#before i recognised him

[nenoname]

"I got campaign confetti in my eyes!"

[gingermintpepper]

Day 2: Hyacinthus

Interpretation notes and trivia below the cut!

Designing Hyacinthus as well as deciding on a personality for him was one of the first big problem I had to solve when the topic of a retelling came up. In most texts, he exists to be loved and then to die and even then, the focus of his death is not his own but rather on Apollo, the one who loses him. General modernised interpretations of him likewise tend to make him agreeable and inoffensive, the sort of character who is likeable and upright but never challenging or ornery. I didn't like any of those options, so I instead decided to build my Hyacinthus from the ground up - for better or for worse. His red hair is his most striking feature, it is his mother's divine hair colour and he is the only one of her children to have inherited it. Similarly, Hyacinthus is the only one of his mother's children to inherit her magic. While some of his siblings were born with a few passive gifts from their mother (Argalus' 'perfect' memory and Polyboea's affinity for mental calculations and projections, for example) Hyacinthus was born with a talent for sealing and warding magic and thusly, much of his life has been shaped by the pursuit of knowledge and his wish to use his talents to better his kingdom. Much of his good-nature and zeal for life and learning is destroyed by the circumstances of his death and entombment. When he is revived, he is angry, lost, devoid of most of his memories and desperate to fill the missing gaps of his soul. He's selfish and snappish, hurt and desperate to hurt others but, most importantly, he is searching. When he is revived, all the world has heard his story but he is not apart of it. They do not remember Hyacinthus, the mage-prince of Amyclae or Hyacinthus, the teacher of men. They do not speak of Hyacinthus, who charmed the gods for their knowledge or Hyacinthus whose beauty was bested only by his wit - they speak of Apollo and his lost love, Apollo and his grief, Hyacinthus, the lover of the Radiant. One can only hope that he will find whatever it is he is looking for on this journey.

Some fun trivia:

Youngest son in a family of seven, his magic was the catalyst for Clio revealing her true identity as a Muse to her children.

Actually prefers to be called 'Hyacinth' but has made peace with people ignoring his wishes and just calling him Hyacinthus out of habit or formality.

Has an intense resting bitch face and struggles with visibly expressing happiness or sadness. This is also a trait he shares with his mother, though his older sister Hegesandre also shares this feature. Cynortas was technically a part of the resting bitch face club but he practiced smiling and looking cheery so much as a child that now has the opposite problem where he can smile through anything, even pain or anger.

Left home when he was 10 to study at the Parnassus Institute for Gifted Children. The Institute specialises in training the children of the Muses, but occasionally it will take in normal people who show great promise. Hector, who becomes quite close to Hyacinth during their tenure together, was one of those people.

Was recognised by Apollo himself at his graduation and was gifted a laurel wreath. Apollo declared him the Shepherd Laureate which made Hyacinth the third Laureate alive at that time - a status shared only by Orpheus, the Poet Laureate and Asclepius, the Doctor Laureate.

Despite his title, is atrocious with animals and genuinely despises both sheep and goats. Has a mild phobia of goats in particular due to a traumatic incident when he was first climbing the mountain where a particular wild goat absolutely terrorised him. Along with following him for days, it would eat anything he left unattended and even bit and headbutted him numerous times when he would try to wrestle his food back from it. He was so bothered by the title in fact, that he asked Apollo if the designation was a joke at his expense. Apollo never denied that it was a joke but he never confirmed it either.

Exceptional hunter but prefers trapping to hunting by dog or arrow. Has never been one for weapons and much rather prefers to fight bare handed if the occasion arises.

Despite his laurel wreath being such a precious object, Hyacinth has never properly worn it. He wore them around his left bicep after obtaining them and when Polyboea contracted phthisis and needed comforting, he gave them to her as an object that would give her strength. Polyboea was buried with his laurels so he never got the chance to wear the wreath on his head.

His favourite colour is a dark oak brown and his favourite hobby is reading. His favourite food is fish roasted by a river and shared with people he loves. He died at 28 on the first day of Karneios.

[wafflesrisa]

One of them says “in the heat of the moment we were disappointed with each other”

The other says “the biggest problem was involving the media”

Here’s the thing. I believe 100% that there was never any serious beef and that the two talked it out and made up on the plane.

