#becoming personification of one finality from which there's no going back.

[iri-desky]

Ah yes, how to kiss a boy...

● Walk towards him.

● Gently cup his face as he finally looks towards you after years of being the one watching when he's not.

● Suddenly kiss him with vigor as you hold his face your hand, resisting his attempts to pull away.

● Finally pull away and give him another, sweeter, truer, short kiss.

● Proceed to pull back and wring your hands around his neck.

● Kiss him again as you watch the scales fall into your favor, as least for you, not to others

● Pull away and continue to wring his neck as you are racked with bullets unto your sides, staining your White Coat of Death red

● Give him one final smile as blood drips from your mouth and you finally collapse, letting go of his neck with the last thing you see being him finally looking at you and actually seeing you in full for the first and last time of your adult lives

● Hit the ground and slowly bleed out, thus solidifying your lifeless corpse as a permanent stencil in his brain that will haunt him years to come alongside the idealized image of his childhood unrequited love that was forever lost the moment that she watched a loved one die the same way and go further distant after going missing several weeks ago presumptively never go be seen again, thus becoming a shadow that follows him as he chases an unretrievable light that you tried to be for him but he denied. You become a ghost that trails behind him that represents who you truly were in life before the moment you died, a gruesome reminder and manifestation of his regret and the heavy reality he faces which strongly contrasts the rosy-lensed personification of a past he can't go back to and yet is still is a very real perception of a human compared to a fairy tale he made in his head. And after all that, become exactly what someone you now forgot warned you you'll become if you did this, a haunting reminder that will curse him for years to come while you die and he lives on as he becomes a victim of your shallow emotions

And maybe survive idk

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

Ough ship of theseus au........ Im so fascinated by this concept of the world slowly changing loop by loop, its so horryfying<33 is it known what exactly caused the loop? Also, im wondering, how far off the deep end does lance go? You said he starts Doing Things, does he do stuff to try to break the loop, to try and save his friends, does he slowly go mad? Some combination of these? Something else entirely? Either way this au sounds epic as fuck🔥🔥🔥

I am so glad you like it!!!! As for what caused the loop, I have few options-

Unintended consequences of Haggar destroying the multiverse and her and Allura being unable to fix it correctly. So instead the universe's timeline just keeps repeating itself, like a broken record

2) Unintended consequences of 10,000 years of destruction caused by the Galran empire. It fucked up their specific reality SO MUCH, that the literally the only way to preserve any life on said reality was to coil it onto itself creating a loop repeating itself like recorded videos on repeat and hope for the best.

3) things having been Always Been Like This™. Nobody knows when the time loops started or why it was started because the universe has changed so much and to the point that what was 'original' reality and the main perpetrators and the circumstances that made them begin the time loop is all but gone. The timeline that was the shows canon was simply one of the thousands Or even millions of loops these characters had gone through and didn't even know. The only difference being that this timeline ended up creating conditions (such as trans-dimensional travel and Lance's altean marks) which enabled team voltron to remember and ultimately Lance getting kicked out

4) Lance did this through quintessence fuckery. He wanted to save Allura, and when he managed to save her (and Kuron) through time travel he was Kicked Out™ of the timeline which got stuck in a loop

Either way there's a loop, and no one is there to control it Or end it. Lance remembers and tries to save people for several loops until eventually it causes him to be erased from the timeline for a bit. Think gaster from undertale. Just got put in a little timeout box beyond reality, time and existence itself no biggie he can still watch his friends and family go through same/similar shit over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Only much later that he realizes that the loops are also changing. At first he blamed his own faulty memory but later he realized that no it is changing. The fucking genre is in fact changing

I imagine this was not a pleasant realization.

Lance also goes through various moods, at first he's trying to save people (first time he realized he was in a time loop he saved Allura and Kuron but then Hunk died, so he tried to save Hunk in next loop but then his family died and so on so forth until finally where everyone else is saved but he is erased)

After which he kinda had a long depression period, followed by a period of frustration and rage when he kills a God (most likely Bob) so he can do more in the universe

I also think his opinion on time loop keeps on swinging cause on one hand it's literal fucking torture, on the other hand it offers familiarity and assurance that no matter what atleast they'll stay alive (right up until he realizes that there is a very real chance of time loop changes can erase them as well and unlike him most of them (aside from Allura and maybe Shiro) don't have that specific cocktail of quintessence fuckery to keep them alive)

Overall i making this up as i go man

[gay-dorito-dust]

Deadpool with a teenager protege plsss, thank youuu!

Wade will always claim that he never wanted a side kick.

‘Protege’ you’d correct him on the fly.

‘That’s a way too big of a word to be in your vocabulary so suddenly little featus.’ He’d quickly say in response before going in to boop you on the noose, only for you to swat his hand away.

Wade as a mentor was so unserious it hurt.

He tried to shoo you away as though you were a stray fucking cat trying to follow him home or something!

There was no point in searching for any deep wisdom from him when anything he said was rude and rather crude for some people, you’re better off finding wisdom in a brick wall then wade, but still you were stuck with the human personification of intrusive thoughts.

He was the devil on your shoulder telling you to dropkick the elderly down a flight of stairs or send them floating down a river in a box (not blind Al tho) and or to kill/kidnap and torture the enemy in your love life.

Wade acts like he hates having you follow him like a lost puppy but the moment he losses sight of you he runs amok, claiming that his ‘mother’s adrenaline’ was kicking in and he had to find you while causing death and destruction in his path.

He wasn’t the ideal person you should be following in the footsteps of and he knew it too, but by this point he had grown an attachment to you and he knew in that moment he was fucked, royally, up the ass with no lube nor warning beforehand.

(He likes a pre-warning countdown before he gets royally fucked in the ass)

You bicker more often then not about how to handle things and it ends with the enemy often getting away, which then becomes even more unnecessary bickering!

‘He got away! Again!’ You’d cry.

‘I’m not the one who wanted to talk all peace and love with the guy in hopes it would change him, this isn’t booktok little fetus!’ Wade would shout back.

‘You were going to kill him without finding out where the rest of them were based at!’ You screamed incredulously, waving your hands towards the twin guns in his gloved hands as though it wasn’t obvious enough.

‘You’re in time out.’ Wade said. ‘Go and sit in the taxi with Dopinder and think about what you’ve done!’

‘Fuck you, you ain’t my dad!’ - you

‘That’s it! No Mac and cheese when we get home!’ -Wade, crossing his arms.

‘I hate you wrinkle dick!’ - you shouting over your shoulder as you walked towards the taxi.

To anyone else It looked more like siblings fighting rather than a mentor and protege going at one another for the second fuck up that day.

While it may look like Wade doesn’t take anything seriously, if you were to get seriously hurt however, it was a different side of him entirely. He’s doing things that you have never seen him do before and just how terrifying he could be with how effortlessly he moved through the goons as though they weren’t shit before making it to your side.

Whether you can heal like him is up to you, but regardless Wade will make sure that your wounds weren’t too deep or too serious for him to handle. He didn’t want to see his protege hurt, not on his watch, you had very much became his child over the course of your time as mentor and protege, so much that he was finally allowing himself to sit with the feeling he had been having for a long while.

He cared. He really cared and it kinda scared him as how was he suppose to look after someone else when he couldn’t even look after himself? He didn’t want you to end up like him as he knew you could be greater but was too selfish to let you wander too far away from him, not without feeling that tug within his chest that told him to keep an eye out.

You never knew what you were getting with deadpool/Wade Wilson, he was unpredictable and chaotic but you wouldn’t want it any other way.

If you were to do anything that was too ‘Wade’ he would pretend to wipe a tear as you looked back at him with a smile as though you didn’t have blood on your face, and fake a sniffle.

‘That’s my little featus, I birthed them from my womb and now they just began to run with their tinny, stumpy baby legs.’

Wolverine next to him like: 🤨what the fuck are you on about-

Wade: shhhh, I’m being proud of my tiny creation, don’t ruin this for me with your toxic macho man brooding.

