#i mean... i am assuming its the foxes? or an animal

[who-is-the-barest-of-them-all]

bloody foxes keep digging up my fern 🙃

[infiniteeight8]

Omega fox Stephen

Alpha dragon tony

Canon au

No body knows their secondary and animal form

Pre ironman

Go wild !

I’ve done a few Sentinel spirit guide / daemon / animal form type prompts where whatever animal form they have is considered unusual or misunderstood. So this time I decided to go frame their forms as symbolically meaningful, but not otherwise special.

I’ve assumed that by “form” you mean that shapeshifting is a part of this type of AU. We only get a partial shift here, alas.

-

Stephen was less than impressed when he got called to the emergency room to do a neurological consult on Tony Stark. It was painfully obvious that the hospital administration only wanted to impress the billionaire. With that in mind, Stephen marched toward the room where Stark was being treated, his most icily professional mask firmly in place. If he pissed Stark off the hospital administration would eviscerate him, but that didn’t mean he had to pander to the man. 

Raised voices became audible some distance from the exam room, despite the closed door. “I’m fine. The airbag did its job, and I’ve already been evaluated by a doctor. I don’t want to waste the time of some specialist, I want to go home.”

“A car accident is serious—”

“It was a fender bender. I wasn’t injured.”

“You’re not a doctor.”

“I’ve been seen by a doctor. If I was Joe Schmoe instead of Tony Stark, billionaire, I’d be gone by now.”

Anger mostly deflated by Stark’s understanding of the nature of the situation, Stephen pushed open the exam room door and stepped inside. Stark was standing next to the exam bed, his companion—a woman—standing across from him with her arms crossed. Both their gazes snapped to Stephen. “And now apparently you’re going to be seen by another one,” he said. “Miss, step outside, please.”

She started to protest, but Stark rolled his eyes. “Just go so we can get this over with.” Sighing, the woman left. Stark made a face. “Sorry about this, Doc. I know you have better things to be doing.”

“As do you,” Stephen said, beginning his exam. “But the hospital administration is a force to be reckoned with.”

“As is Pepper,” Stark replied, amused. 

Stephen ran through his exam as quickly as he responsibly could. Everything came back normal, of course. When they were done, Stephen offered Stark his hand. “Thank you for cooperating.” Stark could easily have taken his frustration out of Stephen.

Stark snorted. “You’re welcome,” he said dryly, taking Stephen’s hand.

As their hands closed around each other, Stark’s eyes lightened to a brilliant gold, his pupils narrowed to slits, and scales spread from the corners of his eyes down his throat. With only a partial shift to go on, someone else might have mistaken Stark for a snake-form, but Stephen was a doctor. “You’re a dragon,” he blurted out, startled.

“And you’re a fox,” Stark replied, eyeing the pointed ears and fur that Stephen had sprouted. “Unusual, for a doctor. You must do research.”

‘Unusual’ was the pot calling the kettle black here. Dragons were powerful protective forms; it was very nearly the last form Stephen would have guessed for a weapons manufacturer. “I do,” Stephen answered aloud. Reluctantly, he let go of Stark’s hand. Both of their forms faded back into a regular human appearance. “I apologize,” he went on. “I wear gloves for more intimate exams, but handshakes aren’t supposed to trigger reactions like that. Not unless—”

Not unless the two were an exceptionally compatible alpha/omega pair.

Stark gave him a faint smile. “It’s fine,” he said. “Am I good to go now?”

Stephen blinked, refocusing on his work. “Yes, of course. You’re fine.”

“Thanks, doc,” Stark said, scooping up a jacket draped over a nearby chair and heading for the exam room door. Once there, he paused and glanced back. “This is just between us, right?”

“Docter-patient confidentiality,” Stephen assured him.

“Good.” Stark nodded briskly, and then he was gone.

Stephen knew that they were far from an appropriate match. Walking out immediately was the right choice. But despite that, he couldn’t shake the feeling that, with Stark’s departure…

…he’d lost something.

[rouge-the-bat]

i think itd be really funny if hiei didnt realize who kurama truly was for a while after they meet. kurama introduces his name to him as just "kurama," and im sure theres More Than One demon kurama, so its not like hiei would immediately assume hes THE infamous youko kurama. and kurama doesnt tell him, because hes a silly lil fox with much patience and finds much amusement in waiting and seeing how long itll take hiei to realize.

and its not like kurama tries to be subtle either. he gets a fox keychain on his backpack, hiei notices it and asks its purpose. kurama says its just a fun decoration, which hiei dismisses as stupid.

kurama eventually mentions having a tail in his old body. hiei realizes he was an animal demon, but doesnt care which he may have been, because what would it matter?

kurama also does not keep quiet about the fact he was and still is a thief. there are a lot of thieves in the makai, though, things dont click in hieis mind yet.

hiei turns down much of kuramas attempts to "pry into his life" (as he sees it) at first, and doesnt want to pry into kuramas either. he wants to keep their partnership as just business, he has no interest in getting all buddy-buddy (he will also not think into at all why he likes looking at kurama, it doesnt mean anything if he doesnt think about it). BUT. he does end up becoming very curious, because how could he not with a demon in a human body, that has such an unusual situation and loads of knowledge and skill?

kurama told him at least that his soul had escaped to the body of an unborn human before he was able to perish. hiei wondered how long ago that happened, and asked kurama how old his human form is. "14," kurama tells him.

at this point hiei is still able to return to the makai, and he goes to retrieve some various seeds kurama needs for weapons/medicine and such. a good way he can be useful for their partnership- he doesnt want it to be one-sided after all- and plus kurama equipped with more items would defintely be helpful for him as well.

on one trip he eavesdrops on some bandit hideout he discovers- nothing interesting they got there, but information they speak about could come in handy. a very unimpressive-looking demon mentions that theyre gonna become the next youko kurama (hiei manages to keep himself from snorting, but not from rolling his eyes). another demon says that theyve been hearing rumors that youko kurama died for over a decade now, but they still dont believe it. says they bet he faked his death so he can catch some big shot off guard and take em for all theyve got.

this conversation doesnt make him question anything until later, when hes relaxing in a tree back in the ningenkai. its late, and his mind starts to wander and remembers the conversation. hes always heard a lot of tales about the king of thieves, but doesnt know how much may be factual. he offhandedly wonders if kurama happens to know any concrete details, since hes proven to be very knowledgeable about many things.

then it clicks. all the little details over the months fall into place in his mind and hes suddenly wide awake and rushing to kuramas house. he slams kuramas sliding window open, and kurama startles and halts from brushing his hair. he sternly tells hiei to be careful, that glass can break easily, and that sound could have woken his mother. shes a light sleeper and needs her sleep! hiei doesnt comment on that, and just urgently says "kurama. what kind of demon are you?"

kurama blinks for a moment, then chuckles. he gives hiei a wicked grin as he replies "youre just now figuring out who i am, are you?" "kurama," hiei repeats, "what are you?" he sees a mischievous glint in those green eyes that almost looked gold before kurama answers "why, a youko, of course."

[redthefortuneteller]

Snake is not a human with snake genes. He's a snake with human genes.

𓆚 𓆚 𓆚 Edit: I've added at the bottom something else I had forgotten about. If you've read this post before, give it a read. Sorry about that! I've made other seperate posts related so that this one doesn't get so enormous. Here are the links: The Island of Queimada Grande The Snake Charming Flute A Pet Snake Feel free to give them a peek if you found this post interesting. These posts are much more brief than this one, I promise you! :D 𓆚 𓆚 𓆚 If you're at all familiar with the 1896 early science fiction novel "The Island of Doctor Moreau" by H. G. Wells, the tittle surely might've brought it to mind. Indeed, I am basing this theory on this novel. "The Island of Dr. Moreau reflects the ethical, philosophical, and scientific concerns and controversies raised by the themes and ideas of Darwinian evolution, which were so disruptive to social norms in the late 1800s."

In brief, Doctor Moreau was an eminent physiologist (read: mad scientist) in London who ended up fleeing Great Britain due to his experiments in vivisection being publicly exposed. Vivisection is, for all intents and purposes, experimentation on live animals. What he accomplished with his experimenting was human-animal hybrids. But it's not as one would assume at first glance (as did the main protagonist in the novel), that he'd turn humans into animals, as is often portrayed in this sort of fiction or even in real-world folklore (think werewolves or berserkers).

Instead, Doctor Moreau turned animals into humans. And unfortunately, through means of extremely painful surgery, which fits in quite well with a dark story such as Kuroshitsuji.

Almost all of the beast-folk are named after "what they're made of". For example: Leopard-Man, Hyena-Swine, Wolf-Man, Fox-Bear Woman, etc… And he refers to them as his children. Children he holds hostage on an island. You know, like an orphanage? The orphanage, which is mentioned in Chapter 192, could very well be "the island" where the Doctor's children were being held at. After all, an island is just like a building where one can be held in, only the walls are a vast ocean. Snake (or Oscar) refers to it as "… a terrible place." and remembering the painful surgery part, I think that's an understatement.

In a 1996 film adaptation that slightly deviated from the original work, the beast-folk as they're called, need to take a serum in order to keep them from turning back into their original form. All except for one hybrid in particular, which the doctor refers to almost perfect or the closest he's gotten to perfection. I feel inclined to mention that in the film someone confronts the protagonist with something along the lines of "What do you intend to do once you get her out of the island? Sell her to a circus?" referring to that almost perfect hybrid. I believe it to be the case that Snake could be the perfect hybrid. The doctor mentions the fact that in turning animals into humans, he could create the perfect human, devoid of its human flaws, devoid of malice. I firmly believe Snake is devoid of malice.

The whole incident with Phelps was nothing but a mistake, and Snake's paying dearly for that mistake as he got his neck sliced in the same place Phelps had the mamba bite.

Whichever the case, the plan was not very well thought through: he was going to kill Smile without knowing the circus troupe was dead and without so much as asking Smile about it. He was going to kill Sebastian too, were he not a demon. As Smile was telling him that he had infiltrated the circus in order to investigate, Snake kept flip-flopping between getting shocked with the revelation that the troupe were kidnapers and getting aggravated, insisting Smile was lying. Probably due to the snakes' chattering each of their opinions. He's confused, but he's not evil. It's clear from his reactions.

The reason I'm bringing this up is because he was acting purely on impulse. Not much thought. Or at least, the thought he put into it wasn't much. It wasn't malice guiding his actions, but a sort of instinct. Snakes don't think much about attacking when they feel threatened. If they feel inclined to do so, they just do. No questions asked. No thinking about consequences.

