#feel free to ask questions and add to the research with your own findings

[kezibun]

Mer-creatures explained-

Mer-creatures also commonly known as sea monsters are mermaid like creatures yet a lot less human than the traditional mermaid the legends speak of. These creatures resemble or mimic other fish in their habitats but have a humanoid shaped upper half. They also exhibit higher intelligence than regular fish; some studies have shown they can even learn to speak a human language, (but this is usually only seen in bigger species). And almost human levels of sentience have been observed. They also exhibit vastly different social habits than fish, caring for young until adulthood and forming familiar bonds even to the extent of forming what we call villages; large groups of Mer-creatures living together in cave systems and reefs, looking after each other, warding off predators and sharing food. 

So far we have discovered two distinct species of Mer-creatures we call them, the Celestials and the Skeletals, these species don not seem to co-habitat well as they compete for food. Their diets consist of any fish smaller than themselves and sea flora like seaweed, kelp and phytoplankton. We have also discovered a mini variation of both species of Mer-creatures. Mating habits of either species is unknown as we have as of yet discovered a female Mer-creature. And no known cases of successfully bred mer creatures has occurred in captivity.

Celestials: 

Celestials are a lot more fish-like, the most known name for them is ‘the classic sea monster’. The pattern from their mimicked species continues across their whole body. It is easy enough to mistake them for a normal fish if you aren't paying attention. They tend to mimic their species temperament a little more than the Skeletals possibly since they tend to blend in with the locals more. Celestials must always have a light schedule mimicking the day and night cycle of their home habitat. This species is the most high maintenance of the two. There are three classifications of Celestials, Solar, Luna and Eclipsed. 

Solar tend to have brighter colour schemes, usually mimicking fish with Yellow or orange in their patterns. The sclera of their Eyes appears white while their pupils glow light blue.

 Solars are diurnal and have been seen favouring the daylight and hiding away to sleep at night, do not house them in a tank without a safe space to hide at night, they are susceptible to stress and may die overnight if they don't feel safe enough. Be sure to install emergency lights in case of blackouts just to be safe.

 Lunas tend to match a darker colour scheme, preferring black and blues. Their scleras sport a dark hue contrasting with the bright red glow of their pupils, some researchers believe this aids in their night vision. They are nocturnal and have only been seen active at night, usually finding a dark space like a cave or among flora to hide during the day. It is never advised to house them in a tank without a place to hide from the lights; similar to their Solar counterparts the stress is sometimes enough to kill them. Prolonged exposure to lights is not advised.

It is however always advised to keep at least one Solar and one Luna together, they tend to form a sibling like bond, their diurnal and nocturnal habits match well aiding in their survival in the wild, even in captivity this helps them feel safer and reduces their stress significantly. 

An addition of an Eclipsed class Celestial in the familiar group is a welcome one. The Eclipses tend to sport a mix of light and Dark hues usually sporting both a bright colour like orange mixed with dark markings, for example stripes. Their sclera tend to be dark like a Luna while instead of the red hue their pupils usually take a yellow or orange glow sometimes a dual colour is present. Eclipses tend to be slightly smaller than the other two Celestials. Eclipses prefer a Cathemeral routine, taking small naps during the day and night but being mostly active during both. This gives the other Celestials some company and assistance in hunting. 

Celestials seem quite territorial, tolerating a group size similar to those accepted by their mimicked fish, it has not been observed however for them to have groups smaller then two. 

We have two species of miniature Celestial Mer-creatures in our aquariums, our Clownfish Sunny a Solar, Moonmoon a Luna and Clips A eclipsed and our Betta fish Sun who is a Solar and Moon who’s a Luna. We're working on acquiring a larger variety of Celestials to further our research. 

Skeletals-

Skeletal Mer-creatures Also known to many as sirens, are somewhat rare. Their species mimic a fish similar to how a Celestial would yet the pattern stops at the tail. The skeleton of their upper half is then visible through their skin similar to a glass fish. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown but some speculation hints at a hunting advantage, tricking other fish into thinking their tail is a smaller fish almost using it as bait. But this habit has not been observed in capacity for at least half the species is what you might call lazy eaters. Skeletals seem to be content whether in a small group, a large group or on their own.

There are again three classifications of Skeletals, Sans, Papyrus and swaps. 

We do not have a Papyrus currently in our aquariums and not much is known about this variety of Skeletal Mer-creature as they are quite rare yet bold, fearless and elusive very few have ever been captured. We do know that their features are longer, almost stretched out compared to their Sans counterparts. 

Sans’ however are quite laid back in comparison, they are indeed lazy. They have very rounded features, they tend to sport glowing pupils but many colours can be found, and reflect a personality difference, we have tried to classify these as subclasses as they are similar enough to be the same class but different enough to categories but many researchers disagree on this, further evidence is to be gathered for our hypothesis. 

The third type is what we call a swap, these tend to look like one of the others but have a temperament more similar to the other, for example our two swaps look like a Sans class skeletal with rounded features and yet they are as lively as a Papyrus type, zipping around the tank and actively hunting. Although this term is widely used to describe this mix of appearance and temperament it is still a highly disputed term. 

Our Skeletal Mer-creatures include four Miniature and four larger varieties, As mentioned earlier we have yet to house a papyrus class siren in our tanks but wish to find one to add to our research program. The miniature skeletals we have are, Comic our Classic Sans, Fell our Serif, Berry our classic swap. Our larger varieties are as follows, Sans our classic sans, Red our serif and Blue our classic swap. 

Our disclaimer: Mer-creatures are not to be kept as pets, if you find any trapped in rock pools or stranded on the beach please carefully release them back into the sea. Do not touch them with bare hands; some varieties may be poisonous, use heavy deputy gloves and/or a bucket. Please also report any sightings of them to your local research aquarium or marine biology centre so we may certify the location and dub said area as a protected Mer-creature ocean. Our mer-creatures are housed in certified specialist Aquariums monitored around the clock by mer-creature specialists and are kept in cruelty free locations for research and educational purposes only. If you have any questions or would like to visit our open to the public Aquariums feel free to ask. 

To speak with our Celestial specialist please ask @ofsunnydays-and-moonlitnights

And to speak with our Skeletal specialist please ask @kezi-likes-undertale

Any general mer-creature questions may be submitted to @kezibun

If you have any information on any of the Mer creatures please submit your finding, if you know of any Papyrus class sirens or any larger varieties of Celestial sea-monsters available please get in contact via ask or submission. Any information, photography or sighting would be highly appreciated. We would love to share your research.  

All our research will be tagged #mer-research. 

[bestanimal]

~ Round 2 is currently underway with Malacostraca in the lead! ~

On a quest to find Tumblr’s favorite animal!

(Pictured is my personal favorite animal: the bearded vulture! Photo was taken by me… if you want to see more I post my photography on my instagram: SaritaWolf ;P)

Ever wondered how your favorite animal stacks up against other people’s favorites? Well you’ve come to the right place!

Here’s how this will work…

Polls will be ranked like so:

My fav is in this group!/This is one of my favorite animals!

I love these/this animal(s)

I like these/this animal(s)

I am neutral about these/this animal(s)

I dislike these/this animal(s)

I hate these/this animal(s)

If an animal is your favorite, it receives 5 points

If you love an animal, it receives 3 points

If you like an animal, it receives 1 point

If you are neutral about an animal, no points are added or subtracted to its ranking

If you dislike an animal, 1 point will be taken away

If you hate an animal, 3 points will be taken away

At the end of a polling period, that animal’s points will be its rank.

