#[only•one•of•us•is•getting•out•alive] || important

[unacknowledgeable]

Continued: Serial killer reader x yan!batfam

.........Ooooookay, I guess yall really liked my serial killer!reader? I guess I'm honor bound to continue??? Oh noooo, the horrorrrr. But seriously, I'm glad! Because it only gets worse from here! >:}

Anyway, this was really difficult to write because I literally could not find good starting and stopping points, I tried to make my thoughts flow into each other as seamlessly as possible but there's SO MUCH I wanna write for this, it’s eating me alive, (also like, feel free to send asks bc I get sidetracked a lot in my writing and looove just answering questions as jumping off points, so please gimme gimme)

That being said, enjoy!

WARNING for disturbing imagery, untreated mental illness and trauma, blood, and depictions of murder (seriously)

So obviously, this M/c is a serial killer, so how do they go about keeping this hidden while simultaneously living with the world's greatest detectives?

Simple, ya don't.

Okay so that's not completely true. Compared to the average criminal, you put in a lot of effort to not get caught, but the average criminal doesn’t live with THE Batman either

Compared to the rest of your family though? You basically put in the bare minimum required to hide your… unsavory activities

Of course, you'll wash your blood soaked clothes yourself, in the lesser used washrooms of the manor, but once in a blue moon, when you’re too tired to care or your catch of the night put up a greater fight then anticipated, you'll throw your tainted clothes in with the rest of the families

And they just… don't fucking notice.

Or when they do, they just assume that one of the others had an unfortunate run in with some criminal while in civvies 

You've overheard many admonishments from Dick or Alfred over the years, telling Tim or Jason to “Please stop putting bloody clothes in with the whites, there's a basket for them two feet away!”

It was always pretty hard trying to keep a straight face when hearing those scoldings, but you always did, you didn't want Damian demanding to know what was so funny and dampening your mood

Or Cass giving you one of her calculated looks and suddenly getting nosy, that would make losing your clothes to Tim’s closet a lot less worth the laugh.

It’s just that, this assumption is waaaaay more plausible then say, the serial killer they've been tracking relentlessly for literal years, is just…tossing their VERY incriminating evidence in with the family's laundry, then passing out on some couch in one of the many sitting rooms of the manor, while the family goes out and discovers their latest victim

It's just easier to assume it was one of the others, Dick would never connect you, of all people, to the gore tossed haphazardly in the hamper, it's way more likely to be one of the many crime fighters of the family, not the soft spoken hermit of the manor, and even if that was a possibility in his mind, you don't even have a scratch on you

Not that he’s ever bothered to check you for injuries before, like he does almost religiously for the others

And Alfred? Well he's of the belief you'd grown out of your… tendencies, that it was a one time thing. Despite his reputation as an omnipotent presence in the manor, he never did realize just how deep your mental issues ran. Not until it was far too late.

You don't even have a specific weapon either, half of the time you'll just take one of Alfred's steak knives and hit the lower levels of Gotham, wandering around the decrepit streets till you found someone suitable 

Other times, when you’re in an exceptionally bad mood, be it because Damian said something particularly venomous or Alfred missing an important event for you because something came up with one of your siblings, or even when your classmates decided it would be funny to key your car-

Or it's just one of those days

Those days when the abstract voices simmer louder in the back of your mind, pushing and nagging. Images that you desperately want to forget but can't help the need to recreate. All threatening to boil over until you either crumble into a sobbing heep on the floor or go out and do the one thing that has always been able to shut. them. up.

Those days you’re… forgetful

On those days, you forget to grab one of Alfred’s pristine knives, but that's fine, Gothams streets are littered with dangerous items, so there's no shortage of tools at your disposal. You're creative, resourceful, you can use whatever's on hand at the time, whatever's in reach.

But if there's nothing? No sharp objects, no discarded bricks or loose pipes or even a half empty beer bottle, well… you're no stranger getting your hands dirty

Those times however, are pretty hazy in the aftermath.

You’ll forget certain details, like how they gripped your arms in a vain attempt to draw your own blood as you drew theirs, in the event that if they dont get away, at least you'd be caught, (all it leaves are dark, tender bruises along your arms, that you'll spend weeks poking and prodding at, in the hopes of reliving that moment)

Or how they'd flail their legs, inches from the ground, trying to kick your legs out from beneath you (it was kinda cute, how much shorter they were then you, how little their attempts to free themselves did when it mattered the most)

Even their last, warbling pleas for mercy were lost to you. You know they said something, could vaguely recall that they spoke, too absorbed in watching their bloody lips turn blue as the oxygen in their body slowly ran out (No no please please…My girls are waiting)

No, no you don't remember much but what you do remember, what you always, always remember, are the eyes 

You remember the tears, the fear, the acceptance, the rage, the refusal, the disbelief, the confusion, the indignation, and most of all the recognition. 

Whether it be them recognizing just who you are or realizing that this is who will end their life, you don't know, you’ve never bothered to ask. 

You prefer to think it’s the latter, it's hard to explain, but it makes you feel so so important

When it’s over, and the adrenaline in your veins soften, your breathing calmer, the blood rushing through your ears no longer so deafening, and you can feel the pleasing ache in your limbs, you sit, and asses the damage, as you always do

You always make sure to grab their wallet, take out the ID and memorize it, before gingerly putting it back, and finally walking away, head clear and numb in the cold Gotham air

There's no real reason why, its mostly force of habit at this point, it started with your very first kill, you don't feel like breaking the little ritual now, or anytime soon

It just feels wrong, to take a life and not even know whose life it is...was.

Later, long past any reasonable hour, you lay in bed, fresh out of the shower and thumbing the bruises, listening to the voices over the family's communicators (you stole one of Dicks, he has a nasty habit of leaving them around the manor) as they patrol the Gotham streets for crime and mayhem

You honestly can't help the small smile that graces your face, falling into sleep, as you hear the quiet, defeated sigh over the highly protected com link, “B, I've found another one, it's…it’s pretty rough tonight”

The pause is long before a small, gruff, “I have your location, ETA in 10 minutes”

You slept pretty good that night

Damn, sometimes the shit I come up with scares even me, again, feel free to send asks (shh I'm not begging), the brain worms are always hungry and I have sooooo many thoughts about this thing. lol 

Hope you enjoyed!

[phossiii]

｡𖦹°‧⭑ monsters: chapter one

synopsis: you are introduced as the arkham imported member of the creature commandos. and a certain irradiated skeleton can't seem to catch a hint.

cw: reader is a monster, mature themes, profanity, innuendos, phosphorus is phosphorus, tame chapter

"And I have this question, for all the woke feminists out there..." the man-child on the screen emphasized, turning toward the camera. "Why do only girls get such cool waterfalls?"

Flag cringed, brow raising with disappointment at the infantile argument.

The hell was the world coming to?

"All over the world, our rights as men are being denigrated—"

Having heard enough, Waller cut the feed, eyes slyly gliding over to the general for his response.

"What a bunch of clowns," Flag scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Dangerous clowns," Waller corrected, standing up from her office chair and moving toward the door. "Pokolistan is a friend of the U.S."

"Countries don't have friends."

"After your decades in the military, General Flag, I think you'd understand that true friendship is built on petroleum deposits. Especially un-mined ones in a backward-ass country that's never take advantage of its natural resources."

Leading him out the room, Waller started down the hall, exiting the corporate section of Belle Reve and entering an elevator that lead to the lower levels.

"Princess Ilana Rostovic, the heir apparent to Pokolistan, is already negotiating with the U.S for that oil," she continued, the digital screen showing that they had descended well past the basement. "And if she's overthrown by some nut-job in a witch's hat, all bets are off... We need to help Rostovic."

With a soft, digital ding, the elevator doors opened, revealing a heavily bolted and locked door with the words NON-HUMAN INTERNMENT DIVISION written in bold right above it.

Flag's brow nearly shot through the roof.

"I thought Congress put a stop to all Task Force X facilities since your daughter outed you?" he asked, suspicious.

"Technically, Congress said A.R.G.U.S can't use incarcerated human beings as mission operatives any longer," Waller corrected, typing in the password on the keypad before leaning in for the retina scan. "But what about beings that aren't human?"

"Huh?"

Entering the control room, the general was met by a multitude of screens and officers, along with a five-foot thick, Plexiglas window peering into the common area.

Warily, he approached it, and what he saw on the other side forced his eyes wide.

"What in the holy hell?"

Beyond the bolts, locks, and iron walls sat five different... creatures, each one more odd-looking than the last.

