#irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan

[tanoraqui]

Oooh that is so beautifully put yes yes I love it.

To be honest I think Valar should be pretty happy that Feanor is not devout; imagine his intensity channeled in honest and burning religious fundamentalism. It'd take him a week to start heretical mystery religion and Aule and Nienna would be informed there are whispers they are trying to usurp throne of Arda.

But also, one thing I have been fiddling with wip fics for while is, idea that Feanor is metaphysically, a divorce child of Melkor and Nienna. His fate is place where Melkor's shouts and her keening meet, the melding spot of his cacophony and her elegy, violence and grief within and upon and outside and enacted by. He is vessel through which their influence is unleashed upon Aman, his very birth proof that nowhere can be safe from Marring and grief.

(Within context of Ea-s-Most-Disastrous-And-Covered-Up-Divorce, this means both of them identify with Nerdanel. Nienna is obvious but really, Melkor gets it, when your partner is a stubborn psychological mess swallowed up by their own grief and so obsessed with their ideals and past that can't be fixed that they refuse to be happy and hear you out and just complicates your own and theirs life, poor woman you are so put upon, I have been there with two of them now!)

Ooh, whereas the idea I've been toying with is that Fëanor is solidly a natural...maybe not follower per se but student, agent in the world, of Melkor. He’s TRYING to be an agent not of Melkor-as-we-know-him but rather Melkor-as-he-could-have-been, but…

That Melkor's divine domain is change in a way that cuts through, recombines and builds on all the other Valar's spheres of power; that only because he is, personally, an asshole that this is become discord instead. That it is because Melkor is an asshole bent on evil that change is, in basic human psychology, scary; that difference is intimidating and easily hated; that the grief of what is lost so often supersedes the joy of what is gained, and we are forever looking back and bemoaning that we cannot make this country great again... That the end of Lord of the Rings, in which the Time of Elves is over and this is sad, a grave loss, but never a source of despair because it feels right in a way, as right as the stars fading as the sun rises, and now it is the Time of Men and this too is a good and natural thing, such that overall we feel joy...that this is a total triumph over Melkor-who-is, because it is how every now-terrible change should have been if only he hadn't been a total asshole.

And where does Fëanor fit into this? Fëanor inventor of alphabets, shaper of Light into stone in a way even the Valar didn't imagine, instigator by Oath and allegiance of the Flight of the Noldor and the Three Kinslayings and so many of the great deeds and tales of the First Age and beyond...who didn't live to see most of them? Fëanor is a catalyst in this ongoing tale, in this Great Music. He is flame himself, but mostly in that he is the spark that lights conflagrations.

That's notable not just because it's pivotal to the story of Arda, but because that's weird for an elf. Elves are constantly shown to value stability and timelessness. They wrap their lands in girdles of timeless peace. They pick a good king and keep him for millennia. They never start battles, only react when attacked - except the House of Fëanor and those closest to them.

...mostly in Kinslayings. Because this is Melkor's domain, and he is determined to make change a thing of discord, domination and destruction. But oh, how magnificently the Music might have gone if Fëanor's every word and deed, every moment of being, invited good rather than evil!

As it is, Nienna is always here ease the hurt as best she can. If only proud Fëanor would let her help...

[veliseraptor]

AU: Xue Yang dies of his wounds when Xiao Xingchen brings him to coffin home. His spirit remains to haunt it.

just made the biggest 👀 face at my screen reading this eyyyy. also no spoilers but I know of a thing that might be relevant to your interests. can't say any more about it right now though

cause oh boy! the possibilities here! like the obvious question right off the bat is "why doesn't Xiao Xingchen just take care of the obvious haunting problem, that's what he does for a living/hobby, there's a restless spirit and he's going to lay it to rest one way or another" and for an answer I have mostly that either Xue Yang makes it hard or for some reason Xiao Xingchen can't bring himself to, or maybe both.

oh there is also "why does Xiao Xingchen stay if he doesn't have an injured person to take care of keeping him in one place and then gets used to being in one place and settles down" but that one's easier and could either be addressed by "he doesn't, but Xue Yang is haunting him rather than the house" or "he does, because reasons, and you know, living in a coffin house isn't really making himself comfortable and therefore it's fine, also there's plenty of stuff here for him to help with." including maybe now a brand new ghost.

so if that's settled my first question is if Xiao Xingchen knows who the ghost is and I think my preferred answer is "not at first but he does eventually." at first he just has this restless ghost of a man he failed to save.

