#non-aligned armies

[rhynerd]

In preparation for a round of TAG Deathmatch, I finally painted up the only TAG model I have presently, the Anaconda:

[tyrannuspitch]

re: discussion of anti-imperialism in ragnarok: something i think is pretty striking about t3 in contrast to previous thor films (and avengers 2012) is the total absence of the perspective of any victims of asgardian imperialism.

those three films give us a variety of perspectives, including but not limited to:

jane, a human, as a main character and love interest, and thor beginning to overcome his anti-human prejudice as key to his redemption

jotunheim initially depicted as monsters, but then revealed to be victims, and their demonisation to be part of their victimhood

loki as both victim and perpetrator of imperial violence; a stolen child who was groomed to redirect his self-loathing onto others, now doing exactly that

humanity defending against invasion as protagonists and (in the avengers) the majority of the cast

malekith as both victim and perpetrator of imperial violence; a brutally defeated rival of asgard's returning to exact revenge both on asgard and on the universe they were competing to control

and like, these films are definitely not perfect. but there is always at least one major character for whose life asgardian imperialism has ruined or could ruin during the course of the film.

whereas in ragnarok...

the jotuns, the dark elves, and all of asgard's other rivals and victims are absent - except a brief appearance of surtur, who is treated straightforwardly as a dragon to slay.

one human (bruce) is there, but his humanity, iirc, goes basically unremarked upon, and earth is not important.

loki is still there, but his past is brushed under the rug.

hela is a thematic focal point, but, unlikely loki (who she's clearly meant to mirror), she's only a victim of interpersonal abuse, not of imperial violence, because she's just asgardian royalty and nothing else.

valkyrie is a new character who was traumatised by hela's imperialism... but only because she was a soldier of asgard at the time.

like... do you see the void? the whole film is about how asgard's imperial past impacts the royal family and citizens of asgard. we're told ABOUT violence in a distant, almost mythical past, but we don't witness it. we're told to associate that dark past almost exclusively with hela; we're led to exonerate odin as a good king who learnt from his mistakes; we're introduced to val as a warrior from that exact era without the matter of her participation EVER coming up; and we're almost retconned into believing that thor and loki *didn't* participate in asgardian imperialism (outside of loki's villain arcs) even though that's exactly what we saw in thor 1.

the one group of victims we *do* see are the victims of the *grandmaster's* tyranny, a category which includes thor, loki, bruce and val to various extents... but again, isn't that odd? we see asgardians as victims, but we don't see the victims *of asgard*?

i'm not saying this is necessarily Evil or whatever, just poorly thought-out. but still... once you see it, it's a pretty glaring oversight, isn't it?

[improvapocalyps]

Stale blood caked Cleo's armor as she dragged herself through paradise. Gods below that sucked, she thought, that really sucked. They ignored the colorful birds that swooped overhead, disregarding the cloudless sky and brilliant sun that cast down gentle rays upon her green skin. What was the point of indulging in something that didn't exist?

Dust, Flesh, and Bones, by @pattonscribe

“Death!” she called, a hoarse quality to her voice, clutching tighter onto Etho’s body as their army of the dead went onwards to protect them. “You— this wasn't what I wanted!”

before we lose the sound of our own mouths calling mine, mine, mine., by @kanda-franca

In participation of MCYTblr AU Fest Summer 2024 hosted by @mcytblraufest!

I feel incredibly lucky and honored that two(2) writers decided to pick up my niche af AU pitch! They knocked it out of the park with their fics, please check them out !!

[Some behind-the-scenes ramble and close-ups under cut]

My AU's ao3 equivalent tag is "Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses", specifically drawing inspiration from Khelren's Godsend TTRPG setting (though you do not need any knowledge of the ttrpg to enjoy the fics):

In Godsend you roam the lands as the avatar of your god, cursing mere mortals and presenting gifts to the chosen ones. Your memories are numerous, made of the lives of your predecessors, your power is almost limitless. Will you use it to fulfil the will of your god? Or, as the end times draw near, will you try to save the world? 　(from the itch.io page)

I had my heart set on making Clethubs AU (to no surprise of anyone's i'm sure) so that's the main characters/ avatars settled- but who shall be the gods?

There are 6 domains in the Godsend setting: Death, Justice, Knowledge, Nature, Trickery, and War.

To me, it was obvious to put Bdouble "moss" O100 under the Nature domain, and Zombie "zombie" Cleo under Death. Then after some comtemplation Etho "free glass" sLab was slotted underneath Trickery.

What remains is to find the Hermist/ Traffic-lifers that are 1) connected to the domains 2) related to the avatars.

(fyi i drew all those feather strokes manually by hand with my lineart brush) (why? well,)

Grian came to mind immediately when I thought of "Trickery" (Though Cub, Scar, and a couple of other Hermits also fit). I wanted to build the god-avatar relationship on the Etho-Grian dynamic specifically.

Scar was chosen based on his S9 theme (wood elf) and his history with Bdubs (S7 mayor race). Baiscally the concept of King maker/ Second-in-command Bdubs was stuck in my brain. (Sorry Stress :[ )

Death was a trickier one. While it would be funny to have Grian-Scar-Mumbo to be (half of) the pantheon, Mumbo fit the Knowledge domain better. (ignoring his Peace, Love, and Plants deal for a sec; even then I think that's more Nature-aligned) so I went with the classic option of Zedeath.

Beyond this point (until "===") is me overanalysing/ blue-curtaining the black & white piece. You have been warned (/silly)

This piece's composition used a circle/three-parter as its base, witih the circle centred on the castle/city in the middle of the map. Etho was fully isolated in Grian/Trickery's third of the space, but Nature crossed over into Death's space easily the two domains are closely related imo. It was natural for things to end (death), and endings fueled the next cycle of nature life.

It seemed that all the gods are looking at the world/map, however since their pupils are obscured (non-existent in Scar's case) it was difficult to say for certain. Though you might be able to tell where their interest lie, if you look at the distance between the deities and the mortal realm and where their hands rest.

Death carefully rested his elbow on the line separating him and Nature, but his left hand was dangerously close to Bdubs. And it looked like it was ready to come down and press direcly onto the corner of the map, tilting or even flipping the chessboard over. In his right hand held the scythe, posed to swing. The edge of his scythe faced Cleo, pointing towards them like he could harvest their life whenever at his whim.

He also looked at the world from directly above (though you could say he was biased towards Cleo's point of view since he's not centered+ he was positioned behind them), meaning that he saw all lives as "equal", or have an especially detached but not uncaring view regarding the world (like a scientist looking microorganisms in his petri dish).

In contrast, Grian/Trickery leaned in close to the world, lowering his head so his eye level was almost at the ground level of the world. Like he was looking through the mortals' point of view, understanding the state of affairs through humans' moralities and values (through Etho, even, since Grian was positioned behind him).

His eyes were wide in anticipation. While he carefully kept his hands close, they were also touching the world directly; which was a thing no other god did in the piece. It was like he was waiting for the right moment to reach out and disrupt whatever that's happening on stage. As we all know, no matter how much Grian tries to restrain himself, he will press the button.

Scar is the most... detached/ distanced from the world as a whole? He reclined backwards, his visible hand resting on his knee. He might be looking at the world, or he might be looking at Grian, or was his attention on bdubs? Even with the signature :J smile on his face, he got this air of indifference. Maybe Nature believed that everything will run their fated courses without his influence.

The flowers on Scar's clothes were sunflowers (sides of his corset), roses (back of corset and forearm), and a very specific lilac brush I had to download. Flowers that were closely related to a certain series :3c

Shoutout to w4r (War for Rayuba) for the chessboard map idea. ily octs It's really funny that Bdubs, Cleo & Etho all start/ were currently standing on black tiles (<- did not count the tiles and only realised that after i started to fill in the black)

Let's talk (more) about body language and outfits and black-white ratio (I am Reaching here) (not that I wasn't in the previous part) (but I am Reaching even further)

Etho has a very clear cut B&W shading with minimal grey/cross-hatch areas. He is the least ink-blocked. He knows what his beliefs are and the lines that he will/won't cross.

He has a semi-relaxed stance, tilting back slightly. He has one hand on his hip but the other by his side remain open-palmed. He isn't not listening to new proposals, but he is considering (and judging) them carefully.

Bdubs' moss cloak and boots has a clear divide in b&w, but not his outfit (pants)/headband. Both the cloak and boots are nature-aligned: cloak is, well, made of moss; and boots to walk the earth, the only thing separating him and the dirt (though at the same time, supporting him).

Nature is clear in what it wants. While there may be bright parts mixed in shadows, and flecks of shade within the "light", Nature holds a firm stance based on layers and layers of understanding.

Bdubs is also reaching out with an open palm. He is open for dialogue, perhaps preaching/ prompting others to communicate as well.

Cleo is the darkest/ most shaded among the three. She has highlights on the edges of her armour, but overall her armour is mainly shades of grey. Unlike Etho/Bdubs whose outfits' base color is largely white/empty, the visible parts underneath her armour (gloves and pants) are solid dark. She is dressed for blood and combat. It also gives the impression that she has this fierce determination/ conviction (darker tones being more "serious").

Her posture- legs wide, slouched/ leaning forward- makes her look aggressive/ stressed. Her hands are balled up into fists, one of them holding onto the flag/banner (of Death). Even then, the way she holds the banner isn't one that says it's for morale. She holds it like a spear, like a weapon.

There's also something about fabric/ extra fabric on the characters.

Etho has the least fabric on him but he has this shawl wrapped around himself. And the shawl itself is very still/ motionless. Bdubs' outfit is very round and gives like a grounded/soft vibe while the ribbon around his head drags behind him. but Cleo has neither of those, the only fabric that waves in the air is her banner which is outside of her body/not connected to her.