"This is Bell Reve Non-Human Internment Division," Waller introduced in a monotone. "For over fifty years, only those at the uppermost levels of security clearance are aware of its existence. By using these prisoners, I think we can arguably circumvent our new restrictions."

"Arguably?" Flag scoffed. "How?"

"Congress said we can't use human prisoners. These assholes aren't human."

"She's not a human?" he asked, nodding to the large, stitched up woman leaning against the wall.

"Is a corpse human?"

"Who is she?"

"We don't know," Waller shrugged. "We call her The Bride."

Nodding, the general turned his attention to the skeleton playing Jenga.

"Who's Jason and the Argonauts?"

"A sociopath who calls himself Dr. Phosphorus," she confirmed. "He has irradiated skin he can use to burn through people and objects."

"Well, how does that radiation affect the people around him?" Flag asked, concerned.

"If you don't sleep in the same room with him, the effects should be minimal."

"Minimal?"

"Consider it a free vasectomy."

Just then, the mutant-dog-thing sitting at the center of the room began to cough, violently, hacking up what looked to be leftovers of the day's lunch before licking it right back up.

"What is that thing?" Flag asked, disgusted.

"The Weasel," Waller answered. "It's one of the few soldiers still alive from Project Starfish in Corto Maltese. So we know it has what it takes to survive."

At the comment, he hushed up, looking off to the side with guilt.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to intimate about your son, Flag. When he died in Corto Maltese, he died a hero."

"That one looks like a discontinued dishwasher," he quickly changed the subject, pointing to the metal man sitting across from Dr. Phosphorus.

"That dishwasher killed over three-hundred Nazis in World War II. I would've dismantled it, but I thought it might come in use some day," Waller nodded. "It's known as G.I Robot."

Turning her head, her eyes trained on the meek girl sitting in the corner, who looked like both a woman and a fish.

"Next one is Nina Mazursky."

"What use is she walking around in a fishbowl?"

"Get her in water it's a different story," she answered. "She's the smartest and most reasonable of the bunch. She might be able to help you keep the rest of them in line."

Wearily, she let out a sigh, turning to one of the officers and sharing a knowing nod.

"Especially with the last one."

Raising a brow, Flag glanced back through the glass, confirming that he had been briefed on all the prisoners.

All the ones present, at least...

"There's more?" he asked.

"Imported fresh from Arkham Asylum," Waller nodded, typing in another passcode on the control panel in front of her before the door let out a resounding, harsh blare. "She passed the psych eval, though Batman was vehemently against her release."

Flag watched carefully as the doors slowly opened, two officers emerging from the shadows and revealing you, bound and gagged by a straight-jacket and bite restraint muzzle.

Instantly, his eyes shot wide, and he took an instinctual step back, disbelieving of the sight before him.

"Is that a...?  She's a living, breathing—"

"Demon, for all intents an purposes," Waller finished, unbothered. "The product of a satanic sacrifice gone wrong. (y/n) (l/n) was born with the devil get-up, and an affinity for fire magic."

Below, sat you with long, (h/c) hair, bright red skin, equally bright horns, a pointed tail, and sharp, slitted, yellow eyes. 

"I figured since we're up against a witch, why not fight sorcery with sorcery."

They forced you to sit on a dolly, feet chained to its surface, clasped so tight that it rendered you unable to move or struggle.

As if there wasn't a grenade in your brain-stem preventing you from going anywhere.

'Bastards...'

Lifting your head, you surveyed the area, taking note of each face within the freak show.

A Frankenstein rip-off...

A walking beam of cancer...

A man-dog...

A scrap heap...

And the Introvert from the Black Lagoon...

'Woulda done numbers in solitary.'

As Amanda Waller and General Rick Flag surfaced from behind you, Frankenstein, Cancer, and Man-Dog of the Ghoul Gang charged forward, launching an attack.

An attack... that was quickly thwarted with a good shock to the brain.

With loud shouts of pain, all of them, including you, stopped dead in your tracks, dropping to the ground in an instant.

Though, just as quick as it came, it left, by an act of somewhat mercy from your warden.

"This is your new task force, Flag," Waller stated, tossing him the detonation switch. "Let's call it... Task Force M. M for Monster."

"You bitch..." you growled, weakly lifting your head. "I wanna talk to the Bat... This was not part of the agreement..."

"I'm afraid Batman had no say in the matter," she stated, still completely unbothered. "You want back into your padded cell? You get this job done."

Sharply, she lifted your chin, your fiery eyes meeting hers, cold and unfeeling.

"Do I make myself clear?"

"So... you're really a—"

"Yes."

"Does that mean there's a—"

"Yes."

"Does that mean you've seen—"

"No."

"Did your mother... y'know... with a—"

"Are you fucking stupid?"

You turned to him sharply, brows furrowed and eyes blazing with annoyance and fury.

He had been at this since the goddamn helicopter took off...

"Whoa, there, doll face," Phosphorus raised his hands in defense. "Don't shoot the messenger. I'm just sayin' what we're all thinking."

Though, that was only half of it.

In actuality, Phosphorus hadn't been able to rid his thoughts of you since the COs rolled you into the facility.

He had never seen anyone like you before—devil-like, dripping in both beauty and danger—never felt so entranced, intrigued, or turned on, either.

Emphasis on the turn-on part.

Your battle-wear was a zip-up, black leather jumpsuit with the pant legs torn off, paired with finger-less gloves and thigh-high, multiple buckle boots.

The zipper perfectly exposed your cleavage, making your chest look large and perky while the shorts put your legs on delectable display, outlining the very grab-able flesh of your thighs.

That, along with your black aviators and the cigarette hanging out the corner of your mouth, made you something out of his best worst nightmare.

And someone he wanted to get to know significantly better.

"Keep it to yourself," you spat, sizing him up. "I'd rather listen to a stuck goat."

"'Cause of sacrifices or...?"

"Say one more word, cancer stick, I swear to God—"

"Can you even really do that? Y'know, 'cause of the whole demon thing..."

"Fucking moron!" you growled, igniting your fist with fire before sending a punch straight for his face.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Flag barked, forcing you to stop mid-way, the whole squad turning to him with slight surprise. "I know you all aren't exactly enthusiastic about this mission. But—"

With a roll of her eyes, Bride let out a groan, already checking herself out of the conversation.

"General, I believe you've read us wrong," Phosphorus corrected, acting as if your flaming hand wasn't inches away from his face. "We're delighted to be here, and delighted to serve our country."

"Okay... uh, great."

As the irradiated skeleton faced forward, you dropped your fist, sharing a confused look with the Bride.

"Are you smiling?" you asked him, raising a brow.

"Yes."

"Sarcastically?" she added.

"Mmm-hmm."

You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest and leaning back in your seat, allowing your eyes to drift over to the man-dog.

He was harshly gnawing at his restraints, letting out whimpering noises of fear

"G.I Robot is detecting unease. Could he be, G.I Robot asks, in fear of being discovered as Nazi scum?" the scrap heap stated, retracting his hand and replacing it with a gun.

"No," Flag assured, pushing away the weapon. "Put your arm... Put your gun down. He's not a Nazi."

"Child killer, though," Phosphorus shook his head. "Not a great look."

"Supposedly, he had a bad experience the last trip he took on this Osprey, that's all."

Glancing out the window, the Bride's eyes widened slightly, before she turned to the general.

"Are we in goddamn Pokolistan?" her brows furrowed, arms crossed over her chest.

"You've been here before?" Nina asked with a smile.

Bride rolled her eyes with a sigh, leaning back in her seat, "Fucking hell..."

"So..." Phosphorus started up again as he turned to you, thankful his skeleton-ness hid his shit-eating grin. "Is everything red... or just what I'm looking at right now?"

SMACK!

"Ow!" he played off, his grin growing even wider as he rubbed his cheek.

Adorably, you turned away, flipping him off as your one leg crossed over the other.

Now he was really intrigued (and turned on).

You were feisty.

He liked that.

He liked that a lot.

[adda-j]

Oooooooh, I didn't expect anyone would add onto my ramblings, but this really made my day! AND gave me some more ideas! >:)

So I have to admit I initially imagined this being somewhat inline with the 06's future timeline, but time travel being time travel, it gets so confusing at one point it might as well mot matter. Either way, for this AU to work, Silver does need to be biologically related to Shadow. Whether that's due to him being artificially created, or made the traditional way, is not as important right now, that's future-Shadow's problem. (Though I'm leaning more towards the lab-baby thing. I dunno. I just feel like it makes sense for someone who was made in a lab, to have a "child" be born the same way.)

