#Vi hemlocke

[yourpersonaljaskier]

Hello hello! I watched Whitepine and now I'm insane! I also watched a theory video! I'm very insane and I need to ramble as to what I think is going on

Theory will be under read more, spoilers ahead

First things first:

Who is mrs. Hemlocke, and how long has she been dead?

So, some things to establish the estimated time period:

- steam locomotives and steam engines are around (meaning it's past the year 1712)

- The colour black may be associated with the mourning period (early roman period til the 20th century, now very well known because of Queen Victoria, who mourned her husband for 4 decades til the the early 1900's and wore black daily)

These bring us to a rather specific time frame between 1712 and before the 20th century

Black doesn't seem to be a very 'fashionable' colour, as the theory video I watched relied quite heavily on the idea that the Hemlocke family is in mourning. While the idea in of itself isn't a bad idea, I heavily disagree with this notion for 3 simple reasons:

1. The family isn't in ACTUAL mourning! They wear black clothes, yes, but there's no other indication they're in active mourning. They wear colours not permitted by the mourning rules created by Queen Victoria (assuming they're in England due to the name Whitepine and the general outlay of architecture), which was from 1861 til 1901 iirc, which is a HIGHLY likely time period they were in. Zam participates in hunting, the household isn't in mourning (the women aren't wearing any amount of mourning regalia, ie, veils, jewelry, full black attire, similar with the men), the HEAD BUTLER doesn't tell Ivory about the passing of the hear mistress (which MEANS the mourning period is long over and the topic is dead at this rate, Ivory doesn't need to be a genius to figure out why the mistress is never mentioned), Izzy permits Ivory to be the piano, so on and so forth

2. Serapter doesn't know why the piano room was empty. Her death was before his time, and he seems plenty adult to me.

3. There were no search parties (if she had disappeared), there were no funeral arrangements, no active mention of her or her recent passing, and black clothes are not an indication of a mourning period.

These, to me, are clear signs that the family, at least the children, have long moved on.

Now, how long has mrs. Hemlocke been dead?

Well.

Let's look at the Hemlocke children. So far, we only know that Pyro is the oldest, with the others having to clear indication of when they were born. But, to me, the Hemlocke children all seem to be of a similar age. There are no tutors or extra teachers for the women to learn etiquette, Zam goes hunting and invites Pyro with him, they seem to go out semi regularly as known bacherlors (as none of the children are married), and seem to have a close bond with how they interact with one another

None of the children seem teenage-d to me, but we'll see as the show progresses

In my mind, mrs. Hemlocke died when the youngest was a few months old. It makes the most sense with how the family and household act around her death and items. The piano was moved but is still taken care of. It's tuned with no obvious dust, out of sight and out of mind but with instructions to keep it in good shape

Izzy easily absolves the previous order to not let anyone touch the piano, meaning it's been long enough where she finds it doesn't matter if someone plays it, and as Clown mildly implies, it seems that the order was given by Zombie, as he advises Ivory to not make too much noise

Obviously, as mrs. Hemlocke was the mistress of the estate, all the older staff would have been relatively fond of her and followed whatever wish Zombie made about her items, but as Serapter doesn't even seem to know as to what some of the rooms are for (like the piano room), and that he 'forgot [the piano] was down there,' quite heavily implies her death was wayyyy before his time

To compress: Mrs. Hemlocke died perhaps decades ago, to a point where none of the household is in mourning and have seemingly moved on, with new servants being unaware of the affects her passing had on the family (ex. Serapter)

Who killed Mistycat, and why do people think it's the forest?

I personally think the forest has got absolutely nothing to do with Mistycat's death, and that there's a different perpetrator at hand with no supernatural element. I'll explain after this segment as to why the forest is such a focal point to Ivory, but for now:

The forest is an ominous 'character' and looming figure during the whole episode. Multiple shots include Ivory spacing out and simply staring at the woods in some sort of trauma reaction

The forest is ominous, dense and is eerie due to the atmosphere

Forests are easy ground to get lost in and die

Supernatural activity can easily be tied with a supernatural forest

Misty's death is sudden and seems out of nowhere after a bit of a long shot with the woods

From Misty's injuries, it seems like the attack was quite violent, but it's not above that she fell down the stairs after being attacked. The injuries on the back of her head could suggest a blunt force blow, while the rest of her injuries were amassed from her tumbling down the stairs, which would draw someone to check out what happened, and of course, then the freak out

Do I have an idea as to who it could be? No. Fuck no lol, I'm not a psychic, I just don't think it's supernatural for now. There's absolutely zero reason as to why a supernatural entity would be killing the household now and not then

Why is the forest such a big deal, and Ivory's behaviour

Now. Hear me out on this: Ivory is from a cult like environment, where a settlement was in a similar forest, quite like the surrounding area of Whitepine

Her behaviour, past being autistic, is very submissive, with a fear of authority, the fear of disobeying orders to such an extent that she asks a fellow coworker permission to go outside, and a general reclusive behaviour that I associate with a want to conform and not cause issues for the ones in power

Obviously, all of these can be attributed to Ivory's implied autism, but I think it makes more sense with Ivory's behaviour towards the woods and other people

She seems afraid of talking, saying anything outside of what is asked of her, and even then, she struggles greatly and panics about being in trouble to a near panic attack level. Her dissociation with the sight of forests seems trauma related, along with the buzzing noise she gets after people rush to see why someone screamed

She seems afraid but in an abstract sense. She stares for seemingly hours after being dismissed her first day, just staring at the woods that caused her to zone out first thing

It's not normal behaviour. Even from a neurodivergent standpoint in my opinion. Her anxiety seems to come from an outside place, and Minutetech not knowing anything about her, past where he found her and what she did on the train ride gives me the impression she ran away from her cult, and now associates forests with them, causing her to have bad reactions when on edge or stressed

And that was it! Thank you for the read, hope you enjoyed my unhinged thoughts!!

[meersalz]

#meersalz — JJ Maybank Jacob 'Danny' Danilov is a 23-year-old free spirit, always hungry for food and fun. Originally from the island of Kildare, North Carolina, he now never stays at one place for long. He's the best surfer you'll meet, a mild kleptomaniac and a future tax cheat – and a packless werewolf. He only recently found out about his heritage (from his mother's side) when his first transformation was triggered by very unfortunate circumstances and almost ended in a patricide. Danny is on the run ever since.

a deep dive into: all things fun, freedom, the beach, the ocean, the woods, lycanthropy, finding your roots and losing yourself, anything goes, daddy issues, violence, half-baked plans, substance abuse, be queer do crime, soundtrack of the 2000s, 90s aesthetics, homesickness for a place that doesn't exist, chasing big deams, and vibes.

ooc: canon-divergent crossover roleplay character based on Netflix' Outer Banks, but heavily inspired by Netflix' Hemlock Grove. low activity. English is fine, but I'm very picky when it comes to writing in German. 21+ only.

[pupsmailbox]

NATURE ID PACK

NAMES ⌇ abelia. acacius. aciano. aini. alder. alfie. almus. amaryllis. ame. antonio. archer. arthur. ashe. ashley. aspen. asper. aster. aveline. aviv. azalea. basil. belle. benedict. berry. bloom. blossom. bluebell. brook. calix. calla. carli. carline. carly. carolina. carrillo. cassia. cassiopeia. cedar. cherie. chun. cider. cira. cirrus. clover. coral. cordelia. crescent. cynthia. cypress. cyrus. dahlia. daisy. daphne. douglas. dune. echo. eilir. elara. elm. elowen. elyana. enon. erica. ester. everest. everett. evergreen. ewan. fauna. fern. finn. finnley. fleur. floor. flora. florian. florise. flower. flynn. forest. forrest. glen. gracie. gunner. haru. haruhime. haruki. hawthorne. heather. hemlock. honey. hyacinth. ianthe. indigo. ione. ipomea. iris. ivy. jaskier. jasmine. jasper. juniper. kalina. kallie. karolina. karoun. kath. kelda. ken. kingsley. lake. lavae. lavender. leilani. lennox. lente. lief. lilac. lily. linnea. lotus. lucinda. lucky. lucy. maayan. madeline. maggie. magnolia. maple. maren. mari. marian. marigold. mars. mary. maud. mauve. meadow. miles. momo. moss. mossie. mossy. moxie. muna. narcisow. nimbus. noi. oak. oasis. oleander. oybahor. pandora. pearl. pebble. pege. petal. plum. poppy. pınar. quanlian. quill. river. rosa. rosalie. rosalind. rose. roswell. rue. rune. saem. sage. sakura. san. sky. sol. star. story. strider. striker. summit. sunny. sylvia. sylvie. tasnim. terra. thistle. thorn. thorne. tree. udaberri. vasanta. verna. violet. waipuna. wells. westley. willow. wisteria. wisty. wren. yuki. zephyr. ziedonis. zinnia.