The top 20 or 50 or 100 or whatever (number to be decided on at a later date) will move on to the next round!

Polls will be open for 7 days

Since it’s not very feasible for me to make 1.5 million polls for every known species of animal, the first round of polls will be by Phylum, the next round will be by Class, then Order, then Family, then Genus, and then Species.

If you want your favs to make it to the top, make sure you know what group they’re in! This can be found via a quick Wikipedia search and a look-see right here (using the bearded vulture as an example):

The Bearded Vulture is in the Phylum Chordata, the Class Aves/Reptilia, the Order Accipitriformes, and the Genus Gypaetus, so now I know to vote for that group as my favorite when it comes up!

The top ranked Phyla will move on to the next round, where they will then be split into Classes, and Round 2 will begin.

Round 3 will take the winning classes and split them by Order, then follow the same pattern.

Round 4 will take the winning orders and split them by Family, then follow the same pattern.

Round 5 will take the winning families and split them by Genus, then follow the same pattern.

Round 6 will take the winning genera and split them by Species, then follow the same pattern.

The Ultimate Round will pit the top 20/50/100 (number also to be decided at a later date) species against each other.

If no clear photos exist of a species, it will not be included in the polls. (So, if you’re a scientist who just discovered a new moth and it’s your favorite animal you better get those photos on iNaturalist quick)

You can have multiple favorites, I am not keeping track of that, but I do ask that you answer honestly!

I will add a bit of propaganda under a cut on each poll, but please feel free to reblog polls and add your own! If you want your fav(s) to win, these polls need to be seen by lots of people!

I do encourage people to not vote blindly. Look at the photos, read the propaganda, maybe even do your own research before you decide how you feel about an animal!

And lastly, please keep things civil! We all have different tastes and someone hating your fav is not a personal affront against you!

That being said, we do not “Kill it with fire” here. It’s ok to not like an animal, but we do not tolerate people calling for violence against a species or wishing a whole species extinct.

Important Tags:

#Animal Polls: All main polls

#Poll Results: Completed polls will be reblogged along with their calculated ranking

#Special Poll: Any extra polls

#Extra Propaganda: Any reblogged propaganda added by voters

#Statistics: A stats post will be posted after each round

#Asks: For any responses to asks (my askbox is open!)

#FAQ: For questions that may come up often

#Extras: For any announcement posts, reblogs, etc

If you are enjoying the tournament and would like to leave a tip, it would be much appreciated!

[dragonslaved]

All right, besties. I had my days of depression and (bad) ideations, I had my flare of anger. It's easy to fall into despair, but let's focus that energy to thinking further ahead. Firstly: by focusing on our health and eating.

You've probably noticed in the last few months, a lot of food recalls from the FDA. The majority of these, particularly the most recent ones around heavily processed chicken in ready-meals and beef in fast food restaurants, are a direct result of the 45th president cutting back health regulations in industrialized food production four to six years ago that we're just now seeing the results of as it's gone through the process and finally hit shelves.

Now would be a good time to start looking into your local farmer's markets and sourcing your meats and produce from locally owned farms you trust. Start developing a good relationship with your local farmers and butchers. When you go to see them, just get to know them and ask some general questions.

A lot of these places are family run, particularly if you're not close to a large metropolitan area. So when you go to see these folks and they make small talk (because they will, they want to know what brought you out, how'd you find their farm, what kinds of meats and cuts and whatever you're looking for, just genuine small talk), do not bring up politics or USDA regulations. Literally just tell them that you're interested in sourcing and supporting local agriculture and farming (which is true, you are wanting to get away from big corporate industrialized meat production).

If your area has a good farmer's market during the spring/summer/fall, absolutely hit that up. The one close by me not only has good meats and produce, but also honey, different kinds of cheeses, all sorts of things. Farmer's markets closer to a city or metropolitan area will usually only be on weekends during the warmer seasons so keep an eye out and check out any options you have.

I'll give a starting resource for you: https://www.localharvest.org/locations/

Any local farms or farmer's markets that are registered there in the mainland US will have some listings there with hours of operation, location and what they produce, as well as if they're a farm, a farmer's market, a grocery, or a local restaurant, as well as reviews. Use that and source further and find other farms that aren't registered on that site that may have more of what you're looking for. The farming community talk to each other and they know what's up with the other farms.

If you want to go out and pick your own produce (berries, fruits, etc), there's https://upickfarmlocator.com/ that will show you any "u-pick" farms and orchards in your area. It's a pretty in depth resource that I'd recommend using if you're able to go out and do that.

There are a few urban harvesting resources like fallingfruit, but I'm not as familiar with that so I can't in good faith recommend it until I've done some research into it myself.

I'm mostly familiar with chicken farms and fish ponds so I can't provide much insight to cattle or game meat, unfortunately. If anyone who sees this post is familiar, please feel free to add on. I'm also not a source for how to skin your meat or pluck your birds, so again, if anyone seeing this has any insight, please please add on to this.

Let's keep each other healthy and strong so we can fight the good fight ahead of us. The biggest advice I can give to anyone starting this journey is to research. Research anything you're interested in and don't give up.

I'll update this post with any other resources I find, or that others add on. This post is recent as of 2024-11-08.

(And yes, I know, before anyone comes rushing in, I understand this is not as easy for larger metropolitan areas or food deserts. Yes I know not everyone has the ability to go out and do this, and not everyone has easy transportation to haul goods back. This is where the "community" part comes if you can coordinate a group renting a car or someone who does drive to get everyone out there and back. And yes, before other folks come in, I understand sometimes it's better to grow your own produce and raise your own livestock, this is for the folks who don't have the ability to whether that's because of physical disabilities, lack of space [Hi, I live in a condo and have no space to grow my own in fact], or any other reason why they can't.)

[moonstruckme]

hey queen! i am humbly requesting some tasm!peter x plus sized!reader 🛐

maybe he was coming home from patrolling/being out as spidey and saw something in a window that reminded him of reader? like a knickknack or flowers or something like that? and he comes home and gives it to her and she’s all flustered and smitten 🤭

feel free to add your own spin to it or anything! i’m just in need of fluff and hugs from my boy 🫶🏻

Thanks for requesting lovely!

tasm!Peter Parker x plus size!reader ♡ 1.1k words

Peter knows he’s got other things he should be doing. He’s technically not done with the amount of time he likes to spend patrolling every day (plus there’s a serial burglar out there he should really be trying to catch), and if he’s not doing that he should be getting home to work on the research paper he’s got due tomorrow, and if he’s doing neither of those things Aunt May’s been begging him all week to dust the shelves she can’t reach. But when you open your door and he sees the look on your face, Peter knows he made the right decision neglecting all that shit. 

“Hi!” Your voice lilts through the syllable, happiness coating it like honey. 

“Hey,” Peter says back, immediately losing whatever advantage he had in the conversation. You’re surprised to see him, sure, but he’s surprised to see you like this. You’re still in your pajamas, evidently enjoying a day in, a large t-shirt and draw-string shorts that make you look all lazy and adorable and leave the delicate flesh of your thighs on display. Peter wants to bite them, but that wouldn’t be very gentlemanly. 

“Hey,” he says again, blinking to clear the haze from his brain. “I, uh, you said you like irises, right?” 

“Yeah…” There’s a hesitant sort of question in your voice. You eye the small bunch of flowers in his hand. “Are those for me?” 

Peter grins. “Who else, sweetheart?” He tacks on the endearment mostly to see you fluster. It’s a success; your arms come up to hug your torso as your cheeks dimple, smile half-suppressed. 

