#blorbo from my mythologies <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[reds-skull]

I'm researching Scottish mythology for the Cyberknights AU, and I was skimming through the wiki entry for the Glenmasan manuscript (I'd tell you what it is, but I haven't actually finished reading yet), when I read this sentence

Like what are the fucking chances

[sincerelystesichorus]

astarion, anne carson, & autobiography of red - small character study blurb

In which I've written 40k words of Astarion character analysis fanfiction and I'm definitely still normal.

Astarion used to be blue, but ever since that night two centuries ago, he was reborn red. And he had spent at least the past century thinking that red was irreplaceable. It was – red, it was in his blood and the little blood Cazador would let him wring from rats, corroded and stained. His very life force. He was Cazador’s, his spawn, his jewel, his ruby. There was no cure for red. Not until you became the successful means to an end. He had been sure of it. Being red wasn’t good. It made everyone who wasn’t red, and that felt like most everyone, stare at you like you put off a certain aura… like they knew you were a monster that could only act off of instinct and emotion. And it was so frustrating, because parts of Astarion were blue still, knew what was better, but they were nothing in comparison to the suffocation of red. The emotions, and especially anger, fear, came on so strong. It was hard not to act on them, to test out what the boundaries of pure action were. Astarion knew the color and impulse all too well.

I expand way more on the idea of people as colors within my writing than Autobiography of Red does, where Geryon is the only one who is red. This further pushes Geryon's feelings of being separated from humanity in his narrative, but there's a lot of inherent evil and fucked up things within Faerun so I felt expanding on colors and specifically shades/hues was a better way to communicate this for Astarion.

Geryon's red is tied very instinctually to emotion though, and so representing red as a chaotic force of emotion in my fic didn't feel like too far a step. I took a lot of inspiration from Magic: the Gathering's color pie lol. While you never get an exact description of what's wrong with Geryon, you get a lot of the symptoms, reminiscent of some sort of innate childhood mental illness, on top of the obvious trauma present in his story.

Back to Astarion, though. I've just never not been able to code him with CPTSD, I think that's obvious, but I also know that poor bastard has a personality disorder skffkjdf. The game always hammers in he has no sense of self outside of his looks, which he can't even be sure of because he can't see himself. Astarion has to work his confidence and self-image off of memories of his body and face from two centuries ago, and from his master's word. Cazador has assigned him to this seduction role (or, I feel its at least implied that Astarion was ultimately forced into it because he was seen as the Szarr runt, he was pretty and easy to push around, and I'm also pretty sure Petras has a line about getting to eat dogs now and then?) and Astarion fulfills it because it's all he can do. All he feels good for. His actions aren't his own for two hundred years, and in a morbid way of coping with constant sexual trauma, he functions off of "Well, at least I'm pretty," but even that assumption comes from Cazador's rule.

Astarion had decided he was mostly pure red, splashes of black and blue coming in, bright and visible. The remnants of his past and an even deeper level of Cazador’s corruption, bruising his psyche.

Carson is again sparing with other color imagery as to fully emphasize Geryon feeling like this big red monster, but I love this little excerpt on fearful anger.

Black/shadow is already a strong force and theme within the game so it was easy to work with, acknowledging it as a sort of staining evil. Astrion has his later lines about how he never stopped viewing himself as Cazador's slave, and I think showing that corruption is obviously important. He's hurt but can still heal (as opposed to an ascended Astarion... who I have little if any hope for sdfkjdskf).

Cazador had spent the last two centuries branding it into his skin and mind, breaking his psyche to the point Astarion was worried there’d always be little cracks that remained. That he’d always be Cazador’s wilted poppy, ashamed and folding in on himself, his neck miserably drooped aside for the taking. 

Cazador is Astarion's Herakles, and I think that metaphor works even better considering that whole little side lore with Vellioth in the ruins. Herakles kills Geryon because he must, Geryon is a way for Herakles to ultimately reach a life free of consequence, but it's not like Herakles is innately malicious in the act. He is hardened after already facing so many labors and the trauma that was forced on him by Hera that induced his journey in the first place.

Cazador wants power, some part of him is probably truly convinced he's easier on his spawn than Vellioth was to him (a lot of insults to Astarion are about his feelings and "whining", Cazador feels vindicated in his trauma and is far gone), and sacrificing Astarion is simply a part of that journey. There is no world where their destinies do not intertwine. Geryon will always be pierced by Herakles, and Astarion wouldn't be the Astarion we know without being pierced by Cazador (and without his ultimate decision to finally separate himself from him, or to become him.) Astarion, understandably, will never not feel some sort of shame or agony over this moment, from natural emotions and I'm sure years of Cazador victim-blaming him. He consented to Cazador's help that night after all, didn't he? (And we simply won't acknowledge the coercion.)

Astarion’s attempts to prolong the inevitable were shattered by thick layers of stone suddenly slamming in front of his face, muffling sound and casting him into a void. He could hardly hear Cazador’s foul laugh as he departed. Astarion waited all night for Cazador to return. And then all of the next day, and the next one after that. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Astarion started to agree that dying would have been easier. More peaceful. He had pondered hundreds of ways to attempt to kill himself while stuck in this abyss, the voices that had started developing only giving further inspiration, but it was impossible. He was sure.  All he could do was wait. Beat and claw at the stone around him. Curse. Repeat. Sometimes he'd wonder. If he'd ever get out of here. If Cazador would remember after forgetting. If this would be his forever. The voices began to recite to him again. Just how long eternity can be.

I think this is the greatest and most obvious similarity between these two, within Carson's retelling. Geryon feels somehow trapped and doomed by the narrative from his early childhood, and receives some blunt confirmation of it when he faces early sexual abuse. This affects his entire life, his early relationships. Geryon can't be older than ten in this excerpt, but knows the pain of isolation because of his trauma and for feeling different.

Astarion was plucked up by Cazador right out of law school. While for us it's not all that young, for elves he was fiercely immature, basically just starting to come into himself at his first big-boy job. Astarion was likely raised with a lot of privilege that also made him a bit more naive, his book smarts not meeting street smarts, which has him meet his end. In his undeath, that basically flips, Astarion plays his manipulation games and indulges in petty crime and seduction, unable to dedicate himself to studies. He reads and he's witty, but can you imagine the Astarion we know as a judge? It's giving Divorce Court. It's giving Judge Judy. (Honestly maybe that's what got him whacked in the first place.)

Astarion is already constrained to what Cazador lets him be as a slave. He's less than a person, and his own body is one of his greatest trauma sources.

All of this, to be punished so supremely when making an act of slight self-preservation. Astarion wanting to maintain some of his principles and let someone go. It becomes his greatest regret, his worst and most defining punishment. It's how Cazador breaks him.

I restructure some of the circumstances within my fic, as to better tie in the main romance, but it still functions as a punished act of self-preservation for Astarion. I'm also sure most people are familiar with the pain that solitary confinement can bring, but if not, it's genuinely inhumane and dehumanizing. Lack of stimulation is extremely damaging to the psyche, I wrote in Astarion breaking into psychotic episodes while enclosed, but even in game, he speaks about going catatonic. I'm sure minorly from exhaustion after fighting, but also from the isolation. His mind likely just drifted and dissociated beyond belief, and I can't imagine it. This is my favorite piece of Astarion's story we are given, it really is just so pivotal and heartbreaking, to be punished for having freewill in the most objectifying circumstances.

In summary to Astarion Ancunin I just sorta feel like this I guess...

ddfsdfdk but yeah just emo about my poor boy feeling so weird and disconnected yet so drowned in his own emotions you know...

[my homage to autobiography of red, fic series page, my ao3 page]

[deergravity]

Seeing as my internal rewards system has moved on to 'trans fiction' from 'queer horror audio drama podcast' I thought I should do a little roundup of everything I listened to the past few months.

A rough ranking:

Malevolent. Just squeaking into the top spot here based on 1) technical prowess (iykyk) 2) compelling characters and story and 3) they are my blorbos your honor!!! Mind boggling that Harlan Guthrie has so much chemistry with himself.