PRONOUNS ⌇ amaranth/amaranth. aster/aster. bee/bee. bee/bees. bless/blessed. bloom/bloom. bloss/bloss. bloss/blossomself. bud/bud. camell/camell. camellia/camellia. carnati/carnation. chirp/chirp. ci/cir. cloud/cloud. colum/columbine. columbine/columbine. comfort/comfort. dais/daisy. dawn/dusk. dew/dew. dog/dogwood. dog/wood. ey/em. fe/fer. fer/fern. fern/fern. field/field. fir/fir. fleur/fleur. flor/flor. flor/flora. floral/floral. flori/florid. flow/flower. flower/flower. freesi/freesia. fruit/fruit. fuch/fuchsia. garden/garden. grass/grass. green/green. grow/growth. hawth/hawthorn. hawth/thorn. hi/hits. hib/hibiscus. honey/honey. hy/hys. hya/hyacinth. hyacin/hyacinth. h✦/h✦m. ir/iris. jas/jasmine. jessa/jessamine. jour/ney. laven/lavender. le/leaf. leaf/leaf. leaf/leave. lil/lily. lotu/lotus. lu/luna. mag/magnolia. mar/mar. matcha/matcha. misel/mistletoe. mo/moth. morning/morning. moss/moss. mossy/mossy. narc/narcir. narcissus/narcissus. nature/nature. orch/orchid. pe/peony. peace/peace. peak/peak. per/peri. peri/periwinkle. petal/petal. pi/pix. picnic/picnic. plum/plum. pollen/pollen. pop/poppy. prick/prick. pur/purple. qu/quest. rain/rain. rhod/rhode. ros/rose. rose/rose. sa/sap. sage/sage. sakura/sakura. scent/scent. se/ser. shine/shine. shroom/shroom. sh✦/h✦r. si/strike. smile/smile. soft/soft. sol/solar. spikes/spike. spring/spring. sprout/sprout. star/star. stem/stem. sun/sun. sun/sunrise. sun/sunset. syr/syringa. tea/party. tea/tea. thist/thistle. thorn/thorn. th✦y/th✦m. tul/tulip. vi/vier. vi/viol. wi/wild. win/winkle. wind/wind. wister/wisteria. yucca/yucca. zinni/zinnia. ☀️ . 🌱 . 🌳 . 🌷 . 🌿 . 🍎 . 🍏 . 🍵 . 🐝 . 🐞 . 💐 . 💐.🌷 . 🕷️ . 🦋 . 🦟 .

[fieldsofwriting]

A/N: I made a banner and dividers (I found the stars on pinterest) 😌 look at me go. But, once again this is tagged as x reader as well. Feel free to use a word replacer for this :) (I also know that March’s eyes are black. However, I decided to take creative freedom.)

Summary: Violet has been in Mistria for just a little over a week now. But she has never experienced drunk March before.

Warnings: Just drinking at the Inn on friday night!

Settling into her new life in Mistria wasn’t hard. Violet got up everyday bright at early, watered her crops and tried to clear her farm for a few hours before she’d inevitably run up to town and buy seeds to replenish the ones she harvested. She’d stop at the inn and get some soup, talk to Hemlock or Jo when they were there. Then she’d run around a bit more, stopping in to say hi to everyone. Maybe go do some fishing or check out the Western Ruins to see if there was anything else so could donate to the museum. But there was one thing she never skipped. And it was saying hello to everyone, that was always the number one priority.

She’d never skip March. Despite his prior attitude, and as much as she wanted too. Violet had to prove to him and everyone else here that she wasn’t going anywhere. But, her first Friday in town as she shuffled into the Inn after getting her farm- mostly cleared off she was met with Reina’s bright bubbly voice.

“Violet!” She grins, running around to get to her faster. God- that action alone made her want to scoop her up into her arms and spin her around. Reina was so sweet every single time without fail. She felt like a friend that Vi could talk to for hours while laying in her lap. And normally she would share the same enthusiasm as her but, Violet ended up looking up slowly from the pure exhaustion she was experiencing; those rocks on her farm were no joke. And while Reina was always a delight to see, she just wanted soup. That creamy delightful smelling soup that was bubbling in the cauldron. Was that cheese? God she hoped it was cheese.

“Mm?” She grumbles but it doesn’t deter Reina. She quickly gets her a bowl of soup and slides in next to her. Violet's whole mood increasing tenfold as she digs in and looks at Reina.

“You have to make sure to come to the inn tonight!” Reina beams, with the stupidly gorgeous smile she had. “It’s always a blast on Friday nights! Everyone has so much fun! Tell me you’ll come!” She pleads with her. And Violet is a simple woman.

With food in her system, finally the farmer smiles. “It’s really that cool? I guess I’ll have to come check it out. But i’m working on getting the bridge repaired for the Saturday Markets. So, it might be later in the night.” She replies smiling at her new friend. Reina grins and claps, reaching to give her a hug which Violet quickly accepts. It was like hugging one of those giant stuffed bears you won at carnivals.

“Yes! That’s fine! Whenever you can!” She beams. Violet had to admit, her enthusiasm was nice. Everyone seemed so excited to integrate her into this town as if she was always apart of it. It…was refreshing. Violet gives Reina a nod.

“You have my word, I’ll be here.” Vi smiles, and she meant it. She'd be there. It would be nice to relax and hang out with everyone at the Inn, she just hoped she could get the bridge done before then.

———

It felt silly. Violet felt completely and utterly foolish. Standing in front of her mirror, just minutes before she was going to head over to the Inn trying to decide what to wear. Surely everyone would be wearing their normal everyday clothes. She kicks away the little black dress. But why- why did she care so much about her own outfit?! She could just wear her normal outfit. It would be fine. At least that was what she was trying to convince herself of. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows that this might be a good chance to show off for a particular red head-

She shakes her head, "No." She says quickly pointing at herself in the mirror. "No, no, no, Violet. You are not falling for a red head! He's not even a real red head! You can see his roots! You are not doing this." She scolds herself. "This is your chance to distance yourself from anything and anyone. We are not fucking it up because we need therapy!" Violet lets out a big huff. Running her hand through her hair, and nodding. She'd just- wear this. Her normal outfit. Stripped shirt. Overall dress. Knee highs. It be fine.

Once, she enters the Inn she can see why Reina was so insistent. Everyone is there, sitting at various tables doing whatever it is- they were doing. It was bustling, it was lively...it felt like home.

"Violet!"

The Violet in question looks to see Reina rushing forward, a warm smile on her face. "You made it!" She cheers, god- she was so fucking sweet. Violet just wanted to curl up with her and pour her heart out to her. She was so wonderful, Violet can feel the smile spread.

"I told you! I wouldn't miss it!" She gives Reina a hug. Resisting the urge to melt into her arms. "But...everywhere looks so busy..." She whispers.

"Oh! Don't worry about that, just walk around and chat! Everyone kinda does their own thing, you'll find your place in time." Reina reassures. Those words- she had no idea the amount of tears Violet is holding back in that very moment.

"Y-yeah..." Violet nods, "Right." She gives Reina a nod before going over to the Eiland, Celine, Balor, Adeline, and Holt.

"Hello, Violet!" Eiland greets, his smile isn't as warm as Reina's- at least not in the same capcity. Where Reina's smile was like curling up with a blanket, in front of the fireplace on a cold winter morning? Eiland's was like the sunshine, like when you were a kid and played too hard during the summer falling to the ground and feelings the warm ground. “We’re playing Dungeons and Drama! You’re welcome to listen for a bit.” He offers.

“Yeah.” Violet nods, sitting next to Holt with a smile. Everyone introducing their characters had her smiling as she went to enjoy some of the other groups as well. She’d never tell a soul but The Bearded Bad Brad was her favorite so far.

