#personnaly so many things happened

[madeofcc]

2023 Top ♥

Tagged by @someone-elsa and @shesthespinstersimmer ♥ Thanks a lot !

I didn't remember doing all that this year !

Thanks a lot to everyone who's been following me through this journey. 2023 was one of the worst year of my life but also one of the best weirdly so let's hope 2024 will be better for everyone ♥

below the cut I'll put the link and explanations for each edit

1/ The Moonlight/Moonwood Tales concept : Based on the lore that came with the werewolves pack, I imagined a story that would explain everything between the werewolves, vampires and spellcasters. I actually prepared a plan for season 1 ... Maybe I'll post it next year ?

2/ The stories I planned for this year but so far, only Melodia is still going. DH3 will start next year sadly and Another Side has been cancelled because of lack of time and a bad computer.

3/ Aïssa in the city : a special photoshoot/lookbook with some items I love and also a small interview including infos about DH2 and 3. It's also a way for me to show more about Aïssa's modeling life. The title is also a reference to the upcoming spin-off about her ...

4/ The DH3 women and the DH3 gang because I want you to love them when the story will start !

5/ The EDGEWAVE fest organised by @aniraklova ♥ It surely was my favourite event this year ! What an awesome idea it was and a lot of people did amazing stuff during 2 weeks ! You saved our summer for sure ! I used Candy Bher as a reference to Another Side and MOON who's a character in DH3 ...

6/ Toxic Don ! A potential new Another Side story I've been thinking about years now ... It would be fun !

7/ The Ghostface DH3 edits : It's a reference to DH3 and Scream of course; the plot will be a tribute to Wes Craven actually !

8/ The Melodia musical video part : it actually was awesome and fun to create but it took me an entire month just for this little video. I decided to stick to a more boring regular way to post this story. I also don't have a lot of readers so far so I guess they will forgive me. I still see it as one of my biggest achievement here though so check it if you can ^^ I love how the episode turns into a musical movie

9/ @windbrook's Slashed Challenge : it was one of my favourite CAS challenge of all time ^^ I'm a huge slasher fan ! It was perfect for simblreen and people created awesome characters and stories !

10/ A makeover of the Three Sages that comes with Realm of Magic : Ana Mae is actually an original OCs, they all should appear in DH4 and 5 ... Morgyn should be very important in DH4 actually ...

11/ URBZ Mag DH3 edition ! Get the girls part here and the boys part there ♥ I love doing fake interviews and mag covers ! Sorry not sorry

12/ Valentines day ♥ My favourite is the one with the Destiny, Leïla and Aïssa because it's funny and feminist, what this trio is together ! They surely had a great night that day, it's also supposed to happen after Melodia so ...

13 / Franck and Madame Sophie : the first drag sims I create ! I wanted one for the Aïssa spin-off so I guess it will be them :)

14/ Recent edits I like : Maria Perron for @birdietrait's coven (I love her and I'd love to make a little story about her) / An other Another Side new idea focused on Venessa Jeong / Destiny's last portrait for the ocs associations

15/ My favourite gif coming from Another Side Episode 1 : I think it's the best ending for this episode as it shows all the plots and times together. Everytime I see it I want to get back to the story ...

Tagging @trippisimmies @badwoohoo @bobnewbie @uwutrait @frzr-bunny @windbrook @eslanes @budgie2budgie @nefarrilou @kashisun @birdietrait @castawavy @agena87 @fangs-trait @peonypyxels @barbieaiden @void-imp @ladybugsimblr @xldkx @nilonne @bakersimmer @whyhellosims @mangosimoothie @djservo @sea-cross @surely-sims @hufflepuff-sim @aniraklova @therichantsim @wolfavens @cinamun @alelelesimz @moontaart @pralinesims @cyberth0t @squea @helloavocadooo @cross-design @rebouks @crazy-lazy-elder-sims and anyone else who'd like to join ♥ feel free to tag me or ignore this as well ^^ (Also, check out these blogs, they're all great !)

[myriadparacosm]

James and Sirius would sometimes disappear for a few days and sometimes a whole week together, for 'bonding time' with barely any informations. They kiss their boyfriends goodbyes because they aren't animals but it has happened for them to suddenly leave as if they both got struck by lightning at the same time.

Remus and Regulus never really complain about that co-dependence of theirs since they always come back in one piece, without dragging troubles, so they also take the time for themselves. Of course they miss them but they rarely leave for long so it's fine.

Apparently they do many different things during their 'bonding times' but they only discover the truth when Remus and Regulus decide to take a walk through Muggle London, chatting and joking that their boyfriends have anniversaries like couples, when they spot James and Padfoot winning the first prize of Crufts, the largest dog competition in the world, on the TV of the cafe they stopped by.

Sirius and James first applied as a joke but they took it personnaly when Padfoot lost against some b*tch.

[yakichoufd]

Is it weird that I don't feel excited for the Deadpool and Wolverine movie?

I feel like X-Men 97 already scratched that X-Men itch and obsession in my head. Plus I feel satisfied with artists like you making Wolverine polycule fanart and fancomics.

Is something wrong with my head???

I think your feelings are valid cause you don't need to watch something else if you already feel satisfied. I am hype for that movie because I enjoyed the first two Deadpool movies. I am not expecting to fall in love of Logan there, or the other x-men we might see. I am expecting to watch a ridiculous movie with silly jokes and funny action scenes. I am hoping Scott will have a cameo but I think it won't happen. I've never been a super fan of Logan movies. He is fun and interesting (plus the actor is very handsome so my eyes are always happy when he is on screen), but his big lone wolf energy was a bit too much for me. Maybe he is too handsome and awesome and in the animated serie, he is a grumpy short king who has a lot to say and his lone wolf personnality seems more understandable to me. I really enjoy how unhinged he is in the 92 show and how he was in 97. It satisfies me a lot. I think you can take whatever please you in any adaptation and play around that. You don't need to enjoy every new adaptation from a franchise you like. There are some X-men comics where I find Scott really boring and not interesting at all. I enjoy very specifics things about him and therefore it makes me very picky about how he is portrayed. I still think I am a fan. I am a picky fan, but a fan regardless. Even if I mostly know the animated shows. I am tired of that childish fight "Oh I am a better fan cause I read the comics!" it is not a competition lmao! Enjoy whatever you want!! I personnaly read the comics cause I want more Scott content. That's my personnal reason. I want to know everything about him haha! I think we are many to be tired of the Jean/Scott/Logan drama ( where they are rivals instead of lovers) cause that rivality, usually, has a layer of misogyny and sexism. Jean is the prize and the 2 males love interests can't think straight and have to claim her. As if Jean has no choice but to accept the one who fight the hardest. I'm sorry but that is really stupid, and not how feelings work imo. That kind of relationship is based on something so weak, it will break at the first issue they would meet . I personnaly find that kind of writting insulting for every character involved, and it breaks the sincerity and depth of the romance. It removes all kind of feelings, character development and personnalities. It makes them so immature too. The polycule road on the other hand shows they could build something different. They could break the rules and be free to make their own. And as mutants, they don't care about humans society stupid rules. The can write what works for them and gain maturity over their relationship and sexuality. I am not saying every couples have to become a polycule to be mature. But for Scott, Jean and Logan it seems like a better fit for them. They can still act silly and fight over randoms things, but removing that very unhealthy incomplete love triangle and make it an actual love triangle, where each individual have romantic feelings for each other is better for them imo.

[sparklingmusicofstars]

Hamefura Bonus Story : Be happy

This is a story about Raphael and his mother. I personnaly found it so touching and sweet, really one of my favorite ! Raphael's mother was like her son, very gentle and strong !

My family was not very wealthy.

However, my parents gave me a lot of love, and for the sake of my future, they forced me to enroll in a school of etiquette.

However, due to overwork, my parents passed away due to an epidemic while I was still in school.

Losing my parents, whom I loved so much, and being all alone, made me sad, but I did my best not to waste what my parents had done for me, and I graduated from school safely.

And just then, a vacancy became available at Marquis Deek's household, and I was appointed as a servant.

I'm an underling maid, but if I have a background of working for the marquis house, I won't have trouble finding a job in the future.

My future is secure.

This is all thanks to my parents sending me to school.

Let's work hard.

I started working with that enthusiasm, but...

For some reason, I, who was an underling, caught the attention of the master of the marquis house, and ended up being made to be his partner for the night.

Eventually, I became pregnant with a child.

It was never the pregnancy I wanted.

Still, I was happy to think that I, who had become all alone, could have a family again.

