#solstice tls

[ask-the-linked-systems]

*Redesigns a buttload of characters bc I can*

Enjoy! God this is going to be heck putting the tags in for everyone-

[pine-notebook]

To all the Konazel characters: Do you guys have any siblings?

Autumn: Why are you asking? Agh, nevermind. I have 3. My twin brother, Spring, and two twins that are 7 years younger than me. Equinox, my chaotic little sister, and Solstice, my nerdy little brother.

//Note from Pine: Twins are really common among Konazelian cats.

Sable: Nope, I'm an only child.

Tink: Well, I'm 17, and I have two older brothers. Binx is 26 and Kobe is 24.

[yaralulu]

Saw a post of people saying they couldn’t wait to see the Vanserra brothers being besties with the bat boys and I am here because I need to know that I’m not the only one who would rather bathe in bleach.

No.

If I see Lucien or Eris bending over backwards to kiss the ICs ass I’m just going to believe that eris was murdered by Briallyn and Lucien got possessed by Koschei or something OLEASE let these firefuckers keep their spine

I actually need rhys and lucien to get into a fist fight like it’s so serious for me.I just know he can’t stand those fuckers but sjm will obviously never write that in his pov because god forbid somebody doesn’t like the IC.You saw what happened to nesta because she didn’t like rhys 😭.

I think eris would also rather be bathed in bleach than befriend the bat boys .Him and Lucien are no more than diplomatic with the IC and they’re the only ones calling them out on their bullshit and it should stay that way.No need for them to get all buddy-buddy nobody wants that!!

[roobiedo]

Happy Solarpunk Aesthetic Week and Winter Solstice! ❄️

While we do celebrate here, we don't actually experience winter in my region, or any of the classic four seasons! The weather here is basically a coin toss between searing heat and torrential rain lol. So while I was musing over how to adapt a solarpunk aesthetic to a tropical lifestyle, I came up with this!

Lengthy explanations and chaotic ideas below:

Disclaimer: I am not a science-y person, so I'm not sure how any of these would technically work or what materials would go into making them. Hopefully one day someone could figure it out, but I'm just having fun sharing these ideas for now :)

-----

What works well both in harsh sunlight and heavy downpours, plus is already something that people here use everyday? Umbrellas! How cool would it be to have an umbrella that absorbs sunlight during the day, and turns it into a personal spotlight at night? Or perhaps it could absorb and store large amounts of rainwater, to be re-used later or released somewhere more useful?

My main inspiration for this is the bamboo. This plant already plays a huge role in our lives here -- culturally, economically, and from what I recently learned, ecologically too! Our region suffers from floods often, and bamboo can help to control the flow of water, for example through their roots providing a barrier against soil erosion, or their ability to store large amounts of water and release it gradually during drier seasons. (And that's just one of the many reasons why bamboos are awesome and solarpunky!) I thought it would be cool to have water stored in the 'bamboo nodes' of the umbrella shaft, which could then be detached and used individually, or as components in other tech!

I chose the Amazonian lily pad as the canopy design because 1) it looks big enough to cover a person, 2) it has a wide surface for solar panels to 'photosynthesize' energy, 3) its container-like shape looks as though it could hold rainwater like a funnel while it trickles into the shaft, and 4) it just looks really pretty! Realistically, this canopy might not be able to do everything at once, so I'm hoping for this tech to be modular and highly customizable -- as in, you could replace this 'lily pad' with something else that serves a different function! I did play around with some other designs, here they are hehe

Hibiscus: Our national flower! Have these bad boys growing in my yard so I thought why not. Not sure what functions it would have yet... perhaps the pistil could be a sensor for gathering weather data? Or maybe the anthers are little lights? Maybe it attracts BEES???

Mushroom: Not familiar with the fungi in my area yet so I went with the classic Amanita. Though now I'm kinda regretting because! Wouldn't it be so cool and lunarpunky to design it based on a bio-luminescent mushroom, so it would make sense for the umbrella to glow in the dark? AGH missed opportunities ;;

-----

Anyway while I was designing the umbrella I thought about giving the model a cool fit too, so tadaaa! A customizable pair of pants that can be worn as a shorts + half-skirt/sarong combo during hot weather, or extended to become a full pair of jeans during colder/rainy times! I used zippers as the connectors because they seem easy to sew on and I like the punky vibe it adds to the outfit. HOWEVER, I'm realising that might be inconvenient or way too time consuming for some people. Maybe buttons, magnets or hook-and-loop fasteners would be easier?

As for the shirt, idk that was just for fun. Maybe it changes colour/design based on the surrounding temperature?

-----

So YEAH that was my longer-than-expected idea dump for this week! Thank you for reading <3 If you have any thoughts or ways of expanding on these ideas please please please share them with me I'm just really excited to see what people think waaaaa!!! ok bye stay hydrated

[ask-team-donum]

(@ask-sarah-and-co) solstice @ archie/pan

The umbreon casually greets the two, “You’re in a rescue team? That sounds cool!” She thinks for a few seconds, “What kind of rescuing do you do? Are they all daring adventures?”

<Prev || First || Next>

[achaotichuman]

Hello!!! I was wondering if you have recs for pro-Tamlin fics, fics where he gets a happy ending in general? Or where the Night Court get called out on their bullshit with a side of pro Tamlin bc I’d devour them but have a hard time finding them (I love your fics btw)

Sure do!

Pro Tam fics can be difficult to find. I found all of these scrolling through either the Tamlin redemption tag, or the different relationship tags on AO3.

I'll link all the fics here. I'll put all the summaries and the relationship that goes with them, if there is a relationship. This is a list of all my personal favorite Tamlin fics, but these creators make other amazing Tamlin fics, and scrolling the pro Tamlin tag can take you to some really cool fanfiction.

A Court of Threads and Daises by @shi-daisy. Tamlin/Lucien.

Tragedy almost struck the Spring Court when Tamlin Evergreen tried to take his own life. Lucien Vanserra manages to save his former Lord, but not his power.