At the next table, she played around of cards before she realized Olric was just- unbelievably lucky. She frowned, she hated loosing. And, everyone was starting to get rowdy because of his unbelievable luck. So, she politely excused herself from the table. Making her way over to the bar-

“Violet!” March said, but that was way too enthusiastic to be March. Slowly, she turned around, and it was in fact March. Or a clone of him? It had to be, standing there with the biggest smile she’d ever seen him have. Slight blush on his cheeks, “Come over here! Sit next to me!! You’re always so busy during the week!” The clone said.

“March is quite the lightweight.” Elsie speaks up. Violet looks over at the regal old woman. “But it is him, he’s a kind drunk.” She gives Violet a nod. She turns back to March.

“You’re telling me that’s not a clone?”

A roar of laughter from the bar. “No, dear.” Elsie smiles. “That very much so is March, our grumpy little blacksmith.”

“Violet!” He whines, “Come here!” He pouts even more. How could she refuse? Making her way over to the drunk March, she can’t help but smile at him. His hair was mused from him running his hands through it, his cheeks were rosy from the alcohol. His smile was contagious, especially as he realized Violet was walking toward him.

“Hi March.” She smiles gently. Her heartbeat picking up, starting to sound like a kick drum in her ears. He was so- devastatingly pretty. Up close, March looked so fucking good. His stupidly nice jawline, dazzling hazel eyes. Violet blinks- Hazel? Weren’t they black? She tries to subtly move further away, watching as the light hits them different changing the color. Making it appear a darker almost black color.

March, does not like that Violet is leaning away. He wanted to examine every part of her face. The way that her cheeks moved when she smiled, the perfect plumpness of her lips, how her eyes shimmered like jewels in the light. The purple hue catching the light like she melted down a purple sapphire and let it pool in her eyes. He also needed to know why she looked so confused, reaching a hand out he gently pressed her back into his side. “You look confused.”

“Your eyes aren’t black.” She mumbles, still looking at him like that. Almost like her gaze was pinning him to his spot.

March raises an eyebrow, smiling and letting out a small laugh. “No. They aren’t.” He grins, “Why? Do you think it make me prettier?” He says batting his perfectly dark eyelashes up at her. Violet lets out a soft laugh, wrapping an arm around his broad, sturdy shoulders. Caldarus strike her down now. She was touching him. She was touching March, and he wasn’t mad. He wasn’t pushing her off, she felt her stomach doing flips at the proximity.

“No, it just shocked me. They normally look black when you’re next to the forge.” She comments softly, still entranced by them. She wants to reach up, cup his cheek and tilt his head up so she can see them better.

“Mm.” March nods, leaning his head on her shoulder. Violet can feel her face heating at the action. She can feel eyes on her from the other patrons, and if she could muster a look at them she’d glare. But if she looks anywhere but firmly behind the bar, she’d explode. “Olric’s got them too.”

“Yeah?” She breathes, looking down at March. “Good to know.”

“Do you like them?” He looks back up at her. Violet’s breath hitches as she sees the swirls of green and brown in his eyes even better. The light from above emphasizing more of the green. “You look like an angel.”

Violet shakes her head. “Wh-what?” She says with a shocked laugh.

March gives her a big smile. Reaching up and tucking some of her hair behind her ear. “You look like an angel. The light is like-“ He moves his hand around her face, to signal the halo of laughter around her.

She needs air. She needs space. She can’t do this- March can’t be that sweet. No matter what Elsie said, this had to be a clone of March and the real one was plotting her demise somewhere. “M-March…” Violet says quietly, taking a step back. But he frowns, pulling her back into him.

“I like when you say my name.” He mumbles. Still looking at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world. As if he would give her the world. Violet couldn’t do this. She steps away from him, dodging his arms again.

“Goodnight March.” She whispers quickly, slapping some money down on the table to cover her food for the night and rushing out.

A/N: I know that March’s sprite has black eyes- but consider. No. Kfjjfjfksks no in all fairness I just thought it be interesting if he had hazel eyes, my brother does and they change the intensity depending on the lighting he’s in. So I thought because he’s around the forge so much it be interesting!

[revelisms]

I keep nosing through my half-written Arcane things and feeling the itch to write it again, so I finally dusted off this little ficlet. Short and sweet domestic oneshot about Jinx, Silco's oddball crime family, and card games 🃏

stratagems

WC: 1.6k | Rating: G | Jinx-centric | Domestic fluff, found family, gambling, character study Also on AO3

Tuesdays are slow nights at the Last Drop—the kind that smoulder on for hours, the neon dimmed to only a fractal prism across velvet booths and varnish-glossed tables: nights for myths and recollections spun to liquor-sweet grandeur, and books read aloud in grinning theatrics, and cards shlack-clack-clacked together between Sevika's weathered fingers, slicked across the table like darts to waiting hands.

When she was meek and younger and still reeling from it all, these nights felt magical. In some ways, they held a candle to those small, rare moments, carefully treasured, of when things in that dingy little storeroom, cramped between three others and Vander's bellowing laugher, felt okay. 

It's different, now. 

The storeroom's locked up; her brothers and sister-mother-Vi are all gone, gone, gone; Vander's dead, betrayed, rotting, deserved; she's older and restless and lonely and bored. 

But there are three others, still. 

Sat at a table across from Sevika's rippling hands—glinting augmentation and golden rings, shuffling cards with a magician's ease—is a mountain of a man, his sickly-pale skin littered with a patchwork of black tattoos. 

Lock. Hemlock, when she'd told him Lock was a weird name—and then he'd glared down at her with his beady eyes, incense smoke-blue: gruffed, Don't you call me it.

He had a puggishness about him, not a hair on his body save the coarse clumps that lined his burly arms and flared out from the low cut of his tattered tank like a spit of soot. His voice was cavernous and dry: not like Silco's: like he'd swallowed rocks and kept the dust, rumbling and rough with a gravel that flowed like music on a foggy day; Lock's was deep and scratchy and altogether unpleasant, but warm. He wheezed more than laughed. His smile split his face to a crescent of yellowing pikes. He called her Little Devil.

He swipes up six cards between his bulky fingers, tongues his cheek, and skips two over to Ran—who Silco said once went by Rania; who kept their hair sharp as black fins. Jinx could count on one hand the number of times they'd said more than five words in passing to her. Their eyes were like dim violets, and they soothed her, in the strangest way: found the ache in her heart like a quiet beacon, and held it. They liked to tousle their metal fingers through her hair, muss her fringe to a squealing mess. They called her Blue.

At the bar, bent over a dissembled revolver carved with gold, sat dusty little Dustin, head in the clouds, painted nails flecked with gun oil and a rag in his ink-blitzed hands. Talking to him was like dissecting a parable. He spoke in tongues, seemingly flipping through his days on a catalogue of obscure references: a code one had to crack over a lifetime to understand. Jinx, though, had taken the feat to heart. She'd spent hours peering through his craftings and margin-scrawled notes, like one may study an abstract to glean its meaning. She would squirm next to him when the nights grew too quiet, painting in the chips of varnish on his nails and humming his strange tunes. He had eyes like black buttons, and freckles on his nose. His smile was the kindest. He called her Jay.

She didn't know which name she liked best—which one of them she liked best. But she liked the lot of them all more than Sevika.

At least they didn't glare at her, or call her brat or runt, or wait for her to screw things up, like always. 

Then again. She was, first and foremost to them, some kid in their boss's care—she'd heard Lock grumble that more than once, like a warning—their boss, who had been nose-deep in a monstrosity of trade edicts and contracts and whatever else; who hadn't given her a glance when she peeked her head around the door to his office, huffing, Not now, Jinx. 

That had been hours ago. He still hadn't come down.

She kicks the toe of her boot against her chair, sat in a knot with its back to her chest, and sighs. 

The cards dance between Sevika's hands like a flurry of white-capped wings. Jinx watches from three tables away as she flicks out another round, a cigarillo embering between her teeth.

"Two for two."

"'Course you gives us that," Lock snarls. "Deck's loaded."

"All skills of the trade." A puff of smoke, the roll twisting between ambered fingers. "Dish 'em out, you brute."

The cards glimmer spell-like across the table. Jinx presses her chin into her arm, trying and failing and trying again to follow the strategy of the game. They moved in turns of three: trading in singles, drawing pairs, discarding all at once. It was too quick for her to follow. 

