#makes the war symbols a little confusing tho

[coatl-cuddles]

Two Embers my beloved I am eagerly looking forward to you

[zealousfandoms]

Flore'gez The Methonasian

@sweetpeaches666 @simply02artists

(Warning:Mentions of child abuse, abduction, trauma and heavy mentions of things here be warned.)

•Flore'gez is one of Ben's Donor's of his Methonasian transformation (aka Swampfire.) And making Flor one of Ben's dads he's about 29-30 years old so about his prime he's very young. Unlike his other dad's tho he didn't willingly give his DNA to Myaxx it was Bad Myaxx still insisted which nearly got her head cut off,burned and probably impaled on a tree

•He didn't willingly gave his DNA up well he did technically he was just convinced by Myaxx who is about 1 inches to be cut off in half by Flor 😅 but eventually he gave in. But with clarification from Myaxx and her praying she won't die too early he let her go on the condition if anything happened with his DNA or whatever they used on it he will come after her and destroy what was used to his DNA. In fear she immediately bolted with his DNA and Flor just going back to business.

•Flor adores children very much.. seeing them frollic and play warmed his heart and such innocence they pose.. he gets aggressive and so overprotective of any children if harmed.. he's like a beast who guards his own kits even if they weren't his own. He never hated any children not even if let's say Albedo was turned into a 5 year old child of Ben he would take him in with no question. (Picture Albedo would be confused and terrified with the whole situation, in Flor's eyes child is child plural.)

•Ben's other dad's would have mixed feelings with Flor. On the other hand they saw him a monster but also some felt bad. They have never seen such a being so broken and brought back together it was like finding peices of a mentally sane person in a black ocean. Galapagus tried to help him but you can see he wasn't successful. he he's beyond his own mind now. the only thing that makes him move is if he's out "Hunting" or when he's near people he loved which is Ben.

•He never hurts Ben's other dad's the good ones atleast (he liked Galapagus, Prisoner 775, Tetrax and a few others because they have either went through the same as him or felt bad. Galapagus wanted to help him) for just being people who understand him or try to help him the evil ones.. well let's just say he once nearly tied Transyl at a tree and waited for the sun to rise. Dissapointingly Transyl still lived because Ben didn't want that and also because Ben and his human family is there.. he doesn't want them to witness someone dying. Maybe one day he could chuck Transyl in the sun.

•Flor hates Royal people or Prideful aliens in a way.. (they also were like "Him") because when the war happened before Flor was left alone an orphan he roamed the desolate place of what was once Flor's home. Flor basically roamed around the universe fleeing from his home after seeing such devastation until he was taken in by some not so good crowd. Flor thought he had found someone he can depend on.. what a mistake he thought.

•Flor wasn't initially bad or did what he does out of just because he wanted too back then he has normal life, two loving parents and he's actually technically royalty in a sense back home in Methanos his father was a Cheif, sadly that was when War was still raging through the galaxies. Flor's parents were the unfortunate cost of this fight both dying in eachothers embrace to save there species. And hopefully for there son to survive.. Flor's Parents are both males (yeah they gay :D) one of his dad's is Gladious he got his intimidating face from him also his beauty. And his name is based on the flower Gladiolus flowers, they represent a lot of things and ones of those they can mean strength and perseverance, while other times, the long flowers symbolize remembrance and the honoring of passed loved ones. And his other dad is Bellis which is a nod to the daisy flower that represents purity, innocence, new beginnings, joy and cheerfulness. He's a little silly and Ben might have got that sillyness and joking attitude Swampfire actually resembled him.

•Flor owns a trench coat. Which wasn't his. The trench coat used to belong to an owner and leader of the not so good crowd mentioned he was at the top highest of wanted criminals for Child kidnappings, illegal market, Poaching of Alien species and many more this person owned a lot of people for his bidding an empire. His group went to Methanos after seeing the devestation they were there to steal loot but they found something even better. A Methonasian Child.. from then on they used this child as new game Flor realizing he was used as a pawn after so long snapped and proceeded to kill him and everyone he never left one unscathed.. those who did survive bow down before him in fear. He ruined the trench coat and remade it in his own style ereasing every part of that man especially his smell. Flor's own wax fragrant skills play here now. but it still stays as a testimony for his acheivement.

•He has many scars and bruises from his past that he refused to show even to others like Ben so he wore large and long sleeved clothes he looked more like a typical dad would but he doesn't always liked wearing others that aren't his trench coat because he never liked how he looked. In Methanos he's considered beautiful not just for his colors but his eyes and his body which is feminine despite him being male. His eyes were beautiful Amber and below is a mixed of purple which made it look like his eyes were the setting dawn of the morning.. a rare exotic beauty.

•Flor was manipulated, bred and born to fight that is his purpose the purpose those people ingrained in his head.. "doesn't matter if you live or not, as long as you get the job done.. you are useful"

•they used Flor's greif and anger against his better judgement and turned a child into a killing machine. Other than being a teen at a young age.. the kicker would have been that they made him do other stuff. Other than stealing, killing, drug dealing and other stuff. He was used as entertainment for sick people in clubs.. and Flor didn't even had a choice if he wanted too he only obeyed. And he came back the next day with those aliens paying with grins.. he only looked down and said nothing.

This is also part of that scenario where he does so we'll undercover in Clubs and in the night. It's basically second nature.. even if that didn't stop the trauma he had endured in a young age. He also felt grief for all those children he has neglected in his care when he was still that man's pawn. He always reassured and played with those children they called him there "big brother" because he's the only thing they had to one maybe even slipped to "Dad" frankly he didn't knew either and he was a victim of manipulation when he found out what happened to those children who went through the door and never came back.. he lost his mind that day and his greatest failure.

•Flor has Trauma and Insomnia in some cases he also has Hallucination hearing and seeing things his mind is warped in every way of reality.

•He owned a giant Tetramand Pole Axe he got it after ambushing a female Tetramand in Methanos. But he claimed it as his own now and as his new favorite weapon amongst a few others.

•He does love Ben even if Ben hadn't met him yet but when he found out he has a son he immediately tracked him and when he found out who his son is.. and what his life is.. he is set to protect him. In the shadows. Until Ben met him one night after getting news that some bad guys are up to no good only to find Flor covered in blood and the start of there meeting.

Flor up close.

(Originally he is gonna be in Sweeetpeaches666 au of Shapeshifter Ben AU but I got hooked with my character and now he's officially my oc other than the Shapeshifter Ben AU there is a lot more I wanted to add about Flor and a few wrong grammar's 😅 and more about Flor but maybe some other time.. and it's also near Christmas so merry Christmas 🎄🎁!)

[jjaynze]

I really love your art and I especially love the Borderlands stuff. In particular the Hyperion Rebirth AU. I would love to see more or even just explore the idea. Like just how Athena took over, how she did it with Janey and Fiona, they're relationship, Janey's hand, their status in the Borderlands and much more.

If your open to it I do have certain ideas for it.

Like Hyperion falling into what amounts to a civil war with Jack's death, how badly he ran it, and all the money and resources he sunk into Pandora on top of Helios crashing Planetside. Athena and Janey are dragged into one side and Fiona by a another on the company planet of Theia. (The wife of Hyperion and Goddess of sight and brilliance along with gold, silver and gems with their brilliance and value). All three meet once again and start to work together to win control over Hyperion themselves.

oh my god hi!!!! tysm for the ask i never expected anyone to ask me about this old au <3

side note btw that i apparently decided to exclude Fiona from this au 🥲 she’ll likely have an appearance other places but won’t have any direct connections to Hyperion

under the cut is a very unorganized set of pictures + explanations of what i had in mind for Hyperion’s Rebirth:

—-—-—

ORIGINS

to start, i just want to mention how this au came to be.

it was mostly fun and games tbh, where i was in an era between playing BL3 and BLTPS constantly. although i never used them, i found it ironic that in BL3, the Hyperion weapons had shields extremely similar to Athena’s shield.

since i was SUPER disappointed that Athena didn’t even at least have a mention in an ECHO, and i was SUPER deprived of content of her, i decided to make a FUN, NON-CANON ALTHOUGH HEAVILY LORE-BASED, COMPLETELY SELF-INDULGENT AU where Athena had taken over Hyperion just bc she wanted to 😇 starting this project in 2021, i would work on this on and off for my own enjoyment

flashforward only one year later—

………..hashtag goals 🤟🏼. never worked on it for a while even before ntftbl was announced unfortunately 💔

HYPERION ITSELF

you were very spot on with the concept of Hyperion being on the planet Theia, i was super confused seeing it bc i never remembered sharing anything about this 😭😭

i wanted Hyperion to be SUPER heavily reinforced, because of how widely loathed the company is, its history, and because of the overall environment of Theia. every few hours, the surface shifts from entire slabs of the floor, taken from the idea of plate tectonics.

i was also gonna work on the unique fauna, just like how Pandora has skags and Eden-6 has jabbers !! i had only given it caracals since they’re my favorite animal :,3

blands LOVES their greek myth motifs so i wanted to apply that here also

a common trend with the corporations was that each tend to have some kind of second base. i used Selene and Eos, since they were also the children of Theia and Hyperion (Helios isn’t present since it crashed obv).

i never had any ideas for Selene, but an idea i had for EOS was that it was an underwater ship.

CHARACTERS

THIS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE MOST!!!

a very specific headcanon i have for Athena is that it isn’t her real name. she was very young at the time she was taken into Atlas, where they had actually given the assassins different names. her real name is Gayle Alvarez, to which she rejects as symbolism to how she’s letting go over her past after all these years, accepting who she is now. (she gave herself that last name “Hoplite” tho LMAO)

^^ this all comes from that fact that i was VERY petty over the fact that her sister, Jess, should’ve been named Minerva. it makes more sense to me idk

ANYWAYS this just describes Athena and Janey’s positions in Hyperion just a little bit. Athena is obviously the CEO and Janey has taken position to where she had designed almost everything.

in terms of the third point, i had actually wanted to make the Voice of Hyperion to be a prominent character in here also!! i didn’t get too far with her unfortunately 💔

FUN FACT i was actually also gonna bring HoloJack as a character concept, although he’s just stuck in an ECHO device. i was thinking that in order to run Hyperion, Athena would need the advice of an ex-CEO. they both only agree to an exchange of management tips for a new body. Athena obviously flanks out after getting Hyperion into a suitable condition, then stuffing the ai into a submachine gun and launching it towards the furthest planet 🤔 it was a funny concept but i dropped it after a while

—

on to something more specific, i do wanna mention this art piece, which ties into another one of my headcanons.

Janey was born on Elpis, being present before and after the Crackening. as it occurred, she had been exposed to whatever unstable eridium had managed to leak through, all without her knowledge—she barely remembers anything of the sort happening

TO SUMMARIZE, Janey is like the Lost Legion Eternals, specifically, a Phasewalker!!!! from the game, the LLEs only ascend once reaching a near-death situation, which explains why Janey never figured it out. the closest she did was when she and her ex gf were mauled by Flamey, where her Phasewalking activated and she managed to get away.

STORY

there is no story, sorry. 😓🤕

the closest i have are unofficial concepts, since i had literally almost zero experience and knowledge in world building.

the main idea i had focused on was something to do with Athena’s old Atlas squad, the Omega Assassins. from some, currently undecided decision, Vulcana, Hera, Minerva, Ceresia, and Helicon found themselves alive, even after supposed elimination from the BL1 Vault Hunters. despite her betrayal, they wanted Athena back, and would do anything to prevent her from settling away.

ALSO, another idea was that after the Omega Assassins found out that Athena was married/engaged, they had cut off her ring finger. this explains why i drew her wearing her rings on a chain near her chest.

below is an extra character development attempt which i had named “scene where janey plays the guitar”

this takes place moments after the assassins kidnap Athena and destroy their home for, again, some undecided reason 😭 i wanted to study Janey’s devotion towards a happy life, since i would also think of her having extreme attachment issues. she’s typically the optimistic character that sees the good through any situation, so i wanted to try to see how she would face against her everything being taken away from her again.

i also gave Janey a resentment of anything that resembles a kraggon, no matter how friendly☝🏼

—-—-—

i wish i had worked on this au so much more than what i shared. i was extremely passionate about it and i kinda still am!! even with how half-assed most of the lore is with blands, i still absolutely DEVOUR any little bit of canon Athena content available.

a COMPLETE story of Hyperion’s Rebirth is unfortunately unlikely now, especially with how it’s heavily implied to be. CANON now 😰😰. i would love to work on it again, but i just don’t really see a reason to 💔

tysmm for the ask again, i appreciate it a lot!! i rambled a bit too much but i wouldn’t mind talking much more about the little ideas i have ^_^ 💐

[sayakxmi]

[Magi reread] Night 39: Incident

YOU LYING. LIAR. I LOVE YOU, BUT FUCK YOU

And he's so happy ;_; He doesn't know yet

Why the fuck you lyinnn, why you always lyiinnn

I mean, I can guess why, but also damn, I wonder how his life looked, like, in more detail than what we get

:)

UMMM OH MY GOD

Locked in the castle.

Also, I fucking can't. The way Ohtaka draws expressions. Like, Alibaba looks borderline traumatized, but look at Cassim. You literally can't tell what his feelings are. Is it fondness? Is it pity? Is he scheming? Insnae. You sense all three if not more.

AAAAAAAAAAA STOP FUCKING LYING

I don't even know for what I am in pain here, bro. Is it because of Cassim lying about his dead sister, or about the heartbreak Alibaba's about to exprience in a few months.

Also, the fact that Alibaba gets betrayed over and over again by the people he loves, ugh.

"Admiration". But is it admiration. What is this. I love how ambiguous Cassim's feelings are. Is iat admiration? Is it fondness? Alibaba didn't change at all? Is it disappointment? Does he think Alibaba's a moron? Tbh, in most cases my money is on "All of the above". It's an interesting thing abt Alibaba, or rather how certain people (like Cassim or Hakuryuu) feel about him. They love him and hate him at the same time, want him to stay by their side and get lost, they want him brought down to whatever they perceive their own level to be, at least, and they want him to remain untainted & keep shining so brightly. It's such a... mess. I really love it about these relationships. That being said, it genuinely sucks to be Alibaba there, because of all these mixed signals they give him all the time. That weird pedestal they put him on, and now they're mad about it. To paraphrase, he's not responsible for what they believe him to be, and yet they make him pay for it.

On a different note, I love the wording. "Cassim didn't have to hear that much, but Cassim didn't need to hear that much." Foreboding.

...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OOF. Ok, but that's how I was reminded that there were other people there, so Alibaba probably became a laughingstock of that group, oof

ALADDIN'S. EXPRESSION.

BRO'S ABOUT TO START CRYING, OH MY GOD, HE FEELS SO MUCH

Wait, what else did he tell him?

Also, Alibaba's low self-esteem, and then Rashid doesn't fucking help by saying, yea, there's literally nobody else I can choose, so.

Like, bro.

Father of the year, smh

The fact that Alibaba only began seeing Rashid as more than a unreachable figure is after he'd admitted that he loved Anise. He actually says next page that it's only after that that he began recognizing him as his father.