and the thing is that I don't actually know if Xue Yang is angry, per se. I mean, he is, inasmuch as Xue Yang is ever angry, but on the other hand this is approximately what he expected (dying young and violently) and he's not terribly upset about the ghost development (kind of neat, actually), and now he has the bonus entertainment factor of haunting Xiao Xingchen who at least initially is feeling bad about not saving his life which is just hilarious and Xue Yang is absolutely going to exploit.

of course, this is assuming ghost Xue Yang has that kind of clarity and awareness, and I actually as I think about it am kind of enjoying the thought of a ghost Xue Yang who at least initially is like a wobbly baby horse. lots of energy and enthusiasm but confused and a little vague on the details and latches onto Xiao Xingchen like a duckling because there's a sense of familiarity. and he knows he doesn't like Xiao Xingchen but mostly in a petulant, poltergeist kind of way, because he doesn't remember why. which would also be some justification for Xiao Xingchen not banishing him, because he would I think be more inclined to try to gently coax a (mostly) non-malicious, not terribly threatening baby ghost into letting go on its own. particularly if he feels in some way responsible, because he should have kept this person from dying and if he'd successfully done that there wouldn't be a ghost problem at all to begin with.

meanwhile a-Qing is in full "just kill it already" mode, she's not a fan, she doesn't want a ghost around let alone to be sharing her daozhang-gege's attention with one

so that's the nicer version of this. the darker version has a Xue Yang who very much knows everything and is absolutely bent on haunting the shit out of Xiao Xingchen and possibly driving him insane. dealer's choice on how that works out for him.

anyway I'm all over the place with this, mostly because there's a lot of different places it could go and I like several of them, so take this as a random assortment of possibilities rather than, like, a coherent narrative

[rockybloo]

Happy Christmass if you celebrate, if not have nice winter, may you and your loved oens have great time!!

Happy Rankin/Bass season to you too!

[teatitty]

Oh I second sitcom idea so very hard, I love this dynamic of ''Umbrasyl bullies and threatens whole hordes and cities with instant obliteration while letting Ripley mount him and ride him like a dragonrider in public'', and that cute little scabbard she seems to have made for him to carry mythcarver!

They're worsties and I'm so giddy about it! Ripley putting the idea into Umbrasyl's head that he could be better than Thordak, backing him up when he intimidates folks AUGH they're my Heathers and Mean Girls they're going to give eachother soooo many mental problems and rotting issues

[fierce-little-miana]

10 CHARACTERS / 10 FANDOMS / 10 TAGS

Tagged by @desi-pluto and @flowerynameslover, sorry for doing that so late, I love being tagged in this kind of things but I very poorly managed my time in November.

Hakuouki - Okita Souji Hell's paradise - Yuzuriha HotD - Alicent Hightower Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Dimitri Blaiddyd Black Sails - Max Collar x Malice - Kei Okazaki Hellsing - Integra Hellsing Kaamelott - Arthur Pendragon The Great - Catherine Vinland Saga - Askeladd

I tried to focus on cultural productions that have a fandom around here.

tagging: @dalissy, @meteorstricken, @screamingvikings, @teethingpains, @shell-senji, @nospringonions, @queengurako, @rabidrekijo, @irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan, @custarii (but don't feel any obligation from this)

[forthegothicheroine]

I was tagged by @alltheyuletidecarolscantbelies for this:

Rules: In a new post, show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words

Unfortunately, for me this is the entirely unhelpful like from Princess of Swords:

Of course, it’s that moment some stranger picks to come crashing into view.

Tagging @general-sleepy @tybaltsjuliet @venusofsuburbia @marypsue @earlgraytay @bluestockingbaby @marzipanandminutiae @spookshowvixens @maddie-grove @irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan @homenecromancer and @lowereastnowhere . I think you’re all writing stuff, apologies if you’re not!

[deliciousscaloppine]

@irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan i am preparing something, but the screenshot process is arduous at best, also i don't know what is happening chinese-wise but it's safe to assume she really did say i am a man a couple of times.

