/art/Willa-Dragonfly-623180930

seetherabbit

I've done three fanarts for 32'Kickup https://www.instagram.com/p/BooK-zrBswz/

http://www.32kickup.com/ http://jack-legend.com/ http://maizcomic.com/ http://www.paranatural.net/(edited)

AntiBunny

And this one for Slightly Damned http://sdamned.com/ https://www.deviantart.com/fragraham/art/Buwaro-620491813 I especially like this one because I did it while streaming with the author. Very fun to draw alongside other creators. At least before picarto stopped even working for those of us stuck with DSL in the boonies.

And one for Two Kinds http://twokinds.keenspot.com/ https://www.deviantart.com/fragraham/art/Inktober-2016-Day-29-Two-Kinds-Keith-643156576

Anyway, I'll stop there, because if I included all the art I've done for various comics over the years, some of which sadly aren't around anymore I'd be flooding this chat all day.

DaeofthePast

I’ve done fanart for my friends’ comics. The main thing that inspired me to draw for them was that I wanted to see how their characters would look in my style, and I also just like making fanart for people X3 https://twitter.com/daeofthepast/status/992160815653507072?s=21 https://twitter.com/daeofthepast/status/985002172189310976?s=21

Erin/Leif & Thorn on Kickstarter

...I keep all mine in a Twitter thread, should probably just link the whole shebang: https://twitter.com/ErinPtah/status/1031561632357527552

Deo101 (Millennium)

I've made fanart for Super Galaxy knights http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/

And I did that because as soon as we met this character I just decided i loved his whole shebang. the look, the drama, the extreme confidence. love that

I've also made fanart for Court of Roses https://courtofroses.spiderforest.com/

cause similarly to the other one I just really like this guy. I don't make much fanart

The Q

Ummm love that Sven!

Nutty (Court of Roses)

IT'S SUCH A GOID SVEN UGH <3

HiddenElephant

I only ever drew fan-art the once, and it was for Zebra Girl, which wrapped up about a year ago I want to say, maybe more. I don't generally do fanart, and this was a good example why, because some design elements and anatomical features gave me a lot of trouble.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I'm on my phone but i know I've done fanart for @Deo101 (Millennium) 's Millennium

khkddn

ive made a buncha fan art over the years uhhhhhh can't remember every comic. the comic ive made the most fan art for is prolly Super Duper Galaxy Knights Deluxe Extreme Mega Ultra R (http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/), for some reason that one's easy to think of stuff to draw for

Deo101 (Millennium)

Its cause of the its really good

khkddn

one of the latest fan arts ive done is for queens (http://queens.thecomicseries.com/) of Amelia, because i love her shirt

One fan art that I'm still quite happy with is this Sunstrike and Bluemist (http://sunstrikeandbluemist.thecomicseries.com/) art that I made for the fanwork initiative. I like how cute both of them turned out

jestershark

I have a whole webcomic fanart moment on my twitter-- I've been trying to do more fanart of indie stuff recently. http://www.ushalacomic.com/ https://bvbcomix.com/ https://sarilho.net/en/ http://www.peritale.com/ https://twitter.com/i/moments/1014897456566415360

Nutty (Court of Roses)

ok i'm home here's the art I did for @Deo101 (Millennium) 's Millennium https://millennium.spiderforest.com/

OH AND ALSO cuddles

JUNK

Here's some weird fanart i did for A Ghost Story https://www.aghoststorycomic.com/

snuffysam

I unfortunately don't get to do as much fanart as I'd like. Drawing is difficult for me, and it's a lot of front-end time to 3D model a character who I'm not going to render that often. So... pretty much all the fanart I do is part of the #fanwork_initiative lol. What I essentially do for that is write down all the comics I'm interested in doing fanart for, and pick one that I think I could do something interesting with relating to the theme.

[dustyrecs]

(Here is a list by the amazing @harlanhardway, who will be a guest on this blog as often as I can wheedle a list out of her. The woman has incredible taste, lemme tell ya all. -DustyRecs)

downbeat

By: @acroamatica

E, No Archive Warnings Apply, 17k (+29k sequel), 1/1 chapters (2 part series)

Summary: Maestro Hux is at the helm of the Erste Orden Sinfonie for their big gala concert, a programme of the most stunning piano concertos ever written. With his continued employment and the future of the whole orchestra on the line, the last thing he needs is the incredibly arrogant (but wildly talented) piano soloist Kylo Ren.