=== === ===

The composition of my 2nd piece aimed to imitate the playbook's cover art (illustrated by Vash Taylor), with the slightly faded background and wispy banner. The path of the smoke meant to mimick Cleo's face stitches (as how I usually draw them), where it crawls up her right cheek, crosses her nose bridge and passes through her eye.

Shoutout to "google search: zombie hands" stock photos and silhouette images, they saved my life when I was struggling with the foreground.

If you read through all this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope everything will be going splendid for you in the month of August!! Even if you didn't and just swiped past after realising there's too many words behind the read more I wish you the same :D

Once again, please check the fics if you are interested in the AU!! Dust, Flesh, and Bones is a multi-chaptered long fic and before we lose the sound of our own mouths calling mine, mine, mine. is a 9k one-shot! They are both so dear to me I hold them close to me heart,,

[wangxianficfinder]

I'm in the mood for...

July 18th

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1. Itmf fics like the adults are talking by agloeian where someone adopts bby xue yang.

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2. HI!! itmf any modern au fics woth an inexperienced wei ying and experienced lan zhan so basically lan zhan FUCKS @yesibest

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3. Iitmf fics where Hanguang-Jun and/or Yiling Laozu are titles that can be passed down. I read 1 WIP forever ago that was a modern au where the titles and the powers passed down through the ages and I'd love for some more of that concept. Please and thank you. @itsthenerdwonder

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4. I asked about a jc choking wwx fic, I found it its called "The River Brought You Here" by ChilianXianzi. But if anyone knows any other fics that diverge at that point (jc choking wwx and that having consequences) I'd love to hear those too!

Lay my body down by tawaen (M, 48k, WWX & WQ, WWX & WN, wangxian, WWX & JYL, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Eventual WangXian, No Golden Core Transfer, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Canon-Typical Violence, Not JC Friendly, What if WWX saw the first siege of the burial mounds and said Nope to the war, OCs, OC point-of-view for one chapter for plot reasons)

Army Dreamers by Forever_Marie (M, 24k, WangXian, WIP, Fall of Lotus Pier, Post-Fall of Lotus Pier, Sunshot Campaign, WWX Needs a Hug, No Golden Core Transfer, Protective LWJ, Good Uncle LQR, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, LWJ Has Feelings, Hurt WWX, Soft WangXian, Inventor WWX, Supportive LQR, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Soft WWX, Protective LXC, Attempted Sexual Assault WWX is So Done, Innocent XXC, Established SL/XXC) LWJ finds WWX half dead and strangled in a field after JC thought he had killed him and left him there

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5. hey fic finder community! for the itmf, can i have you favorite sizhui & wwx fics? doesn’t really matter which era or au

Love Song In Reverse by timetoboldlygo (T, 237k, WangXian, Amnesia, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Falling In Love, Slow Burn, agressively mixing and matching novel and cql canon, No Homophobia, Mentions of Starvation, Parental WWX) not entirely about sizhui and Wei ying but one of my favorite fics that portray their relationship

my little love by mellowflicker (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern, Single Parent WWX, kindergarten teacher LWJ, Kid Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Pining)

Would You Come Home? by s6115 (Not rated, 46k, WangXian, Junior Quartet Centric, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Junior Quartet Dynamics) even though wwx doesn't show up until the end, it's Sizhui learning about his past with wwx and wanting to know him 🥺

🔒 Not Yet (There As Needed) by sunrise_and_death (T, 13k, LSZ & WWX, JL & WWX, JL & LSZ, WangXian, Post-Canon, Family Feels, Family Bonding, POV LSZ, This Fic Has Everything, even more yearning, WWX & LSZ figuring out wtf their relationship is, Dramatic Revelations, JL being the contrary lil bean he is, all the juniors thinking WWX is the greatest thing to ever happen to them, and in case you missed it yearning)

Chapter 2 of 🔒 Response by Aki_no_hikari (G, 12k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family Feels, Love Confessions)

🔒❤️ kick at the darkness ‘til it bleeds daylight by AlfAlfAlfAlfAlf, tardigradeschool (T, 75k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Eventual Happy Ending, Getting Together, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Inspired by The Parent Trap (1998), Kid Fic, teen shenanigans, two a-yuans, Fluff and Angst)

your name, safe in their mouth by astrolesbian (G, 10k, LSZ & WWX, WangXian, Father-Son Relationship, Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, More aligned with CQL than novel canon, Miscommunication, Eventual Positive Communication, Trying to be a family, how to tell your dad you want him to be your dad in 6 easy steps!)

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6. Hi! I'm in the mood for some fics where LWJ gets damseled and WWX saves him. Read a really good one about that earlier and now I need more! Just some good Bamf!WWX saving his ziji! Thanks in advance! @hikato-chan

the field meets the wood by astronicht (T, 7k, WangXian, BAMF WWX, slight whump, Ritualistic Self Harm, Canon Era, Tang Dynasty style, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, salt economics, Post-Canon, [podfic] the field meets the wood by jellyfishfire, [Podfic] the field meets the wood by semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona))

How to piss off the Yiling Laozu in one simple step! by Eicas (T, 3k, wangxian, kidnapping, hurt/comfort, pre-slash, hurt LWJ, mojo’s bookmark)

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7. Hi ,

I am looking for same type of au wangxin teen fiction like The fifth type of non contact force by caixx . This is one of the best fiction I have read and looking for same type. thankyou @dog-89

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 108k, wangxian, modern, angst w/ happy ending, romance, persuasion au, separations, pining, miscommunication, depression, self-harm, reconciliation, smut) one of my favorites

Make The Fireflies Dance Silver Moon’s Sparkling by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 23k, wangxian, modern, highschool au, friends to lovers, teenagers, growing up, getting to know each other, getting together, slow burn, first kiss, first love)

Unrequited Letters by Anonymous (T, 5k, WangXian, High School, Modern, Pining, Crushes, Unrequited Crush, Fluff, Light Angst, Humor, First Kiss, Secret Crush, Love Letters, Secret Admirer)

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8. Hii does anyone have any recs with post canon wwx being depressed? Like, maybe not eating, sleeping, etc

Silenced by Tasharene (M, 63k, WangXian, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Temporary Blindness, Aversion to touch, Fear of crowds, Panic Attacks, Post-Canon, WWX Whump, Hurt WWX, Whump, Angst with a Happy Ending, world-class troll LXC, see the archive Warnings BEFORE you accuse me of not tagging things!!!) this one is post canon wy has ptsd

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9. Hello!

I have a type of fic I'm just in the mood for, but it's hard to find any for this. I'd like to find some Wangxian marriage AUs that involve Wuxian figuring out the ribbon marriage that Wangji does to them before others point it out, basically a less oblivious Wuxian AU if it exists. Thanks! (ʘᴗʘ✿)

30 Days of Secret Marriage at Cloud Recesses by starandrea (T, 43k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Bunnies, Gusu Lan Forehead Ribbon, Accidental Marriage, Coming Out, Falling In Love, supportive family, Fluff, Happy Ending, the whole story is happy) fits for 9, if I'm remembering correctly.

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10. Everyone please give me your fav mpreg fics please 😭😭😭 but don't give books where it's like*5 years later* kinda situation or it's a hidden pregnancy or there's just mpreg for 1 chapter and it's over. I want actual pregnancy please. ***No bottomji***

The early bird gets the worm, the early fox gets the bird. But the dragon wakes the earliest of them all by sekhmetpaws (E, 52k, WangXian, Foxxian, Dragonji, A/B/O Dynamics, Royalty, Prince LWJ, dragon LWJ, fox WWX, Arranged Marriage, but not really, Mistaken Identity, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ)

Take Responsibility by draechaeli (E, 187k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mainly Novel with a few CQL and Donghua bits, Everybody Lives, Original Children Characters, Adoption, Adoption but WWX birthed them all, Mpreg, Teen Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink, Male Lactation, Lactation Kink, Consensual Non-Consent, Light Bondage, Pregnant Sex, easy to skip nsfw chapters, Fix-It, Happy Ending)

To Deliver an Heir by cerbykerby (E, 49k, WangXian, slight dubcon/noncon but wangxian are into it, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Heat Sex, Knotting, Royalty Medical, Emperor LWJ, Physician WWX, Mpreg, Postpartum Depression, Breeding, Creampie, LWJ literally cannot stop himself from coming in WWX, Breastfeeding)

🧡 Accidents Will Happen by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 45k WangXian, Post Canon, Mpreg, Fluff, Light angst)

If the requester likes modern AUs, I'd recommend:

All I Want by Selenay (E, 47k, wangxian, Modern, Mpreg, Post Holiday Romance, Consequences, Reunions, Idiots in Love, wangxian attempt to be sensible adults about it, they are very bad at it, Teacher WWX, Rating earned in later chapters, Handwavey Biology)

🧡 Brilliant Mistake by brooklinegirl (E, 53k, WangXian, Modern AU, Sex Pollen, Mpreg, dubcon, Modern Cultivators, Dubious Medical Science)

On The Way Home by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 59k, WangXian, Modern, Mpreg, Non-a/b/o mpreg, Unprotected Sex, Unexpected Pregnancy, Friends With Benefits, Getting Together, Pining while fucking)

Butter My Biscuit by LikeAFlamingKiss_Consume (E, 23k, WangXian, nonbinary LWJ, Transman WWX, Trans Male Character, Mpreg, WWX Has a Pregnancy Kink, Pregnancy Kink, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vaginal Sex, LWJ Has a Pregnancy Kink, ace spectrum LWJ & WWX, LWJ & WWX Have a Breeding Kink, Consensual Somnophilia, Somnophilia, Hormones, as in WWX's dial his libido up to 15, discussion of transphobia, Hints of dysphoria, Lactation Kink, Breastfeeding, Giving Birth, I guess a bit of sadism?, WWX is very much not having a good time and LWJ is Into It)

