#son lux is great

[a-passing-storm]

I love Son Lux! I love that they keep coming back to the same few songs and just consistently making them better and gradually making them more hopeful.

[gaminegay]

SOUNDS that make you crazy. Not just songs or artists but the sounds in them. What's a sound that drives you nuts

[o-the-mts]

2022 Year in Review: Favorite Songs

2022 Year in Review: Favorite Songs

Following up on my Song of the Week posts all year long, below are my 20 favorite songs of 2022! If that’s not enough, check out the Tidal and Spotify playlists with 51 smashing songs of the year. https://listen.tidal.com/playlist/3851ab49-6894-419d-94f4-30f391cab05f   The songs are arranged alphabetically with only one song per artist! “Blue is the Eye” by Ye Vagabonds “Cheetah” by Jay-Jay…

[sapphic-luthor]

Happy Sunday! You recommended last the new god of war song (which was VERY lovely) so in return I’ll recommend you “In the Flood” from the Horizon Forbidden West soundtrack - been very good for walks on grey days. I’ve also been really into the Chick’s most recent album but I don’t remember your feeling on country enough to recommend you specifics other than just I’m enjoying it. Hope your week is well and you got good Wrap Results! - SMA

HELLO i’m sorry that it’s tuesday and also that i did not answer last week but i was way away and v busy for a bit and then got very ill on the way home lol BUT i am here i am i back i appreciate you and i also am fucking loving this song and i am deeply heartbroken all the time that i can’t play HZD because i only have an xbox and a pc : (

[bizarrebazaar13]

FL-inspired book recs!

brought to you by hotel wi-fi

Locations

The Royal Bethlehem: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and “The Room in the Tower” by E.F. Benson. these are short stories, not novels, but they are fairly quick reads and are about locations where reality becomes twisted. the yellow wallpaper deals with mental illness and medical neglect, while the room in the tower is more about the overlap between dreams and the real world.

Port Carnelian: Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ok, hear me out on this one. if you’ve ever thought port carnelian would be great if it actually dealt with British colonialism and racism in a meaningful way and also had a murder mystery, you might like this book. a much younger Mycroft Holmes goes with his friend Cyrus Douglas to Douglas’s home in Jamaica to investigate a series of mysterious deaths.

Ladybones Road: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. Nathaniel Steepleton finds a gold pocket watch in his bedroom one day, but he cannot open it or even hear it ticking. six months later, it opens on its own, and an alarm goes off at the precise time that a bomb explodes in Scotland Yard. he then goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, who claims the watch was stolen from his shop. Mori has a gift for elaborate clockwork, and though he seems kind and relatively harmless, Nathaniel is sure he is hiding something.

Ambitions/Major Storylines

Early Light Fingers: The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz. it’s a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but it can still be understood and enjoyed even if you don’t share my Sherlock Holmes autism. I specified early light fingers, because the mystery of what exactly the house of silk is, and the theme of corruption in highest levels of society, reminds me a lot of exploring and learning about the orphanage. just a heads up, this book is centered around a murdered child, and deals with the systemic abuse and neglect of children in victorian london. its biggest content warning is also its biggest spoiler, so I won’t give it here, but feel free to ask me. I had it spoiled for me on accident and still liked the book a lot.

Late-game Nemesis: “The Moonlit Road” by Ambrose Pierce. another short story, it recounts in three parts the murder of Julia Hetman, as told by her son, her husband, and Julia herself. it specifically reminds me of the dreams of the dead section of nemesis.

Evolution: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. Tory Stewart becomes obsessed with mermaids after her sister Anne’s disappearance. Anne was filming a mockumentary about mermaids in the Mariana Trench, but the ship she was on disappeared, and was recovered weeks later with no trace of the crew. footage was found that appeared to show the crew being murdered by mermaids, but it’s largely believed to be for the movie, not real. seven years later, Theodore Blackwell recruits Tory as part of his mission to return to the Mariana Trench and capture a live mermaid. it hits sort of the same spot for undersea survival horror that the diving bell section of evolution did for me.

Exceptional Stories

The Bloody Wallpaper: Sign Here by Claudia Lux. hell is an office. literally. Peyote Trip sold his soul while he was alive, and now works in hell, convincing other people to do the same. he’s one deal away from a big promotion, and all he needs is the soul of one last member of the Harrison family. normal laws of space and time don’t apply, the real hellscape is capitalism, and secrets don’t stay hidden forever… sound familiar? in terms of violence and body horror, I don’t think it gets much worse than the text of the bloody wallpaper. one of the main characters does have a pretty brutal backstory involving christianity-related child abuse though.

