#The Two-Faced God Janus

[martyrbat]

habeas corpus – detective comics #1086

(ID in alt!)

[alaianapotter]

I love all of that and I also love that since one of the popular things for fics like this is to have Pandora as a mentor figure for him alongside Clockwork (and since a lot of the dcxdp crossover likes to have Pandora as an ancient like founding member of the Amazons and Clockwork as Kronos) the whole Ancient of Gates, Change, Door, Duality, and Space give off major Roman God Janus vibes (god of beginnings and ends, entrances and exits, change, transitions, gateways, doorways, and archways. And to some, he was the prime beginning and end and curator of the universe) I just love that so much <3

Anyway onto more blurbs

Tim stared at the being that towered above him. That towered over the battlefield not five minutes ago and with seemingly nothing more than a thought had decimated the enemy. The being had hair the color of silvered moonbeams and constellations of freckles that seemed to utter a soft glow as they stared down at him with eyes that glowed an eerie green he thought should make him pause, and yet, they only drew him in.

"Oh," he felt the word pass his lips more than he heard it. He could feel his cheeks heat up with a blush. he could also feel the gaze of his allies as they all slowly began to pick themselves up from the ground.

"While I would have loved it if you had called on me sooner, I understand your hesitance," the being spoke with a masculine voice, their thumb slowly moving across Tim's knuckles, where they still grasped his hand. "I am glad we did not have to meet in the afterlife. You have been found worthy by the ring. You have saved me from the curse I had been placed under and have allowed my counsel to return to me. For that alone, you would have my gratitude."

Tim could only blink in mild bewilderment at the somewhat flowery and official-sounding words, his blush darkening as the being looked around at his companions. He could swear he saw a lavender tinge to their cheeks as their own odd companions gathered around them. One of them, a Greek warrior with four arms from the looks of them, cleared their throat.

"High King Phantom," their voice was feminine and stern as they looked around the field, lingering on Diana and the Wonder Family for a brief moment before sweeping the rest of the field. "Welcome back."

The being, High King Phantom, smiled, turning towards the warrior slightly.

"Thank you, Lady Pandora, I trust you and the others can handle the cleanup? My betrothed's allies deserve a break I believe."

High King Phantom turned back towards Tim, their smile still in place. "I am High King Phantom of the Infinite Realms, but you may call me Phantom, and you are the Hero Red Robin, he who is worthy of the title consort and breaker of the curse placed upon me."

DPxDC Ring of Rage? More Like Ring of Engage

The thing is, Tim didn't mean to put it on. He was just kind of playing with it to keep his hands busy while he was thinking about the recent murder case. GCPD had their hands full with the serial robbers that didn't rank high enough to catch Batman's attention, and Tim never had a problem with helping the police if he had time.

And the ring was a perfect fidget toy, if he is being honest. Small and plain enough not to distract him, but the round stone in the middle was loosely attached, making it able to spin inside the frame. Which is what he did, again and again, like those fidget spinners.

Of course, he was just destined to drop it sooner or later. And then, when he reached under the table to pick it up, his finger caught inside the ring, and, well.

The ring was now firmly on his finger.

The problem was that he couldn't take it off.

It wasn't stuck, at least not in the general sense of it - Tim could easily spin it around, and it wasn't tight. But it wasn't loose either, and as soon as he tried to move it past the knuckle, the ring heavily disagreed, almost like shrinking down and absolutely refusing to be detached.

Barbara suggested soap, which didn't work. Dick tried for a more mechanical approach, first with pliers and then with a laser, which the ring resisted with no effort. Cass, who was actually the one who brought the damned thing into the Cave after one of her adventures in Hong Kong, just smiled and shrugged, which was of no help either. Damian offered to cut the finger off, which probably would have helped, but Tim rather liked all his limbs attached.

Bruce called Constantine. The magician took one look at the ring, barked a humorless laugh, and pat Tim on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Congrats, mate," he said, a wry smile on his lips, "I hope you file for divorce."

Although, while all the rest of the Bats and Birds devolved into fits of hysterical laughter (Steph), indignant sputtering (Damian), and cries of outrage (everyone else sans Alfred, who was pointedly unimpressed), Tim couldn't even bring himself to be surprised. Really, his life had been a shitshow since he was around ten. It's not like he didn't expect himself to be accidentally married to some otherworldly magical creature by this point.

The worst part - worse than the actual engagement, that is - was that Constantine couldn't exactly tell them who the spouse was.

What he did say was that the Ring belonged to the King of Infinite Realms, Keeper of Unseen Worlds, and Eyes of Universe. But those were only titles, and, as John Constantine begrudgingly admitted, there has been a change in the management recently, so no one really knew what the new almighty monarch looked like or what they were, much less their whereabouts.

"You can't blame me for not being keen to find out, though," John said, wincing, "The last one was a bloody tyrant, and the Realms operate under the right of conquest rule."

At least, the mage assured them that since the being had not yet come to collect their shiny new spouse, they might never show up at all. The Ring has been lost for ages after all, so maybe the King didn't even remember having one. Or, the previous King didn't, and the new one didn't know about or didn't care.

The first week after the incident, they spent anxiously researching and worrying. Bruce even went as far as making Tim wear a tracker at all times, which was not great, but he did appreciate the gesture. Kind of.

After the first month with no sign of any changes, the worry started to abate. In half a year, most of the family stopped trying to keep an eye on Tim at all times lest he suddenly disappeared. Two years later, even Tim himself treated the Ring as a natural part of his daily life. The stone inside was still a great fidget toy, engagement or not.

Three years, one month, and five days after Tim first put the Ring on his finger, when the world was falling apart and breaking in front of him and there was not a single thing he could do to stop it anymore, Tim pressed his lips to the cold, dark strip of unknown metal on his finger.

"Whoever you are, I don't even care, please," he whispered in a useless prayer, his voice hoarse and his throat dry, "please, help."

And the world came to a stop with a short, amused chuckle.

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask."

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Contronyms

Contronym

A word that has two meanings that are opposite or nearly opposite.

Example: Left means both “leave” (two people had left) and “remain” (How many people are left?), which are antonyms.

An antonym is a word that is opposite in meaning to another.

Contronyms are also known as Janus words.

Janus was an ancient Roman god with two faces that looked in opposite directions.

Another term for these words is auto-antonym, or a word that means the opposite of itself.

Technical terms for this phenomenon are enantiosemy, enantionymy, or antilogy.

Examples of Contronyms

Cleave

Comes from two different Old English words, clēofan and cleofian, which is how it got these two opposite meanings.

Cleave: to split, to separate (Owen swung the axe down hard in order to cleave the log into two even pieces.)

Cleave: to adhere closely, to stick (Young beaver pups cleave to their mother in the water until they are strong enough to swim on their own.)

Dust

When used as a verb, is a contronym.

Dust: to wipe the dust from (Every Saturday, he would dust the nicknacks on the bookshelves to keep them clean.)

Dust: to sprinkle with a powder or dust (The baker liked to dust their pumpkin bread with just a sprinkle of cinnamon.)

Overlook

Overlook: to fail to notice, perceive, or consider (I hadn’t finished the last two homework questions, but I hoped my teacher would overlook it and give me full marks anyway.)

Overlook: to look after, oversee, or supervise (The manager was required to personally overlook the transfer of valuable materials every evening.)

Sanction

Sanction: to authorize, approve, or allow (My parents wouldn’t sanction video games in our home because they thought they were too violent.)

