#also similar to this is James and Matthew

[helenofblackthorns]

it's so interesting to think about grace as heaven considering jesse's existence. like in a way, that makes him her connection to the mortal world, which honestly doesn't feel that far off?? even in spite of the fact that he's literally a ghost

I had a whole response to this written out and the app :) deleted :) it :)

anyway let's try this again. Grace (and James) both have notable otherworldly aspects to them, they do not fit into the mortal world completely and instead stand outside it to a degree. their grandness erodes away at their humanity, and they both regard themselves as almost... unimportant. neither of them really care what happens to them, hence why they both turn down Magnus's offer of help. they both regard themselves with a detached careless (James's general behaviour in tmh; "I am my mother's blade")

however! Grace does deeply care about Jesse. even in tmh, despite what she says and Magnus thinks, I don't think Grace cares about Tatiana. she's working with her because they have the same goal, and since she can't tell Magnus her true reasons for staying, she comes off of caring for Tatiana (although I think her relationship to Tatiana is an entirely different complicated matter). Grace would stand even further apart from everything else if it wasn't for Jesse, her one true tie to the mortal world. Jesse on the other hand desperately wants to be apart of the mortal world, and is hanging on by his fingernails to it. even though he deeply disapproves of the methods preventing his death, he also is graceful for them (...ignore canon a bit okay). he can't fully condone them because he wants to live so badly, and there something very human about that. like he too is standing off to the side of the world but unlike Grace and James he hasn't resigned to his fate; he's fighting it as best he can.

[rainsofcamelot]

and what if i said

[saintsenara]

Do you think harry is more similar to lily or James

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

i think the assessment of harry's character which dumbledore gives to snape in deathly hallows is more or less the correct one:

“He is his father over again -”  “In looks, perhaps, but his deepest nature is much more like his mother’s.”

which i think can be expanded upon really interestingly as an example of something which the series does really, really well - how it obscures the fact that lily is the key to the mystery right up until the last minute.

the things harry has in common with james - not only his looks, but his quidditch talent, his impulsivity, his disregard for the rules, his arrogance, his cunning, his beef with snape, his adoration of sirius, his belief that his uncle is faintly ridiculous, and his bold, flashy courage - are big and explicit and demonstrative, and the text lampshades that they're inherited from his father at every opportunity.

[and not only in how many characters mention that he looks like james. voldemort - for example - mentions james' demonstrative bravery - facing him "like a man" - every time he and harry interact; sirius and lupin never mention lily when discussing harry's personality, even when what they're talking about is how he's not like james.]

the text also goes out of its way to suggest that similarly big aspects of lily's character have not been inherited by her son - the most obvious example of which is that, in half-blood prince, the incandescent talent at potions which has slughorn raving about how like his mother harry is... is actually the result of harry cheating [and cheating from a textbook he's convinced for much of the book might have belonged to james].

the only thing the text emphasises again and again that harry has inherited from his mother are his eyes.

and - in doing this - the series is actually telling us something very clear about what it understands harry to have in common with lily.

eyes are a frequent motif throughout the text, which are almost always connected to the themes of authenticity and truth.

dumbledore's eyes give away his true feelings in goblet of fire - when the "gleam of something like triumph" comes into them after he learns that voldemort used harry's blood to resurrect himself - before serving as a metaphor for the way the information about the prophecy is being withheld from harry in order of the phoenix when he refuses to make eye contact with him.

[dumbledore's eyes also stop "twinkling" after voldemort returns, in a sign of how serious the situation - which the ministry never appreciates the full gravity of - is becoming.]

occlumency and legilimency - the obscuring and seeking of truth - depend on eye contact. the teenage tom riddle's eyes - with their gleam of red - give away his true depravity, even when he's still outwardly charming and beautiful. the teen snape sees the reason for his obsession with the marauders "wrenched from him against his will" at the force of lily's glare [and the adult snape frequently averts his own gaze from harry when he clearly doesn't want to risk seeing anger or pain in lily's eyes]. ginny's love for harry - her "never giving up" on him, her willingness to wait and endure while he goes off on the horcrux hunt - is communicated by a "blazing look". the basilisk kills by looking - but doesn't kill anyone in chamber of secrets, since the truth about the culprit isn't known. and so on...

which is to say - the series regards the eyes as the windows to the soul [an idea which is connected to a verse in chapter six of the gospel of matthew - the verse immediately preceding which, "for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also", is inscribed upon kendra and ariana dumbledore's graves] and to the true, inner nature of a person.

in mentioning again and again that harry looks like james except for his eyes, what the narrative is doing is hinting to the reader that harry's big, obvious, showy similarities with his father mustn't let them miss that the more subtle traits of his personality - his steadfastness, his quiet courage in the face of hopelessness, his ability to love so much it changes the entire course of history - come from his mother, and that what he inherits from lily will be much more important to the resolution of the story than the things he inherits from james.

this is a clue it plays with really nicely - particularly because harry doesn't really care at any point prior to the last third of deathly hallows about what he inherits from lily more than he cares about what he inherits from james.

we - as readers - go through his experience of learning that his mother is the key to the whole mystery in real time - when we join harry in snape's memories - and we walk into the forest with a harry who now knows the whole truth: that he's more like his mother than he's previously realised, and that he'll therefore be able to do the same thing that she did, and die so that others might live.

