#Like their forms are influenced by what people think of them

[cancerian]

The only “dense motherfucker” is one that believes it is women that must do so (make men feel comfortable) for men. You live in a society highly governed by your fellow males, if anyone is making you feel “bad” or “sad” it is because of the rules and laws created by your fellow males. Why should women who have been oppressed and subjugated for years, and are still subjugated by a different name care for your hurt that is caused by other men.

The biggest threat to women is men, the biggest threat to men is other men. At these your big ages, you would think that half a braincell would have formed by now. There is nothing that men will do now that they have not already done in the past. This is why women’s history and their experiences with the men they loved is very important for young girls to know. That way they don’t fall into the trap of “if you show them love, they will change and be kind.” Stop trying to put women in dangerous situations under the guise of loving all humans.

You have to be small minded to think women treat all men the same, your kind needs their ego stroked. Which is why women/girls are required to say “but not all men” when discussing things that disproportionately affect them. No one owes you love, but as humans we owe each other some sense of respect. So, you must respect women’s decisions to interact with you how they feel safest doing. The same way women have learned to respect that not all men are going to respect them. Only a dense pig would think that women do not understand the concept of viewing others as humans. In fact, time and time again it is women that are viewed as less than human by the same group you’re forcing them to care for.

As women (regardless of age), and especially as black women (moving away from the POC bs) you should prioritize your safety, you are not mother Theresa (even she was proven to be a fraud) and should focus on your own wellbeing. Don’t let an idiot calling you “dense” put you in situations many never come out of alive. As someone who has a male in her life that would do anything to see her happy and accomplished (and vice versa), I don’t go around with rose colored glasses trying to change anyone’s opinions because they chose to adopt an ideology that demonizes the living experiences of others. If being called “brother” is the only way you feel welcomed, then you need to rethink your entire life. Once you’re above 25, I implore that you try using at the very least 1/3 of your brain. I know using even half would probably cause a headache, so for now let’s aim to use 1/3.

Also you bring up the fact that men disproportionately hold more seats of power, so maybe direct your sadness to the people actively causing it. Which is the men in power not caring about the broke men (any man not in power). “It won’t pan out great for anyone who is not a male” because this is what males have done throughout history (I know you used man, but I used male for a specific reason and no I’m not a terf, but I don’t care about being called that). What a pathetic thing to say, especially if you’re not the man in power. This is an issue that egotistical idiots have (not calling you an idiot, but it is what it is), claiming men created this and that, when your ancestors are not the men that created it. Stop claiming power you personally don’t have. Stop claiming other men’s hard work as your own, especially when they put in the work to actually be productive members of society.

To the original twitter post, my dude you sound very stupid and seem like the kind that spends more time watching videos than actually reading on your countries history. The win was predictable, not because “men are becoming more right wing” but because this has been a common theme in America. These people are influenced by certain kind of media because deep down they already hold these beliefs, which is why they accept them. Men don’t genuinely want to see equality, hence why when they notice any group they view less than getting more rights they retaliate. The election result only tells us the reality of America as it pertains to race and sex (even more so when we look at the outcome of certain women’s voting history). So, the replies need to stop trying to make women take the blame for actions caused by other men. We should all aim to grow up.

To all the women/girls out there, avoid men that always want to be coddled and victimized. Most importantly find ways to protect yourselves, utilize the 2nd amendment given to you not by all men, but by the men that actually wrote it in. Protect yourselves by all means, and don’t be made to feel guilty for opting for safety over danger and stress.

Edit: have come to the conclusion after reading a substantial number of replies, Tumblr has a significant number of idiots who think they are smart. As a collective, we should all go touch grass.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[euthymiya]

You believe in soulmates. Alhaitham does not. It’s not as though he loves you any less for his beliefs, but he certainly doesn’t entertain your baseless theories.

You’re determined to change his mind.

“What would you do if we never met?” You ask, staring up at him with your cheek pressed against his chest.

He glances down at you, sighing as he shakes his head. Here we go, he thinks silently. “I probably wouldn’t do anything, considering I wouldn’t know you existed.”

“You wouldn’t be sad?” You frown.

“How can I be sad about something that I don’t know exists?”

“Well, you could know of me,” you insist, “just because you don’t know me doesn’t mean you don’t know I exist.”

“In that case, I probably would not do anything,” he snorts. You don’t like that answer, glaring up at him as he adds, “I wouldn’t know what I’m missing if we never met.”

“You’re a real romantic, has anyone ever told you that?” You grumble. There’s a vibration of his chuckle through his chest, right under your cheek in a soft, rhythmic feeling that you’re so used to, you think it might be familiar from another life.

Over the course of the Akademiya’s years, there have been two prominent theories that have been debunked about soulmates:

1. The law of conservation of mass-energy states that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed—but only transformed. When a person dies, their body decomposes, breaking down into atoms that return to the earth, air, and water. These atoms then get recycled by nature, eventually becoming part of other living organisms, thus reincarnating from their previous life forms. It is possible, then, that two individuals could fundamentally be linked to reincarnate together from the same set of atoms in every lifetime.

It was later debunked by a scholar named Lamiya. Atoms themselves don’t retain information about where they’ve been or what they’ve been part of. They are interchangeable at a fundamental level, which means there is no difference between an atom in a human and a rock.

2. The heart and brain generate electromagnetic fields that extend outward from the body, with the heart’s field reaching several feet. Studies suggest these fields may be sensed by others nearby, subtly shaping feelings of comfort, attraction, and connection. It is possible that certain individuals’ frequencies may naturally align, creating a sense of harmony between electromagnetic fields, thus indicating that two individuals are naturally connected and could be labeled soulmates.

This theory was later disproven by a scholar named Dharmakirti. While human bodies do generate electromagnetic fields, there is no evidence that these fields influence interpersonal attractions or emotional resonance. Fields produced by the heart and brain are exceptionally weak and rapidly diminish with distance, making it unlikely they could be sensed or create harmony between individuals in measurable ways.

