#especially characters with hebrew names even

[softness-and-shattering]

Golden Enclaves/scholomance spoilers

Speaking of Ibrahim and Yaakov. When El asks how Yaakovs doing and its obviously extremely painful to Ibrahim because they cant safely live together. The Dubai enclave opening up to anyone with the mana to help immediately. Waiting waiting waiting and then Yaakov is there, and he brought his slow-moving older relatives and theyre last in and El starts faffing around with chalk to give them time and then theyre there and theyre hugging and they made it and they can live here together now and be safe and be in love and Ibrahim hadnt even known if he'd got the text yet I absolutely bawled my eyes out.

And when Yaakov ran out the scholomance wearing his worn tallit 😭😭😭

There are so few good Jewish characters in general, and he's queer and he gets his happy ending with his "supposed to be his enemy" lover the both of them and they mean so so so much to me!!

[foldedchip]

Things in Lackadaisy that I haven’t seen anyone talk about (starting with fun facts and ending with more serious topics)

Rocky was an escape artist for a traveling circus when he was a teenager. This is why he was able to escape the train tracks at the beginning of the story.

Horatio likes to sing, but only when no one is around.

Freckle is the only character to have a middle name in his character bio (Allen). Do the other characters have middle names?

Nicodeme used to be (or possibly still is) a wrestler known as the “Cajun Gator”.

Rocky speaks at least some French; the Savoys speak a mix of English, Creole, and French; Mordecai speaks English, Hebrew, and some German; Nina speaks English and Irish Gaelic; Viktor speaks Slovak and English; Mrs. Bapka speaks Slovak and some English.

Serafine likes practical jokes. The only one we’ve seen her play is the “hatchetman” thing with Mordecai, where she told him to kill a man with a hatchet and he actually did it. Has she played other practical jokes on him?

Ivy’s classmates know that she’s friends with gangsters, because they ask if Rocky is one of her “gangster friends” when she sneaks him into their dorm building. Ivy seems to like the attention.

Nicodeme doesn’t know his exact birthday, and he and Serafine don’t know their exact relation to each other. They could be half-siblings or cousins, or maybe not related at all.

Rocky is very knowledgeable about myths and folklore, and he’s also very well read. Considering he didn’t finish his primary education, he must have either picked this up from his mother, the McMurrays, or he developed an interest later in his life.

Rocky has frightened elderly people before, though he got along well with Mrs. Bapka.

Ivy’s father, Reuben Pepper, wasn’t just friends with Atlas— he owned a train station and helped him smuggle alcohol into the city. He must not do business with the Lackadaisy anymore, either because of Atlas’s death or for another reason. He was business partners with Atlas, but not Mitzi.

The name of Mordecai’s late baby sister, Hannah, is the combination to the safe he writes about in “Posthaste”.

Rocky doesn’t drink due to “past experience”. Did he drink before and then quit, or he see someone else drink and decide never to do it?

Mordecai shows a lot of the signs of autism. He comes across as very cold and unemotional, even with his own family members and closest friend. He doesn’t seem to feel empathy for people he doesn’t care about (often, autistic people will either feel far more empathy than is considered appropriate, or not nearly enough of it to be considered appropriate.) He has difficulty with social relationships and interaction, whether it’s casual flirting, working with others, negotiating with his boss, or developing and maintaining personal friendships. He is physically sensitive and can barely tolerate physical touch, crowded environments, or getting dirty or wet. He is very particular about the way he eats and dresses, to the point where other people point it out. He has an intense and unusual interest in geometry that confuses other people when he talks about it, but it seems to bring him comfort and excitement. (For the record, Rocky is the only one who rolls with it and asks him to tell him more.)

Both Elsa and Viktor have trauma from the war and show signs of PTSD. Viktor also used to stay at the Arbogast house to help keep them safe. When Ivy and Rocky arrive at her house, Elsa asks about Viktor and talks about him later on. This probably means that they were friends.

Corporal punishment was the standard for raising children in the early 20th century, especially in Ireland. Nina slaps Rocky and pushes him down the stairs in two different scenes. Rocky even mentions Nina caning (beating someone with a walking cane) him if he got mud on Freckle’s clothes— which might have been a joke, but it had to come from some truth. Rocky was shown to get into all kinds of trouble as a child, though we don’t see the consequences for it. At the time, “physical punishments” were considered normal, but there is now extensive, undeniable research that shows what kind of psychological damage it causes later in the child’s life. You’ve read the comic, and you know that Rocky is not mentally healthy.

[gay-jewish-bucky]

Debunking the Claim that Bucky Barnes' Dog Tags "Prove He Cannot Be Jewish"

In 2021 and 2022, when discussing the fact that MCU!Bucky (henceforth referred to simply as Bucky) is based off of Arnie Roth, a gay Jewish man and Steve's childhood best friend, I received pushback from fans telling me that Bucky can't possibly be Jewish due to his dog tags; citing a behind the scenes picture posted by Sebastian Stan to his instagram story.

Transcription of the dog tags:

James B. Barnes (Legal Name) 32557038 (Serial Number*) T41 42 (Tetanus Immunization) O (Blood Type) R. Barnes (Next of Kin) 3092 Stockton RD (Address) Shelbyville IN (Location) P (Religion Marker)

*A serial number starting with a 3 indicated that the servicemember was drafted into the Army, it's important that we do not forget that Bucky didn't chose to fight.

During World War II the dog tags of American service members would have had one of the following regulation religion markers:

P for Protestant (the marker we see on Bucky's dog tags)

C for Catholic

H for Hebrew, this being the marker for 'Jewish'

NO (or left blank) for No Religion

For Jewish servicemembers fighting in Europe, being discovered to be a Jew by your captors–especially if you were captured by the Nazis–carried considerable risk and could mean the difference between life or horrific torture, experimentation and possibly even death.

Some Jewish service members, justifiably incredibly fearful of what could happen if they were found out, would either omit a religion marker altogether or, after getting their tags, would attempt to obscure the 'H' marker in some way so it could not be read by their captors.

While this saved some lives, it was not a perfect and fool-proof system, and we have no way of knowing how many times it failed.

In 1943, the year Bucky was drafted, the Army introduced a more official (and more widely adoptable, and thus widely adopted) option to protect Jews in its ranks:

Through the European Theatre of Operations United States Army, Jewish servicemembers could elect to have the 'H' marker for Hebrew on their dog tags replaced with a 'P' for Protestant.

This would offer Jewish servicemembers a more convincing layer of protection if they were ever captured by the enemy, because, unlike an obscured religion marker (or that lack of one) which could itself draw suspicion, a set of dog tags printed with a 'P' would be entirely indistinguishable from the dog tags worn by a gentile and would be less likely to draw suspicion.

Due to this option being made available to Jewish people serving in the United States Armed Forces, the 'P' marker on Bucky's dog tags not only does not definitively prove that he's really a gentile, in actuality its presence provides even further historical support in favour of him being a Jewish man.

Sources and Additional Reading:

Jewish GIs and Their Dog-Tags by Rabbi Akiva Males - Hakirah

A Star of David for Pvt. Benjamin Garadetsky - Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

U.S. Army WW2 Dog Tags | WW2 US Medical Research Centre (med-dept.com)

Do You Know the History of the "Dog Tag" (jcveteranscouncil)

Beyond The Battle: Religion and American Troops In World War II (uky.edu)

World War II and American Jewish Identity

European Theater of Operations, United States Army - Wikipedia

Pride Month 2022, 40 Years of Arnie Roth and Michael Bech - Marvel Comics: The Queer History Behind MCU Bucky’s Backstory

J.M. DeMatteis, the creator of Arnie, confirming the character's use for MCU!Bucky

Full screenshot of Sebastian Stan's post of the dog tag

How to Decode a WWII US Army Serial Number | Amy Johnson Crow

[utilitycaster]

if you're up to elaborating, i would love to hear more about your complicated feelings on Taliesin's reads of this campaign, because that's something that's been itching my brain but I'd been having a hard time pinpointing why and I'm interested to hear your thoughts!