The Silt Verses. Only topped by Malevolent bc season 1 is not as polished, but it really doesn't matter. Top tier characters, amazing worldbuilding, intricate plotting and it had something to SAY about the casual violence of systems, the nature of hope, the complexity of being human in a world that tries to make us inhuman. Also, it doesn't rely on some thin recording contrivance (a framing device that has its place) and instead truly takes the mantle of audio drama without apology.

The White Vault. On the topic of framing devices, TWV has a very cool take on found footage recordings. A group of [researchers/archeologists] are sent to investigate a remote site in [Svalbard/Patagonia] and the podcast is structured as a documentarian presenting the notes, recordings and diary entries in a reconstructed timeline. My favorite element is that many of the characters don't make their notes in English, so the segments will often open with the VA speaking German, Spanish, Mandarin, Icelandic, Russian, etc etc before fading into the translation. There are miniseries between the seasons available on their patreon and they were so worth the $10 I paid to access them for a month. Reveals are slow, but worthwhile, and the mythology built for the show is highly original and intriguing.

Deviser. A one season contained story from Harlan Guthrie of Malevolent. Scifi, psychological, lots of wet awful body horror. If you're a fan of Harlan wimpering into a mic, you'll love this one.

WOE.BEGONE. Long, ongoing, and so so so far from the original premise it's hilarious, I'm ranking this higher than it maybe deserves for two factors 1) the creator and the VAs are clearly having a blast and 2) it's riding the line of taking itself serious despite a premise that invites irony poisoning without becoming too wrapped up in itself. It's fun, I think, that keeps w.bg strong.

The Magnus Archives. Should this be one up? Probably. But everyone bloody well knows tma by this point, it's good, great even! Beyoncé of horror podcasts.

I Am In Eskew. Only knocked down due to the actually godawful sound quality. Truly unsettling stories though (the one with the building architect haunts me) and a surprisingly realistic conclusion. You can see the bones of The Silt Verses here, from the same creative team.

The Magnus Protocol. Everything above this is there due to originality. As a sequel series, TMAGP will always suffer in that measure. However, I like our new cast and I do love an alternate reality. Curious to see where season 2 takes us. I'd like to kill Mr Bonzo in a fire.

The Inexplicables. Another one season story, this time from Rusty Quill, with really fun, flawed characters and no recording framing device!

Wolf 359. Storywise, great! Characters, excellent! Kicking it way to the bottom bc they just would NOT STOP referencing H***y P****r. Yes, Doug's characterization hangs on excessive reference humor, but that was one well I wish they'd left alone.

Red Valley. Knocked for HP references too (come ON british podcasters, do better) but more importantly for veering WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too close to real life in season 3 onward. I was here for a horror sci fi story about cryogenics, not to listen to my worst climate disaster fears brought to life via hearing rich old sods try to buy their way out of consequences while the world burns and eco terrorism escalates. Too real. Not bad storytelling, just very much not fulfilling my escapism needs.

It's kinda crazy to me that anytime I mention this genre to normies in my life they say, "oh, like true crime podcasts?" And then I die inside. No dude, like radio drama. Like War of the Worlds.

Anyway, I'm off to get even less relatable by reading a zillion niche trans novels (hello Welcome to Dorley Hall, aka, what if there really was a 'trans cult' force femming dudes to undermine their masculinity? It's amazing how much yarn we can make by subverting the cis gaze.)

[fleurbleedinghearts]

what is your favorite most OBSCURE myth? 🤔 can be relationship, tragedy, ect ect anything, just one you never/rarely hear anything about and there’s very little material on :D

I love listening to your opinions and interpretations of Greek mythology :)

(1.) CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS CEPHALUS AND PROCRIS!!!

my sad mortal blorbos 💔😭

(This myth that makes me want to strangle Eos but I blame Aphrodite most of all because none of that horrible shit would've happened to them or Cephalus's descendants leading up to Adonis if she didn't curse Eos.)

Anyways, I like to think they're both Odysseus's ancestors through Laertes.

(2.) Psamathe

She was a Nereid just minding her own business on a beach because she's the goddess of sand and then this bastard shitbag son of Zeus takes a page out of his daddy's book and assaults her. Even transforming into a seal didn't turn off Achilles's loser grandfather Aeacus (I bet he had some interesting conversations with Minos who's wife banged a bull), and either out of her reclaiming autonomy after her rape or Aeacus being a fucking weirdo who wants to remember that time he screwed a seal, their son is named "the seal" in Greek.

At least they both love their son Phocus I guess but Psamathe's bitchass stepsons kill him out of jealousy but then the gods SET UP her sister Thetis with one of those asshole stepsons of hers and Thetis turns the wolf she sent after Peleus to stone and through her sister's marriage she has to be tied to her son's murderer until Peleus's sorry ass finally dies or for eternity (if Thetis made him immortal).

She's gets a happy ending according to Euripides though by marrying a King of Egypt (a major upgrade from Aegina if you ask me) and has two more kids (with her daughter Eido even being noted to be the apple of her mother's eye 🥹) so a win is a win I guess but the trauma this poor woman must have!

(3.) Poseidon has a baby with a man

Nerites isn't that obscure of a figure anymore, but ultimately, he and Poseidon are the Bi4Bi couple of all time and don't get enough love.

I love the Anteros origin story where he poofs into existence from Neridon's great requited love IT'S SUPERIOR TO AND FUNNIER THAN HIM JUST BEING APHRODITE & ARES'S SON FIGHT ME!!!

(4.) Erichthonius being the son of Hephaestus & Atthis

This isn't because I want erase Hephaestus's wrongdoings (I do like him though and think he deserves another partner who loves him back. And since every younger male Olympian has their tragic doomed love with a mortal let him have one too!)

it's just a plus that he doesn't do anything shitty to Athena in this version.

(5.) Astraea

Her, her prophesied "return", everything!

Non-Hestia/Athena/Artemis virgin goddesses are so underrated. She does sound pure and true to her titles as the Goddess of Innocence, Justice, and Purity despite her being pro-Cronus and a Titan Golden Age believer.

There's also a sweet moment in the Dionysiaca (which I mostly hate but this moment was sweet) where she nurses Aphrodite & Adonis's daughter Beroe.

I'm so interested in her dynamics with her family since her insanely horny mom Eos was cursed by Aphrodite and is sleeping around with everyone but her dad (sorry Astraeus) and her brothers the Anemoi work directly under Zeus and pull his chariot despite her favoring Cronus's rule.

(6.) Zephyrus's son is a more successful gay than him

Zephyrus, famous for pining after and killing the sexy spartan prince Hyacinthus, never actually managed to pull a man.

He tried his luck a second time with Cyparissus, another one of dear ol' Apollo's boyfriends, but the guy died of grief after accidentally killing his pet deer.

He must have better luck with women though since he managed to reproduce with three different ladies. One of these gals was the nymph Chloris, who he did kidnap, but she forgave him once he made her a more powerful goddess by giving her the domain of flowers.

Anyways, they had a son named Carpus/Karpos. Carpus had a swimming contest with his lover Calamus/Kalamos, the son of a river god. Carpus ended up drowning because the Greeks preferred their gays doomed, and Calamus loved his boyfriend so dearly that he downed himself as well out of grief.

(7.) Cronus helps Hera create Typhon

Gaia crashes out about Zeus to Hera of all people, and since Hera is probably pissed at Zeus too, she goes to rant to her crazy daddy.

Daddy Cannibal gives Hera two eggs smeared with semen and tells her to bury it. She does, and out pops Typhon.

...

Thanks for the ask! I had a lot of fun with this one.

[block-tales-headcanons]

most of these are about griefer. because. blorbo. he is my son-in-law.

griefer cannot see shit for the sake of him. he needs glasses so so so so bad. he's just so stupid he doesn't realize that not being able to tell apart noobador and player from like a meter away is not normal. also sometimes his eyes hurt when he goes outside and it's very sunny. (projecting. i am projecting.) the vision one is kind of an hereditary thing because mayor thaniyel's dad also had really shitty vision. It didn't get passed onto m. thaniyel, but it runs in the family and it got passed onto griefer instead

kitchen wizard usually doesn't make dessert, but when they do it's always cupcakes or mousse and they decorate it with little gold sugar sprinkles (or stars if it's for themselves)

also, EVERYBODY that works in the Blackrock castle lives in some apartament style stuff that's somewhere in there.