“You won’t be killing anyone else tonight,” said Harry as they circled, and stared into each other’s eyes, green into red. “You won’t be able to kill any of them ever again.”

[moonymoss]

posting another seduce me redesign since the last one I did was *checks notes* holy shit 2 years ago.

anyway design notes and headcanons under the cut

I had planned to also redo their demon forms since my headcanons have changed since then but I didn't feel like it and with artfight coming up I just don't have time.

My first and main goal when redesigning them was giving them a more diverse range of faces and skintones. I headcanon that they basically got all of their looks exclusively from their mothers, so they could look wildly different while still being brothers. Also because these are their human forms I would imagine most of the traits they inherited from their father wouldn't pass over anyways. Scars were another big thing I wanted to add, and yes, most of them are from you know who (their father). James and Damien's face and neck scars, and Sam's arm scars are all from their father, Erik has no visible scars, Matthew has scars from training on his hands, and Sam's cheek scar is from an arrow. There are also plenty of more scars I have headcanoned that are not visible. (and yes Damien's eye is partially blind) Clothes wise I wanted to dress them more realistically then they were, at least in the first game. James ended up leaning more casually but basically stayed the same. Erik I wanted to keep in a suit but instead of a button up and vest I went for just a turtleneck and suit jacket since I felt that leaned more casual while still keeping him more formal then his brothers. Also to lean more into realism I did have to get rid of his purple eyes and red hair. (sorry Erik fans) Sam got a whole grudge make over, I felt like the games were just too scared to make him lean into that style so I just did that little extra push he needed. Matthew and Damien probably got the biggest style change out of the 5. With Matthew I wanted to lean streetwear with lots of layers and baggy clothes. With Damien I wanted them to be the light academia to James more dark academia. (Off topic: I have a lot of thoughts about James and Damien's relationship and how despite their treatment from their father being very different that they both went through similar trauma and I headcanon that they're the closest of the brothers because of it.)

Finally since I changed them so much I wanted to add a motif to connect them all together again and just like with the demon redesigns, the golden rose makes a return. I don't actually know if the golden rose has any relation to them in canon but I dont care. James is on the side of his glasses, Erik's is a pin on his suit, Sam's is a charm on his bracelet, Matthew's is an earring and Damien's is a clip in their hair.

I have so many headcanons and opinions of these guys and this is barely a snippet of my thoughts about them. hopefully one day I'll finally get off my ass and make actual art and stories.

[moonshynecybin]

hmmm idk if this is anything, but rosquez as romcom co stars that keep getting cast together even though they hateee each other but the chemistry is too good?

this is fun because like. it keeps some of my favorite little rosquez saw traps and wraps them up for me like a little treat. forced proximity public pda and EXTREME media scrutiny kind of their bread and butter tbh. make them crazy make them kiss im watching like tashi in the hotel scene in challengers

like marc as a young tom cruise esque (sorry. SORRY. im sorryyyyy) action star who does all of his own stunts loves the physicality of acting loves getting to pretend to do crazy stuff and be a HEROOOO but still kind of plays the same exact character every time. BIG smile always standing on apple boxes to make himself seem taller as he attempts to generate chemistry with whatever actress is his badly written love interest of the day (marc would be SO good in the mission impossible movies im sorry he WOULD be like. can i parachute off of a motorcycle into a ravine please please please youre NOTHING. santi is his extremely stressed stunt coordinator. lmao.) versus vale who came up doing indie movies as a teen in the 90s (his lil face would DOMINATE gay cinephile gifset tumblr) before launching himself to super stardom with a string of successful comedies and sort of settling into that because its easy... secretly frustrated no one will let him bust out his drama chops... BIG chip on his shoulder here a la leaving honda for yamaha etc

so eventually both of them are getting a little tired of being pigeon holed. and decide 2 book a serious ass gay romantic drama. they are tired of being hailed as the kings of fiction for the masses and they want to win at acting!! they get into the chemistry read (marc is still pretty young i think) and its. insane. INSTANT. james dean and marlon brando levels of ARE YOU TWO FUCKING?? but they literally just met. and marc has been a fan of vale's forever but not just the comedies also his earlier dramatic stuff (apocalyptic little gay crush) and they have similar taste in movies and vale is sooooo funny and it is OFF to the races. like. i cannot emphasize this enough they are fucking the WHOLE time. every scene in this movie its just leaping off the screen... they go in to film and its like that BTS clip of the americans where the director was having matthew rhys and keri russell do a sex scene and theyre suspiciously comfortable pretending to 69 and he turns to his assistant and just goes. oh yeah these guys have fucked. they are wayyyy to comfy hitching the other's pussy into their face lmao. just fucking going for it. the director is like hey guys. can you tone it down a little. marc biggggg smile okayyyyyy :3

and the movie comes out and they attend the premiere all smiley and bouncy and feeling really good about the project and then, theyy watch it. and its like. uh oh! not a lot of acting happening there ! um. best performance of either of their careers and they both look at it an can identify all the points they werent acting like evil little signal flares.... and vale shuts marc out HARD yadayadayada the Usual Rosquez Breakup Ensues.... until they both get cast in a revival of the brokeback mountain stage play and shit pops off in the most nuclear explosion of horny heartbreak to ever hit the STAGE…

[edwinspaynes]

I think sometimes about people saying that Cordelia is the only neurotypical member of the TLH cast and haven't been able to figure out why I rebel so hard against that sentiment. I figured it out yesterday.