In the film mentioned earlier, the doctor's office looks like a small library. The doctor is obviously quite literate. However, his "children" aren't.

There seems to be quite a bit of focus on Snake not knowing how to read. First mentioned on Yana's personal blog and most recently brought up in Chapter 195. It was quite common for people to be illiterate at the time Kuro takes place, but there was a focus on Snake from Yana's part, which I only find interesting because of how his snakes were named. After famous writers.

Could the doctor have named the other snakes but not him, as he was the first snake? The Snake. Or could Snake have named the others because he himself didn't have a name? It's funny that among all his family, the one human is simply named "snake" while the ones that would be naturally referred to as snakes are named quite fancifully. It's also quite comical if you consider chapter 51, when Finnian thought Snake was "Mister Oscar" as he introduced himself with "I'm Snake…", "- Says Oscar."

If you'd like to consider going a little further and going a bit crazy on these what ifs: consider that his snakes are the others who didn't make it or reverted back to normal. The panel in chapter 195 (page 7) where Snake has himself a little dilemma (in space!) with all the snakes chiming in in his head? I know it might sound a little out there, but I think the reason those three Snakes are shown naked could be because they're not Snake, they really might be Keats, Emily, and Wilde. Either the Snake-Man hybrids all look the same, or this is how Snake visualizes them speaking, as he himself is a snake like them. The difference is that he can use human speech, so if they were to use it as well, they too would look like him… right?

In fact, he often makes little distinction. He's said this in chapter 202 when Arty asks if he's a snake charmer, to which he firmly responds, "No. Snake and us are family. - says Dan." and "We are all footmen. - Says Goethe." Before this, he says "We're all here. - says everyone." He refers to them as "us". He makes little separation between himself and the other snakes. He understands and talks to snakes because, naturally, he is a snake. And he's the only snake who can talk to humans—the only one who is also human. He's the spokesperson (spokesnake, lol) of the group. Edit: He makes different voices for different snakes. Each snake has their own voice. What if those were really their voices at some point in time? The first idea one gets from Snake is that the snakes are like parts of his personality that he's expressing through them. However, this isn't true (or entirely true) because they do really do communicate with him, as proven undeniably by Oscar sneaking into the castle basement in the Green Witch arc and bringing back information Snake had no way of knowing (and couldn't really explain very well when Bard asked for details).

In chapter 53, he's sneaked down to the cargo to share the food with "everyone" as he says. I always found it a little odd to share human food with snakes, who only eat whole animals. On the plate, there were some leaves. There are no herbivorous snakes; they're all exclusively carnivorous (insectivorous, too). Of course, the lettuce, or whatever it is, is intact. But still, snakes don't eat breaded chicken or liver pâté either… It's just odd that Snake, who's been seen feeding his snakes mice twice, suddenly thinks they'd be interested in this gourmet, first-class dish. I believe he thinks, since it's delicious to him, surely they might think so too. After all, they're all snakes. Could he get a little confused sometimes?

He's also never showed any fear of the werewolf forest while the other servants were scared as they made their way to the village in the Emerald Witch arc. He doesn't seem phased by the idea of wolf-men. He was freaked out by the torture instruments in the village though, meaning some things are scary, just not the werewolves.

Edit: I forgot to mention an interesting passage from the Kuroshitsuji Original Picture Drama live reading from 2015. As far as I know, the script was written by Yana Toboso. It's all done mainly for comedic purposes. However, there's a part where the characters are drinking and chatting and eventually some get a little tipsy. What Snake says in a drunken crying fit is "I'm a snake! I feel better if I drink a lot of sake!" Interesting, isn't it? ;) Go ahead and watch it yourself here if you feel like it: https://youtu.be/xMmrWsHLaqc?si=ozkAfssE_fLOOoaM&t=506

To end I'd also like to call attention to the cover art from Chapter 196. Him being confused about a lemon cake and a lemon tart being different snacks when they're both sweet and both cakes made it to the cover art. He's having trouble grasping how a lemon flavored dessert can be different from another lemon flavored dessert.

I think that sums it up nicely, although I might have forgotten some things. I do apologize if anyone has already made this correlation between this work by H. G. Wells and Snake's possible origins, I couldn't find anything related.

Of course it can all be explained easily by just saying he sees the snakes as family and as "us" because he has a connection to them. However, it's the "how he came to be" part that is my main motive behind the theory.

I put a lot of love and care into this theory and since Snake's flashbacks might be coming up soon, I thought I'd share it just so that it's out there for all it's worth.

Thank you so much for reading. Have a lovely day. Red

[recurring-polynya]

Sorry for kurobasposting in your inbox, but now that (I assume) you've met all the Generation of Miracles, I need to know if your favorite is still Murasakibara. Also, we talk so much about squad dynamics in Bleach, I can't help but think about team dynamics too, like Touou gave me such Squad 11 vibes, and it made me wonder which team you liked best (and if any of them reminded you of Squad 6👀). Also, in a Bleach Sports scenario, do you think kouhai Renji would be devastated when team captain/senpai Byakuya graduates and passes the mantle onto him? I'm imagining a Portions for Foxes kind of AU where Renji agonizes about leading a team, but Rukia lowkey fantasies about how hot he'd look doing it. Think about the pep talks he'd give!!!!!!!! OK I'm done.

No apologies necessary! I am very happy to talk about Kurobas!! I don't talk about it nearly as much as I have thoughts about it, because nearly all my thoughts are tied up around How Much Bleach It Is, because its insane basketball-themed powers system was so incredibly Bleach-structured, and even though the main cast was not very Bleachy at all, so many of their random opponents were just straight up Bleach characters.

Who is my favorite Miracle? I cannot answer this question. I hate them all. They are all my favorite. To me, the Generation of Miracles exists on some plane orthogonal to "liking" or "not liking." Each and every one of them is an Entity, and I am obsessed with them.

Kise is the most human of them. He works so hard and loves basketball so much. He was late to the GoM and to me, there's this degree of sadness that he deserved to have a better time. Also, he wants to be friends with everyone so badly and they are so mean to him. "I would be friends with you, Kise," I say to myself, and then I remember that he's a model and it's like, "You know what? Never mind."

Midorima is 100%, unapologetically himself all of the time, and I respect that, but also: he's terrible. My opinions on him oscillate wildly. I do think he deserves his skill level more than anyone else on the GoM. I want to push him down the stairs.

I am a really simple person: I like character who work hard. I can never love Aomine because he does not go to practice and does not show up for games on time. On the other hand, he is electric on the court, he's the funnest player to watch, by far. I also enjoy his Color Commentary the best. He has merged so completely with Grimmjow in my mind that when I was watching TYBW last week, I was like "why is Aomine here?" and then the next time I watched KNB and he yelled "If you don't beat Rakuzan, I'll kill you!" at Kuroko, I was like "thanks, Grimmjow." I think he has a really toxic relationship with basketball, and should probably quit and do something else instead.

Murasakibara is so precious to me because I love him in a way I have never loved another character. He doesn't work hard, either, but he also Doesn't Want To Be Here and is making it everyone else's problem. I cannot justify it in the least, but I get unreasonably excited whenever he shows up. I actually screamed out loud when he put his hair up in a ponytail.

Akashi might be the greatest anime villain of all time, and that counts Aizen. The scope of his villainy was small, but he brought his A+++ game to it. My favorite Akashi moment was when he was being defeated by the power of friendship and he cured his own multiple personality disorder during a time-out and came back with his own, even better version of the power of friendship. I mean, I hate him, obviously. He has ruined so many people's basketball experience for basically no reason whatsoever. Poster child for eating the rich.

It's hard to like any team better than Seirin because every player on Seirin is a banger, and their teamwork is second to none. I don't think there were any other teams that I liked the full bench as much as Seirin.

I think the match against Yousen was my favorite, maybe because I just love a good defense. I am obsessed with the way Kimuro was just like "Friendship with Kagami ended, uh, uh, Murasakibara is my new best friend!!" Why are they always hanging out???

Shuutoku is Squad Six, I am sorry to say. It just is. Legacy team with long history of consistent greatness. Midorima is Byakuya if Byakuya was raised as a human teen instead of the most important person in Soul Society, and also he got into astrology for some reason. Takao is not really anything like Renji, but his rapport with Midorima is extremely Byakuya-Renji coded. The Sky Direct Three Point shot was one of the high points of the entire series for me, and I think Renji would have cried actual tears if he watched that episode. (He would refuse to pull Byakuya around in a little cart, tho)

I also kinda like Kaijou, but maybe it's just because Kasamatsu was my favorite non-Seirin, non-GoM side character by a long shot. Maybe it's because he works so hard and feels so hard and takes being captain as such a responsibility. Maybe it's his knee socks.

I would not have called the Touou - Squad 11 connection, although I can see it. Imayoshi was Basketball Gin, to me, and Sakurai was Basketball Rikichi.

I adore the scenario you outlined where Renji goes through the entire five stages of grief because Senpai is Furthering his Education. A real Bleach-KNB fusion (Orihime no Basuke) would have to focus on the Karakura kids, but Renji and Byakuya's team would be their first rival team, the one that you get to cheer for later on as the series progresses. Rukia would have transferred from Renji and Byakuya's school to Karakura High and would coach Ichigo and Orihime's team, which would make such good emotional tension.

Bonus answer to the question you didn't ask: Kiyoshi - Hyuuga - Riko OT3.

