#1 Chrysalis Way

[brandinotbroke]

I fear I'll have to place way too many trees

[ponysongbracket]

This Day Aria Line Tournament

[thementalshawty]

PAC Current Energy Theirs Vs Yours, & Progress to each other

So I guess I couldn’t stay away too long I swore this time I was done, but then the ones that I comforted and helped with my readings reached out to me and gave me so much hope and motivation, I couldn’t let go and everyday I fought the need to do a reading on here I swear I did, but I can’t keep fighting against myself right????

This reading is a short reading about your energy and the energy of the person on your mind, whether it be your FS, Next Partner, Crush(I doubt this one but hey there’s always that one). Anyways I’m here to report any of the current energy from the both of you, and to tell you the progress of this relationship whether you’re close to union or not from decks I made if that makes sense.

As you all know this is a general reading and because of that there is no guarantee that everything will resonate with everyone, take what resonated and let the rest slide off to someone else. Also please know that tarot isn’t set in stone, the point of tarot is to bring clarity about a situation, so please understand that you control your life and the cards nor anyone in the world do! Great now choose from these 3 piles and let’s get started!

Emoji 1 :🏳️‍🌈

Emoji 11:😞

Emoji 111:👎🏽 (Don’t Get At Me The Emojis Were Chosen With My Eyes Closed.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Pile I:

Them: Their day is coming, I feel like spirit has something special in store for them p1 they seem to be progressing and doing what they need to do. They grey times have cleared, so pile 1 I feel like your person has been going through it, but now they’re starting to see happier times and moments in their lives. They definitely were going through some grey days before. I feel they were fighting depressing moments even at least some of them but now things are starting to look up for them. They are too focused on what’s going to happen tomorrow that they’re missing their shit today. They need to be more present and focused on the now and happening. They need to take accountability for themselves and themselves ONLY! It seems they maybe taking on the weight and responsibility for others and denying their own responsibilities to themselves i feel, and then coming up with excuses “well I’m taking care of so and so, that’s why I’ve been late or to busy or procrastinating.” Nah they need to own up to their shit, and allow others to hold their own weight I feel this person or people who’s weight they’re holding likes it that way and knows what they’re doing 🤷🏽‍♀️. I feel your person also makes excuses for those who weight they carry as well smh! “Well they’re going through a hard time and I’m trying to be there for them.” That kind of yada yada. There’s an amazing moment that spirit is surprising them with I literally said it earlier and that card came out for them! They have got some cool shit in store for them if it’s not happening to them already. Some kind of evolutionary moment for them is happening, skies are clearing, foggy mind is clearing and clarity is sinking in and the sun is about to shine over their heads! Shit is looking great for p1 person. I feel they have been indoors too much for some of your people, they need to get the fucc in public and socialize, I feel like this is a chrysalis moment, they’ve been cocooned and now it’s time for them to fly out into the world. The tiny steps they’re taking right now is leading to big progress for them! They’re making moves and they may not think so because it’s small and tiny steps, I sense this person being kind of hard on themselves. I heard that song by Bob Marley “take it easy, got to take it easy”. This is cos they have so many other people’s burdens on their shoulders. They’re weighed down but I think they may start to take accountability for themselves and stop making excuses for others! (🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽). I see they’re about to meet someone in a non romantic sense at least your person won’t see it as non romantic. They’re being too controlling, they’re trying to know everything, being nosy, digging to deep, not knowing when to back off and allow things to flow. This person sounds like a pushover, control freak, I don’t wanna say a neurotic person but 🤷🏽‍♀️. I also feel like this person is either older than you, more mature than you, has a lot more responsibilities than you do, or if they’re younger or the same age as you they had to grow up hella early started working young probably, Capricorn and Saturn dominance I’m feeling. Very limited mindset but I see it easing up and they’re starting to see a better light. Or they’re about too.

You: There’s some kind of energy against you, whether it be a person, a fear, a situation, etc, there’s someone or something that wants to take you down currently and your guides are letting you know to show no mercy, be a savage and fight for what you deserve, to some of you I heard stand up for yourself so, fucc that person or that thing that’s making you feel taken down! Fucc that! You’re amazing! There’s an upcoming opportunity entering for you, so be on the lookout, it can be the opportunity you’ve been looking for to defeat this opposing energy. I see that some of you have been angry over this, raging out, and your guides want you to laugh off any dumb shit that is happening at this time, you’re better than that and you don’t need to be enveloping that kind of energy, you’re not a sponge for toxicity! Anything that is pissin’ you off, annoying you, or trying to be a nuisance, just laugh that shit off or say that spell I am hearing in my head from Harry Potter (Ridiculous)! Trust me that energy, situation, person is not worth getting angry over! See!!! Whatever fear is in your mind is just that! In your mind! It’s a figment of your imagination this fear, so whatever you’re wanting to do, just do it and do it FEARLESSLY! Some of you guys have taken some big steps and you should be proud of yourself!!! I feel like not everyone in p1 has done these big steps yet. They’re about to. Your guides want you to know, that’s there is magical work in the background, so be very clear at this moment EXACTLY what you want! You guys need a moment of alone time to reflect and check yourself, a mirror moment is needed for you guys right now! See for some of you guys you did overcome the fear that’s been holding you back and for the rest of p1 you are now being informed that what’s been holding you back is fear. I also see that tiny steps were taking by everyone in pile 1 and that your guides want you to know that it’s leading to big progress and again that could be the opportunity to take that big step and face that fear! You need to channel your inner warrior, realize what you want, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT & charge after it fearlessly! Don’t let anything hold you back, whatever fear you have about it isn’t real so try not to think about that.

Progress: I’m seeing that as of right now, more healing is needed for them to progress and continue to the next level. I’m not sure if it’s more healing needed before you two meet or come into union but I’m seeing they need to heal some more, do more reflection and inner healing, I’m hearing acceptance. Some of you guys are on a karmic soulmate journey with this person so some of you asked about a crush or next partner most likely even tho FS’s can be karmic partners too. You guys right now are both going through some kind of lessons and ascending period right now, which can explain some of the drama, troubles and challenges you’ve been facing lately. For some of you they’ve seen you in real life, not in person yet tho, so this may be your FS or next partner, def not crush well unless you’re crushing on your next partner or FS and you’ve seen them before they’ve seen you. They’re having a hard time letting go of their past, whether it be a relationship or something, I’m feeling like those are the grey clouds in their lives. Your guides are letting you know to give them time. You guys are leveling up, so whilst your person may have a hard time during this ascension period, you pile one or at least most of you will be leveling up and ascending through. Right now you and your person are aligned right now and telepathically communicating, pay attention for any messages from them each time. I feel like this is for you pile one but it can also be your person someone is being too controlling when it comes to this relationship, you need to allow things to progress naturally. Don’t force it or worry, just flow, let things progress as they should with this person.

Them:

You:

😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞😞

Pile II

Them: They’ve got manifestations of abundance and success arriving to them now. I feel this person has been hella focused on getting they paper up and really been hella career focused and now it’s starting to pay off, they’re beginning to see some abundance and pay back for all their hard work, or they’re about too. They’re bettering a golden era of their life right now, they may even have an actual glow! Your person is going through a fucking glow up physically too, they may even look better or start to take better care of themselves, afford better self care products. They’re unsure of someone they feel a connection with, not sure if it’s you, but they have someone in their mind already, and that person likes them too, so maybe this is a crush for some of you????? Either way maybe you should go for it! They’re curious to know if they share a connection with someone in their minds & yes they do! They are doubting their abilities, not having enough belief in themselves and that’s been causing shit for them, they are struggling or coming to an end of that struggle and the majority of that struggle in my opinion is because they didn’t believe in themselves. They need to find a way to mellow out. If they 💨 they need to, or they need to meditate and just find a way to distract themselves, I feel they are in their head about shit. They got angels watching over them, protecting and guiding them! They really just need to trust themselves, this is a big issue in their current situation. They have healed a major trauma wound, they maybe weren’t ready to, or was surprised too? It could be fresh and so they’re learning how to stand without it, that shit is hard. They need to take accountability for their lives and don’t make excuses for anyone who isn’t handling their business, I feel like this person has a lot on their plate, I’m hearing pressure, maybe to be the best??? They’re about to meet someone new in a non romantic way (like pile 1) I feel like the person in your mind needs some shoulder to cry on, I’m getting helpful people coming in for them now. They’re confusing little or slow movement as no movement and their guides want them to stop discrediting their movement! They need to be more grateful and look around at what they have! Believe in themselves. They may have very low self esteem.