They fascinate you enough that Alhaitham pulls strings to allow you access to the archived files, but it doesn’t go unnoticed by you how he scrunches his nose in distaste as he sifts through them himself.

Soulmates have no plausible evidence of existing, he argues.

Lots of things have no plausible evidence, yet they exist, you always argue back.

You like to think despite all the differences, you and Alhaitham are soulmates—that some form of you, outside of your physical bodies, exists for each other and each other alone.

You think it must be the case when your eyes seem to find his in a crowd without even trying. What are the odds that in a sea of people, they always happen to come across his by chance? And what other explanation would there be for the way he always seems to just know you’re staring at him while he sleeps every morning, waking up not too long after your eyes fall on his face in admiration? And how else would you rationalize the fact that you could tell his presence apart from anyone. You’re certain that if two bodies were standing behind you from a distance, your heart would know which one belonged to him.

Soulmates, you argue. That has to be the answer.

“I think we were always meant to meet,” you murmur quietly, tracing a finger along the pale skin of his chest. “Don’t you?”

“We’ve shared numerous classes together and have offices within within the same hall,” he states blandly, “I think the chances of not meeting would be rather improbable.”

“Or maybe,” you huff, “we were always meant to meet because we’re soulmates.”

“I think that theory has been sufficiently disproven—”

“You never know! We believe in the divine even if we’ve never seen them, haven’t we? Who’s to say Celestia aren’t fake—”

“The Archons have spoken of them multiple times, and The Gods, in fact, do exist for us to see, so I think we can trust—”

“Maybe Celestia decide soulmates,” you reason, raising a pointed brow at him, “how will you disprove that? There’s no evidence that they haven’t, and you can’t collect much evidence about them, so I think it’s safe to say that it’s possible.”

“But then it’s equally as safe to say it’s not possible by that logic, as well,” he says smugly.

“Fine,” you huff, glowering up at him through puffed cheeks, “I guess you’re just too stubborn to convince.”

“I’m not stubborn,” he argues (which he does quite stubbornly, you want to say), “I apply logic and reasoning to my theories. Which is why they are hardly disproven.”

“Do you at least think we’d be soulmates in another world if they did exist?” You ask hopefully.

He looks like he wants to argue about the likelihood of another world existing altogether—it irritates you enough that it pulls a frown on your face before you grumble a quiet forget it, shuffling out of his arms and turning away to face your back at him.

He chuckles, shaking his head. Something fond blooms in his chest, like a fresh padisarah in May.

“If,” he emphasizes as his arms wrap around you from behind, pulling you flush against his chest once more, “if in another world we existed where soulmates were real, then yes. I do think it would be you and I.”

“Really?” You ask quietly.

“Yes,” he whispers. Suddenly, he sounds rather sure about a theory he never even believed in the first place.

“I wonder what we’re doing in that other world,” you hum thoughtfully.

He sighs, bringing the blanket back up to cover both of your bodies and mumbles, “I would hope we’d be sleeping at a reasonable hour before a work day.”

—————

Stay tuned for them being soulmates after all in another world *wink wink* ;)

[bonefall]

As someone with P-DID(Partial DID. I still have headmates but I can't really hand the body over to them) I am so fucking concerned about Moonpaw. I don't like the idea that she has DID because she's a chimera, that's not how it works, and I don't like the idea of them demonizing chimeras(I am not one myself though I just think we should all dislike that)

But I'm also super concerned because people aren't acknowledging how ableist this is. The voice is stated in the blurb to be sinister and people are ignoring that. I even saw someone say "It's not plurality it's a SPIRITUAL thing" and like. That's not any better. You know that's not better right? It still promotes the idea that hearing voices is always Bad and chimeras murder their siblings.

Idk I'm just super worried.

It's difficult to get through to certain folks on "Why This Is Bad" because most people don't have an understanding of non-overt bigotry.

Guy calling you a slur on the bus? That is overt. It's obvious. It makes "sense" to an observer that he is threatening you, by calling you to attention, trying to provoke a reaction. It's less overt when, say, you're stimming on the bus and that same guy starts huffing and growling in discomfort, but they can still follow the logic that Bus Guy's behavior towards you is altered based on his prejudice.

But they'll have a hard time making that final leap-- that Bus Guy's idea of your disorder is tied to something harmful.

My stims tend to be facial (blinking rapidly, scrunching face, shaking head, etc), but even without the classic "hand flapping," Bus Guy will tie these traits to unpredictability, "weirdness," or stupidity. If we weren't just on the bus and this man had power over me in some way, like if he was my teacher, or boss, or even a coworker, his assumptions about me would influence my life negatively.

Then, of course, multiply Bus Guy by the entire bus full of people and their social biases, and this is how systemic problems are perpetuated without a single person exercising overt bigotry.

THAT is why "Sinister Voice In Head" is a harmful stereotype. In Bus Guy's mind, a link is being formed; Voices = Make You Bad.

Just like how it doesn't actually matter if the "stupid character" is stimming because they're autistic or not, it's still reinforcing that bias. "Spiritual Thing" or not, she is being negatively influenced by Evil Sinister Voice.

Worse; there's barely any counter examples-- no humanizing portrayals of how stimming can help you focus, no discussion of real problems some stimming can cause (skin picking can be really destructive for example), no honest stories of what living with a difficult headmate truly feels like, etc.

...Digressing. My hand on your shoulder, Nonnie. It's gonna be ok.

Even if it is WORST case scenario, total catastrophe... this isn't the first or last time that headmates are handled badly in media. Remember; cultural bias is ingrained in people the same way that canyons are carved. Slowly, steadily, over many examples and many years, lapping away at rock that is already wet.

One more bad example is just another drop in that wave. It will not bring the wall down. It's worth concern! It's worrying, I know! We can do something about it.