Why this work is exceptional: The use of music is stunning.  The character development and portrayal of the day to day workings of a professional symphony is spectacular.  The way Hux and Kylo fight like crazy, and then somehow manage to come around to each other and bond over music is so excellently done.  Come for the kylux, stay for the music.  Part 2 is equally good, but Part 1 can be read as a stand-alone.

Bohemian Rhapsody

By: for_autumn_i_am, @longstoryshortikilledhim

E, No Archive Warnings Apply, 18k, 1/1 Chapters

Summary: Kylo is a street musician in Prague. Hux is touring with the prestigious First Order Orchestra. They collide. Hard.

Why this work is exceptional: The way the music is described as well as the experience of playing it is a really significant and integral part of this fic.  Hux and Kylo connect through the music first and then their backstories and relationship sort of develops from there.  The setting is also really well fleshed out, fully realized but also very dream-like and atmospheric at times.

from the landscape: a sense of scale 

By: @brawlite

M, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, 18k, 1/1 chapters

Summary: “It’s better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all,” Ren sneaks up behind him in the courtyard, his deep voice suddenly echoing in Hux’s ear.

Hux grimaces, clenching his teeth together in an effort to keep from lashing out with his fists. “You butchered that.” He wouldn’t stand a chance against Ren. One day, that’s not going to stop him.

Why this work is exceptional: This fic is incredibly atmospheric.  It's very well written, the use of music and poetry is spectacular, as is the use of time-jumps.  It has a happy ending, but the whole tone is very melancholic.

White Christmas

By: ZaeraDee, @zaera-d

G, No Archive Warnings Apply, 16k, 1/1 chapters

Summary: An AU based on the Force Awakens characters and the general plot of White Christmas.

After WWII Poe and Finn Dameron take to the stage as a power house entertainment duo. Every Christmas Eve they can't help but think of General Hux, the commander of their former division, legendary singer, and the man who saved their lives. They don't know what's become of Hux, but want to pay him back if they ever find him.

Rey and Ben Solo are an up and coming act on the showbiz scene, but Ben's time serving overseas is catching up to him. In a last ditch effort to secure Rey's future, he turns to the Dameron's and an old army connection.

Why is this work exceptional: This does exactly what it says on the tin.  It is unrepentant feel-good fluff that follows the basic premise and plot of White Christmas.  It’s definitely soft-kylux and incredibly heartwarming.

Lux Aeternae

By: HandsAcrossTheSea  (no Tumblr found, link is to ao3)

E, No Archive Warnings Apply, 10k, 1/1 chapters

Summary: Hux loves two things - his bass and his husband.

One of them, however, is a lot more fun to play.

Why this work is exceptional: Hux and Ren are married and both play standup bass in a classic orchestra.  It's a fun little window into their lives, the details about their routine as professional musicians is really well done and their back-and-forth is equal parts funny, witty, and also kind of sweet.  It’s also really unapologetically smutty, bordering on PWP territory, so definitely check this one out if that’s what you’re in the mood for.

AMAVI

By: Sili, @silivrenelya [band: Lussy, @foxylussy]

SFW, 3min 26sec, music video, French with English/Japanese subtitles

Summary: The First Official Kylux Song.

Why this work is exceptional: It’s quite a good song and it’s not everyday that a band writes a song dedicated to your ship.  Kylux is not mentioned by name in the song, but I linked to the Tumblr post where the singer/songwriter explains their motivations in writing it and dedicates the song to the kylux fandom.  I definitely thought it was pretty cool and the song is well worth a listen.

[alchemyastrology]

AlchemyAstrology: 27-28 November 2018 - sidereal

Tuesday-Wednesday, 12:00 PM ACTIVE, ACTIVE - Moon in Cancer, laboratory process of Dissolution - emotionally tenacious.

Dissolution, is the dissolving or transforming of a substance into a liquid. Fire 1 • Air 2 • Water 4 • Earth 0

Possible Scenarios - based on what’s in-the-air, intuitively applying the Aspects influences:

A good time to: examine what you love to do; and decide, or remind yourself, where your priorities lie.

Challenges: mistaking an abundance of energy for anxiety; difficulty changing the subject in your mind.

Balance: do something that helps you feel anchored; maybe eat denser food, avoid the sugars for now.

