#i am probably missing a bunch

[mxtxmusings]

svsss characters as hozier songs

bingqiu weird mushroom time - in a week

and you haven’t moved an inch / such that i would not know / if you sleep always like this / the flesh calmly going cold

you cannot tell me this doesn’t give major binghe shizun is not dead i can bring him back vibes

this whole song is just essentially that entire arc

sqh literally complained about bingqiu being too cottagecore

what is more cottagecore than just rotting in the woods next to your lover

we lay here for years or for hours / your hand in my hand / so still and discreet / so long we become the flowers

mushroom sqq

honestly there’s no particular line that stands out to me

besides the refrain i’ll be home with you

i can already imagine the bamboo house

there’s just something so macabre but also tender about this song

PLUS IT’S A DUET

THIS SONG WAS LITERALLY MADE FOR THEM YOUR HONOUR

bingqiu post abyss - as it was

just as it was, baby / before the otherness came

and tell me if somehow / some of it remained / how long you would wait for me? / how long i’ve been away

the idea of a haggard hero who comes home and is greeted by their lover

and comforted by their unchanging love for them

it’s what binghe wishes he could have gotten after he fights his way out of the abyss

but strangely i think the hero coming home is actually shen qingqiu in some ways

lbh came home literally but it is sqq who realizes that he never changed

aka binghe is still a simp

i keep on putting bingqiu together

shang qinghua - be

when the man who gives the order / is born next time ‘round on the boat sent back

when i have no kind words left, love for you

be as you’ve always been (lover be good to me)

if this whole song doesn’t scream shang qinghua during the side stories

idk how to help you

there’s literally a part about when the master is crossed

he literally begs mobei jun to treat him better like idk how to tell you how obvious these parallels are

the energy is 100% different though

but i like that mobei-jun doesn’t magically change or feel different about sqh

turns out their dynamic is just weird as fuck

even jesus can’t take the wheel of their relationship

your honour they are simply incompetent and incapable of proper communication despite one of them being a demon general and the other one being god

mobei-jun - blood upon the snow

the world that hardens as the harsher winter holds / the parent forced to eat its young before it grows

it’s not my arms that will fail me / but this world takes more strength than it gave me

are you seeing the vision

i mean it’s pretty obvious from the cover art

and also the general vibes

the song talks a lot about the brutality of nature, of the world, and how difficult it is to survive

there is a sense of isolation in the song, as though it is better not to get close than to be hurt because that is all they have ever experienced

honestly felt like the whole situation with mobei-jun’s uncle and also his general distrust of people

liu qingge - shrike

i couldn’t utter my love when it counted / ah, but i’m singing like a bird ‘bout it now

this is more about blaming yourself for a breakup

even though that relationship wasn’t always positive, there were still good aspects to it that are missed

but in this case, i see it more as the regret of not even trying

also because i think lqg is incapable of winning i’m so sorry

you snooze you lose

not like he could compete against the protagonist but man didn’t even try

it may seem like i always bully him (which i do) but fun fact he is one of my favourites

bro literally fumbled so bad with sqq though i’m sorry how does he have negative rizz

yue qingyuan - foreigner’s god

she feels no control of her body / she feels no safety in my arms

you cannot tell me that this doesn’t feel like his relationship with both shen jiu and shen yuan

except not literally cheating but yknow

like the vibes are all there istg

i promise all of the pieces are there

i just can’t explain it

like he lost sj when he left him and then he loses him again after the qi deviation

it’s just hopelessly hanging onto somebody that you never had to begin with yknow

and i mean shen yuan is technically a foreigner…

tianlang-jun - jackie and wilson

looking up from a cigarette, and she’s already left / i start digging up the yard for what’s left of me and our little vignette

i think this song really depends on your interpretation of it!

i’ve seen people say it’s about a person who fell in love with this woman and begins to fantasize about a future with her only for her to not return their feelings

or they are disappointed by the idealized version of a woman they have created in their head, only to realize that they’re not interested in the real person

i think the first one is definitely more accurate to his situation with su xiyan but i could see the second one working too when he thinks that she betrayed him?

either way the naive love from this song felt like the right fit for our resident teenage girl stuck in a dilf demon’s body

[wordsinhaled]

my ‘crowley loves aziraphale’ post needs a companion because there needs to be absolutely no doubt that aziraphale is ABSOLUTELY as gone on crowley so…

here i am just thinking about aziraphale’s “smitten, i believe…you’re being silly 🥰” and “why don’t you wait inside? you like waiting inside” (aziraphale knows what crowley likes, what makes him happy!). it’s aziraphale telling crowley he gets plenty of use out of the[ir] bookshop and it’s aziraphale making sure crowley feels welcome to come in whenever he likes and that it’s crowley’s as much as his to the point where crowley just feels comfortable making hot chocolate there

it’s the way he touches crowley so easily (hand on the shoulder in the s2 finale, arm around the waist in the graveyard support, hand on the chest and sliding down, the way aziraphale clasps crowley’s hand in both of his with such enthusiasm in 1941 when it could’ve been a prim handshake, the way their hands almost curl together when they’re dancing at the ball…)