That's why, when the Marchioness turned her hatred on me, who seemed to have realized I was pregnant... I quietly escaped from the mansion to protect my child.

I moved far away from the mansion and I started making all kinds of preparations.

I no longer had relatives I could rely on, but I had saved up the wages I had received from the marquis' household and spent very little, so I wouldn't have to work for a while.

But I can't give birth to a child alone, so I have to ask for help.

When I started preparing for the birth of my child, there were so many things I had to do, and time passed by in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, a kind old lady who lived next door to the house I rented offered to help me after giving birth for a small amount of my pocket money.

After a long and painful process, I finally held my baby in my hands, and I felt so moved that tears naturally started to flow.

I had been left all alone, but now I had a precious family again, and I would do anything for this child. That's what I thought.

I named my lovely son, with red hair and grey eyes, Raphael.

And I decided to give him the same love I had received from my parents.

When Raphael got a little older, I left him with the old lady next door and went to work.

The money I had saved at the marquis' house was running low, and I needed to earn enough money to live with Raphael.

Of course, I didn't tell the marquis' family, and I never told to anyone around me about his father.

When I remembered the hatred-filled eyes that the Marchioness used to look at me, I thought in my heart that it would be better not to get involved.

I love tea, so my kind son desperately makes tea for me with his small hands.

How lucky I am to have such a son.

That's what I always thought every time I saw Raphael.

I was really happy, imagining that I would be able to spend my days in a modest and warm way and one day see the lovely bride that this kind son of mine would bring home to me.

And yet...

My son's mouth was covered with a cloth and he was pinned to the cold floor.

"Stop it !!! "

I screamed desperately, but the man pinned me to the floor.

Why, why did this happen ?

"Please don't treat that child's body roughly That body will belong to my precious Sirius."

It was the Marchioness Deek who said that and looked at me with the same hatred-filled eyes as ten years ago.

I don't understand the meaning of this situation at all.

All of a sudden, I was brought in, beaten, and hurt, all of which I couldn't understand.

But all I know is that they are going to do something bad to my precious son.

"…… Marchioness, if you hate me, I don't care what you do to me ……so please, please don't do anything to my son ……."

I pleaded desperately, but the Marquise's behaviour did not change.

"What an brazen woman ! The woman who stole my husband and even gave her a child still says what she wants ?! "

That's what the Marchioness said, but it wasn't true at all.

"…… I was only appointed as a temporary partner by the Marquis. I have no intention of approaching the Marquis again. I just want to live quietly with my child."

In fact, the Marquis probably doesn't even remember me anymore. He probably doesn't even know that he has a son. So I want him to leave us alone.

"...I will never allow you, you and your child, to live happily ever after !...Start !"

My voice did not reach the Marchioness.

A black man wearing all black clothes stood in front of me and began muttering words I had never heard before.

Then, I felt a strong shock to my body.

Oh, I'm no good now. That's what I understood.

I don't feel anything in my body.

I vaguely saw Raphael coming towards me.

If I could move my hands the way I want, I would want to touch your cheek and wipe away your tears...

Don't cry, Raphael.

A kind and proud son.

I was so happy to give birth to you and spend time with you.

So please, you too...

"... Please... live, survive, be happy... I love you..."

★★★★★

When I opened my eyes, I saw the ceiling there, which I was finally getting used to seeing, and remembered that this was a room in the Ministry of Magic dormitory that I was renting.

It has been a few weeks since I, Raphael Walt, started working for the Ministry of Magic.

That day, after Catarina called me by my real name and the black man disappeared from my mind, I started dreaming about Mom more often.

They were mostly happy ones, not the ominous ones I used to have, such as being hugged …… in my childhood, being stroked on the head, and being praised for the tea I made for my mom.

Also, the last appearance of mom... Now that I think about it again, she was looking at me with a very gentle gaze.

The hatred and sorrow are not gone.

Even so, it was definitely thanks to her that I was able to live without being trapped in the past.

From now on, I will live to be happy, as my mother said in her last words.

It may not be easy for me, who has committed various crimes so far...

To that end, let's do what we can do now.

I got out of bed, got dressed, and headed to my assigned department at the Ministry of Magic.

Since I always arrive early, I haven't seen any other employees yet, and I was alone in the quiet room getting ready for work when there was a knock on the door.

It didn't seem like there was an employee who came in like this in this department, I wondered who it was.

"Come in"

When I replied,

"Excuse me"

The one who came in saying that was Nicol Ascart, a beautiful young man with black hair and dark eyes.

"Eh, why are you here ?"

I was so surprised that I forgot to use honorifics and just asked him.

"I had something to do at the Ministry of Magic, so I stopped by while I was there."

Nicol said that with his usual expressionless expression, and she held out a large bag.

"It seems that the student council members gave this to you. I received it yesterday."

“Eh, thank you.”

The bag I received was heavy and filled with sweets, tea leaves, vegetables, etc.

And there was a piece of paper placed on top of the bag that said, "Do your best at your job."

I recognized the not-so-good characters. She often spread out her notebook in the student council room.

"……Thank you"

I held the bag I received close to my chest, and when I muttered that again, my expressionless friend simply nodded.

The weight of the bag in my arms made me think that maybe I was already happy.

[bloomellaa]

Hi I really like your art and I wanted to know how you see Jean and Harry’s relationship after the events. Does he feel anger towards Kim for essentially”taking” Harry. Thanks <3

Thank you !! Well I'm glad you like my art and I have a whole explanation and almost essay incoming so bare with me lol.

Jean isn't angry at Kim because he's been shown admiring him and almost being honored that Kim is even "there" at the end of the game, he has a lot of respect towards him. What would happen reguarding Kim though is Jean having a feeling of jealousy or envy over the fact Kim is able to have such a stable relationship with Harry and even worse Kim seems to have a good impact and influence on Harry where Jean is faced with his own failure and inability to help him during all those years (4). He would end up in a circle of guilt and self-loathing toward that fact, Harry and Jean are really codependent after all. He would love to have what Kim and Harry have since this is what he's been longing for a long time as their relationship escalated pre Martinaise. My guess is, it was fun at first when they met, until it wasn't anymore and became a nightmare over the years. (I could go on about my thoughts on what happened during pre Martinaise and how it ended up being a fiasco for them but I will keep it short.)

I feel like the relationship between Harry and Jean post Martinaise would be tense at first, Jean would be stuck with a "new Harry" that seems to be a half or even a quarter version of the old one. He's not the Harry he knew once, but it's still him on so many levels that it's hard to even digest that, it's a whole process of grief for someone who's not even dead. He would be more distant toward Harry sometimes, sometimes closer, but there would still be that air of uneasiness around as long as they don't talk out unsettled matters on Jean's part. Harry doesn't remember any of it so he's not really the one who is bothered by it directly, however his empathy would just scream at him how much something is wrong and out of place. Jean wouldn't be the one to bring it up in an attempt to protect Harry from his old self. Because he would prefer sacrificing himself in a fear Harry might come back to that old toxic, abusive and self destructive man he was. At this point it's a self inflected wound but Jean would be the type to do that, he mentionned how much they were garbage but somehow he STILL wants Harry back, he just loves the man to no end, he talks about themselves as if they knew each others since 10 years and not 4.

That's why I see him having a short temper with Harry because he still has matters unresolved, it just gets him as a reflex too, always on his guard, is Harry going to go back to how he was ? Of course he wouldn't there's Kim and months passed but Jean is still on fucking edge, years of babysitting a grown ass man and emotionnal abuse don't disappear in a few months.

I personnaly went with the route of having Harry sober for good but being a complete weirdo nonetheless who sometimes has heavy meltdown. In my version of Harry he gets way better with the help of Kim and Kim gets more open about himself the longer he stays with Harry as a new partner. Thing is, slowly Harry will return to be in charge of the Crime Unit giving Jean some slack about being the superior of everyone when actually Harry should have been.

Anyway I hope you liked that little rant I went on about. I could go on and on about what would happen after but basically their relationship as long as they didn't have a serious talk would be somehow unsteady. With up and downs but mostly on Jean's part, and Harry would have a hard time addressing the elephant in the room.

[hopeful-sluts]

Astral energy or whatever yatta yatta sense that a new time of lewd is comming! Welcome!

