#the epic love story of lamp and other lamp

[midnightsilver]

The Epic Love Story of Lamp and Other Lamp

It’s a tale as old as time, two lovers separated by a great divide, yearning to be together.

My animation pitch for @crack-in-the-chassis was chosen by schmendrickthemagician who wrote a story for it 😄 you can find the summary info here.

(Image ID - Description of video: A digital drawing of the library inside the men of letter bunker. On the wooden table inside the darkened room sits an old art deco lamp. It begins to glow in the darkness and the glow is answered by the matching lamp on the far table. The lamps glow back and forth in increasing brightness until they flare out together in a glorious bright burst of light.)

The history or lamp and other lamp

[signanothername]

I know next to nothing about Delta Sans lol... what are some of his main traits and characteristics? /nf

I GET TO RAMBLE ABOUT DELTA LETS GOOOOO

Funny enough, Delta’s canon material isn’t very vast, considering most his canon story is animated, so you can imagine how long it takes to animate and how few animations there are, despite that i just can’t help but love this bitch

Let’s start with basics since you don’t know much, you might see Delta’s Au with 3 names: Ultratale, Vitaltale, and Delta’s tale, which are all canon as they’re all used by Delta’s creator Animated Zorox

Ultratale is the Au’s series old name when it was first animated (and is now cancelled), Vitaltale is the Au’s current name which refers to the new repooted series, Delta’s tale use is honestly unclear for me, but i like to believe it’s more of a general name for the Au

Kay so with that out of the way, Delta is a sans that fused with the human soul of bravery, that’s why he has his signature orange gloves, (and Delta can talk and communicate with the bravery soul inside his head)

Delta is from a Genocide timeline and is the only survivor, so after he defeats Chara (who’s called “Omega Chara” in the Au) Delta takes it upon himself to become a protector of Aus (imagine it as his coping mechanism for losing his own Au fused with Bravery’s sense of protection) but he’s not a protector in the same sense that is Ink, Delta travels from Au to Au pretty much looking for a fight, looking to see if the Au he’s in is in trouble and fighting whoever causes it to save it from the same fate his own Au faced

So he’s kind, brave, righteous and honest… too honest chchchch

But he’s also egotistical, super hot headed, and can easily rage, and despite deeming himself a protector, he’s only a protector to those who need protection, so the poor bitches who threaten the Au? Yeah Delta isn’t above tainting his hands with someone else’s blood (ma boi is passionate about murdering fr fr) in his defense tho he tries listening and talking to them and convincing them (for roughly 10 seconds) if it doesn’t work then he goes for the kill

Look at him telling Cross he’ll kill him (god I love him)

But he’s also willing to put himself in danger if it meant protecting someone else (basically putting the life of others above his own)

What’s also fun is the fact Delta can easily give up like a normal Sans would, It’s Bravery that keeps him going

But what I also really love is his way of fighting/using his powers, Delta tends to use his own blaster’s jaws as a super speed jet pack, and his fighting style tends to mostly be up close and personal, like this bitch will break bones with his bare hands, and believe me, this bitch sure got stamina cause DAMN

He can even fully fuse with Bravery, like he becomes a glowing orange lamp hcchchchch

he’s a bit reckless but still smart to know when to stay a safe distance or change tactics

One of my fave things is him using his gloves as armored shoes cause why the fuck not y’know?

Delta is also semi canonically friends with Color and Epic (semi-canon as in the creators of these three drew them together as the “Epic Sanses Trio” but are not necessarily part of their own respective timeline’s stories chchhcch) but it’s fully canon in my heart <3333

If you’d like to see the actual canon content for Delta, I recommend checking this doc made by @howlsofbloodhounds they’ve done an amazing job at collecting as much as they can <3

[carryonafi]

never say no.

michael clifford x reader; SMUT!!!! 🔞

a/n: whatsup‼️ some more smut for u dirty people, this one is some epic groupie x michael stuff so BE PREPARED!! this is inspired by the absolutely wild conversations i’ve had with my friends about the groupie era, so slightly exaggerated BUT it’s just catering to your fantasies pretty much😭 — also! i feel like i could take this story somewhere, so let me know if you want a second part to it? enjoy!

words: 3.9k

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Something about this didn’t feel real, standing behind The Forum on a chilly night standing in front of two men. Not just any two men, Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford who both play guitar and sing in 5 Seconds of Summer. Your heart was pounding in your ears with every passing word, every giggle you and your friend let out echoed in your ears and hearing a laugh from either of them in response made you dizzy. You had your eye on Michael from the moment you saw them on MTV just a few months ago, it felt like. Now here they stood, in the flesh, body language giving off a dirty intention you just couldn’t pass up. Everything about this was wrong, they had you both wrapped around their fingers and it was so, so cliche. Power imbalance, authority, but it felt right. It was too good not to chase after.

A leather jacket was draped over your shoulders, but of course, it wasn’t yours. Luke cracked a joke that had you two giggling again as if they were the funniest guys in the world, but really, you were just too flustered.

“The only difference is that his red hair isn’t natural, or is that what you two have in common?” Luke poked fun at your friend who stood beside you, naturally flaming red hair and seductively sweet green eyes with specks of hazel.

“I guess we’ll just have to find out.” She flirted, even you gawked at her because she was never this bold. Luke had this smirk on his face in response which awakened some kind of realization within you. This was happening, this was really happening. Michael was rolling his eyes at Luke and the way the light from the dim street lamps seamlessly reflected and bounced around his features had you in a trance, you could stare at him forever. Honestly, you just wanted to reach out and run your hands all over his face.

“You wanna come back with us? It would really be a shame, all this talking going nowhere…” Michael drawled in a way that captivated you and your desires, leaning back against the cold brick of the building you lot were currently hiding behind. Your friend happily reached out to you and squeezed your arm, not breaking the gaze she had on the two firm figures in front of you.

“We’d love that, yeah.” You replied, pulling the leather further over your bare shoulders. “Don't have to pay for a cab, right?” It was mostly a tease, and score, you made the 2 guys laugh with it.

“We’ve got you covered.” Luke shrugged nonchalantly as a way to play along, nodding his head in the direction of the exit of the alley. All you could think about was Michael, he plagued your thoughts as you continued to stare at him. Paying attention to Luke was just so difficult with the other next to him, eye-catching red hair paired with smokey black eyeliner that accentuated the barely visible, sweet freckles around his nose and hopeless green eyes. You had seen many, many pictures and videos, but up close he was simply something else.

“Come on! (Y/N) already answered for me, it’s cold out here.” Your friend complained to the two boys, her arm sliding down the fabric of Luke’s jacket until their hands ended up interlacing when she reached the hem of the sleeve. He graciously wrapped his arm around her and gestured for Michael to follow, but you could see that glint in their eyes. They had this similar look to them that only said triumph as you began to tail behind Luke. The flirting between her and Luke was hardcore, unashamed and definitely feeding into the jealousy for anyone else involved in these streets. However, Michael liked how you were much more. You got your point across by body language, a physical communicator and not so verbal. Hopefully that would be different, he was a sucker for any type of dirty talk.

“You have to be cold, too. I mean… look at that little skirt you’re wearing, and a flannel over a tank top? Wasn’t the smartest choice, was it?” Michael placed his hand on the small of your back to make sure you weren’t leaving his side, and the blessed giggle you let out in response was more than music to his ears. “I can feel you shivering.” He said a bit lower, voice unwavering despite his own lack of warmth.

“Well, I didn’t plan too far ahead…” You sighed, turning to the side to whisper back to him as you blindly followed Luke. “I don’t dress for practicality, y’know? Whatever makes me feel attractive, I guess.” You replied, tugging your bottom lip between your teeth as you watched his eyes dilate.

“Well it definitely worked.”

—

The journey back to whatever hotel this was didn’t take too long at all, but holy shit, were you impressed. The car had those seats you saw in movies or paparazzi pictures, the two backseats facing each other which had you and your friend staring back at marveled faces as you settled in. However, it didn’t last too long, the flirting continued and some of the things these boys were saying had you squirming in your seat. Did car rides always take so long?

Michael never left your side, from the moment you exited the car to when you finally entered the 6th floor hallway that held their rooms. It seemed as if the other two band members were already in their respective rooms, leaving Michael and Luke the last ones to arrive at their temporary stay.

“Night, mate.” Luke locked hands with Michael, giving him a slight wink. “Don't be too loud, can’t get another noise complaint.” He spoke like it was scripted. If you had known that there was an unspoken rule between the guys to hype each other up as much as possible without lying, you would have laughed out loud. Something about the thought of them having multiple noise complaints stirred a bit in your mind, making your eyes widen at your friend who was still sharing a shocked look at you. She followed Luke into the room as you did Michael, the click of the door bringing you a rush of energy and eager anticipation. Michael tossed the keycard onto the table next to the door, and in this moment of silence it was like your thoughts temporarily froze. You could barely think, clouded by bewilderment and desire.

“Are you sure?” Came a voice from behind you, which was obviously Michael, who else would it be? Still, unbelievable. You turned to look at him, swallowing the nervous yet anticipating lump in your throat as his hand followed an invisible line to your shoulder. Your shoulder, down your arm, slowly interlacing his fingers with yours. Something about that made you feel warm, heart swelling as you stared up into his eyes heavy with lust, but laced with concern.

“I’m sure, yeah.” You breathed in agreement, letting a smile tug at the corner of your lips.

