#i simply love this concept and MUST develop it more

[marblenudger]

contemplating . . . returning to this blog. hello.

[jjoongiesbetter]

✎ᝰ. mon's ateez fic recommendations (part 1)!

mdni!

│hi there! i haven't read much lately so the first part came across as a bit shorter than i expected but the next ones will surely be longer!

— as a writer myself, i just wanted to take a moment to thank all the authors for sharing such incredible writing, your hard work is truly appreciated! thank you for sharing your writing with us! ♡

──────── ♡⸝⸝

⤷ kim hongjoong x reader

♡┆ugh, as if by @ennysbookstore; the whole mini-series is just amazing and i enjoyed each part a lot! once i started i couldn't stop reading! loved how well hongjoong was written! the build-up of the first part was top-notch! and the character development... i should thank the author on my knees for writing this masterpiece. one of the best authors out there! definitely will read again!

♡┆swapped by @daisykihannie; the prompt is just so fun and interesting, one of the most creative ones i stumbled across! i haven't read something like this before. enjoyed it very very much!

♡┆punching bag by @mulloey; i must admit it was so just so undeniably hot, angry hongjoong and also so well-written! you will find me re-reading it an unholy amount of times.

♡┆clumsy hearts, steady love by @edenesth; WHAT IF I TELL YOU I CRIED? i already commented on this one on my main but im going to repeat myself! incredibly written, hongjoong suits the concept so well, my heart hurt a bit while reading but it's hongjoong, of course, i forgive him. somehow still very cute.

⤷ jeong yunho x reader

♡┆active recovery by @k-hotchoisan; y'all so i was always so shy about commenting on smut but tbh don't we all read it? author killed it yet again! got me hot, bothered and i am starting to consider a gym subscription!

♡┆the drill by @byuntrash101; look i know this one was posted last year, and i am so mad for not reading it sooner😭 i loved the storyline, wooyoung as a side character was just so funny, yunho without rizz altered my brain chemistry. i can't lie i was thinking about this fic for days after i read it! it's the perfect blend of fun and smut.

♡┆private lessons by @bombuni; i must admit i love professor yunho and it is always a pleasure finding and reading such fics, especially when it's as good as this one! (would love to see a part two one day)

♡┆muffled by @desirehorizon; the plot!!! the writing!!! the smut!!! and it was funny too!!! what more can i want? perfect!! imma say it once again but i enjoyed every word of this fic!!! can't wait to read more from the author!

⤷ song mingi x reader

♡┆still your biggest fan by @byuntrash101; good god it was just so incredibly hot, we need to appreciate the idea because it surely is creative! who doesn't just love teasing mingi? let's agree that we all do.

♡┆sour candy by @0097linersb; loved the idea🙂‍↕️ needy mingi is my favorite mingi, it was very very hot. you better find the time and read it!

⤷ choi jongho x reader

♡┆minor nuisance by @everyonewooeverywhere; i tell you they are in love love! trust me, you definitely need to read this one! jongho was just so sweet, a great fluff/smut combo and now i need jongho in my life even more :(

♡┆freestyle lap by @bro-atz; we all should know by now that bro is just simply one of the best when it comes to smut and they never, never disappoint. i definitely needed to read this one after i saw that pool jongho pics. if you haven't read it yet, what are you even doing?

♡┆falling and sleeping by @seonghwaddict; it was posted earlier this year but i just had to include it :( it was just utterly cute, jongho is adorable. well-written, and melted my poor heart.

multiple members:

⤷ choi jongho x kang yeosang x reader

♡┆the post show high by @bombuni; i must shamelessly admit while reading it i felt like the author somehow got into my brain and just picked one of my fantasies, hope it's not tmi. so saying i loved it it's an understatement! one of my favorite authors for real!

pairings:

⤷ kim hongjoong x jeong yunho (hohong)

ao3 ♡┆darling, you will bury me (before i bury you) by SunshineAndRayne; cute cute cute! i loved every letter of it, yunho is so whipped and i am living for it!

ao3 ♡┆waiting for you by marspacz; i absolutely loved this one so much! my heart needed this, had me smiling the entire time i was reading! and then the shotgun scene—damn, that was hot!

[meo-eiru]

*cracks knuckles* here I am again. this time with Micah as my victim

so at first,

you definitely should add some more story to him. so far, if I'm being honest, he feels a bit too plain to me. but oh boy, what a potential I see here!

alright lets begin

omg look at him! such a hypocrite! how smart it is, to put all blame on MC while being just as (actually even more) sinful. and he sure hides well; it's your fault, isn't it? oh you and your sinful mind.

buut despite him not really being my cup of tea, I still do like a good old concept of ugly insides, hidden behind a beautiful shell (if that's the vibe you were going for).

Micah seems so pure, so holy, almost like an angel (you played smart by adding a lot of white in his design) – but behind that pristine facade? he's ugly. and that shell eventually starts to crack, because no matter how pure he may seem, Micah is just as human as we are, and definitely not a good one. and what are we, if not a bunch of cruel, egotistical animals? and deep inside he's exactly that, sickeningly human. with that in mind the very first comic you did abt him is actually pretty hilarious to me. your desires? what about his desires, which are strong enough to ruin your whole life?

I kinda feel like he's also a little pathetic in his own way; if he can't make you fall for him, he will break you. isn't it like a very cowardly move? he wants you badly enough to use whatever method it may require to have you, but will never admit it.

but let's talk about that strange desire to destroy MC's purity. why? to make you just as dirty as he is? cute, but doesn't seem like a full explanation to me. he's a priest, right? and even despite those dark insides of his, I feel like Micah still kept at least some of the priest mindset. I mean, they're raised and taught with a very strict discipline. so I feel like deep down, he feels bad (not ashamed, but in a "how dare they" way) for his attraction to you, and punishes you for that attraction. it's not your fault, of course, but who cares? you managed to destroy his perfect, clean facade, which he was methodically building for his whole life with simply your existence. isn't that unfair? so now you must fall into the depths of hell with him.

I like how we can't justify him. Micah is perfectly aware of what he is doing. and of twisted nature of his feelings too, I think, yet still chooses to indulge in his desires, even if it hurts you, the person he was supposed to love and cherish. he makes me feel an absolute, poetic rage, and I love a character I can hate. (don't get me wrong, it meant to be a praise)

and I absolutely adore his design. also if I was on point with the idea you meant for him, that is wonderful too. if a character makes me feel something, I like that character. but girl, you really should add more details about him. because everything I've written here is, basically, just my own brainstorming and bare theories. Micah needs to have more meat on him for a full character analysis >_>

but anyway, I actually have a question.

what if MC wasn't in any way pure? what if they're a complete opposite of that word? count it on my love for hunchback of notre dame

unlike the nun MC, I suggest a MC who fully embraces their sins. like an evil succubus, they enjoy the joys of being tainted. they know what influence they have on their dear Father Micah, and isn't ashamed of that. I feel like that would make a pretty interesting story

(cough cough draw him blushing and moaning and my life is yours darling)

Another absolutely incredible ask I'll have a field day answering.

I do agree with him being a bit under developed at the moment. Micah was a bit unfortunate as in he was never meant to be an actual character. He was just a momentary creation who existed for me to study color theory. A beautiful man of flowers who didn't have an identity.

Then he joined the cast when I was busy with working on commissions and the 5k celebration comic so I didn't have the time to draw his introduction comic with the things I had planned for him, though I've been trying my best to explore him a bit more thru asks like this one. The fact that I don't want to spoil the stuff I'll draw in his comic is also holding me back a little.

I think Micah is evil, but not completely bad. A man who was born twisted, who was raised into goodness, and even with all the love he received never truly got rid of his inner darkness, but just once, just for one moment, I think he had good in his heart. And that is when he first saw you.

With all his twistedness, all his evilness, all his darkness, I think that love he felt for you was truly pure. Because in his eyes you appeared truly beautiful, like a pure lily.

But Micah isn't a pure man, neither does he want to be. So he prefers to pull you down to his level, so that you two can be sinful together. A truly impure way of feeling that pure and innocent love.

I have gotten asks about him with a more rowdy darling, one who isn't a nun or one who is more sinful. I've been really brainstorming about it but I don't think it would work. Not because I personally can't force the story into being like that but because I think it was just not meant to be like that.

You see I do come up with the characters, but I don't control their actions. If the character is unwilling I can't shape the story to my will. Because that story is their life and they control it. The best I can do is to try to fill the gaps I can.

I might prefer submissive yanderes, I might want Micah to have a more sinful darling instead but it wouldn't be Micah's story anymore. That's one of the reasons why he's so different from the rest of the boys. I'm not super into very dominant guys, I could probably count the ones I have with one hand, it wasn't my intention for Micah to be the way he is, but I don't think he could've been any other way.

Micah was just meant to be manipulative, a gaslighter, a dirty man who'll pull anything to push you below him.

I guess me looking at my stories from an actual novel or manga perspective also contributes to this. Father Micah exists to shine with a darling who he can soil.

Now the darling can maybe go against him in the future, she might rebel or give in to his sinful ways, but that's a different story.

[akutasoda]

“the longer you wait, the closer you get to suffocating”

--love wasn't necessary to be a stoneheart, and so he buried it deep beneath facade's. so far below that he couldn't recognise the signs of love even when they were staring right at him.