Totentanz: Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. set in late 1920s Mexico, the story follows Casiopea Tun and the Mayan death god Hun-Kamé on a journey across Mexico and eventually into the underworld. Casiopea finds Hun-Kamé’s bones in a chest in her grandfather’s house, and when she cuts her finger on one of the bone shards, Hun-Kamé becomes bound to her. together, they must find the rest of his body, which has been scattered around Mexico by Hun-Kamé’s brother Vucub-Kamé, who took over control of Xibalba from him. Hun-Kamé intends to retake Xibalba, but he and Casiopea must face sorcerers, demons, and twisted family dynamics- and that’s before they even get to the underworld.

[meanbossart]

Well, I did it, I made an extremely annoying durge playlist for DU drow.

Because I can't help being pretentious, It turned out being a linear concept album. Some songs are about specific relationships and events, some are just mood setters. It's also split like this:

Childhood: Tracks 1-3

Teens: Track 4

Active Bhaalspawn, pre-Absolute: Tracks 5-10

The Chosen's Plan, and his downfall: Tracks 11-15

Game campaign: Tracks 16-31

It's a longass playlist and I reasonably don't expect anyone to sit through the whole thing, so here's a helpful little guide that lists the more stand-out tracks and what they're about, as well as whichever ones are specific to a character:

3. Teenage lightning - Coil: A little urge, and first contact with Sceleritas. 4. Bring the sun/Toussaint L’Ouverture - Swans: Several years between escaping the Underdark, trekking the surface's cities and wilderness, and seeking out greatness.

5. Fire Temple - Bobby Krlic: Finding where you belong. 7. Circles in red dirt - Jarboe: Orin. 9. Rocking back inside my heart - Julee Cruise: Orin, reprise.

12. Fan Letter - Michael Gira: Enver Gortash. 13. Pleasurer - JK Flesh: His sister's betrayal. 19. Cannibal's Hymn - Nick Cave: Astarion. 24. My True Body - Angels of Light: Bhaal. 26. Praise your name - Angels of light: Astarion, reprise. 29. All Directions - Son Lux: Friendship, and doing the right thing. 30. Ugly and Vengeful - Anna von Hausswolff: Finale. 31. Song for a Warrior - Swans: DU drow.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS, ENJOY. OR DON'T. WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO.

[lichcrow]

Lay Down In The Tall Grass - Timber Timbre

Zero Pharaoh - Everything Everything

Sing Sing - The Bones of J.R. Jones

Moonn - Radical Face

Part of This - Son Lux

Not tagging so anyone who wants to share their music can :>

tagged by @gothwizardmagic :D

RULES: put 5 songs you actually listen to, then tag 10 people.

(oh cool it's not "put on shuffle and post the first 5", i don't have to feel conflicted about being picky lol)

The Trail We Blaze - Elton John (i watched the road to el dorado because the theme song was stuck in my head, and i thought it might help and well. it at least got a different song stuck in my head.)

Bad Apple - RichaadEB and Cristina Vee (it just keeps coming up in shuffle a lot)

Cha Cha Cha - Käärijä (yeah.)

The Final Countdown - Algal the Bard (he does REALLY GOOD medieval covers and also original music that is very cool)

Wave Rider Steve - Dj Tiësto (i just think it's neat)

tags: @die-06 @qhazomb @shylittleoctopus @applejuicewerewolf @friendraichu uhhhhh that's only 5, well. also anyone else who wants to do it also

[lisa972kdlz]

Puny God :

(Piètre Dieu)

«You really think you can impress me with what you have to oppose ?»

«A bunch of brats...»

«A brother who has lost his sparkle...»

«The shadow of myself...»

«...And a little whore.»

English (translated with Deepl) :

Drawing and inking done by me, and the gorgeous, professional and transcendent colors are by @aeryth-lc (she's talented my girl isn'it? She's talented (☆▽☆) !)

This is an extract from an as yet unwritten story about her Multiverse Manzanoverse ! Or rather, a Multiverse crossover, as Corrupted Nightmare (Kerosene to you and me) and Merciless are not part of it.

