#luxon blogging

[essektheylyss]

Essek's commentary on the Luxon and dunamis's divergence from divine magic is really fascinating because I'm sure that it's very true—that this energy does feel much different than the very focused energy that a god may bestow upon a cleric; at the same time, Essek, along with the Hells, did not see the vision of the gods as beings of infinite potential in the Eternal Palace.

Predathos, a being of nothingness, arrived to feed on the entire realm of Tengar, not purely the entities within it. It followed them into the Material Realm, presumably after the complete destruction and consumption of their home realm, chasing them into their individualized forms, where they became something more singular, forced into containers that limit their potential.

Dunamis is not so limited. Dunamis remains uncontained, more malleable. I don't think Essek is incorrect in identifying it as different from the gods' essence as used in the Material Realm, but I do fear that his assessment that this would make the beacons—and whatever entity they contain—less appetizing to Predathos assumes this difference is based on an understanding of dunamis as something more mundane than the gods. But if dunamis is in fact that same kind of infinite, unchanged by more individual exposure to the Material Plane, it may be more of interest to Predathos than anyone would realize.

[that-lich-queen]

I wouldn't put it past him. The war between the Dynasty and the Empire was waged over the stolen Luxon Beacon. You know, the one used to unleash Predathos? Tensions had existed between Rexxentrum and Rosohna previously, and to blame the conflict on a single individual would be reductive, but Ludinus still bears responsibility for having ignited an all-out war. He was clearly already willing to manipulate other members of the Cerberus Assembly (Tr*nt) to further his goals, and the fact that he was willing to literally send nations to war all for a single component for his ritual speaks to how ruthless he is. If he plunged Wildemount into chaos, he wouldn't have batted an eye at what happened in Whitestone.

What happened with Vecna might very well be part of his master plan. This is a man who saw the Calamity, who was in Molaesmyr when it fell (which is also suspicious), who started a war for personal gain, who not only knew enough about VM to know about what happened to Vax but also knew how to bait him by endangering Keyleth. He's been working in the background since the very beginning and Matt is deviously (affectionate) only now revealing the extent of his machinations.

The cult? His idea. The other cult? His idea. The war? His idea. I wouldn't put anything past him, honestly. Even Raishan wasn't this bad.

Ludinus Da'leth is one scary motherfucker.

How Ludinus used Delilah Briarwood to further his agenda

Do you know what would be interesting to me? If it was revealed that Ludinus “Incapable Of Minding His Own Damn Business” Da’leth was also connected to the Briarwoods, and by extension, Vecna.

Delilah was a member of the Cerberus Assembly, and during her time she had been dabbling in necromancy; something considered VERY illegal in the Empire. She worked alongside some of the most ruthless and cunning individuals on the face of Exandria, and yet she somehow managed to get away with her necromantic experimentation? I don’t buy it. Even if she had the rest of the Assembly fooled, someone like Ludinus would have noticed what was going on. Here’s the thing, he had nothing to gain from exploiting that knowledge, so he wouldn’t have been interested in revealing it. But you know when he did decide to use that information?

After she had lost her husband and fallen into debt with The Whispered One.

The thing is, it’s not like Vecna whispered “find my lab 50km east of fuckaround and 20km south of findout.” Vecna is vague and secretive, and Delilah would have needed to earn his information. Matt confirmed that she had gone searching for a while (in other words, Delilah would have needed help). So, where did she find the information? The people with the knowledge, who would have had any idea of the location of the Whispered One’s ancient sanctum?

Perhaps an elf older, and more powerful than all the rest, with an interest in secrets and a deep understanding of Exandrian history?

So, let’s run with the idea that Ludinus told Delilah where the mysterious laboratory was. What happens after she resurrects Sylas?

The Cerberus Assembly and Cobalt Soul discover she was a necromancer, brand her a traitor, expel her from the assembly, and begin a manhunt for her and her husband. This forces the Briarwoods to retreat to Port Damali, and then to Tal’Dorei in hopes of releasing Vecna. The events of the narrative then happen as they would normally (with the fall of the de Rolo’s and VM liberating Whitestone years later).

But the question remains – why would Ludinus do that? If he is as knowledgeable about Exandrian history, he would have surely known that the Whispered One planned to become a god. Why would he forgo his hatred of the pantheon to plant the seeds of another ascension?

Let’s think about the implications of this. Ludinus wants to show the world that his way is the best (and only) way. He wants to create loyal followers who hate the gods, and what would make you hate divinity more than a mortal ascending and using their newfound power to take over the world? To target Vasselheim of all places? To repeat (beat by beat) the events that led to the Calamity?

And perhaps it was a test. Ludinus knows that the gods sealed themselves behind the divine gate, but how do you get something that large on our side to the other? Vox Machina managed to seal Vecna away, but what if doing so weakened the gate, or revealed its potential weaknesses for Ludinus to exploit?

Come to think of it, this may explain why Ludinus’ own damn annex got away with being involved in the Angel of Irons cult until the M9 went straight to the king with that information. Because by destroying the shackles, the Chained Oblivion would be powerful enough to start exploiting weaknesses in the divine gate.

Anyway, I think it’d be cool if Ludinus had somehow manipulated a necromancer, vampire, and lich-turned-god into playing a part in his long-con. It wouldn’t be totally out of the realm of possibility after all.

[xclowniex]

I want to talk about the xenophobia that is directed at Israeli folk which has significantly increased since Oct 7th.

This is my take as a diaspora jew and I encourage Israelis of all backgrounds, jewish and non Jewish to add in their opinions.

The xenophobia targeted at Israeli folk is unique in the way that it also often ties in with antisemitism, regardless of if the Israeli being targeted is Jewish or not.