So I think it's best summarized in part as a combination of what was said in this post I just reblogged and these tags from @kerosene-in-a-blender on this post:

#yeeeaaaahhhh#ngl it seems like the characters and parts of the cast got so caught up in the potential moral dilemma of interventionist gods#that they forgot the gods of exandria aren't particularly interventionist#critical role#critical role spoilers#cr spoilers

Ashton feels like they learned something about their own arrogance and assumptions with Shardgate...and then it just vanished. And the fact that Taliesin genuinely read that as what was supposed to happen when like 3-4 authority figures, some of whom (Allura) have existed since Campaign 1 as People To Listen To had said "This is a bad idea" in plain language does give me pause because like...with all due respect, I get why Ashton would do this anyway! But come on, man, how do you hear that and not go "oh maybe it's a bad idea."

I don't want to read in too much to cooldown and 4SD either but I really do just feel that like...some of the cast, and Taliesin isn't alone in this but definitely seems to be using it the most in-game, have come under the impression that the purpose of this campaign is specifically to upend everything we knew...but that idea is just an assumption that is not supported, and as I've said repeatedly, there is no situation in which the world is not drastically changed - there's going to be either a hostile alien invasion, or a friendly alien migration, but either one will be monumental within Exandrian history, and that's not counting the establishment of the Accord/the collapse of local institutions in both the Dwendalian Empire and Bassuras/ If one cannot see any possibility for vast change within the world other than killing/driving out the gods, I don't know how to address this nicely. This is an uncreative and stupid position that I can't engage with because it's so stupid. It's like saying World War II didn't change anything in our world because at the end of it the US and USSR both still existed largely intact. So the over-focus on only one means of change in a way that feels based on an interpretation of this campaign's purpose that isn't even stated anywhere is telling and deeply frustrating.

As the second post indicates, it feels like some of the cast, Taliesin especially, got caught up in a theological argument of divine intervention that personally I had a great time debating in Hebrew school when I was 13, but is not ultimately true in Exandria (or reality, for that matter). On some level it's like maybe read some Harold Kushner and you'll calm down; it feels like you're arguing against like, some very real religious tenets (that are not exclusively Christian for once) but in a story where that's not actually a problem.

I'd throw in that Bells Hells sit in this awkward place of not being nobodies (or Nobodies) anymore but many are still acting like it and Ashton is at the forefront. Indeed, look at the name "the Nobodies." The problem is that Ashton is a Somebody now. He's not like, the ruler of a city, or an ancient dragon, or a god. But they're someone who has the personal raw power and the connections to survive an ill-considered second shard absorption. They're someone who is easily going to survive a fall out of a window, and who can't be bound into service. They are someone who has been entrusted by the world to assist in saving it, and they're too fixated on the gods not personally saving them to consider the vast potential harm to others, and I think it's not inherently out of callousness but rather that they've rather abruptly risen from "orphan criminal who expected to be dead by 30" to "guy tasked to save the world" but they have no option but to rise to the occasion, as the Raven Queen said. To change the world, he must change himself, and I feel like Taliesin, who often enjoys the idea of characters who don't change, is perhaps too wed to that concept for this particular narrative. And, for what it's worth: I've said it before that my personal preference is to keep the gods in place...but I would genuinely be MILES happier with a party that decisively had decided to kill the gods. I would not agree with their decision, but anything is better than this indecision. And since Ashton is pretty staunchly in favor of killing the gods and the rest of the party is varying degrees of strongly against (Orym, Braius), weakly against (Chetney, Fearne, Imogen, increasingly Laudna) and unsure but worried specifically about the mortal impact (Dorian) at some point it's like. Either say "I don't like this, but this is the party's plan" or leave. The decisiveness matters on an individual level too; because Bells Hells does not have good internal methods of resolving conflict for reasons stated above and below, at some point it's like. You have to give it up because no one will make you. If Ashton genuinely cannot or will not yield on this, either commit to betraying the party (totally valid, could be a great story) or have them leave; if Ashton does trust the party, have them reluctantly give in. A party-wide choice must be made and fast. The party is aimless because they are all pulling in different directions and it all cancels out, but Ashton is definitely contributing extensively to that agonizing stasis.

I suppose I should wrap up with what I've been saying a lot but should probably go on this post which is that a lot of the flaws in this campaign are not any singular person's fault. I really do feel like they began with the fact that Matt was clearly building to this specific story, and Bells Hells were not a party terribly suited to it in the first place and then were given an earlier narrative that, because it was heavily on rails to get them to the solstice setpiece, failed to give them the tools to become people who would be prepared for this endgame. I think Matt really wanted the cast to make the decisions here, and did not have a specific decision in mind, and now they're all finding that they're playing characters who can't make that decision. It's a culmination of a lot of smaller out-of-game choices that have failed to gel into a coherent whole. When I say the Raven Queen was right, and if they are not ready for this, to go home, I don't think the party should be tpk-ed or anything, but yeah, if they can't decide what to do when they are essentially tasked with killing the BBEG and diffusing the universe-shattering bomb, they should abdicate. I don't think a story in which the heroes fail is a bad one. I know Call of the Netherdeep has been a touchstone in the fandom throughout this campaign and there's one possible ending to that that's sort of unsatisfying, but the unsatisfying nature itself makes it an interesting story to me. I think this campaign ending with the party saying "we can't do this" is vanishingly unlikely, and complaints aside I think they will probably make a decision now but it all feels exceedingly doylist - Bells Hells are the characters the cast happens to be playing for this climactic final moment so I guess they will play those characters, and those characters will have to make a choice so that the final moment happens, but it doesn't feel terribly organic.

[jewishbarbies]

good news though! The actor who plays Superman in the new Superman movie is a Jewish man! David Corenswet is his name, he’s Juilliard trained, and a Jewish man from Philly.

I don’t know if you’re a comic fan like me but a lot of Superman’s mythology is drawn from Jewish faith and beliefs. The character isn't supposed to be Jewish but he's definitely heavily inspired by the creators faith. The characters he was inspired by at his creation were John Carter of Mars, Samson and Moses according to his creators two of which are prominent characters in Jewish faith.

Additionally his original heroic role as a defendant of the oppressed during the 1930s considering what Jewish people were going through was very deliberate. Especially when his role was inspired by the Golem from Jewish faith which is usually a being created from Clay made to protect the innocent, marginalized and oppressed within a society, particularly the Jewish people within those communities. Which is literally what Clark initially did, before settling on his alien origin he was even supposed to be an actual Golem made from newspaper.

Even his name and disguise are Jewish coded with his Kryptonian name Kal-El being Hebrew in origin and his disguise as Clark of slicked back hair hidden in a cap being something that Jewish men often did to hide their curly hair and avoid prosecution.

So while Superman as a character is definitely not Jewish a noticeable amount of his Mythos are inspired by Jewish faith due to his creators being Jewish.

So I think it’s pretty cool that Superman is being played by a Jewish man. Kinda comes full circle, don’t you think?

yesss I’ve been making people angry being happy about it on twitter. i don’t think there’ll be much judaism in the movie but it does look like we’re getting a Real superman and not another grimdark dudebro fantasy, so that’s really good. also heard Christopher Reeve’s son is gonna make an appearance in some way and that makes me happy.

[arellabella]

Names are important

GRRM doesn't choose random names and the names in AOIAF mean something especially for the main characters maybe not so much for the minor ones though. Some are hints to their possible endings and some are connections they have made through the books and some are names that links heavily to their house or birth status.