We've gone to such lengths for this single extract because it means so much to an Undertale and AU's fan, and to a Killer fan.

It was a real PLEASURE to draw him kicking Nightmare' ass !

Underverse has given our favorite characters moments to shine, to encourage us to respect them in the Fanbase. Thanks to it, Blue and Dream are more badass, Cross has been able to break free...

But there was nothing it could do for Killer for now 😭

How many times have I seen depictions of him as stupid, masochistic, sexually and literaly submissive?

I usually don't ask for reblogs, but please, we have to make Killer rebel, this character has the right to evolve 🙏 at least make your own fanarts, let's create a wave with a hashtag like #freekillersans for exemple !

In any case, here and now, it's his finest hour ✨ let's be happy for him

(aaaand if you could correct it in English to help me improve that would be great too, thank you very much 👍!)

Français :

Dessin et encrage fait par moi, et les magnifiques, professionnelles et transcendantes couleurs sont de @aeryth-lc (hein qu'elle est douée ma copine ? hein qu'elle est douée (⁠☆⁠▽⁠☆⁠) ?)

Il s'agit d'un extrait d'une histoire pas encore écrite concernant son Multivers Manzanoverse (ou plutôt un croisement de Multivers car Nightmare corrompu (Kérosène pour les intimes) et Merciless n'en font pas partie) !

Si on s'est donné tant de mal pour ce simple extrait, c'est qu'il représente énormément pour un fan d'Undertale et AU's et un fan de Killer.

C'était un véritable PLAISIR de le dessiner en train de botter le cul de Nightmare !

Underverse a offert à nos personnages préférés des moments où ils ont pu briller afin de nous inciter à les respecter au sein de la Fanbase, grâce à cette série Blue et Dream sont plus badass, Cross a pu s'émanciper...

Mais elle n'a rien pu faire pour Killer actuellement 😭

Combien de fois j'ai vu des représentations de lui stupide, masochiste, soumis sexuellement et littéralement ?

D'habitude je ne demande pas de rebloger, mais s'il vous plaît, il faut faire en sorte que Killer se rebelle, ce personnage a le droit d'évoluer 🙏 ou bien faites vos propres fanarts, créons une vague avec un hashtag genre #freekillersans par exemple

En tout cas, ici et maintenant, c'est son heure de gloire ✨ soyons heureux pour lui

Killer!Sans belongs to @/rahaf-wabas

Nightmare belongs to @/jokublog

Merciless belongs to @/Mommysnoodraw (not on Tumblr)

Shattered!Dream belongs to @/Galacii-gallery

Lux belongs to @/alainaprana

Paperjam belongs to @/7goodangel

Starway belongs to @/lunnar-chan

Aéryth and Manzanoverse belongs to @/aeryth-lc

[cliozaur]

Hauteville House: Part 4 - Work and Death

This is my favourite part of Hauteville House: the second and third floors. The majestic Oak Gallery on the second floor was designed as Hugo’s living space, including his study and bedroom. The study, which he almost never used, and the bedroom, where he slept only a couple of times when he was ill. They are dark and beautiful, blending Gothic and Renaissance styles. The wooden furniture and intricately carved columns are stunning. The table, in my opinion, looks like a perfect place to work. But once again, it had symbolic meaning: the entire setting was designed to evoke the Great Hall of the Palais de Justice. Three chairs, resembling those of judges, bear inscriptions telling the story of a new Trinity: Pater, Mater, Filius Amatus Amat (Father, Mother, Beloved Son, He Loves).

The bedroom is even more intriguing. The bed, unusually large for the 19th century, originally belonged to a ship captain and was bought by Hugo. He believed he would die in exile, and this bed would be his deathbed, so he only slept there when he was ill. The wooden benches facing the bed might seem odd at first, but when you realize the bed was intended as a deathbed, the benches take on new meaning as places for mourners. The headboard bears the inscription Nox Mors Lux (Night, Death, Light), and at its top is an ivory cane knob shaped like a man’s head—half alive, half dead.

This memento mori was a gift from the sculptor James Pradier in the year of Hugo’s daughter Leopoldine's death, and Hugo referred to it as "two-faced."