[unablethethird]

📚 book

🎬 movie

🎶 musical artist

you get it by now

Eye color: Dark brown [apparently theres no such thing as black eyes] nationality: confusing, so i just say arab technically i was born in kuwait and both my parents were, but i speak iraqi arabic [dramatically more different than kuwaiti arabic], i look iraqi, and thats what most of my culture is, but my mum says im irani [WHICH I DONT LOOK IRANI AND I DONT SPEAK FARSI HUH???] [[except for a few words but that dont count]

gender identity:Agender and transmasc, bassically none of the above but i want to present more masc than fem sexuality: 100% aroace, i feel romantic attraction but i dont want or feel the need to act on it, its kinda just there

religion: None because i dont think god exists. i like to believe in spirits n shit like that but its more of a for fun thing than a 'i 100% believe in this'. Hot drink: Right now tea

cold drink: Chocolate milk Dish: Imjadarah [rice n beans bassically, but i put yoghurt on it and then its yum] fruit:

both

Veg: Cauliflower maybe, or broccoli [but i need like a kilo of salt for both] Holiday: Eid, i may not believe in it but i like money Game: I assume it means irl game Hallway dancer [me and my sibs played it a lot when we were younger but it only works in long hallways]

one person is the hallway dancer [evil] They hide in one of the rooms 2 players [the youngest siblings] must walk through and try not get scared, usually they also look for the hallway dancer so they dont get scared when it jumps at them Hallway dancer is the eldest [me], they must jumpscare the players, usually you chase them until they're at the living room [the hallway was long asf], even if they know its you they get really scared lol

sport: Dodgeball, I am notorious in that game lol animal: CROSS FOX

Flower:

or sunflowers Weather: Sunny asf, i love hot weather Place: Arcade

Means of transport: If i could choose i'd be in a limo lol, but if it measn stuff i've actually been in, car

Blorbo: Len, Kel, Vox [three letter trio]

meow meow: No idea what a meow meow is lol

otp: Suntan [omori] cross x killer is also a good one I find Vox x luci really interesting aswell Tv show: Murder drones book: The outsiders Movie: The outsi- hard to decide Fantastic mr fox is a good movie tho AND DEAD POETS SOCIETY

Musical artist:

LOVE EM BOTH

[maverick-werewolf]

You've made so many posts about werewolves, but can you list any other werewolf like creatures from around the world? (Like for example, kitsune and huli jing.) I'd really like to hear about werewolf folklore that don't originate from Europe.

Thanks for asking! I do have many werewolf posts about werewolves that aren't European in origin, as werewolves are what's called a universal legend. However, that only extends insofar in that all cultures where wolves lived have legends of people shapeshifting into wolves, and vice versa. You can find them throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and more, from the wolves who turn into people in China to the shamans of North America who can assume the shape of a wolf. That is referring to a werewolf as a "wolf shapeshifter," rather than a "cursed being" that we usually think of werewolves as being; those legends are universal.

I have posts discussing all of these things (including one diving into Chinese werewolf legends), as well as other wolf legends in general, as wolves and wolf shapeshifters are my field of expertise (as well as bear shapeshifters and many other shapeshifting figures in European folklore, including vampires).

However, specifically werewolves - as in the concept of the werewolf that we call a "werewolf" and think of as being a werewolf in popular culture, a human who becomes a wolf, often but not exclusively as the result of a curse or gift from a higher power of some form, and referred to as a "werewolf" (an Old English word) - did in fact originate in Europe. While not all are, certainly the most common and well-known popular culture concepts of werewolves are ultimately based upon European legends. If you enter werewolf studies, you will primarily (but not exclusively, despite common belief) be studying a plethora of European and Mediterranean cultures.

Anything else should be called what it is, not a "werewolf-like creature." That is doing the other creature a disservice by conflating it with something else (a werewolf), when it is in fact its own unique entity that has nothing to do with werewolves, which are ultimately European in origin (wolf shapeshifters are not, and while we generally will call all those things "werewolves," they will still not be the European-origin man cursed to become a wolf under specific circumstances [and in popular culture can also spread that curse, etc] figure that we think of as being a "werewolf" when we bust out the Halloween decorations). It's essentially Westernizing worldwide myths by relating all shapeshifters back to the most famous shapeshifters of European lore, when we could only logically do that with wolf shapeshifters rather than so many other beings.

A lot of werewolf scholars disagree with my assessment in that regard and want to conflate tons of things into being "werewolves" when they aren't, but I personally feel strongly about keeping all folkloric, mythological, and religious entities apart and, thus, also keeping werewolves as their own thing. Kitsune have nothing to do with werewolves and have essentially nothing in common with them except that they shapeshift into a canid (but they are the fox, whereas werewolves begin as human, at least in the traditional lore we think of as a "werewolf"). While kitsune are shapeshifters, they are not associated with or related to werewolves in any fashion.

Werewolf studies do indeed have a lot of crossover with study of other shapeshifters, but that shouldn't mean other animal shapeshifters are similar to, related to, or the same thing as a wolf shapeshifter/werewolf.

While I study all folklore/myth/etc and I certainly specialize in shapeshifters - due in no small part to personal studies to create my setting of Wulfgard - my primary academic expertise, the subject I will speak upon with real knowledge and authority, is just that: werewolves (when I say this I am referring to the general wolf shapeshifters worldwide as well as those in Europe, and I also specialize in general wolf legends that are not werewolves).

If you'd like to read about kitsune, I highly recommend picking up some books on Japanese myth and culture instead of looking at werewolf things. They'll have much better information than werewolf books and werewolf scholars. While I know some about kitsune from personal studies, I wouldn't be confident telling you things about them as I am with werewolf legends, because I have not thoroughly researched them across multiple sources for many years, as I have wolf and wolf shapeshifter/werewolf legends.

I do hope I don't sound disrespectful or condescending in this post, as that is not at all my intention. Essentially, my argument in terms of werewolf studies is that specifically werewolf studies should extend only so far as wolf shapeshifters. Anything else is not a werewolf and not related to them in any fashion. General shapeshifters should not be conflated with werewolves. I believe that every legend should stand on its own, and while wolf shapeshifters are associated with werewolves for obvious reasons (and werewolves in folklore are not at all always simple, as seen in all my posts), we should not extend that association to any other kind of animal shapeshifter, or we are doing a massive disservice to the robust and fascinating legends that do not - and should not - be simplified to fit under the banner of "werewolves" or "werewolf-like creatures." Kitsune, for instance, are kitsune, not werewolves or associated with them, as kitsune have many tales entirely of their own that shouldn't be done a disservice or simplified in such a manner.

So, sorry if this isn't the response you wanted/expected! I have more general folklore facts coming in the future - two I will be posting before the end of this year, in fact - but my specialty will always remain werewolves (and wolf shapeshifters and legendary wolves of every other kind) specifically.

Some posts that may interest you:

Prehistoric Werewolves

Werewolves in Ancient Egypt

Good Sources on Werewolves (and other shapeshifter and vampire legends)

On Shaping other Shapeshifters

Werewolf Grandmas (emphasis on Chinese werewolf legends)

Werewolves Are Not British

Loup Garous and Rougarous (includes some Native American discussion)

What Is and Isn't a Werewolf Legend

Creature Confusion: What Is and Isn't a Werewolf

The Arcadians

King Lycaon

The Importance of The Wolf Man (what shaped our concept of a werewolf in popular culture)

Thank you again for sending an ask; hope you have an awesome day! :)

[lazyvase]

Fixing Spirits

If you follow Overwatch lore in any capacity, you'll notice an out of place element in the world's sci-fi rules. Among nano-technology, genetically altered gorillas, mechs, laser guns, hard light technology, AI, Omnics, and energy shields, there are also spirits. Two dragon spirits and a single fox spirit to be precise. For quite some time the presence of the dragon spirits have confused the Overwatch lore community, as they still have no explanation. Things only became worse when the fox spirit was introduced in Overwatch 2, indicating that these spirits were leaning more towards magic and fantasy than sci-fi. What's worse is that there has been absolutely no scientific reasoning for these spirits, despite even stranger and more mystical appearing abilities (such as Mercy's healing beam) getting scientific explanations (nanomachines). Fortunately, I am here to change that.

It is safe to assume to assume that the dragons and the fox spirit are similar entities, as Blizzard will most likely make it so that Kiriko taught the Shimadas how to get/use their spirits within the lore. Also the dragons and fox spirit seem to be visually similar.

One could theorize that perhaps the spirits are some form of nanomachines or hard-light due to some visual similarities. Now, it wouldn't be impossible for the Shimada Clan to obtain these technologies through illegal means in order to make dragons spirits, but the fox spirit is different. The fox spirit has clearly been a part of the Kamori family for generations. So how did this presumably middle-class family get access to expensive advanced technology before it even existed? As much as I would like a high-tech explanation for the spirits, there is none to be found.

But that doesn’t mean there is no sci-if explanation.

I believe that the spirits are a swarm of hivemind, highly intelligent microbes.

Now, I’m no microbiologist, but I do have an imagination.

A rare breed of bacteria (or any single-celled organism) is able to swarm together in massive quantities due to its ability to generate a hivemind between the microbes. This rare breed of swarming microbes (which I will give the placeholder name of "Sclera") can form itself into humongous (relative to a microbe), complex shapes, such as a fox or dragon. Sclera have become a bit more common due to hard-light emissions and nano-technology pollution in the air, as their presences contribute to the unique environment needed for Sclera to manifest in.

These Sclera Spirits are basically multi-cellular organisms with extra steps, but there are some key differences. Many Sclera have bioluminescence, causing the glow we see. Often times due to Sclera arrangements and quantities the spirits can be translucent, as there are not enough to look opaque constantly. Sclera can also disperse at any time, causing an visual effect similar to disappearing.

Sclera Spirits take the form of animals often through the interaction with said animals. The fox spirit came across a fox to get its form. The dragon spirits most likely encountered several different reptiles. As such, the spirits do have animalistic tendencies. So your headcanons about Hanzo and Genji's dragons acting like dogs can still work. And the fox spirit has made it abundantly clear that these spirits are living, feeling animals due to the fact that it clearly enjoys being rubbed, and hugged, and petted by Kiriko.

Now, for the abilities. Genji gets stronger sword strikes for his dragon fuses with the cellular structure of his (remaining) organs, muscles, and tissues in order to supercharge them. He and the dragon are one. Hanzo's dragon simply splits in two and shifts into a bigger form. The spirit charges in the direction of the arrow and the individual Sclera eat at the skin (or metal) of all that it touches.

Kiriko gets her own paragraph because most of her abilities use the fox spirit (I assume). I'm unsure if her healing ofudas use the power of the fox spirit , but if they do the Sclera most likely have the ability to also repair the broken connections between the cells, similar to Mercy's nanomachines. If the protection suzu uses the power of the fox spirit, then the Sclera temporarily reinforce the cells. Kiriko's swift step is clearly from the power of the fox spirit, and as such simply changes her genetic molecular structure and relocates it; akin to Moira's genetic molecular restructuring used for her fade and Reaper's shadow step. Kitsune rush has the fox spirit run forward output a cloud of Sclera into an area. The cloud takes the form of stepping stones and arches reminiscent of the shrine due to the spirit's connection with Kiriko, and that Kirko associates the fox shrine with protection and empowerment. The Sclera cloud has Sclera briefly fuse with allies in order to enhance their abilities through increasing their reflexes and speed.