Sanction: to penalize (The school said they were going to sanction the students for arriving late to class.)

Weather

The word weather is a contronym, but only when used as a verb.

Weather: to expose to the weather, to disintegrate (The paint on the house was chipped and weathered from the decades of rain and snow.)

Weather: to endure (We weren’t sure that we would be able to weather the storm if we didn’t find shelter.)

Back Up

Back up: to support (Ultimately, the scientists were unable to back up their claims with hard evidence.)

Back up: to retreat (The zebras backed up when they spotted the alligators in the water.)

Fine

The adjective fine has the potential to lead to some real misunderstandings about just how excellent (or not) something is.

Fine: of superior or best quality (To prepare for the Queen’s visit, the household staff cleaned the fine linens and polished the best silver.)

Fine (informal): satisfactorily, acceptably (Sandra thought her performance was fine, but nothing special, so she was surprised when she won second place.)

Original

The adjective original is an example of a contronym.

Original: belonging to the beginning of something (Despite being hundreds of years old, the painting was still in its original frame.)

Original: new, fresh, inventive (While sitting in the bathtub, the inventor was struck with an original idea.)

Pitted

The contronym pitted often causes confusion at the grocery store.

Pitted: having pits; in the sense of “mark or indent” (The sailor’s face was pitted and craggy from the wind and salt water.)

Pitted: having the pit removed; in the sense of “stone of a fruit” (My mom reminded me to buy the pitted cherries, because she didn’t want to take out the stones herself.)

Bound

Bound is an example of a contronym that has two different meanings because it actually has two different etymologies. The first meaning comes from the Old English bindan. The second meaning comes from the Old Norse būinn, “to get ready.”

Bound: tied, fastened or secured with a band or bond (The Mountie rushed to save the woman who was bound to the railroad tracks.)

Bound: going or intending to go, destined [for] (With all of their talents, the band was bound to be a success.)

Source ⚜ More: Basics & Refreshers ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[felassan]

DA:TV spoilers/long post under cut.

((this post is just a bunch of random stuff/assorted lil things and thoughts from as I was leafing through my screenshots folder lately, dumped together into one post so as not to spam.))

Maybe Morrigan wrote this Codex entry? in Witch Hunt she said "Many fear change, and will fight it with every fibre of their being. But sometimes change is what they need most. Sometimes, change is what sets them free", and she is associated with grimoires, has been in the Crossroads before, etc. this note seems to explain why in DA:TV [iirc] the Crossroads no longer looks different for elves compared to how it looks for the other lineages. "an eluvian has two faces" - as an aside, this phrase or idea makes me think so much of Falon'Din and Dirthamen and their situation.. twin souls (or rather twin soul-fragments), a shadow and a reflection, parts of the same whole. like the Roman god Janus (and other deities with this trait), depicted as having two faces, in his case one which can see into the past and one which can see into the future.

Spirits/Demons of Rapacity are a new (to us) thing. maybe they are a Hunger demon or a type of Hunger demon, like how Audacity was a Pride demon? eating, consuming. but rapacity can also be the quality of covetous avarice (wealth etc), so maybe Desire? or maybe it's simply its own thing/aspect, or embodies something else (entirely possible, it sounds like the southern Thedosian way of conceptualising demons is academically out of date/old-fashioned in-world).

Envy, of course. for me this note also implies the existence of Frustration demons.

Misery is also new. maybe Despair/a type of Despair demon? or again simply its own thing.

Despair is known. Shame interested me as it reminded me a lot of the Marquis of Serault's great-grandfather, the Shame of Serault (Dragon Age: The Last Court you will always be famous). he became an abomination. he was known as the Shame because his actions brought shame on the marquisate, but what if also the demon that possessed him was.. Shame? new headcanon just dropped. yes. I love it (๑*ᗜ*) Horror also interested me. like as in a Gibbering horror, an Arcane horror, or simply the aspect/quality of Horror, which is totally something you can feel?

Some more new ones - Chaos, Disorder, Disruption spirits/demons.

Saravarin, a (likely) agent of the Dread Wolf's rebellion, who seems to use they/them pronouns. :)

The first time I noticed the broken remains of Bianca on Varric's bedside in the infirmary, I was so sad. a tale ended. and that was when I thought it was just imagery of his retirement and injury, before I knew about The Reveal.

A dwarf named Kevan Brubock invented flushing toilets!!

This scene seems to depict all of the Talons arranged up there on stage behind Illario (First, or rather representing that here at the moment), as along with Illario there's Teia (Seventh) and Viago (Fifth), but there's one model too many, since Illario is representing House Dellamorte here. that aside, neat to see that along with Teia, two of the other current Talons as of this timepoint seem to be elves. (in TN there was Giuli and Bolivar) Could the elf second from the left be Bolivar Nero? ^^ he survived TN. In TN he was described as having a long shock of white hair and wearing a suit trimmed in bear fur. that character model has long pale hair and putting them in that armor gives the impression of a fur or feather trim!

It was cool to see the new statue/asset of Mythal, and its inspirations that it has from this one found in DA:I.

Not just the appearance of the nervous system, they got a whole lil brain under there.

The Viper/Ashur is the youngest son of Corimer Vesperian, Imperial/Black Divine Aequitas II. (Corimer is such a cool name btw). below is an excerpt from the gamefiles in addition to this, game files seeming to confirm the in-world rumor:

This wall art shows Solas leaving through the eluvian at the end of Trespasser, having frozen the Qunari to stone. :')

I just thought this note/lore on Chasind beliefs and cultural practises was really neat. so in Chasind culture there is a god or other venerated figure known as the Owl-mother, She of Spring and Tide. they're known to personify the seasons as female warriors, maybe Owl-mother is the personification of Spring?

This note seems to hint at (the often fan-theorized) idea that there is some connection between the Forgotten Ones and the Forbidden Ones. (see also the Band of Three - a connection between them has been theorized by people in-world as well). on that subject,

This note is found in the chamber where Rook fights the Formless One. at this point the Formless One is in the form of a dragon (possessed dragon corpse). the "this form" therefore is dragon form. maybe the "old rivals" Formless is talking about here are the Evanuris, who the Forgotten Ones warred with, and whom the Forbidden Ones were exiled by? (btw, "For abandoning the People in their time of greatest need, for casting aside form to flee to where the Earth could not reach" makes it sound like the Evanuris exiled the Forbidden Ones during the time of the Evanuris' war against the Titans for the crime of.. not helping in the war with the Titans, and running away from it somewhere where the Titan's wrath and fury could not harm them.)

due to this, this note reminds me a lot of Ancient Elven Writing from DA:I -

"His crime is high treason. He took on a form reserved for the gods and their chosen, and dared to fly in the shape of the divine. The sinner belongs to Dirthamen; he claims he took wings at the urging of Ghilan'nain, and begs protection from Mythal. She does not show him favor, and will let Elgar'nan judge him." For one moment there is an image of a shifting, shadowy mass with blazing eyes, whose form may be one or many. Then it fades.

Here, the Evanuris forbade the divine form of dragon to a "sinner", who is hinted here by the bottom text to have had a shifting form which could have been one or many. (sounds like Formless). so the Formless One was maybe originally a slave or follower of Dirthamen's. if the other Forbidden / Forgotten Ones, or some of them, were also originally slaves or followers of the Evanuris (I wonder which?), no wonder they ended up warring with them. Geldauran for example wrote "I am Geldauran, and I refuse those who would exert will upon me." in reference to the Evanuris.