Some examples of xenophobia include

1. Thinking that all Israelis are the government and/or all agree with the governments actions

2. Thinking that all Israelis must be genocidal

3. Thinking that all Israeli blogs and social media accounts are "mossad propaganda/pysops"

4. Thinking that Israelis deserve bad things happening to them because of the actions of their government.

A lot of those link back into antisemitism. Statement 1 links back to the trope of all jews must have loyalty to Israel over any other country and is just a modern day version of that. Statement 2 is modern day blood libel. Statement 3 links back to the "jews control the world trope" and Statement 4 has no links that I can think of and is just straight up xenophobia.

I'm sure there is more xenophobic rhetoric I have forgotten to include but that is just what I see the most.

And it really sucks as often most xenophobia ties back to statement 4, as people think that Israelis deserve xenophobia for the actions of their government.

It is very important for people to realize that like any group, Israelis are not a monolith. Currently, no single party in Israel could form a solo government. The actions of their government or other Israelis does not reflect on everyone. Do you think that the actions of the US government, or New Zealand government or any other government are actions that every citizen agrees of said country agrees with? Do you agree with every action of your government? I sure as hell don't. I wish Luxon, Seymour and Peter's all a very much please no longer be in power you are fucking up New Zealand.

The next thing I want to touch on is the xenophobia faced by diaspora Israelis.

Just like with every country, some israeli citizens have immigrated out of Israel. I have seen so much xenophobia directed towards Israeli citizens who gave left Israel. Which is crazy as they did the thing people who are being xenophobic wanted them to do, they left.

And that gives legitimacy to the idea that people who partake in that level of xenophobia don't simply just want Israel to stop existing, they want all Israelis dead.

And like, if you are of the belief that a whole ass country should die, you are xenophobic.

There is also the idea going around that it's no xenophobia, its decolonization. And ignoring the fact that jews are indigenous, so its never decolonization, wanting a whole group of people dead or out of a country is not decolonization. Decolonization is reestablishing self determination for the indigenous population. Removing a population of people from a county or killing them is xenophobia.

And this isn't to say that you can't disagree with the Israeli government as doing so is xenophobia as that's not at all true, it's just that being bigoted towards the citizens of a country for their governments actions is wrong and xenophobic.

[thatfaerieprincess]

I don't usually blog directly abt CR I just reblog but uhhhhhhhhh I am STILL thinking about Ashton getting his head inspected by Essek. That was literally almost everything I wanted from that scene!! I have been dreaming about nearly exactly that scenario for MONTHS!!

Ever since we first saw Caleb in C3 I've been sitting on this fic idea I'll never write where Caleb and Essek get to sit Ashton down in their shared study and inspect them and ask them questions and answer questions for them!!! I wanted Ashton to be treated SO gently and so respectfully and yet completely depersonalized as just A Thing for them to study, but still being checked in on!! Caleb being SO careful to make sure Ashton doesn't feel uncomfortable bc of his own history Being An Experiment, the two of them getting Ashton's full story and just Making Eye Contact over their head!! Swapping notes and theories, Caleb filling Essek in on what he knows abt the potions of dunamis, teaching Ash abt what they know, Caleb keeps going into teacher mode, Ashton being somewhat zoned out when they aren't being spoken too, sitting in a comfortable chair just letting themself be moved and positioned! Caleb asking if they need any water or snacks or extra pillows !! Ashton is deeply uncomfortable but in a very comfortable way, not used to being treated with this kind of respect and care, especially not being studied by someone who isn't LEERING !! They give Ashton a full briefing at the end with all their conclusions!! Maybe some other time they run some tests on their abilities!!

And obviously the scene in c3e95 is entirely different by way of No Caleb, but with just Essek that was p much everything I could've wanted!! Being asked "may I touch?" And then taking their jaw and tilting their head?! Peering into the hole in their head and going "O.O Oh Boy!" Getting to teach Ash abt dunamancy and the Luxon!! The only thing that could've made it better was if Essek mentioned the need to confer with his partner about it!!

My only dearest hope rn is that Some DayTM when all this is over and they get that chance to study a little more in depth, that Caleb can be there too. Idk if it'll ever happen again like that in campaign and not just post-campaign fic but!!! I was at peace for like 10 whole minutes there! nevermind Everything Else that happened in this episode!!

[thematronofravens]

not me setting my blog title to a seasonal lil "soup boi autumn" when "luxon girl autumn" was staring me RIGHT IN THE FACE

anyways we love luxon girl autumn season

[critterfloozy]

Wip ask game! An instrument of your peace?

Okay! So I already partially talked about this one on Roadie's ask (on mobile so you'll have to click through to my blog to check it out), but there's more I can talk about!

Namely, Essek's situation. Essek gets his role as Shadowhand because the previous Shadowhand fucked around and was given a lot more room to research information on consecution and the Luxon before being found out. The whole idea of letting consecuted souls be left to fend for themselves in a heathen Empire is not politically popular, and he loses his job. But in order to enact this plan, Essek's predecessor had to do so much more research on soul transfers, amount of time souls stay in the beacon, number of souls in a beacon, when souls inhabit their new body, ect.

Essek wants the data. Essek wants that data so bad.

But also, the restrictions on getting that research are even tighter than they would have been in canon. Nobody wants to risk another political scandal with a new shadowhand.

Essek is gnawing at the walls.