Needless to say you need to be a little bit mental to have someone like Wade as your mentor.

[burst-of-iridescent]

The Choice of Compassion: A Scene Analysis of Aang vs Zuko

should aang have killed ozai?

the age old question. the discourse secondary only to the infamous kat.aang vs zutara ship war. the argument that's been raging for sixteen long, long years and inspired dozens upon dozens of thinkpieces on either side.

so naturally, i'm here to add one more that no one asked for.

now, this debate keeps getting mischaracterized as The Side That Respects Pacifism vs The Side That Wants A Preteen To Commit Brutal Murder when, for the most part, i don't think anyone is really staking their life on the homicide hill. the real issue most people take with aang's arc in the finale isn't him sparing ozai, but rather the deus ex-machina mechanism through which he's able to do so. i agree with that, but i would also take it further to argue that the real problem is that aang's ending is not thematically and narratively consistent with the rest of his arc as set up in the show.

to illustrate this, let's take a look at another scene that plays with similar themes: zuko choosing to save zhao in the siege of the north.

the basics of both scenes are the same: both boys choose, against all logic and common sense, to spare someone who would never show them the same mercy. when it comes down to compassion versus violence, they choose compassion, even at risk to themselves.

but where the siege of the north differs from sozin's comet is that zuko choosing to save zhao is thematically consistent with his arc in season 1, and aligns with where it will go in seasons 2 and 3.

zuko's journey throughout the show is one of rediscovery. he has to find his way back to who he used to be, before his family and his nation warped his perception of right and wrong, and forced him into believing he had to become someone he didn't want to be. it's clear as early as the storm episode that zuko is fundamentally kind, and the person he is now is as a result of being indoctrinated in a culture that perverted violence and cruelty into honour and strength.

in trying to save zhao, the personification of the fire nation's worst qualities and most twisted teachings, zuko turns against the values he's been raised with most of his life and instead chooses to remain true to himself and what he believes is right. it's a triumphant moment because it's zuko returning to the heart of who he is, and who he's truly supposed to be.

and even though his decision may be logically unsound (why risk yourself trying to save someone who tried to kill you?) you don't see anyone complaining that zuko shouldn't have tried at all, because his choice here is a direct - even if brief - resolution to the internal conflict the show has previously established for his character. the narrative consistency of the set-up and payoff allows the audience to recognize the thematic cohesion of this moment in zuko's arc - which is what makes it so powerful and satisfying.

so, the question is: does the same apply to aang's choice not to kill ozai?

the argument supporting aang's decision is usually something as follows: "aang sparing ozai is his way of remaining true to his people and making sure they aren't forgotten. it's a powerful symbol of how he's keeping their culture and beliefs alive even though the fire nation tried to wipe them out."

now that's not a bad argument, in theory. the problem, though, is that if this is the resolution of aang's arc, it has to be a direct response to a conflict established in said arc... and remaining true to air nomad values is not a struggle the show ever set up for aang until the finale.

not once in any of the previous seasons does aang seem to be forgetting his people's ideals, or losing his identity through assimilation, or struggling to reconcile his air nomad beliefs with the ideas he's encountering in this new, changed world. there isn't a long-term, sustained arc about him being worried or concerned about air nomad culture dying out completely, or about taking on the burden of keeping it alive. in fact, the only episode that does reckon with this theme in any capacity - the northern air temple - seems to push the opposite message: that aang should move on and adapt to this changing world instead of remaining mired in the past, and protecting the culture of a people long gone.

(note: i don't like how the NAT episode handled this theme, but for the purposes of this post, we will take it as it was written.)

both zuko and aang are characters whose arcs revolve around change, but if zuko's arc is about moving back to who he truly is, then aang's arc is about moving forward. it's about going from the last airbender to the avatar - about drawing wisdom from different places, about immersing himself in the practices, beliefs and cultures of the other nations, and learning to value them as he values his own.

it's the classic want vs need: what aang wants is to be nothing more than a goofy, peaceful airbender but what he needs is to become a fully-realized avatar, the embodiment of four nations in one. and this conflict is established and re-established repeatedly over three seasons, most especially in his struggle to learn earthbending and firebending, both of which called for him to adopt new perspectives and beliefs contrary to his own.

this is why aang refusing to kill ozai feels so narratively unfulfilling, because it's the complete antithesis of what the show established for aang's narrative over three seasons. the plot point of his absolute pacifism not only comes out of left field (where was this problem when he was going to battle ozai during the eclipse?), it's also incongruous with the depiction of other air nomads in the series (both yangchen and gyatso don't seem to practice absolute pacifism) and with where aang's own arc appeared to be leading.

additionally, it also conflicts with the thematic clash that the aang vs ozai fight is supposed to represent: what was meant to be balance and harmony vs dominance and supremacy now turns into... air nomad beliefs vs fire nation beliefs, which runs contrary to the fundamental message of the entire show. not exactly what you want for the final battle between your protagonist and antagonist!

all of this is not to say that aang should have gone turbo avatar state on ozai and singlehandedly yeeted him into the spirit world. but there were a dozen other ways to handle ozai's end: give him a disney death, let aang learn energybending of his own accord and incapacitate him the way katara took down azula, or - my personal favourite - bring in the spirits in a neat parallel to the book 1 finale, and have ozai's death be a consequence of the imbalance he propagated in the world (i've always felt the avatar being the spirit bridge was a plotline that kinda got shafted in book three, and bringing back someone like koh, for instance, would've slapped).

the point is that for the resolution of aang's arc to be thematically consistent with the established narrative (the validity of this narrative, and whether it should have been different, is another point entirely, but it cannot be denied that this is what the show chose to go with), he needed to place the values and beliefs of the other nations on equal footing with his own, and win because of this willingness to draw from all nations instead of relying solely on his own.

ultimately, remaining true to his compassionate, peaceful nature is not a struggle in aang's narrative the way that it is in zuko's, which is why him choosing to spare ozai doesn't have anywhere near the emotional resonance or satisfaction of zuko reaching out to zhao. meanwhile, the conflict that does characterize aang's arc - being forced to become the avatar - never comes to a meaningful resolution the way that zuko's does. rather, it's thrown out the window in favour of a last minute plot point that robs aang of both agency and development, and destroys the thematic cohesion of his narrative for nothing.

[hanilessa]

» :、♡  KISSING HEADCANONS WITH CHILDE

` Childe x Reader

` Genre: fluff, romance

` Author’s notes: my inbox is open for your requests! feel free to text me if you want to request headcanons. :3

Childe is definitely the kind of person who would give everything he has for one single kiss from you. You're his only true love, and your kisses for him are a blessing from heaven. Your kisses are all he wants and desires. Therefore, expect that every day of yours will be filled with sweet and reverent kisses.

If talk about Childe, then it's safe to say that he's insatiable. He will never be enough you and your kisses to the fullest. He will always need more and more. He wants you and your kisses as much as he wants to defeat the strongest opponent and become the strongest person in the world. He would never back down from his goal, and he would never back down from you either.

Tartaglia's kisses are very dependent on his mood. When he's in a good mood, his kisses are playful, sweet, tender and romantic. When he's angry, frustrated or annoyed, expect your lips to bite with passion, lust, rudeness, tearing the delicate skin of your lips to blood. Ajax is too unpredictable man, so you can never guess exactly how he will kiss you next time.

Each of your common morning begins with sweet kisses in bed. His favorite way to wake you up is to cover your face with his kisses. He will kiss you on the forehead, on both cheeks, on your sweet little nose. And if by this moment you haven't woken up yet, he will use the most cunning way that he knows! Childe will tickle you! He knows that you will immediately wake up if he starts doing this. And when you finally open your eyes, he will pull you closer to him and finally give you the first kiss on the lips of today.

Tartaglia is a very tactile and clingy person. He constantly needs to touch you, to be near you, because this gives him the confidence that you're completely safe. And also tactility is his love language. It doesn't matter how it manifests itself — by touching or kissing. But Childe can say with confidence that he likes kissing much more.