Name meanings for each of the main POV characters and gifs, though not for all.

Tyrion is a Latin originated name that means 'rock'. Tyrion being a Lannister was born and raised at Casterly Rock, it's the Lannister's seat of power. So this name is something Tyrion is connected to from the very beginning but it could also hint at his possible future of him becoming Lord of Casterly Rock by the end of the story.

Jon which is another way to write John, means graced by god. Sorry no gif for this one as I wasn't sure what would fit. But this could be a hint that he will indeed be the Prince who was promised. We also have to factor that this might not be his real name either.

Daenerys comes from Welsh origins meaning lady of light. I mean she was the one who birthed Dragons from the fire and fire/light is present throughout Dany's chapters.

Arya comes from Sanskrit origin meaning noble. It can also mean Spiritual which I'm guessing is connecting her to all the stuff that is going on with her right now.

Brienne also means noble and has Irish origins, it can also mean High. I guess just a connection to her High born status.

Sansa is also of Sanskrit origins meaning praise or charm. Sansa is the one always getting praised by others. I don't know it's all I could come up with.

Bran means Raven or Crow. I mean this one speaks for itself really.

Catelyn comes from Greek origins meaning Pure. I took the inspiration for the Gif of Pure water because of Catelyn's house being the Tully House having a connection to water and their symbol being of the Trout. I'm also guessing the Tully house is of the brown Trout since the house is more closely connected to rivers and lakes rather than the sea. Brown Trout live in Freshwater habitats. So you can really link Catelyn's name to her Tully roots.

Cersei comes from Greek origins meaning Bird. Cersei is a bird, and a caged one at that. It's ironic because Cersei likes to call others caged birds when in reality she is one herself and maybe even more so.

Jaime is a Hebrew name meaning he who supplants. I really don't know how this will fit in with Jaime really.

Ned, which is short for Eddard means wealthy guardian. Ned became Hand of the King and he was Lord of Winterfell, being a Guardian of sorts has always been in the inner structures of Ned's character.

Davos is English meaning either Son of David or beloved.

Samwell is another form of Samuel which means God has heard. I guess this is also something that will come to pass in the next two books.

Theon can mean, Godly, God, God of gods. It usually has Greek origins. I put angels wings for a various of reasons one being angels have a strong connection to god but also other reasons. I think Theon is the most interesting when it comes to names because at first glance he doesn't fit the name Theon but I think like Sam he's a character who's name will become more clear in the later two books.

Asha means one who lives well. Asha has always lived a good life in a lot of ways and while she still has to live in a society made by men for men she has still thrived. She is well liked, well respected within the Ironborn community and she captain's her own ship. Asha really isn't a main POV character but I think she might become one next book so I thought I'd add her as well.

[nuzipilled]

So everyone in your human AU who has a "robot" name in vanilla has been given a "normal" name except Uzi, which to my knowledge isn't a usual name to see (?). Apparently it is an obscure Hebrew name, but it's rarely used, and your Uzi is of Indian heritage, so her parents probably weren't Jewish (although it is a valid possibility, I just feel like you'd have established that by now if so lol. I could totally see a Jewish Uzi). Then again, "Doorman" also isn't an Indian name, but it still feels like something you wouldn't look twice at if you read it in the credits of a film, you know?

So, yet another nitpicky question asked in good faith out of genuine curiosity, because I am sincerely invested in this AU: why is Uzi named that? Were her parents just especially creative, or somehow connected to Jewish culture? Was she named after the gun? Is it perhaps more of a nickname that stuck, or a shortened version of something else? There are a lot of possibilities here.

Additionally, second tangentially related question: I'm assuming your Uzi was born and raised in America based on the flag in her ref image, but were her parents, or grandparents? What Indian ethnicity/culture(s) does her family identify with, if any, and does she speak any of the 22 Indian languages? Or is she just genetically of Indian descent, with no real connection to any specific "heritage?" (ik being Indian isn't a very big part of her character so you maybe haven't written all this out, and that's cool if so. India just has a lot of cultures in it. It's a very diverse and interesting country. I didn't even know they had 22 languages until I looked it up for this ask, lol. Like, 22 languages?? In one country?? What??)

Man, that turned into like 5 questions, lol. Sorry. In case you couldn't tell, I'm really into your AU right now, lmao. (Also I just went up a dose on Vivance and it's hitting me like a train and I'm chattering like a parrot at anyone who crosses my field of vision lmaooo)

Ok about Uzi, so funny enought we HAVE written about her "heritage", America born, she has little to no connection, genetic ties is basically all, speaks English and some very sparce Russian. But she does cook and likes dabbling and looking up stuff from her heritage but it's not particularly important or close to her.

And this stems from her mum Nori, who is alive in this AU, but due to events that we will talk about when we get to show off Nori, she also has very little cultural heritage and also does not speak any of the Indian languages but she WAS born in India.

Uzi's name is because Nori is weird and likes guns, the Doorman name comes from Khan, American born, who is a Korean / white American something.

🦘

[hamliet]

Oshi no Ko's Angel of Light: Kamiki Hikaru

So, I wrote a review of Oshi no Ko previously, just not on this blog. I talked there about the meaning of Hoshino Ai as a name (it's literally hoshi no eye, Ai spelled in katakana to reinforce that it's a loanword, meaning starry eye, and of course, eye/ai is a homonym for love) and how Oshi no Ko uses wordplay and puns to introduce its themes.

Naturally, I wanted to talk about the other parent, whose name is just as significant.

Kamiki Hikaru is literally "god of light/shining god." Well, okay, sort of. It's technically "kami of light," and kami doesn't translate super well into English. It's often referred to as a god in Shintoism, but it's not quite the western perception of a god. Spirit is another popular translation.

Of course, this references the supernatural themes of the story, as well as Hikaru's role. See, "angel of light" is what the Christian Bible calls Lucifer, the Christian devil. Pretty fitting for Hikaru's role in the story as the main villain.

But wait! There's more! Lucifer itself, as a name, refers to the planet Venus, known as the morning star. Which, of course, is the "star" we see in the story associated with Ai.

(Yes, the story is very much using distinctly Christian allusions alongside Shinto ones.)

Hikaru, like Lucifer, is known to, well, want everything for himself. That doesn't mean he wants all the worship of the world like Lucifer literally did according to mythology. No, instead it's far more insidious but no less disturbing: he sees himself as entitled to dictate how the world runs. He decides whose life is worth living, and makes others pay for mistakes of people they don't even know. He's playing God, in other words--exactly what Lucifer did to fall from heaven in Christian mythology (it's not actually super biblical hence why I'm using "mythology").

Lucifer is also called "Satan" obviously, which literally means "accuser" in Hebrew. That's kind of the perfect summary for what Hikaru sees himself as: he's visiting his hatred of an abuser he has every right to hate on everyone and everything that remotely reminds him of her.

The thing is, as said above, Hikaru does have the right to hate Airi, just like Aqua has the right to hate him. But following the path of revenge is Not The Way.

So, is Hikaru Satan?

No. He's a person.

The Path To Hikaru

Hikaru is not all that different from the other characters we know and love--Ai, Ruby, Kana, Akane, and especially Aqua. Fitting since they're all idols of sorts (yes, Akasaka is constantly using religious references to add social commentary to the idea of an "idol" as a false god/object of worship). They're also all actors.

Hikaru is what Aqua risks becoming. No, seriously. Hikaru was traumatized as a child via rape that led to the creation of a life.

As a result he's pretty anti-life as a whole, and especially anti-woman. He's constantly seeking revenge on women, hence his murder-happy spree. The problem is that he's not seeing these women as individuals: he sees everyone and everything as a representation of Airi, the person who assaulted him.