(and that last one makes me unwell, because if their ball had been during the actual regency they would both have been wearing gloves… but at aziraphale’s ball, their hands can touch without any layer between, and he even seizes crowley by the hand to pull him onto the dance floor like he’s waited his entire life to do it)

thinking about the way aziraphale has always looked at crowley from the very beginning, soft, soft, so impossibly, unbearably soft. the way he darts little glances at him whenever he can, like he’s indulging himself in looking

thinking of the way he takes obvious pleasure in introducing crowley to people and saying they go back a long time. thinking of how when gabriel spoke about one person making everything alright aziraphale immediately thought of crowley

thinking about how we’ve always seen them dine or drink in public places but then in 1941 they’re having a private candlelit dinner, just the two of them

thinking of the way aziraphale looks at crowley at the end of the season - as crowley’s putting his glasses back on for the final time - in this earnest, intent, searching way. even in the midst of this argument he’s thinking why are you closing yourself off from me? you don’t do that anymore, we’re not like that anymore. it’s like he’s trying to read crowley’s features, like everything will fall into place if they just look at each other properly

thinking of how aziraphale touches his own lips after the kiss like he can press the memory of crowley’s mouth into them to keep forever

in short… aziraphale loves crowley so much it’s devastating

[honeyflashbang]

My theory on Sampo's true identity...

(Minor Spoilers for 2.4) (also, I’m no expert in… anything, really, but these are just my ramblings).

So, this has probably been mentioned before, but I have a teeny-tiny theory about Sampo’s true identity, and it relates to Finnish mythology.

So, “Sampo” in and of itself doesn’t have a set meaning, but it has its roots in Finnish mythology, particularly the “Kalevala” which is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry. In it, a blacksmith god by the name of Seppo Ilmari(nen) forges the mythical device known as “The Sampo”. It’s never quite explained what The Sampo really is; some versions depict it as a mill, others as a cornucopia from which bountiful creations flow from, and some even have it as being a world tree/world pillar, so what The Sampo really is, isn’t entirely known. But, what is known, is that it brought riches and good fortune to its holder (again, the same as the cornucopia from Greek mythology).

But why am I mentioning all of this? Why bring up the Kalevala? It could be that Hoyo just chose the name “Sampo” for some flavour—befitting of a character who magics up relics from seemingly thin air and is trying to create riches—and yeah, it’s a possibility…

Until I saw these two screenshots from the 2.4 story:

You know what this means, right? 

Kalevala is a real planet in Hoyo’s Star Rail universe, and I find it awfully coincidental that they would use this name for a planet and not have it related to a certain blue haired conman, especially since The Sampo is such a pivotal element in the plot of the Kalevala—there is no way this is a coincidence (I refuse to believe it).

This leads me to believe that Kalevala is Sampo’s real home world, and is where he originates from.

Now, this is all well and good, knowing where “The Sampo” hails from, but I want to focus on its creator—Seppo Ilmari(nen)—and his parallels to a certain blue haired conman. For one, Ilmari(nen)’s name is quite interesting as the ‘Ilma’ part is Finnish for ‘air’ or ‘weather’, and as we know, Sampo’s element is that of ‘wind’ (And also the fact that Ilmari(nen) is credited as “Godlike smith-hero and creator of the sky”. I could go into a whole spiel about Ilmari(nen) and Qlipoth swinging their giant hammers in tandem together for all eternity (Go Sampard! Geppie is Qlipoth's true heir, you can't convince me otherwise!), but that’s for another conspiracy theory lol).

So, ‘Ilma’ means ‘air’, and Sampo wields ‘wind’.

Cool.

If the parallels ended there, I’d just say I was being crazy… but there’s more.

Sampo’s 4th (and arguably best) eidolon is called “The Deeper the Love, the Stronger the Hate”. Two out of his six eidolons refer to 'love', whilst the other 4 are to do with wealth and riches. The wealth and richest aspect leans towards The Sampo of mythology, whilst the ‘love’ aspect, well…

According to the story, Seppo Ilmari(nen) is the unluckiest bastard alive when it comes to love. Like, seriously. His whole storyline is that he can’t find a woman. For one, Seppo Ilmari(nen) is double crossed by his so called buddy, Väinämöinen, into creating The Sampo for the evil witch Louhi of Pohjola in exchange for her daughter’s hand in marriage (which, Ilmari didn’t even want in the beginning), but when the poor guy actually sees the daughter and falls in love with her (and subsequently creates the Sampo—after failing miserably a number of times, mind you—he creates a crossbow, a boat, a cow(wtf?) and a plough, all which are somehow either evil or flawed), she ups and just leaves him hanging! (in the original runes, however, he is successful in gaining a wife, as his ‘unlucky in love’ spiel was later added by Lönnrot in compiling the Kalevala).