Now that the Spring Court has a new High Lord and the horrors of war are behind them, both Tamlin and Lucien agree to help the new heir navigate court life and attempt to rebuild the broken Spring Court, along with healing themselves.

They weren't expecting to fall back in love in the process.

A Second Chance by @goforth-ladymidnight. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. Modern ACOTAR AU – There is a reason that Tamlin disappeared from Lucien's life seven years ago. Lucien just doesn't know what it is. They were more than college roommates; they were best friends. Now, a chance encounter in a bookstore leaves both of them wondering if they can pick up where they left off. A new year is right around the corner, but there is no wiping Tamlin's slate clean. Featuring Jurian and Vassa in supporting roles, this is not a story of redemption, but of finding love—and forgiveness—in the most unlikely of places.

Lovely and Lonely by @praetorqueenreyna. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

"In hindsight, Lucien thinks he fell in love with Tamlin the moment he first laid eyes on him."

**************************

Lucien Vanserra must come to terms with his sexuality, and his complicated feelings for High Lord Tamlin.

Wildflower by @mathiwrites. Tamlin/Rhysand.

Five hundred years before Feyre’s arrival in Prythian, the humans fought against Faeries, led by the King of Hybern, for their Freedom. Tamlin is only seven years old when the war begins, but his family’s involvement and a fated friendship with a handsome young Lord from the Night Court will change his life forever. This is the story of how he becomes the High Lord you know and love, and the redemption story nobody asked for.

TL;DR - before they were enemies, they touched butts.

A Court of Beasts and Chances by M4r0u_Mar. Tamlin/Tarquin.

About a Beast who must be prince and a Prince who wants to be beast. About a Prince who learns of second chances and a Beast who learns of redemption. About looking for love and finding it in the journey rather than the destination.

Or the one where I rewrite ACOTAR to make Tamlin and Tarquin mates.

A Court of Choices Made by Anonymous. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. Lucien decides to go after Tamlin to pick a fight after his first Winter Solstice with the Night Court.

I see red, I see nothing by AngryRamen. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. Lucien travels to Amarantha’s domain to try and bid for peace between her and the courts of Prythian. It doesn’t go well.

Still Beautiful, Still Mine by @goforth-ladymidnight. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. ACOTAR AU - In the weeks following his visit to Amarantha’s Court Under the Mountain, Lucien is still recovering from the loss of his eye. Nuan has made him a replacement out of gold, but the scars on his face are there to stay. When Tamlin comes to see him, Lucien cannot help but relive the events that brought them to this point, if only he could focus on what's standing right in front of him...

A Sunbeam Shining Bright Into the Night by @nocasdatsgay. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

After the Great Rite ritual is completed, Tamlin always goes back to the Manor to see if Lucien is waiting for him. This year he is.

Forbidden by @nocasdatsgay. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra. Calanmai has come once again, but Tamlin isn’t focused on the females waiting for him.

Breezing on by Sprighnt (SliPuP_Slit). Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

His focus was shattered when Feyre dropped onto the bench next to him with a dramatic sigh, “You won’t even say hi after you ditched us last week?”

Lucien rolled his eyes at her antics, “I didn’t ditch you, I was studying for math. The exam of a subject that I need days to prepare for, remember? I didn’t think you’d even notice me gone, what with all the ogling that takes up your time in our practices.”

“Shut up!” She shushed him, glancing around wildly for any eavesdroppers, “what if he heard you?”

——— Lucien has settled into a routine now. He’s finally able to go back to competing after an accident that had him wondering if he’d ever be able to skate competitively again, he’s out of his hellish childhood home, and has friends that make him happy.

By the Fountain by Sprighnt_(SliPuP_Slit). Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

Tamlin is tired of stuffy dinner parties, luckily, he has his best friend, Lucien, to make things more interesting.

———

Tamlin took the time to look at Lucien, who was staring at an elegant fountain nearby. He examined the dip of his nose, the scrunch of his brows, the slight part of his lips that indicated he was contemplating something. Then Lucien’s mouth set in a firm line, meaning he’d made up his mind on whatever the issue was.

Lucien glanced back at him and Tamlin startled at being caught watching. He placed his hand gently on Tamlin’s arm, “I don’t think my father will plan one for me either.”

New Springs by Sprighnt_(SliPuP_Slit). Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

“I can’t be here for as long as you,” she clarifies, gesturing to the forest around them.

“You’re leaving?”

She shrugs, “It’s nice here, but my sisters, my father, they’re my only family. Even if they’re, a little difficult at times, and I don’t want to hurt Tam. I was really in love with him, but, to put it plainly, I’m not like you.”

“Like me,” Lucien repeats, confused, “what do you mean?”

———

In another universe, an alternate timeline, Feyre says “I love you”, before she’s sent off and therefore breaks the curse the way it was supposed to be broken. Things are different.

absolution by @praetorqueenreyna. Feyre/Mercenary Lady, Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

Things didn't work out between Feyre and Tamlin. Years later, they both find love in unexpected places

Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free by franklinarchive. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

Tamlin heals and then he moves on.

Or, what if Sarah J. Maas hadn’t committed ‘character assassination’ against Tamlin?

When The Sun Came Up (I Was Looking At You) by pansexual_intellectual . Jesminda/Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

There was a slight choking sound from the Night Court side of the room, but when you looked, Lucien was expressionless, adjusting his doublet.

It was the worst idea you had ever had. In the shreds of your manor you dropped to your knees. He was gone in the morning, as you knew he would be.

Burning Batter by Sprighnt_(SliPuP_Slit). Tamlin/Rhysand. Rhysand comes over to make cupcakes with Tamlin for Feyre’s upcoming New Year’s party.

A strange thing happened the night of the High Lord meeting by @umthisistheonlyusernamenottaken. Tamlin/Rhysand.

Tamlin shook his head, a small smile on his full lips. “You forget that we were closer than friends once. I know your face. Even when you think you’re being so clever, hiding behind that mask of impassivity, I see you.”

He snarled, even as his heart began to beat faster as the other male approached him.

“You think I didn’t see you? You couldn’t stop looking at me during that meeting.” He took another step closer, and his next words were tinged with playfulness, a hint of the Tamlin he’d used to know.