So, Alibaba doesn't say no simply bc he didn't feel like being a king. He thinks it'd make a mess in the country. There's probably some self-esteem issues involved, too, but also he does make sense. He'd said that some people in the palace began talking to him and all, not that all of them were on his side. It could've lead to a civil war. It was, in fact, a pretty understandable concern.

Alos, ugh, the fact that he wants to revive the slums & get Cassim & everybody to help;;;

And then the king leaves stuff to him. He's, like, 14.

: ' )

Oh no : (

Also, now I'm thinking abt the Moon again. It feels, like, symbolical. Yeah, yeah, I'm very smart for this one. Jokes aside, though, as I've said, Aladdin's kinda Moon-coded, so the Moon, especially full, represents something positive - guidance, maybe fate. So the lack of the Moon likely means the opposite - going against fate, depravity.

Bro, that breaks me a little. He's so confused, but immediately assumes something positive. That Cassim came to see him. But of course he didn't.

Gdi, what a thing to stumble upon.

Choosing is hard. But, like, jokes aside, I can't blame him for hesitation. He's forced to choose between his brother and the greater good, how can he make it?

whack

Why tf is he so pretty tho.

bro

I am. In so much pain. God. And that contrast between the palace fire & all these horrifying silhouettes and Alibaba's precious memory of playing with Cassim and everybody. It just hurts.

[other-peoples-coats]

Mando Obi? 👀👀👀

it-- look. the thing is, right. The thing is. So many mando-obi fics are very heavy on the mando, very light on the 'raised as a jedi', very light on the 'actively chose to be a jedi', even in the face of, like, horrific danger, even if he had to hide it. Which is fair!! like, those are a particular kind of fic, that's the point, etc. but also. I am, obviously, thinking a lot about propaganda and the role it plays and the ways in which politics and events can be manipulated by how they are told to others and what information is shared, etc, as I write/edit be that monster you been wanting and associated stuff, and also the murderpuppy verse. And like. The whole fanon (?? genuinely unclear on this one) that the Sith were supporting deathwatch (and/or new mandos, tho that is fanon afaik) in being Like That to fuck over mandalore because, like, having people who are good at killing force users around is not conductive to having a force user based dictatorship. I see why, but also, I kind of feel like no one is thinking big enough on this. I just think that probably, in a world where the year on the run went differently, maybe a little longer, maybe a little worse, it would be very easy to turn 'mandalore is a failed state equivalent full of civil war' into 'we are instituting a hard border because they're Full Of War', and once that border's up, well, a) no news in, no news out, all we know is they're a failed state full of war, probably there's just constant riots and they eat babies and b)who the fuck's gonna argue that Actually, We Should Try Democracy With The Murder Empire Again. (like, the jedi will, but also, no one listens to the jedi. obviously.)

and maybe, if you were, say, a jedi who is stuck in mandalorian space and potentially pretending to be mandalorian, you would continue to do that, in the interests of Not Getting Murdered To Death Very Publicly And Painfully. Maybe you would end up taking on a couple of force senstive kids, because you're a Jedi, and you have to help, and at first you think -- well, it's only until you get out, and get back home, and something is better than nothing. And maybe, y'know, you might eventually manage to reach out to the jedi outpost that is literally right next door, only, uh, the whole ass galaxy thinks All Mandalorians Are Empire Desiring, War Mongering Monsters, and maybe you would end up with your little visit being considered, hmm, poorly! perhaps!! maybe!!! possibly even it would be taken as a 'Mandalore is invading, rip to bandomeer and all the people on it, enlarge the contaiment zone!! Harder borders!!' you see how this snowballs. Also, a fun little. data point. idea. whatever we call it. The sigil of the jedi order is, at the very basics, three points! big large middle point, two slightly smaller ones on either side, joined to it. Wings on either side of a central, larger thing. If you were a jedi pretending not to be a jedi but wanting to have a symbol for yourself of something, because you are, y'know, young ish, you might obscure it by straightening the sides, making a bit more angular, painting it red to honor your family -- which, obviously, the Order is. It definitely wouldn't be confused, ever, for any other sigil on mandalorian armor. That would be a very intentional kind of negligence. No one in the galaxy would want to encourage the idea that the mandalorians who keep showing up near jedi are the mandalorians that belong to a genocidal imperialistic death cult. that would be silly.

[inonibird]

Sahuldeem/Kaleesh Q&A #7

Already so many questions after starting Part Three! I’ve done my best to answer them... (questions bold; answers italic)

—

Sorry if this may be unwelcome, but I stumbled across your account after finally deciding to look up Grievous’s backstory via legends and rushing to find even an ounce of Ronderu content- you have successfully launched me down a pit of absolute insanity and pain because of it. You’re art is so satisfying to stare at and the writing?? So gut wrenchingly well constructed and easy to lose yourself in. Luckily for myself, I’ve managed to drag someone down with me :) Never thought I’d be considering Grievous to be in my top 5 favorite Star Wars characters but HERE WE ARE- Oh no, this sort of message is VERY welcome! :’) Thank you so much, I’m glad to have dragged you into Grievous’ Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Backstory and I hope you continue to read and enjoy!

So I have a question…does the story end before the clone wars? I saw an old post you made divided into six segments, the last one of a Bathda tank. Will you continue until his death on utapu? Sahuldeem follows Grievous all the way up until the end of his story. We’ll see that Bacta tank. We’ll see the Clone Wars. We’ll see Utapau. However, the events that we’ve already watched/read about in both Canon and Legends materials (i.e. the Clone Wars shows, Labyrinth of Evil, ROTS, etc.) are not going to be…y’know…recreated in their bloody entirety for my fic. Expect some montage-like treatment of certain events. Unsurprisingly, I want to focus on the stuff we didn’t get to see.

What’s a tuudbaraa? Stay tuned for Chapter 4 of Part Three - Sahuldeem.

Since you said you had another pronounciation in mind for Grievous' real name, I'm kinda curious. I would've pronounced both "Qymaen" and "Sheelal" exactly the same as in the Lego Halloween thingie (still confused about "jai" sounding like "hai" tho). Would love to hear your thoughts! You can find the answer to that here.

Enough discourse on the pronunciation of Qymaen jai Sheelal— how do you pronounce Bentilais san Sk'ar? Do you pronounce it ben-TIL-ay-iss? BEN-ti-lace? ben-ti-LIE-iss? (Or like French— ben-ti-LAY?) Do you put an audible glottal stop in Sk'ar? There's literally no source on this, what's your take ben-tih-LAY-iss, and despite my laughable attempts to enunciate the glottal stop in Sk’ar, I like to think it’s there.

I have to ask; what do you think the predators of Kalee looked like? I know mumuus and karabbacs were probably impressive if their skulls were made into masks, but it seems like their heads were on the small side? I know it’s not the size that matters but I just want to know more about them just from the way you draw everyone’s masks. I’ve talked a little bit about Kaleesh creatures and kakmusmal, but perhaps one thing I’ve never made clear is that I imagine the Kaleesh, in taking the skull of a mumuu/karabbac/etc. to make into a bonemask, are not usually just picking up the whole skull and making minimal modifications before slapping it on. They carve and shape them considerably to suit Kaleesh faces. Qymaen’s mask is just a portion of the mumuu’s skull; it’s a big honkin’ animal. Other masks incorporate tusks/horns of the original animal, but often they have to be reattached after the masks have been personalized. But yeah…that’s just how I’ve pictured it working.

Did Ronderu have a dream about meeting Qymaen? I mean she was in the Kunbal tu hunt a mumuu and she met him ... with a mumuu mask. Was it a coincindence that she was hunting right there at the right time or did she dream something too? She was simply where she was at the time. Qymaen was the one whose symbolic and prophetic dream led him to go seek her out.

Hey Inoni, will you include the Izvoshra member which belonged to the same race of hunters as Ronderu? Love your design of Bentilais and Levantis btw. Well…assuming we’re looking at the same source, here…let’s just say that while you focus on “same race of hunters as Ronderu” I focus more on “shipwrecked on Grendaju”. ;P …Anyway, stay tuned for Chapter 3 of Part Three - Sahuldeem. ....Oh shit that’s soon. Dalibor lig Nemur's got an interesting name. I wonder how much of it was intentional— Obviously, lig harkens back to the Lig sword, which we know is named after the tribe known for crafting them; Dalibor is a Slavic name meaning "to fight far away" which, if intentional, suggests he's as handy with a cannon as he is with a sword; is Nemur a reference to Captain Nemo? I don’t think I put as much thought into his name as you did within this ask! I wanted to give someone the background of being from the Lig Clan, and I like picking out the occasional Slavic name (honestly just enjoyed the sound of it) alongside the usual Sumerian (Nemur = glowing coals/fire, a more ambiguous earned name than most, but evocative IMO).

Did you take SWTOR into consideration while developing Sahuldeem? If so, how does it fit with your timeline of Kalee’s development? I’ve never played SWTOR and have only read about it, but I don’t believe there’s information in the game that would contradict anything that would be included in Kalee’s Wookieepedia. I believe the only reference I’ve specifically made is when Ronderu meets her first human and reflects that she’s heard stories of them “from the ancient legends of the Galactic War” (and more recently the Bitthævrian conflict). Anyway, hmm. I guess it’s my understanding that this was such a long time ago that current Kaleesh would feel quite distanced from the events of SWTOR. From the sound of it, Kaleesh were enslaved and taken offworld for a period of time, and probably continued to be taken for generations, but, with Kalee being on the edge of Wild Space, this wasn’t happening in huge numbers or frequently enough for the galaxy at large to keep tabs on their planet and species. You’d get the odd band of slavers or curious traders who’d stop by over the next few thousand years, but, looking at the map, you would really need to go out of your way to get there (I talk a bit more about hyperspace lanes in the fic soon). Meanwhile, Kalee was a pretty volatile place in terms of intertribal conflict and the conquering of clans, so while many ancestors were revered and remembered, other details were violently scrubbed from their own history. Things drifted into stories and legend. So the Kaleesh kept living in their relatively intact, isolated bubble with minimal outside contact for centuries, only to have it burst pretty dramatically by first the Galactic Republic during the Bitthævrian conflict (who were probably like, “Oh, ok, HERE’S Kalee, can someone mark it on this star chart before we forget it again?”), and then of course by the invading Huk (who were going out of their way to find planets to conquer). Does...does that all make sense? Egh. x_x I’m sure there’s much more to consider; I’m fairly content leaving it at that and focusing on Qymaen’s era.

What happened to Ronderu´s cloak and her Lig swords? Did Qy keep them or were they burned and used for a ceremony? This will be directly addressed in the story. I’d say “stay tuned for [chapter]”, but in the original script this isn’t brought up until Part Five. We’ll see if I push it earlier.

Honestly though I’d love to recommend Sahuldeem to someone who knows absolutely nothing about Grievous’ backstory and not tell them it’s a fanfic so they’re like eight chapters in and they go “Wait this is Star Wars” and then several chapters later they’re like “QYMAEN IS GENERAL GRIEVOUS?????” I, too, would love to somehow see this happen! xD

[pomegranates-and-blood]

νοσταλγία (Chapter 4)

(Gif credit to @iceandabyss​)

νοσταλγία Masterlist

Pairing: Ivar/Reader (eventual)

Summary: This is a retelling/romantization of the Greek myth of Persephone’s abduction with Ivar as Hades and you as Persephone. The Reader character is a Byzantine woman, follower of the Greek Pantheon/Religion, and a devoted follower of Persephone. This takes place after 5A, but the universe of this is a little changed in relation with the series, of course. Thank you for giving it a chance, hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: The usual :)

A/N: Hi! I decided to post a second chapter this week so we can finally kick-start the plot, and tho I can’t promise double chapters every week yet, the Saturday chapters are a certainty, and let’s call the Tuesday ones a bonus :) Anyhow, would love to know what you think of this so far, and thank you so much for reading!

Taglist: @youbloodymadgenius​

You awaken in the middle of the night as Sieghild barges into the room you sleep in, and without warning her arm, muscled and inked, locks around your waist and she drags you out of the building and towards a small tunnel that leads you both past the walls and near the woods.

She keeps dragging you, ignoring your threats and the kicks you deliver without much strength to them. The way she moves between the trees with such certainty, the way her steps are measured and fast as they step over the frozen ground never ceases to amaze you.

She throws your body with surprising strength against a nearby tree on the first clearing she finds, making you dizzy as your head hits the trunk.

“Ah! W-What are you doing!?” You grunt, but Sieghild doesn’t answer, green eyes set on her task as she brushes your hair away from your face and cups your head in her hands.

“Quiet. There’s worlds past our own.” She advises, and with quickened breaths you rake your eyes over the suffocating trees around you and, in the distance but somehow close enough, you see the faint lights of the Varangian encampment.

Your eyes return to your mother, and before your lips can form the words, the questions, you remember.

“There’s worlds past our own,” Aamir says, dark eyes, black eyes, set on the fire. “And there’s worlds in between.”

You steal a quick glance to the shieldmaiden, but she keeps her gaze ahead, even if the small quirk of her lip tells you she notices your stare of confusion and mirth.

“In between.” You repeat, and the man turns wise eyes to you. The confusion, the scorn, fade within you into curiosity, into that same madness that made you cross the Aegean on an old fishing boat.

“Between the dead and the living,” He explains without hesitation, “Between this life and the next.”

“They sound lonely.” Someone quips, but the man smiles, shaking his head slightly.

“They are filled with opportunity. Life or death, past or future,” His almost black eyes set on you, and your breath catches in your throat, “nostalgia or hope.”

And in her green eyes you see the choice shining. The question, the test, the goodbye and the welcome home.

“I’m staying with the Greeks.” You whisper, feeling as if you have sealed your own fate without knowing what the Gods have in store for you. Feeling as if Sieghild does know, but cannot tell you.

Looking down at you, she smiles through the pain of loss and the tiredness of war.

She looks firmly into your eyes and whispers, “And so it is fated you do so.”

“I can’t help but feel both our Gods have looked away, mother.”

But she shakes her head, the twin braids on each side of her head flowing with the movement. Her gaze is electric, and there could be a sad smile playing at her lips.

“I have asked Freyja for guidance, for help, ever since we arrived in Scandinavia. She has answered, but not in the way your Mistress would.”

Sieghild leans forward and presses a kiss on your forehead. You have a feeling she is saying goodbye in more ways than one, and tears clog at your throat.

“What are you saying?”

She ignores your question, expression determined and fierce, “I hope I have grasped the meaning behind the Seer’s words, my child. I hope so with all I am.”

Nothing makes sense, and there’s…there’s tendrils of a voice you cannot quite catch of a meaning you cannot quite understand, and you are suddenly a child again, listening to the strange woman speak in tongues you feel are familiar and yet foreign; you cannot…you cannot…nothing makes sense.

“What seer?”

But she shakes her head, “It doesn’t matter anymore,” She presses her forehead to yours, and your eyes fall closed, “I will not be here come morning, minn dóttir.”