--warnings - gn!reader, angst no comfort(?), some fluff, unknowingly pining??, maybe ooc, wc - 1.8k

--a/n: i think im allergic to making him happy :/ anyway i feel like this is kind of rushed but rrghhh (shouts to the amazing @mitsvriii and @theother-victoria for proofreading)

aventurine never loved.

the stoneheart never knew the embrace of a loved one, soft-spoken genuine words, or even what it was to even recognise the signs. love was a foreign concept. something that wasn't needed in the world of contracts and lies, it was something that could be used against you, to punish someone foolish enough to think with their heart and not their brain.

he didn't need it anyway. in some distant past of golden sands and gleaming smiles, love was common. childlike wonder and affection was exchanged between families and those considered family, but that didn't last long. scorching flames rained down upon them, loved ones buried beneath the serene sands and forgotten.

the love made it hard to let go. traumatic to watch as every single person the boy cared for succumbed to pain and death's cold embrace, his tears did nothing. they didn't convince those that started the massacre to stop, to spare even one shred of the boy's livelihood because they didn't have love. the massacre was only a means to an end - emotional attachments were insignificant.

the scars never healed, the sights were forever engraved into the young avgins mind. the only time he could really dwell on them however was in the rare moments of silence he had. from his life as a young avgin to his life as a stoneheart, at every step and every turn something happened to him.

for someone blessed with luck, it never felt like it. they say that the end justifies the end, but he would prefer the end never arrived if he had to go through all the suffering and misfortune to get there. it was as if his luck only worked if he went through mental turmoil and struggle beforehand.

no matter what he lost, it all turned out for him in the long run. but was losing everything he had worth the luck that allowed him to live on with those memories?

---✩

you'd met through mutual acquaintances, those who weren't as afraid to let people into their lives - namely topaz.

he'd caught a glimpse of you with topaz as he roamed the halls of one of the IPC’s main buildings. naturally he was intrigued. aventurine had never seen you before and, judging from how close you and topaz were acting, you must have been of some importance to her.

topaz was approached by her colleague after you'd bid farewell a while ago. she had no obligation to actually tell him who you were, topaz liked maintaining a good work - life balance and you were a part of her personal life, aventurine was mainly a part of her work life. however, she obliged anyway, she trusted him more than the other stonehearts.

it was a short explanation, you were simply a friend of hers that she'd asked to stop by because work was piling up lately and topaz couldn't have seen you otherwise. topaz could see aventurines interest from a mile away, uncharacteristic coming from him, but she knew that he would play it off as a passing intrigue - still out of character in her opinion.

but topaz wasn't as blind as aventurine insisted he was and so perhaps she deliberately tried to ask you to visit her just before she knew aventurine was going to be around. she wasted no time in subtly introducing the two of you properly, before anyone knew it, you and aventurine proved to be an unrivaled match.

it was almost shocking how quickly you worked your way into the stonehearts life. developing a closer relationship than with anyone else aventurine knew - even topaz was shocked. soon it was like aventurine had known you since before he adopted such an identity.

you gave him a warmth that he could only dream of now. one that a previous form knew of well but now, it was a foreign concept. he couldn't recognise the signs, see what everyone else saw when you two were around each other. your constant affection was a clear sign that you were friends, but eventually somewhere along the line, that friendship blossomed into a longing for something more.

you tried subtle advances, hints and such to suggest a genuine interest in aventurine as something more. everything you laid down, he didn't pick up - if he did, he didn't show it.

however, aventurine was blind. a fool when it came to looking emotions in the face, unable to see the signs and pushing anything that bubbled to the surface as far down as possible. aventurine didn't need anything other than acquaintances or business partners - friends were a wild exception but even he sometimes denied it mentally.

everyone that knew it well enough knew, it was glaringly obvious. even to veritas as he watched the stoneheart perk up at the notification his phone showed him. undoubtedly a message from you, basing the assumption on how quickly he responded or how he smiled like a dumbstruck fool.

about half an hour ago, aventurine barged into the doctor's office and slumping down in his chair. ratio didn't care, too used to it by this point and too focused on the current problem that plagued his mind and caused him to work tirelessly to solve.

it was about ten minutes ago that aventurine resigned to his phone after ratio's lack of interaction with him - he sighed as the doctor clearly saw more interest in his equations. now, he was messaging you.

“any developments” ratio’s voice snapped aventurines head up from his phone, looking quizzically to the doctor

he paused “what do you mean?” slowly setting his phone down

now it was ratio's time to sigh “you and your obvious infatuation” pointing toward the stonehearts phone

“what? no.” a nervous laugh escaped him “acquaintances, that's all we are. you're thinking too much into this doctor”

to ratio, aventurine was clearly in denial. dismissing the situation at any given time and so he went back to his equation - it was more entertaining than fighting with aventurine’s denial.

“fine, forget i asked” ratio began to shift his entire attention away from the gambler. aventurine stared at the doctor for a bit too long

he could sense the other man's gaze and so ratio merely sighed “let me offer you some advice gambler”

aventurine almost wanted to laugh, veritas ratio offering him emotional advice. a rather comical situation in his opinion

“you have to put your heart out there, it may be broken but that's how you know you have one” ratio’s words halted him, staring almost wide eyed as the doctor retreated

maybe he should've taken that advice.

---✩

when aventurine was first assigned his mission for penacony, he immediately told you. there were no specific details involved, just that he was going away for a bit due to work and so wouldn't be around. it wasn't entirely uncommon for him to do so, and you merely acknowledged it and wished him well, a safe return even.

unfortunately, aventurine hadn't told you a key detail. he never planned to return. guilt consumed him when he didn't tell you, hearing you wish him well really set it in, but this was a choice he made. one that he was determined to not go back on.

as soon as opal gave him the whole mission brief, he knew what had to be done. accepting the mission meant accepting his fate, both him and opal were very aware. neither of them stopped aventurine however.

but aventurine didn't know how you'd react. he could guess that it wouldn't be well, seeing as barely anyone would react well to someone they cared about telling them that they planned to never return after a mission. so aventurine withheld his real intent in order to save you the trouble.

aventurine didn't want a fussy send off. admittedly the way he planned to go would be anything but quite or lowkey, but he knew that you'd try and stop him. to convince him to change his mind and find an alternative that would involve him seeing another day.

but you didn't know.

aventurine reciprocated your genuine smile when you wished him well before he finally left for penacony. that would be the last time he saw that smile.

---✩

penacony was flashy, he expected no less from the planet of festivities. bright lights, billboards, unique food on every corner and varieties of people. they would all be the witnesses to his planned spectacle, the more the merrier in his opinion.

he couldn't miss the way that his eyes lingered for a beat more than they should on certain stores. the products inside temporarily making his thoughts drift back to you, making a mental reminder to himself to buy it for you later but reminding himself that it would be pointless - although his subconscious would make him buy it and immediately sent it to you.

even in the chaos that was penacony and it's guests, you still found a way to wind up in his thoughts - bringing his thoughts about the mission to a temporary halt and having a moment of respite. brief memories flashing in his mind that made him stop and smile, the sentimentality getting to him.

but it wouldn't change his mind.

aventurine never allowed his emotions to get in the way of work. you wouldn't make an exception. he stopped caring for his own life ages ago, time and time again it was beaten into him and it was the only way he could've gotten this far.

emotions had never done anything but hurt him, caused him more pain than worth. he was no longer kakavasha. he was aventurine, one of the ten stonehearts and they valued results, not petty feelings. no business deal worked out when you let your heart get in the way.

no plan worked when every minute he was thinking about what could've been. aventurine was being dumb, you wouldn't love him. all those signals were simply you being a friend, nothing more - and he should be happy that you even saw him as such. aventurine shouldn't be wishing for more.

a heavy sigh escaped him as he snapped out of his thoughts. the lights at clock studios theme park seemed brighter, tauntingly so, as of they were out to mock him with happiness that could've been and yet he still chose the darkness of death. tucking his hand behind him, shaking, he stepped heavy steps toward the stage.

the show must go on.

---✩

it was cold.

pitch black endlessness illuminated by the symbol of nihilty’s form.

he looked down at his hands, shaking more than ever and he wasn't even putting his life on the line, then he looked up.

kakavasha.

had he died? were these the final moments of aventurine?

he'd soon learn they weren't. and as that emanator walked away, he realized that he lived. he failed. and yet, was it really a failure if he could see you one more time?

maybe, just maybe, he could finally own up to his feelings.

rest of the "series"

taglist - @little-miss-chaoss, @frankiesteinn, @https-sourlimes

[aeithalian]

Apollo and the demonization of power

I graduated and I'm back on my shit, y'all.

I saw this post by @apollosgiftofprophecy (hi Alder) about whether or not Apollo should have stayed mortal instead of regaining his godhood, and may I just say I 1000000% agree.

To summarize the post: if Apollo had chosen to stay mortal, his promise to Jason (to remember what it means to be mortal/human) wouldn't have meant nearly the same as if he'd gone back to Olympus. Regaining his godhood allowed him to chose to help people with his full ability and remember his humanity for however long it takes for him to fade.

And if I may add on: Apollo even talks about maybe choosing to stay mortal at some point in the latter half of the series, but eventually comes to the conclusion that to chose to stay mortal would be akin to running away from his problems. And he's right: if he chose to stay mortal, he wouldn't have to face Zeus again and he could shirk his responsibilities as an Olympian. So he decides against it (not that he really ever has the chance to chose). And I just love to take this as a great moment of character development and an insane amount of self-awareness for somebody who started their arc where he did.

But it also got me thinking. And, in short, I came to the conclusion that Apollo must be an idealist simply by the way he views power.

In this case, fiction reflects reality: villains want power. They want control. They want to squash rebellion. And that, typically, is an occurrence we typically only see with villains. Never with the heroes, who rarely want power outside of defeating their enemy. But here we have Apollo, who spends the entire series literally seeking power in his attempt to regain his godhood.

And that has morphed into something really interesting when it comes to representation of power in classical media. More often than not, power is demonized. It's seen as something inherently evil. If a character wants power for themselves, they're likewise seen as evil. Any one of your classical antagonists are going to, at some point in their stories, want power in any which way it presents itself. Voldemort of Harry Potter wanted to live forever. Sauron of Lord of the Rings wanted the Ring of Power. Palpatine of Star Wars wanted control of the galaxy. Zeus wants to rule the Olympians. The list goes on.

On the other hand, in stories where a protagonist seeks power to destroy their opponent, they eventually end up discarding their items of power because they don't want to be 'corrupted'. Harry Potter refused to use the Elder Wand. Frodo destroyed the Ring of Power. Luke Skywalker turned down the Dark Side. Even Percy Jackson declined godhood.

