#in terms of how she does interact with mortals just as much

[rootspiral]

Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 4 part 2

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7])

THE LITTLE FLOWER POPPIN. THE M'LADY

seems like agatha is having An Emotion

but look! look! rio is once again being super special extra on purpose!! because if she just strolled in agatha would be overwhelmed and run away again. so what does rio do??? she corners her with a grand zombie entrance!!! the more over the top she acts, the more agatha is in her element and comfortable interacting. and in this case, angry is a better start than sad. all part of rio's Brilliant 66-Steps-Plan To Win Her Wife Back™ (or was it 666?)

her face omg

oooh are you mad??? are you big mad at little ol' me???????

agatha is like nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope

imagine being aubrey plaza and being born so effortlessly cool. she's cool even when she's awkward dear lord

jen and alice: kinda stunned by both her hotness and her weirdness

lilia: VADE RETRO SATAN (lilia's spider senses are already tingling)

will I ever be over the fact that Death is just one particularly powerful green witch?? that she's a gentle if odd girl who grows plants and flowers and mushrooms and is called the River of Life??? that she is the embodiment of life in all her forms? that decay and regrowth are all part of the same natural cycle? that the hardest and most inexplicable thing a living being can go through is also the most reassuringly organic and normal???

have I already said "i love you patti lupone" today?

we're off to see the wizarrrrd. her cute peter pan outfit!

what do we think, billy? does she want to talk about it, or does she have the emotional maturity of a baby ostrich?

same girls, same

whoa there ladies, calm down. I'm already taken

lilia is also having an Emotion. it must be pretty weird to realize that your mortal foe is this hot

alice going NOPE when she sees her mom's house. the leaves are red alice, honey. it's your turn.

(does the back of rio's jacket look like a ribcage?)

it's going to be fine baby. your friends are all here. you can do this. deep breaths.

fire moon! fire moon! fire moon! oh this is my favorite trial

*grabs the mike* WOULD

from right to left: would, would, would, would, would, oh hi joe

rio: BITCH I AM?!?!?!?!?!?!? (everyone say thank you costume department)

the Road isn't subtle, BILLY.

sure, there wasn't enough sexual tension already, let's add side boobs, shall we? and rio being like hey agatha, hey agatha, hey. guess what. I'm here again agatha. you're not gonna get rid of me this time agatha.

I keep thinking that every reflection agatha comes across is a "te veo". and even when rio isn't there she is watching from mirrors and from puddles.

OH MY GAWD AGATHA how can you expect me to cope when you look around to make sure nobody is watching and then you lean in so so so sclose and then you say no with such a deep soulful voice and so much intimacy and such quiet anger and not one lil hint of clownery. I AM ABOUT TO GO FERAL

agatha around rio is like, mind screaming in anguish and body screaming in horny. lethal combination

lilia who's been trying and failing for centuries and centuries to come to terms with the violence human beings inflict on whoever is different

if there is one thing a broadway pro is trained to do is making people cry while wearing increasingly stupid wigs

JEN SEEING MASKS BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO HIDES BEHIND THE MONSTER THAT BOUND HER

fletwood mac?!?!!?!?!?!?!? in this economy?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I cannot handle much more of this, my emotions are raw and fragile and tender as it is already!!!!!!!!

oh, alice.

well this episode is making me feel like agatha: sad and horny. weird vibe but okay.

go to episode 4 part 3

[cbrownjc]

Hi! I hope you don't mind getting an ask from me even though we've never interacted.

I have a question about Old Daniel in the IWTV series, but I don't know how to put it except: what exactly is his current health situation? He has Parkinson's disease (or at least they show us ha has some symtomps, and Daniel says it is Parkinson's), but in ep 01 of the first season Louis calls it an "autoimmune disease" (which Parkinson's is not).

They show us that Daniel keeps a bunch of pill containers on his table in his apartment, which makes sense with how Parkinson's would be treated, but then there's the "levodopa transfusion" scene which does not. (I could try to explain the pharmacokinetic reason if you're interested).

And then there's the meals, during which they keep filling his wine glass, the two Martini scenes. . . why do they keep giving him drinks?They arrange for a doctor to come and administer the "therapy" (I'm not buying that it's levodopa), but he can have all the alcoholic beverages in the world? When they most likely would interfere with the pharmacological therapy he's supposed to be taking?

It all seems a bit suspicious to me. What do you think?

(apologies for any mistakes, english is not my first language)

Hi! It's fine to ask me questions even if we've never interacted before, I don't mind. 🙂

So, as far as we know older Daniel on the show has Parkinson's disease for sure. Daniel pretty much confirmed he does because Louis said he had it and Daniel confirmed it in episode 1x01. And the shaking very much shows he does have it IMO. Because he was specifically shown to be shaking back in episode 1x01 when he was trying to put the Fall of the Reble Angles puzzle together.

Now, as many who read my blog likely already know, I've talked about how my mom had Parkinson's and I was her primary caregiver (before she passed away). So I know a lot already about how that disease works. And so when Armand -- as Rashid -- was talking about "levodopa transfusions" for Daniel being scheduled back in episode 1x04 I was very much "WTF?" about that. The whole idea of that is sus because I know from experience that Daniel should just be taking his levodopa via pills. The only time my mom ever got levodopa administered via an IV drip was when she was staying overnight at a hospital.

So I've long thought there is way more going on with that "levodopa transfusions" Daniel got, and have talked about it here and here. Though at the current time, the theory I talk about in those links might be outdated at this point, though I think there might still be a little something to them.

But, if you know the lore, Dr. Fareed -- the doctor who arrived back in episode 1x06 to administer Daniel's transfusion -- is not only a vampire himself but runs a clinic in the books where he looks into and does experiments regarding vampire physiology. And something else that caught my eye about that clinic he runs as I've been reading Prince Lestat, is that it is said in the book that Fareed and his vampire Maker (and lover) Seth, "ran a small clinic for mortal incurables."

And Parkinson's is very much "incurable."

So yeah, I think something is going on when it comes to Dr. Fareed giving Daniel that IV drip of levodopa. Because even when it comes to the idea of cloning, that's a lot to go through just to get something like a blood sample or something I think. But hey, there's really no saying when it comes to that I guess . . .

As to such as Louis calling it an "autoimmune disease" I just chalk that up to either a writing mistake or, hell just Louis being a vampire. He might just not know the correct medical term to use for it. That is also something that is going into in the Prince Lestat book -- how it can sometimes be very hard for vampires to keep abreast of tech and other things at any given time if they do not encounter it or use it regularly. (Lestat is always forgetting and losing his iPhones). As to the alcohol that, again, could just be the show not really looking too closely at such things (because outside of medical shows, many drama shows don't), or maybe Daniel only being allowed one glass a night and being given some okay about it we never saw. Who knows at this point. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[hypostatic-oath]

I've the post about how you think comps would work and we are allow to ask. Assuming I read that right.

And if so, I was wonder if you had any thoughts on how Dehya, Zhongli, Ei or Nahdia team would interact. Especially when I often joke she the bodyguards to three Archons, even if she doesn't know Zhongli was a former Archon it still funny to me.

DEHYA MY BELOVED-

I can see her being very proud of being Nahida's bodyguard. That one is obvious right off the bat, those two would absolutely adore each other.

Dehiya is thankful for the old consultant on her team. There is something odd about the man, always in those heavy robes that cover his full body - she has no doubt that out of all of them, he'd have the hardest time in the desert. And yet, the refined gentleman never seems to issue a complaint.

They've developed a kinship, she figures, of being the two mortals sided by two gods. Dehiya assumes he is the one meant to watch over the Electro Archon, just as she is the protector of Lesser Lord Kusanali. His shield is nearly impenetrable, and he is rarely ever startled... to her, it makes sense why you'd chosen him to be Eternity's guardian, even though the man hails from Liyue and not Inazuma.