Footsteps creak down the stairs. She whips over her shoulder, staring through her fringe. Thieram—Chuck, as she'd insisted on calling him, just to make his ears color—meets her eyes with a skittish blink, and beelines for the bar. She scowls, hunching back in her seat.

Ran wins the round, with a coy grin and a smack of their cards on the table. Lock pounds the varnish hard enough to knock the deck over.

Jinx aches to put on a gramophone record, to get up and dance, bang on that dusty old piano by the back tables, anything. More creaking down the stairs, glass rattling, Dustin humming his old songs, boots th-thump th-thumping slow over the panelling. 

She smells the spice-sweet of his cigars before she feels him find his way beside her. 

His presence is less a quiet comfort as it is a blistered, bleeding reconnection: the wash of his cold energy startling, and sharp, and soothing, all at once.

"At it again, are they?" Silco drawls.

Jinx pitters her fingers over her elbow. "Yeah."

He hums. He's wearing green today: a dark, blueish sort. "Give them an ounce of time to themselves, and they gamble it away," he grouses. His fingers tick. He sighs. "I've kept you." The words carry the start of an apology. "This week's dealings were—"

"Unexpected?" Jinx quips.

"One could say."

"Annoying?"

"Dreadfully."

"Mister Finn being a big stupid-head, again?"

"A horrendous one." A small smirk slides over his mouth, crooked at one corner: the one he reserves only for her. "But no matter." 

It's a roundabout dismissal. It means, I'm sorry; means, My time is yours, now; means he will wait until she proffers an explanation for her gawping through the smoke-hazed green of his office, anything beyond I just wanted to sit with you, but anything beyond that would be a lie.

She presses her thumb into the chair's spine. After a moment, his eyes flit down to her. "They've not showed you how to play?" he mutters.

She shakes her head.

"It's simple enough." He folds his hands behind his back, tilting his head, and watches the whirlwind of motion that continues on before them. "You know the suits, don't you?" A shrug of her shoulders. "Well, then. Four kings; four aces. Hold either set of those, and you win. Anything in the middle is fair game to keep, or toss, or trade."

She frowns. "That's it?" It had seemed far more complicated than that, from all she'd gleaned.

"That's it." His eyes fall on her, mismatched. His fingers turn at his back. "Come," he murmurs, "I'll show you. One can hardly learn, without practice." 

As seemed to be his philosophy for everything, for better or worse. Trial by fire, mastery through mistake, and all that.

(Who's to say whether one can sink or swim, without first giving themselves to the deep?) 

He'd carried that philosophy like a mantle when he had sent her on her first missions, shadowing her movements with watchful eyes; or when he had tasked her with duties under Sevika's wing, or Lock's, or Ran's, or Dustin's. In things as small and simple as organizing his paperwork for him (client contracts on the bottom, client files above that, then industry reports, and industry-related headlines, and financial records); in things as precise as his daily injections of shimmer to his rotted eye, that she had learned and denied was killing him by inches, her finger shaking on the trigger that first and only time (nothing different from a bullet, child) and nimble as a fine-tuned machine, ever since.

He steps away from the shadows, into the gold, an unspoken invitation—and she watches, quietly intrigued, at the actions that follow: chairs squeaked, smokes raised, Sir's and Hey, Boss's bounced around the table. Sevika drags up an extra seat. He gives a nod to her reshuffled cards and Thieram's expectant glance, in turns.

A tray of carved glasses and a fifth of whisky is carried over, each gift deposited to the table in heavy thunks. Silco takes the first pour. The ambered sheen of the liquor fractures over the table like shattered glass. "Have a seat, child."

She's on her feet, sheepishly, in an instant: clumsy steps skittering over the floor: a birdish thing at a table of wolves, trying fruitlessly to don their fangs. 

A chair is cleared for her between Lock's black-mapped shoulder and Ran's tick-ticking fingers. She slumps into it, quickly. Sevika's eyes burn into her.

Silco deals out thirty cards—six for each of them—with a lazying flourish of his fingers, and ends the litter on Jinx.

"A game of luck," he tells her, without care for the looming prowl of their company. The gravel of his voice has the strangest way of twisting the world on its head, as though it is only the two of them. It always does. "Welcome to Crowns."

He gives a touch of a smile, there and gone in an instant. She smiles sheepishly back.

Then, the five of them descend upon their drawings—and, quick as lightning, they play.

[deep-dive]

2023

albums/eps: a.s.o. - a.s.o. Amaarae - Fountain Baby Amnesia Scanner & Freeka Tet - STROBE.RIP André 3000 - New Blue Sun ANOHNI and the Johnsons - My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross Anthony Naples - Orbs bar italia - Tracey Denim Beach Fossils - Bunny Ben Vida, Yarn/Wire & Nina Dante - The Beat My Head Hit Beverly Glenn-Copeland - The Ones Ahead Biosphere - N-Plants Blonde Redhead - Sit Down for Dinner Bored Lord - Name It Call Super - Eulo Cramps Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You Chuquimamani-Condori - DJ E Cole Police - If I Don’t See You in the Future, I’ll See You in the Pasture Dean Blunt - Give me a moment DJ Lostboi - Music for Landings DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ - Destiny Double Virgo - hardrive heat seeking Eartheater - Powders The Embassy - E-Numbers Everything But the Girl - Fuse Fever Ray - Radical Romantics Freak Heat Waves - Mondo Tempo Headache - The Head Hurts but the Heart Knows the Truth Hiroyuki Onogawa - August in the Water: Music for Film 1995-2005 Jam City - Jam City Presents EFM James Ivy - Everything Perfect Jessy Lanza - Love Hallucination Jim Legxacy - homeless n****a pop music Joanne Robertson - Blue Car Jonnine - Maritz Kelela - Raven Khotin - Release Spirit Kota Hoshino, Shoi Miyazawa - Armored Core VI OST Laurel Halo - Atlas Loraine James - Gentle Confrontation Maria BC - Spike Field mark william lewis - Living Matmos - Return to Archive MIZU - Distant Intervals ML Buch - Suntub Noriko Tujiko - Crépuscule I & II Nourished by Time - Erotic Probiotic 2 Oneohtrix Point Never - Again Osmotic & Fennesz - Senzatetto Pierre Rousseau - Mémoire De Forme Purelink - Signs Ryuichi Sakamoto - 12 Sofia Courtesies - Madres ssaliva - sector6park/counterfeit Sufjan Stevens - Javelin Tim Hecker - No Highs Tirzah - trip9love…??? Wild Nothing - Hold Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) µ-Ziq - 1977 7038634357 - Neo Seven

songs: a.s.o. - Love in the Darkness Addison Rae - I got it bad Alex Kassian - Leave Your Life (Lonely Hearts Mix) Amaarae - Reckless & Sweet Amnesia Scanner & Freeka Tet - Clown André - Ants To You, Gods To Who ? ANOHNI and the Johnsons - Can’t ANOHNI and the Johnsons - It Must Change Anthony Naples - Silas Armin van Buuren & Punctual - On & On (ft. Alina) bambinodj - High as Ever Still Passin' Through (Remix) bar italia - Nocd Baths - Do I Make the World Worse Beach Fossils - Don’t Fade Away Beverly Glenn-Copeland - People of the Loon Bibio & Óskar Guðjónsson - Sunbursting Björk & Rosalía - Oral Blawan - Toast Bored Lord - Wait Wait Wait bvdub - Days on Heaven and Earth Call Super - Coppertone Elegy Carly Rae Jensen - Psychedelic Switch Caroline Polachek - Bunny Is a Rider (Doss Remix) Caroline Polachek - Crude Drawing of an Angel Chuquimamani-Condori - Eat My Cum Chuquimamani-Condori - Know Dean Blunt - Rinsed (ft. TYSON) Dj Lostboi - PUF 2 LAX DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ - For Now and Forever Double Virgo - gainfully deployed EASYFUN - Long Long Time The Embassy - Amnesia ESP - North Fever Ray - Kandy Freak Heat Waves & Cindy Lee - In a Moment Divine Fwea-Go Hit - Back Wildin Headache - That Thing with the Rabbit Headache - Truism 4 Dummies Hemlocke Springs - sever the blight Hudson Mohawke & Nikki Nair - Demuro Ike - Rose Quartz Jam City - Magnetic James K & hoodie - Ether Jessy Lanza - Don’t Cry On My Pillow Jim Legxacy - amnesia111 Jim Legxacy - candy reign (!) Jonnine - Tea For Two (Boo) Kelela - Divorce Khotin - Computer Break (Late Mix) Kylie Minogue - Hold on to Now Laurel Halo, Bendik Giske, Lucy Railton & James Underwood - Earthbound Loraine James - Tired of Me Lorenzi - Lonely Cowboy Tales (Crayon Moon Remix) LSDXOXO - Devil’s Chariot Maria BC - Still Maria BC - Watcher mark william lewis - Living Mc LcKaiique, MC Celo BK & DJ Jeeh FDC - Quem Tá de Motão, Vou Sarrar Puta Na Marcone (ft. DJ Biel Divulga) ML Buch - High speed calm air tonight Nation & Ecco2k - Ça Va Nicole Dollanganger - Gold Satin Dreamer Nourished by Time - Rain Water Promise Oliver Coates - One Without Oneohtrix Point Never - Krumville Purelink - We Should Keep Going Shoi Miyazawa - Rough and Decent Slayyyter - Miss Belladonna Sufjan Stevens - Shit talk Tim Hecker - Total Garbage Tirzah - u all the time Troye Sivan - Got Me Started Wild Nothing - Suburban Solutions Yves Tumor - Echolalia Yves Tumor - Fear Evil Like Fire µ-Ziq - 4am