But Rick, in writing Apollo's character, takes an interesting approach and a fun subversion of this trope that I, for one, absolutely love. Previously, he'd written Percy to turn down godhood because he primarily wanted to maintain his humanity. To Percy, being a god and being human are two mutually exclusive concepts. They don't coexist. For Apollo, on the other hand, he accepts power out of a sense of duty, and vows to use it well in the spirit of his promise to Jason. There is no demonization of power. And to Apollo, humanity and godhood are not exclusive concepts. So what does that mean post-trials?

There are two perspectives at battle here. First is demonization: 'power is inherently evil'. But the idea that power corrupts is not necessarily a fact: in my opinion, power in and of itself isn't evil. Yes, it's dangerous, but it's more or less a blank slate. What you do with power, who you are when you have it, is what defines it. And that's a pretty nuanced take, and it comes with its ups and downs, requiring those powerful protagonists to be your most responsible, most dutiful, most kind characters who take up the mantle of power with the full understanding of what it means. Who's to say that you can't achieve power and use it well? So there's the other perspective: 'power is a blank slate'.

Let's look at power from a Zeus vs. Apollo perspective:

Zeus wants power (or at the very least, to maintain his power) as a way of controlling people, squashing rebellion, and maintaining order in the way he sees fit, without any sense of legitimate justice or care for others. It is Zeus' actions that make him evil, not his power.

Apollo, on the other hand, seeks power as a way of solving problems, creating solutions that benefit the greatest amount of people possible, and creating a lasting difference on others to change for the better, just as he did. More often than not, when he reminisces about having power in the series, it's more out of a place of 'this terrible thing wouldn't have happened if I were a god', or 'I could help better if I were a god'. Never once does he view power as a way of controlling or manipulating others. Power, to Apollo, is just the ability to love to the greatest extent possible (re: my meta on Apollo's fatal flaw).

But the interesting thing here is how Apollo views power in general, outside of his own. The idea of demonizing power doesn't even occur to him, despite the fact that he's been the subject of abuse for millennia. What's fascinating to me is the fact that Apollo, having been hurt so often by Zeus' power, doesn't ascribe that same generalization to his own person.

I find that very interesting: abuse does wacky shit to people's brains. By all means, that should have irrevocably changed Apollo's perspective on power as a whole, right? Not if you've learned to view power as something that is part of you, no.

I don't know how other gods besides Apollo view their own power, I actually think it's accurate to say that gods view power as something inherent to their nature. And, honestly, maybe it is. But that's besides the point.

Regardless of whether or not power is inherent to gods, Apollo, throughout his journey, realizes that it must go hand in hand with responsibility and humanity. Power is a privilege. That 'blank slate' perspective is one he learned in his trials, the knowledge that the power he has is something he shapes, and something he has no excuse for. If power is inherent, all of Apollo's wrongdoings are his own failings.

And that's even more interesting when you relate it to his relationship with Zeus. Apollo must likewise know that Zeus' wrongdoings are solely his fault, not a result of his power. It's a fascinating perspective of power coming from somebody who has none, who's been hurt by somebody who has so much. To maintain that optimistic view of power as non-corrosive when faced with your abuser is, I think, the glaring mark of an idealist.

So, what does this mean post-trials?

I think, along the same vein, there is a point where the idealist breaks. They have a glimpse of reality: all is not well. For Apollo, that's at the end of the series where he decides that Zeus is beyond all hope. Take this quote from the Tower of Nero:

Some fathers don't deserve [reconciliation]. Some aren't capable of it. I suppose I could have raged at him and called him bad names. We were alone. He probably expected it. Given his awkward self-consciousness at the moment, he might have even let me get away with it unpunished. But it would not have changed him. It would not have made anything different between us. You cannot change a tyrant by trying to out-ugly him.

More often than not, my favorite stories are the ones where the main character gains power, keeps it, and uses it for good. Aragorn accepted the crown of Gondor. Luke Skywalker chose to train a new order of Jedi. Apollo regained his godhood. And readers of any of my multichap fics know that I love to write this trope as well.

But, much like my mutuals and I have been yelling from the rooftops for LITERAL YEARS, Apollo's story is not over. And once the idealist has 'broken', like we see in the scene above, there's only one way it could go.

To see somebody mishandling their power in a way an idealist knows is corrupt is quite literally a recipe for revolution. Look me in the eye and tell me that the way ToA finished wasn't setting up a revolution. Do it, I dare you.

Regardless, it's safe to say that, at some point, somebody's going to take a look at Zeus and say "you know what? Anybody could do better." Just saying.

Anyways, vive la révolution.

[a masterlist of my other metas]

[maleyanderecafe]

The Lithromantic Duke (Webcomic)

Created by: 岚梓

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

The Lithromantic Duke is pretty short as of now but it does have an interesting concept relating to a ghost and a maid. I was surprised to find that this was a Chinese webcomic since it doesn't really follow the general Chinese webcomic styles (which is generally shorter lengths, but more chapters and a more speedy plot progression). Currently there are about 10 chapters out and the ghost is very cute.

The story starts out the Maid, Dolly, recalling Duke Hart Bolton, the founder of the kingdom. He was able to establish the kingdom, but died suddenly, without any children. After many years, the fifth duke has appeared in their mansion, Anders Bolton, who bears an identical appearance to the original Hart Bolton. It seems that they are preparing a ball for Anders who is about to get married and Dolly unveils a portrait of the original Duke Hart Bolton in the mansion. We learn pretty quickly that Duke Hart Bolton's ghost still resides in the mansion for about 100 years, and has been fawning and in love with Dolly, even though he cannot interact with her. Hart remembers when he first met Dolly five years ago, crying under his portrait as she started out wishing that she could work better. As the years went on, Hart began to fall for her and watched her while she worked throughout the mansion. As Dolly works to take care of the ball, Hart continues to fawn over her. During the ball, Hart watches as Anders ends up drinking poison from a cup, laughing and mocking him until Dolly comes in. Anders has a heart attack, causing Hart to also experience the same, and when he wakes up, he finds that he has taken over Ander's body. Happy with his new body, he immidiately goes down to dote on Dolly for the first time, startling Dolly and all of the maids as the head maid tries to blame her for the poisoning. He also accuses the head maid of stealing as he's watched them all in the household and brings Dolly into his room.

Dolly of course, is naturally really confused why the Duke has suddenly fallen for her and is doting on her with a lot of fancy clothes. As Hart continues to praise and dote on Dolly, Dolly starts to realize that she is likely the next of Anders's women that he's taken interest in, as Anders was notoriously a playboy and often jumped from women to women. Hart tries to bring her to different places that Dolly might like, such as the garden which she was never allowed to go to and showers her with gifts and praise. He also tries to kiss her, but holds back as he wants to slowly develop the relationship between them, as he knows that she's not aware of the fact that he's taken over Anders's body. The two continue the date until Hart is forced to talk to the princess, much to his dismay and leaves to attend his business. Here the butler slyly reminds Dolly that she is simply a maid and must maintain her place as such, even despite Hart's current doting on her. Hart pretty much goes to meet the princess, realizes that she's essentially a reincarnation of an old friend (just as a female), thanks her for her time and tells her to go back. The butler seems really distressed at this behavior, trying to lecture the duke that it's rude to do that, but Hart ends up messing with him and exerting his authority before going back to find Dolly again.

The maids end up dressing Dolly up and Hart and Dolly have a drink, with Dolly mistakenly believing that he wants her to test the alcohol for poison, as it's likely that the duke views her as disposable (when in reality, Hart was trying to give Dolly the wine she's always wanted to try). Dolly gets pretty nervous around the Duke as she doesn't want to be thrown away or otherwise be fired as her job as a maid, so tries her best to meet with the Duke's demands to keep her job, and the two end up sleeping in the same bed at night (and the Duke supposedly jacking off to her sleeping form). The next day, Hart disguises himself as a knight and brings Dolly to a boutique to buy her a bunch of dresses. The story ends so far with Dolly and Hart waiting for some street yams, while Dolly chases after someone to try to return their stopwatch to them.

As everyone knows, I'm a sucker for really cute yandere guys and Hart is adorable. He fawns over Dolly a lot and is really delusional at the idea that she and him are actually going on dates when he's in ghost form and is so happy to have a body that he immediately attempts to try to give Dolly everything she could ever ask for along with trying to give her things that he knows that she wants to try but isn't able to as her status as a maid. The way he fawns over her is just really cute and he wants to spend all of his time with her. An obsessive fanboy stalker type, at least when he was a ghost. It is kind of weird to think about since he has been just stuck to this mansion for like 100 years, so does that mean he's a 100 years old, and if so why does he have the mentality of like a younger guy. It's a bit weird to think about since he's technically like way older than her. Maybe they'll explain it later, like why Anders looks exactly like him physically. Does make me wonder where Anders went off to, did he turn into a ghost and swap places with Hart? That's kind of funny to think about. Currently, he doesn't seem to be very dangerous, but there are signs of it like how he didn't care that Anders got poisoned (mostly because he insulted Dolly), he has threatened the butler and made him bark (literally) and I think for sure would throw arms at anyone who hurt or was mean to Dolly. Currently though, he's more obsessive and doting, generally sweet to Dolly.

Dolly herself I feel like is put in a pretty bad situation. I think as a maid she is very competent and does her work well, but she's kind of forced out of her comfort zone to pretend to be Anders's lover. What makes it worse is because Anders is originally a playboy, she kind of is expecting that he's going to throw her away and can't really develop any genuine feelings because of it. I kind of feel bad for her since Hart is basically forcing his authority onto her just so that she can be with him and she just has to play along in hopes that she doesn't get fired. She feels very awkward with the gifts and dresses she has and can't even enjoy it because she believes that eventually the duke will just move on from her. Pretty terrible position to be in honestly, especially since it must feel weird for the maids to bathe and dress her when she's usually the one that has to do it. I do understand why the Duke is hesitant to reveal who he really is since I think Dolly would be kind of confused at the idea that a 100 year old spirit who took over his look alike would like her (and has been following her around for 5 years), but currently in the situation she's in, Dolly just really has her hands tied. I hope she's able to resume back to her maid position though since she seems like she's a very good maid.

