#allies in peace and war (promo)

[emilybeemartin]

I knew I wasn't going to be able to draw for a while after surgery, but I didn't expect to not be able to TYPE for this long. I have a manuscript I want to get moving on, but I can only work on it like the little dippy bird on your grandparents' mantel.

In lieu of anything else, here's a collection of character drawings from my first trilogy.

Book 1, Woodwalker: A disgraced ranger must lead an exiled queen on a dangerous quest to reclaim her throne.

Book 2, Ashes to Fire: A desperate queen will do whatever it takes to secure the throne that was stolen from her---even if it means allying with the unlikeliest of enemies.

Book 3, Creatures of Light: With the Eastern World collapsing into war, one lonely queen harbors a great secret that could bring peace---at the risk of losing everything herself.

Bonus promo image from Christmas 2020 that sums everything up:

These books released in 2015-2017 from Harper Collins and should still be able to be found through most retailers or requested from your library (or order from one of my regional indies for signed copies!). All are nature-nerd fantasy adventures for readers 14+---technically they're not YA because the characters are adults, but there's no graphic content in them besides a bit of language and garden variety fight scenes that would make them unsuitable for teen readers.

[tired-night-owl]

Blood Runs Cold

Fandom : Star Wars The Bad Batch

One shot ?

I tried to write a small fic about Crosshair and Omega in the new promo that’s been released because I can’t wait to see them together in the new season even if I know my heart is gonna get crushed by Dave Filony again… Hopefully I am the opposite of last season and I am soooo wrong and they will all be reunited as a big family where no one dies or sacrifice themselves for the others ! Anyway I hope you enjoy :) 

Word count : 866

Summary : Crosshair has much to think about in his new conditions, what doesn’t help is when a far too bubbly and optimistic teenager comes and ruins his peaceful self pity moment.

Notes : brief mention of torture I guess, small but graphic description of tech’s death, Siblings!crosshair x omega, Spoilers for the new promo clip !

He noticed it a while ago, when they first started their wicked experiments on him. He tried to keep it under control mostly for his pride because seeing as with such a condition, his (now rendered useless) talent would be even more so wasn’t helping his morale. Crosshair didn’t mind it too much for now because not one clone in this cursed facility was in any shape or form to judge him in his misery. That is until the girl showed up. 

That child has been the sole cause for any misfortune he had to live though in the last couple of months he thought, but scolded himself to at least not make it show. She has enough to deal with too at the moment without having to suffer his endless wrath and sorrows. Still she cost him everything. His family, in more ways than one, his station, attempting to save her branded him a traitor and a VIP ticket to Hemlock’s test table and —

His mind went silent 

His brother Tech…. He had to give his life for hers. Skull smashed to pieces because they didn’t heed his warning. There's no way the batch can survive without its brain now. 

His mind whirled with thoughts like these locked in his dark cell all day. Some would say they were enough to drive a man insane but Crosshair already knew insane, and it wasn’t by his choice. Now he sees it, the effect that damn chip has had on him. How it made him turn on the only people who ever cared for him. He couldn’t turn on this one now. 

« Crosshair… »

« Crosshair ! I tried to come earlier, but there are too many guards watching me…»

He tried to calm his usually snappy tone for the sake of the girl who must be as terrified if not more than he is at the moment.

« You shouldn’t be down here at all » he tried to make her realize a little harsher than he wished.

It was foolish of her to put a target on her back by snooping around, on THEIR backs. In a situation like this where there is no hope, it’s best to comply and hope you die as painlessly as possible. Though that seemed unlikely for him at the hands of that sick scientist. But there might be hope for her yet if she stopped escaping her quarters.

The girl continued with her misplaced energy and optimism.

« How else are we gonna plan an escape ? »

An escape ?! Had she gone insane? Did she not realize they were in the middle of no where, in an unknown imperial playground, surrounded by guards with no moral compass except loyalty to the credits they earn at the end of each shift filled with screams of tortured people. Better to kill that idea in the egg before she gets too altruistic. 

The sniper resumed his usual cold and unapproachable attitude, hoping the girl would realize that planning an escape in a place such as this with only 1 ally was foolish already but with no one, it was simply stretching your neck to help the executioner do his job. 

« There is no WE, and there is no escape… I’ve already tried. » 

The young clone didn’t budge.

« Every stronghold has a weak point ! Maybe I could convince Emerie to help, she’s one of us. »

His brothers has taught her well he could tell, and by that he meant by filling her head with useless idiotic tactics and informations for a obviously changing galaxy. Besides if they shouldn’t trust one person in this Sarlac pit, it was HER. That double crossing scientist woman. Testing on people was bad enough but on her own « brothers » that was being a plain sociopathic hypocrite. 

« Not every clone is your ally ! » The sharpshooter reminded her.

« You trust too easily… »

He expected a reply and one sounding similar to that one too, so he doesn’t know why her words struck him so. 

« Maybe you don’t trust enough. » Omega replied with that same misguided hope as earlier.

An uncomfortable silence surrounded the two and then it started again : the shaking.

The stupid shaking he couldn’t stop. The best sniper in the whole GAR with quivering hands, how ironic. He felt uneasy having her see him like this. It was as if his own brothers could see how low he had fallen and for a prideful man like Crosshair, it was not an easy feat to overcome. 

« Crosshair ? »  The young girl asked after her gaze fell upon her brother hiding his hands from her. 

Not so long ago he would’ve snapped at her for simply seeing him in a state like this, desperately trying to steady his once reliable hands but now, he just didn’t have the heart or the energy to do so…

« Just… Go. » he simply said. 

« Before you make things worst for both of us… »

In this moment he came to the conclusion that yes, he didn’t want to be punished for the girl’s misbehaviour but he also mostly didn’t want her to suffer because of him. 

Knowing Hemlock, he wouldn’t even do it to punish Omega… but he would do unexplainable things to the girl to make HIM suffer. 

[sadnessruns]

When you're upset all the time. Can't end this streak of sleepless nights. I wish that it was me. A broken heart in N.Y.C.

indie multimuse developed by leo. est in 2017. ft oc & canon muses from star trek, rent, legend of zelda, if/then, dungeons & dragons, & animaniacs.

[shcndralar]

INDEPENDENT & MUTUALS ONLY WORLD OF WARCRAFT champion oc, penned by Nia. Please read my full verses list && rules here. Here you can find my interest tracker. Main verses can be found under the cut. Mun & Muse are 18+ Themes such as war, genocide, death, disease, and gore may be present. All triggers are tagged!  Mutuals only, private & selective ! This blog is permanently && heavily associated with my other blog @lichrisen as the two elves are adventuring partners.

Promo

RE mains: @redactar ( Leon Kennedy ), @nichtmeinvater ( Jake Muller )

@ltcoen ( Billy Coen )

WoW Mains:

LoL Mains:

MAIN (  Dragonflight )  !

THREE YEARS of peace has befallen Azeroth between the journey into the lands of undeath and the rediscovery of the Dragon Isles. With no war to wage, Lysirae has fallen into complacency despite keeping close eye on the goings on of the distant lands. Weary from battle, she remains far too hesitant to rejoin the efforts against the ancient threat. For how long can she ignore the call?

SHADOWLANDS ( CANON past ) !

CROSSOVER  !

 RETIREMENT ESCAPES Lysirae yet again as Azeroth lands in the sight of another Godlike being, seeking to destroy it. Journeying across the veil with the members of the Ebonblade and champions of the horde, they are tasked with the rescue of Anduin, Baine, Jaina, and  Thrall. Discovering that their only way out of the Maw is through her, Lysirae is forced to escape without them for the time being and make relations with the four main factions of the Shadowlands as the Maw Walker, if there is to be any hope of rescuing both their leaders and the world from their cruel fates. 

Lysirae travels through the portal Nexus as a diplomat to your world, seeking more allies to join the Alliance cause.

LEAGUE ( Rabbit On the Moon ) !

Lysirae is a lunar spirit born from the first rays of moonlight touching the peak of Mount Targon. Under the guise of a rabbit Vastya, she is assigned as each Moon Aspect’s familiar; Lys counts down the years with her hourglass until the Moon's fortress appears once again, and the Solari returns to dormancy. 

RESIDENT EVIL  !

In two-thousand-nine, the Beaumonts were invited by the city of Kijuju to make an appearance for the grand opening of the new hospital building funded, and constructed by order of Iron Mountain. As their mother was preoccupied with other pressing matters, Lysandra and Imir were sent in her stead. They were just cutting the ribbon when Wesker and his plaga plunged Kijuju into absolute madness; Imir and Lys were separated as a result of the chaos. Refusing to evacuate and return home without her brother,  she spent several days utilizing what she could to search for him with the resources they could spare her. Unfortunately, Imir was never found. Continue

[theholycovenantrpg]

CONGRATULATIONS, MAL! YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR THE ROLE OF DAMIEN WARD.

Admin Cas: At long last, our Antichrist is among us! Mal, your application left me totally enamoured by the vicious, wicked, and beautiful creature you placed before us. As you pointed out, Damien is a being of halves — half human, half divine, half animal — and yet, nothing in his life has even been done in halves. You breathed such life into him, made him so much more than his epithet or his Vice. The way you used the Prophecy that still lingers, even as it’s been fulfilled, and injected that into your future plots was just so exciting! And, I have to admit, when you mentioned the way that he tugs at his gloves as a threat, as a flex of his power — well, that just felt so DAMIEN. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with him, and I’m beyond excited to see what ruin he wreaks on the dash! Please create and send in your account, review the information on our CHECKLIST, and follow everyone on the FOLLOW LIST. Welcome to the Holy Land!

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Mal

Age | 25

Personal Pronouns | They/them

Activity Level | I’m a full time student and have other general life obligations, but I’m generally fairly free on the evenings and weekends. In numbers I’d estimate my activity at probably a 6/10. 

Timezone | EST

Triggers | REMOVED

How did you find the group?  | I came across one of your beautiful promos in the lsrpg tag, if I recall correctly.

Current/Past RP Accounts | Jove

IN CHARACTER

Character | Damien Ward 

What drew you to this character? | I had Damien’s bio lingering in the back of my head since I first read it, and then Admin Rosey kindly suggested he and I might be a good fit for one another, and I sunk my teeth in. The image of eight year-old Damien standing over a body with wolves licking blood from his hands stuck in me like a fishhook. He’s half-mortal, half-divine, half-wild creature. I am reminded of classical Greek heroes, defined by transgression, made great and made beautiful by the same things that make him monstrous. 

He’s in a position with so much glimmering potential on the horizon. He’s fulfilled his purpose, in a sense, and yet the world remains rebuilt beneath him. Is it enough for it to lift him up as it has? He was not built for times of peace, and here he is living in one. This can only go on so long, and how could I not adore a character surrounded in so much tantalizing possibility?

Also, I am such a sucker for the fascinating family dynamics that surround him. His own mother, who willingly took Lucifer himself into her arms, could not bear the sight of what they’d made together. Damien was made for wild, inky shadows, to be at home among bloody-mouthed beasts. And yet, when hell opened it’s maw to swallow him whole, he found family. An Antichrist who is loved, who might wrestle with his sister like a wolf-pip and turn his face upwards to face the judgement of a mother, and care what she sees. The thought must have been so utterly foreign to Damien as a child, whose mother could not stir a single response from him, for whom he could never find reason to twist his mouth into a smile. And yet he offers Azazel everything she asks for, he listens attentively to his father and learns to craft words of bright silver. It is a remarkable thing, that one could look into Damien’s wild, inky darkness and learn to love him. Perhaps the only thing stranger is that he has learned to love back. 

Also, he’s evil and sexy and I love him.

What future plots do you have in mind for the character? | 

THE FORTUNATE SON | The family dynamics surrounding Damien are stunning, fire-forged and battle-tested, yet razor thin cracks grow along their obsidian surface. They are bound so tightly together, love each other with terrifying ferocity, yet even the closest of bonds can snap when struck from the right angle. They are all caught up in tantalizing possibility, but the crack most likely to become a fissure runs in a sharp, direct line straight from Damien’s ambition to Judas’. 