A small part of you feared this would happen, feared that when Sieghild could taste back the spirit of her people, could hear again the war drums of the Vikings; she would choose to stay with them.

And you cannot blame her. If you found yourself surrounded by foreign customes and foreign people, even if you loved some of those people, even if you had grown to know and follow those strange customs...if you were to find yourself back in Greece, you are certain no love and no familiarity could keep you from those lands that made both your blood and your spirit.

Sieghild brings you into a one-armed embrace, and you feel her chin over your head. Still, a small sob leaves your lips, both at the caving feeling of being left alone and at the pain that lacers her voice. You lost Narses, Galla and the rest of your people are dead because of you, and now you will lose her too.

She is all you have had, since you were a child. Since you have memory, her matted red hair, her comforting green eyes, her brutishly gentle nature, her inked skin; they have been your home, your family.

Sieghild finally pulls back from the somewhat embrace, and even if it feels like ages it is only a few fleeting moments where you meet her gaze and look back at her with tears in your eyes and shaking in fear, a child all over again.

Her fingers trace your cheek with motherly affection, “Make the ground where you are defeated become the realm where you will conquer, child.”

“Sieghild?”

She traces a symbol in your hand with her own fingers, you think a rune, but you only have eyes for her face, her motherly smile, her kind eyes, her marked skin.

“Survive. Until spring comes.”

She darts for the woods, leaving you weak and worn against the tree trunk. Bringing your knees up against your chest, feeling the taint of blood of your own and those not still on your hands even after you have rubbed them raw, you hide your face in your arms and let the cries leave your chest.

Sieghild is long gone, Narses is dead, your people are nothing but corpses on some faraway field, the city is afar. There’s no one to see you, no one to hear you.

And if no one hears you cry, you can pretend you were brave.

_____

“We have reached our agreement, and in time I will pay that debt,” Stithulf comments as you approach. If he notices the inquisitive glare you send his way as to why he is telling you this, he ignores it. “However, we also arranged for a payment in exchange for that Viking warlord accepting the possibility of negotiations, and I have to pay it now.”

“What is it?” You whisper, brow furrowed.

The scarred Christian motions with one hand, and before you can react there’s two soldiers at your sides, holding onto your upper arms and with ease holding you immobile. Stithulf approaches, taking advantage of your stunned body that cannot seem to react quick enough, and he sets heavy and burning shackles at your wrists.

“What are you doing?” You hiss at the black-haired Saxon, but he only raises his face high. “You cannot-…”

The sound of the chains moving as they exchange hands hurts your ears, like the shrill screams of a Priestess being burnt to death.

You remember rough and violent hands wrapped around your wrists, your arms, your throat; keeping you defenseless, keeping you from fighting back. You remember tight rope burning your wrists as you were tied and dragged to the pole where you would be set alight.

You have been beaten, you have been defeated, exiled, humiliated, betrayed.

But you never had chains put on you. Chains are…are for prisoners, chains are for slaves, chains are meant for people without freedom. You have killed and died for your freedom, you cannot…you cannot lose it now.

Narses, Galla, so many others are dead. Your home is no more. Sieghild has left you behind.

You cannot lose your freedom; it is the only thing you have left.

You look down into trembling hands and bite down a scream of your own.

Chains.

You have lost it already.

The soldiers at your flanks force you to move towards wherever the Saxon is walking, and the chains make you obey their command.

“You forced my hand, Greek,” He promises, pretending that regret pours out of his lips, “You were part of the price asked, and I had no reasons for wanting to keep you.”

But you still shake your head, tugging frantically at chains that follow your movements and chase after your wrists like hungry snakes. And you cannot get out, you cannot get free, you cannot…you cannot…

“Wh-…no, you can’t do this. Why…why!?” You cry out, not caring how your voice trembles and breaks. The chains are heavy, and so is your breath, “Release me, I am not yours to give away!”

The Saxon moves quickly, a thunder of rage and underserving authority, and the backhand across your face is painful but expected. Leave it to a man like him to hit you when you are bound.

Stithulf forces you to straighten yourself from the hit by grabbing painfully onto your jaw and turning furious eyes to him.

“I will not have you challenge me in front of those Vikings. You will keep your mouth closed for once.” The Saxon grits out, his grip on your jaw brutish and hurting.

You grit your teeth, but still bite out, “With a Christian keeping me chained, there’s not much I can say or do, Stithulf. You know this.”

Your body almost braces for another hit, but Stithulf only laughs to himself. Laughs, and you cannot help but open your eyes to find him, head bowed, eyes closed, chuckling like you have amused him, like you are an old friend joking with him.

“Oh, how I will miss you, Greek.”

You lick the cut his hit gave your lip, and return your eyes ahead as they warriors make you start walking. They lead you to the docks, and you catch sight of other slaves being boarded into the Varangian ships.

You are the only one in chains, though, and the burn of humiliation hurts as much as that of defeat.

Beady eyes you know well catch sight of you, and Leofric, one of Stithulf’s trusted men, one of the pigs responsible for Narses’ sacrifice, for the slaughter of your people; approaches you with a sleazy smile on his weathered face.

“Witch.” He greets, his voice dripping with arrogance and satisfaction. You don’t answer, but he does replace one of the soldiers at your side, his hand on your upper arm disgusting and invasive.

Two Varangian men wait for you and Stithulf to approach, one of them the King, standing tall and proud as he looks over you.

It shouldn’t sting like betrayal that he wants to make a slave out of you, it truly shouldn’t. But…it does, because you are foolish, you always have been. You truly thought he was honest when he talked with you, you truly thought he saw an equal and not a witch to pride himself in conquering.

But no, what was it Sieghild told you when she spoke of Rorik and what happened before the Varangians took Kiev?

“Never trust a man to choose you over anything, much less a man in power to choose you over the illusion of holding onto such power.”

“She is a pagan witch, but she has noble blood,” Leofric states without prompting, ignoring your glare. You feel the eyes of the Varangian on you, but you keep your enraged focus on the man that lists off qualities like you are a mare being sold for breeding. “The Greeks call her Queen, and she is worth quite a lot to more than one Kingdom in the Mediterranean.

Leofric’s hand finds your throat, and your entire body coils as your lips part and a bubble of panic starts on your chest.

“And a good lay, even.” He sneers by your ear, giddy with the power he now holds. Narses is dead, and Stithulf has no use for you; your protections in this land are long gone, and he believes he can do as he wishes with you.

Better men have tried.

Stithulf steals a glance to you, an almost challenge for you to speak up written in his eyes. You keep your gaze on his and let your lips curve into the beginning of a smile, because even if you know it is a lie you feel anything but the desire to squirm out of your own skin, you will be dead before giving it away.

His eyes narrow slightly, but he says nothing as he passes on the chains to the Varangians like who offers the leash of a dog, and at the reminder of the chains binding you, the pressure in your lungs is almost the same as that of those first weeks after you survived the pyre those Christians built.

It is only then, with more than iron chains in his hand, that Ivar the Boneless takes his pales eyes to meet your own.

He smiles, terrifyingly and hungrily, and a shiver runs down your spine. Your mocking smile drops as dread settles over your very bones, but you refuse to lower your gaze.

The tug he gives to your chains to bring you closer is as humiliating as before, but you have to follow the commands of the shackles in your wrists, and you stumble a few steps until you stand by him.

“Priestess.” He greets lowly, and your nose furrows.

“Viking,” You hiss back, because of course you wouldn’t keep your mouth shut. You lift your hands bound by heavy metal between you, “I spent too long a Christian’s attack dog, I refuse to die a Varangian’s prisoner.”

He chuckles, cruel and every bit the King you tried not seeing him as. Ivar the Boneless.

“You think you have a choice.” He mocks with a disgustingly fake smile on his lips.

You still lean closer, “You better than any man here knows what I have done to keep myself from being a prisoner.”

It staggers you how easy it is to bring a strange softness to his gaze, so much so that you believe him to be fooling you for a moment before he speaks.  

“I don’t want to make a prisoner out of you.” He promises without hesitation, without shame. And your anger returns, pushing back the curiosity, the foolish hope, the weakness.

“Then why am I chained?”

“Was there any other way to get you to do as I say?” The King replies easily, the mocking smile once again on his lips.

Regardless, he loosens his hold on the humiliating leash, and your eyes are drawn to his hand. You catch sight of the now dirtied and bloodied bandage around the hand he injured yesterday, and are reminded of the knife you saw him pull out of some secret sheath in his armor.

And if the same guile that made Narses lay an army at your feet is the same that tries keeping Ivar the Boneless from reacting when you put chained hands over his armored chest, no one can blame you.

Women are taught to play these games. The more binds they put on you, the more tricks you learn.

“But you didn’t try any other way,” You argue quietly, looking into his eyes, and even if your closeness, your caress, are lies, your next words are not, “I thought I could trust you.”

The King does not react, body almost frozen but still challenging and calculating as he gazes down at you. His chest rises and falls under your hand and you take a breath and lean even closer.

It would be easy, you ponder, grabbing the knife and attempting on his life, futile attempt as it would be. You could cut your own throat, they couldn’t stop you, and you wouldn’t have to live to see the day a Varangian makes you his slave.

But that would be too easy. Hushed teachings of strength and composure travel from your memories, your mother’s voice and Sieghild’s mixing together in a choir.

You muster a quick prayer of protection and strength in your mind before you go through with your stupid, stupid, stupid idea.

Gritting your teeth and trying to ignore the tremble of your hand as it finds purchase in your target, you wrap careful fingers around the knife you saw sheathed at his ribs, grabbing a hold of it.

You can see in the barely-there widening of the Viking’s eyes, on the sharp breath and the tension coiled around his shoulders that he knows what weapon you hold in your hand now.

He doesn’t move, the only change you notice along with his breath is the slight adjusting of his grip on the crutch. Your eyes dart to his hand and back up into his own, and a challenge shines in them, a curiosity and something else, something darker and stranger that you cannot help but find alluring.

He is challenging you to put that knife to use.

I did promise that while a Christian held me in chains I wouldn’t act.

You turn around with a small smile, feral as it is, on your lips. The chains stop you from doing any real damage, but a deep enough gash runs down Stithulf’s face, and that is enough for you, even if it means your death. The wound over the Saxon’s eye pours blood, and you allow yourself a laugh.

“I will crawl out of the Underworld if I have to, but I will find you again. And I will send you to Lord Hades bearing the mark of my sacrifice. Let the dead know who you have wronged, let the Furies torment you until I have my chance to.” You snarl in Greek, eyes set firmly, manically even, on the commander.

A mark of blood, a vow to the Gods. You know you will kill him, and as you look into his eye you think he knows it too, even if he didn’t understand a word you said.

The chains yank again, painful against your sore wrists, and you comply. Dropping the knife to the ground in front of the Varangians, you try quietening the deafening beat of your own heart in your ears.

Stithulf keeps his good eye on you, enraged but oddly enough not surprised. Maybe you were wrong, he wasn’t stupid enough to believe Narses’ words about your meekness and your obedience.

The sudden tension not much unlike the stillness before the beast pounds takes over the dock as the warriors, their attention drawn in by the commotion, wait with baited breath for the next action. Both Saxons and Vikings stand in waiting for any movement.

The man with the blondish braid that was standing behind a few steps is the first one to break the silence, walking towards you with ease and bending down to pick up the knife.

He just…laughs.

The man just laughs, and it is in startled silence that you are tugged back by your chains to the King’s side. The man’s warm eyes travel between you, still in chains, and the now bloodied Saxon holding a hand over his eye.

“Almost lost an eye to a chained Christian woman,” The man says, looking at Stithulf with a smile on his young face, “That will be a story to tell.”

The Viking looks back at the Saxon leader with knowing clear eyes, expecting the strike back, expecting the fight. He delights, you realize, in taunting the Christian with the retribution he cannot have.

Whatever argument they were bound to have, or whatever vindication Stithulf was to set upon you, is quickly tampered by the humiliation. Good.

You could swear the man that spoke out, as he turns around, looks into your eyes with something akin to understanding for a moment.

Clearing your throat and past the fear and pain, you croak, however broken your attempts at speaking past the knot in your throat may be,

“N-Not…not a Christian. Never.”

The man regards you in silence for a moment or so, before finally acquiescing with a nod.

“I noticed,” He says with a smile, and looking for a moment at the man that holds your chains, the Varangian that spoke to save your hide leans closer, but you do not feel threatened, “I’m Hvitserk.”

You smile, the first genuine one you felt in so long, but you still don’t reply with your own name. He notices, but says nothing as you are led to the boats.

“Sons of Ragnar,” Stithulf speaks out, stopping both the King and Prince on their tracks. “Be certain I’ll kill you.”

“I’m certain you’ll try.” Hvitserk replies with a mock flourish, turning his back to the Saxons.

The Varangians board their ship, and you have no choice to follow, a vindicated sort of defeat guiding your movements.

_____

Hi, thank you for reading! I would love to know what you think of this chapter, and the story so far in general! Finally we reach the abduction part of the abduction myth lol

Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to know people are reading and (hopefully) enjoying what I write! You’re the best!

[vaguely-concerned]

R-r-r-rewatch thoughts for The Mandalorian S2 Ep2

(or Chapter 10 as they seem resolved to call it)

- can I just express my joy for a moment that in one episode we get peli, the answer to my pleas for female representation in the ‘sketchy middle aged car mechanic’ niche, and a female alien designed with no consideration towards sexiness. (I mean I’m sure there’s someone. There is always someone somewhere on the Internet, is the bitter truth history has shown to us. but it’s not the intention behind the design haha)  

- they do take great pains to deliberately show you boba’s armour several times both in the recap and in the episode itself, so never despair he is very likely still on his way onto our screens once more

- this dude holding the baby hostage wanting specifically the jetpack in exchange is the one (1) break this whole episode gave din lol 

also the Patented Mando Finger Curl of Stress while he talked softly and calmly to not promp this asshole to make a sudden move... the most endearing character tic, I love my space cowboy dad so much 

- fun continuity detail: din is all out of whistling birds now, and you can see it here!