If you like cute yanderes like I do, this one is a good read. It's pretty unfortunate that it's short, but it does have a unique point of view relating to the maids and the duke rather than what it usually is, which is a villainess character or the heroine. I hope we get to see Hart more as a yandere, both doting and otherwise.

[ronearoundblindly]

How does mermaid reader feel about Steve? Like what is her take on their relationship?

just fair warning if you keep writing I’m gonna keep asking questions lol.

I...don't know what happened with this, but it was kinda fun! (unedited, not long, no real warnings except, yeah, he's a human and you're a mermaid, semi-angsty fluff!!)

Steve Rogers x deep sea mermaid!Reader from Sun, Salt, and Shield

Steve is a novelty.

Originally, you just considered him a split-tail with a crown of morning sunlight and high-ocean eyes. Later on, you learned it's called 'hair,' but a closer translation based on how mermaids see it is a 'mane.' Steve has a golden mane--something no one in your species has--hence, you think of it as a crown.

You were caged when you first saw him. That made you assume certain things when Steve walked up to the Raft's tank. Even in near darkness, his mane is bright. No other person you've encountered so far has that.

You're curious, frankly, but on-guard as always.

When humans are deprived of sleep, they can hallucinate, and mermaids are no different. You thought he was a complete figment of your imagination until Stark interacted with him, until Steve stepped into the water and put pressure across your heart and hips. The push of his hand, forcing your head against his chest, could have made you howl in relief.

All you wanted was to rest, but something in the back of your mind also told you not to scare him.

Stark, you don't mind scaring, Chuck is right where he belongs, excreted out into the industrial filters beyond the wall of your tank, but Steve? He must be protected.

He sees you. He listens to you.

You did not thing surfacers could do that. Not really. Not nicely. All humans want to do is control and take, use and abuse. However, you aren't afraid of them. You absolutely can kill any one of them that gets closer than you'd like. They're fragile.

But the way Steve grips you? Maybe he's not so fragile...

English is freaking hard. You learn quite a bit from Tony and then practice with Steve. You can feel his patience but love earning his admiration more. You find yourself wanting him to be proud of you and your progress.

You love making Steve laugh. It takes so long to figure out how to amuse him.

Numbers are a pain in the ass to learn because they have a concept, a symbol, and a written word. That's the point Tony halts teaching you to read alongside the verbal language. You threw a fit. He threw a fit. He left in a huff to cool off. You shrieked for Steve to come back for hours.

Eventually, when Tony returns, you threaten to eat him, and he calls it quits for the day.

Tony knew you favored Steve Rogers from day one. He planned to use that knowledge--and to some lesser extent, he did--but soon Tony simply realizes making you happy makes Steve happy...plus you cooperate and become an ambassador of sorts in your home realm.

You keep learning for Steve, not for Stark.

Mermen are, in your experience, domineering and uninspired. Their immense size differential to mermaids is useful to the brute-force model of society deep in the ocean, but they are boring. Your father is not stupid though. Almost none of them are stupid. Simple-minded remains the best translation you can manage.

Steve fascinates you. His attention to detail, his open nature, and his empathy are entirely new to you.

Mermen don't hide their baser instincts, so they freely ogle and flocked toward the most physiologically attractive mermaids. No interest in what's beneath the surface, ironically. Very shallow.

That's not to say bonds aren't possible. They absolutely are. Bonding with a partner is secondary at best, an afterthought most often, and unnecessary at worst.

Yet again, Steve wins you on every level--he has a sharp mind and acknowledges yours, he challenges your development without critique, and, lastly, he's quite attractive for how small and smooth he is.

"Should've seen me before," he once mumbled after you explained all that as well as your vocabulary would allow.

You don't know what he meant by that.

Because a certain level of indifference is common in couplings of your species, you were quite alarmed, embarrassed, and uncomfortable with how deep your affection for Steve became. You know how other humans react to you, and it doesn't build much confidence that one of them could feel this way about you.

During these long, repeated hugs with Steve, you realize that it's not just curiosity, or the novelty of his existence, or interest in learning from him: you feel about Steve how others feel about their mates.

Not gonna lie: that's terrifying. You don't actually know if Steve reciprocates. Sure, he explains human couples in great detail, and he shows you some of what he means, but all that could be...part of teaching you.

Until Steve discusses kissing, you convinced yourself he could not possibly harbor romantic affection for you.

It's lips against something, he says, that's all. His lips can press anywhere and boom! you've been kissed. He illustrates by kissing the back of your hand, kissing your cheek, kissing your forehead.

By now, your face is cradled in his hands. You can hear his heart racing as he sits on the steps in your pool and leans toward your body. His high-ocean eyes are shadowed as he looks down your face, captivated by--

"--your beautiful lips," he says, gently pressing his atop yours.

It's difficult to describe why something so simple hits so dramatically in your mind. The golden-maned man, almost the strongest of his species, amongst the softest of yours, kisses you like he needs to learn you, like he needs your existence, like he's curious.

There's a phrase you hum at the back of your throat once he releases you and sits up, a dusty rose painting his neck and cheeks.

"Swim beside me."

The better translation to English would be "I love you," but you haven't learned that yet.

Thank you for asking!

A/N: why am I crying?????

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[dearladynightmare]

Hello everyone💜

As you remember from two days ago, I wanted to talk about Hordak and the time when Entrapta and he have been separated.

Well and here it comes.. a few heartbreaking thoughts of mine.

At the beginning of the series, I didn't think much of Hordak. He was simply a villain who did terrible things for whatever reason.

But the way I usually feel about such characters is that I develop an incredible amount of sympathy as soon as I understand the character's motivations.

And Hordak's motivation comes from an incredibly sad backstory filled with a false conception of a God, life in a cult, rejection, humiliation, self-doubt, and the conviction that you have to prove yourself valuable to someone in order to be loved.

And all this makes Hordak not a monster, but something human. (Of course, this in no way justifies his actions, but a sense can be made of it.)

A friend and I call this characteristic of a villain: Opfer der Umstände (victim of circumstances).

And now to the actual topic. Entrapta was gone and Hordak believed Catra when she said that Entrapta had betrayed him.

It broke my heart. I thought: Hordak, you idiot!! Why would you believe that Cat more than Entrapta. You must have felt something was wrong. I mean we are talking about Entrapta, the woman who cherished you, who helped you, who loves you for who you are, who sees no defect, but a being worthy of love.

And THAT was the reason why Hordak believed Catra. He was so filled with self-hatred, fueled by a god - his god - the center of his universe- who denied Hordak any value by rejecting him.

That someone could love him, like Entrapta seemed to do, was simply impossible. Not compatible with the reality of his life. It was too good to be true. Blinded by his desire to be loved, this princess betrayed him.

He felt stupid, abandoned, heartbroken. But in his eyes it was the only possible truth and he deserved to suffer because of this sin. The sin of believing he was worthy before Horde Prime confirmed it.

And when he found out that Catra lied, his world collapsed. He was truly loved by this women and because of his insecurities she probably died.

So I hope I’m done breaking your heart and mine as wellxD thanks for reading!💜💜

[a-most-beloved-fool]

Vulcan tails! I love giving Vulcans tails. But, because I am a writer more than an artist, I am cursed to think of The Implications™. So, have some headcanons. (i think there was a different one of these not too long ago, too, but i figure more can't possibly hurt!)

Prehensile - it is fully maneuverable and can be used to grasp small-ish objects. It's pretty thin, though, so it can't hold much more than 20 pounds. (even that seems like a stretch to me, with how long and thin they're usually drawn, but Vulcans are stronger than humans, so let's indulge.)

Telepathically sensitive! Not as sensitive as fingers or qui'lari, maybe, but still pretty sensitive. Compatible minds could meld using only tail contact, even if they're not the most telepathically proficient. Most of that sensitivity is concentrated near the tip, but in instances where the tail must be partially amputated for some reason, the telepathic centers have been known to redevelop farther up, on the new tip.

Tails are kept wrapped around the body (like a belt, typically, but there may be different styles of wearing them) the majority of the time. This is partially inspired by fanart, and partially because wrapping the tail around something is a Very Good Way to keep it still through emotions.* (I've seen it suggested that Vulcans would simply amputate tails as infants, but I Do Not agree with that, simply because I think that cutting perfectly functional body parts off of people without their consent is Horrifically Immoral, and also? inherently illogical? Like what do you mean you're chopping off their limb??? what if they want it later? it can't just grow back! wtf??? Cardassians might cut off tails, Vulcans Would Not. You could argue that the tails are usually kept tucked away beneath clothes, though, if you want an excuse for "no visible tail". You could also maybe argue that those who completed kolinahr would get their tails removed as a symbol of the removal of emotions, but tbh i don't like that much, either.)

I think I saw a different headcanon list somewhere on here which suggested that very young Vulcans might hang onto the tails of their parents, and I do like that concept. It's very cute. So, yes, tails are often used when caring for small children. They probably offer some kind of emotional support to Vulcans young enough to not have developed their controls yet. A telepathic pacifier or comfort blanket, if you will.

The V'Tosh Ka'tur (Vulcans without logic, like Sybok) advocate for tails to be freed. Sometimes Vulcan punks will experiment with their tails loosed as a form of rebellion. There's a whole underground movement about it.

There's an ongoing debate about whether tail use should be allowed during certain sports and gymnastics. It does help with balance, for example, but critics suggest that it's unfair to allow tail use when some Vulcan athletes will still refuse to use their tails for spiritual/Surakian reasons. They say it offers an unfair advantage to those who use tails, at the cost of more conservative Vulcans. Others say that it's illogical to ban the use of a natural body part that they almost universally possess.

(speaking of "universally possess" - I'm toying with the idea that the tail kind of begins as an umbilical cord? so before the child is born, it connects the infant to its mother, and after it's born, the cord develops bones and cartilage and transforms into another limb. idk how much sense that makes, but i like the concept.)