But most importantly, this gave me an idea for how a hypothetical subspecies of Black Arms could work. It goes something like this:

So basically, I'm running with the "psysically weak but mentally strong" idea. They would have strong connection and effect on the hivemind. As a result, they weren't really meant to fight on the front lines. Instead they had more of a "commander" role. Essentially their role was to gather information on the battlefield, from the footsoldiers, scouts and their own observations, analyze and interpret this information, and organize and lead the forces based on this. They would also interpret and carry out orders from higher in the command chain, while having enough authority to give out orders of their own. This basically streamlined they command chain and made it easier to sift through and pass on important information.

I also imagine that some of the older members would retire from the battlefield. And instead focus on preserving the history of the Black Arms and all knowledge they have collected over the eons. Making sure it doesn't get lost, diluted or misinterpreted over time, and is readily available when needed.

So by default, they could exert higher and stronger control over the other Black Arms, allowing them to be effective leaders on the battlefield, while being resistant to such control themselves. Only their superiors were strong enough to control them. Of course, as fate would have it, gradually more and more of these members would rebel, try to take complete control of sections of the hive, all while being practiaclly uncontrolable themselves. Eventually they were deemed too dangerous to be left alive, and were hunted down and eliminated at no small cost.

Since there was a lot of knowledge that couldn't be absorbed by the rest of the hive. Over time, most of the information about them became corrupted. They went from competent data analyzers to something that once almost destroyed their whole species from inside out.

Now, I don't know much about Black Arms reproduction, or even how much info there is on it, if any. So I'm just basing this on my headcanon. But basically, I imagine new members are born depending on which roles the hive needs to fill. And their genomes can be adjusted to fill that role better. Plus they are provided all the information they will need by the hive. So for example, all warriors are already born knowing how to fight. But since this subspecies was intended to be elimitaned completely, none of the genes necessary survived in the population. That is, with the exception of Black Doom, who passed them onto Shadow, and then eventually Silver. (Where they became dominant due to genes being passed on more randomly)

So I think Silver would have naturally equally strong connection to the hivemind, but none of the knowledge on how to use it. So anything he does with it is purely instinctual, more based on his emotions and immediate needs. He would need to train and learn it to properly utilize it just like any other skill. ((Ironically, I imagine this could initially make him more susceptible to getting controlled himself, unless he learns how to resist it.))

Also I imagine this whole thing would affect his social skills a bit, partially because he grew up in an apocalyptic future. Sometimes he would have problems expressing himself properly, because part of him would subconciously assume his intent would be carried without words or gestures. And since he wouldn't get to meet that many people growing up, he never realized it's not normal. For him it's like constantly having a word on the tip of your tongue you can't even begin to explain.

Naturally, his relationship with Shadow would be affected by all this too. Subconciously they would be aware of each other in a way they just aren't with anyone else. In a fight they would be able to predict each others moves a synchonize their attacks just a bit too easily. Shadow would always somehow be the first one to know when Silver returns to the past. And whenever Silver gets too excited or angry his ears would fill with tinnitus. He's also the only one to be able to parse the extra meaning in Silver's words. It would kinda creep Shadow out, to the point he'd start avoiding the kid. Even if he knows Silver did nothing wrong.

At first he'd just assume it had to be some weird mix of Silver's psychokinesis, chaos powers and Shadow's own odd biology. But after (very reluctantly) mentioning it to Sonic, to which the blue hedgehog has no idea what he's talking about. He does start getting a bit more concerned.

It's not until one fateful day, during another world ending catastrophe that needs to be dealt with, one so bad even their resident time traveler had to show up, it happens. One moment he's lost in the heat of the battle, and the next his mind is pierced with an achingly familiar cry for help. In a split second he's painfully aware that Silver is in danger. That he's injured and can't defend himself. He's aware of all of this, even though he can't see Silver from where he's standing, and that no one else has reacted to the call. But more than any of this, the one most damning thing is the sickening compulsion that urges him to help. His feet move before he even registers what's happening.

It's in that exact moment he knows. Maybe not how or why. But be knows.

Silver is one of the Black Arms.

But more importantly: he's a kid that needs his help.

People talking about what if Shadow was Silver’s dad y’know but NOT ONCE have I seen anyone say that if that’s true, then Silver has black arms blood

[youknowwho-mustnotbenamed]

"microfic" prompt: Envelope | Jegulus | word count: 1,075 technically part two of this, but can be read alone

The early afternoon sunlight streaming through the balcony doors at the end of the bed is what finally pulls James from his slumber. He is vaguely aware of drifting in and out of consciousness for some time now, but it wasn’t until a beam of sunlight begins to blind him, that he becomes fully aware of the time. But even once his mind is fully aware, his limbs feel impossibly heavy and the last whisps of sleep refuse to leave him.

He hasn’t slept this terribly in years, not since moving in with Regulus. It seems that the other is both a balm for good sleep and the cure for nightmares. The only nights when he cannot properly settle are nights where Regulus has been called away on an important mission James was not deemed loyal enough to be included in. But he distinctly remembers lying down last night, and tucking Regulus close to his chest, so why does he feel as though he was run over by a stampede of hippogriff?

He rolls over to check on Regulus—there is another sign something is off; James rarely tosses in his sleep while sharing a bed with somebody—only to find the other side of the bed long gone cold. That’s when the sense of unease grips James so thoroughly he feels like he is going to be sick. Regulus never leaves without letting James know, it’s part of their arrangement. Even if it is the middle of the night, James has to know when Regulus leaves to do Voldemort's bidding.

Swinging out of bed is somehow a monumental task. His limbs feel out of sorts, like a baby fawn just learning how to walk. It seems like ages before he detangles himself from the sheets, and pads down the hall into the living area. The kettle still sits empty on the stove, and the small seating area is deserted.

He better not have.

James crosses to the house’s heart-stone, and presses his palm against the engraving there. Just as he had expected, the only magical signature present is his. Which means…

“Regulus, you better not have. No, no, no.”

He’s headed back to the bedroom to get dressed and find his wand, when he catches a glimpse of an envelope on the counter just beside the kettle. The kettle that he always uses to brew Regulus’ tea. The only place Regulus would know for certain James would see it. On the front, in Regulus’ looping script is ‘Mon Cœur’.

That is enough to bring a prickle of tears to his eyes. With trembling fingers, he scoops up the letter, almost dropping it several times before he manages to pop the seal.

The first page is a letter, folded up to contain the small slips of paper within. He sets those aside, focused fully on the letter.

I know you will hate me for this, but at least you will be alive to hate me.

I have gone to destroy the Horcrux. I know you thought we would be able to split the potion so we could both survive, but I brewed it myself James, there is no workaround. It was always going to end like this, you just didn’t want to believe it. But it’s okay, because I made my peace with this a long time ago—I never was going to see the other side of this war.

James falls to his knees.

I’m sorry I was so selfish. I should have let you go that night on the astronomy tower, but I just wanted someone for myself, just once. I’m sorry. I just wanted more time, so I took it with no regard for what it would take away from you. I know you aren't going to want to, but I need you to let me go, James. These last three years were the best of my life, but they were always borrowed time.

Tears burn the corners of his eyes, falling onto the page before he can stop them, blurring his vision and the ink. He wipes them away furiously, but the flood doesn’t stop.

I did this for you. I did this because you need to live. You are the one imperative to the narrative, not me. It was never me, but I was naïve and in love, of course I thought I had a chance. I convinced myself that you chose me, that somebody finally chose me. Because I needed you to need me, but it was never me. It is Sirius. Sirius needs you. So, I need you to promise me that you will let me go. That you will cherish the time we had together, but you won’t let it take anything from you.

Find Sirius, fix things between you before it is too late. You and I will meet again, and hopefully the world is better off because of the sacrifices we have made. I would hate to have given Riddle the satisfaction of killing me and have it all for naught. We will meet again when this is all over, but not too soon.

Please, James, don’t make it too soon.

You need to live. If not for yourself, then for me. I need you to live. I did this so you can live. Go live the life you were supposed to have. Go live the life I took from you.

P.S. You were my one and only James. Please don’t make yourself lonely in my memory. Life your life, and live it full.

The tears are impossible to hold back now. They carve away at him, tugging at his heart until it is bloody ribbons in his chest. He is breathing in the blood, thick and heavy in his mouth until it is impossible to suck in another breath. He is drowning. Drowning in his own blood and tears.