I wonder if he could still use the same mechanism with different ‘ammo’, it’s just not as effective? from the way the armorer spoke whistling birds seem quite rare and it would be an inefficient use of beskar if that’s the only thing it can be loaded with

 - I love how after the last episode, a 50 min epic with a bunch of original trilogy significance and impressive technical achievements and exciting character reveals, I was like ‘yeah okay I suppose that is quite interesting’, and this mess/comedy of inconveniences is the thing that fully makes my brain tip into the obsessive ‘BABY AND DAD SHOW!! BABY AND DAD SHOW!!!!!’ mind state lol

- ah the traditional ‘mando trudging slowly but steadily through the desert’ montage we all love to see (I hope this is going to be a Thing for the second episode of every season from now on) 

Also I assume his suit has some sort of temperature regulation built in and that’s how he didn’t, y’know. die under the blazing desert sun

-

CAT FIGHT CAT FIGHT man I love the jawa. also mando doesn’t even glance over at them, really emphasizing how he’s like. done with this entire day (and it’s all barely even getting started din! i’m sorry)

 yodito’s look in this scene tho... he’s like ‘we’ve Seen some shit lady’ (actually I think he’s staring at ‘dr mandible’ like O___o. it’s been a long day for a lil boy) 

you get to see dr mandible’s cards a few times, so I assume anyone who knows the rules of... sabacc? probably? could figure out beforehand that he was in a bad spot. (the star wars fanbase is one of those where I KNOW the rules exist somewhere, and I know people who know those rules exist too)  

- that sound the baby keeps making -- the ‘boo-a’, sometimes with a p-sound at the end -- if that’s the precursor to him saying any variation whatsoever of ‘dad’ or ‘papa’ or ‘baba’ or even ‘buir’ or anything, I will die. I will sink to the ground in a heap and never get up (the way he keeps seeking out gaze contact with the helmet and seems perfectly satisfied with it too... fasdhfaskdjhl my FEELINGS)

- it seems confirmed in this ep that the mandos who died on nevarro did so while holding off the enemy so the rest(probably especially the children) could get away; some of them appear to have escaped. which I guess is a small relief

- 

frog lady stepping out of the shadows and into our hearts

I like that her firm nod after Peli translates ‘her husband has seen them’ lets us know she understands... basic? is that the common tongue thing in star wars there’s just so many to remember across fandoms lol? perfectly well, even if she can’t speak it. 

- mando might be running low on ammo for the pulse rifle, if the fact that he hasn’t replaced the missing cartridge on his... bandolier belt thingy is any indication

ETA: actually ignore me this has been a thing since the literal first episode of the show my brain just had a hiccup lol

- so baby seems to use a little bit of the force to pull the eggs towards him -- I wonder how often he ‘taps into it’ or if it’s always ‘on’ in the background for him. if so I guess there’s no wonder he’s so hungry (but also... kid you can’t end this lady’s entire family line like that one cat who singlehandedly made extinct a whole species of bird! D:)

- din so rarely gets openly angry, he just gets passive aggressive and grumpy. and that’s probably not the healthiest way to deal with things but I love him

- frog lady reacts so strongly to when din sends the ping when nothing else woke her up, I wonder if she can hear more frequencies than a human

- 

hello darkness my old frieeennnddd

- 

proof nr 1508 that din does not starve this baby you guys, he even has his own little tray just the right size for him! as it happens the baby simply seems to prefer eating things that are... still alive in some capacity. which, uh. maybe they can invest in some form of non-sentient crickets or something for him to hunt down and.... oh dear

- 

Look how they massacred my boy

By the way I finally managed to put into words why the Razor Crest -- and particularly the way it keeps getting beaten to hell and back and patched up again --  is so symbolically important and meaningful to me in this show in this post over here! it’s always a great relief to me when I can finally understand what the hell I’ve been going on about all this time and this was one of those lol

-  honestly if it weren’t for frog lady and (more importantly) the baby I think there’s a slight chance din would’ve gone ‘well I had a good-ish run of it for a while there’ and just let the ice claim him haha   

- “Why don’t you come over here and give me a hand. Make yourself useful” This is the one time in the episode I think he crosses the line into just being a dick for a moment (but noticeably the baby isn’t just a little hurt at this reaction, he’s clearly surprised and confused, which means this really does not happen often. after the time mando’s been having recently I guess a moment’s snappishness is understandable haha. he does follow up right after with being much more responsive and attentive when the baby toddles away from him, so it feels like it’s going to be okay)

also the ‘boo-ap’ sound is there again when he’s trying to get din’s attention. just sayin’ 

when din comes over to see the footprints baby makes a declarative little meep like ‘see??? I did tell you!’ haha

- it is very funny that mando is using all his technology meant to track down dangerous bounties in the grungy depths of the criminal underworld... to find a naked lady just chillin’ in a hot spring 

- 

cue the ‘father is evil?’ memes fsadfda. actually the funniest thing about this moment (apart from the fabulous finger acting) is that din actually snatches a few eggs out of the baby’s reach more subtly right before, and that baby only whines for ALL OF ONE SECOND before he goes to sniff around for other food possibilities fkadfhjkds. from my experience with human children he’s a lot less prone to tantrums. yodito doesn’t get mad, he gets even 

- baby running towards din through the hatching spiderlings like ‘DAD I FUCKED UUUUUUP’, din’s little strangled ‘ngh’ sound as he picks the baby up and watches all the creepy crawlies come out... *chef kiss* impeccable 

(that little ‘ngh’ and the soft shocked ‘ah ah AH!’s from when he goes flying at the beginning of the episode... pedro pascal and his voice work for this character gives me so much life. in some ways din has this sort of dignity and grace and in other ways he uh extremely doesn’t. he gets to be cool but also vulnerable in ways a lot of male main characters don’t and it’s probably why I love him so much) 

btw here is that moment when din moves to hold the baby tightly against him with both hands as the big spider appears, because it gets me right in the heart... it such an instinctive thing of holding on to the dearest thing you’ve got before something bad is about to happen

fdsafhsdakjlfhsdkjlhfsdajhf oh my god the baby is clutching din’s finger with his little hand during the chase!!!! 😭😭😭

this FUCKING SHOW has just WEAPONIZED putting in small details everywhere to convey the love and tenderness and attachment felt by a little muppet doll even where only weirdos like me will frame by frame their way through the video to see it I am so MAD

- frog lady going ‘fuck this’ and bounding along is  e v e r y t h i n g 

- din is an amazing shot, though, he doesn’t seem to miss a single one in this whole scene (then again there’s something to shoot at basically everywhere one can take aim so lol)

-

baby hiding behind/half hugging din’s boot as he tries to get the doors closed hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I can’t breathhhhheeeee 

honestly every single one of the baby’s proximity seeking behaviours in this ep has me on my knees 

- it’s very unfair to play the heroic happy mando music like everything is going to be fine and then have a huge fuck-off spider drop down from the ceiling and break it off mid-tune, the mandalorian, you have trained me in certain ways and now do you betray me??? how can I trust again

- the camera work in the scene with the new republic guys gives such a good sense of the discomfort of being judged from on high by someone or something you can’t really see -- the glare of the lights blocking out everything in the shots from din’s pov makes it feel like a tense interrogation (the new republic dude who is actually dave filoni has such a look of fondness as he watches din tho it’s kind of sweet)

- ...oh no I think baby was actually considering munching on that dismembered spider leg YODITO NO JUST EAT YOUR KRAYT DRAGON BABY

- hngh this is a weird filler episode and it has my entire heart. I suspect we might get some episodes of a more stationary baby between active ones like this -- you can tell a little bit in this episode that especially having him running around fast is quite difficult to have look natural, they likely save that effort up for when it best serves the narrative  

[poormeowmeowcollector]

Let me give you my life

Pairing: Loki x Tesseract

Warnings: Major Character Death, Mourning, delusions, mental illness, alcohol, Original Character Death, Odin, fantastic racism

Summary: After Frigga's funeral, Loki starts hearing a voice. It changes their life completely.

Chapter 3: Verse 3

Chapter warnings: math, fantastic racism, death (not graphic)

Chapter summary: the orders

Previous chapter, AO3, next chapter

If I'm a pagan of the good times / my lover's the sunlight

Loki storms the library once again, this time searching everything about the Tesseract and this Entropy they call him all the time.

Entropy still remains a mystery, but there are even more writings about the space stone than the ones they've seen before.

"It says here that they worshipped you," Loki says, but only internally. He's in public, speaking to the walls would make him appear mad.

"People express loyalty in different ways," they answer, always softer since the deal.

"Is that what you want? Loyalty?"

"Among other things, yes. But mostly trust that I will not hurt you, cause I won't," they promise. Loki already knows this.

Can't break something that's already in pieces.

"Brother!" Thor yells as he walks in. Loki's shoulders tense, this idiot never warns them.

"Tho-thor," he answers, eyes on Thor as they drab a chair and side beside him. "How come you be i-i-in here? You ha-ha-hate books," they raise an eyebrow at their brother.

"I'm here to see how you're doing. You've been acting oddly lately," he answers, those blue eyes scanning Loki.

"People grie-grie-grie-grieve in different ways, Th-thor. I a-a-a-assure you, I'm fi-fine," he hums, turning back to the book.

"Loki. After all this, just remember that I'm here for you, eh? You needn't face anything alone," Thor insists, placing a big and steady hand on Loki's shoulder.

Loki's body nods, and smiles, watching as Thor smiles back before leaving. Loki's mind wonders if this is all a mistake. Thor was, is grieving too. Maybe this is all too much…

But Thor wasn't there when Gæirasson offended Loki, neither time. In fact, Thor has been a ghost since Frigga's death.

"You have my trust and loyalty, until the end," Loki decides, feeling in their core how relieved the Tesseract is by the answer.

"Allow me to show you another secret then. Look at your hands but don't touch anything and don't let it spread," they answer.

Loki lets the book and brings his torn from the picking hands under the table, always watching them. Black ropes start appearing and tangling themselves on their fingers, creating a calming sensation and demanding more ground, but Loki doesn't allow it. Out of all kinds of magic, this is by far the most powerful one he has ever seen.

And the most chaotic.

To keep the Goddess on my side / she demands a sacrifice

Like every day, the official Tesseract session is late at night, while Loki should be sleeping. Signs of their decreasing amount of sleep are becoming more and more visible, but they don't care.

"The o-orders?" he asks.

"You need to know some things first. In order to keep you from dying, King Laufey made a deal with one of us. Your life for acts of service. You need to do some things before being free," they do speak like they did on the first days, but somehow still softer.

"Acts of s-s-service?" he questions. So, the stone just needs hands and will borrow theirs?

"Yes. There are things that will keep the stones safe from those who seek them to do harm. Asgard has two, and you need to make sure that some things are set to their protection. It's just one thing, really. But you need to use your new powers to do so,"

Loki nods, the movement small and cut, like a soldier's.

"Ready to-to comply,"

Drain the whole sea / get something shiny

"First order. Free yourself from everything, good and bad," the Tesseract says. Loki blinks in confusion.

"H-how?"

"What bad do you carry into you? The possessiveness, the jealousy, this ego you named pride, all this fury… you don't need them from now on. Let them go," they insist.

"L-let them go?"

"Act as if they don't exist, don't give them your attention. The same thing goes for your bright side. You faith in your moral compass, your deep feeling for everything you care about. Both of those sides will keep you from moving on. You mustn't listen to them anymore," they explain, as if it's something easy.

"So… y-y-you want me to be-to be your li-little m-m-minion?" he raises an eyebrow. Is that what they agreed on? Being a tiny pawn but just on a different chess board?

“No. Not exactly. You are not to abandon them for my own good, but for yours. The acts might hurt these sides of you, you need them in one piece,” their voice softens.

Loki takes a breath, in and out as slow as possible, and nods again. “What-what sh-sh-should I-I do?” even though the stutter stays, he refuses to let his voice break.

They swear they can feel the stone smiling.

“Listen to me, and don’t act upon them. Also, learn how to control possibility magic,”

Possibility magic? Is that what the black ropes are?

“Learn how Midgardians think of possibilities. It’s close to how your new abilities work,” they advise him. So, this is what being under the orders of a stone is like? Homework and pretending? it’s nothing they don’t know how to do for hundreds of years…

“And after the-the week?”

“the fun starts.”

Loki smiles wide, wider than he has ever smiled even before Frigga’s death.

something meaty for the main course / that’s a fine looking high horse

The week passes peacefully. Loki doesn’t have to worry about how to do what, the Tesseract is there to help them with it and lets them just decide how to do what and, oddly enough, the Midgardian science was calming.

At least, more calming than war theory. And less graphic.

He was chilling on the training grounds and working on the newfound magic, until the Tesseract came.

“It’s time,” they say moments before a blinding blue light covers Loki.

With the blink of an eye, they’re at a castle’s yard, hiding behind a bush.

“Prevent the war, you know how,” the Tesseract says again.

On the contrary, Loki has no idea where he is and what he has to do.

At least not until a guard passes by, near the bush, their armour bearing Gæirasson's symbol.

They smirk, moving from shadow to shadow and into the castle, where they cast an invisibility spell to navigate without worrying about getting caught.

What you've got in the stable? / We've a lot of starving faithful

In the grand hall, Loki finds the old lord. They're discussing an attack, in which he is the main character, of course. They're to strike tomorrow evening.

Loki has to hold himself not to laugh. Instead, they sit and wait. Wait until Gæirasson ends the council and heads to their bedroom. And Loki follows. Until the corridors make a room, with six doors to navigate through.

It would be such a shame if they suddenly closed shut, locking the two foes inside.

The old fool chuckles. "I know you're here, Frost Giant. I can smell your people's blood," he looks around.

Loki chuckles back and drops the spell, standing right in front of the man.

"Is it this? Or do your aged joins hurt with the cold?" he titles his head, showing his signature mischievous smile.

"Why are you here? To negotiate? We've been past this part," they growl. Loki doesn't break the smirk, but lets a glow pass their eyes. Green, but with icy blue undertones, and a pitch black shadow.

"No. We are here to talk about monsters. For, as you can smell, the blood of my siblings who you slained are screeching for it"

That looks tasty / that looks plenty / this is hungry work

"Do you know anything of my people's belief regarding the Norns?" Loki asks, circling around the man like a predator waiting to strike.

"Why should I care about the opinions of monsters?" he spits, trying to mimic the glare.

"Oh, because it's interesting. We believe in the norns, like you do. But they don't create the strings, they knit them. Twisting and turning and combining and separating people, and letting us choose where to go on each knot. Fascinating. Oddly enough, the mortals have a similar way of thinking, at least the ones who are closer to science. They name it possibilities, and write it with numbers,

"Let me give you an example. There's a fifty percent possibility that I will continue this conversation with my normal face," Loki speaks, letting the Æsir glamour fade and rising to his Jötunn height. "But I won't choose this path because your ceilings are low and I would have to bend my neck," they continue, after walking a few steps and letting their horns scratch the ceiling. The glamour appears again, bringing him to his Æsir skin.

"And there's always the possibility that you die, because of your old age and the stress of the war you created. And the only reason people remember you is as an example of why not to piss me off," he grins, the black ropes tangling around his wrists.

"And the possibility, in Midgardian terms, is one hundred percent," they leap closer and grab the old man by his collar, staring right into the fear in his eyes.

"I have a message for my people in Hel, deliver it when you see them. Tell them to rip this old cunt apart, yet keep one piece for me for when I arrive," he spits, watching as the ropes tangle around their throat and mummify them in front of his eyes, making the fear and anger burn out.

They throw the corpse on the floor and open the doors as the Tesseract casts another light, revealing Loki's chambers as it fades away.

"You shouldn't have scratched the ceiling with your horns," they say, worried.

"And? I laughed at the face of one old fool already, what's a second one? And if I am to join my family, let at least my exit from the hypocrites be dramatic," he laughs, ready for the guards to storm in and take him to the dungeons.