The floating items in the Regret prison in the endgame each individually representing a member of Rook's team was so [falls to knees crying.png]. oughh. masterful. this was a really neat art/design choice. :> it also made me think about my Rook and what items I would use to represent them in a similar fashion, like as a fun thought exercize.

Maybe.. the titanic claws of the Dread Wolf's wolf form? :)

This codex is found in the Heights of Athim. I was right :D

The spirit-fish in the Lighthouse Meditation room were summoned by someone and apparently require feeding, Shepard's cabin fish-style :). Maybe this argument was between Solas and Felassan?

The Lighthouse was the heart of the rebellion. interesting interpretation of the imagery there with the suggestion of its light being the light of his divinity.

At some point Keeper Hawen from DA:I stumbled through an eluvian into the Crossroads. I wonder if the bright light he saw on an island in the distance was the light of the Lighthouse.

they knew the halls would be kept by the Caretaker. could this codex have been written by Felassan?

This codex is found on the piano thing in the music room in the Lighthouse. the associated art is of Mythal. the expert hand and memories are Solas/Solas', no? and the other person in the duet, the beloved memory is Mythal/of Mythal[?] this codex put me in the mind of Codex: Birds of Fancy from Trespasser. not saying that I think the "Birds" were Solas and Mythal btw, just that it reminded me of it (fluid ancient elven memory etc).

like as in these lance-beam-looking things? from the in-game light puzzles?

For this one I just wanna say I loved this codex entry, this is how folklore and regional variations of stuff like that can work in our world too, really neat :)

assuming Seer Rowan wrote this recently, this codex seems to confirm the year in which DA:TV events are set as 9:52 Dragon, as we thought.

[perlelune]

no body, no crime | Coriolanus Snow | x.

Your childhood friend returns from his exile in district 12, but he's not the sweet, quiet boy you once knew anymore.

Warnings: NON-CON, Plinth!Reader, Gaslighting, Drugging, Murder, Forced Marriage, Forced Pregnancy, Loss of Virginity, Somnophilia

This is a dark story. Heed warnings before reading under the cut.

𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

Disbelief shimmers in William’s green gaze.

“You’re joking…” He cradles your face, searching your eyes. They are steadily filling with tears. He releases you, retreating as his face distorts with shock. “You’re…not?” He runs his fingers through his brown locks. “God, I’m such an idiot.” He unleashes a humorless laugh. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

Your stomach sinks. 

“This entire time. I waited for you. I trusted you. And you just…What? A-Are you with him now?” The betrayal quivering in his tone shatters your heart to pieces. 

You lower your head and mumble, “It’s complicated…”

“No it’s not. It’s actually quite simple. Do you love him or do you love me? Do you want to marry me or do you want to marry him?”

William’s anger and frustration coat the air, his voice growing louder with every word. You tremble. Your fiancé’s never yelled at you like this before. You’ve argued, of course, like every couple does. But never like this. And never has he looked at you like that. Like you’re a stranger. You wish the earth would open up and swallow you. 

“I…”

“Answer me!”

You jolt and step back, the heel of your shoe hitting the bottom of the stairs. 

Your father appears in the corner of your vision. An exhale of surprise leaves you. He wedges himself between you and William.

“Do not dare raise your voice at my daughter, young man,” Strabo thunders. You gape at his back. It’s the first time you’ve heard your dad use such a furious tone of voice. 

William lifts his hands defensively.

“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to understand-”

“I think it’s best if you go. Now,” your father urges, pointing at the door. 

Your fiancé’s shoulders sag. He tosses you one last, heavy look, his jaw clenching.

“Yeah, maybe it’s for the best,” he belatedly grits out. 

The second William slams the door shut, you’re in your father’s arms. The fat tears rolling down your cheeks drench his shirt.

“Dad…”

“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s okay.”

He rubs soothing circles on your back as you bury your head in his chest. You sniffle as a sob spills from your throat.

You doubt anything will ever be okay. 

The rest of the day is spent in your room weeping underneath your blankets. It’s a wonder there’s any water left in your body, the ceaseless flow of tears soaking your pillows and sheets. Ma and Dad keep visiting your room, bringing you food and trying their best to lighten your spirits.

But nothing can keep you from drowning in your sorrows. William was the best thing that ever happened to you. You remember when you first met him at the University. The two of you were paired for a project and ended up hitting it off while working together. You didn’t even expect him to ask you out. It was no secret half the girls in your cohort harbored a crush on him. And with his boyish charm and outgoing personality, a contrast to your more withdrawn, lonely nature, you never imagined he’d seek your company past the project. 

But he did, constantly finding lame excuses to talk to you like asking for your notes on a class or lying about needing a pen for a quizz. One thing led to another and, after a few months of courting, he got on one knee and asked for your hand. 

Then Janus died. Your world collapsed. Colors dimmed around you. Everything stopped making sense. Still…William did. Whenever you were around him, you could pretend away your grief, laugh away your pain. 

Your heart wasn’t so broken. 

And now…you don’t think it’ll ever be put back together. 

For days on end, you don’t leave your bed. The sun rises; it sets. Yet the same pains shackle you to your bedroom. Quicksands of guilt and sorrow suffocate you.

…Until you’re swept by a sickness one day. 

It happens a little under a week after your return. You rush to your bathroom and pitch forward, dry heaving the near vacant contents of your stomach into the toilet bowl. You then huddle on the floor, hugging your stomach as pain pulses through your midriff. Your brows collide in confusion. Hardly a bite of anything has crossed past your lips these days, as you only chewed on a few glum bites of the meals Ma brought to your room. Yet you are nauseous, cramps twisting your insides.

You bolt upward, racing to the toilet bowl again as another surge of queasiness takes you. Following that, you crash into a heap on the floor. Shuddering, you wipe the back of your mouth.

You crawl onto the floor, all the way to your bed. 

Every day after this one, you awake sick and cranky, the same ache and nausea plaguing you. You also begin to experience faint headaches. It becomes dire enough for your parents to summon a doctor. However many times, he checks you out, he finds nothing amiss or wrong with you. Throughout the checkup, concern is etched on your parents’ faces. You’re forced to promise them that you’re alright and that, to prove it, you’ll show up for family dinner as you did before. Your father pats your cheek, visibly relieved, but the concern on your mother’s face doesn’t relent. She keeps scrutinizing you with a strange look on her face, one you’re not sure what to make of. 

Still, even as you hug Ma and Dad, dread creeps inside you. Something else could still be wrong with you. The kind of thing there isn’t a quick fix-it for. The kind of thing you’d have to deal with for the rest of your life. 

But you don’t let your mind wander there. Not yet. 

As you end the day with yet another bout of vomiting and stabbing cramps, your mother rushes upstairs. She sinks to her knees at your side and strokes your hair.

“Are you alright? I heard you.” She frowns as she takes in your shuddering frame. “Perhaps we should call the doctor again so he can do more tests…”

You bristle. More tests would mean exploring other possible causes for your affliction. You can’t risk that. Not with Ma and Dad involved.

“It’s nothing, Ma,” you dismiss with haste. You put a hand on her arm. “Could we go to the apothecary this evening?” Her puzzled look draws a nervous chuckle from you. Twisting your hands, you chime falsely, “I bet it’s just a nasty stomach bug.”

Her frown deepens. “A bug? But you haven’t eaten very much lately.”

You shrug.

