#//ismene i love your brain

[arcxus-of-altihex]

That retro anime style >>>

Given that the "In Clockwork Lands" campaign I'm playing takes place in ~1920s this is the perfect vibe~ I wanted old 90s anime movie posters for our party <3

[lutzgocelly]

Hello! I was in the middle of writing up my own daemon AU and I couldn't believe how similar of a wavelength we were on when I saw your art! I'm very curious to know what the frogs & others daemons are since you teased it in the ao3 art fic :)

Hi! Yess more daemon stuff 🤲 now I'm very curious to see what you'll do, please tag me if/when you post it!!

So, I didn't chose one for all of them but here's what I have:

Ford: A pine marten named Espen, simply because they seem very smart and quick animals and Ford is always so full of energy! Espen could help Ford by gathering people, maybe she screams too? 😂

Dex: A hedgehog named Delanira. It's that good old "seem spiky on the outside but has a soft center" heh it fits him well and it helps that hedgehogs are so cute 🥺 I can see clearly them both trying to fix something together (or more like, Delanira telling Dex why X isn't working and them having a Big Brain talk about it all).

Nursey: An European robin named Ismene. I wanted straight away to choose a bird for him for its link with poetry and the arts. I can easily imagine him walking around with Ismene on his shoulder, both wearing autumn clothes and I was SOLD. I love Robin's colors as well so it was an easy choice ❤️

Chowder: A little mouse named Diantha. I gotta admit, I chose the mouse because they're adorable but also I'm always reminded of Redwall and how being small doesn't stop you from achieving great things? (Big LOTR theme there too) I think Chowder often stays in the background being happy for everybody but also has this huge inner strength. And it's cute :)

Thank you for this ask! I love to talk about this daemon au so 🥺❤️

[augerer]

@littleplant1998 tagged me for my favorite books i’ve read in 2021!  This hasn’t been a great reading year for me (i think i tallied 15 or so books?) but here we are.  I’m tagging @outlaw-baby @lowbrw @huilannie @ismenes @underthegibbousmoon @aurorean and anyone else who wants to do this (feel free to @ me in your post).

Go Tell It On The Mountain, James Baldwin. Definitely the favorite thing I’ve read this year, by a country mile.  I’d never read any Baldwin before but I definitely will read more.  There’s a real . . . vitality to it, or heart, or maybe a momentum?  Which makes it riveting and a page turner for me in a way that other entries in the “historical fiction centering the downtrodden” genre usually are not (even if I also like them).  All the female characters are drawn with a lot of care and attention and kindness, and are allowed both vulnerabilities and bitter edges. . . I enjoyed also the shifting POV structure, getting all of these perspectives on the tragedy of a family, but also its hopes and its loves.  It’s been a while now since I read it and I don’t think I’m doing it justice.

In Other Lands, Sarah Rees Brennan. A portal fantasy about the most annoying little bisexual boy in the world escaping a deeply sterile home life for a world of elves!  and mermaids!  and... fantasy racism?  I read it and then immediately caused sabrina @lowbrw to read it and then we spent endless hours strategizing about how with only 8 small to medium sized edits we could fix her i.e. convert it from “charming but flawed romp” to “one of our favorite ever books”.  edit entries vary from “slightly better prose” to “more interesting subversive elf gender” to “more coherent worldbuilding to support more consistent revolutionary ethics”.  ultimately though despite thinking that the way the book treats its fantasy war crimes is unrigorous, probably nothing else i’ve read this year has beat it this year for sheer amount of enjoyment directly or indirectly brought to me.  so here it is.  and thanks sabrina, for everything, mwah.

Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold. While we’re on the topic of fantasy war crimes!  i don’t know how much this really stuck in my brain, but i’ve always meant to read more of the vorkosigan saga and i’ve been on a huge space opera kick recently.  the momentum of this book is so fun. . . cordelia’s a really magnetic protagonist and i enjoy how cordelia and aral’s experiences surviving together in the beginning of the novel are like a secret (to other characters) emotional core for the rest of the book.