“How could you do this? How could you do this to me! I hate you! I hate you! You can’t leave me! You can’t! I refuse! We were supposed to do this together! We—we—we  were supposed to get married! I can’t—I can’t—I can’t do this… I can’t do this without you. Please, Regulus. Please don’t leave me alone! I won’t forgive you! I won’t forgive you if you leave me alone! Please, Regulus. Please don’t.”

But he can tell, in the very marrow of his bones, that Regulus has left him.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

Before I had Sunny, I had a rabbit... His official name was Eddy, but he went through many names in my friend group

The names were: Kirishima, Springtrap and lastly Springkiri

Some pictures of him and a funny pic of Sunny

(A sad thing from here on)

So Eddy sadly passed away on 16th May 2022 while I held him. I bawled my eyes out when I realized he passed and literally couldn't go to school the next day because I was grieving so much. He was my childhood pet. He was 12 years old! Also he decided to pass before my birthday (21st May). I miss him very much

Now let me tell you, in February, the year (2022), he decided to jump from my arm because he was not happy about him getting his nails trimmed and fell on his side! He broke his fucking leg and was too old for operation because he wouldn't handle the amnesia. His leg was fully healed in April. You know he ran around, had fun with his toy, and played as if he was young again... Just to pass in May.

Now, to cheer you up, Sunny has the SAME sleeping spots as Eddy did. She also has similar running habits and such things as Eddy did. Now I think here Eddy's ghost was like 'Let me teach you cat' when she arrived at home and I like that!

Sorry for the kind of sad ask :(

AWWW eddy has such a lovely pelt pattern 🥺 and no worries about this being a Sad Ask: it'd be even more sad if you werent willing to share memories of him- he was still a little darling in your life, so i'm happy to hear bout both the good and bad bout him! so sorry to hear he passed right before your birthday tho.. 😭 at the very least, im sure he passed knowing how loved he was- and still is :]

ANND that's so cute sunny sleeps in his old spot now 🥺

[carnival-core]

Hey not to make a political post but does it ever feel like we can just never win and the suffering will be forever and we're always going to have to fight with moments of peace being fleeting and not worth looking forward to

[january-glooms]

ok so on request of op, here's the beast. the monster that haunts my dreams and thoughts. i am frankenstein and this is my half baked creation (an unfinished thought essay on avengers endgame):

There are 6 Infinity Stones, 6 original Avengers and 6 children of Thanos. That’s one too many for it to be a coincidence. Not only that, but there is also the fact each of the original Avengers represent an Infinity Stone so purely it’s uncanny.

They named the movie Avengers Endgame, so let’s make it an actual endgame. In the chess strategy, you sacrifice your important pieces so the king can make the final blow and end the game.

Meaning that I probably won’t have a way to implement something similar to the final battle in the movie, no matter how cool it was. It just isn’t logical, especially when I set out to fix the time travel mess. And I understand the need for actual character deaths in such a big movie/story, but the death of Tony Stark made absolutely zero sense in correlation to the movie. We just saw him happy after like 15 years of struggling, he had a four-year-old daughter. Had he stayed alive it would’ve been the ultimate fuck you parallel to Thanos, he would’ve gone and done exactly what Thanos wanted to do himself “Restore balance to the universe,” whilst also being a father himself and actually raising the child.

Unlike Thanos who kidnapped his so-called children, whilst killing the rest of their planet making them the last survivors of their race in the process. Made them fight each other and when one lost, he removed a part of her body with a machine. Yeah, that sounds like great parenting, but I digress.

So, the plot of Avengers Endgame is set in motion by a RAT hitting a button, yeah no, not in my world. I’m sorry Scott, but you’ll be stuck in the quantum realm for the entirety of this. Then again you'll get out of it a lot quicker than in the movie, so you win some you lose some.

Instead my plot is moved forward by the fact that Tony simply doesn’t accept a world where Morgan doesn’t know her older brothers Harley and Peter. Oh, before I forget Helen Cho and Darcy Lewis survived the Snap, but Jane Foster and Erik Selvig didn’t.

1. Space —> Thor & Ebony Maw

2. Time —> Steve & Corvus Glaive

3. Soul —> Natasha & Gamora

4. Mind —> Tony & Nebula

5. Power —> Bruce/Hulk & Cull Obsidian

6. Reality —> Clint & Proxima Midnight

Thanos’ plan does not make sense, cutting all of life in half so the other remaining half can thrive. The last time there were half as many people on our planet as there are now was back in 1970.

In the past 50 years our population has doubled itself, so assuming that we would keep reproducing at the same rate if not faster, because everytime after a big tragedy on Earth without fail there will be a population boom.

Look at ww2 or the bubonic plague. So, when Dr. Strange asked Thanos what he was gonna do after he was done, he shouldn’t have said, “I finally rest... and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe”. Because in 50 years tops he’d have to use the Stones again and that’s only talking about Earth, not even the rest of the Galaxy. So it doesn’t make any sense why he destroyed his only means of accomplishing his goals.

What I think that his plan instead should’ve been was that he’d give 1 Stone to each of his children, who would take them to the ends of the galaxy to guard until the time came to use them again. Of course he didn’t account for Gamora and Nebula betraying him.

However, during the course of Infinity War all of Thanos’ children except for Nebula die. Gamora, bless that wonderful woman, died for the Soul Stone. Ebony Maw was killed by Iron Man and Spider-Man to save Dr. Strange. Cull Obsidian was killed by Bruce Banner in the Hulkbuster armour. Proxima Midnight was killed by the Scarlet Witch to save the Black Widow and General Okoye. Corvus Glaive was killed by Vision when he tried to take the Mind Stone in princess Shuri’s lab.

But honestly we could just ignore that fact, because in the end Thanos succeeded. So, their deaths are inconsequential and could be reversed for the purposes of better storytelling.

Now, there are a few more plot holes I’d like to point out whilst I’ve got your attention:

Don’t you think that it’s weird that Thor doesn’t know the Guardians of the Galaxy or at the very least Gamora, you know, daughter of Thanos (albeit kidnapped).

In Avengers: Age of Ultron he literally says, “I have no choice. The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That’s no coincidence. Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us. But once all these pieces are in position...”.

Proving to us that he knows of what has happened in Xandar. Because at that point in time Dr. Strange wouldn’t have happened yet, as that happened in 2016 and Age of Ultron in 2015. So, the Time Stone is still safe in the Kamar Taj with the Ancient One. And the Soul Stone is on Vormir and Gamora is literally the only being in the entire Galaxy that has that information.

Like I mentioned Age of Ultron happens in 2015, that means that Thor has personally been involved with three of the sightings of the Stones, so the fourth one has to be the Power Stone. So, Thor mentions four Stones but both Steve and Tony don’t realize they only know of three? I call bs, sure maybe Steve wouldn’t realize it, but you’d think that Tony does.

The man is a literal genius, who built a miniaturized arc reactor in a cave with a bunch of scraps, he’s created multiple functional AI, he created a new element on an off Tuesday like it was nothing, whilst suffering from heavy metal poisoning.

The villains in Spider-Man: far from home are literally a bunch of people who felt personally slighted by the man, because he is more academically accomplished. Oh and did I mention that he was dead in the movie?

Then again all of the Iron Man movies have that exact same type of villain, except for Ivan Vanko his father felt personally slighted by Howard Stark. So, he thought, “I gotta continue the only thing our family is known for. Attack a Stark,” because yeah that’s a great idea.

Anyway, new plothole, did anyone ever think to ask Loki where got the scepter? Or what happened during his time in the void?

We could easily retcon it and say his eyes are blue when he comes through the portal. The same kind of blue as Clint Barton’s and Dr. Erik Selvig’s eyes. This would insinuate that Loki was mind controlled as well. His eyes would, in fact, stay blue throughout the entirety of the movie up until the Hulk smashed Loki in the Stark Tower penthouse. Afterwards his eyes return to their normal green colour.

But besides that, his whole plan sucked, for someone who’s made out to be this incredibly sly and cunning trickster, he sure don’t got the skills to pull off a surprise attack. Honestly what were these people, especially Thor who grew up with the man, thinking when they were fighting him?

Then again, no one questioned why the scepter stayed on Earth, but the tesseract had to go to Asgard. Like trading in one extremely dangerous alien artefact housing an Infinity Stone for another extremely dangerous alien artefact housing an Infinity Stone? Maybe, a not so great move on Thor’s part. Seems kind of counterintuitive, because why would he make such a big fuss about the tesseract coming to Asgard, but then completely disregard the scepter.