They get along well, too - Ei seems to hold as much respect for him as he does for her, and the two converse with an ease that highlights the consultant's old age.

As for Nahida, she is slightly nervous. It is true that with Dehiya as her protector, and Rex Lapis raisong those shields of his, nothing will ever harm her. But she is still aprehensive to speak to the other two Archons - it has been a long time, and she has no idea how to introduce herself. She wonders if you'll give them time to play hopscotch together sometime amidst your exploration.

When you name Dehiya as the "Archons' Bodyguard", Ei is curious. She has fought for her entire life. Her skills are unparallelled. Why would she need a bodyguard? She's asked Morax about it, confused. Did you think she was weak? The old dragon had only laughed and said it was probably some sort of term of endearment - that Dehiya had been a bodyguard by trade before. Nevertheless, Ei was still curious about the woman's skill. Whenever you're logged off, the two can be found sparring. Both of them appreciate the opportunity to train.

During these times, the God of Wisdom sits next to the funeral consultant. Though reluctant at firstn their conversation ends up flowing. It is widely known that Zhongli likes to talk, and Buer, if given the chance and the encouragement to do so, will ramble about almost any topic. They have you to thank for placing them together in a team - they've become fast friends, and Nahida feels much more confident about approaching the rest of the Archons.

As for Ei and Nahida, it is almost the opposite. Both have been isolated for far too long, and neither knows how to start. The Raiden Shogun is an intimidating god, and her silence makes Nahida wonder if the ruler of Inazuma would even care to speak to her. As for Ei, she simply enjoys that Nahida has chosen to sit beside her, unaware of the God of Dendro's struggle as they both sit in silence. They eventually bond over their shared love for sweets, and as they grow closer, Nahida's worries diminish. It is not that Ei looks down on her - the Shogun is simply just as bad at interacting with new people as she is, or perhaps even worse. Kusanali is instilled with newfound resolve - she will share with the Electro Archon all that she's learnt from you and the Traveler when it comes to talking to others!

After months of traveling together, of being guided by you all across Teyvat, Dehiya has begun to suspect that there might be something odd about one of her travel companions.

You've named her the Archons' Bodyguard - Archons, plural - so what is Zhongli's role? The more she learns about the Shogun, the more she wonders why the Electro Archon would even need a bodyguard, let alone two.

Plus, the man's occupation makes no sense whatsoever. How does a funeral consultant learn to fight like that? He wears gloves, so she cannot thell whether his hands are calloused, but she's willing to wager they might be - he swings his polearm with an ease that tells her he is an experienced fighter. His dominion over his element is astonishing, and there is something... off, about how both her Archon and the Shogun talk to and about him.

Maybe one day one of them will slip off and call him Morax in front of her. Or maybe one day you'll tell her who he is. Either way, Zhongli drfinitely won't open up - both to preserve his secret identity, and because he knows that Dehiya finds comfort in the notion that she's not the only mortal among them.

[xjulixred45x]

succumbing to the Brainrot of Hades (the more Gameplays I see, the more I love the game, both as a fan of Greek mythology and of video games in general) I am going to do a couple of jobs related to the game. Here it would be the first.

Zagreus(Hades) x Leuce! reader

quick context: Leuce was a nymph who was Hades' lover before Persephone, but since she was "mortal" (which doesn't make much sense? since she was the daughter of Oceanus and Thetis?) when Hades died, he immortalized her in the white poplar tree that there are in the Elysian fields.

Taking this as a reference, I imagine this Leuce! reader OBVIOUSLY she would not be a lover of Hades here, she would probably be a nymph native to the Eulisseum and who is especially related to healing (the poplar can be used to cure fever) and in general she tried to go unnoticed, due to the bad luck that usually have nymphs that are related to the celestial commotion.

She is like an Aurora in a way, she has a great connection with the Shades that live near her and follow her (similar to Melinoe) and together with her sisters and Cocito (one of the rivers of the Underworld) they dance and sing old stories .

It is around these times that Zagreus comes into her life. precisely because of his attempts to escape from the Underworld.

When one day Zag arrives at Elysium especially hurt and tired, he decides to "rest" (the poor guy gets tired) and when he regains consciousness he only knows that he is suddenly much better. without injuries, with energy, what the hell?

Leuce, although he knows that Zagreus is somewhat infamous in the Underworld, could not simply leave him dying. She swears she won't do it again, but as soon as it happens again (Zag probably had a bad time with Astherius) she does it again.

and after that Zagreus has no doubt, someone is helping him. and being him, he wants to know who it is.

Which wasn't that difficult, but it did take some patience. Zagreus arrived at the Elysium, not that hurt, but he pretended to be unconscious, after he felt he was better, he took a little look and saw Leuce from behind.

a nymph huh.

It's a shame that when Zagreus tried to get up to greet her, thanking her, he scared her and she ran away :,)

On another occasion he decided to take a look at where Leuce had gone and he could just find her singing, dancing or taking care of the poplar trees that were in Elysium.

In general, his interactions at first would be short due to Leuce's fear of the gods or retaliation for her actions, but with time and Zagrues assuring her that he rather wanted to thank her for the help, she relaxes and opens up little by little.

I imagine that Leuce is the only nymph of Elysium that is not scared the most when they see Zagreus 😅 her sisters run and scream when they see him but Leuce stays to greet him 🤣

Leuce's home is a safe place in Elysium, not only because she can heal Zag, but because in general he can forget a little about the outside problems there. hell, sometimes it even seems like he just lets himself get hurt so Leuce can take care of him.

When Leuce is not taking care of him/healing him like I said, she likes to dance and sing, maybe to inspire her a little (similar to what he does with Orpheus) he tells her some of his fights to date and myths about his relatives (Leuce would die laughing when hearing the myth that Dionysus and Zagreus are the same person).

Also even Leuce could offer to teach him how to play instruments! The nymphs were very good at all kinds of arts, so it wouldn't be very difficult. Besides, it would be nice to be the one teaching after all.

Zagreus and Leuce dancing gives me some sleeping beauty vibes. again.

If we talk about terms of relationship in which Leuce lives in the house of Hades, it gets even cuter.

Imagine Leuce and Dusa having a platonic relationship! o Dusa not only having a crush on Zag, but also on Leuce since she helps him clean and feed Cerberus

or Leuce dancing every time Orpheus starts playing and singing, also encouraging some of the nearby shades to do the same😭 it definitely livens up the house quite a bit before Persephone's arrival.

Leuce wearing House of Hades themed clothing!

I don't know which would be more difficult to win, Hades with Leuce or Zagreus with Leuce's sisters😅

At least Hades would accept Leuce because 1- now he has a better relationship with Zagreus and wants to see him happy and 2- he is not going to provoke Persephone's wrath. Who, by the way, is delighted with Leuce. It's like a small parallel of her and Hades if they could have met under other circumstances. so she is very supportive of her relationship with Zagreus and how happy they make each other.

Zagreus will have more problems related to Leuce's sisters because of the above, they are both scared of Zag and convinced that he is planning something horrible with their sister. It will take a lot, a LOT of time and help from Leuce for them to understand that this is not the case.

Even if Leuce tries to help and maintain a certain formal air in the house, Zagreus tries to make her feel as welcome as possible, probably with some help from Hypnos, Cerberus (best boi) even Thanatos. that she lose her shyness and feel that, after all, it is also HER home now.

Did you see that in the Underworld Persephone has a Garden? imagine if Zagreus gets Leuce one of her own🥺

Definitely Zagreus (and in general several other characters like Dusa for being a sweetheart) is not going to tolerate any type of discrimination towards Leuce due to her origin as a nymph (we know that there are gods who took mortals as spouses, but the only nymph who married a god that comes to mind now is Amphitrite) and he would gladly ask Cerberus to go "play" with whoever made any out of place comments :)

They might as well go to the surface together! Of course, neither of them really know how to interact with mortals or how certain things work up there, but I think Zagreus could use some help taking care of his mother's garden while he's there. Who better than a beautiful nymph?