On the third floor is the space where Hugo actually worked and slept: the so-called "glass cage," a conservatory overlooking the Channel. On clear days, you can even see the French coast. This area, decorated in an oriental style, was his true study. His desk with a black top board sits in the right corner, and the space looks lovely and inspiring. In practice, however, it was quite a challenging place to work. Hugo's grandson, Georges, recalled: “In the summer it is so hot in the lookout that the paint peels, and the silver on the mirrors melts as if in a fire. The reflection of the faïence is blinding. Bare-headed, he calmly wrote in this furnace. If, beneath these panes, the summer heat is brutal, the cold in winter is icy. Without an overcoat, bare-headed, always just as calm and peaceful, he continued to write. The wind whistled through the wide-open windows. He was in the middle of a hurricane.” What a man! He worked amid the elements, suffering but persevering—a very Romantic concept of work.

His bedroom on this floor was remarkably humble—just a low sofa, not very comfortable, especially when compared to the grand bed in the Oak Gallery. In this way, he resembled Jean Valjean, who preferred living in a simple hut despite owning a large house. Despite having a luxurious bedroom, Hugo chose this small room with a narrow sofa.

[brightest-stars-if]

Hiii dawn hope you are weeeeellllllll.

Okay, so i saw this ask...

and it's suoer interesting, so I was wondering about the opposite.

A male Lux who his mother's world and her every desire and hope and ambition is hedged onto him.. with a Male MC who they fall inlove with.

And an MC that encourages Lux to think for himself to make things alil worse.

How would she feel about that?

I know all of these hypotheticals are probably stuff we will encounter in the game 🤔

Hi Liz! I haven't been great lately, but that's life right? We all just gotta keep trudging along. I hope to make a dent in chapter 3 soon 💪🏾

Isolde's reaction to MxM MC and Lux compared to FxF MC and Lux isn't any worse, it's just very different.

Keep in mind that this is my answer for right now, and aspects of her response could change as I continue writing. With the MxM version, she's devastated. She could have tolerated and even accepted the MC and Lux if Lux settled down and married a woman for an alliance and possible children.

But the minute her son chooses to forsake taking a wife, and in turn discard a great deal of her efforts into getting him where he is, the MC becomes a big problem. Her wrath is, of course, not directed to her perfect, shining hope, but instead to the boy who has set him on a wayward path. Especially if said boy is removing her influence over Lux ;). Of course, the depth of her discontent will depend on her opinion of the MC.

[unknownentry404]

The Dragon Prince: Pre-Season 6 Thoughts.

(Post finishing my 3rd full watch-through)

It was SUPER weird going from S4-5 Viren back to S1-3 Viren. I think it’s amazing how- like, they didn’t really redeem him? Cause he CANT be redeemed, but they still- Showed us who he was underneath the corruption and- Really emphasised how much of Viren’s villainousness was DUE to Dark Magic corruption which just- And how much he did out of love. (CoughCallumCough) Is terrifying when you think of the other two characters that have ties to it…

Viren turning to dark magic to save his son. “Whatever it takes: however dangerous, however vile.” But then: choosing dark magic OVER his son. Being careless with Soren’s feelings and very life. Telling Claudia to choose the egg over Soren, almost turning Soren into a sunbeast, gaslighting him, etc…

It appears that he first saw the Mirror in his first “dark magic coma,” with his future self on the other side of it. Explaining again why he became so obsessed with the Mirror when he saw it- The fact that S5 Viren would agree with Runaan’s warning: “that mirror? You have found something worse than death-“ Kinda mindblowing.

I have and will always be on the “Viren is an irredeemable bitch” train but- I didn’t expect it to hurt so much when I got back to Season-4-him coming to terms with mortality and just wanting to spend the next 30 days enjoying life with his daughter like- It seemed so deeply unserious and out of left-field when I first watched it, but, post Season 5- Wow, it actually hurts?

His relationship with Terry was actually really sweet? And Terry really helped him unpack so much of the Toxic Masculinity in him… as a certified Viren hater, it’s disturbing how much of this is about him- I always thought the crew spent too much time with him but- He is actually such an amazing foil?

Once again: Harrow is the bird, (Pip), confirmed. Ghost Harrow standing over Viren with the staff saying “your soul is my treasure” in reverse, turning Viren into a Coin? With Pip right behind him for “no other reason?” Also, new theory but: I think this also might be pointing to how the star spell Callum will use, with the Quazar Diamonds, to “restore spirits to their bodies.” Will not only be able to save Rayla’s family, but potentially King Harrow as well…. (Harrow has been on an Oppa bird-side-quest journey this entire time, mark my words: one does not simply emphasise bird and then let bird escape so he is “conveniently” never in the same room as the only known animal speaker, King Ezran, ever again).