[amyltia]

From Jo and Laurie to Rey and Ben : a story of heroines in denial

1. Laurie and Jo : if you don’t acknoweldge it, it won’t happen

Talking with @fairychamber I came to think about the scene in Little Women, between Jo and Laurie on the sofa with Laurie flirting with Jo and Jo using the rough pillow as a shield. I love this scene and I realized it hasn't been much adaptated in movies. I think the mini serie has it but not exactly (I'm not sure).

But I think this scene is a great scene for Jo and Laurie, a great summary and metaphor of their relationship. Jo using the pillow to reject him with subtlety and by doing so refusing to acknowledge that he IS flirting with her. Because as long as she doesn't reject him directly,  there is no acknowledgement, no commitment. The more I think about it the more I love the tension of this scene (I'd love to find more characters dynamics or scenes like that).

She can deny and doesn’t have to admit that their relationship has changed and that Laurie is flirting with her. That’s why she is so afraid of him proposing because if he does she can’t delay and deny it anymore, she’d have to face it.

In the pillow scene, she is using a pillow to keep him away, she is using a family convention (this pillow means no one goes near Jo) but Laurie who knows it doesn’t respect it, he transgresses that family convention. And he has to, in order to step up and alter his relationship with Jo. He wants to go beyond family innocent and childish love so he oversteps the conventions and try to give their relation a new direction.

There is a lot if indirect communication : Laurie’s flirt is an indirect and implicit communication and Jo’s use of the pillow is full on implicit. Jo’s strategy is to remain on the level of the pillow’s implicit so she never has to reach the flirtatious implicite, because as long as she doesn’t acknoweldge it, it won’t happen. 

N.B. I saw a video on how similar the proposal scenes in Little women of Jo and Laurie and the mini serie Anne of Green Gables with Megan Follows between Anne and Gilbert. Both heroines saw it coming but by fear of losing their current relationship and because they still hadn’t find themselves yet (Jo still felt like she didn’t fit in and Anne wanted to live her dreams and confront her illusions of a fanciful and romantic life) - and for many other reasons, like the fact that Jo don’t love Laurie and Anne didn’t know she loved Gilbert at that moment. They need to grow and are not ready yet. Like any fairy tale, the heroine has to grow before she is ready for love (Bruno Bettelhein on The Uses of enchantment sees the sleeps in Sleeping beauty and Snow white for exemple as a metaphor of the heroine hiding from love and maturity until she is ready).

This fear of confronting a romantic relationship heavily reminds me of Rey from Star wars.

2. Rey and Ben :  Ben scarier than Kylo ? Or Rey facing love/hate

Actually it’s the same with Rey and Ben : as long as she can deny it she doesn’t have to face it. That’s what the TLJ novelization suggests by :

“He advanced on Rey, the ignited lightsaber held loosely in one hand. But there was no threat in his approach. Somehow, suddenly, that scared her even more.” - TLJ novelization

I read it a few months ago, HOW DID I MISS how reylo it is ?

This is set right after the throne room scene, Rey and Kylo have fought the Praetorian guards, and are left by themselves. Kylo walks towards Rey, and then comes this quote.

In the context of only TLJ and TFA, it is still very reylo, because it assumes in a very paradoxal way that Rey is more afraid of a harmless Kylo than of a threating one, that she is more scared by Ben than by Kylo. Why ? Of course because she is more afraid of love, of her and Ben’s feelings, and because letting her rage go at Kylo, only fighting is much more easier for her.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it ?....like their whole dynamic in TROS ?

YES. Now in the context of TROS, this quote from the TLJ novel sheds light on TROS and specificaly on TROS’s Rey. I was confused by TROS’s Rey at first, and for a long time, but I like to think that this quote actually sums up her behaviour toward Ben. Each of their encounter is Ben trying to speak to her and Rey starting a fight. (Many great metas explain it very well)  

The TROS novelization is very useful too : especially the Pasaana scene where Kylo’s ship go straight towards Rey and she destroys it, almost killing him. I was wondering : did they really try to kill each other ? what were they, each of them, thinking ? The novel is very interesting on this point :

“Rey turned off her lightsaber. She hoped he was dead. No, she didn’t. She hoped...she didn’t know what she hoped.” - TROS novelization

Unlike fairy tale maiden, Rey can’t get into a protective and regressive sleep to protect herself from an adult relationship she is not yet ready for. She is confused : she wants him dead and away so she would be safe, but ....she doesn’t really of course. She is forced to face it more that she is ready for, thus the confused feelings and intentions. That’s probably how Sleeping beauty or Snow white would feel if they couldn’t stay away from the difficulty the prince is presenting to them : would they be running away but still coming back to the ball every evening like Cinderella ?

3. The non-magical form of the sleep in fairy tales : denial

So Rey’s character relies on another form of hibernation or sleep : in TROS she is overly violent. She pushs Ben away and she can because he is still Kylo Ren but also she can’t because except on Pasaana he usually just want to talk...Of course, like the TLJ novelization shows, him talking is much more scary for Rey than fighting him. Because if he talks to her he does get to her, he reaches her. And as many great metas on tumblr have said, she is much more afraid of this intimacy. While she tries to put herself into hibernation, he keeps trying to get to her. The only solution left is to maintain a distance and forge a wall of violence : this is Rey’s form of “Jo’s rough pillow”.

For those two characters, Rey and Jo, who can’t put themselves into a magical and protective sleep, not listening is the best way to stay away. Jo and Rey prevent Ben and Laurie to say their love and to reach to them, because they refuse to listen. If they don’t listen, they can’t be reached : this way they refuse to acknowledge the boys declaration of love. They build a wall (of violence to interrumpt the communication like Rey, or a physical and symbolical wall made of a pillow full of implicit familial codes like Jo) to mimic the magic sleep. And it works (but only for a time in both cases) because both Rey and Jo deviate the communication as Ben and Laurie try to start it :

Ben wants to talk as a neutral party (not ally not enemy) / Laurie flirts

Rey remains on the enemy relation / Jo uses indirect familial codes to keep him away (but it works less)

It’s about who will control the direction the conversation is taking : Rey wins because they end up fighting and not talking, but Jo doesn’t because Laurie simply ignores the indirect codes. Ben accepts to stop talking but Laurie doesn’t and Jo can’t make him stop because it would mean admitting that he is flirting. It’s important to notice that Ben is less direct that Laurie, even he doesn’t directly speaks or acts in a flirty way, he is only stage 1 : not being mortal enemies. Laurie is already stage 2 (appreciating each others, being friends) and tries to reach stage 3 (romantic relationship), so he can allow himself to be more directly flirtatious.

Why did it work less with Jo ? When we think about it, what Jo really does is using a family convention to stop a flirt, so in the end, she already has lost because Laurie makes her transpose something family-related to react to something love-related. Both of them know what the other one is doing, but they mutally agree to pretend like Jo is just acting on a familial basis, even tho they both know that she reacts to a love declaration. Just reacting to love is already playing the love game. In this implicit agreement we see the premices of Laurie’s eventual declaration of love : Jo had already lost.

(I’ll add I an annex on how Jo’s attitude is half-denial because Laurie and her knows she reacted to love, but Rey’s is pure denial because she only answers to Kylo from a ideological divisons perspective and pretends like she doesn’t even see the implicit of his speeches.)

[hockeysweetheart]

Hunger Games Characters I picture in Disney  Characters. 

Katniss  I Put her with Merida ( Brave) Belle ( BATB)  Meg ( Hurcules) Elsa (Frozen). 

Why Merida. Well shes good with the bow and arrow ( I actually haven’t seen Brave fully so I don’t know much about her). 

Belle. Both are strong willed women Willing to do anything for family.  Both have no choice but to stay where they are “captured” both are like if I have a will to live through this I’m not gonna go down without a fight. Both have 2 men after their hearts, Both know how to survive on their own if needed.   She learned to fall in love with a beast. 

Meg.  This is more the love side  for Katniss. The Song I wont say I’m in love is basically Katniss’s theme song. Like she wont admit it she loves Peeta but girl we all know.. 

Elsa. In a way Katniss did shut out Prim to protect her. She didn’t want to hurt her sister strong willed to protect her sister at all cost.  Plus I know Cinna is to credit for this but her mockingjay outfit *Chefs kiss* plus they wear their hair the same. 

Peeta.  Hercules  Kristoff ( Frozen) Kovu ( Lion King 2)  The Beast (BATB)

Hercules he’s strong. But he literally gave up everything for love. Which is so Peeta. 

Kristoff. Okay this one both  have such a charm that attracts everyone. Tho both have obessions and flaws So they are a bit of fixer uppers.  But both are somewhat accpecting to the fact  I will wait until you make your choice. Both have kind and sweet hearts.  Both are kultzy but pull it off like a champ.  ( And Katniss didn’t fall in love with a man she just met. They knew each other since the age of 5) But Never truely met until the games. 

Kovu. Hes the sexiest damn thing. In Disney characters I freaking swear  He has a way with his words. Charming.  Loyal tho. He is willing to go against his families ( whos kinda a bunch of ya know bad guys) for Love and whats right. So Peeta. 

The Beast. This is Peeta in Hijacked Form ( Some parts). Besides the totally Hitting on Belle part. We all know deep down the love he had for Katniss never left. He never stopped loving her.  Not based on how good she looked but who she is.  Plus A Kiss broke the spell.  Also he had a bit of charm in his hijacking but so much anger and Katniss was the only one who could truely break him outta it.  Also I was hoping that He would of said so you came to look at the beast have you. 

Finnick  King Triton ( Little Mermaid)  Maui ( Moana) Flynn Rider ( Tangled) Aladdin. 

Kin g Triton. Well for that  Trident comes in handy.  ( The king is kinda a jerk why are most fathers in disney movies total jerks I’ll never know) But I hope that Finnicks son at least knows what a fork is compaired to a freaking trident ( and doesn’t use it as a hair brush) man that was stupid. Both are basically the big shot of  where they live.  Both  love water live  near or in water... ( What they hell do they eat under the sea ?) 

Maui. Okay Finnick is a bit of a show off a little.  Not his fault hes so damn good looking.  Both have that sarcasm that makes you laugh but your like oh my god please stop. Both have there  if Finnick had a song It would be your welcome. But still so much we never know about them both.  

Flynn Rider.  Okay  well both just have the certain personality that is strangely Alike.  Both know how to fight if needed. Both  are like well the ladies are okay but not intrested until they find the one..  Both have their charm.  ( Plus I love Flynn rider). 

Aladdin. We know that Finnick has a huge part of him he never opened up. Before when he spilled what the real price to winning is. That was not everything. There is a part that  Beetee said If you knew Finnick it’s amazing he’s still with us at all. So hes been though it.  

Johanna  Bo Peep ( Toy Story 4)  Mulan  and Mulans Grand mother ( Mulan) Tiana (Princess and the Frog) 

Bo Peep. From the first toy story to the 4th one Bo peep has changed a lot. ( Kinda like Johanna from  after her games to who we met in Catching fire) Tho a lot of them is still there that hasn’t changed. But their will to fight. and that they dont take BS as an answer.  That they  both may look weak but inside them so much more then that. ( I was shocked to see Bo Peep kinda like Johanna in toy story 4). Not scared of a little fight and blood.  Frankly I’d be worried that they both would try to kill someone in their sleep.

Mulan. I love in movies where the weakest person goes to the strongest like that. Totally Johanna.  And they are the girl worth fighting for I see more of her in Johanna then Katniss because  Johanna went from faking being weak to deadly like that. Where as katniss she didn’t hide it at all really. Plus if this wasn’t a disney movie i would of love to say what Mulan would of said  when they found out shes a girl really.  But both are bad ass females. Who really had no choice to go into this ( Mulan had to save her father Johanna got picked to be in the games) 

Mulans Grandmother ( I didn’t realize I did this) But I Johanna’s humor she says what she wants and no damage. They don’t ruin the moment they make the moment 100 times better. 

Tiana. She was totally fine not finding love ( But its disney she did) I really like her will to not give up no matter how many changes are thrown at you.  and  tolerting her best friend but I freaking love Charlotte She is the one who knows what to say in a moment where no one else would understand basically the girl talk that Katniss hates but we all have it in us. 

Prim  Repunzel ( Tangled) Baymax ( Big Hero 6)  Anna ( Frozen) 

Lets Ignore the fact that I brought up 2 of these lovers before to other characters 

Repunzel  The healing part Prim has it is in her born with it.  and she has a nack of many talents. And In a way is locked up in District 12 ( But Protected by her sister) 

Baymax He is the cutest thing out there. Caring knowing when you need a hand ( Like katniss)    a healer  ( I might of went out to look for the healer of disney).  Not much of a fighter ( But I swear if you did what  Hiro did if you did that to prim oh my god the fight in her but the healing will always be apart of her) 

Anna. Okay I basically but Anna here because she is Elsa’s sister. Simlar hair styles but.. Both are willing to do anything for each other.  Prim had a knack to see if the fence was on to see if Katniss was gonna be late coming back from hunting. Both are gental who wont hurt a fly (Unless your almost husband is a total jerk)   

Effie Charlotte ( Princess and the Frog) Dory (Finding Nemo )  Yzma ( The emperors  New Groove) 

Charlotte. Oh my god If this isn’t effie I have no clue what is. She  does stuff to get a better district. But then Truely cares about her district 12 tributes 74th Games. She would almost do anything in her power to make them on time and for her victors.  

Dory Okay Effie is a bit clueless in her own little world.  Telling them about the pearls lol and whitty. Effie doesn’t have short term memory loss she has I’ve been living in the capitol and this is what I know. 

Yzma This is the effie we dont wanna see Frankly I am happy we didn’t see this side of her. It’s the one who gets really pissed off I’m sure it would be something else tho to see. 

Cinna.  Fairy God mother (Cinderella) Genie ( Aladdin)  Nick ( Zootopia) 

Fairy God mother. Cinnas out fits are like  bibbidi bobbidi boo I make an awesome outfit for you. Also He takes good care of Katniss.(  Like sent from up above) On her side beyond his end.  A bit of a rebel but over all a really good guy 

Genie. Cinna is like the Genie without 3 wishes.  But he is there and supports Katniss fully.  And just  helps her out when se needs it.  and Is a friend in Katniss. Basically the one  she trusts first and fully, 

Nick  Okay this is an odd one But he  rebeled from his bad guy character to help Judy ( Police officer) with a crime.  Cinna helped out katniss and pretty much a rebel to go beyond to help her. To show shes the symbol of this war... To show that she  should go a head fight for it all its worth. Plus I got your back making your costumes not only good looking but you wont have to worry about death yet your costumes prevent that. 

Haymitch.  Mushu ( Mulan) Lumiere ( BATB)  Crush (Finding Nemo) 

Mushu He is that reality check that Katniss and Peeta needed but also will do almost anything to protect them ( Even lying for there own good)  But also oh my lordy funny. 

Lumiere. It’s his carefree side where Katniss shot an apple at the gamemakers and just like oh well. That happened... Plus not playing by the capitol rules and  He is just like a good mentor to Katniss and Peeta hell the best. He really wants them to try to win this thing.  