Damine knows what his pseudo father is: The Great Betrayer. Damien is not blind to the fact that he is a dangerous man to share power with, even an invisible crown. But he took Damien in when he was a hollow and wild thing. The first creature whose eyes Damien found recognition in was a wolf. Judas was the second. Damien has killed with them both. Sons rising up against their fathers is one of the oldest stories in the world. Damien has already lived it, once. In dark, seething moments, he wonders if he may have to live it again. Is Judas, like the wolf, not a creature of his nature? Is placing his trust in his hands not akin to placing his head in the mouth of the beast? And yet... neither has failed him thus far. 

(And yet, he thinks with a secret tenderness he knows may curse him, he loves them both.)

I can see either Damien or Judas turning against the other should the right leverage be applied to their deep yet delicate bond. A war between them would be a terror wrought upon the world and upon themselves. Conflict between them would be devastating and delectable, both to the characters and the world around them.  It might seem nearly inevitable, two ambitions like theirs poised so keenly for conflict, and yet I just as easily see them united should they find another common enemy. Damien’s sights may turn towards Judas should he find himself unable to resist the ache in his jaw to destroy, yet should he be given something else tantalizing to gnash his teeth against, Damien may always find himself choosing the latter. 

SEVEN DEVILS | Outside of his found family, the Vices, each carefully hand-picked for their own strains of terror, are Damien’s closest allies upon this earth. Though even then, loyalty, let alone trust, among demons is a dangerously fickle thing. Even the best of the creatures of hell are a ravenous, power-hungry lot, and Damien is not nearly foolish enough to think none of them might hunger for the power he wields as their self-appointed leader. Raum is the only among them he can truly trust, she who he plucked from obscurity and gave grand purpose, she who is the closest being to him not called family. Yet he chose each of his Vices for a reason, and each of them has unique value to him. I see him trying to craft an individual loyalty with each of them, tethering them all one-by-one to his ambitions.

This is not to say I can’t see him failing in this lofty task, no matter what he might think of his silver-tongue and the bone-chilling power of his mere presence. Damien is perfectly capable of overestimating the power of his own thrall, or of being too caught up in the affairs of his family to hear the whispers passed between them, or countless other faults that may make him vulnerable to those in his inner circle. I would love to explore what may happen should one or more of the vices turn against him, their united front fracturing. Damien believes that he is the one who raised them high, who granted them their lofty titles, and that he has every right to cast them away should they fail him, and I can all too easily see such a move back-firing spectacularly. 

The seven of them create a complex web of loyalties, and as much as Damien prefers to think himself the clever spider at its centre, he is just as capable of being caught up in it as any of the others. 

LIVING IN THE AFTERMATH | Perhaps more of an internal development than an interpersonal one, but I’m deeply interested in exploring how the events since Lucifer was vanquished continue to affect Damien. He never found a father in the Morningstar. The word family will forever evoke Judas, Abbadon, and Azazel before the woman who birthed him and the man who sired him, but the Devil’s blood still runs in his veins. So much of what he is, as acerbic a thought as it may be, is owed to the circumstances of his birth. 

Seizing hell and sending Lucifer careening upward, outcast from the realm he once ruled, was the first step to ridding the Antichrist of his father’s shadow, but it would prove to be far from the last. Three hundred years longer, Damien had to wait with a pernicious, buzzing anxiety, for the last of the Morningstar’s light to finally fade from his eyes, and that too would not bring the end of his influence. Though he did not stand in the way of the search for the bodies of God and his Morningstar, speaking of the affair left his tongue dry and bitter in his mouth. Their time had come and gone. All that was left of them was dust. And besides, if mortal and demonkind so desperately sought what was left of the Morningstar, all they had to do was turn their eyes to his progeny. Lucifer’s blood thrums through his veins, yet they seek his crumbled remains instead? It defies Damien’s understanding. 

The Heretics and their precious Sanctus Terra (a name that to this day he can’t help but feel a petty disdain for) only exacerbated his frustration. Going to war with them was delightful, yes, crushing their ranks between his teeth brought a dark kind of satisfaction he hadn’t felt since he’d seized the Morningstar and ripped him from his throne. Damien could have waged war for centuries, never tiring of the taste of mortal blood, of flexing his power against their generals. But too many others were not so inclined - and it was with disdain (and a fair bit of pressure from those around him) that he agreed to set the war aside to establish the Holy Land. His beloved Azazel being made Moon - though were it up to him, he’d have given her the whole piece of land to her to do with what she pleased - at least served as something of a consolation prize. Even on this so-called neutral ground, the power of his family has made itself known and respected. 

Still, his resentment for the place has not entirely faded, and while he’s willing to at least tolerate most of what it has to offer, some of its residents make that ire come bubbling up to the surface. Namely, Estienne, who in all their lofty arrogance and sly demeanour has come to be emblematic of everything Damien hates about the place. Estienne is but a pale imitation, thinking a touch of plague-given divinity makes them his equal, who seems to seek a dynasty with his own sister not unlike the one Damien has with his. It’s petty, Damien’s disdain, yet powerful. I see Estienne managing to push all of Damien’s buttons, and as much as Damien would like to forget about them entirely, they remain a thorn in his side, with more influence over him than he would ever care to admit. 

CUT FROM THE CLOTH OF FATE | Damien was born swathed in prophecy. Destiny’s shadow has hung over him and lingered behind him for the entirety of his existence. The Antichrist, born to eat the world. And he’s done it, hasn’t he? He has torn the Morningstar from his throne and bit out his throat, he has brought Hell itself to the surface of the earth. Civilizations have fallen to his wrath, cities crumbled under his touch, the world as it was once known torn to pieces and turned to dust. Yet what is destruction wrought when revival follows it like a shadow? 

I see Damien at something of a crossroads. In one sense, his prophecy is fulfilled; he took the world between his teeth and crushed an age to it’s bitter end. Half the world is his in all but name (though Judas’ shadow lurks around every corner, he too crafting himself an invisible throne), but contentedness can not and will not come easily to Damien. Something stirs within him, something yet to be named, perhaps even recognized, but its roots have already taken root in the core of him. Restlessness stirs in his hounds, power festering from underuse, and a quiet, dull ache grows in the set of his jaw. He was made to destroy, not to rule, but he cannot deny that there is something delectable about the word ‘king’.

I see him in quiet, solitary moments turning the prophecy over in his mind. What is one meant to do, once he’s swallowed the world? There are moments he regrets letting it regrow so quickly, giving him so little time to bask in the ruination of his making, and there are moments when he wonders if his prophecy remains unfulfilled, still dark and beckoning. Every moment spent with Nerissa pulls it from him, makes his hands itch to rip off his gloves and feel ruin blossom under his touch once more, this time with no rebirth to follow. There are times still, when he thinks he ought to tear apart the prophecy itself with his teeth, render it as meaningless and obsolete as the ashes of the Old Testament. His father was a king. Perhaps it is time to claim a different kind of birthright. 

I can see Damien turning his sights on The Holy Land and Caelum (and maybe - if those lands have somehow fallen to his wrath - Infernum itself) hungry for destruction at whatever cost it may come.  Just as easily, I can see him looking to his invisible throne and the crown of shadows growing on his brow, and decide that it is time to make them something more tangible. I’m not sure Damien himself knows exactly what he wants, but I know it would be utterly delightful to see which direction the story and the other characters may push him in, and find out. 

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yes. But if Damien is going down, he is going down in one hell of a blaze of glory. 

IN DEPTH

Driving Character Motivation | The dark, beautiful thing about Damien is that if he were asked this question, I’m not sure he could give you a solid answer. Oh of course he wouldn’t say as much, his lips would twist up in something not quite a smile, and from his tongue he’d create something lovely and argent, perhaps ask what the earthquake’s driving motivation is to turn a city to dust, or what drives a pack of wolves to tear the stag limb from limb. It would be long after his shadow had ceased to fall upon you, after your bones had warmed from his chill, that you would realize he answered only with questions. That is, if he answered at all, and did not instead slit your throat for the presumption. 

Damien is, above all else, inevitable. The trajectory of his life has forever been defined by what he is more than who. The line between them blurs beyond recognition. Damien is a force of nature, a wild animal, and a fatherless son all in the same breath. He is a creature of ferocious instinct, who knew that he thirsted for the sweet, metallic taste of blood long before he knew why.

All this is to say, Damien’s motivation is a fractured thing. One might call the thing driving his heart to beat and his hands to rend destiny or instinct or hunger, but in a word, I would call it ambition. Damien was born with grand purpose, with a dark, insatiable thirst. He was going to kill the world. Now he’s done just that, in a sense, chewed up the old world and spit it back out, only to watch his pseudo-father carefully tend to the remains. Something new has blossomed from Damien’s destruction and perhaps, were he anyone else, that would be enough. 

Which path to carve forward remains unknown, even to Damien himself, but one thing remains certain: this is not where his story ends. He did not overthrow the Morningstar to live an idle eternity, to bask in even the chaotic peace of Infernum. He balances on the line between ‘prince’ and ‘king’ and yet is permitted to openly call himself neither. He looks to the north and sees wide swathes of earth that do not yet know his destructive trust. All the while, something inside him grows, inky shadows spreading where he stands. So many highs he has yet to reach, so many ways to wield his power against the world. 

What does Damien want? The answer swirls like a storm building inside him, shapeless and impatient. If he really must name it, I believe he would choose a singular, all-encompassing word: MORE. 

Character Traits |

Vicious: Full of vice. Is there a word that more completely sums up all that the Antichrist is? The word may conjure the traditional vices, but it is also a word for the wild, fierce cruelty Damien is capable of embodying so completely. He is vicious in that he is wicked, but also in that if he proclaimed he was raised by wolves one might believe him. Damien is a sharp, dangerous thing, and he bears each vice with pride, but none more than his self-appointed title: wrath. 

Volatile: In certain environments, such as his childhood, one could be easily be mistaken in thinking the Antichrist scarce feels anything at all, cold and distant as he might be. The truth is something else entirely. It might not show on his face until the ice inside him has whirled into a blizzard, but without his gloves Damien’s power would act on its own accord. Damien feels deeply, quickly, and to those who know him well enough can seem almost childish in the changes of his mood. Especially now, when the path before him is so unclear, and Damien finds himself all but itching for his next direction. 

Aloof: Cold is the first word that many think of when they encounter Damien. He walks into a room like the winter chill blowing in. And how fitting it is, that the distant, aloof child of the Morningstar could make even the fires of hell seem cold. Damien is a singular creature; he prefers to stand apart from most (with few exceptions made, for family and to an extent, the Vices). And how could he not, the only half-demon known to walk the Earth? 

Eloquent: Damien came of age under the wing of Judas, the silver-tongued betrayer. He has learned to weave words from the best teacher one could desire. Yet, the Antichrist himself is not a creature of lies by his nature. He may employ them should they be needed, but Damien prefers those who look upon him to know exactly who he is. He barely spoke a word the first eight years of his life, silent as a shadow. Now, every word is chosen carefully, the beauty of his words a sharp contrast between the dread he invokes. 

Passionate: How irritating he finds it, that language so often describes passion as a fire. Damien is a creature of ice and shadow. Passion, for Damien, is a blizzard, whiting-out everything in its path, a glacier, slow-moving and unstoppable, or the nocturnal beasts coming out of hiding at the fall of night, inevitable as it is fearsome. When Damien cares, he cares deeply, and with terrifying ferocity. 

Dauntless: What does the Antichrist know of fear? Damien has never met an obstacle he did not hesitate to rise to meet, not even the Devil himself. As a child he looked down into the fiery mouth of hell and he found himself a home in its fires. Damien is bold, welcoming a challenge, particularly in battle, and does not do well with idleness. 

