#the crystal of truth

[ben-the-hyena]

It occured to me that if the UrSkeks divided into Skeksis and Mystics so easily because during the Crystal transfer that was meant to bring them back home on their more "civilized" planet just because ONE did not concentrate on the process and had negative emotions at the moment fucking up what I suspect to be a sort of magical/scientific teleportation ritual that ended up dividing both their souls and bodies (aka the opposite of The Fly), it must have happened more than once

A society implied to be authoritarian and quite advanced where people are immortal as long as they are not killed at least in which death is seen as so tragic (if the Skeksis mindset comes from there) criminals or those who offended the system are only banished and temporary so - maybe when it is not so big of a crime - on "primitive" planets that happen to be connected to their Crystals with its own Crystal too and ALL the banished ones need to empty their mind and be focused during the transfers for nothing bad to happen. You can't tell me in tens or hundreds of millenia of existence that system failed just once. There HAD to be times where the banished (or even just travellers, I suppose that they know these planets exist by sending explorers and scientists no ?) panicked at the last moment or were angry just before leaving or goint, AND BOOM division ! If it happens on homeland they are banished FOR GOOD or kept in prison and/or experimented on in secret because nobody must know it is a possible side effect, and there must be other planets that were deemed primitive with a magic Crystal in which UrRu and Skeksis exist ! All the possibilities

Hoping these planets are doing much better than Thra, that the Skeksis there were less chaotic and let's be grateful Earth doesn't have a Crystal so won't ever be visited... I think

[ouchmyghostskin]

Charles in this fan comic: *the most besotted little guy that ever lived (and then died womp womp) how do you woo your best mate? By being cool. Yup. The coolest

Edwin: *already wooed* the fuck u doing

[tvlandofficiall]

revisiting ch1 for the anniversary and one thing that's always stuck out to me is the couple of times darkness is associated with being able to "see the way". i don't know if it means anything or if it's just me reading a bit too much into some flavor text but if it does mean anything i definitely think it has something to do with how, like how venturing further into the darkness reveals the truth of what's hidden there (the switch in the ringaround puzzle room or the path to a key, for example), entering the dark worlds themselves reveals the hidden truth of the objects of the light world to us and the lightners — that they're not just ordinary objects, but living beings. the darker it gets, the more the whole of these worlds and how they are connected is revealed to us.

[hamletthedane]

I know we say “this is a Renaissance painting” a lot, but THIS is a hell of a Renaissance painting:

[L to R in row behind Princess Diana: David Bowie, Crystal Taylor, Brian May, Rodger Taylor]

[underratedgrapeju1ce]

more rankin bass stuff cause autism got hands

[that-ineffable-devil]

The Washer Woman told Crystal to "stop looking without and look within" because Crystal said "I need to know who I am" not "I need to know who I was."

Crystal was never the sum of her memories. She was always so much more.

[teunip]

Who am I without my armor?

Inspired from the song Loyal Brave True by Christina Aguilera. I thought it was perfect for Rian and the moment when he discards his castle guard armor.

[iwasbored777]

I feel like everyone who knows Miles and Gwen thinks that they are/were together at some point and no one believes that they were never anything more than friends and they're like "oh so they're trying to keep their relationship a secret ok I'll just pretend that I don't see how obvious it is that they're secretly a thing" and so everyone goes along with it

[c0zmozys]

more tctau (medkit is supposed to be a firefly, btw)

[certifiedfae]

rhaenyra’s girlkissing is like when dan and phil both came out separately. like rhaenicent is half confirmed and the girlkissing recontextualizes the whole relationship as shown in the show. im losing my mind u guys

[thebardbullseye]

really curious about the rage crystals being found in the soil wherever porter hulks out (loam farm, barkrocks, far haven woods, etc)

i wonder if it's part of the stun mechanic or something- besides being a clue in the mystery (narratively), i'm not sure what larger purpose it serves mechanically and for porter to leave evidence/trace behind

like is it intentional or just a side effect? or something to do with his warhammer (which is probably a historical og ankarna weapon or smth)

[ben-the-hyena]

In the Natives AU, obviously no Castle of the Crystal, the Crystal of Truth is out in the air like it always was meant to be with Aughra never too far. But no matter how she was always around, with @dracocheesecake we agree many people notably the Gelfling offered to assist her in protecting the Crystal. Not that she thought it was needed, in fact protesting, but she couldn't oppose the enthusiasm. Pluuus she DOES prefer Gelfling so using the pretext they are closer to Thra anyway let them send guards even if she deemed it useless ; still not apeasing jealousies from other people NOTABLY Skeksis, even though sometimes with exceptions Aughra does accept guards from other people to appease minds and rekindle her contact with them. Since she is motherless in the AU (we love the theory Raunip is half UrSkek in the canon verse but since here no MalVa well no Raunip) it also helped her keep company and not feel alone as grumpy as she seems. So there are guards of every clan, Dousan too, residing in a camp not far

That's why even in that AU Mira (whom I remind does NOT die since she was never drained... neither does Tolyn sadly, faithful and bootlicking to Aughra here), Rian and Gurjin know each other and are friends and still fucking up and goofying around