A simple to start, Shuichi gets ready and enters hopes peak for his very first day! Making some heads from the prettiest girls he ever meet turn at the sight of his cute face, massive femboy butt (optional) and looking small but actually massive bulge-donk (optional, I quite like dick shock and size surprise, so having bulge looks small but dicks massive is a stuff I do)

But before any can go and meet him more personnaly, the ultra famous queen of the school junko comes in the lewdest attire imaginable, call him big bro and pull him in a closet with her for a ultra sloppy lewd make out session (and her own plowing)

Shuichi was finally starting to feel proud of himself, finally making it into a school like Hope’s Peak was a dream come true for the detective! Even if he was quite embarrassed over the amount of stares he was receiving from girls eyeing him up and down especially his rear end. Before he knew it however right in front of him was none other than Junko Enoshima herself!

“Hey Big Bro~! Why don’t you come follow me this way?”

“H-Huh?! Wait where’re we-“

Before he could even respond the next thing he knew was that the two were in a very tight closet with his face pushed right up against her massive rack, before they started a deep sensual kiss.

“God you have such a cute face, Shuichi~! And now let’s get to the exciting part~”

Junko said while licking her lips before being shocked by a massive cock popping out, causing her heart to skip a beat! She had not expected that at all.

It was a few hours before the two left after that had happened… however many that passed by could have sworn they heard clapping sounds as the two soon walked out disheveled. Shuichi was going to be just fine here.

[queenfredegund]

I was wondering whether you think Bathildis regina voluntarily retired as regent or whether court factionalism caused her too?

Hello, anon ! I think it's both.

First of all, we know for sure that a lot of things happened before her official retirement, such as the death of one of her most closest allies, Bishop Sigobrandus of Paris, who was allegedly killed for being a bad influence over her and the regency council (at least that's what he was blamed for, but to me, it mostly sounds like a later wrapped-up justification from some chroniclers to explain why that man was killed, and defend in the same time the memory of "Good Blessed Saintly Queen" Bathildis, who was already an important saintly figure at that time). And from that specific mention, we can draw the conclusion that Bathildis indeed lived in a complicated time, with a lot of tension and political schemes, and then conclude that she was ultimately forced to retire herself by some combination of court factionalism.

That's at least the opinion of the majority of historians. But I personnaly find that proposition quite inaccurate and a little bit too deminishing, especially if we see the result as : a woman who is once again submitted by some men and forced to withdraw herself despite her own will.

I also think that the historical figure of Ebronius, her well-known nemesis in the eye of many historians, is a very easy scapegoat if we alledge the fact that he was a very hated man in his time for being from a non-aristocratic background and that his memory has been the object of a damnatio memoriae for centuries now. Of course, it's tempting to blame him for being the sole perpetrator of Bathildis' removal from the court, and her ultimate retreat in the Abbey of Chelles, like if she was imprisoned or exiled for good. But I think we need to see beyond that.

My take on this specific matter is different: for me, Bathildis was just acting like any other women of authority of her time and most of all, she was wisely presenting herself as the anti-Brunehilde.

Let me explain this: Brunehilde was a very influential figure during her first time as a regent, but both her downfall and death were a very gruesome proof of what could possibly happen to a woman who defy the laws of her gender. Indeed, what ultimately works against Brunehilde was that she was seen as transgressing figure who coopted power from men, i.e. her son, grandsons and great-grandsons. No matter how good her relationships with them were, or how relatable she was towards them, she was seen by others as a woman who was refusing to submit to public withdraw of senior women and widows, and alledgely mingled in political matters whereas she was strongly advised not to do so. And so by that, she litterally created a force of opposition against her: at the moment of her death, she was seen as a bad queen, which later wow her to be labelized as a Jezebel-like queen, the most insulting parallel someone can draw to describe a royal woman's behavior.

On the contrary, Bathildis removed herself from public view and litterally abided by the principles of her gender, letting her sons ruled by themselves whithout being an overly controlling figure like Brunehilde was herself and thus being a more discreet figure. Therefore, she marked herself as an anti-Brunehilde, consciously or not as we don't know for sure if she was really working on a strategy or no. Furthermore, it's really important to note that in some sources, Bathildis is also presented like a Jezebel figure and a bishop's killer, meaning that at some point, Bathildis' power was perhaps seen as an emulation of Brunehilde's controversial figure. Therefore perhaps explaining why she chose to retreat in order to prevent her to be harshly treated like Brunehilde had been…

[loulicate-recs]

Hello you! Today's December 2nd and with a new day comes a new message. How are you today? I'm pretty tired myself because of the cold (is it cold even where you live?) but I personnaly like winter a lot, so I'm glad it's getting chillier :) I hope you’re doing fine but if not, you can rant all you want and I'll read with my whole attention :) I'm sending you all the kisses in the world waiting for your answer!

xx

I'm sorry this is so inarticulate but I have too many things to say :>

PS: I was wondering what your timezone was, as I would really like not to miss the accurate time in the future. But no worries if you're not comfortable with sharing :>

hi secret santa really sorry for the late reply i’ve been working all day! ah sadly for me we don’t get the 4 seasons here so no winter, i’ve never even touched the snow in my 21 years of living :( but i didn’t know cold could tire you out, how is that possible? :o i hope you’re getting enough rest btw, sending you really really warm hugs from here (my place can get really hot on most days, you can tell by my dusty jumpers!)

anw thank you for asking me about my day, i wouldn’t want to bore you out with my whining but today hasn’t been that great (nothing happened in particular but it was one of those days 🥴 hope tomorrow will get better for the both of us!)

btw i live in malaysia so my timezone is gmt +8, what about you? (if you don’t mind telling as well!) and i don’t mind you sending the ss at any time, cus i’m shit at replying quickly sdfghj i’m sorry and i’m sorry in advance too! just in case, you don’t get to find the time to send me sth on your busy days, i’ll understand! mwah <3

[ncarnesir]

I feel the need to correct some facts here, because if those last 10 minute increased of hundred of votes, I didn't see it...

We (me and some friends ardently campaigning for Hux and others) were understandingly very excited to see things shifted after we bothered so many people on different discord and twitter to get more votes for Hux, and I was also following very closely what was happening. And have happened to screenshot the shift that happened over HOURS.

Part 1: 4h21 min left

Here at 4 hours left, Hux was lagging behind Cassian with about 50 votes of difference (calculated using the total number of votes and %, Hux having 163 and Cassian 215. All numbers are of course approximate and rounded.)

Part 2: 45 min left

Now 3.5h later (not 10min), the votes where getting closer with Ani and Hux having both about 254 votes and Cassian having 262. So Cassian had in that time an extra 47 votes, but Hux managed to get an extra 91. So YES Hux got twice as many votes as Cassian in those 3.5h but it's only 45 votes more, not hundreds. And in 3.5h. If that's botting... man that's the worst bot in the world tbh. But seeing how I personnaly tried to rally twitter Domhnall fans in between the two I'll take credit over a bot. Also while we were campaigning so hard what were the others doing?

Part 3: 23 min left

Now down to the moment we got ecstatic and arrived at a 5 way tie. 20 minutes have past, but there are only 72 mores votes, and everyone is now roughly at 265, that means an extra 3 votes for Cassian and an extra 11 for Hux, wow that's such an insane number. At this point mind that 2 votes roughly makes up for 0.1%.

Part 4: Final scores

The final numbers then. I will admit I'm amazed anyone managed to have even more friends to vote there, for the total number of votes in that last 23 minutes increased of 53 people. But EVERYONE INCREASED TOO since they all finish really close. At the end the difference, considering the whole poll is only 2143 votes, is 4 votes between 12.6 and 12.8%. So really... terrible bot.

Conclusion

Now... That some people are sour over this... I don't understand.

First, it's just for fun. It's a Tumblr poll for God's sake.

Second, it's such a small pool compared to others I've seen where Hux didn't even make it into the list and there was 10k+ votes. We know Hux isn't the hottest for most people. Hollywood loves Pedro Pascal and Diego Luna (and Ewan obviously) much more then cute ginger man Domhnall Gleeson.

But that doesn't mean WE don't genuinely love the man and think he's hot. And it doesn't mean it's insane and cheating that we'd find 275 people who'd vote for him.

Now last point and pardon my harsh language but what the fuck dude/girl/random internet person?All the men in that poll are hot to start with, they're all movies stars. Get down a peg and stop insulting those who don't like the same things as you just because you didn't bother your friends enough to make your favorite live one extra round in a stupid tumblr poll. We're all just having fun.

TLDR: There is no foul play imo considering the slow shift and small numbers, but there certainly is foul attitude toward people just enjoying their favourite that is admittedly not your average hot person.

Sooo, I’m not sure if this will make you feel any better about the whole poll drama disappointment, but I thought I’d let you know where I think some of this may have originated from and why I think the bots rumor started rather than there actually being bots (though I will get to that too).