In-Character Para Sample | 

There’s something wonderfully fascinating about watching the effects of his presence before the affected even knows Damien lingers close by. Even creatures of hell can react like prey animals under the unseen gaze of a wolf, a mysterious chill creeping up their spines, hairs standing on end as they twist their necks in search of the source of their unease. The corner of Damien’s mouth ticks upward at the sight. It’s a rare thing in these languid days of peace, that he gets a chance to flex this particular muscle, lingering in the shadows of Infernum’s ever-ostentatious decor in a dark corner of a busy room. It will not last, the effect of Damien’s presence can only go unnoticed for so long. Sooner or later, the cold will seep deeply enough into someone’s skin to dismiss as a figment of imagination, and he will be given away. He’s only managed to escape notice so far because slipped in from a side-door, treading quickly and silently, and took a vantage point half-covered by a heavy velvet curtain, and, far more significantly, because the room’s attention is fixed on none other than Judas himself.

It’s a rare gift that Damien’s pseudo-father possesses, that silver-tongued charm that makes one believe that no matter what you may have heard about ‘The Great Betrayer,’ this time, you can trust him. Damien understands the mechanics of it, taught from Judas himself, exactly how to weave your phrases, the rise and fall that leaves a room full of creatures as wild as demons hanging on every word. Still, he has so few moments where he gets to watch Judas in his element while unobserved himself, watching with a hint of fondness as he sways opinions word by word. Typically, he would delegate one of the Vices, or perhaps someone below them, depending on the importance of matters, to keep an eye on his parental figure in his stead. Like Judas before him, Damien calls attention to himself by simply walking into a room. The dynasty that Judas, Abbadon, Azazel, and himself have carved out for themselves may not call themselves royalty, but the subjects of Infernum address them as if they wore crowns and carried sceptres all the same. Their power - much like what Judas displays now - is nameless, but it is palpable. 

As much as he enjoys the light thrill of watching from the shadows as Judas works his political machinations, he did not come here just to watch. No, Damien has matters to discuss with his father of sorts, but the opportunity to glimpse him working his schemes unnoticed is not something he was about to turn down, even if the moment might be brief. Unfortunately, there’s nothing especially interesting about the conversation, mere political minutiae Damien rarely has the patience for. Judas reaches a pause and Damien watches a nearby demon shift uncomfortably on her feet, and Damien’s time to linger has come to an end.

“Judas,” he says, stepping out of his shadow-y corner. He cannot pretend it doesn’t bring him some satisfaction, the way the energy of the room so instantly changes. Eyes flit between Judas and himself, unsure where this goes next. There are precious few, who could get away with such an interruption, Damien one of them. He could wait, but why would he? He, too, wears an invisible crown. He, too, demands the attention of all that look upon. Sometimes, he thinks Judas ought to remember that fact. “My apologies for the interruption,” he says coolly. His expression betrays nothing, Judas likely the only person in the room who realizes that Damien has nothing especially urgent to say. Still, the room has come to a standstill, everyone else willing to wait on their two kings. Damien stands still as a sculpture, and watches with silent satisfaction the entire room stills with him, letting the long moment pass. 

“A moment of your time?” 

Extras | 

Headcanons | 

Though he adores the infernal terror of Azazel’s hellhounds, Damien has his own hunting dogs - a pack of wild wolves that came to him almost unbidden. He dotes on them, a reminder of the first wild creatures whose eyes he ever saw himself reflected in, but they are from domesticated. Though they may seem docile under Damien’s touch - lounging at the foot of his imaginary throne - but they are wild, vicious things, far quicker to show their anger than their master. The first sign of Damien’s displeasure is often not a hint in his body language, or even a look in his eye, but the low growl of the wolves at his side.

Serpents and birds of prey flock to Damien as hell, seeming to crawl out of the woodwork when he’s around. He’s open to their presence, but doesn’t dote on him the way he does his wolves. Still, it isn’t unheard of to see Damien with a hawk perched on his shoulder, or with some venomous snake casually curling itself around his ankle. 

Usually, Damien doesn’t mind his lack of wings. It sets him apart from his demonic kin, a reminder to everyone around him that even in the realm of Infernum, he is something else, otherworldly no matter where he might make his abode. That only changes when - for whatever reason - he is in need of fast transport, and must rely on some other demon’s wings. He will not, under any circumstance, admit this out loud, and does what he must with all the animalistic grace that eternally characterizes his movement, but it is - to be frank - rather embarrassing. 

Sometimes, as a threat, Damien will tug on the fingers of his gloves. 

Pinterest

[meggannn]

[image ID: a Mass Effect Legendary Edition promotional image of Commander Shepard wearing a black helmet and armor. Shepard is facing the right, so only their right side is shown and their face, identity, and expression are hidden by the helmet. there is a red-white stripe on their right arm and an N7 logo on the side of the helmet. in the background is an enormous curving outline of a planet that is blue behind Shepard’s back on the left side of the image. on the right side of the image, the planet and outer space behind it are deep red beginning where it crosses in front of Shepard’s helmet. aliens called Reapers are falling from the red sky in the distance, aimed toward the planet. some Reapers are reflected in the glass of Shepard’s visor. /end ID]

god i love this legendary edition promo image so much. WHY do i love this promo so much!!! let me count the ways

i got emotional at the initial announcement image on N7 day with the normandy’s squad and allies all clustered around shepard's back and side, because they literally have shepard’s six (!!!), but this version with just shepard alone has me going like YES that is my commander. either alone or with a team, their back is to earth/galactic civilization, facing an unknown threat emerging from dark and dangerous deep space. shadows of reapers are reflected in the glass of their helmet as they descend toward earth because shepard sees the threat and acknowledges it when others do not, but shepard is positioned as a barrier the reapers have to get past first. the helmet both reveals and hides shepard’s identity, hiding their face and expression, but it prominently displays their N7 rank, the one of the few consistencies about the customizable character across every playthrough. and the red/blue color split right down the middle of the image parallels the paragon/renegade morality system just like it also shows a blue, stable, “peaceful” time they are choosing to turn away from in order to face a blood-red sky full of unknowable enemies

i know it’s just a picture of an n7 helmet and armor, i know it’s only that because bioware must’ve wanted a gender-neutral promo image, which i am also glad to see. but like, that is shepard facing the unknown when it is not easy but it is right, that is who they are, and it’s 2am and im stupid emotional over a war criminal

[swampgallows]

Honestly, warcraft rave culture would probably be better for the characters to just, express themselves without worrying about their duties. Sons and daughters of no one, just let them be.

i feel like it would be a natural response to a lot of the war and strife azeroth has gone through in the last few decades, especially politically. like as much as i love garrosh, his character is awful and his reign certainly would have inspired rebellion in much more than the darkspear. there were a lot of factors that led to the rave movement irl—the advancement of and accessibility to new technology, economic disparity/thatcherism, the dot com bubble, queer liberation and the aids crisis—and while these arent necessarily replicated in azeroth there are a few parallels in terms of industrial revolution (new technology), land expansion and new allies (greater diversity and opportunities for growth), and class warfare/community (deposing corrupt governments, faction conflict, class identity, etc.)

i think if not during the darkspear rebellion, then definitely legion into BFA would have a lot of everyday citizens exhausted of faction warring and wanting a more neutral stance on things; we’ve even seen it echoed in the playerbase, and pandaren and pvp mercs are kind of a ‘taste test’ imo. but in-universe, populations are gaining new allies and dissolving more barriers, allowing for more technological development and exchanging of ideas that are fertile ground for a rave scene.

see, the marked difference between clubbing and raving is that raves are, by nature underground/grassroots events. they’re events by the people, for the people, and especially at their inception they inspired people from all walks of life to come together under one roof to enjoy some totally new, out-there, crazy experimental music. so that meant rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, all together for the unified purpose of rave. and that’s where PLUR comes from too; when you get so many different kinds of people together coming from environments where they would otherwise never run into each other, there was bound to be some friction. so PLUR was a reminder to maintain peace, love, unity, and respect, that we are all there for the same reason and sharing the moment together. clubs were exclusionary events barring and separating people and were very regimented in their operation. a DJ had to play what the club owner said to play, and nobody was there to see the DJ anyway. most discotheques kept the DJ out of sight on purpose, making the bar and the dancefloor the feature of the event. 

at raves, DJs get notoriety from being able to experiment and bringing their own sound instead of just functioning as a faceless PA system to play top 40 all night. DJs would play totally unknown tracks, dropping dubplates and promos of unreleased tunes from underground producers, or favor obscure B-sides over the popular title tracks. they would play with their records, not just play them, scratching and cutting and doing tricks. at raves the music was not just a sound but a living, changing thing, and if you had a truly gifted DJ you were always surprised without ever breaking the groove. the DJ was not just beloved by the community, but was also part of the community. 

so yeh, with more power returning to the hands of the everyday people of azeroth and many dissenting from their ruling classes/governments (even within the government itself), i definitely feel that “horde and alliance” would be among the unified dichotomies of rave. if they can pull off neutrality at the darkmoon faire, then i’m sure some renegade would more than likely go down among the ruins of any of the several places the war swept through and left disused. 

tl;dr, now more than ever has azeroth been in a stage where neutrality is attractive enough to birth a rave scene and rebel against a corrupt government. hell yeah

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 93: Alone at Sea

“But why would a fish ever bite a hook?”

Something I don’t believe I’ve mentioned here before is that both of my parents are ministers. I myself am not religious (not because of trauma or anything, my folks are great), but I was raised in the Presbyterian Church by a mom and dad who often saw things through a “hey, that could be in a sermon!” lens, and that tends to rub off on a kid. Not to oversell the value of these posts, but it’s not lost on me that I ended up writing something to share with people every Sunday. I can think of worse people to emulate.

So it’s hard for someone like me not to notice that Gems take crucial steps towards becoming Crystal Gems through some pretty baptismal circumstances. I’m not saying the symbolism is intentional, because neither aquatic rituals nor the show’s crew are uniquely Christian—Rebecca Sugar, for instance, comes from a Jewish background—but we’ve yet to see a Gem fall in love with Earth without being reborn through water. Peridot first bonds with Steven in the rain. Ruby and Sapphire land on solid ground together in the rain. Pink Diamond and Pearl first realize they need to rebel as a storm brews.

And then there’s Lapis Lazuli. 

Lapis literally entered the series because Steven broke a mirror, so it’s no wonder she’s misfortune personified. Bad things happen to Lapis. Bad things happen because of Lapis. And sure enough, she might control the same waters that herald rebirth for other Gems, but she’s also consumed by them. Her old life can’t get washed away because she’s still submerged. So an episode about Steven trying to reconnect her with water is bound to be a bit more complex than a joyous scene in the rain.

Alone at Sea takes us to a dark place for Steven Universe, even compared to its preceding episode, the harrowing Monster Reunion. Plenty of bad things have happened to our characters, but for the first time since the Week of Sardonyx we must confront that one of our characters has herself intentionally done a bad thing. Not day-to-day meanness or misguided acts of loyalty to Homeworld, but something truly awful. Almost as if we’re priming for some big reveal about a core character’s moral ambiguity at the end of the season. 

This isn’t to say that Lapis, who also entered the series by stealing the ocean and battling the Crystal Gems, is a stranger to doing bad things. But there’s a gulf of difference between seeing magic antagonist stuff and the learning that she was abusive to her ex. Not many kids are gonna cause marine catastrophes, but way too many kids are gonna have to deal with abusive relationships one day, so Alone at Sea can’t help but feel more raw.

The first moments of the episode show that Lapis is more than her suffering; she’s capable of having genuine fun, especially with Steven. She hints at her deeper issues by insisting she doesn’t deserve to be treated nicely, but she’s just as quick to snort with laughter. And even after boarding the rechristened Li’l Lappy, she’s willing to give happiness a shot. While she’s uncomfortable about dipping her toe in the water, she still finds moments of joy (particularly when it comes to horns). But more often than not, this positive outlook is hindered by her crewmates.