As with any mythology and re-telling of it, there’s so many different versions of the same event. In “The Maiden of the North”, a 1898 opera written by Oskar Merikanto, both Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen compete for the chance to marry Louhi’s daughter, who is then mentioned as being “Ilmari(nen)’s first wife” and who later dies to Kullervo’s curse (apparently she was a bit of a bitch to Kullervo by taunting and tormenting the poor boy—who was a child slave mind you!). Distraught, Ilmari(nen) forges himself a wife of gold and silver, but he finds her to be too cold and callous—he forges her out of love but only finds hate—so he tries to gift her to Väinämöinen (who doesn’t want her either, lol), and suggests he cast her back into the furnace and to “forge from her a thousand trinkets”.

Here’s the accompanying poem:

Never, youths, however wretched,

Nor in future, upgrown heroes,

Whether you have large possessions,

Or are poor in your possessions,

In the course of all your lifetime,

While the golden moon is shining,

May you woo a golden woman,

Or distress yourselves for silver,

For the gleam of gold is freezing,

Only frost is breathed by silver.

It is apparently your standard Aesop’s fable of “money can’t buy happiness”, which is something else I see in our dear old Sampo Koski. During our time in Belobog, we see how different he acts with the Underworld and Overworlders. To the poor, he actually seems approachable (albeit a bit of a nuisance), going so far as to help the Underworlders (an example being the questline “Survival Wisdom” in which he and Peak set up a business together renting out his tools to help the miners make a decent wage to support their families). In contrast, we actively see Sampo being very hostile towards the Overworlders, scamming them and putting the nobles in their place or setting them up to be caught by the Silvermane Guards (an example being during the museum questline where you discover his identity as “Mr Cold Feet”. Sampo clearly states to who he thinks is his mark that ‘we are not friends’ in a very hostile manner, something which we’ve not seen from Sampo before as he is usually quite amicable). 

For all Sampo’s showboating and flashing his money around, he helps where it counts. He wants to make money, sure, but not at the detriment of the people who need it the most, only to those with excess.

Anyway, back to him being unlucky in love…

In another rune entitled “Kosinta”, Ilmari(nen) goes on a journey to compete for Hiisi’s daughter, and wins by completing various feats, one of them being “ploughing a field full of snakes”:

And as we know, Sampo is very heavy on the snake motifs (the head of the snake on his shoulders, the spine wrapped around him, the daggers are its fangs…etc.)

So that’s another interesting link between Seppo Ilmari(nen) and Sampo Koski.

So, why have I gone on this long winded tangent about Seppo Ilmari(nen) when I’m supposed to be talking about Sampo Koski?

Well, that’s because I think Sampo Koski’s real name is (or a variant of) Ilmarinen.

In the Hoyo universe, I believe Ilmarinen came from the planet Kalevala and ‘created’ the persona of Sampo Koski, much like how in the Kalevala, Seppo Ilmari(nen) forged The Sampo.

As I’ve listed above, there’s so many links between the two:

“Air” as a name and “Wind” as an element.

Seppo Ilmari(nen) ploughed a field of snakes to win Hiisi’s daughter’s hand in marriage, whilst Sampo Koski relies heavily on snake motifs for his attire.

Sampo’s two eidolon names that relate to love (which are completely different from the other 4 eidolon names), whilst Seppo Ilmari(nen) is known to be unlucky in love.

I’m pretty damn sure Sampo creates his own bombs and tinkers with the old relics to bring them back to life, whereas Seppo Ilmari(nen) is a smith who created the dome of the sky! They’re both artificers!

And now the revelation that a planet by the name of “Kalevala” exists is no mere coincidence.

So, either Sampo is Ilmari(nen) - or! - Sampo is a puppet (like Herta) created by someone called Ilmari(nen). 

(I would love if his 5* version is him with this name).

Right, I’m finished rambling. Gonna go huff some copium...

[sweet-milky-tea705]

Would you guys be mad at me if i said i dont think touchstarved is gonna be that good when it comes out

[veryrealimagination]

I have a Thought that won't go away.

So, in S9, Murdoch was drugged by tea brought to him from a source that he trusted. Rightfully, as it was from the hotel he and his wife were living in. It wouldn't be too out of character that he wouldn't accept random food from people. Perhaps, only his wife and those he would be close to in Station House 4. Brackenreid, George, Henry.