Wherever you two go, he will kiss you at any time and under any circumstances, if he wants to. Of course, he respects your boundaries and feelings, and if you seriously ask him to stop, he will immediately do it and won't argue with you. If you give him freedom and look satisfied, he won't stop, continuing to give you sweet kisses.

Ajax kisses wet, sweet and to tremble in the knees. You could tell that he has a lot of experience in kissing, because the way he kisses you makes your body tremble and your legs give way. Because every kiss he gives you is fucking sweet, so bright it makes fireworks go off in your chest.

Fun fact about your and his kisses! Every time you and he kiss passionately, there's a little bit of saliva left between the two of you. It stretches from his lips to yours and glitters in the light. This embarrasses you so much, so you immediately cover your face with your hands in an attempt to hide your blushing cheeks, to which Tartaglia only laughs out loud, without stopping his teasing about this.

Childe likes to press you against the wall while kissing. He puts his hands on either side of your head, looming over you with such a pleased and sly smirk that your legs give way from slight fear. He likes to see you like this — embarrassed, nervous and trembling. At this moment, both of you are the personification of the image of predator and prey. This fact turns him on so much that Ajax can no longer control himself, pressing his lips to yours and giving you a passionate kiss.

He also likes it when he takes you in his arms during a kiss and you wrap your legs around his waist, squeezing his ginger hair with your hands. It literally drives him crazy.

He likes to play with you and tease you. The way you pout your lips cutely out of embarrassment makes his body tremble in anticipation of kissing you, so he will chase his lips after yours for another sweet kiss.

As for kisses during your and his arguments, then usually a kiss here plays a conciliatory role. When you both are on edge, annoyed and arguing with each other, at some point one of you won't definitely stand it and will definitely connect lips in a kiss. Usually these are rough kisses, you and Tartaglia take out all the irritation, sadness and pain at the moment of this kiss, that later turns into soft and sweet kisses of reconciliation. After that, the two of you always settle down, talk about differences, find a solution, and finally make up. And kisses remain a pleasant addition.

Kissing while both of you are in bed is a separate kind of your common enjoyment. Sweet moans come out of your mouth every time, that dissolve into Childe's lips when he whispers the most embarrassing and dirty things to you when he continues to move inside your body. Bathing in pleasure, the two of you cover each other's bodies in quick kisses that burn brightly on skin as you two shared bliss.

Your body for Tartaglia is a masterpiece, so he's ready to do everything to make you feel only pleasure. He likes to kiss you on the lips, but don't worry your body doesn't go unnoticed. He likes to kiss your hand when you two go on a date. When you both are at home on a sofa reading a book, he likes to sneak a kiss on your bare shoulder and watch with a bold smirk as goosebumps run down your skin. He likes kissing your entire body at every moment.

And when the day comes to an end, he tightly presses you closer to his chest and looks into your eyes, that shimmer with thousands bright lights. He thinks, no, he's sure that he would give you the whole world. And as if, giving himself an oath in this, Tartaglia, with all the love that he keeps in his heart, kisses you on the lips and asks you to stay with him forever, in his arms.

Please remember that without your kisses, he won't be able to live in this world — in any of the worlds — for a single second. Just like without you. Childe always wants more, more and more of you. Therefore, give him all of yourself without a trace.

[thebestcrew]

Okay, maybe I won't make one BIG post. I'll do a couple of separate ones as they come to me.

First one that comes to mind of course centers around my daemons. Daemons are easy for me to talk about and everything about them comes so much more naturally and makes so much more sense.

TLDR: My daemons were precursors, and I think acted as building blocks and even the final bridge, of my endogenic plurality becoming traumagenic and my adventure into having OSDD

I do believe that I was predispositioned to plurality because of my neurodivergancy and perhaps trauma and escapism related to it. But, I don't think I realized just how close I was to being an OSDD system until my daemons started to multiply.

When I started to gain multiple daemons, I thought it made sense. I wasn't a CDD system so I didn't have alters splitting during those couple of years when I was under severe stress and almost daily trauma. I had daemons, so my daemons were splitting.

My daemons are aspects of myself. Facets almost. They are the personification of different thoughts and traits that I have. So when I needed things most, they would appear to try and fill that need. I don't think it clicked just how serious it was though until I got Lynnette.

Lynn was without a doubt the most intense daemon I had. I considered her the bulk of my subconscious. The daemon who was tired of my shit and was going to get through to me. She was brutal. She was cutthroat. She and Cayde *hated* eachother and often fought. She was the closest thing to a persecutor I had ever had.

But she also wasn't one in many ways. She never sought to hurt me or put me in danger. She realized that the ways everyone else was helping me was not actually solving anything, so she was the first one to stop playing nice. She was the embodiment of my intrusive thoughts, but she also countered them with logic. It was a really interesting dance.

But anyway, I ended up with 4 daemons who also ended up becoming what we called a daemon system. They had a single daemon persona they would take when synced together.

This daemon was named Æshe.

Which, is a CRAZY not coincidence becaus the very first member who was here because of trauma was Ashe.

But when I think back on it, yeah, my brain at the time hadn't quite reached the threshold of splitting off completely separate individuals. Alters just weren't possible yet or perhaps wasnt needed. So it was doing what it could with what it was familiar with at the time, which was using my daemons to cope. My sense of self held out as long as it could until one day it just flipped and boom, what was likely only ever C-PTSD growing up got kicked up to the next level.

I think that if I wasn't already hardwired for plurality at that point I don't think I would have developed OSDD later on in life. It wasn't a huge leap, but it still took a LOT before things trickled in from one to the next.

The headmates I had prior to my late in life trauma were from daydreams and hyperfixations. They were not tied directly to any specific or ongoing trauma. If they were, well, it was never apparent. They came and went with only minor passive influence. They behaved and felt *so* different than Ashe and the others. I cannot even describe it without doing it a disservice. But it's so potent and so obvious.

My daemons have been the most consistent mental companions. But, when the BIG STRESS happened, they disappeared. I could not reach them and if I did, they were so weak and frail that Cayde could do little more than flutter our chest (the location I associate with him) and that was it

Which makes SO much sense. Because one, yes stress and trauma and heavy dissociation and emotional disconnect will do that. But Ashe was still here and FAR more prominent than before my daemons disappeared. Which, if my daemons were tied to my sense of self and identity, then it makes sense that they disappeared when my sense of self split from that trauma. My mind did that whole fun splitting event and was in shambles while we tried to slowly recover and pick up the pieces. It took ages afterwards for me to return to my former self. But when I did, my daemons returned.

My plurality has never been the same since.

[olympeline]

@finoicc left this question on my Arthur in the Dark analysis and I decided I want to mull it over some more. Mull and write a longer answer than I left in the replies.

Using a cut again because of spoilers and discussion of heavy themes. Please don’t read on if that’s a problem for you!

Okay so, this is a big question in Arthur in the Dark: why does England give in to America in the rose garden? Why does he offer himself to America, only to panic and backpedal the moment they go further than kissing? He tells America he wants him back, but he can’t stomach it, and the encounter spirals down into rape. The trauma of which is what finally pushes England over the edge and breaks him. Letting Arthur resurface at last. It’s a powerful scene and a key part of the story, but it can be confusing as to why England allowed it. He could have said no when America prompted him to affirm consent. Or just never lead America on in the first place. So why didn’t he do either of these things?

To answer that, I think we have to get into some personal interpretations. AitD is often surreal and can be hard to understand. However, I’m fairly confident that one of its main themes is the trauma caused by different natures at odds within the same being. Natures that should work together but have slipped out of sync. The nation-people in Hetalia have two sides. The clue is in the name: they’re manifestations of countries, but they’re also people at the same time. People with their own thoughts and feelings, likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, etc. It can be difficult to pin down where the nation ends and the person begins, but the duality is definitely there. Canon is light and jokey so it never delves into the implications of this, but fanon is free to wonder.