I should really let this go, but even now it seems unfair that the one who blew it up in media gets to say “it wasn’t that deep”, meanwhile the one whose home race and career was insulted is the one who points out the problem was talking to the media in the first place. A problem that has still gone unrecognised in Charles’ comments

I said this last week but I’ll say it again. It’s not fair:

The insults were public. But the apology was only private.

[burningfunobject]

Do you think jayce kinda recognises ekko from benzos??

[sci-bax]

Sebastian Solace sleeping peaceful in 4k hyper resolution oculus meta quest 2 quality

Drew him sleeping cause of this:

Same drawing but without the slight darker filter over it:

I wanna draw fish man angst

Also its 4am so im going to sleep goodnight, or goodmorning idk

[s-sputnik-k]

why is this ds9 episode about a female ferengi who poses as a man so she can become quark's assistant and take 20% of his profit (but ends up falling in love with him but he still thinks she's a man and they end up in a 'only one bed' situation and quark is chill about it because he thinks they're bros but she's having a crisis) actually extremely relateable

I'm sure it has nothing to do with me being a gay trans man navigating new male friend groups while passing for the first time

[momotonescreaming]

Bucktommy library date when

[ganseyenthusiast]

you know how gansey functionally went deranged after his first death? what if it's the same after his second one? what if henry, with at least some psychic background, knew to expect it, knew to nudge gansey away from the rest of them because gansey would never want to be seen like that by adam, by ronan, by noah... what if the 'road trip' is a thinly veiled excuse for gansey to go full HarrowTM, curled up on the floors and barely stopped from clawing his own eyes out.

he has good days sometimes -- they look at the woods, at silly attractions, let gansey feel better until the weight of rebirth hits him again. and then its damage control, holding him, forcing him to eat, accepting him as he effectively goes through death-withdrawals. it's at one of henry's properties, wild swath of grass for the good days, isolated enough to muffle screams. people try to reach them during td3, definitely, desperate employees of seondeok insisting that it is a matter of the entire world, of all the Roads, we need you in Boston--and it's henry saying he doesn't give a damn about the world right now, he will not let his friend suffer. it's blue shrugging off the pleading look she's given, following henry out of the foyer, because if the choice is gansey or the world, it's really no choice at all.

it's the both of them gently nudging gansey into the most cramped room in the house when everything gets too loud for him, its them letting gansey crush their hands in a painful grip as his body trudges through the ischemia, adjusts, adjusts. it's taking turns so gansey doesn't get overwhelmed. it's putting aside everything for love, for friendship.

he may have come back wrong, because there is no resurrection without consequence, but he has support, and that love is there to nurture without condition

[iamtheonethinginlifeicancontrol]

Controversial (?) Ranma 1/2 opinion below the cut. This particular one isn't very Ryouga-positive; brief discussion of SA

This has been brewing for two weeks for me now. I was hoping that the 2024 anime would deviate from the manga plotline concerning P-chan somewhat, and... it didn't.

There are some issues in the Ranma 1/2 canon that really bother me, and one of the biggest is the matter of Ryouga-as-P-chan. I understand that having P-chan around as Akane's pet and sleeping with her in her bed adds dramatic and comedic tension to Ranma 1/2's story-telling & character dynamics. I understand that, to a degree, it's also functional. But that doesn't mean that I like or agree with it.

I feel like this is a problem that gets skated over a lot in fandom or discussions of canon, and it really, really bothers me. The bare-bones issue is this: Ryouga acting as Akane's pet pig with Ranma being in on the secret and Akane never knowing her pet's identity is both a betrayal of her trust from both of them, and a violation of her autonomy, privacy, etc.

The whole P-chan... debacle is kept very superficially innocent—no doubt from necessity—but it by nature cannot be fully innocent. A teenage boy is using his canonically-fully-aware cursed form to sleep in the bed of a teenage girl upon whom he becomes romantically fixated (as we see as the series continues). Canonically, Ryouga doesn't have the mind of an animal when he transforms, and reacts like a hormonal teenage boy. Even if nothing ~sexual in nature~ actually occurs, this is tantamount to sexual assault.