Greg, bless him, hurts more than he helps. He introduces himself as the guy whose leg Lapis broke, his discomfort around her water powers stifles her floundering self-confidence, and he bores her to death with regular fishing. Likewise, while Steven means well, he’s overbearing in his attempts to make Lapis happy. As awkward as it is, I’m glad the show acknowledges how easy it can be to mess up when trying to cheer up a friend in the dumps. Despite Steven’s apology about pushing too hard, we don’t get an explicit lesson about paying attention to how your friends are feeling instead of steamrolling them with fun. This isn’t a criticism: it’s okay to not get explicit lessons all the time, and it’s a nice change of pace from the show’s recent string of episodes that outright tell us the moral, even though these morals are sound.

Everything comes to a head when the rudder is thrown off, veering Li’l Lappy and her namesake off course. Steven gives that apology, but Lapis reiterates that she doesn’t deserve his help, and this time we learn why: as brutal and bullying as Jasper is, in some twisted sense Lapis learned to love their toxic relationship, using it to take all her grief and rage out on Jasper. We saw a hint of her aggression in Chille Tid, but in Jennifer Paz’s best delivery of the episode, Lapis reveals that she misses Malachite. And right on cue, the opportunity to fuse with Jasper again reveals itself.

Jasper’s last lines that weren’t just shouting “YOU!” at Steven were all the way back in Jailbreak, but Kimberly Brooks is worth the wait. Her hungry correction that she was “looking for you” instead of the crew as a whole is perfect (the woman knows her way around second person pronouns), and she manages to become even scarier when she transitions from menacing to begging. All at once we see that Jasper is still monstrous, but has been changed by Lapis. Not in the way she’s saying when trying to convince Lapis to fuse again—there’s little indication that Malachite would be any healthier if she came back—but in the way this massive warrior is on her knees pleading to essentially be made a prisoner again.

From her debut, Lapis has been the most powerful being on Earth by a country mile thanks to her mastery of its most abundant resource. She effortlessly bested the Crystal Gems in Ocean Gem, and had the mental fortitude to overcome Jasper’s iron will and wrest control of Malachite. But only now, in Jasper’s pleas, does a character finally acknowledge Lapis’s power. It speaks volumes to their relationship, because it’s not just about control and manipulation: at some level, beneath all the toxicity, Jasper understands Lapis in a way others don’t. It’s not enough to make them a functional couple, but it shows that there’s an uncomfortable level of nuance even in relationships that are obviously bad. It would be much easier to write either Jasper or Lapis off as totally rotten, but Malachite wouldn’t work without a hint, however small, of real affection. 

Malachite made both Jasper and Lapis feel stronger, but they weren’t strong in the real way: they were suffering, and instead of trying to fix this problem, they each learned to like the suffering. And it might be easy to place more blame on Jasper than Lapis, because even here we see how manipulative and violent she can be, but Alone at Sea doesn’t shy away from Lapis’s complicity even when presenting her in a more heroic light. Steven doesn’t call her out on her behavior, but he doesn’t exactly correct her when she reveals how terrible she’s been.

Back in It Could’ve Been Great and Message Received, we got a taste of uncertainty in terms of Peridot’s future. Sure, a promo spoiled that she was staying with the Crystal Gems, but otherwise there was no telling whether she was a temporary addition. Lapis has the same quality, but amplified to a thrilling degree due to her rockier stance with the Crystal Gems. When I first watched Alone at Sea, I legitimately didn’t know what would happen next. Lapis was such a new and tenuous ally and had so much baggage with Jasper that it wouldn’t have shocked me if she had gone back to being Malachite, especially considering how underused Malachite ended up being. It gives the episode way higher stakes than, say, the Week of Sardonyx, where despite the turmoil you could pretty much guarantee that the Crystal Gems would come out of it okay. Lapis is fundamentally not okay, so anything could happen.

And that actual chance of returning to Jasper makes Lapis’s rejection so much more triumphant. She seems to sincerely consider Jasper’s offer, even when she sounds sickened by the prospect, but when given a true choice she’s able to see past her longing for that life. Malachite began with Jasper’s forceful “Just say yes,” and she can’t come back if Lapis says no. It might be alluring, but unlike Jasper, Lapis refuses to take the bait. 

I haven’t gushed about Aivi and Surasshu for a while, have I? I’ll be honest, a big part of that is that with the release of Steven Universe’s first soundtrack, the composers stopped releasing background tracks on the internet, and only several years later have these tracks finally popped up again. Access to their music got scarcer and scarcer, but I’m so glad that before it dried up, we got the instrumentation of this final sequence, because it’s really something.

As the clouds gather and she talks about her time fused with Jasper, we hear the buildup of Lapis’s darker theme, and the moment she reveals that she misses being Malachite, the fusion’s ominous two-note motif clangs just once. The track is soon overtaken by Jasper’s synth drum war march, with only hints of Lapis’s celesta leaking in (just like in The Return), but as Jasper begs to fuse again we get the very first quiet version Malachite’s motif (at 1:49, it’s so easy to miss); the fusion’s theme is no longer a force of nature, but a desperate plea. 

A piano rendition of Lapis’s theme drowns out Jasper as she considers her options. Strings build to the same fever pitch that we got when Lapis first agreed to dance, but they fade to a quiet conclusion as she refuses to go back to Malachite. Jasper’s drums make one last appearance as she lashes out at Steven, but Lapis’s counterattack is as musically calm as her rejection. Lapis could have gotten loud, dramatic variants of her theme for her one-two punch defending herself and then Steven, and it would have sounded awesome, but instead both big moments show that she’s shunning loudness for peace. Tying all these musical themes together is impressive enough, but that restraint ties the whole scene together.

Jasper is about to dominate the final arc of the season in a story that has nothing to do with Lapis, but everything to do with Lapis. It’s safe to say Jasper doesn’t handle their breakup well, and her collection of Corrupted Gems is less a matter of a soldier raising an army and more a jilted lover looking for acceptance after being abandoned for what’s likely the first time in her very long life. This is the first in a string of blows that knock Jasper down more than her fight with Garnet ever did: it’s one thing to lose, but it’s another to be rejected, and until Jasper learns to make a change, rejection is the only future she’s got.

Lapis goes right back to being an angsty teen after this, despite getting more comfortable around Peridot. But Alone at Sea makes me appreciate her eventual abandonment of Earth when the going gets tough again, because while it’s not the right thing to do, it makes sense that a character with massive unresolved trauma would follow the most defensive instincts possible to avoid further pain. I’m not huge on the show just saying Lapis did something awful and not following it up with much soul-searching, but she does plenty of work outside of Jasper and perhaps it’s for the best that she focused on less toxic parts of her life for self-improvement.

The big bummer of Lapis and Jasper’s story is that it never really resolves: even when Jasper halfway reforms, she and Lapis will never share a screen again, let alone have a conversation. I’m not saying I want a reconciliation, but apology is good for the soul, so I hope that someday Little Homeworld sees a moment where Lapis says she’s sorry for her part in Malachite’s agony, even if Jasper was worse.

Still, seeing Lapis refuse to re-fuse still works as a resolution to the episode, if not the arc. And she does work on her issues in other ways, even if Jasper doesn’t. But even though this is their last interaction in the series, admitting your mistakes and choosing not to repeat them is itself a noble step.

I’ve never been to this…how do you say…school?

She’s not even in the episode, but Pearl and her swim cap are the winner of this entry. Does nobody else care about their hair?

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

This is our second excellent feel-bad episode in a row. We may not ever get an acknowledgement about the abusive nature of Lars and Sadie’s relationship in Island Adventure, but at least we have this episode addressing the issue.

(Bear in mind I’m not champing at the bit for more abusive relationships in children’s media, but if you’re going to have them, I just think it’s irresponsible not to use them as an educational tool, is all.)

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter - Sunday, May 9

The Sunnydale Herald is currently looking for a few good editors! Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! For more information, send us an ask (on Tumblr) or post a reply to this post (on Livejournal or Dreamwidth)!

Joyce: I have a daughter who can take care of herself. Who's brave and resourceful and thinks of others in a crisis. No matter who you hang out with or what dumb teenage stuff you think you need to do, I'm gonna sleep better knowing all that. Buffy: About how long till this wears off and you start ragging on me again? Joyce: Oh, at least a week and a half. Buffy: Very cool!

~~School Hard~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Goodbye Iowa (Giles, T) by violettathepiratequeen

Seeking Perfection (Angelus/Darla, G) by badly_knitted

[Chaptered Fiction]

What You Do Afterwards: Season Four Chapter 44 (Cordelia/Doyle, M) by myheadsgonenumb

When Heroes live their lives Chapter 4 (Multiple crossovers, T) by Aragorn_II_Elessar

When one door closes , another opens Chapter 7 (Tara/Buffy, NR) by Stranger_In_Town

The Gift Chapter 13 (Star Wars crossover, Buffy, T) by Cantanatova

shadow of the day Chapter 18 (Faith/Buffy, NR) by sevensevan

Slayer and the Witch Chapter 28 (Tara/Willow, M) by Stonerslayer90

The Good Soldier Complete (Kendra/Spike, T) by Scarlet_Ibis

Shadow Over Hellmouth Chapter 17 (Tara/Buffy, T) by Tuxedo_Mark

The Powers that Be Chapter 7 (HP crossover, Spike/Harry Potter, E) by CrowNoYami

In Derelicta Castellum Complete (Lucifer crossover, T) by TheBobcat18

Le chemin de la destinée, du courage, et la force de ses convictions, les chemins de son cœur.... Le commencement Chapter 6 (French, Jenny/Giles, M) by boulouzou

Pretty Petals Chapter 26 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Dusty87

Sunnydale High School Massacre Complete (Buffy/Angel, M) by NilesMilsson

Nothing Falls in Vain Chapter 4 (Faith/Buffy, E) by aliceinwonderbra

counting the days Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, G) by trevino

The Down Side of Me Chapter 14 (Faith/Buffy, M) by AeschylusRex

Touching the Fire Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by GillO

Embers Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Dusty

What, You Egg! Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Viaka32

In Death, That I May Live... Chapter 32 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Irishrose

The Beginner's Guide to Dating A Ghost Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by sweetprincipale

All Quiet on the Summers Front Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, PG13) by lex_hex

Dead Ringers Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by AlloSpoike

Embers Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Dusty

Pomegranate Seeds Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, PG13) by violettathepiratequeen

Mortal Allies Series, Episode 4: My Turn Chapter 29 (Buffy/Spike, NC17) by Passion4Spike

In a Corner of My Soul Chapter 238 (Ethan, T) by DragonyPhoenix

The Past Is Only The Future With The Lights On Chapter 12 (Buffy/Angel, T) by butimbroken

Impression, Sunrise Chapter 1 (Star Trek crossover, Buffy, FR13) by EnergyBeing

Bugpocalypse Complete (Multiple crossovers, FR15) by HMaxMarius

Horde Prime: The Reboot Chapter 9 (Multiple crossovers, FR18) by Sithicus

Seeing Clearly Chapter 158 (Multiple crossovers, FR13) by JoeB

Ghosts of the Battlefield, Reapers of Monsters Chapter 5 (Multiple crossovers, FR21) by ShadowMaster

[Images, Audio & Video]

Graphics: Some more season 6 banners by Brendan

Playlist: DESOTO RADIO by grimreapergirl

Buffy the Vampire Slayer-The Movie by Partially Examined Kubrick

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Chaos Bleeds 100% Longplay by 5 Nights At Chuck E Guitars Purgatory

Singing against anxiety Part 411: "Rest In Peace" by Chris Musicman

[Reviews & Recaps]

Finished Two to Go for the first time by Dvaderstarlord

20 Year Rewatch - s04e11 "Everyone Stands Around, Upset" by Ohigetjokes

[Recs]

Spara Fan Fics by vampiregayer

More Links Than A Bag Of Sausages by petzipellepingo

[Community Announcements]

Promo: A Ficathon Goes Into a Bar 2021!

The Spring 2021 round of Seasonal Spuffy is about to begin!