Personally, I think the plot of Arthur in the Dark arose from England being polarised between his two sides. Unusually so for his kind. So he split to give both facets a way to express that part of him. Ironically “England” acts more human, while “Arthur” leans more towards being a personification. There’s crossover but that’s the idea, broadly speaking. We’re shown that early on in England’s life he was already tormented by his lot as a country. Already sick of it and wishing for something else. Which makes sense if you know England’s early history as Western Europe’s punching bag. We don’t know if this angst is common to nations and England just has it especially badly, or if it’s something unique to him. He hates the pain of being a weak land that’s constantly attacked and invaded, hates the constant battles to become and remain strong, and hates that his nature means he will spend his life alone. Alone aside from others like him who could become enemies at any time. Human lives are too short for them to be a real comfort and nation-people must love themselves before anyone else. They “can’t” feel the deepest most selfless love that humans can because they must be loyal to their citizens first. The comic reminds us of this many times, though it turns out to be untrue in the end. England has accepted this law, but still feels the pain of it very keenly. He’s desperately sad, desperately alone, and doesn’t like what he is. Because what he is is what’s made him feel this way in the first place. So he doesn’t like being a nation. Doesn’t like himself. Which is bad for a national personification because it means he doesn’t like England the country. Not deep down. Which is probably bad considering what he is and what it could mean for his people.

So England creates Arthur as a kind of mental and emotional “safety net.” Probably unintentionally but it happens somehow. Arthur is someone who can not only take over when the pain gets too much for England to bear, but also fulfill a crucial role he was failing in: loving England - England the country - more than anything else. Now, what Arthur actually is can be interpreted any number of ways. Is he a spirit? Is he magical? Is he a simple split personality? All of the above? None of the above? Is he unique to England or do all nation-people have two sides they can manifest? Does Arthur actually, physically exist or does England hallucinate him like his magical friends? Another America shows up briefly but this only makes it more mysterious. Was that America a product of the unraveling situation with England, or did he always have the potential to appear? We don’t know and so can only guess. Personally, I think Arthur is part of England rather than being another unique consciousness. I don’t think he’s “separate” or was ever there alongside England in the physical world. It’s why England disassociates and seems only aware of Arthur when he needs to be. England is especially magical even for a nation-person, and I think he was able to use his powers to push Arthur into “being” but only as a part of himself. Does that make sense? The despair was the cause, England’s strong magic was the ability, Arthur was born from these two things. England split into his gentler human side and his more ruthless national personification side. The worse his mental state, the further apart they’re pushed. But the split was an easy way out rather than a healthy one. Like it or not, England is a nation-person and denying his nature brought short term relief but long term problems. Especially after America came into the picture and England decided to imprison Arthur for fear America would be corrupted by his “bad” side. England’s growing strength as an empire protected him in some ways but brought more pain in others. Pain, but also a newfound fierce pride and vicious thirst for victory arising in Arthur. All needed to fuel Arthur’s strength so he could keep fighting, but disturbing to an England struggling to feel pride in anything related to his true nature. As the comic goes on and his relationship with America improves, England and Arthur start to seem more similar as they heal. America even commenting on it a couple of times. At the end, I don’t think Arthur disappears. I think he’s absorbed back into England and becomes part of him again as he always should have been.

Arthur was never England’s “bad” or “evil” side like they both believed. That came from, again, England being ill-at-ease with his nature as a personification. One thing Arthur definitely embodies is England’s lost sense of pride at being a country. An emotion England never wanted to feel because it reminded him of pain he couldn’t escape. Even a release from death is denied to a powerful nation. This ever present unease came sharply into focus when England found America. Found him, then started doing the very human thing of parenting and nurturing him. Nation-people seemingly don’t reproduce sexually, so this must have been odd for them. Or rather odd for England since America never knew any different. Odd for England to get that involved with what’s just a colonial project. Arthur got his name shortly after which “defined” him as a separate entity even more in England’s eyes. He thought the love between himself and America was something alien to their kind because they both cared for each other more than themselves. So he tried to protect this by pushing Arthur away. America knew it early on but it was a pleasant surprise for England that he was capable of feeling this way about someone. It gave him such comfort that he was desperate to preserve it at any cost. So denied his nature further and cut Arthur off from America. Only letting them come into contact during the American War of Independence. But Arthur and England can’t help bleeding into each other and so Arthur couldn’t land the final blow and stop America leaving when the time came. Afterwards England banishes him down into the dark, and is weakened significantly as a result.

England didn’t want America corrupted by Arthur - to be exposed to his “evil” personification side - so he never taught America anything about loving him. England doesn’t love England, especially with Arthur put aside, so he can’t teach America how to love England either. Only how to love him as a human. Which is why it eventually falls to Arthur to show America love for the country they represent. Gardening with him, quoting English poets, taking him on a roadtrip to show of English culture, etc. England never tried that with America. Their relationship is all England trying to give (a “sainted parent” as Arthur comments) without letting America love him back all the way. He wants a part of that love, wants it desperately, but won’t accept the full spectrum of love that America wants to give. Because that would mean America loved “vicious” Empire England. Ironically in trying to suppress his nature, England falls back on it. He tries to push America to love America first and best, rather than England. America seemingly never had a problem breaking their kind’s taboo and loving England most. It never clashed with his instincts of self-preservation as the personification of the United States. He never had a problem with it, but England absolutely did.

Which finally leads us back to what happened in the garden. It comes straight after the scene where England breaks down over America “not believing in him any more.” He knows America’s love for him has changed. It’s why he took the cowardly way out before the comic started. Why he willingly went blind so he wouldn’t have to see what he couldn’t bear. America was always comfortable loving England in a special way: as a human and nation both. Now mature, that all encompassing love includes eros. He’s able to love England first without it conflicting with his nature as a nation-person. He can accept England and love him as a father/mother/brother while also wanting him as a lover. Always could, even when it was only a child’s puppy love. It’s only England’s fear that ever taught him to doubt what came naturally. America’s love for England is all love at once, something humans aren’t capable of understanding. It’s why he kisses England, but then calls him “father and mother” in his letter just before the comic ends. England wanted America to only love him in a human way: child to parent. Only ever wanted America to love the “good” side he allowed him to see. He despairs when he realises America’s love has grown past that despite all his efforts. Despairs and, cut off from half his strength, gives in. Chooses the coward’s way again and decides it’s better to “go along” with being America’s lover than risk losing him. But England never realised that he was still Arthur (and Arthur was still him) even after trying to banish him. It’s not just the trauma of America refusing to stop, but also that England starts to enjoy the sex. But Arthur is still cut off to an extent, so England gets the worst of both worlds. He’s made himself too human to not be traumatized by sex with his “child.” His personification side is still simmering below the surface and lets him suggest the sex in the first place. Sparking unwanted lust, but too diminished to allow England to accept the encounter like he should be able to. So yeah, absolute worst of all worlds. He manages to traumatize both sides of himself at once by letting them fall out of balance and control him unevenly. It’s very complex because England’s emotional and mental state is hitting rock bottom by that point. He breaks because he can’t fight reality any longer, but he can’t accept it either. Not as he is: split, and too weak and exhausted to bear it. He’s trying to hang onto his last shred of happiness and stability as America’s beloved parent. Trying to keep America “believing in him” like any innocent child would the one who raised them. Trying to deny the growing need accept his true self and love America back in all ways. Trying to hold Arthur down and keep from succumbing to his “evil” side. Even as he gives in and does something a normal human would never. It’s a total mess and so is he. Too shattered and desperate to resist any longer.

That’s my analysis of the lead up and payoff to the garden scene. There’s still more, believe it or not, but I don’t want this post to scroll down forever. So let’s start wrapping up. After the garden scene and its fallout, both sides of England begin to heal when he allows Arthur out into the world. Let’s him interact with America and share Arthur’s love for England - the country part of himself - that America never got to see. In doing so, England and Arthur finally heal the trauma that split them and are able to merge back into one whole being. England is no longer afraid to look at America again. No longer despairing over losing the parental love America had for him. That love was never lost to begin with: it just became part of the full love America always felt for England. The full spectrum love of a nation-person at peace with both their human and immortal sides. Arthur teaches America to love England - the country - as he always has. In doing so, England - the personification - finally learns to do it too as part of Arthur. Stops fearing and starts to accept what he is instead of hurting himself by trying to suppress it.