Overall, a pretty endearing pair. and gives some visibility to a very forgotten nymph :,)

Shares, reglogs and comments are very welcome!

Question related to my next work: Someone knows how ALBINISM was treated/seen in ancient greece?

[for-hunger]

For me, the most interesting difference between IWTV the book and IWTV the show is that Anne Rice's vampires don’t have sex.

Anne Rice's vampire world is actually a lot bleaker and less human than AMC's because of this.

For book vampires, killing replaces all pleasures - food, love, companionship - but primarily the 1:1 exchange is sex. Louis famously makes this connection when Claudia asks him what sex was like and he calls it "the pale shadow of killing"- even if vampires could have sex, it wouldn't compare to the pleasure of the kill. The detailed descriptions of vampire feeding are directly sexual. For example, take Lestat feeding on a young boy:

The language that Rice uses to describe the vampires' hunting behaviors also recalls sexual patterns. Claudia and Lestat are described as "seducers" of mortals who enjoy affairs- wining and dining their prey, enjoying both their talents and their suffering. Louis seeks something more like a series of self-hating lapsed-Catholic one-night stands:

This difference is most interesting when it comes to Louis's existential crisis. In the show, Louis deals with his evil through "vegetarianism," i.e. abstaining from killing humans. For AMC's vampires, killing is a (highly enjoyable, sensual, occasionally sexual) means to an end- the end being blood and therefore survival. Louis may be deeply uncomfortable, psychically and physically, but there are other things he's living for: his business, his family, his daughter, sex and romance with Lestat.

But in the book, vegetarianism is impossible in the long term.

Just before Claudia's turning, book Louis has been vegetarian for 4 years, and his existential crisis is at its peak. Lestat tries to get through to him about his reluctance to kill:

Lestat seduces him in a romantic and striking speech about how "evil is a point of view" and they are "dark angels"; "no creatures under God are as we are, none so like Him as ourselves." And unlike in the show, Book Louis listens to him, because his life has become unlivable. He realizes that killing is "everything," because "there is nothing else"- no sex, no food, no companionship - or at least, nothing that at all compares in meaning. Other pleasures are only "the pale shadow of killing," as Louis says.

Killing for Louis (and the rest of Anne Rice's vampires) not only sates physical hunger. It is the (only) cure for existential despair. In stark contrast to Show Louis, Book Louis gives up vegetarianism after Lestat's speech, adopting a more vampiric attitude, and never returns to it:

The show engages with the larger themes and dynamics surrounding Louis's reluctance to kill that the book pointedly ignores - mainly the active evils of racism and homophobia. It masterfully weaves Louis's internalized homophobia in with his disgust for his own evil. It shows the limits of the vampires' power over the world in that no one can kill their way out of Jim Crow.

The choice to deemphasize the sexualized pleasure of killing makes sense in this context. I don't think either of these themes would make as much of an impact if Louis couldn't have meaningful gay sex and interracial romances the way he does. But it certainly makes for a different world. Anne Rice's vampires are isolated existentially, cut off from any of the satisfactions of the human world, and this makes them selfish and remote, even from each other. Sadism in all forms becomes the prevailing pleasure, the prevailing dynamic of interaction- when Claudia seeks to hurt Louis, she compares their arguments to sex, saying "hurting you as I do now... that is also the pale shadow of killing." (207) I'm curious to see how and if this plays out in the rest of the books.

(Disclaimer that I haven't read any of the books except Interview with the Vampire)

[justarandomlambblog]

mmm thinking about an au where Narinder runs away after being defeated and eventually finds himself being taken in by a kind soul in a distant village beyond the borders of the Old Faith. He begins to learn how to just... be, after a rocky start. Slowly easing into village life, taking over the kind person's role once they get too old to continue working (Narinder quickly realizing he himself isn't aging) and somehow accidentally fitting himself into the role of this person's son.

Years pass by and he's fully settled as a member of this godless village, unaware of the power vacuum left by the crowns and the war the Lamb (& Co, he's unaware that his siblings have been brought back) are fighting, watching the generations being born and aging. Maybe a whole generation has come and gone in the time he's been there, and over those ~100 years he becomes a pseudo-leader/protector for them.

Maybe a stranger comes to the village one day. A stranger from outside. Narinder was once a stranger from outside too, and like the kind soul who took him in he does the same, and something... starts between them. Something warm, something he's never felt before. Painfully aware of his own mortality, yet.... a family sounds nice. He's watched everyone around him start their own, he's even helped widowed parents and orphaned children....

So he starts a family. And they're happy.

Until they're not.

The power struggle from the land of the old faith spills over their borders, wannabe gods looking to expand their power, and in the dead of night Narinder's peaceful little village is attacked.

so much is lost- not a kit, thankfully, Narinder protects them with everything he has, and by now he has discovered he can still use magic so protect them he does. But the village is under attack and Narinder's partner is among those who are lost.

He lashes out with his magic, essentially rotting every heretic in the village alive in his grief, and afterwards they rebuild with a few dozen new graves, well cared for, with Narinder pretty solidly stepping into the role of leader. He doesn't introduce the idea of gods to these people- they're his people now, and they don't need gods. He can take care of them himself, god or not.

Those who are capable of magic, he teaches to use it. Those who are not, he teaches to use weapons and runes. He won't let the outside world harm them again.

Fast forward ~15 years, the village is thriving and the people are happy. His kits are teens/young adults now and his people are capable enough to defend themselves, so he's started joining hunting parties and trade groups, interacting with other villages outside of the Old Faith lands (they're spread apart, and Narinder's village is at this point the most prosperous... due to magic reasons, not that Narinder will reveal this). He very, very much refuses to go anywhere near the Old Faith's lands, and has in no uncertain terms forbidden his kits from even approaching the border.

No one knows who he really is. Unfortunately, skeletons don't stay in their graves when the Old Faith is involved.

Narinder is away with a trade group when the Lamb and the Bishops, who are searching for a rogue heretic faith that attacked their cult, stumble upon the village. It's the only one for miles, having been days since they've seen another village (Lamb laments the fact they can't just teleport out here, since there's no warp stones set up out here). The villagers are cautious but friendly- very clearly not warriors, but clearly not about to lie down and let themselves be harmed.

They talk amongst themselves, knowing the people out here don't speak their language, when someone greets them in their language. It's Narinder's oldest kit, a polite thing who definitely plays the rules on their lines; "Father says we cannot go into the Old Faith lands but he said nothing about inviting them to dinner." Ofc this kit has no idea who these people are, and they have no idea who she is, but she greets them nicely and lets them know her father is the village's leader and they cannot offer anything more than water for the road but there is room at their table if they would like to join them.

The Bishops and Lamb are tired and have been on the move for weeks now, trying to hunt down the rogue heretics who managed to escape, and honestly, dinner and a place to safely sit sounds nice, and it's not like any of them can actually be killed if things go south (Lamb would just bring them back and they know it). So they agree to stay.

And then Narinder returns. Impromptu family reunion :)

[kitkats-and-kittens]

Spoilers for Pjo now I guess. Never thought I’d have to type that out.

I have a feral urge to write a fanfic from the perspective of Olympus while all the events of Pjo where going down.

Like what were the political standings like when it was Zeus vs Posiden and it looked like another war was about to break out?

What were the Gods relations with one another and what were their relationships like with the other nymphs and Saytrs and Minor Gods that live on that mountain?

I know Hades isn’t really close with anyone on Olympus but do Zeus and Posiden have any sort of relationship with their sisters?

What about Hephaestus and Ares. They weren’t on good terms in the myths but Aphrodites story is presented a lot differently in the books from traditional Greek hyms.

How is Ares and Zeus’ relationship. It must be pretty strong if Zeus doesn’t punish him for switching over to Kronos side just for the sake of starting a war when Apollo interacting with one of his descendants to give Octavian his blessings was punished as badly as him killing the cyclopses or killing Python, and overthrowing Zeus.