Keywords - to contemplate and get a feel for: Probing … … … ... ... ... .. Sun in Scorpio – persistent, solidifying Tenacious (emotion) ... .. Moon in Cancer – changes, tenacious Incisive … … … … … ... . Mercury in Scorpio – mental, solidifying Compatible… … … … …  Venus in Libra – pleasant, unifying Electric … … … … ... ... .. Mars in Aquarius – impulsive, concentrative Persevering… … … … … Jupiter in Scorpio – fortunate, solidifying Dignified… … … … … …  Saturn in Sagittarius – disruptive, inspirational

Please share. TY

Alchemist's LabCount calendar for 2019 (pdf)

3 versions calculated for: U.S. at 10:00 AM Prague at 5:00 PM Melbourne at 2:00 AM

Plan below for the best influences from above. Best active dates for starting a preparation, a ritual, or ceremony.

Includes the Moon phases, the Elementals, apogees/perigees,   equinox/solstices, and earth based festivals.

More info: http://www.risingstarmusic.com/alchemyastrology/buylabcount.html

AlchemyAstrology.com - website: http://www.alchemyastrology.com

Awakening To Enlightenment - website: http://www.awakeningtoenlightenment.com

[liminalnafaza]

idk why im in the tram imagining u licking my fingwr and almost getting sad about it. ik none of that was meant to be real and long lasting and i wouldnt even want it but its such a strange happwning in my life. and now ur going to prague and god knows where but honestly i also dont know where ill be. thats so scary. we will justt....like all the other people until the age of 19.....kind of go away physically from one another.

but its ok im used to it im prepared for it

ill miss billy.i just cant admit it to myself i have to protect myself from being apart from him but i really will miss him and miss part of myself that awakens when im with him. i love him in a special way

[sleemo]

Daisy Ridley on finding fame, Star Wars and her love for washing powder

Stylist discovers how Daisy Ridley, London-born star of the biggest movie franchise in the world, became a force to be reckoned with — Stylist Magazine

Daisy Ridley is talking about her favourite washing powder.

“It has got to be Fairy Non-Bio, for sensitive skin. A little touch of fabric conditioner,” she tells me, happily. “God, I love washing my clothes.” Not the conversation I imagined as I flew to LA to hang out with the protagonist of the biggest movie franchise in the galaxy ahead of the anticipated arrival of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But I’m happy to be immersed in it. The conversation sums up the actress: a normal 25-year-old woman thrust into an extraordinary world. A woman who’s a bit jittery from drinking strong coffee, she confesses.

The Last Jedi is steeped in secrecy. All Ridley can do is reassure me that “the question everyone is asking will be answered” (she is referring to the parentage of Rey, her Star Wars character). But what we do know is this: Ridley will be front and centre again.

The Force Awakens (2015) saw Rey, an orphan and scavenger on a desert planet, discover the Force and fight the First Order. The Last Jedi sees the young warrior develop her Jedi powers, with guidance from Luke Skywalker, and continue to seek her place in the world.

Rey was – is – important because she is not defined by the men around her. She is a talented pilot and combatant. She has been granted proper protagonist status; not just a cipher for plot development. Her costume is one she can move in. She is a survivor. There was an outcry – and a hashtag, #wheresrey – last year over the lack of female characters in the just-released Star Wars merchandise, which has since been addressed – but it is a sign that progress can be slow. Coincidentally, it’s the first time Ridley has seen the Rey mug we took to LA for our shoot.

In Princess Leia, played so powerfully by Carrie Fisher, Ridley had the ultimate beacon of how to be a woman in this world and the importance of inspiring a new generation. Fisher filmed The Last Jedi before her untimely passing in December 2016. Ridley says she offered her advice on dating (“You don’t want to give people the ability to say, ‘I had sex with Princess Leia’”) and fame, telling her to enjoy rather than shrink from success.

Whether Ridley has been able to take the latter on board… well, I can’t call it. “I found the hardest thing was everyone saying, ‘Your life’s going to change’,” says the actress, who grew up in London with two sisters and is still based in the capital. “So many people were telling me this thing was going to happen, then the thing happened and that didn’t happen. I go on the Tube, I’m not harassed all the time. People are super-cool.” But equally as we talk it becomes clear Ridley is in awe of the magnitude of the franchise, and is open about her fear of measuring up to the legacy.

Hardly surprising when you consider that The Force Awakens, the third-highest-grossing film of all time (after Avatar and Titanic), was Ridley’s second film role – the first was a student film – and before that she held bit parts in British TV dramas. This year also saw her join the all-star cast of Murder On The Orient Express, and next year will be equally dramatic with Ophelia – a retelling of Hamlet from the perspective of Polonius’s daughter. There’s more Star Wars to come, and Chaos Walking, a book adaptation about a dystopian world without women. Exciting, but perhaps not as much as putting a wash on.