“Were you thinking of that night too?”

He froze. “What?”

In the Eyes of My Beloved by Alynaw66. Tamlin/Rhysand.

I promise, Rhysand sighs into his mouth; Then down onto the slight curve between his neck and shoulder. Tamlin shivers, feeling dazed. Overwhelmed.

“Another offer,” he begins, one hand sliding down to grip Tamlin’s narrow waist.

(Also fun fact about this fic, I was brought to Tumblr because of a link in the notes, so without this fiction I wouldn't be here)

Stay or Go? by SoulOfStars. Tamlin/Rhysand. Both of their families are dead. Rhysand decides to stay. They fuck in the second chapter.

heaven sent a hurricane by @praetorqueenreyna. Tamlin/Eris Vanserra. After his family is killed and he is crowned High Lord, Tamlin struggles to keep his Court under his control. (Un)Luckily for him, Eris Vanserra steps in to help.

A House of Flame and Flower by Mellowenglishgal. Nesta Archeron/Tamlin, Nesta Archeron/Azriel.

“Spare me the self-righteous lecturing, Feyre. You and your new family believe yourselves superior: that anyone who is not deemed worthy by you must bow or be eliminated. I refuse to bow to those I do not respect: and I owe none of you any such obligation. Nor am I obligated to remain where my autonomy is threatened,” Nesta sighed, gentle yet commanding, her voice low and steady and unyielding. “I renounce all ties to the Night Court. From now on, you are no longer my sister.”

“Where will you go?” Feyre snapped, but Nesta saw it: the sudden realisation that Nesta meant every word.

“That is no longer your business. Goodbye, Feyre,” Nesta said softly. She rose to her feet, elegant as an empress despite her unkempt clothing. As she stared down her youngest sister, Nesta caressed the delicious power shimmering like slumbering embers deep in her heart, until her veins sang with silver fire, pure light, blistering heat, deadly yet silent.

Flame was silent: everything it met shattered and snapped, disintegrating, unable to withstand it.

She was flame. She was undiluted, unrefined, unapologetic power.

She told Feyre, “You will not hear from me again.”

(Side note, I just started reading this fic and it looks FREAKIN amazing) Edit- Anyone who saw that I changed the name of the author to a tag, ignore it, I was wrong.

A Court of Lies and Resurrection by @ashintheairlikesnow. Tamlin/Rhysand. AU: Feyre is dead, torn apart by Amarantha when Tamlin did not send her away in time. Tamlin, forced to submit to Amarantha's terms, finds himself looking for help (and finding affection) in places he never expected, while Lucien allies with an ancient enemy (and one of Rhys's closest friends) to save him. WARNING Extensive explicit adult content, sexual situations, violence, MA

In This Peace Series by @trshtffc, the first fiction in the series is completed The Sorceress . Tamlin/Original Female Character.

Seven years after ACOWAR, Spring Court is struggling to keep from falling apart completely. A mother tries to move on and keep her daughter safe in this chaotic world, but when the young female most needs a friend, she'll give the disgraced High Lord a chance to attone for the pain he has caused, and, perhaps, to finally heal.

TW for - mentions of suicidal thoughts - mentions of loss of a pregnancy - mentions of sexual abuse - mentions of emotional abuse (toxic relationships and toxic family dinamics) - colourism - LGBT+phobia

(This one was recommended to me in the replies of this post, and it looks so good)

And finally, (shameless self-ad) A Court of Song and Desolation by me. Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra.

She had eyes like starlight and a grin that could outshine the moon, "We'll rule the world."

"What if we fail?"

"Then we'll burn it all down."

In hindsight maybe it could only have ever ended like this. Making a man who was never made to rule, High lord. This was all inevitable.

With his Court in ruins and everyone gone, Tamlin lives amongst the broken pieces of his Court and has no intentions of changing that. Lucien, however, will not stand to leave his oldest friend alone.

When Lucien takes Tamlin back to the human lands, they discover a darkness coming for Prythian. If something does not stop it, it will completely rewrite the way Faeries and humans alike live as they know it

I hope you like these amazing fics as much as I do, anon!

Edit- If anyone has any recommendations for pro Tamlin fics, or anti IC fics, please let me know and I will add them to the list!

[viridianevergarden]

Here we go again:

People ask “why didn’t Az fight for his love for Elain?”

People ask “If he really loved her like elriels claim then why didn’t he stand up to Rhys?”

People ask “Why didn’t Az try to explain his view?”

I’ll tell you why. Even though it’s been said a million times.

✨Azriel hates himself✨

✨He thinks he’s unworthy of love✨

✨He thinks he’s unworthy of Elain✨

✨He thinks his touch taints her✨

It’s that simple.

Why the hell would he try to combat Rhysand, his High Lord, his dear younger brother and trusted friend, for something that he so badly wants but believes he should not have?

Azriel’s MIND trumps his HEART.

He feels so strongly but his mind is constantly barking at him going “you don’t deserve this”. Of course he’s going to believe that. Depression does that to people. Poor self esteem does that to people. If you don’t get that then you live under a rock.

And in the heat of the moment that solstice night, of course some part of him will have the thought of “maybe just this once”, “I can be selfish this one night”. In that moment, He was thinking with his heart. Not his mind.

He thinks he’s being selfish in allowing his heart to yearn and feel.

And people are dick riding Rhys with the “you feel entitled to her?” Comment?

Azriel doesn’t feel entitled to Elain. Not the way people think he is.

He’s envious of his family. He’s agonizing over it. Not entitled. He has every right to be envious, even though he loves them. He’s questioning his religion, he’s questioning his and her placement, and get this- with ✨logic✨

Observe:

Azriel ignored the question. "The Cauldron chose three sisters. Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of those sisters, yet the third was given to another." He had never before dared speak the words aloud.

You can’t tell me you look at 3 brothers and 3 sisters, 2 having been paired up, yet think that the remaining brother and sister aren’t going to be together?

“BuT tHaT’s CLiChe.” Yeah, and? SJM is a cliche writer.