Multifandom Horror Exchange

[Fandom Discussions]

AtS S1 - A Strong or a Stuttering Start? by Stoney

Best Fang Gang Member - Fred or Gunn? by Stoney

Which Faith relationship do you love the most? by LightBlueSky55

A question about the first evil by tommymikaelson

Boom by tails9494

Best Buffy season? by ColdOtherwise5928

Vampire Injuries by BreakTacticF0

What was the original point of introducing Wesley in Season 3? by precita

In, "Birthday" where Angel got the visions instead of Cordy in the alt timeline... by precita

Which line from btvs do you find the most heartbreaking? by bigch0nk

ok so if your favorite angel episode is not epiphany something is wrong with you by x5sammy5x

I think this was the saddest moment on the show by ChandlerForrestal

Are the Buffy novels any good? by UKMegaGeek

Is there an episode you refuse to watch? by HawkSky23

Describe a Buffy episode using only emojis and let others guess which episode it is by Maleficent_Wedding_9

Does Cangel just destroy anybody else? by Jessibee21

Happy Mother’s Day! Let’s discuss your favourite Buffy/Joyce moments by buddywillard

A deconstruction of Willow Rosenberg (power not magic was the true addiction) by Baron_Cat_Lady

The Watcher's Diary, Volume 3 by ifeveristoday

The Gift alernate endings by ifeveristoday

My 8th grade honors project by keshassgf

Helpless is generally remembered as being a really good Giles/Buffy father/daughter episode, but it was also such fantastic Cordelia episode by yourfriendlyneighborhoodbimbo

The problem with how seriously they treated Joyce’s death... by emmathompsonegot

I Don't Sleep on Bed of Bones: The Slayer as a Killer Across the Seasons by buffy-thoughts

one of my biggest pet peeves about the writing for willow in season six by lqvewillow

The Body captures (so well) that eerie shocked feeling by milkymickeyway

Spike’s glasses by highonbandcandy

There are so many things I could say to the credit of Charles Gunn... by yourfriendlyneighborhoodbimbo

I will very begrudgingly admit Season 4 Riley is maybe what Season 4 Buffy needed by yourfriendlyneighborhoodbimbo

I’ve seen a lot of people say that Buffy didn’t have a death wish in the season 5 finale “The Gift”... by potterkid

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[kissofwargold]

Kiss of War Cheats

Kiss of War Guides

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Every time i set a rally and assign troops, whilst the timer hits zero, it at once tells me the march turned into canceled. How do i restoration this? Your guild participants have to assist in the event that they do not it'll cancel and you need to be within the identical vicinity to get there help. In case you now not within the guild base you can teleport to their location möchte mit meiner base zu einem anderen server geht das und wie kann ich einen acc auf dem server löschen mfg rene1971 tap4fun, the writer in the back of brutal age and sea game, has just elevated the app portfolio with a brand new mmo struggle game called Kiss of War. The ability of rally assault and rally guard in raiders of the treasure are based on the capacity of the corridor of struggle 6. period of warmonger is based totally on the bottom degree, the higher the bottom stage the longer the period 10. modified calculation of severely injured gadgets that died from quit of the war to the end of spherical. - r4 and higher officials in a guild, can construct the guild deliver station in the guild territories. - after the occasion is scheduled to begin, gamers who can not take part in it because of teleporting or joining the guild now can take part in it. The sport uses a new unfastened manipulate system that lets in gamers to command a couple of troops to march, garrison, and change objectives and marching routes on the battlefield. Strong troops can not succeed without tremendous management and strategies! We've created bright cities and battlefields based on actual geography from the late modern-day europe, consisting of landmarks that humans will recognize. Plus, we've also simulated the well-known struggle machines used in the course of the overdue modern-day duration, which aim to bringing you lower back to the technology while legends emerged. Unite different commanders to cast off the invaders and sooner or later gain international peace by using setting up a more potent guild! The sport uses a brand new free manage system that allows players to command more than one troops to march, garrison, and change objectives and marching routes on the battlefield. Robust troops cannot succeed without terrific leadership and techniques! We have created vivid towns and battlefields based on real geography from the overdue modern europe, which include landmarks that human beings will understand. Plus, we've additionally simulated the well-known war machines used in the course of the overdue present day length, which intention to bringing you again to the generation whilst legends emerged. Hundreds of gamers participate on this mythical battlefield. Expand your extended family territory, exhibit your strength, and defeat the land! New functions: 1. shop is open and numerous packages arrival.2. Open officer's club 3. new beginner guide4. Territory career regulations modification5. Greater campaign tiers and open campaign save. 6. recruitment middle interface optimization7. Restore bugs copyright © 2017. cheat-Cheatss.com all rights reserved. Add your personal recommendations, recommendations and tricks for games! Were given connection mistakes when down load. Went to check google play in the event that they had it and they didn't.dont suppose this game coming out. - throughout the event duration, every player can only participate it as soon as with his id. Very last rankings and rewards could be based on the guild that participant got the factors - guilds with a total combat power in the server's top 20 can participate after being registered by means of the guild chief - rewards are now not acquired by electronic mail however immediately brought. The rewards are introduced at once to the backpack and can be regarded there. 3. increased private rewards obtained in the operation falcon. Unite different commanders to eliminate the invaders and eventually achieve global peace by organising a stronger guild! The sport uses a brand new unfastened manipulate device that permits players to command multiple troops to march, garrison, and change targets and marching routes on the battlefield. Strong troops cannot prevail without excellent leadership and strategies! We have created vivid cities and battlefields based on actual geography from the late modern europe, including landmarks that people will recognize. Plus, we have also simulated the famous war machines used during the late modern period, which aim to bringing you back to the era when legends emerged. The capacity of rally attack and rally defend in raiders of the treasure are based on the capacity of the hall of war 6. Duration of warmonger is based on the base level, the higher the base level the longer the duration 10. Changed calculation of seriously injured units that died from end of the battle to the end of round. - r4 and higher officials in a guild, can build the guild supply station within the guild territories. - after the event is scheduled to start, players who cannot participate in it because of teleporting or joining the guild now can take part in it. Another core aspect of the game is resources; food, steel, oil, and energy are the four important resources that you need to perfrom almost all the activities; producing units, buildings, upgrades, etc. Let's learn everything in detail and explore all the Kiss of War tips & tricks: - officers are the characters in the Kiss of War game who help you in leading the battles, gathering the resources from the map, and boosting the base activities. Legendary officers are the top-tier best officers because of the high stats they possess. Check the comments of this article too. Our readers tend to post gift codes if they find them before we do, and when we see them in the comments, we'll post them. Right now, with the game being brand new, there are no known gift exchange codes, promo codes, or redeem codes available for Kiss of War. Keep checking this article, through, and we will post them as soon as they become available. Evan heisenberg named himself after a breaking bad character one time, and then got stuck with it.

[sadnessruns]

“I’m just distracted. There’s a lot going on. On a good day, there are usually a hundred thousand and seven things bouncing around my head. Right now, I think it’s a million and seven.”

indie multimuse featuring canon and oc muses from: star trek: discovery, breath of the wild, rent, wonder woman, animaniacs, and more all written by leo.

                                          muses || rules || ask || home

[amazing-amy-w]

T-Shirt Company Promotes LGBT+ Swastika Clothing

Clothing company Teespring has faced a massive backlash after releasing a range of clothing that tried to use the swastika to promote the LGBT+ community. The designer of the shirts, KA Design, stated that they wanted to remove the negative connotations that became associated with the swastika when it was used as a symbol by the Nazi party. 'They took the swastika, rotated it by 45 degrees, and turned it into hatred, and turned it into fear, and turned it into war, and turned it into racism, and turned it into power. They stigmatised the swastika forever. 'The swastika is coming back, together with peace, together with love, together with respect, together with freedom. Introducing the new swastika.' A spokesperson for Teespring stated that they wanted to 'share the beauty' of the swastika. 'We really like the symbol in its shape and aesthetics, and we would love to share the beauty of this symbol detached from the hatred associated with it.' After the initial backlash Teesping has removed the shirts from sale. 'This morning it came to our attention that a user created a number of designs on Teespring that included a swastika, a hate symbol that we do not allow on Teespring.' They said in a statement following the removal. 'As soon as the design was discovered, it was removed from the site.' The chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, Dr Dvir Abramovich, has spoken out about the matter to the media, condemning both the clothing line and the company for selling it. 'I'm outraged and shocked that any company would seek to profit from selling such reprehensible items. The swastika does not represent the LGBTI community, whose members were the victims of Hitler's evil regime. And no, it cannot be rebranded as a symbol of peace. 'KA's naive, and in many ways, selfish attitude shows a staggering lack of concern for the feelings of those who survived the Holocaust and those who lost relatives to the monstrous deeds of the Third Reich.' Whilst the vast majority of those killed during the Holocaust were Jewish, the LGBT+ community were amongst several minority groups targeted by the Nazi's, with thousands imprisoned and killed in concentration camps. Many of those who were liberated from Nazi facilities were later re-arrested and imprisoned by the Allied Nations based upon evidence of their homosexuality kept by the Nazi's. Go to Amy's Blog Follow Amy on Twitter

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Sources: NewsWeek, Promo Marketing, Jerusalem Post, Pink News

[ourreferences02]

seventy-three questions

I guess this is like if some random person wanted to interview my kids, idk. Ignore how some things capitalized on their own, ik it’s very annoying. not to mention, I didn’t bold or italicize anything. there’s too many words in this post it would take too much time, sorry. have fun reading all of this

q: what’s your favorite movie you’ve seen in the past month?

Richard: Richard peter Johnson. it’s about me. for sure.

bella: to the bone. I forget if they have a trigger warning. I don’t know, I liked it.

calum: john wick. there’s a lot of cool stuff

leia: frozen and moana!!!

q: favorite animal?

Richard: I honestly don’t know. for shits and giggles, maybe cougars

bella: um... when I was little I really liked birds, bunnies, lions, and lambs

calum: dragons are super strong and op

leia: puppiessssssss

q: best friend’s name?

Richard: sam

bella: i’m not very close with anyone. ally, I guess

calum: kirk junior

leia: luke

q: book you plan on reading?

Richard: the catcher in the rye

bella: pride and prejudice

calum: I want to get the guiness book of world records for 2017

leia: the blue fairy book. it’s about fairy tales

q: something that positively shaped you?

Richard: sick as it sounds, my girlfriend set herself on fire and had to go to the hospital. it was because of me, and when she made it out of that experience with no burns it somehow got me to be more appreciative and inspired me to stop being such a dick sometimes

bella: theo.

calum: I heard about LeBron james

leia: life

q: biggest secret?

Richard: don’t have one, really

bella: it wouldn’t be a secret if I told someone, would it?

leia: I found out that my best friend is sleeping beauty! but a boy!

calum: not telling. i’m not retarded.

q: on a scale of one to ten, how excited are you about life right now?

Richard: ten? idk

bella: 6... hehe

calum: five is average. so five.

leia: a bagillion gazillion and one

q: iPhone or android?

Richard: androids have potato cameras

bella: iPhone. I guess if they’re too expensive an android would be okay

calum: aren’t andriods robots

leia: aye aye captain hahahhahhahhahhaha

q: twitter or Instagram?

Richard: twitter

bella: definitely Instagram

calum: I like jetpack joyride

leia: graham crackers?

q: who should everyone be following right now?

Richard: me. just kidding, um... my friends tyrone and Tanisha. they’re living on their own for the most part, with two twin babies, at fifteen. kudos

bella: not kim Kardashian.

calum: stalkers. show them how they make other people feel.... oh sorry, wrong kind of following

q: favorite food?

Richard: I can’t come up with something so i’m just going to say pizza

Bella: i like chicken alfredo pasta. I’m not sure if it’s my favorite though

Calum: hot dogs

Leia: crackers

q: least favorite food?

Richard: cornbread. I’ve seen timmy wolf down a whole loaf. It was huge. There was a lot of blowing chunks after. Scarring, tbh

Bella: never liked green beans

Calum: eggplants, carrots, and bananas

Leia: steak is hard for me to chew sometimes

q: what do you love on your pizza?

