#i want an ancient egyptian girl

[evelynda-dahling]

ya'll ever wonder if ancient egyptians were walking around w their little flipflops going PFSLAP PFSLAP PFSLAP

[sigyns-drafts]

Hey there, can I request for ROR anubis x modern reader where the reader is bored and try to summon anubis for fun and think it wouldn't work, but it end up working and now there a random Anubis in her room feel free to add what after this ~ thank you

A/N: Gladly anon! I'd love to write about silly little nubby. Hope it's what you wanted ♡

The unlikely jackal-headed companion ���🎃

Ror!Anubis x fem!reader

➩ A modern day girl who's favourite interest had always been Egyptian mythology, especially the god Anubis.

Found her adult life to be rather boring, so when she stumbled upon a website that could help her summon these ancient gods.

For fun she tries it, not expecting it to work until she is proven wrong and now Anubis himself has entered the mortal realm, as well as her home.

➩ Reader type: fem!reader.

⚠: Platonic & Romantic Fluff!!

In a small suburban town, nestled between towering buildings and grey streets, lived a young lonesome woman named y/n.

She was currently seated in her room adorned with posters of ancient Egyptian art and books, filled with its fascinating mythology, gods and history.

Something y/n had been fond of ever since she was a child.

But life as an adult was rather boring now, with work and other tasks keeping her away from her interests and hobbies.

Until y/n felt that sudden urge of curiosity again, rushing through her mind and body.

Soon enough y/n found herself engrossed scrolling online, stumbling upon an online tutorial on summoning the ancient Egyptian gods.

Half out of scepticism and half out of sheer boredom, y/n decided to try the summoning ritual for Anubis.

After all, Anubis was one of her favourite deities. Y/n chuckled at the stupidity and the fact this wasn't going to work.

Because it wouldn't, right?

She gathered the necessary items - candles, incense, and a makeshift altar adorned with skulls and other trinkets she found around the house.

Thinking to herself:

"If Anubis really does exist he would definitely like these, hah!"

As y/n chanted the ancient words she had gotten from the website, with a hint of amusement, she never expected anything to happen.

But to her surprise, a sudden wind and glow enveloped the room, and a mysterious figure materialised before her.

Anubis, the god of the afterlife with his jackal head, stood before her in all his majestic glory.

Y/n eyes widened in disbelief as she stumbled backward, tripping and falling to the ground. Her heart was racing in her chest, more than ever before.

"W-What..?! That wasn't supposed to-"

Y/n stutters to herself, trying to keep her cool as she shakes uncontrollably at Anubis's presence.

Anubis, as he looked around the room slowly, taking in his new surroundings was still barely visible to really make out. Because of the sudden glow to have hit the room.

While trying to adjust her sight, y/n was certain Anubis was here to collect her soul or at least judge her heart for having called upon him as a joke.

However, to her shock when the god spoke, he sounded rather thrilled to be there.

"Well, this was unexpected and delightful!" he exclaimed, his voice resonating through the room.

It wasn't as deep and booming as y/n had imagined it sounding like.

In fact, he sounded like an excited puppy who somehow knew how to talk.

Did she hit her head when she fell and was now dreaming, or perhaps even worse had she gone mad?

Unused to being summoned in the modern world, Anubis continues to look around with childlike wonder, his dark eyes sparkling.

Y/n was almost left with her mouth wide open when she finally got to see and admire the god before her.

His head wasn't actually the head of a jackal, but instead it was his headwear!

Underneath all that he was a handsome man, with dark tanned skin, sharp teeth and piercings on his chin, but also tongue.

Y/n had to gulp and blush slightly to herself, for some reason feeling embarrassed about this humanoid form of his.

Noticing y/n's bewilderment, Anubis approached her closer with a grin, offering his hand to help the woman up.

"Greetings, mortal! I am Anubis, the guardian of the afterlife. What brings you to summon me today?"

Stammering, y/n managed to grab a hold of the gods hand reluctantly while replying, she was scared his sharp nails or claws would touch her at first.

"I... I didn't really think this would work, please forgive me my lord!"

Anubis chuckled lightly, his soft laughter was admittedly very cute making y/n's heart skip a little beat.

"The whims of mortals! Fear not, if this wasn't a part of your plan I totally understand! But if you don't mind me asking, what assistance can I be to you then?"

With a nervous expression, y/n took a deep breath and the chance to think about it.

What could she possibly come up with to make Anubis, a literal god's time, be worth the while in the mortals realm?

"I suppose..somehow entertain me? If that isn't too much to ask for of course!! It's just that, these days are quite uneventful.."

Y/n to ease her nerves starts twirling some of her hair using her index finger.

A common habit she did whenever she needed a distraction.

Anubis, realising the woman was still tense, smirks to himself and thinks about a way to help her.

"Then I am here to make your mundane day more thrilling, my lady! I see your room is decorated with quite a few familiar things."

He happily pointed out, already seeing y/n's eyes light up at his comment and sharp eye.

"Oh really?! I'm so glad you find them familiar, I was afraid it would look weird to you somehow, considering I'm not from ancient Egypt!"

"Hey, don't worry about it, I love seeing people appreciate my culture."

"Phew, what a relief..!"

"But a particular reason why I am your favourite~?" Anubis without warning teased y/n, raising his eyebrow as his face leaned in close to hers.

It felt like her whole body was about to explode and her face turned red.

Damn it! She should have prepared herself for this question considering the jackal headed gods depiction was included almost everywhere!

"W-Well, you are my favourite..!"

Y/n responded in a panic, was he seriously playing with her right now?

Was this a way to catch her off guard or to test her in some way or another?

Before y/n could say anything any further, Anubis, ever the playful deity, leaped into the air out of pure happiness.

"Yippee~!!" The god exclaimed as he accidentally landed near her.

The sudden weight caused y/n to lose her balance, and she tumbled onto the bed alongside the ancient god.

"Oh uh..that was an accident, I didn't mean to scare or get that excited!"

Anubis pleaded, genuinely upset about his actions. He quickly got off y/n but all the woman could do was sigh as she had accepted her new fate.

"Honestly, this is already keeping me entertained enough."

[youremyheaven]

The Internal Corrosiveness of Venus: Venusian Women & Self Harm

TW: self harm, abuse, suicide, violence, trauma

Claire had remarked that "Venus is internally corrosive whilst externally pleasant and Mars is externally corrosive but internally pleasant". This led me down a rabbit hole to try to understand whether this "internally corrosive" nature manifests as self harm & eating disorders and unfortunately, it does. Venusian women struggle with perfectionism and are extremely self-critical. Venusian energy is HARSH. Venus natives struggle to uphold a certain standard that they subject themselves too because if I'm being honest Venus is the OG "not like other girls girl", they believe they're better than others, and tbh in many ways they probably are but this also means they put undue pressure on themselves to keep being that way.

All Venusian naks are Ugra or "fierce" in nature and while I've talked about how Venusian violence and cruelty can be directed at others in my other posts, I think its worth mentioning how Venusians can be just as cruel to themselves. This is especially true of Venusian women as women internalise their problems while men wreak external havoc (like causing wards and killing people) but there are many male Venusians who struggle internally as well.

In ancient religions, Goddesses of love also had other functions or powers that had nothing to do with love

the Egyptian Goddess Isis was the goddess of love, healing, fertility, magic, and the moon. She was the goddess of life and magic, Isis protected women and children and healed the sick.

She was a great magician, whose power transcended that of all other deities.

The Mesopotamian Goddess Ishtar is the goddess of love and sexuality, and thus, fertility; she is responsible for all life, but she is never a Mother goddess. She is also the Goddess of War.

I'm using these examples to show that the ancients had a more complex and nuanced understanding of Venusian energy. One cannot worship love without understanding that "war" is a consequence of it. Love & war are not very different from each other. When someone believes in something and is willing to die for it, we find that to be very honourable. Sometimes this belief leads men to kill others over it and depending on the cause, we describe the war as "good" or "bad" (kill a bunch of fascists and then its a "righteous" war, if you kill innocent people, then its an unholy war etc). Being at a state of war describes Venusian nature very well since Venus is also connected to royalty and if you're born into royalty, you get to live a very "exclusive" very privileged life that few get to enjoy but the stakes are also that much higher since you could be beheaded or executed or exiled and live a life that is far worse than the average person.

In this post I want to explore how this "state of war" can manifest internally in an ordinary Venusian and contribute to self harm, eating disorders and drug abuse.

Bella Hadid- Purvaphalguni Moon & Rising

Bella has admitted to smoking since she was a teenager and getting a rhinoplasty at 14. Her pro ana Tumblr from when she was a teen is infamous at this point. She has never openly spoken about it but it is widely speculated that she struggles with an eating disorder and possible drug abuse as well.

“I was the uglier sister. I was the brunette. I wasn't as cool as Gigi, not as outgoing,” she said. “That's really what people said about me.” I also feel like Venusians grow up feeling really ugly and completely unaware of their magnetism. They only really grow into their looks when they're older (obvs there are exceptions) and I think being bullied for what they have and don't have are also big themes.

Demi Lovato- Bharani Moon

Demi has spoken about struggling with self harm, eating disorders and drug abuse.

Lovato said, “growing up, I had been bullied in school,” saying she “felt like an outsider," and "like an outcast,” but then she became friends with a girl who was popular. “One day, I asked her ‘how do you have all these friends?,’” Lovato noted, and the girl asked Lovato “do you party?" Lovato explained, "She asked me, 'Do you drink?,'" with Lovato saying that this was her first experience with drugs and alcohol, adding, “we experienced a lot of stuff together, drinking and using, and growing up.” Bharani being an outcaste nakshatra resulted in Demi feeling like one growing one :(((

Taylor Swift- Purvashada Rising

Taylor opened up about her eating disorder in her documentary

Lindsay Lohan- Bharani Moon

LiLo has struggled with self harm, drug abuse and battled eating disorders

Oscar Wilde, Purvaphalguni Rising wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray

The plot goes like this : An attractive Englishman's image is captured in a painting that keeps him from ageing, when he exchanges his soul for eternal beauty. But for every sin that he commits, his image in the portrait rots.