“It can still happen.” You slip on a mask of cheerfulness. “I’m sure I’ll be right as rain again with some ginger and camomile, Ma.”

“If you say so,” she says, returning your smile.

You’re a bit unsettled as you find yourself outside. The brightness of the sun sears your eyelids. You squint at the blue sky. You wobble down the stairs as your mother holds your arm. You’ve grown so accustomed to keeping yourself cloistered inside, either by your own will or the will of…others. Strolling along the cobblestoned path while the winter breeze caresses your face has a strange tickle running through you. 

An awkward silence hangs between you and your mother once you’re in the back of a taxi.

Your fingers twiddle in your lap as you keep your eyes low. Who knows what Ma could discern in your gaze. You never managed to conceal much from her ever since you were a little girl. She was always freakishly aware of every blunder, bad grade and secret.

Her motherly instinct is infallible.

“Dad and I haven’t seen much of you these days,” she suddenly notes, causing your head to whip up. “I know you’re sad about William but…” She hesitates, gauging you before stating, “I think it’s a good thing.”

“Ma…”

“He was never right for you,” she insists, her inflection stern. “You’re a Plinth. You should aim higher.”

“Mother!” you hiss.

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but it needed to be said.” She reaches out to drape her hand over yours. “You’re hurting right now but it’ll all be for the best in the end. You have a bright future ahead of you. That young man, nice as he is, was just holding you back.”

Mouth agape, you stare at your mother. While you know that she and Dad have never cradled William near their heart and weren’t too  thrilled with your decision to marry him, you never expected her to be so callous about your engagement ending. In her mouth, it nearly sounds like a business deal gone wrong. But she knew William, talked to him many times, saw you with him. She has to understand how much losing him means to you. How can she be so cold and dismissive about it? You quell the budding sobs in your throat. 

The quickness of the drive to the shop is a small mercy you bask in. After your mother spoke, the air in the car grew heavier, every lungful becoming torturous. 

You hastily climb outside the car once it comes to a stop in front of the apothecary. 

Windchimes sing above the door as you enter, your mother at your heel. 

You linger by every shelf, pretending to be lost between all the labels. 

“We could call the clerk to help…”

“No, it’s okay,” you cut her off. You giggle and shrug. “I like taking my time. Actually, you know what?” You grab a vial and shake it, pretending to study the label. You wave your hand at your mother. “I’m gonna stay behind and gather some more herbs. You should go. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Befuddlement knits her brow. “I could stay…”

“I won’t be long,” you snap, your lips curving in a wide, painful grin. You squeeze her arm, your tone softening.  “I promise. Just wait for me in the car, Ma. Then we could stop by a café and have a bite. How does that sound?”

She yields with a nod. “That sounds lovely.”

Relief fills you when she walks away. 

The second she’s out the door, you’re racing to the front desk.

“I need a pregnancy test, please,” you blurt out, your voice barely above a breath as you keep stealing wary glances behind you.

The mere utterance of the request has your insides coiling in horror. For a while, you were in staunch denial of that being a possibility. But you mulled it over, long and hard. It made you realize that, besides the sickness you’ve experienced lately, you also can’t remember the last time you had your monthly bleeding. You’ve never been late before. Not even once. And while things are a little fuzzy in your head…you’re pretty sure over two months isn’t a good sign.

The clerk blinks at you, seemingly taken aback. Still, she silently moves her head in agreement and dives through a door leading to what you assume to be the back of the shop.

The wait is agony. You count every second, praying your mother won’t show up out of the blue and start questioning what you’re up to.

When the clerk returns, you free a deep breath. 

She places a small, clear vial inside your palm. You give her an inquiring look.

“You must…relieve yourself and transfer it in this vial,” she explains. “If it turns blue, well congratulations are in order.” Her smile dies as she notices your tight expression. “Or perhaps…not?”

“Thank you very much,” you say, carefully squeezing the vial and shoving it at the very bottom of your bag. 

For good form, you ask for some medicinal herbs, some for stomach pains and others for sleeplessness. Just in case your mother inquires about your purchases. One can never be too careful.

When you’re back inside the car, your mother beams at you. 

“Did you find what you were looking for, sweetie?”

“Y-Yes, I did, mother,” you stammer, clearing your throat and letting your gaze roam outside the window. 

You’re thankful she cannot hear the cacophony of your pounding heart. 

You spend the rest of the evening with your mother, drinking tea and eating cake while she babbles about trivial topics. You try your best to listen, giving vague, half-hearted replies.

But your mind is already far away, a million thoughts bumping inside your head.

The entire evening, you’re restless, eager to go home and get answers to your questions. 

It requires every morsel of self-control within you not to make a beeline upstairs once the two of you are back home. You give a swift apology and tell your mother the day’s exhausted you and you need a quick nap. She reminds you that dinner is in less than two hours and you need to dress up. You don’t argue, all too happy to finally be on your own.

Once the door to your bedroom is closed, you slump against it, all the tension in your body draining all at once. You take a minute to breathe, leaning your head against the wood.

You retrieve the vial inside your bag. Your hands quake. Your heart drums.

Hesitation slithers through you. What if you just tossed it out the window, forgot about all this?

No. This isn’t something you can cower or hide from. You have to face this.

Your entire life could change in an instant. And it might be about more than just your life.

Shaking from head to toe, you proceed inside the bathroom. You pee in a glass and pour a small amount in the vial.

Insides painfully tight, you chew on your lip as you wait.

Stay clear, stay clear, you pray in silence, as if the water could hear your plea and change the course of your fate by some fantastical twist.

After a few minutes, blue starts bleeding inside the water. It doesn’t stop until all of it has morphed into the horrifying color, bubbles rising to the surface.

The air in your lungs falters. The vial crashes to the floor, scattering into tiny shards as you collapse on the floor of your bathroom.

You gape at the blue puddle on the floor. Maybe it’s a mistake. Tests aren’t always foolproof. They’re wrong sometimes. Perhaps yours was defective.

For a while, you loiter in your denial, conjuring a plethora of reasons why this isn’t happening.

Then you slowly blink. You realize the puddle hasn’t moved. The shards are still on the floor. The blue isn’t gone.

An audible exhale bursts from your chest.

Despite your desire to pretend otherwise, you can’t escape the truth. The ghastly, awful truth. There are no more ifs and buts, no ‘perhaps’, no ‘maybe’…Just the reality that will make itself known to all much sooner than you’d like.

You’re going to be a mother. You’re carrying Coriolanus Snow’s child. The urge to puke, cry and scream all at once surges through you.

“Sweetie, dinner’s ready.”

Your mother’s abrupt call from downstairs has your heart miss a beat.

“I’m not hungry, mom,” you reply automatically, tamping down the quiver in your voice.

“You promised,” she yells.

Right. You did. Perhaps it was foolish of you. How can you carry on with dinner and smile at your parents as if everything’s normal? As if your whole life didn’t take a gigantic turn…the biggest one there could ever be.

You collect yourself. You rub your sweaty palms on your skirt and pick a random dress from your wardrobe. You’re a little shocked to find the closet half-empty, gut wrenching as you remember a good chunk of your clothes are still at the Snows’ apartment.

Emptying your thoughts, you get dressed, your fingers slipping as you fumble with the buttons of your dress.

Get it together.

You slap your cheeks and will yourself to act normal. You’ll figure out the next steps later. Right now, you need to make it through dinner.

The facsimile of a smile nudges your lips upward as you drag your feet downstairs.