Umm, something I noticed that I actually hope is just thematic and is not an important observation but: Callum has learned/connected with both of his Arcanum DIRECTLY after having used Dark Magic… (Also after doing so to save Rayla, but yeah-) And Dark Magic appears to have been something cultivated by Aaravos? Oh great master of all six primal sources?Basically, I’m hoping that it is just thematic and showing triumph over evil! Of choosing your own path! But… there is a non-zero chance that Callum might ONLY have made these connections BECAUSE he used dark magic and- (Don’t let it be so, please- I love Mage Callum, he loves magic why- /scared) It’ll take three to make a solid pattern just- don’t make it three for three, please-

Aaravos is basically whispering in Karim’s ear, via the old high mage that his caterpillar (son) bit, isn’t he? Meaning he’s being manipulated by the person who killed his sister, destroyed Lux Aurea and swallowed his grandmother. And hence Sol Regrem is, too, being manipulated, through Karim, by the person who GAVE humans dark magic, gave them the wizard staff and LEGIT took his eyes- It is LITERALLY the end of S3 again- Karim in Viren’s place. Aaravos, master warmonger-

Rayla to Callum, finally opening up about the coins: “there’s a burden I’m carrying, but I know I can trust you with it.” To trust is to be stronger. If we’re gonna do it, we’re going do it. Together. Meanwhile: Callum carrying the burden of using dark magic alone. And I’m not even sure if he’s TOLD anyone that the cube is called the @Key of Aaravos!” He tried to destroy it but- he couldn’t and- (This is gonnna FUCKING HURT I-)

Another small observation, but to the Earth Archdragon in S4, Callum offered the least valuable item as a gift when- I’m pretty sure if he offered the Key of Aaravos, it would have been enough on its own and really gotten the ball rolling too? Would it have been smart to give it up? Unclear. But that thing is also a potential danger and-

(I love my baby Callum and I fear for his fate a bit more each day-)

Claudia… oh Claudia… I dunno what it is, but the fact she is so “committed to her family,” but at the same time… they are still alive. As far as we know, her mother is still alive in Del Bar. Soren is still there, and even tries to reconnect with her in Season 4. The only one who’s dying is Viren, but all Viren wants is to spend his last month with his daughter in peace and-Oh Claudia

Extra: I bought and read the graphic novels for a fuller experience, and found them quite interesting:

Callum was going to go off with Rayla on her search for Viren. And she accepted as a lie, before sneaking off in the night. Ouch.

It’s not explicitly stated, but it appears Rayla developed her fear of water from when she almost drowned on the Harvest Moon, as a child, after a run in with the Bloodmoon Huntress. She was alone and pushed off a cliff/waterfall into a lagoon where she was too weak/young to save herself and Runaan had to miraculously appear and save her. We see her carelessly dangling on a log over a stream before this scene, with seemingly no fear. And she also hasn’t interacted with the Bloodmoon Huntress yet, as of Season 5: literally JUST missed her but, I wonder if it’ll come back? 🤔

The third graphic novel takes place before Ezran was born and follows Claudia (and Soren) searching Viren’s old mentors house. It is very much a kids book, but one with very sinister undertones. We learn two things of interest: 1). The timeline of events are as follows: “Soren got deathly ill, Viren’s old mentor ‘mysteriously disappeared,’ Soren got better, Viren and his wife started fighting, wife left-“ Which, I’m- well. That’s fun? Also: the King, Harrow’s father, comforts Viren and asks how he’s doing and how the search for his mentor goes which- well then. 👀 2). The story ends with Claudia obtaining a map to a Unicorn, a map that only she can read because she is… “pure of heart” which- is such a standard, happy ending to a kids book until you realise… what she did… once she found that Unicorn… and then what its horn went on to do…

This show is too well written for the tiny fan base it has. If it sticks the landing, like I think it will? Cult classic on our hands people. Again, I’m just pissed about the depth they brought to the show with Viren: how he was a COMPLETELY different person in Part 1 vs Part 2. How that is terrifying not because we love HIM as a character, but because of how much we love Claudia and Callum… How they made me, a Viren Hater, sad that he died? Because his death was a tragedy? Not because he died, but because he died BEFORE he could warn Claudia not to go down this path. HIS path. That he didn’t want this for her- That she could still stop-