It's because Cordelia exhibits massive golden child syndrome, and I realized that that's in and of itself a type of (c)PTSD.

She's anxious about her connections with those around her, especially Alastair and Lucie. With James and Matthew, she's avoidant to the point that she will not communicate any feelings until later in ChoT because to do so would be confronting those emotions. She's always saying that Elias viewed her as similar to him (while Alastair was like Sona), and she seemed to have created some sort of proxy-idea in her mind where she is the one who's like her father even if their differences could not be more stark.

Combine that with the fact that she's sheltered to the point of not noticing Elias's alcohol despite a) bottles laying around the house, and b) his concerning violent public behaviours like those we see at her wedding. She's clearly in the mindset of "everything's fine; this is fine," and it's not. She's not, because she's shoved her head in the sand since her father showers her with the attention that she's not getting from Sona and Alastair, who are in different, massively bad predicaments of their own.

And Cordelia copes by being perfect. By being Elias's special daughter, the one who's like him, who's the bearer of Cortana walking in the Carstairs family legacy, who's bright and sunshiney and happy and perfect.

I also want to note that I think Cordelia has some very valid abandonment trauma. While I do inarguably think she should have defended Alastair more, she literally felt abandoned by him (and Sona) for seven years because he emotionally pulled away. There were wildly good reasons, and Alastair's sacrifice deserves recognition (he is the best person), that doesn't negate the fact that she did not know those good reasons and felt abandoned.

I think this seems pervasive in her internal narration, too, as she tries to get closer to people without expressing deep-seated feelings (such as pent-up frustration with Lucie or her profound love for James).

@faithfromanewperspective @thevagabondexpress

[sweet-self-indulgence]

How do you think each incubus tries to let Mika know when they're in the mood?

James will find some excuse to tower over her

Pinning her against a wall or sliding up behind her are his go-to’s

He’ll pitch his voice low and tell her how she makes him feel

“Seeing you in the dress does incredible things to me”

If Mika seems to take the bait, he tends to add something like: “If you keep looking at me like that I don’t know if I can control myself”

Both of them want him to lose control, but teetering close to the edge is a thrill

Erik will whisper in her ear

To an untrained observer it may seem like his normal mode of playful flirting

But Mika knows that mixtures of the playful spark of arousal in his eyes and the complete earnestness in his face

Then he’ll lean in close to whisper sweet nothings in her ear

His favorite formula is compliment followed by sexual twist

“Your figure looks absolutely stunning in that dress… but you would look even better without it~”

He knows how Mika loves the way his whisper gives her goosebumps

Sam gets handsy

It’s subtle since he’s always casually touching Mika anyways

There’s something in the speed of a caress that changes its meaning:

A slow warm hand is comforting

A faster touch is casual, a way of physically acknowledging her presence

But there’s a specific kind of touch that lights Mika’s nerves on fire

If he softly trails his fingers down her side Mika gets turned on

If he touches her neck or collarbone he’d better be prepared to fuck on the spot

In a similar vein he’s not the best at compliments, but he has a way of saying “Wow” when he looks at Mika, like he’s absolutely star-struck

Matthew will turn up the heat of a kiss

He gives Mika a thousand little kisses a day, most of them are casual

but he’s very good at putting a little extra something in a kiss to change the mood

A ‘thank-you-for-getting-that-chore-done’ kiss suddenly has heat stirring in Mika’s stomach

Suddenly she’s standing in the middle of the room turned on and completely flustered

Maybe Matthew is smiling innocently at her, gauging her reaction

Or maybe she has to go find where he ran off to in order to continue the game

Damein will ask for affection

He might make a more casual interaction romantic by placing Mika’s hand on his cheek and staring into her eyes

Guaranteed to get her heart to flutter a little bit

He may also walk up to her, grab her hands in his and quietly, yet earnestly, declare “Beloved, I crave your touch”

This will make Mika blush

She’ll start with a hug, then he’ll gently pull her into a kiss with one hand cradling the base of her skull and the other on the small of her back

Quickly, one of them is pulling the other into a more private space

[incubi-answers]

How would each of you try to impress the person you like?

This is Erik typing. I, of course, would try to charm them with compliments and gestures. I'd also try to become more genuine around them, so they knew it was more than simply an act. Then, I'd ask them on a date to a ball or restaurant.

James would be similar, though a bit less forward. He'd listen to their interests and learn more about them, showing he truly had an interest in them as a person.

Sam...well, he's quite obviously the least versed in romance out of the five of us. (HEY! WHATS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?) Hush Sam. Anyways, after getting over the shock of having a crush in the first place, he'd try to compliment them and find ways to spend time with them. Likely video games or bringing them to the roof with him.

Matthew would go out of his way to spend more time with his love interest. He'd ask them to join him on activities such as baking and playing video games. He'd also make them many gifts, like plushies and their favorite snacks.