[andromedasummer]

Hi! Can you explain more about what you told about Mitch Evans and NZ?

ive covered this like twice before? even posted screenshots of his meltdown which might still be around on my blog somewhere.

pretty much, during the height of covid in 2021 mitch evans went on an instagram rant about not being able to return home to new zealand for his grandmothers funeral.

mitch lives in monaco, because like many many racing drivers he loves tax evasion and parties. he was born in auckland, new zealand. when nz was briefly opened back up for travel at the start of lockdown so people abroad could come home, mitch chose not to reserve a spot to return to nz. nz was strict witn our covid rules because being strict fucking worked. we had one covid death in 2021, and that person actually died the same week mitch had his rant which was unfortunate timing for him to be sure.

he pretty much went on an insta story a tirade about how he couldn't get back in the country cos lockdown and how Jacinda Ardern (pm at the time) and the Labour party were ruining the country and nz should just open up again (rhetoric which went on to trigger a month long invasion of parliament grounds that i had to walk past/through every day to get to work. it also lead to ardern resigning from her prime minister role last year because people got militant and conspiratorial about our lockdown and it was genuinely bad for her safety and mental health.)

evans also retweeted anti-lockdown tweets by the twitter account for the ACT party, which at the time was our furthest far-right party in the country and which is now unfortunately in charge due to a coalition agreement from hell and christopher luxon not having a fucking spine. ACT (and NZ First, another right wing coalition party) got their votes by playing into anti-lockdown cooker crowds and now we've got two racist, transphobic, evil little men for deputy pms alongside a businessman who wanted to be pm for the title alone and is coming to the realization hes become a puppet for the two demons he signed a coalition agreement with.

I've little empathy for mitch evans. He had a solid month (and more, i recall months space between our 2020 and 2021 lockdowns) to return home and certainly had the money MANY nzers didn't to allocate himself a space in one of the hotels for the mandatory 2 week quarantine. It's awful he couldn't attend his grandmothers funeral but he had ample time to move back to nz for lockdown. i just cannot respect someone with the kind of audience and reach he has having the kind of meltdown where you repeat the complaints of sexist nutjobs about the prime minister on your insta and retweet the fucking ACT party. the fucking ACT party.

[quantummindclassicalheart]

I posted 6,184 times in 2022

That's 2,433 more posts than 2021!

29 posts created (0%)

6,155 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@/naamahdarling

@/ladyshinga

@/astridbecks

@/bunjywunjy

@/sashthesloth

I tagged 4,829 of my posts in 2022

Only 22% of my posts had no tags

#kqueuequeueoverrsquared - 1,824 posts

#critical role - 431 posts

#cr spoilers - 89 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 87 posts

#widojest - 59 posts

#the locked tomb - 58 posts

#ref - 52 posts

#essek thelyss - 51 posts

#this is an essek blog now - 49 posts

#the owl house - 40 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#and a very sneaky implied rhyme in the lines that bookend the song– ‘we’re in for a scar’ is a five-syllable rhyme for ‘laerryn coramar’

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

twelve Essek Thelyss valentines/pick-up lines that no one asked for

Are you a Gravity Sinkhole? Because I'm feeling a powerful attraction to you.

Can I quantum tunnel my way into your classically forbidden region?

My favorite food is soups, but I'm thinking of eating out tonight.

Do you have truesight? Because you see right through me, valentine.

Let me show you a kindness.

No war crimes tonight, valentine. Unless you are into-- look, I said I was sorry--

Valentine, I'm walking on air whenever I’m with you.

The inexorable flow of linear time isn't the only thing I'm violating tonight.

Do you believe in love at first sight, or shall I invoke Fortune's Favor and reroll my Charisma check?  

Can you clear the cats off the bed, valentine?

Have you been bound to a Luxon Beacon? Because I think you're conse-cute.

Of my many regrets, loving you will never be one of them.

(edit: now with art by @ultrainfinitequest! see also: nein Caleb Widogast valentines)

121 notes - Posted February 9, 2022

#4

There's something delightful about the Percy & Ashton interaction in C3E36 that speaks to a similarity between Taliesin's characters. Like, Ashton sees this formal, prissy old aristocrat who they sort of assume has never really known suffering or loss, and they treat him accordingly.

And while Percy definitely thinks Ashton is young and naive, he also sees something familiar in Ashton and the way he both lashes out and clings desperately to this bunch of weirdos he's found and has become determined to protect. It's not enough to make him like Ashton, but it earns a little bit of recognition, and Matt and Taliesin played both halves of this interaction so well.

235 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

#3

There is an old folk song that is sung in Exandria.  It goes by a lot of titles--In Marquet it’s commonly known as The Liar’s Love, while natives of Xhorhas would know it as The Fey Groom, and the elves of Syngorn’s version has a title that translates to “The Sacrifice of Truth for Love.”

This is one bard’s rendition of the song in Common, as accompanied by ukulele.

(Best with headphones! With credit for the original idea to @ihaveatypeanditstrickstergods and the original characters to @quiddie and Sam Riegel. Album art generated by Craiyon.)

Lyrics below the cut.

Refrain: This sordid scene, my love, we're in, oh, We're in for a scar And yet tonight by morning light I'll fall for you once more.

Verse 1: There once was a fey who chanced one day From lands so wild and strange For stories told worth more than gold Exandria's face would change.

Among the clouds a city bright And there its beating heart Did kindle love within his own For her he'd craft his art.

Verse 2: A vision clear did guide his dear With this its one refrain Her city’d rise beyond the skies And loose its mortal chain

Beneath the streets his love did seek Her dream at any cost, But fortune claimed its pound of flesh, A friend too soon was lost.

Verse 3: The fey saw true that if they knew, Her legacy’d be blight And so he lied to deftly hide Her deeds from public sight.

And though his heart was ever hers, Her work, for now, meant more She’d fix them soon when she was done So he walked out the door.

Verse 4: And soon an hour of arcane pow’r Was finally at hand For on that night, with her Leywright She’d make them understand

But one thing more stood in her way Her masterpiece abjured She struck it down, and with that spell Calamity ensured.

Verse 5: And with her sin the fiends poured in With death and fire and hate, But one last spell at ruin’s knell Might change Exandria’s fate.

His healing words would keep her hale, Her spellwork holding fast, And at the heart they’d both go down Her work complete at last.