[stellar-solar-flare]

Hehehe, I knew where this was going from the summary but yet, seeing it unfold on page was just delightful!

I don't often go for post-Endgame fics, even AUs, but I was definitely reeled in by the way we saw, even in this one short chapter, about how there are so many issues because of everything that happened with the whole Thanos ordeal. And I love Pepper as the force that is trying to help all these people and put the influence and budget of Stark Industries to work - that feels like such a great way to honor Tony's legacy, and something he would want to happen when he's gone.

“Well, then let’s talk about it. You know I’m here for you, whatever you need. I don’t know how you think I can help, but clearly you’ve got an idea.”

And I mean this is like 100% Steve jumping in before he even knows what's going to be asked of him - I mean, yes, Pepper knows who he is and wouldn't ask anything that is against his morals but also I love every instance of Steve just being the sentence 'I am here to help, what can I do?' in a physical form.

"That's exactly why you'd be perfect, Steve. You're not entrenched in the political machine. You have a moral compass that's unwavering, and a desire to help those who need it, no matter what.”

I like her reasoning, and also I ADORED the way Steve immediately jumped to think if he's good enough for this and qualified, how he's a soldier, not a politician... A man that first thinks about the responsibilities instead of the power is a man after my own heart.

"You've shown that you're willing to stand up for what you believe in, even when it costs you everything.”

Honestly if this isn't just Steve Rogers' character in one singular sentence, I don't know what is. I love your way of writing him, the characterization is just astronomically good. You get him and I'm always delighted to find writers whose characterizations I can get behind.

I also adore the idea of him getting a good team this time, and the support, instead of just being flung headfirst into a world he does not understand (glares at canon). And the fact that Pepper also mentioned Nat's sacrifice in addition to Tony's felt like the cherry on top - I am still salty over the way they sort of glossed over her death in canon and I'm glad it's being spun as one reason for them to try to make the world a better place in this fic.

I am delighted with this, thank you so much for sharing! What an interesting idea and a wonderful characteriztion, and not to mention that your writing is so smooth and seamless that it's really gripping! I am definitely looking forward to diving into the next parts and finding out how Reader plays into all of this.

Red, White & True - Prologue

Characters/Pairings: Steve Rogers (future x curvy Millennial Female!Reader), Pepper Potts Word Count: 1.3k Summary: "There was an idea..." Words at the heart of what brought the Avengers together. Steve Rogers is no longer an Avenger, having retired after The Snap and passed his shield along to Sam Wilson, but Pepper Potts has a new idea to bring Steve back out of retirement - but in a totally different arena.

Content/Warnings: none

Notes: This takes place in a post-Endgame scenario where Steve stays and generally most of TFATWS happened.

↠ Main Masterlist | Aspen's Ask Box | Field Guide to the Forest

PROLOGUE

[MAY 1 - Upstate New York]

“You know I’m always happy to come out to the farm,” Steve says, rinsing the last plate and handing it to the strawberry blonde woman so she can dry and put it back on the shelf. “I love to see you and Morgan. But what do you want to talk to me about, Pepper?”

Pepper gives him a tight-lipped smile. “Let’s go to the study,” she answers, and leads the way to the back of the modern but rustic home. She takes a seat on the couch and motions for Steve to sit on the other end.

“I was sitting right here when Tony stood over there,” she nods her head toward a spot in front of Steve, “and told me he figured out the science of time travel.”

Steve’s chest aches at her words. “Pepper…”

She holds up a hand to stop him. “No, don’t apologize. I told him that was amazing and terrifying. Then we sat here together and really talked. He told me he could stop, put a pin in it, that part of him wanted to bury the idea in a lock box at the bottom of the lake. But I reminded him that we were lucky not to have lost each other in the Blip and so many others weren’t.”

She pauses for a moment and looks to the mantle where there’s a small, retired arc reactor on display. Steve waits for her to continue.

“When I started working for him, I had no idea where it would all lead. I certainly didn’t have aspirations to date my boss or become the CEO of Stark Industries. Tony will always be the love of my life, and each day that goes by, each month, each year, I miss him, but the missing hurts less. What’s left is the whisper, the urge of the legacy of everything that’s still here and what I can do with it. I haven’t been idle, but I’ve been trying to ignore my own time travel issue, if you will.”

Steve can hardly hold himself back from scoffing. “The medical research, the humanitarian initiatives, the scientific advances you’re still spearheading, it’s just not really enough if you can’t solve for world peace,” he jokes.

Pepper cocks her head slightly. “The thing is, I have an idea of where I could start on that last one.”

Steve’s eyebrows knit together, and he studies her face. “Okay…” he knew his voice was conveying his curiosity but also his trepidation.

“Stark Industries helps a lot of people, but there are things I can’t help no matter how hard I try there. The world is in a bigger mess than science can help, only so much can be done with humanitarian work, and there’s an area that’s haunting me because I’ve tried to stay out of it for as long as I could, and I just don’t think I can any more, not and still sleep at night.”

“Well, then let’s talk about it. You know I’m here for you, whatever you need. I don’t know how you think I can help, but clearly you’ve got an idea.”

“I know you retired one suit, but I’d like you to think about another.”

“Pep-”

“Not that kind of suit,” she interrupts. “There are still some good, decent people in politics, but money has poisoned so much of what goes on - lobbyists, special interests, politicians needing to fundraise. But I’ve got money. I could fund a campaign.”

Steve frowns. “What exactly are you proposing?”

“I need a candidate, and there’s no one I would trust more than you. I want to finance your campaign to run for President of the United States.”

Steve's eyes widen, and he feels as if the air has been sucked out of the room. His mouth opens and closes, but he can’t think of any initial words to come out. He stands abruptly, his legs carrying him to the large window overlooking the serene lake outside. The late afternoon sun casts a golden glow across the water, creating a stark contrast to the turmoil in his mind.