Crush. Okay that turtle was the most stoned turtle I’ve met. To this day. And as for Disney Characters this might not be the most drunk but It’s one i can Find. 

Gale Robin Hood  Hans ( Frozen) Gaston ( BATB) 

Robin hood Umm he shoots I think he hunts thats about it

 Hans  Not only did he confuse Anna for a love  But we see his true colours too. I mean they were not even friends first but still. Like so Gale. 

Gaston.  He’s a hunter after his girl Katniss ( But shes already taken) Really wanted her once she was gone  also is strangly after Katniss and only katniss ( when shes around) when he has plenty of takers. 

Okay I realized this is very long. So these are the last picture. 

Snow.  Evil Witch ( Snow white) Scar ( Lion King) 

Evil  both are totally okay with murder and poison. At least she only poisoned Snow white enough to put her in a coma. 

Scar. If you read the newest  Hunger Games book ya know.  What snow did to a certain someone...  And like wont take the blame but he will tho at the same time 

Coin  Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)  Mother Gothal ( Tangled) 

Maleficent I am deeply scared of her just saying and Coin as well

Mother Gothal. Totally Coin.  They both dont want there golden Flower to leave protection  if it was really up to Coin she would never let Katniss go. But she had little control over her Frankly Katniss never trusted her at all.   But like Mother Gothal we all knew she was bad going in but   Coin first time Reading I said I bet you will be bad lol. 

Annie Hei hei (Moana) Jane ( Tarzan) 

Hei Hei ( Sorry Annie ) But kinda crazy.  Kinda out of it...  

Jane I have no idea why but I see this crazy girl from 4 Jane. Just going a bit crazy at everything like Jane 

Wiress Clogsworth ( BATB) Okay simple very smart  but Kinda out there and  has a thing for clocks 

Mags (Grandma from Moana) A little crazy but alright. I mean better then alright down right awesome. 

Beetee Wall’e I have actually  never seen this movie but I am like hell robot  Beetee.

Careers Bruce and the other sharks (Finding Nemo)  Scary yet the biggest idiots on the planet. Sure they get the best of best  as districts go but damn who doesn’t know how to climb a tree or knowlage to idk chop it down burn it down.. 

The Claw 

Not Sure who this is ( Monters inc) I just thought Plutarch at Katniss’s propo attemps lol.

Caesar Flickerman  Kuzco ( Emperors new groove)  If this isn’t him I have no idea what is. Total Kuzco vibes the but also somewhat caring but most of the interviews is how he does.  Its beauty and its grace its Caesers face. But He does try to help out to the best of his ability. 

Boggs Mattias. Frozen 2  Basically he actually cares for Katniss doesn’t want to see harm done to her. A  rebel against his leader. ( I think he would of honestly be proud of Katniss for Killing Coin). But Only hopes for the best. 

Cato Prince Eric ( Little mermaid)  No offence but  holy crap hes an idiot lol  ( Eric I mean).  Cato is smart but clueless.  If he beileved that 2 could win. ( I honestly have no idea why I chose him for Cato) 

Katniss’s Mother ( Iduna) Frozen ( Anna and Elsas mother). Yeah  Mrs Everdeen did leave her daughters to fend for themselfs but bits of her came back to life every day.  and if she had a choice she would of died with her husband but she is the strongest damn person because she could of  died if she wanted to but she stayed for her daughters sakes. I would like to think Iduna would of done the same if she had that chance.

Game Makers  (More monster inc dudes_ This is their faces when Katniss blew up the arena)

Madge Moana. Okay I will admit stange but Madge is pretty bad ass like Moana tho she doesn’t leave she is very family is everything quiet. But not a sas for a village leaders daughter Moana isn’t bad at all. I could see her being the Madge we don’t get to see. 

[arty-e]

Can you explain your Cards series a little? I’ve tried to figure it out but I keep getting confused, sorry if you’ve already done this.

Sure I’d love toe explain it. To be fair on you I don’t post consistently or lot about it on here and a lot of the info I do post is quite disjointed. I kind of want to make a comic or webtoon at some point so I’m trying to leave out some info. But right now I’ll just do a general explanation.

So Cards is the names of the ‘series’ alongside the name of the World itself. The world is made up of five kingdoms Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs and lastly Jokers. And each kingdom is based off different combinations of cultural (also everyone is integrated (no racism) and no homophobia and tranphobia because I want this to be escapism for people who deal with that shit day to day). Hearts is the combination of the US and India (India is the main one tho), Spades UK and Spain (it’s an island with big ol’ navy), Diamonds France and Russia (specifically pre-revolutionary), Clubs China and Japan (more countryside based cultural and not really their cities). Each kingdom also has a patron fiery or fae as they are known in this world. All the fae are whorshipped but the individual fae have their own teachings that sometimes leads to friendly debates about ideology. With the five Fae there is also a sixth who makes sure Cards is balanced and not too chaotic.

Now for another main point about this world is Marks. They’re a magic symbol on someone’s body (no one has it in the same it’s like a fingerprint) that shows their Class and Nations symbol. Mahira for example is a Heart Royal so her mark is a bright red Heart while Alvis (at the beginning of his story) is Heart Noble so has a pale pink Heart. There are three classes, Royals (king, queen, jack and ace) and the Nobles or also known as Numbers (number cards) their power is ranked from 10 as highest and 2 lowest. And the rest of the people that make up the kingdom are the Commons. Commons have a black symbol rather a coloured one. Since marks are magic they can always change colour but they cannot change shape ever.

So for a quick explanintion this series is kind divided in two. To be more specific two generations. Gen 1 is focused more Alvis and Mahira and how they ended up together while also setting up the world. So I’m this part a war is going on I’ve named the Deck War, it’s pretty much the equivalent of a world wars but since Cards only has five kingdoms and time period is based off of the 1700s it’s not as big and very lacking in guns (I’ve made it a point not to have guns in this part) the war is mostly Hearts ♥️ V Diamonds ♦️ but Diamonds has their ally Clubs joining in. The story mostly focuses on the Hearts side.

The second part of focused on Mercury (gen 2) the younger son of Mahira and Alvis. This is after the war and after a very big treaty was signed called the Deck Treaty where only Hearts, Spades, Diamonds and Clubs have signed it (this is my way of saying fuck you Treaty of Versailles you should have been nicer bitch). Mercury gets into some unfortunate shenanigans and ends up becoming a serial killer and is sent away to an asylum in Spades rather than being executed for being a murderer. He however gets out after three years of pretty much just torture with the help of Masou the patron Fae of Hearts, literal god. As they are running away they pick up a girl called Valerie who insists this is just like her books and is convinced she’s a protagonist. So more shenanigans go on with a lot of high stakes and mistakes.

Soooo I can’t really call this a quick summary but there is certainly a lot more to it but I don’t want to write a novel on here haha I don’t think I’d be too popular. But thank you for asking about this ‘series’ and my OCs! I really love talking about them! :)

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issue 10

double digits baybe

its roller! he....sexy

well that whole registration deal sure doesn't seem like its a ploy to identify the main forces of the decepticon revolution or anything! 

chromedome using rungs model ships to tell his story...omg

the ironic billboard hvbhjsdkfbjdjgfkl

prowl givin off those rancid bbc sherlock vibes lmao

hrk....prowl and cd have such an interesting and tragic relationship...aughhhh

RED ALERT!!! I forgot he was in the flashback bc his present self is busy being...headless....

OHH SHIT so they uncover the decepticon symbol on the wall using ultraviolet light, and we also get shown the back of red alert’s head, with some mnemosurgery marks...which can only be seen under ultraviolet light. CLEVER

I literally only noticed that this time lmao I don't think I picked up on it even on my 2nd readthru....poor red alert geez, no wonder he’s so untrusting 

poor cyclonus, he literally had nothing to do w/this, meanwhile rodimus is blaming him when the Real reason this happened to red alert is all the overlord business, which we know rodimus’s role in....(well, later)

god I love this entire interaction between cyclonus and drift, I'm so glad we got it. bc like, cyclonus is basically everything drift is trying so hard to be - cool stoic religious sword guy who used to be a bad guy, except cyclonus is still firmly not an autobot, while drift is hardcore leaning into being an autobot in an attempt to get people to forget that whole ‘murderous decepticon’ thing

and drift seems like the type of guy who cares The Most about how he’s perceived by the people around him, but he tries to act like he doesn't care, even tho its pretty obvious he does. cyclonus, meanwhile, ACTUALLY doesn't care about what people think of him, and that probably irritates drift, along w/everything else cyclonus has going on 

cyclonus is so iconic...he just smacks the sword out of drifts hand like ‘yeah we’re not doing this.’ 

aaand then he just pins drift down effortlessly...I feel kinda bad for drift cause he’s trying so hard but also, cyclonus is such an icon

also I love the way milne draws cyclonus. sexy skull guy....

godddd cyclonus’s little speech is so fucking cool...cyclonus is seriously just so cool and epic js

oooh and first aid has that medic droid that was spying on red alert...

prowls never been in a fight oof I forgot abt that

aaand there's orion pax supercop lmao

tailgate being so wow’d by pax’s coolness is adorable 

op sure loves the violence huh bvfjhsdfgbdjhkf

I feel like all of shadowplay just goes to show that sometimes you CANT change the structure of a system from the inside - which is, iirc, what op is trying to do, and the reason he’s still a cop under the senate even though he doesn’t agree with them - but like, sometimes you just gotta burn that shit to the ground and start over, and op clearly doesn't realize that....

oh the irony of prowl saying ‘I hope I never end up as jaded and cynical as you’ to op

oof,, whirl is right...its clear prowl and cd care abt each other a lot, in their own weird awkward way...oof ouch

also poor whirl, jesus, literally everyone seems to blame him for turning megatron violent as if that's all on whirl and not 1) meagtron’s own actions and decisions, and 2) just another example of how fucked up the system was, taking in account whirls whole backstory about how he was forced into being a dirty cop and told to kill megatron but ended up just beating him up....like, if it wasn't whirl it would've been someone else beating up megs, and the shift to violence seemed inevitable given the state of society, whirl’s assault of megs just happened to be the straw that broke the pacifist’s back 

geeez and the fact that whirl saved his 1 phone call to warn pax that the senator was in danger, despite the fact that whirl was also being beat to hell by other prisoners and apparently being denied medical treatment...yikes. also the fact that pax just leaves whirl there (iirc?) after whirl gave them invaluble information

ah, the driving power of wanting revenge. also god I'm sad abt whirl :( when he says he just wants his hands back...fucking ouch

oooh its skids! baby skids!! and a certain somebody next to him....

I love seeing cd and prowl talk about what they think is coming, right before yknow, a 4 million yr long civil war. feels like how talking about 2020 in january/febuary turned out lmao 

they keep saying clampdown and it reminds me too much of quarantine, which I've been stuck in for weeks now bc I have covid, and oh my god who knew sitting inside with nothing to do for like 3 weeks was so boring. jesus. at least in early 2020 quarantine it was warm enough to go outside, mostly...whatever, I'm doing this liveblog to entertain myself while I waste away inside and mtmte slaps so at least this is a good time

anyways, back on track. cd and prowl have their big tragic romance thing going on, and rewind is not into it, understandably

OH SHIT ITS TREPAN i forgot he was in this

also his name is kinda hilarious to me bc ‘trepan’ refers to ‘trepanation,’ which was the old-timey “””””medical””””” act of drilling holes in your skull to like, idk, let out the ghosts or something, you know how medicine was back then, you kinda just made shit up as you went along. anyways, that's a hilariously on-the-nose name for this dude, and makes anyone who recognizes his name go ‘oh hey you’re sketchy as hell,’ a full 3 seconds before trepan acts sketchy as hell in-story to let anyone who doesn't know about obscure historical alternative medicine in on it 

YOU WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING, WERE YOU

lmao this dude rlly tried to act like he had ‘cleanse and control’ tatted bc he was an janitor....bruh

oh hey look its pious maximus, that guy who disappeared months ago after saying some stuff the senate didn't like! well, he certainly doesn't look like he’s having a good time

I'm fascinated by the fact that cd saw this whole state-run brainwashing clinic thing and ended up joining up later

also the fact that prowl saw All That and was like ‘idek if the law is being broken rn tbh’ liiiiike, dude, if the law isn't being broken when there's state-sponsored mass brainwashing going on, don't you think that's a pretty good indicator that the laws in place are pretty bad???? maybe????

ngl the first time I read this I was already pretty confused, and the senator changing his looks off-page Really did not help 

ooh its all comin together...this shit is JUICY 

‘we have to steal the matrix’ I FUCKGIN LOVE IT LMAO NATIONAL TREASURE LOOKIN

so the plot has thickened, like, a lot. and now we’re doin a HEIST! nice

[chromeskiesstuff]

The Killing of Three Thousand Crows Recap EP 1 三千鸦杀

This drama has been a huge blast - I am 8 EPs in and the plot, characters are wonderful and refreshing. The main leads are a hoot themselves, being very hilarious and have their own unique personalities. Props to CGI and costume theme who does their best to make it realistic while in budget, in particularly the costumes feel so natural and pretty.

So just a brief introduction:

This is a Xianxia adaptation from novel of the same name. Xianxia = it involves immortals. Our heroine, Yan Yan, or with her adult/real name Qin Chuan (覃川) is a mortal princess of her country and it has been destroyed by the demon people. Her people are slain and she vowed to kill off each and every demon people to bring peace to her people.

The Male Lead is Jiu Yun (九云), a powerful young immortal who has a crush on her, and he has seen through her ten lives/ previous reincarnation.

We started off with our male lead, Jiu Yun and his friend. His friend ponders why he is sharing with him a drawing by his Shifu/Master and what is it about.

He replied that this was about a war where drums are beating, and bones anre piling up. He also said he didn’t understand the meaning of the drawing for thousand years.

The cinematography is pretty amazing and the narration done by Zhen Ye Cheng (yes our Male lead does his own dubbing along with Zhao Luo Si) is nothing short of haunting. The sequence is written in a semi-classical format, and its a thing of beauty when it combines with great cinematography, great colour combinations, great symbolism (eg drums that reinvigorate a dying party) , great prose and great narration. Look at her red robes flowing in harsh winter while hitting the drums. Maybe I should translate this part later :D

His friend retorted. “It’s normal for mortals to be in war”. He replied "I finally met her yesterday. I have been searching for her for a thousand years” while the screen switch to her facing her enemies alone. 

I presume she didn’t survive. Based on some notes on the novel this was her past life. Anyway I really dig these prologues as of late as its normally shot wonderfully and in a simplistic manner + introduce the whole thing.

The scene switched to an enormous paper bird flying down to a city.

I love the design of the paper bird. Its delicate. Can I have one for a Mercedes?

Our heroine slept at class, slacking off  from learning paper folding spells which is a secret skill of Dali royalty. He also scold her that she have already learn for a year but she knew nothing.Her Shifu challenges her to make ten paper crane. 