This is a very deeply Venusian story, and very specifically Purvaphalguni esque because Purvaphalguni is the height of Venus. It can be said that its also true of Venusians in general. They are outwardly splendorous, they seem to have it all together but inwardly they tend to be inflicting wounds upon themselves in order to keep it all together.

Johnny Depp- Purvashadha Moon

He has also battled eating disorders, self harm and drug abuse.

Iggy Pop- Bharani Moon

"THERE IS EXTREME, there is legendary — and then there is Iggy Pop. Beginning in his earliest days with the Stooges taunting Ann Arbor frat boys and small town Michigan folk, Iggy made an art of excess: self-mutilation, self-exposure and self-destruction. His risky theatricality required an audience to respond, participate or get the heck out of there. And the sex and violence hardly stopped after the show was over."- this is how Rolling Stone described Iggy Pop and tbh this is a very Venusian description

In 1974, at his first solo concert dubbed The Murder of a Virgin. "Do you want to see blood?" Iggy asked the crowd, which howled affirmatively back at him. Then, at Iggy's urging, guitarist Ron Asheton, wearing a Nazi outfit, whipped Iggy repeatedly. Iggy began hurling racial epithets at a black spectator, hoping to goad the man into stabbing him with the steak knife he'd brought onstage. No luck, so he closed the set by carving an X into his chest himself.

Marilyn Manson- Purvashadha Sun

He has struggled with self harm in the past (there are images online if you're interested) and in 2013, he tried to simulate self harm on stage by holding a knife to his wrist in the middle of a performance??

Christina Ricci- Purvashadha Moon

Ricci has said she suffered from anorexia as a teenager and was sexually assaulted as a child. “There was no discussion at that time about trauma, and about recovering from those things, about PTSD,” she said. As a result, she ended up “acting out and coping in ways that weren't good."

Robert Downey Jr- Bharani Moon, Mars in Purvaphalguni

its pretty well known that RDJ was severely addicted to drugs at one point and it started when he was a child and drugs was given to him by his dad:///

Megan Fox- Purvashadha Rising

"I have body dysmorphia — I don't ever see myself the way other people see me," Fox said. "There's never a point in my life where I loved my body, never, ever." "When I was little, that was an obsession I had of, like, but I should look this way,"

‘However, at a certain point, I went through some trauma in childhood and I developed a pretty severe eating disorder and manic depression, which runs in my family, so there was definitely some wrestling with chemical imbalance going on,’ she shared.

its interesting how so many of these natives begin struggling with these issues very early in life

Colin Farrell- Purvashadha Rising, Jupiter conjunct Ketu in Bharani

While he did not say that he had cut himself when he was younger, Colin Farrell had some self-inflicting behavior during his younger days. He spoke on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and said that he used to actually enjoy pulling out huge tufts of his hair. 

Pete Davidson- Purvaashadha Rising

'I used to bang my head against walls,' he admitted. 'If I couldn't deal with something -- if someone told me something sad or something I couldn't deal with I would bang my head against the wall, hoping I'd pass out because I didn't want to be in that situation because I couldn't handle that.

Melanie Lynskey- Bharani Moon

“I stopped throwing up, mostly. It took a while. But that was a big one. I had, for a very long time, been on this diet that was basically 800 calories a day, and if I ate anything over 800 calories, I would throw up,” she said. “I was never bingey. Sometimes I’d be starving, and I’d have another teacup of Special K. Then I’d be like, ‘Well, now I gotta throw it up.’”

Tila Tequila- Purvaphalguni Moon

On March 7, 2012, it was reported that Tequila had agreed to check into rehab after having reportedly "almost died" from an attempted suicide by overdosing on pills. The incident caused her to be hospitalized for a brain aneurysm. Tequila completed her rehab treatment on April 5, 2012.

Jeffree Star- Purvashadha Moon

images of him self harming once went viral

Till Lindemann- Purvashadha Sun

he's known for his SH scars and has even written poems about it in German??? its called "The poems: Knives on silent nights"

Portia de Rossi- Rahu in Purvashadha 2h

she's struggled with an eating disorder

Padma Lakshmi- Purvaphalguni Sun & Moon

"When filming "Top Chef," I consume about 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day,'' she wrote. "I typically gain anywhere from 10 to 17 pounds every season. Once I get home, what's taken me six weeks to gain takes me 12 weeks to take off. It's always a nail-biting extravaganza at fittings, praying that a few pretty dresses that came down the runway on a teenage model who is a size 0 will miraculously fit my 40-something body,'' she wrote. "Getting ready for the Emmys is always fun, and it's truly an honor to be nominated. But at the same time, in spite of my high metabolism, I worry each year that I'm not going to fit into anything nice. So, this year, I've decided my weight will not be my focus,'' she wrote. "If I need a bigger dress, so be it. That one day — or any day — on the red carpet isn't nearly as important as making sure my daughter doesn't measure her worth by her dress size."

i guess this is a more positive manifestation of Venusian self image struggles

Jessica Alba- Bharani Stellium (Sun, Mercury & Venus)

“I was meant to feel ashamed if I tempted men,” she said. “Then I stopped eating a lot when I became an actress. I made myself look more like a boy so I wouldn’t get as much attention.”

Katie Couric- Purvashadha Sun

“I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that,” she shared with Lovato while interviewing her, per Glamour. “I know this rigidity, this feeling that if you eat one thing that’s wrong, you’re full of self-loathing and then you punish yourself, whether it’s one cookie or a stick of gum that isn’t sugarless, that I would sometimes beat myself up for that. How do you have a healthy relationship with food, and say, ‘You know what, I can have one cookie and it’s OK?’ That is such a huge thing for people who wrestle with this.”

Zayn Mailk- Purvaphalguni Moon

 In his 2016 autobiography, Zayn, he shared it would sometimes cause him to go two or three days without eating a single bite of food. “Something I’ve never talked about in public before, but which I have come to terms with since leaving the band, is that I was suffering from an eating disorder. It got quite serious, although at the time I didn’t recognize it for what it was,” he wrote. “When I look back at images of myself—before the final tour—I can see how ill I was. The workload and the pace of life on the road put together with the pressures and strains of everything going on within the band had badly affected my eating habits. Food was something I could control, so I did.”

Zoe Kravitz- Purvaphalguni Moon conjunct Ketu

“I think it was part of being a woman, and being surrounded by [fame],” she said. “I think it was definitely about being around that world, seeing that world. I felt pressured.” After playing an anorexic character in a movie, she hit her lowest of lows and was so malnourished that her immune system shut down. Months later, she decided to make a change. “I just felt it was different,” she said. “I don’t know… if a f—king spirit came over me and said: ‘You have to stop.’”

Mel C, Purvaphalguni Rising

"When I was in the Spice Girls, the stress of suddenly being thrust into the limelight led me into an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise,” she told The Mirror in 2012. “I became obsessed about what I ate and I cut lots of food groups, like carbs and protein, out of my diet. I survived on fruit and vegetables and little else.”

Nicole Scherzinger- Mars conjunct Rising in Purvaphalguni

"I really struggled with feeling like I fit in. I even had a hard time feeling like I fit into my own skin. I was really hard on myself and had a lot of struggles with self-esteem and a lot of insecurities,” she said. “Later on, that resulted in me having eating disorders because of my body dysmorphia.”

if you're reading this and struggling, you're not alone. please get help!! its not too late to turn things around!! youre so strong and you can do this!!

[wordsvomit101]

(I probably only do this with cards I like in the future)

It is part 2 of Juno L Card, here is the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6e7GQxiTuY&rco=1 (credit to @shyanimeboi on X)

... I feel like I'm being accused of something I'm not. Defamatory, slander, the audacity of this guy

This is lore-accurate MC BUT STILL, how dare-

I wouldn't mind being a cat for a day you know, so I just lounge around wherever and being treated like those ancient royal Egyptian's cats is a must.

Oh?

Okay Juno, didn't know you could have the green tea energy but keep cooking

This is where I got the feeling that his fans must be watching somewhere behind the rubble like I just got that gut feeling they're watching and having ovaries overload or combusting on the spot right now

I almost believed him BUT THEN

HE REALLY GOING MEAN GIRL ON ME

If I were MC I would poke his eyes- Cause ain't no way you saying that to me with that face boy

So he DOES have mean girl energy in him. I like it, to observe it, but he better not use it on me because I will not take him seriously if he wants intimacy later, I'm not built like that

Yeah, dude what ya think??? I have a job and a house on there, unfortunately an achievement in this economy (I remember MC still has a house, they just chose to stay with Minhyeok because they didn't want to be in a space where their parents died, which is valid)

So his regular head tilting as a red chewing gum is actually mean it like this??? Damn ok-

I can't believe they have Satan and Gehenna making a move with Minhyeok before MC.

I still didn't forgive Satan for kissing Minhyeok before MC could

Sir????

Ignoring Ppyong's being a smug little bastard, it is actually really nice that they show how close MC is with Minhyeok and how much they care for each other. If they don't get together, it's fine by me, at least let them be platonic soulmates.

??? How much time did you spend time with Minhyeok on Earth? Either Minhyeok's scent was mad strong and lingered easily or they had been all over each other-

I KNOW IT IS HIM! Tell me how you got his scent on you! Spill the tea sis!

What?

Wait-wait-wait they actually serious?!