"President?" he finally manages to croak out, his voice barely above a whisper. He turns back to face Pepper, his brow furrowed deeply. "Pepper, I... I don't know the first thing about running a country. I've been a soldier, an Avenger, but never a politician."

Pepper leans forward, her eyes bright with determination. "That's exactly why you'd be perfect, Steve. You're not entrenched in the political machine. You have a moral compass that's unwavering, and a desire to help those who need it, no matter what.”

“And sometimes I failed.”

“It made you wiser every time.”

Steve plants his hands on his hips and sighs. “Pep, I’m just a kid from Brooklyn who wanted to serve his country.”

Pepper leans forward, her eyes intense and earnest. "And you've done that, Steve. You've served this country in ways most people can't even imagine. Think about what you could do as President. The impact you could have, the changes you could make. You've always fought for what's right, even when it wasn't easy or popular. That's exactly what this country needs right now."

Steve turns back to the window, his mind racing. He thinks of all the battles he's fought, the sacrifices he's made. Could he really make a difference from the Oval Office? Or would the political machine chew him up and spit him out?

"What about my past?" he asks, still facing the lake. "The Accords, going rogue, all of it. It would all come out in a campaign."

He hears Pepper stand and approach him. She places a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Your past is part of what makes you the right person for this, Steve. You've shown that you're willing to stand up for what you believe in, even when it costs you everything.”

He can feel Pepper's eyes on him, waiting for a response. He takes a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts.

"I appreciate your faith in me, Pepper. I really do," he begins, still facing the lake. "But this isn't like leading a team into battle. The complexities of running a country, the constant scrutiny, the compromises you have to make... I'm not sure I'm cut out for that."

"Steve, that's exactly why you'd be perfect for this. You understand the weight of responsibility. You've made tough decisions under pressure. And most importantly, you have a clear vision of what's right and what's wrong."

Steve turns to face her, his expression conflicted.

“I won’t lie to you,” she continues, “the public scrutiny will be worse, but it’s not something you’re unfamiliar with. Just like before, you’ll have people singing your praise and people ready to crucify you just for sport. But we’ll face it head-on. You won’t do any of it alone. We’ll put together a team of friends, people we trust, experts and strategists. We’ll find people outside our camp who will challenge us to make the campaign stronger. And when we get you in the White House, no president leads alone. You have a history of seeing the value in the people around you and bringing teams together. It’ll just be fighting a different fight.”

Steve thinks over her words. “In a different suit.”

She smiles. “You’ll do it?”

“Answer one more question for me.”

Pepper nods. “Anything.”

“Why do this?”

Steve sees the conviction settle in her entire demeanor, and that shift alone convinces him the rest of the way, but her words cement his resolve down to his core.

“Tony and Natasha didn’t sacrifice just to leave something broken behind. It’s time to help put things back together and try to leave a legacy of something better.”

go to chapter one: MANHATTAN & BROOKLYN

This is an idea that sparked in during the huge sleepover I hosted in July 2023, and it's been tantalizing me for a long time, but now the muse is finally ready to play with it! gee, I wonder why...

I can't wait to bring you along for the ride! This story will have 3-4 chapters, depending on where I split up the narrative. I anticipate about a chapter a week.

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I do not do tag lists, but FOLLOW @buckets-and-stories and TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS to be updated any time I publish a new work!

[sherlockggrian]

gonna talk about lore for a second cause it's eating away at me here

this is all entirely personal and 80% made up with zero basis other than the ongoing au for hermitcraft/life in my head, btw. Grian has steadily been getting more confident and dangerous with his powers since the end of season 8. He was terribly afraid of them and refused to use them for the first few years after Evo, and it took a long time during season 9 for him to be more comfortable. Each life series he gets more and more powerful and has more influence over the game. He's still not on the side of the watchers themselves.

In season 10, he uses it casually. He sits on the dock and mentally flies around the server to check on everyone. He can jump in and out of worlds and universes. He can stop time and talk to people in their dreams. Pearl has some powers as well, though she is not a true watcher in the sense and thus isn't quite the same as Grian. I was thinking about Taurtis, and how he made Grian and probably Pearl into what they are, and how he's the reason the watchers are so obsessed with Grian and his group specifically - becayse though Taurtis has lost most of what made him human, forgotten his human form and thinks mostly as a powerful entity, he still has this connection and ties to the other Evo players.

Which is why Grian and Pearl want to kill him. Permanently. They cause a rip in the world borders of Hermitcraft, and Taurtis comes to them, and during the fight something goes wrong and Taurtis ends up posessing Grian. He's now sort of two people, with Taurtis able to control him sometimes, but Grian powerful enough to fight it off. This small disruption in the world is enough for the watchers to trap the players into Wild Life.

Grian/Taurtis choose the wild cards. Grian knows what is going to happen, yet is somewhat powerless to stop it. He's in this sort of interal war while also trying to keep his friends alive (and failing miserably). Scar, who believes the canary curse being broken last time is what let him beat the watchers (he won instead of Gem, the one who the watchers wanted), is working dsperately to stop Jimmy from dying.

Pearl is the only one who knows about Grian. She's keeping quiet, waiting for the right moment to intervene again, like she did last season. They always keep their distance from each other because they know they're the ones who can sort of protect everyone as best they can from the watchers, and it works better when they are spread out. Their alliance is very thin at best. Despite their powers, they don't trust each other.

And Bigb, once again, is there to observe. He is not a watcher, or a listener, but something else, a 3rd being that the watchers keep a careful eye on. He could end everything, if he wanted, he wasn't even intended to be there, but he chooses to go along with it, for reasons unknown to anyone but him. He is not allied with the watchers, but he does nothing to prevent their attacks. Nobody knows where he came from, or where he goes when the games are over. He is merely there.

[gemsofgreece]

Folklore ask! Any stories on how the Greek mermaids got to be named after gorgons instead of any other countless sea or water spirits in myth? Does it have to do with princess Thessalonike?