That’s Azriel’s thought process. He’s thinking logically. If there are 3 pairs and 2 pairs of the 3 are mated, then why isn’t the 3rd pair?

That’s not entitlement.

He’s not looking at Elain and thinking “she should be mine”.

Because again, ✨he thinks he’s unworthy of her✨

And Azriel isn’t going to stand there arguing with Rhysand. I wouldn’t either, no matter how much I loved someone. Because that’s his High lord. That’s his brother. He loves and reveres him.

TL;DR: Azriel, despite his feelings, decided to once again put himself last and cast his feelings aside for Rhysand and for everyone else’s betterment. Partially out of loyalty and partially because he, again, thinks he doesn’t deserve Elain’s love. No matter how hurt he is.

He won’t fight for something he thinks he shouldn’t deserve.

Not until he’s proven wrong.

[vacantgodling]

CURRENT BETWIXT THUMB AND FOREFINGER (AKA 19TH CENTURY TWILIGHT ADAPTATION THAT CRASHED INTO GOTH LIT SOMEWHERE) RESEARCH AND PLANNING and generally my chaotic thought process lmao.

sponsored by: @sarahlizziewrites & @ink-flavored

tl;dr: all of this is still subject to change bc i'm still planning a lot of this stuff out. however, i want to post what i have so far bc how i plan things is kinda intriguing to me and i wanna talk about something but bc i'm not Writing Prose atm this is all i got.

transposed under the cut but i wanted to showcase what the actual doc looks like :p

WIP NAME ⟶ BETWIXT THUMB AND FOREFINGER

(the hell) betwit thumb and forefinger — the time between solstice and equinox

with the secondary title that almost implies that the story is taking place over a short time period between solstice and equinox — which is a 90 day period, so about 3 months?

idk if i have to keep that in the title, but perhaps the title is a reference to how short a time this is in the grand scheme of things, especially in the life of an immortal creature, but for biscella this is a lifetime. going through every stage of grief and sommemore shit. so i think i’ll call it betwixt thumb and forefinger (BTAF)

some kind of celestial name (twilight/new moon/eclipse/breaking dawn) ⟶ something in this realm to tie back to twilight’s inspo’s somehow but idk if i wanna give that bitch the luxury

dark adaptation — the eyes’s transition to night vision

equinox / solstice

retrograde 

betwixt retrograde and amnesia LMAO

betwixt equinox and solstice

i need to decide what year i want this story to take place in cuz that’s gonna hinge everything.

History of the Netherlands - Wikipedia

peninsular war was 1807-1814. sjaak did not see the end of this conflict as he was turned into a werewolf by a fellow soldier “gust” (why, idk yet).

joined the french army (netherlands and french were allies during this time the batavain-french alliance™) and fought in the battle of zaragoza (1808) ; was injured and near death when he was found by gust a gravewalker. there’s been a rumor going around during the battle that people have seen corpses up and walk away from the battle and their wounds and its because gust (and others) have been turning them into werewolves for some greater purpose. — sjaak becomes one of these when he leaves.

if i assume that for all intents and purposes sjaak is 18 when he finally leaves the netherlands and joins the spanish FRENCH army, then maybe he’s 20 when he’s turned into a werewolf. so… 20 during 1808.

born: 1788 in the netherlands — black mother who was a slave but then brought to the netherlands and subsequently freed. father was the master of the home she worked at.

biscella is younger than sjaak and i want her to be a naive 18 during 1808—perhaps this happens during 1808? but then we would have the war to contend with going on unless it was removed from the battlefield somewhat.

the “cullens” are located in castillo-nuevo in what is now navarre spain and have cleared it out to build a castle there. that lonely castle in the middle of the wilderness is where biscella lies. the crypt is hidden among the mountainous landscape, and even though biscella was there during the funeral, another aspect of everything is eduard appearing to her in dreams/visions/as an apparition keeps her from knowing his location fully by scrambling her mind.

i want sjaak to kill that baby

“you have the face of the woman i love. but the blood of the man i hate flows thorugh you” or something. kills the damn baby and makes biscella’s death worthless in some ways

“she would’ve wanted you to live. she would’ve wanted me to show you the ways of the world and the sun in the trees and the apples that hang low from branches. but i am a monster filled with utter darkness and hate. i will kill what she cherished, and hope that in your death, her memory will haunt me.” or something.

NAMING STRUGGLES ⟶ Spanish naming customs - Wikipedia / Category:Catalan-language surnames - Wikipedia / Names Categorized "Twilight characters" - Behind the Name

possible names for bella (romani, coming from germany into netherlands after being expelled from the country or whatever)

biscella 

mirella ⟶ variant of amaryllis (meaning to sparkle)

sibella ⟶ prophetess (variant of the name sybil)

tsarla ⟶ evening

gisela ⟶ hostage/pledge

biscella schwann

tsarla schwann

gisela schwann

sibella schwann

karl schwann + tsarla schwann >> biscella schwann >> 

surnames for eduard & the cullens™ ⟶ casavantes (the name taken from the patriarch of the family; comas is the 

CHARACTERS

biscella schwann de casavantes (bella) ⟶ follows the standards of the region + is not spanish so she just goes with the flow

karl schwann (charlie father, dead)

tsarla schwann (mother, dead)

sjaak de witte (dutch) (jacob)

luis jofre casavantes basurto (carlisle) ⟶ created via union but killed his parents so he could defect to a “vegetarian” lifestyle (aka hibernation). he forbids the usage of venom to create more of their coven, forbidding the femme vampires from autonomous reproduction essentially.

maritxell comas miranda (esme) ⟶ wife and half-sister of luis; created via union and assisted luis in killing their parents so that they could start their own coven. completely loyal to him and was defanged in an act of loyalty (aka; she can no longer make other vampires stronger as luis removed her fangs, this also keeps her from drinking blood AND solely dependent on him for protection)

i want maritxell to actually have a more prominent role than just like. a sad woe is me matriarch. i want her to be like those women who uphold the patriarchy by being misogynistic towards other women. women like her own daughters (rosita and azelie) need to know their place, and because biscella is romani, she views her as subhuman (and also just as a breeder for eduard’s seed).