He passes you the flowers before he can fluster too. The plastic wrap crinkles under your careful touch, and you glance between him and them like you can’t decide which to admire first. 

“Thank you so much,” you say. “Did we…have something today?” 

“No,” he laughs, hooking his thumb in the strap of his backpack. “No, you’re good. I was just in the neighborhood, and they made me think of you.” 

Your eyes go all pretty-pleased at the comment, but you tilt your head curiously. “What do you have to do around here?” 

Ah, the question he’d hoped you’d be too happy to ask. The truth is, Peter’s almost never in this neighborhood if not for you. Spiderman gets around, but there’s not usually as much going on here as in the rest of the city. He’d spotted the flowers at a stand he’d webbed a catcaller to on the lower east side, and then came over to your end of town to bring them to you. It was only, like, a ten minute swing. Much more efficient than the subway. 

“Thrifting,” he says slowly. “I was, uh, just looking to update my closet a bit, and I know you’ve got a lot of good thrift stores around here.” 

“Nice.” You smile, taking a little sniff of your irises. Their bright color makes your already exquisite face look even lovelier, and it’s such a perfect image Peter wishes he had his camera on him. “Can I see your finds?” 

“No,” he replies. Too quickly, so he tries to look really put out to compensate for it. “No, I didn’t find anything. I’m…really picky about my clothes.” 

“Oh.” Your eyes drop to his plain gray t-shirt and jeans, but thankfully you’re too nice to say anything. 

“Right,” Peter blazes ahead, tugging on the straps of his backpack, “so I just wanted to bring you those, and I’ve actually got shelves to dust, so I’d better go…” 

“Okay, thanks for the flowers,” you say. “They’re really pretty.” 

“Yeah, I figured it must be hard being so pretty all by yourself,” he says, spinning around to walk backwards so he can see your reaction, “so I figured I’d get you a companion.” 

You press your lips together, flushing and tilting your head downwards as if to hide it. “Thanks,” you almost whisper. Peter grins hugely. 

You look up just as he’s turning back around, your focus narrowing on something behind him. 

“Hold on a second.” Peter halts opediently, and you come outside, that t-shirt fluttering prettily around your hips. “Something’s falling out of your bag…” 

He thinks to be nervous just before you pull the red and blue mask from the unzipped pocket of his backpack. 

“What’s this?” 

“That…” Peter’s nodding but he doesn’t know why. It’s some sort of automatic response, like he turns into a bobblehead under pressure. His mouth is void of saliva. “That’s a costume.” 

Your eyebrows twitch together as one side of your mouth kicks up, like you’re not sure what to make of him. “You dress up as Spider-Man?” 

The nodding turns to shaking weirdly seamlessly. “No! No, of course not, I’m an adult. It’s—it’s not for me.” You look at him expectantly. “I’m making it…for my nephew.” 

“Oh.” You blink. “I didn’t know you had a nephew.” 

“Really?” Peter hears his voice pitching higher, but he’s powerless to stop it. “I didn’t mention him? We’re pretty close—well, not that close. He lives…away. In Connecticut. But he wants a Spider-Man costume, and obviously he wants me to make it, because…I’m the guy for that stuff.” 

You nod respectfully. “You are really good at sewing,” you say, and the look you’re giving him is so sweet it nearly takes his knees out from under him. “It’s nice of you to do that for him. You’re really thoughtful, Peter.” 

You say it all soft and considerate, like it’s a secret you’re letting him in on, and Peter’s honestly worried for his heart health. He’s not sure it can take the strain of all this. 

“Yeah, well, only for people I care about,” he says just as quietly. 

You drop your gaze, smiling to yourself, and start tucking the mask back inside his backpack. “Your nephew must be a cool kid. I’d love to meet him sometime.” 

“Yeah, maybe if he comes to town sometime.” Which will be, you know, never. But hopefully by the time it gets suspicious you’ll know enough that he can come clean with you about that. 

He hears the zipper close and turns before you can move away. Peter wants desperately to wrap his arms around you, feel the softness of your body pressed up against his, but he settles for taking your hand. At the look on your face when he smiles and gives it a squeeze, you would’ve died at the alternative. 

“Thanks, sweetheart.” 

Your lips part. “No problem,” you breathe. 

He gives your hand one more press for good measure, letting his fingers drag across yours as he steps away. “See you Friday, yeah? For dinner?” 

“Yeah.” You clear your throat. “I’ll see you then.” 

Peter shoots you one last grin over his shoulder, headed down the sidewalk. “Looking forward to it.” 

[arcanesea]

cat cafe | lee minho x reader | 721 w.

Co-owning a cat cafe has been a successful attempt to make a side income for Minho. Plus point because he gets to see them more frequently than his actual cats.

Another plus point because you're his co-owner.

"We really need to talk about the interior design. I feel like it's too dull and need more color or something," you said on the phone. You admit the location of this cafe is a bit... secluded. But with the power of social media, you believe this place can thrive.

On the other line, Minho was looking through his laptop screen. Scrolling through countless pictures about "Cat cafe interior designs." He knows absolutely nothing about interior design, but if you say so, he'll find a way to make it work. You talk more about changing this and that, what's the most important thing to do according to you and the internet.

"I hope you're actually listening," you said quietly. You realize that he hasn't spoken any words since he picked up the phone 5 minutes ago.

"I am!" Minho assured. He had already texted his friends for recommendations.

"M'kay, well, let's talk about this more when you have free time," you proposed.

"How about tomorrow?" he asks. "I'll make appointments with an interior designer so we can talk about it."

You open your mouth to protest, Minho is a responsible co-owner. Sometimes too responsible that he immediately agrees to everything you say. Of course, you're not complaining, but it never failed to fluster you.

"Are you free around lunch?" Minho asks again. You confirmed your free schedule for tomorrow before writing down some of your ideas.

"How did you even find an interior designer that quick?" you asked Minho when he walked into the cafe the next morning. He decided that it would be best if both of you talked first and sort out some things.

"Let's say I have... friends... who have connections..." he drawled. Your eyes widen at the confession. "It'll be great, trust me," Minho adds.

Around lunch, a middle-aged woman walked inside the cafe, looking around the place. You quickly notice this and nudge Minho's elbow. He stood up instantly, approaching the woman before guiding her to where you were sitting.

After exchanging names, she took out a catalog. Colors drained from Minho's face, a grave mistake that prompted you to look at him in confusion.

"Sorry," you said softly, "uh... I think there's a misunderstanding here." You smiled thinly. The words on the cover of the catalog look both funny and scary at the same time.

"Newlyweds Home: Interior Strategies"

Minho gulps down, mentally cursing himself.

"Oh?" the designer questioned. Looking as confused as you are. "Well, yesterday Minho said he and his partner need a consultation for a co-owned space, wouldn't that be your new home?" she continues.

"It's the cafe," Minho answered. Although his hands are itchy to snatch the catalog and look at the details of each page. He's looking at your expression, wondering if you're interested. Like he is.

"Oh!" she exclaims. Laughing awkwardly. "Well, you see, I'm actually specialized in residential interior design, not commercial ones, though I can do it as well, but I'd rather refer you to someone I know if that's okay..."

Minho inhales sharply, a smile formed on his lips. "That would be amazing, thanks!"

And just like that, the woman quickly put back the catalog in her bag, took out a name card, and slid it over to Minho. All three of you talk for a moment before Minho escorts her out.

For a split second, you were actually thinking about what it's like to actually have your own home. Build your own family. With Minho.