Speaking of the scepter, onto plothole number three, why did the scepter not work on Tony? Was it just coincidence because Loki hits the arc reactor? Or was it more?

Because you see, the element powering the arc reactor is based on the tesseract, which houses the Space Stone an Infinity Stone. And the scepter houses the Mind Stone, another one of the Infinity Stones.

Does one or at least something with the same properties as one cancel one of the other Stones out?

Because later in Age of Ultron, when Wanda uses her powers on him they do work and she got her powers from the Mind Stone. This is after he removed the arc reactor in 2013 at the end of Iron Man 3. And as if that isn’t enough, Tony himself writes it off as the scepter giving him the vision.

So, with that being said, Starkium is an element based on the tesseract, which houses the Space stone. It is also capable of throwing off the working of the scepter, which houses another Infinity Stone, the Mind Stone to be precise. What if, for each of the stones there is an element based on one of the other stones that cancels one another out.

• Space over Mind

• Mind over Soul

• Soul over Power

• Power over Reality

• Reality over Time

• Time over Space

(Is this of any value towards the plot? No. Then why would it matter? Well my brain wouldn’t let it go, so deal with it)

After the Snap, maybe before I don’t know yet, the remaining Avengers realize this. And with the remaining Avengers I mean Tony Stark. Tony Stark figures it out as per usual, once he’s back from his impromptu space vacation of course.

Because exhaustion or not, he’s got shit to do. And seeing as he’s the only one with working brain cells and occasionally, when given incentive uses them. Because, I flat out refuse to believe that Tony gave up after his kid just died in his arms.

So, he and Nebula come up with a plan, he sure as hell isn’t gonna let a genocidal grape with a bunch of colourful rocks win without so much as a rematch.

Remember earlier when I said, “So, their deaths are inconsequential and could be reversed for the purposes of better storytelling.”?

Yes? Great, so here the Black Order doesn’t die, except for Gamora who does die for the Soul Stone, but that can be reversed. If the person who snaps thinks of just the right thing. So, everything does go according to plan, for Thanos.

Sort of, he sends all of his children to guard their Stones. But he has two left over, the Soul Stone and the Mind Stone for Gamora and Nebula respectively. But seeing as Gamora died and Nebula betrayed him, he is coming a few hands short.

That’s where Nebula comes in, she goes to the Garden alone, to realign herself with Thanos. Saying she was making sure her sister didn’t do anything to stupid during her time with the Guardians and when she learned of her death she wasn’t thinking clearly. Struck with grief she attacks him on Titan. (I don’t know, okay, I haven’t worked out all of the kinks yet.) Delighted by this revelation Thanos trusts her with the Mind Stone and he’ll just guard the Soul Stone himself.

Unbeknownst to him though, Nebula leads the Avengers to him and after she’s gotten the Mind Stone, she sends in the Avengers. Thor goes for the head and they get the Soul Stone.

Once they arrive back on Earth, Tony starts working on the elements as well as using the readings of the Stones to find the other stones. Once he finds the Stones, they divide into tag teams of two and go hunting for the remaining Stones.

During the three weeks that Tony was stuck in space, the remaining Asgardians arrived on Earth. Thor leaves Valkyrie in charge of New Asgard, who settled in Norway, with the help of Pepper. As he goes to retrieve the Space Stone (he is getting that one because he’s the only original Avenger from space) which is guarded by Ebony Maw.

Maw because he can use magic and is the most skilled of the Black Order, so Thor has the biggest chance of surviving. He goes on his own, seeing as all of the other people who know their way around space are paired with a human. The other pairs are:

• Steve & Carol for the Time Stone; Because there both soldiers out of time; I don’t have a particular reason for this except for maybe Steve needing some self reflection on his past actions and Carol being an actual Captain, not just an honorary one, can help (yes, im salty);

• Bruce/Hulk & Nebula for the Power Stone; Because the Hulk, but, also, also, actually, actually Bruce Banner is the strongest Avenger. And they need to realize that they need to work together (These two got some serious self worth issues) and Nebula can help with that because she too was turned into something she didn’t want to be; Plus Cull Obsidian is the strongest of the Black Order;

• Clint & Rocket for the Reality Stone; Because they both lost their reality when they lost their children (Here Clint didn’t go whole psycho emo assassin, not to mention melodramatic Mr. Don’t, don’t give me hope, on the world and Natasha went to get him like ten seconds after the snap, because oh I don’t know she’s supposedly his best friend and the godmother to his children with one being named after her.); So did Tony (Harley & Peter you can fight me on this) but they don’t know that and also Pepper is pregnant;

Natasha stays on Earth as she is needed for relief efforts as well as new contingencies to ensure no other civilians die, for their cause. So, together with Pepper, Valkyrie, Darcy, Nakia and Okoye, who temporarily took over Wakanda seeing as the entire royal family was dusted, they plan with world leaders to stop traffic on the day the second snap happens.

So, people who dusted on the road won't come back to die anyways, because they were hit by a car, bus, train or even a subway. Whilst Tony and Rhodey play in the lab aka rebuild the Iron Legion to rescue any people who dusted on a plane, boat or submarine and are in danger of dying due those circumstances, whilst they diligently await the return of the other Avengers.

As for people who dusted in hospitals, there will be no surgeries that day and all personnel are on stand-by for any patient that dusted on the table. There should be records of all people who dusted, so it shouldn’t be too hard, just long and tedious. And that is without taking into account this is only for Earth and they need to rinse and repeat this process as quickly as possible for as many planets as possible.

That’s why Valkyrie stayed on Earth, so that once the plan in fully thought out, she and the Asgardians who want to can go and work this out with other worlds, with space ships made by Tony, Rhodey, Helen Cho (who was very sad to hear that Peter died, cuz she was his trusted doctor, it’s hard finding a doctor for him with his mutated blood and all that jazz) and Wakanda.

As for relief efforts, the Maria Stark Foundation is on top of things. Wong and the rest of the Kamer Taj also help with finding missing persons and as soon as the Iron Legion is back up they help too until they are needed for the second snap, with FRIDAY at the helm of course.

Once they have the element based on the Mind Stone, Tony with the help of Wakandan scientists awakens? Rebuilds? Reboots? Rebirths? I don’t know, okay? Vision is confusing, anyways he brings Vision and Jarvis back. Yes, Jarvis too, because I miss him and FRI deserves to meet her big bro.

Back to the Avengers in space. Thor, thanks to Stormbreaker, can call the Bifrost and therefore is also the one arrives the fastest at his destination. (Don’t ask me where okay. Just somewhere in the depths of the Galaxy.) He finds ? a castle? a cave? Ebony Maw seems too sophisticated for a cave, so a castle it is.

Moving on, he wanders around the castle trying to find Maw, but moreover the Stone. Finally he does find him, he’s just sitting there on a throne holding the Stone and almost playing with it in a sort of knowing way. He looks up and smirks as Thor’s grip on Stormbreaker tightens and he starts crackling with lightning, much like he did in the final battle of Asgard on the Bifrost against Hela. And then he says, “I did tell you the sun would shine on us again,” before transforming into Loki.

Cue cute and wholesome reunion, because these two sad bois™ deserve it. (Also after they get back to earth Thor is the one who handles the most of the delegation with other planets together with Loki, cuz you know Loki seems more competent)

Moving on to our dynamic duo of Captains (lmao I think I’m funnier than I actually am). Carol has a suit that lets her breathe in space as well as powers that she can use to fly. Steve can use the thing that Quill uses to breathe in space and I’m sure that either Tony or Wakandan scientists can whip up a space suit. I’m not even sure he needs it, cuz Quill’s clothes look pretty normal, but ya can never be too sure. Anyway, because Carol has the ability to fly really fast they just move through space like that to cut back on time.

Next up are Bruce and Nebula, they take the Milano together with Clint and Rocket who later take a pod once they need to separate.

In Infinity War Bruce is seen to be having trouble with hulking out, that is because Thanos scared the Hulk into hiding. At some point during the movie Bruce says, “Hulk, we got a lot to figure out, pal.”. So, if we follow this line of thought we can safely assume that they talk and start the process of healing. Neither trying to take over permanently, but rather work together to find a long term solution without killing either Hulk or Bruce. On the ship Bruce tries to talk to Hulk but the moment Thanos is mentioned he panics and refuses to talk about it.

Nebula notices and asks if she can try to talk with him, notice the distinction between ‘talking with’ and ‘talking to’. She talks with him as though he were an equal, which he is mind you, not an object. Nebula is able to reassure the Hulk and gets him to agree to try and reconcile with Banner to find a balance.