Oof. I simultaneously dread and cannot wait a second more for Friday-

[moonsanoverthinker]

Songs I think fit The Magnus Archives (It’s mostly character vibes)

(There’s some for a JonMartin type of vibe but there’s some for other characters but that’s more subjective than anything) // (I love seeing these when other people do them so thought I’d add some to the mix)

Also this will (hopefully) be updated when I think of more

All Things End - Hozier

Francesca - Hozier

I Always Knew - The Vaccines (For the romcom office flashback sequence we never got)

Family Jewels - Marina

Just Take My Wallet - Jack Stauber’s Micropop

As The World Caves In - Matt Maltese (ouch)

Burning Pile - Mother Mother

In A Week - Hozier/Karen Cowley

Fourth Of July - Sufjan Stevens

Persephone - Daisy The Great

One More Hour - Tame Impala (to me at least it’s kind of end of series 3 Tim vibe…)

Vending Machine Of Love - The Stupendium (On the contrast, before/during series 1 Tim vibes)

The Stand - Mother Mother

Problems - Mother Mother

Like Real People Do - Hozier

The Fine Print - The Stupendium (Always get your contracts checked)

Do It All The Time - I Don’t Know How But They Found Me

Ramblings Of A Lunatic - Bears In Trees

Absinthe - I Don’t Know How But They Found Me

Mary On A Cross - Ghost

Saint Bernard / Saint Bernard 2 - Lincoln (same song but different music)

Alien Blues - Vundabar

I love you so - The Walters (JonMartin vibe but also Tim and Sasha, again ouch)

Will We Talk - Sam Fender

She Wants Me To Be Loved - The Happy Fits

Rises The Moon - Liana Flores

Sunflower - Michele Leigh

Last Words Of A Shooting Star - Mitski (Someone on TikTok used this for a Sasha cosplay and it was nothing but pain)

Two Birds - Regina Spektor

I Know The End - Phoebe Bridgers

This Is A Life - Son Lux, Mitski, David Byrne (The movie Everything, Everywhere, All at once has a weirdly fitting title in this context)

Fred Astaire - Jukebox The Ghost

The Main Character - Will Wood

Wrecking Ball - Mother Mother

Little Dark Age - MGMT

The Loneliest - Måneskin

[maximumharmonything]

Here's the second Trovy Empress I created. She is the second Trovy to marry into the Eastern Empire's Imperial family. She was drawn by the very talented @vanisagi27 (just look at the eyes).

Here's her story:

Sourvier Tina Trovy

Second Trovy Empress (9th empress of the Empire).

Her marriage happened 125 years after the last Trovy-Victor marriage. The Empire was 367 years old.

Sourvier was married to Valentius Theodore Victor, the third son of the Imperial family and the last in line for the throne. Sourvier was 14 when she married Valentius who was 16 at the time. The marriage was consumated 5 years later when they were both of age.

She remained in the Trovy kingdom until she was eighteen.

Even though they were quite young when they married, they had an incredibly successful marriage. They grew closer while the prince was staying in the Trovy kingdom. Her husband used to give her flowers every day and would order portraits of her every few months. They slept in the same bed and had dinner together every night. After her death he kept visiting her grave every day until he eventually passed away.

The marriage happened for purely political reasons. The Western kingdom attacked the Eastern Empire and tried to conquer Lux. Lux is a territory of the Eastern Empire that borders the sea. That city is considered a pillar of the Empire because of its soil fertility and strategic port.

The Trovy-Victor alliance permitted the victory of the Eastern troups. The war had revealed that the Eastern army was no longer as mighty as it was during the conquest. The Trovy king at the time, Lilder II, showed the entire continent his warfare capabilities by winning the war in a mere four months. Furthermore, the king proved to be a strategic genius by winning 3 victories in two days.

Valentius' two older brothers were twins and building tention between them had made the political scene tense. Because of that, Valentius was sent to the Trovy kingdom for three years. He was welcomed by king Lilder II, who taught the shy prince how to rule. The heir to the Eastern Empire died in mysterious circumstances and the second in line was poisoned by his mistress. Valentius ended up becoming the Emperor with Sourvier as Empress.