Because Vulcans keep their tails so contained, sometimes aliens don't realize that they have them. They assume that they're just an unusual belt that Vulcans are particularly fond of. More than one has been utterly shocked to see this supposed article of clothing twitch on its own! (sometimes, particularly young or rebellious Vulcans will deliberately play this prank on people.)

The VSA bans all tail use for tasks in their laboratories (both chemical and engineering) after a number of unfortunate accidents involving dropped specimens and tails caught in machinery. Space-OSHA is very strict about tail PPE. Tails must stay beneath the lab coat at all times!

Pre-Surakian theater often had blocking instructions for tails written into the script. The first time a modern troupe put on one of these productions, the controversy became the talk of the planet for weeks.

Similarly, pre-Surakian paintings and sculpture had a strong emphasis on tails. However, the tails were particularly prone to breaking off of the sculptures (they are very thin, after all), and large amounts of academic discussion have gone into attempting to restore the tails accurately. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to tell what position the tails would have been held in. There are only a handful of sculptures which have remained completely intact, and their tail positions are not consistent enough to provide a template, so many statue recreations are forced to guess. Some academics also suggest that there was a movement nearly 1000 years previously to deliberately remove tails from statues and destroy them!

At least one (non-percussive) musical instrument exists which requires use of a tail to play it properly.

Underground Vulcan clubs often feature risque tail dancing. This is less controversial than the plays, simply because it's not officially sanctioned and is considered to be a "display of skill and sensuality" rather than an expression of emotions.

*this has been haunting me with another silly spirk fic idea I don't yet have time to write, which is below:

Spock's tail, which is usually kept wrapped around his waist (save for when it's in use holding things), gets badly injured during a landing party. Some of the bones are broken, and because the bones are small and finicky, a good chunk of the healing needs to be done via a good old fashioned cast.

Meaning: Spock can no longer keep it wrapped around his waist.

And, having a free-hanging tail for the first time since he was three-ish, Spock learns that he is Very Bad at keeping tabs on it. Whenever he's focused on any sort of project, his tail has a mind of its own, and, naturally, it reacts most strongly to Kirk. Sometimes it wags when Kirk smiles at him, and nearly every time Kirk is close enough to him, it drifts over to touch him. They do reports together one night, and Spock's tail finds its way to Kirk's lap, and Spock, too focused on his work, doesn't notice that it's there for over an hour. Kirk does notice, and deliberately doesn't draw Spock's attention to it.

Kirk (pining) is trying his very best to not read too much into things (and is failing. oh boy does he want it to Mean Something). Spock (also pining) is just about at his wit's end trying to figure out how to control his wayward tail (because he doesn't want people to realize that it Means Something). Everyone else just finds the whole situation very cute (because they all knew from the start that the emotions were there).

[maverick-werewolf]

Daily Werewolf Thoughts - Days 17-23

Day 17- So how about this idea that werewolves are unholy? It's a load of bunk, if you ask the old legends. That's right, even in the Early Modern Period as werewolves became associated with satanic magic, the werewolf itself still wasn't unholy - because the werewolf was a victim. And older than that, they simply weren't at all.

Traditionally, werewolves were never considered unholy and, in fact, were often considered associated with God. We see this in the Werewolves of Ossory, among others, and if you believe Thiess or Thies of Kaltenbrun, the Werewolf of Livonia, there were also the Hounds of God who became werewolves and went into Hell to retrieve grain stolen by demons and battle Satan and his witches*. True, he was basically considered a crazy man, but it's a fun concept to discuss. Likewise, werewolves in antiquity were never turned by Satan, as he does not possess such power. God, however, could turn people into werewolves for various reasons (I will discuss this further when I talk about the Werewolves of Ossory, one of my favorite tales). Those who became wolves by a satanic power were also still considered victims, such as Jean Grenier. As printed in records of his trial, preserved by Sabine Baring-Gould (shameless plug: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Werewolves-Superstition-Annotated-Translated-ebook/dp/B0CK4YY16Z )… "The president went on to say that Lycanthropy and Kuanthropy were mere hallucinations, and that the change of shape existed only in the disorganized brain of the insane, consequently it was not a crime which could be punished. The tender age of the boy must be taken into consideration, and the utter neglect of his education and moral development. The court sentenced Grenier to perpetual imprisonment within the walls of a monastery at Bordeaux, where he might be instructed in his Christian and moral obligations; but any attempt to escape would be punished with death."

Werewolves in legend were never driven off or harmed by holy artifacts, holy words, or holy ground - unlike vampires, demons, and other forms of undead, etc. Obviously, popular culture has had them now frequently associated with demonic imagery and acts, but I personally have never liked it, because I love werewolves and I think it's pretty awesome that they actually -weren't- associated with that kind of thing.

There's a (an old, actually) Werewolf Fact on this and more, of course: https://maverickwerewolf.com/werewolf-facts/how-to-kill-a-werewolf/

*: It is extremely noteworthy that werewolves were NOT considered witches at any point in antiquity or the Early Modern period. They were different, and the difference remained important including and up to the famous werewolf and witch trials of the 1600s-1800s. I will discuss this some more in future thought posts, as it's extremely important to my research and arguments and how modern scholars have spread so many outright inaccurate concepts as "fact" just to scrounge out more "arguments" for the "academic conversation."

Image: the werewolf from Red Riding Hood (2011), shockingly one of my favorite werewolf movies, despite the werewolf doing the whole "werewolves are unholy" thing. Don't let the teen romance fool you, it's actually really good, and the werewolf is awesome!

Day 18- I am really sick of this concept of "millions of werewolves" like a zombie plague, no puns intended. You see it everywhere these days and have for over a decade, and it's gotten very old. There's a brand spanking new B-movie coming out later this year based on this concept, too.

Back in my day, werewolves came in 1's. One werewolf, one story, very character-driven - made things dramatic and interesting and kept the werewolf horrific, not to mention unique. It also kept the werewolf as a relatable character, which is hugely important for such a story. Today, more often than not, werewolves come not only in "packs" (I will rant about this another time) but also in massive zombie hordes. In such a state, they aren't even dangerous individually. One werewolf isn't even a threat. They're just a plague, like rats. In WoW, you have an objective in the worgen starting zone to "kill 80 worgen" in one go because there's a blue million of them and they all absolutely suck (you have several objectives like this). It's a terrible way to approach werewolves as a concept. At this point, especially with modern zombies being some infectious disease, why isn't the story just about zombies? Why not just make it about some infectious rat-people plague, since that's what it is?

If you see the scary monster in question slaughtered in droves, it lowers your perceived danger level of one as a threat. No matter what occasional thing has managed to arguably pull this off well regardless of seeing dozens on the screen at the same time (I have heard all the Aliens arguments*), it still ultimately works to make the single thing less intimidating. Especially when, in the case of werewolves, they're largely only talked about as dangerous because they might infect someone… you know, like how modern zombies are handled.

Again, I have to say: if the werewolf is just a plague-carrier that comes in hordes, why not go with rats instead? Call them wererats if you must. It'd still be better than using werewolves.

I want to overall be positive in these posts, but often I cannot help myself. I hate the "werewolves as zombies"/"werewolves as rat monsters" trope, and after zombies already stole the "infection by bite" straight from werewolves. Today, it often takes an army of werewolves to do even one small thing. It's just stupid and terrible. Use zombies for your zombie plague and leave werewolves alone.

image: worgen in Gilneas, the worgen starting zone (pre furry redesign)

*: I love Aliens, before you ask

Day 19- One of my all-time favorite werewolf stories is a Breton lai by the wonderful Marie de France. You guessed it: it's Bisclavret, the Lai of the Werewolf. I adore this story.

I relayed the entire story and discussed it in depth in this post here: https://maverickwerewolf.com/werewolf-fact-67-the-lai-of-the-werewolf-bisclavret/

But for the sake of brevity (although this will not be incredibly brief), I just want to say again that I adore this story because it's such a classical tale of chivalry, knightly code, and a noble werewolf. I've always enjoyed that although the tale opens with a description of werewolves and what they are/how they are perceived, the werewolf in the story defies this description - and why? Because he's a noble knight (and baron). Even when turned into a beast, he holds true to his chivalry and fealty. But frankly, such a concise description of werewolves is something I really enjoy too-- “a werewolf is a man who suffers a change and runs wild in the darkest wood, horrible to behold, and devours men.” Solid gold. That's a werewolf, right there.

Bisclavret is one of several similar tales of treacherous wives, a theme of more than a few medieval stories, who betray their good husbands. In this case, when she is told the truth of his being a werewolf, she is horrified and hides his clothing so he cannot return to human form. Guess there was a good reason he didn't tell her the truth - but at least he found out she's a terrible person, right? Treat your werewolf knight husband right. I mean, come on.

Similar to the tale of the Werewolves of Ossory, a moral of Bisclavret is not to judge a book by its cover, essentially. Bisclavret behaved noble and true even as a beast, and his king saw this and recognized it, sparing his life. The wife, however, was told the truth of her husband and was disgusted by the idea of him becoming a beast. In the Werewolves of Ossory, we see people who have been turned into wolves by God, and it becomes a test of others as well as the werewolves themselves - for others to recognize that even those beastly in appearance who behave in good nature should be treated in kind. More on this later when I discuss the werewolves of Ossory and the priest who met them.

If you've never read Bisclavret, it's a wonderful story, whether you're reading it for the werewolf or not. I highly recommend it. Someday in the future I'll publish my own collection of old werewolf tales, with my own thoughts and translations etc. throughout… it's on the backburner.

I've almost kept this up for the entire month! I'm so happy people actually read my ramblings. Thanks to you if you've stuck with them.

Day 20- One of the biggest tropes of modern werewolf media when they aren't a rat plague, though sometimes these go hand in hand, is a "werewolf pack" and/or "werewolf family." This insanely popular trope has taken many werewolf stories by storm, although especially the "shifter romance" genre. I confess I have never read a single book in this genre. I wouldn't be ashamed if I did and would admit it, but instead I am confessing I actually have no experience with it, so anything I say can be taken with the biases of someone who's never read one but has heard a gracious plenty through osmosis. They won't be a focus of this discussion, though.