Also, society as a whole's attitude towards male victims of sexual assault, especially male victims of attractive women, means that Hikaru would not be seen as a victim. One of OnK's major themes is how messed up society is and how it dehumanizes people via fitting them into roles, and this is a perfect example of the harm that can come from it. Hikaru would be seen as a boy, and all boys clearly want sex. A famous actress slept with him? Lucky him! Even though this never came out publicly, Hikaru absolutely knew this was the case and it certainly plays a role in his grudge against the world.

Even though Airi is dead (probably as a result of him provoking her husband by revealing that he wasn't the father), he still isn't satisfied. No, Airi is still everywhere. Killing the perpetrator, making them pay, did not erase his trauma.

If Aqua kills Hikaru, his trauma will likewise not be erased. Not his trauma as Gorou, not his trauma as Aqua. Hikaru's death will fix absolutely nothing in his life besides stopping more murders, but there are ways to do that that, y'know, don't involve killing. If Aqua kills Hikaru, he will lose the best part of Gorou (valuing life) and the best part of Aqua (the future Ai wanted for him, a future with Kana and Ruby).

Aqua, You are Your Father

Aqua, you are your father. It's almost like the entire series has been trying to give you this message and you keep ignoring it. (By the way, because I know I'm going to get asks about this, I am NOT saying Aqua and Hikaru are moral equivalents. Not at all. I'm just saying that Aqua is walking a path that will end with him being just like Hikaru if he doesn't get shoved off said path.)

From being the violent stalker who attacks someone who has never felt loved in his first acting job after Ai's death to scenes like this:

The story is asking Aqua to take a good long look at himself, and he's trying desperately to avoid doing this. Why? Because he's also playing God, same as his father, same as Satan in Christianity. He thinks he is responsible for everything; a natural, childish attitude that people grow out of as they age.

Of course, Aqua is not nearly as toxic in this as Hikaru--he's not attacking innocent people--but the root of this is still a belief that he somehow controls what happens, when he doesn't. He doesn't at all.

Aqua, too, is just a person.

But Aqua struggles to understand what it means to be a person, to be Hoshino Aquamarine.

He struggles to see other people as people, too. This ranges from sabotaging Ruby's auditions to how he treats Akane to his protecting Kana without considering what she wants. It's been brought up multiple times in the story so far:

Aqua also fundamentally does not see Ai as a human being, either. Unlike Ruby, who calls Ai "Mama," Aqua only ever calls her "Ai," her persona. Aqua and Ai are foils to Kana and her own mother, in that Kana's mom lived through Kana only to abandon her, and Aqua is living through his mom... but ignoring what she would actually want.

(Ruby isn't flawless or perfectly healthy, and the story certainly doesn't frame them as good twin bad twin, but Ruby's overall worldview is absolutely more in line with what the story wants to endorse.) That's why we have lines like this, where Ruby reveals that she has a healthier view of their mother than Aqua does. She knows Ai was flawed.

This is extra notable because he has 0 problems calling Hikaru his father. It's almost like Aqua is drowning in self-hatred, in feeling unloved, in the idea that he brings bad luck just by existing.

He'll call out Ruby for her negative traits, but Aqua thinks he deserves them. Aqua dehumanizes himself, the same way he dehumanizes Ai, and he has to see both his mother and himself people before he can step off this path.

Essentially, what he tells Ruby here is exactly what he needs to realize, but he has not done so.

The root of Aqua's God complex is that he cannot move past his trauma. It's actually psychologically realistic that a child who experienced such an event would be stuck in a childish mindset wherein they feel guilt for not being able to save their mother.

But it's not just Ai that Aqua couldn't save. It's Sarina, too. She is the one who introduced him to Ai, after all. He didn't move on from her death in his past life, either, which can probably be traced back to his own tragic birth circumstances--the idea that he only brings death, because his mother died giving birth to him. Gorou even states that he became a doctor to help people like his mother, but the point is also that he wanted to bring life, not death.

Except, he isn't God. Neither Gorou nor Aqua are. He can't save Sarina, and that isn't his fault. But Sarina ends up okay as Ruby, not through his own intervention. Aqua couldn't save Ai, but that's not his fault.

The point I'm making here is that Aqua needs to heal the hurting child within him. The story has also brought up the theme of children suffering at the hands of the entertainment industry numerous times:

His path towards healing would involve taking a long look not just at the hurting child in himself, but the hurting child in Hikaru, too. Which is not the same as excusing. After all, we already saw what happened with Aqua thought his dad was dead: despite the supposed justice and his proclamations about being free, he was still every inch the trapped, terrified, traumatized child afraid to live. Killing Hikaru won't be any different.

Becoming Human

So, is there hope for Aqua?

Yeah. A ton of it.

Despite the tragedy of Ai's story, every other arc has ended optimistically. The story's optimism, also, is fundamentally rooted in humanity. Every character, even the ones who seem like exploitative jerks like the producers who edited Akane to look bad and the self-centered mangakas, end up having their thoughts and motives explored, and we see where they are coming from. Not only that, but they have the best of intentions.

Frankly, this is true to life as well. Precious few people see themselves as the villain. Almost everyone thinks they're doing the right thing. It's very human.

The end of the reality dating show arc is kind of what I expect in the end here. There, all contestants came together and pooled their unique individual talents to exonerate Akane. I would expect Ruby, Miyako, Kana, and Akane (who herself has finally realized that she can step into her own personhood instead of trying to be Ai/whatever Aqua needs and vowed to stop him) to come together to save Aqua from himself.

Aqua is incredibly loved, and he doesn't seem to understand this. Love is what enabled Ai to die smiling. A lack of love, feeling undeserving of love, is what torments Sarina/Ruby, Aqua, Kana, and more. The bastardization of love is what torments Hikaru.

Love allows someone to be themselves, truly, to individuate. This is what Aqua needs to learn:

He also doesn't need to earn the love of those around him, nor the love of Ai. She loved him just because he was her son, and all she wanted was for him to be happy and to live.

Imo, it's pretty unlikely Akasaka plans to end the series with Aqua becoming Hikaru 2.0. My guess is that Hikaru will be stopped because of Aqua, and he'll even likely die, but not at Aqua's hand. I suspect Akane, Ruby, and especially Kana (the one person Aqua has consistently placed above Ai) will help save Aqua from himself.

[al-zel]

Explaining every H:SR characters name, Part 1-- The Astral Express Crew!

I’ll put a symbol →(!!!) on every section that has a potential spoiler.

Stelle: A shortened version of the French name Estelle, meaning “star”. This name was derived from the Latin word “stella”. As for how it applies to the character, I’m sure it’s meant to show that the trailblazers true place is among the astral express exploring the cosmos. It might also be a reference to the Stellarons appearance.

Caelus: Derived from the Latin word “caelum”, Caelus is a name that means “sky” or “the heavens”. This name also belonged to the Roman god of the sky. It’s a little more convoluted than Stelle’s more straightforward name, but I think it holds the same narrative meaning as Caelus (the god) has heavy ties to the planet Jupiter, fitting the space theme. It's also the most yellow planet aside from Venus, (which is more associated with the color green due to how it appears in the sky anyway).

March 7th, DH, WY, and Himeko under cut!!

(!!!!) March 7th: It is the day March was found, but the specific date can bring some symbolism to mind. The month of march signals the beginning of of spring, a season full of new growth and revival from the stasis that winter brings. This fits into March’s character arc in her companion quest, as the garden of recollection locks away her past, essentially saying that It’s not something March should be remembering or looking for, implying something awful or traumatizing has happened to her. This shows that without those memories, March may have turned from a cold, "icy" character into a warmer, healthier one. 7 is also a lucky number, as it was very lucky that March has survived so long drifting in space and frozen, even if it was in 6 phase ice.