I think this is actually a very complex story involving literature, oral tradition, the perception of creatures, women, historical figures and the meaning we apply to symbols according to our circumstances. This is a long story so there is going to be a Read More cut below.

First of all, Modern Greek has two words for the mermaid; γοργόνα (ghorghóna) and σειρήνα (sirína), so as you see both gorgons and sirens were conflated with the image of the mermaids at some point. In fact, the sirens did that first. I write "ghorghóna" in Latin characters to stress the change of the pronunciation of γ to a voiced velar fricative ever since late antiquity but otherwise the word is the exact same.)

Ancient Greek Mythology did not have a mermaid creature in the way we imagine it since the Middle Ages but the Ancient Greeks were aware of an ancient Assyrian deity who was imagined like that. This was goddess Atargatis who was known in Greek as Derceto. Greeks identified Atargatis / Derceto as the same with a mermaid goddess worshipped in Askhelon, somewhere in the north of modern-day Syria, according to Diodorus (1st century BC) but also Ctesias (5th century BC). The Roman Lucian confirmed this perception in the 2nd century AD. It is believed that to some degree this worship was known to Greece, especially during and after the Hellenistic period. For example, there has been a scripture found in Pella, Macedonia (<- coincidence?) dating to 206 AD in which the veneration of an Assyrian water deity is described.

The early Sirens of the Greek mythology (since 7th century BC) were depicted as creatures with the bodies of birds and the faces of women, who would seduce sailors with their beautiful music and singing. However, from the Classic period onwards there is scarce art depicting them with a fish body instead, maybe due to an Assyrian influence or maybe because the Sirens were creatures associated with the water mostly. They lived at the shore waiting for ships to pass and they were children either of River God Achelous or the Titan Oceanus or of Phorcys, son of Pontus (Sea).

A critical moment for the establishment of the siren as a mermaid in European minds might have been the book Physiologicus, written in Greek around the 2nd century in Alexandria. The book was a predecessor of bestiaries and was connecting various beasts (mostly actual animals but also a few mythological creatures) with the Christian doctrine by associating them with some trademark moral qualities they supposedly had. Physiologicus became very impactful and was translated to Latin, Armenian, Ethiopic, Syriac and later to Slavic, Old German and other European languages. I wasn't able to find what exactly was said about the Siren in the original Physiologicus, however the 10th century German copy Bern Physiologicus described the siren as half-woman, half-fish. Also, from the 7th century onwards western European books assert that the sirens are "sea girls" and are described as "having scaly fish tails". I did find a tiny image of a Greek manuscript of the Physiologicus and it has this drawing of the sirens, who indeed look a lot more like merpeople than half-birds:

Again, Physiologicus was very influential and the rest of the Early Christian tradition also explored the theme of the sirens extensively through the lens of morality. Early Christian documents discourage people to believe in the literal existence of sirens (fair enough) but they also shape their meaning into an allegory for prostitutes or any vile lustful women who are a danger for the moral male. In this context, the fish form gains more and more ground as well as alternative imaginings of the sirens as half-snakes or half-dragons. It should be noted that there are even imaginings in which the Siren has simultaneously fish and bird traits. The scaly look though, the picture of the siren ascending from the dark abyss instead of a feathery flying singer was more effective for the description of a destructive, dangerous feminine being. It is in the Byzantine period and respectively in the Middle Ages in West Europe when mermaids really become popular. In spite of all that, the bird version was not obsolete. The 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia Suda describes the sirens as half-birds.

Pages from Suda.

Let's go to the Gorgons now. The Gorgons were daughters of Phorcys, son of Pontus (Sea), much like the Sirens according to one version of their myth. They are too part of the general sea mythological sphere. They lived either beyond the edges or in Oceanus, in a hardly accessible rocky island. Their bodies were imagined as centaurs or wasps as early as in the 8th - 7th centuries BC but after that point they were imagined as humanoid, however sometimes they have snakes in their waist too or a scaly appearance or even wings, like we see happening with Sirens. All original accounts agree to a terrible old-looking repuslive face crowned with snakes. So does their name; Γοργώ (Gorgó) means "terrible looking, fearsome, terrifying". Despite that and before Ovid's popularisation of the Roman version of a victimized Medusa, the Greek Pindar already described Medusa as an incredibly beautiful woman in the 5th century BC. Pindar's take was influential and after this point ancient Greek art depicts a fairer Medusa. One can argue that Medusa typically looks scary but beautiful in pop culture ever since. In other words, as time passed there was some convergence in the way Gorgons and Sirens were imagined; the duality of being beautiful yet terrible and vile, sea creatures, feminine attributes, eventually a scaly look.

Let's make a pause now to talk a bit about Thessalonike and her tragic story. Thessalonike was Alexander the Great's half-sister, so named by her father Philip after an (undefined) victory against the Thessalians. Her mother Nicesipolis died when she was a baby and Philip died when she was a child so she was raised by Olympias. I would like to stress that there was a signficant age gap between Thessalonike and Alexander and there should not have been a lot of interaction between them. After Alexander's death, Olympias had still not married Thessalonike to anyone, favouring her own daughter first. Cassander, one of the diadochi, killed Olympias and Alexander's son and successor and married Thessalonike probably forcefully in order to get a better claim for becoming the King of Macedon. Cassander then named a new city he founded on the site of Ancient Therma after his wife. Thessalonike seemed to have influence over her three sons, especially after Cassander died, however when the first born Philip died, the second son Antipater murdered his mother, most likely because she favoured her third son Alexander to at least share the throne with Antipater while she was also serving as regent. I mostly wrote all this to make a point that the last person who was impactful in Thessalonike's life was Alexander the Great.