[catilinas]

@jewfrogs thank you!!! @irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan here are some more for you :-)

Hello! I apologize if im bothering, and wish you all the best in upcoming year! I wanted to ask, do you perhaps have some suggestions for modern plays ( written in last 20 or so years) inspired by greek tragedies (either serving as motifs or beibg retellings), particularly Oresteia? I am asking because I see lots and lits of literary retellings, but with few exceptions, rarely dramas. Thank you anyway, sorry for bothering, and have great holidays!

hi!!! i can think of a few but but because i'm more of a roman epic person the list is mostly plays i've actually seen. i think literary retellings are probably easier to find people talking about online because like. they aren't performed and so there's not the access barrier of needing to Go And See The Performance. and then also there are plays where you then can't get hold of the script! i'm also assuming you're interested in plays that aren't just translations / close adaptations of tragedies, because those are a lot easier to find and also like. more common?

here are some plays that i have either read or seen that fit your criteria and also fuck immensely:

the burial at thebes: a version of sophocles' antigone - seamus heaney

antigone the musical - marina mccready (does cool things w genre; version of antigone that has made me feel the most genuine sympathy for creon)

the cure at troy: a version of sophocles' philoctetes - seamus heaney (this isn't quite within the last 20 years but you may be interested anyway!)

phaedra's love - sarah kane (also a bit older but it's sooo good. although it is maybe more senecan tragedy than greek tragedy?)

phaedra - simon stone (based on euripides' hippolytus but also the plays by seneca and racine. but also it isn't any of them. but also it IS)

oresteia - robert icke (maybe my favourite play of all time ever) (robert icke has also done a version of oedipus but it was in dutch and i don't think it's possible to get the script?)

girl on an altar - marina carr (inspired by the oresteia but. not. also very cool in that it incorporates a Lot of iphigenia at aulis and yet iphigenia never appears. and then the whole play is about her)

also! if you aren't aware of the archive of performances of greek and roman drama productions database you might also want to rummage around in there! like i am Aware of things like a recent musical version of medea / iphigenia in splott but they are almost certainly in that extremely filterable database :D

also also clutuals pspspspsps if you have any particularly cool additions to this list. hi. hello.

[lordgolden]

Honestly, while I love their dynamics with him, at times it certainly feels as if Rand is there mostly as excuse for girls to be intimate with each other, ESPECIALLY in Elayne s case (also they are always so ready to add another girl in whole mess, be it Egwene or Brigitte or nynaeve). Also Rand definitely needs a trio of boys for himself too and girls.

I saw someone else post about this today and honestly it's so true. one of the most fleshed-out relationships in the entire series is between Aviendha and Elayne. even Elayne had at least some kind of friendship with Min, too, in the tower during TGH. as we know RJ was just bad at writing romances lmao so a lot of interactions the girls have with Rand are just... not well written lmao

I agree rand should get to have a trio of boys lol. I've seen a few posts about adding Mat to the polycule which would be great and balance things out. Mat and Rand obviously have a strong relationship, and I think there's a lot of potential for the Elayne and Mat relationship to be expanded upon. he should also get to hook up with one of the male Forsaken as a treat

[erotetica]

Hi! For sketch requests, maybe something with Nienna? Thanks anyway, have great day!

@irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan when I think of grief I don’t get tears so much as…fabric pooling dejectedly…shroud…

Anyway here she is weeping over the trees, offscreen bc I didn’t want to draw her pale man handeyes

I do commissions

[tanoraqui]

Oh, Old Kingdom Feanorians is very fun I love it! Thoughts that occurred to me 1) lore of Melkor can be split between Oranis and Mogget; Oranis for destruction and deaths, Mogget for lies; in fact, I can see Mogget feanor relationship being something like in book Clariel; Mogget using him but two of them growing fond of each other, if only due to similar desire for freedom 2) Astarael already is Nienna in a way, no? Itd be fun too see yfeanor or Maglor down the well

That's exactly what I was thinking, re: Morgoth, Orannis and Mogget! Mogget saw the division in the Abhorsen's family, notably Fëanor's jealousy, paranoia and pride (and fear of abandonment and loss), as well as his genuinely non-malicious curiosity and love of exploration, and egged him on in his feud with Fingolfin and his experiments with not just the Charter but Free Magic as well. He egged on FIngolfin as well, though less so - it was always harder to act directly against even the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and anyway, he barely needed to. Fëanor provoked Fingolfin enough all on his own.

I don't know how exactly Orannis starts to wake - I don't think Fëanor unburies him, though maybe he unburies him a little, gets hideously bad vibes, and stops...and it's too late; he's broken some preliminary seal that he fails to properly repair? Or maybe he's just revealed the location to Sauron, who will overall be playing the part of Chlorr of the Mask in this au... At any rate, Orannis wakes some notable amount, but as he does Finwë brings battle to him, which kills Finwë but buys the whole Kingdom many decades, maybe centuries, as Orannis slowly regains his full power.

(I still like the idea that those of the Shiners' blood live longer than normal people in this au, like, Númenoreans long - several centuries on average. Unless killed, of course, as many of them are.)