"Well that was awkward," Minho said when he came back in. You punched his shoulder playfully. Unable to get over the silliness. "How would I know if residential and commercial interior design is different?" he tried to defend himself. Following you to the back room.

"Well, maybe next time we'll do the research together, dummy," you said, taking a glass of water. Your cheeks feel hot for no particular reason.

"Agree," Minho answered.

Maybe next time, both of you will still consider the residential interior design too. Maybe when both of you had the courage to actually let the heart lead for once.

a/n. minho is such a "whatever you say, beautiful" typa person i just know it in my heart. also mutual pining!! isn't it frustrating to read? ((bcs it is frustrating to write...)) my reader self was like "kiss already!" but no... for this one you get to decide what happens next ((or should i make a second installation? lmk heheh<3))

[tothepointofinsanity]

If you don't mind me asking. What is Schizoid? I tried to google it online but I find different answers. Obviously you don't have to answer my question if you don't want to or feel to, I understand, you can ignore my ask if you like. Also, I love your art and the writing you add to them, it feels like poetry every time I read them! The colors and symbolism you chose is always cool too. Your blog is super cool ! And I'm always happy to see Madoka fanart, but I like your art for its own too

“Schizoid” refers to an individual who identifies with schizoid personality disorder, otherwise categorised under the Cluster A of odd/eccentric personality disorders [that consist of schizotypal and paranoid pd, the former of which I also identify with]. Their underlining features are being passive, indifferent, socially and emotionally reclusive, and generally don’t seem all that interested in relationships or being a part of any Living culture, really. At least I don’t, but schizoid “culture” is mostly comparing your indifference to your observation of others’ life in scientific scrutiny, engaging with your extremely elaborate internal fantasy worlds, and being secretly, highly sensitive to certain things that most people would otherwise find to be too anal or trivial to reconsider about. Varies with everyone, but their perception of reality is distorted [in what way, the definition also varies, I personally am engrossed in my fantasies that are entwines into reality so thickly that trying to convince me otherwise would result in my upset, be it purely belief or a sense up in the air - arbitrary things can switch my sense and mood quickly], hence schizoids are also commonly associated with having schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders on the plate. <- It’s why you see so many “wow this person is schizo 🤣🤣” in response to someone making a statement that [Seems To Have No Actual Weight or Testament To Fabric Reality] when the issue is that they probably are dealing with a set of symptoms that affects their reality to begin with.

If that’s too long and you don’t really know what I mean by that, oneself should research szpd in their free time if interested. Reading is one thing, experience is another I suppose. That aside, thank you for supporting my works, I’m glad that you enjoy both my art and accompanying writings. Most of the writings are based on a reference to something anyways, so it would be cool if people found out what they were based off of. Thank you for the ask (*´ー｀*)!

[daisystwistedgarden]

𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒂 - 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

✿✿ 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭��𝐨𝐧 & 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 ✿✿

hello! i'm joining other lovely fanfic writers with @ficsforgaza to help raise money for the folks in need in palestine! i wanted to show my support in the best way i can, and this to me is a wonderful effort to bring the community together to do some good.

to participate, make a donation to a vetted fundraiser found on @ficsforgaza's page (aka, don't send me any money!) and send me a screenshot (with your personal information removed, please!) along with what you'd like to request to my ask box. please do not "double dip" aka use the same donation for several writers-- this is a fundraiser, after all! here is what a request looks like:

hello! can i sponsor your mermay fic? i donated $5 to gaza, here is the screenshot! thank you! [insert screenshot]

my pricing will be as follows:

❀ sponsor-a-WIP: $1/100 words ❀ drabbles: $2-3/100 words (elaborated below) ❀ no money to contribute, but you want to support the cause? that's okay. sign a vetted petition from the @ficsforgaza page and send proof, and i'll add a sentence to a WIP of your choosing.

if you have any questions, feel free to take a look here on @ficsforgaza's page or reach out to me. be patient, i will work on these fics at a good pace for me. thank you so much for helping me raise money for a good cause :D

✿✿ 𝐖𝐈𝐏𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫 ✿✿

❀ the high school years

before night raven college, each student had their own lives and experiences in high school. what did those years look like? how did they affect each student at the arcane academy now?

headcanon paragraphs for each student. college!au. estimated length = unknown. characters completed: none. wc: 0. current sponsors: none.

❀ mermay: azul, jade, & floyd

you're a researcher and rehabilitation expert at an injured merfolk sanctuary near the coast in a small city. one day upon arriving to work, you're greeted with news of a new arrival. he's a bit... odd, it seems, but you're determined to coax him from the depths of his tank and help him recover from the injuries that landed him here in the first place.

small fics for each character. x reader. nonhuman!au (aka no school, no transformation potions). estimated length = unknown. characters completed: none. wc: 449. current sponsors: two! sponsored word count: 449/1000.

❀ summer camp collab

a super secret collab with two other amazing writers! support this fic if you want to sponsor a fun project i'm keeping under wraps for now...

fics for each character (limited cast). college!au. estimated length = unknown. characters completed: none. wc: 0. current sponsors: none.

❀ escape room hcs

in a convoluted set of circumstances, the members of night raven college are paired up together in completely random groups for an escape room bonding exercise. how does this go? who thrives, and who flounders? which groups make it out alive?

character groups made up of main cast of 24 (22 main students + yuu and grim). six groups of four chosen at complete random by a spinner wheel. college!au. estimated length = unknown. groups completed: none. wc: 0. current sponsors: none.

❀ tattoo/piercer!au

you're looking to start your apprenticeship in tattooing and piercing at a small shop on sage island. there, you study under an employee at the shop meant to take you under his wing. who is he? does your apprenticeship land you your dream job (and relationship), or is it a disaster from the moment you lock eyes?

fic, x reader. limited characters. post-college!au, tattoo/piercer!au. estimated length = unknown. characters completed: none. wc: 0. current sponsors: none.

❀ yandere!fem!vil x reader

vil never expected you'd ever break up. the split was blinding, leaving her in a stupor as she stumbled through coveted on-screen roles and modeling gigs for the most prestigious publications in twisted wonderland. in her mind, you're still hers. it's only when she finds out that you've found another lover that her world-- and mind-- officially crumbles. it's time she takes matters into her own hands.

fic, x reader. trigger warnings: murder, stalking, general yandere behavior. post-nrc!au. estimated length = unknown. characters completed: none. wc: 0. current sponsors: none.

✿✿ 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 ✿✿

i'll be accepting drabble requests for the main cast. i write in a collge!au unless otherwise stated, elaborated further on my page here. drabbles are estimated to be ~500 words. they can be sfw/nsfw, tropes, fluff, etc. please specify what you'd like to see in this drabble, whether you only have a character in mind or a very specific scenario! (note: anon MUST be off for you to request nsfw, and you must be 18+).

since requests require a bit more work, i'll be pricing them at $2 per 100 words for sfw drabbles and $3 per 100 words for nsfw drabbles.

do you want to support gaza and request fics for obey me! or obey me! nightbringer? check out my other blog here

[ghouldtime]

Hello again! Since you said that you HC König to be Styrian, do you think he'd be the kind of person to sometimes speak his dialect with reader to tease them a little? The dialect is kinda hard to understand for people, who only speak High German (the German you find in texts and the one you're taught at school and stuff). Because I speak with a dialect as well and I'd love nothing more than to banter with König in our Austrian dialect together! Of course, there's a thousand dialects in Austria! So, someone from Styria has a hard time understanding someone from Vorarlberg, but still! (Also, because I HC him from the southern part of Styria, I like to imagine he "barks" a little when he speaks! It's gotten better as he grew up, but when he gets drunk he still barks, which makes it harder to understand him! It's really hard to understand some people from southern Styria >.< Are we allowed to share our own HCs with you? I just thought it'd make sense since I am Austrian! Not trying to sound entitled or anything, of course! But I just love giving him HCs of things I'm familiar with :>)

Anyway, sorry for the long ask! Have a nice day! ^^

💚💚💚💚💚 HELLLLOO it's great to see you back again :D I hope you're doing well! Also prefacing this with I'm an American so I'm admittedly not the most well versed in everything Austrian! I do put in my research and know some but I haven't even been there so if I'm ever wrong, absolutely feel free to correct me (I try my best not to be totally ignorant)

To answer your question simply in one word: ABSOLUTELY. Caps, bold, and all.