Refrain: This sordid scene, my love, we're in, oh, We're in for a scar And yet tonight by morning light I'll fall with you once more.

270 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

#2

I added some more lyrics to this post by @/mikkeneko​ and @/neraitsuze. Karaoke track from here.

lyrics:

i heard from our sweet boy you guys took a trip into the city and as i understand he said dad told him weird things 'bout demons and ghosts and then more demons while you both watched the band he said you got all weirdly intense when you talked about his future as he sipped lemonade darling will you explain them your reasons and what the fuck you meant by the so-called black parade

322 notes - Posted January 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

For those of you who weren't in Twitch chat last night, you missed this incredible bit of lore.

2,549 notes - Posted May 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[fiionaamariiaa]

For Te Tiriti, Against Racism! Julian Bachelor Blog

Tension rose as Julain Bachelor continued to stand his ground with the belief that Aotearoa should be a country that is anti co-governance. When we talk about co-governance this refers to the equal shares of management of affairs and supplies between two parties, the New Zealand government and Iwi (Bogle, 2023). Bachelor is a former school principal, however he is well-known for his organised roadshows that he travels to different communities to reunite people of Aotearoa who strongly disagree with co-governance in the country - Kiwi’s who believe New Zealand would be better off with Pakeha overruling the government opposed to Māori people having a say for our community. Bachelor himself has publicly expressed his problematic controversial opinions, not only his desire to revoke race based law-making and encouraging Kiwis to vote for parties who ban co-governance. He also believes the government and Māori groups are extremely racist towards non-Māori communities (NZ News Essentials, 2023). It’s also worth mentioning he claims to have no animosity towards Māori minorities, additionally doesn’t blame Māori to be the problem with co-governance, matter of fact he thinks Māori people will not have an advantage from co-governance and legislation revolving around ethnic groups in Aotearoa.  (NZ News Essentials, 2023).

Not that long ago, 19th September, 2023 a post was published on Instagram from PAPA. PAPA,  ‘People Against Prisons Aotearoa’ - an organisation who advocates for imprisoned people and hopes to end prisons, and ultimately fight for fairer, and safer Aotearoa. They had posted to attract more people to come along to rally against and challenge Julian Batchelor’s rhetoric that took place in the Commercial Bay area, at the bottom of Queens street. Not only was it to make noise to go against Batchelor and his beliefs but it was also to honour Te Tiriti O Waitangi. On the day of the Rally both parties faced off, people against Bachelor and the ‘Stop Co-Governance’ movement who was led by Brian Tamaki. Police were present during the rally, and had successfully separated both parties, according to an interviewee there were five boys who were shouting Nazi slurs and other awful offensive words, like ‘savages’ and ‘go home’, (Wilton, 2023) The Te Tiriti, Against Racism rally was organised and announced originally  on Tāmaki Anti-Fasist Action Instagram page. Important to note this organisation promoted the rally for the liberation of Palestine recently that took place in Aotea Square on 14th and 21st of October, 2023.

The point of view expressed in the post by this Instagram post aligns with my views, as I agree with being a co-governance nation. Ideally it’s about people coming together to work with equal contribution and equal representation. With co-governance significant decision making is shared, along with having respect for the Treaty (Hamilton, 2023). It’s important we educate ourselves with the Treaty of Waitangi as today New Zealanders have limited knowledge of the treaty, so we’re not easily misled by people such as Julian Batchelor himself along with Chris Luxon who take advantage of the lack of knowledge New Zealand citizens have  (Hamilton, 2023). We can agree Instagram is a public web sphere where the youth enjoy spending their time, constantly exposed to a lot of  information. With the internet, it has empowered democracy and many movements, and on the other hand the internet has also been used to censor, monitor, and disable social movements. As citizens we are allowed to voice our own beliefs, hence why this enables Batchelor to voice out his opinion and spread his belief and to put together a ‘tour’. I find it completely ridiculous how he claims to advocate for equal rights however continues to be racist towards Maori people and is homophobic. Not to mention he believes pakeha should be only part of the government, completely disregarding this, considering the first settlers of New Zealand were ancestors of Maori. 

The notion of DIY citizenship promoting the rally against Batchelor and their point of view expressed I completely agree with, It publicises the movement and builds momentum as you go. In my opinion the post is very eye-catching, with the use of vibrant colour. At first glance with the use of an edited witty picture of Bachelor himself we can already get the sense of the type of person people perceive him as and catches the attention of people. The fundamental information is straightforward as it provides the date, time and location of the rally and the pure reason of the rally. Digital public sphere like Instagram reaches more people, as posts can be forwarded and shared to other social media platforms. This is why digital DIY citizenship has gone mainstream, as social media has become a massive part of people's lives and now is being used as a tool for political purposes (Boler & Deibert & Ratto, 2014) . This is very smart as Instagram and social media platforms are over populated by Youth and young adults. Scrolling through Instragm has become a daily routine for many young people, social media is a source where the youth get their news. Research claims that after the 70’s young people have slowly become less interested in political issues and events taking place (Bennett & Freelon & Wells, 2010). Young people today are lacking in political knowledge hence why platforms like Instagram are a great way to promote and publicise the rally.    Utilising massive social media platforms into organising political protests into advocating what the community wants enhances citizenship, as citizenship grants you to have rights and liberty to explore interests, alongside with rights to have a say and practical way of sculpting the government. (Faulks, 2000). Assembling or participating in a protest strengthens your citizenship because it gives you the ability to have freedom of speech, the right to protest. DIY citizenship has allowed the possibilities of political participation and unites us as a nation as you assemble with other citizens who share the same belief system and morals as you, and take action on it. Today in modern work, citizenship isn’t just about voting and paying taxes, which is one of the duties which citizens are obliged to obey as citizens but it's also about protesting, and striving for policy changes for the country, diverse action and participation (Boler & Deibert & Ratto, 2014) . Political participation has increased amongst youth with the help of the media, as the media presents many opportunities for young people to take part and voice their own political views, and become involved with events, voting, petitions.