What about the girls? Do Athena and Artemis get along? They’ve both taken vows of chastity and are both adept in weapons and fighting (plus they both piss of Aphrodite, if that’s not something to bond over then what is)

Like I need to know how they all interact with each over, who they like and dislike and why?

I also would love to see how trauma affects their view of the world.

I mean Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades, Posiden and Zeus’ father tried to murder them when they were born so I imagine their judgment on healthy household relations is understandably skewed.

And then there’s the next generation.

Athena, Aries, Hephaestus, Artemis and Apollo.

Athena is canonically the golden child in the myths so how does that affect her?

She tried to overthrow Zeus in the myths so there’s clearly some tension there. Does she like being his favourite child or does she despise the pressure constantly placed on her to conform to an unreachable standard of perfection?

And What about Ares and Hephaestus? Hera considered them both embarrassments in different ways. Of course the infamous story of Hephaestus’ birth and how ugly he was, but then there’s Ares who is constantly in his sisters shadow despite them both being Gods of war.

It would’ve shamed Hera in those times to have a son who looses out to the bastard child of one of Zeus flings, but to have two sons both be subpar compared to the kids Zeus had with other woman?

That’s gotta create some rivalry for daddy’s favourite, and maybe a silent understanding between Ares and his brother.

And then we have the twins. Apollo who looking at all his attributes is definitely suffering from some sort of burnout as well as his father constantly punishing him with lightning probably some resentment there and maybe even some towards Artemis.

As far as we know she’s never been in trouble with Zeus despite ‘meddling in mortal affairs’ by helping Leo and Piper. Again maybe something to do with favouritism Zeus seems very partial to the woman in his family. Plus she doesn’t spend a lot of time on Olympus, maybe she’s as silently resentful as Apollo.

Though we see her worrying for him in blood of Olympus and he breaks the ancient ‘no meddling’ laws in Titans curse in order to help save her. So they’re clearly close, but I don’t think she knows about the lightning thing. I’m not sure if Zeus punishes just Apollo with it, though we hear no mention of any of the other gods experiencing physical abuse from their father.

Then we have the youngest and most recent generation (I’m splitting them into their own category cause they’re the only major gods to be birthed by humans)

Dionysus and Hermes.

We see in sea of monsters that Hermes doesn’t seem to really find joy in his position as a god anymore, maybe the stuff he did used to be fun but it’s gotten monotonous, even stressful with how much stuff he has to do and with no one to help.

Honestly maybe that’s a bonding experience? Him and Apollo silently lamenting about how exhausted they are by all their jobs?

And Dionysus. He seems to be seen as some sort of perpetual joke by Zeus, at least in the books. I mean why else give such a long winded and honestly disproportional response for such a minor action.

I mean even Apollos punishment (though being a lot worse) only lasted a couple months.

And the thing I haven’t even touched on with Hermes and Dionysus being from human descent. Do they miss their old lives?

Hermes had only been born a couple days before he was sent to Olympus, but still, it wasn’t as though he could bring his mother with him. Does he miss her? Or see her as some stranger he left behind. Did he mourn her death? Did Dionysus mourn his own mother. Was he angry with Zeus when he learnt his own father was the reason for her death? If he did what could he do about it?

And Dionysus spent years in the human realm (depending on which myths you look at) did he have friends? Lovers? How did he feel when they died and he continued to live on?

The Gods are left relatively untouched despite being such a large part of the series and it’s events, even ToA doesn’t give us a lot more than what audience already knew from myths and reading previous books.

They’re so intriguing to me because there’s something so human about their actions despite how vehemently they’d probably claim against it. In some ways they’re almost identical to people and it makes me slightly insane that we’ll never get to know everything about them all and the lives they led before the events of the series in modern New York.

[raviollies]

Vampire world biology rambling ft. Lorelai

Vampires "live" through the interaction of necrotic energy allowing them to ambulate. For this reason, despite the common misconception, vampires do have a heartbeat, it is however extremely slow, most accurately being compared to an Agonal rhythm (around 10 BPM), purely for the sake of circulating this energy through the vehicle of blood. Since most of the vampires organs have atrophied (their digestive, reproductive and renal systems), blood circulation is purely to facilitate the energy reaching all extremities and to discourage blood pooling, and causing swelling.

Since their digestive tracts are atrophied, vampires cannot digest food, and have to get their "nutrition" through liquid means. In order to replenish their unique homeostasis, they must consume the living force of other creatures, the more intelligent creatures leading to a much better ratio of blood to potential energy. Sickness, age, lifestyle and nutrition affect the potential energy that can be found within an organism, thus vampires typically seek out younger, healthier individuals, but rarely children due to their small size. Because of this, vampires do not need to feed as regularly if they consume blood from sapient, and go several days up to weeks without feeding (Akin to reptiles).

As such, since the vampire cannot eat meat to consume the energy, they must stick to bodily fluids, the easiest and easiest to replenish being blood, but things like CFS would also work. Occasionally starving vampires eat meat in desperation, but that is a lost cause as, they are forced to regurgitate it as they cannot digest it (Like Owl pellets). This usually only happens to 'feral vampires' - so lost in their hunger they step over their inhibitions and cave into pure instinct to get *something* to fill their belly.

Another system, while not fully atrophied, but heavily impacted is the nervous system causing vampires to experience Analgesia (Lack of Pain). They can feel sensations, however they are extremely muted. To feel cold a vampire must be in extremely freezing conditions, to feel warm they must be quite close to a flame, to feel pain they must sustain heavy damage etc.etc. This has an adverse effect on the psyche, and it is quite common for vampires to experience depression upon becoming undead.

But just because their body is dead does not mean it is impervious to damage. Their regenerative properties are part to none - Vampires still have to care for their bodies just as much as mortals, as due to their lack of an immune system, while they cannot fall ill, their body can still house fungi or bacteria that promote decomposition which while not a death sentence, is a promise of a painful and gruesome future.

In the sun, vampires burn, but not akin to a thermal burn, but rather chemical burn. There is no flame, but the sizzling of flesh, due to a unique interaction of necrotic forces and sunlight. As long as there is no direct sunlight on exposed flesh, the vampire can walk in the sun, however such a feat is quite difficult as it would involve covering ever single inch of your skin, most likely outing yourself as undead -hence why most prefer to simply rest during the day. Sunlight and holy forces are the only things that can scar a vampire.

How does Lorelai deal with the above?

Lorelai is still very young as far as Vampires go, only being one for several years, so many of the psychological long term effects remain a mystery to her.

She does require regular consumption of blood but she is acutely aware that by biting her companions, she would be putting them at a disadvantage for her own...he avoids it as much as possible (Only on extremely rare occasions will she feed from the wrist - never the neck because she finds that too intimate but that's for another post). Whenever the party buys ingredients for food, they also buy Pig's blood for her - a fairly innocuous and easy to acquire ingredient. When hunting, she is given time before the animal is butchered to drink. Since she mostly drinks of animals, she has to feed much more frequently, so it's common for her to be having her 'food' along with the party for dinner nightly.

She always had a soft spot for various fruits, with mangos being her favourite, so she indulges in tiny quantities of mango juice on special occasions.

Lorelai does feel the temperature difference very acutely, as I mention before she enjoys staying in her bat form to warm up by the fire or in various people's beds due to the much smaller size of body. She is fine without the cold.

She does have a lot of issues as I went over here about Analgesia, and how it impacts how she feels pleasure as well - so she is working through that, but she misses the positive sensations of when she was alive, feeling something soft or fluffy. To hold a warm cup. She however is not one of those people that wax poetically about how even pain she misses.