mixes: CFCF - CFCF for TERMINAL 27 Chuquimamani-Condori - Fact Mix 937 PC Music - 10 Physical Therapy - car culture remissions vol. 4 plush - LIVE AT SKSKSKSK S-candalo - Fact Mix 897 WHY BE - OdyXxey Radio Mix

movies: Afire (Christian Petzold) All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras) E6-D7 (Eno Swinnen) Evil Dead Rise (Lee Cronin) Grown in Darkness (Devin Shears) How Do You Live? (Hayao Miyazaki) The Killer (David Fincher) Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese) Knock at the Cabin (M. Night Shyamalan) Last Summer (Catherine Breillat) May December (Todd Haynes) Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan) The Outwaters (Robbie Banfitch) Rotting in the Sun (Sebastián Silva) Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt) The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)

games: Alan Wake II Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Baldur’s Gate III Blasphemous II Diablo IV Humanity Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Lies of P Metroid Prime Remastered Octopath Traveler II Pikmin 4 Star Ocean: The Second Story R Super Mario Bros. Wonder Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

[camille-lachenille]

I was researching something completely unrelated but I passingly saw that hemlock means mortality in Victorian and modern flower language. And my brain immediately thought of the ‘Song of Beren and Lúthien’ in FotR, specifically the first stanza:

The leaves were long, the grass was green,

The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,

And in the glade a light was seen

Of stars in shadow shimmering.

Tinúviel was dancing there

To music of a pipe unseen,

And light of stars was in her hair,

And in her raiment glimmering.

Hemlock is the third element im the description of the glade Lúthien is dancing in, even before we learn her name. We have the long leaves, the green grass and the tall hemlock; two elements traditionally associated with spring and youth, and one heavily associated with death. In two verses we know everything there is to know about Lúthien: she’s youthful and she’s going to die.

The hemlock appears again in the second stanza:

There Beren came from mountains cold,

And lost he wandered under leaves,

And where the Elven-river rolled

He walked alone and sorrowing.

He peered between the hemlock-leaves

And saw in wonder flowers of gold

Upon her mantle and her sleeves,

And her hair like shadow following.

This stanza is from Beren’s point of view, looking at Lúthien. And fact he looks at her through the hemlock leaves tells us he is mortal. Beren looks at Lúthien through the lens of a mortal gaze, and thinks her otherworldly. There is an added layer to it because, in Victorian flower language, hemlock not only means mortality but also more specifically ‘you will be my death’. And, indeed, Beren dies in his quest to obtain Lúthien’s hand.

The last occurrence of hemlock in this song is in the fourth stanza:

He heard there oft the flying sound

Of feet as light as linden-leaves,

Or music welling underground,

In hidden hollows quavering.

Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves,

And one by one with sighing sound

Whispering fell the beechen leaves

In the wintry woodland wavering.

I find this stanza more difficult to analyse from a symbolic point of view since it’s mostly a description of autumn and winter coming, but it certainly puts emphasis on the importance of this plant in Beren and Lúthien’s story. As I interpret it, and this is my personal reading, it is an allusion to Beren and Lúthien growing old together and Lúthien choosing to die along Beren.

In The Tale of Tinúviel, the hemlock is also extremely important in the introduction of Tinúviel, and it is more or less a description in much more details of what is hinted at in the Song of Beren and Lúthien from FotR. I can’t put the quote because it’s in French but, very roughly, it says that the hemlock is so tall and dense it looks like Tinúviel is dancing on a white cloud. Then, when Tinúviel sees Beren, she hides under a very tall hemlock and her white dress makes her disappear in the hemlock, looking like moonlight on the flowers. The imagery used in this scene is absolutely beautiful and I can’t make it justice, but what is important is that, upon their first meeting, Tinúviel is metaphorically surrounded by mortality. She is an Elf yet she will die. And Beren, who is an elf too in this version (a Gnome, the proto-Noldor, and I struggle not to picture him as a garden gnome), is doomed to die too from the moment he walks amongst the hemlock in search of Tinúviel.

Last but not least is the Lay of Leithian. Sadly, I don’t have the full Lay of Leithian so I can’t look at the meeting scene but, in an extract given in the French translation of Beren and Lúthien (Christian Bourgois, 2017) it is said that Lúthien wears white roses in her hair (Canto VI, verses 116-117) and there are a few other mentions of unspecified white flowers. White roses mean ‘I am worthy of you’, withered white roses mean ‘transient impressions’, white rosebuds mean ‘girlhood’ and a crown of roses ‘reward of virtue’. I don’t really know what to do with these informations since I don’t have the original text so I can’t say how accurate the translation is, but all of this enhance Lúthien’s ethereal, eternally youthful appearance. It also shows the association of Lúthien with white and light in opposition to Morgoth’s black darkness, I think. But I don’t doubt for a second that the hemlock is an important part of the place where Beren and Lúthien’s meeting.

Anyways, I just love digging this kind of rabbit holes in Tolkien’s poetry, because it gives us so much insight on the characters, and I am almost sure that Tolkien, who grew up in late Victorian England and loved nature, knew of the meaning of hemlock or he wouldn’t have insisted so much on it. I’d love to see if there is a paper out there about flower language/symbolism in Tolkien’s work because I am sure there is so much more of it than what I looked at today.

Sources:

https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Song_of_Beren_and_L%C3%BAthien

https://www.gardeningchannel.com/flower-meanings-dictionary-from-a-to-z-the-secret-victorian-era-language-of-flowers/

J. R. R. Tolkien, Beren et Lúthien, Christian Bourgois, 2017

And as a bonus, the Song of Beren and Lúthien in music by Clamavi de Profundis: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=11_aneHVaz8&list=PLR5qYNG5Nf7WFbZ6wr-rr7gDnALA4C8mQ&index=19&pp=iAQB8AUB

[your-moms-a-dick]

A list that no one asked for; A list of my favorite Scream Queens and Kings

Samara Weaving (The Babysitter, Ready Or Not, Scream VI)

Kyle Gallner (Jennifer's Body, The Haunting In Connecticut, Scream V, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Smile, The Cleansing Hour, Mother May I, The Passenger)

Patrick Wilson (Insidious chapters 1, 2, & 5, The Conjuring 1-3)Hard Candy, In The Tall Grass)

Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Event Horizon, Predators, Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors)

Katie Cassidy (Supernatural, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wolves at the Door, When a Stranger Calls, Black Christmas)

Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Nope)

Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dream Warriors, New Nightmare, Hellraiser Judgement, Home, The Butterfly Room)

Mark Patton (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Swallowed)

Toni Collette (Hereditary, The Sixth Sense, Pieces of Her, Krampus, Fright Night, Knives Out)

Kate Siegel (Hush, The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Ouija, Oculus, The Curse of the Black Dahlia)

Jaeden Martell (IT, IT Chapter Two, Mr.Harrigan's Phone, The Lodge, Knives Out)

Bill Skarsgard (IT, IT Chapter Two, Barbarian, Hemlock Grove, The Devil All the Time, Castle Rock, Villains)

Tony Todd (Candyman, Final Destination 1-5)

Thank you for listening and feel free to add to this

[thelustybraavosimaid]

...