Forugh Farrokhzad Poetry (assorted) I read selections from her Michael Hillmann biography, as well as from this website.  Like the Baldwin, it’s a little blurry to me now and I’m not going to do it justice.  But her work is really silky stuff, really suggestive of hm.  The feminine urge to have a decadently rich internal world.  Speaking of poetry, the other poet I really enjoyed reading last year is Frank Bidart, who I’m intending to read more of this year. . . I also read the Kochan chapbook by Jack Gilbert, which I’ve been meaning to post my scans of online when I have the time because it’s hard to acquire (I borrowed it from my university library).

the beast in the jungle, henry james

i’d read turn of the screw before, by henry james, and not been particularly into it, so i wasn’t expecting too much from the beast in the jungle.  and it’s truly frustratingly dense, and the sentence structures he uses can be torturous.  but the types of observations he makes, the way he describes human tendencies, is very interesting and specific.  Also fundamentally its a story about a self-obsessed guy ruining his own life which is fun.

[getlitaesthetic]

I’m interested to see what the brothers would be like if they had a child (probably with the mc purposely or accidentally) and the fucked up family dynamics that would come of it, like would they full on discard the child? Raise them to be just like their dad? I wouldn’t be surprised if Beel pulled a full on Kronos from Greek mythology

Also asked by an anon: “What if mc somehow got pregnant? How would the brothers be towards them during their pregnancy and how will they deal with the child?”

(Undateables version found Here)

Lucifer

It is on purpose, and Lucifer is the most excited to be having a child.

Will carefully monitor MC’s diet, exercise, leisure activities, everything they do to an extent far surpassing anything he’s done before.

He becomes obsessed with the child’s health.

Not that that stops him from injuring MC, but now he’s very careful with what he does to avoid any harm coming to his child. After all, they can’t get comfortable here.

When the child is finally born, it’s immediately taken from MC.

“I can’t have you passing on your weakness to my daughter, can I?”

He names her Lilith. It was always going to be Lilith.

Lucifer is a loving father, and abusive partner. MC only gets to see Lilith as a prize for a job well done. They become the most well-behaved human in the realm for a chance to see their child. It is such a rare occurrence, their daughter rarely remembers them.

He teaches Lilith to be a true demon, despite their half human nature. Raises them into the Devildom and is a careful protector to ensure that no corrupting influences touch her but his own.

Eventually, Lilith is ready.

MC is so excited to see their daughter, as soon as she enters the room, she’s swept into a big hug. 

MC gasps, and gurgles as they choke on their own blood, Lilith giggling in their arms. 

“Did I do a good job, Daddy?”

“You did perfectly, Princess.”

Mammon

This was definitely an accident

Not only was it an accident, but he may or may not have freaked out a little bit.

“Do you KNOW how expensive children are?”

But then he realizes that everything has a value.

So he sucks it up, and helps MC get through the pregnancy unscathed... Although he may or may not have chained them to the wall so they didn’t get into trouble while he was handling business.

When the boy is born, Mammon doesn’t bother to name him. He leaves MC to take care of the child. They name him Najjad, and dedicate all of their time to raising him to be happy, and healthy, and as human as possible.

He is a handsome child, born with a head of pale white hair, and MC’s eyes. Skin smooth and unblemished, with an easy, happy smile. They love him. They would do anything for Mammon in order to continue being allowed to raise their son.

But the fantasy is short lived.

Mammon quickly grows tired of MC’s time being split between him and the boy, growing greedy once again for their full attention. 

It isn’t long before he has lined up a buyer. It is only days after that that, without warning, Najjad is taken from his parent’s arms, and delivered to a shady demon willing to pay a pretty penny for the offspring of one of the Avatars.

“Finally! About time I got you to myself again, eh?”

Leviathan

This was long since planned. It was only a matter of time before one of his brothers had a child, and Levi wanted one first. Maybe it was the envy in him. Okay, okay. Probably it was the envy in him.

MC is already locked in his room, so it’s easy to hide the pregnancy, just in case something happens. After all, the last thing he wants is for his brothers to know it was a race, and then for him to lose.