You: There’s a snake amongst you, p2, you need to move cautiously at this time. I feel like this snake is coming in the form of a friend, or is already there and embedded into your lives. You guys are too focused on the future and what’s going to happen, what’s coming, you need to be focused on what’s happening now, what’s going on in the moment, presently, those need to be your points of focus. Some of you guys fell back into old ways, habits shit even with older people and your guides are telling you to snap it the fuck out and get it together! A new chapter has begun for you guys pile 2 I’m hearing some but I wanna say it’s for all of pile 2 so maybe like pile one some of you guys aren’t there yet but I feel a bigger amount of p2 is there unlike p1 only a few has ascended or about to currently. You guys have manifestations of love progressing to you! So whatever manifesting that you guys are going to bring love into your lives is working and making it’s way to you! There’s something or someone that’s not for you and your guides want you to let that shit go and again that could be the snake around you that will reveal itself. With the love manifestations I feel like someone is manifesting a special relationship or person they’re coming I feel like if you’re trying it manifest a specific person, some of you it’s happening others will need to realize it’s not for them and let it go, this can be for people asking about crushes too I feel, like they’re not for you. Some grey times have cleared up for you pile 2 is about too, I feel like this was a time of confusion and fogginess for you p2, I feel you may have had something you wanted to do or an opportunity to make a certain love but you weren’t quite sure if it was the right move and you didn’t wanna look wrong or bad, or stupid. Pile 2 you’re so worried about the future that you’re kissing signs right now!!! You’re being sent signs but you’re missing them I feel cos you’re focused on shit you’re not meant to be focused on right now. A goal of yours was achieved in some way, it doesn’t have to be a huge goal it can be anything as simple as you decided to make your bed and you did! Shit committing to any tasks big or small is worth a sliver of pride! You will need to impress someone, maybe some of you had job interviews I’m hearing something about admittance?? Maybe school?? Idk but I feel like you guys will need to impress someone and spirits advice, keep them laughing.

Progress: Like p1 I see that your person is also having a hard time letting go of the past but I feel like instead of a person it’s habits and ways they’re not letting go of (old habits die hard, I heard that). Just give them time. Their fears, egos, & insecurities are shutting you out right now, so they’re not receiving any messages or signs from you right now. They’re starting to dream about you consistently and often, some vivid some not. Someone else is keeping you away from this person, I feel like this can be the snake! I also feel like it can be fears and insecurities and for those asking about a FS with a crush on the mind I feel the crush is blocking you from the FS, you think they’re the same person but they’re not. Some of your person(s), just started to dream about your energy. I feel your union is delayed or has been delayed or paused due to some karmic debts or some lessons that need to be learned and cycles that need to be cleared, this connection is destined for some of. This person is denial of your connection and it’s due to fears and insecurities. You both are going through a collective transformation, at the same time, so gear up!

👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽👎🏽

Pile III

Them: They’re about to receive recognition of some kind, maybe they get a new hairstyle, or outfit people take notice too, a reward or accolade from their work, or even familial praise, I see them getting recognition and complimented from that recognition. They’re too focused on work and career they need to redirect their energy just to something else, they are too worried about making the next move or catching that next dollar and it’s blinding them to something that they may need. They are so afraid to touch their money I feel like they are afraid of being broke and having no money, I am seeing their guides telling them to spoil themselves and buy the shit that they’ve been wanting. Classic case of workaholic mentality. They probably grew up in poverty not having the things they want and decided to never live like that again and they work non stop they don’t STOP! smell the flowers I’m hearing they need to do but won’t. They need to trade in their anger and laugh someone or something stupid has been pissing them off and they’re being advised to laugh off that dumb shit cos it doesn’t serve them. They’re about to be smiling more, I feel a lot of the pressure on them will ease up or they will start to feel that ease. They need to learn how to let loose and kick back, they need to enjoy some kid time like pile 1 I feel like this person also had to face adulthood and responsibilities very early on in their lives. They are being urged to find a way to entertain themselves, having a movie night is being suggested by their guides. They’re not trying to hear that shit tho, I feel like they’ve been told by others to slow down and be calm to enjoy some relaxation and I’m hearing they had a trauma response to it, they need to stop being so damn defensive and learn how to interpret what’s being told to them, I feel like again they fought tooth and nail for what they had and they were underestimated, I feel like one of them is a woman because I’m feeling pulled to say her, so whoever is asking about this woman she is being overly defensive right now about slowing down from work, she may have had to go without for a while and again she promised herself she never would. They will need to make an important choice, it will determine whether they go forward or backwards at this time. They’re dark cloud thinking right now, got their head in dark clouds thinking the worst and feeling like shit. What they don’t realize is that they’re actually into their ascension and progression they just need to keep going and get their heads out of dark clouds.

You: It’s time for you to go inwards p3 it seems like all the readers their energy is about self reflection! You guys need it! I feel like with you since it’s not mentioning reflection there’s something that you need to find on the inside of your mind or heart that you need to go searching for that’s what I honestly feel. Some of you are still tripping over the past your guides want you to know Fucc all that shit in the past it’s behind you know and you’re way beyond it. You need to get real with yourself! It seems that you’re running away from your own emotions and you need to face that, so some of you do need that reflection! I don’t feel like it’s all of you necessarily because we all need to reflect but this is seeming like some shadow work that’s needed for some of you p3. You made a wrong turn p3 and caused some kind of delay, so if you have been going through a pause moment it could’ve have been due to a decision that was made when you weren’t in the best mindset? Some of you here in p3 are tarot readers and you have gotten some advice to take a break from tarot, I’m hearing that you’re about to have a message or something sent to you but you may be too nosy about what it is? Or doing too many readings draining all of your energy to do whatever is coming your way? I’m guessing spirit wants you to chill and relax your third eye and for some of you I heard “us too!” Your guides want a break. You have overcome a fear that had been holding you back so it’s free to do if you choose to. The path is open and ready for you to walk it, you just need to take that first step! There’s something or someone that has failed you in the past that will be coming for a second chance of they’re not there already, and your guides want you to deny deny deny that shit! Do NOT let anything or anyone from the part back into your life at this time, since this is the MercuryRx I do know exes and past lovers like to pop back up for you guys leave it alone! Just like your person I feel you about to receive some kind of recognition, it can even be from this person you’re inquiring about. I’m feeling it’s from a person other than work but then again, it can be a person from work. Whatever grey times you were or are facing cleared up or is about to clear up really soon, keep holding on the storm is almost over! ANY OPPS OF ANY KIND! Show them NO MERCY! I feel like the past is going to try and sneak back into your life and you need to say fuck that and stomp it out p3 you’re not going to let any bullshit stop your progress anymore!

Progress: Just a little but needs to be done before you guys can meet or come into union, right now I feel like you’re both tying up loose ends (this is the pile closes to meeting or union)! For some of you, I feel like this is your twin flame, for others I feel there’s a connection where you two trigger and mirror each other, but not as intensely as twin flames. Someone else is blocking them from you, I’m not sure if it’s an ex or a new person but I do feel like there’s someone in the way of your connection right now. Some of you could’ve met them already but don’t remember meeting this person. They’re going through it right now, being tested and ascending from their last position. Going through lessons and karmic cycles. Union is happening in divine timing so there’s no timing I can give you besides when the time is right. You’ll come together which I feel isn’t very long tho. You guys both need to focus on yourselves cos that’ll usher in union, you both learning how to value yourselves knowing you both deserve a union as great as this one, this connection seems to be the most spiritual. They’re dreaming about you vividly but they can’t remember it’s cos they’re going through so much, and I feel like the divine feminine (regardless of gender identity) was the woman or the energy I was talking about earlier, along with most of your person of interest especially twin flames. You astral travel to them and they can’t remember and I don’t think you can either, you will when you meet and you’ll meet in due time, just focus on yourselves.

Them:

WELL THATS THAT! It felt good to be back doing readings it feels right and to the ones that motivated me to do it, it’s for y’all!! Enjoy! I hope it resonated and it brightened your day and gave you some clarity! Here’s to new ass energy!