Damien would start to show a bit more confidence around his love interest. If he hears through their thoughts that they are interested, he'd be more comfortable flirting. He'd also ask them to join him in watching television or reading.

[new-tella-us]

Awww if you do more of the Seduce Me Situations thing, can you do how the boys would react to MC being sick or on her period?

Well first, the universal answer for the period is freak the fuck out.

I think Michaela confirmed that demons don't get periods so, to all of the boys, Mika's just bleeding. This would especially freak out Damien as he would be the first to know via mindreading. Imagine going about your day, training or wandering or whatever Damien does, and then you hear the thoughts of your landlord and she's bleeding out of her uterus. That is concerning when you don't understand menstruation.

For more customized responses, once the boys know what's going on-

James is asking as many questions as he needs to get to the route of Mika's problem. He's surprisingly not intense, he's just casually asking about symptoms as he either prepares Mika soup for her sickness or helps clean up any stains while she was on her period. That way he has a good grasp on what he can do to help her feel better. However, if Mika start PMSing, the best he can do is listen to her woes cause this boy is emotionally stunted.

Erik is the moral support. As a fellow uterus holder, I am painfully aware of the sheer amount of issues that come with periods. The cramping is bad but the bloating and the breakout and the high emotions don't help. It can make you feel very insecure. But Erik doesn't mess with insecurity so his ass is gunna dedicate his time into making sure Mika knows exactly how pretty she is and how that hasn't changed. Sickness can have a similar effect so I'll lump it in.

Sam has absolutely NO idea what he's doing. "Pads? Tampons? Cups? Why does she needs C U P S?" His ass is bringing home plastic cups from Walmart even though that is not what she meant. He would look it up on google but he can't read! As for the far less terrifying option of sickness, he would be more prepared. I imagine with how starved Damien was, as soon as he entered an unfamiliar atmosphere, his immune system nearly folded on him. Sam would have helped nurse Damien back to health so he can do the same for Mika.

Matthew also has no idea what he's doing but the difference is that, he's surprisingly good at guessing. He just asked some basic questions (with sickness or period) and winged the rest and somehow he succeeded at helping Mika feel comfy and as healthy as she can feel. His intuition is strong as hell. Though he would absolutely be the boy to ask "Ayo what pu$$y size you wear?" but like... in a more Matthew way. Not as vulgar.

Damien would have a basic to generally good idea of what to do, depending on if his mindreading decides to work that day. While periods would be new to him, sickness is not. So he understand that you need to stay hydrated, well fed and well rested. He would be the least likely to let you do anything. (a little bit of that overprotectiveness kicking in) He'll figure it out...maybe....hopefully. But also if he's sent out to buy pads, he's getting at least five additional items and there's a chance he'll forget the pads.

[seducemefanficsandheadcanons]

So again, I have been inspired by @new-tella-us

This time, the idea was to make children for Sam and Aron. I've been brainstorming this for a while, but there is still the possibility that details could change. I believe they'll end up having 3 kids, maybe 4.

So here is there oldest daughter!

Adelia- Demon name

Ansley- Human name

When Ansley is young, she's a soft-spoken child. She's a bit shy at times and struggles to put herself out there. She reminds everyone of Aron as a kid. She also tends to cling to Sam and Aron quite a bit.

As she gets older, she starts to become more outgoing but is still quite calm. She has a love for baking, knitting, and music. She doesn't play any instruments or sing much, but she does listen to it. She also tried to dance at one point, but didn't like it, so it didn't last.

She has dark brown hair like Sam and a combination of green and blue eyes like Aron. She has a facial structure similar to Sam's, with some of Arons features like her nose and eye shape.

She ends up being around 5'6, a few inches taller than Aron. She finds it funny and teases her mother for being short.

Magic wise, Ansley (like Aron) has an extra ability to sense and see auras. She is also talented in conjuring. (Like Erik and Matthew)

Because she's a cambion, she also has some odd powers that aren't commonly seen in succubi or humans. When she gets older, she learns that she has another ability. Intangability- the ability to pass through objects/not be touched. A pretty good example would be her "walking through a wall." The more she trains this ability, the more efficient she becomes, and eventually, she can project it onto objects and other people, as long as their touching.

She isn't physically the strongest, but her magic makes up for it. However, she prefers never to rely on magic and even prefers to stay in her glamor spell at all times. It's a matter of preference for her. She leans closer to the human side of her but still does practice magic. Of course, Sam and Aron allow her the ability to be involved with both her human and demon side.

She went to a school in the demon districts, but once she hit middle school, Sam and Aron gave her the choice to chose whether she wanted to go to normal human school, continue at the school she was already going to, or even homeschool.

Unfortanely, she had been bullied a bit when attending the "demon school" because she was a cambion. However, most of the problems actually stemmed from her teachers, who would occasionally discriminate against her. (Sam and Aron didn't let that last very long...)

Ansley chose to stay at her current school until she hit eighth grade, and then she requested to be switched to the public human school. Of course, they let her, as long as she was aware of the risks and importance for secrecy.

The reason they did not give her the choice until middle school was because of the worry about her accidentally revealing her magic.

Ansley tended to fade into the background a bit at her new school, which was what she preferred. She had a small group of friends who shared interest, but her closest friends were ones she met at her old school. She's also close with some of her cousins.