Jim has autism. this. i'm. not sure why i hc this. it feels. feels. y'know ? ?

talking about stuff of the sorts, mayb?e? whenever griefer is doing something he doesn't want to / is somewhere where he doesn't want to be / etc. his brain just. stops. just stands or sits there, completely unaware. (more projecting <3)

also griefer is actually pretty smart, sorta, but he's just too lazy. Had great grades in everything except behaviour. +he wanted to study botany but since he is off fending for himself for the most part he didn't have the money to so. he's. kinda given up hope on doing that for now...

kyoko's sister and her are actually only half-siblings. different mom. kyoko's sister's was a huge greek mythology nerd, which is why her name is calypso (i hope i remembered righ ^^°)

ya that's it

could I be called 🪷lotus anon? 🪷lotus🪙coin if it's already taken... tyty

“He’s get good grades in everything except behavior” based honestly

[jasper-book-stash]

April 2025 Reading Wrap-Up

Tried something new this time, I made this post early in April and updated it with the books I read as I finished them so I still had my thoughts fresh in my mind. I think I like this approach, I'll be continuing it until I forget.

I read a total of fifteen books this month. I was in a big "study Shintoism" mood because I'm doing a lot of writing for my blorbos over on @azzie-beastbinder, but overall a lot of the books I read were in the nonfiction or occult part of my shelf. I really need to get back to reading all of this fiction I have on my bookshelf, I'm running out of TBR room.

Anyway, the moral of this month is "it's bad enough if your book is boring, it's a bigger sin if your editing is shit".

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

Elemental Spirits: Building A Magical Practice In An Animistic World | Jaq D Hawkins

I wanted to like this book, I really did. It was so promising. But the problems just kept stacking up over and over. Between the unsafe offering recommendations (putting HUMAN FOOD like CAKES into WATERWAYS), jacking off about Stonehenge, using faeries and spirits interchangeably which just got weird after a while... And the worst sin of all was that it got repetitive. There were things that made me think in this book, but I eventually tapped out because I just couldn't take it anymore.

Easy Reading Series: The Yengishiki Or Shinto Rituals | unknown author

So, this is basically a paper version of a free PDF I could have gotten. The formatting sucks actual ass, there are nearly no paragraph breaks (which is worth its own bitch in and of itself), and the translation is janky as hell. There aren't even 25 pages of information in here, most of it is just...bad. Not worth the money.

Scorpion Chronicles: A Comprehensive Exploration Of Arachnid Predators And The Realm Of Stingers. | M.sc. Ava Arachno

So this is one of those poorly-formatted books that feels like a bunch of blog posts were made into a book. Despite having around 190 pages, there is very little information in here that just gets repeated over and over in large font. It's like if a children's encyclopedia didn't have any pictures. And that's to say nothing of the shitty editing work.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Shinto: The Way Of The Gods: Introduction To The Traditional Religion Of Japan | Vincent Miller

First and foremost, I cannot stress enough that they needed a proper fucking editor. Half of my time going through this book was spent fixing editing issues or making notes about where paragraph breaks should have been. The information isn't horrible, it just had quite a bit of weird phrasing and helped define a lot of stuff, it's just...looking at the writing and the editing, I cannot, in good faith, give it anything higher than a 5 out of 10. (Also, the publisher seems to pump out a lot of dieting books that they advertised in the back...not great.)

The Municipalists | Seth Fried

This was not a bad book. It just was not interesting to me. There's a lot of worldbuilding in here, which is great for something sci-fi, but it often cut down on the characters actually having a conversation; they would just summarize the conversations about half of the time, even with the ones that are, you know, crucial for character development and interaction. It also took me 70 pages to finally get into it, only to tap out at page 106 and just read the last two chapters. I'm sure it's plenty interesting, but it wasn't that interesting to me. Also a 5 out of 10.

Pegasus 1977 | National Poetry Press

This is one of those "I picked up some random poetry books from a secondhand store" type of books. For the most part, the poems were...passable? Not bad considering the year...I think? I can't actually find information on this book online anywhere. Also the mythological pegasus never gets mentioned even once. If anyone knows what the fuck is up with this, uh, let me know. Giving it a 4 out of 10 because it dragged on so long.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Mimusubi Essays On Shinto 5: Shinto Practice For Non-Japanese | David Chart

So this is actually a published duo of Patreon essays, but none of the other duos of essays have paper versions that I could get easily. There's a lot of good info in here that built on what I got from Vincent Miller's book. The font is so fucking small though, which I imagine is how the author got all that detail into so few pages (the book is marked as having 49 pages on my spreadsheet). 7 out of 10, hard for me to read but I liked what I got out of it.

DISCLAIMER! One of the shrines referenced in this booklet as an American shrine is apparently bad enough that it has an entire blog dedicated to exposing information about it. That can be found here: Exposing Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America.

Amaterasu: Return Of The Sun: A Japanese Myth | Paul D Storrie, Ron Randall [Juvenile]

This is an incredibly short and simple graphic novel/comic book retelling a version of the Amaterasu myth, with enough given context of previous myths to figure out what's important here. Very generic looking artwork, but lovely character designs. The author and artist chose a version of the myth appropriate to its target age demographic. This is an 8 out of 10.

The Gay Agenda: A Modern Queer History & Handbook | Ashley Molesso, Chess Needham

This is overall a fine enough book that I enjoyed and learned from, but there are some problems I had with it.

While there's a strong aesthetic present thanks to the artwork of Ash + Chess (I actually have a tarot deck by them and didn't realize this was by the same people until I recognized the art style because I just…don't read the author names of books at first), it also has the problem of being really hard to read thanks to small font and background and font colors that don't work together well on several pages. It's very United States-centric, which I did not realize going in. Some of the terminology used in here feels like they're trying too hard to be "hip" and there are a few places where things that were objectively bad were referred to as "really lame". Finally, I found the last chunk (the "handbook" section meant to include guides and information) to be…far less useful than a dedicated book to queer identities, and it suddenly has a section pointedly addressing non-queer people even though the assumption across the rest of the text is that the person reading this book is already queer. There's also some parts back in the handbook section that treat asexual and aromantic as the exact same thing, and a focus on drag queens exclusively in the parts about drag throughout the book.

Despite these problems, this is still a pretty good book for a look at queer history in the United States, though I haven't dug into their sources myself just yet. I'd give it an 8 out of 10. I'm glad this book exists, I just think it could have been better if they had another pair of eyes on it.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Starter Villain | John Scalzi

It's so fucking stupid, I love it. You are sitting down across the bar from this guy while he fixes you a drink and tells you about the weirdest shit ever in his life. The dolphins get unionized. The protagonist blows up a satellite with a laser funded by the US Department of Agriculture. The cats type on keyboards. The events of this book are only going on in the course of about a week. Please read this book.

The Book Of Japanese Folklore: An Encyclopedia Of The Spirits, Monsters, And Yokai Of Japanese Myth: The Stories Of The Mischievous Kappa, Trickster Kitsune, Horrendous Oni, And More | Thersa Matsuura, Michelle Wang

This is a book I picked up on a whim from a "local" (read: 1 hour away) bookstore because I've been doing research to better write my blorbos. For the most part, I enjoyed this book, though I do have some mild complaints that not every entry has artwork (particularly those entries that could use the help of a few pages to get them on par with other entries). Other than that, I quite enjoyed it and got through it in the span of two days, which is pretty quick for a nonfiction read for me. It also introduced me to the bean man, which I cherish greatly.