[dapper-lil-arts]

The creator's of mlp really did say they didn't hate any of the characters and then proceeded to do Rainbow Dash dirty every chance they got

honestly the saddest thing is that I feel like its somehow on accident, somehow on ignorance. Every character has the perfect pieces to make them iconic, but some fall short due to writing choices like rainbow, rly. Example: Celestia is meant to be a godlike figure, a perfect mentor, a kind and nurturing soul that is also the most powerful being in Equestria. ...But in the actual text? She's kind of worthless! Whenever theres a problem she throws twilight at it, and if she tries fighting someone she LOSES! She lost a 1 v 1 with chrysalis, she lost to fucking COZY GLOW, A CHILD. And those are all writing choices! At no point did they try to keep her integrity, justify her positioning through Twilight's trials. By the time later on they joke about the princesses doing nothing, its hard to find it truly funny bc its just objectively true xP but it didnt need to be! Another example, this one bugs me even more: Pinkie Pie is meant to be the element of laughter (not joy I guess) but the more that the series goes on, the more that every joke that involves her is just "She wont shut up and she's annoying everyone and doesnt notice" They could have played her off as a compassionate figure that always wants to cheer people up, but rather she winds up as a fourth-wall-breaking fire alarm that keeps beeping, and it really didn't need to be this way! Like, if she's meant to make people laugh, where's the genuine jokes? Wheres the gags and sentiments that aren't just poorly placed? damn its an odd case, cause I do love pinkie on concept but the text does her dirtyyyy

The blue character is literally looking at the screen pleading for Pinkie to shut her mouth, that's an active decision of the writers and animators to make her aparently insufferable to others. Damn, its odd And yeah, when Rainbow Dash winds up being a self centered asshat, it feels a bit flanderized, like some of these too. Don't get me wrong, I still love em, but sheesh

[leavemebetosleep]

do you have any good fluttercord fic recs?

OH BOY DO I. In no particular order (except of when I thought of them):

1: Non-Entity by Captain Wuzz: An AU in which, instead of being turned to stone, Discord was shot in the head with a magic arrow that takes away his sentience and magic for a 1,000 years. Fluttershy mistakes him for a wounded animal and brings him home. I loved it so much.

2: Chaotic Neutral by C-Puff: The magic is starting to fade from Equestria, and the Main 6 and Discord go on an adventure to find out why, and reverse it. A bit of AU, in the sense it was written before the show was done, so it diverts in some places because of that. Super sweet, and I love the character development here.

3: Time is Taller than Space is Wide by Dott. Can also be read on Ao3 if you prefer. Soulmate AU (?) fic with a Groundhog Day style twist. I rarely see fics play with the idea of what if Fluttershy and Discord's friendship had started when they first met, so this is fun.

4 & 5: Blank and it's sequel Reconnection by @geekcat. Can also be read on fanfic.net. AU in which, before Discord can choose friendship over ruling Equestria, Twilight remembers a "reformation" spell. He is stripped of his free will, and Fluttershy does her best to bring him back. If you don't like the idea of Twilight being a villain, you might not like this one, but I think her villain arc in this is done in a perfect way for her character. It's super heart wrenching in many places, but in a good way.

6: Our Fair Lady of the Chaos Lord, also by GeekCat Can also be read on fanfic.net. Fairy tale inspired AU in which Fluttershy is a princess who's father is pressuring her to marry noble knight Sir Big Mac. Wanting to be sure he's a good person, she makes a deal with the Chaos Lord, letting herself be "kidnapped" so she can test his character. You can guess who she falls for instead. Honestly I've enjoyed all of GeekCat's fics, so they're getting an extra mention. Check out the rest of their fluttercord fics if you like any of these.

7: The Draconequus with the Dragon Tattoo by A M Shark This is a major case of, strange premise, kick ass results. Basically an AU based off Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson, with Discord as Lisbeth, and Fluttershy as an amalgamation of Mikael and several other characters, but focusing more on the murder mystery aspect of that book, and less on the...everything else. If you're familiar with GwtDT, don't worry, there's no rape scenes. Again, it's more about the murder mystery part. If you're not familiar with GwtDT, then don't worry again, because you don't need to know the original to enjoy it. It's just Discord and Fluttershy playing detective and solving a murder together. It has two sequels, but I haven't read them yet, and it didn't feel right to rec something I haven't read.

8: The Corpse Bride by Bad Horse. Dark fic. No relation to the Burton movie. Fluttershy dies in a tragic accident, and Discord brings her back from the dead as his zombie wife. Her friends (sans Pinkie) are horrified. Has a fantastic twist ending. If you like some of the darker stuff, def worth a read.

Bonus: Comic rec: The Last Adventure by Eveeka. Taking place after the final defeat of Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis, Discord gets into a depressive funk after shouldering the hatred from Ponyville citizens for his latest actions, but also because his friends seem to never be available anymore. He starts to think maybe Equestria would be better off without him, as he can't seem to exist with out making everyone miserable, and decides to hide away in the Everfree forest. Fluttershy, worried when he doesn't show up for tea, asks her friends for help, only to discover there's a monster running lose there he and the rest of Equestria might be in danger from. This fic has two endings, so keep reading even when it seems like it's over. You've got one more ending left. This one nearly made me cry.

[moodooivy]

So I have many theories of what happened between Vox and Alastor, but I have to decide on something. So, I will be going into as much detail as I can analyzing the possible theories of what happened. I'll try to be as unbiased as I can and not let my shipper brain get in the way. (I will be saying maybe and possibly a lot so get ready for that)

Theory 1: Alastor's deal;

In this theory people say that Alastor had to decline Vox's offer to join the Vees and leave him because of his deal. That he had no choice. Another idea to this is that Alastor was threatened to agree to the deal for Vox's protection or happiness. Another possibility is that Alastor had to disappear because of his contract and that left Vox bitter because he thought Alastor abandoned him. As much as my RadioStatic mind loves this idea, it is extremely unlikely. I mean the way Alastor treats Vox does not give "I had to betray you in the past when I didn't want to". It gives "I'm bitter and love to mess with you, fuck you". Though this outcome isn't impossible. A possible way I see is maybe Alastor's deal involved taking away his ability to show feelings? It could explain why Alastor is always smiling. But I don't think that's the case. As for the reasoning of Vox feeling abandoned, I don't think that's it either. I feel like there would've been a scene acknowledging that to be the case already. So I'm going with no, probably not this.

Theory 2: Love confession;

Ah yes. The classic love confession theory. In this theory, people say that Vox was in love with Alastor, but when he confessed to Alastor he was rejected. Either then Alastor left or they got into a fight and then Alastor left. Either way, Al left Vox bitter and rejected. As much as I love RadioStatic, I hate RadioSilence and am not a believer in this theory. Again, I feel like we would already know if this were the case. And Vox just doesn't give me bitter rejected vibes. I just feel like if it were the case, I don't know, Vox would make it more obvious? But that doesn't mean this is impossible. Plus, there's always a possibility something similar to Blitz and Fizz happened. One of them was about to confess but then their fallout happened. That honestly does sound likely. Or, maybe Alastor misunderstood Vox. Vox wasn't actually asking him to join his team, he was asking Al to join him. Alastor didn't understand this and rejected the offer, or he knew full well and thought Vox only saw it as a business thing or maybe even a sex thing, since Valentino was apparently in the picture at that point. There is a reason why I just said love confession and not Vox's love confession. I actually do believe it is possible Alastor had feelings as well. People forget that Alastor was never confirmed to be aromantic, and even if he was, AroAce people can still fall in love, so it's not impossible. In fact I feel like it is very possible there was some mutual pining between these two. Where they both liked each other but just didn't realize it. To all those who have read Daughter Of Discord, tell me you don't get the thought of Discord and Chrysalis's past in your head. This brings me to the next theory.

Theory 3: They were changing too much;

In this theory, it is thought that Vox was changing too much. Alastor and Vox used to be friends, but Alastor didn't like how his old pal was becoming modernized and different. Alastor seems to really dislike change, and that could either be because of the fallout or contributed to the fallout. Perhaps when Vox asked Alastor to join him that was the breaking point. He thought Vox would try to change him. Change his name, make him use modern technology, change who he is. I believe this is the most likely situation. Another possibly, and what I think is most possible, Vox was growing powerful way too quickly. Alastor loves power. He took immediate disliking to Lucifer and I am pretty sure it's because Lucifer is probably the only thing in Hell stronger than him... But at the same time. Alastor is smart. Like, really smart. I feel like the last thing he would think of doing to someone he thought was growing more powerful than him would be to cut ties with them and make enemies. Alastor messes with Lucifer because he knows if Lucifer hurt him he would destroy his relationship with Charlie so he can't do shit. Another possibility is that Alastor's strange moral code might've gotten in the way. Unlikely I know, but Alastor does have some moral to himself where he seems to not harm, in fact somewhat protects those that are weak and defenseless. Maybe his and Vox's morals didn't align and Alastor didn't like the immoral path Vox was taking.