“I know I — “ Michael paused, cutting himself off with a slight shake of his head. “I know I was talking a lot, but I really, really don’t want to pressure you if you don’t want to do this.”

“Michael.” You cut him off yourself this time, closing the gap between your bodies. “It’s okay, I want this.”

There was barely a pause between your words and the moment he pressed his lips to yours, it took you aback, but just as quickly as the event turned you relaxed. The warmth of his lips made you shiver, his hand disconnecting from yours to snake around your waist and pull you closer to him… as if you couldn’t get any better than your original position.

Your heart fluttered, the effects of his sweet gesture beforehand still lingering even now in the moment of this heated kiss. Your nerves feeling like they were on fire, nothing felt more amazing than this moment. Michael had now wrapped both arms around you, lips sliding against yours as he hummed between kisses and led you back towards the hotel bed. He was so careful in his movements, immediately stopping when you wouldn’t move anymore. You were pretty sure he noticed the side of the bed hitting the backs of your knees before you did, leaning forward with the support of his hands on your back. Your heart pounded in your chest, hands cupping his cheeks in a desperate need to hold him. To touch him, to know that this was real. Fortunately, this was not one of your comfort scenarios you thought of at night to make you blush before falling asleep. This was reality.

Michael’s fingertips brushed the leather jacket, quickly moving up your body to push it off of your shoulders with the flannel following suit. The harsh chill of the hotel room sent goosebumps all throughout your body.

“Still cold, hm?” His words against your lips, all you could do was breathlessly nod. “Won’t be a problem soon.” Michael pulled you in for another kiss, and god, were you floating. You had imagined he was good at kissing, but he was incredible. His lips were warm, soft and sweet. His tongue skillfully glides across your bottom lip before escalating to battling yours for dominance over the kiss, and that stubble… scratched your skin so good and made you push forward for more initiative.

Yet still, you needed to do more. Your hesitant fingertips traced careful lines down his jaw, over his neck before they caught the collar of his shirt. Michael knew what you wanted instantly, reluctantly breaking away from the kiss you shared to swiftly tug his shirt off over his head. It ruffled his hair, making the spiked up back parts stray away from the rest of the style. You couldn’t help but grin, and apparently it was contagious due to Michael pulling the same face. “Don’t laugh at me.” He playfully shook his head as you started to giggle.

“But you’re just so cute.” You replied, hands pressed to his pale chest trying your hardest not to marvel at his bare torso.

“We’ll see about that.” Michael buried his face in your neck, making you laugh even more feeling the tickle of his breath against your pulse point. Until he started sloppily kissing, sucking, biting every spot that made you tense like he knew your body better than you did.

“Oh god, Michael…” You sigh dreamily, voice wavering as he reaches your collarbone. Your breathing had become slightly labored, tangling your fingers through that bright red mess you had just teased him about. Michael’s lips continued to move across your neck, leaving you no choice but to tilt your head back. Before you knew it, your top was being lifted and the zipper of your skirt was being enticingly played with. Once again, your mind left you no choice but to follow the desires. Now with your tank top gone, skirt hanging low on your lips and Michael left in black jeans that hugged his legs, the slow setting reality started to hit you again. However, your position finally changed, moving from the awkward edge of the bed more towards the center in a bit of a diagonal way. You weren’t on any pillows, but the pushed up comforter made for a good substitute.

“S’fucking beautiful,” Michael’s hands roamed your body. “Absolutely, goddamn gorgeous, (Y/N).” That made you weak, chest rising and falling with each shallow breath you took. Your eyes widened, analyzing every detail of his face with care. The pure amazement in his eyes, lips parted with his own breathing. You wondered for a second if he was looking in a mirror.

“Why are you so sweet?” You shook your head, cradling his face in your hands yet again to place a gentle kiss to his lips. “You just had to be everything, hot, talented, and a sweetheart?” This made him flush a soft pink, you giggled and kissed both of his reddened cheeks. “You’re not really proving anything to me about that whole ‘cute’ ordeal.” You raised your eyebrows, to which you were shocked when you felt a hand on your inner thigh.

“Gimme time.” Michael hushed you with his lips, fingertips ghosting closer and closer towards your core… until he moved his hand away and began the same soft strokes to your other thigh. The sigh that left your nose was out of need, your hands sliding to clutch his shoulders. There it was, the pressure you so desperately wanted from his middle and index finger to you, it felt relieving despite the cloth separating the friction. If anything, it created more as you moved your hips in time with the slow circles of his fingers. You hummed with satisfaction, breaking the kiss with a sound that sent an additional shiver down your spine. “Take those off.” Michael ordered with his voice just barely above a whisper, but it sounded more like a plea.

Without a second thought, your thumbs hooked in the fabric as you lifted your hips and pushed them down. They got to a point where you could easily kick them off, ending up somewhere on the other side of the bed. Michael was, once again, struck with wonder. “There are so many things I want to do to you.” He muttered, shaking his head like he was the one who couldn’t believe this was happening to him.

“We’ve got all night.” You tugged him down for a kiss, making him chuckle.

“Maybe if I leave those ‘things’ for later,” You could almost hear the air quotes around the word, despite him not physically making the gesture. “Then it’ll give me an excuse to see you again?” Michael’s voice heightened in question, eagerly awaiting your answer with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“I think I can work with that.” You nodded playfully, and he did that laugh — that cute, shy giggle he did in interviews when he wasn’t really supposed to laugh but did anyway. He kissed you again, only briefly before sitting up on his knees and loosening the button to his jeans. You bit your lip in response, propping yourself up on your elbows to get a better view as he struggled to shove his pants off. Luckily, the way you had your lip harshly between your teeth stopped another laugh from escaping.

His boxers were bright blue with Superman logos in a uniform pattern. Was that sexy? No, not one bit. But it was cute, and you loved cute more than you loved sexy, sometimes. Especially when it came to Michael Clifford.

However, a thought seemed to make itself known. One that might win you a reaction from the man you so desperately wanted to please. So, you took it upon yourself to run your hand down your body, over the peak of your breast and over your belly button, right down to your clit where you rhythmically swirled your middle finger. Your lips separating in a silent moan, instead letting out a shuddering breath to which Michael did the same. He had a condom wrapper in his teeth which presumably came out of the pocket of his jeans, seeing that his hands were preoccupied with palming himself over the patterned cotton. Michael almost dropped the plastic from his mouth, making a sound like a growl from behind his clenched teeth. Those perfect teeth, which were actually not very perfect… but they were to you.

“Gettin’ impatient over here, Mikey.” You tried out the nickname everyone on the internet called him, rolling off your tongue seductively as he brought up a hand to tear the wrapper open with haste.

“You’re so fucking hot.” Michael gaped at your actions, exposing himself with one quick movement as his superhero boxers accompanied your panties on a corner of the sheets. The latex now removed from the package, you jumped at the opportunity to stop focusing on yourself for a moment. Michael stopped in confusion as you sat up, snatching the condom from his hand and wrapping your own free hand around his cock. The contact made such a quiet sound slip past his faultless, swollen pink lips, a shaky breath following soon after. You slowly applied the rubber with care, not breaking eye contact just to see the look on his face as you teasingly pumped his length. His eyebrows scrunched together, tongue poking out to wet his lips as he tilted his head back — it was amazing to you how he couldn’t even hold the eye contact himself.

“You look much more needy than me.” You teased with a cheeky smile, to which Michael huffed out of amusement. He lifted a hand to cup your chin between his index finger and thumb, lips briefly hovering over yours. This proximity sent another chill down your spine, the other carefully guiding you to lay back down on the bed as his lips connected with yours. This had become second nature, kissing Michael like you had done this a million times before.

“You okay?” He whispered, waiting until he got your silent approval. A pause, then he was teasing your entrance with the head of his cock shielded by the slick latex. You held your breath, waiting for a sting of the stretch which came after just a few seconds of your anticipation. You faintly gasped, nails digging into Michael’s shoulders as you took in every little thing you were experiencing in that moment. You could feel everything from Michael’s waist grazing your knees, the tickle of his hair against your neck where he had hid his face, the sheets crumbling under the weight of your bodies, everything in between. Michael mumbled something into your skin, taking note of how tightly you held him. It was your turn for your eyes to shut firmly, grabbing frantically at his shoulders as his hips stammered and pulled back again. He thrusted this time, causing you to jolt with an airy moan.

“Michael, please — just…” You breathed, begging him to start moving. The boy lifted his head from the comfort of your warm, flustered skin to follow your orders. He read your face, and you read his. Both glowing in a pink tinge, perspiration heavy between the both of you as Michael searched for your discomfort. He sensed none, so his body began a steady rhythm.

“So beautiful. S.. So beautiful.” He mumbled lovingly past groans and it felt so right, why did you feel like his words had meaning? You were convincing yourself that Michael had something for you, something more than a fan and groupie relationship. Was it real? You had no idea of knowing, but for now, you just had to enjoy this moment like you would never get another chance, despite Michael implying this wouldn’t be your last time.

The room turned into a pornographic scene within seconds, you squirming and writhing beneath Michael as he took your body for his own. He held on tightly to your frame with the one hand that wasn’t holding himself up, digging his fingertips into your hips that were bound to leave marks just like the ones on your neck. Michael suddenly moved positions, carefully sitting back on his knees and sliding your body closer to him. He tried his best to be as low as possible, now able to grasp both of your hips as he thrusted. You were left no choice but to splay your arms above your head, back arching to meet his hips with ease. Michael was amazed by your state, you were a mess of endless moans and gasps, long whines of Michael’s name which overpowered his gentle, yet greedy sounds.