What are the techniques you use when you feel like that?

I usually tell myself that I need to go through the thing. Don’t shy away from it. Definitely talk about it. Also just sleep. If something is overwhelming, I nap. If I have an emotional day, I’ll fall asleep when I get home. That’s how I process things. I can go to my trailer and fall asleep for five minutes, then get up again. It’s a good skill to have. I’d put it on my CV.

What other skills would you put on your CV? And when was the last time you had to write one?

Two and a half, three years ago… I’m an all right communicator. Pretty organised. Good phone manner. Can prioritise. Good at admin.

You’re hired. You quit Instagram last year. Has that freed up mental space?

It has made me feel like I wasn’t indebted to anyone. Suddenly I felt, ‘Oh, that must have been quite stressful, because now it is not that stressful any more being off it.’ I had a private one that I came off too, and that was much more freeing. People were saying, “But I like seeing what you’re doing.” I’d say, “Well, we can message or call each other.”

You talked openly about suffering from endometriosis on Instagram – was that a good platform to share that issue?

Periods are still not fully talked about; I thought it wasn’t a big deal. I know a lot of people who have really, really bad periods. I don’t understand why you aren’t referred to someone; you shouldn’t be doubled over in pain all the time. It felt nice to say. But ultimately, people [on social media] weren’t very nice and I thought, ‘I can’t be bothered.’

Why do we still have a taboo around periods?

I don’t know! You can have 300 people die in a film with blood everywhere, yet you can’t have period blood. It would be a 15 or an 18 [-rated film]. It’s stupid.

You have spent huge swathes of the year travelling and filming. What do you like to get up to when you’re in London?

I do my washing and sit on my sofa watching Netflix.

People may be surprised to know the protagonist of Star Wars does her own washing…

[Looks shocked] I don’t know anyone who doesn’t do their own washing. Washing is one of my favourite things. I’m a 30-degreeer. I literally wear clothes once and then they go in the wash. I think, ‘If I’m going to wash clothes this much, at least I will do it at just 30 degrees.’

To what extent do you try to live in an environmentally conscious way?

I hate how much plastic there is in America – and actually also in Prague, where I was just filming for two months. I watched an advert for [documentary] A Plastic Ocean and I thought, ‘S**t, this is gross.’ I try to use lower temperatures, I don’t use a dishwasher and I drive an electric car. I’ve always been fairly conscious. We’ve recycled since I can remember.

Are you vegetarian?

I don’t eat dairy, meat or eggs, but this only happened a few months ago as I watched Carnage, Simon Amstell’s film [a mockumentary on veganism]. And I was horrified. Initially I cut out everything and then thought, ‘I cannot survive without something’, so I eat fish. I was genuinely ignorant as to what went on. I didn’t know how dairy farming was done or what they did to male chicks, and I was so horrified by what I saw. Then I listened to his [Simon Amstell’s] podcast with Russell Brand, on which he said one of his friends was like, “Ugh, what is cashew cheese?” and he said, “Well, what is cheese cheese? What are you putting in your body?”

You’re studying for a degree in social sciences. What was the motivation? As a back-up in case this didn’t happen, or to expand your mind?

Not as a back-up. There’s something, mentally speaking, about having a back-up that’s not good. It’s to expand my mind, and I always wanted to have a BA. It’s an Open University course. One of the most interesting things I’ve learned is about social displacement. It usually happens when people don’t have much money and they’re treated very disposably. It feels like we’re going backwards. It doesn’t feel like all for one and one for all at the moment. The people who have more are able to get more. And then there are still people who are dying because they can’t afford to eat or have heating in England, which is horrific.

Did you grow up in a world where there was a great awareness of social injustices?

My mum and dad are super-smart, and so I was always aware of what was going on. My group of friends are all going through it together and everyone is becoming more interested, because it seems like everything is slightly more accessible. With Jeremy Corbyn, people are like, “Oh my god [a different type of politician]!” And regardless of whether people think he’s right or wrong, it’s amazing to see grime artists saying they support this guy. And to feel young people are engaged in something. It’s awesome to be part of that time and group of people.

It feels as though in 2017 there’s been a tangible mix of despair, but also hope because people have been coming together…

I remember talking to someone who I was working with the morning after the election and the announcement that the Conservatives were still in [power]. They said, “I hope that doesn’t mean people are going to stop talking about what’s going on.” But that’s the attitude that means people will stop talking about it. All you have to do is keep thinking the conversation will carry on and it will carry on. It seems hopeful, yes, but also despairing, because no matter the hope, these awful things that people haven’t asked for are still happening, and in a democracy that seems awful.