Taylor Swift - 35000 New Registered Voters.

Never underestimate the power of ‘Swifties’. Taylor Swift, a successful American singer and songwriter. She has quite the reputation in the music industry as five of her songs are topped in the Billboard Hot 100, and has woman Grammys. Swift has no problem with sharing her political views in the digital public sphere. She has a history of informing her international fans of political statements and posts. In the 2020 US election, Swift endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the presidential election (Ahlgrim, 2020). Additionally, promoting Phil Bredesen as a candidate in 2018 for senate in Tennessee (Bell, 2023).Young people not only gravitate to her music but also her beliefs and morals as she advocates for women, people of colour and the LGBTQIA+. 

September 2023, had posted a 24 hour story on her Instagram with her 272 million instagram followers encouraging her fans to register into voting. Her post was simple, with a light blue background, white text, and a link. However, this had a massive outcome as she caused a web traffic on Vote.org. Research shows that the site had 13,000 visitors every 30 minutes and it’s really important to recognize how Taylor Swift snagged 35,000 new registered voters, and 157,041 eligible voters confirmed they were registered (Kight, 2023), (Desk, 2023). I think this is so significant and really puts into perspective , there was a 155% increase in 18 year old registering compared to the year before in the US  (Kight, 2023).

What’s surprising is her post is very plain as mentioned before but still drove young people to register. This is fascinating as her post wasn't flashy to typically get young people's attention. Nowadays, to get attention from the young, especially with the context of politics, it has to have an element of wit, for the young adults or teenagers to keep their attention span going. Today in the modern world young people are most likely not receiving the news via radio, new paper, and television compared to back in the day, young people look towards Tikok, Instagram, and Facebook etc as their source of political information intake. According to research conducted in 2008, it indicates young people are slowly declining and  becoming uninterested in absorbing news with each generation for the past 40 years (Bennett & Freelon & Wells, 2010).. It’s fair to say young people are becoming less politically knowledgeable and engaged because of the lack of interest in politics and participation (Bennett & Freelon & Wells, 2010)., (Manning, 2015). 

It’s important that we don’t underestimate the power of celebrities and influencers. This can be a factor of how young people can take interest in politics, seeing their favourite celebrities and influencers they trust to endorse a message or a product. With the help of social media it is easy for posts to be seen and shared; celebrities can use their popularity to draw attention for what they stand for, like their political views whether it's through song, television, advertisements, and post (Bernhard & Majic & O’Neill, 2020). Considering the amount of followers Taylor Swift has.  It's not surprising she snagged 35,000 new registered voters, making young people politically engaged. With fame comes a lot of responsibilities and power, some use it for good. Other celebrities use the media to share their controversial political stance, such as Kayne West, who has bad blood with Taylor Swift. West Utilises his Twitter and makes it known he endorses Donald Trump, which can also cause his fans to stand with Trump himself.  Social media is important in modern elections as it reaches the youth, for youth voters to participate. Not only do they benefit the celebrities to promote their political views but the politicians themselves. As we can see in today's New Zealand elections politicians are using the media to reach young people to encourage as young people are less likely to be politically engaged, although the majority of young people take part in civic activists like protest, they often neglect to vote. Christopher Luxon is present on social media, promoting the National Party with the policies National will implement. The social media post Taylor Swift posted raises some interesting arguments. Whether celebrities or influencers should be public with their political beliefs and promotion of politicians.  Yes, I agree totally agree when celebrities and influencers to encourage young people to be politically involved like registering to vote and participation of civic activities as it is one of the privileges of being a citizen, which is being able to vote and freedom of speech to act on your opinions and beliefs, however what I don’t agree with is that massive influence celebrities who heavily influence and determined their fans votes - this is because young people are easily influenced with their favourite celebrities. I disagree with celebrities and influences with getting too involved in politics because quite frankly the majority of celebrities are not experts in politics (Kshirsagar, 2020).  I think it is important for young people to individually do research and read media and decide for themselves who to support in elections, rather than be influenced by celebrities just because their favourite singer voted for a certain party or candidate. It’s also worthy to mention how celebrities and influencers can’t entirely relate to the average working class person. It may be harsh to say, but how does a celebrity relate to the struggles of an individual working minimum wage who barely can afford groceries at this current cost of living situation. Let’s not be blindly influenced by who our votes should go towards, however I do not oppose celebrities encouraging people to take action on protests as young people are taking part in rally’s today, like the Black Lives Matter, and Free Palestine protest which is great seeing people come together as citizens. 

[legendary-alliance-stance]

That's totally fine! worked sucked today and I went to bed suuuper late lmao so like I'm only just decompressing now anyways

ALSO SCREAMING AND CRYING RN OMG thank you so much for the dialogue recording!! I literally spent a half hour doing the dishes today with my wireless headset on just camped in the wizard's tower listening out for their lines lmao

GOD put makeup on the man!! Give it to him!! AH it's so GOOD 👏DARK👏SKINNED👏ARCHEMORUS!👏 AND THAT HAIR ON THE YOUNG ONES GOD IT'S SO YESSS

GOD THEY'RE SO CUTE THEY LOOK SO GOOD!!