This was your breaking point, opening your eyes to see the same face he was making earlier. Tightly knitted eyebrows, gritted teeth and messy hair, flushed cheeks and chest glistening with sweat, mouth open letting out moans increasing in frequency and volume. You cursed, thighs twitching with need as your belly tightened and relaxed over and over again, leading you closer to your orgasm. With that, you would have warned him, but you could barely make out a coherent word before it crashed over you.

“God — (Y/N), f.. fucking… gonna fucking cum. ‘f you do that. You’re gonna make me… f- fucking,” Michael stuttered, the way your walls pulsated and enclosed around his cock had a strangled moan tearing past his throat barely seconds after you. The comedown felt like nothing, just staring down the back of your eyelids as your chest heaved with quick gasps. You were on fire, and just like the books said, seeing stars. Your thighs were hurting from being in one strained position for so long, and momentarily, you forgot this was not just some guy you met at a bar. Not some random you decided to drag home, it was Michael Clifford. Michael Clifford gently pulling out of you out of concern for how you felt, Michael Clifford’s weight shifting the bed, Michael Clifford kissing your forehead as he looked down at you. Michael fucking Clifford you opened your eyes to.

“You’re fuckin’ amazing.” He muttered sweetly, so sweet it made you question his feelings yet again. His hand leaving loving touches across your face with his thumb, stroking your tear/blush stained cheek as you both came to. You couldn’t help but smile, leaning into his touch as he settled in next to you. Silence hung in the air for a few moments, ending with one of your many deep breaths.

“I hope you’re not expecting me to leave, because there’s no way it’s happening now.” You teased, your voice now hoarse and heavy with exhaustion.

“Never. I never thought about you leaving so soon.” Michael assured you, then more silence. “I meant what I said.” He said finally.

“Hm?” You replied curiously.

“When I said, um… other things. I want to see you again.” Michael elaborated, surprisingly hesitant considering how he had just railed you not even 2 minutes ago.

“You do..?” Your eyes softened, staring back at his face. God… you’d do anything for that sweet face.

“Yeah, yeah. I do, this leg of tour is over. Just… talking to you outside was amazing, too.” Michael sighed as you placed your hand over his, still resting on your cheek. “Yeah, we walked up to you because we thought you were hot, but you’re so cool too. You’re witty, I like it.” He mumbled out his sentence in a boy-ish manner that made you giggle, just barely turning your head to kiss his wrist.

“Okay.. yeah, okay. I… wow.” You laughed again, not so discreetly hiding your nerves. “Yeah, Mikey. I want to see you again, too.” Finally, a complete, finished thought that made sense. This made Michael’s heart soar, just by seeing the look on his face you were satisfied with how this whole situation had turned out. “I thought this would just be a one night stand.” You admitted.

“I did too, but it wasn’t.” Michael agreed, his tired eyes bored into yours with a shared acknowledgment of his intentions. You couldn’t be happier about it ending up this way, there was only one thing that changed… and that was your cuddling position in bed throughout the rest of the night.

[magnetothemagnificent]

Hi! I thought this might be a good question to ask you since you are so knowledgeable. I’m writing an epic fantasy story and I need to do some research on what life was like for Jews right before and after the destruction of the 2nd beit hamikdash because that is the basis of the setting. I would also love some information about the daily life of the kohanim at the time. Could you help me out with some reliable sources? Thanks so much!

Some aspects of Jewish life c. 1st century CE:

Economy:

Large-scale household pottery manufacture

-Pottery manufactured by Jews does not need to be ritually purified

-Certain pots began to be standardized in size, indicating importance of measurements for other industries

Expansion of oil and wine industries (hence the standardized jars)

Culture:

Stone vessels. Varying explanations, but all have to do with maintaining a distinct Jewish identity.

A new type of oil lamp- knife-pared lamp.

Dining rooms for the wealthy.

Lots of Mikvaot

Rock-cut familial burial caves

Display tombs but only in Jerusalem

Jews regarded as distinct ethnicity both by themselves and by the foreign powers

Prayer developing. Prayer distinct from Temple worship had already begun after the destruction of the first Temple, and continued into the second Temple era.

Lots of apocalyptic and messianic cults especially as the destruction of the Temple grew closer.

Spoken language is Aramaic and Hebrew

Synagogues beginning to appear

Strong relationship between the Jews of Israel and the Jews of Babylonia

Lots of Halakhic debates

Corruption within the Kohanim because of the Hasmonean power vaccuum and the Romans appointing the High Priests instead of the Jews.

Sources:

Jewish Life Before the Revolt: The Archaeological Evidence

Ethnicity and Ancient Judaism: Jewish Identities in 1st Century Alexandria and Antioch

Prayer in the Period of the Tannaim and Amoraim

Aramaic Tombstones from Zoar and Jewish Conceptions of the Afterlife

THE ORIGIN OF THE SYNAGOGUE: A RE-ASSESSMENT

‮אתא אגרתא ממערבא‬ ("An Epistle Came from the West"): Historical and Archaeological Evidence for the Ties between the Jewish Communities in the Land of Israel and Babylonia during the Talmudic Period

Were the Priests All the Same? Qumranic Halakhah in Comparison with Sadducean Halakhah

The Torah of the Jews of Ancient Rome

I'm also tagging @didyoumeanxianity because they have a lot more experience with that era (I'm more biological anthropology than cultural).

Good luck with your novel, it sounds so exciting!!

[noeverse]

Whose your most fave of Aurynn's daughters?

nat, noooo how can you make me choose?! imma rank them instead, cause they're all my girls

1. visenya velaryon

this babygirl goes through IT: loses her father and most of her family as a child, her mother remarries to survive and while she has a happy and loving marriage to rickon, she loses him in the conquest of dorne with two moody teenage daughters. she finds love again with viserys ii but when they're finally king and queen, she loses him too and is forgotten by history due to aegon iv being... himself. i love her sm and i know i'll have a blast writing her arc

2. daena velaryon (as you can see, velaryons stay on top)

the youngest bear cub, the only legitimate child of alyn velaryon, she knew that her parents never knew one another, but is angry and resentful because her father doted on his bastard children with elaena and then disappeared, leaving her mother and her to fend for themselves. i've yet to decide what to do with her, but i know she'll def have the most epic of the stories

3. jeyne stark

i mean, the fact that she's named after jeyne arryn is already metal of her, but my girl is a BRAT and i love it: she's lowkey based on viserra targaryen- vain, with a god-complex, cunning like no other and used to get her way due to her beauty and the fact that cregan spoiled her, she marries into the tyrells and becomes a living fashion icon and lives the most lavish lifestyle of the sisters

4. lyanna stark

the eldest daughter of cregan, just because she's sweet and shy doesn't mean she doesn't have a northern spirit, and while her marriage isn't groundbreaking, she does it as an act of self love, saying 'i'm in love with a merchant's son and i'll marry him whether you want to or not' (not that cregan would ever deny her her happiness) and shows that soft and caring is an strength of its own

5. lysandra stark

looks like a cinnamon, can kill you with her wicked wit alone. she knows she's iconic, and won't accept being second best or sloppy seconds, she wants it all, and will get it

6. alayne stark

she's not the prettiest, or the most amiable girl, but she's got charm in spades and an intelligence so striking it intimidates almost everybody with her being so young, and her being in the middle doesn't stop her from proving that beauty and lineage aren't the only things that can make you stand out: she's living proof that looks and lineage are nothing if your presence is that one of a lamp

now tell me, which one is YOUR fave? 👀🫶🏻

[brickcentral]

🤩 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: sergi_h2opolo7 Hello everyone! It's time to direct the spotlight toward our community members, and today we will get to know better sergi_h2opolo7!

"Hey there! I'm Sergio Paredes, but you can know me as sergi_h2opolo7 on instagram.

When I was a kid, I absolutely adored Playmobil toys, and now I'm an amateur collector. With all the extra time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I started taking photos of my collection.

As I got more into toyphotography, I began researching and learning new techniques to make my photos even better. What had started as mere entertainment now occupies much of my free time!

About a year ago, my curiosity in the LEGO world was awakened when two minifigures arrived to my hands which immediately caught my attention. These two minifigs are the faun from series 15 and the forest elf from series 22. I don't know exactly why, but the two figures seem to be in harmony with nature. Their expressions, their design make them cute and adorable.

It sparked my attentions rapidly and started to think about the beautiful photos that could be taken with them. This led me to begin my adventure with LEGO photography.

My collection of minifigures has been growing up gradually since then and with each photo, my fascination in LEGO world as well. My collection mainly consists of minifigures with some loose accessories. So, I usually photograph minifigures to share a specific story or feeling in each photo.

I don't have a defined theme, but if I had to choose one, I would choose the medieval theme. I love medieval age and his historical movies with epic battles and LEGO Castle reference and minifigures are perfect for it.

Most of my photos are taken at home because I don't have as much free time as I'd like and I have all my accessories close at hand to put on, take off, etc... But I also really like outdoor photography.

The main equipment I use is my Canon EOS 2000d, different lamps to play with light, atmosphere aerosol and nano spray aerosol for outdoor photos, and also for indoor photos I usually use the screen of the PC for backgrounds and different floor designs.