A Popular Dictionary Of Shinto | Brian Bocking

Less of a book that one reads cover-to-cover and more of, well, a dictionary, it is nonetheless quite thorough and useful. I will be picking up my own copy, and I'm thankful that my library system had it so I could check it out before buying it.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

The Serviceberry: Abundance And Reciprocity In The Natural World | Robin Wall Kimmerer

So, if you know anything about me, it's that I loved Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It was one of my favorite books of 2023 and the Young Adult adaptation was one of my favorite books of 2024. So when I saw this in the little bookstore an hour away from my rural home (I shit you not, that's the most local bookstore I have), I scooped it up to give it a read too. And honestly? It was really fucking good. It's given me plenty to think about. If you're at all interested in Indigenous science, gift economies, or getting a new perspective, I recommend picking it up.

Ada Lace, Take Me To Your Leader | Emily Calandrelli, Tamson Weston, Renee Kurilla [Juvenile]

This is actually part of a slightly longer series of kid's books, but my family's had it for a little while (...but had never read it) because we're amateur radio ("ham radio") operators, just like Ada Lace in-story and Emily Calandrelli out-of-story. This is a delightful little book if you or someone else has never heard of ham radio before, or if you know a kid a young age bracket with a love for science. It doesn't get bogged down in the scientific details but it also doesn't hesitate to pause and explain things in-story.

A Quick & Easy Guide To Queer & Trans Identities | Mady G, Jules Zuckerberg [Young Adult]

This is basically a nonfiction graphic novel, and it is incredibly approachable and easy to read, even if the font is a little small. It's an easy introduction to the concept of queerness. I would definitely recommend it as a book to pick up if you're questioning or you know someone who's questioning. It's marked as being YA on Amazon but I could easily see this added to the Juvenile section of a library without issue.

[dootznbootz]

Can I ask why you hate OdyDio? I’m not super familiar with Greek mythology yet, and I’ve seen OdyDio as fairly popular so I’m curious about the other side lol (I personally don’t ship it just because I can’t imagine Odysseus with anyone other than Penelope tbh).

Because people are literally mischaracterizing both Odysseus and Diomedes to make it work and it spits in the face of what Homophrosyne means 🙃

And people are nuts about it in a way that pisses me off more than any other NOTP/crackship I've had before.

I guess this post, This one, This one, and my friend Thane explained it very well in the tags of her post as well. that people have done about vague fandom is a good explanation if that's all you want as I do rant here lol. NGL, I don't...really care if I'm being mean right now. Like block, unfollow, or ignore me. I wanna rant.

Btw, yeah, I'm being a "hater" but I'll tag right so you can block "#anti odydio" if you must.

I already didn't care for it in the first place, (I've vented about it before) as I agree, OdyPen are literally soulmates. To the point where they have their own WORD for their love. And yet people will fucking insist that "Oh, Odysseus and Diomedes are more compatible". WHERE?

The Odyssey is literally about him trying to go back home to Penelope and their son. And even in the Iliad, Odysseus mentions her. The Odyssey only mentions Diomedes three times and never once by Odysseus (once by Nestor, twice by Menelaus) so... that goes to show how Odysseus feels about him. 🤷 Kind of wild that Odysseus mentions his wife multiple times in both works but says fuck all about his war co-worker. Menelaus was the one who talked about Odysseus so warmly in the Odyssey as well. Y'all just don't "blorbo" him enough to pair him with Odysseus.

I was just neutral about the ship existing because it's like one of those absurd crackships to me but with how popular, fanonized, and just...With HOW people have behaved about it to me ;~;

Ofc, I'm a huge Penelope fan but even with Diomedes, you can't go into his tag without OdyDio. I'm not even joking. I'm sad I've had to block Diomedes' tag as well because people don't tag right AND don't apparently see him as more than Odysseus' "fling" ;~; (I mean at least Penelope and Diomedes can relate to the fact that it sucks that a lot of people are only caring about them because of Odysseus and not because of who they are. :/ )

Just in general, with my own reading of the Iliad, I...WHERE?! xD Where is the "ship"? They are comrades and they're very different from one another personality wise. Sure, they're a good team in combat but in life??? They are not "likeminded" at ALL.

They also have a fairly large agegap, Odysseus being one of the older kings while Diomedes is one of the youngest. I have them around a decade apart in my writing If you bring up pederasty, you will be smited. You're fucking disgusting.

They also have very little in common other than them both being Athena's pets (which um. Penelope is one too, you know?). Odysseus is a fucked up lil warrior trickster who loves his wife and child more than life itself while Diomedes is a young child soldier boy who is incredibly duty bound and war is where he feels most comfortable.

Diomedes would not put up with Odysseus' rambling about his family and Odysseus WANTS to talk about that. They're co-workers.

Diomedes is a younger king who looks up to all these older and more experienced kings. "Notice me, senpai" energy, and I love it!

And I really hate this "Male/Male relationships didn't 'count' back then so it's not cheating!" like, it may not have counted THEN but it should count NOW. Male/Male relationships have counted to THOSE COUPLES and it has ALWAYS counted. Like by saying that, you're already fucking undermining this supposed beautiful relationship by saying "It wasn't seen as real :3 ".

Like is it a real relationship, important and meaningful for both, in which yeah, Odysseus IS emotionally and physically cheating. (unless Pen and him have agreed to be Poly which yes! Go forth if that's the case! :D Give Penny a GF too!) or was it a casual thing that actual just meant "nothing", therefore OdyDio means nothing? WHICH IS IT?!

You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't vehemently talk about how Odysseus doesn't cheat on Penelope and then think he canonically fucked Diomedes and even had a romantic relationship with him. Is Odysseus a loyal wifeman who adores Penelope or is he a weak-minded "wifeman" who immediately starts fucking his co-worker as soon as his wife is out of sight? He has the self-control for not wanting concubines (correct) but then lacks it with Diomedes? That's not Odysseus. Make an OC at this point.

Like Admit and have fun with a crackship and then yeah, just do it because you find it hot. You don't have to pull stuff outta nowhere in order to have fun with a CRACKSHIP. (I crackship MenOdy sometimes. I know they didn't do that. I admit to the fact that it didn't happen and it goes against their characters to do so. )

OR delve into the possible feelings of Odysseus feeling like he's betraying Penelope by falling in love with another or whatever! And if it's just "casual fucking", y'all. He's fucking married and deeply in love. Have OdyPen KNOW they can both be casual so she won't feel betrayed when he tells her "Oh yeah, me and this guy were fucking during the war. :) Yeah, I fell in love with him too! No, thoughts of you weren't enough to keep me sane, I needed a fuck buddy too. Wait, why are you mad at me?"

As from what I know, with kings especially, you did NOT interact with someone like that of the same rank without consequences of being ridiculed by the others. Odysseus is older and more respected than Diomedes, and Diomedes, who is TRYING to prove himself, would not want to be with another king as that would make people respect him less! If you want to write about it, at least delve into that possible JUICY type of drama that would occur with a CRACKSHIP relationship like this! It's okay to ship something JUST because it's a fetish y'all!

That's just the Canon texts itself as to why I just simply disliked it. The fandom was... yeah ;~; made me hate that it even exists. (Not all! Some of y'all are incredibly kind and respectful of boundaries and I appreciate that! It's just that...Some were not.)

I mean I've had to deal with Aphobia surrounding my OdyPen and along with some asks/people in the past who were TRYING to make me write about OdyDio despite the fact that I've never liked it.

"Hey, I know you don't like this thing, but maybe THIS will change your mind. You have fun ideas so I wanna see what you do with OdyDio!"

Do you know how shitty that feels? 😞 To have people, WHO KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING, try to make you like it? By sending you links and "headcanons" that will "still work in your writing?" Sending in your asks, DMING YOU SOMETIMES.

That was like, half a year ago and thankfully it's stopped for the most part but I was in such a funk that I didn't even wanna write ANYTHING for a while.

Funny enough? I USED to have this "Oh, Odysseus and Diomedes are exes who fucking hate each other." idea where I aged up Diomedes to make it work, which I now no longer have because I realized I only wrote that way because I thought I HAD to in order to get people to be nice to me. ;~; Because if they're romantic at some point but simply don't click, maybe that'll be enough. To get people to just shut up and stop sending me things. (fuck the anon who sent smut last December. you suck.)