....

.....

I want to specifically talk about book!Jon here because I'm pretty sure this person doesn't know a goddamn thing about Jon in the books or his personality to even remotely reach this conclusion. I'm, quite frankly, confused at this response. So I'd like to provide some quotes:

I would need to steal her if I wanted her love, but she might give me children. I might someday hold a son of my own blood in my arms. A son was something Jon Snow had never dared dream of, since he decided to live his life on the Wall. I could name him Robb. (Jon XII, ASoS)

If a child was something Jon had always wanted, as is clearly stated here, why would he force Ygritte to get rid of his own kid?

Let's not pretend like he doesn't love her, either. Was the beginning of their relationship dubious? Absolutely. But he did love her:

"Yes." His voice was thick. "First we'll live."

She grinned at that, showing Jon the crooked teeth that he had somehow come to love. Wildling to the bone, he thought again, with a sick sad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He flexed the fingers of his sword hand, and wondered what Ygritte would do if she knew his heart. (Jon V, ASoS)

--

Ygritte was much in his thoughts as well. He remembered the smell of her hair, the warmth of her body...and the look on her face as she slit the old man's throat. You were wrong to love her, a voice whispered. You were wrong to leave her, a different voice insisted.

...

"Who is Ygritte?" Donal Noye asked pointedly.

"A woman of the free folk." How could he explain Ygritte to them? She's warm and smart and funny and she can kiss a man or slit his throat. "She's with Styr, but she's not...she's young, only a girl, in truth, wild, but she..." She killed an old man for building a fire. His tongue felt thick and clumsy. The milk of the poppy was clouding his wits. "I broke my vows with her. I never meant to, but..." It was wrong. Wrong to love her, wrong to leave her... (Jon VI, ASoS)

And he did mourn her.

Though Maester Aemon said his wound was healing well, Jon bore other scars, deeper than the ones around his eye. He grieves for his wildling girl, and for his brothers. (Samwell IV, ASoS)

--

She stood beneath the scorched stones of the Lord Commander's Tower, cloaked in darkness and in memory. The light of the moon was in her hair, her red hair kissed by fire. When he saw that, Jon's heart leapt into his mouth. "Ygritte," he said. (Jon VI, ADwD)

It goes without saying that Jon is one of the most progressive protagonists in the series. He:

•despises rape,

•advocates for those perceived "weaker" for not fitting the typical Westerosi gender standards (i.e. Sam and Satin),

•breaks the mould of Night's Watch traditions for hundreds of years by allowing freefolk men and women ages twelve and up to join.

Jon Snow values bodily autonomy.

Moreover:

Burning dead children had ceased to trouble Jon Snow; live ones were another matter. Two kings to wake the dragon. The father first and then the son, so both die kings. The words had been murmured by one of the queen's men as Maester Aemon had cleaned his wounds. Jon had tried to dismiss them as his fever talking. Aemon had demurred. "There is power in a king's blood," the old maester had warned, "and better men than Stannis have done worse things than this." The king can be harsh and unforgiving, aye, but a babe still on the breast? Only a monster would give a living child to the flames. (Jon I, ADwD)

--

Once outside and well away from the queen’s men, Val gave vent to her wroth. "You lied about her beard. That one has more hair on her chin than I have between my legs. And the daughter…her face…"

"Greyscale."

"The grey death is what we call it."

"It is not always mortal in children."

"North of the Wall it is. Hemlock is a sure cure, but a pillow or a blade will work as well. If I had given birth to that poor child, I would have given her the gift of mercy long ago."

This was a Val that Jon had never seen before. "Princess Shireen is the queen’s only child."

"I pity both of them. The child is not clean.”

"If Stannis wins his war, Shireen will stand as heir to the Iron Throne."

"Then I pity your Seven Kingdoms."

"The maesters say greyscale is not—"

"The maesters may believe what they wish. Ask a woods witch if you would know the truth. The grey death sleeps, only to wake again. The child is not clean!"

"She seems a sweet girl. You cannot know—"

"I can. You know nothing, Jon Snow.” Val seized his arm. “I want the monster out of there. Him and his wet nurses. You cannot leave them in that same tower as the dead girl.”

Jon shook her hand away. "She is not dead."

"She is. Her mother cannot see it. Nor you, it seems. Yet death is there." She walked away from him, stopped, turned back. "I brought you Tormund Giantsbane. Bring me my monster."

"If I can, I will.”

"Do. You owe me a debt, Jon Snow.”

Jon watched her stride away. She is wrong. She must be wrong. Greyscale is not so deadly as she claims, not in children. (Jon XI, ADwD)

Not to mention the conversation he has with Tormund:

"You are a free man now, and Ygritte is a free woman. What dishonor if you lay together?"

"I might get her with child."

"Aye, I'd hope so. A strong son or a lively laughing girl kissed by fire, and where's the harm in that?"

Words failed him for a moment. "The boy...the child would be a bastard."

"Are bastards weaker than other children? More sickly, more like to fail?"

"No, but—"

"You're bastard-born yourself. And if Ygritte does not want a child, she will go to some woods witch and drink a cup o' moon tea. You do not come into it, once the seed is planted."

"I will not father a bastard."

Tormund shook his shaggy head. "What fools you kneelers be. Why did you steal the girl if you don't want her?"

"Steal? I never..." (Jon II, ASoS)

So with that in mind, why would he force a woman of the freefolk — a group of people he had come to appreciate, and his first love — to drink moon tea? If she wanted to, she'd do it herself. But he would not force her. That is not how the freefolk work and Jon knows it.

[theblorbo-catcher]

Whitepine theory !! Kinda maybe spoilers ??

Tw fir mentions of blood/gore, murder, and body dismemberment

ALRIGHT SO. After rewatching whitepine for the seventh time (forgive me if I get some things wrong I was crocheting while watching it so I may get some things wrong) I've got a LOT of thoughts about Mystys death murder.

In whitestarpines theory post they mentioned that Mysty was eating in the scene where Ivory was introduced to the other maids and butlers and it got me thinking-

Seraptor told Ivory that they can probably go put of the dorms around 6 am and earlier Ivory was told that the Hemlocks usually don't get up until around 11 am. We see Ivory get up and leave the room while it's still fairly dark- it still could very well be 6 am but I feel like it's a lot earlier thn that ??? We can see from the window that the sun is just starting to rise.

I don't remember if the garden was in the servants side of the house or not but Ivory tells Clown she stayed on it the whole day, so either she was lying or the murder occurred during lunch that day. Or later the next morning when Ivory first got up.

We see Mysty eating and whitestarpine mentioned that someone theorized that there could've been hemlock in their food and that could've killed them.

Another theory that I think is worth mentioning is that Pyro is a possible suspect for the murder. I don't know if anyone else has considered this but after Pyro threw up Mysty was the one to enter his room.

Maybe he didn't want anyone to know he was sick? I don't know why he'd kill because of it but its definitely something I'd like to take a closer look at at some point-

At dinner Zam mentioned that there would be a hunt tomorrow at Lucas's place. Pyro doesn't go. I don't know if it's because he's sick or not but I think that's likely the case. I don't know if it's relevant to the murder or not but Vi fixed Izzy's telescope ands asks if she wants to try it. I assume she meant trying it that night- Izzy says not tonight, so she also maybe could've killed Mysty that night?? Either that or she just wanted to sleep. Or just didn't want to use it that night I don't know- maybe she's catching whatever Pyro has? I think I may be going a bit off the rails with that one. In my defense I'm writing this at like 1 am.

ANOTJER THING- The hunt thing they mentioned could not be literal. They could've been hunting Mysty !! The body looks WAY too bloody for them to have just fallen down the stairs. I don't know if it was the angle or just my eyes being weird but it looks like Mysty was missing some limbs I think ??? It would've explain some of the emphasis on the woods- but I don't know if that really explains the part Ivory plays in it if she does have any part in it at all.