Ah yes, the dads amongst superheroes Clint Barton aka Hawkeye and Rocket Raccoon. Those who lost their reality with the Snap, their children. When a child loses their parent they are an orphan, but there is no name for a parent who loses their child (yes i am using that cliche quote, leave me alone). They are both skilled long distance fighters, so I was thinking we could take advantage of that. Rocket creates a diversion and Clint takes Proxima Midnight out, because the rage of a grieving father is not something I would wish upon my worst enemy.

the mcu would've been so much better today if they had hired parkner tumblr and ao3 to write for them.

[termagax]

like i think to fish theyre just both people who shouldve died a long time ago and now they arent allowed to. because they need each other. and they both crave that and resent it.

[hecksupremechips]

They did Ryuki so dirty in aini and I’m gonna be salty about it for the rest of my life I think

[dragons-and-yellow-roses]

Take a shot for every time I use an unnecessary comma. I don't recommend this, as you are sure to die of alcohol poisoning before you finish the first paragraph.

[gingermintpepper]

Sliding in here just to throw my hat into the ring a little (Asclepius is, unironically, one of my favourite crimebags after all and this discussion is very interesting, though I lack a decent amount of its initial context) and to dig in a little to some of the points brought up in terms of 'mortals defeating gods' and Asclepius' place in that conversation;

I must first always bring up that the circumstances of Asclepius' birth itself were highly unique and ambiguous and the authors who tell the tale of Coronis' fate and Asclepius' birthing deliberately keep it vague as to whether or not Asclepius was already dead in the womb or whether the infant was still living. For my purposes, I usually think of baby Asclepius as still being alive before Apollo cuts him out, and the Pythian Ode supports this (though it's still fairly ambiguous) but the important thing here is that Asclepius was born on that knife's edge of life and death - where even a moment more of hesitation or deliberation would have killed him before he was even born for crimes that were not his own and that this act of clemancy essentially goes on to define how Asclepius himself lives his life.

(Pythian Ode 3: Skedaddle Skadabee, Apollo resolves to save his baby; trans. Svarlien)

This very neatly brings up my next point, aversion of death or "curing" death as @superkooku put it being a transgression against both Hades realm - and more specifically against Thanatos' work and domain as death god - and Zeus' realm - more specifically against the Fates' work as arbiters of mens' lifespans. There are a couple things to bring up here but I do want to focus on the whole idea of averting fate, specifically death, and how the line of Apollo tend to have unique ways of dealing with it. Apollo himself was already on such good terms with the Fates that he could do things like casually get them white girl wasted and extract ridiculous contracts from them (see: Admetus) but Apollo didn't dare resurrect mortal loved ones, even if he was anguished by their losses and he never tried to use his mastery of medicine or flesh to undo fate, even if it was completely within his power. That brings figures like Orpheus and Asclepius to the forefront as Apollonian figures that often flirt with the line of divine and mortal knowledge/skill with Asclepius being cited multiple times as not only being someone with the knowledge of how to cure all manners of affliction of the human condition but someone who, originally, at least, had the support of the gods to do so. Asclepius didn't just resurrect one or two people in a desperate situation - he had healed the 'malady' of death so many times that Athena herself knew that he would have a better use for gorgon blood than she ever would and was so well established that when Artemis got so desperate to save her beloved companion, she knew to go straight to Asclepius and not her brother. Because Apollo would have never revived Hippolytus, he wouldn't have even tried, Apollo doesn't undo Fate, he's one of its Lords. But Asclepius? As a mortal, and as a human, as someone that Apollo and Chiron passed all their healing knowledge onto and who went on to continue innovating the practice (often with Apollo overlooking and double-checking his work), it only makes sense that Asclepius' revivals were, for a time, sanctioned by the Olympian pantheon - or at the very least by Zeus who no doubt knew what he was doing and let him continue curing death so long as he didn't do anything egregious in his pursuit of it. (That egregious act would come either in the form of continuing to practice revival after being formally banned from it after Hades files his complaint to Zeus thus earning his punishment or from Asclepius beginning to accept money in exchange for healing others - something that was hotly debated but is still written in the Pythian Odes.)

(Pythian Ode 3: Asclepius, sweetie, maybe don't take the bribe?; trans. Svarlien)

Which leaves one last thing I wanted to comment on with regards to Asclepius' status as a figure in defiance of the ruling culture, of his cultic spread from Epidauros as a direct result of displeasure with Athenian war-mongering at the time and how his ideal of saving all men regardless of station or wealth or disease is, in turn, reflected in the way he stubbornly refuses to stop saving lives in his myth even if it means his death.

There's a wonderful article published in Cureus called "Socrates’s Last Words to the Physician God Asklepios: An Ancient Call for a Healing Ethos in Civic Life" which provides a contemplation on Socrates' final words and how even then, Asclepian ideals of universal empathy and care were a protest in the face of a greater oppressive power. And really, what greater oppressive power is there to mortals - to humans - than death? Hades is not only the god of the dead, he is also the god of wealth, the one who arbits over men's eternies and who possesses the immortal, unchanging soul of men. The system of the Underworld is a rigid caste where many will never taste the wonders of Elysium simply because they were not glorious enough or were born to the wrong parents or did not fight in the right wars and among the number of the living is Asclepius who did not care for the upheaval of order or the dereliction of immortal duty but merely cared about helping others no matter the cost.

I think that, more than anything, is what separates Asclepius from Diomedes or Perseus too. Both those heroes were pious and glorious, one for the sake of himself and the other for the sake of his mother but Asclepius cared for neither piety nor glory and merely sought to heal people. Whether he commited hubris or succumbed to greed, whether he was blameless or full of flaws, it cannot be argued that he was trusted by gods and humans alike to save their loved ones when the time came, no matter the circumstance, and that, I think, speaks far louder than any other aspect of his character.

Who did Asclepius resurrect ?

A couple days ago, I discussed the idea of mortals defeating gods with @kill-me-with-a-spoon on a comment section of my "thoughts on Epic" post.

We talked about Diomedes and Perseus briefly, but then a third example came in : Asclepius.

And I find this specific mention interesting because I didn't think about it but it kinda makes sense 😂

He didn't defeat any god like the two former heroes, that being physically overwhelming them. Instead, he simply "cures" death, thus Thanatos' doing. Not only his, but the Fates' too considering they cut the thread of life. And he meddled with Hades' realm, something that he hated and we know how that ended.

(Hades hating doctors will never not be funny)

I made some research on him for personal projects and so I want to use it right now for personal ramblings about who exactly Asclepius resurrected.

@kill-me-with-a-spoon was pointing out that if, by technicality, he didn't interfere with Hades' domain if souls he resurrected didn't cross the Styx. And I've got to say, I think he did.

Also, I completely agree with the fact that they're still killable. They won't die from the same cause since Asclepius heals their injuries but he doesn't deify anyone.

If we look up different sources, here's the list of people he resurrected.

Hippolytus (according to Pausanias and latin sources like Pseudo-Hyginus or Ovid)

What makes this particularly interesting is that Artemis is the one who has this idea. It shows that portraying her as a man hater is completely wrong since she asks her male nephew to resurrect her male friend/devotee. It shows her bond with Hippolytus (his death was very unfair, so I get it) and with Apollo too, since she trusted her brother's son completely.

Then, it's just funny but in-character that Theseus isn't the one who has the idea to resurrect his son, because of course he wouldn't think about it 😂. It's even funnier if we take late sources stating that Asclepius was among the Argonauts. Because Theseus was too, so they knew each other personally and yet Theseus couldn't think about it.

Another detail : Hippolytus seems to forgive Theseus in Euripides' play, but NOT after coming back to life in Pausanias' version. Different versions, I know, but if we mix the two, then we could interpret that maybe all this time in the Underworld gave him the opportunity to think about it, or maybe, with a new chance to live, he doesn't want to stay with his father.

I get you, Hippolytus. Go have fun.

Capaneus (according to Stesichorus)

What's interesting here is how Capaneus died : he participated in Polynice's siege against Thebes but was killed... by Zeus. He was struck by lightning because of hubris.

And then Asclepius comes and resurrects this guy. All the more reasons for Zeus to be angered. That means he came in and decided to undo divine punishment, the same one that will be his own doom in the future. It's pretty chilling for me.

Lycurgus

So, there are a lot of Lycurguses in mythology.