The focus of today's thoughts are the concept of the werewolf pack and/or family. It seems like a fun idea in theory, although I still prefer focus on an individual character and back in my childhood they were called "werewolf clans" and I think that is VASTLY preferable, because a group of werewolves should be insanely frightening. Trouble is, it's almost never done well. I have seen far too many instances of a werewolf requiring a "pack" to even survive (because werewolves suck, apparently?), even to the point of the lore stating a werewolf will outright die if they don't have some werewolf buddies hanging around because that's just how their biology works ("biology" and "werewolf" in the same sentence loses me pretty fast anyway though)…

The concept of werewolves having packs and families that they do or must live in is an extremely modern one, for the record. Back in folklore, werewolves weren't so directly equated with wolves on a biological and behavioral level that they are driven to seek out or live in or create a pack.

I think it could be interesting - and in fact I do plan to tackle the concept myself, in a horror way - it just… usually isn't. Nine times out of ten, for instance, a "werewolf family" is just a bunch of dog jokes bouncing around on trampolines, chasing frisbees, calling each other "pup" and other such terminology, biting at water sprinklers, and barking at the mailman.

There is, as always, a Werewolf Fact for this: https://maverickwerewolf.com/werewolf-facts/packs-communities-and-families/

Image - Sketch artwork for Wulfgard of a group of werewolves, by Saber-Scorpion (our setting in which we create a lot of fiction)

Day 21- Remember how werewolves didn't used to be considered "diseased" or insane? All that came about in the Early Modern Period, and actually, it's where we also started using "lycanthropy."

The word "lycanthrope" in itself is derived from Greek "lykos," meaning wolf, and "anthropos," meaning man - which I mentioned before as well. It's why "lycan" doesn't make any actual sense and is just word butchery, etc. But referring to the curse of the werewolf (or disease of the werewolf, in most Early Modern cases) as "lycanthropy" became almost the standard, and it was recognized as an illness of the mind rather than a physical affliction that caused transformation. This is one of the many cases of scientific thought attempting to rationalize older stories and beliefs - which, by the way, also led to a great deal of organized and purposeful wolf slaughter (as in, real wolves, the animals) in this time period, far moreso than existed in the past.

When popular culture took the word "lycanthropy" and ran with it, medical institutions started using a different word to refer to those with "wolf madness," and that's how we have "clinical lycanthropy" today.

There is, as always, a Werewolf Fact for this: https://maverickwerewolf.com/werewolf-fact-70-werewolves-in-medical-history-clinical-lycanthropy/

Day 22- I've mentioned the tale of the Werewolves of Ossory a few times now, so it's about time I discuss it. I enjoy this one a lot.

This tale comes from Topographia Hibernica, written by Giraldus Cambrensis (c. 1146-1223), also called Gerald of Wales, a Welsh cleric and chaplain. In the story, a priest is traveling when an enormous wolf stops him along the way. The wolf, speaking, humbly and kindly beseeches the priest to help his companion, displaying all good Christian manners. Though reluctant and frightened, the priest follows the wolf back to his companion, a wolf who is sick. The wolf - "using his claw as a hand" - pulls back the wolf skin of his companion to reveal she is an old lady. The priest assists the old woman werewolf, who then returns to her wolf form.

The werewolves explain they are from the land of Ossory, whose people become werewolves as a form of trial; a man and woman take the form of a wolf once every seven years. Mention is made that they were descendants of an Irish warrior, Laignech Fáelad, ancestor of the kings of Ossory. He was the first of his kind to assume the shape of a wolf and go “wolfing,” and his people followed after him.

The first werewolf says he will watch over the priest and his companions for the night and protect them from danger. In the morning, the werewolves bid them on their way, and the priest leaves. He later relays this tale with a moral: do not judge others by their appearance/form, if they be good and kind.

As always, there is a Werewolf Fact for this, in which you can read passages from the story in detail: https://maverickwerewolf.com/werewolf-facts/werewolves-of-ossory/

Day 23- One of the most fun things to a werewolf story is that the werewolf must hide the curse, even from the closest of family and friends. Once everyone else finds out the truth, if they do, it just isn't as interesting anymore.

This goes back to folklore, too, of course - being a werewolf wasn't exactly desirable, so even in the stories where the werewolf reveals it to someone else, the other people generally react with horror and fear. Niceros's Tale, Bisclavret, and many others are examples of this. Sure, there are other examples (like how the king wasn't bothered in Bisclavret because he saw the goodness in the knight's heart and behavior), but generally, it wasn't exactly a good thing. It isn't super uncommon for the werewolf in the old stories to end up badly, same as in the classic werewolf movies where the werewolf was actually scary*.

Storytelling-wise, it's just very fun and interesting. It leads to a lot of character questions, moral questions, and generally dramatic situations. If you were turning into a monster, you wouldn't want anyone to know, either - if you even knew, yourself. More on that part later, though. I just really love stories where the werewolf has to hide the truth from everyone. It's always so good.

*: The werewolf dying is far from a necessity for a scary werewolf, but the werewolf has traditionally died in the things that are conveying them as truly terrifying, even in some things where the werewolf wasn't really all that bad or was even a force for good. I'm talking about all those mountains of films that were ultimately offshoots of The Wolf Man (or, it could be argued, offshoots of The Wolf Man because The Wolf Man was an offshoot of Werewolf of London [1935])… anyway. The werewolf dying has become so predictable I just assume it will happen in most of the type of werewolf media I even theoretically enjoy. Not saying I like it, though.

image: concept art for the werewolf from Morrowind: Bloodmoon, just because I love it

[eshithepetty]

You're so right big cleanup arc is SO GOOD they just can't appreciate Ritsu's 13-year-old swag 😔 (literally the most realistic depiction of middle schoolers I've ever seen I was like that in middle school)

RIGHT.... I see people making fun of that arc and Ritsu so much, and I know it's probably supposed to be all in good fun, but the results of that poll and general lack of understanding I see of that arc don't help my feelings on this..... like. I know people are allowed to not share my opinions and not like things but 😭

Like. Yes, Ritsu is dramatic in that arc. Yes, he breaks down over relatively small things. Yes, he beats people up seemingly out of nowhere. And yes, taken out of context.... I see how that's funny to talk about. But... it just saddens me. That that's most of the discussion I see of that arc. Just about how feral Ritsu was, how violent, how nonsensical, how funny it all is..... where's all the actual metas about it huh??? I wanna talk about it.

I wanna talk about how fucking stressed Ritsu was, even up until that point. About how it wasn't just framing those kids that broke him. He's been bottling all his feelings up for years. He's been maintaining that perfect image for years. He didn't even have anyone to talk to about it, like mob had Reigen - he had noone. He was simply the good kid, the smart kid, the helpful, kind brother, the one who never caused any trouble. Do you know how much fucking pressure that is? Do you know how lonely he must have felt? Not to even mention the added deathly fear of Mob, who he had to prepare for exploding every single day. Who he never knew when he could hurt him again. His big brother, who he loved so dearly. Who almost killed him. Who he had to develop placating tactics to try not to aggravate further. This kid is legit traumatized. He has issues. He had noone to help him with it. He was fucking alone. I don't actually think it's that extreme or nonsensical that he snapped.... I really don't.

As for the beating people up while monolouging thing.... I've mentioned it before, but I've never really went in depth with it I think - but I really fucking love how Ritsu kind of.... leans into this role of the villain once he realizes he's escaped the image of the good kid. He's never really had the chance to develop morality and ethics on a more realistic scale - cause he never really had true relationships to develop those senses. He simply... doesn't do well at people stuff. At being a normal kid. He can only emulate what he thinks people expect him to be - what will lead him to being the safest he can be. For a long time, that was the good, smart brother status. It kept his parents happy. It kept his brother happy. It kept his teachers happy. But what happens when he's suddenly not that? What happens when he has a chance to be something else? He can't just become himself. He doesn't know who he is. All he knows is that he's suddenly doing bad things, for seemingly no reason. He doesn't fully understand those reasons himself. "Even I..." he says. He says as he contemplates how even as someone as smart as him can be so petty, how even someone as weak as him can suddenly become powerful, how even someone so messed up as him can be forgiven.

That mask of a villain is what he puts on because he thinks it will finally give him what he has sought after all this time - power. Power to protect himself. Power to not be so afraid anymore. But also.... that shedding those concepts of social norms, of bonds, of caring about others, will give him the freedom that he so sorely lacks. That's what he's felt the most of all - this.... stifling sense of responsibility. This responsibility that he has put on to please others, to not be hurt. So what if he just.... doesn't care about it anymore? Did he ever even care? What if he never cared about others at all, what if he never cared about his brother at all? What if it was all just... fear? Fear that he can shed now, now that he can protect himself? He wants to be free. He so badly wants to not be scared anymore.

And he thinks he achieved that. He finally achieved 'loss'. He can do what he pleases now. Noone can tell him what to do anymore.

....hey. Don't you think that kind of sounds like someone? Someone... made of shadows, white eyes, someone who's felt that same suppression for the same amount of years? :)

I really, really think Ritsu and Mob aren't that different. It's just that their power levels are different, and... Ritsu kind of came to that breaking point a lot sooner than Mob, on virtue of having noone to rely on. Of course, they are still vastly different people, but.... it's not a coincidence, that Ritsu was the first to understand who ???% is.

So I just think it's kinda weird, how many people just. Seem to not understand Ritsu? Or take Mob seriously, while only ever making fun of Ritsu? Of course not all people do that, and I know a lot of people poke fun at him out of love (me also, sometimes), but I've heard so many people admit that they don't understand the big clean up arc, or Ritsu's character, or simply don't care to look too deep into it. When I look up mp100 essays on youtube, that arc and Ritsu's character, is the one most often grossly misinterpreted. And I just find that sad. And it's part of the reason for my strong feelings for this, I guess.

In the end, Ritsu is just a young, confused kid, one who's lived in fear for so long he forgot what life looks outside of it, one who stifled himself for years, one who felt the need to put himself into boxes because everything was just suddenly so bad and so complicated and he couldn't make sense of it on his own. What 13 year old could? What traumatized 13 year old honors student wouldn't act irrationally when presented with otherwordly powers? Is there even a healthy way one could be expected to react to all of this?