The comic ends with England coming to terms with loving America as America has always loved him. Something only possible because of the love England can now feel for himself. He needed to understand that this love - and the Arthur part of him it came from - wasn’t a force of corruption. Only after accepting this would England permit himself to feel this way for America. To love America not just with his human side, but with all parts of himself. Parts that England is finally capable of loving as well. Now that Arthur is back as an essential facet of his psyche. Parts he no longer feels the need to hide away in the dark.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say other than I hope you enjoyed reading my analysis. I love this comic, man. I truly do. It’s so, so good. Really touched me as a piece of art. So glad I found it ❤️

[golvio]

A list of my current guesses about what’s going on in Echoes of Wisdom based on the private demo footage/descriptions floating around.

(Early game spoilers below cut)

The game’s pretty obvious about Hylia existing in its continuity, given the bigass Hylia statue plonked right in the middle of the hallway during Impa’s into scene. Also, Tri absolutely has something to do with Hylia & maybe the Golden Goddesses, both because of the obvious name + triangle motif connections to the Triforce, but also because they and “their friends” are apparently custodians responsible for mending any tears in reality that open up. Tri’s “echo” powers seem to be a limited, imperfect version of the Triforce’s power to grant any wish, which may presumably grow stronger the more “friends” they’ve gathered. I think EoW is going to touch on the Fujibayashi Reset!Creation Myth by talking about the creation of Hyrule, what the Triforce is, what Hylia’s role was, and what that means for Zelda as her ostensible successor.

If they’re going with the Fujibayashian version of the creation myth, then it’ll likely draw heavy inspiration from Shinto. Basically, I think the Still World might be some kind of pocket of the “primordial chaos” that existed before the goddesses created Hyrule. Either that, or Hyrule itself exists as some kind of island of differentiated creation in a sea of Primordial Chaos, which encroaches on the land and tries to revert it to Chaos if the realm isn’t actively being maintained, as it seems like the world’s “default state” is formless Chaos, given that living things trapped and frozen in the Still World are said to dissipate after a while. The “outer space” and “goopy black water” visual motifs also remind me of the Ancient Greek description of Chaos as a location full of “endless air” or associated with water. Ancient Egypt also characterized existence before creation as a “watery abyss” personified by the god Nu.

I’m also curious about whether the Still World might tie in with other parts of Shinto cosmogony, given the association between stagnant water and the concept of “kegare.”

Based on the Link mini boss, I definitely don’t think the “Ganon” we see in the intro is actually Ganon. I think he’s an echo-puppet being controlled by whatever’s controlling the Rifts. I think Ganon was among the first living creatures to be yoinked by the rift, and was likely either caught by surprise or spirited away while freshly revived and in a weakened state. I think Zelda’s definitely going to find his frozen body somewhere in the Still World, and she’ll either accidentally release him while figuring out how to rescue the captured townsfolk & her dad, or she’ll release him on purpose to sic him on whoever’s trying to assassinate her, because he’s absolutely going to be pissed when he wakes up. He’ll also likely turn the tables on Zelda to become the final boss, because he’s Ganon. Upstaging first act villains is what he does.

I’m not sure what that means for his trident, though. The camera focusing on it and it being a vibrant purple that’s a complementary color to Tri’s bright yellow suggests it might also be a special Echo-Weapon, but I’m not sure what that means yet.

There’s another place associated with “endless space” and “water” that we saw in Skyward Sword—the arena Demise set up for Link at the very end of the game. If Hylia’s here, would EoW possibly revisit Demise, too? Is Demise, as Hylia’s divine counterpart, some kind of personification of the Rift?

This one’s a long shot in the vein of crack theory territory, but I’m still holding on to hope that the metaphorical bus Ghirahim got put on when Demise died will come back. The first boss has certain similarities to both Scaldera (animated rock monster) and Koloktos (human-shaped vessel animated by purple goo), which might point to it being a simple construct animated by Ghirahim. We have the extremely sus “Trident of Darkness” analogue that echo-Ganon was wielding. Also, Ghirahim trying to destroy the world by putting it in eternal stasis, or “making it the way it was” would be a rather fitting and tragic expression of his grief over losing Demise, since his whole deal in SkSw was trying to force the world to go back to the way it was before Demise died by resurrecting him. Him being emotionally “stuck in stasis” after Demise totally beefed his second chance at life, leaving Ghirahim without a purpose, and Ghirahim taking it out on the rest of the world would make sense. It’d also be really fun to see him as a rival to Ganon instead of immediately accepting him as Demise’s successor and kissing his ass like he did in HW. I think the two of them could have a really interesting relationship.

[doomed-prophetess]

I was musing with some friends the other day, and I thought our thoughts would be interesting to talk about. In WMMAP, Jennette basically takes on the role of LP!Athanasia. She has a more downcast, gentle disposition, contrasting WMMAP!Athanasia's lively and sunny 'personality'. And I say that in quotes because she basically took Jennette's personality, eventually making her own spin on it and turning into the sunshine personification we know and love as Athy. She even said as a kid that Claude liked Jennette, so she should act like Jennette (therefore starting her lovey-dovey act with Claude). There's tons of scenes showing how lonely Jennette is. She's deserate for a family, like LP!Athy was desperate for her father's love (her family). She clings onto our Athy, and even though she's kind to Jennette, she still leaves her completely in the dark and alone, until the end of the series. And on a similar note, Athy.. Knew about Jennette's identity and situation the entire time. Jennette had been told her entire life that she is Claude's daughter and Athy's sister, and Athy knows this, but she still leaves her to stand. Repeatedly, she acts loving and happy with Claude right in front of Jennette's face, and treats her like an outsider. (Example; when she fell in the lake and Claude almost let her drown, or episode 82 when Jennette asks if Claude is alright, and Athy tells her to go home). This also applies to the Debutante Ball- While Athanasia shines that day, Jennette is left behind by both Claude and Athy. Athy knows all about her, but lets Jennette watch her act close with Claude, and then scurries off with him leaving her behind. Of course, this isn't to bash Athy or anything, she was in survival mode at the Debutante. And a lot of times around Jennette, she was paranoid that the 'plot' would fall back into place somehow. I'm just pointing out some things. I know that some people will go "Well in LP Jennette got her happy ending, and Athy didn't!!!" But that isn't true. Athy doesn't know what the ending is of LP, and we're shown through visions/dreams that LP certainly didn't have a happy ending. (The Empire burning down, Claude getting sick, etc). I can only really assume that has to do with Aeternatas. They both die a miserable death. We can assume that when Anastacius shows up in LP, like shown in the visions, Jennette realizes at some point she's been lied to her entire life by the people she loves. And then dies, though I'm not sure in what way, we just see the empire in fiery shambles after. Additionally - Claude never even loved Jennette, he just used her to cure his headaches. So Jennette never "stole" his love from Athy. In WMMAP, though, our girls both finally get their happy endings. Athy wins Claude's love, and becomes Crown Princess. Jennette finds happiness with her real father and gets to start over in Mieta, while also taking on her mother's green eyes - which I see as her making peace with the past she thought she knew, and no longer needing to hold onto the Imperial family. I really don't get it when people compare Athy and Jennette, in "who suffered more", or "who is better than who". Aside from WMMAP being a father-daughter story, I argue that it can also be seen as a story about 2 girls finding their happy endings.

(side note: controversial, but I always find myself feeling more bad for Jennette than I do Athy TvT I think it's because we only ever see LP!Athy's suffering from very far away, we rarely even see her face, and we usually just see our happy-go-lucky WMMAP!Athy. Meanwhile we see Jennette's hardships more closely, making me feel more bad for her. That's just how I feel tho!!)

I don't like putting two girls against each other in trauma olympics but if you want to insist one of them had it worse than the other, the answer should be Jennette and not Athy. Jennette was never loved for who she was, she had to witness the death of her family one by one until she was the only one left behind amidst the destruction of her home country to either die a violent death or become Aeternitas meat puppet, an accessory to his crimes and forced to witness him committing atrocities through her but powerless to stop him.