(as a disclaimer: I’m speaking only from what I’ve seen from my neck of the (kylux) fandom woods; there could absolutely be other people involved that I’ve simply seen nothing from)

A person, who happens to ship kylux but has promoted to all fandoms with that character, has been having fun with the ‘hottest SW man poll’. They’ve been reblogging links to it along with entertaining little edits to promote their favorite character with the hope of getting people to take part in the vote. Now obviously they’re voting for that character themself, but anyone who happens to see the post are no more obligated than anyone else who reblogs/sees the poll to vote for that person’s preference. (I’m a kyluxer too, and I love both of them, but despite the promotions I still didn’t vote for him because that’s not my opinion for ‘hottest SW man’) And I don’t know about you, but I’m sure there have been many people, myself included, who have voted in a poll someone they follow reblogged for something that person liked and, despite not having a stake in it personally, cast said vote in deference to them. I’m sure that happened in some cases with this situation, however I’m also sure part of what happened is that fans who’d have otherwise never seen the poll were able to cast their vote (I’m in this category as I don’t follow these sorts of blogs at all), as well as – because it was put out in a fun, silly way – led them to vote when they might not have cared to bother otherwise.

Now, I do agree it’s kinda stretching the general spirit of these polls, however what they’ve been doing is only really different in that they’ve been adding character edits along with multiple reblogs in an attempt to make it a silly little attention-grabbing promotion thing rather than merely a reblog or two of the poll. Again, I do think it’s been a bit much, but I will say I can appreciate the enthusiasm of someone who thought they were having fun in their fandom with a simple ‘for fun’ fandom related poll. Another consideration to make is that this person might be new to these things (and/or tumblr in general), which could be a reason for it as well. Plus, different people are going to react to and participate in things in different ways, and sometimes those ways differ from the norm enough to cause a stir despite no ill will or actual ‘rule breaking’ meant.

Nevertheless, that isn’t botting. I can see why people might feel it’s a little unfair even if it’s only exaggerating behavior people already naturally have with polls. I can also certainly understand why it could lead to some people getting rubbed the wrong way and then feeling upset, thus further leading to a sense of drama and subsequent botting rumors (and the origin person being a kylux shipper leading to the kylux fandom as a whole being scapegoated). But still, that’s not the same as botting. In the end, neither you nor anyone else are obligated to no longer be upset simply because of this explanation. That’s your right and you don’t have to like this any more than genuine botting, I just wanted to clarify a potential source.

However, if there IS real botting, that’s indeed an absurd thing for someone to be doing for a simple poll. Perhaps someone got out of hand because of the above person’s promoting; perhaps it’s just a rumor started because some people simply weren’t expecting the character to receive enough votes to persist in the poll – and hey, everyone’s got their own preferences and opinions on ‘hotness’, but the fact a character some don’t think should be lingering over others has endured so long doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a conspiracy. Of course, I’m sure there are people who also have their own opinions on what might constitute ‘botting’ and have considered what I described to be in that category. Which is totally fine too. I personally disagree, but that’s merely my opinion and no one else has to accept it. For the most part, I merely believe this was a situation that got a little out of hand and led to a bit of drama that’s now negatively painting people who meant no harm – because it IS just a fun little fandom poll.

As for the numbers bumping in seemingly large chunks upon refreshing (I don’t even know how you could see individual numbers for an individual character???), I can only guess at how these polls bring in the numbers in order to calculate percentages, both continuous and final. Is it in delayed chunks? Is it really one by one by one exactness??? Perhaps a combination of both, somehow??? While on your end it might appear to be an immediate change after your vote (so a one by one idea), upon a refresh it might ACTUALLY be registering assorted votes in collected chunks, altering the newly refreshed percentage in a way that might seem huge based on what it was before/after your vote, but actually isn’t due to a collected recalculation of ALL new votes. And by individual character numbers, I’m not talking about that character's percentage, which is a percentage of a whole being recalculated upon that refresh. A whole which shifts percentages up and down throughout as the vote total increases regardless of minutes or hours. For a long-term example: he could be at a 13% high at one point because a number of that character’s voters voted around that time, heightening his numbers amongst the pool of votes, then a few hours later is at a 5% low because even more overall votes have come in since and his were few to none, and then later up to 9% as another batch of his voter’s participated. These ‘batches’ ostensibly have more to do with time zones/people online seeing the poll post and not botting. And in the short term you can apply this concept but with the ‘batches’ being overall votes that happen to have some chunks for that character mixed in.

Honestly, I don’t know if any of that is fully true or not; I’m just going off general observation of the polls and vaguely educated(?) guesswork. I could be totally wrong and that stupidly long paragraph is nonsense. Really this whole seemingly suspicious numbers thing is something I’d not seen or heard about at all until your post, so...I’ve no idea there. If botting is happening, and someone did get out of hand with this, I think it’s likely piggybacking off this above person’s attempt at fun engagement, thus tainting and casting blame on said person and, in particular, their ship fandom (which is quite unfair as not all his fans come from kylux, or even from pairings to begin with). And if there isn’t botting and it’s all a misunderstanding, then it’s still doing that to this person and the kylux fandom because of people’s upset and blame shifting onto the biggest pairing he’s in. Either way, it’s just a really unfortunate turn of events. (of course, I’m still merely speaking from my neck of the woods, there could be other stuff going on outside it that I don’t know anything about.)

In short, I suppose I just wanted to say: hey, it’s sad to see you (and others) feeling upset or disheartened by potential botting in a simple SW fandom poll with the potential origin being a kyluxer, and maybe this could help at least give you a different viewpoint and understanding of what might be going on behind the scenes. Still, yet again, neither you nor anyone else has to care about or agree with anything I’ve said, I simply felt a desire to do so as a follower of you, awareness of this poll, and a kyluxer myself.

So first off, I do appreciate your thoughtful response! And I'll clarify a bit on what I was talking about and why I made the statement. Now I will admit that I do not have 100% concrete proof of anything, what I have is my own observations, those observations confirmed by others, plus some information that is admittedly rumour, but is from people I trust who aren't the type to start shit and wouldn't say anything unless it was something they'd personally seen or had no reason to doubt

And I don't think recruiting friends outside the fandom to vote is botting or any other kind of cheating - it's not, everyone does that, I don't think that's an issue at all and is within fairness. What I'm talking about is actual botting, using fake accounts to vote. Which, if you have either the programming know how or a bit of money to pay for a bot that's pre-made, is a lot easier than people think it is. I know how one could do it manually, but I do not know enough about programming to automate it (and I won't explain how, because then it might give more people ideas lmao). I don't think this is widespread either, like one single person with the know how can 100% make hundreds accounts and have them vote within a few minutes. And, if they've ever botted a poll before, it's even faster because the accounts may have already been made

So it started with me watching the poll near the end (I voted within the first couple hours of it being posted, but I was curious how it would turn out). I refreshed with 45-60 minutes left and saw 'oh Hux is gonna lose, okay, too bad but it is what it is' because he was at ~8% and the next lowest was Anakin, who was just under 12%. As the time ticked down, I refreshed again and saw a sudden shift, which surprised me. At that point, I started refreshing every minute or so because it kept going, every refresh was a big jump even at that frequency. Within less than 10 minutes (I don't recall the exact timeframe, but it was very fast, too fast), the total vote count had increased by about 300 or so and I watched it surge with every refresh. The vast majority of these votes, if not all of them, were for Hux as his percentage was the only one that increased significantly (the rest increased by less than a full percentage point, if they didn't decrease)

So while you can't see how many votes went for each person, polls do have the total vote count at the bottom and you can see the percentages, so you can tell if there's a sudden increase in overall votes and if those affect on particular vote choice more than any other. Which is why I found this suspicious because that many votes, that quickly, overwhelmingly for one option, it's highly unlikely it was done by real humans. Plus, we've all seen what happens with big polls both here and on twitter - people have literally paid like $200 to bot polls before and it seems sadly to just be becoming something people do

After I saw that jump, I went and talked to some friends in a private discord we use for chatting and some of them, too, had been watching the poll and having similar suspicions to myself. A more tech-savvy one said this is the kind of increases that are consistent with the use of bots. A couple of people also mentioned they had heard people talking about botting, but weren't sure if that was a joke or not (and it may have been, even if there was botting, it may not have been these people). I can't reveal much more without compromising the identities of my friends, who didn't want to speak out about their suspicions because they don't want to get targeted or anything. I am far beyond caring about that lmao, so I chose to say something about it because idk this kind of thing just really irritates me and as a kyluxer for a very long time, I feel like it's the duty of people in a fandom to call out bad behaviour of our fellows in a rational, non-harassing way