Excuse me, how the hell do you think I can do it??? Ya'll devils must be having some goofy as-hell imagination if you think I can do it

Oooh more detail to take note on

So anyway, they end up touching each other and live up to his kink, because they are be TOUCHING. And there are some details of how Minhyeok and MC used to touch and caress each other heads and how MC feels at ease just by the familiarity of it which is really really cute (இ‸இ`｡)

I am actually surprised how I got a lot of Juno's personality spot on in my two fics of him and he is already my favorite, but I like him a lot more now that we got to know him more than just a silly little red dough.

Please watch the rest in Hiki's (@shyanimeboi) YouTube video that I write down at the top (they're the actual angel here) and thank you for listening to me ramble, I will do this again once Minhyeok, Paimon, and Selaphiel L cards come out... But if they got the same paywall treatment then I might open my wallet if I really like it.

[aphroditelovesu]

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✿.｡Welcome to my blog! My name is Larissa, but feel free to call me Lari or Lady L, which is how you know me. I'm Brazilian 🇧🇷 and I was born on October 15th. English is not my first language. My pronouns are she/her and I am bisexual 💖💜💙. I am Libra ♎️ and INTP.

⤷♡. If you want to support my work or to just tip me, can you buy me a coffee? ☕️

⤷✿.Here I've gathered all my series, masterlists and some additional things to make them easier to find. Enjoy my blog, dear reader.

�� aphroditelovesu, 2022. all rights reserved. do not translate or repost my work without my permission. you are free to use my edits, but I only ask that you credit me.

⤷♡.+ disclaimer: some of my works may have nsfw content in addition to the yandere genre. if you are sensitive to these topics, I recommend not reading.

⤷♡.+ genre: yandere/dark!au.

⤷♡.+ Requests are OPEN. Asks and concepts are open.

⤷♡.+ character ai: aphroditelovesu.

⤷♡.+ Rules and Fandoms List;

⤷♡.+ Emoji Prompt List + Prompts List;

⤷♡.+ Wips; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 7; 8;

⤷♡.+ Commissions;

‘‘Love you so bad, love you so bad, mold a pretty lie for you.’‘ ˚˖੭ Fake Love, BTS.

⤷♡.+ BTS; 💜

⤷♡.+ BLACKPINK; 🖤

⤷♡.+ ITZY; 🧡

⤷♡.+ Stray Kids; 💙

➷ EXO: Yandere Baekhyun (Romantic), Yandere Suho (Romantic).

➷ TWICE: Imagine as Classmates.

⤷♡.+ Greek Mythology; ⚡

⤷♡.+ Egyptian Mythology; 𓂀

⤷♡.+ Historical Characters; 📜

➷ The Lost Queen | Yandere!Alexander the Great ❝You woke up near a military camp without remembering how and why you got there, you didn't understand why they were dressed like ancient Greeks, all you knew was that you weren't safe and you needed to get out of that place as soon as possible. Too bad for you that you found yourself attracting unwanted attention from the Macedonian King and he won't let you go so easily.❞ The Lost Queen Series Masterlist

⤷♡.+ The Vampire Diaries + The Originals; 🧛

⤷♡.+ House of the Dragon; 🐉

⤷♡.+ Game of Thrones; ❄️

⤷♡.+ The Sandman; ⌛

⤷♡.+ Outlander; 🗿

⤷♡.+ Wednesday; 🎻

⤷♡.+ Brooklyn Nine-Nine; 👮‍♂️

⤷♡.+ Bridgerton; 🐝

⤷♡.+ Shadow and Bone; ☠️

⤷♡.+ Outer Banks; 💰

⤷♡.+ K-Dramas; ❤️

⤷♡.+ Reign; 👑

⤷♡.+ The Tudors; 🗡️

⤷♡.+ Hannibal; 🍽

➷ The Bloody Viscount | Yandere!Anthony Bridgerton ❝You had fallen in love with Viscount Bridgerton and he had fallen in love with you. The marriage seemed perfect, but then why did Anthony Bridgerton always come home late and bloodstained?❞ Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; ➷ The Shadow of the Golden Dragon | Yandere!ASOIAF/HOTD/GOT ❝You have always been an avid reader and your greatest passion was delving into the pages of "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin. You knew every character, every twist and every detail of the Seven Kingdoms as if they were part of your own life. But what you never imagined is that an unexpected encounter with a mysterious antique book seller would change your life forever.❞ The Shadow of the Golden Dragon Masterlist

⤷♡.+ Percy Jackson; 🌊

⤷♡.+ Harry Potter; 🔮

⤷♡.+ A Court of Thorns and Roses; 🌹

⤷♡.+ A Song of Ice and Fire; 🔥

‘‘We were born to be alone but why we still looking for love?’‘ ˚˖੭ Lovesick Girls, BLACKPINK.

⤷♡.+ Attack on Titan; ⚔️

⤷♡.+ Naruto; 🍥

⤷♡.+ Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir; 🐞

⤷♡.+ One Piece; 👒

⤷♡.+ How To Train Your Dragon; 🐲

⤷♡.+ Death Note; 📓

‘‘Don’t you know that you’re toxic?’’ ˚˖੭ Toxic, Britney Spears.

⤷♡.+ Marvel; ۞

‘‘I wish you would love me again, no, I don't want nobody else.’’ ˚˖੭ Love Me Again, V.

⤷♡.+ Love Letters; 💕

⤷♡.+ Love Letters II; 💕

⤷♡.+ Kinktober 2023; 🎃

➷ A Black Rose | Yandere!Ian Daerier ❝A cruel and narcissistic reaper falls in love with the woman he was supposed to take the life of.❞ Oneshot;

[mischiefandlies]

You're a pain in my neck

Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Masterlist

Notes: yo, I'm just starting my classics course and Google said Mr. Hiddleston himself also studied it (posh bastard, of course he did). Figured I'd make a little fic, but made it super cheesy and teenagery, bc why not? It's also my first time writing for Tom btw, not sure if I'll do it again.

(Also, sorry if the Shakespeare is wrong, I was doing it from memory b/c i couldn’t be bothered to fact check it.)

Warning: none? but I've left a little note at the end too.

You hadn’t been studying classics for very long, but the gods interested you greatly. You used to read myths as a child, Theseus and the Minotaur, or Orpheus and Eurydice, or even the trials of Hercules. You and your brother grew up on Greek tragedies and tales, so you had chosen to keep learning ten years on. The course covered both Roman and Greek mythology, politics, literature. Along the way however, your studies took you to other types of myth. Egyptian and Greek culture were closely related, but the European mythology around Celtic and Norse mythology was what really took your fancy.

You were sat in the library re-reading the myth of Athena and Arachne when you heard a man’s voice speak. “Is this seat taken?”

You glanced up. In front of you was a young man, blonde unruly curls atop his head, and a shy smile on his face. You smiled back, “Take it. I’m not waiting on anyone.”

He slid his rucksack off and sat across from you. “Thanks. I’m new here, so still finding my feet.”

“Me too,” you reply. “Just trying to get through the week.”

“What are you studying?” he asks.

“Classics and Sociology. You?”

“I’m doing classics too!” he says. “What’s your name?”

“Y/N”

“I’m Tom. Nice to meet you.”

You began to meet in the library regularly. Tom and you seemed to get on really well, helping each other with essays and chatting about life. The two of you began to meet often, catching coffee and studying together, going to the cinema, trips to museums and the like. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the two of you were only friends. When he came to you about advice about girls, asking people out, or just lovelife gossip, you could feel your heart constrict painfully. In all honesty, he was probably one of the most genuine people you had ever met, and you didn’t want to ask him out for fear of ruining whatever friendship the two of you shared. And, even if you did decide to take that leap of faith, there was no way to be sure that he would feel the same. He certainly hadn’t given you any indication of liking you, he had been friendly, and on occasion flirty, but nothing ever came of it. It was like everything you wanted was dangling right in front of you, but you just couldn’t reach to grab it for fear of falling.

Tom, little did you know, was in much the same predicament. His mates had actually nicknamed you “Mrs H” because of the puppy eyes he had whenever he saw you. He admired you; the way you spoke so eloquently, your intelligence, your beauty. The way you could stand your ground confidently, backing yourself no matter what. He often found that when you and he were debating ancient politics or learning Latin phrases, he would find himself zoning out, too busy daydreaming about an imaginary future between you and him.

It was just before the summer half term that Tom and you decided to take a picnic one Saturday, so that the two of you could power through some essays and then chill and enjoy the scenery. And so, the two of you trundled up to Richmond Park, deciding that that would be the best location, sat near King Henry’s mound*, looking out onto the London skyline. Once you’d finished all your essays and eaten enough quiche and salad, you both lay, looking out onto the beautiful scene. You had lay so that your head was resting on his thigh, with his using his pullover as a pillow. He had been asking you to test him on his lines for Macbeth that he was supposed to be learning.

“… life is but a walking shadow,

A poor player that struts and frets about the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale told

By and idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

He waited.

“Signifying nothing…”

…

“Y/N, it’s your line.”

You jolted at the sound of your name. “Huh? Oh sorry, I must’ve drifted of.”

“You asleep?” he chuckled.

“No, you're just really comfy. I wouldn’t mind sleeping with you.”

He froze, smiling. “What?”

“I said I wouldn’t mind sleeping on you.”

“No you didn’t,” he said teasingly.

“Yes I did.”

“You said you wouldn’t mind sleeping with me.” It was your turn to freeze. “Oh. I’m sorry, I must’ve been in dreamland.”

“Are you sure?” he joked. “Might be your subconscious trying to tell you something.”

“Doesn’t matter anyways.” you said, “You’re way out of my league.”

He frowned at you, looking slightly confused. “What makes you think that?”