Or worse, for one of his brothers to hurt MC while they were still pregnant.

Levi forces MC to do a lot of floating during the pregnancy, and to have a water birth.

However, he is less careful than most of the others. Constantly forgetting to be gentle, always pushing and grabbing MC a little too hard.

Still, the baby boy is born healthy. He doesn’t look quite human, even at birth. Long ragged gills cut sharp lines along his throat, and his eyes are slit. A long black tail extends from his spine, with a fin on the end. The rest of him looks human enough.

Leviathan eventually settles on the name Mizuko. MC is not given the chance to disagree.

MC is still not allowed to leave the room, but is given ample time with their son, helping to raise him, as long as they follow Levi’s strict instructions. He often takes Mizuko away for significant periods of time, disappearing along with him. MC can only imagine they are in the Devildom’s waterways, their son learning skills they’d rather him not know.

Oh, but how good to be alive, and a parent. Even if they were chained to this room, to the torture of being Levi’s plaything. Mizuko makes the whole thing so much more bearable. In fact, they consider trying to get Levi to have another, if only so that they may have a chance to always have one at home.

“I did it, MC! I won! I wonder what Lucifer will have to say about that.”

Satan

A pregnancy with Satan was planned, and actually suggested by MC.

They wanted to show their devotion to him, still so unaware of how he had manipulated every aspect of their life.

He seems so excited when MC tells them that it’s happened, they’re pregnant.

He treats them so sweetly throughout their pregnancy, but continues drugging, manipulating, and casting spells on them without their knowledge and without regard to their child.

It is only luck that none of them hurt their baby.

MC gives birth to a beautiful daughter, who will grow to have soft blonde ringlets and beautiful blue eyes, just like her father. She glows softly. 

Satan and MC agreed to the name Ismene for a girl early in the pregnancy, and once she arrived, it seemed just perfect. 

She grows to be smart as a whip, but cruel. Satan is so proud. MC begins to realize they don’t know everything about their husband after all.

They sit in the garden, Ismene practicing a spell to set a flower ablaze. MC tries to frown, to scold her, but their face does not budge.

“How lovely,” they hear themselves say, as if far away. “Our little girl is growing so quickly.”

Satan kissed their forehead and knelt in front of their daughter.

“Remember, you have to want it to die, with all of the rage in your heart,” he instructs her.

She smiles, looking at MC as the flower begins to burn.

Asmodeus

A child with Asmodeus is unplanned, but not unexpected.

With all of the unprotected sex he has with MC, and how frequently? It was only a shock it took so long.

Besides, MC no longer had the brain capacity to agree or plan anything. All they wanted was more of their demon master, filling them up, using them, making them worth something.

What could possibly fill them more than a child?

Asmo thinks it’s adorable, to watch MC’s stomach grow as they lay there, mindless and drooling. Desperate for anything Lust could offer.

It does not affect his daily routine in the slightest. He continues to use and abuse MC as he sees fit whenever he desires, and still disappears for weeks at a time, leaving MC’s health up to whatever brother happens to remember to feed them.

They give birth alone, confused as to why they are in pain and what is happening.

When Asmo returns, he leaves MC in their pain and filth, taking the baby girl away to clean her up and dress in lovely silks.

He names her Bellerose Fayre, and is the only one of the brothers to give his child a middle name.

She is perfect, and would pass for human if it wasn’t for her long, winding tail that reaches and grasps with it’s velvety texture, pulling in anything it can touch.

What happens next is... incredibly disturbing, to say the least. If you are particularly sensitive, I would recommend skipping to Beelzebub.

Asmo is inseparable from his daughter. Always keeping her dressed in beautiful clothing and teaching her everything he knows. Bellerose is a very quick study. It isn’t long at all before she has fully tapped into her father’s power and begins to work at his side, seducing souls to Hell. Only a child. 

How MC would have died to stop it if they could have. But they remained in that room, no mind left to care.

“Good job, Rosie! Another worthless wretch condemned to the pits. You’re a natural!”

Beelzebub

Unplanned. Unplanned. So unplanned.