OMEGA GRAD STUDENT GETS PREGNANT: YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT by attackofthezee (noxlunate) (E, 21k, WangXian, Past WWX/Unnamed Character, Mpreg, A/B/O, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Graduate School, Unplanned Pregnancy, San Francisco Bay Area, Pining, Falling In Love, Kid Fic, Fluff, sometimes a family is a man his baby the man who's helping him raise his baby and all their friends)

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11. Can everyone give me their fav canon era/canon divergence completed , longer than 60k fics please 🥺🥺🥺

In Your Dreams, I Smile by 0_Heta_0 (E, 60k, WangXian, LSZ &LWJ, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & LXC, LXC & LWJ, Canon Divergence, Reincarnation, bunny WWX, Falling In Love, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending)

🔒 as the clouds part and clear, we finally meet again by 12262325 (E, 76k, WangXian, Younger LWJ, Older WWX, Canon Divergence, Eventual Smut)

🔒 Life is Like a Stranger by through_shadows_falling (T, 69k, wangxian, Kid Fic, Child LWJ, Child WWX, First Meetings, Canon Divergence, Cute Kids, Orphan WWX, Autism Spectrum, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Canon, POV LWJ, Growing Up Together, WWX raised at Cloud Recesses, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Puberty, Growing Up, Coming Out, teenage angst, Wet Dream, Pining, This fic gets a little raunchier as the kids become teens, But it won’t get too explicit, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Spanish Translation, Brief mentions/moments of WWX kissing others in chapter 22 but only on the cheek, also characters kiss WWX on the cheek in chapter 23, but his real first kiss is with LWJ, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian)

Death of a Ghost by Gotcocomilk (E, 107k, Family bonding, Fluff, Angst, Parental WWX, BAMF WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Ghost sex)

❤️ in case of fire, break glass by Jenrose (T, 65k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Post-Canon, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, unless I hate them, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, Genius Inventor WWX, NHS Finds His Calling, No Women Die)

🔒 if you can’t beat them, recruit them by moeblobmegane (T, 228k, Wangxian, NHS & WWX, WWX & WQ, Time Travel Fix-It, Conspiracy, Spies & Secret Agents, Team as Family, Found Family, Burial Mounds, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Pining, Morally Ambiguous Character, Rumors, Politics, Developing Friendships, Good Uncle LQR, Demonic Cultivation, YilingWei Sect)

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12. Hello! Are there any fics that compare the similarities between SongXue and WangXian? I love both ships and I've always felt they're very similar on a lot of core levels and I'd be really fascinated to read a story that compares them :D

Indoctrination by ama (E, 16k, WangXian, SL/XY, WWX & XY, Puppy Play, Kink Negotiation, Kink Exploration, BDSM, Voyeurism, Vibrators, Orgasm Control, Sex Shop, Dominant XY, Submissive SL, Dominant LWJ, Submissive WWX)

Curse Broken by Anonymous (T, 19k, WangXian, Alternate Universe, frankencanon, Mutual Pining, Jiang family being flawed but ultimately loving, AU with no demonic cultivation and no war, Unreliable Narrator, POV WWX, XXC and SL are cousins, Dragon LWJ, Phoenix WWX, Phoenix BSSR, phoenix XXC, Dragon SL, Protective LWJ, WWX in WWX's Body, Mentioned JC/WQ, Hints of future SL/XY, WWX lowkey adopts XY, phoenix and dragon lore are largely inaccurate/made up for the purposes of the story, especially the phoenix lore, it draws more inspiration from western phoenix lore than fenghuang)

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13. hi admins! can you recommend any fics where during the cloud recesses study, lqr/lxc/lan clan ig realizes how much of a genius wwx is, (could also be that he’s not being treated accordingly in jiang sect and they’re like ??? about it,) and decide to just. keep wwx for themselves? read a couple fics with that premise and been loving it recently, thanks for any help!

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 828k, WangXian, WIP, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Getting Together, Supportive LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It of Sorts, Supportive LXC, Canon Divergence, Inventor WWX, Possessive LWJ, Cultivation Sect Politics, Pre-Sunshot Campaign, Fluff and Smut, Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Fall of Lotus Pier, Angst, Sunshot Campaign Not JFM Friendly, split into parts, Part 1 complete, Part 2 complete, Original Character(s))

💙 Holding shreds by barisan (T, 5k, WangXian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, No Sunshot Campaign, Body Swap, Not for sexy shenanigans, Chronic Pain, Hurt WWX, Hurt LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Abusive YZY, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, Good Uncle LQR, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, POV WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Getting Together, Smart WWX)

🔒 in the shadow of moonlit flowers by Reverie (cl410) (T, 56k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, Cloud Recesses, LWJ & NHS Friendship, Developing Relationship, POV LWJ, Minor Injuries, Autistic LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, aka the Madam Yu warning, Genius WWX, Light Angst And Hurt/Comfort, WWX Protection Squad, Gusu Lan Sect, Slow Burn, Protective LWJ, LWJ-centric)

��� To have and to hold by Moominmammashandbag (M, 78k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major character injury, CQL verse, Happy Ending)

Like stones on an unseen board by Vir_Abelasan (Not rated, 11k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, Dark LWJ, Older LWJ, Teacher LWJ, dark twin jades, Age Difference, Manipulation, Protective LWJ, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Corporal Punishment, Relatively canon-typical abusive Jiangs, WWX Get a Happy Ending, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Not Jiang Clan Friendly) also fits but Lan Wangji is aged up in this one and is a teacher.

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14. for the itmf, can you guys recommend fics where while wei wuxian is dead either jin ling or jiang cheng find out lan yuan is family bc he’s actually wwx kid? sorry if this is too specific, but an example would be sing to the clouds in summer or would you come home? on ao3. great fics

Gently Haunted by LusBeatha (T, 19k, WangXian, Character Death, Sentient Burial Mounds, Autistic LWJ, Shutdowns, Canon Divergence, Ghosts, Child LSZ, Oblivious WWX, Getting Together, Ghost Marriage, ghost parenting, Grief/Mourning, but only for ghosts that are still present, Golden Core Reveal, Soup, Happy Ending) its a small part but Sizhui calls Jin ling family because hes wwxs nephew also features ghost xian

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15. I just finished Concord and fell in love with the angst of Wei Wuxian marrying in Lan Sect and being unhappy and Lan Wangji trying to make it better 🥰 do you know anything similar? For the itmf I guess thank you @kanrax-blog

what you have tamed by lianhua_lianzi, Senforza (E, 94k, WangXian, Animal Traits, misunderstandings (not the romcom kind that can be resolved in a 5min convo), Courting Rituals, Pining, Lan family dynamics, Drama, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Arranged Marriage, Wangxian break up but get back together, Eventual Happy Ending, vague biological essentialism (animal species have different mating preferences), Canon Typical Alcohol Usage, Implied Mpreg, Unresolved Sexual Tension, unintentional and eventually resolved “gaslighting”, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWWX)

Betrothed by Dixielis (E, 10k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Hybrids, Fox WWX, Dragon LWJ, Arranged Marriage, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, Miscommunication, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mpreg, Unplanned Pregnancy)

a light hidden and singing by occultings (microcomets) (E, 48k, wangxian, arranged marriage, pining, getting together, slow burn, misunderstandings, miscommunication, blood & injury, happy ending, smut)

Mourning Robes by Starlight1395 (T, 17k, wangxian, No Sunshot Campaign, Arranged Marriage AU, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Depression, dissociating, Mild Blood, Fluff, juniors idolizing WWX like he deserves, slowburn between WWX and Cloud Recesses, Hinted smut, Jingyi has a CRUSH, Supportive JC)

Marriage of duty by ninho_emy (M, 33k, WangXian, Rape/Non-Con, A/B/O, Alpha/Omega, Arranged Marriage, Mpreg, Canon Divergence, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Time, First Kiss, Rape between the main characters, be warned)

~*~

16. Hi this is for ITMF

A) Where WWX act as a demure and perfect spouse and everyone didnt know or forget that he is deadly. Maybe like The True Story of How Concubine Mo Deviously Deceived The Entire Imperial Family by Enigmatree

B) Arranged marriage or a political marriage or a love marriage between wangxian but WWX has Jiang support and power backing him. I prefer if its royalty au but its okay if not @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

16B)

True Gold Fears No Fire by defractum (nyargles) (M, 75k, WIP, WangXian,  Royalty, Ancient China, Wuxia, Historical, Historical Inaccuracy, Arranged Marriage, Identity Porn, Mutual Pining, Emperor LWJ, Empress WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Misunderstandings)

much sweeter than by mellowflicker (T, 3k, WangXian, Royaltyish, Arranged Marriage, a little bit of YLLZ WWX, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending)

~*~

17. Hello! ITMF dragon-Ji keeping and saving all of WWX's gifts (drawings, notes, papermen, presents, etc) in his hoard? Thank you all so much!

Snow Burns and Fire Falls by Liebing (T, 12k, wangxian, Fluff, Fox WWX, fox LWJ, snow fox LWJ, red fox WWX, Childhood Friends, Orphans, LXC is 8 years older than LWJ, LWJ and WWX are besties, LXC is the best big brother, WWX is adopted by the Lan clan, Happy Ending, Sweet, soft, Cute, Fluffy, Jealous LWJ, WWX has the whole of cloud recesses in love with him… baby LWJ is pouty, LQR loves WWX, Literally everyone loves WWX, The entire Lan clan: we would die for little WWX, Thwarted dog attack, LQR trying to arrange marriages, Time jump forward, No one is harmed in the dog attack not even the dog, Clan leader LXC, Jealous WWX, Oblivious WWX, love at first kiss, Wangxian fox babies)

A Baby Dragon’s Guide To Seducing Your Huli Jing by sweetlolixo (M, 102k, wangxian, Fantasy, But still in the Cultivation World, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Younger LWJ, Older WWX, Fluff, Humor, Eventual mpreg, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Boy A-Yuan)

Dazzle Like a Diamond by Tsukimiko_san (T, 4k, WangXian, Dragon LWJ, Crow WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, No Angst, ok maybe a tiny sprinkle of angst but like, usual LWJ thinking WWX is just teasing him, it doesn’t last long, Getting Together, they are both so whipped, Boys Kissing, Courting Rituals)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[hussyknee]

Unrolled twitter thread by Progressive International (@ProgIntl)

30 Sept 24 • 4 minute read • Read on X

On 30 September 1965, the Indonesian military, working closely with the US government, initiated a coup that would depose President Sukarno and install the brutal, 30-year dictatorship of General Suharto.