There are two reasons why the fox spirit is stronger than the dragon spirits. 1. Kiriko has more spiritual training, allowing her to take full advantage of the fox spirit's power. I doubt Hanzo and Genji signed up for spirit lessons with Kiriko's grandma (and if they did Genji certainly would have not payed attention). 2. The fox spirit is older than the dragon spirits. As said above, the fox spirit has clearly been in the Kamori for generations. We don't know enough about the dragon spirits, (and Sojiro's tale is more about real dragons) so it's safe to assume the dragons came about during the era of hard-light and nano-machines.

TL;DR: The spirits are a bunch of germs in a trenchcoat.

And I like having the spirits be microbes mainly because spirits are said to be all around us and in everything, and microbes are all around us and on everything.

[queerfox-tales]

Alright, I loved this but it doesn't seem to have an alt tag so I shall attempt to add my own cuz I really want to share it.

It's a comic strip of a fox and a crow I believe. I'm terrible with animals. The bird is black. The probable fox is orange.

Frame 1: it's dark outside, the fox is walking or sprinting along a path with a bag on its back. The crow is inside the bag that is open at one end. The crow says "I'm so sorry". The fox replies, "what for?"

Frame 2: Zoom in on the animals. Crow says "I don't feel well and you're carrying me and I feel guilty." Another bubble for the crow says "I can't carry you. It feels unfair." There's a third bubble in the middle that says "hush". I assume the fox is saying it.

Frame 3: The fox imagines the awkwardness of the crow carrying the fox (there's a picture of it) and says "It is true. You can't carry me."

Frame 4: Fox says "But I would never ask you to do more than you can and harm yourself just to make it fair."

Frame 5: switch to image or memory of fox lying under a blanket and the crow bringing down a small branch of fruits. Fox says "I can't fly, and yet when I am tired, you bring me treats from high branches."

Frame 6: Switch to image or memory of the fox and crow sleeping in the backpack over a blanket. There are branches and plants around. Fox says "I cannot build nests, you are the one that fills our duvet with down and soft leaves. When I rest my head upon it, is it unfair to you?"

Frame 7: Back to the fox and crow in the present moment. Crow says "...no, I mean... it's our blanket." there's emphasis on the "our" part of "our blanket". Fox replies "Yes. And this is our journey now." Also emphasis on the "our" part for "our journey".

Frame 8: Fox and crow are on a tree branch. They seem to have hung a lantern on it. There's text in a rectangular box. I think it's meant to be the fox speaking. Not sure. It says "we walk as companions".

The end.

So ya, I just thought it was super cute. I always feel akward adding alt text to other's work cuz I don't know what some things represent. I don't want to misrepresent anything. But I wanted to share the message it had and it just made sense to at least try to offer some alt text. I await the day I write these out and realize I missed the creator's own alt text.

New Crow Time 🐦‍⬛🦊🌟

[geodetojoy]

so cozy in this inbox- you’ve even got fruit snacks in here! im stayin forever if that’s okay

rng selected questions from the “distracting asks” this time! and yes more proofreading yayyy

23, 18, 10, 15, 3

carry on fellow pb blossom member o7

hello again dearest mads!!!! little did you know the fruit snacks were a lure you have no choice but to stay now >:)

23. talk about a WIP?

oh man ive got a lot on hold at the moment, buuut ill go with my tati/barb painting im working on (that I believe i sent you the current version of- its been a bit lmaoo)

i mean first of all i just really wanted to give my girls at least a bit of happiness. is it temporary? in canon? definitely not. but they deserve to have each other to lean on and to feel safe with

and i really love the concepts of bi/aro barb and lesbian/aroace tati so. they dont have a defined relationship, they just love each other and thats all that matters.

ive got a few ideas in my head of how their relationship would come to be, but i think its something they both tried to view from analytical lenses if that makes sense? especially with barb, my poor heteronormative victim. she definitely does not like the idea that she might care for tati in a more realistic way than she did with curt until she tried to put her fears behind her and consider it from a position of just what would make her happy. when she realized the answer to that question was tati, she was both extremely relieved and utterly terrified. with tati, she was so afraid of how easily barb was peeling back the walls she had built up so meticulously, but after she realized that it was probably healthier for her, she accepted the care with loving, almost desperate arms.

they definitely started out as incredible friends, both being able to bond over their shared experiences of discrimination in their jobs over being women in the 50s and 60s in such male-dominated places of work. and for some reason, tati finds it extremely easy to open up to barb and barb just cares so much and just wants to take care of her so bad and that love is always reciprocated, out of fear of losing barb at the beginning, but then out of sheer appreciation and adoration as time passed.

theyre in an incredibly healthy relationship, both because they had no pressure as women to be devoid of emotion and because i think they would talk about their emotions sooooo much with barb as a scientist and tati as a healing trauma survivor.

anyways! got a bit sidetracked, but my WIP is a painting of them cuddling on a couch in their shared apartment :3 the blinds are closed, ofc, and the place is scarcely decorated aside from the necessary furniture, but to them its the most beautiful home ever because they have the other there with them

the idea for the finished piece is to have the orange glow from the sun beaming through the blinds illuminating the room just enough to see them, but have it dark enough to enshroud them in shadow, hiding from the rest of the world. but what we can see is safe, warm, cozy, and quiet :3

18. Dream Job?

Game dev baby!! I wanna make every single aspect of a game entirely on my own one day, but honestly id settle for doing any part of the process in a company or group as long as i can pitch in!!

10. Favorite animal?

im so bad at choosing just one. so im giving you two :)

fennec foxes and red pandas!!!!!

15. Favorite subject?

(im assuming this to be school subject bc subject in general is. entirely too vague lmaoo)

Any and all math!!! im a nerd from head to fucking toe and i am PROUD OF IT

3. 5 songs you have been recently obsessed with?

YIPPEE MORE MUSIC QUESTIONS I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MUSIC I LOVE

(btw one of these is gonna be an album bc it has five songs on it and i cannot bear to exclude others for the sake of putting all five of them)

DoNotReadMe.wav by Charlie Slimecicle. is anyone surprised by this? if so that means i need to post about it more

The Wisdom Saga from EPIC the musical!!!!!! been listening to it since its release im obsessed!!!!

Facade from Cinderella's Castle!!! its just!!!! gah!!!! it sounds so good!!!!

Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter. im blaming joel for this one even though it was like a month ago

Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads. i thiiiink this is the one? if not they keep playing a song just like it at work and every time i try to remember it later to figure out what song it is i forget how the melody goes and i lose my shit but its taken over my every thought I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT SONG IT ISSSSS

ty for the ask again mads!!!! love ya forever and always my pb blossom buddy <333333

[wraithclatter]

The Seeding Of Force

I.

"Ive seen the base and passionless things we trample, create, become eulogies for God."

Measurement is vulgarization, defilement of existence. Units of force are known by their blows- this is the coming to true understanding of energy without inert and sterile numerical attributions gumming up the nervous system. The beauty of an occulted sunset thrown across a ragged and brooding sky while the ocean nurses and nourishes the wounds of the shore is something all life witnesses, experiences, and can feel the lasting rings of creation beating blindly through their veins. It is the meaning of incarnation- for the reflection and the reflected to stand face to face and the abolishment of the sorcery that is the malignant use of categorization and the phantasms of the idle and sedated mind to be thwarted and a life realizing there is no reflection, and all of the data scavenging across time and space resulted from a simple question:

        "How was this solved?"

"Art as a fraction of the smile of God."

II.

Obsessively, unconscious,

As like one in a swooned

Fever of rosaried movement,

We try to force the hand of creation.

Prompted by obliterating ghosts

Which string beads of influence

Around our brain-stems-

The neuse of possession.

We creeping things,

Children of worms,

Signalled by creation's wine

And its contents reacting

To stimuli,

Are compelled to

Commit to the verb

From the ancestral stirrings

Of the North Wind

In our blood;

The same wind which

Animates the jaws of animals,

That entangles the weaved fortunes

Of lovers into

A blind immolation,

That rouses the wet machinery

Of sentience to carve out

Their own traps

Forged from memory

For future self-imprisonments

Out of The Verb

Passing from the here

To the then.

The fox condemns the trap

And not it's own behavior.

The fish passes into the snake

And the snake to a dove

Then chokes on its feathers.

The dove likewise;

Suffocates upon the snake.

To know how the

Cold heart of a

Predator ticks

Yet hold its poison at bay:

This is the way.

To not lose the innocence

And love of the beating,

Bleeding battlefield

Of this fever dream.

The wisdom of serpents,

The purity of a newborn lamb.

This, too, is the way.

I stir for the brave deed

And its terrible triple death.

No longer can I sleep-

For I am witness.

The sound of dropping

Bone-upon-bone,

The chattering of the

Skulls' ghost-prophecies,

Causes the flock

To clutch their palms

In anticipation for

An artificial scythe to fall

Upon the streams of flesh screaming

For plagues to quit the earth

And for the sand and soil

To re-cover all the foot-prints

That have been laid down,

Tread, and all time to be

Sucked back into that

Bright Silence beyond the

Brainy fantasy and all it's

Collective neural lightning.

This is no alien's dust-

Whether of Adam and Eve,

The rib of the primordial beast,

The mother's hollow space,

We are it and bound together;

Whether exiled or enthroned,

We are bound together.

Learn this secret from the

Movements of arms and the galloping

Of soft and firm legs.

The school of fish taking the human oath

And seeing it through. Rush the dust,

Ye worms. A voice calls-

Its language and meaning obscure,

And the metamorphoses "begins"...

III.

In small cycles of breath

A sliver of mind,

Yet-to-congeal thoughtlessness

Scaled the tides,

climbed from that Primal Season;

Of which countless generations

Spawned such beautiful aberrations;

Mutations which now

Grasped at the dust-

Water and scales traded for

Fresh Earth, mud

and the scurryings cast

In the clay of The Matriarch-

reaching with

Embryonic ghost-hands

For the fatal organic technology

Of the aggregate: The Dust Shape,

The Armor of Ignorance,

Assuming the Jousters position

Into upright spine, from

4-legged savagery to 2-legged

Violence and cruelty, and want

Of love. But in that

Chasm of brain-stem,

The fish's pulse still beckons,

And a reptile's cold life-force,

Ever-frozen, void of pity,

Slithers through the

Hollow channels of our veins.

And all prey sacrificed to the bowels

Of The Human-Hive

Stand in spirited tribes waiting

In the Dark Country past the pupils-

Their ranks assimilated yet mutinous,

As is their nature.

The mind as a phantom's penitentiary,

And the wardens have long been overrun.

The Cloud of Quantification,

Precise and scienced, smothers

the flickering Bright Silence-

the monarch within

Our skeletal structure-

And we forget the reciprocal cohesiveness

We share with all things:

The sacred data that could be

singing from our lips lovingly,

Singed by the Ritual Fire of an

Abused Brain, loses its potency

And determination in the dead,

Ossified figures worn into the

Tablets of Human Understanding.