In general Lorelai isn't...someone that hates being a Vampire. Ultimately she wouldn't go back. She doesn't mind being tied to the night than the day, after all, most people rest during the night and miss the things that happen there (and with Raha only needing 4 hours of sleep and Blythe not needing sleep at all, she doesn't feel lonely). She enjoys that she feels full of energy at all times, that she can't get hurt as easily, that she is free to do what she wants. Vampirism to her was...the open door to freedom, to acceptance of what she wanted to do. She'd never want to go back (even if Raha continues to search for a cure for her. Even if she doesn't take it...at least this time she can make the choice to stay a Vampire)

[quitealotofsodapop]

Bai Heb is reincarnation of one of the Emperor's daughters? Bai He adopted by Wukogn and Macaque and neither realizing this is the Jade Emperor's daughter because the daughter she was the reincarnation of was one of the few that were never public knowledge? Jade Emperor discovering this when he lays dying and realized the mortal girl Sun Wukong had tried so hard to legally adopt and care for in both the eyes of the gods and the eyes of mortals is none other than his own daughter because he'd never met her in person?

referencing the weird dream I had about Bai He interacting with the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother.

I think thats what the dream was implying.

Jade Emperor and Queen Mother have some bad history regarding their daughters.

The specific one mentioned in the dream - Zhinu? She was the seventh born and a goddess of weaving; she wove clouds into heavenly vestements for her parents.

And is the protag of "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl".

One day she fell in love with a mortal cowherd named Niu Lang. A big celestial no-no. Especially she and Niu Lang had two kids. A even bigger celestial no-no!

Zhinu feels homesick one day and uses her enchanted cloud-clothing to visit her parents. But they won't let her leave. The Queen Mother is so adamant on keeping Zhinu from Earth that she tears a rip in the sky that becomes the Heavenly River (the Milky Way).

On earth, Niu Lang figured out that his wife has been kidnapped by her family. His loyal ox turns out to be a disposed god of cattle (weird detail but who knows, maybe Shennong was hanging around) who manages to boat Niu Lang and the two kids to a spot just across the Heavenly River where the married couple can see, but not touch one another. Only once a year can divine birds help carry the family across the river to reunite with Zhinu.

The story is meant to be an explanation for the literally "star-crossed" stars Vega and Altair (with baby stars Beta-Aquilae/Alshain and Gamma-Aquilae/Tarazed their kids) which meet eachother along the Milky Way once a year.

Not much more stories come from what happens to Zhinu and her mortal family after wards. But I imagine she's not on speaking terms with her parents. In my LMK idea, they're chilling in a piece of deep space away from the nonsense of the Celestial Realm. Having literally become stars and transcended the cycle of rebirth in a way that none of the celestials can imagine.

In addition to Zhinu, my chinese mythos storyline has the royal couple have had a falling out with;

Songzi (1st born) - was so disgusted by their treatment of Zhinu that she willingly went into the cycle of rebirth and eventually became Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Mercy.

Yin Wuming (2nd born) - reincarnated and became a demon hunter + Nezha's mother, and rejected the offer of reascension.

Princess Iron Fan (born after Zhinu) - who was expelled for falling in love/marrying the Demon Bull King.

So where does Bai He fall into this?

No idea.

Then again... imagine the heartbreak that would have occured if their truly youngest/last-born did not survive their earliest years. A daughter that they hid from a world ravaged by celestial war, but ultimately lost anyway to disease or misfortune. They would never by able to recover emotionally.

Now imagine that tiny soul reincarnated into a little mortal girl, who somehow contained enough divine power to harbour the White Bone Demon (a possible avatar of death itself) and not immeditaly breakdown into dust?

A pair of stone monkeys and/or a human scholar and a pig are now accidentally the guardians of the youngest Celestial Princess. Very magical girl-esque backstory for Bai He.

And the Jade Emperor only realises how familar the little girl at his side is in his final moments...

[how-queerious]

been seein lot of posts calling the cast weird for the way they/their characters are being with the whole "destined" aspect of callowmoore but like consider who does and does not seem to outwardly ship it that way.

maybe there are things and dynamics i've been missing but to me there is a clear division between which characters (not actors) are pushing it and which are not; The main people seeming to push for it are FCG, Imogen, Laudna, and Fearne. The main people just watching and not really swaying either way are Orym, Chet, and Ash. Here's my thoughts on the possible motivations for that from a character perspective. With that in mind, I have focused on the PCs here; I have all the love in the world for matt as a DM, but to untangle the intricacies of his character work in literally even just one episode at a time is a whole other post. Accidental essay below the cut y'all.

broad strokes are that the camps are divided primarily* by who has and hasn't had extensive adult romantic relationships. Laudna, Imogen, and FCG are all experiencing what seem to be their first real adult relationships, and have had notably, explicitly little experience with romance at all beyond that. Fearne herself, despite her age, also seems to have had very little experience with romance and love (remembering that casual or platonic sex is not romance). They have all been starry-eyed and naive about love in prior episodes, and Laudna in particular has a childlike view of it. To compound this, Fearne has been lonely the vast majority of her life, just her, her nana, and their companions of questionable sentience and willingness. Exhibited in some of the darker episodes, and stated by ashley (at some point), she is literally just learning how to feel as mortals do in the prime material plane. Many of us as young shippers were drawn to the allure of the "Soulmate AU" for a lot of the same reasons.

On the other side of the coin, we have the three opposed or neutral. Chet and Orym, unlike any of the others, have both experienced long-term mature romantic relationships. Though Chet often focuses on the sex, and Orym tends not to focus on anything if he can help it, both have shown in their character choices and interactions with people from their past that they have the understanding of mature and healthy(ish) romance. As a contrast to their knowledgability, Ashton has only ever been burned by what should have been love in the past, and has not experienced romance. They have spent their whole life fighting fate, and will continue to do so for at least the time being. He is just learning to let themself love platonically, of course they don't want to follow "fate" to a romantic relationship with someone as chaotic and beautiful and terrifying as Fearne. They'll do the cool combos with her, and he'll flirt and tease, but anything else is unknown territory in a field already littered with the casualties of their past attempts to trust.

Though they may seem to be pushing for this fated dynamic in a way that feels very off for CR, there are genuine and realistic character motivations for them to do so. Perhaps I'm putting too much thought and faith behind it, but I think the specificity of who is or isn't pushing speaks great volumes to the fact that these are all people who have a wealth of theatric and improvisation experience and knowledge behind them. They are all actors with more than my lifetime of hard work behind this "silly game" they play, and I think we ought to consider that.

[awkward-txrtle]

fun. x ATLA

Idk if anyone else in the fandom listens to fun., but I'm a big fan of pretty much the whole Some Nights album. I was listening to it last week (yes, even the Some Nights - Intro, which I don't vibe with) because it was speaking to me in terms of ATLA characters (certain songs reminded me of certain characters).

"But Turtle, Nate Reuss wasn't focused on ATLA when he was writing this album"

Ok, and? I'm gonna have some fun with this!

So here's each song and the character I think it fits (not all are exact fits & not every song is included, but most are)

1. Some Nights - Sokka

"This is it, boys, this is war/what are we waiting for?" feels very Sokka to me, especially since he considers himself a warrior and is the protector of Wolf Cove after Hakoda and the other men leave to fight the fire nation. Also "I still see your ghost" could reference Kya, but more likely Yue, since Sokka says that he sees Katara's face when he tries to remember his mother. The line about the martyr reminded me of Suki. Ok also the "miss my mom and dad for this" line?? Come on. Ok BUT "my heart is breaking for my sister and the con she called love/and then I look into my nephew's eyes" is just SCREAMING a Zutara or Kataang fic of some sort. Come on, right?? It's just begging to be written. Overall, this is very existential crisis-Sokka to me.