Around 338 AD there was an Alexander Romance attributed to Pseudo-Callisthenes. This book was supposedly recounting the life and adventures of Alexander the Great, however it was highly fantastical and inaccurate and became what you would call a liberal historical novel of sorts. This is where the origins of the legend of Thessalonike were. (What if there is some connection to the surviving veneration of the Assyrian mermaid goddess in Macedonia, just a century earlier?) Alexander Romance was a huge success getting translating into 25 languages in pre-modern times and reaching as far as Malaysia and Mali. This is certainly what greatly assisted Alexander to become a legend and hero even amongst foreign nations, gaining even their own local national traits. The original Greek version was so loved amongst the Byzantine Greeks that it got multiple revised editions, including some in which it was recasted in poetic Medieval Greek vernacular. It was one of these copies that the Latin diplomat Leo the Archpriest found in Constantinople in the 10th century and translated it into Latin, which made the Romance very popular in the west too.

Okay, we talked about the duality that the sirens and the gorgons had attained at this point as well as the survival of the interest around them due to the Christian theology. In Byzantine Greek the meaning of the word gorgo (terrible, fearsome) was still fully understood. In fact, in Byzantine Greek there was the word γοργόνη (ghorghóni) which addressed a horrible woman. It is also reported in the local dialect of Amorgos island. It is thus most likely that the shift of Thessalonike as "a gorgon therefore a mermaid" happened at that time and perhaps especially in the copies in the Medieval Greek vernacular and it was due to all this mix of influences.

You see, Thessalonike is not described as just any mermaid or even just like a plain man-eating siren. She appears to have two forms or two personalities in her. She swims in the seas waiting to find a ship and ask the sailors whether Alexander is still alive. In this state she is beautiful and calm and pleasant in her manners, which resembles the romantic view of a mermaid or the initial seductive state of a siren. If the sailors confirm that Alexander lives and rules and conquers the world, she remains this way and sends good winds to help the ship travel to its destination quickly and safely. But when the unsuspecting sailors say "But, Lady, Alexander died long ago!" then she changes and becomes what the Byzantine Greeks would call "ghorghóni". Her power is way more immense than to just grab a dude and eat him. She becomes huge and terrible and with the power of her tail she causes enormous storm waves which break and sink the ship and kill all the sailors. For this reason she was probably engraved in people's perception as a terrible Gorgon.

Here's the thing though: γοργώ (ghorghó) sounds an awful lot like another Greek word, γρήγορος (ghríghoros) which means "quick, fast". Those two are both ancient but etymologically unrelated. The fall of the Byzantine Empire and the annexation of the Greek lands by the Ottomans led to significant changes for the worse in the number of Greek people who had easy access to education and particularly education in relation to their heritage beyond this of the religion. Only select few that kept their riches or Greeks who then fled to the west had easy access to these things. In short, with more limited access to older forms of Greek or old Greek literature eventually γοργός (ghorghós) changed into a variant of γρήγορος (ghríghoros) = fast and its actual meaning of fearsome, terrible was forgotten. In these circumstances, the word γοργόνα (ghorghóna) which was used to address Thessalonike was now perhaps perceived as meaning something in the likes of "swift, agile and lithe" and it became associated with the positive mermaid form of hers. Eventually, the word γοργόνα was established as a generic term for the mermaid just like σειρήνα.

This happened because the legend of Thessalonike as a mermaid as well as the entirety of the Alexander Romance remained popular in the Ottoman period. The Byzantine copies were still circulating in the Greek population and in 1680 a Modern Greek version was printed with the name Φυλλάδα του Μεγαλέξανδρου (loosely translated to "Papers about Alexander the Great"). The book was written in the colloquial Demotic vernacular and it could be read by everyone (who knew how to read). This is how these stories spread and became oral tradition and folk tales. The romantisation of Alexander's character and by extension Alexander himself became a point of reference for their historical origins for both the Byzantine and the Modern Greeks.

The modern book from 1680 (yeah that's modern)

The true reason Thessalonike's legend remained so popular was not due to Thessalonike herself. Thessalonike was a minor historical figure for the most part and her interaction with Alexander was minimal. Some historians believe it was her son Alexander she was grieving for in the original legend but then he was confused with his much more famous uncle. I downright disagree. I believe the reason Pseudo-Callisthenes or the unknown authors and / or all these revisions imagined Thessalonike as the one grieving and wreaking havoc for Alexander was because of her being the name-giver to the city of Thessaloniki which by the ending of the Roman period and the beginning of the Byzantine period became very prosperous and gained a lot of power. Thessaloniki was so loved by Byzantine Greeks that it was considered as the Συμβασιλεύουσα (symvasilévusa) = co-ruler city of Constantinople. Thessaloniki remains the most loved city for the Modern Greeks too. After the unification of Macedonia and its largest city Thessaloniki to the already independent from the Ottomans south and central Greece, Thessaloniki became the "Συμπρωτεύουσα" (symprotévusa), the co-capital to Athens. It is also called Capital or Nymph / Bride of the North. Greeks damn sure love that city. This was a folk legend which connected the ever loved Greek city to a distant past.

Furthermore, the legend explores a theme that resonates deeply in the hearts of the Greeks across millenias. The allure and the danger of being a sailor, of travelling in the seas. The Greeks have always been seafarers. Losing loved ones to seas far away is a very common theme of Greek folk songs. The folk felt represented in this legend with the ghorghona representing the unpredictability of the sea. But this is also how Greeks developed an understanding for this dual creature, beautiful yet ruthless, yet also melancholic and temperamental. The ghorghona became a familiar concept, representing their loved sea and their loved city and their loved symbol of old glories (Alexander). Inevitably, she was "forgiven" of her fearsome qualities and the ghorghona became the beautiful mermaid of the Greek seas that you have to know how to talk to and earn her favor.

The ghorghona became a loved symbol of Greek folklore and she is featured in numerous modern Greek poems, artworks, short stories etc

Modern art by the prolific cartoonist and painter Bost (Chrysanthos Mentis Bostantzoglou, 1918 - 1995). All the national symbols are here: the Ghorghona as the beautiful mermaid, the sea, Alexander, the White Tower of Thessaloniki and the flags.