I could go on... I could talk about how he develops past that, about his words to Shimazaki during the world domination arc on what he wants is a 'fun life', about his relationship to Shou, about how I think Ritsu will struggle to choose his future, about how he and Mob grow beyond the series... but this was supposed to be about the big clean up arc, so I'll end it at that. I don't think I explained my thoughts the best I could, Ritsu is just a little bug in my brain that buzzes and buzzes and never quite leaves and idk how to put it all into coherence, but... yes. That's my answer to this ask, I guess lmao. I have to go load the dishwasher now o7

P.s. I hope noone gets any hard feelings over my dramatics btw. I am simply a creature that gets way too passionate about some fictional characters.... and Ritsu happens to be one of them u_u and I hope this big old ramble of mine made some sense jdhhdhd

[s-exy-sapphillean]

Finally coming back to Runaways AU posting. If the original concept interests you but you don't like where i'm taking it, please consider what i said here.

(There's a lot so i included a cut here to not make it fill up your dash too much)

Quick disclaimer: queerplatonic jeaneil is very dear to me. I do not ship them romantically. Their dynamic in this AU is fairly complicated and codependent and the presence of strong emotions & physical affection doesn't mean their bond is romantic. I of course can't stop anyone from interpreting it whichever way they choose but i'd rather people don't insist that what i'm writing must be romantic because that's how they read it.

So. Neil & Jean + Elodie on the run together..

Neil of course is the one to teach Jean and Elodie english. He's an okay teacher, good enough that they get by and they improve fast enough. Neil however is simply not aware of a couple of accented words and anglicisms in his own vocabulary, so the moreau siblings have some random british words in their vocabulary

Physical affection is complicated for the boys. They both initially only know touch as something practical or to hurt. They are touch starved. But elodie is a child who gives and craves physical affection freely, so the boys gradually grow more used to giving and receiving affection through touch. Sleeping curled together becomes a necessity to keep warm wherever they're camping out but they eventually do it even when not necessary because it is comforting to have the other right there

After his mother got got, before joining up with jean, neil felt kinda directionless & defeated because without his mother there to push for it 15 year old neil doesn't really see the point of running forever if the only possible end is eventual death. Then he meets jean & elodie, starts bonding with them & keeping them safe becomes his entire world. Like a "i'll get caught and killed eventually but as long as i'm alive i can at least make sure they're okay & will be fine when i'm gone" mentality because he doesnt understand that jean is equally as fucked if the butcher finds them.

They bicker a LOT, getting into verbal fights over a lot of small things. They are constantly stressed with no outlet except eachother. Neil for a long time is also just not coping well with witnessing elodie receiving such genuine love and care because it makes something in him burn with ugly jealousy. Jean for a while absolutely despises having to rely on essentially a stranger for so much when his own english is way too lacking to get around by himself.

As much as he doesn't cope well at all with his own jealousy and yearning for being cared for, neil does also become fiercely protective of elodie pretty quickly. If she gets to have what he can't have then she needs to be able to keep that and not become like him. His "one of us has to make it" mantra we know from canon becomes entirely focused on her.

They have pretended to be a couple a few times, simply because it is the easiest cover for why a teenager as clearly french as jean would be so close to some very clearly not french teenager

They kissed once or twice as like a "for the sake of the cover" thing, trying out if that works but unanimously decided it wouldn't. It just made neil feel queasy and uncomfortable and bisexual disaster jean is self aware enough to know that risking developing a hopeless onesided crush would be the worst in their situation

Little head kisses have kinda become a thing though. It's something jean did a lot to comfort elodie & once when neil was having a breakdown he did it to him while holding him and it helped so it just stuck

In millport their story is that jean & elodie's father had moved to the US with them for work and had been colleagues with neil's parents. When father moreau turned out to be abusive, neil's parents helped jean emancipate himself and gain custody of elodie, and helped them move away, letting neil go with them.

When they get to palmetto, most of the foxes do assume they're dating and the boys don't directly correct anyone out of worry it will raise too many eyebrows, so neil doesn't get to explain that he doesn't swing any direction until much later

[arotechno]

the way the aro community talks about attraction is inadequate

Disclaimer: The following is in no way intended to invalidate, shame, or "call out" anyone for using whatever language or terminology they see fit to describe their own experiences. This is about community-wide trends and pressures, rather than individual choices.

As an aroace, I've never felt a particular desire to label other types of attraction I may or may not feel. Identifying as aroace is a way for me to express my disconnect with what society at large views as healthy, normal, valuable, and aspirational; that is, a committed, monogamous, sexual and romantic relationship. I don't want those things. I'm not able to even understand them. But by and large, beyond that, I don't find the framework of different types of attraction very useful at all.

This is the fatal flaw of the split-attraction model in its most advanced form: it's predicated on the idea that there are distinct types of attraction that can be qualified and quantified in neat and tidy boxes. Just as there are people for whom romantic and sexual attraction cannot be separated, there are many (like myself) for whom the very concept of attraction breaks down more and more the more you try to categorize it.

Here's the thing: relationships (of any kind) aren't inherently predicated on attraction, just as they aren't necessarily predicated on love. We can understand, as a community, why an aro person might have a successful romantic relationship despite not feeling romantic attraction, or why an ace person might enjoy engaging in sex even if they are not sexually attracted to their partner. Attraction does not equal action. So why, then, must we make the assumption that everyone must categorize their feelings in terms of attraction at all? This is how we end up with terms like queerplatonic attraction, which warps the original definition of queerplatonic such that a QPR becomes something predicated on a separate kind of attraction that is more unique and special than "regular" platonic feelings, rather than being a broad type of non-romantic relationship that is deliberately built and developed by the people in it based on their own personal needs and desires, and not necessarily based on some ephemeral type of attraction.

This sort of trend towards hyper-categorization is extremely frustrating to someone like me, who doesn't view their relationships or their feelings for others in terms of attraction at all. I'm not platonically "attracted" to my friends, I don't think. I love them platonically (deeply, unconditionally, almost like family), but naming it as attraction makes me almost uncomfortable. Others may not feel that way and that's fine. It's no skin off my nose how people choose to talk about their own feelings. But the implicit expectation in a lot of aro spaces is that you will label your attraction, your feelings, your experiences, your desires, your orientations according to such-and-such paradigms, as if we can wordsmith our way out of simply understanding one another. As if the diversity of aromantic experiences were something we need to break down and quantify.

All of these things are socially constructed. Sex, romance, love, relationships, attraction. That doesn't make them not real, but they are not divinely granted concepts with their own inherent, easy-to-understand taxonomy. We make up the language necessary to describe complex and diverse human experiences as best we can, because it's the only way. But what is absolutely crucial to remember, as a crucial tenet of aro activism and beyond, is that none of these models work for every single person, and needn't be prescriptive.

[webcomixwastaken]

Honestly, every time I see someone insist they need AI for writing, be it for getting an idea or drafting their piece or even basic grammar my instinct is to say:

"Just... GET GOOD."

Like, have no ideas? Then read more books in ALL sorts of genres, styles, and authors. Even read different age groups (if you only read YA but are over the age of 20, I promise you there is plenty of Adult out there you will love. Find it. You deserve it.) Do the same for movies, shows, and plays. Go to festivals and exhibitions and concerts. Dabble in different hobbies to observe and talk to people, all sorts of people. EXPERIENCE LIFE, that's how you'll be inspired to write about it. Know the world and how you feel in it beyond what the internet tells you to. (Also, you'll find out that your "brilliantly unique concept" has likely been done before and that your personal life experience will be the thing that makes it genuinely unique.)

Think your writing is bad? AI can't make it good for you. AI is a shitty writer. If you want to write I assume you like to read. (If you want to write but don't like to read then you have an incredibly tough, nigh impossible road to "being a good writer" ahead of you.) Again, read as widely as you can. Fanfic alone will not help you unless you only want to write fanfic which I do know applies to a lot of people. There's a fantastic thread floating around here that explains why writing for fanfic vs writing original work for publication are very different spheres. And as someone who reads a bunch of both, the best fanfic still has structure, character development, and actual plot, very similarly to books. (This is very much my subjective opinion, but I despise "no plot only vibes" -- to me both are integral to a good read. This 100% applies to tradpub too; the social media trope-focused marketing annoys me to no end. What is your story ABOUT?? If you can't tell me I have no interest in reading it.)

Instead of taking the shortcut that is actually sending you back to the start anyway, just... GET GOOD. And you get good by BEING BAD. Compose some trite purple prose nonsense rife with cliches. Have all your characters be shameless Mary Sues. Or, as I see the most often in early writers, be pedantic and repetitive as fuck because you don't know that you're doing it yet until after a year or so you look back and go "why the hell did I talk so much about this irrelevant thing? it totally disrupted the momentum of the scene and doesn't even develop character." And then, you'll realise that you've learned how to edit! Congratulations! You must understand that AI doesn't know this. AI is just plagiarising a couple hundred thousand people. AI has no brain. Don't trust it. Don't even play with it. It is a pathetic zombie concoction that only causes damage to others and the environment. Trust YOUR BRAIN. You are SO MUCH SMARTER. You KNOW what you want and like, you have way better ideas and images you want to convey. And in time you will know how to convey them accurately and compellingly in a way that sounds like you.

And finally, AI for grammar and spelling? Hoo boy do I have some opinions. Well, just one. Which is to simply GET GOOD!!

People bitch that English is a difficult language to learn but hey! All languages have their rules and nuances, so that's merely subjective! Whatever language you want to write in, learn those rules!! Seriously, just GET GOOD!! it's doable! I do it! In fact, many people do it and have DONE SO FOR YEARS.