Naturally, his default IS his dialect. That's what he grew up speaking, that's what he learned, that's what sounds the most correct to him. Yes, it's not the standard, but it's HIS standard.

If reader doesn't know his dialect or if he's going out of his way to be a bit of a little shit, he'll be teasing about it - he's got a sense of humor (as unconventional as it might be). Assuming reader is learning German, he of course will still be helpful with teaching! He'll speak the "textbook" standard, but he's still slipping his dialect in, especially if they're catching onto what he's saying and he wants to make a sly comment.

What did he just say? Oh, nothing, you'll figure it out :) .... eventually, in due time.... and maybe a few post it notes in your text books there...

If they already know German, he'll pretty much insist on his dialect and will maybe speak a bit slower if you're lucky. But he'll talk so much if he likes you, you'll catch on - sooner or later (all apart of his masterplan). He's far more comfortable speaking German so he naturally adopts a faster talking pace too to match

Side note Dialects are SO interesting. One of my pals is Norwegian and he'd look me dead in the eyes and switch to another dialect whenever I understood him. Frustrating, actually pretty hilarious, and gives me MORE incentive to learn and to try and figure it out. How a single language can vary so differently from place to place in the same country is very interesting to see and hear alike

(Also you're absolutely welcome to share head cannons with me anytime!! 💚💚💚 I love hearing them and I love seeing that people can relate and have their own experiences to add. It really adds depth when we know we're never getting more than the bare minimum and it's not entitled at all its so nice to hear these little details)

I'm absolutely on board with that head cannon and support it FULLY in every sense of the word. That's 110% HIM. Since he wasn't much of a talker as a kid too I think it certainly was much more pronounced for that reason before it lessened as he grew up, and especially had more exposure to his peers.

I adore niche head cannons like this, it's my bread and butter. Because you KNOW we'd not get that level of love and attention to detail with or from the game alone and it's just adding that extra pizzazz, that extra depth that he deserves

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 If you don't mind, I'll adopt that for him because it's so perfect??? It's so him I just love the idea so so so much

[galacticnikki]

100 Witchcraft Tips in 100 Days!

Day 4 - How to Create a Herbal Grimoire

A Herbal Grimoire is a journal, notebook, or online resource where you note down what you learn. Note down your research on the plant, your experiences using it in spells, the results of the spells. Over time it will grow and be a sort of encyclopedia tailored to your personal practice and knowledge. It should also overtime become a reference guide there to help you remember correspondences, notice patterns in your practice, and track the success of your spells.

How to Start Your Herbal Grimoire

1. Choose Your Format: You want to start by picking where you want to make your grimoire. You could use a notebook, a journal, loose paper, a binder, any note apps, if you're able to write in or on it then it's a format you can use.

2. Sections to Include: You can divide up your grimoire into sections to keep it organized. Here's a few ideas for sections:

Herb Profiles: Set aside a page to write about its correspondences, physical properties, folklore, or personal experiences with it.

Spells and Recipes: Write down any spells or recipes you make using herbs. Write down the ingredients, steps, and outcome of each spell.

Harvesting and Storage Tips: Include guidelines on how to properly harvest, dry, and store each herb.

Personal Reflections: As you work with herbs, reflect on your experiences with them. Ask yourself questions like "How did the spell feel using those specific herb?" or "What herbs do I tend to gravitate towards?"

3. Correspondences: Research each herb's magical properties and write them down. You can include elemental correspondences, planetary rulers, or even deity associations.

4. Add Personal Touches: Always remember this is your book, you can design it however you want. Customize your book however you see fit.

Why a Herbal Grimoire is Important

It Becomes Your Personal Guide: Even though there are many correspondences you can find in books or online, having your own grimoire brings you closer to your practice. You might even learn something new that you haven't seen anywhere else.

It Tracks Your Growth: As you write down your experiences you'll begin to notice how you're practice has evolved over time. You might start noticing patterns and specific herbs you're drawn to.

It Enhances Focus and Intention: Writing down your research and experience also helps you to retain the knowledge you've learned.

It Helps Build a Deeper Connection with Nature: As you learn more about working with herbs the more you learn about nature. This let's you know more about your local environment and how you could potentially help it.

Tips for Keeping a Grimoire

Consistency is Key: Regularly update your grimoire with new information.

Make if Your Own: Don't be scared to stray from the traditional correspondences if others better match your results.

Don't Rush: You're grimoire will slowly grow over time. Don't feel pressured to fill it up quickly. The more thought you put into your grimoire the better it'll be.

If you want to find more of these entries use the hashtag #100 Witchcraft Tips in 100 Days! If you want to join a group of witches feel free to join our 18+ coven on Discord.

[2024-grimoire-challenge]

January Week 2

Keep in mind, this challenge is going to more or less piggy back off of my 2019 challenge and go deeper into the subjects presented there, with some alterations and additions of course.

Some grimoires focus on one entire topic for a whole page. Say, an entire page dedicated to a single herb. Some dedicate it to a broader topic and fill in the page with info pertaining to the topic. Say, protection magic and everything that, in that witch's practice, has to do with protection magic.

And you know what? Both are fine. It is a matter of how you want your grimoire to look, work and feel, for you and your practice. So as the challenge goes on and my prompts say "make a page" that doesn't necessarily mean a whole new page just for that topic. It could mean to fill in more of a page you've already started. It is your grimoire. Make it your way.

Monday - Magic

Journal/ Research/ Introspection (New Page) - What is magic? How does it work? Historically, theologically, spiritually, so on and so forth. What is magic and how does one utilize it? What methodology do you perscribe to? Where does magic come from? How do you sense it? Can you sense it? Look deep, not surface level. Look into the hows and the whys. Make a page dedicated to this information, so that you can refer back to it if need be in the future.

Practical (New Page) - Let's perform a protection spell on our book, on our supplies and on our work space. You can find a spell online in a book or make one up yourself to use! Any of these options is fine. I recommend utilizing your lab notebook for this task. Write out the spell, all of its aspects, steps, ingredients, tools and so on. Record the information in your lab notebook, that way you can change and rework the spell as need be in the future. Plus, this will allow you to create a page specifically for this spell!

Tuesday - Witch

Journal/ Research - This is a personal subject for all of us, though the community has a large sway in our opinions on this. Ask five witches what a witch is, and you'll get five different answers. But we're not worried about four of those answers right now. We're worried about one. Our own. What is a witch? What makes one a witch? What does a witch do and not do? Define all of this for yourself, answer those questions.

Divination - Lets perform a divination for ourselves. What does the year ahead hold? No matter what method you use, tarot, runes, etc, perform a small divination for yourself or even for someone else, looking at the year ahead of us.