I changed that (now it's Greater Ajax who's his ex. lol. idk ask about it if you want.) because I realized yeah, it was making me unhappy and because I felt like I HAD to. ;~;

I also think it's weirdly because some Odysseus fans almost block out the Odyssey, you know, HIS story, and pretend like he didn't do everything to get home to his loved ones.

I've seen some ridiculous shit about Penelope as well. >:( like holy shit, misogyny everywhere.

"Oh, she didn't trust him and made him cry when she tricked him. She's abusive!" Literally one of the most stupid things I've ever fucking heard. She HAD to be sure it was him and when she knows for sure, she apologizes, explains, and kisses him. Kisses that he desperately and happily returns btw.

"After all Odysseus goes through from the Goddesses, he's afraid of women so he and Penelope separate." ...WHAT?! He literally wants to "embrace in love in their bed" as soon as they stop crying! And she holds him back only to know Tiresias' prophecy, which he DOES TELL HER BTW, before they DO "show love".

"Penelope becomes Odysseus' and Diomedes' surrogate!" ...Wow. Just wow. Love how people will talk about how ancient men in the past only saw women as "breeders" as though they're any fucking different with THIS fucking take.

It's annoying that I'll post a headcanon on tumblr and then the tags are "This but with OdyDio." or that people will often only like/reblog my ODYSSEUS shit and not my Penelope. ;~;

I love how people will be adamant about how "Odysseus never cheated" (true), and yet have him with Diomedes :/ Like at LEAST have OdyPen agree to have an open marriage before they're separated if you're going to pull that stance. (also give Penelope a girlfriend if Odysseus gets a boyfriend, you cowards.)

So many people for some reason only see Penelope for what she is for her husband and that's all. As though that's all she is. And as if Odysseus isn't as intertwined with her as she is with him.

Even with OdyPenDio. I've noticed that it mostly means "OdyDio + Penelope in the fujoshi cuck chair." I've only heard about ONE fic where it's actually about PenDio. (In which Author, you give me hope. It's not my thing but thank you for writing that. <3 The "Sidepieces" deserve love too.) It feels like people masking micro misogyny by forcing M/F couples to be throuples with the man they’d rather see the dude with. Or acting like the only way to enjoy a couple is to make them gay by erasing the woman entirely 🤮

I just... stdrfgyh ;~; I wouldn't hate it so much if people were nice about someone not liking it but the fact that I literally cannot escape it and because some people were just so pushy, I just negative memories I guess.

Either way, I love Diomedes and Sthenelus together :) whether as a QPR or romantic or whatever, those two are like bonded pairs that cannot be adopted separately.

I could go on but yeah. I'm done :)

[queerest-beetle]

Victory over the Ceffyl Dŵr

Alaw

Rambling, less bloody version and close ups under the cut <3

Alaw is the reworked version of an oc I made my second year of artfight from watercolor doodle! I reworked Alaw, formerly known as Lilypad, and the ocs associated with them because I wanted an excuse to draw medieval-ish outfits. This drawings wasn't a part of that, just an idea that popped in my head and started to haunt me.

I've been using a blend of Celtic mythologies when thinking through the world Alaw exists in but Alaw is Welsh centered. They are a Tylwyth Teg (Welsh Fairy) spesifically a Gwraig Annwn (Lake Maidens). Gwraig Annwn were unique from most "water maidens" in eueropean folktales because they lack any fish or other auatic creature traits and are traditionally simply beautiful women that live in the water, specifically rivers and lakes and always wore green.

Ceffyl Dŵr are the Welsh version of water horses, the most well known water horses are the Scottish Kelpie. The Ceffyl Dŵr are known to entice tired travelers to either take them someplace extremely fast or to rise up into the air to a great height before dropping the rider by turning into mist. funny as hell. Their distinct traits that help identify them are occasional things like wings or glowing they are said to always have backward hooves.

Alaw and the Ceffyl Dwr aren't depicted accurate to welsh folklore because I love getting silly with it and making characters colorful and also no one agrees what color the Ceffyl Dwr are. The golden tears for bother of them was a choice made for visibility. The marks on their face dont come from anything I just thought their face was too bare. Their hair which is sticking out a little is water lily petals (:

The wave pattern was based off of the crested line used in heralding, something I have also gotten into for these blorbos. I decided to use it for the river and then based the rest of the background off of vibes to try and match. Alaw's family crest can be seen on both their tunic and their shield, it is a white tower on a blue background with the very bottom being gold and divided by a crested line.

Alaws crest changes some through out the events of their story but the one here is their most basic family crest. Traditionally the symbol of a tower represents safety, and blue is often marked as representing the trait of loyalty.

The Orange and Green on Alaw are tied to their service for their kingdom. Orange is the color that all court and royal workers wear and the green is a family color for Alaw despite it not being on their crest due to it coming from their mothers side which had no crest before the marriage.

Anyways if you have any questions or wanna see their old design or anything you can always just ask <3

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

If I Killed Someone For You (Alec Benjamin)

Would you love me more/If I killed someone for you/Would you hold my hand/They're the same ones that I used

"the first 2/3 of the song are just confessing to this hypothetical murder and trying to gauge the response and supportiveness from the "you" in the song— and THEN it hits hard with the verse: "You have to understand that The one I killed is me Changing what I was For what you wanted me to be I followed your direction Did everything you asked I hope that makes you happy Cause there's just no turning back" and it's just. holy shit. i. i don't even know that to say past that. it's just so. wow. like the fact that the entire song is seeking comfort, aid, and approval for this theoretical murder, approval that seems to never come based on the tone of the song...... truly feels so much like grieving the futility of changing yourself for someone who isn't even listening. incredible blorbo song and hits hard. definitely fucks me up at a solid 8/10."

Loki (The Mechanisms)

Flashes like camera bulbs fire in my brain/Is this truly me, am I going insane?/In faint bloody flashes I watch people die/And if that was me, then who am I?

"This one has some context behind it, the album is Norse mythology-inspired scifi and Loki had been helping Odin build a train that would travel through space, specifically a wormhole in space. Loki then attempted to blow up the train and killed Baldr in the process. She was sentenced to death and executed, except Odin lied to everyone and did not execute her. Odin instead fucked up her memories so that she (Odin) could still use Loki's knowledge of the train. This song is Loki grasping for her memories and being unable to keep hold of them. A few songs later we see Sigyn, her wife, finding her and Loki doesn't know who she is"

"JUST. WOW"

[pallasimp]

Hello pallasimp beloved presence on my dash, I have arrived to post a query I have held for quite some time. I see very often posts you reblog with the tag “galatea energy” and have always wondered if that’s referring to the mythological galatea or an OC or assorted blorbo of the same name! Regardless of the answer, love the vibes 👍 okay thanks have a good night bye :)

Wow this is such a very kind question!! 🥹 I'm glad my posting brightens your dash 😭?!

Also thank you for asking!! The tag refers to my OC, however the OC is based explicitly on Ovid's account of the Pygmalion Galatea myth! She's a living statue carved by her husband Pygmalion (or, to her, Leon), crafted to be the perfect partner to him. Unfortunately he one day went off on a business trip (in the dead of night! Oh, how strange) and so after waiting... some time for him, finally resolved to go after him!

She was made for a Curse of Strahd D&D campaign in which I thought it would be most engaging to make a character solely written to embody a specific subgenre of horror. In this case: 1970s feminist horror! The horror that everything in your home is Wrong. The horror of not knowing the person you're married to. The horror of a loss of autonomy, personhood, and voice. What if a Stepford Wife (1973) attained consciousness?

So, although she takes her namesake from Galatea, the psychological horror of her writing is inspired much more from Ovid's Procne. I loved how he wrote the psychological anguish of someone caught between two equally essential social roles (daughter and wife) when the two demand contradictory things; the violence that results from that internal dissonance is what inspired me to write Galatea in terms of competing requirements (conceptualized as her programming) that will, eventually, crack her. A lot of this programming rules how she is able to react to or judge situations, and it is SO fun to rp a character who has to play 3-d chess in her own brain just to brain-hack herself into bypassing her limits.