Theory 4: Velvette and Valentino;

In this theory, it is thought that the idea of the Vees is what caused Vox and Alastor's fallout. Maybe Alastor thought working with three would be too much. Maybe he thought they would hold him back. That would fit into the timeline. In the series I think it is supposed to be hinted that Velvette wasn't around during the fallout, so I'll look at it from that perspective. Alastor didn't like Vox's company of Valentino (Honestly who doesn't) so when Vox offered for Alastor to join them, Al said no, they got into a fight, Alastor disappeared, and so Val and Vox recruited Vel instead.

So, what do you guys think happened. Let me know because I am very interested. I apologize if this is hard to understand, the way I speak can be like that, but hopefully everyone gets this.

[lynxgriffin]

1. How is your secret project going?

2. Do you do 3d animation?

3. How would Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow interact with the G5 Mane 5 and Opaline?

1) It's coming along! The art and sounds are done, now just music is underway!

2) I used to know a little bit of it because I studied it, like....15 years ago? But at this point, it's been so long since I've done any that I'd pretty much have to learn how to do so again from scratch.

3) I imagine they would the same way they did the G4 ponies...as antagonists, looking for ways to advance their goals!

[nostalgebraist]

Here are some fun / amusing / potentially-interesting facts about the process of writing and plotting Almost Nowhere, if anyone's curious.

Major spoilers for the whole of Almost Nowhere under the cut.

(There's really no way to spoiler-censor this material without rendering it incomprehensible. If you haven't read the book, do that first before reading this post.)

(1)

A large fraction of the book's eventual plot emerged from my attempts to patch a single, in-some-sense trivial continuity error I made while writing the very first chapter.

The Mooncrash section of that chapter ends with this sentence (emphasis added):

All parties were used to stillness, now, for the Mooncrash was nearly four years old.

And a few paragraphs later, in the opening of the Academy section, we get this (emphasis added again):

For (as everyone knows) the Shroud is upon us and while it tolerates the Academy — as it presently is, as it has been for the last eight years, a chrysalis, preparing itself step by minuscule step [...]

So: The Mooncrash is 4 years old. The Academy crash is at least 8 years old, and indeed older.

Yet the Mooncrash is also as old as the crash system itself! It was made by humans, during the period between the discovery of the anomalings and the mass-crashing of the human race. (This is only shown in the second chapter, but I had it in mind before then.)

How long has the human race been crashed, then? At most 4 years, and at least 8 years? How could that possibly be?

It would have been easy enough to just edit the chapter, but that's not how I do things. Restrictions, famously, breed creativity. I enjoy attempting to solve puzzles I have inadvertently created for myself, and many of my best ideas have been produced through this process.

It would also have been simple and easy to merely say: "OK, I guess time elapses at different subjective rates, in different crashes."

Amusingly, I ended up doing that anyway! But for some reason, this avenue didn't occur to me at first. By the time I started asking myself whether to include this kind of effect, I already had a different solution in mind.

I spent a lot of time beating my head against the figurative wall, trying to resolve the 4-vs-8-year issue. The early parts of my AN notes are full of this stuff.

----

At some early point, I came up with the idea that the anomalings/shades would deal with troublesome crashes by "rebasing" them, rewriting their histories.

I didn't intend, initially, for this idea to take over the plot as much as it eventually did. It was just a fun idea that underscored the huge power differential between the anomalings and their captives, and felt in line with the Cartesian/Wachowskian themes of transcending a "fake"/illusory world, radically doubting one's own perceptions and memories, etc.

But, having stipulated that "rebases" were a thing, I hit upon the idea that they could be used to modify the total quantity of past (subjective) time inside a crash -- turning 8 years into 4, or vice versa, or whatever.

So, I could fix the problem by stipulating that one -- or both -- of the problematic crashes had already been rebased, in this way.

But why? And by whom?

----

Now, at this early stage, I also had the idea in mind that the character "Anne" would eventually escape from her crash, and that she would have a hand in various major events in the story -- including some events that had already occurred, relative to the "present" of the textual PoV.

But I didn't know, yet, what these interventions actually were.

(I put "Anne" in quotes, here, because in the very early stages I casually assumed that only the PoV Anne introduced in Chapter 1 would be a major character, and that her sisters were merely background material for her personal narrative, like the tower itself. Of course, in the process of thinking through the details of things, I realized that this assumption was needless and indeed counterproductive.)

As often happens when I'm plotting a story, I found that two unknowns slotted neatly into one another, each one providing a potential solution to the problem posed by the other.

We need something for "Anne" to do in the past. Something consequential, something that shows off her newfound agency -- but also something that obscures her role from view. Ideally, something kind of weird, esoteric, "advanced"; something that feels buried inside the deep, dark center of the backstory, which the reader will only "excavate" at the end of a long, strange journey.

And we need someone to rebase the Mooncrash.

That answers the "who?" question. But again -- why?

Well, it was already in the plan that Azad would join forces with Michael, when Michael went in search of his lost Anne. That Anne would meet Azad, as a result, and that it would be Azad who persuades her to return to Michael's crash.

I didn't, at the time, have much else planned for the Anne-Azad connection.

As originally conceived, the "Azad convinces Anne to return" scene was about Azad's uncertain loyalties, and about Anne's lack of exposure to other human beings (and to the power of words, as deployed by human beings with access to real human culture). That is, it merely served specific, separate purposes in the sub-stories of these two characters. There was no intent to set up, or develop, a thread connecting these sub-stories, making Azad a major character in Anne's arc and vice versa.

But that seems like kind of a shame, doesn't it? Why go to the trouble of preparing these characters, and bringing them into contact, if I didn't have anything for them to do together?

Anne and Azad.

We need someone to rebase the Mooncrash.

We need Anne to learn about real human culture, somehow, before she leaves. I knew that, already, though I didn't have a mechanism in mind.

(I also knew, by this point, that causing Azad's appointment as translator was another one of "Anne's" consequential moves. I had conceived of this, at first, as a relatively impersonal act, done only for its historical significance. Indeed, that would have been enough -- but the more the merrier, theme/motivation-wise.)

Problems paired up, interlocked, and became each others' solutions.

(1b)

As is obvious from the above, I didn't have the scenario planned out in very much detail when I wrote the first chapter.

At the time, the story had been gestating in my head for a while, but only as a bunch of vague inklings and intentions.

The proximate cause of writing-the-first-chapter was a sudden and unexpected burst of inspiration. I was riding the bus to a social event, and suddenly my mind was awash with crisp, never-before-glimpsed details about Anne and her tower, the Mooncrash, the Academy, Cordelia's blue dress -- all the stuff of Chapter 1. It felt like a crucial message was being beamed into my brain, VALIS-style, from the Muse / Higher Power.

I had an urge to bail on the social event, turn around, ride back home, and start writing immediately -- what if the magic went away, as suddenly as it had arrived? I resisted that urge and made a perfunctory appearance at the event, but then went back home and wrote as much as I could before falling asleep.

So, when I was writing that chapter, stuff like "four years" and "eight years" wasn't based on any single coherent picture, just vibes and vague inklings.

(I think 4 years probably sounded like the right amount of time for G&A to have been in the Mooncrash, character-wise. Meanwhile, Hector's ascension from the Academy had to be long enough ago that there would be no direct overlap between Hector and any of the current students. The "Bad Old Days" had to feel like something you'd only hear about in rumors, or from authority figures who probably weren't telling the full story.)

(2)

Like TNC before it, Almost Nowhere was originally conceived as relatively simple and straightforward story, only to become something much weirder and more complicated as I fleshed out the details.

As I said above, I only had a very vague "plan" at the outset of the writing process. But I kinda knew where I was going with it, in very broad strokes.

The original arc, insofar as it existed at all, was something like:

The bilateral / anomaling tension is introduced.

The bilateral PoV characters come to an understanding of their situation.