Basically, I start the process with a general idea, but as I set up the stage, it changes depending on the environment, light, the accessories that I have at that moment, etc. Once I have everything ready, I start shooting and adapting the scene according to what the photo looks like."

Thank you for accepting our invitation and let the community knows you better!

If you want some insights on the exclusive picture and for a better view of the others, head to our blog at https://brickentral.net/.

- @theaphol, Community Outreach Manager

[epelslacedshoes]

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓗𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓮𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓼 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓪𝓯𝓽 𝓟𝓵𝓪𝔂𝓮𝓻𝓼!

Pt.1 | Pt.2 (you’re here!)

Warnings: none apart from rusty Minecraft knowledge 😓 (again)

Kalim Al-Asim

Dies so easily it’s actually a talent at this point…

Get this man a trophy for dying the most 🏆

Extremely inconsistent player, won’t log on for months at a time. Randomly remembers about the game and then proceeds to play it a lot 😭.

He’s actually really good at remembering crafting recipes. Like insanely good.

He always remembers the most obscure crafting recipes in Minecraft, like it’s a conundrum…

How are you not playing Minecraft for months at a time but you can tell me the exact recipe for a red stone lamp, specific placement and all.

The task that he loves the most: None.

The task that he hates the most: None.

I fell like he’s pretty similar to Leona just on the opposite side of the spectrum lol 😭.

The reason why he doesn’t have any particular task he likes/dislikes is because he just likes playing Minecraft. 👍

To explain better, all the things that makes Minecraft a true gaming experience is what he enjoys. There’s no one thing that he likes over the other and there really isn’t anything in particular he dislikes.

For the SMP idea, he is the player that disappears and randomly comes back every so often.

Whenever he logs into the SMP, he makes a mental list of what he wants to get done but it never falls through because he would be busy exploring the server and seeing what new builds have appeared since the last time he logged on.

Over all I’d rate him a 7/10 as a Minecraft player.

Vil Schoenheit

Hmmm….

I’d like to believe that he starts playing with a lot of apprehension. And when I say a lot I mean

A LOT.

I’m guessing he doesn’t really understand gaming in general much less for a game like MC.

In the beginning, he was not quite aware of fall damage and he often died just due to that.

This caused him to be upset because he often died REALLY far away from his house…😔 (it happens to the best of us Vil 👍)

Based on how much he perseveres in the actual story, I feel like he would pick up and grasp the mechanics of Minecraft fairly quickly

Which in return causes him to feel less jilted when playing and causes him to play more often (in short intervals ofc)

SMP idea: In my opinion, I feel like he would keep to himself for the duration of the SMP.

When he disappears and logs back on he is met with a barrage of gifts from Rook lol 😭

Task he loves the most: logging off/j

I actually don’t know what he would and wouldn’t enjoy XD

Task he hates the most: idk

Srry Vil, I did you dirty with this one… 😔

I’d rate him a 6/10

Idia Shroud

Bro was playing Minecraft in the womb 😭🙏/j

Idia is the Resident Gamer of Twisted Wonderland

There’s this one clip of someone playing MC bedwars doing the most epic maneuvering, that’s LITERALLY him guys trust, I was the PC.

The starter of a prank war in the SMP server. He started with pranking Azul and then it turned into a fully fledged war with all the people on the server…

He does quite harmless and petty pranks often, one time he filled Azul’s “secret” base with all sorts of peaceful mobs on each floor 😭

Task he hates the most: None.

He doesn’t hate any task in particular, sure some of them can get quite annoying. But he as a player is not actively avoiding any of them y’know?

Task he loves the most: Redstone mechanics, I know this technically isn’t a task but bear with me here 😭

I’d like to imagine he picked up MC at a fairly young age, so when he found out about redstone mechanics he was floored.

He found it cool the many ways people could manipulate different aspects of the game to build something not so regular and common in vanilla Minecraft and Minecraft in general.

He absolutely loves the command block, trust 👍

Can you tell I know nothing about redstone…

I know enough about it to have a feeling that he would love it tho 😭.

As a Minecraft player I’d rate him 10/10. He’s an OG after all 😤

Malleus Draconia

Knows nothing about this game before he starts playing it. Like nothing at all

Lillia probably introduced him to this game.

“What interesting game mechanics…” pt.2 electric bugaloo

Physically cannot play for long periods of time, finds it a waste of his time/day.

He is quite interested in those really large and elaborate builds but never gets around to actually building them

For the SMP idea. He was invited but he never logs on. He sees it the same as just a survival world only with more people in it. He’d pop in here and there and see what’s going on.

Task he hates the most: Getting supplies for builds, crafts etc.

This plays into why he never finishes the elaborate builds he plans to build… 😔

At first, he quite liked exploring hard for the specific materials that he needed for whatever project was going on in his head but

As time went on he got more and more tired of the process 😭. So he’d just rather not do it all.

Task he loves the most: Adventuring but with others with him.

Him exploring by himself??? He would never do that. But bring on the rest of the boys in the Diasmonia dorm and he’ll feel right at home.

He quite enjoys listening to the chaotic conversations whenever they play together. He lets out a little chuckle under his breath when ever Silver and Sebek get to bantering with each other.

And for some reason Lilia always disappears????

Anyways, ummm he’s an interesting MC player. I’d say 6.5/10

[crunchie-morris]

At long last, in honor of it closing, here are my notes from Newsies UK from the June 10th matinee 😌

(I wrote these totally for myself so pardon the gushing lol but I decided to share because I’ve seen a lot of people post their notes and to reminisce!)

Under the cut because it’s loooong!

- Michael’s Jack was much more humble than I’ve ever seen Jack played. I really saw a 17 year-old kid who was just thrust into this leadership position, who was scared but excited and not sure how to approach it, especially during that moment when they lift him up during TWWK and he looked around like, “all this for me?”

- THE SANTA FE POSTCARRRRRD HOW JACK AND CRUTCHIE HAD IT AT THE BEGINNING AND THEN JACK PULLED IT BACK OUT DURINF SANTA FE

- Speaking of Santa Fe - the lighting started off with a cold, white-gray wash and shifted until there was a big yellow moon projected on the back wall - LOVED IT

- Back to the beginning - the sudden open with the blackout that snapped into the sound of a gate opening and the newsies were SURROUNDING THE STAGE

- All the chitter-chatter during the overture was so fun

- Also!! The reorchestrations??? AMAZING!! I noticed entirely different orchestrations for the overture, Seize The Day dance break, and KONY dance break, but also added drums in Watch What Happens (EPIC), strings in LFTR (heartbreaking), and something I can’t pinpoint added in OAFA (epic again)

- Crutchie’s a fellow Catholic 😌 he had a little rosary that he wore all the time, he prayed with it when the nuns came out. He wasn’t wearing it in The Refuge but he pulled it out at the very end (like scene transition) to pray again

- A NEWSIE ZIP-LINED OVER ME

- A NEWSIE SWUNG ON A LAMP OVER ME

- Crutchie had more solos in Act One, thank God

- Davey was such a NERD, his line delivery was hilarious

- Crutchie and Les’ friendship is something that can be so special, like when Crutchie was riding on the wagon during TWWK and Les was pulling it, and Crutchie poked Les with his crutch like he was a horse pulling a carriage, and then later after TWWKR, when Les started to follow Crutchie out before Davey called for him, and Crutchie gave Davey a look like, “what gives?!”

- Katherine and Jack had sO much more chemistry than I’ve ever seen. Right from the scene in the theatre booth, I could see her warming up to him, and then during the interview scene, they were literally just two kids flirting. The way Jack was awkwardly like, “can’t you see it in my eyes?” trying so hard (and failing) to be suave, and then him sing-songing, “I’d rather tell you what I’m hoping for toniiiight?” was just hilarious, and Katherine was just smitten for all of it already. Plus, after they got together in STBI, they were so close to each other all the time, constantly hugging and teasing. It was so adorable 🥺

- I want Bronté Barbé’s voice

- This Katherine had the newsies’ best interest from the beginning, she didn’t start out just chasing a story. It makes me think that she interacted with them a lot before the strike, even if she didn’t know them by name

- Spot calling Jack an asshole after he betrays the newsies was iconic

- Actually Spot in general was iconic. Rather than playing her very stoic and tough, she was a leader who ate up the spotlight and loved the power she had over people. She even made Bunsen/Seitz (idk which one they kept, they removed one) cower, and she loved it. She was also very loud and boisterous, something I’ve never seen in Spot before

- H A N N A H omg Bobbie Chambers was The Hannah Of All Time. Her line deliveries were hilarious, like her mocking Pulitzer with “he got elected!” and crying on the phone at the end when she was like, “Mr. Pulitzer can’t come to the phone right now 😭”

- When one of the newsies literally jumped on another one (idk who’s who and that’s so sad, they even did a role call) with excitement when Kath said they could make the front page, and then them immediately stepping away from each other like, “we’re cool, oh yeah”

- I really liked that they had Crutchie on a few boxes on the ground surrounded by other boys leaning against it for the Refuge. I feel like that communicates the tight, uncomfortable space he’s in much better than the typical move of having him on top of the tower

- Also loved the foreshadowing to the next scene with Crutchie coughing during LFTR, then falling on his way off-stage, then Jack says how he couldn’t make it to the window

- Also!! Another Refuge inmate helped Crutchie offstage after LFTR, which was necessary due to the fact that Crutchie’s crutch was left after he was arrested (😢), but the thing that got me was that the boy with him was reassuring him that it’d be okay, and continued doing so after he fell and he helped him up

- Another lovely bit of foreshadowing: how Katherine looks toward “The World” door on “no sir, we’ll stay young forever” (she was literally talking to her daaaaad)

- Jack was ALWAYS ready to pick a fight. Like the scene where he writes “strike” on the chalkboard is normally a funny, slapstick back-and-forth, but he straight-up kicked the chalkboard writer really hard, and the writer was reeling until he was done writing “strike”. This fight-instinct made it that much more impactful when the boys want to fight the scabs and he tells them not to.