She's known as a very good student by her teachers. Her favorite subject is English.

Her favorite uncles are Damien and James, but she has an okay relationship with all of them.

Her soul color is maroon.

[thebanishedreader]

Florida banned porn in schools? Good for them.

Hi user!! Would you like to comment without hiding behind anonymity and tell me how these books are porn? Because they've also been banned from libraries and classrooms in Florida.

The Lion Children's Bible: Stories from the Old and New Testaments

The Usborne Book of Bible Stories

Noah's Ark: Words from the Book of Genesis

Read with Me Bible: An NIV Story Bible for Children

The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Bible Stories

The Christmas Story: According to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke from the King James Bible

The Easter Story: According to the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John from the King James Bible

Extreme Faith: Twelve Radical Young Believers from the Bible Who Changed Our World

And these are just 8 of the 1,402 titles that have been banned from libraries and classrooms in Florida in 2023. There are many more in a similar vein!! If you have more Bible Porn to share I would be interested to see!

[thevagabondexpress]

diagnosing the last hours characters with modern music tastes

Cordelia: I feel like she'd have two modes. The first would be soft, upbeat, folk and country but also piano-based stuff, anything major key and with big sound. Caroline Jones, Ruth B., Noah Kahan. I also thing she'd really like Shakira. That's her kind of day-to-day music, it's what she puts on in the car, around the house, when going for a jog, etc. But she also has a collection of women rap artists of the Megan and OSHUN variety which is what she puts on when she's doing hard workouts/training.

James: I agree that he'd be emo but I don't think he'd actually listen to a lot of "traditional canon" emo music. I think he'd find it too loud and intense in the wrong way. I think he'd prefer shoegaze, a la Radiohead, and bands like Five Three Eyes that are fast but fuzzed out. Generally anything with softer mastering where it sounds great at a lower volume.

Matthew: He'd love disco and neuvo-disco/retro-rock. Gloria Gaynor, Suzanne Somers, MonaLisa Twins, the Lemon Twigs. It's fun and silly and also empowering, besides which I think he'd like the fashion and the sparkle of it all. On his bad days, though, when the depression and/or ptsd and/or temptation to return to the addiction hits hard, what used to be his heavy drinking days, I think he'd fall back on an artist like P!NK or Florence + the Machine. Someone who can speak to the truth of the lowest lows of where he's been and remind him that he doesn't have to go back there, that there are other choices, things to live for. That, with time and effort, it does get better.

Thomas: He dug up the local college student indie rock station and he listens to it religiously. It's a habit he picked up in Madrid, he wanted to listen to Spanish music but didn't know where to look/how to search for it so he acquainted himself with radio and just flipped stations until he found something with a sound he liked. When asked to pick songs individually/curate his own music I think he'd end up falling back on his dad's taste in music: Eric Clapton, Bruce Cockburn, the Stones.

Alastair: I feel like Alastair would have unarguably the vastest taste in music of the lot of them, but also that it would generally run to music from well before his time. His mom has vinyls and cassette tapes from Iran before the Revolution and he's dubbed CDs and MP4's of them so he has his own copies and isn't stealing her. He enjoys listener-supported classical music radio, and also newer instrumental of the Haygood Hardy variety. He likes soft jazz and blues, Mahalia Jackson, Mama Thornton. He would ADORE Nina Simone. I think if I had to give a taste in music from after 1970, I'd say he also probably likes artists like Tracy Chapman and Mint Green that speak to a similar lived experience to his own.

Christopher: On one hand, I don't think he really cares that much about music. On the other hand, I think he would be the type to unapologetically listen to high school concert band music. He got hold of Robert W. Smith's storms series (Into the Storm, The Tempest, The Maelstrom), realized there's a crap ton of pieces in this genre that are Inspired By Science, and now every time Matthew comes down to the basement laboratory he ends up lodging a complaint about the sheer amount of French horn.

Grace: Living with Tatiana I don't think she was really allowed much if any access to music but I imagine she found ways around that anyhow. I think she's the other person who would really enjoy Florence + the Machine. I think most of her music would be older, melancholy women folk singers. Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Claudia Schmidt, the McGarrigle Sisters. I think she'd find them soothing. They'd help her calm down when things get difficult, help her to find beauty in a world that's caused her mostly pain. I think her favorite artist would be Lenka. She's got this kind of upbeat, slightly silly vibe that would make Grace smile but I also think she'd find that songs like "Silhouette" and "Ivory Tower" could speak to her truth when she needs someone to, without getting too deep in and triggering her.

Lucie: She listens to Kpop and movie soundtracks. Also if it's appeared in one of those "badass women" edits over on youtube 100% she has it on her playlist or did at some point.

Jesse: Like Grace, he didn't really have access to music living with Tatiana. Also he was dead for like almost a decade so there's that. He probably mostly listens to whatever Lucie listens to, but I like to think he does experiments like picking a new genre/radio station to listen to every day, trying to figure out what he likes and doesn't like independently of his girlfriend.

Anna: idk. She strikes me as someone who'd like Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also Halsey and Hozier. Maybe bands like Linkin Park and Evanescence—she doesn't say it because she doesn't like being dissed for listening to "old cringe emo" but they got her through gender dysphoria when she was twelve so she knows there's some worth in them.