To quantify that which has no attributes-

Not from want of substance but

The contrary. Define all movements of

The sea and deep-space collisions

And a-temporal expansions of celestial

Phenomena at the same time-

In a word-

All

Movement

And action eternally sustained

Like the resounding note of a piano chord

Or sparkling droplet of sweat pregnant

With the light of all life.

The pre-meditated separation

Of Soul from Substance

Takes its toll-

Until all sight is lost,

All hearing drained from the ears,

And we are shuffled into, prompted,

To live in a selfish void deprived of

The Limitless Potentiality;

The Self-Vampyric Protocol:

A feedback loop of

Mouth-to-body-to-blood.

The narcissist's ring

Which seduces its wearer

Into frenzied destruction.

Self-sufficiency on a

Dwindling source, and the vampyre

Shivers away into dust.

Now the brain-as-gallows,

The nervous system as hangman's doom,

Having been un-heavened from Eden,

Shaking, Laboring Life finds itself in

A world full of opposing forces,

Pent up with coiled springs

Of potential clashing with their

Colorful shadows, endless

Flower-wars, and endless

Feuds of flesh.

The brain is a rumor,

An empirical myth,

Until it is outside,

On cold slab or pavement.

Paradise as utopia is poison.

But paradise as experience,

As ever-rising in each

One eternal moment,

Is experienced without

The Hieroglyphed Skull.

IV.

In a wet mind, a dry tongue,

Enshrouded in soiled confusion,

The ciphers of instinct crowd

Fertile ground in the Brain's Beacon-

Nudging the ever-recording earth,

Muted designs; architecture of our

Sustained creation chaining us to

The raw mechanics of this

intoxicating tournament.

We are gripped by the predator's snare-

So much so we lose sight of the scent

Of the Questing Beast

And its chalice of Noumena;

Confused by the plagiarized

Smoke-signals of the Great Manipulator.

We are lost to phantom pathways

Dancing in witch-light

About us, drawing (us) farther

And farther away.

What is that first secret?

Does the moon water it in silence?

The sun blessing it in bright waves?

What shape does it take on

In thought and tongue and deed?

What is the teleology of speech?

Of fluctuation, of the compulsion

Of sentience to speak, to move,

to tear after the roving patterns

of lights In our skulls?

from first movement All comes to Incessantly spin about us

Like flies above carrion, dizzied and

Crying out for the warm abyss.

We have succeeded in birthing

Bitter hunters chasing the horrors

Of others' fabrication, to keep spirits

And life-deprived shades standing

To face us in the laboratory's glass.

The token we presume will liberate

Our curiosity and domesticate it in

Fragile and ill-designed demarcations.

"If you can keep it, and be eternally

Satiated, you may leave." A rigged game

It seems sometimes, thats the rub of it.

And so like stunted cattle we huddle

Together for warmth in the shifting,

Shallow and water-logged fields of

The predator's pasture.

V.

Cruelty and its scarring implements

Carve out a botched path we are

Coerced into following. To replace

Our running red raiment with shame

And self-hatred of subject and object-

This has calculated us, or made us

Predicable and exploitable. Action

Quantified and re-packaged so that

There is no novelty to new incarnations.

With immediate understanding

And arousal to action we compute

The pale truth:

we are that spectre in a glass.

[xxxtherrcollectivexxx]

Khafra's Favourite Things

Design by me, Picrew by Mitsuba0605

Animal:    ❝ As much as I appreciate the agile and gentility of the feline, nothing compares to the beauty of a beloved desert fox prowling the desert sands at night. ❞

Flowers:    ❝ Sumeru roses are, by far, one of the most beautiful plants to grace the regions of Teyvat. ❞

Scent:   ❝ It's difficult to try and pinpoint a particularly favourable scent. However, the incense that burns in my house if either of cinnamon or lotus leaves. ❞

Coffee:   ❝ I will regrettably admit that I can't go one single day without coffee to get me started on my day. Black. No sugar. No cream. ❞

Tea:     ❝ Master Tighari has often visited my home to deliver new leaves to me for all kinds of teas. It's one of my few hobbies to experiment with tea flavours. ❞

Drink:  ❝ I have no favourite drink to speak of. All I know is I cannot survive the day without coffee. Not because I feel addicted to it - rather it helps me to cope with the Akademiya's incessant sages thinking they all know better. ❞

Alcoholic Beverage:     ❝ Once can never turn down a good bottle of Wine, especially when friends are involved. ❞

Food:      ❝ I daresay I have a fondness for spices. Any spicy food brings me delight. ❞

Dessert:   ❝ I'm very basic when it comes to Sumeru cuisine. Baklava is always a sure-fire way to get my attention. ❞

Article of Clothing:   ❝ This scarf was given to me by a dear friend. While I never wear it around my neck, it will forever remain wrapped around my waist. At least I know it is safe. ❞

Candy:     ❝ It may sound childish, but I am fond of Lokum. Many of the other regions will know it as Sumeru Delight. I love the jelly texture, and the flavours they can produce is...overwhelming. I'm partial to the strawberry and bergamot flavourings currently. ❞

Left or Right Handed?:    ❝ A lot of people have mixed thoughts about my being left-handed. Some say that I have been gifted with more knowledge, while other say I am cursed and must learn how to write with my right hand. Me, however, I just find it very annoying when the ink ends up smudged all over my scripts. And my hands... ❞

Sloppy or Neat Writing?:  ❝ You would assume I have tardy writing? Shame on you. ❞

Clean or Messy Home?:   ❝ I am a very clean man. I like to think so anyway. Any 'mess' that people can see is a mere illusion. Everything is in its proper place. I can't help it if I may sometimes forget where this proper place is. ❞

Shower in Morning or Night?:     ❝ Honestly, I like to begin and end my day with a relaxing bath. Many find me to be a clean freak, but I spend a lot of time out in the desert. You wouldn't believe the insane heat that you have to endure there. A bath is a well deserved rest in and of itself. ❞

Tasks Done Early or Last Minute?:   ❝ My tasks are always done as soon as I am given them. It only means there is more time for me to relax with others without worrying about the tasks. ❞

Love Language?:     ❝ Love language? Well... I suppose I am very much a gift giver. But I do like to spend time with others. Well, no one said this had to be addressed to a lover. ❞

Believe in Love at First Sight?:  ❝ If the right person comes along, then maybe I would be able to experience this with someone. ❞

My apologies for stealing this from so many people but it looked like fun and I really wanted to use it for my beloved tired boi

[nukitan]

Okay, I’ll bite.

Very big rant bellow the cut. I didn’t mean for it to be this long but here we are! I don’t think my story is as interesting as Tezuze’s but I thought it’d be fun to write anyway.

Like a good population of the Digimon Fandom, I’ve been here since the start of the anime.

The earliest memory I have with Digimon is after watching a random episode of Adventure on Fox Kids as a little tot, (Which I assume was my first time seeing it?) I picked up my Burger King Golbat plush and shouted “Golbat Digivolve toooo!”

I had a small obsession with Taichi and even pretended he was my imaginary friend until we got into a fight one day because he wouldn’t eat his green beans. He got in a train and rode off into the sunset… never to be seen again. Sometimes I wonder how he’s doing now.

Like I said, pretty standard. I watched Digimon up to Savers. I still have fond memories of getting up at 4 am to watch Frontier or watching very crunchy fan subs of Savers in “Part 1/3” videos on old YouTube that almost never had all three parts.

Like a lot of people, I fell out of Digimon after the Savers dub stopped airing and Bandai stopped translating the games. (I still have sad memories of going to the library and printing out the Japanese promo images for Digimon Story Lost Evolution and hanging it in my room, religiously checking the wiki every few months to see if a release date was announced yet)

I still checked in with Digimon over the years when I’d get bored, I watched the first few episodes of Xros Wars subbed when it came out and didn’t really care for it, I watched Tri when it first came out while I was bored between classes. I got hyped when they announced the Cyber Sleuth localization, but tried to play if down around my friends as me “Just getting the game because I had nothing else to play at the time” or “Wanted to poor one out for past me” for fear of getting made fun of.

But my current obsession with Digimon sprung up when a friend of mine who never watched Digimon growing up expressed interest in watching it in the background while we made dinner or did other things.

Coming into my rewatch of Digimon I had practically no nostalgia left for the series, and expected it to be just a nice brain smoothing, campy activity to half watch. I remember being very embarrassed to hear all the cringy jokes the dub would make and poked fun at its 90s cheese…. Until something clicked and we both fell head over heels in love with it after 02.

What I find most funny about my little Digimon rewatch was how much my opinions shifted as an adult compared to when I was a kid. Like the seasons I thought I’d have nostalgia for I didn’t, and seasons I hated ended up becoming my favorites.

But yeah, fast forward to now and here I am looking up at my plethora of Digimon merch, looking over at my friend who I got consumed in this Digimon brain rot with, and asking them if they’re drawing Ruli’s friends again.

I never thought I would still be obsessing over Digimon all these years later. My brain must be soup by now.

But anyway! Thanks for reading my silly little trip down memory lane and Happy Odaiba Day!

So, I didn’t make any art for Odaiba day because I’m a procrastinator, but I thought I’d tell my story of how I got into Digimon because I think it’s kinda funny and personally I like reading stuff like that so I thought at least one person might get a kick out of it.

Obviously gonna put this below the cut because it's a lil long

I had very very passing awareness of digimon before getting into it, like I knew Agumon but didn’t know its name, and I watched part of a random episode as a kid and didn’t like that they talked for some reason, and that’s as far as my knowledge went. But I had a friend who really liked digimon and really wanted me to get into it.

My first real experience was that friend showing me episode 4 of adventure and I was very alarmed that Biyomon was a digimon and not a Chocobo like I thought.

The episode didn’t really sell the series to me, so I didn’t touch the franchise for another couple of years. I gained more passing knowledge through my friend and loved random digimon I thought were funny, mostly Togemon and Bakemon which I lovingly referred to as the “punching cactus” and “teethy ghost”, respectively.

Cut to my friend finds a V-pet at our local game store, so I bought one too because I always wanted a Tomogachi and thought it’d be fun to make our guys fight.

I loved my little guy! I thought little pixel Pagumon and Garurumon were so cute but had no idea what they actually looked like!

Later still, I had an itch to play a monster collector but wasn’t interested in replaying any of the Pokémon games I already owned, so my friend offered to borrow their copy of Next Order. I thought I’d give it a shot especially since I liked some of the V-pet guys.