- And then his speech to the scabs was just so touching. I’ve heard that speech a million times and it felt just like the first time. When he went up to one of the newsies in particular and was like, “there ain’t no crime to being poor” and he looked doubtful and he was kinda like, “hey, there ain’t” and looked him in the eye? Powerful stuff, man.

- I loved the choice not to have Jack sing during WWHR. Katherine and Davey were comforting him during the chorus, which was so sweet.

- Similarly, Jack got choked up when he saw the amount of newsies that came to help print The Children’s Crusade and I just :’)

- Not a part of the show but Bronté Barbé and one of the newsies both noticed (at different times) how amazed I was by the show. Bronté grinned and like scrunched her nose at me (it was during bows) and that’s just the magic of live theatre. Core memory right there

- Back to the show - Jack and Davey actually danced during Seize The Day? Iconic

- Medda and the Bowery Beauties were way more of a burlesque show than a vaudeville

- Overall, reactions were more grounded and less “Disney” than every other production I’ve seen, but they still managed to be big and theatrical. It was the perfect balance of realism and showmanship.

- The Delanceys weren’t as loud and boisterous, which honestly made them scarier

- Jack really said “but I’m pretty scared of you” and booped Katherine on the nose - precious

- Also Katherine sticking her tongue out after being like “imagine my father blissfully snoring while we take him down with his own printing press!”

- The way Davey was super excited when he found out that Jack did the painting and then looking at Jack and immediately getting all flustered and being like, “you’re really good?” Happy pride month everyone

- JACK AND CRUTCHIE’S SECRET HANDSHAKE JACK AND CRUTCHIE’S SECRET HANDSHAKE

- WHEN ONE OF THE NEWSIES MAKES ENOUGH MONEY TO GET AN APPLE, HE’S ALL EXCITED AND HE BUYS ONE, AND THEN HE SEES ANOTHER NEWSIE LOOKING SAD AND HUNGRY AND HE GIVES IT TO HIM??? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

- The newsies watching Medda’s show “she’s talking to me!” “No, she’s talking to me!!”

- ONE OF THE NEWSIES LYING FACE-DOWN ON THE FLOOR WHEN JACK ASKED WHO WANTS BROOKLYN

- Katherine’s spoon crown 😌

- They managed to still show the trauma Crutchie went through during the Snyder sendoff scene without changing a word! He does the whole “guess who’s back! And I brought along a little treat from the Refuge!” (Wearing the police cap) but then when he turns face-to-face with Snyder, his smile drops and he composes himself. But then he handcuffs him and kicks him off as usual 😌 but again, another example of the balance of realism and theatricality!

- It really seemed in this version, just by the line delivery and reactions, that Jack made up his mind about staying in NY long before Katherine says “you’ve got one more ace up your sleeve” and I love that

[velvet-vox]

Yet another status update.

If you have been reading my posts for a very long time, you may have noticed that, in the last couple of months, I have slowed down the previous output that I had this summer.

The reason as to why that is, as I've stated in the past, is because I'm very busy at the moment, between work, helping out my friends, multiple writing projects etc... I don't want to get into the specifics because I value my privacy a lot.

Also, another very big thing for me is that I spent a huge chunk of the last few months writing My top 30 favourite female antagonists of all time; I've been working on that project in conjunction with many others for a long while, and I've been writing all three parts more or less simultaneously, hence why the first part took this long to release.

My original plan was to release all three parts at the same time, for the most, overall "spread" of the posts.

However, since I'm still relatively new to this site, and I was unsure if there was someone who really liked to read my stuff and wanted something new, I decided to release the first part as a standalone hook, since the other two parts were much more juicy in comparison.

That said... the amount of time that I spent writing it, and the fact that, from my point of view, not many people saw it or cared for it made me think that maybe I should focus on something else that is easier to make.

So, here's a survey on some of the ideas that I want to do, and should be faster to execute, unlike the top 30 thing.

The Fethry Duck analysis has zero work done on it at the point of writing this, but I already know what I want to say and how I want to talk about the subject. I want to do it just to have at least one DuckTales analysis done by me on this blog, as I still haven't done one at this point in time.

However more than an actual analysis on the character, it'll be an analysis on how the writers decided to adapt the character to the reboot, and I'll use my favourite Fethry comic as a comparison.

With the recent release of Epic Mickey Rebrushed, which came out of nowhere from my point of view, my love and appreciation for this series has been rekindled, just like my hyper fixation, to the point where I've already done 7 play throughs, platinated the game 2 times, and done 3 speedruns ever since it's release.

But it got me thinking:

Many people assume/want Purple Lamp to also be doing a remake of the second game in the franchise, one that, according to the official site, would need a lot more tweaking in order for it to stand on par with the first game.

However, the question of whether or not the story would need to be changed in order for them to do so is still up in the air.

But what was the story of EM2 exactly all about? What were the original writers trying to say?

That's what I want to talk about and analyse.

As a way to further celebrate Rebrushed, and as a momentary conclusion to my Epic Mickey character arc, I plan to do public pools ranking of all the levels in Epic Mickey, Rebrushed/Original game variants included. I'll give more information about this one when I get around to doing it.

I still want to do analyses on the antagonists of Wakfu, Dark Vlad, Julith, Toross... possibly a sequel trilogy to my analyses of Oropo... but not right now.

Same thing for my Kung Fu Panda stuff: there are things that I want to do more right now.

If you've been following me for a very long time, know that my "famous" (it's not, but I've been throwing it around a lot, even outside of this site) Critique of Doll is still coming..... Next year.

That... "thing"... will be the summary of a journey.

As for more Murder Drones ideas, I have a few, but I don't want to do them now, unless someone asks for them:

Making the case for why Alice is the best humanoid villain in Murder Drones; a fun little idea that I had a while ago. To be honest, I don't sincerely think Alice is the best humanoid villain of Murder Drones, but I think that Alice fans could enjoy this post.

If you've been following me since the very beginning, you know that I wanted to do a comparison post between Nox (Wakfu) and Doll (MD) ever since I watched Murder Drones for the first time, and now that the show is over, I think this is the best time for me to do so.

While thinking about the Nox and Doll comparison, I realised something else: there's an argument to be made that Qilby and Cyn, characters from the same series as Nox and Doll, share enough similarities with each other that I could probably make a post comparing them too, and I think it could be very interesting.

In the meantime, while I wait for the survey to be over, if everything goes according to plan, this weekend I'll release an analysis on a small, current obsession of mine.

You may have already guessed it, considering all the foreshadowing that I did for the past couple of days, but here it is:

The character of Turbo, from Wreck-It Ralph (2012).

Edit: forget what I said. The Wreck-It Ralph analysis is coming whenever it is ready. Work and Arcane season 2 took away all of my free time. From now on, I'll just release stuff when it's ready and when I want to.

[novelmonger]

Book Review: Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Recommended by @sailforvalinor for the 2024 Book Rec Exchange

Premise: When she was a child, Echo Alkaev tried to save a white wolf from a bear trap, but when it escaped, it slashed her face with its claws and scarred her terribly. Ashamed of her scars and the way everyone stares at her and whispers about her, Echo tries to be content with living out her days simply helping her father with his bookstore, hiding away from the world. But then one winter her father goes missing, and she finds him lying half-dead in the snowy forest. The very same wolf who wounded her appears before them, offering to save her father's life--if she will agree to live with him in his house for a year. She agrees, and goes to live with a talking wolf in a magical house filled with impossibilities. And there is one more rule she must follow: At night, she must sleep in the same room as the wolf, but she must never light the lamp and look at his face.

Quote that should have been on the back of the book: "'The power to save him is in your grasp,' said the wolf. 'Choose. Come with me now--or let your father die.'"

Thoughts: So basically this is like Beauty and the Beast + Cupid & Psyche + a whole bunch of other myths/fairy tales...in Russia! With wolves! And lots of books! I loved it right away, because I'm an absolute sucker for anything related to Beauty and the Beast, and I love wolves. I can guarantee that if I read this when I was a teenager, I would have been absolutely feral about it. And even now, I still had a great time with it! It really captures that fairy tale feel, with inexplicable, impossible magic like the book-mirrors and old curses that can only be broken with the power of love. I think because of that, the book kept on making me think of Diana Wynne Jones and Studio Ghibli.

I have to admit, I got so wrapped up in the Beauty and the Beast parallels through the majority of the book that I almost forgot the Cupid and Psyche elements! But then those elements came in at the last minute, suddenly changing the whole trajectory of the book and going in a direction I wasn't expecting (and changing the very style in which it was written!). But that's the way of some fairy tales too, and I loved all the plot twists. There were several moments in Part Two that were seriously epic, and I even ended up crying at the end - which I was not expecting to do!