Honestly, I don't use ANY kind of grammar software beyond the basic spellcheck automatically built into browsers and word processors nowadays (the ones that give you wiggly lines while you're typing and even then I rarely right click to accept since I find it faster to simply retype properly) because I KNOW MY SHIT. I know how to construct sentences, use consistent tense, punctuate properly, and capitalise or italicise or utilise any other convention of the English language I wish to follow or break because this is my craft, and I know how to shape it to become what I want my work to be.

So here is where I expect people to be all like "but what if I'm NOT a native speaker of the language huh huh??" Well, you're choosing to write in this language though. Do your level best -- and here is where I will say that this grammar stuff IS the most forgivable aspect anyway. Spelling errors or janky phrasing never hurt anyone when we can tell it's coming from a place of true diligence and effort, in fact one of my favourite fanfics of all time was set a summer camp and the NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING author wrote "councilor" until about chapter 20 when they asked us, utterly mortified, in the notes why nobody had corrected them (because the plot and characterisation were immersive AF and felt like it came from a real person with real experiences). Some of the most poetic syntax and delightful descriptions I've come across were from people writing in not their first language, or even second or third -- children and adults alike, still learning and still TRYING because they took this shit seriously and were putting in their all.

This is the part that I personally cannot comprehend (but in a practical way I do, only because I see it EVERYWHERE) of people claiming that they just can't "get" grammar and need some brainless software running on codes and algorithms to "correct" them - don't you want to be FREE of this dependence?? Wouldn't you prefer to write KNOWING that it says what you WANT it to say instead of hoping that maybe 30% will remain after a program strips it of voice and style (and then because you're no longer paying attention, it also makes your sentences just WORSE and not "succinct" at all)?? Don't you want to be grown and confident with SKILLS instead of whining for help (which just boils to someone doing it FOR you, not actual help) all the time???????? Like seriously!! Have some self-esteem!!!!! You deserve it!!!! GET GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been teaching fiction writing as my day job for nearly a decade now and when my students fret over their sub-par skills I always ask them how old they are. Because they should know that 9 year olds aren't supposed to spell everything correctly. Instead, they're supposed to make mistakes so they can learn how to fix them. Then, they should practise and practise and practise until they're 19 and realise that the habit has developed so beautifully that they're finding it HARD to make mistakes!

And if you're 29 and still struggling, no it's not too late. The best time was to start 20 years ago but the second best is now. Writing is pretty much a lifetime gig so keep going, and GET GOOD!!

[dgrailwar]

Hello Ms Echidna! Uhm......what's going on exactly?

Round 13, Day 2 - The 'Holy Grail'

' …Right. You deserve to know as much. I plan to re-create all of my children felled by humanity in the past, and let them roam the world once more. '

"What?"

' The gods created us- monsters- and then scorned us when our lives did not align with that of humanity. We were nothing but tools.

Guardians. Concepts to keep their orders in place… and yet, again and again we were felled. The slightest twitch outside of the chains imposed by us by the gods, and we were slated for murder. And as we died, humanity sung their own praises over our corpses. My children. My beautiful children. Beheaded, disgraced, ruined for the sake of man's future. My Scylla turned into a beast for daring to love. My Chimera killed, simply due to humanity's hatred. '

' Anthropos and Therion. Man and Monster. The Fates, the Gods, even ourselves… the idea that man and beast could co-exist was nonsense. A pipe dream. Thus, was I given an answer. The 'Heroic Spirit' represented the path of man. If I could re-create my children, and have them walk the path of prosperity alongside humanity. We were all born of the same world, and thus it should not be a sin to want to share it. Rather than existing as separate entities, slowly return to the same path- as children of the World. '

"In other words, summon monsters using a Servant's Saint Graph, registering them as 'heroes' rather than 'monsters'... and then use the power of the Grail to incarnate them. Living beings, forever intertwined with 'humanity' rather than being ostracized as 'monstrosities'."

"And so comes the true purpose of this Grail War. Whichever 'Extra-Class' won would serve as the basis for the Saint Graphs of the soon-to-be-incarnated monsters. A short-form test to see which Class would be the best 'fit'. There's no winner- the only one who would get her wish granted is the goddess Echidna, we'd simply have the glory as serving as the 'basis' for her new spawn."

"However, humanity would only reject the monsters as they arrived. Even the World would. Hence, the shells needed to be grander in nature, rather than simple Heroic Spirits. So that they could defend themselves. Thus, the Extra Class. Humanity would only attempt to slaughter those children again, and thus, we must be stronger than they ever will be. A world of monsters, without humans to kill them, or gods to use them as tools. A safe path for those children."

' …Grandmother… '

"No, I mean, 'Grandma' has a point. Monsters kill humans, humans kill monsters. I mean, obviously not all monsters are evil, but conflict between 'em is just how things are. Like, there's a few good rakshasa, but most of them were just sort of devouring innocents, and so that can't just be left to stand. Even if some monsters are going to be on their best behavior, not all of them will be, and a bunch of superpowered monsters is far from ideal for humanity. It'd be like dropping a ton of raid bosses on the world all at once with no warning."

"And yet, aren't humans themselves capable of monstrous actions? What defines a 'monster' in the eyes of the world? Echidna is a goddess, her children have the same- if not more divine blood- than someone like Heracles or Theseus. Who is to say that they cannot pursue heroic paths if given the chance? If humanity can possess such evil and thrive, then monsters granted humanity's path deserve a similar chance, no?"

"Who cares whether the monsters are evil? Echidna wants to bring back her dead kids, which is far from 'evil'. The issue is that humans aren't willing to share their world. The second something bigger comes along to threaten their status as 'top dog', they'll want to destroy it. It'll be a new Age, with new self-proclaimed 'heroes' popping out the woodwork and killing the monsters. So I guess if you want to progress humanity's development through struggles, I say let 'em go loose."

"…I wish I could be optimistic about this... even the great Saint Martha tamed a loveless beast with kindness. If such feats are truly possible, then a world of monsters and humans isn't out of the question if both sides have open arms, right? But... releasing monsters unto the world, such a thing could be apocalyptic. As Heroic Spirits, such a thing can't be permitted..."

"…"

"But... she misses her kids... is it really bad if she wants them to live again? Isn't that feeling normal for a mom...?"

The massive goddess rumbled, more monsters sloughing out of her form as the chamber shook with her deep sigh.

' …Perhaps other perspectives are needed then. So, Masters... '

"Hold on. Echidna, did you not hear them earlier? From the instant those Masters laid eyes on you, you were a threat. They want us dead. How can you trust their words? They're humans- they'll trick you, and then when your guard is down, lop off your head."

' And I will ask, nonetheless. '

[jtypology]

the four temperaments (humours) 🏛

a deep dive into the four temperament theory !

having its origins lie in the ancient medical system of "humourism," the temperaments is possibly the oldest system of typology that we know of ! it is said to have emerged from mesopotamia, gaining more attention once greek physician hippocrates developed it into a medical theory.

he believed that our behaviour, emotions, and susceptibility to specific diseases, could be explained by an excess or lack of certain bodily fluids ("humours") — blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm.

later, greek physician galen developed this concept into a proper typology system in his work "de temperamentis." the fluids/humours would eventually become known as "sanguine, "choleric", "melancholic," and "phlegmatic." a group of four personality types!

but what do they all mean? ↷

sanguine - ☁️

hot/wet — associated with the element of air, the season of spring, infancy, and the liver.

the enthusiastic pleasure-seekers, those that love to daydream and make new friends. they tend to be creative, sensitive, gregarious, optimistic, and charismatic. in accordance with the humoral theory, if you had a tendency to be happy, it could be assumed that it's because you have too much blood. under stress, the sanguine can become flighty, conceited, and careless.

strong enneagram correlation(s) = sp2, sx2, sx3, sp7, so7, sx7, so8, sx8

choleric - 🔥

hot/dry — associated with the element of fire, the season of summer, youth, and the gallbladder.

the pushy strivers, those that aim to lead and get the job done quickly. they tend to be assertive, passionate, aggressive, stubborn, and no-nonsense. in accordance with the humoral theory, if you had a tendency to be angry, it could be assumed that it's because you have too much yellow bile. under stress, the choleric can become irritable, impatient, and unstable.

strong enneagram correlation(s) = sp3, so3, sp8, so8, sx8, so1, sx1

melancholic -🪵

cold/dry — associated with the element of earth, the season of autumn, adulthood, and the spleen.

the abstract analysts, those that seek perfection and structure. they tend to be thoughtful, pessimistic, independent, non-practical, and critical. in accordance with the humoral theory, if you had a tendency to be sad, it could be assumed that it's because you have too much black bile. under stress, the melancholic can become selfish, rigid, and depressive.

strong enneagram correlation(s) = sp4, so4, sx4, sp5, so5, sx5, sp6, so6, sx6, sp1

phlegmatic -💧

cold/wet — associated with the element of water, the season of winter, old age, and the brain/lungs.

the relaxed peacemakers, those that find comfort in routine and calmness. they tend to be reserved, rational, observant, bashful, and consistent. in accordance with the humoral theory, if you had a tendency to be calm, it could be assumed that it's because you have too much phlegm. under stress, the phlegmatic can become sluggish, detached, and reclusive.

strong enneagram correlation(s) = sp5, sp9, so9, sx9

these are just my basic run-downs, i recommend you do your own research into the topic, too !

now, typing yourself is simple !

all it really takes is some degree of self-awareness and the ability to discern which one resonates with you the most. there are many ways that you can land on a temperament. some people end up relating to one so very much that they end up being "dominant" of a single type. what does this entail? well, it's quite straightforward. a person can simply relate to a temperament to a drastically more significant degree than another. for example, someone who is a "sanguine [dom]" must relate to the sanguine temperament much more than the other three.

those that cannot pick just one, however, typically end up with a "blend". but what is that? simply put, a blend is when an individual fuses together two temperaments. for example, i am a "melancholic-choleric", a blend of "melancholic", and "choleric". this means that i relate to melancholic the most, but choleric is extremely relatable as well, to a degree where it stands out and cannot be ignored.

there are many different types of blends, such as phlegmatic-sanguine, choleric-sanguine, phlegmatic-melancholic, so on, and so forth.

the best part of all? there are no contradictions !

🏛