In the beginning, I thought it was Lycurgus of Thrace, which would've been hilarious because if this guy comes back to life, he'll come back traumatized and insane (also, any grapevine would be the source of PTSD flashbacks). And again, that would've mean undoing divine punishments.

BUT it seems to be a separate Lycurgus that was resurrected. Not the one who offended Dionysus.

It's also not Admetus' brother of the same name, though the logical link would've been easy to make (because of Apollo's servitude and Admetus also being an Argonaut according to some sources).

Honestly, Wikipedia is the only place where the Lycurgus that Asclepius resurrected is distinguished. Even then, the article speaks of a probable case and lists Apollodorus as a source. So not even researchers are completely sure of which Lycurgus it was.

Hymen/Hymenaios : yeah, according to the Orphics, he resurrected some guy named Hymen, even though the only figure with this name is a god... it would've been very interesting to analyze if I had more details about it. Unfortunately, there aren't really.

Tyndareus

Glaucus : It's funny how Asclepius resurrects both Theseus AND Minos' son. Though that exploit is more often attributed to the prophet and healer Polyidos. I wonder if there was some untold teacher-student relationship between the two, since Asclepius is one of the inventors of medicine (with Chiron)

And then there's this woman :

This cracks me up, because this little story alone states that Asclepius as a GOD still resurrects the dead even though he was punished for it. Tbf, he probably had to explain this to Zeus, that he had to compensate his partners' mistake. Still, that's hilarious that not even divine might stopped him.

Don't tell me he didn't know what he was doing. He's a smart guy and his father is literally mr. God of prophecy. I like his audacity.

So, coming back to the initial subject, with the sheer number of mentioned names, I do think they had the time to be buried and cross the Styx (except Capaneus, who was probably turned into ashes lol).

Asclepius definetly meddled with Hades' domain, thus angering the god of the dead and he 100% provoked Zeus.

But, not all the gods were agaisnt him. If we take the version where he resurrects people with gorgon blood, then Athena, who gave it to him, was in favor of his operations.

Then, there is Artemis who asked him to bring back Hippolytus and finally, quite obviously, his n°1 supporter is his own father Apollo (oh god, I could make a whole new post rambling just about Apollo and Asclepius).

So yeah, I really like this myth for many reasons and this is one of them : how it's tied to many other stories, how different figures behave and react to Asclepius' antics, how it puts the system of life and death into questions, etc...

Anyways, if you have anything to comment on about this myth, don't hesitate. I'd love to discuss it more !

My main source about all of this was Theoi.

[arolesbianism]

Trying to get a better feel of Choice’s design

[booasaur]

Something really amazing happened in France, and I think it'd help us in the US to learn about it. Forgive the long read, but I think this is genuinely great both because of what happened and how.

So as some of you might have seen, in a decision historians will debate for years (mostly to figure out just WTF he was thinking, even though he is alive right now and can be asked), the French president, Emmanuel Macron, currently in power and THREE YEARS before the scheduled election, seeing the far right rise in popularity decided to dissolve the assembly and hold snap elections.

577 seats were up for grabs. Remember that number. Since half of that is 288.5, 289 seats are needed for a majority.

The first round happened last week and boy, was it bad. The far right made HUGE gains. It won or was in first place in so many races. And Macron's party ended up third!

Overall, this is how things ended up after the first round:

Far right bloc: 33%

Left bloc: 28%

Macron's centrist party: 20%

Conservatives: 7%

The way the French system works is that if a candidate gets over 50% of the vote, they win outright, and some of the far right did manage that. But, many races went to a runoff.

Immediate projections after were that the far right bloc might win anywhere from 240 to 310 seats, a catastrophe.

A shameful swing to the far right leading to the first time they'll be in power since the 1940s? Yes, but maybe not??

This is where things get interesting.

Unusually, a lot of these runoffs are 3-way, instead of a simpler 2-way choice. And in pretty much every case, that helps the far right.

So on June 30th, the night of the first round, this is how things went down:

Immediately, the left parties put out the call: anywhere they were third, they withdrew and their voters would go over to whoever was running against the far right candidate. Their goal: form a "republican front" to block the far right. The far right cannot get 289 seats.

Macron's bloc was not so...motivated. Different people put out different instructions: in some places, if they were third, they should drop out, but only to help the center left, not far left, in other places, see how far you are, only then drop out, that kind of thing.

The conservative party simply said they won't drop out and won't give their voters instruction either way in races they're not involved in.

Late night developments:

More people in Macron's party are now beginning to realize the situation and starting to coalesce around whichever candidate can beat the far right one. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, from Macron's party, says clearly the priority is to block the far right. BUT, some Macron spokespeople on TV say they'll form a coalition only with the center left and conservatives, splitting the left bloc if needed. Some individual Macronists still saying they won't drop out, even if there's no hope of winning.

Lol.

So, now July 1st:

Only half so far. In one race, where the sister of Marine Le Pen (the far right leader and the face of their movement) was leading, the third place Macronist refused to bow out.

Excellent quote from another Macronist:

Perhaps realizing the same thing, that Macronist in the race against the Le Pen sister now drops out.

In some places, third place Macronists are dropping out DESPITE Macron bewilderingly telling them NOT to?

Halfway through the day:

Of the 311 3-way or 4-way runoffs, the number is down to 135 because of these candidates dropping out: 121 Left, 56 Macronists, 1 conservative.

Oh, there was this, in case people had any doubts about how terrible the far right are:

And to show the selflessness of the left:

July 2:

The deadline to decide if they want to stay in a runoff is today.

A dozen new third place Macronists who said they'd stay in have now dropped out. One got a call from both the PM Attal AND Macron to drop out, signalling the dawning understanding of the importance of this moment.

Even some conservative party members are now backing the left candidate who faces the far right.

A Macronist who had 30.55% of the vote in the first round and came in third to the far right's 33.11% and left's 32.73% and who would have been tempted to stay has dropped out.

The deadline to stay in or not has now passed.

Look at these far right shenanigans!

Macron still being a freaking loser:

July 3rd:

In the end, of the 311 3- or 4-way run offs, only 91 left. Some polls come out that have the far right getting between 190 to 220 seats.

July 4th:

New polls say the balance of the voting itself isn't transferring between the left and center and predictions have risen for the far right, now predicted to get between 210 and 250 seats.

July 5th:

New polls again, left voters now predicted to do better transferring vote to the centrists, decreasing the far right projections again.

However, scandalous reporting emerges: while Attal was trying to fend off the far right, Macron was not only NOT taking the far right seriously, he was undermining efforts to defeat them. His team shrugged off the first round results and celebrated a BIRTHDAY as the results were still coming in?

July 6th:

A few runoffs happened yesterday, nothing much unexpected, some left and center wins.

July 7th:

The day of reckoning. At this point, the expectations are that the far right won't come close to that 289 number but could still easily have the most seats.

GUYS.

It's over and the left are in the lead!

A LOT of cases where a leftist or centrist was 2nd in the first round and now won.

Amazing:

SO many lessons to take from this.

First, you have to vote! You have to. You can't do anything without voting. The freaking French, who'll protest for anything, are showing up to vote. If you're trying to achieve any kind of result and it's not going to happen by January 2025, you have to vote now.

But just as importantly, the left and center (and even conservative) parties made very key decisions. They were all lucky that Attal, who Macron chose, saw the big picture, bigger than indeed Macron could. A stupid selfish centrist leader could have still ruined everything if it were up to him.

TL;DR: After a disastrous first round in the national French elections where the far right was on the cusp of taking power, the left and center formed a strong coalition and through the power of voting and unity, overcame the far right AND their selfish centrist president to win.

[bredforloyalty]

i had a good day i like having things to do but unfortunately i have just remembered i am insane</3

[celestial-kestrel]

It's that time of year again where Mari Lwyd starts to be talked about and shared around and an INCREDIBLY misleading post gets shared a lot. As someone who grew up with Mari Lwyd I wanted to clear some things up.

Also hello, if you are unaware who Mari Lwyd is. This is about the Welsh tradition of the horse skull who visits houses during the Christmas to New Years period in Wales asking for alcohol.

First off and probably the most important one:

Mari Lwyd is not a cryptid!

I can not emphasise this enough. She. Is. Not. A. Cryptid. There is no story or mystery about a ghost or zombie horse roaming the Welsh valleys. She's not even supposed to be a ghost or a zombie. It's just a horse skull on a stick with a guy under a sheet. She's a hobbyhorse and a folk character used to tell Welsh stories and keep songs alive. When people spread the misinformation that she's a cryptid, it's the equivalent of saying Kermit the Frog is a cryptid.