In the dark years that followed, the dictatorship massacred over a million Indonesian communists, with the CIA and US diplomats drawing up “kill lists” for the Indonesian military. The operation would become a template for the US’s regime change operations for decades to come.

Major-General Suharto with Indonesian Army in 1966

In 1945, President Sukarno led Indonesia to independence from Dutch colonial rule. He championed the Non-Aligned Movement and hosted the historic Bandung Conference, a meeting of Afro-Asian states, in 1955.

First President of Indonesia Sukarno making a speech circa 1945

Opening the conference and forecasting what was to come, Sukarno said: “We are often told ‘Colonialism is dead’. Let us not be deceived or even soothed by that… Colonialism also has its modern dress, in the form of economic control, intellectual control, actual physical control by a small, but alien community within a nation.”

Leaders attending the Bandung Conference 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. From left: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Ghanian Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser, President Sukarno, and Yugoslavian Prime Minister Josip Broz Tito.

By 1965, Indonesia possessed one of the world's largest communist parties, the PKI. The PKI had a mass membership and mobilized vast numbers of people in the battle against Indonesia’s ruling class.

Campaign of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in September 1955.

Terrified by the strength and organization of Indonesia’s people, the Indonesian military’s 30th September Movement began to purge the PKI.

Men suspected of being IPK members being transported under guard by an armed Indonesian soldier

In the early hours of 1 October, a group of military conscripts murdered six high-ranking generals. Blaming the deaths on the PKI, Suharto used the attacks as a pretext to seize power. CIA communications equipment allowed him to spread false reports around the country and begin a long campaign of anti-communist propaganda.

The US had tried to overthrow Sukarno for years; in 1958, the CIA backed armed regional rebellions against the central government. In 1965, they did all they could to aid Suharto’s murderous power grab.

The campaign soon became genocidal. On islands like Bali, up to 10% of the population was massacred — and luxury hotels soon began to appear over the killing fields.

One US embassy staffer told the US press that Suharto’s military “probably killed a lot of people, and I probably have a lot of blood on my hands, but that's not all bad.”

Time Magazine referred to the killings as “the West’s best news for years in Asia”.

A cable from the US embassy’s first secretary, Mary Vance Trent, to the State Department referred to events in Indonesia as a “fantastic switch which has occurred over 10 short weeks”. It also included an estimate that 100,000 people had been slaughtered.

Cementing his power, Suharto became president in 1967. His ‘New Order’ policy allowed Western capitalism to exploit Indonesia’s cheap labour and plunder its natural resources. Civil rights and dissent were suppressed.

In one of the world’s most populous countries, any possibility for the emergence of a new, democratic political project was eliminated. Richard Nixon described Indonesia as “the greatest prize in Southeast Asia”. Suharto would not leave office until 1998.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan stands with Indonesian President Suharto in the White House South Lawn at the arrival ceremony for Suharto's State Visit. Oct 12, 1982

CIA officers described Suharto’s rise to power and anti-communist purge as the “model operation” and “Jakarta” soon became the codeword for anti-communist extermination programs in Latin America, where hundreds of thousands were massacred in regime change efforts engineered by Washington.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

OC Sunday: Cerra Kilian, your friendly neighborhood traitor to the Empire

Whether you need to repair a hyperdrive, infiltrate an Imperial base, or get absolutely kriffed up in the entertainment district, Cerra is your girl. GAR supply officer, turned deserter, turned full-time rebel. With a seemingly endless array of unsavory contacts and absolutely no moral qualms about sourcing supplies via questionable means, Cerra can get whatever you need, from expired ration bars to decommissioned GAR medical equipment. All that, and the odds of her deciding to adopt you are only about 60%!

Look at me. I’m the captain big sister now. Art by me 🩵

More info below the cut! Content warning for non-descriptive violence and spoilers for Stars Beyond Number.

Overview

Name: Cerra Kilian

Birth year/age: born 48 BBY; 31-32 at time of Stars Beyond Number

Species: Human

Pronouns: she/her

Orientation: bi/pan

Home planet: Corellia

Current location: Coruscant

Occupation: military supply officer (deserted); full-time traitor

Affiliation: Corellian Military Defense Force; Grand Army of the Republic; Clone Underground

Alignment: Chaotic good

Family: CT-5555 “Fives” (husband; deceased); Admiral Shoan Kilian (uncle); Lorn and Vianne Kilian (parents, estranged)

Physical characteristics

Height: 5’10”/178 cm

Eyes: brown

Hair: black (shaved)

Skin: brown

Tattoos/piercings/identifying marks: full sleeve tattoo on left arm; multiple piercings in ears; large shrapnel scar on left thigh

Personal history 

Cerra was born on Corellia, the daughter of Lorn and Vianne Kilian. Vianne, her mother, had joined the Corellian Military Defense force as a mechanic, as it was one of the only avenues to escape the Corellian underworld slums where she was born. She eventually married Lorn, whose family had a longstanding tradition of service in the CMDF. 

Cerra joined the CMDF at the age of sixteen, serving as a supply officer for ten years before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. At that time, the CMDF was absorbed into the Grand Army of the Republic, and Cerra was assigned to the 501st Legion, serving under General Anakin Skywalker. While serving as supply officer on the Resolute, Cerra became friends with Captain Rex, Jesse, and Kix, along with many other clones in the 501st and beyond. 

It is also where she first met Fives, who visited the supply office weekly to submit requests for candy. Every single request was denied, and eventually, Cerra ordered a crate of sweets to be delivered with her personal supplies, then passed it on to Fives, who distributed it to the entire battalion. She never told Fives that she’d paid for it, but he figured it out (of course). After the Battle of Kamino, Fives stopped by the supply office one last time before he shipped out for ARC training. That was the first time Cerra kissed him.

When the Resolute was destroyed at the Battle of Sullust, Cerra was on the bridge. She helped as many wounded as she could into the escape pods, including Admiral Wullf Yularen as well as several clones. She was on her way to her own escape pod when she was caught in an explosion and hit in the leg by shrapnel. A shiny she’d helped into a different escape pod that was at maximum capacity jumped out and dragged her inside, then launched the pod, staying behind on the Resolute and sacrificing his life to save her. She never knew who he was, so she had a blank Phase 2 helmet added to the tattoo sleeve on her left arm when she’d recovered from her injuries.

After Sullust, Cerra was reassigned to a different unit, serving on the Ro-ti-Mundi until the Battle of Coruscant. She stayed in touch with her friends in the 501st, taking every opportunity to spend time with them whenever leave schedules permitted. In particular, she and Fives commed each other as frequently as possible, though his ARC duties prevented them from seeing each other again until just after his mission to Lola Sayu, where Echo was presumed dead. At that point, Fives and Cerra began a relationship.

The Battle of Umbara was the turning point for the pair. The treachery of Pong Krell shook Fives’s faith in the Jedi as well as the Republic, and he told Cerra that their lives were too short and too uncertain not to seize their chance at happiness while they could. He asked her to marry him, proposing with a ring he’d carved out of plastoid armor. Despite the ban on clone marriages, Cerra didn’t hesitate, and the two married in secret. When she met Tup after Umbara, she forged a close bond with him and quickly came to see him as a younger brother. He was the only witness to Fives and Cerra’s marriage, and the only person who ever knew about it.

And then came the Battle of Ringo Vinda. 

In the months following Fives and Tup’s deaths, Cerra threw herself into working with Kix to try to discover what had happened. They were close to a breakthrough when Kix disappeared. Utterly disillusioned, with her faith in the Republic and the GAR shattered, Cerra abandoned her post following the Battle of Coruscant.

Her family did not understand. Her parents felt that she had disgraced the family by deserting, and after a disastrous visit home to Corellia, Cerra returned to Coruscant and disappeared into the underworld.

Until one day, several weeks after the fall of the Republic, Rex knocked on her door.

Personality

Fiercely loyal, sarcastic, competent (with a healthy dose of imposter syndrome), protective to a fault. Once Cerra decides she likes someone, she adopts them. They’re hers now. She's keeping them. And she’ll make sure everybody else in the group is nice to them, too—or else. Despite being an only child, she has strong older sister energy, which occasionally causes her to clash with the people she cares about.

She is pathologically opposed to displaying negative emotions in a healthy way; if she’s feeling anger or grief, she’s likely to shut down or hide rather than talk about it. After Fives’s death, she became withdrawn and reticent, not even trusting her closest friends with all of her secrets. But underneath her durasteel-reinforced-with-beskar walls, the same fierce, loyal heart still beats.

---

You can read about Cerra’s adventures in my Tup x Reader short fic “Do It Again” (NSFW), and you can find out what happened after Rex knocked on her door in my complete longfic Stars Beyond Number (sequel in progress but will not be posted until it is fully written). You can read her GAR Datafile here.