However all shallow semblance of happiness evaporates from your face when you take in who’s standing at the bottom of the stairs by your parents.

His smooth lilt ripples through the room.

“Hey, princess.”

Your stomach drops to your feet. Victory sways in his cobalt orbs as he savors your reaction.

He looks the exact same as the last time you saw him, simply more put together in his crisp red suit and white shirt, his blonde locks slicked back from his face.

Every cell in your body is screeching at you to run from him. As far as you can. For as long as you can. And never look back. 

Your fingers clutch the stairs’ handrail.

Your appalled gaze turns to your parents. They are entirely too calm for your liking. In fact, they appear more wary of you than him.

“What’s going on? W-Why is he here?”

Your father takes careful steps towards you.

“Sweetheart, maybe we should sit, have a discussion as a family…”

You scoff, shying away from his outstretched hand.

“But he’s not…He’s not part of our family. Or did you forget, Dad?”

Your father’s shoulders fall, a great weariness settling upon his features. In that moment, he looks every bit of his years, all the built-up grief and exhaustion displayed on his face.

“Yes, but, in the current circumstances-”

“What circumstances?” you interrupt.

“Stop it,” Ma snaps. She sighs, approaching you. You stiffen. “We’re not stupid.” She lifts her hand to cup your cheek, her voice mellowing. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you, sweetie?”

Your eyes bulge, shock striking you mute.

Coriolanus uses that moment to join your mother’s side. He places a soothing hand on her shoulder.

Your heart threatens to leap outside your chest when his eyes lock with yours.

“Your father’s right, princess. How about you come down so we can talk about this…” He flashes you a wicked smile. “As a family.”

[ka2ki2]

Chrysos Heirs

people who play both hi3 and hsr are WINNING rn

anyway. i've determined likely flamechaser parallels for a majority of the chrysos heirs. most of them do not actually look like their flamechaser counterparts, which makes me think they're not direct expies but merely parallels.

I also sprinkled some minor analysis of what little lore we have on these guys. Amphoreus is massively inspired by greek mythology.

watch this before reading!

Aglaea = Eden (both associated with gold)

Eden owned the Elysian Realm previously, but at that time it was called the Golden Courtyard

Eden is also called the Bearer of the Gold Signet

Aglaea is called the Goldweaver

You're not going to believe this-- Aglaea is named after the Charis called Aglaea.

The mythological Aglaea basically runs errands for Aphrodite, which would explain why HSR Aglaea bears the Coreflame of Romance.

HSR Aglaea is from the city of Okhema. In greek thought (plato I think?), Okhema is an intermediary between the body and the soul. I did as much research as I could and the best I could figure out is "it carries the soul through rebirth". SORRY IF THAT'S WRONG-

HSR Aglaea has the "divine authority of mnestia". After lots of research, I think mnestia can be loosely translated to Remembrance, so perhaps that's the Amphorean way of saying she's a pathstrider of Remembrance?

Aglaea's drip marketing references the myth of Prometheus, where Prometheus stole fire from the gods and returned/gave it to humanity.

Tribbie = Vill-V (multiple 'selves') [edit: i now think it's mobius]

Tribbie is called the "three-faced messenger"

We see Tribbie adopt multiple personas in the video. She can even take multiple forms at once

Vill-V has partitioned her personality into 8 different segments

EDIT, it's probably mobius. mobius has the signet of infinity; tribbie's divine authority is the gate of infinity

tribbie is from Janusopolis and her divine authority is also called Janus, which is absolutely perfect for someone connected to messengers/passage. Janus is the roman god of beginnings, endings, transitions, doorways, etc.

Anaxa = Su (both associated with knowledge/enlightenment)

Anaxa is said to have "enough knowledge to refute faith, and to stir up a torrent capable of slaying gods."

Su is called the Enlightened of Bodhi, Enlightened One, and other similar titles.

These two have lots of physical similarity

Anaxa's namesake has some interesting connections with Nous actually

Hyacine = Griseo (both Asleep)

In the video, when Hyacine is on-screen it says "let the sky become the slumbering cot from which she wakes".

Due to the 8th Honkai Eruption, Griseo fell into a deep sleep.

Could be named after Hyacinthus

Mydei = Kalpas (fire in battle)

In the video, Mydei is seen in a post-battle poise surrounded by fire.

Kalpas is constantly surrounded by fire during battle.

Both characters constantly seek out fighting/strife.

Mydei is likely related to the greek god Deimos

He is from the city Castrum Kremnos. Castrum = a fortified military base; Kremnos = a steep place or precipice. so picture a fort on a cliff ig

His divine authority is "Lance of Fury, Nikador". My thought is Nikador is related to Nike, goddess of victory?

One of the unnamed people has a mask too though, but these guys are too similar in aesthetic and personality

Cipher = Pardofelis (...come on.)

Cat girls.

Same eye and hair color

Castorice = Aponia? (butterfly theming)

Castorice is pictured with butterflies both in the video and in the twitter art. These butterflies look highly similar to the butterfly motif in Aponia's design

Aponia is very strongly associated with butterflies. Her dress is patterned like one and she has butterfly wings in her ult

Both seem to have devastating levels of power

IDK about the greek origins for this one. Castor? Kratos (who is actually a child of the Styx)?

Phainon = Kevin (deliverance)

Yeah they're both related to deliverance. They literally outright said deliverance in the video, and Kevin bears the Deliverance Signet.

Also they look EXACTLY THE SAME

Also both seem to be the 'leader'

In mythology, Phainon is the star of Cronus/Saturn (cuz they thought saturn was a star)

Cyrene = Elysia (...COME ON.)

They look identical and have almost the exact same personality

i have yet to figure out the two unnamed ones, Hysilens, and Cerydra. nor can i find their name origins... the closest i found, after ages of digging, is this for Hysilens

the remaining flame-chasers are Kosma, Sakura, Fu Hua, and Mobius. only one of the unknown people seems to be male ("unknown 2"), so that one's probably Kosma.

And yeah that's the culmination of me losing my mind for the past 6 hours. lucky you, you didn't have to watch me try and fail to decipher what the 12 titans might be connected to. (greek titans, 12 olympians, and HSR aeons all didn't line up easily waaaaaa)

here's the failed attempt to figure out the aeons if anyone else gets ideas from this

OK thanks for reading. normally I post my loredumps in discord servers with my friends. this is my first time posting it anywhere abfiushdliueh

EDIT: after recent drip marketing, it's clear that tribbie is actually connected to mobius. as mobius has the signet of infinity, and tribbie's divine authority is called "janus, gate of infinity".

I also added a small amount of info to both tribbie and mydei about their greek/roman inspos

[lumilasi]

A scene from TVE I decided I really wanted to try drawing, which proved tricky because I wasn't sure how the floor of the Spire would actually look? I decided the pool room has sort of sand on it, although I don't mention it in the actual scene. I'm still slowly getting a hang of how to draw these 2. (scene sneak peek below):

"Jayce.”

He cracks his eyes open, looking up at Viktor who was still staring at his feet, a small frown still marring his features.

"What is it?”

"…..Can you tell me exactly, why we are here?”

"Aww, can’t we wait till after the bath? It’s so nice.”

Viktor huffs out a sigh and finally dares to look up, Jayce not missing the way his face gained some color, though one could claim it was the steam from the hot spring. Gods he was gorgeous, and Jayce wanted nothing more but to cross the distance between them just to rest his head on his lap again, so he could look up at his pretty eyes.