Now, again, I admit none of this is concrete proof. And if I'm wrong and everything was above board and someone did manage to conjure a few hundred people all at the same time at the last minute, well, that's genuinely miraculous like unbelievably so lmao, so good for them. If so, I'll rescind the post, apologize, and go back to having fun. But from the pov of statistics, what I saw myself, what my friends saw, and the added rumours, like. I have to say that actual botting seems far more likely to me. You're welcome to disagree, or think this isn't enough evidence to say it for sure happened, but I wanted to say something regardless because if someone is botting, or even just thinking about it, maybe pointing it out will shame them into stopping so we can go back to having fun

I hope you're right and it wasn't happening, and hell, it may not have even been a kyluxer if it was (there are non-kylux Hux fans out there), but I just find it hard to believe it wasn't happening at this point between what I saw, what others saw, and what I heard. And I think it's better to point out fandom bad behaviour than let it continue unchecked. I refuse to let that kinda shit happen if I can do something about it

[tortuerex]

My honest, humble, and not-objective-at-all opinion about LORDS OF THE SITH

LORDS OF THE SITH by Paul S. Kemp, published in 2015 (canon)

Real quick plot summary : The Free Ryloth Movement, led by Chad Syndulla, attempts a massive attack on the imperial forces, in hope of killing Darth Vader and the Emperor and strike a fatal blow to the Empire. Things didn't exactly go as planned.

I've FINALLY managed to finished the book, started weeks (months?) ago. Actually, I finished it less than 15 minutes ago. And I really enjoyed it. So why did it took me so long ? I'll go back to that point later.

First of all, let me tell you I didn't exactly found in this book what I expected to find. And in a good way. Judging by the cover and the resume, I was prepared for a book mostly about the Emperor and Vader, but I'd say approximatively half the book is about them directly. (I mean, with the exterior narrator talking about them.) The rest of the book is about Cham and his movement, the Twi'lek rebels, and his relationship with Isval. And Isval was my favorite character in the book, she was really well written and her story is so interesting. Kemp managed to bring so more life in all these secondary characters.

I'll try to be cohesive because since I've just finished the book but begun it long ago, I have to go back to my notes about the first half.

I've loved learning things about the Twi'lek's history and traditions. I finally know why some male twi'leks have sharpen teeth and not female ! (In case you don't know, well, that's tradition. But Isval sharpened hers to show she's a hunter too.)

The whole passage of the book with Isval going downtown to literaly hunt imperials and save prostitutes Twi'leks gave me goosebumps. Definitively not a thing I was expecting in a « Sith Lords » book, but it was awesome, so dark, so shady, I was feeling the unhealthy atmosphere of the district. First I was thinking « Ok, he's suggesting she's a former sexual slave and that this is the kind of district these things happen in. » And then I was like « Ok that's not suggested anymore, that's pretty explicit right now. » I didn't expect a Star Wars book to talk to me about sexual abuse and prostitution, but boy it was so strong and hard to read.

And to be honest, I'm really thankful to Kemp for not being patronizing about it. Isval is not a broken little thing, she's a warrior, she had a really bad time in her life, and now she's fighting to help other girls, and she's fueled by hate.

And about Isval, her relationship with Cham was really touching as well. We kinda see it grows before our eyes, not invading the mission nor polluting their discussions, but slowly showing more and more, from chief to subordinate, friend to friend, freedom fighter to freedom fighter, and finally acknowledging that from the very beginning, they were more than that but never had the opportunity to take their chance.

We'll talk a bit about the Sith side of the book too. It was very enjoyable. Exploring the relation between Vader and the Emperor felt like a force hand tightening your chest. The Emperor is perpetually testing Vader (and everyone else). Everything he does, everything he says, has a purpose. This man isn't tied by the mortal rules of luck and probability. Everything is planned and calculated. And Vader knows it. Every word the Emperor speak has a reason, and Vader is like « What did he mean ? » and then « Ok, that's what he meant. »

Vader having flashes of his past life, his former friends, the Clone Wars, Padmé... Every one was heartbreaking and the Emperor KNOWS it. He used them, to keep Vader hateful, to constantly remind him he's a tool of a greater force, and every sentences he said could have been finished by « So... who's the boss ? ».

He's the boss.

You can feel how strong and inflexible they are, there is so many good descriptions of their strenght and determination.

A bit about the secondary characters : I liked Belkor, he was interesting. I liked seeing how he slowly turn insane through the book, ending up talking to a corpse. He's the opposite of the Emperor, having to constantly change his plans depending on other people or just because of misfortune, being manipulated and mocked, and finally snapping out of his mind because of pressure.

Moff Mors was cool too. I would have love to learn more about her, about her past life, but the little we know about her explains perfectly who she is. I felt a little frustrated by never knowing what happen to her at the end, because I personnaly doubt the Emperor will forgive years of non-interference and laziness (damn she was supposed to handle Ryloth!). It's implicitly said she's redeeming herself, but seriously, Palps, do you even redeem bro ?

My biggest problem with this book can be resumed in one word : LYLEKS. The passage with the Emperor and Vader fighting Lyleks was way way way way too loooooooong. I really felt it like a break in the momentum. And speaking of break, I had mine at this point. Bad luck, but hard weeks of work happened at this moment in my life, I had to put the book down while reading this passage, and it was hard coming back to it. Everytime I was reopening the book and seing the Lyleks everywhere I was like « Nobody got time fo' that ». It was a real let down.

To be honest, it almost felt like this whole passage was added in the book completely artificially. Like Kemp has finished his book and the editor said « Hey man that's a cool book you wrote, but what about more Sith kung-fu fighting ? Like, maybe, 40 pages of it ? »

It felf so weird and useless compared to the rest of the book. So unnatural. And it's the only part of the book where I've found severe incoherences. Vader deigniting his lightsaber two times on the same page (without having turning it on in the meantime), and few pages later the same thing but this time with igniting it. Like this passage was rushed and hadn't been seriously reread and corrected.

This was a serious problem because as soon as I've finished the Lyleks passage, and Vader and Palps were running into the young Twi'lek girl in the forest and then heading toward her village, the tension was back again, the apprehension of what was going to happen next, and everything then come one after another very smoothly and I was trapped again in the suspense.

So WHY ? Why would you stop this so effective momentum with an endless fight when we all know the outcome of the fight ?

This being said, what would be my opinion on Lords of the Sith ?

PRO :

- So much characterization. Every character is unique, even the secondary ones. Every motivation, backstory, personnality is understandable and relatable. That's for me the strongest force of the book.

- A good story. That may sound stupid but it's not. Writing a original story in a so vast universe isn't easy. You can't just repeat things that have aleady been told in another Star Wars media, you have to be creative. In this book the stakes are high for the heroes, but may seems lower on the scale of the galaxy. The whole point is... will it be the case ?

- The suspense. Like I've already said, having appealing secondary characters is a licensed book is super important to keep the suspense. Sure, Palps, Vader and Cham won't die. But you don't know about the other ones. And you care about them. You've learnt to know them, to love them.

CON :

THE LYLEEEEEEEEKS

TO CONLUDE :

A very important book to read. Don't expect to see crazy sith things all the time like you may think you will because of the cover. You'll see some sith shits (like Vader boarding a enemy ship alone in deep space), but that's not what important (yet that's impressive, to say the least). You'll learn about Vader, how he feels, his anger, his neverending pain, you'll learn about life on Ryloth, slavery, humiliation of having your planet under imperial jurisdiction. You'll learn about imperials too, human being working for the Empire, how they feel too, their backstory, how they are not just bad guys in uniform blindly following orders.

That's a very deep book for so many reasons (except Lyleks.)

I hoped you liked this review, I'm sorry about the time it took me to write it down. I may take a break because the next book I'll read won't be a Star Wars book (but a book lended to me by a friend so I have to finished it to give it back).

With the hot days slowly returning I have hope to read more seriously in the times to come, because one thing I enjoy is reading in the sun, but as always I won't make any promises I can't keep. I still have to write some reviews for old books I've read (Dark disciple, Wrath of Darth Maul, Ahsoka...) and still got new books to read (including Bloodline), but they will come in time.

As always, take care of yourself, of your surroundings, and enjoy :) Tagging @maulpunk !

[elie-lou]

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND when writting Solangelo, Will and Nico :

I wanted something to remember myself and others of a few things that are important and/or that I are often forgotten in solangelo fics.