Together, they created the Great Magical Army and reformed the Empire's military. They also layed the foundations of what would later become the Magical Academy of Magic. They got along really well. Sourvier gave birth to 3 children twin daughters and a son. She was Empress for 15 years, she died due to complications following her fourth pregnancy. Valentius never remarried. Their oldest son, Lilder Kosair Victor, inherited the crown.

P.S.

I decided to space out the Trovy-Victor marriages because it always bothered me that Sovieshu's mother was a Trovy. She was most likely Navier's aunt and I find it weird that an Empire as advanced as the Eastern Empire (as it's depicted in the manhwa/novel) was not more worried about the possible consequences of incest.

Also, I decided to include some nuances and lore behind the diplomatic relationship between the Eastern Empire and Western Kingdom.

First point, because the Eastern Empire and Western Kingdom are on the same continent (Wol). They have similar customs. In this point in time, both nations have the same "lucky color," blue (it will change later on). They also have similar fashion.

Second point, there will be many mentions of military and political conflicts between the two nations. These will set the scene for what happens later in the movel and manhwa.

Finally, there will be more lore about the empire that will change the story later on.

[raayllum]

Teach Me How to Name the Bigger Light

summary: Following their successful retrieval of the prison, Callum and Rayla embark on a quest to the Starscraper while Ezran deals with mounting political tensions in the Pentarchy following Zubeia’s sudden disappearance. Claudia seeks a new but no less dangerous direction, and Aaravos waits for his pawns to come all into place. Ch1 is linked above. Ch2 is linked below. chapter summary: Claudia dreams (and schemes). Janai and Amaya reach out to an under utilized resource. The kids try to get Katolis (and themselves) in order. word count: 9.7k

Chapter Two: Spectres

They hitched a ride from a water dragon once they got to shore. There were plenty milling around, as the Sea of the Castout was one of the few places that had a body of water this large this far inland, and Ezran had appointed all the dragons to search as far and wide as they could. The three of them rested on the shore, this one pebbled rather than sandy, while Zym flew out and brought one back with Ezran’s help.

It was far from the biggest dragon Ezran had ever seen, but it was sleek and would be fast, its dorsal fins flapping in the wind. He climbed aboard closer to the head, knowing he’d need to give some directions and guidance—most dragons were flighty and were unused to flying in a manner that suited humans (or elves) as passengers—as everyone else clambered on along its coral-like back spikes. Callum helped get Bait situated, Zym’s wings fanning out on either side of his light blue body on the ground. He’d fly part of the way and then they’d rest when need be.

He wondered if they’d all been as relieved to see the Storm Spire for the first time as he was now, the great mountain cutting through the cloud line. It was maybe two hours from dusk, the sun beginning its descent on the Spire’s other side, basking the upper cloud layer in a warm glow as they landed right at the Pinnacle. 

He patted the dragon, Alba, on the nose once they’d all dismounted. “Do you mind sticking close by?” Ezran requested, voice a little hoarse. Flying high meant your throat dried out twice as fast and they hadn’t had much to drink either, just whatever was leftover in Rayla’s canteen (Callum had made sure she took a few sips for herself). 

Soren had mentioned that Zubeia had been tired after rescuing his brother and Rayla from Lux Aurea, and Ez didn’t know if she’d be up for much even after half a week’s rest. It would’ve taken something serious for her to not show up for them, and especially for Zym. She loved her son and was protective over him more than anything.

The view from the Pinnacle was no less beautiful, though, as Ezran watched Alba circle around and then descend to a lower cloud level, even if they didn’t have time to appreciate it before they headed down the familiar steps to the queen’s personal antechamber. With Ibis gone, if Zubeia needed something she couldn’t get herself, perhaps they could get it for her, just in case she—

She was gone.

Read the rest on AO3

[iron-sparrow]

Character themes? Character themes! I don't know if any of y'all have a process with OC playlists, but mine is literally just throwing anything with the OC's vibe into their music collection and then forgetting I have a playlist at all.

Doesn't help that I hit a massive creativity roadblock earlier this year.

But I was inspired by a post from @archaiclumina, and the resulting itch never quite went away. So here are some instrumental tracks that hit the OC vibes just right...

Yein Que-Sae

Despite their intimidating size and appearance, Yein is typically very polite and friendly to others. When they speak, their voice rolls forth in a low, comforting growl -- a gentle rumble reminiscent of smooth river rocks tumbling over each other.