Mogget was likely with Finwë, briefly uncollared. Finwë orders him to deliver bells and sword to Fingolfin, who is at the extremely awkward festival the royal family (Vanyar) are throwing in an attempt to get him and Fëanor to reconcile...

(Hm, did some Great Charter Stones get broken in Orannis's emergence, a la the death of the Trees? They're reparable, though... I'd need to think about this au more to figure out exactly how bloodlines and frankly geography and range of rule, work. The Old Kingdom doesn't really have anywhere to exile people to, but that's such an important part of The Silmarillion...)

From Mogget's pov, what comes next is roughtly:

Fuck yeah, dead Abhorsen, and his kids more likely than not to go to war over his title, even though it's patently obvious who should have it! Lol! (Okay, Orannis is an unwelcome surprise buuut he's delayed, so, like, I can still work with this.) Time to drop of some objects then get righteously vengefully slaughtering...

Ugh, new Abhorsen is quick with a collar. And the boys are...getting along, in the wake of Finwë's death. That is, Fëanor is too distracted by vengeance to make trouble about not being Abhorsen, and Fingolfin is too distracted by vengeance to make trouble about Fëanor blatantly using Free Magic. Well, at least they're going to stop Orannis before he causes--

Aaand Fëanor in his paranoia and fury took all the ships to sail [south to Edge? north of above the Glacier?] to attack Orannis, then blindly charged ahead and got himself torn to pieces by Greater Dead- oh, no, actually he self-immolated at the very end. Yeah that tracks. I may have encouraged that path of thought. Okay. Damn, and Maedhros captured? RIP, except of course he won't. I kinda liked that kid, too.

Fingon did wh-- fucking Seven, that's a construct of Astarael they're flying back on.

Alright, business as usual, Abhorsen alternately bossy and ignoring me while his kid runs around fighting Free Magic dragons and flirting with Wallmaker scions (who rae definitely still using Free Magic over there; maybe I'll just take a nap in these saddlebags and someone will accidentally bring me to visit...) Only difference is it's a semi-active war front because no one can figure out how to re-bind Orannis so all they can really do it wait--

Ugh, I HATE fire. The soot gets EVERYWHERE and I have to lick it out. This is undignified.

Good showing on Abhorsen Fingolfin's part. Stupid, but good. Death-seeking despair is in their blood, there's really not much you can do about it. Serious issue that Orannis kept the bells, though - Fingon's always been better with the sword, but that won't be nearly eno--

The remnant of Ranna had a DAUGHTER with a HUMAN? What the fuck?

This plan is doomed but as usual the Abhorsen won't listen to me. /shrug emoji

Yyyep he's dead. Ooh, no new Abhorsen anywhere nearby, and he's just a baby anyway... Look, one of Turgon's last people is even picking up the sword; I'm sure it'll get to the new kid somehow... Clearly the most appropriate and helpful thing for me to do is to find the nearest heirs of the blood and help them stand against Orannis. Hey, Fëanorioni, long time no see! You know, I'd be able to help much more if you just take off this pesky little collar...

(Fëanorians spend the next several decades letting Mogget lose to kill things and people then wrestling a collar back onto him, which gets increasingly difficult as there are fewer of them to do it. Moggets stays with them because a) killing is fun, b) eventually they're fail to re-restrain him and he'll be more or less free, and c) he kinda likes them shut up. They're so fucked up and still trying so hard; it's...intriguing.)

(Mogget refuses to identify whether Elros or Elrond is the true Abhorsen-in-Waiting literally until they figure it out themselves (it's Elros. Elrond, once Orannis has been re-bound with the help of assorted relatives, takes up the mantle of being Ranna-than-remains, and builds himself a welcoming manor near the woods that were once Doriath.))

[veliseraptor]

For Top 5, maybe Top 5 Forsaken (not counting Ishamael/Moridin), if youd like?

ooooh nice nice nice, okay, on it (and totally valid to exclude my main boy, I've been obvious enough about that one already)

1. Semirhage. As I said! Somewhat inexplicable but I think it’s about her sheer...cold, calculating ruthlessness? She knows what she wants and she will follow through with it. Of all the Forsaken she strikes me as the most...dispassionate, and while I love all of the other disasters who are just bickering among themselves all of the time I kind of love that for her. Just...the scene where we really first meet her where she’s just sort of...thinking to herself while distractedly torturing someone to the death in the background...guess I looked at that and was like “oh she’s neat.” Don’t look at that one too hard.