“Well, you're so handsome, and your tall and pretty and have cheekbones that could cut diamonds and you’ve got all that muscle that I know you hide because I’ve seen you play rugby, and you’re-”

“A lanky beanpole, I know,” he interrupts. “My love, you’ve got it wrong. You’re out of my league.”

You snort out a laugh. “You’re a bad liar, Thomas William Hiddleston.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, because you’d rather sleep on me than with me.”

“Of course I wouldn’t.” You said before your brain caught up with what you were saying.

He looks at you, staring so intently you feel mortified. Fuck. He could feel his heart going twenty to the dozen, his brain running at the speed of sound. Did you mean it? Could you really be his? After all this wasted time pining over you, trying desperately not to fall for you? You –feeling suitably mortified- turn your head so fast to turn away from him that you pull a muscle in your neck. “OW, fuck.”

He scoots closer to you and looks to see what's wrong. “Are you alright?”

“I’ve pulled my neck. I'm fine.” you mutter back, trying to stay still so you don’t irritate it.

“Let me see,” he says, gently prying your fingers away from your neck, so he can gently press his palm to it. “Do you need heat on it? Did you want me to get you anything?”

“It’ll be fine. It'll just be tense for a little while,” you say.

He is right up against you now, gently rubbing the sore area of your neck trying to get the muscles to relax. Slowly, ever so slowly, you find yourself leaning back into his touch, letting him rub the pain away and relaxing a little more.

“Can you move your neck at all darling?”

You try, but all you do is wince. “Nope.”

“Not at all?”

“No.”

“Then I think now is probably a good time to ask; what did you mean of course you want to sleep with me?”

You can feel yourself turning red. “Tom, I… well, even I have to admit your very handsome, and, I dunno, I guess… I really like you. A lot. And I just thought, if I said anything, then I’d lose you as a friend, and I didn’t want to risk it… but now, I mean, if you don’t want, y’know, we can just pretend I never said anything, it doesn’t have to-”

“Pretend you never said anything?” he repeats. “Pretend you never said anything? Not a chance darling, not when I have been dreaming of you saying that to me. I’m just glad you beat me to it.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I… I like you too,” he says.

“Oh.”

There's a bit of a silence. You wait a sec to digest what he’s just said. “Tom.”

“Yes?”

“As much as I’d love to kiss you right now, my neck is really fucking sore.”

He just laughs, and presses a kiss to your cheek. “C’mon. I’ll get you a hot water bottle when we get home, then maybe your neck will fix itself.” He helps you to your feet. “And then darling, I can kiss you all I want. Deal?”

“Deal.”

notes

*I feel the need to clarify, King Henry’s mound is actually the name of a hill in Richmond Park, and unfortunately, is not an old sex joke (like most things in history). There’s an old piece of legislation from the 1500s that states that you must always be able to see a certain part of London from that particular hill, because Henry wasn’t there when Anne Bolyn was beheaded, so told then to send up a smoke signal when she was dead. He saw it on that hill, hence the name “King Henry’s mound”. It's still illegal to build a skyscraper blocking it. Anyways, fun facts, go back to your fanfics now.

[radiojamming]

PLEASE tell us more about mummy types, i know ice is your fave so feel free to go ham on that but all of them are so interesting to me

drives up in my cozy coupe that has MUMMY MOBILE written in sharpie on the side (ALSO PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN LOOKING THESE UP; SOME OF THEM LOOK VERY GNARLY)

ICE/PERMAFROST - If you've followed me for a little while, you probably know more about these than the average fella! These are your Beechey Island Trio, your Ötzi the Iceman. Ice keeps bacteria from turning the body into a smorgabord, thus keeping these people fresh (and fluid-filled) for hundreds to thousands of years. And maybe some day down the line, some nerd finds you and thinks you're beautiful and never shuts up about you.

THE BOG - It's Tumblr. You all know about The Bog. Bog bodies are essentially turned into leather purses by the tannins and the anaerobic qualities of The Bog, sometimes effectively snapshotting their causes of death (usually something violent). Special shoutouts to fan favorites like Tollund Man, Lindow Man/Pete Marsh, Yde Girl, Grauballe Man, and Windeby I. And Hozier, probably.

HOT, DRY DESERT AIR - Think the Atacama Desert, the Mummies of Guanajuato, or your pre-embalming times Egyptians. In fact, it was the natural qualities of desert air that probably tipped the Ancient Egyptians off to the fun and fabulousness of preservation. You dry out to potato chip crispness but lose all the wet bits. Also Anubis is probably repping you.

ARID, COLD MOUNTAIN AIR - Same idea as the desert as far as lack of humidity, but better for your skin. Mountaintop mummies are some of the best preserved in the whole world. La Doncella is a fantastic example, as are the rest of the Children of Llullaillaco or the Cherchen Man and Siberian Ice Maiden. Sometimes this was done on purpose (hi bog bodies), but sometimes people just go up to high altitudes, die, and stay there forever.

HONEY/MELLIFICATION - This one doesn't fit the bill of spontaneous mummification, which is what I study. Honey mummies are made on purpose, allegedly by feeding someone honey until they're dead, and then dunking them in a coffin full of honey for them to steep like tea for the next century or so, then digging them up and making medicine/snacks out of them. Lots of alleged's, but still pretty cool if you're into idk becoming one with the slime.

SALT - Human jerky! Salt does to you what it does to all the other edible meats, of which you're just another brand. Salt sucks all the moisture out and keeps you nice, fresh, and flavorful forever and ever. The Saltmen of Iran are Thee Pinnacle of this type of preservation. Bonus is that you get weirdly sparkly when you're salted like a slug.

SAPONIFICATION - You become soap. Actually, if you want to get technical, you turn into what's called corpse wax (which is a surprisingly badass name for turning into a human candle) or adipocere. Mrs. Ellenbogen of the Mütter Museum is probably the best example of this, but it also happens to, uh, cave divers. Which is another great reason not to go cave diving.

PRISTINE AIR OF A SACRED BUILDING - Catacomb mummies! Incorruptible saints! Sokushinbutsu! If you're stuck in a religious house of worship and it just so happens to have its own little ecosystem (usually pretty dry, probably full of resinous incense), there's a non-zero chance that you'll get preserved very similarly to the mountain mummies. Getting stuck in a crystal casket doesn't hurt either. (Disclaimer: this is semi-anthropogenic for those keeping score at home. Some of these mummies are preserved this way on purpose.)

TAR PITS - Like the bog, but hotter, stickier, and smellier. Go in the tar, have no oxygen causing you to fall apart, turn into another leather bag time capsule. This more often happens to animals like those in the La Brea Tar Pits than people. At least that we know of.

WEIRD, AS OF YET UNKNOWN MEANS - Can we say for sure that there was only one reason why Lady Dai/Xin Zhui's stayed so preserved for so long? What about the other wet mummies? What about ones people find in trees? Or whatever the hell was going on with Elmer McCurdy? Maybe it's not unknown, but it doesn't fit the bill of typical mummies, or there are so many factors at play leading to preservation that we can't just call it by one category.

[queer-devil]

DRDR Incorrect Quotes Pt 3

Because I’m not ok and I will never be ok Jesus Christ why is October like this holy fucking—

Link to generator

Also warning most of these are prob ooc since they are emotion support

Ace: Can you be quiet?! I'm trying to think.

Arei: Don't worry. Doing anything for the first time is difficult.

Min: Hey, random question, what are your favorite flowers?

Teruko: Poppies, why?

Min:

Teruko: Were you going to get me flowers?

Min:

Teruko:

Min: ᶦᵗ’ˢ ᵃ ᵖᵒˢˢᶦᵇᶦˡᶦᵗʸ

Xander: And what do I get out of this?

David: I will give you a dollar.

Xander: What do you think I am? A chump? I would never do it for a dollar!

David: How about two dollars?

Xander: You got yourself a deal.

David: Ace, you're testifying in an aggravated assault case tomorrow, and the D.A. is worried about how you'll present yourself on the stand.

Ace: Why? I'm fine on the stand!

*flashback to Testimony #1*

Ace: Look, I'll make this real simple so even these dumdums can understand.

Ace, to the jury: MAN DID CRIME.

*flashback to Testimony #2*

Ace: I'm sorry, could you make her stop doing that weird thing with her face?

Defense Attorney, next to the crying defendant: ...Crying?

*flashback to Testimony #3*

Ace: And when this is over, I'm gonna find you and I'm gonna break those little fingers.

Judge: Could the witness please stop threatening the stenographer?

Xander: Oh, David, we have a visitor!

David: Don't tell me it's Teruko.

Xander: It's Teruko!

*Thump noise*

David, from the other room: What happened?!

Arei: Min’s shirt fell.

David: Why was it loud?

Arei: It had her inside.

*The Squad's cooking skills*

Whit: *master chef*

Eden: *knows a few recipes*

Rose: *can follow instructions on a box*

Charles: *made toast once*

Teruko: *banned from the kitchen*

Levi: Hopefully Ace has learned a lesson about respecting other people's feelings.

Ace: Oh, shut up and die Levi.

Min: Hey Arei, have you seen the photographer?

Arei: Nope. Have you seen the meat tenderizer?

Min, confused: What?

Arei, grabbing the meat tenderizer out of the drawer: No reason, cute girl things!

Rose: *working in a flower shop and minding her own business*

Ace, storming into the store and slapping $20 on the counter: HOW DO I PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVELY SAY “FUCK YOU” IN FLOWER???

*The squad has just arrived in a new city. Levi looks around at the wanted posters to see if he’s on any of them.*

Teruko: Levi, are you a criminal?

Levi: Not here, I’m not.

David: We’re all in this together. If one of us falls, we all fall. Nobody is expendable on this team.