2. We Are Young - Katara

Ok so I wasn't fully sure what song to give Katara and it just didn't feel right to leave her out so I deadass just gave her this one like 5 minutes ago, but it still works. It would also be AU-based, but hear me out. I'm assuming y'all are most likely to know this song out of all of them. So Katara's at a bar after breaking up with her boyfriend (Aang) and the Gaang's all here. "My seat's been taken by some sunglasses askin' bout a scar" would be Zuko asking about the scars on Katara's hands that she couldn't fully heal after Aang's firebending accident. "But between the drinks and subtle things/the holes in my apologies/you know I'm trying hard to take it back" feels very Aang to me, especially since he's immature. Then right after, I feel like it switches to a more Zutara vibe for most of the song. Also "the moon is on my side/I have no reason to run" with Katara is such a sick combo omg.

3. Carry On - Zuko

The lyrics are very angsty. "You swore and said we are not/we are not shining stars/this I know, I never said we are" feels like a very Zuko & Iroh interaction to me. And also "though I've never been through hell like that/I've closed enough windows to know you can never look back" !!!! Like that feels very Season 3 Zuko to me. Also, no matter what, Zuko is forced to carry on, whether it's with Ozai, Azula, the Gaang... Although don't get me wrong, Zuko does take back his destiny, but I'm referring more to how he can't give up. Also Ursa tells Zuko and he later says how he struggles and fights, even though it's hard. "And we talked and talked about how our parents will die/all our neighbors and wives" Zuko is very familiar with the concept of mortality, he nearly died and he loses his mother at a young age. I'm sure he worries about when Iroh will die, as well as his friends. I feel like Zuko has a line about people leaving him, but I can't find it. Ok next point "and it's nice to know when I was left for dead/I was found and now I don't roam these streets/I am not the ghost you are to me" is very reminiscent of Zuko's relationship (or lack thereof) with Ozai. Also "may your past be the sound of your feet upon the ground" feels like a very Iroh line. Last point, "on our darkest day, when we're miles away/so we'll come and we'll find our way home" is very reminiscent of Zuko's redemption arc and how he returns home and retakes his place in the line of succession and becomes Fire Lord.

4. It Gets Better - Katara?

Honestly the "yes, I know it hurts at first/but it gets better" reminds me a lot of Katara. I also liked the line about fire in the sky and snow on the ground. Not too much else to say.

5. All Alone - Mai

I really encourage you guys to listen to this song, it was really interesting. The lyrics reminded me of Maiko, especially how Mai seems to not care about anything. The girl's voice reminded me a lot of Mai throughout the series, especially her interactions with Zuko. "I gave her to you/I don't need a toy/I thought you might appreciate it/I don't like the way it moves" reminds me of their interaction when Zuko tries to give Mai the shell on Ember Island. "How do you cry with inanimate eyes/you're never gonna smile/with the way that you're wired" also reminded me a lot of Mai's character throughout the series.

(I really like All Alright, but wasn't sure who it would fit well with)

6. One Foot - Toph

"I put one foot in front of the other" is very Toph, she is a fighter first and foremost. "I don't need a new love or a new life" also feels very her, Toph doesn't care as much about the more material things compared to the rest of the Gaang. I'm sure there's more that can be said about this connection, but I didn't really vibe with the song so much. Sorry Toph.

7. Out on the Town - Aang

Okay, Aang fans, I'm asking you to stick with me here. "Cause I know I'll never take the time/to unpack my missteps and call all of our friends" feels very much like season 3 Aang, where he doesn't face consequences for his actions and Bryke kinda places him on this pedestal of sorts. Also, this is a kataang breakup song to me. The chorus really feels like Aang to me, putting his feelings before those of other people, causing a scene, there being consequences (that he somehow gets out of, but that's not today's discussion). "But I'm waiting for the day you come back and say/'hey maybe I should change my mind'" reminds me of the first 2 times Aang kisses Katara and how he expects her to change her mind on how she feels about him. Also the repetition of "open up your heart".

Overall, I found the entire album to be very Zuko-coded.

If you read this far, I appreciate you!

[running-with-the-feels]

okay, yall, the existence of MK1 is pissing me off again, not bc it's bad necessarily, bc it does introduce a lot of interesting concepts and character dynamics, but bc I don't think there was really a need for another re-boot and NRS imploding their continuity (again) makes it really hard to get invested in their characters bc I know they're just gonna get reset after a handful of games that don't even really give them satisfying character arcs and it annoys me that MK11 was used pretty much solely to set that up rather than paying off the character arcs and conflicts I was invested in (like the revenants)

That being said, here are my ideas fr what MK11 could have been that didn't end in a reboot

Another tournament, Havik is the main antagonist of the MKX blood ties comics and all he wands is endless and eternal chaos so have him declare Mortal Kombat between Earthrealm and Chaosrealm. This lets us see the kombat kids face what their parents did and also lets us see how characters react to the idea of another thousand year war. Bc Havik is Havik, you can even have him get impatient and do a rule change like Shao Khan did if you want to avoid having to carry that story into the next game. Plus, Kuai Liang, Takeda, and Hanzo have beef (and some trauma) related to Havik so you can play around with that. You can use this to bring back a lot of old characters too, and even add some new ones (not Kronika she was annoying and pointless and could have been replaced by a necklace without really affecting the story all that much, she's only just Barely not whatever the non sexy version of a sexy lamp is)

Or, if you're really attached to the idea of characters interacting with their past selves (Fair, its a really cool idea) Have the elder gods sense some looming threat on the horizon and declare a trial for Earthrrealm's defenders to ensure that they are ready. Maybe Raiden protests, bc the trial used to train champions until he saw too many die to it so he abandoned it which gives us a reason to like him. But the the defenders have to go through various challenges, one of which is facing down and coming to terms with their past selves, which lets us see this concept used more and with more characters (which is good, bc it was a Good Idea!) and creates the interesting possibility of having a trial ending as well as a tower ending so you can have other characters who aren't in story mode do this too. To add stakes, you could have the gods offer a boon (heh) to whoever completes the trial where they will do them one favor, so then you can have Hanzo want to resurrect his family and clan, Kuai Liang want to resurrect his brother and then they work together to do it only to find out that the boon only goes to whoever completed the trial first so they fight about it, each trying to offer it to the other out of guilt, which helps solidify how close the two are now and how far their friendship has become

Or, if you really wanna do timeline fuckery, just have a handful of characters get tossed into another timeline bc of the revenants and need to find their way home. You can have them meet their alt selves and you can introduce new concepts and character dynamics, without destroying the ones we know and love as the characters will eventually go home in the end. You could even have the characters get tossed into different timelines, so Subscorp in one, Cageblade in another, the kombat kids somewhere else, and watch them each navigate that and try to find one another to get home. Maybe each timeline has a piece of whatever artifact sent them to the different timeline and they all need to find the pieces and their alt selves either help or hinder.

DARK RAIDEN, why go through all the effort to set that up (especially when it makes So Much Sense for his character) only to do nothing with it? Have the amulet corrupt him beyond what the defenders can tolerate so they all make a plan in secret to recover something that will fix him and then trap him so they can use it on him, maybe leading to the revenants getting fixed and revived or even just allying with Earthrealm temporarily in order to get revenge on the god. Then, once they've fixed Raiden the revenants could try to kill him leading to a battle between them and the defenders.

Or, again, if timeline fuckery is your jam, send a handful of characters back into the past, either to MK9 (which might not work as NRS technically already did that) or before, or hell even mkx. Then you have the characters trying to navigate getting back to their time only to come into conflict bc some of them (Kuai Liang, Hanzo, probs Kung Jin) want to change things so their loved ones live or better choices are made and others (Johnny, Sonya, maybe even Cassie) want to keep them the same so that their lives take the same path, AND you can have them interacting with their past selves in some really interesting ways

Similarly, that same idea, but instead of the present selves getting knocked back to Meet their past selves, they just get tossed back into their past self's bodies with no idea what's going on. So then they're all separated and trying to figure out how they got here and what to do next with each getting different pieces of the puzzle. This lends itself to some really interesting character moments bc can you imagine Kuai Liang waking up in the Old Lin Kuei again? Can you imagine how terrifying and triggering that would be for him? Or Hanzo waking up in the Shirai Ryu before the attack, able to actual save his family (whether he succeeds or not both have interesting potential)? Or Kung Lao at MK9 suddenly remembering dying in the arena (in a truly stupid way like you're telling me Raiden saw SHAO FUCKING KHAN walk up behind the guy who just beat some of his best warriors and is gloating about it and just decided not to say anything? Just assumed the LITERAL TYRANT had innocent intentions? Come on. Either I'm supposed to like Raiden, in which case GIVE ME A FUCKING REASON TOO, or I'm not in which case stop pretending he's a saint.) and being a revenant and having to navigate that?