(!!!) Dan Heng: The character 丹 (Dān) simply means red, although it can also be pellet, powder, or cinnabar. I think this is mainly to tie in with Dan Heng’s maple leaf theme. The character 恒 (Heng) means “constant” or “persistent”, a nod to Dan Heng’s collected and steady nature compared to his eccentric companions. It may also be a reference to Dan Heng’s rebirths as a Vidyadhara or the number of years he spent inside of the Shackling Prison as Dan Feng.

Welt Yang: “Welt” is said to be the “name of the world”, but it’s really just the German word for world. “Yang” (杨) is Welt’s mother’s surname, meaning willow, poplar, or aspen, all three of them different trees. I don’t think that either of these names imply anything about Welt’s story, aside from the mantle of "welt" given to him by Welt Joyce, whoch is another post altogether. I think they highlight his responsible, powerful, and thoughtful character, as well as his sentimentality.

(!!!) (Welt Yang) Joachim Nokianvirtanen: Joachim is an abridged or contracted form of the biblical name Jehoiachin or Jehoiakim. They mean "Yaweh will establish" and "raised by Yaweh" respectively. Yaweh is a name of the Hebrew god, with possible roots to the old Semitic root הוה (hawah), meaning "to be" or "to become." This name is a probable reference to Welt inheriting his mentors Herrscher core and becoming the second Herrscher of Reason. His surname, Nokianvirtanen, is not an actual last name, but a mix of two names. The first part, Nokian, is a town in Finland. The second, Virtanen, is a common surname in finland derived from the word "virta", meaning "stream." I don't interpret this surname to have any meaning aside from establishing that Welt is (not confirmed outright, but heavily implied to be) ethnically half Finnish and half Chinese.

(!!!) Himeko Murata (無量塔姫子): Her first name is comprised of the characters 姫 (hime), meaning princess, and 子 (ko), meaning child. Put the whole thing together and it means "princess child", though I'm sure I didn't have to tell you that! I think it's less about her personality and story (especially in regards to Honkai Impact 3rd), but I think it represents her parents live for her, particularly her father's, as he's the one we know most about. The characters for her last name are-- 無 (Mu; nothing/nothingness), 量 (Ra(?); measurement, but with two connotations. First, it can mean a measurement, like weight or quantity, or it can mean "to measure" by estimate or actual documentation, or "to consider."), and 塔 (Ta; pagoda, tower, steeple). I think the most important part of her name is that last part-- in both universes, Himeko acts as a rock or mentor figure to many characters, being a motherly/older sister type towards the young trio of the express, and a teacher and squad leader toward Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, going as far as to strap a bomb to Mei's heart to keep her powers in check (with Mei's consent) should she lose control. 

And that's the Astral Express crew! I'm going by groups of characters divided into: Stellaron Hunters, Herta's Space Station, Belobog, The Xianzhou Loufu, and Penacony! (Characters are ordered by introduction. Characters will be put where they were first shown, despite their relevance in other places. Dr. Ratio, for example, will be put with the HSS characters instead of the Penacony category.)

[tzipporahs-well]

Hey it’s @flangstynerd AKA @scinerdwrites but on a new blog. There’s been a lot of changes in my life in the past couple years, and as a result I wanted to make a new blog for jumblr. Several of my friends are on here and I got inspired just to reblog their stuff :D

What’s Changed:

I converted to Reform Judaism from Catholicism in May of this year. I’ve been doing this conversion journey since November 2021, but I didn’t want to announce it to the internet until everything was done and finalized. After 2.5 years, everything is finally official.

I plan to be slightly more active on tumblr than I have been previously. I named my blog based on my Hebrew name (Tzipporah), and how I wish to provide a treasure trove of info.

I would say my ideals of practice are some kind of cross between Conservative and Reform Judaism.

I’ve acquired some chronic illnesses and disabilities over the years. My body has been tough to me for the last couple years.

I have a Jewish podcast that has several eps already now. Our podcast has a tumblr blog, but please dm me for more info for safety reasons.

What is the same?

I’m still Chinese, Hmong, and queer (pronouns: they/she). I’m still culturally Italian as an adoptee. Those are not going anywhere lol.

Still have several varieties of neurodivergence (autism, PTSD, anxiety, psychosis, some kind of unclear mood disorder). My brain likes playing it rough. I have healed a lot of trauma, but the other stuff is still a wild ride.

Still don’t plan to be super duper active as I have a scientist day job. But if I ever see a great jumblr post from one of my friends or otherwise, I’d be happy to reblog.

Still hold a lot of nerdy interests: Disney fandoms (Tangled the Series, Encanto, etc.), classic literature (Shakespeare, 19th century European literature), certain manga/anime (Fullmetal Alchemist and Death Note)

Still can be quite critical of the things I enjoy.

About Me (Jumblr Edition):

Favorite Torah character (first 5 books of Moshe only): Tzipporah (I relate to her so much as someone who came into the tribe and a nontraditional wife; the bridegroom of blood scene is iconic)

Favorite Tanakh character: King Shaul (very relatable for me as I feel like I struggle from similar challenges as him: mental health issues, low self esteem, and paranoia) followed close behind by Esther (she’s a role model for me, and Purim is my favorite holiday)

Favorite Jewish Holiday: Purim (relatable message especially for these dangerous times; also a lot of fun while still being a relatively low stress holiday)

Hamantaschen vs. Latke: hard choice but I have to go with traditional poppyseed hamantaschen. They’re older (~1500s) than the potato latke (late 18th to 19th century) and store better.

Areas of interest: Jewish history, Tanakh discussion, Jewish culture (food especially; I love cooking and baking), Jewish learning (especially more about Jewish life in Israel)

What Jewish value can I improve on? Chesed; I find it hard to always express loving-kindness, and my impatience and temper can get the better of me. I’ve been trying to improve on these for the past two years but 5784 has been especially trying.

What Jewish value is very important to me: Ahavat Yisrael; it is important that we as a people stay united. United we rise, divided we fall. I admire all legitimate Jewish streams (side note: Messianic Judaism is not a Jewish stream)

Important note: If something says #goyim don’t touch, listen and obey! Don’t even try with the antisemitism.

[bastetwastaken]

Character intro: Aviditas/ Avi

"The desires of the heart are powerful, they can lead to both ecstasy and ruin. Lucky for you, I’m an expert in both."

His head rolled to the side as he was overcome with fatigue, but instead of finding an empty room, his eyes fell on a figure sat perched on the back of his sofa. He couldn't work out what it was exactly… some sort of bird…human…goat thing. Maybe he was hallucinating in his final moments. He frowned, trying to focus on the creature he thought he could see but his vision was blurry. "Aw, not gone yet, hm?" The strange figure spoke as it crossed its arms, dark feathered wings fluttering behind it. "That's okay, I can wait." That captivating voice certainly sounded human, but he couldn't understand why whoever was here had so many extra non-human parts. He squinted at it, lifting his head slowly for a better look. The things wings spread out behind it, framing a beautiful human looking figure perfectly. Wait, was this an angel? Had it come to take him to whatever came next? His lips parted and he tried to speak but it hurt his throat and all that came out was a harsh whisper. "What are you?" A smooth chuckle reached his ears and he found himself fixated on the creature before him. It tilted its head and said nothing as for a moment, it simply…watched him. "A Demon, of course." The other said with a smile, unsettlingly sharp teeth on full display. "I was here to finish you off, but it looks like you've done my job for me, I owe you one." A wink. "Come find me in Hell when you get settled in, hm? I'll show you a good time as a thank you~"

The need to know basics:

Age: Around 4786

Pronouns: Any pronouns, demons have no gender so Avi will simply conform to human perceptions of gender subject to his needs.