Teruko: Sounds fake but ok.

Ace: I hate you.

Levi: Well, according to this picture I drew of us holding hands, that is untrue.

Min: If you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, it's venomous.

Ace: What if it bites me and it dies?!

Min: Then you're poisonous. Jesus Christ, Ace, learn to listen.

Veronika: What if it bites itself and I die?

Min: That's voodoo.

Rose: What if it bites me and someone else dies?

Min: That's correlation, not causation.

J: What if we bite each other and neither of us die?

Arei: That's kinky.

Min: Oh my god.

Eden: Imagine if someone handed you a box full of all the things you lost throughout your life.

Min: It would be nice to have my sense of purpose back...

Whit: Oh wow, my childhood innocence! Thank you for finding this.

David: My will to live! I haven't seen this in years.

Rose: I knew I lost that potential somewhere.

Veronika: Mental stability, my old friend!

Eden: Jesus, could you guys lighten up a little?

Rose: Whoa, Min, what’s up with that angry face?

Min: Whit won’t stop talking about how “Ancient Egyptians were furries”.

Whit: But they were! Just looks at all their gods-

Min: Oh my god, SHUT UP!

Veronika: I refuse to apologize for being weird or off-putting. That’s actually your problem. I’m having a fantastic time!

All of the ones after this point are suggestive

Whit: You look good in that hoodie.

Charles: You know where else I'd look good?

Whit, zero hesitation: My bed.

Charles, at the same time: By your side- wait, what?

Whit: Charles, you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right?

Charles, naked in Whit's bed: No, I absolutely do not.

Whit, already taking off his clothes: Fuck... Me neither.

Whit: There are 20 letters in the alphabet, right?

Charles: Nope, there's 26.

Whit: Ah, I must have forgotten U, R, A, Q, T.

Charles: That’s cute, but you're still missing one.

Whit: You'll get the D later ;).

Whit: As top in this relationship, I think we should-

Charles: I can't believe you're pulling rank on me.

Whit: I like your new pants!

Charles: Thank you, they were 50% off.

Whit: I’d like them better if they were 100% off. *winks*

Charles: The store can’t just give away clothes for free.

Whit: Thats’s… not what I meant.

Charles: That’s a terrible way to run a business, Whit.

Whit, with a headache: Advil me up, daddy.

Charles: I will short out the language centre of your brain if you say anything like that ever again.

Teruko: Who do we know that has handcuffs?

Whit: Well Charles and I-

Charles: *elbows Whit*

Whit: ...wouldn't know.

Ace: Is there a cactus where your heart should be?

Arei: What’s up your ass this morning!

Levi: *walks in* ...Hey.

Arei: Hmm… nevermind.

Ace: WAIT NO!

Arei: What’s your body count?

Levi: Do you mean sex or murder?

Ace: There. How do I look?

Levi: Like a cheap French harlot.

Ace: French?!

Charles: What’s sexting?

Teruko: I'm not having this conversation with you.

Arei, turning to J: Stop calling yourself hot, the only thing you can turn on is the microwave.

Eden: So anyways have y'all seen Ace?

Whit: I think they went in Levi's room 'studying'.

J: Doubt that. I heard groans there.

*Meanwhile in Levi's room*

Ace & Levi, fighting:

Ace: *sucking on a popsicle*

J: Pfft, you practicing for when Levi gets here?

Ace: *takes a huge ass bite out of the popsicle*

J: *Concern*

[password-door-lock]

Mystictober Day 27-- Haunted House

Saeran comes with you to a haunted house (1k words).

“You can wait outside, if you want,” you assure Saeran, looping your arm through his nevertheless as the pair of you approach your very favorite haunted house. “I won’t be mad. I’ve been in here alone plenty of times before, you know.” You’re well aware that he knows this already, but you just want to be absolutely certain that you’re not unfairly pressuring him to leave his comfort zone.

But Saeran only shakes his head no before setting his chin with stubborn resolve. “No, my love,” he replies, “I want to get to know the things you like.” You can’t help but admire how lovely he looks in the late afternoon sun, with the October breeze ruffling his hair. 

“I can walk in front if you want,” you offer, “That way, things will jump out at me instead of you. Well, I guess, except for the werewolf. I don’t know if it’s the same actor as the past couple of years, but if it is, he likes to jump out at the people in the middle. I know the girl who plays the mummy— she used to go to my gym— and she told me she goes after people who seem like they would scream, so sorry, but I don’t think you’ll be able to avoid her.” 

“I see,” Saeran is already gripping the back of your shirt, fully prepared to follow you into the house as soon as the attendant gives the go-ahead. “Then I guess I should get prepared to meet with her. Do you have any tips for… how to handle that?”

“She’s not that scary,” you point out, “She doesn’t even have any kind of weapon. At least, not unless they got more money in the props budget this year.” You doubt that this is the case, though. One of the things that you love about this haunted house is the fact that it never changes. It’s impressive that the actors still find ways to scare repeat visitors, and you enjoy returning at least annually to see how they’ll manage to surprise you each time. 

“Is that how mummies usually fight?” Leave it to Saeran to find room for curiosity even in a situation like this. You can’t help but giggle at the idea of a mummy attempting hand-to-hand combat, and evidently, your amusement is contagious, because Saeran cracks a smile as well. 

“Um… depends on the mummy?” You do your best to recall as much as you know about the Ancient Egyptian afterlife as relates to the weapons that the dead might wield. As one would expect, you find yourself coming up a bit short. “I think they get, like, a spellbook called the Book of the Dead? But I think those spells are pretty specific to the journey to the afterlife itself. I don’t know if they have anything that would work against a living human. Maybe, though? Because I know they wrote spells on the walls of the tomb to ward off grave robbers.”

“Darling,” Saeran reaches for your hand and squeezes it, though he’s still clinging to your shirt with his other hand. “You’re so wise. Oh!” The last bit is probably a reaction to the Haunted House attendant ushering the pair of you inside. “Thank you.” Although it’s clear that he’s a bit nervous, he still has impeccable manners. 

Saeran does surprisingly well inside the haunted house. He only screams once (when confronted by the werewolf, who does, indeed, seem to be played by the same actor who portrayed the character in previous years) and that happens far enough away from the mummy that she doesn’t hear, and therefore leaves him alone. Otherwise, he seems to pay very little attention to the monsters that jump out at the pair of you— although, being in front of him, you can’t see the expressions on his face. For your part, you spend the entire trip through the house giggling and laughing, especially when the monsters jump out. 

When the pair of you get out of the house, you and Saeran settle onto a bench to regroup and debrief. “What did you think?” You ask. You were a little bit worried that your partner might not enjoy your favorite haunted house— or haunted houses in general, for that matter. They don’t exactly seem like something that’d be up his alley, but you know how much it means to him that he’s now able to experience a variety of things. It was his decision to accompany you here, after all. 

“I’m happy that I had a new experience,” Saeran decides eventually, “And I’m glad you had fun in there, my love. I liked the way the rooms were designed, too.” He’s choosing his words with care, which makes you suspect that his thoughts are a bit more nuanced than he’s letting on. 

“But?” You prompt. You know that Saeran is well aware that he’s safe to voice opinions with you, but you just want to make it abundantly clear that you’re receptive to feedback from him, even about your favorite activities. 

“But next time, I’ll just get a snack or go meet some ducks instead while you go inside on your own,” Saeran decides with a smile. “I don’t think haunted houses are for me.”

“That sounds good. But… There’s ducks?” Naturally, you are distracted by this revelation. You’ve always come here with a single-minded focus on the haunted house, which, apparently, means that you have missed out on vital aspects of the surrounding area.

Saeran nods, gently patting your hand. “I noticed a couple of them swimming in a pond on the way over here. Did you want to go and see?”

“Okay.” You give his hand a gentle squeeze. “New plan. Let’s get some cotton candy, and then we should go look at the ducks. Did you see what kind they are?” Not that it matters very much— you’d be happy to look at any kind of ducks, and even happier to spend more time with the love of your life.

“I have no idea,” Saeran grins. “But that sounds wonderful, my love. Let’s go.”

[gx-gameon]

Yugi raise Jaden Part 6

Start - previous - next

No sooner had Yugi stepped out of the pod had Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl summoned themselves. The Dark Magician had a fond smile on his face as he looked upon Yugi, while the Dark Magician Girl did nothing to hide her excitement.

“Welcome Yugi Mouto to the Egyptian afterlife.” Came Dark Magician Girl melodic voice. “Our Pharaoh has waited for you, though I don’t believe he thought you’d arrive so soon.” Yugi’s blood turned to ice for a second. Was…was he dead? Was Mokuba wrong? Were he and Kaiba dead? Did he just abandon Jaden forever? “Peace my king. Your heart still beats, I am just saying that the Pharaoh will be pleased to see you.” Dark Magician Girl quickly tried to assure Yugi that he was still alive.

The Dark Magician sent his apprentice a disappointed look before flying down to Yugi and offing his hand to help Yugi down from the pod.

“Thank you.” Yugi thanked the spirit, who responded with a smile and a nod. “Though I have to ask why you appeared now.” Yugi questioned turning his head between the two spell-casters.

“The soul’s of our human reflections are nearby. Seeing as they are normally near the Pharaoh we thought we could lead you to them.” Dark Magician Girl explained.

Yugi realized she was probably speaking about Mahad and Mana, Atem’s friends from his time as Pharaoh. “That would be great!” Even if Atem wasn’t with them, they would probably know where Atem was. And wherever Atem was is where Kaiba would be.

The two spirit smiled at him before floating off in the direction of the palace. Yugi quickly followed after the two. They arrived into town, there were people milling about, but they stopped upon seeing Yugi. Pointing at the young man and his strange clothing and whispering. It had been a long time since a new spirit had joined them.