---

Taglist:

@secondaryrealm @sev-on-kamino @523rdrebel @wings-and-beskar @merkitty49

@anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @arcsimper5 @starrylothcat @clio3kantarella

@cloneloverrrrr @goblininawig @ladytano420 @arctrooper69 @sunshinesdaydream

@littlemissmanga @stunkbiggu @starqueensthings @marierg @idontgetanysleep

@moonlightwarriorqueen @dudewhynotthis @sleepycreativewriter @tcwmatchmakingau @littlemissbshine

@multi-fan-dom-madness @heavenseed76 @wizardofrozz @bobaprint @sweetcream-coldfoam

@skellymom @pickleprickle @trixie2023 @mythical-illustrator @dickarchivist

@cw80831 @kimiheartblade @flyiingsly @lightwise @swcowgal

@reader6898 @cdblake1565 @epicy0n @starstofillmydream @msmeredithrose

@totallyunidentified @eclec-tech @euphoriacafe @hipwell @yve-barr

@dangraccoon @transactivecybermemory @etod @ivyyyyy @somewhere-on-kamino

@burningnerdchild @saneabandoned @heidnspeak @maniacalbooper

[danauschaewon]

my thoughts on dimension 20: fantasy high junior year ep 19 ragenarok Discourse™

⚠️ spoilers! ⚠️

from a watsonian perspective, the bad kids don't know of any way to cure a rage star. if any of the characters were stressed enough sufficiently to be angry (rage token), porter seems to be able to immediately control you so even not directly being controlled by a rage star seems to put you under ankarna's domain. there's no reasonable watsonian expectation for them to believe the ratgrinders could be redeemed, notwithstanding whether teenagers would show other teenagers who hate them that grace.

additionally, the Discourse™ seems to forget that there's ultimately a choice between following porter or not. lucy frostblade's sacrifice was extremely poignant because she chose to die rather than go against what she believed in. buddy dawn's immediate switch perfectly aligns with how religious fanatics believe/claim to believe whatever is convenient for them without any internal consistency. that doesn't mean that they weren't groomed by porter but there's really no ground for some of the moral absolutism I've been seeing here.

that also leads to something that I haven't seen people discussing; kipperlily and oisin straight up murdered buddy (their own party member, who they secretly treated as a pawn the whole time) by slitting his throat to try and keep the bad kids from being revived??? it's implied they also killed lucy and covered it up for so long that she is almost beyond reviving just so she couldn't snitch on them?? even if you liked the ratgrinders, they're much more ruthless than bad kids are, even if you take riz and fabian's comments into account. also, if the entire school was in fabian's house, they essentially tried to kill all 500 other students in their school + jawbone to beat a magical loophole to ascend porter.

and the obvious being: if you are fighting to end the world (remember they did bring down fig and gorgug, even if they are uncoordinated in pvp), don't be surprised when people fight you to save the world.

from the doyleist perspective, others have already pointed out that dnd is a combat focused game. if you fail a persuasion/intimidation/deception roll, regardless of what makes more sense for the story or the themes or your character, you probably have to fight to the death. this isn't a story written with a single overarching vision from one mind, it's real people being filmed in real time playing a game designed around roleplay AND combat. combat is gonna happen.

secondly, this is a world where powerful individuals have the ability to directly control the universe (magic). "might makes right" is a terrible moral system but that's also how reality works (laws are only (as strong as) their enforcement system, the police are an occupying army, etc).

human beings are social beings and our intelligence/creativity allows us to imagine a world where no individual or socioeconomic group can use might to make right. but our imagination also is limited by our own inconsistencies, ignorance, socialisation, habits, etc. and most importantly, our stories about the world mustn't confuse us from how the world actually is. not everyone can be redeemed, even if you want them to be.

if you want the world to change in a certain way, you have to gather enough strength to change it. the more it deviates from the status quo, the more strength you need. that's not just martial or economic power, there is social power that can be influenced by a collective moral or intellectual sense. however, those with the power to directly eliminate your existence will need to be sufficiently worried about consequences to not use that power (e.g. american police know they face no consequences for executing black people in cold blood, that's why they actually do kill instead of simply want to kill like other non-police racists).

if the ratgrinders want to kill the bad kids and ascend porter to godhood, they have to actually have to develop their skills to do so. that's why they exp levelled, they tried taking advantage of the last stand, one of them sent their grandma to kill the entire school at one kid's 18th birthday party. and correspondingly, if you don't want your 18th birthday party to end with your death + your entire school's deaths + the ascension of your teachers as the new god of rage, you gotta kill some grandmas and poorly coordinated exp levellers.

[blueikeproductions]

Onyx Prime is one I have a semi complicated feeling towards.

The Prime of Beasts, and borrowing his name from an obscure Beast Wars character, he’s meant to explain why some Transformers have Beast Modes. It’s not … super clear if this includes the various Mechanimals like Laserbeak and Ravage, or Cyberverse’s various menagerie.

But presumably it does, as that would mean the deer bots seen in ONE are related to Onyx too, as they’re the only non Prime Beast Moded robot. ONE Airachnid’s toy gives her a space spider Beast Mode, but she only turns into a space helicopter Vehicle Mode in the film, so it’s unknown if she’s a Triple Changer or if her Beast Mode was an early script idea.

ONE Onyx, like Alchemist, Quintus, Micronus, Vector, Nexus, Prima, & Solus, doesn’t really get to do anything except die by the hands of Sentinel & the Quints. His Cog is donated to the main heroes, but who got it isn’t clear. I think Megatron did because of his beastly nature at that point, but I also think it fits Elita pretty well.

His design is a hybrid of his IDW and Aligned designs, taking more from the IDW design with the colors and beast kibble.

An interesting quirk is the ONE design borrows heavily from the semi confusion of his IDW design. Oynx is supposed to be a centaur, but IDW artists opted to have him stand on his hind legs, with his fore legs dangling awkwardly.

This would be turned into foreshadowing, to imply Oynx wasn’t what he seemed, revealing that he was actually Shockwave due to comic book time paradox reasons.

The awkward posture was due to Shockwave wearing Onyx’s corpse like a Pretender Shell, being unable to copy the original centaur look. Hilariously the ONE design foregoes the centaur look altogether, but nothing has clarified on if the centaur is his actual Beast Mode, or if he turns into a different creature in a BM Savage Noble fashion… His TFONE model implies he might Transform into a space dragon, or if we want to meet half way on the centaur idea, a space griffin.

As such, Onyx’s only major role has been IDW, and it technically wasn’t even him. The actual IDW Onyx was a kind shepherd who Shockwave killed after landing on prehistoric Cybertron following his failed Dark Cybertron scheme.

Pretending to be Onyx, Shockwave guaranteed events on Cybertron played out as he knew them to, as well as raising a Beast army (from all the Beast Wars characters in their most unflattering role) and securing the mysterious magical Talisman as part of a new scheme involving Unicron.

It’s always bothered me though that the one place Onyx would’ve fit well as a central antagonist would’ve been RiD15 because of it’s heavy use of animal type Decepticons. It would’ve made more sense if Oynx was the one orchestrating the crash of the prison ship, but Steeljaw makes Oynx’s mission his own: to turn Earth into a home world for Decepticons, rather than beast bots. Oynx isn’t exactly nice here either, causing problems for the Autobots, because he has a chip on his shoulder over vehicle type Transformers due to problems from his past. Something like that might’ve been better than hyping up The Fallen, causing the same problem TFP had by using Unicron too soon.

With the upcoming CyberWorld possibly returning to a RiD15 Beast theme with its Decepticons (while the Autobots remember they have more Dinobots besides Grimlock), maybe Onyx Prime has a role there?

[mask131]

Since the French news have been blasting about the US elections since this morning, here are (if you are interested) some of the points highlighted by French commentators, journalists, politicians, politologists, and that I randomly caught this morning. If you wonder how French media are seeing this:

There are "racial minorities" among the Trump supporters and followers, despite Trump's openly racist and borderline eugenic discourse. Especially among the Latino people, where Trump gained quite a following. Why? Most of the non-White voters of Trump are men, and adhere to his conservative ideals beyond his racism. Especially over one point: homophobia. His Latino followers are hoping that by electing him they will get rid of transgenders people and the "woke madness" once and for all - this specific point of his campaign, despite actually being quite "minor", truly was a big thing for them, and his fearmongering about "Schools will turn your little boys into little girls" echoed with them. Latinos aren't the only minority to vote for Trump, but they are the ones French media speak the most about.

Turns out, Kamala Harris didn't cause a massive support of women across America: many of them still voted Trump. On a related note, commentators noted that it seems the United-States really are not willing to have a female president at all.

Part of the reason why people didn't see the red wave coming was because they under-estimated the middle-class, which is where Trump has his greatest following. The middle-class, and the literal middle of America, as this is where he resonated the most, unlike the coasts where he met some resistance (though it has been noted the coasts are more "upper-class" than the rest of the country)

Another part is how people neglected the economical factor: most Trump followers, many of those that voted for Trump, are putting their hopes and faith in him for bringing back the financial ease and comfortable lifestyle they used to have, for battling the financial crisis and inflation. Turns out, money IS indeed the motor of everything, and it was Trump's promises of money and wealth for everybody that truly won them over.

That and immigration: these are apparently the two big points that truly had Trump winning, from New-York where people are inded fed up with the mayor's handling of immigrants, to Kansas where... there's one of the smallest number of immigrants, almost none, but they're still very firghtened and angry at the issue. Trump's promises of sending the army down to the Mexican border had already formed a following base years before, but now he is also pulling on the lever of "I will bring back your men home so that they won't have to die in another land for foreigners". Interestingly, it means that with him (and his followers) the USA is giving up its former role of being the arbitrator of the world and the "policeman global conflicts". Trump promises that the American army will only care about the USA, its borders and nothing else. Even though it is also a lie because whole he speaks of bringing the soldiers home, he of course has a whole different discourse when it comes to the weapons and political plays. By this I mean:

Trump is very insistent on defending, protecting, helping Israel - or, to be more precise, he is very clear that he is a good friend and the main support of Netanyahu, and that he will help him lead his wars as much as he can. He will also helps them worsen, because unlike for example Biden and Harris which after unconditional support for Israel admitted things were going to far, a ceasfire was needed, and denounced Israel causing disastrous mass-deaths, Trump is very clear that he doesn't believe in ceasefires, nor does he belive that Israel and Palestine can coexist peacefully. Furthermore: Trump aligns on Israel because he has a strong personal beef with Iran, which is one of Israel's main enemies, originally in a more indirect, but now much more direct way. Trump even suggested that Israel be more open and violent in its attacks of Iran, even saying they should hit nuclear sites. It doesn't help that Iran is one of the countries suspected of trying to mess up with the votes and parazite the campaigns with misinformation (the other big one being Russia, but since Trump loves Putin he doesn't speak much about THIS invasion of American politics).