While I understand that perfectly respecting everything about a character might be hard nd block creativity, I personnaly prefer when characters are as much in character and as close to their original content conterpart as possible. 

After all, I look for solangelo fics to read solangelo not some other pairing/characters vaguely resembling them.

So here is the list :  * While they haven't been shown holding hands or doing other physically « intimate » gestures like hugging, cuddling or kissing, they still touch each other by bumping their shoulders constantly, sitting close to one another or placing their hands on each other shoulders. And for Nico this is already HUGE !!! Remember how he hates people touching him ?  => I HC  that they only hold hands and stuff like that when there is no one around. And little by little, Nico will learn to be more openly and publicly affectionate with his bae, but that will take time and probably will never be huge on PDA. 

* Nico is from the 30's. So not only was he raised in another time, with old fashioned ideas about many many many things, but he also grew up in fascist Italy that considered homosexuals as deviants. Being who he is would have been not only illegal but also very dangerous back then. And for him this was like 4 years ago, not 70 years ago. Even in ToA, 6 months after starting to accept himself, and while dating Will, he is shown to still be struggling with it, if he rejection of the word boyfriend is any indication. So this, his struggle with being gay, his fears of people’s reactions and his difficulties to accept his feelings and himself, has to influence his behaviour. even in AUs

* Due to all the traumatic events that he had to go through, Nico likely suffers from : PTSD (nightmares, hyperawareness of his surounding and any sudden movement or sound, survivor guilt, etc...), anxiety, social anxiety, abandonment issues, trust issues, self-esteem and self-caring issues.  And all these have to show and play a part in how he interacts and connects to others. Including his crush/boyfriend.

* Will also came through a bunch of  traumatic shists that shaped him : going to war, losing a lot of siblings, in some cases right in front of him, people he hasn't been able to save while he is a powerful healer, becoming counselor very young becuse he had to after the loss of his older siblings, while mourning them and taking care of his younger siblings, etc. … We also don't know why he is a year-round camper.

* They both have deep rooted insecurities, and pobably self-esteem  issues too. => HC that it migh create some issues between them because their insecurities would make them think (and therefore say or do) stupid things. Like for instance when Nico got jealous when Will looks at Paolo's arms.

* They spend as much time as they can together. And I have the feeling that it is mostly Will who initiates it. The only time when Nico openly asked to stay with Will was when the camp was under attack. => not that Nico does not want to take any opportunity to be with his « significant annoyance » but he is not yet in a place where he is comfortable enough to be that open about it.

* They almost constantly bicker like an old married couple … and still manage to look adorable while doing so, apparently.

* Humour seems to be an important part of their interactions/relationship. But they can also be serious and reasonable when needed.

* Will keeps giving Nico sarcastic nicknames such as : Lord of Darkness, Ghost King, etc. (probably just to annoy Nico)

* They don't hesitate to telll the other when he says or does something wrong or unsensitive.

* They are very supportive and caring of each other and seem  to understand each other very well. => HC that this is because, despite appearances and what one would think, they have a lot in common in terms of values and personnality : they are both compassionante, caring, selfless, brave, stubborn, aggravating, had to grow up very quickly at a young age, both harbor deep insecurities, etc. Honestly they are very well matched and balanced, personnality wise or even abilities wise and this could deserve a dedicated post in itself.

A few things that are not direcly related to their relationship but might still have some influence or that I have seen forgotten too many times in fanfics : * Nico is mostly recovered from everything that happened during the previous series. But he still has issues with his most draining magical tricks, like shadow travel. 

* And while Will is aware of that, he does not seem to be forbidding or reproaching Nico from using it anyway. There might have been restrictions the first weeks/months but not anymore and Will did not freak out when Nico shadow traveled in ToA.

* Nico almost never swears and generally speaks politely. He IS very sarcastic and blunt. But he will say please, thank you etc. even to the deads that he controls or even when he is upset. So please people stop making him use fuck like a coma.

* Will has yet to be seen swearing. But he has a more laid-back way of speaking (I think? As a foreigner it is alittle hard to say for me) and can make health related jokes or insults.

* Will is heavily implied to have had a hardcore crush on Nico for a long (but undetermined) amount of time.  => HC that they are each other first ralationship because Will does not seem the type to date someone while he is pinning for someone else.

This list was inspired by my post for the second day of @solangeloweek​ . I will probably edit and update it when I have time because this will be a tool for me when drawing/writting/HC solangelo.

If you want to discuss any of these or add more please leave a comment or contact me  ^_^

Have a good day !

[lilyfromfrogzcountry]

Saw TROS - spoilers ahead, don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled

I need to get some things off my chest to sort out my feelings about this movie :)

It wasn’t as /bad/ as I expected. Let’s say I didn’t get bored. However, there was a lot of stuff I found weird, dumb or that didn’t make sense to me. A lot of things seemed rushed and like last minute additions, which spoiled a bit my enjoyment of this movie. So here’s a little summary of what I liked and didn’t like.

((Before reading, please be aware that i’m a hux fan and a multishipper (reylo included). If this bothers you, please avoid reading this post, since this will probably influence my perception of the movie))

⛔⛔ SPOILERS JUST BELOW - BE WARNED ⛔⛔

What I liked :

Finn finding other stormtroopers having defected (a whole battalion, even), and realizing that he’s not alone. Even if it was to be expected, Finn was always presented as an exception in the story. This shows us the First Order’s stormtrooper program isn’t as efficient in its brainwashing as they claim to be.

Hux being a spy for the Resistance. I know some Hux fans may not have liked it, but I personally found it to be an interesting development in his character. It’s not everyday that a high ranking officer, who’s been a ‘true believer’ in the cause his whole life, changes side like that. I wish it would have been explored more deeply and seriously. Too bad it felt like a last minute addition.

This idea that “some things are stronger than blood”. Rey’s ancestry doesn’t matter, doesn’t influence her destiny. Light side or Dark: what matters is who she chooses to be.

CGI young Luke and Leia flashback (I’m really a fan of this CGI way of bringing back younger versions of actors, the result is always quite realistic imo).

This cute and polite new little robot, D-0 . So sad to learn it was abused by its former master :’(

Kylo’s clothes changing when turning back to the Light. Bye bye black menacing attire and long cape, hello simple shirt and pants. Even if I loved his former look, I quite liked this one as well, it made him appear more “human”. Also, damn, I really found Kylo to be a treat in this movie, he looked so good!

Rey always making a difference between Ben and Kylo Ren : she makes it clear that what interest her is Ben, ie. the Light side of him. It is only after he turns back to the Light for good, after he becomes Ben again, that he earns her trust and love.

Rey lethaly wounding Kylo, then healing him. Because it really seems to be the thing that shook this boy’s soul and made him turn back to the Light (it’s a big part of why, at least). Also, I’m always a sucker for nice characters showing compassion towards villains.

That reylo kiss tho. I know this is a very controversial ship, but since TFA, I was personally certain something deep was going to happen between those 2. I’m glad it was a cute, sweet and hopeful kiss, right after Kylo saved Rey no less. We even get some Ben Smile™. I really wish the movie would have ended here and there, on this hopeful note.

A lot of Hux’s scenes, since I just like him a lot, and he looks both cute and funny (even if I don’t really appreciate how this character was turned into a joke after TFA). Him being unsettled by Kylo having his mask back on, and then saying fearfully how it ‘looks good’ when Kylo calls him out on it in front of everyone. Kylo waving his finger at Hux to shut him up. The whole interaction with Finn and Poe, how they were surprised he was the spy, how he helped them escape, how he asked to be shot to pretend he was taken hostage, the “I don’t care who wins, I just want Kylo Ren to lose” line, etc. Also, how strong his mind must be if he managed to hide the fact he was the spy from Kylo for so long (or did Kylo know and just ignored it?)

What I didn’t like

Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter and all her powers coming from him. I’m disappointed, because what really interested me in this character since TFA is that she was a nobody. Star Wars had always been centered around the Skywalker family and its Exceptional Destiny™. It was nice for a change to see someone who came from nothing be the main protagonist and shake up the galaxy just because it was the right thing to do (a parallel to Finn, a simple and almost exceedingly banal stormtrooper who chose to become something more, and wasn’t pushed by some hidden destiny/heritage). Also, this whole Palaptine arc seemed like it was added at the last minute.