Wednesday - Personal Practice

Research/ Introspection/ Journal -Again, we're going to do a deep look into ourselves and our beliefs for this prompt. How do you perceive the world? Life, death? The energies in the world around you? How do you connect to and experience these things? What are the elements of life and the world?

Study (New Page) - Pick one of those herbs from the list we made and look into its properties. Where does it come from> How does it grow? Historically, what were its uses? Practical and mundane uses and properties, what are they? Is it used medicinally or are there culinary uses? What are the myths, legends and stories about the herb? Now, once you've looked into all of that, how does that information play into its magical uses and properties? All of this is about they WHY behind the info we find in generalized searches.

Thursday - Personal Information

Journal/ Introspection - Why are you a witch? What drew you to this path and walk of life? What are the aspects fo your practice? Is it the elements? Deities? Other powers? Flesh out your beliefs.

Astrology - Not every witch holds stock in astrology, so if you don't you don't have to add this bit to the challenge. But if you're interested, look up your natal chart. There are plenty of free websites to do so, and it is always interesting to find out. If you feel so inclined, add a page to your Grimoire about your natal chart, as the info can be helpful in later introspection and journaling.

Study (New Page) - Pick a gem from that list and look up its properties. Where does it come from? How is it formed? What are its chemical properties? What are its mundane and practical uses? What are the myths and legends, stories surrounding it? What has it been used for historically? How does all of that information play into its magical properties and uses? Make a page specifically dedicated to that gem!

Friday - Making it yours

Journal/ Introspection - How is your practice your practice? What do YOU bring to your witchcraft? What traditions and beliefs from outside your practice have influenced bits and pieces of your practice? As much as we hate to admit it, syncretism is a thing.

(Side note- if you’re not into crystals and herbs, feel free to replace those study days with whatever subject you feel like! No matter what it is, as long as it’s something going in your grimoire. Some examples would be tarot spreads, runes, languages, a specific “type” of magic!)

I know this is going to be a big project and if it would help everyone, creatively, I'll be more than happy to share a video showing some of my grimoire page design process.

Thank you all

Good luck and happy crafting witches!

-Mod Hazel

[doudouma]

“a new meaning to butterfly〜”

the butterfly girls with gn!close friend reader who’s knowledgeable on butterflies!

_______________________________________________

╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗

who would’ve knew the butterfly girls would meet gn!platonic!reader who’s a researcher. twice the odds that they’re infatuated with butterflies!〜

there are no warnings, my dear lotus.

i will keep it gender neutral.❀ 〜

a/n : reader is also a demon slayer! i actually conjured this idea up while scrambling on what to post! i thought it was very unique〜

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚

kanae

you two aren’t on a mission, and is just chilling in her room.

trying to relax for the time being, she takes off her butterfly clips, and sets them down gently〜

she notices you admiring her clips, and puts them on you! the two of you laugh about it, and you look in the mirror. (how amazing you look〜)

you explain what pink butterflies symbolize (inner peace), and compliments her on the fact that it suits her so well!

kanae is astonished at your statement, and compliments you for knowing it!

until you two get something else to do, you take the time out to show her your journal of sketches of your butterflies〜

to her, you’ll add a new meaning to the butterfly girls now that shes very knowledgeable on them♡

shinobu

you two are sitting in her research room, doing regular demon research and making medicines〜

she starts to look a bit tense, because she can’t find the answer to something.

in a attempt to try to make her feel better, you compliment her butterfly pin!

she says thank you, and agrees that butterflies are beautiful♡

you decide to go further with it and inform her on rare few purple butterflies, and telling her about butterflies that matches your colors too!

surprisingly to her, she felt much more relaxed and calm, and kind of had the urge to research about butterflies!

now, almost every time you two are doing research, each time shinobu will say a different butterfly she wants to know about from you.

live up to the name, butterfly girl!

kanao

to start off, you two would meet because of the butterflies.

you saw her butterfly clip and got intrigued. especially since she gives off such a calm butterfly demeanor!

you ask her if she knows anything about butterflies, much to your surprise, she shook her head a little.

you sit down next to her, asking if you two can talk about it, and she says yes〜

although, the conversation is much one-sided, but she’s listening to your every word!

kanao would actually keep a journal of butterflies you teach her about, or try to find them in the wild and report them to you!

as time goes on, she eventually asks questions about butterflies or brings one to you♡

aoi

she would be really surprised on how you’re so well informed on butterflies!

sadly, she’d question if she’s smart enough to be your friend.

you pick up on those behaviors, and offer to share everything you know about butterflies with her, so you two can be educated on them together!

she practically unofficially made you a butterfly sister (regardless of your gender)〜

how can someone who’s so knowledgeable on butterflies just not join?

as a thank you, aoi often bakes you treats in the shape of a butterfly! she always does your favorite type of butterfly too!

maybe she teaches you her best baking recipes and even shares her favorite baking techniques〜

she even gets you your own clip, and gifts it to you on your nightstand while you’re sleeping♡

BONUS

sumi, kiyo, naho

the cute little girls would definitely see you as one of their cool older siblings!

when you guys are cleaning, they would ask to teach them about butterflies, and would be so interactive!

you would have no idea how much that would mean to them, they view it as bonding time♡

sumi, kiyo, naho would love to know if their blue, pink, and green butterflies have any cool or pretty meanings, and and would feel so proud once they know〜

in their free time, they’d draw you butterflies, and explain to you what they mean.

certainly, they want to know everything you know about butterflies, too!

and maybe even more, to tell you something cool someday♡〜

ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚ ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻ੈ✩‧₊˚

wow! these were quite quick to write, and they were very cute too. i really hope you like the bonus too! i worked hard for such a short amount of time it took. i try to write often, but i run out of inspiration, my apologies. my precious flowers, as always, thank you for your patience❀〜

[demeterdefence]

considering your issues with lore olympus, is the lore rekindled any better? it's the same plot, no?

fantastic question, i am going to write far too much in response!

in short: yes and no! but also no. with a little yes!

for those who haven't seen, genericpuff (and their background artist banshriek) are essentially "redoing" lore olympus, although that doesn't even begin to cover the work and talent they've put into rekindled. probably the best way i could explain it is they've taken the core pieces of lore olympus and actually given them depth and structure, with a plot that just scratches my brain so good uuugh please read rekindled if you haven't already

i've said this before, but arguably my biggest grievance with myth retellings - and absolutely the case here for lore olympus - is a complete lack of care or understanding of the core myth being "retold." someone who knows the myth, knows the importance and value it held and adheres to that in a retelling, will always be ten thousand times better suited to the story than the most awarded artist out there.

i could easily overlook the degrading art and the weird plot holes if rachel had bothered to do her research and show the original myth any kind of respect; instead, she goes out of her way from page one to disrespect the culture, history, and mythology the story of persephone is taken from. rachel sees these shiny pieces, but she doesn't know how to use them with depth or purpose, so ultimately, she just dresses them up and shoves them into the page. it's a shallow and pedantic story that uses familiar names and history, but never goes anywhere with them. genuinely, you could go to the first wattpad fic of a fourteen year old on the internet for the first time and find the same plot, and i'd argue the fourteen year old would do it better because at least they're excited about it!!!

i'll try not to spoil too much, and it is ongoing, but the way rekindled has taken the original plot and made it work is incredible. persephone's hidden rage, her complex feelings towards demeter, the hierarchy of the gods - all of that is displayed with far more tact, respect, and delight. it uses the basic plot of lore olympus, and the very basic structure, but the similarities end there, because there's depth and connection that never show up in rachel's work.