Also doing a bit of research it appears tattoos were a common occurrence among the Luxons??? so like. any tattoo headcanons u know like a sleeve, a tramp stamp, neck, thigh, ankle, full body etc like what are we thinking

and YEAH the clothes don't make sense to my brain I'm definitely not like a concept artist kinda person I literally have no idea where to even start with something like that lmao but maybe one day I'll. think about it... or maybe just. make it a modern au. or skip the clothes whateverr who needs em >.>

ALSO have this quick little post-it note doodle cause I can't GET THAT MAKEUP OUT OF MY HEAD NOW that's SO FREAKING UGH I couldn't go to sleep without a scribble i really really couldn't n it's only fair tbh u show me urs i should share mine ri ght (even if i hate it gotta do it for the vibezzz) IT'S BED TIME AND U GOT ME DRAWING BY PHONE LIGHT BRO also it's impossible to take pictures at night without natural lighting and sorry it's MASSIVE idk why phone photos be saving like that

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/947194586055446589/1145964630225723483/Vik_8_28_23.jpg

(if that link doesn't work i'll like. find some other way to show u lmao) I might like upload this one day somewhere if I ever bother to like. make an art blog or a gw2 blog or smthin' but if you like this and wanna save it u should cause idk if I'll leave it on discord forever so the link might break lmao

k goodnight

SOMEHOW I DIDNT SEE THIS ASK UNTIL RIGHT NOW??? THANKS TUMBLR MOBILE UR A WORKING APP

IM GLAD U ENJOYED THE DIALOGUE RECORDING!!! I love listening to them so so SO MUCH

AND IM!!!

SO HAPPY THAT U LIKE MY ART OF THEM!! THANK U SO MUCH!!!

and I haven’t actually figured out what I imagine archemorus’s tattoos look like yet!! he has some on his arms in the factions trailer but they’re also the exact same as the generic luxons there so lmao I don’t think anet put too much thought into that aspect of things FJSKFKSKS I’ll have to work on designing that for him at some point!!!

AND HONESTLY A MODERN AU IS SO VALID. that’s truly the easiest way to handle characters with complicated outfits lmao

AND!! IM ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED TO SEE UR DRAWING OF VIKKY!!! HE LOOKS LOVELY!! I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE U TO DRAW MORE!!!!

[SAVES IT SAVES IT SAVES IT]

AND I ALSO ENCOURAGE U TO MAKE A TUMBLR!! partly so u can post art and also it’s so much easier to communicate via reblog/messages/replies than via asks!!! join me in gw2 blog hell <333 EITHER THAT or if ur comfy with it u can add me on discord!!

[essektheylyss]

You know what I think about every so often? How many souls were in the beacons that Essek handed to the Empire. It's possible that there weren't any, but it seems unlikely, especially considering the elven population is pretty high in the Dynasty and elves do not tend to have children that often. And it's been ten years in game, so surely there are some kids in Rexxentrum or Zadash and the surrounding areas who are starting to have some weird ass dreams. If those kids show up in the Dynasty in another five to ten years, what does Leylas do? That sure as hell would confirm that someone in the Empire was lying out of their ass about not having actually stolen the beacons. Does the Empire throw Ludinus (who, we can hope, will be an oil stain on the moon by then) under the bus to get out of another war? This is also presuming that Bertrand Dwendal is still alive and the Assembly hasn't eaten itself alive, which would introduce an entirely new element of "no one in this entire government knows what you're fucking talking about" in the face of Leylas Kryn, Exandria's Grudge-Holding World Champion. We all talk about consequences for actions but when do I get to hear about the fallout of that.

[erzmagier-arc]

tags 6 : blog specific dynamics

➤  jester lavorre / chaoshe ┊ 𝚂𝙷𝙴 𝙶𝙴𝚃𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙰𝚂𝙺 𝙸𝚃 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙸 𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙴𝙻𝙻

➤  rebekah mikaelson / deathwrung ┊ 𝙸𝚃'𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙱𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝚂𝙼𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙳𝙸𝚂𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶

➤  jester lavorre / diviinedevilry ┊ 𝙰𝚂 𝙸𝙵 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝚆𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙰 𝙼𝚈𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙲𝙰𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶

➤  beauregard lionett / flurriedblows ┊ 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙱𝙴 𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙴 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝚃

➤  bren ermendrud / hellesfeuer ┊ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙻𝙳 𝙸𝚂 𝚃𝙾𝙾 𝚀𝚄𝙸𝙴𝚃 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙽𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙱𝚈

➤  caleb widogast / hellesfeuer ┊ 𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝙺𝙽𝙾𝚆𝚂 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝙼𝚈 𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚁𝙴𝚃𝚂

➤  blumendrei / hellesfeuer & valurent ┊ 𝙰𝚂 𝙹𝚄𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲𝙴 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝚂𝙸𝚃 & 𝚆𝙰𝚃𝙲𝙷 𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚈𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙶𝙾 𝚆𝚁𝙾𝙽𝙶

➤  essek thelyss / luxoned ┊ 𝙻𝙸𝙺𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝙰𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙳𝚂 𝚆𝙴 𝙰𝚁𝙴 𝙲𝚄𝚃 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙾𝚆𝙽 𝙳𝚄𝚂𝚃

➤  aelwyn abernant / stormlashing ┊ 𝙸𝚃'𝚂 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝚃𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝚈𝙾𝚄'𝚁𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙴𝚂𝚃

➤  mollymauk tealeaf / tcaleaf ┊ 𝙲𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙴𝚇𝚄𝙱𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 𝙰𝚆𝙰𝚈

➤  rune grieve / trinketh ┊ 𝙸𝙲𝙷 𝙷𝙰𝙱𝙴 𝙰𝙽𝙶𝚂𝚃; 𝙳𝙸𝙲𝙷 𝚉𝚄 𝙻𝙸𝙴𝙱𝙴𝙽

➤  eadwulf grieve / valurent ┊ 𝙳𝙴𝙴𝙿 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝚈 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙰 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙴𝙻 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚈𝙾𝚄

[duskoscrawl]

I posted 333 times in 2022

That's 250 more posts than 2021!