The whole ‘Palpatine is back and wants to make a new Empire’ shit. For me, Palpatine was really a thing of the past. That’s also what interested me in the First Order: the fact this was a regime built on the ruins of the Empire, having evolved under its shadow and memory, but wanting to become something more. It was a good way of exploring the “how the past can influence the present” thematic, and could be used as an interesting parallel to IRL authoritatian regimes reclaiming a glorious past. If Palpatine was behind everything from the beginning, nothing of this matters. Also, what was the deal with Snoke, then? Was he a mere creation of Palpatine from the beginning? Or a real being that got captured and manipulated? What was the point of this character?

Hux’s death. Like, I may be biased because he’s my favorite character, but his death was so rushed and unnecessary. Did he really need to be killed off by Pryde like that, in such a quick and callous way? With Phasma and Snoke gone, he was the only one left in the First Order to have a past history with Kylo. I think it would have been better to have them interact more, especially with the whole story of Hux being a spy. It would have created some interesting interactions. Also, he’s not anybody storywise: he’s one of the architects of the First Order’s rise to power, perfected the Stormtrooper program, participated in the creation of Starkiller Base, gave the order to destroy the Republic... He’s not some random underling. Nobody seems to react or care when he’s killed off out of the blue, which doesn’t make any sense storywise.

The whole character of Allegiant General Pryde. What was even the point of this character? Where does he come from? What did he do that Hux couldn’t have done? The only interesting thing about this character seems to be that he already served Palpatine during the Empire, but after this fact is stated, it doesn’t come up again and doesn’t really influence the story. He doesn’t do anything extraordinary, just gives random orders. Clearly a waste, imo.

The fact that the Rose/Finn thing is completely abandoned. I know a lot of people didn’t like that kiss in TLJ. I personnaly didn’t really care. But it’s weird it’s never mentioned again, and that even in the few interactions those characters have together, there’s no awkwardness, no aknowledgement that it ever happened (even just to say “we moved on”). It’s like it never even existed. What was the point of that kiss, then?

That weird love triangle thing I felt between Rey/Finn/Poe, and the hostility Poe seemed to have towards Rey for a good part of the movie. I really wonder if they didn’t try to subtly cater to Finn/Rey shippers (by making Finn seem in love with Rey) and to Finn/Poe shippers (by making Poe seem in love with Finn, and jealous towards Rey), while nothing clear is ever stated out loud. Of course, I may have misread the vibes, but that’s what their interactions made me think of.

Kylo’s death. Like, I may here again be biased because I like redemption stories, but was it really necessary to have him die right when he turns back to the Light? I was so hopeful for him, and it was all gone in an instant. Also, his death was very weird and seemed rushed. Rey kisses him, he smiles, he seems quite fine and not /at all/ on the verge of death, and then he just loses conciousness and disappears? What even was that?? (also, very sad to make that whole family die off without having known any true happiness away from Palpatine’s manipulations)

Stuff overwhelming the story: too many big revelations, too many powerful ships appearing out of the blue, too many weird stuff happening with Palpatine (wtf was that ‘ritual’ even? what was this shadowy audience he had?). Just...a lot of stuff to digest. And the Palpatine storyline seemed like it was added out of the blue. Nothing in the 2 last movies gave a clue about this (or it wasn’t obvious). Seemed like a cheap last minute addition..

[roachymochi]

Very quick photoshop job make it obvious that the eastern river on the dragon map match the shap of the easterne Liurnia shore, up to the waterfall at the secret passage to Altus and the soft gap between Caria manor hill and the Volcano. By taking it at face value we can correlate a few more things between the two maps. 1. The Volcano is exactly centered on the emplacement of the dragon mouth, which seems thematically fitting. This brings interesting implication to the fact that that entire Volcano area seems to be Risen above sea level in a way that doesn't make sens for a Volcano system. (Look at the cliff from Caria manor it will be obvious it's not natural).

2. The rest frankly doesn't match very well, due to two things : Firstly, like old medieval maps, it's entirely possible that the scale and accuracy of the first map is a bit rough or messed up. Personnaly if I could make the map of my land ressemble the glorious shape of my divine dragonlord I would tweak the reality a bit for the aesthetic. Secondly, The Lands between obviously got majorly fucked up at some point. With the gigantic and frequent starfall, the many parts of the landscape that looks crumbled or landslided, the Gravity magic, the crumbling flying city, landscape is bound to change quite a bit overtime. On top of that, we know that entire cities have been buried whole and if I remember correctly the Elden Ring is described somewhere as the Anchor of all lands. It is quite likely that the Shattering of the Elden Ring also meant the Shattering of the Lands Between : we know this is true both politically and Spiritually, it could be geological too. 3. If we take the point above into acount, and try to imagine the dragonmap "unfurled" to match more closely the current world map, we can guess a few more things.

The crater in the middle of the Land between is absolutely not natural, which explain the difference in eight between the center sea and actual sea level we can see from the beast sanctum.

The secondary big siverly river on the dragon map seems to cross somewhere under Leyndell, around Godwyn's corpse and the forgotten city (we know the river here as a distinct white/milkish color). Maybe significant.

From the North of the moutaintop to where Farum Azula is currently flotting would match the Western "Wing" on the dragon map in length, but in a more outward and raised up posture. Maybe this is the "wall of living stone" the legends talk about?

The feet area of the dragon could loosely match the Limgrave and Crying peninsula, but the land there is so fucked up and destroyed that it's hard to say because it changed so much.

The western quicksilver river on dragon's map as a distinct circular source on the bottom right, which is interesting because this kind of natural formation usually happen from meteor strike. It's obviously significant, but it doesn't match anything in the current map. It would be around beast sanctum or Moghwyn dinasty palace. Maybe it was the original center of Farum Azula ?

This is the most out there part of this analysis, but the way the dragon is fucked up is similar to the way Marika is fucked up : half crumbled left arm/wing, entire left half of the torso obliterated, probably due to a meteor strike/the orange shard impaling Marika (the angle kinda match too), and legs crumbling off. I don't know what to take off it but it seems significant.

Rot lake in Caelid is dragon butt This is all the juice I could get out of this but it's quite a lot of juice for a drawing on a talisman. Make of it what you will.

The World Before #3: From Crumbling Lands

A short entry - from where came Farum Azula? Additionally, some points on Marika's origins. future entries -> #worldbefore

3.1 The Wandering City

As it currently exists, Farum Azula is beyond the Land’s Between - both in space and time. But was it ever a part of the world?

Its commonly thought that Farum Azula is flying thanks to the residual gravity magic of the meteor that struck it. This is a fair statement, as Farum Azula being essentially in-situ makes the Lands Between into nice solid ring shape. However, fallen Azula ruins can be found across the southern regions - strewn from Liurnia to Caelid. The implication being that the city traveled to its current location west-to-east and was already airborne and crumbling when it entered The Land's Between.

As much as I like the idea that Farum Azula flew in from elsewhere, there is one very major issue: the Elden Ring definitively fell in the Lands Between (see. Elden Stars) and the Farum civilization was cleared based around it (see. Part 1). One solution, is to simply acknowledge Farum Azula is incredibly ancient - perhaps the Lands Between did not yet exist as a continent in that ancient age? After all, there is extensive buried architecture almost everywhere you look.

Stone dragons can be seen embedded in the city’s bedrock. Placidusax is also not classified as an Ancient Dragon (likewise, the Placidusax’ Ruin spell belongs to no school). Sure, it could be an oversight - but it could also suggest an even older generation of ‘Primeval Dragons’ of which Placidusax is the last.

3.2 From Another World

All that handwringing over the city’s origin was really just to ask – are the Numen from Farum Azula? The Numen are clearly stated to be from elsewhere, but how far afield is hard to say. In favor of this idea are a few points.

Numern are ‘long-lived, seldom born’, which seems fitting for the people of time bending city. Caveat to this is the ‘Draconian’ character preset, but it’s never seen in-game, so eh?

Marika’s half-brother was a Beastman cleric

Marika’s Hammer is made of stone (see. Bestial Sling)

Marika was found to be an empyrean, implying the society she came from was familiar with the process of ascending with the Elden Ring.

It’s also possible the Numen arrived from elsewhere but became integrated in the Farum civilization at an early date. This conveniently preserves the Numen’s ‘migration from another world’ narrative while keeping Farum Azula’s origin in the Lands Between.

Numen live a long time, though it’s not explicit as to how long that may be. Marika could have come from Farum Azula, or she could be from a later age after its inhabitants fled the meteor catastrophe. That particular detail isn’t really important, but her connection to the city’s clerics probably is.

One could write about how this background gave Marika the knowhow to structure an entire religion – but that’s off topic for this series.