Then, comes in this strange man. A detective from 1, which had several corrupt officers. Who he barely knows. Confirms his murder and helps solves another. Comes back because he was kicked out of one. Disappears at times. Comes back to work in freeing Murdoch, and succeeds.

Murdoch doesn't know Watts that well when the wine episode comes up. From what we see on screen, it's only a couple of cases with 4. But he trusts him with wine tasting. Giving him multiple small sips of wine. There are two, nay, three?, notable times where he's had alcohol. S2, absinthe testing for a case. S4, when he confesses about letting Ava Moon escape. S7, when trying to propose to Julia. Such a short time to trust someone that implicitly with something that can incapacitate.

Like I said, it's a Thought.

[insecateur]

Me, looking at vulgar french words for penis: Oh neat they also have Verga

Also tbt to the time a teacher of mine said "Le bilo bitte" instead of Bic and we spent a full hour laughing

"verge" is commonly used in french smut and is at least marginally better than "membre" which is a nightmare imo. "organe" is another euphemism which i feel like you need to be very confident in order to pull off. i haven't written smut in french in so long i'd like to write some this year

"bite" is always funny altho i do think going a step further and reaching for "teub" gives it a real special flavor

[vulpinesaint]

the sheer number of incredibly intricate worlds and characters that i have created with people who i am no longer friends with so that i can no longer talk about those characters or use those settings. i only got half the dog in the divorce do you know what i mean

[magentagalaxies]

going to a comedy open mic tomorrow mostly to watch my friends (it's at a cool venue that my improv troupe performs at once a month and a few improv troupe friends are doing standup there) but when these friends were asking if i'd be interested in coming they were like "btw there's usually a ton of open spots on show days if YOU want to do something... and they're not strict about it only being standup either, people have done character pieces and sketches etc like they embrace the weirdness... and they're not strict about time limits you could probably do anything between three and eight minutes... sometimes if there's not enough people signed up they'll even let you go twice..." and i'm like god damn it i thought i was gonna take a break from aubrey but this setup is like tailor made for an aubrey appearance lmao

[astrxealis]

making myself suffer looking thru ffxiv stuff on tumblr when i could be playing ffxiv rn but i eternally love and miss ffxiv

[irregularbillcipher]

honestly something that is more annoying than "that character would not fucking say that" or "i'm assigning you to actually look at the source material again" type headcanons are when you come across a headcanon where there is nothing technically wrong with it and you can't sit there and say "well you just don't get this like i do" because there is no actual solid evidence that whatever they're saying can't be the case, but it still feels like mischaracterization because of your own way too intense headcanons. and you're aware of that so you just have to sit there silently telling yourself "that is just as valid a read of the character as my interpretation :)" and trying not to go ham because you know you have genuinely no justification for feeling like canon is being ignored

[orcelito]

OK WAIT here's a ITNL chapter 14 section that's not really spoilers. just a sweet lil section

after this is where it's more Spoilers. but for now. HERE U go. happy birthday vash & also Uhhhh @ ITNL readers I PROMISE i am working on the chapter. things r just hard lol

[coquelicoq]

i have finished the first part (of five) of les misérables! that's the good news. the bad news is that i now have to read the second part, which opens with a 70-page section entitled "waterloo". like babe i do not know what ANY of these nouns are though. i'm getting that there was a battle at which lots of people died horribly (as often happens in battles) and we are now describing the battleground thirty years later. okay so are we gonna do this for the whole 70 pages or...

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

What's your favourite anime op?

Ahhh that's way too hard, there's no way I can only choose one, so I guess I'll just go with the first few to pop into my head (I've probably forgotten a bunch though). I'd say I like most of these because both the song and visuals are on point, so in no particular order

[randomwriteronline]

welcome back to humanized bionicles today the menu has Creepers from the Deepers (yet to be creepified), unwilling inhabitants of Australia-But-Worse's Atlantis, and flying kids who beat the shit out of each other in the heart of God

i once again used up too much space in the tags so here i am makin notes again bc im stupid

the Barraki were canonically handsome before getting locked down in Underwater Fort Knox so thats why they look like that (hopefully) look vaguely attractive

Ehlek has Big Pupils bc he has animal-like eyes (very little visible sclera) and his hair is more like lil spikes or fins he can pull up

the philosophy for Pridak was "Sidorak WISHES he was him"

i know the Mahri Nui matoran are always in bubbles but fuck it floaty hair babeyyyy

much like Voya Nui matoran they have scars from Karzhani

unlike all other matoran the Av-Matoran do share somatic traits: long noses, arched upper lips, thin eyes with flat lower eyelids, and very curly hair. they also all have a strand of hair braided

all of these traits are based on Takua/Takanuva's design here

[shopcat]

also just for funs bc i'm for the actual first time just taking whoever i LIKE instead of trying for a particular Theme these are my current villagers ^_^ plus tybalt for spacing