In faaaact one day they mess around so much another day they disobeyed they NEARLY damage the Crystal one of them ending up on top of it. HERESY, all the Gelfling are furious and pit on them, Aughra both trying to ease the tension protecting thel from others giving a form of wisdom, but herself bopping them on the head and demanding that they learn responsibility and that for now she wants them out of her sight. Ordon is very disappointed (daddy issues in that AU too) and since in a way this was an awful diplomatic incident sends them all 3 to Ha'rar court to let the All Maudra decidd what to do with them or at least to Mira who is a Vapra. Mayrin decides it is best to teach them a lesson and reinforce her alliance with the Skeksis Empire to send them to the capital at the Emperor's castle for an exchange of guards for a whole trine whether they like it or not. Skeksis answer positive but send only one guard, considering and precising so that one Skeksis is worth 3 Gelfling (racism that already ticks off the 3 buddies and Brea who overhears it). The guard, my OC SkekFih (him and no another because being the General's and Ritual Master's son in law he is considered as the highest choice... also a side of their mind hopes to get rid of him that way lol), is not sent at the Crystal which is neutral ground but in Ha'rar for that punishment turned diplomatic tactic to strengthen the alliance with the Gelfling, the trio and SkekFih in a way tasked to be ambassadors during that trine. Rian Gurjin and Mira having tge pressure NOT to fuck up outside of their comfort zone with a task given by the All Maudra herself everybody hoping it would help them mature up

Rian, Gurjin and Mira do not get a very warm welcome despite being given a cheerful tour of the castle by the SkekEi Chatelaine (who may or may not say some microaggressions too), feeling the mockeries even if whispered in Skeksish between Skeksis behind their back they don't understand, and some kinds of passive aggression from some courtiers as forms of provocation and lack of respect in general do occur from the hosts who are sure they are superior and want to give a hint once again (SkekVar and SkekAyuk having the dish "Gelfling essence" served in the barracks to "welcome" them. At first glance it does seem great since it is a luxury and does taste good, but given the name and the taunting on how it is obtained from Gelfling resources therefore they could say they do "drain" them and hear all the snickers Mira and Rian do not savor it or feel comfortable Gurjin gave 0 fuck it ate it all) meanwhile SkekFih is as honeyed and perfect as possible among the Paladins to be in the All Maudra's good graces, but really he actually feels contempt about these disgusting featherless midgets and is actually not happy himself to be there (he IS aware it is half to get rid of him and he misses his family) and writes anything he considers as interesting to keep in mind during his patrol or when he overhears conversations to his mate SkekLong the Ritual Apprentice in case, who knows

So when SkekSo ends up attacking and declaring war with no warning or official agreement 6 unum into that trine, Mira, Gurjin and Rian who already sensed something was wrong and were already feeling a harsher rise of a tension got imprisonned as war hostages and SkekFih reacted as soon as he heard the first news of villages being set ablaze by flying the coup thanks to his mate's letter (that explained him what strategy the Emperor, the General and the Spy Master had chosen and giving him a 2nd letter for Mayrin feigning to need him back for an emergency) before being potentially arrested as a hostage or killed not without having killed the messengers and hidden their bodies discreetly (which Brea would find under the throne when discovering the secret passage he had discovered first and did not know someone else would) so the news would hopefully arrive too late to Mayrin's ears to react properly (and which would result in "there is no war, it is just a rumor, we had no declaration and no news, proof the Skeksis are still trading with us whe must NOT attack first for simole paranoid tales" for a short time especially on Seladon's side)

We are yet to determine more details, we just know the trio will escape (and Mira had recently found out from the Doctor of the Castle after fainting during training - which earned more remarks how Gelfling are weak - she is pregnant and doesn't know how to tell Rian with all that frenzy) and as soon as SkekFih returns home he comes sure he will congratulated by his father-in-law for his precious help and initiatives but is just pushed away with a "BAH YOU WERE A COWARD, I'D HAVE KILLED THE ALL MAUDRA IF I WERE THERE YOU JUST WANTED TO FLEE" from SkekVar. Dude wants his approval into the family too hard

[nataliesscatorccio]

you guys see it too though, right?

[thecollectionsof]

it girl

[rizaposting]

@scienceoftheidiot tagged me to do a Two Truths and a Lie game! The original post was getting a little long, so I made a new post lol ajfnjksnfkjajkfna

I think your lie was the 3rd one about recording an EP; not because I don't think you could be in a band, but I think the lie was somewhere in the details >:]

Uh oh now it's my turn...

If you look hard enough, you can still find my embarrassing Self-Insert x Alphonse fanfiction out there in the wild

In 8th grade I started wearing my hair with side bangs because of Riza and I've never gone back

I once accidentally sent a very large, very graphic smut WIP to my parents' wireless printer

Tagging (if people want to play--no pressure!) @milekael, @rizayaoi, @littlewitchbee, @patron-saints

[paeinovis]

Compiled this lil piece from solar filter I used during the eclipse and plants I grabbed from my friend's parents' yard in Arkansas (they have those cool helicopter seeds we don't have around Florida)! Included Jupiter and Venus symbols on two handheld filters since those planets were very visible during the eclipse, and bits of a cyanotype I did the day before! So all the components are directly related to the eclipse/general area I viewed it from :-)