Many of the bilateral PoV characters join up with Hector Stein, who is already trying to defeat the anomalings and free humanity from the crashes.

Azad temporarily sides with the anomalings, and Anne temporarily returns to her captive state. But both them "come around" eventually.

Anne eventually triumphs over Michael, delivers a dramatic monologue castigating him for imprisoning her (etc.), and mounts a successful escape.

Shortly after Anne's escape, some (TBD!) resolution to the main conflict is achieved. Whatever it is, it is proposed/spearheaded by the bilateral faction (and specifically Anne herself), and it somehow exemplifies "the bilateral way of thinking/being."

The humbled anomalings conclude that "the bilateral way of thinking/being" has its advantages, both practically and morally.

So the story, as originally conceived, was much more straightforwardly about the "good" PoV humans fighting back against aliens.

It unabashedly took the bilateral side in the conflict, and it ended with a "beauty of our weapons" sort of moment in which the bilaterals are both victorious and righteous, and in which these two kinds of success are closely linked and almost merged.

I have to imagine that, even in counterfactual worlds where some things went differently, I never would have stuck to this version of the story all the way through.

Because, one way or the other, I would have eventually realized that.. like... this version of the story kind of sucks, right?

I mean, why go to the trouble of introducing these aliens, and trying to make them interesting, only to say "nah, actually these guys were just wrong, it's us and our existing 'ordinary' pre-conceptions that are right, and that's what the story was about all along"?

It would have been "inventing a guy to be mad at," as the saying goes.

Not a great foundation for a story. And the least interesting possible direction to go in, given this kind of setup.

It also presents a seemingly unresolvable tension, for the writer, about how to portray the distinctively "bilateral" nature of the bilateral side in the conflict.

If "bilateral" is as broad a category as the anomalings say it is -- if you and I and all of us, whatever other qualities we possess, participate equally in this sin -- then it's hard to strike a note of emotional triumph around the quality of "bilaterality" that doesn't feel wrong, vacuous, or bloodlessly abstract.

"Woo, yeah, humans are great!" I mean, are they? All of them? You don't get to say "well, only the good ones," here, or "in their ideals if not always their acts," or anything like that. Everyone is included in the relevant category, except for the guys-who-aren't that were invented for this specific story.

It's difficult to make this land properly, in the same way it would be difficult to write a story that inspires "carbon-based life pride" or "having-DNA pride" or the like in its reader.

So this version of the story was dead on arrival. And indeed, by the time I was thinking through the stuff chronicled in (1) above, this version of the story felt like a provisional placeholder, at best, in my mind.

Nonetheless, there are various echoes of it in the story I eventually landed on.

For example, in the original version of "Anne's" escape -- conceived in a much more straightforwardly positive way -- I had Anne reading "real" books in secret, drawing moral strength from them, and then including a bunch of literary quotes in her big dramatic monologue to Michael. (I took inspiration, here, from John the Savage reading Shakespeare in Brave New World.)

And I had the idea that "Anne," being an autodidact, would read omnivorously without making culture-bound distinctions familiar to you and me; that her selection of quotes, in the monologue, would put low culture alongside high culture, infamous books alongside famous ones, etc.; and as a particular case, that it'd be fun if -- before going on to quote Shakespeare and co. -- she began the whole thing by quoting Ayn Rand.

And that one idea stuck, even if the rest of it didn't.

(Or, consider how the idea of "a powerful move in the conflict that exemplifies the bilateral way of thinking/being" actually crops up multiple times in the finished story, right up to its last scenes. One can see traces of it in the "trick" that obsesses Michael, in the use of autobiographical writing to build up nostalgium, and in Annabel's improved crash design.)

(3)

I came up with the Mirzakhani Mechanism relatively late, in between writing Chapter 13 and writing Chapters 14-15 (in which the MM is introduced).

The MM was a product of looking back at the sci-fi elements that already existed in the story, like crashes and rebases, and trying to invent some single underlying explanation that covered all of them in a relatively parsimonious way.

This basically "worked," I think -- it certainly worked better than I had been expecting, after playing the dangerous game of "write a bunch of weird stuff and hope you'll be able to explain it all later." (I remember talking to one reader who was shocked that I hadn't had the MM in mind from the very beginning, which was flattering.)

It also had unintended consequences that kinda took over the story, but largely in a good way.

Earlier, I had planned to have the post-rebase crash timelines "screened off" from the outside world somehow, so that rebasing a crash wouldn't mess up the timeline of the outside world. But, once I'd fixed the idea that "rebasing is an MM event" in place, I realized that this wasn't consistent with the way MM events were meant to work. Instead, the exposition in Ch. 15 directly implies the stuff about rebases that Grant realizes much later in Ch. 41.

Once I'd noticed this, it was obvious that it was extremely important, and I re-incorporated it into the broader plot.

On a related note, I eventually decided that the account of the anomalings "going backward in time to our era" in Ch. 15 didn't really make sense. This meant I needed a different, more viable way anomalings and bilaterals to exist at the same point in time.

This line of thought, along with several others (like "what happened to all the nonhuman organisms?" and "which parts of the MM multiverse are real?"), eventually led me to invent Everywhere-Heaven and the beasts.

That happened right at the start of 2022, between Chapters 21 and 22.

It quickly became clear that the E-H/beasts stuff could be put to a lot of valuable use in story's third act, which was largely a worrying blank space in my head (even at this point!). From thereon out, I worked on fleshing out the third act behind the scenes while writing the second.

Not coincidentally, Chapter 22 contains a ton of E-H-related foreshadowing, and also some hints that human scientists (like Aidan in Ch. 15) had never fully understood the anomalings.

The use of Maryam Mirzakhani, a real (and recently deceased) mathematician, was a weird choice and arguably one in poor taste. All I can really say in defense of it is that it came to me suddenly, and had a number of properties that fit the vibe of the part of the story in which it appeared, and I have a policy of "going with my gut" when it suggests such things to me.

I felt similarly about this choice and another thing introduced in Ch. 15, the nuclear attack intended to kill scientists. Both of these things underscored the fact that the story took place in an alternate reality. And both felt sort of "edgy," "too dark," "too close to the real world" compared to the tone of the story so far. But I wanted to take the story to new places in the coming acts -- "darker," "more real" places -- and something felt right about introducing these elements at this exact point, as signposts providing an indication of where things were headed.

(4)

The phrase "NOWHERE TO HIDE" was originally "NO MERCY," in my notes.

And the abbreviation "NM" for "NO MERCY" was used throughout my notes for Nowhere-To-Hide related stuff, e.g. "NM Annes."

This wasn't the product of much thought, just the first thing that came to mind that had roughly the correct vibe. I almost immediately concluded that I'd have to replace "NO MERCY" with something else in the work itself, since it would seem like an Undertale reference that I didn't intend to make.

"Moon" was originally just a placeholder name -- a shorthand for "the 'NM Anne' who rebased the Mooncrash." But I liked the idea of actually using it, once it had occurred to me.

The corresponding placeholder name for A11 was "Ling," as in "linguist" (but also an actual name).

(5)

I went through 3 different outlines of the third act.

Really, there was a first outline, which was really bad, and then there were two slightly-different versions of a very different outline that mostly corresponds to the finished draft.

The first, bad outline was amusingly titled "notes-satisfying-ending.txt", because I explicitly used this post about "satisfying endings" as a guideline while writing it.

(To be clear, I don't think the linked post was to blame for the badness of that first outline. I didn't ultimately find the post very helpful as writing advice, but the "satisfying ending" outline wasn't even a "satisfying ending" in the post's own terms, and was also bad in unrelated ways.)

I don't want to go into much detail about the bad outline. It was really bad, and also really different from what eventually occurred. It's honestly a pretty embarrassing document.

A lot of the key ideas were there (E-H, etc.), and the very end of the story was roughly the same. But it had a ton of needless flaws that I later corrected. Various existing character arcs and motivations were dropped and never picked up, or suddenly diverted in some new and unfruitful direction; way too much time was spent on getting characters and objects from point A to point B, or otherwise sort of rambling about in a way that didn't matter in the end; it included a lot of whimsical "fun ideas" that weren't necessary and would have added clutter to an already very full canvas; etc.

I never got to the point of building a chapter-by-chapter version of this outline, but I'm sure it would have much longer than the existing third act, also.