The fascinating thing is that there ARE Muslim followers of Trump. Muslim Trumpists exist, despite all the above, and Trump's fearmongering based on Islamic terrorism. French journalists asked them why they voted for Trump, and their answer was "To punish Biden". They wanted to punish Biden (and by extension Harris) for helping Israel in the Israel-Palestine conflict. When answered back that Trump vowed to prevent any Muslim person from entering the USA and to reject Palestinian immigrants, the Muslim voters explained that at least Trump only closed the frontier, while Biden "killed" their "brothers".

Another consequence of Trump's promises to have all American soldiers return home: it is likely the American forces will pull out of Ukraine. It was already a big complaint on his part to send so much money in Europe, and when he met with Zelensky he publicly said that he considered on the same level as Putin and wouldn't favor any of them. Add to that how much he said that Putin was great and his friend, and how he said with him the Ukrainian war would be solved in 24 hours, and how ominously Putin's official message after the election was "The Kremlin will judge the new president on his actions, not his intentions"... Oh yes and how Trump LITERALY SAID "Ukraine is gone" not that long ago, despite Ukraine still fighting for its life and to defend Europe as a whole... It is pretty clear that Trump just wants to kick Ukraine into Russia's maw, and that his "solution" for the war is to have Russia win Ukraine. As he said for the Israel-Palestine conflict, he doesn't believe in ceasefire nor in peaceful cohabitation... It also helps that a LOT of his followers don't know where Ukraine is or what it looks like, and that many of them didn't even know Ukraine existed before Russia attacked it.

Because of this, the French president official reaction to Trump's election was first a message saying "Congrats for winning by a landslide", quickly followed by another one saying "I am very happy to announce that me and the Chancellor of Germany are going to work on making a stronger, safer, more independant Europe". Aka: we know that Europe can't count on America anymore, we know that we have been too Americanized and have grown dependant of the USA, time to pull ourselves together and let America in its own mess.

Oh and also: since Trump believes climate change is a scam, despite huge storms hitting twice where he lives with disastrous consequences, and promises to rely a lot on fossil fuel and polluting business to bring back American economy to the top and make the USA the wealthiest country... The world is kind of fucked as a whole, and the weather is going to be FAR WORSE.

Plus: this time Trump's domination is far more powerful than before, as he got almost full powers, benefits from the consequences of his previous presidency, doesn't have people against him in his own party (unlike the first time he got elected), has gotten rid of those that tried to criticize or slow him down around him, AND this time he actually knows what he is doing, as the first time it seemed he wasn't planning on actually becoming president.

There's probably more about it, but that's just a handful of what I got from the news channel this morning as I woke up. Be it true or false, whether you agree or not, I just share in case you ever wondered how it looks from over here.

Now back to regular programs.

[kaisers-house-of-desires]

Enemies to lovers with Ganondorf. Can be smutty or not, up to you. I’m just trying to cope with the f e e l i n g s for that man rn lol

Oh of course~!

Anything to supply my readers of our eternal King~

Title: By My Hands

Characters: Ganondorf x m!reader

Contains: enemies to lovers

Fandom: Legend of Zelda

Full request below the cut

All characters are 18+

MINORS, FEM ALIGNED, AGELESS/BLANK BLOGS DNI

Reblogs > likes

Time seemed to be non existent on the battlefield.

The sound of rain mixed with the cries of the armies around you, Hylian forces colliding with Bokoblin masses. While your army handled his lesser creatures, you took it upon yourself to fight the Demon King himself, a feat that the soldiers knew only you could manage.

Despite this solo battle, you held your ground well against the King. Ganondorf had thrown attack after attack, attempting to drain your stamina, but your skills would not allow it. You'd follow up with your own offensive measures, only to be equally blocked by the other. The battle took you and him further and further from the massive group, driving the two of you up a steady hill.

"Soldiers! Continue your battle!" You exclaimed back to your forces, yours and Ganondorf's swords clashing and almost drowning your voice out. "Leave the monster to me!"

With a shove of his blade, Ganondorf gave a chuckle as you fumbled back. "Monster? How rude, do you really view me as such?" His voice was teasing, and the smirk on his face didn't help. "Would you care to tell your soldiers the words you mentioned last time?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Upon swinging your sword upward, Ganondorf blocked your spontaneous attack. You refused to speak any further to the other, your swords once again in a contending battle.

What you refused to believe, however, was how the two of you felt like you were in a dance of death, a dance that couldn't have a single step go awry, for if one of you missed a single action, a single step, it would spell someone's end.

It was exhilarating, to say the least.

You almost let your thoughts get the better of you, a desire to put this demon in his place during this forbidden dance, but one step faltered.

And suddenly you saw a dark grey sky directly above you.

You weren't sure what exactly happened, but the almost concerned look from Ganondorf's face was...different. He was clutching onto your hand despite your wet skin and gloves. He gazed down at your confused face, panting softly as a result of the movements plus rush to save you. He did everything in his power to keep you from falling any further down this cliff.

Wait, cliff?

What you had assumed was merely a hill turned out to be a cliffside, and you two had practically waltzed your way to the edge, too invested in each other's gaze to notice where your surroundings.

And Ganondorf...saved you.

Hoisting you up with a grunt, you rolled back onto the wet, grassy terrain, facing the falling rain. Your sword was gone, but your shield remained strapped to your arm. You were now powerless against the Demon King.

"Why don't we attempt this battle again another time?" The voice startled you back to realtiy, your form scrambling to stand and prepare yourself. You prepped your shield, but Ganondorf didn't appear to prepare an attack, and any trace of the face he wore earlier was gone. "If anything is to kill you, I will kill you by my own hands and not leave you to a cowardly fate of cliffside suicide."

You were going to object, demand that you two settle it now, but the victorious cries of your army distracted you, tearing your attention toward them. You could see the bodies of the Bokoblins, lying motionless as soldiers started their way toward you, their minds on the idea of assisting you in your fight.

However, upon turning back(and mentally cursing yourself for being distracted while in front of such a powerful enemy), Ganandorf was gone, and in his place, a sheathed blade.

You hesitated, picking up the item and pulling the blade out a couple inches. Your blade was gone, that much you knew, but upon seeing the material of the weapon, you were stunned to realize this blade was that of the Demon King's himself, left as a replacement of the sword you lost.

With a sigh, you removed your own empty sheath, replacing it with the 'gifted' set you were left before meeting your soldiers halfway.

Next time you wouldn't let Ganondorf toy with you so easily.

Next time...you had some thoughts to work out.

[kingdrawcse]

Chemistry Behind Ancient Pigment, 'Chinese Purple'

In ancient times, rare non-natural pigments, especially blues and purples. 'Chinese Purple' or 'Han Purple' a Barium Copper Silicate BaCuSi₂O₆ pigment, emerged from the Western Zhou to the Han Dynasty, found in terracotta army garments at the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. Initially linked to Egyptian Blue, Chinese Purple predates Silk Road contacts by centuries, suggesting an independent discovery.

Likely an alchemical serendipity during Daoist experiments, its compounds—copper, barium, and lead—aligned with materials used by Daoist alchemists in creating ancient lead-barium glass.

[soft4gguk]

please give us recommendations of your favorite books and your comfort fics! xoxoxo

omg fun!!! yessss, I would love to!!! recs under the cut :)

okay so let's start with books. please, don't let the summer end without reading Bonjour Tristesse by François Sagan. I read this book when I was like... sixteen or something. I was probably too young to be reading it lol. but it's SO GOOD, I'd almost forgotten how good it is!! I recently picked it back up at the beginning of the summer and it like, reseted my entire way of interpreting literature. that's how much I love this book lol. also Just Kids by Patti Smith is such an amazing book, I cannot stress it enough. it's genuinely my comfort read whenever I'm feeling a little lost, specially in my artistic journey (what a pretentious way of putting it lol!). Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is also such a comfort read for me. albeit a bit sad at times, it somehow feels like a hug as you read!! Normal People by Sally Rooney was a summer re-read for me and I loved it, although at times I was like... wtf. lol. but yeah, it's a good book. anything, and I mean, ANYTHING! by Toni Morisson (I've read her whole repertoire this summer) will have you LEVITATING. her way of threading words is actually insane. she's definitely one of my favourite authors, if not my favourite author lol. she's so amazing. it literally feels like she's in front of you and telling you the whole story in one sitting (hence why I devoured it). also, anything by Annie Ernaux will have you highly entertained. it's not light, but it's entertaining. she's an amazing writer, too. so easy to want to keep reading. and as for the oldies and classics I've been back in my Fitzgerald kick (I will forever love The Great Gatsby) and anything James Baldwin!!! (Giovanni's Room has been my most recent read by him).

as for fics!!! okay so anything by stella @venusiangguk but specifically realizations concerning real life relations. ooooh. I still don't know how she did it. it's genuinely the best thing I've ever read on this app lol. and it's my comfort fic even though it's devastating 😩. a still day or a hurricane by mimi @ahundredtimesover definitely reseted my entire being. aligned my chakras. nothing has ever hit the way that fic did lol. if you're an OG, you probably remember my elaborate reviews of each chapter hehe. I LOVE THIS FIC OK!! it's so good ugh. also, bad influence by @noteguk never ever fails to HIT. like it HIIIIIIIIITS. whenever I need to feel something, that's where I end up at lol. and last but certainly not least, my favourite jk EVER is at the hands of @bratkook in concrete king!!! go check all of these out, trust me I have put my non-army friends into some of these stories just to prove my point and point proven INDEED.