One negative thing I'll say is that the book felt strangely...unedited? Or like it needed one more proofreading pass, at least. I found a frankly embarrassing amount of typos for a published book, sometimes as much as one or two words that were missing entirely. There were also a couple moments where a character would more or less repeat what had been said right before, without acknowledgement that it had already been said. It just felt like Meyer had written a second draft of the scene and forgotten to remove the first-draft stuff. Nothing story-breaking or too confusing, but it got rather distracting at times. Maybe I just got the first edition and a later edition would iron out those wrinkles?

But on the plus side, I have to give Joanna Ruth Meyer mad props for writing a truly excellent Actually Strong Female Character. Her strength of will and the things she's willing to endure for love were truly inspiring. She didn't have to learn how to use flashy magic or wield a sword to demonstrate her strength (though she does learn quite a lot about magic and does some fencing). She loves books and music, she longs to be beautiful and to just settle down comfortably with a family who loves her. She's basically the opposite of the annoying "girlboss" trope...and yet she is so strong. She would walk to the ends of the earth, endure excruciating pain, and never let go of the people she loves, because her strength comes from her compassion and love. I absolutely adore that. We need more stories like this one.

[wordsinhaled]

☔

☔ Is there a fic concept you have that you’d like to just explain and share because you’re not sure you’ll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Ah, yes!!! And I'll tag @sb-essebi here since you also asked this question!

I'll talk about the always angels AU! (Who wants to help me find a better name for it? lmao, but that's what I'm calling it in my head.) I don't know if I'll ever actually write it properly because it feels very Involved and my vision for it would involve it being a bit of an epic length, meanwhile I've never written a thing past like 2k words? But I do really love the idea of it.

So this is an AU where Crowley never fell: he's still an angel in Heaven. Of course, he still asks questions, but maybe he’s at a power level at which his interference can be deniable, or brushed under the rug if needed. Or, if he is higher up, he's considered to be a bit of an odd duck, too enthusiastic, too absorbed in his work, such that his capacity for influence isn't really taken seriously. Besides, he’s so genuine and well-meaning about things that he naturally gets underestimated a lot, which is how he has avoided getting cast out this whole time.

So he’s basically just prancing about being cheerful in Heaven’s offices in the outfit we saw him wear in the show, in all his tan tracksuited, gold nail polished peppiness. (Yes, I love that outfit; no, I will not take arguments. Heaven infiltrator!Crowley is a fashion icon <3) And also, of course, in lovely long flowing robes sometimes because why not, it's Heaven!

He gets to keep up his stars as his main role, and it’s been his favorite thing to do since always, which he tells to anyone in earshot. He’s forever asking if the other angels want to go on little field trips with him to see different star systems or nebulas whenever they need a tuneup, and the other angels are all, “Oh, you know, Crowley and his stars,” like his personal interest in them is weird, or quaint. They humored him at first, and have long since stopped going with him, and the ones of his own rank gossip about how odd it is, a bit, well. Crowley's enthusiasm is undimmed.

Maybe in this AU, Aziraphale has become an archangel by regular promotion - by toeing the line, mostly, but he harbors, secretly (very secretly) his own ideas about how the Supreme Archangel is running things, how Heaven could be made better. A large part of him still believes in the system, though. He figures, if he follows all the norms, goes through the proper channels he’ll make a true change one day. Especially in his new position, which he treats with great sanctity.

But he does have his foibles.

He's been to earth for several stints, and during those stints, however brief each one, he discovered things he likes. His Heavenly office is not blank and white and bare like the others; it has actual—gasp!—material objects in it that he's brought back from his travels on Earth. A plush Persian rug. A heavy oaken desk, complete with Tiffany reading lamp and writing inks and pens. An overstuffed armchair with a cream tartan blanket draped across the back (Heaven does get quite cold, after all). A dancing lady orchid in a hand-turned, hand-painted ceramic planter. A little rack of select Earth wines and aperitifs. An earthenware bowl of fruit. And... books. Books he tries to but occasionally fails to keep contained to one corner, and often rotates out for new ones, and categorically refuses to give up.

(The other archangels try not to go in there much. It gives them the creeps.)

Anyway, long story short, this archangel Aziraphale is... well, Aziraphale, more or less the one we know and love, but maybe with more of a ramrod-straight back, if you will. (And maybe some facial hair. He can have a beard for a bit, maybe, as a treat. But I'm still not sure on that bit.)

The other thing about the archangel Aziraphale is he actually talks to the other angels who are of lower rank than he is. He doesn't treat them the way the rest of the archangels do, at a remove. He wants to know about their goings-on, because he was one of them, once, and he remembers what it was like, and looks on them with a great deal of empathy.

So naturally this puts him into contact with Crowley! Who has absolutely no compunction about inviting Aziraphale (his superior! Crowley, you daredevil!) on a jaunt to visit another little corner of the stars that needs maintenance.

"Oh! A... field trip, you say? To the... the Cosmic Cliffs, you called them? Well! That does sound exciting! I don't suppose I've ever considered it."

"You don't want to," says Crowley, visibly deflating.

"No, no, no! That's not it at all! They sound positively lovely, I'm sure. It's only that I have ever so much work, you see, and so little time in which to do it all."

"The Carina Nebula's worth taking a break for," Crowley says, a little bit of pride edging into his voice. He puts on his best encouraging grin. "C'monnn, Archangel. No one has to know. I certainly won't tell anyone you skived off a day's work to see some stars - oh, they all laugh at me as it is. It'll be our little secret." (If an angel had spoken to, say, Gabriel this way - with such a level of presumption, such a level of intimacy! - they would have been demoted instantly.)

Instead, Aziraphale agrees.

"I say," he breathes, hovering side by side with Crowley and looking at the glittering, twinkling splendor of blue-gold-amber scattered across the vastness of space before them. "I say, this is really quite something you've got here. You've outdone yourself with this one, I imagine."

"Oh, thank you," Crowley says, positively beaming, feathers all aflutter, brown eyes bright with feeling.

"It's beautiful," Aziraphale says.

"It is, isn't it," Crowley agrees. But here's an important little detail: he's not looking at his own creation as he speaks. He's watching Aziraphale watch the stars. It's totally untoward. Totally not befitting their difference in status, or their relative lack of acquaintance. And he totally doesn't care. "Gorgeous," Crowley adds. It just slips out, almost an afterthought, almost under his breath.

And Aziraphale turns to him then, and catches him staring openly.

And there's the start of that.

<3

Also would feature in this AU:

Archangel Aziraphale is the one to introduce Crowley to Earthly things! I think that is so, so fun, and I want to see angel Crowley discover his first bite of dark chocolate truffles or his first sip of Turkish coffee or his first time feeling silk, for example, yes

Enough tension to cut with a knife, we love to see it

Open-secret rendezvous in various corners of space to talk about philosophy!

Crowley dedicating specific stars to Aziraphale (Alpha Centauri!)

The other angels looking on in tacit disapproval but not quite being able to do much about it (...yet)

Archangel Aziraphale and angel Crowley take a vacation business trip to Earth! Includes Aziraphale showing Crowley some of his favorite places; them figuring out what sort of clothes they want to wear on Earth (and pining after each other in them, obviously); Crowley's first time riding in a car and subsequently falling in love with high-speed driving; charming B&Bs with only one bed (!); romantic stargazing from Earth; entirely too much faffing about and not enough Heavenly work getting done at all whatsoever because they're too busy realizing they're in love

A faction of angels try to depose Aziraphale because they think he's gone soft (and, well, he has... soft for a certain starmaking angel) and Aziraphale has to go on the lam on Earth to save himself. Cue romantic scene in which he asks Crowley to come with him and of course Crowley agrees

They go to Earth together and perform a combined miracle to hide themselves from Heaven. Maybe Aziraphale still operates his bookshop, but angel Crowley acquires a plant shop and works part time at a planetarium!

I could go on but this has gotten pretty long!

Thanks for letting me ramble about this AU which I love so much <333

[krimsonkatt]

Dodi, a boss that was is going to be in Chaos;Domain, though likely with a resprite. This character actually has a long and detailed story behind it. Basically, when I was in first grade, one indoor recess the teachers put on Disney's Aladdin. I really enjoyed the movie for what it was, that was until near the end of the movie where Jaffar took control of the Genie's lamp and ordered the genie to fling the tower that Aladdin was in to the North Pole.

That's when the teacher shut off the movie and said that's where the movie ended, to be continued in Aladdin 2. I ended up being super freaked out about this cliffhanger ending and thought Jaffar actually WON. I ended up skipping school on the day they showed Aladdin 2, but later they showed Aladdin 3 and everyone was fine so I assumed Jaffar lost in Aladdin 2, but I had no idea HOW he lost or what sort of damage was done to their world under the control of an all-powerful Jaffar. So, I made up MY OWN plot for Aladdin 2, as I was too scared to watch Aladdin 2 which I assumed to be this super dark scary movie and didn't even want to rewatch Aladdin 1, which I enjoyed, because I was afraid of being re-traumatized by the "cliffhanger." But I still watched Aladdin 3 all the time on this bootleg DVD that had every Disney and dream works movie (as of 2009) on it.