Anyways, thank you again!!! I love Galatea (also known as Lottie!) and I'm very flattered you noticed her tag. Take a browse sometime with the context and let me know if you see the vision ❤️

[kindred-spirit-93]

jazzy!! & apollo

hello yall im back on my bs (biscuit soliloquy) with my wonderful oc jazzy and a modern au i came up with when i opened my eyes this morning lol. u can find a little lore on ma blog under the #jazzy tag :3

--

aight so for context a few months ago while deep in the trenches of my greek mythology obsession i made a minor underworld diety oc who goes by kore or jazzy. shes my favourite muffin and i love her.

and after reading one too many apollo fics here lmao i really wanted to explore his domains (which i find endlessly fascinating bc its all my favourite things in one: medicine art literature) and learn more about him as a god via a character study of sorts.

(ive yet to write anything for them lol but when i do it will be great :P)

--

anyway back to the story they are teachers!! bc im currently rethinking my life choices and having fun imagining what my life could have been like things went differently (11/10 recommend. great for the blorbos). babys first midlife crisis at the ripe old age of 21 lol

so without any further ado, them <3

HHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY BABIES

*slaps hands* aight so context and premise:

cant be bothered to come up with alternative names and clever refernces for everyone so theyre keeping their greek names lol.

not everyone in the pantheon will make an appearance, this aint keeping up with the olympians (until it is)

the setting is vaguely british lol bc its where i grew up and am more familiar with the system and the norms. ish

they teach both primary and secondary school students (this afaik doesnt exist in the uk but it does here so yeah. will elaborate later)

greek mythology adjacent at best i regrettably know very little of the mythos and my one and only reference is theoi. i will do better i promise. as soon as i graduate

in the mean time pls feel free to tell me all about ur fave myths and works and recommend stuff :D!!

--

art stuff, character design, notes

apollo has heterochromia :3 dunno if u can see it but his eyes are olive green (right) and a teal (left). representing the suns reach over land and sea. ALSO FRECKLES >:D

my girl jazzy has the most boring brown eyes ever. no pools of honey or flecks of gold. just good ol dirt brown. *foreshadowing*

short curly hair somewhere between brown and black for her, and floofy kraft singles waves for him XD

jazzy is a knitwear gremlin (like urs truly lol), 24/7 turtlenecks cardigans jumpers scarfs all of it. her hands (and extremeties) are always cold bc bad circulation and probably dehydration. shush

palettes are warm and earthy for jazzy (wow im so subtle) and cool celestial for apollo (and artemis hehe)

so thats mostly greens esp olive, brown and beige and a healthy sprinkle of rose. le aesthetic is forest/ gremlincore for my girl

and lots of blues esp navy and shiny silver and gold for chaotic academia sunshine boi (TIL astroacademia is a thing and like wow)

arts and moodboards and quotes in this century trust

jazzy is of average height (which to me is 160cm hhhhh and apollo is taller at 180cm. do ur own math we use metric in this household)

--

finally concept idea, plot if u will, notes and backgorund info too:

the first thing i thought of when i opened my eyes was literally apollo and his nine daughters the muses. let me finish

i wish i was joking lol it instantly gripped me but alas i had to go to uni and so it stayed on hold and i havent studied more that 3 pages bc im thinking about them

and by thinking i mean going over the same scene in my head and not doing somethinguseful like say expanding lore. as one does.

anyway yes we have apollo the girl dad of all time who has 9 wondeful daughters of varying ages from fist year of uni to toddler

still mapping out details like if from same mother or several relationships. idk what im doing pls respect my privacy at this time

apollo has 2 degrees bc its cool af to me (my dad has two masters and its been on my bucket list since. i dont know why i am the way that i am either) one in nursing and another in english literature (and a masters in translation bc i can)

he teaches english and history tho and the art afterschool clubs. yes clubs plural. i am insane and so is he.

jazzy is a biomed graduate and is currently pursuing a masters in forensic toxicology (sucks that i hade organic chem this would be fun to write) so she teaches bio. probably part time idk.

i will get to the details of lore and what theyre like and their work ethics etc but i is tired and id really like to finish some work before bed lol so goodnight for now and enjoy and feel free to ask stuff ig :3

[softchassis]

Re-breaking the Tumblr Ice with a "25 Games To Know Me" post!

Reasons why each game is important to me are under the cut.

Sonic The Hedgehog 2 -- I love Sonic in general. I think across the entire history of the franchise I can only really point to two games I dislike, or three if I'm feeling particularly uncharitable. But Sonic 2 was the first game I ever saw at a store and said "I want that one". As for how I feel about Sonic 2 itself, it's actually not my favorite Sonic game or even my favorite classic Sonic game--those distinctions go to Sonic Unleashed and Sonic CD--but without Sonic 2, I may never have given the blue hog a chance.

Spark The Electric Jester 3 -- The most recent game on this list certainly but it deserves to be there. It's so confident and unashamed of what it is. It *knows* it's a Sonic fan game underneath its yellow blorbo skin, but it never winks at the audience about it. You just get to do some really incredible, high speed 3D platforming and mix in some DMC-lite combos in there too. It's good, it's fun, it's sincere, it's beautiful. All the Spark games are.

Cave Story -- Before Cave Story I only had a vague idea of the concept of "single person makes game all by themself". I'd certainly played plenty before, from the Shareware era on DOS and Windows 95, but Cave Story made it feel approachable. Plus, on its own, it's just a great little game.

La Mulana -- Cave Story and La Mulana share the same space in my brain. It may be a little weird to say this, but I typically don't enjoy 2D Metroidvanias. The only ones I've beaten are Super Metroid and most recently Nine Sols. But something about La Mulana just tickles me. It feels like the entire map is one big Rubik's Cube I'm beating my head against, which is more satisfying to me than "I found the thing that lets me do the thing I couldn't do earlier."

DOOM (2016) -- I love the entire Doom franchise but DOOM 2016 is my favorite standalone experience. Otherwise I have played untold hours of classic Doom mods, my favorites being Reelism, Demonsteele, and Doom Infinite.

Sekiro -- A really great experience all around. I enjoy Dark Souls and appreciate its storytelling, but most everything in Dark Souls feels too distant for me to appreciate, whereas in Sekiro, the history both is recent and ongoing, and the Shinto and Buddhist mythology informs the story in real time. And It's just so fun to actually play. You never forget your first Lady Butterfly.

Dynamite Headdy -- Most everyone loves Treasure but to me no game is more Treasure than this one.

Moon: Remix RPG Adventure -- One of the earliest plays on the RPG genre. A typical RPG hero is going around slaying monsters to level up, but that person isn't you. Instead, you go around reuniting the souls of slain monsters to revive them, and learn a lot about the heartfelt and unique world they once inhabited. A really beautiful and important game.

Worms Armageddon -- Still the best 1999

Avernum: Escape From The Pit -- A remake of Spiderweb Software's first game in the "Exile" series. Avernum tells a great fantasy story about an underground cave society, where undesirables are exiled by the empire who scorns them. Instead of laying down and dying in the caves, its new residents name it Avernum and create their own society... and they don't intend to take their punishment laying down. A really fun and atmospheric CRPG with great, Vonnegut-esque writing and a lot of heart.

Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver -- I played this one pretty recently and was shocked at how forward thinking it was for 1999. I played the entire Legacy of Kain series back to back, but Soul Reaver stuck out to me as the best one. If you can't tell by some of the other games on this list, I adore games that feel lonely and isolating but still have a distinct goal and stakes. Soul Reaver is incredible and finally contextualized just why I saw Raziel all over Playstation magazines as a kid--it's because he's fucking cool!

Marathon Infinity -- play the entire marathon series right now stop reading this

Lemmings -- Huh. What's that doing here

Pikmin -- The first Pikmin is the best one in my opinion. I love the time limit, I love the simplicity of the scope compared to the rest of the series, it's a fun game to just pop in once in a while and just blitz through. I also just love microworld settings. And the creature design! And the puzzle design! Ohh Pikmin there's nothing like you.

