#pondering this. thank you anon

[freezethebeez]

bit weird, but how are funeral practices different in the catalyst world? Because I feel like there’s an untapped angst potential in vampires turning their dead loved ones into soup. What’s more of an expression of grief than lettting your beloved’s dying cells become your cells, to convert a part of them to you and let them live on in all the parts of you forever? To one last time feel the warmth and flesh of your dead friend or lover before their bones are buried?

dead dove: do not eat? more like dead partner: turn him into soup but specifically the soup that your mother made and the one that he liked the most and have the most insane mental breakdown of all time while you eat it ^_^

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

*panting*

What was I thinking?

"Who's your daddy?" Who says things like that?

I need to get it together and focus on my investments.

The BUSSY controls my every waking thought.

And I have lost my path.

Forgive me, Lord.

And allow me passage back to The Grindset.

End Transcription

Audio source

[dinsbeskar]

do you think that before the fall of Numenor Sauron dressed up as Halbrand again and went to the forge he worked at to tell them "you better get outta here, trust me"

Naaaaaaaaaah I can't think about it!!!!

Not sauron getting sentimental and going back to the forge, finding the blacksmith who gave him a chance, and putting him and his family on a boat.

Ummmmm your brain???

Whenever I tackle the fall of numenor (probably when s3/4 comes out, let's be fair, so it's a way off) i will remember this and link you (if you drop your username I'll credit you 💜)

Oh dear, never mind, I wrote it. I'm tagging sauron x reader bc it fits into my series, but reader is only mentioned like once lmfao sorry.

Putting on Halbrand again is a strange feeling after having walked the streets of Númenor as himself. The people knew him as a dark wizard, would bow their heads and scurry out of his path whenever he deigned to leave the palace, so to walk among them as a ragged commoner once more was strangely refreshing.

Too bad the isle was on its countdown to destruction.

He'd actually grown to enjoy his time here, corrupting an entire people's very souls, bar the few Faithful. They would prove useful, as they prepare their ships today to leave for Middle Earth, their attempts at subterfuge no match for his all-seeing gaze.

The streets wound and meandered down the hill toward the sea, the guild district apparent from the scent of smoke and clanging of hammers. It took him only a quick glance inside the shop to know he was in the right place. The smith was older, noticeably so, and his ward had grown from a boy into a strapping young man, but he recognised them instantly.

"Show me your work, and I'll think about it."

Those words had changed everything for him once upon a time. Aulë’s smith had wanted nothing more than to craft beautiful things in that tiny forge, left alone to do his penance. Morgoth's shadow scoffed at the idea, now his plans were near fruition, but a tiny part of him wanted to save the beauty of the craft he'd seen in that tiny family-owned shop.

"Well, don't linger in the doorway, lad, come in, what can we do for you?" The smith's gruff voice rang out like a hammer on steel, jerking Sauron back to the present.

"Greetings, good sir, I don't suppose you remember me-"

"Nonsense! Halbrand, wasn't it? I thought you went across the sea? Shame that, you were one of the best apprentices I ever had, even if it were only for a few days."

Sauron grins at the indignant look on his apprentice's face.

"Only one of the best? I suppose I'll have to take that." Look at him, humble. It was possible.

"Well, the lad here gives you a run for your money, and if you'd stayed longer...? You haven't aged a day." The smith trails off as Sauron steps closer, the light from the furnace bouncing off his rugged face.

"Probably something in the water." He shrugs; bandying about pleasantries was not why he'd come all this way.

"Listen, I've heard there are boats leaving the island soon," he raises his eyebrows, "and it might not be a bad idea to get on one."

They look at each other, take a beat, then scoff, laughing at the idea of leaving paradise.

"Why would we want to do that, eh, lad? Me whole life is here, I'm an old man, I'm goin' nowhere." The old smith replies.

"Call it... a gut feeling, that Númenor is in danger. That perhaps the faithful are the rats leaving a sinking ship?"

Why is he doing this? In the back of his mind, he has to wonder what his true purpose is here. Certainly, the craftsmanship is superb, it would be a terrible shame to see it sink beneath the waves. Definitely nothing deeper than that, definitely not the vaguest notion of doing a man a good turn when he'd offered him the same, so very long ago.

The old smith seems unconvinced, exchanges a few more pleasantries, but the young man at his side seems more pliable.

"Good to see you again, Halbrand. If you don't get on one of them ships, come back and I'll see if I can throw some work your way." The smith laughs, clapping him on the shoulder.

Sauron winces imperceptibly, the feeling of flesh on flesh so casually still a strange notion, even after all this time.