Richard: cheese

Bella: cheese. Oh, richard said that too? Ffs

calum: pepperonis

Leia: anchovies! Just kidding, i’m joking!

q: favorite drink?

Richard: i’ve got no clue. water is very underrated

Bella: i used to love lemonade. Haven’t had that in years. Oh, right. I like tea, coffee, root beer, yeah

Calum: i’ve never had vodka, but vodka

Leia: do slushies count?

q: favorite dessert?

Richard: i’m a fabulous dessert -wink- um, no, in all seriousness, chocolate ice cream

Bella: huh. I haven’t had dessert in a while either. Shit.

Calum: chocolate chip cookies

Leia: everything sweet

q: dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Richard: well I know how tyrone would answer this. I guess milk chocolate

Bella: milk?

Calum: both

Leia: ooooooh, one second, i’ll be back! NO IT’S NOT TO GET CHOCOLATE

q: coffee or tea?

Richard: coffee

Bella: they’re both good for photos, coffee tastes better, but tea is better for you

Calum: alcohol

q: hardest decision?

Richard: what to answer for this question. That counts?!

Bella: life or death. I chose life, obviously

Calum: i’m bored

Leia: my mom asked me if i wanted a dog or a cat! I said dog, but she never got either one

q: favorite fruit?

Richard: peach. -eyebrow wiggle- I actually don’t know

Bella: pineapple, mango, peach, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, watermelon...

Calum: pear

Leia: applllllllles!!!

q: favorite singer or songwriter?

Richard: shawn mendes. I’M JOKING

Bella: isabella vail. Sorry, no self-promo? Okay, theo herondale -grin-

Calum: eminem

Leia: idina menzel

q: favorite song?

Richard: can’t say

Bella: that’s a lot of pressure

Calum: i’m hungry

Leia: I’VE BEEN STARING AT THE EDGE OF THE WAT-

q: if you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be?

Richard: shawn mendes. I’M STILL JOKING I SWEAR

Bella: theo.

Calum: that’s gay

Leia: MOANA

q: if you had a tattoo, where would it be?

Richard: could i get a tramp stamp

Bella: i can’t choose, whoops

Calum: my arm

Leia: but they’re permanent!!

q: to be or not to be?

Richard: to be

Bella: to be or not to be.. ahh.. Love it

Calum: not to be

Leia: tooooo beeeeeeee... Two bees?

q: bird-watching or whale-watching?

Richard: whale-watching but only if i could ride the whale

Bella: bird-watching, they make such pretty sounds

Calum: a bird shit on my head

Leia: whale-watching because then i could see mermaids too!!!

q: best gift ever received?

Richard: sofia and will, thank you so much for your second creation. Not that the other ones aren’t good i just mean i love wed oh god just shut up richard. Praise you guys, hallelujah. Rest in peace, will. Would’ve been nice to get a “NOW YOU BE CAREFUL WITH MY DAUGHTER!” chat.

Bella: meeting theo was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.. wait is anyone going to see this? Oh god please no UM OKAY best gift other than that, i got a purple flower pin from.. someone.. Although i technically didn’t get it from them..i don’t want to think about this, never mind

Calum: my mom got a basketball hoop for me

Leia: everything!!

q: best gift you’ve ever given?

Richard: i once decorated bella in glitter and shit and then tried to give her to my mom. Yeah, i still don’t know why i did that. Awww, my little sissie, i’m gonna give her a hug after this

Bella: i wouldn’t know

Calum: i gave kirk junior a whole pack of gum once

Leia: i gave luke’s grandma a pretty flower. She’s really nice.

q: last gift you gave a friend?

Richard: the cornbread timmy threw up

Bella: i’ve never had a real friend, um, i gave annabelle a horse necklace and dora a set of nail polish. But they’re just people i talk to sometimes. Plus annabelle.. ugh

Calum: i gave savannah a pencil. Hope she liked it

Leia: i gave my mom a hug today!!

q: favorite video game?

Richard: OH MINECRAFT FOR SUUUUUUUURE!!! sorry i’m not in a serious mood

Bella: i don’t really play video games, the sims, i guess

Calum: call of duty games

Leia: roblox!! I like the pizza delivery game

q: favorite meme?

Richard: oh boy

Bella: are you serious? Right in front of my salad?

Calum: the spongebob music one

Leia: what’s a meem

q: last country visited?

Richard: greece

Bella: greece

Calum: how much longer

Leia: greece

q: favorite body part on a human?

Richard: well this could get some perverted answers

Bella: eyes. But “eyeballs” sounds atrocious.

Calum: pussy

Leia: their hearts!!!!!!

q: favorite color?

Richard: i like reds, blues, greens, idk

Bella: i loved yellow when i was younger. Blues are good too. As for the stuff that’s not on the rainbow, i guess i like black, gray, silver, gold, and white. Oh red is good sometimes

Calum: red, green, orange

Leia: light blue

q: least favorite color?

Richard: that murky brown and green mixture -shudder-

Bella: the colors that we can’t see or imagine. So frustrating.

Calum: yellow

Leia: i like all of the colors, i wouldn’t want any to feel bad about themselves

q: diamonds or pearls?

Richard: i mean there are no pearls in minecraft... OKAY I’LL STOP

Bella: diamonds

Calum: you could sell the diamonds and be rich

Leia: great grandma grace had pearls

q: heels or flats?

Richard: i lost a bet to a guy in a chiffon skirt, but i make these high heels work

Bella: it depends

Calum: heels are sexy.

Leia: no girl can walk in heels, can they? OMG BELLA YOU’RE WALKING IN HEELS

q: pilates or yoga?

Richard: how about just working out

Bella: yoga

Calum: there’s yoga instructor porn

Leia: you mean pirates or yoda? Yoda is in star wars with princess leia, so yoda

q: jogging or swimming?

Richard: swimming for sure

Bella: i mean, i love swimming. But it’s hard to go near a pool when you’ve drowned yourself. I’m sorry i keep being gloomy

Calum: sorry, i fell asleep

Leia: swimming!

q: best way to de-stress?

Richard: hahahhahhahah

Bella: talking to someone, hugging someone, etc.

Calum: sleeping helps

Leia: just breathe! ahhhh...

q: if you had one superpower, what would it be?

Richard:i heard about a superpower that is all the superpowers

Bella: richard told me abo- he said that too?!

q: weirdest person you ever met?

Richard: the howler or the tricycle guy

Bella: theo. -devilish grin- nO I’M KIDDING DON’T TELL HIM I SAID THAT! Awe, i feel bad

Calum: my whole family

Leia: i don’t know, everyone’s weird in their own way

q: favorite flower?

Richard: i don’t know about many besides roses

Bella: i could list my top 50 if you want

Calum: ew

Leia: dandelions grant wishes!

q: last time you cried?

Richard: when my girlfriend was in the hospital

Bella: ...

Calum: crying is for chumps

Leia: i’m too happy to cry

q: do you like your handwriting?

Richard: no?

Bella: im not sure

Calum: oh bitch i fell asleep again

Leia: i forget to dot my i’s sometimes

q: do you bake?

Richard: i live in a house with girls, of course. OH SHOOT WAS THAT SEXIST, I’M SO SORRY I DIDN’T MEAN IT LIKE TH- oh right. Forgot about calum. LOVE YA CAL

Bella: baking and cooking are both fun

Calum: no. i eat the baked goods though

Leia: i eat the cookie dough heheh

q: least favorite thing about yourself?

Richard: my anger issues

Bella: my luck

Calum: i’m amazing

Leia: i-i love myself!!! haha..

q: favorite thing about yourself?

Richard: idk

Bella: haha

Calum: everything

Leia: i think i’m nice

q: who do you miss most?

Richard: ggg. Great grandma grace

Bella: not ben. I liked you when you were alive, but you are unbearable as a ghost

Calum: i just want to play basketball

Leia: everyone who is in heaven!!!

q: what are you listening to right now?

Richard: the wind, i guess

Bella: arctic monkeys

Calum: leia trying to sing. She sucks

Leia: my favorite tarzan song

q: favorite smell?

Richard: um

Bella: rain, books, fire, theo, dryer sheets, flowers, oh no did i say theo? -blush- please don’t put that in

Calum: no idea

Leia: freshly baked sugar cookies, bella’s are better than my mom’s!

q: last person you talked to on the phone?

Richard: sam. He’s giving me updates on gilly and her baby. I hope she’s doing okay..

Bella: i got some type of hate call from someone. Idk who.

Calum: kirk junior and i were talking about basketball

Leia: luke. He said i’m giving him mixed signals. I have no clue what that means

q: last person you sent a text to?

Richard: tyrone

Bella: charlie

Calum: i don’t have a phone.. one day

Leia: look! The lollipop made my tongue blue!!!

q: sport you wish you could play?

Richard: is archery a sport? Because that’s cool

Bella: i don’t play any sports -sigh-

Calum: i do play basketball, but i really like basketball, so basketball.

Leia: i wish i could ice skate more

q: hair color?

Richard: a medium/dark brown

Bella: i’m a brunetteeeee

Calum: light brown

Leia: blonde!

q: eye color?

Richard: green. Idk about greater detail

Bella: crystal blue? It’s like a blue but if you turned the saturation down a bit and put some shine in there

Calum: i don’t check

Leia: blue, like blue whale

q: scary films or happy endings?

Richard: both

Bella: happy endings

Calum: no real man likes happy endings

Leia: scary movies scare me

q: favorite season?

Richard: tough

Bella: it really depends. Spring is very rainy but i like the rain. Summer is super hot but school’s out and it’s beautiful out. Fall comes with the colorful tree leaves and the clothing, and winter is cold but you have hot chocolate and oversized sweaters

Calum: i bet bella gave a long answer. Loser.

Leia: summer!

q: sexual fantasy?

Richard: where did that come from

Bella: -beet red- w-what?

Calum: huh

Leia: what’s that?

q: hugs or kisses?

Richard: both

Bella: bot- HE SAID THAT TOO? WTH

Calum: neither

Leia: hug time!

q: rolling stones or the beatles?

Richard: the beatles

Bella: the beatles, for sure

Calum: how many left?

Leia: why are we talking about things in the garden

q: favorite sex position?

Richard: i swear this came out of nowhere

Bella: -blink-

Calum: missions. Missionary? Yeah, that’s what i meant

Leia: i’m so confused

q: farthest you’ve been from home?

Richard: i died twice. Dk where i ended up

Bella: see i killed myself, and then i was in some sort of darkness for a week until i decided to come back

Calum: are we close to finished

Leia: look at this nail polish! Isn’t it so pretty?!

q: left or right?

Richard: the price is right

Bella: right

Calum: left

Leia: right

q: lipstick or lip gloss?

Richard: um

Bella: lipstick

Calum: almost?

Leia: lip gloss

q: scariest dream?

Richard: you’d know if i pissed myself

Bella: ..don’t want to talk about it, sorry

Calum: im not scared of anything

Leia: cookeh im mah mout, un segont

q: favorite type of hair?

Richard: i guess i like head hair over pubic hair

Bella: depends

Calum: hairless cats

Leia: those naked rodents

q: title of your autobiography?

Richard: one second, let me think of something

Bella: i wouldn’t write an autobiography

Calum: Perfection

Leia: my life

q: favorite sound?

Richard: did i really just fall asleep

Bella: sorry, what? I was doodling.

Calum: basketballs bouncing

Leia: water

q: favorite animal?

Richard: wasn’t this already a question

Bella: On the other side of a street I knew, stood a girl that looked like you, i guess thats deja vu

Calum: there has to be only a couple left

Leia: what

q: girl crush?

Richard: there’s this girl named wednesday herondale, she’s honestly my dream girl -grin-

Bella: how’d you know i’m bi? nO NOT BIPOLAR

Calum: i-i don’t h-have one..

Leia: i love my sister!

q: last photograph you took?

Richard: you’d expect it to be a nude because i’m a teenage boy, yeah, yeah, i see you.. well, i’ll have you know, it’s a picture of... my girlfriend. isn’t she beautiful, look at her!