This isn't consensual; canon also makes this clear. There are loads of instances where Ranma hints at Ryouga being P-chan to Akane—or just calls him "P-chan", threatens to expose Ryouga and/or averts exposure of the P-chan secret when Akane is watching/nearby. Ryouga goes to great lengths to conceal his identity as P-chan from Akane, sometimes aided by Ranma, so it's clear that both boys know on some level that what Ryouga is doing—and Ranma is passively enabling—is wrong. (It's not just the lying that's wrong, obviously; they're both aware on—I'd argue different—levels that Ryouga's actions are dishonourable at best, or at least that Akane would never be okay with it).

I'm not sure how much Ryouga knows about Akane's previous "boy troubles" courtesy of Kunō, but Ranma certainly knows how Akane has difficulty trusting boys because of her trauma. The violation of knowingly allowing Ryouga to sleep in Akane's bed is significant, and it's both a betrayal from Ranma regarding having Akane's best interests at heart, but also a failure to consider her honour as equal to his own*.

(Incidentally! Akane's father is in the same position! It was made explicit in the Kodachi intro ep that aired today; Ryouga came into the ofuro as P-chan and transformed in front of Sōun! With no reaction or ramifications! I was so disappointed that they kept this throwaway scene!!!)

And! we know from the manga canon that others know about Ryouga being P-chan, too! Once Shampoo and Cologne are introduced, they find out essentially the same way Genma did (which reminds me that Genma also knows about this and says/does nothing! I doubt he's so out of touch not to realise that he'd met Ryouga before in China), and presumably Mousse is told by the other Amazons, as he doesn't seem surprised when Ryouga transforms in the onsen race arc.

I understand Ryouga being Mr Lonely Hearts Club, given his abysmal sense of direction or lack thereof, but all the loneliness in the world doesn't make these choices okay or less harmful. Akane never learns this secret in canon, so I guess we'll see if the anime ever deviates, but... I'm so angry and disappointed that the recurring plot point of Ryouga-as-P-chan sleeping with Akane with some regularity when he's around hasn't been changed or addressed as being harmful and exploitative.

*This is made more explicit in the manga: Ranma silently makes a promise to Ryouga to protect the secret of his Jusenkyō curse according to what's translated as "warrior's code" in the official Viz translation (lit. 武士の情け/bushi no nasake, which roughly translates to "warrior's mercy/compassion"; the implication is that he's taking pity on a fellow warrior). What he says in the 2024 anime is simply that he'll "protect [Ryouga's] secret". It's an interesting change, to make the promise more vague and less binding wrt a link to Ranma's honour as a martial artist, but ok...

[butchtwelfthdoctor]

sits bolt upright in a cold sweat I need to write river/missy

[neuxue]

Mu Nihuang: 你认识林殊吗？// Do you know Lin Shu? Mei Changsu: ……认识。// ...yes. Mu Nihuang: 他是真的战死了？// Did he really die in battle? Mei Changsu: 是。// Yes. Mu Nihuang: 战死的哪里？// Where did he die? Mei Changsu: 梅岭。// Meiling. Mu Nihuang: 尸骨葬于何处？// Where was he laid to rest? Mei Changsu: 七万英魂，天地为墓。// For seventy thousand valiant souls, the earth and sky are their grave. Mu Nihuang: 他的尸骨都没人收？一块遗骸也没有找到吗？// No one retrieved his body? Or any remains at all? Mei Changsu: 战事惨烈，堆尸如山。又有谁能认得谁是林殊呢？// In such a fierce and terrible battle, with bodies piled high as a mountain, who could recognise which was Lin Shu?

when you’re alive but you’re a ghost but the people who knew you look at you like you’re still alive but you’re a ghost: the Mei Changsu Experience™

[xserpx]

Jurand was so close Leo could smell him, leather and polish and horsehair and soap. He could hear his slow breath. Could see each hair of his long eyelashes, a tiny blemish on his cheek, his lips pressed together with concentration, but that little curl at the corner that he always used to have when they were together, before … everything that had happened.

It would’ve taken no effort at all to lean forwards and kiss him. It was almost more effort not to do it. Leo wondered what the roughness of his fresh-shaved jaw would feel like against Leo’s cheek. What his hair would feel like between Leo’s fingers. What his mouth would taste like—Jurand looked up and their eyes met, and Leo froze, his breath held, his face tingling.