There's such a huge gap of time where Mysty could've been killed and so many suspects its crazy- I think I definitely need to wait for more episodes before I have anything concrete but so far I'm having so much fun with this-

[nightfall-1409]

sev bit?? sev bit?? I want to know about sev bit 👀

I've elaborated a little about how I think that Sev, the sniper of Delta Squad, acts as a really interesting mirror to Crosshair in TBB. Where Delta Squad, now sans Sev, goes on to become Imperial Commandos, Sev's planned route vis a vis the game developer in a never-created sequel for Republic Commando (the game) was for him to go on and help start the early stages of the Rebellion.

I think especially after we've now seen fucking Commander Scorch (my boy what have they done to you), it's even more interesting. So, where Scorch has become a commander next to fucking Hemlock... Sev is getting off Kashyyyk with the only living Jedi on planet w/ him who's unaccounted for and does a lot of work for the rebellion, in line with the plans had mentioned— Mr. Quinlan Vos.

It's a scene from an upcoming chapter of Reconvene, whenever I get around to Omega finally interacting with Walon Vau... More/less, obviously we as the Reader of Repcomm know that Walon a) is going to go after Sev and b) cares WAY more about him than Sev ever knew , and ofc, Sev's last thoughts in O66 are him being afraid of his failure. The juxtaposition with Vau having the audacity to ask if Sev knew he cared....when I get you sir.

Here's a sneak peek 👀

“You didn’t come back.”  The Mandalorian points out, clearly looking for something, dark visor on a black helmet tilting expectantly.  Sev scoffs. “I knew what would be waiting for me after failing.”  He shook his head.  “Kid died, sure.  But then they looked at me, asking why I didn’t follow the Order.  Katarn saved my ass.  Again.”  He says after a beat.  “Vos came for the kid.  Had a spare speeder.  Because the Jedi didn’t just leave us to die.  They came back.”   And they didn’t. You didn't.  These unspoken words are like deep knives in someone's back, the Sergeant seemingly taking a moment to collect himself.   “Delta had orders from the Jedi.”  The Sergeant’s voice is strained.  “To leave you.” “My squad would have been with me again that night if not for the Order.”  Sev rebukes.   “They followed protocol, your protocol— complete the mission, don't go back for the weak link because it'll only get yourself—" He cuts himself off. "I don’t blame Delta.”  His words are soft, then.  “As far as they could have known, I was dead.  It’s been years, now.  I’ve moved on from it.  The Order came, they followed it, and I didn’t.  Quin blames it on the head trauma.” “If that’s the bar, then Scorch shouldn’t have listened to it either.”  His voice carries no heat, and is surprisingly devoid of all emotion.  Sev gives a ghost of a snort.

Neither of them say much of anything, for a long moment. “You know,” Sev restarts, eyes intense as he sizes up the other man.  “I wondered, how this would go.  Pictured it, pictured you ripping me to pieces, beating me within an inch of my life, killing Quinlan like you always said you wanted to. Hated myself, for the longest time, for the failure, for the fear, and I told myself you drilled it into me this hard because you wanted me to live.  I told myself I was afraid because I'd earned whatever would happened to me when you got your hands on me, because I'd failed, I'd deserve it.” He shakes his head.  “But I’m not afraid because I deserve it.  I’m just afraid of you.”

[clownery-and-fuckery]

Arcane AU.... having never touched that piece of media ever, I am going to label characters as TBB based on edits

The obvious choice from what I've SEEN is Crosshair as Jinx(I think that's the same as Powder??) And Hunter as Vi but yk what? Spicing it up a bit

The twins could be them. As either. From what I've seen in my very small dippings in and out when the show was SUPER popular initially and from what I can remember- I'd put Crosshair in either Vi OR Jinx's place along with Tech??? It's a bit complicated to explain

Visually it makes sense to me, they seemed close, had a fight, one left and was manipulated by an outside factor and now they hate each other because of complicated feelings-

I'd pin that to the twins in a HEARTBEAT??? Hemlock could be that silly guy who found Jinx when she was SLAMMED by Vi after that fire(whatever THAT was about how was it her fault?? She's just a little girl :[??)

But I could see Hemlock and Tech as that creepy guy and jinx?? Idk, from what I saw it looks pretty sad :(

But please, if you like Arcane, tell me more >:D it'd be pretty interesting to learn about

[stvrlighttgabss]

shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. then copy & paste this ask to your favorite mutuals !! (no pressure ofc) mwah mwah 💕

1. best interest by tyler, the creator

2. good loyal thots inst. by odecore

3. girlfriend by hemlocke springs

4. sky walker by miguel & travis scott

5. luxury azealia banks

ik this playlist is so random 😭 but ty for sending this in vis !!

[no-where-new-hero]

Fire and Hemlock Readalong: Day 16 (Part 3, Ch. 4)

...in which Polly considers the human back.

One thing that I’ve really noticed throughout this read along, probably because I actually have to pace myself from chapter to chapter, is the incredibly deliberate way that DWJ breaks up her chapters and brings Polly through mini-arcs in them. She's also very careful to identify Polly’s age at each stage, and she lets us know at the beginning of this chapter that Polly is 13: newly a teenager and thus more susceptible to the dangerously liminal experiences of becoming a young adult.

(This is an aside in what I know will already be a super long post, but when I did research on the Tam Lin ballad and its fellow fairy-lover archetype narratives, I saw this pattern where the humans who drew fairy attention had liminal characteristics: they didn’t fit firmly into one identity or another or one societal expectation or another. I personally think that’s clear in Tom vis a vis gender—see my earlier arguments on his ambiguous masculinity—and that’s clear for Polly vis a vis age. At this point in the novel, she’s leaving the clear and safe realm of childhood and moving into the sexual and social confusions of young adulthood, which is partly how Laurel gets her. But that comes later.)

Right now, we see Granny being heroic in her defense of Polly, which goes a little ways to protect Polly from the cruelty of the world. Granny, however, treats Seb very favorably, for no real reason that I can anticipate except for the fact that narratively, we see Polly’s own ambivalence to him through contrast. Polly obviously feels flattered that Seb likes her, but she’d prefer not to have him around and considers him the blot on her summer. Between Granny’s kindness to Seb and of course the opal pendant, I’m starting to feel like Granny—perhaps particularly Granny’s kindness—is starting to function as Polly’s weakness. It’s something Hunsdon House can get around to reach Polly, perhaps in the confidence that it has gotten around Granny once before, to steal her husband.

Meanwhile, school life continues, with Leslie, Nina, and Fiona lingering around the edges of Polly’s social circle, though it isn’t until Tan Thare contacts Polly again that she shakes back into herself and reconnects with her creativity. Polly’s writing a sprawling epic novel utterly without an eye to outlining and thoroughly self-indulgent is intensely relatable, especially when DWJ describes that afterwards she was proud of her accomplishment and sick of the sight of the manuscript and lost without being able to work on it. It’s a way for her not only to work out her own sense of identity and heroism but also to address her underneath-feelings of sexuality, all wrapped up in “showing off” her great narrative prowess—until Tom slams her with “Sentimental Drivel.” This part is so deeply deeply personal to me, but it’s also great how we see this spurring Polly’s anger into seizing control of her relationship with Seb: she’s single-mindedly angry, no longer liminal, and can tell him off by asserting that he doesn’t know who she is. Her anger is misdirected because she means it for Tom, but its also perfectly pointed: she has defeated, for the moment, the agent of Hunsdon House.

Sam Rensky’s letter never fails to make me cackle, but obviously Tom is trying to do things with it beyond just giving Polly literary advice: in the first place, he’s trying to remind Polly that heroism is ordinary. It doesn’t have to look beautiful and glamorous and romantic to be effective and magical. If so, then they’d have already lost against Laurel, who’s already outstandingly beautiful and glamorous and will never fall below a superlative standard. In the second place, I see him trying to push away Polly's feelings for him. I’ve never really given too much thought to the progression of what Tom thinks about Polly aside from “chum who might save my life” but of course there’s a difference between a romance stuck into a fantasy novel for the sake of it as a narrative hinge (Arwen and Aragorn in LOTR, for instance) and a romantasy where the love story is baked into the plot. Polly edging into romantasy territory is cringe but it’s also demanding something of him that he might not want to give her or that he knows is dangerous to give her.