She could fight with Bai Qian with tardiness though what Bai Qian did is even more crayy

She defended herself that paper folding spells emphasize on making it freely/casually. Under her shifu threat, she back off, saying she can do it anyway, but instead she made a frog.

The sequence is amazing btw. The CGI is really on point here :D

The paper container too is delightfully designed. Along with the sunscreen panels at the background

The set design and the headdress. Its amazing. Look at the Peach blossom background :D. And I enjoyed her acting a lot. She displays the right amount of mischievousness here :D

Our princess met with her brother and to cheer her up,  her brother shows her a painting he obtained. She said the painting is fine but not worth two to three thousand coins. 

Yeap. It looks like regular drawing even from my POV. But I hope whoever drawing this is not offended T_T (based on TMOPB the artist will normally on set whenever their artwork is shown)

He asks her to look at it carefully. Soon the garden turns into winter, and winter plum blossom starts blooming, and sometime later it turns back to normal. She excitedly asks him where he obtains the painting. He told her he obtained it from the famed painter, Gongzi Qi (公子齐).

Cue hilarity ensured of Gongzi Qi being synonymous with celebrity, full-on with fans dying to have his artwork and to see him,  and her brother the prince being very excited to obtain one. While looking for the artist, a scroll appears on his hand and he looks both happy and confused.

Here’s how he describes Gongzi Qi:

Gongzi Qi, he was rumoured to be extremely handsome, with one of the kind drawing skills. He was rumoured to apply rare immortal spells to his artwork.

She muses that man is too proud. And if Gonzi Qi said his art skills are his second-best skill, then his music skills should be out of the world. Her brother said he wrote a song titled East Wind Peach Blossom Flower .. nope it's half a song not a full song (WTF XD) and he refuses to write the other half, saying that no dancer will be able to dance this song (I see you Gongzi Qi, you are tempting her). Indeed our princess is up to the challenge and asks her brother to request him to finish the song so she can dance to it.

The siblings then visit their cousin, where her brother advises her not to be rude. Apparently their aunt and cousin are attending their mom’s 40th birthday celebration.

After greetings and praises, the two women throwing barbs at each other, we know that Xuan Zhu (玄珠，the cousin) recently start to learn immortal skills under a mysterious teacher. Their barbs become a quarrel, causing their companions to try to rein them in. Yan Yan excuses herself. The quarrel continues as both are tugging a purple handkerchief. 

A man came in. Yan Yan seems to be jealous that this guy (Zuo Zi Chen, 左紫辰) seems to come here to visit Xuan Zhu. He clarifies that he is here on behalf of his father to see her cousins. She instantly brightens up and let him go. 

OK, first crush? And guy seems to be interested.

At the court, the King seems to be really worried about Tian Yuan, as they have usurped three countries around Dali. He is also worried as his prime minister Zuo (Zi Chen dad) applies for retirement at this time due to health. He announces that he will pay a visit to Prime Minister Zuo.

Our Prime Minister seems quite healthy (healthier than the king!!) and performs some ritual that's clearly demonic.

This is performed in front of a satan like figure. That's demonic even in Taoist book right?

Our prince got the sheet music, but with a bet from Gongzi Qi: She must be able to perform it, else he will make her a laughing stock. While visiting the prime minister, she took the opportunity to visit Zi Chen. She blocks him from visiting the king. Instead, she wants him to ask him something on the new music sheet she obtained since he is extremely good with music.

uwuuw the music sheets are so pretty

Zi Chen was amazed since he never saw such complicated tunes. There is a catch though. The verse she pointed out is rather bloody and will cause the audience and the performer to feel very sad, totally inappropriate for a birthday celebration. He answers the way to go is to change the tunes from a sad tone to a happy one.

Girl is clearly enamored with him and his skills. He turned around and ask whether his modified tunes sounds right. She thinks it's great. And she gifted him a hairpin, helping him to wear the new hairpin. She finishes pining the hairpin and touches his face. He reciprocates by grabbing her hand tenderly

OMG I must say this scene is so well done. Very tender, and little words need to be said.

After she left, his father looks for him. He looks anything but friendly. He asks whether he knew the reason the king came. Oh gosh, the prince is way too naive. His father is clearly plotting about something. But he is a young man in the midst of meeting his first love, maybe that's why he didn't catch on the shenanigans.

The Princess is totally unaware of the plot tho, she happily shares her joy with her maid, Aman and hoping for the day Zi Chen will marry her. She also declares that she will be able to conquer the tough music sheets and it will prove Zi Chen's musicality is superior to Gongzi Qi. 

At night Gongzi Qi visited her, leaving her a note. She wakes up and declared again that she will win their bet. Gongzi Qi hears her in the court garden and leaves with a smile.

It seems like the budget is spent on the prince wardrobe. His gear looks very natural and menacing ha. But the candles deco is totally inferior to TMOPB Ye Hua house. Maybe the Demon People are saving the $ for war?

Yan Yan dance is stellar, she interprets the music sheets beautifully, with peach blossoms,snow and leaves. The audience including her brother, Zi Chen, and Gongzi Qi are amazed.

Oh wow the music is wonderful. It reminds me of TMOPB EP30 Peach blossom scene OST - the warm and sweet feel kinda touch. And the dance is shot beautifully. Although I think some of the dance moves are done by a professional dancer? Not a problem imo since one of the most beautiful performances in cdrama history is choreographed by a dancer.

And YESSSS.... his wardrobe is really on point here and the angles the cinematographer take is really good. He is not your conventionally attractive lead so I understand that some angles will not stand out. Kudos to the production team!

The dance ended and Gongzi Qi was shocked that she changed the ending of his sheet music. HA, SO YOU KNOW SHE IS GONNA PERFORM AT HER MUM’S BIRTHDAY BASH PARTY AND YOU WRITE HER A BLOODY TUNE? lmao he is pissed and serves him right XD. And what's wrong with your bestie XD? He seems to have a tendency to pine after a married woman.

They met Shifu who seems to be their ShiXiong (Elder brother disciple). Shifu reminded Gonzi Qi that since he is an immortal, he shouldn’t involve with mortal matters especially when Yan Yan is still very young. Gongzi Qi asks if he insists on doing it? Shifu replied that her fate has been decided and he shouldn’t go against fate. He seems to accept that decree and he hands over a huge scroll of painting, requesting Shifu to pass it to her.

Note: The reason why Shifu is able to involve is that he owes a debt to the Dali Royal family per the book.

At night the city is being attacked, and Yan Yan wakes up feeling happy and refreshed. She saw the painting scroll, both her and her maid marvelled at the painting and she told her maid that she wants to go outside alone to visit Zi Chan.

Meanwhile, Zi Chan father sent his son away “ For praying in the temple. Do request for glory at Royal Court”. His son wonders as his dad will not need it because he is retiring. His dad replies smoothly that it’s for Zi Chan. Zi Chan wanted to pray for his father’s health, and his father praised him lightly, sending him away. Looks like he is sending him away for safety. 

COMMENTS

I have been waiting for this drama for some time, and luckily they are no longer stuck in broadcasting hell. This EP has a lot to unpack, introducing the background and characters. I feel this EP wonderfully introduces multiple characters while making Yan Yan and Zi Chan characters unique. Yan Yan character is sweet while slightly spoiled, she is still very charming herself, and have all the characteristics of a well-loved high born lady. Zi Chan too stands out as the highly ranked son, with his politeness and his crush with Yan Yan being really subtle. Plot-wise it is interesting and hopefully, the revenge plot won’t be too over the top later. The drama is also not afraid to insert some modern jokes (AHEM CELEBRITY ARTIST) while feeling super natural in doing so.

 The magic spells they introduce are fairly unique too (paper magic) which can be quite handy. The brief introduction of paper cranes and paper frogs are delightful. The costumes are delightful too. One of the difficulties of cdrama production is making costumes natural relative to the period and making it beautiful. I love Zi Chan wardrobe here because he looks great in it while not making him too prince-like. Likewise I like that Gongzi Qi wardrobe are slightly more fancier than a normal immortal /Taoist disciple (YEAH HIS WEIRDASS WAYS) but not that fancy.

I think one of the downsides for this drama is the set production. Some of the sets like the snow scene are totally beautiful, while at some parts its so obvious the wood is made of plastic, or the garden looks too tropical. That being said I understand cdrama fantasy budgets are tight + high likelihood of delayed broadcasting, so these downsides are relatively minor, plus the cinematography team is killing it, so I think in overall any fan of xianxia should watch it.

[theoi-crow]

Can I ask about your religion? I’m catholic but I’m feeling so drawn to Hellenic Paganism but I’m so scared. I don’t want to believe it because I don’t want to go to hell. But I feel something for Hellenism and I’m just confused. I’ve felt something reading about it. It’s so scary to me b/c I do believe in Catholicism. I don’t know what to do with these feelings tho.

Hi! I apologise in advance for how long this answer was but I wanted to be as specific as possible.

You are more than welcomed to ask me about my religion.

This ask was a little hard to answer because I believe in the freedom of allowing anyone to worship whatever faith they want to believe in, but because you are asking me about my religion, I'm assuming you're asking me about what led to me leaving Catholicism for that religion as well.

Before I continue I just want to say that I respect your decision to stay in Catholicism because although it wasn't kind to me due to it's rigid structure and politics, it is a religion others find comfort in, and I would never dream of bashing what others believe in.

Having said that, I would like to talk about what led me to my spiritual divorce from Catholicism when I was once also confused and afraid about the idea of "going to hell."

---------------------------

My childhood:

I grew up in a very poor neighborhood during a time when gang wars, kidnappings and homicides were so rampant that my 5 year old self wondered if I would ever live to see 10. That's when I met my "imaginary friend."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Your ancestors know me as Mars." He replied. My real last name is Roman and it literally translates to "Child of Mars." It has been in my family for so many generations but I didn't make the connection until I got older.

He introduced himself as just a Roman soldier although his uniform looked nothing like the ones my church showed when they did re-enactments.

He taught me how to fight, defend myself, be cautious, assess my surroundings, how to work around a panic attack and basically taught me how to survive.

Back then we didn't have smartphones and the internet wasn't as informative as it is now so I was sheltered from anything that wasn't Catholic, including Ancient Greek things so I wasn't able to identify him which is funny because "Mars" had a very Spartan looking outfit rather than a Roman one. I would often ask about it. "I like it better" was always his reply. I would often introduce him as "my weird looking Roman friend, Mars." I didn't know about the Roman gods Mars, Jupiter, Venus, etc. I just thought he was really into the planet Mars for some reason.

My Catholic upbringing was so sheltered, I was sure I was going to end up being a nun because of how much I studied it and how little I knew about the political history surrounding it.

I was fascinated by Satan and always wondered about the appropriatness of his punishment, for example, if he likes bad things and bad things are in hell, wouldn't he be surrounded by the things he likes? If god punished the wicked by sending them to hell in order to be punished by Satan, wasn't Satan helping god punish the wicked? Or the idea that Mary was not a goddess but was venerated like one.

It never made any sense to me until I started going to school and became friends with people who practiced Buddhism and Hinduism. They told me about reincarnation, an idea which made a lot more sense to me.

The more they told me about their religions, their multiple gods and female gods, the more they made sense to me, so I started researching other religions and bumped into Wicca. (I'm not wiccan but it was the only thing I could find at the time, in the 90s, about female empowerment (because I was tired of the sexism laced in the Bible) in a religious setting without me encroaching in Buddhism and Hinduism)

Wicca made me realize my friend Mars was actually Ares, god of war. The book was so nasty (and I will later learn, very inaccurate) about Ares that he and I ended up having a falling out. I was afraid and wondered if I was going to hell but then I said to myself "it'll only be temporary because then I'll be reincarnated." Reincarnation had officially become part of my personal philosophy.

There was a section in Wicca that talked about religion. It talked about various religions and the history of how Christianity demonized them. So I started reading as much as I could about the history of Christianity and Catholicism outside of the Wicca books that mentioned them. The more I learned about the political structure of Catholicism, the more I could see the gods sprinkled in the religion.

For example: Jesus and Osiris: both born December 25th, both born to Virgins, A star led 3 wise men to both (for Jesus it was the North Star, for Osiris it was the Eastern Star), Both taken to Egypt to escape the wrath of (for Jesus: Herod, for Osiris: Typhon), both taught in a temple as a child, both baptized at 30, both had twelve disciples, both could perform miracles, both walked on water, both raised someone from the dead (Jesus: Lazarus, Osiris: El-Azur-us) both were crucified, buried in a tomb, both were dead for 3 days and both resurrected, both had titles like "The Messiah", "the good shephard", "lamb of god", etc.

Jesus and Dionysus: Both wandered around, both could turn water into wine, both had legions of followers, both were persecuted, both claimed to be the son of God, both called holy child and if you want to get technical with Dionysus being born from a virgin because Jesus being the true son of God implies Mary was with God but technically a virgin because she had never been with an actual human man. By this technicality, Dionysus' mother Semele was also a virgin since she had never been with a human man.

Here's a couple more for Jesus:

Then you have the Christian holidays with Pagan roots and history: (LINK)

Example: Easter has bunnies and eggs because they are the symbols that represent fertility, which was used by the pagans to celebrate the Assyrian and Babalonian goddess Ishtar (pronunciation sounds a lot like Easter). This is why even though in Catholicism Easter is for the resurrection of Christ, there are eggs and bunnies which never made sense to me until I learn about Ishtar.

The reason why there are so many pagan symbols is because Catholicism didn't start until 300-400 years AFTER the death of Jesus. The Roman empire decided it was going to be Christian and in the process it forced the other countries it ruled over to be Christian as well. But because Pagans love their gods, they had to figure out how to sway them so they looked at their gods and holidays and appropriated them.

Because there were other Romans who still loved their gods and wanted to keep them despite the emperor, they created angels saints with ambiguous backgrounds but could do a lot of things that gods could do and we're used as avatars for their gods like Hermes being the messenger of Zeus (the god of gods) and Gabriel being the messenger of God.

The idea of a one true god is also a political tactic that uses fear which works because the human brain has evolved to respond better to fear thanks to evolution. In the beginning, Catholicism acknowledged other religions but claimed their god was the best one, hence when the Bible or prayer says "You will worship no other gods before me" which I always thought was a weird thing the Bible had because how could one worship other gods when there was only one god?

The idea of there only being a "one true god" came during the dark ages where people would accuse each other of being witches and working with the devil. Here is when Christianity started equating pagan gods with demons and devils.

The dark ages and persecutions were SO BRUTAL that fear became a thing synonymous with Catholicism thanks to the Spanish Inquisition that would randomly show up to make sure people were "properly" following the word of the Pope and not worshipping pagan gods now dubbed demons. This is where the idea of "going to hell" came from.

I also didn't like that the Catholic Church would automatically forgive the rich that would give them money and basically buy their way into heaven which was an actual rule and the reason why Martin Luther created the Protestant section of Christianity.

As for wether or not the gods are real, I will only say that for me, they are and possibly for these ex-non-believers who had very specific signs happen to them: PLEASE READ THE NOTES: (LINK)

But changing faiths can get messy because you have to unlearn what you've been taught your whole life. That is layers and layers of it being part of your subconscious and fear is something that was used because there was a lot of bloodshed that came with the politics of the christianization of Europe and the Americas.