Charles: He really doesn't listen to music. He listens to NPR or Radio Canada or the British equivalent because it makes him feel up-to-date and liberal but he doesn't actually hear the content, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

@alastairstom @chaosandtwo

[gogandmagog]

I really hope you’ll write Peter Pan in Rainbow Valley! You’re the most qualified to match Barrie’s and Montgomery’s respective tones, all your fics are very whimsical and funny. I’d LOVE to read it.

Lol! Oh, thank youuu. That’s so nice! 🥹 And just so you know, I’m really happy to have another J.M. Barrie mutual, I feel like we’re kind of thin on the ground on tumblr. I follow all his tags here, and they’re so rarely added to.

I like half drafted an outline on this, and will keep it in the future-maybe-someday file for ‘fics that want to be written,’ but it’s a real purgatory over there, if I’m being honest. But outlining it has admittedly taken zero effort, because these two stories almost seem meant to be joined. We know Maud was a huge fan of J.M. Barrie, and by extension of Peter and Wendy… and I’ve long personally thought that it was beyond pure coincidence that ‘James Matthew Blythe’ is so similar in name to ‘James Matthew Barrie’… but even Rainbow Valley (place not book), which is kind of this liminal space between fairyland and reality, sacred to childhood and play, has some existing Neverlandness about it already built in. And then there’s these compelling similarities between Mrs. Darling and Mrs. Anne Blythe as well; both charming mothers, both adult advocates for/in/of imagination, and both wonderful storytellers (Peter lingers around the eaves of the Darlings Bloomsbury home to hear her stories) that are devotedly loved by their husbands and children. But for me, I think it's a huge (the hugest) point of interest to loop in Walter, who saw the Piper, like really really saw him, in Rainbow Valley. How easy it would be to kick out the German Pied Piper and drawn in Peter Pan and his flute, instead… two characters who are already deeply linked by folklore. Elsewhere, if the Jolly Roger, did take a wrong star and run aground in the Rainbow Valley brook, it’s just asking to have the suspended-in-time Neverland pirates be familiar with Captain Jim and maybe Lost Margaret, from bygone Life-Book days. I’d even give Shirley a boyish thimble-passing romance with Tiger Lily, the same way I’ve always wanted to see him paired off with a Mi’kmaq girl. Aunt Mary Maria’s hand also shoots right up for the doubling Hook-ish authoritarian/‘grow up already’/take-all-the-fun-away role (Gilbert would never suit it the way Mr. Darling did). But anyway! With all this low hanging fruit, it’d seriously be so simple to neatly tuck these two books into each other at every corner. It’s really all right there.

[pippin-katz]

you may or may not be the person who needs to know this, but you're the only person I can think of to share this with, and if I don't tell somebody, I might explode:

so there are some similarities btwn Merlin/Arthur and Alex/Henry, right?

and like

Alex : Merlin :: Henry : Arthur

right?

so isnt it weird the both Nick & Bradley James are Libras, while both Taylor & Colin Morgan are Capricorns? and both pairs have a three-year age gap? and while they share the same signs, the 90s babies/RWRB pairs have their birthdays at the end of the month before their 80s babies/BBCMerlin counterparts...

just so many weird coincidences, and I had to share it with *somebody*! thank you for listening/reading!

Dude I feel you on needing to tell someone something or you’ll explode; that’s my life lmfao

Now regarding what you’ve shared, that is really fucking weird! Those are some pretty specific details for them to share. I’m not a huge astrology person, but maybe there’s just something about that pairing that works? Especially when they’re close in age?

Post Writing Note: This spiraled so far out of my hands that it smashed my plans for the day. I've been writing this since 9:30AM and I'm now finishing at 4:20PM. You have been warned.

Taylor and Nicholas

What’s crazy is that Colin and Bradley’s dynamic off screen is similar to Nick and Taylor’s.

While Alex is a loud and outgoing character, Matthew mentioned in an interview that Taylor is actually on the quieter/more reserved side most of the time. I was a bit surprised, but if you pay close attention, he actually does seem like he’s quieter than Nicholas. It's more noticeable in the draw-off video and their little promos with the teapot. He's definitely enthusiastic, but in a different way than Nick, who acts like he just took a shot of concentrated caffeine.

But you can also see it in the friendship quiz if you look for it. It's there in the way that Nick is more... I'm not sure how to describe it- maybe scatterbrained? Or ditsy? I don't mean that as an insult by the way.

It's like he has pent-up energy and wants to be entertaining for the camera, so he initiates most of the jokes and sarcasm, while Taylor is kind of just chilling. He definitely makes some jokes, but the ratio between which of them is the first to say something that starts a joke is heavily skewed towards Nicholas. He also randomly forgets what's going on, and goes off on tangents where he bounces from one thing to the next.