i don’t want her to be like romilda in vdtrt who’s more battered wife syndrome. i think maritxell and luis are very very complicit in one another’s bullshit.

rosita casavantes i comas (rosalie) ⟶ first child of the union between luis and maritxell, defanged at birth, rosita desperately wishes to be with child (need to figure out why). she is intensely jealous of biscella despite knowing the woman will die, and torments her now that eduard has been buried in the crypt.

eduard casavantes i comas (edward) ⟶ uses ‘i’ instead of ‘y’ or ‘de’ because he’s specifically from catalina ; created via union of luis and maritxell, and despite being the middle child, is the strongest of the vampire children.

azelie picard (alice) ⟶ luis impregnated a french woman who azelie assumed the name of once she was born. she was the one who met biscella first and despite everything is protective of her. she did not approve of eduard impregnating her (lesbian undertones and may defect and help sjaak, we’ll see). does not want to be defanged.

silvano di luise (jasper) ⟶ youngest child of the coven and born of an italian woman, his surname means ‘son of luis’ (as he is). he is very conflicted on the matter of whether or not they should stay ‘vegetarian’ if they’re still going to kill human (women) anyway by impregnating them with their spawn and thinks that human men should receive the same treatment by being killed for food or made as spawns as well. its caused infighting amongst the coven.

the other question is if i should add other characters. bc i included all the twilight vampires that are Actually Interesting (sorry emmett you’re fucking boring to me) and i’m also only including the werewolves that are interesting to me… which is mostly ig sam, leah, and whats her name. 

WORLDBUILDING AND SHIT

HOW VAMPIRES WORK (biologically)

vampires are made only through human hosts; vampires with penises can impregnate women and the pregnancy will last for 2 years until the woman is fully drained of all her blood and innards, then perish, with the baby bursting out of the womb

vampires without can impregnate men or women via their venom and it will take the form of a parasite forming in their stomach. these vampires tend to be more deadly, though because of the times it is rare to have these kinds of non-producing ‘coven’ leaders. they will do so if their mate is killed, but usually they use their venom to strengthen the other vampires in their coven.

vampires that are created via the union of two vampires in coitus will have a normal “human like” pregnancy, and tend to be the most powerful of all) (ie: eduard)

unlike werewolves vampires cannot be “turned” they can only be born.

HOW WEREWOLVES WORK (turned)

werewolves are the natural enemies to vampires as they were specifically engineered hundreds of years ago to be on par with the nightwalkers’s (vampires) habits.

they cannot be born biologically; once you are turned a werewolf you are infertile.

werewolves are created via consumption of the compound moonstone, which, as its name suggests, is what people of this time assume to be rocks from the actual moon.

whether it is or isn’t is debatable. its not Really important. you eat it and you are now lycanthrope congrats

[blorb-el]

14 and 24

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write (fanfic end of year asks)

answered over here! the tl;dr is it's sure on this shining night, which is gen superfam fic focused on kara and martha recreating kryptonian recipes for the winter solstice <3

24. favorite fic you read this year

I can never pick just one... particular favorites this year were...

hoebiwan's onward, lonesome hero (carry on, carry on), a clark gets captured by lex early on au which gave me so much brainrot my wip fic of this fic is currently sitting at about 50k

nichepastiche and wisteria_lodge's Relationship Status, a very loving and intimate superbat getting together with low drama fic, with a lot of tenderness and a calm, unique and lovely flowing dialogue style even throughout the E rated scenes (so hard to pull off!!)

ionia/@supermanshield's Devotion, a lovely (very explicit) intimate superbat first time where every sentence just feels like canon, down to bruce forgetting his toothbrush

shipyrds/@burins' from the inside of the wound, a pain swap fic between bruce and clark that is somewhat like taffy in that it is rich and layered and sticks with you and i've been chewing on it for weeks/gently rotating it in my head

believe it or not i do actually occasionally read fics about non-superheroes... my favorite of which this year was ellen_fremedon's ongoing epic Les Mis fic In Which Is To Be Learned The Name of Enjolras's Fake Fiancée. I'm not convinced this author isn't a time traveler direct from 1832 the way the detail in this is so extraordinary, and the slow unfurling of characterization is unreal. It's probably readable canon-blind, if any followers of this blog happen to be into Hugolian style narration.

and my favorite superman fic of all time which I first came across in 2022 but no joke reread every three months or so, which easily makes my top 10 superman stories ever, the unreally good Shatterfall by tandrelmairon. read it and then agonize with me about how it's unfinished and hasn't been updated since 2007. then go read their OTHER stellar clois fic Getting Eaten Alive which IS complete

[nellasbookplanet]

A lot of takes I see on the relationship between Imogen and Laudna seems to vacillate between one of two extremes: either they are perfect and sweet and supporting and soft, or they’re horribly codependent and unhealthy and likely to break the world for each other etc etc.

(Note that for neither of these takes does it matter whether the relationship is romantic or platonic. Much of the time they are read and written about as romantic because they’re The Big Ship this campaign, but in context of this particular meta the possible romantic-ness is irrelevant. Whether romantic or platonic, their relationship is equally as intense, and has the same possibility to be healthy/unhealthy.)

Now, onto what I actually wanted to talk about.

I don’t personally think of Laudna and Imogen's dynamic as unhealthy. I do, however, think of it as very much having the potential to become so. I have mentioned before that their relationship fundamentally doesn’t allow for challenge. They’re somewhat codependent and relied only on each other as social outcasts in a hostile world for a long time, and as such their dynamic is one of validation and trust and protection and uplifting each other. This isn't necessarily unhealthy. When they were alone, they both needed that unconditional support and love to stay alive and sane. At the time, they didn’t need challenge and character growth, they needed to be shown there was someone who could empathize with their weirdness with love and without judgment. Even now, with the hells, they don't really need challenge from each other. They have other people, other relationships, to provide that.