He nods and departs, waiting for the apprentice to run after him. He does so, predictably, and Sauron fixes his best surprised expression before turning around to greet him.

"What you said, about the boats? What do you know?" The lad asks, almost muttering to stay out of bounds of any prying ears.

"Just that they're leaving tonight and tomorrow, and that you should get on one." He gives him a knowing look, trying to impress upon him that he can't say what will happen, but that something will and it will be cataclysmic.

"I can't convince him to go, but folks have been talking for a while now, what with that new temple on high and the wizard in the palace, things are..."

"Precarious." Sauron finishes his sentence for him, nodding knowingly.

He had been responsible for a good many changes under Ar-Pharazôn's rule, the temple for Morgoth probably his crowning achievement. Of course it had set some of the common folk on edge, but that was a small price to pay for the hearts of a nation.

"I'll try and convince him." The lad finally replies, worry etched on his smoke-blackened face.

"Do. And don't fail."

Sauron leaves then, giving only a second glance to the young man still watching after him. He had tried. One good deed for another, after all. You'd be proud of him, he'd make sure of it.

Oh no. He stops in his tracks, infuriated at the mere thought of you. So that's what has him feeling sentimental.

He curses your name and makes his way back to the palace, taking in the sights of Númenor one more time. It would be any day now.

[therentyoupay]

hi kris!!!! as a longtime Jelsa shipper, have you noticed a shift in the random over the past 10+ years? esp as a writer? has the fandom lessened? is Jelsa still as popular?

HI NONNY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.

long story, short: yes and no! i could honestly write a whole essay on this. 🤣 perhaps one day i will come back and reblog this and add some more definitive thoughts when i have the time 💕💕💕💕💕

for now, i can say that (1) while there are definitely ebbs and flows to any fandom/any ship, and although ship wars/fandom!in-fighting/policing definitely fluctuate and change shape but typically persevere in one form or another... (2) at the end of the day, you can always find at least one peaceful, positive corner of the internet for pretty much any community 💕✨

i don't have any concrete metrics or data re: jelsa fandom stats (e.g., "activity" in terms of the number of fics/fanart/posts/metas/commentaries/headcanons/theories/etc., "population" lol however defined) that we might try to use to operationally define how "active/big" a fandom might be at any given time, but based on nothing but pure personal, anecdotal experience: although activity fluctuates, inevitably, jelsa has been a pretty steady ship! off the top of my head, i can think of a few key "boosts" in which activity really ramped up... for example, we saw a boost in activity during the frozen ii release, unsurprisingly lol, and certainly, another boost now with @callimara's ✨unhinged✨ video, resulting in our #kriscallicollab madness, more than you know, which has been SO AMAZING and inspiring and exciting and HEART-SQUEEZING to witness and to be a part of. 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🙏🙏🙏💕 overall, there's always new jelsa community activity each year! and remember, i also took a 3-ish-year on-again-off-again break from tumblr during the pandemic and the start of my ph.d. program and Life Activity, so i also missed out on a pretty active jelsa-tumblr time period too! like, nowadays, there are plenty of times i see a jelsa art or graphic on my dash made from 2019/2020/2021 that i've never seen before and it's like a special surprise treat 😂😂💕

it's also been very cool to see so many members of our OG community still enjoying life in the jelsa tag, or replying/commenting/liking posts and leaving comments on fics, or creating new art and fic, after so many years 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 so many beautiful, lifelong friendships have been forged through this ship! likewise, there are so many newcomers or lurkers-turned-active-members and new community members that we've been able to meet in just the last few months alone, which is so exciting and really inspiring 💕💕💕 there's just a lot of respect—regardless of newness-or-OGness, generations (e.g., the Elder Millennials and Gen X-ers and Gen Z-ers)—going in a lot of different directions, and that, luckily, is something that has stayed pretty consistent in the jelsa fandom for over a decade 🥹🥹🥹💕💕💕✨✨

not sure how "popular" it is compare to other ships, though, i've never thought about it! 😂 that bit doesn't matter 💕 just happy to still be here and enjoying our hobbies and creation and community, as ever 💕💕💕💕💕

THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION NONNY, HAVE AN AMAZING DAY ✨

[naiad-r]

https://www.tumblr.com/braimin/762716544873758720?source=share

My hc is that he uses corsets as back support because he has chronic back pain ever since Drum Island ← chronic back pain haver

Anon, your mind??

Please don't mind me, I'm adopting your headcanon.