lore olympus often relied on surface level conversations and plots - it struggled to create intrigue, it couldn't really do secrets or plot reveals in an organic way. concepts of sexuality, feminism, toxic relationships, abuse, power, and systemic dysfunction were broached in the comic, but ultimately handled sloppily, or discarded entirely. this is not a comic where you're going to find a lot of nuance, or you can discuss the nature of a character and acknowledge they have levels to them - what you see is what you get, and what you get ... isn't very good.

rekindled adds a lot more to the characters, giving them meat for the readers to parse through. there's a reverence for the original myth that shows, there's clear research in how the dynamics work (hera inviting persephone to her home is not just hera asking for company, and genericpuff showed their work in a follow up post which made me so! happy!!!) this is a retelling that genuinely enjoys itself, and it's a pleasure to read it, because you know the work is being done. the artwork is gorgeous, naturally, but it's the clear work and delight both genericpuff and banshriek demonstrate, and how they've carved away all the unnecessary floss from the lo version.

it also goes to show that rachel - with all the money and accolades she got from lore olympus - could never do what genericpuff and banshriek are doing for free, on their own time. and that says a lot about her talent, but even more on lore rekindled.

[sl-ut]

what's happening in gaza?

i know first hand that it's very difficult to fully understand what's going on in the world right now, especially coming from somewhere that is so different culturally, geographically, and historically as palestine. being online recently and seeing that people are being called zionists for simply asking questions about what's going on or not fully understanding bc, for the most part, it isn't your fault that you are so ignorant to the issue at hand. news sources based around the world and misinterpreting the situation in order to put palestine in bad lighting, so it's important that you all take some time and do your own individual research to look into what's going on, what your stance is, and what you can do to help. no one is asking you to donate your last $100 if you cannot afford to do so, but the acts of declaring your side and participating in boycotts are enough support to at least show the people of gaza that THEY ARE NOT ALONE.

below i've put together a few articles from different sources with different backgrounds, if you're interested, please read a few of these sources and educate yourselves on the situation. i've included sources to explain what's going on now, what's happened between israel and palestine in the past, the kinds of things that are happening in gaza, and why this is being treated as a genocide instead of a war. this is what i've been able to find, but if you discover some more pls feel free to reach out and i'll add them to my list!! everyone be safe and be kind to one another <3

What is Hamas and why is it fighting with Israel in Gaza (BBC)

Israel and Palestine: a complete guide to the crisis (The Guardian)

Timeline: A look into the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (ABC)

The history of conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza (CBC)

A 'cultural genocide': Which of Gaza's heritage sites have been destroyed? (Al Jazeera)

Key takeaways from UN court's ruling on Israel's war in Gaza (AP News)

Israel-Palestine conflict: what is the two-state solution and what are the obstacles? (Reuters)

'Chilling effect': People expressing pro-Palestinian views censured, suspended from work and school (CBC) (this one is not directly about gaza, but shows the way that people are being punished just for supporting the people of palestine against this genocide)

ALSO PLS KEEP IN MIND THAT any acts of violence being committed by the hamas group is NOT a representation of the people of palestine, and the inhumane and monstrous treatment of these people absolutely is not deserved in return for the things being done by the hamas. regardless of your political stance, if you believe that the way that israel has treated palestinians in the past and continue to treat them in the present in deserved or justified in ANY WAY, pls unfollow and block me bc i want nothing to do with you.

[dootznbootz]

Hello. I honestly don't know how to prep this but uh, why do I feel like MM's Circe had so much potential? Like, MM did the lazy thing that is "making Circe's life a living shit show because that's the only way her actions would be justified" which... Is the annoying thing most modern interpretations do.

One good example would actually be EPIC: The musical. But in EPIC it only works because Circe isn't exactly a vocal point. And Circe having a motive plays into a pretty big theme of the show (Specifically in the song "Monster" where Odysseus is basically just... Contemplating everything)

But when you have 400 paged book, focusing around Circe, you have so much potential to focus more on the godly elements of these people. Someone else has said this before but ama say it too. The Greek gods had REASONS for acting the way they did. Zeus misused his power, that's what a king does. Artemis's wrath was unmatched when you wronged her, that's how nature is. Hades took a young girl from her mother, that's what death does.

And I'd like to add some of my own.

Aphrodite is a completely morally gray character, that's how love can be, it can go againts you sometimes. Dionysus was all over the place, sometimes good sometimes terrible, that's what madness is. Hermes is swift and a trickster because that's what people we deem 'messengers' can be like, via rumours.

When you notice these complexities to the characters, you start to realize. Circe misused her magic on innocent people for entertainment, that's what black/evil magic does. But at the same time, she helped Odysseus. Because even evil magic, or the 'worst possibilities' can be useful sometimes.

I think it is SUCH a missed opportunity MM didn't focus more on this aspect. Because that would've made for such an interesting story an unique story. Most of these modern retellings try to push modern ideologies on ancient works, which doesn't work. No retelling tries to tell these stories in a ancient Greek perspective (which is actually fairly easy you just have to do your research)

And with an author as skilled as MM is, I'm sure she could do it. But honestly, I don't think her writing is good in the perspective of Greek mythology. She could probably do a great modern story but let's face it, that wouldn't get as much money.

A story focusing around a goddess, and what it means to be a divine personification of nature and a concept, not to you but to the humans you exist for.You can really focus a lot on that and it could be such an interesting story.

All of these writers to me just seem like they're exploiting Greek mythology, which bugs me. If miller wanted to tell these stories, she would've told THE stories with her own twist. Not completely change them to the point they lose their charm.

If miller couldn't do that, if she wanted to write a complex feminist character she wouldn't have chosen Circe.

Something I really admire in your work is how you characterize these guys. It's obvious you're extremely passionate. I also love how you give Penelope clear flaws. You don't have to mortify everyone else to make her 'stand out' or to be 'more likable'. I really love your fic and I'm wishing you nothing but success in the future! :D

Anyways, enough about MM's book.

What do you think is one of Penelope's favorite little quirks od Odysseus', like something he does she finds really cute? :)

I hope you find pretty flowers today and get a sweet for free, dear anon. This ask made me so happy as it's like, perfect. As you gave a Circe rant that will be fun to dissect but also gave me a silly lil question for me to feast on and for the balance and the silly and I love it. You also sent it at the perfect time as I was getting a wee bit sad about how women from Greek Mythology get treated by retellings and fandoms. This really cheered me up 🩵

And thank you so much for the sweet compliment! It means so much to me that you love my silly lil guys as I love sharing them! And don't worry I am working on stuff! ;~; I know I'm taking a while but I am!

I'll do the cute stuff Penelope loves about Odysseus :P

(I do have them "mirror" each other a lot with "like-minded" so they often have SOME similar traits in some ways that both find endearing about the other. (both love watching the other brainstorm/think/swindle/winning/etc., both love (and are sometimes annoyed by) their stubbornness.) Stuff like that :D Also in general. Thank you, Anon. You've made me realize I've been going a wee bit too crazy with Penelope and kind of forgot about Odysseus.

1.) This is a past post that goes into it more but she just adores his freckles. She has counted them and memorized them. She's going to kiss every single one. He mostly has them on his face and shoulders but they are peppered a lil everywhere (he gets it from his mama). She uses the freckle pattern he has across his nose as "stars" for her tapestries.