Bella: okay so this one is o- fine. Don’t let me go into detail.

Calum: i took this selfie on my ipad by accident. I have a double chin in it haha WAIT WE’RE DONE?! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Leia: oh this one’s of my finger! whoops!

[daesaurus]

Meaning of flowers in EXO The War teasers

Note: the quality of screenshots is shit, because I used screenshots from YT so if some kind soul would let me use their edits (with credits of course!) it would be amazing and you’d get my love forever. And this is a long post. Really long.

So. We all have seen teasers, the aesthetics are incredible, our boys look amazing and all the songs sound like they’ll be #1 on charts. But there was something that intrigued me.

The flowers.

I mean they could give them just for aesthetics and to get the summer and tropical vibes.

But what if they didn’t?

So I checked all the meanings in the Internet and I have so many tabs opened that it keeps crashing, but I’m writing this post anyway.

(the order of screenshots is random)

So, here on the wall with the KoKo Bop (clever, clever) we can see yellow hibiscus flowers. What the Internet says about it?

This is considered a very feminine flower and so is usually given or worn by women. In North America especially, a hibiscus means a perfect wife or woman.

In Victorian times, giving a hibiscus meant that the giver was acknowledging the receiver’s delicate beauty.

In China, hibiscuses symbolize the fleeting and beauty of fame or personal glory. It is given to both men and women.

The hibiscus is the unofficial national flower of Haiti. A yellow species called the Hawaiian hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei) became the Hawaiian official state flower in 1988, despite it not being native to Hawaii. This is Hawaii’s second official state flower. The first was the red hibiscus (Hibiscus kokio) which was native to Hawaii. Fame is fleeting.

Hibiscus flowers are delicate and very beautiful just as young women appear to be, so hibiscuses often symbolize young women.

White stands for purity, beauty and the female. Yellow is associated with happiness, sunshine and good luck. Pink is not only the favorite color of many little girls. It also stands for friendship and all kinds of love, not just romantic love. Purple is associated with mystery, knowledge and the higher classes. Red is a symbol of love and passion.

Youth, fame and beauty are very much like hibiscus flowers, which have short lives. Although the flowers may die, they do grow back as long as their bush or tree is cared for. Enjoy beautiful moments while they last.

(source)

I’ve bolded the most important things that are the meaning in Asian countries and the colour. Also, the interesting this is that the person who discovered it was a doctor in Roman army, so we have some connection with the war theme. Basically, for me the flower means “we’re happy because of our victiories and we hope for more with your help so take care of us”. (and it's delicious with black tea, really, try it)

There’s also Xiumin with flower tucked in his shirt but I can’t tell what it is, sorry.

Woah, where do I start? Okay, Mr.Mullet Baek looks the simpliest. I believe these are raspberries. Again, what can we find about it? “The blood red hue of raspberries naturally allied them with passion, energry, health and the primal forces of creation. (...) Other associations for red inculde sexuality, good fortune (Japan and China) alterness and happy marriages (India).” Here it is. We have good fortune, passion and energy. It matches the hibiscus flower. But it’s just colour, what does the fruit mean? “In the Victorian Language of Flowers raspberries symbolize the heart or kindness” - If it isn’t our Baek the I don’t know what it is. Also, the raspberries are believed to come from Asia.

Then we have Minseok in blue shirt (I believe it's him because of album details' photos, he wears the same shirt). He has anthurium flower.

“The anthurium flower is known universally as a symbol of hospitality, as this exotic beauty thrives in nearly any location in the home or office. It requires little care other than watering and occasional fertilizing and tolerates a wide range of light conditions. As a cut flower, the blooms are long-lasting and retain their beauty and form in floral bouquets. They are often used in bridal bouquets or other wedding arrangements. As a potted plant, the anthurium plant symbolizes abundance and happiness to the home. It makes a delightful hostess or housewarming gift for this reason. “ (source) White colour of the flower also means innocence and purity. (don't try to fool us, we've seen xiudaddy on the stage, innocence my ass)

I have no idea who's next to him and I can't really recognize the flowers. I only see the white ones, which are clearly lilies of the valley. I don't know the orange and pink ones, sorry. The flower means sweetness (probably because of the scent, it's so beautiful), return to happiness, humility and chastity. It is also said to bring luck in love. And it’s white, so of course - purity. (source, source) The return to happiness is the most important to me. Other flowers also were connected to happiness and I think it matches the songs we heard in the teasers, at least to me.

I tried to find this flower even though I can’t really see it. I think it could be either peony, carnation or eustoma. My best guess is peony, because it has really big meaning in China, especially the red ones. Peony:

Honor, especially for people who are bringing honor to their entire family through success

Wealth and riches

Romance and romantic love, with a particular focus on love between two strangers

Beauty in all forms

Bashfulness and shame (in Victorian era)

“The Peony is most important in Chinese culture. This stunning flower is an official emblem of China, and it plays a big role in many holidays and religious traditions. It’s the flower with the longest continual use in Eastern culture, and it’s tied in deeply with royalty and honor in those societies. The Chinese name for Peony even translates to “most beautiful”.“ (source)

The second guess is carnation, because there are special meanings for this flower in Korea, but I can’t see any to the connection to the mv. Carnation:

Love

Fascination

Distinction

“Korean Culture: The Koreans use the carnation to foretell the fortune of young girls. Upon placing three freshly cut carnations in her hair, the young girl is charged with observing which of the three will die first. If the top flower dies off first, it indicates that the latter years of the girl’s life will be filled with strife. If the middle flower fades first, it indicates she will experience turmoil during her youth. If the lower flower dies and fades first, it indicates that the young woman will face great challenges throughout her lifetime.” Also, every flower has its own meaning, depending on colour. Light red means admiration, dark red love and affection and yellow disappointment and rejection. I couldn’t find orange ones, but the colour itself means energy, passion and enthusiasm. The name of the flower is also interesting, it is believed to come from word “crown”, because it was often used in coronation ceremonies. So, yeah, bit of royal concept here. (source)

My last guess is eustoma, mostly because it’s tropical flower and it naturally comes in orange. Eustoma:

Long and happy life

Contentment and peace with what you already have

Appreciation for peace and joy in your life

Heartfelt emotions towards someone else

Friendliness and congeniality

Portraying an air of charisma and charm

Admiration for a supportive or loving friend

Sweetness and kindness towards others and yourself

The desire to be more outgoing.

(source)

An orange eustoma means love, but not in romantic way, rather friendship as in “I appreciate you as my friend and I want you to know that I love you”. I also bolded joy in life, because it matches other flowers that we’ve seen earlier.We’ll see soon what flower it is. Our cotton candy boy has also a flower on his shoe somewhere, but it’s lily of the valley, which I described before. And I’ve seen that he has different flower in Baekhyun’s teaser, but, again, I can’t tell what it is. It looks similar to the ones that I described before but it’s pink.

Here we can see KoKo Bop burger Baek wearing lilies of the valley again. But I’m more interested in Jongdaes’ flowers. Again these are the ones that I can’t really tell the species, but I’m guessing gladiolus red-yellow hybrid or amaryllis.

Gladiolus:

Strength of character

Faithfulness, sincerity and integrity

Infatuation

Never giving up

Honor, remembrance

As you can hear in the name, it’s connected to the Gladiators, it’s also called “the sword-flower”. These flowers are considerated to come from Africa or Asia. Red means love (what a surprise),  yellow cheerfulness and pink feminity. The problem with this flower is that it’s too small to be the flower on Chen’s chest. But don’t worry, we can see the flower in Chanyeol’s photo (what’s with him and flowers that mean feminity?)

See? The flowers are way too small to be on Chen’s jacket. So we’ll go with amaryllis, which is better because it’s tropical, like the rest, and it’s big enough.

Amaryllis means pride, but in a good way. Red means passion, love and beauty, but in China it’s also a lucky flower. Yellow means happiness, luck and good times ahead. Purple means royality and spiritual side of life. (source)

We can’t forget the most important flower, which is one of the logos. It’s flower called “bird of paradise” and it means:

the 9th wedding anniversary for a married couple

Freedom and the ability to travel, due to the flower’s resemblance to birds in flight

Magnificence, excellence and success

Royalty and a regal bearing

Paradise on Earth

Joy through challenges and successes alike

Faithfulness in romantic relationships

Optimism towards the future (source)

I’ll add more info about flowers after today’s teaser. I’ll also try to include other flowers that we can see in promo photos. For now the mean message is happiness, good luck and looking towards future. So basically “we’re kings and we’ll slay this comeback, hope you’ll be happy with our new album”.

[sweetbroloveit]

Clarke Griffin and Why Her Betrayal is Actually Great for Her Character Development

Firstly, it has to be said: WTF girl!? I was so angry at her for what she did. Octavia did such a great job, and that speech was amazing and everyone was unified, and then Clarke ruined it with her selfish plan.

BUT

It’s completely in character and makes total sense given her current desperation. And more importantly I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for character growth.

Clarke is practical, smart, logical, and calculating but she ultimately has her people’s best interest at heart. Jacob from TWOP once wrote “the thing that makes you awesome is also the thing that makes you suck.” And I think it’s 100% true with Clarke. She has the ability to see the big picture, to put aside personal feelings, make the hard choices and get the “best” outcome. But Clarke needs to learn that the smart thing is not always the right thing. She becomes so focused on the goal that she forgets that the way you get there matters and that other people’s feelings and opinions are valid.

Clarke’s fatal flaw is that she loves her people, but she doesn’t understand them. Look at how she approached The List. Yes, she took a practical approach that recruited the best skills, but she forgot the human element (*cough* except for when she let her heart take over at no. 99 and put Bellamy on the list *cough*). She expects everyone to be as practical about it as she is and doesn’t take her people’s free will into account. And she does it over and over again (note her decision to destroy the CoL even after finding out about praimfiya 2.0). Clarke believes that she knows best, so she makes decisions for them not with them, with the goal in mind not their feelings. She’s not power hungry, she genuinely believes she’s doing what’s best for her people. But she believes that she has to be the one to save them.

The closer Praimfiya gets and their plans go awry, the more desperate Clarke becomes and the more her God Complex takes over. In 4.09 she asks Gaia to make her the Commander, not because she actually wants to be Commander, but because it’s the best way to get the clans to stop fighting and force them to share the bunker. In Clarke’s mind they need a Commander + she has nightblood = problem solved. She doesn’t even consider the huge responsibility and sacredness of the role. Roan was 100% right to call her out for disrespecting their faith and for her white-saviour-ness. Clarke is aware that what she’s doing is wrong though, note she doesn’t tell Roan about this plan and waits for him to leave before approaching Gaia. She also doesn’t tell Gaia HOW she got nightblood, and when Abby reveals it, Clarke knows her plan is ruined (just look at her face in that scene).

Her decisions in 4.10 are based on the same principal – survival at all costs. Luna’s declaration is a threat to this. Clarke has seen how the conclave training works, she saw how well Lexa fought, and she believes Luna when she says she would have beaten her. If Luna wins, none of them survive. Once Roan makes it clear there will be no more alliance, Clarke takes matters into her own hands. She looks to achieving the goal, not to the people she’s condemning to die. She sacrifices Octavia (whom, to be fair, she may have assumed would be killed in the conclave anyway) and Kane (whom she cares for and respects), Indra, Gaia and the rest of the Grounders she tried so hard to save earlier in the season. Interestingly she’s still not willing to sacrifice Bellamy (*cough* because she loves him *cough*). But even the way she goes about saving him plays into her God Complex. Instead of telling him her plan and giving him a choice, she has him drugged and kidnapped. She knows he’d never agree to it – he balked at the idea of cheating in the conclave and he would never leave his sister to die – but she wants him to survive, so she goes against his expressed wishes and makes it happen.