"….Jayce. You….do realize that since I have a piece of your soul within me, I can tell when you are being needlessly saccharine.”

Viktor comments dryly all of a sudden, and Jayce hides his face in embarrassment, letting out a sheepish laugh as his face flashes red. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty or bad about it, he was just being honest. For a moment, the golden eyes stare at him from across the pond unimpressed, before Viktor let’s out a huffing sigh, shaking his head with a fond smile.

"You are hopeless sometimes, Jayce Talis.”

"Only sometimes?”

"Most of the time. I’m trying to be nice here.”

"It doesn’t suit you, being too nice.”

"You’re right; please stop giving me cavities, your thoughts probably put the sickly sweetest romance novellas to shame. I already have back and leg problems, I don’t need to add constant toothache atop of it all.”

Jayce let’s out another laugh, before moving to swim across the lake, wrapping his arms around Viktor’s frame in a moment of boldness, Viktor’s entire body freezing for a second before he prods his forehead with a finger, face flushed even more now.

"I’m not your bathtoy.”

"I’m just making sure you don’t get too cold, sitting up there. The water’s much warmer.”

"Warm steam is rising from this magical hot spring, I’m fine sitting right here.”

Jayce let’s out another laugh, before sighing slowly and resting his head on Viktor’s lap now, feeling the weight of what he had to tell him start to settle on his shoulders again. Perhaps Viktor could sense it through his soul piece, as after a moment hesitant fingers start carding his hair, with Viktor no longer trying to get him to move away. Jayce remains silent for a long moment, stalling a little, perhaps, but he knew he had to tell Viktor, he deserved to know.

"…..I…..we….something went wrong.”

"What?”

"The…we didn’t manage to eradicate it all. Something got left behind. The two gods of this realm, their job is to monitor things like this. They noticed.”

He could tell Viktor was stunned speechless, the hand in his hair stopping, the entire body he was clinging to going stiff with shock. Jayce bites his lip, briefly pressing his face against the pale skin of Viktor’s thigh peeking out from beneath the robes to breathe in, gathering himself.

He proceeds to describe what Janus had told him weeks ago, about the leftover timelines, the unstable state they had been left in, and how effects from those verses were bleeding into other ones. He couldn’t bring himself to mention, that the reason this happened was likely because of Viktor’s own subconscious doubts, but he likely didn’t need to. Viktor releases a shaky breath, the hand briefly leaving him as he could tell his partner was now burying his face in his hands, trembling lightly against him. Jayce squeezes him gently, his fingers subtly stroking his lower back through the canvas of his robe.

"….Of course. Of course.”

That was all Viktor could say, frustration and self-loathing bitterness evident in his voice. Jayce just remains resting there, waiting silently for Viktor to process it all, hopefully finding comfort in the warm weight against him.

[thermodynamic-comedian]

god. janus sanders really is a character of all time, just in terms of concept. when you were a little kid, you did something wrong, and you got so scared of getting in trouble that another little guy was born inside you. and he loves you. and he wants you to stay safe. so he tells you to lie now, take care of yourself now, keep yourself safe. but all the other little guys inside you hate him. he's too mean, too selfish. the little guy that was born from your desire to do good and be good hates him the most, because you're a little catholic boy, and lying is bad. and you're a good boy. so everything inside you that isn't good has to be shut away.

he knows he's not wanted. he creates his own place to stay, a hidden corner where he can't hurt you. because all the others say that he'll end up hurting you, and he can see how scared you are of being a liar, so he lets himself be forgotten. hidden away. this is how he shows his love: by hiding himself, and every subsequent unwanted part that grows inside you, from you. if knowing about their existence is too difficult for you, then he'll hide them all. he loves you. you don't even know his name.

he watches you grow, still unaware of his existence. the others make their presence known, felt. you let them take the reigns, most of the time. he sneaks in his own little influence here and there; small, harmless lies, only when necessary, so you won't even notice. and in the meantime, he acts as a herder of sorts for all the other parts of yourself that you've subconsciously cast away. he keeps them in line. he sympathizes with them, yes, he knows what it's like to be unwanted. but letting you see them would hurt you, and he loves you. so he keeps them there, in the shadow, unknown and unseen, just like him.

one of them, one of his little dark, unwanted things, doesn't want to be hated anymore. he wants to make himself known. he wants a seat at the table. and, in an ultimate slap to the face for janus, he gets it. virgil gets everything that janus was denied from the start. acceptance. power. control. his effort is acknowledged, his necessity is embraced. he gets a seat at the table. he doesn't have to hide anymore. and janus can't help but resent him for that. maybe it's a good thing, then, that the hatred is mutual. not even his own cattle, the ones he kept safe, the ones he kept out of thomas' way, can stand his presence. fine. none of it matters. as long as you're safe, it was all worth it. he loves you. you still don't even know his name.

janus was always thomas' protector. even when none of it was ever seen or acknowledged.

i find his mixed motif really interesting too, because before we knew his name, we only knew him as deceit. the snake. the ancient serpent deceiver, the biblical snake of eden. but then we hear his name. janus. ianus bifrons, two-faced janus, god of beginnings, passage, transitions. i think that his name being revealed was very much the start of thomas beginning to see janus for who he actually is, instead of the heavily modified version of him that he's been seeing, courtesy of his catholic upbringing.

[violetmoondaughter]

In neopaganism the horned god is seen with two different faces representing the duality of nature and the changing of seasonal cycle. The theory of these two aspects of the god was debated by Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough and by Robert Graves in The White Goddess.  

According to these theories old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer based his thesis on the pre-Roman priest-king Rex Nemorensis who was ritually murdered by his successor. The king was the incarnation of a dying and reviving god, a solar deity who underwent a mystic marriage to a goddess of the Earth. He died at the harvest and was reincarnated in the spring. This legend of rebirth is central to almost all of the world's mythologies. Some examples of this archetypical figure are the gods Dionysus, Osiris, Tammuz, Dumuzi, Adonis, Janus, Attis. 

 The two aspects of this figure take the names of Holly and Oak king. 

The Holly King is seen as an old version of the green man, ruler of winter, death and darkness. He starts his kingdom at summer solstice when, after the longest day, ruled by his opposite king the oak king, the days start to get darker and shorter entering in the dark half of the year. The holly king is so called referring to the plant that is fruitful during the winter season.  The holly king is also referred to as a black knight and is also connected with the dark aspects of many pagan gods. 

Counterpart of the Holly King is the Oak King that is usually seen as a young green man, ruler of summer, life and light. He starts his kingdom at the winter solstice, when after the darkest night a new light is reborn, signing the beginning of the light half of the year. The oak king is called over the name of the plant that is fruitful during the hot season. Opposite to the Holly King, the Oak King, relates to the light aspect of many pagan gods and its sometimes referred to as a white knight. 

According to the theory these two kings may be seen as two brothers fighting for the throne or as a father and son passing the kingdom to each other in a perpetual cycle of death and rebirth. This cycle of life and death represents the seasonal cycle of death and rebirth of the sunlight and vegetative world.

[chocfrog-enjoyer]

Name-play and symbolism in Harry Potter

Sirius Black: Dog Black the black dog ( Sirius is a star in the Canis Major // Big Dog //constellation, the star is commonly known as the “Dog Star” ). A dog is a man’s best friend ( unlike Peter, the rat, who ratted his friends out )

Remus Lupin: basically just Wolf Wolf ( Remus - roman hero raised by wolves. In Latin lupus means “wolf”, and lupinus “wolf-like” )

Rubeus Hagrid: In Greek Mythology, Hagrid Rubes is a giant who is banished from Mt. Olympus by Zeus and has to take care of animals. Hagrid is expelled from Hogwarts and becomes the groundskeeper- later on he starts teaching Care of Magical Creatures.