Oh boy was that a learning curve. The only other monster collector I played was Pokémon so digimon not being exactly like Pokémon confused my small brain. (Wait, so digimon can evolve into whatever, but they also can’t?) (They have canon evolution lines but they also don’t?) (Turuiemon was just made but Lopmon has been around forever??) (MY SWEET PUNCHING CACTUS EVOLVES INTO A WOMAN WHAT.)

Anyway I enjoyed the game but didn’t really interact with the series much, until my friend and I were bored and threw adventure on in the background because I was like “Oh I know some digimon, it’d be cute to see them animated!”

I did think adventure was cute, but didn’t give it much credit at the time. It wasn’t until we moved on to 02 and I was actively sobbing at the end of Ken’s arc that I was like “Wait what, this is actually good????” And insisted we watch every installment of the franchise.

And now we cut to modern day, I’m sitting with my same friend, sweating and violently scribbling on my tablet with a deranged look in my eye, and they’re asking if I’m drawing Ruli’s friends again.

Oh yeah, and happy Odaiba day!!!!

As always I would love to hear everyone else's stories of how they got into Digimon if you would like to share!!

[leggerefiore]

Folklore (Pt. 2)

Pt. 1

cw: 18+ content, afab reader, fox god au, poly (Ingo/Reader, Emmet/Reader) l, breeding kink

pairing: Ingo/Reader, Emmet/Reader

Minors DNI

~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a strange place that you awoke to.

Quiet.

Ancient.

You rose from the futon, yet saw no windows in the room. A door was there, but an attempt at opening proved that it was no option to get out. As you sat pressed against the wood of the door, you felt annoyed. What happened? You passed out suddenly in front of the shrine with Emmet. Is there where they put people who got ill during the festival? That made no sense that moment you put any actual thought into it. The room clearly had use, but for what? Around you saw claw marks on the wood. Your first assumption was that they were from a human, but upon a closer observation, it became obvious that they were from an animal of some sort.

A strange chill ran down your spine suddenly.

Whipping your body around, you stared at the futon you had been resting in.

A masked man with white ears and a matching tail laid on his side while pouring alcohol into a cup. Though you were unable to see his eyes, you understood he was staring at you. His hair was a familiar silver that everyone seemed to have around these parts. His robes were not as glamorous as one would expect from an assumed god, but he clearly held some otherworldly aura. You swallowed.

“… Lord Kudari?” you guessed. Something about him did not seem like someone who cared deeply about children.

“Yep! That's right,” he cooed, a voice frighteningly similar to another's person, “I am Kudari. Do you know who you are?”

What kind of question is that?

“I'm me,” you replied, “Why am I here?”

“That's why. You don't know who you are,” he told you simply, “You wanted to leave. You still do. That scares us.”

Us? You supposed he was speaking about his apparent brother. Was he nearby? You had not even seen, nor detected, the god before his appearance to you. Why would he care if you stayed or left? You had zero connections to this village, much less him. Had Volo never suggested this trip for his research, you would have never come here. He sat up and rested his head in his hand.

“I know it means nothing to you, but…” his voice held a strange melancholy, “I missed you. Terribly.”

“I don't know you,” you retaliated. His ears pressed down while his tail laid flat against the futon. A sigh came from him. For a god, he seemed more pitiful than anything else. He rose to his feet, showing great height for a moment, before walking over to a box in a corner of the room. It creaked open, showing its lack of use throughout the years. He pulled out something and held it close to him. A hum came from him. “You were told our mate died, correct?” he spoke quietly. It was a strange question, but you nodded. His head turned to look at you once more. “We can only love them,” he explained, “Their death left us stricken with grief. We knew they would eventually return to us.”

A sick feeling bloomed in your gut. He must be mistaken. There was absolutely no way that you were his mate. “You're entirely wrong,” you shook your head, “I'm not. I can't be.” You blinked, and he was suddenly in your face. His hands grasped your shoulders, claws barely pressing into you. “You are,” he softly spoke, “We are correct. You're starting to remember just by being here.” You shuddered. Why was he so aggressive? “Have you idea what this festival is for?” You shook your head more. The room felt absolutely frigid. “Heat. Our ruts.” Pulling away suddenly, you watched as he sat back down near the tray of liquor.  His finger swirled around the rim as he shut as lowered his head. “I'm sorry,” he apologised unexpectedly, “My brother will be mad I acted like this.”

You blinked again.

He was gone.

Left behind where he was laid a hair pin.

It was a beautiful ebony pin with a pearl and crimson flower charm on it.

Your head pulsed, and you leaned over to grip it.

A memory swirled just behind your eyes. On your left, there was a frowning man with elegant dark robes on his body, while a smiling man was on your right. Their lips moved, yet you could not understand their words. The frowning one had an arm around your shoulders. His hands were warm and comforting. A small gift box was dropped into your lap by the smiling one, announced with a giggle. Your hands reached down to open it excitedly. Inside laid the hairpin, a strange joy bloomed in your chest.

Time passed in the room. There was little to do, so you explored the space. It was a spacious room with intentions that were beyond you. The memory left you in deep thoughts for a while after. It had to be a trick from the god to convince you further that you were their mate. Still, everything remained heavily on your mind. The odd dream with Zorua kit and now that. If you were their mate… How did you die? The shrine caretaker had not shared that during your tour, and Volo had not mentioned it. The pain in your stomach. A dead kit. It was uncomfortable to ponder for too long. Everything in the room was mostly items you would classify as familial objects. Drawings clearly from children, paintings, and photos of various people, clumps of fur and hair. You felt like you had invaded someone's private space, despite having been brought here against your will.

It was when you looked into the chest that everything finally began to make sense. A painting left you silent. While it was certainly stylised, the uncanny resemblance to you was frightening. Maybe… Maybe, you could have been, but it was still wrong to do what they had done. You went through the box more. Lavish robes that were clearly from long ago were in it alongside notes that were written in a pen close to your own. Paintings of your lookalike with fox gods entirely masked at your sides.

Your head pulsed from the items, so you threw them back down. Unsteady on your feet suddenly, you faltered backward until you tripped. Before you could crash to the ground, strong hands grasped your arms. Your body leaned into the warmth behind you. “… I apologise for my brother,” a deep voice rumbled. You gazed up at the dark fox mask that looked down at you. This was… “Lord Nobori,” you spoke quietly. He hummed. Softly, you were led back to the bed. “If you both truly do think I am your mate,” you sighed, “You really won't let me go, then? Why?”

“… I am not in a good mindset to be talking about such things,” he explained, “He said he had told you that my rut is approaching – I can't think straight.” You presumed the other god had spoke about himself, but it seemed it had actually been about the other. His hand, you noticed, had not left your own. Gods were apparently fallible by their own biology, it seemed. “I… We're afraid,” Nobori explained as he sat down at your beside, “You cannot recall our past together, but you must surely remember that our mate died in a manner that was of great distress to us all?” You nodded.

“I was stabbed in my stomach, wasn't I?” the words came from you without much thought. The conclusion had been drawn already. His head moved down to your stomach as he swallowed. You flinched when his hand rested there. “You were,” he spoke slightly, “I walked your soul down the path of reincarnation. We both agreed that we would meet again.” Just what all was he the god over? You removed his hand. A sob suddenly left him. His shoulders shook as he cried. “I knew you would forget… Why does it hurt so much? You don't remember our children,” he hiccuped, hands reaching up to remove his mask, “My brain yells at me to take you as we were, but my heart refuses me the pleasure. I love you too much to ever cause you pain. I regret agreeing to Emmet's plan.” His mask fell to the floor, revealing a face you knew. Ingo's silver eyes became reddened as tears fell down his face.

Your heart raced at him, the blanks with the pulsing of memories filled with him and his twin's identical looks. Your hand reached for his trembling ones. Taking him into a hug, his tears stained your t-shirt. A strange warmth bloomed in your chest as you remembered him handling Zorua kits around the village. Many often surrounded him due to his nurturing leanings. Mothers adored him for his kindness. You remembered a small white Zorua kit, too. A distinctly whiny one. His claws tore into your shirt.

“I love you, too, Ingo,” you whispered, “… I want to remember, I think.”

Did you? With all the memories that flooded your brain, you felt a need to.

His sobs only grew worse from your words.

~

You laid beside the sleeping god. His emotions cooled, and he decided to rest at your side. His fluffy ears twitched if you moved too much, so you tried to be as still as you could. Random flutters of not their memories crossed your mind as you felt yourself grow strangely more and more understanding of their odd behaviours. They were terrified of losing you again and desperate to have you at their sides. There was silent comfort of laying with Ingo. How long had you lived as their mate in your previous life? You could not recall such information, but it must have been a lengthy bit of time.

You flinched when arms encircled your waist. Ingo's eyes opened to gaze at you. His pupils were dilated. That was right… His rut. You smiled at him. It was clear that he was fighting himself in his head. You felt strangely excited. “Ingo, I want to…” it felt too embarrassing to say the words. His mood shift was immediate. Ingo pinned you to the futon. A growl left him as he nibbled at your neck. Hips ground into your own. Heat bloomed in your stomach while he kept up the actions. Hands crept under your shirt as he groped at your sides. Everything was oddly nostalgic.

You wanted more.

You needed more.

Ingo seemingly understood that as he pulled away to look you in the eyes. A red flush decorated his cheeks as his tail swished back and forth. “Dearest, I wish to give you more,” he spoke confidentially, “Let me lavish you with the attention I yearned to give you for the past two centuries.” You nodded, tugging at his robes. He quickly undid them and stripped them off his body. His form was more lanky than anything, but there was the slightest hint of muscles on his body. A few scars decorated his skin and left you with questions that had to be unasked presently.  You removed your shirt and kicked off your shorts. Ingo's eyes lit up at your exposed form. Instantly, his lips were all off over you. Kisses, bites, licks. All were brought across your skin as he simply enjoyed your body.

You whined when light nibbles and sucks were given to your inner thighs. Slowly, Ingo moved up between your legs. A tentative lick was given between your folds. A groan left his throat. He had missed your taste. His tongue swirled around your clit while his hands groped at your thighs. The pressure was just about perfect and left you grasping at his hair. More whines came when he teased your entrance. “Fuck, Ingo -” you managed as he pressed his tongue inside. Another groan came from him, vibrated through you. His eyes were closed as he clearly just enjoyed what he was doing. The heat in your belly grew stronger as he kept up his ministrations.