— The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

[ikilledamanforthisurl]

the way Vane secures his place as a Favoured Captain by allowing his crew to systematically SA Max is disgusting and insidious & the way Elanor uses Max's SA to basically get Flint a second ship and potentially secures her own role in their pirating business venture is, similarly, really fucking disgusting and insidious

[hauntingblue]

ARCANE DAY

Episode 4 and 5 in the tags and:

SALO BEING A VIKTOS FOLLOWER??? CRAZY. ALSO BOTH VIKTOR MISSING JAYCE AJDHSKSJ also cait has kinda calmed down... and I am sure she misses vi so I KNOW this is going to happen to her soon.... we aren't getting much of her feelings yet... she's still too onto Jinx to catch up on where ambessa is going...

DID JAYCE JUST KILL SALO??? WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE

Also vander not recognizing vi at first until she gives up fighting.... incredible ALSO vander and silco being miners and vi wearing her gauntlets that were initially thought out for miners.... damn

This is my favourite episode so far....

Episode 6 here:

Sky really being there..... of course she is....

Ambessa training caitlyn.... of course thats her new daughter akdjskms Tunnels in your eyes.... GIRL!!!!!!! THAT'S WHAT YOU DON'T NEED RIGHT NOW also the guy outside is a mage... ambessa is such a hypocrite

Vi and Jinx vs ambessa and cait.... this was always about class war don't get it twisted SINGED!!! TRAITOR!!!!

ARE THEY GOING TO SEE VIKTOR???? I looove how viktors touch on their faces leave "scars" so recognizable

Did isha just take the gem from vi's gauntlets??? Omg I wasn't expecting viktor to build a hippie commune to be honest omg he looks so good.... with the blonde underhairs.... and I do believe that's the same blanket....

And of course viktor knows who vander is.... nvm he diesnt know omg viktor asking for Powder.....

We are getting viktor horsegirl montage.... omg the vander momtage I can't..... omg they wanna stay.... singed is gonna fuck all this up NOOOOO 😭😭😭 they are already there I am going to kms

CAITLYN STOP THIS MADESSS!!! ✋️ CAITLYN!!!!! VI KILL THIS MAN!!! OMG CAITLYN...... mongoose... yeah.... and fuck you too.... CUPCAKE!!!! ABOUT TIME!!!! CAITLYN I SAID STOP THIS MADNESS WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!! And jayce too 😭😭😭 we're never making it out of the fissures

It's such a shame the spit on here won't work like on challengers.... one can only pray I guess

Jinx experiencing the "there's nothing more undoing as a daughter" moment.... incredible

"Your absence provided a vacuum I was able to fill" TO VI???? I KNEW THAT HAND HOLDING IN THE COMMANDER SCENE WAS SUS AKDHKASJ maddie exists and ambessa knows that and still.... it was not filling her mother's void...

YES CAITLYN!!! YES!!!!! VI is so hot I am distracted... ambessa was right.... now what the fuck will jayce fuck up??? Thats the question... NOT ANOTHER CHILD!!! jayce is a menace... the guys smiling at jayce are viktor... maybe the child even....

JINX KILL THAT MAN!!! NVM VANDER KILL THAT MAN!!! JAYCE YOU FUCKING MORON!!!!! JAYCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WHEN I GET YOU JAAAYCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Isha what are you going to do omg 😭😭 did she kill vander... another powder... my god another week...

That was such a good fucking episode too.... and caitlyn didn't go insane when finding Jinx that is a step forwards but viktor can't be dead... no fucking way... he was giving himself away for the people and he was going to finally die by saving vander and look at what we got... no wonder viktor hates his guts. Jayce you were so good in act one.... what happened..... alright. Christ.... another week....

[romionarry]

the rituals are intricate and very comical

[charliespringverse]

... it's just hit me that lister describes the bathroom kiss as assault and even when jimmy reassures him that he doesn't see it that way and doesn't have a problem with it, lister refuses to accept that it was anything other than objectively assault

while two days earlier jimmy insisted that a 32-yr-old having sex with lister at age 16 was wrong, despite lister not seeing it that way and not having a problem with it

does that mean that lister took that conversation on board but only as far as "the person on the receiving end of an advance can't accurately assess whether or not it was wrong" and is now equating himself to the woman that took advantage of him . because i will weep