Yugi was starting to get uncomfortable with the stares when suddenly the Dark Magician disappeared from in front of him. “What-”

“It is alright my king.” Dark Magician Girl assured. “The Pharaoh and his guest must have started their daily duel. I’m sure Dark Magician was called to serve our Pharaoh.”

“Ah.” Yugi nodded along but speed up his pace. So Kaiba had gotten what he wanted, to duel Atem again. Judging by the fact that it was a daily duel and the fact Kaiba had yet to return home, Yugi had a sneaking suspicion that Joey was right. Kaiba hasn’t come home yet because he hadn’t won yet.

Yugi could feel anger rising in him. Anger at Kaiba for disturbing Atem’s peace. For not coming home and worrying Mokuba. For forcing Yugi away from his son! Yes it was Yugi’s choice to go, but no one else could have made the trip.

He followed Dark Magician Girl into the palace and followed her to the Pharaoh’s meeting chambers. The room was huge and ornate. With the pharaoh’s throne against the back wall, standing tall and proud. But Yugi’s eyes were drawn to the two opposite sides of the room.

On one side stood Seto Kaiba. Decked out in all of his tech, just as he was during there last duel, the blue lights from the duel disk shining around him perfectly mirroring the blue glow from his Blue eyes white dragon that hovered protectively above him. Even though Yugi was furious with the stubborn man, he could admit that this was Kaiba in his element. The man look near ethereal with the blue glow reflecting off his white coat.

But at the other end of the room stood someone Yugi hadn’t thought he would ever see again.

Atem.

If Kaiba looked ethereal then Atem could rival the divine. His white tunic was pristine. The royal purple cloak flowing behind him. He was decked in gold, from his legs to his wrist, to the multiple necklaces, to the crown upon his head. He looked every inch the regal pharaoh he was in life. Yugi could understand why the ancient Egyptians believed their Pharaoh’s to be gods, for he could see Atem as one.

Just as Yugi entered the room Atem summoned Slifer the Sky Dragon. The magnificent beast descending from the sky, if there was once a ceiling there there wasn’t one anymore, as Slifer’s thunder clouds filled the hall.

Atem ordered his final attack and Slifer destroyed Blue eyes white dragon. The duel ended. Atem was the winner.

“This isn’t over Pharaoh, I’ll beat you yet.” Kaiba called out full of rage and determination.

Yugi had been in awe at seeing his partner duel once again, until he heard Kaiba’s words. Then all of his fury returned to him.

“Kaiba! This ends now!” Yugi called out. All of his attention on the stubborn CEO in front of him. Kaiba’s whipped around to meet Yugi’s furious gaze with wide eyes as Yugi stormed his way towards him. Completely unaware of the Pharaoh staring at him in equal parts awed devotion and heart stoping fear.

—————————————————————————

Atem had had a long month.

It started when Seto Kaiba arrived in the palace. For a moment Atem’s heart had dropped. It hadn’t been long since he’d moved on, none of his friends from the present should be joining him yet.

He knew about Diva and the havoc that was occurring. After all he had been keeping an eye on Yugi and his friends, but that danger had passed. Atem had taken care of it personally. A feat of power that had blocked him from seeing into the world of the living for the past few months. He had been worried about his friends in the present but he never thought one of them would die.

Nor did he expect Seto Kaiba to choose to come to the Egyptian afterlife. There were several afterlife’s you could go to, the Egyptian one wasn’t as common a choice as it once was since their gods had fallen out of popularity with the living.

But Atem had hoped that at the very least Yugi would choose to come here when he passed on. He wanted his aibou to live a long and happy life, but he was selfish enough to hope Yugi would choose to spend eternity with him. In truth he hoped all their friends did, Joey, Téa, Tristian, Bakura, Serenity, Duke, Mai, the tomb keepers, and the Kaiba brothers. Though he had less hope for the final two with Kaiba’s stanch refusal of their past.

So it was quite surprising to see Seto Kaiba approaching his throne. Upsetting because how did Kaiba manage to die in the few months that Atem wasn’t watching over his friends? How was Mokuba holding up? How was Yugi and their friends taking the loss? Yet he was also a little pleased that Kaiba of all people chose to come to this afterlife.

That is until Kaiba opened his mouth. “Pharaoh I’ve come all the way here just to duel you and prove once and for all that I am the superior duelist.”

And who was Atem to deny a dead man his wish. They would have it out and then Atem could ask his friend what had happened to end his life so early.

But after the duel when Atem approached his friend to inquire after his death, Kaiba had looked him in the eyes and responded with “I didn’t die you fool. I build a dimensional transporter just so I could beat you.” He said it as though Atem’s idea was the crazy one.

Atem had been furious with him. You can’t force yourself into the afterlife. The two had argued with Atem trying to convince Kaiba to go home before he damaged his body or soul, while Kaiba refused to leave until he defeated the Pharaoh.

This stalemate had been going on for a month now. Kaiba demanding to duel and Atem ordering him to go home. Since Kaiba was stubborn and Atem did enjoy dueling him, Atem agreed to one duel a day, far less then what Kaiba wanted, but Atem worried over the strain dueling here might put of Kaiba body and soul.

Their duels were always an event. Many people would come to watch, excited to see if this was the day the man from the living finally accepted that their Pharaoh could not be beat.

Today’s duel played the same as all the others. Kaiba was giving Atem a run for his money, with Blue eyes white dragon on the field to protect him. But Atem had his Dark Magician and kuriboh on the field. With a quick multiply card on kuriboh he had the three sacrifices he needed to summon Slifer. The gods were still willing to join him in battle, he had the feeling they enjoyed a fun duel as much as he did.

He could hear the crowd gasp and murmur, but that was normal when he summoned one of the gods. He directed his attack at Blue eyes and wiped out the rest of Kaiba’s life points.

The crown cheered his victory, and Seto made his normal dramatic speech. “This isn’t over Pharaoh, I’ll beat you yet.” Atem knew that it was coming, but it still frustrated him that Kaiba was being so stubborn about this. He needed to go home. He was playing with powers they didn’t understand.

But all of Atem’s annoyance at Kaiba left him when he heard another voice raise above the crowd. A voice he hadn’t expected to hear again for many years. “Kaiba! This ends now!”

Atem couldn’t believe it. He turned his head to see Yugi. His aibou had grown since he left. Yugi stood tall, the soft lavender of his shirt and deep violet of his vest drawling attention to his amethyst eyes. For a moment Atem was filled with both elation and dread, because Yugi is here!

Yugi is here meaning he died young and never got to truly live his life, something Atem would rage against the gods for.

Yugi is here meaning he chose to come to this afterlife to be with Atem.

Yugi is here wearing the same duel disk and bracelet as Kaiba, except his had a gentle violet glow instead of Kaiba’s electric blue, surrounding his aibou with light just as he had always brought light to Atem’s darkness.

Yugi was wearing the same tech as Kaiba….

“Yugi what are you doing here?” Kaiba asked just as shocked as Atem to see the other duelist here. Yugi was storming his way towards Kaiba not looking at anyone else, and Atem could see the king in Yugi, the one that demanded respect, his aibou had truly grown into himself.

“Mokuba sent me to come get you. You’ve scared him Kaiba, he’s worried sick over you.” Yugi wasn’t yelling but his tone was firm, one not to be argued with.

Once again Atem’s world stopped. Yugi came after Kaiba. He’s not dead. Relief instantly filled him, he didn’t want Yugi’s life to be cut short. But he was also furious, not with Yugi, never with Yugi, but with Kaiba. The man was already risking his own body and soul to be here, and now because of his stubbornness Yugi was here risking his as well.

To Kaiba’s credit he did look throughly shammed over worrying Mokuba. “He knew I might take a while to return.” It was a weak defense. His brother was always his weak spot.

Yugi seemed to soften to. “Knowing that you’ll be gone and having you gone for a month are different. Go home Kaiba. Your life is waiting for you, you’ve got to go live it.”

Atem didn’t know when he had started moving towards them, that’s a lie he started walking as soon as he saw Yugi, but now he was right behind his aibou. “Yugi.”

The boy drew in a sharp breath before turning around to face Atem. The two stared at each other for a moment, taking each other in, before tears welled up in Yugi’s eyes and he launched himself forward to hug Atem. Atem caught him with ease, wrapping his arms around Yugi’s waist as Yugi wrapped his around his neck.

“I missed you, I missed you so much.” Yugi told him holding on to him tightly.

Atem tightened his own grip. “I’ve missed you to, more than you can imagine.”

Yugi let out a wet chuckle, “wanna bet?”

“This is very touching but I’m not leaving till I’ve won.” Kaiba interrupted them. Atem could kill him for real this time.

Yugi pulled away from, but didn’t fully let go of, Atem to turn his attention back to Kaiba. “Kaiba it’s over. You lost. It’s okay. But we have to go back.” Yugi turned to look at Atem again. “I miss Atem too,” he paused blinking away new tears and turning back to Kaiba “but we can’t stay here.” There was so much emotion in his voice. The longing to stay with Atem mixed with his desperation to return as soon as possible to Jaden.

Atem looked sadly at his aibou. This was hard for both of them. Saying goodbye the first time had felt impossible and now they had to do it again.

“No Yugi you don’t get it. I have-” Kaiba started in on his grand speech but Yugi had had enough.

“I understand perfectly.” Yugi snapped. “I understand that you want to win. I understand you’ve tried for a month. I understand that Mokuba is worried enough to ask me to come after you. And I understand that my son is waiting for me to come home.” Yugi practically spat the facts at Kaiba, furious with this man’s stubborn nature. Did he not understand that his friends and brother were worried about him and wanted him home?