What do you think 25-year-olds are most worried about?

In London, rents are insanely high, so that’s one thing friends my age struggle with. The living wage, zero-hour contracts… but also having people in charge who do not listen to those who need it most.

You’ve been described as a bookworm. What is the book you’ve been most enchanted by of late?

I was recently harping on about Grief Is The Thing With Feathers by Max Porter, which is amazing. I’m reading Tenant Of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë now, which is brilliant. I’m trying to get through  the classics – my mum gave me a list of them. I intercut them with chick lit or modern fiction. Reading has always been my thing. Last night I was doing a film quiz with a friend and her boyfriend, who is a film buff. My film knowledge is really poor because I read and didn’t watch films. He was asking me questions and I had no idea [what the answers were].

Is there a book that you would like to star in the adaptation of?

I’m adapting something now. I bought the rights, and a production company is writing it to be a series. It sounds far more serious when I say it out loud. It’s funny, these conversations when you’re like, “Sure, sure, it’ll never happen.” And then [it actually happens].

Will you star in it?

I know not. It depends when it’s is ready, and there are many things that don’t get to fruition. But it’s very exciting. John [Boyega, her Star Wars co-star] was saying last night he’s in the middle of adapting something, too. If people feel like their voices aren’t being heard, they can be the person to get their voice heard – and that’s a wonderful thing to be able to do.

You appeared on My Dad Wrote A Porno – Footnotes. What other podcasts do you listen to?

I listened to Serial and S-Town, which were good, but at the end I thought, ‘I don’t know quite what I’m going to take from this…’ I wanted to know who had been at fault. It was just awfully sad and so unexpected.

You mention that you didn’t enjoy watching yourself in Star Wars. Do you generally enjoy going to the cinema?

What I don’t like is people asking me questions or talking during films. The other day, I had to tell a group of guys [in the cinema] to put their phones away! And I went to see Cinderella at the Odeon and someone sat in front of me answered a phone call. I literally couldn’t believe it! Also, it was at the Odeon in Leicester Square – those tickets are so expensive. It was about £20.

If you were with your mum watching Star Wars: The Last Jedi, how would you react if she asked you a question?

None of my family ask questions [laughs]. I went to see a film with my friend once and she talked all the way through. I was fuming. Why would you ruin that? I like to concentrate. I’m trying to be better at not looking at my phone while I’m doing other things, as it is just too much for your brain. RuPaul’s Drag Race? I’m all there. The Graham Norton Show? I’m there. What’s the point in watching anything if you’re not going to concentrate on it? What is the point in doing something if you’re not going to do it properly?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is in UK cinemas from 14 December.

Images: Rex Features / Photography: Eric Ray Davidson 

— Stylist Magazine

[pastel-plague-doctor]

Tagged by @clearbluewaters

Rules: Tag 15 people you want to get to know better

Name: Sam[antha]

Gender: cis woman

Star Sign: Virgo sun, Leo moon, Pisces rising (although tbh I don’t put much stock in astrology)

Height: 5’6″

Sexuality: bisexual as hell

Lock Screen Image: my boyfriend!!!

Ever Had A Crush On A Teacher: No, and this question grosses me out.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?: Hopefully employed doing something I love (embassy work?? journalism?? publishing??? special fx??? who knows!), living with @a-friend-to-the-giants in a cute townhouse with our cat and two dogs

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?: The United Kingdom, especially the parts of Scotland and Wales where my ancestors used to live, Italy (Venice and Vatican City), India/Nepal, Japan, Berlin, Prague, and so many more

What was your coolest Halloween costume?: I created my own slasher movie villain one year, and that was pretty fun. 

Favorite 90s TV-show?: Blues Clues lmao

Last kiss?: @a-friend-to-the-giants​ 😘

Have you ever been stood up?: Yah

Have you ever been to Las Vegas?: No, and I don’t have much desire to

Favorite pair of shoes?: Black and white saddle oxfords

Favorite fruit?: Canteloupe, apples, mangos

Favorite book?: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi, and the Saga graphic novel series, just to name a few

Stupidest thing you’ve ever done?: Attending a conservative private college lmao

Tagging: @everylunebleu @a-friend-to-the-giants @allyhulilshits @justapieceofgeekytrash