At least lp Athy had Lily, Jennette had no one. I feel like LP Athy was a lot freer too. LP Athy's lack of magic saved her from court intrigue and being used as a tool by greedy nobles wheras Jennette was manipulated from the start. Athy could pursue her own interests and these happened to align with the duties of an Empress, contrary to Jennette who never wanted to rule but was forced into intense studies to learn everything a princess should know.

I never fully understood why Athy didn't just tell Jennette the truth about her parentage. Leaving the part out that Jennette is a construct made of black magic, she could have at least told her Anastasius is her real father and warned her that if she revealed her identity, Claude might harm her. Lucas, as the magician of the tower, could confirm her words. Jennette would stop seeking him out and if Athy continued their friendship, Jennette's need for familial love would still be satisfied. They could have been both happy together. There were no advantages to keeping it a secret, only disadvantages and the risk she would lose Jennette's trust if she ever learned that Athy had deceived her.

[diseasedfauna]

Erubescoitis

Note: fake disease

Nicknames: Blood Hands Disease

Symptoms/Stages:

Stage One:

At the beginning of stage one the tips of fingers and toes begin to turn a light pink because of the pooling of blood (Note that personifications do not require bloodflow but for the sake of appearing human it happens and is a manual function to have the heart beat. The pooling of blood in limbs is not always an indicator of this disease)

Stage Two:

Once stage two is initiated the pooling of this blood will only increase which will further the pink/red color of the limbs. Along with this, small pimple like bumps will appear in these red areas.

The body will also begin to start to become skinnier and there will be an increase of the amount of saliva in the mouth.

Stage Three:

Once this stage has started the redness starts to become much more vibrant than before. This color is often compared to maraschino cherries. The small bumps originally there begin to get bigger and spread all over the redness to the point that they’re so close that these bumps overlap.

There will be an increase of saliva and it’ll start to have a foam like texture and it often pools out of the mouth. 

The personification suffering this will also begin to become so skinny to the point of bones being visible. Studies show that almost all fat within the body disappears.

Stage Four:

This being the final stage, the red coloration spreads up to the elbows and knees and in some cases farther than the hips and shoulders. The red bumps follow this spreading and get worse the further down the limb you go.

Extreme dehydration and starvation sets in and they may resort to eating others because of desperation. This is the only time a personification will become violent if they have this disease.

Muscle mass loss is more often than not evident in this stage.

Stage Five:

At the start of stage five, the personification may start seeking out the source of the disease.

The foaming at the mouth gets worse and the body may begin eating unnecessary organs in order to feed itself. The effects of extreme dehydration also begin to set in.

The redness at this stage may spread to the rest of the body.

Procedure:

If caught in stage one, a counteracting substance will be injected into the arm or thigh. This will almost always get rid of the disease and fight it successfully in this stage.

If caught in stage two, the above procedure will be put in place.

If caught in stage three, a stronger form of the previous substance will be injected. Food and water will be supplied in order to help gain lost fat back and to help prevent dehydration.

Stages four and five have a similar procedure. The personification will get an injection in the arm or thigh will be administered in order to help fight off the disease. An NG tube will be put up the nose in order to get the personification the needed minerals and vitamins they needs.

^ Said infected personification needs to be put in a hot or warm room so that they do not develop hypothermia because of the body and muscle mass loss

How Does it Spread?:

If the personification consumes the rotting body of a hoofed animal then it is very likely they will catch this. This disease is more often found when the animal is in the late stages of decay.

Other animal bodies do not have this, it’s only been found in hoofed animal carcasses.

First Discovered:

First discovered by the Personification of Egypt early into their creation in 3145 B.C.E

Is it Chronic?:

No

Other:

Caeruleumitis varient

Personifications in the Collapse Process always die from this but other than this Personifications are not capable of dying from this disease

Texas catches this at least once a decade. He is always drunk when we find him passed out on the corpse of a cow he ate. 

[thealmightyemprex]

Universal Monster watch through thoughts part 2

Onto 5 more monster movies

A few notes:I have been watching the behind the scenes documentaries that go with certain movies and this is the first batch with no documentaries .ALso with Daughter of DRacula we exit phase one of the Universal monsters ,as in studio history I belive this is where the LEamlies (Those who founded Universal) were I believe forced out and Horror films were put on the back burner due to the Hays code ....Till a theater owner did a very sucessful triple bill of Dracula,Frankenstein and Son of Kong ,which got Universal seeing dollar signs and brought beack the monsters with Son of Frankenstein

6.Werewolf of London 1935

First film I fully dont like.Like its one of the first werewolf movies Jack Pierces makeup ,which is more man then wolf is good and theres some amusing drunk old ladies ......But other then that and unless you are a hardcore werewolf fanatic,I think this film is skipable .I dont like the main characvter or actor ,Henry Hull ,and the key to a good Werewolf story is I gotta care about the main character,and while it has cool ideas it does ntohing with them.Also the villain is played by Warner Oland ,a Swedish actor known for playing mostly Asian characters ,including here .....Skip this movie

7.Draculas Daughter (1936)

So this is an example of a film I saw once before,didnt think much of .....And on this watch I really enjoyed it .The opening scene is dumb with Van Helsing getting arrested and honestly as much as I love Edward Van Sloan ,I wouldve preferred if he wasnt in the movie .Other then that its a good movie,and for Queer horror fans I think its a must watch ,Zaleskas queer subtext is palpable ,ESPECIALLY in the scene with Lili the model .I like the humor in the film mostly (Im noticing more a trend to humor ),Sandor is one of my favorite characters so far cause he is the ultimate buzzkill and personification of gloom , but what makes the film really is Zaleska played to perfection by Gloria Holden ,she really brings the tragedy and pathos so she isnt just a villain .Also earliest vampire film I can think of to treat vamparism like addiction,with Sandor the utimate enabler .Also ummm I didnt realize this but I couldnt shake the feeling while watching that the hero Jeffrey looked villanious ....And turns out Its Otto Kruger who I had just seen in Hitchcocks Saboteur where he plays a villain (Also was Dr Livsey in Tresaure Island with Wallace Beery ).Anyway good movie,hidden gem reccomend

8.Son of Frankenstein (1939)

...So yeah the first 3 Frankenstein movies (The Karloff trilogy as I call it ) are all amazing ,its soooooo hard to pick a favorite.I have heard people who say its the best of the three and others who say its the weakest,but honestly like the first two it is still a masterpiece .It is sadly the first one where the monster becomes a bit of a prop,he is the least interesting character in the film but he still has great moments in the film to showcase how great Karloff is (His wail of Anguish upon finding Ygor dead ,his one friend ,is HEARTBREAKINGLY AMAZING ).Honestly what makes the film is the cast which might be the best ensamble of any of these movies .Lionel Atwil is so good as the one armed Inspector Krogh who plays off Basil Rathbone beautifully .Basil Rathbone gives possibly one of his best performances as the titular character and the dart scene is some of the best actor Ive seen from him .The scene stealer in EASILLY his best performance ever is Bela Lugosi as Ygor ,he is so creepy and is played to perfection by Lugosi .I am tempted to say he is tied with Pretorious as my favorite villain of the series .The movie looks beautiful,its got a good final set piece and you get to see some amazing actors work off each other.Another CLASSIC in my oppinion.Also Bambi is in it .And with that we leave the 30's and enter the 40's

9.The Invisible Man Returns (1940)

Another solid one ,love the wronged man trying to prove his innocence plot while trying not to lose his mind ,I think thats a fun angle .Im not a huge fan of Sir Cedric Hardwicke ,but I love his performance here as the main villain not playing it villainous but rather desperate which leads to villainy .I also really like the inspector here who is a fun foil .The stand out of the movie is its lead a very green Vincent Price in his first time being the lead in a horror film ,I think his manerisms when bandaged are good and he has a strong voice though he hasnt developed his signature affectation yet so he sounds alittle diffrent though the signature "Price voice" slips in a few scenes .My favorite scene is when he is menacing Alan Napier (AKA Alfred brom 60's Batman TV show ) and the film has a great finale .Also the effects were OScar nominated and RIGHTLY so,they look good for being over 80 years old.Must see for both Universal fans and Vincent Price fans