When his nose began to bump into your clit, you felt yourself fall over the edge. Your voice echoed off the walls as your thighs pressed into his head. Ingo moaned at your pleasure. His hips grinding against the bed from how much watching you squirm brought him back. The knot at the base of his cock had even begun to swell from the hormones provided by his growing rut. You whined as he continued to eat you out during your orgasm. Shudders spread down your spine as you felt overwhelmed by the attention his tongue lavished onto you. He was off in his own world. You managed to tug him off as your body was quickly growing too stimulated.

He gazed at you with wide eyes and a shine on his chin. His ears pressed against his head. “D-dearest, I apologise,” he shook his head, “I did not mean to – Oh, my love, it has just been so long. Please, let me continue to pleasure you.” You giggled as his reaction. “What about yourself, Ingo?” you asked. His face grew bright red as he realised where your eyes laid. His cock was flushed and leaking with precum. “Is that truly okay?” Ingo asked, “I do hope you realise I will likely lose myself in instinct… If you do not wish for me to knot you, there is a chance I will despite your wishes.” You found yourself completely okay with the circumstance. Perhaps you had become a bit loose from some pheromones in the air that were unseeable, but everything felt alright with you.

He swallowed as he moved up your body, cock pressing against your folds as he shut his eyes for a moment. Every feeling was too much for him. His rut made everything more intense, alongside the reunion with his beloved mate. Ingo cried out when he pressed into you. You watched his jaw clench as he pushed deep within you, nervously, including his knot. The stretch was pleasant, albeit a bit foreign. His hands gripped your hips desperately, nails digging in. He held himself still for a moment, waiting for your agreement. At your plea for more, he began to thrust in and out of you. It was electricity in your veins from the sensation.

“Oh – You're just the same as I recall,” he groaned, tears glistening in his eyes. His hips moved slightly faster. You started to buck upwards against him. His lip suddenly pressed against yours while he fucked into you. His tongue darted across your lip, a silent plea for entry. You obliged him and tasted yourself on his tongue. One of his hands left your hip to rub at your clit. His knot was slowly growing in size, but you felt ignorant towards it. A growl came from him when you clenched hard around him after he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside you. It reverberated into your mouth. You moaned as he aimed at the spot while increasing his attention to your clit.

He pulled away from your lips to hold himself above you as he fucked into you a bit more roughly. His lips pulled back to reveal his sharpened teeth, while his eyes almost glowed in the dark. You were completely lost in pleasure at this point, however. Your hands locked around his neck while you threw your head back to whine from everything. In doing so, your neck was fully exposed to the fox god's eyes. He descended upon it in a moment, teeth scratching lightly against the skin's surface. You felt the warmth in your stomach growing to be unbearable again. His knot had grown large as he felt resistance about pushing it inside. His cock twitched, and he set to make you come before he did.

The pad of his thumb played with your clit while he made sure to hit that spot inside of you perfectly. You came again, milking his cock desperately while laying back against the futon. Ingo growled and bottomed out inside you. His knot swelled completely, locking you both together, as a warmth spread deep inside your body. His teeth buried themselves into your neck. Iron stung your nostrils and danced across his tongue. For a moment, you laid with him, licking at the bleeding bite mark he gave you. You were exhausted.

“I love you,” he suddenly said, moving to stare you in the eyes, “I love you more than anything. We will make you happy again, dearest.”

You smiled weakly at him. Sleepily, you drifted off as he shifted you both onto your sides.

Waking up, you felt another presence in the room. Ingo was clearly the one holding you, but someone was staring at you both. Turning your head, you saw Emmet sitting on his knee while gazing curiously. He tilted his head as the cover fell down to reveal your state of undress.

He scooted closer.

Sniffing sounds echoed in the air as he gagged.

“Cheater,” he whined, “My brother is verrrry mean.”

You tried to move, but cried when you realised Ingo's knot was still swollen inside you. Your sudden action woke him up, too. Hands drew you close to him as Ingo began to growl from behind you, his chest rumbling from the sound. Emmet sighed and moved away from you both. “He's fully in rut,” he commented, “I can't believe he actually came here alone.” Ingo's body was tense from the clear distrust towards his brother in his current state. You sighed and wanted to ask questions to the younger god. Emmet felt more likely to properly answer your questions, but Ingo was not going to allow much right now. Pressing a hand to Ingo's cheek, you shushed him. Ingo's bared teeth were slowly hidden as he closed his eyes again. His pupils were shrunken so small that they were barely visible against the seas of mercury around them.

Emmet snickered at that, mouth splitting into an uncomfortable smile. He crawled toward you both after Ingo's aggression had clearly died down. “He's going to be so upset when he comes down,” he commented, “Hmm… What changed your mind? When I left you, there was clear opposition to everything.”

“I… Remembered things,” you told him, eyes shooting to the floor, “You left that hairpin and strange things pulsed in my mind.” He hummed. Nodding, he scratched the back of his head.

“I wasn't sure if you could, buuut,” he grinned, “You did! Yay. What did you remember?”

“�� Not a lot of stuff that makes sense, but… Well, I recalled you both gifting me it…” you replied. If you closed your eyes, the thought of the of it all felt absurd still, but you had already slept with one of the gods. It would be a lot more difficult to turn around at this point. Emmet smiled even more brightly. All this felt odd, if you were being honest. Ingo was still knotted inside you, Emmet was acting as if this were a perfectly normal circumstance, and you were pondering just where the hell Volo was. Seriously, shouldn't he have alerted authorities or something.

“… Mmm, we'll talk more,” he told you, “For now, enjoy your time with my brother. He's not usually so direct. It's funny.”

You blinked.

He was gone.

How did they do that?

~

You felt better after being allowed a bath and a change of clothes. Ingo showed you the small bathroom while also expressing his deepest condolences for his behaviour. His nervousness towards everything was apparent. Wearing some robes you were fairly certain belonged to someone else, you sat down on the floor. Where was your phone, too? “Ingo, can I have my phone back?” you asked. He tilted his head. “I don't have it,” he explained, “Emmet locked me in here, too. I'm too aggressive during my rut to run free around the village.” You wanted to scream. Well, it was not the worst you supposed. It had been awkward when his knot first deflated, and just awkwardly manoeuvred off him. When he woke up again, he was much calmer and in a more functioning mind set to talk.

“… Seriously, though,” you finally let the question leave you, “Isn't Volo going to be calling the cops?”

“… Volo is a fellow god,” Ingo's tone was dead serious, “I believe he had ulterior motives in bringing you here.” You felt dumbstruck. Volo was a god? That was impossible! You had known him since your first year of university. He was nothing but average; you had even met his family. His family, who… lived on a shrine grounds and took care of it. “… Do you gods just create towns and villages around your families or something?” you sighed. Ingo let out a genuine laugh. A soft smile was on his lips as he nodded. “It's not necessarily uncommon, no.”

You were beginning to hate it here again.

Holding up items from the chest, you asked about them. Most of the time, they were simply gifts that held deep meaning to them. The robes, however, seemed to be in this room for another reason. The same reason Ingo was currently hoarding your shirt. You shook your head at it. A burning question had remained in your head despite everything. Something felt off about your past life's death. You understood that you were likely stabbed by humans that were not from the village, but the fur from your dream remained heavy on your mind. However, no matter how many times you asked Ingo, he simply refused to acknowledge the question. At first, his brain was too foggy from his rut and then after it was much too painful to speak about.

Before you knew it, your time in the room with Ingo had come to an end. A few days had apparently passed, and the festival had ended. Your stuff from the inn was in a bedroom for the gods. Volo having left you a note declaring you returned to the fox gods and a favour owed. You scrutinised his wish, however. Emmet nearly tore the letter into shreds upon reading it. Apparently, one of their children was likely to be his soulmate, so he wished for them to come to him when the time was right. All he knew for certain is that they were a twin and a female. The words frenzied the god of vengeance as he ran from the shrine to go hunting in his stress.

Ingo explained that you free to do as you pleased, so long as you stayed within the village. He clearly was still worried that you might try to leave them again. It crossed your mind, but you figured it would be quite hard to leave with the entire village fully aware of who you are to them alongside the fact that when you had stepped too close to an exit, a terrifying white Zoroark gazed at you from the bushes. Emmet's true form was certainly… Something to say the least. He also dragged you back to the shrine silently. His humanoid form was returned to as he cried for you to stay. You were pinned to the futon as he sobbed into your neck. His strong emotional state was unexpected, but you simply tried to comfort him. Eventually, however, you managed to convince them to at least let you withdraw from university in person.

You settled into a life at the shrine. Slowly, you were trained by Anita in being a caretaker. It felt a bit more like a strange form of housekeeping, but you found a strange pride in it. Many villagers came up to you and thanked you for staying with their gods. Gifts were left for you quite often. A few older villagers, seemingly to be the most fond of doing so. You pondered the reason, but never chose to question it. There was always a smile on the twins' faces at it, however.

This relative peace was interrupted with the announcement of your upcoming child.

Ingo was in tears from it all, burying his face into your stomach. He thanked you over and over again.

Somehow, you knew this was more than it appeared to be.

You held your tongue.

You did not fail to notice who the small kit's fur felt familiar to the one from your nightmares, however.

What truly had happened to you when you died?

You chose to leave it alone after seeing the gods' smiles.

--------------

Asked to be tagged in: @kurinhimenezu

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Since matching patronuses means two people are soulmates, what do you have to say about Ron’s dog and Hermione’s otter? How do they pair up?

I have a couple of things to clarify before answering this question directly, I hope you don't mind.

That matching patronuses (why can't we make the plural following Latin? Patroni sounds so much better) mean soulmates is a statement to take very carefully. We do not know if in the Wizarding World people think that having matching patronuses means being soulmates. It is, though, symbolic for the reader. It's a subtle but important difference.

Imagine a movie where a character is color-coded. For example, we have a very calm character and so the director decides to color code them with blue. The character is not aware that their association with blue is due to their personality, just as much as the other characters aren't, but it is significant for who is watching the movie.

Another thing to say is that, despite how much the word soulmates is thrown around in mainstream media, it is actually a precise dynamic and while symbolism can be an instrument of the author to let everybody know that two characters are soulmates, it has to rely upon, before anything else, how the relationship between the two characters is built. With this in mind, Ron and Hermione are not soulmates. Mine isn't an opinion on how compatible they are but just a technical observation of how they are written. [I wish I had finished writing my analysis on Harry and Ginny's soulmates dynamic so the differences could be clearer. But this and the section where I explain the differences between hinny and romione here, and this post, could give you a good idea of what I'm talking about. Maybe this, too.]