Idk, this is probably just rambling nonsense but I needed to get the ideas out so here ya go. I might think of more later and add them, so apologies in advance

[true-blue-sonic]

Gooood evening dear author‼️

So for the headcanon thingy

ൠ - random headcanon

☼ - appearance headcanon

☯ - likes/dislikes headcanon

☠ - angry/violent headcanon

☾ - sleep headcanon

For Shadow and hmmm Sonic?

I LOVE your interpretation of Shadow in your fics! Especially in New Beginnings. It's not usual to see someone write Shadow this well and accurate!! And not only Shadow. You write every character so well!

Good evening🍀 Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad to hear so!💕 This made me realise I actually haven't written Shadow so much at all, haha. He does intrigue me; I'm always curious how he and Silver would interact when not on a mission. They seem to be on good terms in London 2012 3DS, at least!

Shadow:

ൠ - random headcanon

I figure he sometimes goes to the ARK to ensure it doesn't fall into disrepair more, as a homage to the home he shared with Gerald and Maria. He definitely knows the place best out of anyone still alive, but he'll never be able to out-know Gerald, considering Gerald is the one who built the ARK in the first place iirc.

☼ - appearance headcanon

I think he wouldn't mind the fact that he looks so Black Arms-y, considering he left the past behind him and all. But if anyone tries to ask about it, they're gonna get the most pissed look possible sent to them, which probably terrifies any ol' mortal into immediately shutting up and leaving the topic be.

☯ - likes/dislikes headcanon

I think also he would appreciate Earth's nature and views, what with growing up on the ARK and all. I like the idea of him tending to flowers that the Lego game showed. Plus, I can imagine he figures out what flowers mean so he can plant ones with meanings he appreciates.

☠ - angry/violent headcanon

Rouge is the only one who can talk him down with words when he's irate, and even then that's not guaranteed. Considering Omega was made to contain him and was used to capture him in '06, I think he'd be the only being capable of stopping Shadow by physical force; perhaps not even Sonic would be strong enough then!

☾ - sleep headcanon

I think GUN could have lent him a place to stay somewhere so he has a roof over his head, but I figure he either crashes at Rouge or just stays outside (like under the highway in Battle) to sleep, not unlike Sonic. I do think him being UltimateTM means he can do better than Sonic with less hours of sleep, but probably not for days on end.

Sonic:

ൠ - random headcanon

Collects off-model unofficial merch made in the likeliness of him and his friends when the items are really ugly, because he thinks it's funny. He's got a few boxes stowed away in one of Tails' workshops that has the stuff in there, that he pulls out at parties and such for a good laugh with his pals.

☼ - appearance headcanon

I think Sonic would be open to many crazy things in truth or dare, but dyeing his quills is one thing he'll refuse to do when dared to XD

☯ - likes/dislikes headcanon

He doesn't have as much technological know-how as Tails for sure, but I can imagine he likes tinkering with the Tornado and seeing if she still works properly!

☠ - angry/violent headcanon

No matter what it is he's doing; if he spots someone getting bullied or a person being mean to someone else, he will intervene and chew the assaulter out. Afterwards he'll far more kindly ask the victim if they're okay, and hang out with them for a while more with jokes and such until they're smiling again.

☾ - sleep headcanon

I love the idea that he is on an active mission to find the weirdest sleeping spots possible, ranging from tree branches so thin it's a miracle he doesn't fall off, roofs of random houses, lounge chairs just left outside, the seat of the Tornado, Tails' tails, beds in guest rooms from friends (who promptly get a heart attack when they wake up in the morning and he is just There), and so on.

[ladyhindsight]

City of Lost Souls is definitely a book.

The story picks up two weeks after the end of City of Fallen Angels, and though the problems they are facing in this book are acute, the writing really does its best to dampen all the urgency down. If CoFA ended with a high note, CoLS fails to pick it up. The plot is more solid than the one in the previous installment, not because there’s barely any, but because the characters actually interact with and instigate it and don’t abandon the points in order to focus on something else most of the time. Most of the time.

The story progression was, however, incredibly slow on its way getting to the point. It dragged, because a lot of the pages was filled with Clary and Jace lusting after each other and constantly making out and almost having sex. Though Clare has said that Clary and Jace barely had a relationship in this book for Jace being under Sebastian's control, it’s strange to then write all this “physical activity” over and over to the point of being repetitive as hell. This book is rather too much about just Clary and Jace fawning over each other, some plot and side stuff scattered in between. Side stuff meaning completely unattached side plots concerning Alec, Isabelle, Maia, and Jordan. Delete all that, and the story remains unaffected. The length of the book, because of all the unnecessary and repetitive scenes, took a lot away from what could’ve been better quality.

Much like its predecessor, City of Lost Souls was still about Jace. Clary was the protagonist only seemingly, on her quest to save Jace while others did their own side quests that payed nothing substantial forward (except acquiring Glorious, Simon sacrificing himself in order to save Jace and Clary from their own mistakes and consequences of their own actions). If we take away Maia and Jordan’s part in the book, only the fact that Luke gets a cure from Praetor Lupus they went to seek would be gone. Maia and Jordan and their abhorrent relationship is not necessary at all. Alec and his ventures to meet Camille impact nothing but his relationship with Magnus, which sill adds up to a whole lot of nothing. Isabelle and Simon developing their relationship is inconsequential. Only characters worth to the actual plot are Sebastian, Clary, Jace, and Simon. Magnus is relevant for the fact that he is a warlock and knows how to summon things. And yet, he is static.

City of Lost Souls definitely takes a step towards more mature tone—failing at it spectacularly—and including more mature and darker themes, such as sexual assault to make an idiotic point that has already been made (see later the part about Sebastian) and drug use narratively disguised as some faerie shit. It seems that in this instalment Clare’s “quirks” as an author—her tepid writing style—really solidifies, because she keeps using the same phrases, terms, and descriptions time and time again. Out of all the books encompassing The Mortal Instruments, this was the most repetitive by far and so, consequently, is my groaning about it.

It’s an assault by similes.

CLARY. Clary makes her most substantial transformation as a character in this book via her Shadowhunter training suddenly kicking in. It’s just not genuine character growth. Just because Clary developes a skill, she did not change or grow as a character. In this book, Clary’s thoughtlessness and recklessness is redressed by Luke as her trying to do what she believes is right and consequently what the narrative believes is right. It’s not true just because you write other characters spouting things and supporting your impetuous and moronic heroine who thinks mostly about herself and Jace. She rushes herself into bad situations and is constantly so underprepared that I don’t think there is one brain cell in her head. Yet somehow everything just works out. She just goes through the motions and still never develops or grows.

JACE. There was really no Jace. When there for a moment was, he somehow remembers that he has a family and, to my surprise, parabatai. The epilogue really tries to reform and rewrite those relationships because, I don’t know, Clare experienced some sort of awakening with The Infernal Devices? It’s disingenuous because the series so far has nothing to back it up with. This sudden change in the narrative does not make the relationship with Alec, for instance, in the previous books appear in some new light or mend the shortcomings as to their bond. Jace and Isabelle’s relationship is far more solid and consistent because it barely exists anyway and doesn't experience any (recognized or not narrative) setbacks. Isabelle is Jace’s staunchest defender and Jace sometimes shows his affection to Isabelle. They pretty much adore each other. Compare this to the original trilogy where Jace doesn’t even seem to like Alec at all.