She is actually only one character in a wider cast of characters who go door to door or, in more modern times, pub to pub. The cast of characters can change town to town and village to village but there are some common ones I see time and time again. The Leader, the Merryman, The Jester and The Lady are just some I see regularly. Punch and Judy used to be more popular a few years ago but I haven't seen them in a while as their tradition has mostly fallen out of popularity. In most cases, almost the whole cast will be played by men. Even the characters are considered and referred to as female. Though this again depends and varies by which group is partaking in the Mari Lwyd tradition.

This point also goes onto my second point,

Mari Lwyd does not rap.

I think this comes from a very common misunderstanding of what rap is vs spoken word. Rap is a very specific style of music originating from the African American communities of the USA and has it's own structure and motifs unique to it. It's a lot more complex than people give it credit for as a style of music and just flippantly assign anything similar to it as being rap. If someone is talking fast or reciting poetry, it is not rap. Or anything that is an exchange of words between two people is not a rap battle. Mari Lwyd does not do rap, actually something that gets left out of these posts is the fact Mari Lwyd does not even speak. It's actually the Leader, who does all the speaking and song based banter between the house/pub owner for entry. Mari Lwyd just clicks her mouth, bites people and bobs her head around.

I think Mari Lwyd is a really beautiful and unique part of Welsh culture. She's not actually as wildly celebrated as a lot of the posts make her out to be. Actually, I think most Welsh people themselves learn about Mari Lwyd through the internet as well. Her popularity is increasing thanks to the drive of local groups wanting to keep the traditions alive and a renewed desire to document Welsh traditions before they're gone. Which is why it's such a shame that she's turned into something she's not to earn horror points on the internet. I think this is why it bothers me so much to see the misunderstandings of the culture and the folk tradition. Mari Lwyd's origin is very hot debated as well as how long it's been going on for. But I think it's thanks to a lot of traditions like this that the Welsh language and our stories weren't lost forever. Welsh culture is recovering as is the language. But it's still in a very fragile place. I think it's why it's important to document and correct information when it's spread.

Anyway, if you want to see the tradition in action, here's a lovely video from the Cwmafan RFC going to one of the pubs for charity. It includes the song exchange with the pub owner for entry and the whole pub singing and joining in once Mari Lwyd and the rest are inside.

As well with another video from St Fagan's showcasing the more traditional and door to door form with the larger cast.

[ambrosiagourmet]

I want to talk about why I think this is the one of the most important Falin panels:

So, Falin is really nice, right? It's one of the first things we really learn about her. She's kind even to the monsters of the dungeon - choosing to ward the party rather than fight spirits and cause them needless harm.

In the above early flashback in chapter 11, we see Marcille fawning over Falin's kindness, calling her an angel. Namari calls her soft-hearted. We see Falin choose not to fight even when a zombie attacks - instead she resolves the confrontation with a hug. After the flashback, the first thing Senshi says is that Falin "sounds like quite the person," which Marcille strongly affirms.

At this point in the story, all we have seen of Falin are these impressions; she is a healer, an angel, a caretaker with an infinite well of kindness towards everyone she meets - both friend and foe.

And honestly, that remains most of what we have to go by to understand her. The only times we get to see Falin on the page, alive and just herself, are in the opening and closing pages of the story and in the brief period of time after she is resurrected.

Nonetheless, we do have some more details to work with. For one, there is the scene that The Panel is from - a short memory in chapter 75, when Marcille flashes back to while she's dying. In that scene, Falin prepares to teleport them all out, and says that she's sorry "if there is a person at [their] destination." And that's when we get The Panel.

If you teleport someone or something into another person, the person teleported into is likely to be, at minimum, severely injured. They could die.

We can see a lovely little horrifying example of exactly why in one of the Daydream Hour doodles:

So, hmm. That's not... that's not SUPER nice. Certainly not displaying the same "kindness to all, friend and foe included" we saw represented earlier. On a basic level, this adds some nuance to Falin's kindness. We see it break a little, when pushed to the limit. We see her chose to protect the people she loves above all else.

Which makes sense! As Laios says when the Winged Lion accuses him of similarly being motivated more by his friends' safety than everyone else in the dungeon, "...most people, aside from virtuous do-gooders, would feel the same way."

So, we can take The Panel as simply showing a moment of weakness for Falin. A time when she was pushed to her limits, and that "most people" selfish side of her shone through.

However... I think there's a little more going on with Falin than just her being an angel 99% of the time, except just that once. I love The Panel because I think it helps us understand that Falin isn't just motivated by kindness - she also has a desire to avoid seeing people in pain.

Isn't that the same thing?

No, no it very much is not.

Let's look at a short comic from the Falin section of the Adventurer's Bible, because I think it illustrates this point perfectly. The group is complaining about how much Marcille's healing hurts, and comparing it to Falin's, which "doesn't hurt a bit." Marcille retorts with the following:

Now, the punchline of this comic is that, despite Marcille's sentimental assertion that she's "thinking of [them]" by letting her healing magic hurt, they all still prefer to be healed by Falin.

But hey, this wouldn't be the first time that Dungeon Meshi hides a very real character beat or insight in a gag, so let's think about this somewhat seriously.

If Marcille is right (and she knows a fair bit about magic, so we can assume that she has at least somewhat of a point), then what Falin is doing isn't kind. I suppose if someone specifically requested to not feel the pain, it could be kind, but that's not really what happened here. She is the one who felt badly about the others being in pain, and she is the one who decided, without telling them or giving them a choice in the matter, to take away that pain.

Both Marcille and Falin are healing the party, but Marcille is doing it in a way that accomplishes the task in the most straight forward way, without any additional interference. Falin is going out of her way to perform the healing in a way she is more comfortable with. A way that avoids pain.

Going back the The Panel, I don't think its a coincidence that the only time we see Falin (well, non-chimera Falin) willing to do something that could hurt someone is when any potential pain will be far away from her. If she got someone hurt or killed by teleporting the party to the surface? Not only would it be far out of her sight, but she'd be dead before she had to deal with any consequences of that action.

Falin is not a confrontational person. She doesn't push when Marcille won't tell her the truth about the resurrection, and she comforts Laios about her own death - both of those things happening in the only full chapter she is alive and conscious in the whole story.

We also know that she considered accepting Shuro's proposal, despite not having any special feelings towards him, and that Falin never explained to Marcille that she wanted them to share a meal together. When she brought Marcille various foods at the academy, she just accepted Marcille's confused rejection and gave up.

And lastly, we know that she is still in contact with her parents, despite the neglect and abuse she suffered at their hands. Although the way someone chooses to handle contact with abusive or bad family is a complicated topic, which I don't want to overly simplify, I do I think this fact gets at the heart of how she handles conflict.

So many people that Falin loves have hurt her. There are understandable hurts, like Laios leaving the village, or Marcille not understanding the food. And there are bigger, far less justifiable hurts - like her parents neglecting her throughout her childhood, and sending her away to be alone at the magic academy.

It doesn't seem like Falin has ever confronted any of it directly.

And the unhealthy aspects of this kind of avoidance of pain and confrontation is one of the things that the story of Dungeon Meshi is all about. We see Laios grapple with it before he goes to kill Falin, and we see Marcille acknowledge it at the end of the story, when she tells Laios that she has come to terms with Falin's death:

Eating is a part of life. Consuming other living things is a part of life. It isn't really possible to avoid that pain - you can only hide from the truth of it. You have to be selfish everyday. You have to eat - to choose to live. To choose to take up space.

And this is something Falin embraces, too. She comes back to life, after all.

We see her choose to come back to life.

And how does she make that choice? She eats. She consumes, and then she is asked a question by the manifestation of hunger itself:

Do you want to eat more?

There is a double meaning in the Winged Lion's final words on the next page.

When I first read this, I took it as him saying: life is cruel. You will suffer. You will feel more pain.

But perhaps, especially for Falin, this also means: you are choosing a path where you must cause pain. Where you must consume. Where you must take, and must be selfish. Because eating is the special privilege of the living, and it is their burden, too. In order to stay alive, she will need to keep eating.

And she chooses that. Chooses to be selfish. It's why her resurrection scene is so important, and it's why The Panel is so important. Because Falin coming back isn't the ultimate reward for all of the party's hard work.

It's her choice. Just like it was her choice that started everything in the first place. But this time, she doesn't choose to accept causing pain for the sake of Marcille and Laios. She does it for her own sake.