If you are interested in Hellenic paganism, nothing is going to happen as far as going to hell goes, but there will be times where your anxiety will flare up. I suggest you learn as much as you can about the history Christianity, Catholicism and the witch trials of Europe in comparison with paganism.

Hell is a human concept evolved from fear tactics and mass hysteria.

The more you learn about Catholicism, the more you'll see that history has shaped it, paganism has shaped it and as long as you do the best to be the best version of yourself you'll be okay.

If it makes you feel better, you can continue to work with Jesus/Mary/Saints and Angels outside the Catholic system. I do it all the time, especially when I want them to take care of my parents who are hardcore Catholics. I celebrate day of the Dead and do Catholic prayers for my grandparents who were also super Catholics when they were alive.

Spirituallity and Religion are a lot more complex than we humans will ever understand.

I hope this helps.

May your heart connect with those who want to help you make a sounds decision about where you plan to take your spiritual journey.

[thevoilinauttheory]

guys its almost 5am

and i am fuckin sleep deprived due to a really early appointment and then working so i’m kicking my anxiety aside and having you deal with my loopy bullshit 

so here have a thing you never asked for but i can never get out of my head and i really really want to share with everyone

my amaurotine/ascian headcanons based on what we know from lore!

under the cut because heckin long and spoilers!

this includes headcanons about: The Convocation; Amaurotine lives, families, and love; as well as the city of Amaurot as a whole.

This is a precursor to the headcanons, so bare with me! If you want to skip straight to the headcanons, just scroll down until the dashed line.

As some people have figured out, or know already, the titles each of the Convocation have been given are named from the Scions of Light in FFXII; each representing an Esper and one of the 13 Western Zodiac signs (I’ll get into that soon).  With that - assuming that all of the Convocation are named from these Scions, we have: Loghrif, the Transcendent; representing Aries. (Paragon of the First, in XIV) Mitron, the Chastiser; representing Taurus. (Paragon of the First, in XIV - We are told that both Mitron and Loghrif are paragons of the First, who were defeated by Ardbert and his friends. In Akadaemia Andyr, a visitor’s guide states that the first Mitron was a great contributor to the creatures of the sea and their creation.) Emet-Selch, Angel of Truth; representing Gemini. (Paragon of the Source, XIV) Pashtarot, Knight-Star; representing Cancer. Fandaniel, the Protector; representing Leo. (It is speculation that Travanchet in 1.0 was this Paragon, as his name was likely an alias. Unfortunately, we do not have much information on him other than that he’s dead.) [An unnamed Scion, represented by Ultima, the High Seraph]; representing Virgo. (My speculation is that this is Elidibus, as the element for this Scion of Light was Holy. When we first meet Elidibus, he comes off as rather “good” wanting nothing more than the balance between light and dark. Why I do not think he would fit the other unnamed Scion, I will explain later.) Halmarut, the Arbiter; representing Libra. (In Akadaemia Andyr, a visitor’s guide mentions that the first Halmarut created the worlds’ first carnivorous plants to keep pests out of their garden, and was an avid landscaper. *However*, their name is spelled “Halmarult” with an L.) Nabriales, the Majestic; representing Scorpio. (Paragon of the Source, XIV. We also heckin obliterated him. He was anything but majestic. Still manages to wipe groups somehow tho.) Igeyorhm, the Martyr; representing Sagittarius. (Paragon of the Source, XIV.) Deudalaphon, the Benevolent; representing Capricorn. Emmerololth, Holy Queen; representing Aquarius. Lahabrea, Abyssal Celebrant; representing Pisces. (Paragon of the Source, XIV. Lahabrea was lauded as a master of creation in the time of Amaurot [despite Emet-Selch being the Architect? I am confused by this, but /shrug]. In Akadaemia Andyr, a research report states that he was the first to look into the creations that were manifested out of fear, and speculated them as such.) [An unnamed Scion, represented by Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts]; this Scion was representing the 13th zodiac sign of Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus is the zodiac sign between Scorpio and Sagittarius, and is regarded as “The Serpent Bearer”. This is highly speculation and in no way lore, however, I believe this Scion was to be represented by Unukalhai - whom gives us our quests for the Warring Triad as well as Bismarck and Ravana EX in Heavensward. He had stated that he was saved from the Thirteenth’s (oh ho, 13th star, 13th scion) demise by Elidibus, and had essentially become an Ascian through transcendence alone. He was to be one of the Thirteenth’s Warriors of Light, however, he was too young to do anything. However, numbers alone don’t do this speculation justice - but rather, the etymology behind Unukalhai’s name. Which is an Arabic name for the star commonly known as Alpha Serpentis, in the constellation Serpens - which intersects the Ophiuchus constellation; hence the name “Serpent Bearer”. 

BUT WAIT. MAX. THERE’S FOURTEEN IN THE CONVOCATION.

That’s correct! Here comes the headcanon train!!

It is highly speculated that the WoL/D in Shadowbringers was to have been this fourteenth member of the convocation - that their spot in the convocation had opened up because they did not believe in Emet-Selch and Lahabrea’s plan to summon Zodiark as a way to save their planet, causing a rift in the convocation. Leading them to rebel after Zodiark’s numerous re-summonings and summoned Hydaelyn to keep the god in check. (Hence why the Ascians would be tempered by Zodiark, and the WoL/D by Hydaelyn). 

But there’s no title for this fourteenth member.

That’s because I believe it’s supposed to be left up to the interpretation of the players! Make your own title! Be who you want to be! Don’t let your dreams be dreams!

Want your title to fit in with the etymology with the others? The Scions of Light’s names are predominantly of Jewish Mythology and Hebrew nomenclature. I can only tell you this based on my very limited knowledge of said names, however, if there’s anyone there more experienced than I, I would love to hear more about it! The suffix of “-el” in Fandaniel’s name (and “-al” in Nabriales) is commonly used in the names of angels. I have also been told that a literal translation of Emet-Selch’s name means “Your Truth” in Hebrew, but I cannot vouch for that (if someone can confirm, that would be great!). [As a side note, I did use a couple translation sites which translate the name to “your terror”, which is honestly, in my opinion, even better. The same with Lahabrea’s name, which was translated to “recover” or “recuperate” in those same sites.]

Another headcanon under this is that the fourteenth member was meant to serve as a mediator. It’s pretty well known that Lahabrea, Elidibus, and Emet-Selch did not like each other in the slightest, and only remained as a group as a means to the end. All three of them have some ties to the WoL/D, and have constantly gotten in their way, and in that regard had brought the three together to try and end them (to no avail, obviously). That’s really pushing it lore wise, but I like to believe that even in their first life, the WoL/D was well known for helping people and bringing together communities.

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Let’s get to the Amaurotine Headcanons!

As we know, Amaurotine’s wear the same clothing as each other - dark robes, a hood, and mask - to symbolize their strength in community rather than focusing on a person’s individuality (think ‘The Giver’ by Lois Lowry; or ‘Anthem’ by Ayn Rand). Here are my headcanons based on this:

Only those of the Convocation would have unique masks and robes, showing their status of power and title. Occasionally, members of the Convocation will humble themselves to the outfits of their citizens; especially if attempting to avoid badgering or awe. (This is why I think a standard Amaurotine model was used in the cutscene after the battle with Hades, because the WoL/D preferred to remain in the same clothes as their people; they did not want to appear unique or above anyone else. It also could just be a placeholder /shrug, who know?) [I’ll get into how this headcanon can be disproved later, and what it could mean.]

An Amaurotine’s mask is a symbol of trust and intimacy. Should an Amaurotine show their face to another, it is usually out of immense trust and love for that other. (Hence why Emet-Selch would show the WoL/D his face, and Elidibus or Lahabrea, did not.)

One would only show their individuality amongst their family and loved ones. Wearing clothes other than the standard robes is only considered taboo if it is done outside, in public, in front of strangers.

There are no penalties for wearing something other than standard issued robes and mask, however, the person in question will be distrusted by the community and not likely to be included in any activities, studies, or even acceptation into society. They will be outcasted in actions only, until they see the error of their ways and conform. They may be questioned by curious few. (Those visiting the city often have a special mask or tag of identity issued to them to show that they are visitors. Same with prospective residents of the city.)

On Amaurotine families and love lives:

We know that children exist, as the Scions and WoL/D are constantly referred to as ‘little ones’ and ‘young ones’; often considered too young to grasp the concept of certain things. Which means birthing exists, which means Amaurotine’s have sexual habits - whether solely for the population of their race or used also in recreation is unknown.

Marriage does not exist in Amaurot. It is considered a trivial event used by those outside of their city to legally bind one to another out of distrust - as Amaurot is a city based completely around trust and community. (We see mentions of children, but no mentions of “my wife” or “my husband”). Marriage is not necessary when one’s trust is placed wholly into another. To ask one to marry you would either be the lowest insult or the highest praise - depending on the person.

Communication is the sole basis of every Amaurotine’s relationship - leaving very little room for mistakes in choosing a partner. 

Gender and sex is not considered when choosing a partner, as when prospects meet there is no way of knowing due to the clothing that they all wear. There are no preferences to gender or sex, when selecting a partner, as everyone is equal - however, should one have a preference when having sex, it is as simple as using their powers of creation to either change themselves, benefit to their partner, or simply just... create a child, if they wish to have one and cannot birth one.

Children are told to embrace their individuality while they can and while they are young. This is a highly debated topic. Some families would prefer their children to fit into society as soon as they can; though others would teach their children the importance of individuality when selecting a prospective job and partner.

On Amaurotine occupations, jobs, and schooling:

Thanks to the Akadaemia, we know that schools exist. The Akadaemia is lauded as an esteemed establishment, requiring not only residency in Amaurot but special recommendations as well to enter.

The Akadaemia is like our Yale or Harvard (for US folks). It is a school that many attempt to get into, and that many fail to do so. Only those who show prowess in specific fields of study as well as debates, are accepted into it. The Akadaemia is presented to children at a young age as a place they wish to attend - so smaller schools for smaller children will have ‘field trips’ to the Akadaemia every once in a while.

Children are taught about their powers of creation when they are old enough to grasp the concept of it. Schools are separated into ‘grades’ based on how well a child has grasped their powers; and later on, based on how well they preform in debates and in field studies. 

Not all who taught about the Akadaemia wish to go there for their studies - as their creative powers may lie in individual fashion, machinery, or even culinary arts. As all creations are to be used by the city as a whole, some wish to excel in other measures.

Occupations do not receive payment in any fashion other than helping others. As students exist, so too do teachers. Those who teach only teach for the sake of helping others grow to their fullest potential. Teachers and students are considered equals in all aspects except when in the classroom. This also goes for those who maintain buildings, work as receptionists, and so on. They simply choose those jobs because they wish to help and feel that they excel in those areas. 

On Amaurotine recreational activities:

The recreational activities we’re shown are through the need and want to debate, as well as create. But there has to be more to it than that, right?

Some Amaurotines excel in the creation of music; and while it’s not a huge scene in Amaurot, there are a great many that like to listen to music while they work or study. Simple devices such as radios and pocket stereos were created so that it was easier for citizens to do as such - as it was shown to increase productivity. Music is also used in personal and individual uses in the home, with activities such as dancing and singing. 

Since lightbulbs seem to have been created, we can only assume that something akin to other electronics have been created for personal use as well - such as televisions. TVs are rarely used as Amaurotines would prefer stimulation through communication via debates. However, for those who find themselves anxious to be around others, they will use TVs to watch others debate. 

Art is a large pastime in Amaurot; as all creations are considered artwork. However, artwork through paintings and architecture are not unheard of. Paintings and personal works of architecture (such as furniture and home layouts) are kept to ones’ self, as a source of individuality for them to keep in their own homes and personal lives. 

On Amaurot as a city and basic Amaurotine lifestyles:

According to various texts, Amaurot existed nearby to an ocean and was generally far away from other countries and cities. In the debate in one of the side quests, they made mention to aiding said countries “overseas”. Amaurot is likely not just the name of the city, but the country as well, and is water-locked - much like a small island.

Since Amaurot is based on community and trust, there is no financial system nor monetary needs. Every resident is given everything they need to survive. Homes are issued based on how many residents there are in a family - and a family is typically referred to as a group of people whom have close ties, not just blood relations. A family could be a group of childhood friends that will not separate, or a couple and their two children. A family’s make up constantly changes, and so it is possible that Amaurotines find themselves moving homes frequently. Thanks to their powers of creation, moving homes is considered an easy and trivial task.

There is little to no crime in Amaurot. Any disagreements are taken out in the form of debates, and there are no need for violent rages or physical harm. Theft is unheard of. Any crime that does find it’s way to Amaurot are usually from visitors that come with no good intent. 

Some Amaurotines would prefer not to have homes inside of the city, and will use the surrounding land to create their own homes that range from extravagant displays of creations to humble homes that blend in with the surroundings. Many students in Phytobiology will have small homes in the little wilderness that remains, and students of Ichthyology will find their homes nearer to the ocean.

Amaurotines are immortal, though only in the sense that they do not die from old age nor do their physiologies change after they are fully grown. However, they can still die from illness and physical harm (such as bleeding out, or trauma). Clinics exist, but they are very few between. Most illnesses and harms are obtained when an Amaurotine visits another country or when visitors come to Amaurot. 

Eating and sleeping are not required for Amaurotines to live, however, they are very popular recreational activities to pass the time. Eating is often used as a pastime to catch up with the day’s activities with friends or loved ones - and thus, restaurants were created as a place for these people to relax. Some tend to create their own meals at home, as well, if they prefer to be in their individual spaces. 

Inviting others to a home is not a common activity, as individual spaces are to be shared with family members and intimate partners. While close friends may visit each other’s homes, you will not see strangers or coworkers invited to homes for anything - even in celebration. 

Celebratory activities are either held in privacy in individual and personal spaces between family members; or more commonly in public so that the city and its citizens can join in the festivities. These events could be anything from a milestone birthday, to a recent birth, to being accepted into the Akadaemia.

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This is a continuation of the headcanon regarding Amaurotine masks - that all have the same masks to cast aside their individuality. However, this can be disproven in the Hades fight with his second form.

As the masks of his collective peoples where he draws his strength from are shown. Since some of the same masks are repeated (honestly, probably due to limitations in the game, but if you want to take it literally:), masks may be used to show a person’s occupation or status in the city - and the masks we see on each Amaurotine model are used as place holders since Emet-Selch cannot remember every mask of every one of those he created. Though that wouldn’t explain why Hythlodaeus, a supposed close friend of Emet-Selch’s, has a standard mask and model. So I believe it’s up to the interpretation of the player, as is everything.

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If you read through all of this, wow! You’re amazing! Dealing with my rantings at so late at night/early in the morning! I really appreciate it!

A lot of these things bothered me to keep to myself and so I just had to share them and I’m so glad that you’ve taken the time to read through them! If you have any more to share, I really want to hear them!