I looked and looked for GIFs, but I couldn't find some of the moments I'm talking about, so I'll just write them out:

Nicholas gives Taylor 10 points, and he's like "wait, wait, did I get it right?" and Nick's like "yeah" before immediately remembering that he got it wrong even though they had just had the conversation

Nicholas gets a question right and he says "point for Taylor" and Taylor is like "no, for you" and Nick corrects himself with "point for Nick", then jokes and points between them like "you're Taylor, I'm Nick, okay, got it"

Taylor asks the bonus question about the major sporting event in Indiana, and Nicholas starts randomly listing names, like "the Big Game, the Big Football Game, the Bowl, the Indiana Bowl, the Great State Champion Lacrosse Game of Indiana" instead of stopping to think or letting Taylor give him the hint you can see he's been waiting to say between laughs

Nicholas randomly starts being sarcastic or hyperbolizing his behavior when talking: - "Taylor is the one American person who knows where London is on a map." - "I believe you competed in [the Cooper's Hill Annual Cheese Race] yourself, didn't you?" - "I'll give him a point." Taylor laughs because it took a couple tries to get the right answer. "The points, they are bountiful and plenty. We don't have to be stingy with them."

Nicholas describing a corndog by holding an invisible "weird thing that goes on a stick" and pretending to eat it while going "nhgnhgnhgnhg" as he spins it.

He also reacts more to Taylor getting questions wrong than Taylor reacts to him getting questions wrong. There's the whole bit about the "chip butty" and "English fry-up" that leaves Nicholas acting all annoyed, whereas Taylor sort of just starts immediately helping him with hints when he gets something wrong.

Basically, Nicholas probably has some form of ADHD and it seems to manifest as hyperactivity. Nicholas being so hyper and enthusiastic is ironic considering how quiet and calm Henry is as a character. It's such a drastic contrast between them.

Taylor is much more chill. He's definitely hyper around Nick, but there is a difference in them. Notice how Taylor just watches Nick do his silly intro, but Nicholas starts making movements with his hands and expressions during Taylor's. Also Taylor was talking completely normally until then, when he ended up doing the point at the end.

Similarly, Nick is the one who starts chanting USA, and Taylor joins in. We obviously see the difference when they each summarize the film. Nick is basically a hamster in a ball speeding across a room with how he tells it, and Taylor simplifies it a ton and delivers it monotone; yes, it's a joke, but it still highlights the contrast.

Bradley & Colin

I'm using past tense with Bradley and Colin because we only have videos of them from over a decade ago, so they've definitely changed since then.

The thing is, Colin was funny and vocal, but there were a lot of times where he got quiet, and he always felt more reserved, in the sense of there being more to him than what he's showing. He seemed to have a lot of layers to him that you didn't get to see unless you actually got close to him, if that makes sense.

I wouldn't call him quiet, but like in the video diaries and interviews of him and Bradley, he always seemed much calmer than him.

Colin was always very funny, but he was also self conscious. During one of the behind the scenes quest videos, Bradley talked about how he and Colin would create songs together, but whenever he wanted to show someone, Colin was dead silent. Bradley actually turned to him as was like, "What, is it stage fright?" and Colin is like, "I don't know what you're talking about." in a way that clearly shows he's deflecting the question because he's nervous or embarrassed. Bradley pointed and was like, "And that right there is a perfect example of what I mean".

Merlin is very bright and outgoing (at least before he develops depression in later seasons 🥲). He basically had no shame about most things. When he met Gwen while in the stocks and covered in food, he acts completely normally, like there's nothing weird about it. Obviously, this boy waltzed into Camelot and called the fucking prince a prat to his face. He was really bold and openhearted. Colin always felt more closed off, even though he wasn't always quiet.

What's crazy is that Arthur is much more refined and serious than Bradley. It's not to say Arthur is never silly or unserious, because he is, but his default mode is very composed because he's a prince and later a king. Bradley was like a fucking hurricane behind the scenes. He was know for driving everyone a little crazy because he was so hyper. He got his video camera taken away cause he was apparently being too annoying to the rest of the cast and crew.

Wrap-Up

Here's similarities I thought of in a rapid fire list, including what you said and what I covered:

The brunettes are both the "quieter" or "calmer" of the two.

The blonds both play a prince.

The brunettes both play a character who came from a place of humble beginnings.

The brunettes' characters are both usually the one to start the insults/banter.

The blonds are the more vocal of the two about their affections and admiration for the other.

The blonds are both Libras.

The brunettes are both Capricorns.

The age gap is the same for both pairs: 3 years.

I am going to make an entire post dedicated to the similarities between Bradley, Colin, and Merthur, and Taylor, Nicholas, and FirstPrince, because I have more, but it was getting more into the characters' so I'll save those for later.

What was that you were saying about needing to tell someone something or you would explode again? Nah, not me, could never have that problem. I'm so normal about this.

Thank you for sharing, I have no idea what to do with this information, but I am glad I have it. It will now haunt me 😂

Thanks for reading!! If you enjoyed this essay & would like to support me, you can give me a tip on my Ko-Fi! ☺️

[artandthebible]

God Writes for Moses on Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments on Two Stone Tablets

Artist: Joseph von Fuhrich (Austrian, 1800-1876)

Date: 1835

Exodus 31:18 (NIV)

"When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God."

What is the Law of Moses?

Generally speaking, the Law of Moses is the first five books of the Bible, or the Torah (Hebrew for “law”), also called the Pentateuch (Greek for “five books”). More strictly speaking, the Law of Moses refers only to the 600-plus commandments and regulations in the second through fifth books of the Torah. We often refer to the commandments as “the Law of Moses”; of course, they are actually the Law of God. Moses was the one through whom God gave Israel the law.