Tom’s return at the end of the chapter reinforces this: he has again depicted himself as an animal (kangaroo this time) which recalls the ostriches and tortoises of the beginning of the book. Polly, recognizing this, feels indignant that he only wants to see her as a child, which echoes her feelings about Seb only wanting to see her as a meek and mild love interest. In both cases, she wants to be taken seriously as a full-rounded person dealing with a whole lot of complicated emotions, but both Tom and Seb would prefer to see her in the light they want to for the sake of their own emotional security.

(Of course Ivy didn’t get on with her girl lodgers. I hate her.)

[phoenixdaneko]

My Mutuals (Pt. 1)

My Crow 🖤💛🖤, My husband, the loml, Nevada <3, Nev <3, My Rockstar <3 (may change later)

Asphyr <3 (may change later)

Hala <3 (may change later)

Jorja <3 (may change later)

Vesper <3, Ves <3 (may change later)

Thena <3 (may change later)

Jin <3 (may change later)

Lex <3, Kris <3 (may change later)

Kazachi <3 (may change later)

Stanley <3, My Dear Son <3 (may change later)

Juno <3, Ink <3 (may change later)

Cody <3 (may change later)

Pitterpatter <3 (may change later)

Cobra <3 (may change later)

Cherry <3 (may change later)

Ghosts <3 (may change later)

Superstar <3 (may change later)

Swirly <3 (may change later)

Socks <3 (may change later)

Fluffy <3 (may change later)

MoKaazz <3, Kaazz <3 (may change later)

Chicken <3 (may change later)

Bitty <3 (may change later)

Kermit <3 (may change later)

Rando <3 (may change later)

Yakamashi <3, V <3 (may change later)

Pandora <3 (may change later)

Jam <3, Jamie <3 (may change later)

Twayla <3 (may change later)

Judas <3 (may change later)

Star <3 (may change later)

Zelda <3 (may change later)

Cereal <3 (may change later)

Katie <3 (may change later)

Remi <3 (may change later)

Basya <3 (may change later)

Aurel <3 (may change later)

Bumble <3, Ballad <3 (may change later)

Glitzy <3 (may change later)

Duhsty <3 (may change later)

Qwille <3 (may change later)

Lad <3 (may change later)

Kazzy <3 (may change later)

Burr <3 (may change later)

Paper <3 (may change later)

Chandi <3, Starry <3 (may change later)

Bumpy <3 (may change later)

Helena <3 (may change later)

Crystal <3 (may change later)

Celtic <3 (may change later)

Siren <3 (may change later)

Olive <3 (may change later)

Dracoria <3 (may change later)

Skelekins <3, Skele <3 (may change later)

Certi <3 (may change later)

Cosmic <3 (may change later)

Bubbie <3 (may change later)

Enigma <3 (may change later)

Hemlock <3 (may change later)

Malde <3 (may change later)

Grin <3 (may change later)

Rose <3 (may change later)

Bun <3 (may change later)

Ghosti <3 (may change later)

Noodle <3 (may change later)

Pan-Pan <3 (may change later)

Sealz <3 (may change later)

Charshine <3 (may change later)

Kosmo <3 (may change later)

Minty <3 (may change later)

Fair <3 (may change later)

Soda <3 (may change later)

Max <3 (may change later)

Parzival <3, Parz <3 (may change later)

Mason <3 (may change later)

Berry <3 (may change later)

J <3 (may change later)

Sue <3 (may change later)

Nexi <3 (may change later)

Anri <3 (may change later)

Icy <3 (may change later)

Bunniie <3 (may change later)

Moon <3, Sini <3 (may change later)

Duck <3 (may change later)

Bloos <3 (may change later)

Fungi <3 (may change later)

Tigress <3 (may change later)

June <3 (may change later)

Dey <3 (may change later)

Suffer <3 (may change later)

Lec <3 (may change later)

Ethan <3, Bronwynne <3, Bee <3 (may change later)

Goblin <3 (may change later)

Angel <3 (may change later)

Lemon <3 (may change later)

Mityai <3 (may change later)

Mars <3 (may change later)

Emry <3 (may change later)

Vi <3 (may change later)

Freak <3 (may change later)

Edi <3 (may change later)

Eva <3 (may change later)

Jas <3 (may change later)

Fern <3 (may change later)

[thequietabsolute]

Top Artists — Medium Term (6 months)

Felbm

Radiohead

Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Kate Bush

Nick Drake

Midlake

Paul Simon

Simon & Garfunkel

Slowdive

Boards of Canada

Canary Room

The Beatles

Fionn Regan

Beach House

Leonard Cohen

hemlock

Vashti Bunyan

Clara Mann

Bob Dylan

The Smiths

ABBA

Grouper

David Bowie

The Clientele

Jessica Pratt

Olovson

Bill Callahan

Laura Marling

Rachel Grimes

Chet Baker

Belle and Sebastian

Sibylle Baier

Aldous Harding

Cocteau Twins

Acetone

Connan Mockasin

Fleetwood Mac

Cornelia Murr

John Martyn

Julie London

Sea Oleena

Sufjan Stevens

Meg Baird

Shannon Lay

Van Morrison

Pink Floyd

Caroline Says

Sun Kil Moon

Maxine Funke

Fairport Convention

that spotify stats page

Top Tracks — Long Term (years)

Calla — Canary Room

4 Lieder, Op. 27, TrV 170: IV. Morgen! — Richard Strauss, Jonas Kaufmann, Helmut Deutsch

6 Melodies, Op. 4 - 6 melodies, Op. 5: Allegretto — Fanny Mendelssohn, Beatrice Rauchs

Long Before Us — Rachel Grimes

Sandalwood I — Jonny Greenwood

Stabat Mater: 1. Stabat Mater — Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood

Thaïs / Act 2: Méditation — Jules Massenet, Joshua Bell, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton

Songs My Mother Taught Me, Op. 55 No. 4 — Antonín Dvořák, Alisa Weilerstein, Anna Polonsky

Elegy No. 1 in D Major — Giovanni Bottesini, Andrew Burashko, Joel Quarrington

The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIII. The Swan (Arr. for Cello and Piano) — Camille Saint-Saëns, Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott

Julie With - 2004 Digital Remaster — Brian Eno

wallingford bossa — hemlock

Fantasiestücke, Op. 73: No. 1, Zart und mit Ausdruck — Robert Schumann, Sol Gabetta, Hélène Grimaud

By This River - 2004 Digital Remaster — Brian Eno

Just When You Need Yourself Most — Oberhofer

Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro — Giacomo Puccini, Renée Fleming, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras

Bleecker Street — Simon & Garfunkel

House of Woodcock — Jonny Greenwood

Shaker — Acetone

All The Time — Acetone

Jazz Suite No. 2: VI. Waltz II — Dmitri Shostakovich, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35: II. The Kalendar Prince (Excerpt) — Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Riccardo Muti, Philadelphia Orchestra

Christine — Canary Room

Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens — Tiny Ruins

Valse sentimentale, Op. 51, No. 6 — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Josef Sakonov, London Festival Orchestra

Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op. 73 "Emperor": II. Adagio un poco mosso — Ludwig van Beethoven, Wilhelm Kempff, Berliner Philharmoniker, Ferdinand Leitner

Deux Arabesques, L. 66, CD 74: I. Première Arabesque — Claude Debussy, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

Green Bus — The Innocence Mission

Lucida — Thomas Bartlett

Introduction et Allegro, M. 46 — Maurice Ravel, Oxalys

Two Thousand and Seventeen — Four Tet

When It Rains — Felbm

Lake Effect — Canary Room

Candy Says — The Velvet Underground

Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48, TH 48: II. Valse — Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Kitayenko

Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, Heft II: No. 14, Zart und singend — Robert Schumann, Jonathan Biss

Magnolia — J.J. Cale

day one — hemlock

Return From The Ice — Acetone

Requiem in D minor, K.626: 6. Benedictus — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Bonney, Hans Peter Blochwitz, Willard White, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner

River — Terry Reid

Where Should I Meet You? — Canary Room

This Night Has Opened My Eyes - 2011 Remaster — The Smiths

Brother — Vashti Bunyan

Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude — Johann Sebastian Bach, Yo-Yo Ma

Sweeten Your Eyes — The Clientele

Knickerbocker Holiday: September Song (Arr. by Paul Bateman) — Kurt Weill, Daniel Hope, Jacques Ammon, Zürcher Kammerorchester

Funicular — Felbm

Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major, K. 332: II. Adagio — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jenő Jandó

Sensuela — Column