3.3 Eternity’s End

Though timeless, Farum Azula is ultimately destroyed by meteor strike. It’s safe to say this catastrophe ends the reign of Ancient Dragons - their god flees the city with the Elden Ring, and so they lose the favor of the Greater Will.

As a side note; the present form of Farum Azula is only a fragment of something much larger - be it a city or entire landmass. Ive often wondered if the mysterious land depicted on dragon talisman items is the unbroken Farum Azula. The current city is too fragmentary to say anything conclusive, but having dragons embedded in the land is the closest to the mentioned 'wall of living stone'.

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

This is all for today

TLDR: Farum Azula's original location is enigmatic. Marika's origins can be tied to the city's clergy.

next entry - The Fled God

[sparklingmusicofstars]

Hamefura theory : What would everyone become if Catarina were to disappear ?

Hello ! I'm still working on the translation you asked but while I'm at it I also wrote a theory about that question that I saw on a whim. Honestly I was thinking about it for a long time so it's just perfect ^^

To be honest, I think that if Catarina were to disappear, I can't think about anything other than someone kidnapped her. The reason ? Her dark magic powers ? Her "ability" to see the future in her dreams (if someone happened to discovered it) or maybe just a noble fom a foreign country who took an interest in her ? We have many options. I personnaly think that if that happened, if anyone knew the reason nor where she is I think they would have these reactions :

At first they would look for her as much as they could, so much that they would stop eating and sleeping and even going as far as using dirty ways like bribing for some of them . I don't think they would ever stop, but if we have a very smart mastermind I don't think they could find anything. If that happened and that a long time has passed I think everyone's personnalites would change completely.

I think that everyone who love her would be prey to dark magic since Catarina was like the "sun" for them. Geordo would become a heartless, icy and merciless prince with eyes always empty. Keith would become calm, emotionless and lonely and like Geordo his eyes would always be empty . Alan would become a cold, irritating and selfish prince. Nicol would become a curt, insensitive and cold young man with empty eyes. Mary would be like Geordo, I think , and on the outside she would look like an emotionless doll with an artificial smile and (in the worst case) lose her strong will. Sophia would become the young girl she once was, calm, quaky and timid and with always a sad and broken look in her eyes, after all she would have lost her best friend two times and couldn't do anything about it . Maria would no longer be the cheerful girl we know but an emotionless, insensitive person with no hope in the eyes at all. I think she would also stop using her light magic because she would feel too powerless and useless for being aware of the danger but not being able to help her favorite person in the world despite all she did for her. I also think she would stop cooking because it would bring her too much painful feelings and memories. Sora would start drinking to hide his sorrow (I really hope I'm mistaken for this one) and like the others would become an emotionless, insensitive person with cold eyes, since he would have the feeling that he has lose his most important person a second time. Raphael would become a curt, emotionless and gloomy person since he has lost "the light that shines on him" and would start having his dreadful nightmares again. I think Anne would stop working for the Claes family because of the painful memories and all the servants and her parents would become insensitive and emotionless (especially her father who loves her a lot). Frey and Ginger (and of course all Catarina's fan club) would lose the person they admired the most but I don't known what would be their reactions. I don't really know for Cezar and Aaqil , Maybe Aaqil would no longer be the gentle and caring boy he is now, I think he would have a personnality similar to Raphael, gloomy, curt and emotionless and Cezar would have a personnality similar to Sora.

Ah, I think I'm done ! I know it's really sad but I really thing that it would happen as sad as it is. I'm just not really sure for Sora and Cezar's case. You can listen to his song while reading my theory, it's really touching ^^ Oh, and for those who love tearmoon empire like me, I really recommend it to you, the stories are similar.

[iamfrenchswiftie]

So.. *take a deep breath girl* today, something happened, something really unfair for the french swifties.

No need to mention that we still have zero information from NRJ radio station (who were supposed to make us win tickets for the city lover concert). They keep telling us to listen their radio but never mention the contest. Wtf

Here's why this is problematic :

Anyway. So... With even let us know that it will happen, many of us has received a mail, telling us that whe could immediately BUY a ticket for the concert (limited editions of only 200 tickets) with a whole Box (lover album, and other extra things).

1) because it was supposed to be a free concert, a private concert, where you can only WIN tickets

4) honestly, if I have to pay to go to this show, I will 100%. But they didnt even tell us that this opportunity was coming until it actually happened. So most of all didnt get the chance to buy a ticket because we weren't aware of it ! I was personnaly, at work when it happened. Its safe to say that i wasnt on my phone and missed the opportunity.

2) any other country have/had free contest but somehow French swifties had to pay to have tickets

3) most of us have already purshased the album, or box on taylorswift.com but were forced to buy it AGAIN to have a ticket for the concert

💔

@taylorswift @taylornation

[mcgregor]

How would you have liked Billy’s ending to be, and his possible storyline in a season 3? If you have any thoughts

Well, the fangirl in me didn’t want him to die at all ^^ And I think it could have worked, villains are pretty much as important as the “heroes” in comics and their adaptations. And they actually rarely die. And I mean a permanent death. I definetely think he could have been the Fisk of the Punisher series. THE Villain of the show. Plus, the relationship he has with Frank, and that they invented for the show, adds a really emotional layer to it. It’s all so very tragic and you can’t help but want more, just to torture yourself ^^” These two characters and their relationship really make the show for me.

That said, I do get their reasoning behind the “Billy had to die” plot choice. I’ve read some interviews about it and I could have been cool with it if they had given Billy a proper and fitting ending. But unfortunately, I really hate how they killed him off, and no amount of interviews explaining why they did it like that has changed my mind so far.Especially after everything that happens this season ! The amnesia, the confusion, the shot at redemption, the flashback scenes and all those pieces of dialogues that just confirmed a bit more that they are two brothers, that there’s a bond between them… I wanted and expected more. Some people like it, and think that on the contrary, it was perfect that way, but I think the character deserved a better ending. Frank and Billy’s story deserved a better ending.

I’m not even upset that it’s Frank who kills him, it’s logical, everything led to that (they could have skipped the part where the doctor screws him over and put him in the trash though, like wtf?). But it was so anticlimactic. It was a big whole of nothing (emotion-wise). First I expected a big showdown like in season 1. There was none, but ok, fair enough, it’s not like there weren’t many fight scenes in the season, understandable. But, at the very least, taking care of Billy should have been the last thing Frank did this season. There, he just kills him like he’s some random bad guy, and calmly goes away to go deal with those christians weirdos. Like, whaaaaaat ?? Second, Frank says nothing. He shows nothing. On Billy’s part, there’s a form of acceptance, a relief that it’s Frank, maybe even an apology coming up (writers and BB said it was up to the viewers interpretations, but BB himself thinks he was gonna say “i’m sorry for what I did”), and as for Frank…. well… here goes the nothing I was talking about above, that’s where they failed big time. I am disappointed lol oh I did cry, but it’s more because one of my favorite character was dead, not really because of how emotional the scene was. They did Billy dirty.

Which brings me to the possible S3 storyline ! It’s funny, because I’ve talked a lot about how they could still bring Billy back (if there’s a S3, obviously) with the lovely @stokiometry . Because we just can’t accept that there won’t be any Billy in our futures ok ? And as Frank is someone very tormented by all the demons of his past, the horrors he went through, all this death, it wouldn’t be impossible to imagine him having some kind of “visions” of Billy. A bit like they did in Daredevil and in Jessica Jones. Billy could be “there” to guide him and/or torment him some more, taunt him, joke with him, etc … And obvioulsy, there could be more flashbacks : them together as marines, Billy with his family. Honestly, it would be a shame to completely get rid of him and move on. He was just as important in Frank’s life than his wife & kids. Jon Bernthal said in an interview that he was family to Frank, that what he had with Billy was different that what he has with Curtis, for example.

Now, if we’re talking about a storyline where Billy didn’t die… Hum, if they did go through with that redemption storyline like they hinted to at some point in S2, I would have loved to see some kind of team-up between the 2. Billy doesn’t have to become a truly “good” person, it would be weird. But I’ve always loved the villain/hero relationships where they’re kind of forced to work together, the kinds where it’s more banter and taunting than actual hate and death. Maybe Billy would appear less with this idea, and they would need another major villain, but I personnaly love the idea ! Oh and also, they would need to actually talk, some heartfelt talk between these 2 characters, done by these 2 wonderful and talented actors ?? I’d dream of that lol

This got reaaaaally long, I am so sorry ^^” Thank you if you’ve read this far ♥