Atem and Kaiba froze in their spots as soon as Yugi’s last sentence left his mouth. Yugi could feel Atem go ridged in his arms. Could see Kaiba gaping at him like a fish. What was their problem?

“Your son?” Atem spoke so quietly Yugi would have missed it if they weren’t standing so close. He turned to face his friend once more to see Atem’s shocked face. “You have a son?”

[quicksilverownsmysoul]

Baby names

This has been sitting in my drafts forever and I finally decided to finish it. It’s short but I love it

Summary: you and the moon knight boys try to think of names for your baby

Parings: Steven x reader, Marc x reader, Jake x reader

“How about Baset?” Steven proposed, looking over at you from the rim of his glasses. You lowered your book of baby names, resting in on your growing bump, an eyebrow raising. Steven took this as a opportunity to move from his place at his desk, books in hand as he made his way over to the bed where you were sitting.

He took a moment to look upon the books he had brought, trying to think which would help his case the most. He settled on a children’s book that he had bought from the gift shop as a while back, at the time he had said it was never too early to teach your baby about ancient egypt.

He opened a children’s book of Egyptian gods flipping to the page with the goddess Baset, showing you the colored image. He held it for you, looking over the top as he spoke again. “See she’s the goddess of beauty and the protector of evil. Lovely ain’t it.” He mused, his hand coming to rub affectionately over your belly. “Cause I know our little bugger here is going to be as pretty as her mother.” You smiled as his praise before rolling your eyes, knowing that behind his sentimental compliments he was trying to convince you to name your baby after an Egyptian god yet again.

“Steven.” You chided laying your hand over his.

“Yea?” He asked, a hopeful tone in his voice.

“We’re not naming our daughter after an Egyptian goddess.”

“What if it’s a boy? Cause I think Horus is quite fitting.”

You shook your head laughing. “Steven no.” He gave you a pout as he crawled between your legs, gently resting his weight on your belly as he ran his hands up and down your sides. His lips were pursed, all huffy from your denial at his suggestion for your guys baby’s name.

He tried again, looking up at you through his eyelashes. A look that always made your heart melt. “What about for a middle name.” He mumbled against your exposed skin, eyes wide and pleading. You rolled your eyes, hand coming up to trace the contours of his face.

“I’ll think about it.” He gave your a victorious smile as he pressed a kiss to your belly, eyes fluttering closed as Marc took over.

“Hey baby.” He mused, crawling up to kiss you, his hot breath tickling your skin. “I missed you.”

You hummed, looping your arms around his neck. “I missed you too.” You let him roll you into your side so you with your back to his chest, his arms coming to cup your belly.

“You’re not really going to let out baby have a name associated with an Egyptian god are you?” He grumbled, head laying in the crook of your neck.

“I don’t know. I think it could be cute.” You mused, thinking of how happy it would make Steven. “Besides I haven’t been able to think of anything better, I’m too tired.” You yawned, closing your eyes for a moment. “Do you have any ideas honey?”

Marc thought for a moment, hands coming to softly caress your baby bump. “As long as our baby’s healthy I’m okay with whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy.” You smiled at his sentiment and laid your hands over his. You laid that that for a while just enjoying the moment before Jake finally made an appearance.

“Mi amor.” He cooed, nestling his face into you as he pressed a kiss to the top of your shoulder. “Amalia, for a girl.” He said continuing to kiss your neck and lovingly rubbing your belly. “Benito for a boy.” You smiled to yourself, lifting his hand up to kiss the back of his hand.

“I like Benito.” You turned in his arms and he gave you a rare smile. “Benito Horus.” You joked, earning a snort from Jake as he rolled his eyes. “It’s cute.” You smiled up at him and he could hear Steven in his head giving a cheer. But you knew most likely Jake and Marco would use their veto on Horus

[beethetogruta]

Why have we as a society decided that it is perfectly alright to find and dig up the dead bodies of Ancient Egyptians, simply because its interesting.

Now I think that Ancient Egypt is interesting, infact, I have previously taken interest in the Ancient Egyptians beliefs, why they were buried the way they were, how they lived ect.

HOWEVER

I recently went to a museum as they had an Ancient Egypt exhibit, I enjoyed my experience but walked away with a dilemma. My dilemma had begun from about half way through exhibit, 2 entire rooms of the exhibit, filled with empty outter coffins, empty inner coffins and mummified human remains.

Why does anyone think it is alright to dig up dead bodies, take them from their tombs and leave their wrapped up dead bodies on display for anyone to see.

These were people, walking, talking, breathing human beings. They worked, the loved, they ate, they drank, hell they even wore makeup.

I don't think that many people would want their dead body to be placed in a museum after being dug up in an excavation.

These people have been separated from the things left in their coffins, such as prayers and heart scarabs, to protect them in the after life, their organs separated from them. Their bodies having been scanned to see what is beneath the wrappings.

One such mummy that I saw, was that of a girl, a mere 16 year old girl, who passed from disease. I stood there for a second, staring at the wrappings of her body through the glass, an unnamed, unknown girl. I tried to imagine how she would feel finding out that her body was on display, that anyone could see the her wrappings, her body not far beneath.

On the opposite side of the room, on a stand under glass was a scarab, taken from beneath wrappings, taken from the body of a person who likely believed that it could protect them in the afterlife.

On top of all of this. Many people around me were taking photos of the mummies. There is only one arguement that I have heard to "justify" taking pictures.

"Well history needs to be remembered"

History can be remembered without having to take apart someones grave, History can be remembered without having to put someones body on display, History can be remembered and taught about without disrespecting dead people.

I wish to hear what others think about about this topic.

SO

I will attach some pictures I took, no images of mummifued remains will be shown as I did not take any. However grainy filters have been added as my reflection is in many of them and I prefer to not expose my real face online.

The pictures consist of:

Organ Jars

A portrait of a man

Inner coffins (the smaller ones)

Outter coffins (the bigger ones)

A Heart scarab

A page from the book of the dead

[samasmith23]

Futaba Sakura from Persona 5 Royal and Autistic Coding

I recently encountered a really phenomenal article analyzing how Futaba Sakura’s character from Persona 5 Royal effectively functions as autistic representation, even if the game’s developers didn’t intend for her to be so:

Speaking as an individual on the spectrum myself, I very quickly picked up on the autistic coding of Futaba given her strong special interests in computers & anime, as well as her difficulty in socializing with others. Plus, Futaba’s arc of voluntarily requesting a change of heart from the Phantom Thieves to overcome her suicidal depression & self-loathing shut-in status following her mother Wakaba’s alleged suicide had me on the edge of my seat. Witnessing Futaba enter the mindscape of her own palace in the cognitive world and not only realizing the truth that Wakaba actually did love her daughter and that the alleged suicide note uncharacteristically blaming Futaba for her death was just a cruel forgery (fabricated by the corrupt politician Masayoshi Shido’s henchmen who stole Wakaba’s cognitive psience research on the Meta-Verse before murdering her via mental-shutdown), but also seeing Futaba merge with her Shadow-self to awaken her own Persona and actively assist the Phantom Thieves in defeating the distorted false memories of her mother born from her own self-loathing was legitimately powerful! I related so hard to Futaba’s mental struggles and efforts to overcome her anxiety during the boss fight with Cognitive Wakaba here!

And even after defeating Cognitive Wakaba and clearing Futaba's palace, Futaba herself still maintains a lot of her autistic-coded traits despite no-longer isolating herself in her room 24/7 and being more socially interactive with her fellow Phantom Thieves (although she still does struggle with being out in public). It expertly avoids the ableist trap that's sadly commonplace in other media wherein a character is "cured" of their neurodivergence. Here however, Futaba not only willingly requested the Phantom Thieves to change the distortions in her heart, but all they did was help Futaba to find the stregnth and courage to overcome her feelings of self-loathing, depression and suicidality on her own. She's still the same socially awkward & tech-savy girl that she was prior to the "change of heart," but she's now chosen to embrace the best aspects of herself (which are a part of her neurodivergence) rather than imprisoning herself in a tomb of self-loathing (which was symbolized by her Meta-Verse palace being an Ancient Egyptian pyramid isolated in the desert that Futaba's Shadow was the Pharaoh of).

Also, Futaba may not be the only autistic-coded character in P5 Royal considering that my personal favorite cast member, Makoto Niijima, also struggles heavily with socially interacting with her peers despite her status as a highly committed Student Council President devoted to her studies (initially studying solely because it’s what society and the adults in her life expected from her, before deciding to utilize her passion for academic knowledge to help the oppressed out of her own personal sense of justice).

While Makoto is still my favorite P5 Royal character overall, Futaba Sakura is easily in the Top 3! And I choose to headcanon both characters as autistic!

[krindor]

Jewish Life Pre-Diaspora: Women's Hair

back in april @mylight-png made a post expressing a desire to learn about small details of "ancient Judean" life such as clothes, jewelry, hair, etc. and I've found the idea of addressing what I, as a Jewish archaeologist, could in that post intriguing. these types of questions are some of the most interesting, but also the most challenging, for archaeology.

Defining "ancient Judeans"

In this, I'm looking for ancient Judeans as defined by Light's quote "I wish to know what traditional, pre-occupation, pre-exile Jewish life was like." which I'm taking as before the babylonian diaspora in 586 BCE, because anything after that date is post-diaspora, and while there were occupations before 586 BCE, I want to be able to give some answers.

Women's Hair

The only definitive visual depiction of Judean women I could find came from the Lachish Relief, a wall decoration in Sennacherib's Southwest Palace in Nineveh, which is in modern-day Iraq. It depicts the outcome of the siege of Lachish in 701 BCE, where the Assyrians sacked the Judean city as a part of Sennacherib's campaigns into Israel and Judah (the same campaign that led to the diaspora of the 'ten lost tribes')

In the relief, women are displayed as wearing long headscarves (below) so unfortunately this tells us little about their hair (in the relief, children are shown as miniaturized adults, so we also learn nothing about girls hair from the relief).