10.The Mummys Hand (!940)

....Sooooooo,I have seen this one before,but this time around I mostly had it on in the background as I made lunch ,and thus have very little to say .I kind of like that the two main characters are goofy ,fun knowing the mummys actor Tom Tyler was in westerns (Including John Fords Stagecoach) but also is the first live action actor to play a comic book hero ,Captain Marvel and Geroge Zucco is creepy....I dunno,I got nothing both times Ive watched this I just thought it was OK

Ranking so far

10.Werewolf of London

9.Mummys Hand

8.Mummy

7.Dracula's Daughter

6.Dracula

5.Invisible Man Returns

4.Invisble Man

3.Son of Frankenstein

2.Frankenstein

1.Bride of Frankenstein

To be Continued

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @piterelizabethdevries @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @countesspetofi @amalthea9 @barbossas-wench

[nichesexymanbloodbath]

Do you like Tumblr Sexymen? BOY DO I HAVE A COMPETITION FOR YOU!

Welcome to the 2023 niche tumblr non-sexyman competition! What is this, you may be asking? Well, let me tell you!

Do you have a character who you love so much? Is he an absolutely horrendous man who meets several of the qualifications of a tumblr sexyman, but for whatever reason, he isn't one yet? Maybe he's too niche, or the mods of the wiki just haven't realized his potential yet. Well, this bracket is for that exact purpose!

I'm Hermann (pronouns are they/them), and I'll be your moderator (yes, I am also the moderator of the @clash-of-the-wizards . I'm running 2 polls at once, because I have absolutely no life). In this bracket, we'll be pitting 32 niche, or otherwise non-canonical, sexymen against each other, and seeing who comes out victorious! Maybe, whoever wins will be the next person I submit to the moderators of the sexypedia, and maybe they'll become canon! Here's hoping!

GUIDELINES

If it's a rule on the sexypedia, it applies here. These rules include: Real people will not be considered, minors will not be considered, original characters will (sadly) not be considered, and no personifications of real-world locations and/or tragedies will be considered. Please read up on the sexypedia rules before submitting your sexyman nomination

Please make sure your characters do fit the sexyman archetypes! I will be looking over each and every entry individually, and I have full rights to disqualify anyone. The more archetypes a character fits, the more likely I am to consider them for the bracket.

You can submit any character from any fandom, just so long as they exist within the rules and boundaries of the competition

Please don't come back and repeatedly nominate the same sexyman-to-be. You can come back and nominate several sexymen, but I do want some diversity. I'm asking for NICHE sexymen for a reason!

SEXYMEN ALREADY IN THE WIKI WILL NOT BE PUT IN THE RUNNING!!!! I might start one for sexymen already in the wiki but who receive minimal recognition, but this one is for the sexymen who aren't there but deserve to be there!

Lastly, have fun! This is for funnies! It's just to see what sexymen tumblr wants to see added to the register!

Unlike my other bracket, and unlike most other brackets I've seen, for the sake of both diversity and staying true to the sexyman feeling, I will be hand-picking our contestants. You're more likely to have your sexyman added if you include the archetypes that fit them in your submission, because it spares me research time, and I appreciate that :) it is, however, not required. Just know, the initial part of this isn't decided by votes, unless I have a tie that I need broken. In such case, you guys will be the final judges.

Got any questions about the polls or about me? My ask box is open, and I'll try and answer everything! Something about the comp inspires you to make art? I think you so should! I just ask you either drop it in my inbox or you tag me in the post!

DEADLINES

NOMINATIONS WILL CLOSE AT 11:59 PM EST on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5.

I HAVE ENTERED:

Newton Geiszler - Pacific Rim Londo Mollari - Babylon 5

YOU WILL ENTER:

Whoever the hell you want! Go crazy!

Now....

GO SEXY THOSE MEN! ... or something!

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Propaganda masterpost for Barry Bluejeans & Lup (The Adventure Zone: Balance)

Lup is a canon trans woman and her and Barry turned themselves into liches while they were stuck in a 100 year long time distortion trying to fight and escape from the personification of nihilism. Lup ends up going missing and Barry spends years trying to find her again but can only search for her when he has a physical body, during which he loses all his memories and has to follow clues his lich-self left for him. When he finally finds her again he says "I'm gonna blow myself up just so I can be a lich and hold you again." They both end up becoming reapers/bounty hunters for the goddess of death after saving the universe and at one point Barry brings Lup some hot chocolate as she plans a heist that ends in burning down a casino because the owner stole $15 from her.

Lup is canonically trans! And they’re very badass. They spent nearly century pining before they got together. They became liches together. When their memories were wiped Barry begged Lup’s IDENTICAL TWIN BROTHER to kill him so he wouldn’t forget her face (memory wipe doesn’t affect him in lich form). He’s a necromancy wizard and she’s an evocation wizard and also they become grim reapers.

Love em

Lup is a BADASS trans lady and her husband Barry is implied to be into men as well, and he's also a badass, and they're super powerful liches, and Lup was missing for ten years and even when Barry lost his memory he kept looking for her, because their love DEFINED AND REDEEMED HIM, and he's an older (50s) pudgy guy who gets to be a romantic hero and Lup is a beautiful, powerful trans lady elf, she could blow up a mountain if she felt like it, she invented a device that would let her travel between dimensions just to get back $15 that someone owed her, they pined for each other for 47 years (they were stuck in a time loop of sorts for 100 years) and in general, they're the best and most in love and they are powerful undead wizards and liches and now they are reapers who hunt down undead criminals with their brother-in-law, the Grim Reaper.

[anixknowsnothin]

hey Nix how did you enjoy the latest Epic saga?(if you've listened)

HIII OMG I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS.

ok so when you sent this ask, it was during the release of the thunder saga which i'd be happy to talk on even now so let's begin:

THE THUNDER SAGA

The Thunder Saga is incredible beginning to Act 2. I mean you get to hear the sirens, Scylla, the crew and ZEUS. Considering that this is after the Underworld Saga, where Odysseus learns that he must become "the monster," I tried to look for that while listening to this for the first time. And boy, did I find it.

Immediately we start with Suffering, where the siren pretends to be Penelope and Ody plays along. It is so catchy and I absolutely love how Mr.Jalepeneo incorporates the vowel effect he talks about in this ! Moreover, the little detail where the viola isn't playing, which is Penelope's instrument, when the siren messes up about her and Odysseus having a daughter is such a nice detail and shows the amount of thought put in by Jorge (I live for his music analysis).

We move on to Different Beast, that starts with "LET'S CUT THE CHARADE, YOU ARE NO WIFE OF MINE." Chills. Immediately shocked because when I first listened to this, I was very confused and only started to figure out 'Penelope' is actually a siren. This song is how Odysseus became the monster. I was so shocked when he sang "Throw their bodies back in the water, let them drown" and the screams of the sirens. It's so stone cold and really reflects Odysseus' desperation to go home, and the extreme lengths he would go to.

Let's enter the lair of Scylla, shall we? This is my favourite song from this saga because KJ Burkhauser's voice is perfectly manipulative and monstrous, but in the most angelic manner (am i making sense?) I love how Eurylochus finally confesses and Odysseus doesn't even say anything, especially in the animatic, he's just shocked (as Scylla perfectly sings in the background). Instead he changes the topic and gives him orders. 1:54 onwards is my favourite part of the song, because WOW SHE SOUNDS SO SCARY AND THE EMPHASIS ON THE WORDS LIKE "DROWN" AND "CHOKE" JUST MAKE THIS SONG SO MUCH BETTER. Plus in the same animatic, Eurylochus' gradual realisation of Odysseus' plan is just :chef's kiss: because it shows his hurt. It'

Mutiny is a song I've been waiting to listen for a long time, considering that Jorge had released this snippet much before the release of the Troy saga and I love the reference to Luck Runs Out, as it shows the change in how Eurylochus and the crew perceived Odysseus (I'm going to talk about this later). "If you want all the power, you must carry all the blame" is such a good line as it suits his character so well. Then comes Helios' island, where Eurylochus calls Odysseus 'Ody' which I PROMISE I'll talk about after Thunder Bringer. Orders disobeyed and then comes trouble in the form of the...