But I have also mentioned before that their support has the potential to veer into enabling. Laudna tells Imogen it’s her choice what to do in the solstice battle, and that Laudna will stand by her no matter what. It’s unflinching trust. It’s a validation Imogen desperately needs and longs for. And as long as they are correct in their trust, as long as neither of them makes a choice the other fundamentally can’t allow for, things will remain good. The gnarl rock conflict got close (actually it’s interesting how, the moment their trust was broken, both of them fell apart immediately), but was ultimately caused by an outside force (Delilah), not their own choices, and thus allowed their relationship and trust to heal fairly quickly.

I don't necessarily think they will veer into anything unhealthy. They both have a pretty good understanding of each other, and their trust is well-placed, for the most part. But I enjoy the ambiguity of it. The potential of darkness, were the narrative or their own choices to really come between them, to push them until their breaking points.

Tl;dr: I don't think Imogen and Laudna's relationship is unhealthy as much as deeply trusting, and as long as that trust remains well-placed nothing bad is likely to happen between them. But the potential of that trust going toxic is there, and it’s very juicy.

[magnorious]

Review: ‘We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of’, Percy Jackson Episode 7

TL;DR the flashbacks were the best part of this episode and because they exist, precious minutes serving actual plot were eaten by missed potential. Also someone kidnapped Hades and replaced him with a caricature imposter.

This show is quickly becoming not even enjoyable enough to make fun of, but with two episodes to go, might as well see it through to the end.

Episode 6 left off with some wild Hollywood-y changes to the source material, the biggest being that the summer solstice deadline has already passed and the gods are at war, because tension? Everyone knows the world isn’t going to end, everyone knew it wouldn’t end in the book either — the stakes came from whether or not Percy would be able to prove his innocence and recover his mom. We knew somehow that things would work out, the question was what the cost would be if he failed.

Giving Percy the 4th pearl and making him already fail by the powers that be was an interesting decision. It robs the tension from the rest of the plot if there’s no clock ticking down anymore. Hades, Ares, every single hurdle they face burns more time and forces Percy to risk flying on a plane to reach New York before the deadline... all for Zeus to not give a damn anyway.

But did this interesting choice make for a better or more entertaining story?

—

I’m shocked they kept Crusty’s Waterbeds given how much plot they have left to shove in this story. And, of course, Percy already knows exactly who he is. They finally got a character to look like they did in the book and (for Supernatural fans, it’s the same actor as Death) it’s pretty well done for the costume and makeup department. But all of that is moot once again when the script gives away all the answers.

Percy has no time for Crusty because the plot has no time for Crusty. They try to give him some thematic relevance but they’re sprinting to the finish line now, and they can’t even let Percy kill him, going out of their way to make Annabeth tell him to be happy he gets to keep his head.

Side note- the pearls look like tiny Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Oh and DOA Studios doesn’t exist, because there’s no time for that but there is certainly time for flashbacks. If I had to pick between Crusty and Charon, I would have preferred Charon 100%, he’s actually a decent guy — but not this version of him. He does actually appear, looking more like a grim reaper than an underpaid middle manager bereft of his Italian suits.

The flashback itself is wonderful, I wish the rest of the show was so nicely written. The second flashback they don’t have time for is also great. I like seeing more of Sally and their struggles growing up, her tireless search for ways to protect her demigod son. This is the kind of filler that helps tell the story, unfortunately it’s at the expense of the existing story this episode, eating up minutes. The *third* flashback eating up minutes is also good, this just isn’t the time for any of these. They should have all been in the St. Louis episode. I hate how good these are, because it shows how good the writing could have been. Baby Percy still runs circles around the older kids’ line deliveries. The **fourth** flashback is well-acted but baffling, more on that later!

The Underworld is grey. Painfully grey. Another reason I wish this show had been animated was full creative freedom to go all out with the design and the colors and the scale. This is just boring- grey and hazy to hide how boring it is. The Underworld is an entire kingdom, it’s a realm, terrifyingly beautiful. There’s black poplar trees and all the different rivers and Elysium and the Isles of the Blessed and Persephone’s garden. The ghosts actually look like ghosts. The kids in this version don’t actually look intimidated by the magnificence of the place. There’s no time to be intimidated.

Cerberus is fine. Annabeth’s waterland ball is swapped in for Grover’s stress ball. But he remained a Rottweiler. What’s not fine is the plot handing Percy 4 pearls only to randomly rescind one by making Grover lose his to recreate the tension they murdered. Percy doesn’t hesitate to give his to Grover and there’s no time for them to have any kind of dramatic argument over who should actually stay behind.

Asphodel is a forest, not a field, i.e. the Fields of Asphodel. The concept is cool, actually. These souls stuck there for so long they’re growing roots into the very fabric of the Underworld. So kudos there, that’s genuinely creepy. The rest of Asphodel is a desert, still not a field, and bright as daylight for some reason when it should be permanent night down there unless you’re in Elysium.

Buuut then said roots tangle up Annabeth and make them leave her behind. Percy doesn’t even try to cut her free and she just takes a pearl to the surface, to be ejected from the plot for now. What regret did she have? Doesn’t matter, no time.

Percy is still too smart for his own good and the plot still hates any mystery whatsoever, so he finds the Master Bolt immediately after the brush with the Pit. The Pit also has no voice of Kronos to make it extra creepy, because there’s No Time For That. The entire point of the Chekov’s gun that was those shoes is tossed aside.

The Underworld continues to be painfully grey and beige. Hades isn’t grey, though, oh no. Hades isn’t Hades either. I kept waiting for the reveal that he’s just one of Hades’ Furies in disguise or even a lesser spirit he orders around to screw with people. I waited, and kept waiting. The dude who played Hades in the movie was more accurate.

They still do argue. Percy still accuses Hades of meddling. They argue in front of a random living room instead of a godly Underworld throne. Maybe that wasn’t in the budget. I’m still waiting for Hades to drop this ridiculous act and toss this puppet aside. He starts offering sanctuary when book Hades desperately wanted absolutely nothing to do with whatever was brewing between Zeus and Poseidon, claiming now he needs another god’s weapon to defend himself and I don’t think signature weapons are so easily transferable. Percy and Grover get the heck out of dodge shortly after.