275 posts created (83%)

58 posts reblogged (17%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@duskoscrawl

@doctors-star

@silvermagpies

@thedarklordsnicklefritz

@ash-and-starlight

I tagged 328 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#chill to reblog - 285 posts

#critical role - 168 posts

#campaign 2 - 113 posts

#wip - 86 posts

#finished fic - 61 posts

#beauteousmajesty - 46 posts

#campaign 3 - 27 posts

#cinderbrush - 14 posts

#september wip - 12 posts

#atla - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#like no i cant write the kamordah wine trade but yeah i can add endless detail to the agricultural labour and culture of the zemni fields

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i dont get crit role shipping discourse because the cast love each other so of course all the characters are going to have the capacity to love each other. it's just a matter of how they're going to love each other

114 notes - Posted January 23, 2022

#4

Stronger Than You - ATLA Post Canon

A vision from Agni is not something to be scorned, especially not a vision of a Firelord. By why, just why, are Azulon and his family being confronted by this upstart little wretch?

Aka: Zuko briefly pops back in time to stir shit up and then leave.

sometimes you look at a whole load of @ash-and-starlight's art and get compelled to write time travel zuko at 3am. if it helps i've been humming 'im a bitch, im a boss' throughout the process of uploading this. no idea what the rest of the song is. but it works. anyway im gonna be late so fic. tah dah

115 notes - Posted January 24, 2022

#3

i think what kills me so much about Astrid is that she never gets to stop running, and i know if she got even a moment to stop she'd snap, but she's been running at breakneck pace since childhood. caleb gets to stop and grow a garden because he turns down the role of archmage and runs off to aeor with essek. but astrid doesnt. caleb hands her the empire and she just keeps going. race you to the top, she said, and caleb just let her run alone, because she's a better dancer

116 notes - Posted August 22, 2022

#2

ok fam. rereading egw just learned that phoenixes are sacred in Kryn culture bc they are believed to hold an innate bit of the Luxon due to their ability to be reborn in flame. Ok ok ok ok. So clearly this sets an excellent basis for a Phoenix!Caleb au, wherein he is reborn in flame again and again and he truly did die in Astrid and Wulf's arms before burning up in the Sanitarium. Then he meets Essek, who so desperately doesn't want to believe in the Luxon until he's cornered on a boat with a symbol of his culture's faith offering him a chance to be figuratively reborn because he was not born with venom in his veins

149 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

thinking about fjord and caleb tonight. my tired working class boys who just want to go home, but have no home to go to. thinking about how they find homes with certified rich bitch best friends. thinking about how they go from shipless sailor and vagrant to figures of protection over their own relative spheres. thinking about how directly they work to leave the world better than they found it. they return to places of trauma - orphanages and academies - and root out the corruption that burned them. they become the heroes that they deserved, the miracles that people will pray for. but most importantly, they get a home, they get a family, they get the mighty nein

175 notes - Posted August 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[1995lahaine]

in today’s absolutely batshit neoliberal policy proposals from new zealand’s ‘centre-right’ party: cut taxes for wealthy people then ASK THEM to contribute to welfare programmes

[haorev]

My legacy apparently.

Spot the special interest.

[firefrightfic]

I posted 151 times in 2021

85 posts created (56%)

66 posts reblogged (44%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 0.8 posts.

I added 183 tags in 2021

#my fic - 34 posts

#asks - 32 posts

#critical role - 22 posts

#essek thelyss - 16 posts

#shadowgast - 16 posts

#fic rec - 13 posts

#skalidra - 13 posts

#ask game - 13 posts

#next day reblog - 12 posts

#shout out - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 123 characters

#also let me also reassure you that should there ever come a day where i decide i'm 100% done and not coming back to a story

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

The Dick focused story in Batman: Black & White this week is a suprisingly lovely look back over his (pre-New 52) history and I appreciate it.

139 notes • Posted 2021-04-27 10:47:59 GMT

#4

Hi! Legitimate question, I'm not trolling, but why do you ship JayDick? I started liking the pairing after delving deeper into the DC fandom/reading some fanfics and it made me curious. I also wanted to say that I binge read your Talon and the Hood series and I absolutely loved it!

So wow I sat on this one for a while, because I have legit not had the energy since I got it to give what I think is an adequate answer. But I’m off work for the moment so here we go.

I ship JayDick for a lot of reasons. Back when I first stumbled into DC fandom proper (after being a casual fan since childhood) and was searching for fics about my best boy Jason, JayDick was the pairing I read that immediately hit right for me, and the one that’s stayed that way no matter what other ships I’ve delved into alongside it. They just have the most interesting, fun dynamic that speaks to me. I love the differing ways in which they can connect (or disconnect, as it were). The feelings, the drama, and the possibility for understanding if you just nudge them in the right direction down that path.

There’s so much appeal in Jason, insecure in his new position as Robin, looking up and seeing Dick as this ideal, and blinded to his faults as a kid because how could he not be? Both resenting and wanting to be Dick all at once (added to in my preferred headcanon to insert an adolescent crush in there as well). Then there’s Dick, who’s equally insecure in his own way as his and Bruce’s relationship has deteriorated and all of a sudden there’s this new kid in his place. A kid he does his damndest not to resent in turn, because god knows it’s not Jason’s fault what Bruce decides to do, but at the same time he struggles to connect with him, not because he doesn’t want to, but because the timing is all wrong and his life is currently pulling him in a whole other direction.

Then Jason dies, and Dick is wracked with guilt. All the should haves and maybes, all the ‘I should have done more’ that comes far too late. Until suddenly Jason’s back again, angry and vengeful. And Jason for a while still holds Dick up as that impossible ideal and resents him for it, and Dick in turn is angry at Jason for his actions and resentment, as much as a part of him still strains to correct a mistake he never really made, and change a past that can’t be changed. They argue and they fight and keep coming at each in disconnected ways, never quite able to attune to the other’s frequency. There’s always something in the way. Always something, on either side, causing them to slide jagged edges against each other.