Anon, you are unfortunately quite correct.

Beelzebub can smell it on MC before they even know. He had been holding back on feasting, saving them for a special occasion. 

But now that they were pregnant? Their blood, their body, all of it was extra nutritious as it prepared to build his child.

He waits, for a while. Staying far away so as not to be tempted, despite MC’s desperate attempts to get him involved.

The day comes for the gender reveal.

A boy.

Since Beel refuses to be involved, MC picks out the name. Akuji. 

It’s an apt name. 

MC returns that day to attempt to tell Beel the news, only to be met by the lumbering form of the starved man that strikes fear into their heart. They eat MC whole, and their child with them.

But that isn’t the end. Awake. Akuji screams from inside MC, inside Beel. Tiny claws begin to scratch and dig.

Eventually, his son rips through his stomach and into the world, severely underdeveloped. Time would take care of that. The boy had curled hands with bloody claws, blindingly violet eyes, and the concave stomach of his father. He would eventually grow fly wings and a head of MC’s hair, but he would never gain a full human form.

Beel tried several times over the years to eat his son, to no avail. Every time, he would just have to sew up his stomach and continue on his endless stalk for sustenence.

Belphegor

A child with Belphie is so unplanned that he doesn’t even know about it until a thousand years after they are born.

He had trapped MC in his lair for his nap, but his grip had loosened in his dreaming, and while they remained locked in the room, at least they could roam. Food was stockpiled to hide from his twin brother, which MC subsisted on.

They had become pregnant after a slow, elongated night of fucking with Belphie as he gained their favor to get them where they were now. And they had no way to tell him without ensuring their own death in the process.

So MC coached themselves through the pregnancy, always careful not to wake Belphegor.

It was a close call during the birth, as he huffed and stirred, but MC bit down on their own arm to shut themselves up.

When their son was born, he looked perfectly human. Blinking slowly up at their parent. MC fed him only once, and whispered his name to him before he drifted to sleep. 

Eventually, the food ran out. Their son did not wake, no matter how they tried. MC sobbed quietly at their loss, as surely he was dead. Starved and exhausted, they laid down to die.

Hundreds of years passed. In his sleep, the child grew, gaining more demonic features. Growing longer, sharper. Lithe wings extending from his back and sharp teeth appearing past his lips.

Their dreams began to intertwine, the boy learning so much from the Avatar of Sloth’s thoughts.

Finally, Belphie awoke, immediately spotting his son in the corner, strangely familiar, and the young one stirred at the movement.

“Who are you?”

“Cimon.”

“Hmm. Good morning.”

[hamabi15]