[bunnyjesters]

It has been shown in the pilot and intros that pain doesn’t actually seem to exist for the characters. Like Ragatha had a cleaver to her face and nothing happened and she just laughed it off. Gangle’s mask breaks but it doesn’t hurt. Just makes her sad. The only thing that hurts is abstraction…BUT an exception to that is Jax. Jax actually seems to react to physical stuff like being choked or being hit by that one Gloink. It’s almost like he actually feels pain.

What’s your take on it? And how would Pomni (your Pomni) react to this knowledge?

ackshually ☝️🤓

goose did confirm that all of the characters can feel pain, the intro video where that happens to rags i feel is more of a pilot of a pilot episode and not really canon to the actual show. i think it’s not exactly the same pain we might feel in the real world but definitely some sort of simulated experience, the same way that eating and sleeping keep them “sane” despite them being digital avatars and it not being entirely essential.

that being said, i think pomni reacting to jax in pain depends on where their relationship is at. obviously she’d be upset by it but if he’s being pretty actively mean to her she probably could justify it as karma or something — if this is post corn comic — which i find absolutely fucking hilarious that i can use that as part of my fanon timeline, i think it might cause her a little bit more distressing + would proactively try to find a solution

[wolveria]

I think it’s unbelievable how our Reid hadn’t rode scp035 yet and I’m not talking about scp035 with a body but just ✨the mask✨ it has a rideable face 🤭

Listen... listen....

And speaking of rideable faces...

[radiomogai]

Who up radioing they mogai

Who up MOGAIng their Radio?

[kateis-cakeis]

Maybe since Arthur was born of magic, then he inherited just a little bit of magic, maybe because he was born of love, just a little bit of soulmate magic to ensure his loved one (read: Merlin) will find him somehow someday and that's why Merlin is immortal. Thoughts?

Hiii, Anon :D (sorry for taking a few daysss)

I just love this ^.^ I especially love the 'maybe because he was born of love', that's such a lovely way to put it. I know the real situation is so much more complex (since it is heavily suggested Ygraine did not know) but Arthur was born of love🥺? let me live in ignorance for a bit :P

But these are very interesting thoughts.

Maybe the just a little bit of magic he inherited was the whole - the only times he really looked like he was gonna die is when the rules of magic said nothing would survive its touch (Questing Beast, sword fordged in a dragon's breath) (maybe a lil of his own immortality wink wink)

Anyhow the thought that 1) there is soulmate magic (which I guess there must in at least a fate and prophecy way because of Merlin and Arthur) and 2) that Merlin is immortal because he had to find Arthur regardless like

Because, Anon, like imagine a situation where prophecy got fucked, and Arthur died, and Merlin never met him. And then a thousand years pass, and Arthur comes back, and Merlin finally meets him. Like that's what I automatically thought upon reading your ask!

Imagine a fic with that concept where maybe like Merlin is a few days late to arriving in Camelot, and Arthur dies to Mary Collins. And then Kilgharrah calls for him like man, you've fucked up bro. And tells him of this new destiny, his new eternal wait. Man, now that's something I'd wanna read.

I like this, Anon. Especially working this thought into canon with like Merlin had to find Arthur because yes destiny, but more so because soulmate. Now that's so !!!!! Also extends maybe that's why Arthur returns, because Merlin being immortal can't be without his soulmate forever ;)

Love this, truly!

[butchcarmy]

you know what im thinking about rn what made Carmy stop drawing in the first place like yeah he did it for the menu but only coz his little perfectionist ass needs that visual aid to show stuff (he def deals with dyslexia and dyscalculia)

I just looked up what dyscalculia is and I burst out laughing. I’m thinking of the scene in s2 ep1 where he’s budgeting for The Bear on the cardboard pizza (?) box and just does an awful job. You are so right

Interesting thinking about him with dyslexia though… he has so many books in his house that I never considered that, but obvs ppl with dyslexia can still love reading! Would love to hear more thoughts on that. It would make sense since he struggled so much in public schooling actually…….. maybe he didn’t realize he was dyslexic until much later in life?

But YEAH I think he’s way more of a visual and hands on learner. Once he does something once or watches someone do it, it just clicks. I bet that rly showed in his art.

I LOVE carmy’s art, and as an artist when his drawings dropped in s2…. Oh I was absolutely giddy. His talent! He’s an artist through and through!! I can totally see him doodling on the edges of his school work.

But ANYWAY like you were saying abt him drawing for the menu—he has a hard time with words, so of course he can most efficiently express his thoughts through art (and food). It helps him if he has pictures to explain it with.

…So what I’m hearing is that carmy needs to get into making PowerPoints? Yeah? Anyone?

[almostaknight]

The wench looked as ugly and awkward as ever, he decided when Tyrell left them.