Klonoa: The Door To Phantomile -- I have a lot of fond memories of this one, but specifically of playing the demo over and over on a Playstation Magazine demo disc with my sister. I wouldn't actually play the full game until much later, on an emulator. I did later rent Klonoa 2 and finish it before that though. Klonoa is good.

Rayman -- I love this game. I love how fucking mean it is while looking so bright and poppy and silly. I first played it when I was like 8 years old and it was a really humbling, eye-opening experience. But jokes aside it's just a really good game. But yeah, it's hard. If you've never played it before and don't want to tear your hair out, you should play Rayman Redemption, a fan remake of it that makes it a bit more approachable. If you ask me though, you should try the original first.

Ecco: The Tides of Time -- I also played this one when I was really young and it was also a humbling, eye-opening experience. I just liked dolphins, I wasn't expecting to have rented the hardest game in the entire fucking store. Having revisited the Ecco series many times since then, though, I think Tides of Time is the best one. It's just gorgeous and both versions of the soundtrack are amazing. I prefer the CD one though, except for Moray Abyss and Tubes of Medusa.

Splatterhouse -- Kids love horror and kids love forbidden things, so when I saw a Splatterhouse ROM on a romsite as a kid and was immediately told I wasn't allowed to download it, of course I fucking did when no one was looking. And my brain was altered forever

Earthbound -- I very briefly had a stepbrother who had a SNES and Earthbound and I wasn't able to play it myself (no open save slots) so I just watched, but I was fascinated by it. I would eventually play it myself later on good ol ZSNES. I have nice warm memories of watching the snow on the ZSNES menu while it snowed gently outside, in between bouts of playing Earthbound and Yoshi's Island.

Yakuza -- Okay the PS2 boxart is here as a stand in, I love the entire Yakuza series dearly. I did own Yakuza and Yakuza 2 when they were new, but lost them when our PS2 and all of its games got stolen.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 -- Another Sonic game? But this one's special. I've been playing SRB2 for over half of my life at this point. I've played countless mods for it and have watched it grow from a basic little Doom platformer into a great platform for expression. It's also just fun.

Bomberman 64 -- The 3D bomb-stacking and bouncing stuff in this game is so cool and is the exact kind of finicky, almost-accidental-seeming mechanical depth I love in video games. I can't believe they only made one of these.

Psychonauts -- Kind of a stand-in for Double Fine and LucasArts in general, but definitely the best game still out of both companies. I love 3D platformers and I love what this game does. There's still not much out there like it.

Rayman 2 -- Another Rayman game? Well yeah, I can't say I love 3D platformers and just not put the best 3D platformer ever made on this list. Not an exaggeration!

Final Fantasy XIV -- I get to play as a hot lion woman now. Have you seen her? Well, now you have

[dragonairice]

LOWKEY BEEN INSPIRED BY @not-sure-what-im-feeling s AWESOME OCS AND LORE (Go check them out)

And it inspired me to talk about MY ocs :D

I mention in passing that I am in fact writing a novel, but I try to avoid saying too much to prevent spoilers buuuuut I think I can keep it vague enough while still rambling <3

The novel (technically a novella) is called 'The Shadow Walker' and here's a draft of a blurb:

With no friends, an absent mom, an abusive dad, and a shadow that inexplicably went missing; Nicholas Walker is convinced his life couldn’t possibly get any worse. But everything changes when he meets something (or someone) who may or may not want him dead.

(Not the best but again it;s a draft)

ANYWAY THIS IS MY BOY NICHOLAS

He's 12 years old and a selective mute and my scrungliest little blorbo who experiences the horrors™. He doesn't have any friends, is neglected by his parents, and all in all has a bad time before the book starts :(

The only source of healthy food in the house (he borrows money from his dad and goes to the store alone) but is severely malnourished from eating nothing more than reheated takeout his dad left in the fridge. Nick doesn't talk verbally unless it's to his dad (out of necessity) and otherwise converses in ASL (which I'm learning for this book <3). Loves pretty buildings and stargazing, has a dream of visiting things like Notre Dame and the colloseum some day and is fascinated by architecture. I just realised that this kid would adore Minecraft but anyway after things get better for him he's given Lego models of like the eiffel tower and he loves them :)

Gonna stop before I spend the entire post talking about my boy and move onto

HIS MOMM

You know that thing that's like, "Not a bad person, just a bad parent"? Yeah. That's her. She ran away from her abusive boyfriend and left Nick behind out of fear, since she didn't know if she could survive by herself, much less with a child in tow. She ends up leaving with her best friend and they travel around the world a lot for their job. They're a musician who plays back up for bands in different places and Rachel ends up learning to play some stuff too after watching them for so long. The two end up dating at some point and they've been together ever since. Rachel still sends Nicholas a postcard every time she travels to a new place, but she doesn't have the courage to actually see him in person yet. Also fun fact. She's descended from a woman who was killed for being a 'witch' during the salem trials. This is relevant to the story :3

Do I have to talk about his dad??? Ughhhhh fine

This is Gregory Walker. I hate him. bye.

Not but fr, he's a terrible father. Works at a convenience store and his co-workers fear him. Lives off of take-out and instant ramen, never checks on his son. Spends all his money gambling and buying alchohol. Literally would not notice if he missed an entire month of his life (*cough* foreshadowing *cough*)

ANYWAY ONTO TWO OF MY FAVOURITES

LEXI AND CHELSEAAA

Lexi is a single mom who grew up kinda spoiled and is still figuring out how to raise a kid. Her parents are kinda helpful about it but also she doesn't want to raise Chelsea how she was raised so hgjhrj. Chelsea was orignally planned to be autistic since this entire book is a transparent cover for neurodivergent rep but the version of her in my head is so very ADHD instead. They only show up near the end of the book so I'm still experimenting with them a bit but Lexi is a huge book worm and Chelsea loves unicorns, like, I mean in the 'mythology is cool way' not the 'stereotypical girl behaviour' way. She does love pink things and sparkles though

THERE IS ANOTHER CHARACTER BUT THEY'RE A SPOILERRRR BUT I WILL JUST SAY THEY ARE NOT HUMAN AND ALSO WHAT THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS TALKING ABOUT

(It's a sentient shadow, that's- do you get the pun in the name- there's three references in it-)

[uhreo]

Hello! I'm not really sure what to put in this... But! Let's start off with my name—I'm Oreo, you can use any pronouns to address me and when it comes to my sexuality—I'm pansexual.

I like to read, write, and ramble about my blorbos. I created this blog for the sole purpose of sharing ideas that have been bouncing around inside my head, and I like to hear what others have to say about pieces that I've written so I decided—why not make a blog?

I'm also of legal age (18+), I won't disclose what my actual age is due to how it makes me kind of uncomfortable...? Anyways, I might have moments of radio silence but don't worry! I'm still lurking around and probably drowning in heaps of school works—yes, I am still a student. Hence why I tend to have busy days or take small breaks.

My interests? Well... Honestly, my interest towards things tends to go off and on like a light switch. Twisted wonderland is one of the things that have kept me interested for quite a while now, I was here when the twst x reader tag was still quite empty and not a lot of twst writers existed back then... So yeah, quite a while. Oh! I also like mythology and folklores, I love hearing about different ancient stories from various countries—I think that might be one of the key reasons why I like monsterfics... I also like documentaries and as of now, I'm quite obsessed with watching documentaries regarding (pre-)historic times.

I don't really have a preferred genre when it comes to reading contents, as long as the plot interests me then I'm reading it! But I've been quite interested in content that deals with psychology—for example, yandere content. I like reading this sort of thing because I like seeing how different people portray the idea of someone being obsessed with someone to the point of insanity/madness. That doesn't mean that I support/like what happens in these fics/stories! Fictional things should always stay fictional.