The existing third act is pretty long, but it was actually the result of an aggressive pruning and tightening process.

If the "satisfying-ending" outline had a single greatest flaw, it was terrible pacing. Lots of slack, lots of empty space, and when big things did happen, they came out of nowhere, not really prompted by what came immediately before them.

The next draft of the ending resulted from taking the raw materials of "satisfying-ending," purging all the dross, re-thinking all the obviously flawed stuff, and then trying to rearrange the pieces in front of me in a way that was maximally "tight" and interconnected, with questions and tensions introduced and then resolved in a rapid-fire manner, and without any major thread "sitting around in the background" long enough to feel stale, or get forgotten.

That outline was in a file called "notes-good-end.txt."

Much later, I tightened up the plan even further, merging some things that were originally in separate chapters. This was in a file called "notes-true-end.txt", and -- true to its name -- was the version reflected in the book itself.

So there was "satisfying-ending," which sucked; "good-end," which was good; and "true-end," which was slightly better.

(I realize the multiplicity of the ending, and the account of deliberate "tightening" etc., is in apparent tension with my recent account of working by direct inspiration.

There are a few things I can say about this tension.

For one, it really is true that the third act of AN was more deliberately reasoned-out, and less directly-inspired, than some of the earlier stuff. This is kind of inevitable: you don't get to do anything after an ending, that's what an ending is, and so you have to deliberately try to make the final act of a story fully work as a thing unto itself, rather than writing checks in the hope of cashing them at some later point.

And separately, I do think the final version of the ending feels "more real," "more true to the work" than the satisfying-ending draft.

I think I was aware, even while composing "satisfying-ending," that it felt off and wrong in some ways. But it was only after going through the exercise of creating a complete ending -- some sort of complete ending -- that I was able to look back and say "OK, this fits, but this doesn't fit," and distill something that actually felt right.)

[lavandula-ipsum]

Chrysalis | Unclean (ch. 1/2)

Luke Skywalker x Reader | angst, hurt/comfort, non-sexual intimacy, descriptions of injuries | 1.5k words

Summary: After (Y/N) was captured, she was abandoned for unending days in hell. Only one sign indicated that she was still alive, the name she kept calling through the Force, even after she lost all hope. Luke.

For him, this has been all his fault. He should have been there.

Now his dearest friend is back to safety, sitting in the water, her spirit beaten and distorted. “Can’t get out yet. I’m not clean enough,” she insists. Luke does his best to swallow his anger. All he can do now is stay by her side.

Link to AO3 | pt. 2

With the currents of the Force feeling elusive to his grasp, Luke can’t concentrate. Too many accusations reverberate in the air. With a sigh, he pushes all distractions aside in order to see them better and represses a displeased sigh when he finds that they come from within himself. It’s the same old voices that he’s trained to push away when they come wailing bitter memories of failure. But they’re louder this time as he contemplates how they make his fists tremble on his lap no matter how hard he struggles with his wrath. But he must drown it. What they’re asking is not wise, it will not fix what’s broken. 

It won’t heal her pain. It won’t bring her peace.

There’s no changing the past, but all the chances he’s missed in the last few hours, the consequences of arriving too late when he was needed most… 

Also there’s no way he could focus on meditation with Han shuffling through their bags, his usual avoidance mixing with the dread already floating in the room with an accentuated need for a distraction.

“What are you doing?”

“Finally, thanks for stepping out of your trance, kid.” Solo signals to the bathroom door with a reluctant grimace on his face. “Does she have a change of clothes?”

Luke takes a few seconds to answer. It's true that the girls’ bag got left behind in the chaos. Barely a few days ago, (Y/N) had shrugged it off like it wasn’t a big deal. We’re supposed to be back soon, aren’t we? Little did she know about the gruesome end this mission would have. That she’d be captured

“Where’s Leia?”

“She helped (Y/N) earlier, I think, then left her soaking. She’s gone down with Lando and Chewie to try get us a passage out of this ball of mud now.” He scoffs at his friend’s sudden furrowed brow. “Don’t blame her, she said (Y/N) insisted on being left alone.”

The young Jedi’s attention is now directed towards the adjacent room, where the girl’s aura vibrates almost imperceptibly. He’s only ever sensed her this quiet when she’s sedated. However, she hasn’t slept yet. All offerings of tranquilizers were turned away, insisting that all she needed was to wash off the grime.

“Threepio?”

“They needed him, so he also went.” Han grunts, passing a hand over his face. “Look, kid, I know this isn't the best moment. But I don't wanna go and spook her. Do you have anything?” 

Take charge , he’s begging. The young Jedi swallows and starts rummaging through the few things he's brought. “Not much, a clean shirt.” 

Behind him, Artoo chirps some sassy remark he can’t answer but with an annoyed grimace. While Han keeps looking through his own things, Luke gazes down to a clean change of underwear and hopes (Y/N) won't get offended when he offers it to her. He’s then again forced out of his thoughts when the ex smuggler hands him a pair of pants.

“These are Lando’s.” 

“Yep. They're nicer. And he has to spare.”

“And you don’t? Gross.”

“Who are you to talk, you monk?”

“I wash my clothes,” Luke complains, raising an eyebrow. Han throws the pile of clothes they’ve gathered to his face, causing the astrodroid to beep in amusement. 

After rolling his eyes, Luke signals the droid to wait for him in the room while he steps into the dark corridor. 

“Hey kid, I’m heading down to the lobby to keep watch of things, ok?”

“Alright. Thank you, Han.”

The ex-smuggler barely looks at him, but he squeezes his shoulder warmly when passing by him on his way to the door. Once he’s alone again, Luke finds himself standing in front of the closed door to the bathroom, his hand hovering over the handle. The cold ghost of everything that went down mere hours before stops him from touching it. (Y/N)’s face, covered in dirt and dried blood while she looked up at him with pure terror, blinded by the light, unable to tell friends from enemies after days in the freezing dark.

His dear friend, his trusted training partner, was abandoned for unending days in the middle of hell while he couldn’t do anything other than keep looking tirelessly, her faintly calling his name through the Force the only sign that she was still even breathing. 

He wasn’t fast enough.

Luke knocks softly on the door, still feeling guilty for breaching her intimacy. The last thing he wants right now is making her feel unsafe.

“I don’t mean to interrupt. I… I brought you some clothes.”

No response is given.

“(Y/N)?” he calls, getting no answer once again. “Is everything alright?” 

Now that he thinks of it, how much time has she spent in there alone since Leia left? Way too long for someone in her state, weakened both physically and mentally. His fingers itch on the handle. What if she’s fallen ill? What if she passed out? What if she slipped? 

No, he must get his shit together. If something happened he would’ve sensed it. Right?

Only there are so many terrible things he’s missed recently, things that have hurt her. The silence makes his voice tremble. “I’m coming in, ok?”

The warm humidity inside immediately envelops him. Luke quickly steps to the bathtub hidden behind the plastifoil curtain and, just as his fingers graze it, the water stirs on the other side.

“I'm fine,” (Y/N)’s voice sounds faint and coarse but, with the possible image he could’ve found of her inert under the water still thundering in his brain, it’s the most precious sound he’s ever heard. “I just fell asleep.”

“That's dangerous.”

“It's just a bit of water.”

That's more water than he ever saw together before leaving Tatooine, worth a fortune. He remains standing there holding to the bundle of clothes, regretting his scolding tone. Through the Force, a weak shiver reaches him originating from the woman, making him realize he should probably close the door to keep the heat in.

“I’ll leave these here-” However, a tiny voice, or more like an emotion, echoes in his mind without a sound, ringing faintly in the Force. 

Please, don’t leave me , it seems to plead. 

Luke swallows thickly. “Can I do anything else for you?”

The water moves once again, and he can picture her fidgeting with her fingers. The ring she usually fiddles with rests next to the sink, however.  “Can’t get out yet. I’m not clean enough.”

The effort to articulate those few raspy words weigh heavy on her mind and body, so he probably shouldn’t push her for more explanations. Instead, Luke gently reaches out to her Force signature. His stomach turns at the fragile nature of her aura at the moment, at witnessing the brittle, paper thin ruins that remain where her strong mental shields once stood, revealing the vulnerable heart beneath. It shakes, too beaten up to cry. This is wrong, so fundamentally distorted.