During this period of time (around 2009 to 2011) I came up with this bizarre fan fiction universe crossover between Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, Ninjago, Webkinz, Animal Jam, and a bunch of other things that was like Kingdom Hearts if it was written by an autistic 8yo. And like Kingdom Hearts there were clones, artificial humans, ancient prophesies, relics of mass destruction, doomsday cults, multiple apocalypses and universe-shattering wars, not-deities, and tons of other stuff. Believe it or not, this series was the origin of the Chronicles of Chronicles series, albeit a very early form/incarnation of it.

The original big bad of this saga was a guy named "The Emperor" who was HEAVILY based off Palpatine from Star Wars and had two underlings, Dodi (pronounced "Do-die" like the city Dubai but with die instead of bai) the snake charmer and Flon (pronounced full-on like colon) the evil fairy. Dodi was pretty much 1-to-1 with Jaffar with just his name changed and little else, but Flon's backstory and origin is an even weirder example that I'll get to once we get to her sprite. The big bad of the later arcs was Lord Drakos, heavily based off the principal of Gaithersburg Elementary, who loved abusing and manipulating me for his own twisted amusement.

But anyway YEARS later, like around 2014 or so, I discovered that the teacher showing us Aladdin all those years ago completely lied, and there was a whole extra 15 minutes of Aladdin I didn't know existed where Jaffar was defeated in an epic battle and the world was saved. And how did I discover this? A freaking Watch Mojo video. Something about "top 10 most evil villains in Disney" and Jaffar was number 5. During Jaffar's section they showed footage from the last 15 minutes of Aladdin which absolutely blew my mind that there was a whole extra 15 minutes of runtime I completely missed.

After I spent a summer afternoon rewatching THE ENTIRETY OF Aladdin on some shady website, I did some research on Wikipedia and figured out that Aladdin 2 and 3 were actually just cheap cash-ins made in the early 2000s that also served as both the pilot and the series finale of the Aladdin TV show, which aired from 1999 to 2002. The first movie had a beginning, middle, and end and DIDN'T end on a cliffhanger like I was led to believe, and Aladdin 2 and 3 were unnecessary made for TV sequels given almost zero budget. (though I still have an affinity for Aladdin 3, even if the animation sucks ass) This is also where I learned that the overwhelming majority of "Disney sequels" that I grew up with on that bootleg DVD were low budget cash-grabs not even made by the main Disney studio. So yeah, my childhood was a lie and Jaffar never won in Aladdin 1. It's going to be a fun story to share with my future nieces and nephews, though.

In battle, Dodi primarily uses fire elemental arts along with his "hypnosis" and "wrap" arts. He's a lot easier of a boss than the first one, King Kookookaka, that's for sure. The Medusa to that game's Minotaur, to say the least. (SMT4 reference)

[acmoorereadsandwrites]

What I learned writing 500k in sixteen months

Writing daily is a lot easier to do if you are kind to yourself and do not set impossible goals. Some people can do NaNoWriMo every month because their lifestyles permit it. Others can't because of work, responsibilities, health, etc. Set a reasonable goal to start and adjust according to your lifestyle and that's the bare minimum to hit. If it's 50 words, it's 50 words. If it's a 1000, it's a 1000. It's subject to change based on your circumstances.

Accept that you are going to have to edit. I see a lot of people who cannot stand editing; some of them even hope that if their outline is perfect, then they won't have to do a developmental edit and can just make a clean first draft and it's good to go. I'm sorry to say, but if you want to be traditionally published, you're going to have to get in there and be willing to kill your darlings. If you are going to self-pub, it's still probably a good idea to be willing to kill your darlings.

This is pretty linked to number 2: the more you write, the more you nurture a gut instinct. You start to be able to see that something isn't working. Listen to your gut. Do not ignore it. If it's telling you 'this is wrong,' either keep going and accept that you might have a huge rewrite ahead of you or go back and figure out what's wrong and either edit it or save it for later.

I love commas and medium length sentences too much. That's one of my biggest hurdles. I have to actively think about sentence length, sentence structures, and sentence starters. The more you do it, the more naturally it will come to you, but, I'll be real, it's really freaking annoying when you used to be able to write 45 words a minute and now you're chugging along at 15 words a minute because you're too busy going 'this is the third long sentence with a semi-colon in a row!!! NOOOO!'

Learn to walk away. This is a very hard lesson for writers to learn, but it's incredibly important. Sometimes you are not ready for this project right now or it's not ready for you. Maybe it needs more time to marinate, maybe you're not actually interested in it and it was just a shiny idea to avoid working on the real WIP that haunts you and is staring at you as you desperately try to do anything besides write it, or maybe it's just not an idea you can write exactly how you want to write it. It's good and crucial to figure out when a project is going to teach you something and push through anyways, but it's also good to learn when that project isn't viable.

Reading is so important, but not just reading to read. I really recommend getting involved in writing communities and offering to be a beta reader or CP (critique partner) and honing your critiquing skills. Reddit has a BetaReaders, DestructiveReaders, and PubTips subs, there's also Critique Circle and Ladies Who Critique. I've heard stories of people finding betas and CPs here on Tumblr and on Twitter.

Write a variety of things. This is not going to work for every single person, but it's going to work for a lot of people. If you hit a wall and you find that you are repeating yourself, set the project aside and work on something else. Fanfic, a short story, move from romance to a horror, instead of that epic fantasy, write a contemporary novel about a lamp salesman with an absurdist bent. Many authors do this. Crop rotation is one of the ways to keep your creative well full and will let you look at the main work with a more objective eye as well as help you keep bringing new ideas to the table. If the MC keeps getting trapped and keeps getting out of it by being clever, there's a good possibility it might feel repetitive and your reader isn't going to be engaged anymore.

Find people who will be honest with you when a work isn't cutting it. As artists, it's so hard to share our work and our friends and family don't want to hurt our feelings, so you might have to go outside of them for good feedback (if they read in your genre and age category and have similar interests, they might be good for feedback). The truth is, we might now what our weaknesses are, but it's hard for us to know if we're successful in combating them without fresh eyes. We all know a lot about our stories whereas someone who isn't us doesn't. That might feel obvious, but there's a lot of authors who try to publish and nobody has ever seen their work so they don't know why they aren't getting requests for fulls. Open yourself up to the experience of being critiqued.

Recognize when you are avoiding writing. Maybe I'm the only person that is struggling with this, but it hit me only a few days ago exactly what things I do when I am avoiding writing. I play 2048 or Othello online. I'm a creature of habit so maybe it's more specific than it is for others, but by seeing that and recognizing it, I now let myself play one round and if I'm still not writing, I go do something else. If the weather is good, I go for a walk. If it's not, I might exercise inside or turn on some Two Steps from Hell and play a few rounds of a game that lets me zone out. I might even turn to YouTube or Netflix and find either a documentary, a testimonial, or a piece of media from a cultural that isn't mine. I do what I can to either put me in the writing headspace or I do research for my writing. Not every hour of the day has to be productive, but my set-aside writing time needs to be productive to my writing. If another project wants to be started, I will give in and write it so at least something has been written.

I don't just write a story to know what a story is, I also write a story to know what it isn't. This results in me rewriting my chapter one five times until I get to chapter two. This does not work for everyone and can be an active hinderance to perfectionists or people who get stuck in revision loops, but it works for me. I might start a story in space and realize it's not working and then set it in Canada 1949 and then realize that isn't working and put it in a secondary world with elves and then cut the elves. To someone who isn't me, it might look like madness, but I learn my characters' backstories, internal wounds, the way they think, about their families, their backgrounds, etc. very quickly and they solidify in a way that makes it easier for me to channel their voice. And it can change as I move pieces about, of course, and I have to be open to that, but if I know that MC has PTSD because of XYZ before I'm too far in, then I can start working with it ASAP. As such, some writers' advice is just not for me and that's OK.

[goodmorningdove]

Just watcged ep 1 of revolution girl utena. Thoughts below the cut the tldr is i fucking loved it.

i realize i dont know who utena is. Anyway. Banger intro, lots of queer themes.

Huh that prince story is something ill need to remember, it obviously carries narrative weight. Also the prince character looks like the other girl from the cover.

Wakaba either has a girlfriend or wanted her friends to think she's “just a normal girl hehe not waiting for my partner in battle” i dont know what actually the main plot is. I know they fight. Saw that in the banger intro.

Fancy ass school. I dont know if i should trust it tbh

Ah so utena is the girl with the pink hair. Based. I had it wrong lol. Also she has a point. Thats the way it goes!

Wait are Wakaba and Utena dating? (Or at least does Wakaba think they are dating?)

Hell yeah utena! Be a prince that saves princesses!

Utena has amnesia??

Anthy Himemiya! I thought she was utena tbh. Before i started watching.

Hey dont diss Anthy Himemiya! The fuck wakaba she's literally taking care of the roses.

Fuck yeah get Saionji’s ass. Dont let him be mean to Himemiya.

Im sorry the student council exists by the will of the end of the world??? The fuck is this school.

The end of the world is people. Okay. Sure why not.

Fuck you saionji

Lmao. Onion forehead.

Oh no why would you make me laugh at wakaba having an onion forehead then show her heart getting broken (btw what the hell are the dating rules at this school?)

Anyway im going to kill saionji. Lets go murder a guy utena.

Sorry im sorry i find forbidden forests hilarious. I know i have a forbidden forest but like. They are objectively a hilarious concept. You cant ban people fron the wilderness.