2. Moghedien. And at the other end of the scale...I love Moghedien I think first and foremost because of the fact that she’s...she’s not inept, is the thing. She’s perfectly good at her job, probably! It’s just that she ran into Nynaeve and made Nynaeve mad and that was a mistake. And then gets obsessed with Nynaeve, which is understandable but also a mistake. And it’s all downhill from there for her. Go girl give us nothing.

3. Graendal. I feel like my main thought on this is @highladyluck’s fault and it’s just “tits out for Graendal.” there’s some more coherent and thought out stuff inn there but that’s the first thing that surfaced and I’m so tempted to leave it there.

Thing is though: Graendal’s actually pretty legit. She does a lot, she’s pretty effective at what she does, and she survives for a solid span of time past many other Forsaken dying or failing catastrophically. I feel like she deserves credit for that alone. Also she’s just so clearly living her best life and you have to respect that.

4. Asmodean. We Were Robbed with Asmodean but I nonetheless go on carrying a torch for this thoroughly pathetic man. He tried. And he did not have a good time. But I think one of my favorite things about Asmodean honestly is the fact that he doesn’t actually seem all that attached to being evil. Like, he’s sure upset about losing his protection from going insane! but he’s very clearly not an ideologue about it. For someone who pledged his soul to the Dark One for eternity he seems to be not very dedicated to the whole thing. Which is not to say he’s dedicated to being good, either. I think he just is not particularly interested in...morals.

Also just. I’m a sucker for a (former?) evil character just kind of. miserably stuck going along with the side of good because they don’t have other options. particularly when they’re only sorry in the loosest possible sense for what they did. I don’t get the impression Asmodean feels bad about the atrocities, or anything. and I kind of love that.

5. This last one I'm sort of wobbly on. Lanfear, when she's really leaning into her ruthless power trip self over her jealous man-focused self; I find Demandred sort of hilarious but mostly narratively speaking and I don't think it's entirely intentional, I feel like Mazrim Taim is full of missed opportunities but you really do have to give him kudos for managing to claw his way into the ranks of the rest of these elitist weirdos. Mesaana gets points for effectiveness but didn't get much in the way of personality. I kind of want to say Lanfear just so I can have this top five be entirely "women + Asmodean" because that just sort of entertains me.

I guess honorable mention to Aran'gar who is awful in both concept and execution but is having the time of her life, you have to give her that, and I respect someone who is having that much fun. do what you love and never work a day, etc.

[rockybloo]

happy new year! may all your wishes come true! i hope you and your loved ones find lots of joy and success and fulfillement in this year!

Thank you!

[words-writ-in-starlight]

God, that fic was so so good, absolutely adore it! and yeah, I agree, I really like Xue Yang at his ''a monster slowly going mad in cursed city, transforming it into disturbed necrophiliac shrine to man whose life he ruined and refuses to admit he feels regret'' low.

(this fic)

Listen, I love and respect everyone in the fandom who just wants a redemption arc for Xue Yang, I want them to have a nice time, but for ME PERSONALLY, if we're not dealing with the fact that Xue Yang is an unapologetic mass murderer who turns an entire cursed village into a shrine for the corpse of the man he loved and also hated and also idolized and also thought was an idiot, what are we even DOING here.

[fierce-little-miana]

BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN 2024

I saw someone doing this (though I wasn't tagged) and decided to do it too because it seemed like a good idea.

rules: tag people to see their 2024 to read list!

tagging: @flowerynameslover, @irleughlivelyatalanteangodfan, @queengurako, @meteorstricken, @renaerys, @shell-senji, @dalissy, @desi-pluto (please feel three to ignore this if this is annoying to you)

[morhath]

I have been thinking so hard abou who could ''old friend that turns ou to be traitor'' in Toby Daye and, it being Stacy makes so much sense, but thats part of issue I have with it. Its both too obvious, and also, Stacy isn't enough of presence to feel readers feel heartbroken ( more than enough for Toby, tho). But consider... how much would everybody lose their heads if DANNY was traitor? (Also sorry for barging in your inbox, love reading your theories a lot)

I don't want it to be Danny because I'm a weenie and I like him :'( but yeah at least one person mentioned that in the comments of that post. Someone also suggested my best best sea witch girl and listen I know it's PROBABLY COMING because of all the promises she's trapped Toby in but that one will fucking HURT.

I do think that Seanan McGuire has the skill to make Stacy betraying Toby hurt really bad even if we as readers don't care about Stacy that much--we care about Toby and seeing how it hurts her would be painful enough.

All that being said though even if it's not Stacy SOMETHING IS STILL UP WITH HER NOTHING ABOUT HER MAKES SENSE