[chrysopoeias]

opinion posting about riza hawkeye/otp on something i see a lot around town but i disagree with.

Anyway. One thing I see more often than not is the idea that Hawkeye joined the military in order to chase after Mustang because she wanted to protect him. Or that she chased him while in love. But that is actually not true. I know ‘Because I have someone to protect’ is meemed into everyone’s head, but that was not her reason for joining the army. And it does not make sense either.

Like in a strategy guide to get Riza laid any% speedrun, what option is most logical?

1) Go completely no-contact with Mustang. Attend possibly multiple years of the military academy, likely in a different region from where he is. Get into a speciality that is wildly different from him. Git gud at that and then hope that maybe, if all the stars align her future boss will one day for some random reason put her in the proximity of this magic scientist she has not spoken to in years. And then ??? profit?

2) Literally just call Roy on his phone number, perhaps sent him a nice letter, or visit his address.

Sure, the first thing is what actually happened. But it's way too uncertain for that to have been planned. She did not need to be a soldier to be close to him. Roy was not a stranger to Riza, she had his current up to date contact info. He gave it to her on page/screen after her dad died. 

When she first sees Mustang in Ishval Hawkeye looks angered and shocked to see him. The first thing she says to him is ‘Do you remember me?’. These two had no contact at all between 1905 and 1908. Mustang got flame alchemy and skedaddled out of her life (even though he was supposed to look after her lmao) and Hawkeye also had clearly no intention of seeking him out when she could have done so easily. She did not join the army to protect him. And also, she says why she joined:

She wanted to improve the lives of the people of Amestris. So am I saying it had nothing to do with Mustang? Well no. Her reasons for joining the military are the same as his. 

She looked up to him. Here is this young man who has been to places beyond her sad little town and graduated from the military academy, he is a genius alchemist and must know what he’s talking about, right? That is on top of whatever their relationship was like before then, and whatever adoration she had for him already. She trusted him and thought his dreams were wonderful. Riza also wanted to believe in a peaceful future. Remember that they live in a totalitarian military dictatorship that has been in continued armed conflicts since the middle ages. There has never been a time of peace, ever, since the country was founded. And from the normie Amestrian point of view, they are just defending themselves from outside attacks. I believe that if Hawkeye and Mustang were sent to a border conflict instead of the civil war, they would have never questioned their government.

Anyway, Riza saw an opportunity to be useful with her own two hands, beyond being a walking notebook. Even if she could die in the process, it’d be worth to try. (And the military would also give her a salary after growing up in poverty and a place to live that is not the house she was abused in). She was a teenager with no family, no guidance, no idea what to make of herself. But this was something she could do. (She could have chosen many non-violent paths instead too, to be fair, but I digress).

And then it all went to shit obviously. You cannot become a sniper and never expect to kill. Selling your agency to the state means you can’t just play hero when you want to, you will be sent where ordered whether you like it or not, and forced to commit horrors or die a traitor. Believing the naive ideals of protecting her country was a mistake. Blindly admiring and trusting Mustang was a mistake. Smarter people than me can go expand on that.

But the ‘because there is someone I have to protect’ reason Hawkeye gives for being in the military is actually the reason why she stays. She could have gotten her diploma after Ishval and leave the military behind. But she chose not to.

She stays and will continue to kill because flame alchemy is her responsibility and she has created Mustang, all his kills are mentally hers. If she quits or kills herself while he does not, flame alchemy is still loose in the world outside her control. And just like Roy, she never fully gives up on her dream about protecting everyone. There must be a way to make all this worth it. There is still a way to change the country so future generations won’t have to go through what she did. She’s already doomed so she will take that responsibility so others won’t have to. She violently and fully clings to that.

If Mustang dies before doing anything positive for the world with their dreams and his abilities, all Hawkeye has done with her short life is cause destruction, murder and create a murderer, all the suffering would have been a waste. She cannot life with that guilt or continue the path alone, she will give up and kill herself. Especially in the scenario where she kills Roy herself, and with that her only hope.

There is no way out for them. But their murder-suicide pact was not planned for since they were young. They never intended to see each other again and spend their lives like this. You can blame dad for setting them up for failure.

[traningdummy]

Now I’m Sleeping Alone

What day is it now? No… it doesn’t matter anymore, the lingering coldness of the empty bed, the small space where he would lay, my hand always resting on his chest, checking to see that he’s still with me, that he won’t leave me like the others.

But with that came the realization that we’re too far from saving, that we were slowly fleeting away from each other, his walls began to come up again, the ones I worked for years on taking down, brick by brick, ensuring I was there for him through it all, but it wasn’t enough, not for him at least.

The memory still rests in my head, the last night we had together, it was a night of toxic passion, his possessive yet fleeting grasp on my hips, skin slapping against skin, so much pleasure yet so much pain within the same moment, it was too much, for me and for him, maybe we met too soon.

After all, he was a mercenary, I was just a naive blacksmith’s son, making various swords, shields, armors, anything a man like him would want, yet beneath all his swords and armor, he wanted something that I never knew was for sell within the shop, my heart, and I wanted his.

From there is where our hearts began to slowly fall into peace with each other, spending my off hours at his little camp a few miles out of the city, sitting on the dirt to stare at the stars with him where he would show me each constellation that he knew and I would do the same.

Maybe, if we paid more attention to the stars and how they aligned, we could’ve seen the signs they sent us, that we’re meeting too early, that we should’ve waited a little longer, that I shouldn’t have fallen so easily for his scarred face and that damned accent of his, but I did, I fell for him, and it seemed like the gods above was deemed to make me pay for it.

After each and every set back, my father having to move away deeper into the country to make armor and swords for the king’s army, to him having to leave to chase after some black powder that would make him a rich man, after it all we always came back to each other, like were two black holes that always came together, slowly imploding into one another, making a supernova.

But, I never saw it between us, how he got some of my ticks and how I got some of his, I would randomly scratch at a non existent scar on my face, and how he would tap his knuckles against his armor to ensure it’s strong and steady, maybe we became too much like each other.

Even after my father had passed down the blacksmith craft to me and his whole shop and empire, he was there with me through it all, ensuring I never got scammed by bandits, that I got the finest metals from other merchants, he was there for me, and that’s what I needed there and then.

But as the business skyrocketed into new heights, I began to get various offers to move away, to be a royal blacksmith, become a trusted man within their ranks, but I couldn’t leave him behind, and he didn’t want me to go, but this is where the first crack began to show within our vase, our love began to crack.

Staying with him resulted in me becoming more and more busy with customers, knights from other kingdoms wanting better swords or armor, it all became too much, so much so that I began to overlook my own health to keep working, to please the masses and not myself, and not him.

He tried to help me, help me forge armor and swords, yet my mind and heart made him stop, I didn’t want him to help me at this point despite the fact I needed it so bad, I pushed him away, my own walls started to come up as I focused on my shop than him, than our love, the crack began to grow.

Within the few weeks, my business began to slow down, making me realize my problem, seeing how detached he became with me, how he would barely acknowledge me whenever he would tell me he was going on a mission away from me, it made me want to beg for him to stay, but it was like a phantom was choking me, making me not say the words as I watched him ride away, and I swear I saw tears falling as he rode away, shining softly under the harsh heat of the sun.

More and more the crack began to grow, before the vase of our love cracked and shattered completely, the passionate and toxic night, feeling his thrusts into me, my moans of pleasure, tears falling down my eyes and landing on his chest, his own tears falling down onto the pillows, we both knew this was the last time, and we embraced it.

Now I’m sleeping alone, my hand still rests on where he would be sleeping at, if he was still here, if we met just a little later, maybe the next night, he might come back, just maybe, but he isn’t like that, Pero Tovar isn’t that type of man.

[raayllum]

anyway to rattle off the general to specific predictions all in one place

While I could see it going back ways, I think it's likelier for Rayla to be the one seriously injured/stabbed during the possession fight IF Callum's followed the Nova Blade route of increased paranoia in particular

Viren's alive

Corvus and Soren bond and talk about Soren's dynamic with his family

Ezran will be forced to act like a general king, and maybe missing his dad / family

He'll have to deal with Viren coming back in Katolis; so will Soren

Ezran will get more info / do research on the Orphan Queen (and maybe her connection to the cube)

Callum will abide by Aaravos' will both possessed and non-possessed (due to coercion / desperation and love over wanting to protect, save, or help Rayla)

Terry will either follow / find and team up with Viren, or Claudia will come 'crawling' back to use him under Aaravos' guidance

Claudia's gone back to the Katolis to retrieve something from the Orphan Queen's grave (but maybe, if it's the cube, it's not there)

Aanya dies or comes very close to it

During Callum's blind fold free fall, he sees glimpses of his past (hi bio dad!) and potential future (a safe happy life with Ez & Rayla and/or Rayla + a family)

The Sunfire armies on both sides are corrupted by proxy through Pharos (and maybe Sol Regem)

There will at the very least be an attempt to get the Moon fam out (with potentially disastrous consequences) even if it doesn't necessarily work for whatever reason

If the Moon fam gets out, Runaan will encourage Rayla to kill Callum under possession and/or attempt to do herself, leading to Rayla having to fight Runaan and a possessed Callum at the same time

We'll learn some of why there's a 1000+ year time span between Aaravos being banished by the Startouch elves vs him being able to take revenge on them again

After the Frozen Ship burns down, the panic and desperation cause Callum and Rayla to finally fully talk things out and express how much they don't want to lose each other; this will hurt more later

A star dragon ate Aaravos and/or Leola at some point as punishment and then spat them out, creating the Sea of the Castout

Possession plot line also has to a lot to do with identity and Rayla reaffirming his and through it, his name and own autonomy / agency of choice

More Callum-Claudia-Viren, Claudia-Rayla, Runaan-Moon fam-Viren, Ezran-Janai, Ezran-Aanya parallels this season

Soren possibly demanding answers from Viren about what exactly happened and why Lissa really left

If Kpp'Ar gets out (and he's w/ Rayla & Callum), he'll caution Callum away from magic and dark magic in general, and maybe draw some Callum-Viren parallels

If the Moon Fam doesn't get out, the celestial elves may step in to serve as a more antagonist force amid everything

The Nova Blade doesn't work as intended. Either Aaravos was already stabbed with it (because his first name was Laurelion) or he wants to use it for himself to wreck havoc on the other Startouch elves

Due to her connection to the Star arcanum, Stella is able to work around some restraint or obstacle the Celestial elves may create

The leader of the celestial elves might be Aaravos aligned, but Kosmo and Astrid will likely be more helpful / friendly

Leola is Aaravos' sibling (in a cosmic sense at least) or a close loved one. She transformed into or was remembered as a unicorn out of grief/guilt for what she and Aaravos had brought into the world

Viren used star and blood magic (+ dark magic) in order to save Soren

Muhko the mushroom mage managed to heal Zubeia, but it's not that simple - maybe Sol Regem is making a challenge for the archdragon monarchy, and Zubeia has to go deal with it

Rayla's arc is primarily about addressing her tendencies towards sacrifice and when/why to stop, either for her own good (she refuses to sacrifice another thing, i.e. Callum, again) or for his (because it doesn't matter what happens to her, right?)