Sexuality: Yes. Personality: - Talkative - Flirty - Outgoing - Charismatic - Excitable Occupation: - Incubus/succubus. - Entertainer at an adult club on earth

Habits/Mannerisms: - Very lose morals (if he even knows what morals are) - Carries a small notebook with them which contains strange symbols and he writes in it periodically, especially when he hears something interesting. - Often blunt, but not in a harsh way just in the way that he sees things in a simplified way mostly. - Can get very excitable over new interesting things. - Draws people to him. - Able to talk his way out of almost anything.

Background: - Aviditas is a Latin name which means longing, desire, lust. It was given to him just after his creation. - Avi was never human, instead he is a hell born Incubus. He’s never been alive, or known an existence before that he has now. - Life in hell for them isn’t exactly easy. They are expected to do whatever their master says, without question, and he has done this for a long time. - Before a human changes the way he see's the world, he's never had many aspirations and always accepted the way things are as how they should be, but once his mind is opened, he's not sure he can ever go back to blind obediance...

Avi’s demonology comes from the representation of demons in both Christianity and Hebrew text.

Demons are essentially angels who failed to follow gods instructions, they’re not always inherently evil, more independent actors that aren’t so different from a human in terms of actual morality. However, some demons have their own agenda and can be tempted by primal desires, whilst others are directly influenced by the demons in charge in Hell and actively serve those demons' agendas.

There are demons who worship god, demons who are genuinely good-they’re just very quiet about it.

Avi speaks, reads and writes Enochian, (an occult constructed language which is spoken by angels and demons and other celestial entities, thought to be the first language of christ.) but since his job relies on communication he can also speak any human language as if it’s his own. It’s kind of like the Allspeak of the gods in Norse mythology. He does struggle to read though, often relying on text to speech to use modern technology, and he cannot write any human language. He’s never needed to learn how. Anyone not of angelic/demonic origin won’t be able to understand Enochian, it’s just not able to be perceived by the human mind. It will be possible to see the symbols though if Avi writes them out.

So he’s a demon, but what can Avi actually do?

Only certain kinds of demons can possess people. Avi cannot possess a person or an animal, but he can take their form and mimic them perfectly if he knows enough about them.

For Avi's power to fully work, he has to create a moment of weakness in the target. This is often easy for him to do through temptation. Once the person accepts him, invites him in, or falls for his charm then he is able to use his power on them.

Avis power will make even the lightest of touches feel intense to someone, everything with him will feel so much better than it ever has done with any other person. This is so he can create a stronger desire in someone and therefore have more Lust to feed on.

He can hypnotise his prey to make sure they don’t fully realise what he is. At any point he can blur the lines a little and make the person think he’s just a regular human who’s very good at what he’s doing. This is why he isn’t worried about showing his demonic features even in human form although generally if he’s out in public or doing his human job, he will keep his horns and wings hidden but he likes those things about himself so is reluctant to do so.

Avi can create obsession in a person, it’s a kind of defence mechanism and survival trait. He can make someone willing to protect him, fight for him, keep him safe from other threats to the point where they will willingly die for him. He can make them act impulsively, take risks they might not have done before and even change their personality entirely.

He can create obsession by visiting a person frequently, being intimate with them often and imprinting on them so they feel unable to live without him. He makes them feel like they desperately need him around, and this suits him fine when he needs to secure longer term food or has to hide from something. It will not be clear to the person under his spell what’s going on, but his spell can be broken by his own choice or by force if the right methods are used. (Avi will not be able to do this to a person who’s heart already belongs to another). Obsession can also occur accidentally if Avi is not careful to detach himself from a person.

Avi can sometimes become attached to a human. He tries not to do this, but if it does happen then Avi will become the irrational one. He’ll swear to protect the person, risk his own life to do so and may also stop feeding off others in favour of spending time with the person. - It’s more like an addiction for Avi though than actual feelings, he just follows his instinct which tells him he needs that person and can’t let them go.

Demons have mates, but Avi has not yet found one. He doubts he ever will find one, but this also means that he can accidentally imprint on humans he feeds on and bond with them, although the bonding part has to be consensual. It would be possible for a human to become Avi’s mate, but that would probably have its own issues due to the fact Avi is immortal and if a demon loses their mate, they cease to exist.

Avi can heal himself easily and can even heal others of simple things if he likes them enough. He can also take pain away with his touch and closeness. He has a very high pain tolerance too, it takes a lot to really hurt him.

His saliva acts as an aphrodisiac.

He can sense the true nature of a soul if he chooses to (although he'll likely only do this when it suits his purpose cause it takes effort)

------

Avi is one of the main characters of my fantasy romance between a demon and the human they accidentally saved from death.

The above image was created with Picrew’s “♡ doshi's oc avatar maker ♡“ Link is in the image

[dailydemonspotlight]

Alciel - Day 88

Race: Vile

Alignment: Dark-Law

August 7th, 2024

Bonum est deus... ahem. I'd like to start off this DDS by saying that, holy shit, the SMT wiki has an excellent page about Alciel, with fully cited sources and conjecture that makes sense, as well as providing two sources to pursue. Thank god... and as for a proper introduction,

Gehenna is typically seen as just another version of hell, but it's not quite that simple- rather, it's a separate part of hell, much like the difference between Hades and Tartarus. While Sheol is where the dead go, Gehenna is the home of punishment- where those whose souls have done truly horrible things shall face eternal torment as penance. It's not far off from its rendition in the Binding of Isaac, ironically enough, as it's torture to even exist there. Where there is hell, though, there must be one to preside over it, whether it be one cast below into hell or one who was sent there by the angels to watch over and torment the sinners. According to the Midrash ha-neʿelam, however, there is one being that presides over Gehenna to keep the sinners in and the righteous souls out, and that being is none other than today's Demon of the Day, Alciel.

Alciel, also spelled primarily as Arsiel according to @eirikrjs's writeup on the sources for the demon, is a demon that appears as the gatekeeper to Gehenna. While an admittedly minor character, only really attested to in some very obscure sources, Alciel can likely be confirmed as a genuine character in Jewish folklore. This is only further given credence by the meaning of Alciel, being "Dark Sun," at least in traditional Hebrew. Curiously, though, the original compendium entries about Alciel speak about his original name being "Aciel," which was 'Borrowed from a Babylonian god.' So, uh, what's up with that?

Yet again, for the source of this claim, we must refer back to the post by @eirikrjs, this time originating from the rather controversial book, The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. The book in question is, again, seen as a rather controversial work, with dubious sources and a strange focus, but it does have this to say on the topic of Alciel. Again, I have to give all the credit to @eirikrjs and his team for even finding this, so thanks. To quote,

The kingdom of Gehenna was 60 times as large as the world. Each of the "palaces" had 6000 "houses," and each house had 6000 vessels of fire and gall awaiting the sinner. [The] Prince of Gehenna was Arsiel, copied from the Chaldean "Black Sun" Aciel, the negative deity corresponding to the god of light in the celestial realm.

This citation is given to one 'Cavendish, P.E., 146,' but I cannot for the life of me discover who this even is, or what it may originate from. Alas, I'm not fantastic at researching super deep into things, but if anyone can track down what this source was, please let me know. I'm starting to understand those amazon reviews that were roasting the shit out of this book for lacking concrete sources. Still, the given Black Sun of Alciel is a very confusing and interesting rabbit hole to dig into, and as the gatekeeper of Gehenna, I have to give him some props for a good job. A lot of stuff regarding Arsiel is murky to say the least, and I have to give a lot of props and credit to @eirikrjs for his work researching into this topic, especially given the relative obscurity of this demonic force.