And it is his fault. He should have been there. The men that got to her know nothing, nothing of what they had in their hands. They are nothing. Just the last pitiful death rattles of the Empire. It would be so easy to wipe them out alongside the rotting legacy of their filthy lives. If he goes after them on his own, hiding in the shadows, they would never see him coming. That dark tingling gathers once again around his fingers, urging him to pick up his weapon and making those imps regret ever laying a finger on her. He desires to hurt like she’s been hurt, like the whole galaxy has been hurt. To pierce the darkness responsible for this with his blade, to crack and tear those men from the inside out until there’s nothing left of them.

However, her quiet, wheezy breathing snaps him out of it. It reminds him to cast away the scarlet flare of wrath and slowly bring himself back into focus. Those thoughts are little more than delusions. It wouldn’t be wise, it wouldn’t be fair, after all that’s been discussed about how to rebuild the galaxy from the ashes left by the Empire, all the hard work Leia and so many others have put into this; after he himself, alongside (Y/N), insisted on how important it was for the leaders of the imperial remnants to be brought to justice, if he went and gutted them in the dark because of anger. There’s too much anger out there already, and he’s tired of its bitter taste in his mouth.

It takes the Jedi a bit of struggle to reconcile that what’s needed of him right now is to listen to the helpless plea coming from the water and stay . So Luke sucks up a sob himself and sits on the tiled floor, with his back against the bathtub and his head resting between his knees as he gently retreats from her mind, so bare and open at the moment, and remains close to her tiny aura in the Force.

[the-crooked-library]

Hannibal and Control

Alright so out of all the Hannibal interpretations out there, I don't think there are any that irritate me more than the idea of an unequal balance between him and Will. There's this opinion floating around - that he is so much of a control freak that he can never let Will make his own decisions; I've seen it in fic, in Tiktok videos, an occasional textpost, and it is just so grossly incorrect that I have to say something on the subject.

As early as season 2, we get this:

This is perhaps one of the most famous scenes in the series - in which Hannibal states, out loud, canonically, that the reason he is so fascinated by Will is because, unlike most other people, he can never truly predict him. No matter how much he may "whisper through the chrysalis," Will Graham will find a way to surprise him; he expressly doesn't follow the lines Hannibal has written for him, and that is a key element of their relationship throughout the show.

Now, I am not denying that control is a prominent element of Hannibal's life - it is indubitably important; but it is not everything - especially in this particular context. As much as he maintains that iron grip on himself, it does not reach nearly the same extent with Will; and it falls apart entirely by season 3, in which Hannibal explicitly gives up his control of the story, risking his life and freedom - both things he valued above all else earlier in Mizumono.

The message here is clear; as much as his control, his liberty, his own continued existence matter, Will Graham is infinitely more precious to him; and to suggest otherwise - that he would attempt to fully subjugate the man he views as his only equal, as the only deity he recognizes - frankly, he'd call it blasphemy.

Moreover, this interpretation of their relationship stems not only from a mischaracterization of Hannibal himself, but also from a rampant infantilization of Will. There is a tendency in some areas of the fandom to entirely absolve Will Graham of his guilt; and, with the culpability handed over to Hannibal in its entirety, he assumes the role of an innocent, redeemable, good person in the eyes of such viewers - which could not be further from the truth. Will Graham's agency is integral to the story; though he wrestles with some moral dilemmas throughout the series, he is ultimately responsible for his own choices, especially post-season 1. There is a clear distinction between circumstance and desire - for instance, Randall Tier did invade his home, which did force him into violence; however, it did not force him to throw aside his gun, or relish the brutality, or bring the body to Hannibal, or eat of it, or display parts of it, or store the rest in his freezer.

He did all that himself.

He knows that.

Will Graham's infantilization (no, he was manipulated, he was tricked, Hannibal tempted him into something he didn't want, he didn't want to be a murderer, he is a sweet darling boy) is rooted not only in homophobia, but also in the same sort of ableism real-world autistic adults face every day. His own desires and agency get overwritten by that ever-present bigotry; the same way that some people believe that autistics cannot give consent to sexual activity, or participate in nuanced discussions, or understand the harm or violence they do, the other characters assume that he is fundamentally an innocent right until the very end. Jack, Alana, Molly, even Chilton make that mistake; and Will does play on their ignorance within the world of the story - but it is truly discouraging to see the success of his act extend to the viewers, who should have the necessary context to understand it for the lie it is.

He has agency, and it is paramount to the themes of a series that explores queer desire, internalized homophobia, and the guilt that often surrounds this sort of experience.

As such, the story, from Hannibal's perspective, is about learning to let go of his otherwise unwavering control; it's about finding a common ground with someone that understands him, and allowing himself the final trust fall. From Will's perspective, it is a coming out story, with everything that entails - which also culminates in him taking a leap of faith into the arms of the man he loves. The reason why Hannigram is so enduring as a ship is because it is founded on that balance; to deny this equality, therefore, is to fundamentally undermine the theme of these characters' narrative, and twist them into caricatures of themselves.

In short, it does them a disservice.

[brandinotbroke]

so far it seems that the create a world tool is not as complicated as it seems

[skylark325]

Omniscient Readers View Point Read Through

Ch 53-73

Beginning: Ch 1-10

They knew the prophets would gather here and decided to use this opportunity to wipe out those who stopped reading early.

>thats… dark

[The constellation 'Abyssal Black Flame Dragon' is looking at the black flame dragon.]

>…dude stop looking at his black flame dragon

"I really thought you were dead!" "But I survived."

> sigh

"In some cases, people need to be killed…" "Don't worry. I'll kill them for you."

>i need a Heewon in my life 😭

The head rolling like a toy was covered with a cloak with '1' on it. It was the 1st Apostle.

>HSY MY LOVE

You have to hold hands with me to defeat Anna Croft and the Zarathustra!"

'I am different! Yoo Joonghyuk, hold hands with me.

>hsy REALLY wants to hold yjh’s hand huh

"He was a mouthy bastard."

>GASP Joonghyuk LANGUAGE

This jerk, he must think he was so cool. …Honestly, he was a bit cool.

>Dokja you fucking simp he just squashed a head like it was grape

"Then try it. Is your sword faster or my tongue faster?"

>kinky

"Writing is so difficult… writers are great…"

>couldn’t agree more

>the way the story distinguishes between characters and ‘real’ people is so interesting. And kind of tragic when you’re the only one who will likely stay aware until the end

The quality was so bad that if it was serialized in Textpia, it would've bombed. But that didn't matter right now.

>lmao this is why y’all need ao3

–I see. I feel an unknown wall with hyung. I can't explain it well but I like the feeling.

>like…the fourth wall or a tsundere wall?

He says that any beautiful or handsome man and woman will become concubines, while any ugly people will be killed or become slaves."

Jung Heewon frowned. "If Dokja-ssi is caught, you will become a slave."

>Lmao i adore their friendship

The character and I needed to be thinking about each other at the same time.

>does that mean yjh was thinking about kdj back when kdj was using the skill to be in his body?

…that sounds wrong

anyways

"Yoo Sangah-ssi. You will be disruptive if you keep acting like this."

>Oof why did that hurt me

>ok see this is what i meant in my post about kdj’s difference when describing the other characters and when describing yjh. he’s literally talking the king of beauty that leaves everyone spellbound and the best he could manage was ‘outstanding beauty but not his type’ and ‘objectively as beautiful as Sangah’? dokja you gay ass

However, the future that Lee Sungkook knew was only near the prologue. The evolution of the current scenario surpassed the information he knew.

>how long was that prologue for this guy to have his memories till CHAPTER 62?

[The character 'Min Jiwon' shows a weak liking towards you.]

…All my thoughts collapsed at this absurd message.

>honestly relatable

[…There is a lingering attachment, please understand.]

"Gyebaek, let's meet in the next world."

>what is this old man yaoi.

"…Won't it happen one day? If I give birth to a child, I will surely tell them what happened today."

>is…is dokja embracing the mpreg

What was this? I looked up and found that my limbs were tied up with magic power. It was a chrysalis-like appearance. Yoo Sangah's face was completely red.

> …right. Not gonna ask what’s currently going through Sangah’s head.

Everyone is the book is either kinky or gay like damn

[The character 'Cha Sangkyung' has discovered that you are a demonic enemy that shouldn't be touched.]

>Damn the foreshadowing

"Oh, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Han Sooyoung. I am Cha Sangkyung's assistant."