The unsuitable heir's moonstone collar makes someone who looks into it possibly see their worst fears (Callum's nightmare with Aaravos and Rayla's with Runaan) if not another trial one or both has to undergo (as Callum's nightmare could just be on the way to the Starscraper / not trial related)

Viren fought Kpp'Ar partially over the relic staff and took it as his own after he coined his old mentor

Callum unlocks another arcanum (either Star or Moon) if not the secret of deep magic itself (cube?)

Soren and Claudia fighting each other?? For me??

For one of the episodes in the 6x06-6x08 batch, one will be flashback heavy. My money is on 6x07 The Red Wedding in particular; if it is present day, it has a lot of the Sunfire civil war fallout going as bad as it possibly can

The cube is Aaravos' missing chest piece and/or played a role in channeling deep or primal magic to humans and helped them develop dark magic

Karim becomes king of Lux Aurea and frees Kim'Dael, who peaces out

Seeds of broyals conflict sown on Ezran's side because he's Going Through It and Callum isn't here :(

Multiple Claudia breakdowns

Callum and/or Claudia (or perhaps both of them working together) result in Aaravos' release; my money is personally primarily on Callum. For the latter, I could also see Claudia helping him open up / get access to the Startouch elves again

Callum and Rayla reunite with Ezran and what's left of everyone else at the end of the season, or realize by other means just how much shit has hit the fan if Claudia was the one to release Aaravos

Other characters on the potential chopping block: Opeli, Pharos, Gren, Miyana, Barius, Karim, Kazi

Aaravos will be at his full powers or very very close to it by the end of 6x09, possibly resulting in his chest sigil going right side up again

[antifranchaela]

I feel super thrilled and eager for the Franchael genderswap & I think it's great how some of the people in this fandom try to battle homophobia and misogynoir in the fandom and point out how Franchaela have had literally 1 minute of screentime together before people can jump to conclusions about their storyline.

So, basically, for those that haven't read the books, let me give you a short summary : Francesca and John are very, very happily married. John is (more or less) the love of Fran's life (or at least that's what she thinks), meanwhile Michael, John's cousin, has been in love with Francesca from the first moment he saw her (not that he ever told her or made a move, the minute he found out Fran was his cousin's girl, Michael backed off & basically all but shipped himself out of the country - he's in the army - to run & avoid Fran and John), Fran finds Michael attractive, but she's not interested in him (but this is questionable and he himself kinda calls her out on this later). She loves John. Now, eventually John dies. Fran is devastated, especially when she finds out she's pregnant & has a miscarriage after John dies. Michael, similarly devastated over the loss of John. inherits John's title & is now more aware than ever that he should marry, but he's still into Francesca. Both get into a sorta "will they/won't they", where they're clearly into each other, but struggling because they feel like they'd betray John. (Michael because he's always been into/after Fran & Fran because she doesn't feel like she can move on from the love of her life and love somebody else.) But eventually Francesca decides that she does want to remarry because ultimately, she still desires to have a family and a baby of her own & they overcome their feelings of betraying John & end up together. (That’s a very loose summary.)

So there's 3 arguably 4 core elements to Francesca's story

Her love for John & the betrayal of John, she feels at the idea of moving on

Her desire for a baby which devastates her & also makes her move on eventually (& as we later find out a difficulty having a baby)

Her non-interest in Michael (again this is up for debate) & Michael's love at first sight with her

Michael's love for John & the feeling of betraying John by loving Francesca

& As of Season 3 we know

Francesca's feelings for John are complex. She obviously fought to marry him over hesitations from her mother and she (the literal shy and quiet Bridgerton) even stood up for their engagement AGAINST THE QUEEN. It's not completely clear yet if she is (using modern terms) bisexual or a lesbian. Either way, her love for John is different, which aligns with the book where she herself recognizes that what she had with John was very different from what she has with Michael

She hasn't given an opinion on wanting a family yet other than not wanting 8 kids lmfao

She experienced potentially her first moment of sexual attraction (some may say "dropped pussy") upon meeting Michaela... in front of John. Whom she'd only married DAYS before... and she has no idea what she's feeling because she literally has never felt this and also doesn't know that lesbianism is even a thing

There is a theory that Michaela still fell for Francesca first. The theory goes that Michaela assumed Eloise was John's wife, hence why she nodded at Eloise but didn't ask for her name, she only asked for Fran's name because she assumed that was a single Bridgerton sister or a friend of John's new wife that she could get away with flirting with a bit. the second she found out Fran was John's wife her face drops

A lot of this works with the original storyline, some of it doesn't and that is literally how the entire Bridgerton adaptation has gone so far... Because that's how adaptation works especially when the original books are composed of boring ass white hetero couples where the man is often an abuser/rapist/immature man child/all of the above. Some of y'all are racist and homophobic if you can't just re-read your goddamn book that you love so much and leave the Michaela enjoyers alone

2 pussies rubbing against each other ain't gonna make a baby - BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY KEEP TRYING

Sperm donors & IVF aren't a regency thing, so the baby storyline isn't gonna stay the same. Period. And this is a really interesting take on both infertility and queerness where Fran may have to choose between marrying some random man she doesn't love just to have a kid, or being with the woman she actually loves even if it means having no bio kids. Which is extremely powerful take on infertility that we haven't seen much of, especially set in regency era

The showrunner has confirmed that Fran does love John, the aspect of that love is unclear because we haven't seen more than 1 minute of their married life together. See the most likely millions of lesbians who ended up married to men throughout history who nonetheless loved them. Period. But she will still feel a lot of shame and despair over his death regardless. In fact, being unable to love him romantically and/or sexually would WORSEN her shame because she would feel she lied to him and never told him the truth. OF COURSE SHE WOULD CARE ONCE HE'S DEAD because Francesca cares deeply for him.

So basically from Fran's perspective, there could be love between her and John (platonic or romantic or sexual), potentially desire for a baby which could absolutely still work with the lesbian plot, cause it's an actually interesting moral dilemma for her to choose someone she can't have a baby with because of LOVE AND ROMANCE (WHICH BRIDGERTON IS ABOUT BTW)

ABSOLUTELY feeling of betrayal or conflicted thoughts about John.

So what's left? Michaela? WE CARE A LOT. we'll see if theories are true that she may have fallen for Fran at first sight too

So what's left of the original relationship?

A lot of what I just said + Michaela inheriting John's title, which is apparently the least important part of the story even though many were jumping down my throat saying "Michaela can't inherit so she can't feel guilt for stealing John's life like Michael does..." MANY SUCH CONFLICTING MESSAGES

This is just riveting & anyone who doesn't get that is stupid. Sorry.

Of course it works for the "Mi-mi-mi LGBT GenZ crowd" (aka the based part of the community) and anyone with a brain who's actually read the story understands how cool and promising this genderswap is. This even includes the lady who wrote the goddamn thing!

They CAN go with Francesca's fertility plot. Which was written years after the original book because the lady who wrote the thing literally forgot about Fran and Michael ever having a kid because IT DIDN'T MATTER TO THE ACTUAL STORYLINE unlike what some people are claiming

They can go with the "Falling in love again" plot now too

Because the show hasn't revealed her type of love for John. And even if she's 100% lesbian she can still love him platonically and be absolutely wrecked by his death and hesitant to move on

And last I checked, 2 cunts - pussies, vaginas, fannies, minges, vajayjays, cookies, punanis, tacos - (EDIT HERE TO CLARIFY THE i'm assuming originally homophobic??? WORDING: "rubbing against each other"), can't procreate. but Fran and Michaela will keep trying because they love to do it and i hope they do it over a bunch of copies of "When He Was Wicked" (non-woke version)

Y'all are amazing for your defense of a queer couple over a bunch of homophobes and stupid people who can't just re-read the book and stop giving a fuck about the show already if they're that mad about it, brilliant for your approval (EDIT to remove some presumably homophobic language: "of adding representation to a very fringe struggle of queer women dealing with infertility in regency England") & ANGELIC for being so excited to see your own bedroom (and kitchen, and bathroom, and living room, and pool...) activities on TV so desperately, you haven't caused another form of representation to be erased because THE BOOK IS ACTUALLY RIGHT THERE

& A lot of people who STILL GIVE THIS MUCH OF A FUCK about any of this out are indeed racist AND/OR homophobic. I stand by all of this. Out of a shittily written season this was actually titillating. we hate to see a "self-hating" gay person 🤣

Y'all are just pathetic & can't handle being confronted by facts. Seek help!