Sybille Trelawney: Said to be a descendant of the legendary Cassandra, in Greek mythology Cassandra was a woman with the ability to foresee future and a curse, that no one believed her prophecies. Here’s my post on why Sybill isn’t a fraud.

Xenophilous Lovegood: Xenophilius's name comes from two Greek words: Xenos "strange" and -Phile "love" -> one who loves the strange

Bellatrix Lestrange: Bellatrix means “female warrior” in Latin. She was one of Voldemorts most fierce and loyal followers.

Nymphadora Tonks: Nymphadora translates as "Gift of the Nymphs.” A "nymph," in Greek mythology, refers to "a member of group of female 'spirits' found in different types of nature.” They had the ability to transform/shapeshift" They are further classified by where they were found. In Latin, “nympha” translates to “bride, mistress. young woman” referencing the fact that Remus married Tonks, who’s 13 years younger than him.

Minerva McGonnagal: In Roman Mythology Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, war, art, schools, justice and commerce.

Dolores Umbridge: The word umbrage means offence or annoyance, and the Spanish name Dolores has its roots in the Latin word "dolor," which translates to "pain" or "sorrow."

Fenrir Greyback: Fenrir is a monstrous wolf in Norse mythology. Fenrir represents the forces of evil and chaos.

Gilderoy Lockhart: The Levels of Processing model, created by Fergus I. M. Craik and Robert S. Lockhart in 1972, describes memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing.

Merope Gaunt: In Greek mythology Merope is one of the seven Pleiades, daughter of Atlas and Pleione. Merope is the faintest of the stars because she was the only of the Pleiades to have married a mortal. One myth says that she hid her face in shame because she had an affair with a mortal man. ( Replace mortal with muggle and we have Merope Gaunt )

Lucius Malfoy: Lucius deriving from Latin words, meaning light/bright/to shine. “Mal foy” means “bad faith” in French. Draco is latin for “serpent/dragon”

Lily Evans ( later Potter ) and Petunia Evans ( later Dursley ): Lilies are often associated with purity, renewal and transience, and Petunias symbolize anger and resentment

Alastor Moody: Alastor, an epithet of the Greek God Zeus, according to Hesychius of Alexandria and the Etymologicum Magnum, which described him as the avenger of evil deeds, specifically familial bloodshed.

Quirinus Quirrell: In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces.

[melandrops]

The Magnus Archives Entities as Greek Gods

The Vast - Zeus

The all powerful, infinite cosmic force that is both the king of the gods and the fear of insignificance. The fear of falling, and of openness. Pray that when lightning strikes, you will not taste ozone on your tongue.

The Buried - Poseidon

The ocean could very well be a part of the Vast, but they are fundamentally opposed. The same sides of a coin, one side pewter the other side copper. Two kings that rule next to each other yet are complete opposites. Pray that his brutal storms do not swallow you whole, crushing you under the weight of his world.

The End - Hades

He is the one inevitability of the world. He waits, passive, for victims. The other gods squabble and bicker and play their games while he looks on from the Underworld and knows that he is the ultimate winner. It is pointless to hope that he will not claim you eventually. Pray that you will be contented when he does.

The Web - Athena

The goddess of strategy, of weaving and trickery and cunning. She once cursed a girl to become a spider for her insolence. Pray that she does not lay her marionette strings over you, for then you will never know free will again.

The Slaughter - Ares

The god of war, and the gleam of bloodshed in your eyes and the eyes of the person on the other end of the battlefield. Pray that the blood streaking your hands and face is not your own.

The Corruption - Aphrodite

She is love, and the unbecoming of it all. The deadly force that eats away at your soul and changes you into someone you don't recognize anymore. She whispers that she is the most good and right form of the world, but her kiss is made of rot. Pray that her love will not break you apart piece by piece.

The Eye - Apollo

The god of the sun, who sees all the occurs in the daylight. Prophecy, truth, and the goings on of the world are the way he idles his time away. Pray that you are not intriguing enough to catch his vicious interest.

The Lonely - Hestia

She is the goddess of the hearth, of warmth and of family. Yet it was she who was foisted out of Olympus to make way for Dionysus. She tends to a hearth with no visitors to warm themselves by it. Pray that she does not beckon you to join her by the empty fire.

The Stranger - Dionysus

His parties are the raucous screams in the night, and people who walk in will never walk out the same person. There will always be something a little bit off about them. Pray that when the wine touches your lips you will still recognize yourself the next morning.

The Desolation - Hephaestus

Ugly, marred and disfigured. His wife refuses to look at him. He burns with a rage that he cannot distinguish as self hatred or as loathing for the world he lives in. He toys with the fire in his forge and the burns are the only thing that bring him joy anymore. Pray that he does not look at you with that fiery hatred in his eyes.

The Hunt - Artemis

She hunts in the dead of night, armed by the protection of the moon. Occasionally she enlists help. But always, she will dedicate herself to the next hunt. Pray you are not next.

The Flesh - Prometheus

He built humans out of clay. He built them with imperfections they would see in the mirror and insecurities that feel like a gaping pit in their chest. The god of innovation is also a god who wants their passions to hurt. Pray that when he creates you, your imperfections do not swallow you whole.

The Spiral - Janus

Doors and transitions and new beginnings but also endings all rolled into one. Everything and anything but also nothing and no one. He is a two faced god of deception and lies, and you can never trust what either face tells you. Pray for truth, but there is no point.

The Dark - Nyx

She's always there. Waiting for Apollo to leave. You're not safe from her. No matter how much you try to convince yourself otherwise, the most animal part of your brain will always fear her. Pray that she smiles at you without teeth as she watches while you sleep.

The Extinction - Pan

He is the god of nature, and there is no length he will not go to in order to protect it. Mankind is but a blemish on the world. The wild, untamable forces of nature will conquer it eventually. Pray that you will be overlooked when it floods the cities and burns the crops.

[capricornbones]

I never posted here to Tumblr! This is my best work to date.

This post is long overdue, but finally, this long anticipated project is ready to share. Pictures just don’t do this sweet little soul justice for how unique he truly is. This stillborn kitten was born with a deformity known as Diprosopus, which causes two faces to form in the same skull.

Diprosopus is a rare, life-threatening developmental defect during embryogenesis, and a subtype of conjoined twins, characterized by partial or complete duplication of the facial structures on a single head, neck, trunk and body.

Diprosopus often occurs in combination with other congenital disorders, particularly anencephaly, neural tube defect and cardiac malformations. When present, the brain may show abnormalities ranging from partial to complete duplication of brain structures, and/or underdevelopment of brain tissues. Cats with the condition are known as 'Janus cats', after the Roman god.

This was such a strange and yet amazing specimen to be trusted to work with. I’m so pleased with how he turned out and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

[metanoias-substack]

On Janus, the two-faced Roman god of beginnings

Or: how January got its name & why you shouldn’t give up on your New Year’s resolutions just yet

Now that we’re more than halfway through January, how are your New Year’s resolutions coming along?

If you’re anything like most of us, your resolve may be getting shaky.