The foundation of the Law of Moses is the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2–17), as dictated to Moses by God Himself on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 31:18). Yet the “greatest commandment” from the Law of Moses, as Jesus declared, is Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Jesus said the second greatest commandment was like the first; it is found in Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These two are the greatest because “all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40; see also Galatians 5:14 and James 2:8).

The Bible’s first use of the phrase Law of Moses appears after the death of Moses. Joshua, who was with Moses throughout Israel’s forty years in the desert, had just led the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. In obedience to one of Moses’ final commands, he had the Law of Moses written on plastered stones (Deuteronomy 27:4–8) and read in its entirety to all the people, both Israelite and alien (Deuteronomy 31:9–13). Bible scholars differ on how much of the law was inscribed and read by Joshua, but most agree it was not every word of all five books of the Torah. Still, a great deal could be written easily enough on plastered stone, as shown by the use of similar techniques in ancient Egyptian temples and tombs.

[livia-dovehallow]

I went to the Chain of Thorns tour tonight!

As promised, I saw Cassie today and wrote down her answers (paraphrased) to the questions asked to share here with you all -- and I asked her a question of my own, too!

It was a spoiler-free event, so those of you who have not finished or read any part of Chain of Thorns can read on safely :D

Question: Was it intentional that a Lightwood dies in every series? [referring to Max (TMI), Benedict (TID), Robert (TDA), Barbara (TLH)] Answer: No, it was not intentional and not planned to be that way. But there are so many Lightwoods. In retrospect, it sure looks like it, doesn't it?

Question: What was your process of creating Grace Blackthorn? Answer: Grace is a parallel of Estella from Great Expectations, as The Last Hours is a retelling of that story. I wanted a character to be an embodiment of "explanation not an excuse." I also wanted to give Estella the chance to tell things from her perspective, which is never revealed in Great Expectations. So Grace is that character who is able to display the other side of that situation through her point of view.

Question: How did you come up with the parabatai curse? Answer: It's a greek work and when I learned the meaning, I was immediately interested in exploring the power of non-romantic love. That's where the concept of parabatai came from. The curse then stemmed from expanding on what it means to be parabatai and who could and could not have one. That is where the curse came to be, and of course, how it became a focal point of TDA.

Question: How can I find a man like James Herondale? Answer: I asked myself the same question when I was younger: "Why aren't men like men in books?" I met my husband at a book club and we began sending books to one another that we liked. So my advice is to find a boy, girl, person who enjoys books, too.

Question: Who is your favorite parabatai pair? Answer: Will and Jem.

Question: Who in The Last Hours was the easiest to write? The hardest? Answer: The hardest characters to write were Grace and Matthew, as they both faced very complex problems that don't have an easy or single solution. The easiest characters to write were Cordelia and Lucie. Lucie, because she is also a writer and I very much had a passion for it the way I did when I was younger, too. Cordelia was easy to write because she was fun to write. (Bonus: The most fun to write is Magnus.)

Question: Who is your favorite character from each series? Answer: Didn't want to answer at first, but admitted the following: TID is Tessa. TLH is Lucie. TMI is Simon. No answer for TDA.

Question: Who in TLH was your favorite point of view to write from? Answer: Alastair, Thomas, and Lucie.

Question: Will we ever see Jace and Clary again in a prominent role? Answer: They will be in The Wicked Powers, but the story focuses on Ty, Dru, and Kit, so prominency will remain with them.

Question: How did you develop Ty [Blackthorn] and who was your inspiration for him? Answer: My stepbrother, who always said he looked for characters who exhibited similar characteristics as him, but it was never the same as having a character who was also autistic, and used the word, too.

Question: What made you decide to make Coredlia Iranian? Answer: I was born in Iran and Farsi was my first language. I can't speak it fluently now, but I wanted to make a character that incorporated that part of my life. To make her character and her family's characters, I had a group chat with my mother's friends, who were a bunch of 80-year-old Iranian women. They were very happy to help. Sometimes they argued amongst themselves about a question I had and who had the correct answer, and I would just sit back and watch it unfold while a little scared.

Question: Is there a plot line or detail you look back on and regret doing? Answer: THE FAMILY TREE. [She went on to explain that when she first made it, she had no intention to write any other historical book. But she got the idea for TLH while writing TDA, and suddenly the path and story she wanted to tell did not align with the already-published family tree. So basically, my theory was right and we have confirmation from CC herself that it's just a result of premature development!]

That was the last question of the night, but I saved the question I asked her myself for last! I asked her if Cecily and Gideon had official birthdays, and if so, if we would ever learn them, since we know the rest of the TID cast's birthdays from the 10th anniversary birthstone cards.

Her answer: I never told you guys their birthdays?! I have what I call the Bible and it contains everything about all the characters like their birthdays, star signs, etc. So yes, they do have birthdays. I don't remember them off the top of my head, but I'm sure it'd be no problem getting it out to you guys. There's no reason for not.

So, yes, they do have birthdays, and if she remembers that I asked, we might find them out very soon!

I had a great night and there were some hilarious answers to questions that weren't TSC-specific, but I simply just cannot write that fast.