Ok, now that we have established this we can go back to the patronuses.

I know that a lot of people during the years have said that Ron and Hermione's ones are significant because terriers chase otters. But I am afraid it was a pure coincidence this connection. Terries do chase otters, it's true, but they also chase a lot of other things in which casually the otters are included. If you look at Rowling's statements about their patronuses, Hermione's one is an otter because it is Rowling's favorite animal, and Ron's is a Jack Russell because at the time that was her dog, even if I have to say, I find Ron having a dog patronus quite fitting with his personality.

If you look at the page about patronuses on the "Wizarding World" site, there's nothing about their patronuses' connection. Instead, it is for example pointed out how Harry at the start thought his patronus was a horse and then it turns out to be Ginny's one [if you are interested in this read this]. Now, I'm not saying that we should use what's written or not on that site as an argumentation but it shows that there was no particular thinking behind Ron and Hermione's patronuses.

But let's pretend that we don't know any of this, that we only know what their patronuses are, and that we assume they mean something.

Ron and the Jack Russell

The Jack Russell before anything else is a dog. Dogs, having been the best buddies of humans since the dawn of time, have a strong symbolism in our traditions (at least the European ones). Dogs are symbols of faithfulness, loyalty, companionship, and honesty. Considering that Ron's main role in the story is being the best mate, the loyal companion, of the main character, its literary meaning is quite fitting.

Now, let's get a look at Jack Russells specifically:

Jack Russell Terriers were baying Terriers, meaning their job was to flush out foxes that had gone to ground, the Jack Russell’s job was not to kill the fox, but to keep him at bay with steady barking while the hunter secured the catch.

This once again highlights Ron's role in the story. He helps the hunter (Harry) until the last step, but it's the hunter who makes the final killing.

[...] their hunting history means they react and chase pretty much any moving small animal. [...] Rabbits, Foxes, Rats, Squirrels, Otters you name it. If it’s moving in a fast forward direction, the Jack Russell will chase it. -> source

As previously stated, yes they can chase otters but they are far from the only thing they chase.

I guess that if we want to find a way for all of this to make sense we could say that Hermione is one of the things that Ron chases through the story along with popularity, success, and on some level wealth.

Hermione and the otter

Because otters are pretty much an irrelevant animal in my country, I had to do a bit of research.

Otter symbolism and meanings include playfulness, laughter, and mischievousness, as well as creativity, transformation, and psychic abilities. Because otters can be found in coastal areas and riverways on every continent, except Antarctica and Australia, they are the subject of mythology and folklore in many cultures. -> source

Honestly, if we didn't know that Rowling chose Hermione's patronus simply because it is her favorite animal, one could easily assume that she was smoking some very heavy stuff when she was making this choice. Otters apparently are symbolic of the exact opposite of who Hermione is. I'm sure she would be thrilled to be associeted with psychic abilities...

If we want to work to make this make sense, I guess we could say that these are the elements Hermione, her soul, craves and that she finds in Ron. Ron is playful, his chess skills display creativity, he is a character with a great emotional arc (transformation) and we could even fit the psychic abilities. Ron while joking is able to predict more than once what it's going to happen in the story.

Otters are also apparently at risk of extinction:

Of the 13 species of otter, IUCN lists five as endangered, five as near-threatened, and two as vulnerable. -> source

Do we want to stretch it? Let's stretch it. This could be a connection with her status as a muggle-born and the people who wish for their genocide.

Sea otters, particularly mothers and pups, sometimes hold hands while floating on their backs. Hand-holding keeps the otters from drifting away from each other and their food source while they sleep. -> source

This I'm sure reminds everyone of that scene in DH where she fell asleep holding Ron's hand.

Mothers spend up to 14 hours per day foraging to support a pup's intense nutrition needs. [...] They provide full-time care for their babies for six to eight months, until the babies can survive independently. -> source

While Hermione is not particularly family-oriented she does have a strong maternal attitude towards Harry and in some ways Ginny too. Aside from Ron, they are her two closest friends.

Otters sometimes take up residence in abandoned beaver lodges or muskrat dens. Some even move in while beavers are still present. -> source

Hermione does spend more time at the Burrow than with her own family... Ok, now I'm just having fun learning stuff about otters so I think we can end it here.

The terrier and the otter

In conclusion, I suppose we can say that Ron found in Hermione what he was hunting for: someone that saw him as their first choice. And Hermione found in Ron what she craved: laughter, joy, relaxation.

They might not look like a perfect match to the superficial eye but they make much more sense than one could think.

Damn, now I want to write a fairy tale where a Jack Russell and an otter become childhood best friends who learn from each other how to be better people and co-exist (the story ends with them finding an abandoned fawn and they end up co-parenting him).

.

Edit: It was pointed out to me how otters are part of the weasel family and that could be taken as a reference to the surname "Weasley" and her future role in that family.

[kuekyuuq]

What happened to Lena’s mother?

Here we go, me dissecting a fictional show again, to try and find meaning while its sixth season is on summer break, and because apparently everything may or may not be relevant again. So let’s cut to the chase:

What we've been told:

"We were visiting family she said. Somewhere by the water, a lake I think. It was... It was so green. It wasn't a very bright day, it was overcast, but my mom said that's where the magic was. It was the rain that made the green. So of course, she went swimming. She didn't come back. [...] I was with her on the shore, when she went in, and when she went under and I did nothing." 

[Lena Luthor - 4x07]

I don’t know about you all, but... this whole description always felt strange to me, like there was more going on than Lena’s mother just going for a swim while it was overcast and raining, the loving and devoted mother she’s described as leaving her little girl on the shore alone. In a show like Supergirl and with Lena’s mother’s fairy-tale connection, I find it hard to imagine that the woman just had a leg cramp and drowned... Not to undermine the tragic of it all. For any child a mother’s death and the sub-sequential uprooting would equal to, like, all of a sudden losing one’s whole world, only to be flown to what is essentially a whole new and entirely different world and to be put with a family of strangers...  Is it just me who sees the parallel here? ...where was I? Right. So let me dissect the wording and add my two cents:

Visiting family, huh?

Lena seems to have no other family but the Luthors, with Lionel being her ever absent bio-dad (until he died) and Lex being her half-brother.

Lena's mom said they’d visit family, went into a lake and [presumably] died.

So, was her mother suicidal? Went to 'join' her non-alive family?

If Lena's mother wasn't suicidal, but indeed referring to their family, then... who could she have been referring to?

The visiting part also may or may not imply something non-permanent.

I honestly don’t believe in the “suicidal” approach, as even Lex noted how sunny and light the woman was. She’s described as happy and carefree...

Lena (who according to Lex's journals was capable of remembering people and events from before she was 4 years old accurately) only remembers it was by the water, guesses it was a lake. Something about the location (or something at the location) stuck with Lena as "lake-like".

It was overcast and raining. (Young-)Lena concluded that was what made everything look green. I mean, we assume this happened in Ireland, so green should have been somewhat normal for her? Yet, this stood out to her... 

So... magic? 

Lena's mother was into that fairy-tale / folklore book, y'know, the one Lena used to find the Medallion of Acrata, that Andrea snagged (and which we seemingly will see a lot more of in s06). 

The medallion being real is a rather good indicator that whatever 'magic' is described in that book is at least to some degree rooted in (the show's) reality.

[Aside from “The Adventure of Acrata”, the set-designers inserted “Hans in Luck”, “The Fox's Brush” and “The Grateful Beasts” (Brothers Grimm) to the book’s pages. Oookay.]

Green, so green.

Most obvious thought would be Kryptonite. But I cannot find any reference of green Kryptonite doing something that could remotely fit the scene described. I was sorta hoping, maybe the rain tainting everything green could be a meteor shower, but this event happened in 1997. Kal's pod (and the accompanying Kryptonite shower) fell to Earth around 1979. Couldn't have been some greenK following in the wake of Kara's pod either, because that didn't arrive on Earth until 2003.

Also also, Lena's mother apparently knew where to go in advance. This leads me to believe it may have been a "natural" occurrence.

What else is green?

Well, the Arrowverse’s Temporal Vortex for one.

Or the sky (light) at the Dawn of Time.

Am I really alone in the belief, that maybe, just maybe, Lena’s mother searched and found a “magical” place that happened to be some sort of portal?  ...to “visit family”? Maybe? Possibly had intended to take Lena with her? Something went wrong (as things always do when magical stuff is involved)?

"So of course, she went swimming," she said in a sarcastic tone.

That can easily be adult-Lena's way of belittling the moment, distancing herself from her own pain by adding some sarcasm. Lena's mother clearly went into something (”lake-like”), and never came back, presumably in a good mood (at least not scared) and without hesitation. Lena thinks "lake" and her mother "going under", while she herself remained at the edge of the event. Remember: This whole narration is what her 4-yo self saw and understood, revisited through an (guilt-ridden, self-deprecating) adult’s lens.

Here's a little tidbit, that I found checks quite a lot of boxes:

In Celtic/Irish mythology there is this supernatural "Otherworld" (aka Avalon in the King Arthur Legend), a realm of the deities and possibly also of the dead / ancestors and/or heroes. Apparently it is similar to a parallel universe (or some sort of multiverse) and a happy place. This elusive place is reached by entering ancient burial mounds, caves or by going under the waters of pools, lakes or the sea (giving it one of its many other names, Tír fo Thuinn, "land under the wave") or by crossing the western sea. And/or it sorta connects (at certain times or random / aforementioned places), signaled by fog, mists, sudden changes in the weather, appearance of unusual animals or divine beings. In tales featuring this realm, sometimes the hero returns after what he believes is a short time, only to find that all his companions are dead and he has actually been away for hundreds of years.

You know where you'd learn about “Otherworld” (aside from wikipedia)? In a book of fairy-tales, folklores and myths.

Now, there’s currently this fan-theory that Nyxlygsptlnz could be ...Lena’s mother...

Alright, similar’ish hair-do. I give you that. And the way the clothing bunches at the shoulders looks similar... It’s possible, I guess. Visually, at least.

However, Nyxly shared her troubled past, and Miss “tried to cut my father's throat” seems to not have (had) nearly the care-free, loving, playful, free-spirited character Lena’s mother has been described with. Who sang an Irish lullaby to a 7 year old Lex. And worked with/for Lionel for several years... Plus, wasn’t Lena to look ‘exactly’ like her mother?  So... yeah, if the writers go there, I will have serious problems suspending my disbelief.  That’s all I have for the moment.  Thanks for reading and as always don’t feel shy to correct me or help me find more clues.