Yein is no stranger to the ugliness of the star, and it's ravaged their appearance. Even so, they are sworn to preserve and honor the sanctity of all life. To achieve this, they greet the world they have devoted themself to with an open heart. They give their love to others freely, in spite of all their fears and their pain. In combat, they will raise their shield before they draw their sword.

Yein is a fighter, and this is how they fight.

Sacheo Maz-Yeh

Sacheo loves his sibling, but he is very much not like them. Here is a gaping wound of a man, a scar upon the aetheric tapestry woven into the world.

Anyone with special sight can see the rot he has allowed to spread across his own heart. His sorrow runs deep, and rather than try to heal from it, he's nurtured it with poison until it grew into an unquenchable rage. He wields this rage expertly, however, and directs it at (perceived) threats against himself and his clan.

To his credit, Sacheo is an effective protector. For him, no sacrifice is too great.

Lia A’yue-Len

House Amedelune is built upon the A'yue-Len bloodline and their enduring legacy of survival. Little of the old clan remains today except for Lia and the family she guides with her iron fist.

The youngest of her generation, she was determined since her youth to carve for herself a life that could be lived on her own terms. She has shed the blood of many to achieve this; her spear knows the taste of dragon and elezen flesh very well.

Currently, Lia remains the head of House Amedelune and continues gazing ahead into the future. After all, the present is fleeting.

I do have a few other OCs floating around, but these three are kind of the "mains" in my head. Hope you enjoyed.

[ahsoka-its-all-of-us]

Possibly unpopular opinion: I think The Clone Wars missed a great opportunity by making Pong Krell evil.

Don’t get me wrong; I hate the man with an absolute, burning passion. He was a bastard, an asshole, the worst Jedi ever. But then in the end it’s revealed that’s because he isn’t, not anymore, he has willingly and openly fallen to the Dark Side and has committed his war crimes in hopes of getting Dooku’s attention. Which is a valid and interesting storyline, I guess.

But what if he hadn’t? What if he had remained a devoted Jedi?

One thing TCW tries to show occasionally is that even on the bad side not all people are actually bad — e.g. Mina Bonteri —, and similarly they try to show that on the good side not all people are good — e.g. Slick or Barriss. But they always stop shy of actually making that point; in the end, Mina’s son Lux decides to join the Republic, Slick was not just a defector but a traitor, and Barriss loses all humanity (Mirilianity?) betraying her own friend. In the end, the show keeps being about good and evil, and the Republic is good while the Separatists are evil. This becomes painfully obvious with systems that wish to remain neutral; in multiple instances they are eventually persuaded to aid or join the Republic, which is then framed as a good and honourable thing to do. As if choosing to stay out of a conflict they have no stakes in wasn’t.

Of course I have to make the comparison with Avatar: The Last Airbender, which very similarly has a good and a bad side of a conflict. But there we do get to see the opposite in both sides: the good side has people like Jet and the Earth Kingdom thugs, people who lose all humanity in their quest for vengeance or who abuse the situation for their own gain, while the bad side has people like the Fire Nation kids and Zuko and Iroh: people who have been drilled into supporting the system and don’t know any better, or who figured out that their side was in the wrong and decided to work against it for their own people as much as for the other side.

And I think Pong Krell could have been a great example of that. A great example of a Jedi who has lost sight of all things a Jedi should be; whose arrogance and racism (sort of; I don’t have a better word for it rip) actively undermines all we as an audience believe the Republic should stand for. By having him change sides, that conflict is reduced to a good/bad one, when it could be so much more.

Because imagine the consequences if he hadn’t done what he did because he wanted to join the Sith. Rex and the others had not just moral but legal backing in arresting him because he betrayed the Republic, and same with Dogma shooting him. But what if they hadn’t? What if Rex would have to choose between loyalty to the cause he was bred for and the General that stands for it, or loyalty to his men and therefore against the General? Would he have been able to make the arrest? Clones are meant to be expendable, after all, and while Krell’s actions are nothing but cruel disregard of his pawns, they weren’t necessarily illegal. It was more the contrast with the other Jedi generals who had developed a bond with their clones that made Krell’s behaviour jarring.

The Umbara arc is one of my favourite arcs because of the spotlight on the clones and their morality, and I think this would have made it even better (or worse, in terms of how my heart could have taken it)