Oh shit its the fucking rumor uwasa girls from magia record iroha get over here

FLOOD

What the fuck is this forest

Are the end of the world people living in here

I mean the song keeps saying “absolute destiny: apocalypse” so. I assume that yes the end of the world people are here

Epic inverted castle

Oh that cgi. For the spinning castle. Its not good. Not immersion breaking tho i think i only notice it bcz im a Nerd.

SAIONJI BRO SHES EXPLAINING THE RULES. DUDE. this is kinda like getting to the point of being comically evil tbh. Utena if you dont fuck this guy uo im gonna be so dissapointed in you

Wait so Himemiya just has to marry whoever is the champion duelist thats so fucked up. End of the world people I do not like you.

WOAH SHE HAS A SWORD IN HER. saionji The imagery says you are killing her. I mean the text is saying that too but the imagery is saying that you will be her downfall if you are not stopped. I would stop if i were you.

Oh yeah dont bring a wooden sword to a real sword fight. Utena please. I believe in you!!!

GET FUCK SAIONJIIIII

Oh fuck Himemiya with the killing blow “cheer up schoolmate” ahshshahsjkdhsjaj yessss kill him

Touga Kiryuu what the fuck. Utena is not going to like you i think. Are you the next mini villain.

“Better just forget about it” GIRL. YOU SAW SO MUCH SHIT.

“From this day forward i belong to you” WHO DID THIS TO YOU HIMEMIYA. WHO FORCED YOU TO BECOME A SWORD LAMP. I WILL KILL THEM

[cantalooprat]

Dinghai Fusheng Lu

What I Liked

the plot the character dynamics the romance the Pining and Yearning and Pain,,,,,, i thought i was gna get some fun kooky adventure abt saving the world not an Epic Adventure infused with Extensive Slow Burn and a generous helping of Angst

goddamn the nonconfession quotes this wn in general is so quotable and the tl is so beautiful to read

in general xiang shu/chen xing as a cp is so... sigh their dynamics, the way they banter and argue and get to know each other and eventually fall in love, ughhh the secret that chen xing kept abt his lifespan, how he was holding back from falling in love bc he couldn't just leave xiang shu behind, how xiang shu so desperately tried to keep chen xing alive, the i love you that's said in between the lines but never aloud, the moonshell bracelets... THE SLEDDING............ im so sad i love them shuxing invented love

the fact that this wn is literally one of those isekai style regression plot that goes "when chen xing woke up, he found himself 3 years before his death, on the journey to save the world... can he gather his companions and save all those he cared about? can he finally be lovey dovey with his martial god protector??" except it spends 2/3 of the story injecting the readers with Pain of the first cycle before the second cycle comes...

somewhere around the first half i was like, so this is what romantic joongdok is like huh. bc they rly gave that sort of vibe. the mc who puts the world above himself, who keeps running around? disappearing? and whenever he disappears it puts the ml in a frenzy lmao. and the ml, taciturn and tsundere but cares abt the mc beyond what words can describe. chen xing will light up the whole world with the heart lamp but chen xing himself is the light of xiang shu's world /crying

oh man the chars... tuoba yan my sweet eternal 2ml... xiao shan, shuxing's adopted son... xie an who i was rly sus abt but he lowkey became one of the best n most reliable team member, we stan an actual functioning adult... feng qianjun who rly impressed me when he chose gu qing over princess qinghe... everyone is so good!! characterized so well!!

i like that the main story basically ended w the implication that shuxing r undergoing their three-month long honeymoon in the middle of the wilderness which they will spend to bone for every. single. day.

What I Disliked

ok i do love happy endings but even i have to admit the regression was quite an asspull lmao

Quotes

"...It's truly a pity that thousands of years later, the seas have become mulberry fields, and though the land has not changed, the people have long since disappeared." (has big "osmanthus wine tastes the same as i remember but where are those who share the memories" vibes 💀 this is a sad quote but i cant help it...)

"...stay with me, and let's finish this journey, and I'll forever remember... in this world, there is someone who cares so much about me he would call in all of his friends and scatter away all of his family fortune... just so I can keep on living, and stay by my side." "I will also remember, that in this world, there was once someone... who was willing to burn up all of his mortal and immortal souls just to become a blazing lamp that shines gloriously upon this world." (ch 86)

"Let's go. Don't care about it anymore. Tomorrow, no matter what happens to the Central Plains, don't care about it anymore. Nod, and I'll take you away. Do you want to go?"

"The wind will still, and the snow will melt... Where you are is my place of solace." (ch 120)

Notes

have not had a quotes section in a long long while but i can't help it, some lines r just /chef's kiss

i should've screenshotted the quotes for easier archiving...

also keeping title as dinghai fusheng lu vs record bc tianbao is also lu n i like keeping things consistent lmao

[little-igit]

*. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡ ✿ **. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡

Pairing: Hualian, Hua Cheng x Xie Lian, modern, but not a modern AU

Warnings: Toothrotting fluff, I cannot be held accountable for the cavities you may get.

*. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡ ✿ **. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡

The rain poured outside, it's pitter-patter hitting the roof casting a soothing ambiance in Xie Lian and Hua Cheng's home. Xie Lian had proposed a movie night. It had been a while since the two of them were able to spend time with each other.

As the way the economy was working began shifting a long time ago the two of them found themselves having to adjust to 'modern' life. They found jobs for a while. His San Lang was quick to establish his own company.

When it became a hit Hua Cheng had told him there wasn't any need for him to work anymore, he could stay home and spend his days as he wished.

But, Xie Lian found he quite liked working. Though, he did cut back to working only part time. He enjoys seeing fresh faces and occasionally making a new friend.

He smiles to himself as he thinks back on a few of the fun personalities he's met. He finishes adjusting the pillows and blankets he's made a pile out of, and moves the snacks he'd grabbed from the pantry to the side so they're out of the way for the two of them to settle down.

He turns off the overhead lights, leaving only the lamps on so the room is dimmer.

As he stands with his hands on his hips, smiling proudly to himself he feels a hand sneak around him and a kiss to the side of his temple.

He smiles as he turns to Hua Cheng. His husband squeezes him closer with one arm while the other supports a tray with popcorn, hot chocolate, and a plate of cookies they'd made the night before.

The cookies didn't come out great, but at least they were only burnt this time.

Hua Cheng scans the pile of blankets in front of the couch and gives Xie Lian a cheeky smile, "It looks like Gege had a fun time in here? The few refreshments I brought pale in comparison to your work."

He's teasing and Xie Lian knows it, but he still smiles sheepishly as Hua Cheng let's go to place his tray to the side with the snacks.

"I just wanted to make sure the floor would be comfortable for us, And I appreciate San Lang's snacks very much." He takes a seat in the blanket pile and grabs Hua Cheng's sleeve to pull him in.

Hua Cheng lands with a soft 'oof' even though they both know Xie Lian wasn't using enough strength to really pull him down. The two of them laugh for a moment as Hua Cheng wraps an arm around shoulders and pulls him in close.

Xie Lian grabs the remote and turns on the TV. As the movie began, their focus shifted entirely to the screen.

The first movie that came on was an action-packed adventure, filled with a classic hero and villain dynamic and epic battles. They exchange whispers of excitement when they remark the thrilling scenes. Xie Lians eyes shine with awe as he finds one actors stances, fake or not, to be exceptional.

Occasionally Xie Lian leans into Hua Cheng's embrace, though Hua Cheng's body us naturally cold he feels warmth and love there.

After the action movie, Xie Lian quickly flips the channel to find a heartwarming romantic comedy. He selects it, knowing that Hua Cheng, whether he'll admit it or not, has a soft spot for such stories.

The characters on the screen navigated through comedic misunderstandings and eventual confessions of love. Xie Lian couldn't help but giggle at certain witty dialogues, glancing sideways at Hua Cheng who sported an affectionate smile.

As the movie went on, Xie Lian found himself growing drowsy. Though he doesn't need sleep as a heavenly official he's noticed every now and then when he and Hua Cheng are wrapped around each other like this he feels sleepy like this.

He let's his eyelids droop, his weight slowly leaning on Hua Cheng's chest. Feeling his beloved's fatigue, Hua Cheng wraps his other arm around Xie Lian, holding him close and providing a comfortable resting space.

Softly, Hua Cheng murmured, "Rest, my precious Gege. I'll keep you safe and warm."

With that Xie Lian's eyes fluttered closed, lulled by the soothing sounds of the rain outside and the movie playing in the background. They remained like that, intertwined on the couch, as he drifted off.

When Xie Lian awoke the movie was long over. Hua Cheng had covered them both with a blanket, shieldinf them from the chilly air. Xie Lian smiled, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the love and care Hua Cheng constantly showered upon him.

He remembers a time when he was so alone, he thought the whole world had abandoned him.

While he's certain he'll never forget those events, he's glad as he can feel himself slowly for getting what it feels like to be so alone.

"Thank you, San Lang." Xie Lian whispers, his voice almost silent as he drifts off again.

A/N: This takes place in modern times but it isn't a modern universe.

Hua Cheng cracks his eye open, pressing a gentle kiss to Xie Lian's nose, causing an amused puff of air to leave him.

"Anything for my beloved Dianxia."

*. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡ ✿ **. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡

This is just me assuming the two of them make it to the modern day.

I'd like to believe they do, regardless of if it's cannon or not!

Side note, does anyone know how to center text on tumblr?

I tried to figure out how to center with html for like an hour and just couldn't get it to work for some reason.

-💖🔪