Oedipus The King In A Nutshell

So we've been reading Oedipus the King in English class and I do not lie when I say that so far I've found the story interesting, not to mention that the plot is intriguing and has the audience on their edge of their seats as the people of Thebes begin to discover the true nature of their beloved king, Oedipus. Upon reading the story, however, the highly (and sometimes dangerous) creative part of me blinked on like a lightbulb. And then I read another work that violently shoved me into writing this. Now, if you're looking for a serious interpretation of the story, then this is not for you (I got you there, didn't I--). If you just came across this by some sheer chance, then prepare to suffer the product of my currently sleep-deprived brain cells. Last but not least, nope, I do not own Oedipus the King (otherwise I would not even be here today and I would instead become ol' Sophocles), yes, I really should have a better control of my sleeping schedule and why am I even telling you this-- I have dedicated this full chapter to the notes, so flip onto the next for the full work. Enjoy! First written on paper, 12:03 am, 7th of May 2021 to be exact. I’m sorry. [A procession of priests and citizens come onstage. Doors burst open and out comes the King of Thebes, Oedipus.] Oedipus: Hello! It is I, the best king on Earth, Oedipus! My city is dying, but I’m such a heroic and generous person that I’ll do everything in my power to save it! You, old man-- Priest: I’m thirty seven-- Oedipus:-- speak up! Why are you all so gloomy? Why is there smoke and incense in the sky instead of those headless and limbless sheep we know as clouds? Speak up! Priest: The plague is killing Thebes, m’lord. Oedipus: [a pause] Do not fear! I have sent my brother in law, Creon, in an act of modesty to ask the Oracle for help! Priest: [throws arms up] Hurray! Chorus: [imitates Priest] Hurray! [Come Creon onstage] Creon: In order to get rid of the plague, we must find and either kill or banish Laius’ murderer... Oedipus: That sounds simple enough! Creon:... on which we have no clues. [a long silence] Oedipus: Why didn’t you avenge him earlier??? Creon: Remember the sphinx? Oedipus: Well, of course-- Creon: Yeah. Oedipus: Doesn’t matter, I shall deal with this right this instant! Chorus: There’s death everywhere! Woman: [crying] My husband is dead Man: What are you talking about? I’m not-- Woman: [cries harder] Chorus: Oh, the death! Gods be merciful on Thebes! Oedipus: [lifts arms for dramatism] I put a curse on whoever killed Laius! I also banish him from Thebes! [in a quieter voice] Oh, and Creon, you sent for Tiresisas, right? [Tiresias hobbles onstage] Tiresias: Who dares awaken me from my afternoon nap? Oedipus: I kindly and respectfully ask you to speak. Tiresisas: never! Oedipus: I will kindly and respectfully have you killed. Tiresias: Oh dear, well, look at that, you have forced it out of me. You killed Laius! [a silence] Oedipus: How dare you accuse me of such an atrocity??? I bet Creon told you to say that! Of course he did! [stomps off stage] Tiresias: Also, you live in the darkness of your marriage! Oedipus: [comes back onstage] you’re playing with fire old man-- [people in the Chorus usher Tiresias away as Oedipus goes back off stage] [Creon walks back on stage. Pauses by the throne. Glances around, sits on it.] Creon: Oh, woah, this is comfortable. Oedipus: [suddenly comes onstage] I knew it! You’ve been plotting against me! Creon: [jumps up] Wh-what are you talking about? Oedipus: You’ve been plotting against me! You want to be king! Creon: What ? But I don’t want to be King! Everybody already loves me and I get all the money and fame! Why would I want to have the responsibilities of the crown?! Oedipus: Liar. I will banish you! Creon: You cannot! Oedipus: Yeah, you’re right. I will have you killed for treason! [Jocasta comes on stage with an annoyed expression] Jocasta: Now, what did I tell you both about arguing? Creon: He wants me dead, sister-- Oedipus: For treason-- Jocasta: Boys-- [Creon and Oedipus continue to argue loudly. Jocasta turns to the chorus with an apologetic shrug, then stands between the two and spreads out her arms to keep them apart.] Jocasta: Oedipus, please believe him! Why would my brother want to overthrow you? Chorus: Listen to the Queen, o noble overlord! Oedipus: [stammers angrily for a few moments] Fine. Out, Creon, and out of my sight! [Creon exists stage, muttering under his breath] Jocasta: What happened here??? Oedipus: He had Tiresias tell me that I killed Laius! Jocasta: Do you actually have proof of that? Oedipus: well, no, but--J ocasta: Ohhh, the prophet. Well, get rid of your fear, dear; Laius and I, we once got a prophecy, that our son would kill his father and marry his mother. So we left him in a mountain, to die. And then Laius was killed by robbers, according to the shepherd who saw it, at a place where three highways meet. Oedipus: Wait a second. Highways? Jocasta: That’s right .Oedipus: Oh man. Flashback-- Oedipus: Old man, outta my way! Old Man: No. Oedipus: So you’ve chosen death-- End of flashback-- Oedipus: Jocasta, I think I could have killed Laius. I used to live in Corinth before, until a drunk man at a party told me that my parents were not my parents. It was stupid, but I went to the Oracle and I was told that I would kill my father and marry my mother. And so I bravely ran away.