THUNDER BRINGER. It's such a beautiful and scary song, perfectly capturing Zeus' nature. The personification of pride is so terrifying, the lyrics "hiding away where only I can undress her" brings attention to Zeus' role of enforcing law. Luke Holt's voice in this song sends shivers down my spine, he was really best suited for this role as he brings this sense of power and authority to Zeus' character which is very much needed for the King of the Gods. Him making Odysseus choose, just like in The Horse and The Infant, and how there is a nod to that song ("please don't make me do this") along with "Just a man" to represent the crew's thoughts and "Suffering" for Penelope itches my brain. The fact that "Suffering" is used here instead of a snippet of Penelope's voice shows that even though the last time Odysseus heard Penelope's voice was actually a siren's impersonation, it's the one that crosses his mind. He wants to see his wife so desperately that a false impression is what he thinks of. Eurylochus last lines "But we'll die" and Odysseus' pain when he says "I know" had me SOBBING internally. The ending of this song is so peaceful and a wonderful transition to the Wisdom Saga.

Here's my mini Eurylochus essay:

The way Eurylochus slowly goes from considering Odysseus as a brother to captain to 'Ody' in the musical is so well orchestrated. His faith in Odysseus as a captain decreases and his anger increases after watching Odysseus slowly transition. We start with Full Speed Ahead, where Eurylochus asks Odysseus, "Captain, what's the plan?" which shows his trust in Odysseus and how he goes to him the second there is a problem. When they come across the island, Eurylochus is quick and rash, showing his impatient nature, thinking they should "strike first" but Odysseus rejects this idea. which I think isn't talked about enough. Does this rejection ignite some anger in Eurylochus? Is this the starting point of their relationship going down hill? Or is he just worried about Odysseus and cares for him? We see him in Survive, where he asks Odysseus "What are our orders?" in a panicked state, showing his trust and dependence on Odysseus once again. Even though Odysseus is frozen in shock, Eurylochus goes to him before taking any course of action. Later in Remember Them, he asks "what will we do of our fallen friends?" which foreshadows him blaming Odysseus for their deaths. (ill continue this in the reblog wait)

[sirnavergi]

i saw one of your oc arts and please please tell me about them!!

(more specifically i saw the one you captioned "designed what remiel looked like as a kid today" and-- !!!!! the colors!!! the shading!!! it's amazing)

AHHH HELLO!!! THANK YOU SO MUCHH

I’ll do my best to explain it! I’d like to mention that the artwork isn’t actually a canon scene that happens and is moreso? symbolical 🤧 If that makes sense.

The characters name’s are Soleil (she uses any pronouns! In case me switching them gets confusing!) and Remiel, Remiel being the kid, obv.

I’ll have to go into my world building deets a lil so . apologies for that bc it’s usually kind of loaded😓

Soleil is something I call a guardian. A guardian is basically a piece of The Sky, a personification of sorts. The Sky is sort of like a god. In the very, detached, concept beyond your comprehension kind of way, that doesn’t communicate or really intervene as itself. Simply just. exist as the biggest thing, the thing everything else branches off from.

And Soleil, is one of many guardians. A guardian is the heart of a universe! They emerge in empty spaces within the ether, and fill it with a world that directly parallels their consciousness, their feelings etc.

Soleil is special in the way he interacts with everything around her. In a way she can hear all the faint melodies of everything that exists, including the sky itself! Which she actually kind of, hates! He thinks the sounds coming from The Sky are always very melancholic and upsetting. Therefore when Soleil finally gets to make their own world, a sort of veil appears, that hides The Sky away from her world, and “silences” the sounds.

Inherently, Soleil also shares the same melody with The Sky, as they are a part of it whether he likes it or not, but he refuses to acknowledge this. Drowning out their own sound, the sound of The Sky, with the sound of every living being on their world.

The world continues to thrive in this fashion, with Soleil existing as a distant observer to her creation for a loooong time until one day. A kid is born and this kid? Has the same melody as The Sky. This kid, is Remiel!

Remiel is a lot of things, I can say A LOT about his childhood, which I won’t get into right now as It’s not important to the context of the drawing. Main things that he is, that matters right now, is that he’s quite literally Soleil’s perception of The Sky, hidden deep somewhere in their subconscious, becoming a real physical tangible person in the world that emerged from their feelings!

This frustrates Soleil, they tried SO HARD to keep that sound out of the choir, to tune it out, to drown it out and now its back.

Okay so to sum it all up here. Soleil is created by The Sky, and is a piece of The Sky. Remiel is created by Soleil, but represents The Sky.

If, for simplicity’s sake I refer to The Sky as Soleil’s mom, to make the dynamic easier to understand, Soleil is Remiel’s “mom”, but Remiel is a literal representation of Soleil’s view of her own “mom” which Soleil hates, but despite this she’s also a lot like and shares many traits with her “mom”. And it’s just a big mess of, I’m your creator (mom), but you’re my creator, but we’re also similar, we are the same, but we’re not the same, you made me and I made you. And so forth.

Remiel doesn’t grow up to be the best person, that’s why I chose to draw him as a child. I think that’s especially when the interpretation of this dynamic as more familial hits hardest, because it could also be seen as directly reversing the dynamic, where Sol is a very old thing, as old as their universe quite literally, and Remiel is just a kid, about to hear a lot of things he wont like. ^_^

The more maternal interpretation also makes me upset /pos as Soleil’s issue is not really with Remiel or The Sky, but it’s with herself and her feeling stuck, unable to detach herself from their creator and it’s misery.

Sorry this is kinda messy n all over the place I hope I could get the main idea across at least😓 THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN! For the ask and the compliment :3 It means a lot!

[thegreenwallrabbit-blog]

Explaining one of VTMB paintings (pt 3)

Sleep and His Half-Brother Death- 1874 Oil on canvas, by John William Waterhouse.  

John William Waterhouse (6 April 1849 – 10 February 1917) was a English painter first known for his works painting in the Academic style before rejecting this and becoming part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1883.  

Sleep and His Half-Brother Death is notable  as one of his early works still using the Academic style. This painting was Waterhouse's first Royal Academy exhibit, and it was painted after both his younger brothers died of tuberculosis* The painting itself is a reference to the Greek gods Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death) who, in the Greek mythology, were brothers. Despite their similar poses in the painting, the character in the foreground is bathed in light, while his brother is shrouded in darkness; the first therefore represents Sleep, the latter Death. The personification of Sleep clasps poppies, symbolic of narcosis and dreamlike-states. This painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy summer exhibition in 1874. and was such a well received success. [1]

In VTMB there are two interesting points. First, is that the artists brothers died of Consumptionit (tuberculosis), which up until the early 1800s deceased victims were sometimes though to come back to life as vampires. Bodies of those who had dies from tuberculosis were exhumed and internal organs ritually burned to stop the "vampire" from attacking the local population and to prevent the spread of the disease. [2]  Secondly, sleep is the closest a Kindred can get to the peace without meeting their Final Death. Theres always lots of rumored over elders that have supposedly who have meet their Final Death that actually have chosen to go into a Sleep of Ages torpor. Sometimes in heavy, ostentatious and ominously decorated containers.(^ ‿ <) but don’t worry I hear there is a dedicated kindred out there separating fact from fiction owo.

Citations [1] Waterhouse, John William. “Sleep and His Half Brother Death, 1874 - John William Waterhouse  .” Www.wikiart.org, 1 Jan. 1874, https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-william-waterhouse/sleep-and-his-half-brother-death-1874.