- Jamie IX ASOS

I haven't seen anyone talk about this line! It's the "he decided" part that caught my eye. It suggests that his perception of her has subconsciously changed in some way that had made him reevaluate her. If he still thought of her as he did at the start, he'd have just said "she was as ugly and awkward as ever" and left it there. But no, he decided it, which means he was questioning it in the first place. There's a part of him that both sees her looks differently and sees past her looks and admires/is attracted to both. As he considers this seeming difference in her (which is actually a difference in HIM), he denies his budding feelings because she's conventionally unattractive so he *decides* she's the same as she ever was. But he doesn't *feel* that way.

Am I delusional 😭 maybe. But they make me so unwell.

Dear anon, you‘re not delusional at all and I share your unwellness when it comes to these two fictional characters!

May I direct you to this excellent meta by @pretty-thief that compliments your observations re: Jaime and his perception of Brienne’s attractiveness in speech and inner monologue:

Imo, “wench” is a barrier in Jaime’s mind and after the bathtime confession and the bear pit, he’s reframing the way he thinks about Brienne without realizing that he’s doing it. “Wench” is used to other her, to needle her. By the end of ASOS it softens. Initially, he uses it like a line in the sand or a weapon to to use against her while he can’t use his actual weapon. By the end of ASOS, it’s more of a firm hand on the shoulder. It’s Jaime losing his resolve to keep her on the “other” side of his line in the sand.

I think this applies pretty neatly to your thoughts. Jaime just had a devastating conversation with Cersei, he‘s sure he lost “a sister and a lover”, and he’s in emotional turmoil. What does Jaime do in times of stress and uncertainty? He throws up shields in his mind which make him an extremely unreliable narrator. The whole text passage is actually a minefield of contradicting behavior:

The wench looked as ugly and awkward as ever, he decided when Tyrell left them. Someone had dressed her in woman’s clothes again, but this dress fit much better than that hideous pink rag the goat had made her wear. “Blue is a good color on you, my lady,” Jaime observed. “It goes well with your eyes.” She does have astonishing eyes."

He decides she is still ugly and awkward as an emotional barrier because he‘s not ready to deal with the fact that 1. he was the one who had the dress made and fitted for her 2. in the color that matches her eyes which he finds astonishing (= beautiful in Jaime-language which skirts the edges of outright admitting attraction just so).

Jaime will bend himself into a bretzel before having one (1) coherent, straightforward thought, that’s why he’s so much fun to read about. Also personally I find it speaks to his character that he‘s slow to admit genuine attraction to another person while he‘s still in the break-up state of mind with his first lover.

[ardentpoop]

im really curious on how you'd rank the season main villains. like. the main Big Bads of a season. or just major villains in general your choice.. if you haven't done something like that already

azazel 🥰✨

ruby (I’m counting her though others might not)

lucifer

gadreel (I’m counting him though others might not)

rowena

crowley

billie

godstiel/leviathan!cas

abaddon

raphael

amara

metatron

chuck

lilith

dick roman

AW!michael

naomi

doctor hess (s12 BMOL arc - I would not have remembered her name without the wiki)

to be clear though dean frightens me significantly more than any character on this list he is the big bad of my heart

[anto-pops]

I've been thinking for a long time about what Mc's and Seb's boggarts could be.

I think or my Mc's boggart is herself. Only evil and power-obsessed. With her old magic she inflicts pain on others and enjoys it. Boggart-MC taunts MC that she is weak and not enough, that she is to blame for Fig's death (and that she couldn't save Sebastian in time fom getting lost in the dark arts.)

Seb's boggart might be Anne, MC (and Ominis), writhing on the floor and screaming in pain while he can't do anything.

Oh and Omini's boggart is probably how he hurts others like he was forced to do as a kid :(

What do you think about it? That would really interest me. I wouldn't mind if you wrote a fic about it either. (but you don't have to.)

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT TAKE, I LOVE IT ! I halfway brainstormed something a little similar a while back and never wound up writing anything for it, but you might have convinced me to with this

I had a similar thought in regards to my MC since she ended up taking the power from the Repository. I like to imagine it corrupts her to some degree and the new version of herself scares the hell out of her. Mix that together with literally everything you've included and yeah, I agree MC would be seeing herself as her boggart, much to her horror.