For such an important figure in Gehenna, you'd expect him to get a few more mentions, eh? Well, whatever.

Maybe the guy's just camera shy. Could explain why he hides half his head underground all day.

[nicejewishcharactershowdown]

Nice Jewish Character Showdown -- Round Two Analysis

We're so back. Happy Jewish-American Heritage Month! Here are the characters that got eliminated in Round Two -- and since it's been a minute, I'm linking the polls to the contestant names.

James Wilson Status: Canon Jew Mazel tov to Wilson for making it to round two, a definite improvement from last year. In the past year I’ve actually started watching ‘House’ cause of y’all, so I think this counts as a win. And his initials literally being J.E.W. is fucking iconic.

Libby Stein-Torres Status: Canon Jew I’m so glad that the legacy of iconic Disney Channel Jewish Rep continues into the modern era. What a bop.

Fox Mulder Status: Pretty Much Canon Jew “Scully, you’re gonna wanna see this.”

Sidney Prescott Status: Transitive Jew There’s something so inherently Jewish already about the final girl narrative, especially when it’s one portrayed by a Jewish actor. Especially in the ‘Scream’ franchise, where so much of the narrative revolves around not knowing who you can trust, who’s your friend and who’s your enemy. Might be a bit melodramatic, eh. At least the transitive property can apply here, thank you Neve for this absolutely iconic line — “I am a practicing Catholic, but my lineage is Jewish, so if someone asks me if I'm Jewish, I say yes”

Bugs Bunny Status: Transitive Jew Remember how Bugs once literally saved Mel Blanc’s life when he was in a coma? What a wonderful relationship between creation and creator. We could technically expand the Transitive Property out to the rest of Blanc’s character catalogue, but there’s something so right about identifying Bugs Bunny as the representative for the Mel Blanc set.

Percy Jackson Status: Interpretive Jew This one’s a bit of a brainchild, so stick with me. Is it transitive from the (underappreciated) performance of the ICONIC Logan Lerman? Yes. Is it because of all the world-saving trauma he went through at such a young age? Yes. Is it because of the iconic motif of water in Judaism? YES. Is it the way Percy always gets blamed for trouble, even stuff he had nothing to do with? Yes. But most importantly, the chutzpah. The way he, and his friends, talk back to the Greek Pantheon. The way they question authority, and the way he in particular paves his way against the fate chosen for him. Constantly fighting for a better world, even if it’s gonna put him in more danger by pissing off some powerful people. I could talk about this for hours, so pull up a chair and start listening to the Lightning Thief musical, there WILL be an essay portion to this quiz.

Seymour Krelborn Status: Canon Jew Have you EVER seen a more nebbish horror musical male lead than Seymour?

Sharpay Evans Status: Transitive Jew Once you find out Ashley Tisdale’s Jewish, the Jewish American Princess vibes radiating off of Sharpay Evans become impossible to ignore. You just KNOW she grew up in the same Hebrew School class as Troy (another Transitive Property Jew thanks to the ICONIC Zac Efron!)

[badass-at-fandoming]

Do you have any headcanons for Beckett? Specifically about his life as a mortal? It sucks that we know so little about his past, other than the fact that Beckett "wasn't the name he was born with," and that he was embraced in the early 1700s in England. I find it strange that we know so little about him despite the fact he's practically a mascot for VTM.

Hi Nonny! I'm so used that World of Darkness' lacuna that it doesn't seem strange to me anymore, but it is quite a cold-water shock, huh? The game designers leave blanks on purpose so we can fill them in. I remember this one interview with Justin Achilli where the interviewer said the Book of Nod was (forcibly) published in 1993 (same as irl). He corrected her and said, "No, no, you have to say it was published in the early 1990s, so any Storyteller can fit it into their '90s chronicle, like if they want to do an adventure to prevent or pursue its publication." His answer stuck with me. As a fan I was like "...why does it matter, let us have this fixed date" but as a writer/baby game dev I was like "OH, that is CLEVER." It leaves room for creativity! Any adventure can follow the meta-canon! That's such a good game design trick! As a fan I find it frustrating!

This game design principle sticks even to the mascot. I've seen stuff that Beckett was a pirate, a privateer, an Oxford scholar, and/or an attractive dying waif. @chinesegal was kind enough to ask me various Beckett backstory questions, that you can find here: bathing practice, opinions on creationism, trans experience. I'd also point you to @vampire-the-askerade for their delightful Beckett writings.

My only like, firm headcanon for Beckett is that he has to be kind enough to warn the fledgling in VtMB. If someone's interpretation of his character doesn't allow for that, my interest tanks. I'm not even totally married to the backstory in my fanfic and idle-thoughts-before-falling-asleep scenario. Those were all convenient pretexts for me to write cuddles and snuggles, haha. I'd love more kudos and comments on my fanfic if you read those stories, but below the cut is the bullet point version.

A Kinder Universe series drops hints of a possible backstory, especially "A Monastery Hides More Than Bones," "It Pleased the Lord," and "Forbidden by God and King."

Birth name is Matthew Lowell.

"Matthew" after the Christian Apostle. The Matthew of the Catholic Bible was a tax collector and therefore a pariah in society (just like Beckett is kinda like an outsider to Kindred Society). He was called to join Jesus out of a crowd (like Aristotle called Beckett out of the wild, or how Caine singles out Beckett during Gehenna). After Jesus's Ascension, Matthew wrote a Gospel, which translates to "good news," and spread it around, (like Beckett spreads his theories like "Good news, everyone! Gehenna is fake!). Matthew's Gospel is focused on how Jesus fulfills Hebrew prophecy and begins with a long genealogy connecting Jesus to King David (Beckett is obsessed with the genealogy of the Kindred race and studies/fulfills/collects prophecies).

"Lowell" is the Anglicized surname of Norman French "lou," which translates to "wolf." Beckett's dark brown, straight hair and white skin is a common coloring with French people. We don't know his original eye color, but blue would clinch the deal. There's a long history of migration between France and England, both of people and culture. It's in the realm of possibility he's of French descent, at least partially.

Born in Oxford. One of many siblings. Mother died in childbirth. Kid during the Great Plague of London in 1665-1666. Good father.

Attended one of the Oxford universities and got his doctorate in some sort of proto-anthropology.

I think I've talked about it before, but I have an Embrace fic idea an Embrace scenario I've thought about real hard before falling asleep.

Beckett has the same tombstone data as above. He teaches at his Oxford university, but is not very popular among his department peers. He's too into evidence and the scientific method, and he's constantly quarreling with his colleagues.

Aristotle and Anatole visit Oxford to set up a satellite library. Possibly they needed a break from Paris for some Kindred political reason.

Kindred brothel owner owes them a favor and lets them stay in the brothel while the duo sets up the library haven

Beckett visits this same brothel to let off steam, and he's gifted to Anatole as a blood doll for the night. Except Beckett is like, "Can I rant to you about how stupid my colleagues are?" and this leads to a genuine discussion of scholarship and, later, friendship

Beckett becomes Anatole's regular client, and Anatole proposes to Aristotle that Aristotle Embraces Beckett

Aristotle approaches the Prince of Oxford and something something Kindred politics and Cassandra Darby kill steals Beckett and dumps him in the forest

The two Noddists learn that Beckett has been Embraced, and they try to find him. Anatole is so distraught that he is Not Helping the search at all, so Aristotle sends him back to Paris. Aristotle keeps up the search and eventually finds and adopts a feral Beckett baby

Aristotle and Beckett rejoin Anatole in Paris. Anatole has regained his equilibrium and takes over Beckett's Kindred education.

Yeah! I hope that answered your question, Nonny. Thank you for the ask!