According to a recent Forbes survey, the average resolution lasts a mere 3.74 months, and only 6% of people stick with their goals long term.

But you know what?

Even if you’ve failed to live up to your resolutions less than a month into 2024, that’s fine. Don’t give up on yourself just yet.

Here’s an unlikely source of hope and motivation to get back up again and keep at it in the guise of one lesser-known (undeservedly!) Roman deity.

[violettesiren]

Bellchimes jangle, freakish wind whistles icy out of desert lands over the mountains. Janus, Lord of winter and beginnings, riven and shaken, with two faces, watcher at the gates of winds and cities, god of the wakeful: keep me from coldhanded envy and petty anger. Open my soul to the vast dark places. Say to me, say again, nothing is taken, only given.

January Night Prayer by Ursula K. Le Guin

[ianitos]

not to hype my patron god up but i think he deserves more recognition within polytheistic and pagan spaces so i'm highlighting him

Janus

god/patron of doorways, change, beginnings, transitions, time, prophecy, history, omens, all dualities (ex. war/peace, but also things like beginning/end, life/death, barbarism/civilization, urban/rural, youth/adulthood, the list goes on)

his name derives from ianua which means door or doorway, Janus was an Etruscan and Roman tutelary and domestic deity. but his myths and level of importance varied: some viewed him as the initiator of life, others as a mortal king and son of Apollo, even, who then ascended to godhood, and his commonly accepted role of gatekeeper between our realm and the realm of the gods.

some fun facts:

janus' image was carved on coins! this is because he is legended to be the first to mint coins!

janus has two heads, this is because one faces the future while the other faces the past

janus has many wives! (jana, juturna, camese and sometimes venilia)

one of his most famous temples/holy grounds would signify eras of peace and war depending on if the doors were opened/closed

[gofancyninjaworld]

Call Him Janus-ide, The Way He's Two-Faced

With the kind permissions of Rayadraws and theOmnicode. Bless your sharp eyes.

Genos better have a birthday in January. January, Janus's month, is typically portrayed as a two-faced man, representing the month's position as the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one. Janus is the god of thresholds, places of transition -- inside to out, holy to profane, beginnings to endings. Beyond that, this is the god of duality, seemingly opposed items that nevertheless form part of a whole.

Characters in OPM start really simple but as ONE keeps layering on them, they become more than initially meets the eye. However, when it comes to duality, Genos has to be the most dual-natured character there.

How? Well, let's count the ways.

1. What's in a name?

Let's start with the low-hanging fruit, his name. While he generally goes by Genos, his name is really Genocide. Yes, as in the systematic elimination of a group of people identified by their religion, ethnicity, or just by happening to encumber some valuable land without the benefit of sufficiently heavy weaponry. It's just about possible to pretend not to see it when it's written out on his clothing; however, when Kuseno makes Genos a virtual practice tool called The Virtual Genocide System, what kind of sick fucker does this is all one can say.

Extra credit: if you want another horrifying duality, look up 'ketsugo'.

It gets a little more interesting when we look at how his name is written in Japanese, for that's where the duality emerges. On the one hand, the kanji means 'great slaughter', so far, so unsurprising. On the other hand, it also means 'to fight fiercely to the end', and the image of undaunted resistance in the face of impossible odds is just as fitting to this character as is his surviving a massacre -- and warning of yet another to come.

2. Fire Worship

Of necessity, Genos is forged in fire. The metal that makes up much of his body must be grubbed up as ore, melted out of it, refined, alloyed, smelted, and worked to produce something useful, all of which requires fire. The parts that are plastic are drawn out of the Earth as crude oil, distilled (more fire), admixed, reacted, processed. And the parts that are ceramic, well, nothing loves fire as much as a ceramic. And yet, that's not all Genos is. He is a cyborg, which means that he is also human, someone living, fragile, and yet resilient. We see many cyborgs in One-Punch Man, but someone like Genos, who is very comfortable owning his humanity *and* having a mostly mechanical body, is rare. The cyborgs we meet tend to either hide the fact or double down on being inhuman.

Being happy being both man and machine, no matter how weird it looks to anyone.

Speaking of fire, Genos's choice of weapon is just as dual-natured as his name. In the first instance, he burns things. It's little wonder that fire used to be regarded (gotta love those Greeks) as one of the four essential elements: its ability to transform is fundamental to humanity. Its ability to transform the merely edible to the cooked literally enabled human development by freeing up more calories than are normally available in food. Fire warms; fire razes; fire drives away darkness; fire propels; fire impedes; fire cauterizes; fire burns; fire refines; fire smelts; fire consumes. Wherever you find humanity, something is burning. One hopes in a controlled way.

As Genos uses it as a weapon, it's very much the destructive aspect of fire we see him use. The Hero Association calls him Demon Cyborg because they hope he keeps turning those flames onto enemies of humanity, thankyouverymuch.

Like the fire of Hell striking the sinful and consuming them utterly, Genos showing the utter destruction that got him his hero name.

Of course, we have long since moved beyond burning dry sticks and lumps of coal to make what we call fire. Which takes us quite naturally to the third thing.

3. Core matters

Want to divide a crowd of well-educated people? Just ask them their opinion on 'nuclear energy.' Whether it's energy liberated by splitting or fusing atoms, do we like it for its ability to create an eye-watering amount of energy from incredibly little material, live in awe of its ability to destroy enemies, dread its capacity to maim and mutate with the ionizing radiation that comes as part of the package deal, or fear its eon-long tail of contamination? To say 'views differ' is to understate the heat of the debate.

There may have been a time when Genos's core was battery-powered, but since his energy demands have gone from extreme to extortionate, this baby is nuclear. With all the hazards inherent.

Heroes are just built different: instead of running away, they're like 'keep it together, man.'

So far, so obvious. However, the visual references of the core are even more interesting. Via Rayadraws, the reference of the core is the guidance system of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Entirely mechanical (and thus not able to be interfered with remotely), it ensures that the ICBM, once launched, will absolutely hit its target without fail. A very fitting device for the heart of a character hell-bent on finding and destroying his sworn enemy, whatever the cost.

Doesn't that look ominously familiar? Mutually-assured destruction.

However (I use this word a lot, don't I?), that's not the only way to see the core. When Saitama brought back Genos's core from the future and the latter plugged it in, the core is seen from a different angle, and it's another powerful symbol: a vajra (h/t Omnicode). In Buddhism, it's a ritual weapon symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force).

A much more positive image: one of power, wisdom, and enlightenment. The more positive version of what he's seeking.

Probably the most interesting thing about the school of Buddhism this comes from is that it's about transmuting vices into virtues. Again, incredibly fitting.

4. So, Where is ONE going with this?

Here we have it. Nominatively, Genos names both the most hideous crime against humanity and the strength of character to resist such crime. Physically, Genos stands at the nexus of man and machine, happily occupying the liminal space between them. The power Genos has sought can be incredibly destructive to both friend and foe... and we've seen him use it to do great good. We've seen how harsh and cold he can be, but we've seen, too, that when he cares to temper his strict pursuit of justice with empathy, something wonderful comes to light.

But most of all, this is a character whose fate rests on a knife edge of apparently small decisions. No matter what, Genos is not going to be dissuaded from finding and destroying the rampaging cyborg and anyone who may have supported him. The question is: will that quest bring great destruction, or is there a way to bring something positive out of it? Either is equally possible with this guy.

We just have to wait and see.

PS: Yes, there are other dualities I could name. I'm hoping y'all come up with them. :D