Sebastian and Ominis' boggarts make perfect sense as well; Sebastian only ever wanted to protect the people he loves, so to be forced to sit back and watch them in agony is his own personal hell. I also read a super interesting and frankly kinda dark take on Soloman potentially being Sebastian's boggart. There was a lot of animosity between them leading up to his death, so I wonder what their home life was like or if Soloman was ever a particularly nice guardian to him at any point (I'm watering down my thoughts heavily with this)

Then I feel like there's a lot to think about in regards to Ominis. Like how would he experience his boggart when it came down to it? Would everyone else see a small, 8 or 9 year old version of Ominis casting the Cruciatus curse ? Would Ominis hear the screams of the Muggle he'd been forced to torture ringing in his ears ? Or maybe it wouldn't even be him- maybe it would be his father commanding him to use the curse, or the animated corpse of his Aunt Noctua whispering that he failed her and let her die alone.

So so many possibilities, I love the unbridled angst it brings with it. I think I'll explore this prompt a little more, you got the gears in my brain turning now. I need a cork board to connect all these ideas brewing jfc

[grapecaseschoices]

I've been playing for a while and I don't think Wyll gets any special dialogue with a cleric of tiamat. At least for acts 1 and 2 in my playthrough 😭

i feel like if they dont after the reveal of wyll being a warlock or wyll telling you the entire story after they save [REDACTED], then they probably won't ever.

[theloveinc]

caitie plz i need the angst need to hear the backstory of shinso putting work before you and the baby…id like to think he didn’t outright say it and somehow that even hurt more to think he couldn’t admit it to himself

(pt.i here!)

Yessss I think that's exactly what happens, too!

Like, to him specifically, it never actually emotionally feels like he's choosing work over you, you know, he's not in the sense that he does love you both more than ANYTHING. But at the same time, he's also unable to actually stop himself from putting way too much into the job, even when you go from asking to literally begging him to.

Honestly, I think part of him doesn't realize he's doing it. Every second he's at work, he's thinking about you... it doesn't matter TO HIM that it's the third night (or day) in a row he's spent sleeping at the agency, it doesn't matter to him that he hasn't been there for any mealtimes or bedtimes or bath times with his daughter, or anything else... since he's keeping you in his heart, he believes it's not so bad as, for example, real abandonment.

Except it lowkey is.

(For such a smart guy, he's super, SUPER dumb about it—the very few times in a week he's home to see you, he's getting annoyed when you try to bring up him cutting his hours back: not even for your sake but for your daughter's... and then getting angsty when you get annoyed. He can't remember exactly when you start getting really mad.)

But then you hit him with separation papers and the topic of divorce and the whole world comes crashing down on him. I don't want to say you have one of those cliche moments when you literally ask him to choose between family or work as he's walking out the door................ but absolutely that is what I want to say, at least in the sense that I think:

You're talking about trying to make things work, finally, FINALLY, he took a few days off to sort things out with you and commit to being a father... and just when things are starting to seem like they'll be okay in the end (AKA: he was actually able to get you to smile and accept a gentle kiss), in the middle of the night, one of the first he's actually been back in your bed, he's getting a phone call about needing to come into the agency and...

You're sitting up in the dark as he's walking to the bedroom door, and you just know what's happening, and he's turning to look at you and no words are even needed to get across that if he leaves, you won't let him back in.

(And then that's really when he starts to sleep under his desk, eat literally nothing and go out on patrol for HOURS ON END, and actually process the extent of what's happened; that it was just as bad as leaving you all together in the first place, especially with a baby in the picture... and the fact that it was a decision he literally, consciously made.

(It took lecture upon lecture from Aizawa, Denki, Deku, fuck, Monoma, before he was able to get himself a half-decent apartment and actually reach out and to figure out a co-parenting schedule w/ you. Lord knows he'd never ask you to bend over backwards for him ever fucking again.)

[enjoythesilentworld]

🦉Positivity owl reporting for duty! This was sent by a friend who wants you to smile as much as your posts make them smile. Please list five things that make you unique, four things you are super passionate about and why, OR three of your favorite memories. Feel free to send the owl to those who you feel deserve to smile��

hello owl :) here's some of my favorite memories (from the past few years bc my memory is atrocious)

the first time i ever saw the redwoods in California. i was on a road trip with a girl i had just met two weeks earlier. one of the most fun trips of my life, turns out we are probably soulmates or something. also i want to eat those trees

scuba diving a reef slope in Curaçao. i simply love the ocean and experiencing it 60ft down where all you can hear is bubbles and all you can see is colorful reefs or miles of blue abyss..... transcendent!

hiking through a cloud forest in Costa Rica with my best friends from college. it was our last trip together before i moved away and man i just love them, but also.. the biodiversity in that forest was fUcking crazy i want to go back so bad

this shows a pretty glaring truth that the two most important things to me are friendships and nature :)