Rando: Hey, that's not how the stars are mapped. Penelope: They're my stars, asshole >:(

She has to do a "recount" when he returns as some of his "stars" are covered by scars now :')

2.) She loves his hair and how well-groomed he usually is. He also is a bit like a cat in how he loves being pampered. (lil post about that) She loves scratching at his scalp and at the tiny hairs that are at the back of the neck. She loves the pretty grays he has when he returns as well :') She really loved how he looked without and with a beard. (It doesn't end up growing too long anyway)

3.) He's very warm. She's not really affected by temperature too much (she's used to freezing rivers and she herself is naturally cold. Her average temperature is colder than the average person. She only really has to worry about "drying up".) she loves his warmth. She wraps herself up in blankets while he's gone despite not really needing them sometimes as...she misses her furnace. (also his snoring) He also wraps himself in her blankets while away but sadly wakes up to them tossed about because he gets too hot. He needs his lil iceblock wife.

4.) She just adores his big laugh. The laughing so hard you cry one. Hearing it was kind of a "...Okay, I wanna hear that again." for her.

5.) He tends to bite his lip. Sometimes it's endearing and hot but he also will often rip at them. She tries to help him with this habit by distracting with kisses...Though with her teeth, it doesn't always help. Fun fact: For their first kiss on the lips, they were so stupid excited that he knicked himself on her teeth. She felt awful but he just kissed her again. It was bloody and bad but they were so happy. His bad habit returns when he's away because he's not getting his kisses 😔

6.) He whistles while he whittles often.

7.) So ancient Greece had yo-yos (probably in Odyssey but I'm getting silly with it)...and Odysseus is a nerd who WILL do tricks with them. (they can be made with wood and string so... odypen lol) He has fun trying to show other people how to do it too. It's a nice fidget. (modern day he would have definitely been that guy with that rubix cube lol)

8.) So Penelope is better at getting more for less, (lowering prices) and Odysseus is better at giving less for more. (selling shit for good things) They both can do it but they have their strengths.

9.) He got big eyebrows and with his weird "face shifting" thing he inherited from Autolycus, he can make a lot of silly faces.

10.) He tends to make sandcastles whenever he waits for her at the banks of rivers.

11.) He's a "heavy stepper" when he's not sneaking. It's not because of his scar. He just likes walking like that. :) Not so much "stompy" but she finds it cute that she knows it's him coming based on the footsteps she hears.

Some things that annoy her >:3

She's incredibly ticklish and he's not so much and he keeps doing it. STOP IT >:(

So she's smaller than him in mine and in general, he loves draping himself across her (he's like a cat remember?). Most of the time she loves that weight as she loves him and he's a warm weighted blanket. Though while she's strong, he'll sometimes be a brat and put so much of his weight on her just to mes with her. (mostly when they're young and dumb. not so much after he returns)

(Not this big of a size difference ofc but you know >:) )

Those are some and I have more rattling around in my head but I wanna finish this ask and I gotta do some shit :')

Thank you again, Anon. This made me happy <3

[donnieisaprettyboy]

Sorry if this is an inappropriate question but I'm having some self doubts. How did you know for sure that you were trans? I think I might be but I'm very confused if I'm feeling dysmorphia or dysphoria. Feel free to ignore if this is too personal

There’s nothing wrong with asking questions like this! :) gender is super confusing and sometimes it’s nice to have insight from other people

For the longest time I connected the discomfort with my body with trauma I experienced when I was younger. However, even as I worked through therapy and grew to a point that I am not as affected by my trauma, my discomfort remained.

Everytime I thought about people looking at me and seeing a boy, or even just looking at me and having no clue what my gender is, it made me feel kind of excited? I get heart flutter moments when I think about it.

I feel like I should add that most of my dysphoria is social. There are different kinds of dysphoria, and seeing this image is what made me realize that even though I didn’t struggle with my body too much, I had a strong desire to be seen as non-woman by society (not even necessarily as a man, just as something apart from “woman” if that makes sense).

(I cannot find the original artist for this so if anybody knows who it is please lmk)

When my friends started using he/they pronouns for me it felt really good. Even if I dress more feminine, I’m not binding, or if I’m actively trying to look more feminine, my friends still use he/they pronouns and it feels good!

My university has one of the best LGBTQ+ centers in the country, so I had a really good resource to reach out to and talk to people about. Which, for anybody reading this, you don’t have to be a university student to reach out to queer centers at universities! If you need resources, email them! :)

After quite a long time of experimenting with names, pronouns, styles, lots of research, etc. I came to the conclusion of “I’m just going to do me, whatever that is.” I use any pronouns, I dress however, I present differently depending on how I feel day to day :) people may call it genderfluid (which is fine!) but I’m personally sticking to more vague labels for my own comfort :) transmasc and genderqueer are what I use because it doesn’t feel confining!

I know a lot of this is kinda anecdotal, but I think the gist is there wasn’t one thing I noticed about myself that “confirmed” I’m trans. Also, you define what that means for you! There’s people who use they/them pronouns or different pronouns from those associated with their sex and don’t consider themselves trans! And there’s people who use pronouns that are associated with their sex and consider themselves trans! Technically because I use any pronouns, people can use she/her and that’s fine, but I’m still trans. I want top surgery, and I plan on cutting my hair into a more masculine cut, but I’m unsure about HRT. And after all that, I’m still trans!

I think this got kind of ramble-y but I really hope this all makes sense and helps to some capacity. And I encourage you to explore this and experiment! And if you decide “hey I’m actually not trans” that’s okay! Don’t be afraid to experiment and try things out :)

The trans experience is beautifully unique person to person, and your transness can look very different from someone else’s! :)

[createwithintent]

Journaling ideas for beginners

From a person who's been doing it for over 5 years 🤍

What you hope Your day will look like , and then an eventual reflection on what went well/or could improve

Lists: wishlists, desires, hopes, whatever you can think off

You could keep random trinkets, wrappers, tickets in a separate pouch

You can't really go wrong with stickers and pressed flowers

tiny comics about funny encounters you had

Specific songs and what they mean to you

Write in your target language! (Mine is French)

You could practice calligraphy if you're wanting to improve your handwriting

Scripting: write your future as if it's the present to manifest it into your reality

Swatches of your fave makeup (might do this with my lipstick collection sometime 🎀)

Countdowns, progress checkers, calendars to track certain things (maybe like a sober counter?)

Research fun essays about whatever (e.g. philosophy, crocheting, psychologyplsnts, crystals, etc.)

Nice quotes and/or compliments you heard or received throughout the day

Things you're grateful for

Recipes

Bad poetry you wrote

Conversation starters

Love letters

Ur current interests

Write haikus

Acrylic paintings on random pages

Tarot readings

Tea tabs

Make up your own aesthetic

Plan out your dream home!

Beauty tips you wanna pass on one day

Study tips (on another note: I'll make another post with my tips for exam prep)

Make a map with your favorite locations in your area

I'd be a fool if i didn't add Shadow work to this list, it's a way to access your deepest and confront yourself with your past. I totally recommend this for anyone (fair warning: it'll get intense)

Collages with random stuff or pics (or with a specific intention)

Lyrics that you hold dear

Cute notes for yourself to rediscover again

Dreams you've had

Signs from the universe (numerology, animals, angel numbers...)

Letters you won't ever send

Extensive book reviews (or fanfics, i wont judge)

Money (seriously, it always improves my mood to find a random bill of 20 in my old journals but just be careful!!!)

Write your own stories! (Make an oc that lives your dream life or something 🩷)

Mantras, affirmations, etc..

Your daily routines

Pictures: magazine cutouts or Polaroids

Happy journaling!

Also my asks are open!

So feel free to submit a question 🤍🤍🤍🫶🏾

With love,

Elle 🤍