"The ghorghóna as the captains of old told her story." Modern Greek folk artwork. Look how she eventually becomes a postive emblem of Greece.

Due to the tight connection of the sense of ethnic identity with the Greek Orthodox Christianity for Byzantine and Modern - frequently occupied - Greeks, the popularisation of the ghorghona the mermaid was reflected in the Greek Orthodoxy as well .

Detail from a wooden templum in the Church of Saint Dionysius in Zakynthos (Zante) island.

Detail from the Chruch of the Great Archangels, Tsagarada, Mount Pelion. This templum was probably completed in 1749.

And because this was not enough of a "how to make an Evangelical mad" I guess, you know how saints in Orthodoxy are venerated and they are often imagined as patrons of certain groups of people or certain qualities??? Well...

may I introduce you to Virgin Mary the Ghorghona?

...who also became a novel?

Clearly, this is Mary imagined as Patron Saint of the sailors and those who travel in the seas.

In conclusion, there is not an exact moment in history that suddenly turned the gorgons into mermaids, however I tried to explain how in the long course of time there were many linguistic, cultural and religious points which ever so slowly contributed into changing the perception of the gorgon from an ancient, murderous, fearsome creature to a positive, beautiful (yet at times very dangerous) symbol of ethnic identity.

Sources:

Mermaid - Wikipedia

Atargatis - Wikipedia

Siren (mythology) - Wikipedia

The siren: a medieval identity crisis – Mittelalter

Physiologus - Wikipedia

Gorgons - Wikipedia

Thessalonike of Macedon - Wikipedia

Alexander Romance - Wikipedia

Η Γοργόνα Θεσσαλονίκη | Parallaxi Magazine

Φυλλάδα του Μεγαλέξανδρου - Βικιπαίδεια

Ο συμβολισμός της γοργόνας στη λαϊκή παράδοση της Ελλάδας μέσα από τη ποίηση και το τραγούδι

«Ζει ο βασιλιάς Αλέξανδρος;» Η γοργόνα και ο Μέγας Αλέξανδρος – ΧΩΡΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΧΩΡΗΤΟΥ

Ζει ο βασιλιάς Αλέξανδρος;

[imjustaf444keriguess]

first off, anti endos often insist that it's impossible, when science often doesn't state impossibility and searches for possibility instead.

i personally think people's internal experiences that have been documented online and offline for decades now is enough for me, but there is currently a study going on about tulpas with brain scans (this is their AMA on reddit because i don't think the study is technically "finalized" yet, but they are doing research into this). i'd like for there to be more direct comparisons between endogenic systems, DID/traumagenic systems, and singlet controls, but science takes time, and the doctors are also mostly trusting peoples personal experience because they can't read minds yet.

i also think that the idea of a "self" is a bit flimsy and is also currently being studied (alongside why we are even conscious in the first place and how consciousness works), so unless we get to a point where we can say "everyone has one solid identity and you cant make multiple without this this and this, and this is why, this is what happens if you try, and this is why we think everyone is a singlet without trauma" for certain, we shouldn't insist without evidence that endogenic systems aren't experiencing plurality.

i have read some of sophie's studies and research links, and some from the guardians system's google document, which so far makes me believe that it's understandably possible, at least in some form, to have multiple 'selves' without trauma. alongside, you know, personal anecdotal experience, the knowledge that the brain can already create "separate people" with trauma, and the knowledge the brain is very suggestible and moldable. it would not be impossible, in my eyes, to create some similar experience. if there are any further research papers that show a distinct difference, then i'd like to see them when they come out, but for now, the research says that people have plural experiences.

you also bring up maladaptive daydreaming, which is a bit strange to bring up because that's... also, possibly, a disorder. afaik, it's not officially a disorder in the DSM, but it's something that people have struggles with. i don't believe that it's the same as endogenic plurality identically, unless there are research papers in the future on maladaptive daydreamers and endogenic plurals that show they are the same and prove me wrong. but it's kinda weird to say that they potentially have an entirely different disorder that's not officially even in the DSM.

i'm not saying that i know for 100% undeniable fact that endogenic plurals are really plural in the same way DID/OSDD systems are, but from what i've seen, i do believe people when they say they are plural. and for anti-endos to say that they are impossible is wild without proof.

so, where are the papers showing the consensus that they're not real and that they're experiencing a symptom of a disorder (that's not in the DSM)? are they in the room with us? i'd love to see your evidence!

(and genuinely, again, if they are better and more logical and have loads of scientific backing, i'll take a bit to consider it, and if i end up siding with you, then... idk, i'm on the side of science still, just to me right now it seems that endogenic systems are systems, and i prefer to trust people at their word and listen to their experience unless i have good evidence against it!)

also, one more thing, weird to say that they're roleplaying in the reblog i responded to before, and then say that they're maladaptive daydreaming the next reply? again, maladaptive daydreaming is considered disordered behavior and while i currently don't know the status on if it's going to be recognized as a disorder, it's weird to compare that to roleplaying. maladaptive daydreamers are experiencing a disorder, which may be triggered or influenced by trauma similar to how plurality can be (with, yk, the disorder called DID?).

to me, this would be like comparing someone being overdramatic to get their way to someone having a meltdown because of autism or something. yes, they're both kicking and screaming, but one's overstimulated and reacting instinctively, and one's trying to manipulate you.

similarly, maladaptive daydreaming as a maladaptive experience... is, you know, disorderly? not healthy? not the same thing as roleplaying? often involuntary, as far as i am aware?

could be wrong on that but i just noticed that and wanted to comment on it. probably should keep your story straight yk.