I love editing/making gfx or graphics! I've been editing for 5 years now. My edits are still a bit mediocre compared to other editors due to how inconsistent I am with editing and practicing... Haha... Anyways! I also like making friends but I'm too shy ( no, not in a kawaii uwu way.. ) when it comes to the actual first time talking with someone who I find interesting or want to be friends with.. That's why I prefer to just reblog their posts and try to show my support and appreciation under the tags. If you'd like to be friends or mutuals with me then just hit me up with a message through my inbox or ask box! I would love to chat with any of you guys. I also consider people who comment on my posts as somewhat-of-a-friend! <3

If you'd like to know what twisted wonderland dorm I think suits me most... Well, I think I'd fit in with Ignihyde. While I might seem like an extrovert and the outgoing type of person, I'm actually quite introverted inside and I prefer to actually be alone or do things by myself because of how working with others sometimes puts a lot of pressure on me. I'm also quite knowledgeable when it comes to technology (at least I think so..)

My favorite twisted wonderland characters are mentioned in my pinned post so I might be a little biased when it comes to them.

— penned by the lady bride. 💐

[chaosgremlinmunson]

writers 20 questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

17 currently, will be 18 once I post my exchange fic 

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

24,672

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things, I used to write for Harry Potter but stopped for obvious reasons, supernatural though I haven't in quite a while.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? 

I try to respond to them as soon as I see them but sometimes I don't see the comments until a long while later.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably 'And Who Will Save Your Soul?' Although, I do try to have happy endings on all my fics.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My exchange fic I haven't posted yet called Foot Meet Mouth, but of the ones I've posted? Fae Steddie Though this is still a work in progress 

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on AO3 but I have gotten comments telling me to stop inserting Steddie into everything and that I'm dumb, which…hello? This is clearly a Steddie blog, if you're not into that, why interact??

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've started recently, it's not my strong suit. Mainly it's been M/M smut, with lots of fluff.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Less crossovers and more taking my blorbos and plopping them into a different universe.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so, but that would be neat if it ever happened.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

You're asking me, the Steddie blog, what my favorite ship is? Oh, that's easy, it's Chaos and Smut. 🤣🤣

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Fae Steddie, But that's due to the fact that I need to gather all the characters and figure out what character has what ability, characteristics, if they are faerie or fae creature etc etc etc.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I can be funny or make people feel good from the fluff? I'm not too sure, I like to think I'm good with descriptions.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I ramble ALOT and lose my train of thought easily.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Honestly, I've done it but it terrifies me and I always seek out a native speaker to run the linguistics by so that the dialogue will make sense.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

My Chemical Romance, I was just a baby emo in love with Ray and Gerard. 🖤🖤

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Probably Fae Steddie so far because I'm obsessed with the game and all mythology.

I was tagged by @klausinamarink , thank you!!

I'll tag: @apomaro-mellow @bleedingoptimism @corrodedbisexual @epiclazershark @frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe @henderdads @judasofsuburbia

And anyone else who'd like to do this.

[yakuzacanons]

I realize this is not the typical request you get so pls ignore if u don't wanna write it, it's totally fine. :3 I'd like some headcanons for the blorbos as supernatural creatures!

Hi hi hello hello, sorry it took so long to get this one done. I've actually been planning it out since I got it because it's not one I can do easily off the top of my head. I wanted to incorporate as much stuff as I could so it took a while to really lay thoughts down finally. Anyways, here it IS. It includes supernatural and mythological creatures from multiple cultures, btw. Sorry if I missed any particular faves.

Kiryu Kazuma: Dragon

Bit on the nose but our Kiryu can't be anything but a dragon. Powerful to a point of being otherworldly and with a driving fire in his belly, Kiryu is dragon similar to that of Haku from Spirited Away. He is simaltaneously tormented by his spiritual being but also extremely conscious of his abilities and how to use them. Sometimes he fears the sharpness of his own claws and wonders if his powers couldn't be used for something better or at the very least gentler.

Majima Goro: Ouroboros

With his snakeskin jacket, Majima is an ouroboros in walking human form. Known as the snake that holds its own tail in its mouth, Majima is his own best friend and worst enemy. His lifestyle of being on the absolute razor edge has left him holding his own fate in his hands, or in some cases, his mouth. He constantly lives in a state of holding on to his own past or biting it off entirely and becoming someone separate from it.

Saejima Taiga: Werewolf

Equally sensitive as he is strong, a werewolf is the perfect personification of who Saejima is and his internal struggle. He's very much a man who has a love/hate relationship with his supernatural struggle. On one hand, it makes him able to protect those he loves and stand up for what's right. On the other hand, he feels like he's controlled by it more than anything. He often questions if there's more to his life than brutish force.

Akiyama Shun: Centaur

Swift and steadfast like a stallion, all with the charisma and temperment of a human being. Handsome by nature but stands out in his own special way. Although he is prone to living lazily in his own comfort, when push comes to shove, he wouldn't hesitate to race to your side when you need him. Also really good at kicking people really hard.

Tanimura Masayoshi: Moon Rabbit

Small but mighty. Typically found alone despite having connections to other beings or even working under other more powerful creatures. Agile and has a penchant for sweet foods. Many people see him but truly do not know much about him.

Ryuji Goda: Basilisk

Similar to Kiry, Ryuji embodies a powerful snake-like creature. Although Ryuji also has great physical force, his form is slightly more reserved in that respect. If he desired, he could simply destroy another person with so much as a glance, choosing to raise his fists only for fights and people he deems truly worthy.

Nishikiyama Akira: Shachihoko

With the body of a carp and the head of a dragon, Nishiki's tattoo is truly the embodiment of what kind of mythological creature he would be. Always trailing the cusp of greatness, Nishiki finds himself trying to evolve while also struggling to remain true to himself. It's this very struggle that in the end either transforms him entirely into one being or the other or simply tears him apart.

Daigo Dojima: Sphinx

Daigo is a multifaceted person with a complex life, which only makes it fitting that his supernatural form be equally complicated. Part man, part lion, and part eagle, Daigo in his older age is a balance of brute strength, intelligence, and justice. He tries his hardest to embody the best of all these qualities but struggles to find the balance within himself. Sometimes this drive to be the best of everything leads him astray, blinding him from what really matters.

Mine Yoshitaka: Chimera

Our mysterious Mine is not understood by anyone. He's truly an engima, with his form changing varying on the situation he's in and who's nearby. Sometimes Mine doesn't know who he is and loses himself in between these transformations. Ultimately, it's this constant desire to change himself that is the end of him.

Tatsuo Shinada: Tanuki

Playful yet mysterious, Shinada is a shapeshifting tanuki that transforms as he needs to survive. Mostly content to get by day to day, saying and doing what he must to make it to yet another day. Partial to free stuff, snacks, and lying through his teeth to avoid hard work or responsibilities.

Ichiban Kasuga: Phoenix

Wonder-boy Ichiban cannot die. Even at his lowest, he doesn't die, he simply transforms and shines even brighter. Although constantly pushing harder and forward in life does tire him out, he always comes back stronger than ever. Somtimes even he's amazed at what he's capable of when he puts his mind to it.

Yu Nanba: Ratatoskr

Known in Norse mythology as the messenger between the eagles Yggdrasil and the serpent Niohoggr, Nanba's time as a homeless man has caused him to observe all walks of life and made him a silent but observant person. Known more his brains than his brawn, Nanba finds ways to be of importance without necessarily shedding blood, either his own or someone else's.

Koichi Adachi: Minotaur

All brawn no brains, our Adachi. He's got a good heart in there somewhere deep down but the years have made him a little jaded. Fears his only purpose is to hand out ass whoopings and nothing else meaningful. Once he gets really riled up, good luck with that fight. The man can really pummel when he feels like it. Spends most of his alone time just doing his own thing. No one really knows what else he does, honestly.

Tianyou Zhao: Qilin

Known as a symbol of good luck, Zhao floats through life either trying his best to give better fortune to others or just getting extremely lucky himself. He tries to make it appear as though it's easy or that it comes naturally to him, but he does exert quite a bit of effort underneath the surface.

Joon-Gi Han: Selkie

Depending on the situation he's in, he can either put on or remove the skin necessary to preserve his own life. Often feels like a fish out of water, pun intended. Typically alone but people find themselves drawn to him anyways, mostly for his physical beauty. Beneath his desirable outer appearance, he harbors great power.