Jocasta: [visible fear] I will, um, send for the shepherd now--

[Messenger comes onstage]

Messenger: I have both good and bad news for the King! [Turns to Oedipus] Your father, King Polybus, is dead, and the people of Corinth want to make you their king! Oedipus: What? Yes! I mean. Oh, what grievous news. I did not kill him, or perhaps the sadness of having been parted from me killed him. Jocasta: [relieved] See?! I told you prophecies shouldn’t be feared! Oedipus: I’m not going back to Corinth, though. My mother is still alive. I might accidentally marry her without realizing it… Messenger: But Merope is not your mother.

[A shocked pause]

Oedipus:... what? Messenger: A shepherd of Laius gave you to me, years ago. Your feet were tied and you were found in a mountain. Also, could you get me a cup of wine…?

Oedipus: Of course, my good man.[louder, to Chorus] Call forth the shepherd!

Jocasta: Wait--

Chorus: You already did! And, conveniently, it is the same shepherd who witnessed the death of Laius.

Oedipus: Well, isn’t that strange. [pause] Jocasta, are you--

Jocasta: [shrieks, runs off stage]

Chorus: That was strange.

[The shepherd comes onstage]

Shepherd: sorry, I suffer long-term memory loss, I can’t remember anything.

Messenger: You gave me a child, years ago.

Shepherd: No I didn’t.

Messenger:Yes you did.

Shepherd: Well, I don’t remember that--

Oedipus: Speak before I have you tormented!

Shepherd: Wait, wait, I remember now! Your wife, the Queen, she gave me an infant to kill, because of some prophecy--

Oedipus: No! It was me! I killed Laius! And I married my mother! The prophecy came true after all! [runs off stage]

Chorus: Oh dear.

[Enter a messenger from the palace]

Messenger 2: The Queen is dead!

Oedipus: [comes back onstage] And I have blinded myself!

Chorus: Oh dear.

Oedipus: Creon, you’ll be King now. You’ll banish me, too, and take care of my two girls for me. Wait, is he even here?

Creon: [steps from the Chorus] Yes. Sweet. Look, here are your two daughters.

Oedipus: I cannot see them. Oh, I can hear them now, Ismene and Antigone. My beloved, sweet children…

Creon: Now off you go, into banishment. 

[Exit all but the Chorus. A silence.]

Man in the chorus:...I guess the truth really does stab your eyes out sometimes.

[Curtains close, but the audience does not clap and instead just look plain confused.]

[c0rpsedemon]

i would LOVE to learn about antigone (fun fact, i had to read the source material for AP lit so i’m :D that someone is using her bc i liked the story a lot). i don’t know what to ask but... give me general backstory. fun facts, favorite color, anything you can think of

thanks for the ask!!! i would LOVE to talk about her!!!

basically, ae was oedipus and jocasta’s oldest daughter (and oldest surviving child in general, and healthiest child and... you probably get the picture that there was a lot of pressure resting on her), ae went to nursing school to be just like her father (i have,,, more about this having to do with oedipus and jocata’s a+ parenting but it’s not too important) and was basically his assistant for a time, eventually the scandal of his marriage broke and ae quickly became pretty much the sole provider for her (remaining) family (oedipus, ismene, and haemon but less-so), and due to several lifetimes of pressure being put on aer since she was a child, the attention from the press, and the fact that ae really weren’t good at handling the concept of death, she ended up consuming a lot of anti-acheron propaganda, believing that there was an afterlife you could only achieve if your brain wasn’t in use, and having a complete mental breakdown resulting in aer trying to break the acheron itself in order to free her brother, (because ae had two older brothers who died in their teens and one of their brains was destroyed, but the other ended up in the acheron), and she was quickly caught and sent off to medea asylum (where narcissus canonically went!)

annnnnd as for fun facts, ae uses she/ae pronouns and is a femme lesbian. EVERYONE who meets her goes “oh! ae looks just like her mother/father!” her favorite color is gold. aer closer to her father than aer mother. uhhhhhh she’s very superstitious, i’m running out of things i can think about off the top of my head but i’ll probably think of a ton right after this is posted, ae have very high empathy that everyone said was going to be the death of her (if only they knew...), if ae were mechanized her mechanism would either be aer heart, brain or eyes