But then Jason calms down, whether just through time or the Outlaws, depending on your favoured canon, and starts to see Dick as who he really is, rather than the idea of perfection he built up in his head as a kid. He realises Dick is just as flawed as any of them, trying his best but still coming up short despite it, and that he can be angry and petty as much as he is self-sacrificing, compassionate and inspirational. That Dick is terrible at taking care of himself, at maintaining the life-work balance, that he has some of Bruce’s worst habits, and is also terrified that he has them. And it... stirs something in him. Causes him to remember that old crush and readjust, as he starts to ache for Dick in a way that’s not someone he wishes he could be himself, but someone who always does his best despite his flaws.

Dick in turn, starts to see past Jason as the unjustly angry murderer, and as more than a tragedy. Starts to see the wounded man underneath, longing for connection. Starts to see how compassionate Jason is in turn, and how fiercely protective of the people he cares about and the city. That Jason is incredibly loyal to those who earn it, and as such why he takes it so hard when he feels that loyalty has been betrayed. That he’s fierce and committed in everything he does, but always shielding himself out of a fear of getting hurt again, which stirs something in Dick in turn.

And it starts from there. From short, hesitant conversations and getting to know who the other really is beyond first impressions. Fighting and commiserating together over shared grievances and frustrations. Taking care of each other, being there to help the other up when they fall. Understanding, but also being standing their ground on the important things and ultimately being able to help each other be better in the different ways that they need. 

Just... gosh, the potential here. It’s all about the potential, and the misunderstandings and misconceptions, the connections they could have if they just stop to give each other a chance. Unspoken longing transforming to understanding and realisations of attraction they didn’t even know were there. The shared insecurities and strengths and all the ways they can come together through them. I adore this pairing, so much I kind of wrote a mini fanfic to try and explain why I love it. Two wounded, needy, compassionate boys fitting together in ways neither of them ever suspected ❤

159 notes • Posted 2021-01-02 14:46:30 GMT

#3

Hearing the Critical Role Exandria Unlimited discourse going on right now is both interesting and exaperating, because if you can somehow put aside the fact that whenever this kind of criticism happens it is almost always aimed exclusively at the female players (with fans who can't seem to separate a character having negative traits from the actor playing them), it really paints a portrait of the different ways people play DnD. More importantly, the way certain people can't seem to let go of the idea that if someone plays DnD in a different way than their own group does, they're doing it wrong.

Some groups like to follow the rule books to the letter. Others prefer to think of them as just guidelines. Some players are just there to kill monsters and build the most powerful character they possibly can using the mechanics available, while on the other side you have those that are there for character and story first and foremost. Both approaches are okay, but the problem comes when one group tries to inflict their opinion on the other (and tbh, it's pretty much exclusively the rule lawyers side doing this). DnD as a game to win vs. DnD as an experience.

CR to me has always been a show that favours story/character before mechanics. They largely stick to the rules as set out in the books as a framework to give the story stakes, but character journeys and roleplay triumphs over 'how efficiently can we kill monsters' time and time again. ExU, Aimee and her character Opal, are just the latest example of this, and reading Aimee's commments on twitter about she approached building and playing Opal purely through the lens of character rather than making her powerful in the traditional sense really spoke to the kind of DnD player I myself am. Especially as Aimee is new to the game, vs. the main CR cast who have several years of experience playing at this point. Aabria too, is a fantastic DM who has shown she is more than happy to bend the rules in favour of the story.

It really boggles my mind that some fans still, even now (six years into the show being aired), can't grasp this. Or be forgiving towards someone new to the game. That everything Aabria and the ExU cast did in this mini-campaign wasn't without the full blessing of the main CR cast (Matt was right there playing in this group too, people). Just, if at this point CR's play style isn't for you, move on. There's plenty of other DnD shows out there now. Let these people have their fun and be grateful they're allowing us to be there with them for the ride.

233 notes • Posted 2021-08-15 12:26:49 GMT

#2

I'm still not over how short D&D elves can be, especially drow. Which shouldn't be the revelation that it is, but when you cut your fantasy teeth on LOTR where all the elves are tall by default it can be easy to forget, despite having also read a few Forgotten Realms books in the past, as well.

For most elven races, the recommendation is to start with a base height of 4'6, then roll 2d10 to generate a random height for your character. Which puts the majority of elves at anywhere between 4'8 and 6'3 in height depending on if you get the best or worst rolls possible (with an average of 5'5) provided my math is right, always a shaky prospect.

For drow, that base height is 4'5, and you roll 2d6. Which means the minimum and maximum height for their particular subrace is 4'7 and 5'5, respectively. Drizzt Do'Urden, the most famous drow character out there, is 5'4, while Ryld Argith from the War of the Spider Queen books, described as being unusually big and burly for a drow, was 5'5. Given that in most settings drow generally live their entire lives underground, it makes sense they'd be shorter.

Which means (because obviously this was coming back to Critical Role and Shadowgast eventually), even if Caleb is a perfectly average 5'9/5'10 for a human, he probably still towers over a non-floating Essek, who I can't imagine is particularly tall for his people either, given that he's also a squishy wizard. If we give him an average drow height, he'd only be 5', maybe 5'1 or 5'2 at a push.

In conclusion, #Shadowgast size difference rights. Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

(5e.tools source for anyone who doesn't own the d&d books: https://5e.tools/races.html#elf%20(drow)_phb )

(https://www.mrinitialman.com/OddsEnds/Sizes/sizes.html for easy height comparison)

286 notes • Posted 2021-07-06 13:01:50 GMT

#1

The fact that Essek's relationship with the Luxon can now be summed up as 'Local Atheist Only One Who Truly Understands God' is hilarious and I love it.

2728 notes • Posted 2021-06-18 10:38:09 GMT

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