(Image credit: Amanda Borschel-Dan/Times of Israel)

Hope for learning anything about women's hair isn't lost though, thanks to a type of artifact called a Judean Pillar Figurine (or JPF's for short). These figurines are split into two groups: those using well detailed molds, and handmade, more abstract pieces.

(Deutsch, 2022)

Hundreds of JPF's have been found, with over 50% of them coming from the Jerusalem area and all dating to the 9th-6th centuries BCE, which is the time period we're looking for. The primary issue is that we don't know what exactly they were used for, or who they represent. They could be depictions of Judean women, but it's also likely that they are depictions of Ashera, a local fertility deity that was worshiped alongside El/Hashem in domestic settings (religion in pre-diaspora Israel and Judah is messy, I should probably do one of these about it), and it's even been theorized that they are children's toys. The two types may even be used differently, we just don't know. So while I'm going to show the JPF hairstyles, keep in mind that these may not be the actual hairstyles Judean women wore.

The mold-made faces consistently have "voluminous cheek- or chin-length hair framing a face with full cheeks, a mouth that may smile slightly, a chin, nose, and almond-shaped eyes." (Ben-Shlomo and McCormick 2021, 27, image below from the same, 29).

This hairstyle is seen in the area as early as the 12th century BCE, on an ivory flask "bottle figure" from Lachish, which is pre-Israelite, so this hairstyle has been in the region for a while. (Niditch 2008, 44), and may resemble an Egyptian wig in its form, owing to Egypt's cultural influence over Canaanite and early Israelite culture (Deutsch 2022).

This consistency and longevity in the features is also used as an argument that they represent a single individual (again, Ashera), rather than this hairstyle being ubiquitous among Judean women.

Among the handmade, pinched face JPF's, there is naturally more variety, and a possible hairstyle can be seen in them from Tell en-Nasbeh. Some of these handmade JPF's have a headband that has two side locks coming from underneath it (below), and while none displayed side locks without a headband, the reverse isn't true, though exceptionally rare (2 of the 37 JPF's found had a headband without hair).

(Ben-Shlomo and McCormick 2021, 29)

Conclusion

Due to the undetermined nature of the JPFs, and the lack of other evidence at the moment, it's impossible to definitively say "this is how ancient Judean women styled their hair." That being said, I hope I've presented some current ideas from my field that are interesting, and shed a little light on such an ephemeral topic.

TLDR: I couldn't find much, but there is ongoing research into this topic in archaeology.

[ava-of-shenanigans]

Egyptian pharaoh names but I’ve turned them into ancient cat names

1. Tutankhbastet (Tutankhamun)

This is the most obvious name on this list because literally all I’ve done is change out the name of one god for another god. I’m not doing that for any of the others I promise.

King Tutankhamun is the one pharaoh everybody knows about, which is ironic since his birth name literally means “the living (ankh) image (tut) of the Hidden One (Amun).” (“Tut” can also be translated as “likeness” or “statue.”)

Amun was the Egyptian god of, uh… stuff (he’s hidden. His whole deal is that he’s hidden). Bastet was the Egyptian cat goddess. Sometimes she was portrayed as a lady with a cat head, but sometimes she was just a cat. If you switch Amun’s name out for Bastet’s, it becomes “the living (ankh) image (tut) of the Cat Goddess (Bastet).” Truly, a name that only the most dignified and elegant cats deserve.

Transliteration: twt-anx-bAstt

You could also say it “Tutankhbast” if you prefer.

2. Hatmiushepsyu (Hatshepsut)

Hatshepsut’s name means “the foremost (hat) of noblewomen (shepsut),” and it turned out to be really good name for her, since she became pharaoh and all. If you want to change it to “foremost of noble cats” it becomes Hat-miu-shepsyu, “miu” meaning “cats” and shepsyu meaning “noble.”

Transliteration: HAt-miww-Spsyw

3. Nedjestiti (Nefertiti)

I am aware that calling Nefertiti a pharaoh is controversial since there’s a chance that Neferneferuaten might have been her daughter and not her. But finding names of pharaohs that you can do this to and are also popular enough to be recognized is hard so shush.

Nefertiti was supposedly the most beautiful woman in the ancient world (although we can’t confirm that because Nefertiti and all the other ancient women are now dead). Her name fits this, because it means “the beautiful one (nefert) has come (iti).”

“Nedjes” is a word meaning “small,” so changing the name to Nedjest-iti makes it mean “the small one has come.”

This is a good name, because if your cat is bad then you can use it in a derogatory sense to call them a penniless little beggar. Unfortunately, it only really works for girl cats, because the masculine version is “Nedjesiu,” which loses the pun quite a bit.

Transliteration: nDst-ii.ti

4. Miumer (Narmer)

Narmer was the first pharaoh to rule over all of Egypt, and like other early pharaohs the only name used for himself was his Horus name instead of his throne name or birth name. (You know that TS Elliot poem about how cats have a bunch of different types of names? Pharaohs are like that too). Because Narmer was his Horus name, it was written inside an enclosure called a serekh instead of a cartouche.

The name itself means something like “striking (mer) catfish (nar)” or “fierce (mer) catfish (nar).” To change it to “striking cat” or “fierce cat,” you need to change nar to miu: Miu-mer. (Yeah the English translations of this one are stronger wordplay than the Egyptian versions, sorry.)

If your cat is a girl then the name should be Miutmer instead.

Transliteration: miw-mr

5. Bitokris (Netiqerti/“Nitokris”)

Queen Nitokris was either a cunning murderess, whose name lurks in the shadows of history… or she was a 3,000 year old transcription error. The only potential record we have of her name in hieroglyphs is the name of a pharaoh called “Netiqerti” on the Turin kings list. This could be Nitokris, or it could be a mistake made by a scribe while trying to copy the name of the name of another, completely different pharaoh.

If Netiqerti is Nitokris, then her name means “Neith (Net, a goddess) is excellent (iqerti).” Bit-iqerti/Bitokris would mean “honey (bit) is excellent (iqerti).”

Transliteration: bit-iqr.ti

[evilios]

Threads That Bind was my first introduction to Kika Hatzopoulou's writing, and a pleasant one. It's a refreshing novelty among mythology-inspired books as it features an otherwise untouched by them genre: a fantasy crime novel.

Hatzopoulou's writing is dynamic and flavorful, she's very talented at creating action sequences and fast-paced, intense interactions. Her text is heavily inspired by different concepts of cultural and mythological landscapes of Greece, Ancient and modern: the main heroine, Io, is a descendant of a long line of Fates-born capable of seeing and cutting threads of one's life and all the things dear to the person. Alongside her equally powerful sisters, Thais and Ava, she's in the middle of all the action, uncovering the mystery of a spree of suspicious murders.

Io is a deeply sympathetic character that's easy to relate to due to her social standing and the deep personal, familial crises she is going through: grief and loss, growing apart with the family, finding your point in life, hoping for one day when things might get better. She's simply well-written and interesting to follow.

If you enjoy a fun and dynamic narrative built around the concepts of predetermined fate, destiny and justice, sisterhood and family, otherness, and free will, then I'd heavily recommend this book.

No major plot spoilers, some things I want to specifically point out:

Personally, I adore how many solid female characters Kika introduces. The majority of the reoccurring cast are women and they're all utterly brilliant. I am deeply in love with Bianca and I adore Rosa with my whole heart. There's a dangerous sapphic character who does not die and is in a relationship with another woman. There's a transwoman (who is I believe in a relationship) whose queerness is not obtusely focused on but rather treated as it should be: as a normal thing. You do not learn she's trans until one mention of past deadnaming (no name mentioned) appears. There's a hint that the main character might be bisexual. There's a nonbinary character relevant to the plot. There are multiple secondary characters using different pronouns. Queerness is treated by Kika as a usual everyday thing and it's very refreshing to see.

Kika sets the action in a city that resembles Athens: it has an Acropolis where elites live, the slums, the poorer areas and the more immigrant-populated areas. No real geographical location is ever marked but by some small cues you can figure out that the fictional city and its surrounding areas are heavily inspired by Greece with proximity to Egypt, Slavic territories, and Near East.

Main character's love interest (this book has a soulmate story as a background but it's not annoying/in your face) is coded to be what would equate to real world Egyptian, based on cultural codes. A lot of characters are heavily diverse, Kika uses a lot of names that sound Greek, Italian, Russian, and Arabic. It's a very modern Mediterranean-coded story.

I ADORE the attention Kika gives to her side characters. There's a character named Chimdi who is passionate about sculpture, and her mini-story is actually deeply impactful on how you perceive the Muses. The Muses are the only "other-born" who go by the names of the original Nine Muses and it's treated as a "marketing move" — there are so many analysis points the author makes and I just adore it.

Instead of having divine descendants follow individual Gods (who might or might not be mentioned), Kika makes the divine "other-born" descend from groups of divinities only: three Fates equate three sisters, countless oneiroi equate to multitudes of oneiroi-born, Muses equate to the rare event of nine girls being born in a family, and so on. It's fun how she puts it together.

This book very openly and directly hates cops and I love it for that. Kika overall comments a lot on social injustice, immigration laws, mistreatment of ostracized native population vs. ostracized immigrant population, xenophobia, and other matters of social segregation. Corrupt government and people just getting by are the background of her story.

There's one element at the very end that I'm a little worried about because I do not like this trope, but with Kika's gentle and careful approach to her own cultural narratives, I have faith it will be encountered properly in the sequel, Hearts That Cut.

There are a lot of topics she touches upon, and I do heavily recommend this book.