Quick detour while I’m here: this is exactly why Clarke needs Bellamy. Bell claimed Jaha had it backwards but he was 100% correct. Bellamy centers Clarke. He has always been more emotionally in touch with their kids, that’s why he was always able to sway them with his motivational speeches. He understands them in a way she can’t. Could you imagine Clarke making the same choice Bellamy did in 4.09 to let the DNR group choose their own fate? Or in 4.02 when he chose to save the slaves rather than the hydrogenerator? The answer is no. That’s not how Clarke’s brain works. She looks at the practical impact on the final goal (sometimes to the detriment of the people), Bellamy looks at the physical and emotional impact on the people (sometimes to the detriment of the goal). In Mount Weather, Bellamy was the one who emphasised the innocent civilians including children who would be the casualties when they irradiated the mountain. Bellamy reminds Clarke of the human cost. It’s no coincidence that Bellamy has not been present for two of Clarke’s most heartless choices: Letting the bomb drop on TonDC and now stealing the bunker and abandoning the grounders.

This isn’t a choice she has to make. She could see how the conclave turns out, attempt to bargain with the winner, if it was Luna they could go to war regardless. She has options (yet she still uses the worn out excuse “I did what I had to”) but she picks this one because it is the easiest and it is the smartest for her people’s survival, but it’s still not the right thing to do. This reminds me so much of Lexa’s betrayal at Mount Weather. A leader turns her back on her allies in order to secure the easiest win for her people, instead of trying to achieve the harder goal which benefits everyone.

And here is where I finally get to WHY this is a fantastic development for Clarke’s character journey. Once she gets through this, (and she will – Bellamy will talk her down and make her see reason, I’m sure with Abby’s help) she will hopefully finally let go of the unhealthy aspects of the leadership lessons Lexa taught her. No matter how much the show is trying force this idea this season that Lexa was a peace-loving hippie who united her people and never did a thing wrong ever in her life, what we saw onscreen was different. Yes, Lexa united the clans, and she did so because she was smart and diplomatic but mostly because she was strong and people feared and respected her. The Grounders respect strength above all, and Lexa was ruthless. She kicked dissenters off buildings, kidnapped Clarke and had her bow to her in front of the ambassadors to show that she had Wanheda under her command. Lexa let the Mountain Men destroy her own village and used her people’s deaths as martyrs to rally the war effort. She told Clarke she needs to send her people into battle and tell them, go die for me. Like Clarke, for Lexa it was all about the final goal, no matter the cost. Lexa said it herself: she was perfectly capable of putting duty above feelings – Love is Weakness. This was the biggest lesson she taught Clarke, and one Clarke still needs to let go of. It’s not all Lexa’s fault, it’s also the way Clarke was raised on the Ark. But remember when they got to Earth, Clarke was the one who called for a better way than how they had ruled under the Exodus Charter, she was the one who tried to stop them from floating Murphy in 1.04, she tried to make peace with Anya in 1.09 and 2.04. It was only after meeting Lexa, after the trauma of killing Finn, that she started to shut her heart down to her people and has never quite managed to open it fully again.

I believe this is will finally be the thing that makes Clarke see that ruthlessness is not the only way. She doesn’t have to keep selling her soul to “save” her people, to “bear it so they don’t have to”. This is her rock bottom – evident by her pulling the gun on Bellamy in the promo. Even if you don’t ship them, or see their feelings for each other as anything other than platonic, it is pretty much undisputed that he is her person. He is the person she trusts and cares about most. She has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep him safe, so for her to reach this point where she would actually threaten him, is going to be her wake up call.

I’m glad they give Clarke flaws.  As the heroine of this story, her character is often in danger of being too perfect. Clarke can’t always be right or else there is no room for growth and improvement. She needs to be flawed, and to have those flaws challenged in order for her to continue being a compelling character, a character we can root for. So while I completely disagree with her choice, and I can be angry at her for it (like I was when she and Lexa sacrificed TonDC, and like I was at Bellamy during his 3A arc), I’m still excited to see how the show deals with the ramifications and I actually have faith they can pull it off. I (hope?) they’ve learned from how they mishandled Bellamy’s dark arc last season. I just hope we have enough episodes left in this season to do Clarke’s justice.

[robinthewinterbird]

Is Villainous Jim Possible in Season 2 of Trollhunters? Theory on the Triumbric Stones

With the cliffhanger ending of Trollhunters, a lot of us had been theorizing on what will happen to our brave hero after he (heroically and idiotically) walks into the Darklands alone. Fanfictions and fan ramblings have revealed many ideas. Theories I’ve seen include:

Jim successfully kills Gunmar and saves the children, but he’s damaged by the experience.

Jim acquires allies in the Darklands, and they take down Gunmar together.

Jim gets his butt kicked, his friends find a way to rescue him, and they take down Gunmar together.

My thoughts? Personally I think the last one is the most likely; the show has built up that friendship and love is what sets Jim apart from other Trollhunters and the show is called “Trollhunters” plural, meaning Toby and Claire and probably Blinky and Draal, too, will count as Trollhunters. So I strongly believe the show is building up to Jim realizing he needs his friends by his side for the final battle and that he should let them protect him just like he desires to protect them. Though he may also acquire allies in the Darklands, too. Jim has a way of making those around him feel the need to protect him. (He’s just too much of a cinnamon roll.)

But there is another possibility for Season 2 that I don’t think a lot of people have considered: Jim briefly joining Gunmar or Jim becoming a villain in his own right.

But that’s crazy, you say. No in-character version of Jim would join Gunmar. Even a Jim that’s turned jaded and “dark” would kill Gunmar, not join him. Gunmar wants to devour humanity; Jim is a human. These things don’t add up. And Jim being evil? Please. There’s a line even a traumatized Jim wouldn’t cross. And I think you’re right; I don’t think Jim would ever develop into a character that would join Gunmar or be outright villainous...at least not without some sort of outside magical influence.

But what if there is some outside magical influence that just might mess with his thinking? What if he could be controlled by something dark? Is there evidence for such a thing already existing the show?

Let’s take a look at those Triumbric Stones again.

So previously I made a post breaking down the various Arthurian references in Trollhunters (you can read it here) and in the process, I stumbled upon a thought: why did Merlin want to hide the Triumbric Stones?

First, let’s start with what we know about the Triumbric Stones. These stones are:

The Birthstone: The Heartstone from which Gunmar was born, corrupted by the first war between humans and trolls.

The Killstone: The remnant of Gunmar’s first kill, the Shattered King of the Quagawumps.

The Eye of Gunmar: Gunmar’s own eye that he lost in the battle with Orlagk for control of his Gum-Gums.

3 items: one from Gunmar’s beginning, one from Gunmar’s first murder, and one from Gunmar’s own flesh. Already these sound like sinister items, and none have good origins. One was corrupted by a horrific war and another a result of a murder. Even the third stone, which proves Gunmar can be vulnerable, was first removed from Gunmar by another powerful Gum-Gum, not a hero fighting against him.

Another clue about the nature of these stones is that Merlin hid them. Bodus’ poem claims that “The Myrddin Wylt obscured a Shadow’s bane,” Myrddin Wylt being an old Welsh name for Merlin. Merlin is the creator of the amulet that chooses the Trollhunters, and this amulet has 6 compartments to utilize the power of other stones, which is how Jim comes to use the stones they collect. If these three items were powerful enough to kill Gunmar and could be easily used by the Trollhunter with the amulet, why would Merlin “obscure” them rather than make them available to his chosen champion? Why not allow the Trollhunter, the keeper of peace, to “eclipse all who quarry with thine might”? What is so dangerous about these items that he would want to hide them rather than let the Trollhunter use them?

Then there’s the matter of who thought to find them after Merlin hid them. The Triumbric Stones are introduced to us through the last surviving work of the scholar known as the dishonorable Bodus. Dishonorable Bodus. One has to wonder how Bodus came to be called “dishonorable” and why it is the dishonorable scholar who recorded the location Triumbric stones.

And it could be that Bodus’ riddle even warns against wielding Eclipse. “Where worthy perish, ye will prevail in night and Eclipse all who quarry with thine might.” This could be interpreted to mean that, where worthy heroes perish, the wielder of Eclipse will win with darkness. This could mean that those who wield Eclipse are no longer “worthy.” After all, what can turn daylight dark? ...An eclipse.

It’s all a little suspicious.

The episode itself may even hint at this. When the riddle was first read, Toby pointed out how creepy the riddle was, but Jim quickly silenced his doubts by focusing on the fact that it said “they could win.” It’s played off like Toby just simply didn’t understand the riddle, but was that possibly subrle foreshadowing?

Another potentially important detail is Eclipse’s black color and red glow. Color is seems to be symbolic in Trollhunters. (Personally, I think there’s enough evidence for color symbolism in Trollhunters that I could make an entire post on that alone.) And the color blue seems to be particularly so. Blue is the color for goodness and purity, the color of heroes. The Trollhunters’ souls are blue. The Trollhunter’s amulet and the armor and sword of Daylight glow blue. Heck, Jim, the chosen hero, is dressed nearly all in blue - blue jacket, blue jeans, blue shoes - and has blue eyes. Even the title is in blue.

So when Jim is no longer wearing blue, it could be a significant piece of symbolism. He’s lost his purity. He no longer bears the colors of the hero. He no longer symbolizes good.

Now this may not actually mean much of anything; the symbolism of blue is called into question when we see that Gunmar’s eyes are also blue. It’s possible I’m reading too much into this. But this is also Guillermo del Toro we’re talking about. He does tend to like visual symbolism and has used color before for this purpose. I think it’s perfectly possible he’s using color as symbolism and potential foreshadowing.

But even aside from the lack of blue, the color of the new armor is still significant. Jim’s new armor is black “like night,” whereas his previous armor was a shimmering silver. He’s gone from a light aesthetic to a dark one. A darker aesthetic is a sure foreshadowing of Jim either going through some dark stuff and/or turning a bit darker himself internally. It’s the same sort of symbolism used for Luke Skywalker in Star Wars as he became less pure. With each movie in the original trilogy, Luke had a darker clothing aesthetic as he became more open and vulnerable to the Dark Side. Jim seems to be getting similar treatment.

Everything about these Triumbric Stones and Eclipse just seems to indicate that these items are not meant to be wielded by heroes. They are sinister items of sinister origins, hidden by those who wanted to save the world and recorded only by those deemed dishonorable. Could they potentially have the power to corrupt those who wield them? If so...could they influence Jim to join Gunmar?

But, I hear you say, even if the Triumbric Stones are evil and corrupting, Eclipse is wielded “for the doom of Gunmar.” So even if they turn Jim outright evil, he would still kill Gunmar, not join him. So that still kills the “joining Gunmar” theory, right?

My final piece of evidence is the promo poster for Season 2.

Jim is standing in Gunmar’s hand, holding his sword aloft while souls (lost Trollhunters?) swirl around him. One could say this symbolizes his battle with Gunmar, and that’s how most interpret it. But look at how the picture is staged. Gunmar appears to be presenting Jim to the world...as if Jim was his champion.

And it was this poster that first got me even considering that possibility.

Now if Jim were to join Gunmar, how do I think it would unfold? I think it’d go a little something like this: With the influence of the Triumbric Stones, Jim will end being corrupted and become an agent of Gunmar. Gunmar, fearful someone else would use Eclipse against him if anything happened to Jim, uses this to his advantage Once he has his allegiance, Gunmar will try to force Jim to kill his own friends and open the gateway at Killahead Bridge, just as Vendel warned he would.

As for a villainous rogue Jim...I have trouble picturing what that would look like. While under the influence of the Triumbric Stones, the Jim we know would no longer exist, that’s for sure. And with del Toro manning this thing, we could go in a pretty dark direction, children’s show or not.

Now I could be way off base here. The Triumbric Stones could just be inanimate objects of power, neither good nor evil. But that’s why it’s a theory, right?

Regardless of how the rest of Trollhunters unfolds, I still agree that Jim’s friends will still save him, and they will still take on Gunmar together. I’m fairly certain that’s where this series is going. But rather than saving Jim from the terrors of the Darklands, it’s possible his friends may end up saving him...from himself.

Get ready, indeed.