(starting off, we are a traumagenic did system. we have did.)

endogenic systems are absolutely punk and they belong in punk spaces (pluralpunk, systempunk, whatever) and here’s why:

- punk is about embracing who you are and living your life authentically and unapologetically

- punk is about not letting other people dictate how you live your life and who you can be

- punk is about radical acceptance, equality, and solidarity

- punk is about rejecting authority and the establishment (and yes, this includes the medical establishment which is often ableist and causes disabled people real, long lasting harm)

there is no room for anti endos in punk. being anti endo literally is being anti punk. learn more about what punk means, and do better.

[puppetmaster13u]

*points* I, am in the mood to write small Cryptid!Batfamily (they’re straight up not human) prompts. Like, what role each Batfamily member is to Gotham.

Sadly, for the life of me, I can’t think of any ideas of what to write.

If you’re willing to share some ideas- I am sitting here with wide open eyes and ears.

Oh man, I have so many ideas. But for now I suppose I shall stick to just one lol

SO, cryptid batfam, originally human according to everyone. Perhaps even known to be human (even if falsely) before some sort of thing happened. Perhaps that something being when a certain robin died. Even if they cannot die. There’s so many rumors and whispers through Gotham about the bats. Some claim them to be demons, other angels, and yet more say they’re Gotham’s own children. Ones she’ll never let go and never let death take permanently. 

Everyone knows about limbs that the guardians make mimic capes, truly wings or fins or something else. They whisper of people who sacrificed their everything to Gotham, who died and couldn’t stay that way. That begged not Gods or Deities, but begged to Gotham Itself. 

Everyone knows the city is a vicious mistress, but she’s not always needlessly cruel. 

There are many tales of how the bats came to be, some spread more than others, so much that the true origin has long since been buried. Perhaps it is done purposely, pointed whispers from fanged teeth as white eyes watch quietly. Perhaps it was done accidentally, a simple joke taken as fact. 

[dnangelic]

daisuke’s desire to be independent and confident and reliable like dark versus dark’s desire for compassion and vulnerability and intimacy like daisuke. it’s never one or the other it’s always both of them at once wanting to be like their inversions and yet thereby producing the exact same singular individual at their core. a devil with a cherub heart and a cherub with a devil’s, both of them in the longing dark!!

[hyperfixationcritter]

I'm thinking it's representative of the fact that Mel's the only one onto Ambessa's shenanigans and actively trying to fight/defend against them.

We see Caitlyn consumed by vengeance and focusing on Jinx, falling back on her privilege and not caring who she hurts along the way. She's also paralleling Jinx in some ways as people pointed out so it fits the framing of their faces and their eyes. The red thread of her conspiracy board also frames her like someone caught in a spider's web which is fitting given Ambessa's influence on her.

Vi is completely blinded by Jinx's hands which speaks to her tunnel vision when it comes to her sister, trying to do the right thing and coping with all the changes in her life that have left her VERY vulnerable.

We also have Viktor, who's hand cover's one of his eyes and I'm actually not sure what that means just yet though we know there's gonna be some form of consequences to his hexcore revival and what that means for his livelihood. Also his priorities have put him in the literal lowest part of the Undercity, the furthest removed from Piltover but we know Ambbessa's going to make her way there in act 2.

In comparison, Mel's seeing the big picture in a way that the other characters simply aren't and her being taken out of Piltover at the end of act 1 is already showing how that's going to negatively impact things.

I'd argue it's kinda like how Ekko's approach to the Undercity's problems was the one to actually help heal/organize people to their benefit

vs Silco who got Piltover's attention/threatened them through Jinx's actions but method of advancing the Undercity hurt and exploited people in the process and on purpose

and Vander's method which tried to protect people by keeping the status quo/being stagnant because he was tired of fighting.

But whereas Ekko's insight deals with the societal issues within and between the Undercity and Piltover, Mel's insight deals with threats and factors OUTSIDE of the sister cities in regards to Ambessa, the Black Rose and the factor of the arcane itself which she contributed to the presence of through her sponsorship of hextech.

In both cases Mel and most likely Ekko/the nerd trio are stuck in the shadow realm/eeby deeby/wherever they are, lol, so i'm curious as to where that's going to lead the both of them.

I was initially gonna put these in the tags and then this got longer than I intended. But those are just my two cents on things.

On a side note, I'll also add that I'm on the fence about what it means for Mel to have the ring back on VS Ambessa who's holding it in front of her instead of wearing it. Like I've seen and can make speculations of the posters on their own but juxtaposed together I'm not sure what to make of it if that makes sense?

EVERY character has had shadows on their face in their posters, or their faces partially covered, but Mel's is not. Mel is surrounded by light and her eyes are not covered or shadowed. And then the hands? What do the hand placements mean? WHAT DOES IT MEAN.

[horsemage]

I think we should bring back basic etiquette lessons such as shutting the fuck up when you’re watching a movie in a group that is not exclusively your friend group 🙂

[fleshprocessor]

jesse i need to start conlanging again

[adore-gregor]

Yeah whatever but you're still my goat 🐐 either way Gregor 😌

[lesbianpegbar]

kind of terrified of a) getting in a relationship rn and b) getting in a relationship with someone within a friend group esp when i no longer have friends at school outside of this friend group. but

[shieldwife]

"the lash of duty" what if I killed myself

[crossbackpoke-check]

Oh these all look so lovely. May i ask about good dog bad dream for WIP files?

of course!!! 🥰💕 i answered a little bit about it here, but this is one of the tag stories i really, REALLY want to actually become a fic so i did promise a little snippet of the 2K that is done:

Things that Dylan should do: turn off the light, shut the door, walk back inside to the rumpled sheets still warm from when he left them to grab a glass of water. Leave the creature outside to the lightning bugs and the quarter moon and the shifting shadows of the woods along the gap-toothed fenceline of his yard, and then come out in the morning to nothing more than a paw print and the clean reassurance of sunlight to tell him nobody’s there, to ignore the prickle of discomfort that shivers its way across his body as goosebumps and raised hairs when he thinks about turning his back on the memory of those red eyes.

Things that Dylan does instead: whistle.