Then Poseidon shows up in the fourth flashback and, well, Percy does have his hair (but not his random British accent). No Hawaiian shirt and khakis in sight. This exists to make Poseidon and Sally’s love for their son more tangible, but in the first book he’s a dick. He’s not seen on the page until Percy meets him on Olympus and the god is a huge disappointment to him. Poseidon begins narrating like this is the season finale, Ares shows up, and cut to black.

The entire book we’re left in limbo on where Poseidon stands, if he’s going to be as spiteful and selfish as Zeus or Dionysus. That reveal on Olympus meant something. But at this point I’m tired of arguing why scenes matter when the show couldn’t care less.

At this point making book comparisons doesn’t matter anymore because this just isn’t Percy Jackson anymore. The characters have their names, sure, but that’s about all the due diligence that’s paid to the source material. I watched this with someone who hadn’t seen a single episode before nor read the books and even they commented that it’s horribly rushed. Even without Percy Jackson’s name on the marketing, they’ve been questing to the Underworld for the entire season and *this* is what we get for it?

Here’s to hoping the entire budget for fight scenes went to the finale so Percy can kick Ares’ ass.

[hinotorihime]

the tl;dr of that 1500-word post is this:

the zodiac is fundamentally a timekeeping system, where the signs are defined as 12 equal divisions of the solar year, with the four cardinal signs (aries, cancer, libra, capricorn) defined as beginning at the equinox and solstice points; the names are mnemonic devices and have nothing to do with the physical constellation boundaries...

...therefore ophiuchus is not "the new thirteenth zodiac sign"...

...and the decision to tie the zodiac points to the equinoxes instead of to the position of the original reference stars was deliberate and not because ancient astronomers didn't know about axial precession.

in fact, vedic astrologers have been correcting for axial precession for centuries, because they use a space-based sidereal zodiac instead of the western time-based tropical zodiac; because the current sidereal position of the vernal equinox point, and thus the relative position of the sign boundaries, is in the constellation pisces, the same objective position of the sun (or any other planet) in a birth chart will have different names depending on what zodiac system you're using.

so if the mismatch between the tropical signs and the constellation boundaries really, really bothers you, maybe try looking into vedic? they've got two extra planets, too!

but criticizing the tropical zodiac for not correcting for axial precession is like criticizing a cat for being bad at barking.

[thewolfwarriors]

15 Years of HTTYD! ANNIVERSARY POST!

tl;dr: Ive been in the fandom since the far off ancient year of 2007 so this is a brief reflection of all that

Posting this today on the Winter Solstice, an important day for the Vikings, seemed fitting. Expand for the full text (there's pictures too!)

In the Winter of 2007, my middle school English teacher took us to our weekly Thursday trip to the library. I'd check out any book with the word 'dragon' in the title. I came across How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell and immediately checked it out. I became so obsessed with the book that I learned the hard way that you can only recheck out a book so many times. Thankfully, my parents had given me some money for Christmas and took me to Books-A-Million after the new year! I think the specific date was Jan 8th.

To my ecstatic delight, there was not one, but THREE BOOKS now! After buying them, we went to Cici's Pizza and I had to convince my parents to let me bring them inside. I promised them I would be careful not to get any pizza on them.

I carried those books around with me daily! They were always with me at school. They got scratches all over the covers but they were my friends so I always had them around. I made so many stories of my own through them.

I have this memory of my dad walking into my room while I was reading How to Speak Dragonese.

"You're reading that again?" he asked.

"Ye...."

"We need to get you some new books." was all he said.

It used to say Mew on the inside of the cover before I decided to put the date down instead. That was my first internet name from my ye olde Neopets days. I named myself and all my characters that because I was so bad with naming.

I came up with Mew (now Mewgull) as my first HTTYD OC! She was the an heir to a large kingdom and she turned into a wolf ( I was obsessed with Wolf's Rain and nu-metal AMVS ok? )Then came along her brothers, the Dreadful Drones and the Wolf Warriors as a whole, my first LGBT+ characters (that I can remember at least) and many many more. Mew became my first mascot for my art and eventually I made my own "fursona" (before I knew what that was) based off her.

Annnnnd of course, tons of fan art, animations and even a Doomfang fursuit head. Most of this stuff was lost to time but some I was able to keep! I'll be uploading what's left of my old artwork here soon! I plan to do some redraws as well! ^_^ Some are already on my ancient sarcophagus of a deviantART account

For memories and funnies: here's my Fishlegs cosplay for "Dress up as your favorite book character day" at school! I don't know if it's embarrassing or endearing but hey, man, it was 2012.

I made the helmet and the necklace myself! I kept the luck lobster claws for a long time but I guess I got rid of them. :( Maybe in the future I'll make another pair! And yes, that's my Horrowcow I'm holding! Thanks mom for takin the picture!

Anyway, if you stuck around this long, I sure do appreciate it. These were all some of the many core memories I had and I love talking about them. I'll probably have many more sentimental ramblings like this in the future (... Sure hope "the Dreadful Drone" doesn't take on a new meaning) and of course, my old art. I'm really happy with how well of a reception my art was got on here so far. Thank you all.

Until next time, Peace.

Signed,

Mr.Hatman aka Mew -Dragonologist, Wolf Rain's AMV lover, System of a Down/KoRn fan, Poke'mon Master, Cosplayer, Irken Invader, the most Random Epicest Artist xDDDD :3

[xxhumancentipedexx]

my favorite thing abt the human centipede is that it can b abbreviated to THC. like WEED ! ! ! ! ! ! ! anyways can i ask a ww2 question how deep did nazis get into occult stuff ? i remember hearing abt them trying to do magic

IKR one time i got a thc ad and i was sitting there for fifteen minutes trying to dissect where the human centipede was before realising. Oh they're talking about The Weed. and YEUeuUS!!! !! i love discussing the history of the third reich

TL;DR of below: Himmler had strong neo-pagan beliefs that he incorporated into the SS through ritualistic ceremonies. He also sent teams across Europe in search of Thor's hammer and/or evidence regarding it because he believed it could be used as a weapon against the Allies. No, nothing came out of these expeditions. The spread of his occultist beliefs wasn't too successful because Himmler himself didn't think Germany was ready for such a shift into neo-paganism among other reasons

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

So Heinrich Himmler was the primary propagator of these occultist beliefs. He abandoned his Catholicism, finding its views on those he considered "subhuman" too merciful.