>MY GIRL BOSS IS HERE

"There is someone. Someone is killing the kings!"

>my little murderous bean i missed you

A furious voice rang through the battlefield.

"Kim Dokja…"

I smiled and waved towards him. A large black flag flew behind the person heading towards me.

"You came…"

>adorable

"…Kim Dokja!"

Yoo Joonghyuk was chasing after me at a scary speed.

>YJH: i just had such a cool entry, PAY ATTENTION TO ME

> yjh really loves saying kdj’s name huh going KIM DOKJA! every three sentences

>god the little sister is just as grumpy as her brother

It was because there wasn't any king in Seoul who had more coins than me right now.

>kdj: you may be op but you forgot the power of INVESTMENT MUHAHAHAHA

The flying Yoo Joonghyuk hit a barrier, bounced in the opposite direction and hit another barrier and landed on the ground after repeating this ping-pong action five or six times.

>I…dokja what the fuck 💀

———

Next- Ch 73-92

Prev: Ch 32-52

Beginning: Ch 1-10

[soverane]

have you seen the arlecchino ult leak posted just now and how do we feel abt arlenora now

[genshin leaks ahead!]

[sobs, falls at your feet, weeping, wailing, curls into a ball] hi meadows!!! <3 i was having a field day... i didn't know what to expect with her leaks but the parallels with signora as well as signora's own theme in her boss battle phase 1 ost leak was not on my 2024 bingo card but here we are...! omfg i am devastated in the best possible way... i'm gonna try to collect my thoughts here...

arlecchino's constellation, "ignis purgatorius"

it means "cleansing" or "purifying fire", and this is interesting bc signora (then rosalyne) "sacrificed her [physical, mortal] body to become the embodiment of liquid fire herself." i'm not sure what being the "embodiment of liquid fire" really entails for signora but the crimson witch of flames and the pale flame (specifically the flower, "stainless bloom") artifact sets tell us that rosalyne was a living being who still looked human, but whose essence is made up of "liquid fire." that, and her newfound purpose is to aid the tsaritsa in "cleansing" the world of its darkness and corruption. (the shivada jade gemstone description is my tsarlyne roman empire but that's a ship for another day <3) idk why arlecchino's constellation is so conceptually similar to signora's whole "liquid fire," "cleanse the world in silent ice" schtick, but it is giving me brain rot, so, yes.

arlecchino's boss form

her splash art complements signora's so much it's driving us all insane!!!!! i saw a video leak of her boss gameplay and it seems her 'wings' (?) resemble spider legs more actually! she uses them to walk, among other things. i wonder where this is going! but ok, sure! bug yuri <3 spider x moth yuri <3

arlecchino's boss battle phase 1 ost

of all the leaked content it's her ost that did it for me. towards the end of the track (2:19-2:30) WE HEAR SIGNORA'S THEME. I KNOW HER THEME BY HEART CHRYSALIS SUSPIRII AND SALTATIO FAVILLAE ARE FOREVER IMPRINTED IN MY BRAIN. I KNOW HER THEME WHEN I HEAR IT. so why!?!? what is her theme doing in arlecchino's phase 1 ost, and what does this mean! T_T what was the reason!!!! why would they do this to me!!!!! i'm not ok!!! if there's one thing i know about genshin's music team and lore team it's that the smallest details are not put there without intention, so i'm curious about the inspiration for arlecchino's ost and why it includes elements of signora's theme. the boss battle ost's of childe and scaramouche don't have signora's theme at all, so what makes arlecchino's different?

for those less familiar with signora's theme (there is a fatui theme, which is recurrent throughout all their ost's, and then you have each harbinger's individual themes unique to them only.), you can hear it in chrysalis suspirii between 2:08-2:32 (imo the saddest, most beautifully haunting, most romantic version of it) and in saltatio favillae between 1:16-2:24 (imo the most dramatic, phantom-of-the-opera-esque version of it). there's just... so much grief and tragedy in her theme that i've never heard in the other harbingers'. elogia cinerosa also shares this leitmotif between 2:11-2:43, and it's this version of signora's theme that's heard in arlecchino's phase 1 ost.

someone on twitter made a very cool music analysis of this if anyone's interested!

anyway arlenora isn't beating the moth to flame allegations, they're not beating the secret affair allegations, nor the doomed lovers allegations.

now how do we feel about the fact that arlecchino has an agreement with the tsaritsa that lets her use the hydro gnosis for her own interests before surrendering it to the tsaritsa, and how do we feel about arlecchino possibly using the hydro gnosis to resurrect signora :D

[its-to-the-death]

Villain Song Showdown Preliminary - My Little Pony Part 1

The top three songs will move onto the final preliminary for MLP

Mod comment: You guys got me listening to the Rainbow Rocks album again because of this.

Songs below the cut

This Day Aria - Villain: Queen Chrysalis

Better Way to Be Bad - Villains: Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek

In Our Town - Villain: Starlight Glimmer

The Film Flam Brothers Song/Super Speedy Cider Squeeze 6000 - Villains: Flim and Flam

Let's Have a Battle (Of the Bands) - Villains: The Dazzlings (Adagio, Aria, and Sonata)

Under Our Spell - Villains: The Dazzlings (Adagio, Aria, and Sonata)

Welcome to the Show - Villains: The Dazzlings (Adagio, Aria, and Sonata) (The first part is the Dazzlings only and then the Mane 6 come in and there's some back and forth)

[dapper-lil-arts]

Rank your villains even the redeemed ones from best to worst

i don't know all of them by heart so I'll just point out a top 5 1 - Chrysalis is number 1 because pure evil with no tragic backstory, a petty loser that is bitter and lonely and desperate and despite being so powerful, continues to pick the worst battles lmao. Her voice acting is impecable and her design is incredible.

2 - Wallflower Blush isn't written perfectly by any means but she's the most personal antagonist in all of the series, is one that has a specific grudge with 1 character and no desire to take over the world, and does not steal magic or even mind control, She is essentially Sunset's nemesis which is incredible bc Wallflower can't even throw a punch. 3 - Discord is the quintessential chaos god, bizzare, strange, unempathetic, and thinks and acts on another level, and his pride and lack of empathy eventually leads to his downfall because of course, he underestimates that people can band together to beat him. Also he's incredibly terrifyingly powerful and his nerf is that he's overconfident and simply doesn't behave cleverly because he doesn't need to, heh.

4 - The Dazzlings are just phenomenal, usually i wouldn't care for pointless mind control plots, but not only do they have a diffrent style by having it done with singing (because they're SIRENS) but theyre also in a MOVIE about a BATTLE OF THE BANDS, that is just perfectly composed and leads to an incredible finale of song vs song with the three dazzlings being legit entertaining even individually.

5 - Trixie is just a comical funny petty idiot that is way in over her head, and I love that her motive is her own feeling of inadequacies being projected towards twilight. "She's just so perfect at everything, I wanted to beat her at SOMETHING!!" And she makes for a wonderful character that you love to hate and even a fun redeemed gal.

[leavemebetosleep]

WIP. a very self indulgent crossover of my two favorite Hasbro shows.

I was originally just gonna draw Fluttershy as Jem but then I thought, screw it, I'm going all in. no one can stop me.

also no one asked but if you want my theoretical cast for this crossover it's under the cut:

The holograms were the hardest bc there's not a 1:1 personality or design equivalent for everyone, but I tried to to make it work.

Jem/Jerrica: Fluttershy

Synergy: Twilight

Kimber: Rainbow Dash

Aja: Apple Jack

Shana: Rarity

Raya: Pinkie

Rio doesn't exit in this AU bc it's my AU and I do what I want.

The starlight girls: The CMC and Spike

Pizzazz: Chrysalis

Stormer: Cozy Glow

Roxy: Tirek

Jetta: Sombra

Before anyone gets mad at me, I cast the Misfits like this purely for the visuals bc I'm doing art not writing a fanfiction. So I figured having the main villains of one show as the villains of another would be fun. Yes I know Cozy is way meaner than Stormer, and no I'm not trying to imply she's gay for RD. It's not that deep. I'm just imagining what would look cool on a poster. I stand by Cryssie as Pizzazz tho. That one is perfect.

And last but not least:

Riot: Discord

Minx: Starlight

Rapture: Trixie

The Stingers were the easiest lmao.

If you wanna suggest more characters go for it bc I might make this a series of art bc drawing this has been fun so far.