[lemonmaid]

How Obey Me Charaters would react to you mispronouncing their names.

Reader is Gender Neutral of course.

Lucifer:

"I can see that you have been paying attention in class, look no more. You and Mammon are going to be spending the entire night separated and focus on your school work untill you can speak Hebrew"

He doesn't even give you the correct pronunciation, he wants you to learn by yourself. Like when your parents are helping you with math homework.

Mammon:

"Tf did you just call me? Nah nah nah, listen it is pronounced ma•muhn or ma•mon, you can just be screwing around like that. You could summon a demon like that".

You two spent the whole night trying to learn how to pronounce his name correctly, which ended up with him just teaching you demonic language because "your language is difficult".

Leviathan

"Um, I didn't know that we are on a first-name basis... this is awkward. Please just call me Levi, no point in trying if you're going to say it wrong. It's also pronounced, luh•vai•uh•thn. Get it right normie"

He was really jealous, this wasn't the MC moment he wanted with you, especially when you are first watching anime together, "oh you can pronounce (random anime character name) but not mine?"

Asmodeus

*smiles*

"Oh okay, (butchers Y/N)! Yeah it isn't that nice to be called the wrong name, especially if your going to be in MY ROOM ON MY BED. Anyways, it's pronounced, As•Mo•Dee•Us".

He would never let this go, "sorry what was that I thought my name was "Assmadayus"". He is a fucking bitch.

Satan

"I see you are failing your studies in Hebrew and Latin, seriously, did your species just decided to stop speaking universal languages? Not everyone speaks English you know. Sound it out with me, Say•tin"

You two didn't talk for a week, he wanted an apology, like, he wasn't letting that shit go.

Beelzebub

"Huh what?"

He genuinely didn't noticed, it wasn't untill Bephine pointed it out.

"Oh, it is actually pronounced Bee•El•Zuh•Buhb. It's okay I understand your some of your species got rid of some of the ways you pronounced things"

Belphegor

"Please don't even try, I don't even go by that. It's kinda the equivalent of your parents calling you by your middle name. If you really want to know it is, Bel•Fuh•Gor".

Bruh didn't even care, y'all went back to sleep.

Hey guys I really enjoyed writing these for y'all, especially with all the new free time I have! (Lost my job!)

Anyways since I am not busy you can ask or request anything!

Fandom I will write for,

Obey me

Twisted Wonderland

BHNA

Chainsaw man

JOJO Bizarre Adventure

Omegaverse

Genshin Impact.

[archivalofsins]

It's Haruka's Birthday! Happy Birthday to him~ Unlike someone who didn't say it at least I did.

Now onto flower languages! Yamanaka tweeted this for Haruka's birthday. Since we have all the Milgram characters birthdays except Es and Jackalope. We can look up the remaining birth flowers.

A hint to which flower chart he's using is in the flower he lists for Haruka. Where I'm from Haruka and Amane's birth flowers according to the old farmer's almanac would be Rose and Honeysuckle.

So, what's he using? Well, the more in depth Korean one of course~

Unlike the farmer's almanac which covers the month wholesale the Korean one has a flower for each day of the month.

Haruka June 22

Viburnum 가막살나무 - Love is stronger than death.

Outside of the meanings listed by Yamanaka Viburnum is used to symbolize pride and is given to someone to honor their achievements.

Amane June 27

Passion Flower 시계꽃 - Divine love.

Amane even has a piece that resembles the flower on her cake art. Outside of meaning Divine Love it has heavy ties to Christianity.

"The name 'passion flower' refers to the passion of Jesus and the genus therefore has a particular relevance at Easter. Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique structure of the plant as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion."

Mu July 5

 Lavender 라벤더 - Strong fragrance

To the surprise of no one outside of meaning Strong Fragrance Lavender has strong ties to France.

"The term lavender comes from the old French word, lavender which is imitative of the Latin word lavare (“to wash”). This flower represents serenity, grace, and calmness. The biblical meaning of lavender symbolizes purity, devotion, and love; that’s why lavender is referenced more than a hundred times in the Bible by the name of nard or spikenard by Hebrews."

"Lavender’s purple color also represents calmness and serenity."

In the Old Farmer's Almanac Mu's birth flower would be the Larkspur and Water Lily.

Kazui August 5

 Heather 엘리카 - Loneliness, solitude

Through the power of k-pop-

I've found out that the website I was getting the birth flowers from spelled the English name of Kazui's flower wrong. Also, it can mean loneliness, beautiful solitude, or soulmate. In the west, this flower would be referred to as Heather and its meaning would be good luck, admiration, and protection.

Kazui's birth flower according to the farmer's almanac would be Gladiolus and Poppy.

Yuno September 2

Mexican Ivy 멕시칸 아이비 - Change

Look I'm not even going to hold you finding the meaning of this specific version of ivy in English is difficult. At least for me it is maybe someone else can find it. However, when I look it up all the internet is giving me is the meaning of ivy which is a completely different flower. So, moving along.

Yuno's flowers in the farmer's almanac would be Morning Glory and Aster.

Mikoto October 6

Hazel Tree 개암나무 - Reconciliation

Yeah, you and I read that right it's a tree. A tree that has been tied to Celtic myths and was said to line the border between the human realm and that of the gods.

"Hazel has a reputation as a magical tree. A hazel rod is supposed to protect against evil spirits, as well as being used as a wand and for water-divining. In some parts of England, hazelnuts were carried as charms and/or held to ward off rheumatism. In Ireland, hazel was known as the 'Tree of Knowledge’, and in medieval times it was a symbol of fertility."

Mikoto's birth flower according to the Farmer's Almanac would be the Marigold and Cosmos.

Shidou October 24

Chinese Plum Blossom 매화 - Noble heart

This is also considered a tree, just not such a normal one.

"In Chinese philosophy, the Plum tree’s blossom is a symbol of winter ending and a herald of spring. The tree’s pale pink blossoms are cherished because they bloom vibrantly and so bravely amidst the winter chill. They symbolise perseverance and hope, as well as, beauty thriving in adverse circumstances."

"Plum blossoms represent good luck, prosperity, hope, courage, beauty, and purity in China. In Japanese traditions, they also symbolize hope in addition to renewal and vitality."

Good plant for the guy lying and replacing with hope, huh? Shidou's flowers in the Farmer's Almanac would be the same as Mikoto's.

Kotoko December 15

Winter Daphne 서향 - Immortality, honor.

Winter Daphne was also used as,

"A way of telling a love, “I would not have you otherwise.”."

Here's some more information on the flower.

Mahiru January 17

Rumex 수영 - Friendly

Rumex doesn't just mean friendly it has been stated to mean,

Affection, Matrimonial Tenderness, Close Relationships, Friendships and appears again on December 4 meaning Love.

Mahiru's flowers within the Farmer's Almanac would be Carnation & Snowdrop.

Last but certainly not least-

Futa April 19

Larkspur 참제비고깔 - Clear, fair.

Futa's was also misspelled in English on the website I was using so I corrected it.

"The Pawnee tribe of North America believed in a mythological figure, "Dream Woman," who cut a hole in the sky to look down on Earth beings. Crumbs from the blue sky fell to the ground and became larkspur. And like lily of the valley, larkspur is also associated with the Virgin Mary and is said to represent her tears. Larkspur is symbolic of a beautiful spirit, swiftness and generally of positivity and strong bonds of love. It is also associated with lightheartedness and youth, possibly because it grows in summer where carefree days are spent away from school."

"In the language of flowers, the larkspur holds the symbolic meaning of strong love bonds, dedication, sincerity, positivity and an open heart."

Open this door and check if you want to.

Futa's birth flowers within the Farmer's Almanac would be Daisy and Sweet Pea.