He sort of fused the ideas of pagan gods, pseudoscience, and Germanic myths into one religion he wanted the German race to follow. Thus began the neo-pagan doctrine established within the SS

There's a loooot to go over but Himmler believed in a Germanic god named Waralda, or The Ancient One. He organised ritualistic ceremonies for the SS, like solstice celebrations, SS weddings, and baby naming ceremonies. He sort of treated Mein Kampf like their holy book which is funny considering it's not even a well written piece of literature. Passages of the book were read during naming ceremonies and to open SS weddings

Himmler was also obsessed with Thor's hammer. Teams were sent across Europe in search of evidence and knowledge regarding it. He believed it was a war weapon, and that it could be used against the Allies. Here's his (translated, obviously) letter to the Ahnenberbe (a pseudoscientific organisation he was involved with) about the hammer:

“Have the following researched: Find all places in the northern Germanic Aryan cultural world where an understanding of the lightning bolt, the thunderbolt, Thor’s hammer, or the flying or thrown hammer exists, in addition to all the sculptures of the god depicted with a small hand axe emitting lightning. Please collect all of the pictorial, sculptural, written and mythological evidence of this. I am convinced that this is not based on natural thunder and lightning, but rather that it is an early, highly developed form of war weapon of our forefathers, which was only, of course, possessed by the Aesir, the gods, and that it implies an unheard of knowledge of electricity.”

The spread of Himmler's beliefs also didn't go very far because he himself didn't think that Germany was ready for a complete shift into neo-paganism

Also something pretty funny, Himmler recruited a man named Karl Maria Wiligut into the SS because he claimed to have access to knowledge of ancient Germanic tribes by going into a trance. Himmler was unaware he was schizophrenic

[titanicfreija]

SOLSTICE PSA

SOLSTICE GEAR IS THE BEST WAY TO FOCUS UP YOUR STAT POOLS

This is a hyper simplified explanation and values are approximate, but my overall point stands valid no matter the specifics-- this event is a good way to get good armor.

The way it works is there's points allotted between the primary three stats and the secondary three stats-- resilience, mobility and recovery all share a pool; discipline, strength, and intellect all share a pool. Everything has a base two, and I think like twenty-thirty in the shared pools.

Normally, you'll get a spike, with one star getting ten-twenty points with the remaining two splitting the other half. Occasionally, you'll get a flat even with everything a few points off from each other.

Ghost shell mods will drive focus towards a selected stat. The armor gained will see that stat average at LEAST twelve, and I'm rounding down off a bad memory.

Maxed out Solstice Gear runs HIGH on allotted points-- I think my lowest is a 62 and it's not masterworked.

The process of gaining the armor allows you to focus a stat, and excludes the one aligned with the ghost mod equipped. So if you equip the resilience ghost mod, you won't be able to pick resilience stat focus, but you will be able to focus either mobility or recovery, allowing for about ten bonus points to that pool and therefore armor that can roll with easily thirty points between two major stats.

Thirty between two major stats is a fuckload, by the way. You want it. My preferences are resilience and recovery because I tank as hard as I do. If you want to focus strength and discipline, it does the same thing to the other pool, too.

Tl;dr- Stat focusing on solstice upgrades with ghost mods make improbable stat numbers go vroom.

[singofsolace]

Okay, wait. I’m actually mad now after thinking about the logistics of Weems asking Gomez to the dance.

I understand that everyone is the hero of their own story, or the main character, or whatever, so I get that Larissa Weems sees everything that happened while she was a student at Nevermore from her own perspective, and not an objective one, but can we talk about how this unrequited love triangle would’ve appeared from Gomez’s perspective?

Gomez is in love with Morticia. They’ve been together for an unspecified amount of time by the fall semester of 1990. At the same time, the love of his life is being stalked and harassed by a boy who comes from such a powerful family, it will be near-impossible to get him arrested for terrorizing her. They’ve gone to the police, and the police have been no help, so Morticia has basically been left with no options but to continue enduring Garrett’s stalking, while Gomez watches helplessly.

Meanwhile, at the same time that Morticia is being harassed, the Rav’n dance approaches, and Morticia’s roommate, Larissa Weems, asks Gomez to the dance, despite him actively being in an established relationship with Morticia…? So, Gomez turns Larissa down, because of course he does? He isn’t single?! Of course he wants to go to the dance with his girlfriend, who is already going through a hard time, and isn’t going to break up with Morticia just to take Weems to the dance?

What was Larissa’s logic? Did she think she could successfully break Morticia and Gomez up by asking him to the dance? And if he had said “yes,” what did she think having to continue to share a room with Morticia was going to be like??

It’s a miracle Morticia seems to have taken Larissa trying to steal her boyfriend out from under her in stride, considering I don’t think I would’ve been as understanding, in her place. But the fact that Larissa then thinks she witnesses Gomez commit a murder at the dance, and instead of focusing on Garrett and Gomez, she blames Morticia because “they were fighting over her,” is so unbelievably fucked up?

tl;dr Larissa asked Gomez to the dance despite him actively already being in a relationship with Morticia, gets turned down, and then accuses Morticia of being responsible for a murder she didn’t commit, according to what Larissa saw…? How did these ladies still perform together in the solstice talent show?!? I would’ve cut all ties with Larissa immediately after she tried to steal my boyfriend and pin a murder on me…?

(Except maybe Morticia would’ve been delighted by it? Idk, it’s unclear to me the extent to which this version of Morticia would’ve enjoyed all the drama, since she definitely didn’t enjoy murdering Garrett).

Literally the only thing that makes sense to me is the idea that Larissa was in love with Morticia and not Gomez, and was just constantly trying to get her attention in the worst ways possible.