SIMON. Actual character with actual character development. Only that Simon should develop outside of his relationship to Clary as well, because now his development and growth is mostly tied to Clary and what the circumstances being with her and staying in her life basically force him into. Simon does what he does for Clary’s wellbeing, thought the summoning of Raziel edges on the idea of greater good as well. But still mostly for Clary.

SEBASTIAN. Much like his father, Sebastian is a shallow villain. Sebastian’s scars being revealed seemed like an attempt to explain away some of Sebastian’s cruelty and evilness, to show how he too suffered in Valentine’s hands and for the readers to have sympathy for him at that point in the story. Yet it seems rather needless when City of Glass went over how his inhumanity is because of Lilith’s blood—not even Lilith’s per se, but demon blood. That didn’t really leave a lot room for nature versus nurture argument. If we go further and consider City of Heavenly Fire, Sebastian’s evilness burns away with said heavenly fire. There was never room to consider that whatever Valentine did to Sebastian while growing up, how violent and abusive he was, made Sebastian the way he is now. Sebastian’s scars are a point of manipulating Clary and the readers into thinking that maybe he could be trusted since he, too, suffered and thus is the way he is, despite—and I’ll reiterate—his demon blood that was already told to be the absolute reason for his corruption.

In her answer about Sebastian sexually assaulting Clary, Clare says it was included to show that he is beyond redemption. Murdering Max and planning to burn down the world apparently did not make him villain enough, because the intent was to redirect fans who found Sebastian likable despite what he had done and intended to do. My mind can’t fucking register this logic at all. It’s pure authorial manipulation because Clare did not like the original response to Sebastian’s character—because Sebastian as a villain was more interesting than her inadequate excuses of unlikable protagonists.

Sexual violence is the most insensitive and perverse crime, to force yourself on someone, to violate them and their bodily integrity. Sexually assaulting anyone is loathsome, it’s sickening and disgusting. It is by no means a light subject to discuss, to deal with, and definitely to write about, which is why I honestly don’t think it is never needed if the story does not focus on that and handle such a sensitive topic as this appropriately. Sebastian forcing himself on Clary to showcase how his character is so evil is not appropriate, to say the least. It’s not about Clary or how Clary feels about it or how she deals with it: It’s about how evil and bad Sebastian truly can be. It’s just that, a cheap device that simultaneously craps on the issue because it doesn’t take Clary into consideration. Like the points made above, Sebastian was already evil and vile when he murdered a child. That was the whole purpose of Max’s death.

Clare tries to manipulate emotional response by choosing tragic and unjust ideas to stick onto her characters and expect readers to empathize with them because of those unfair circumstances. Sebastian is not just evil, he’s EEEVIL. Look how EEEVIL he is when he does EEEVIL things. Clare writes how she is a victim of sexual assault, and my heart goes out to her on that regard. Much like many others have pointed out over the years in critique of this book, it doesn’t mean Clare can write about it well or even adequately. She has all rights to write about it, the problem is her representation of that is plain bad. It’s the intent behind and purpose of including the sexual assault scene that is skewed and wrong: to make a point about a character being beyond redemption is just not it.

Why do you think a rape is what you need for it to progress? Is there something else that could fill the same function? Unless you have a damn good reason to include rape in a story, you probably shouldn’t. Using sexual assault as a motivation-in-a-box or an equivalent trope will do nothing but steal credibility and respect from a really serious, really important subject.

ALEC. Alec, once again, bore no true relevance to the story. His sole function was to confirm Jace being alive via the parabatai rune. I forgot he had no part whatsoever in raising Raziel. He was just there, and I laughed. Because there is so little of the main plot to even go around, Alec never gets his share. Clare doesn’t know how to weave any of the side characters to the actual plotline, because she doesn’t want it to be about them at all. Just Clary, Jace, and Simon as the agents. All would’ve carried on in the series without Alec even existing. What resemblance of a relevance he had, it was in a side plot that affects nothing but his relationship to Magnus. Nothing but irrelevance after irrelevance in each installment so far.

Alec’s story with his insecurity, his incapability to accept that Magnus has dated before and has past Magnus doesn’t want to talk about, that Magnus is immortal and forever-young and Alec is not, his own feelings of triviality and being not truly wanted can only hit the notes it wants by transforming Alec’s character to meet the demands of each “plot” point. Alec is, especially later, characterized as quiet, thoughtful, selfless, and as someone who turns inward with his issues. Then suddenly he has hissy fits, public tantrums, and gives an attitude loudly, and why? Because someone (Simon) needs to observe the twists and turns in Magnus and Alec’s relationship for wider audience because otherwise who’d know, since they don’t get the necessary room on the page nor consequential interactions with other characters as to their relationship. Alec’s disfiguration as to his characterization—any hope abandoned regarding its solidity—is a vehicle to all that.

MAGNUS. Has a new gimmick of forgetting Simon’s name. Isn’t he funny? Here he is just whiny and immature as hell. What is there to defend in a man who dates a teenager, abuses their naivety and trust, takes more than is willing to give, and eventually shits all responsibility of the relationship failing on said teenager and peaces out. My brain just boils whenever I read comments such as “Magnus was right to dump Alec” or “Magnus should go find someone more deserving of him.” I didn’t think I had so much contempt in me still, but there it is, rearing its head whenever my mind lingers more than a second on this fucking disaster of a dynamic Clare so carelessly concocted. There’s no accountability in the series, Clare understands fuck all about responsibility and human behavior and maturity, so why am I even disappointed again that this is what she came up with? It’s some part of my teenage years and the emotional connection I formed with these characters that still makes me feel incredibly angry over how talentless and thoughtless Clare is as an author.

ISABELLE. Izzy is, dare I say it, the most consistent character. The biggest problem with Izzy is that she doesn’t really do much, doesn’t matter much, and her only development is as to her romantic life and her attitude towards love and trust and opening up in a relationship, learning to show vulnerability and all that. And yet it is with Simon with whom she will always be the second best, though this time the writing actually recognizes it. Woah. Much like most installments so far and much like with Alec, this book would be the same without her in it as there is no plot to spare for her either. Only thing that scratches the main plot is her visit to the Iron Sisters at the Adamant Citadel when the story maps out the possibilities of severing the bond between Jace and Sebastian.

MAIA. Why is she here? Why is Jordan here? All they do is, sure, find the cure for Luke (still lacks motivation and is replacable) but then just date and have sex. Why is her character so inconsequential? Jordan can go fuck himself. Their whole relationship is a carwreck. Maia not once missed emotional aspects to their relationship or companionship with Jordan, she just keeps reminiscing about his looks and smell, because Clare knows fuck all about writing actual deep emotional bonds between two people instead of this passionate, appearance-based one. They are the definition of waste of space in this book.

Coherent thoughts over.

i. Tonally these characters do not know their ages. I cannot believe I’m reading wisdoms of love and life from sixteen-year-olds.

ii. The Nephilim society or the Clave do not go anywhere. The writing doesn’t raise questions about their society, does not intend to develop it, does not develop characters in attempt to change it—just shits on it and makes every agent of the Clave either dumb, oblivious, unproductive or all of that. And for what? Plot convenience.

iii. Why Clary couldn’t create a rune that unbinds Jace and Sebastian? She is able to call runes, create them, outside of the Gray Book, Marks from the Heaven itself, yet there is nothing on this?

iv. Clary and Sebastian talking on their way to meet Sister Magdalena was interesting, not only because we get to learn more about Morgenstern family but also because we get to experience Clary outside and untethered from Jace, even for a moment.

v. Whatever Clary and Jace have is not love. It is codependency and obsession to an unhealthy degree.

vi. Jocelyn is blamed for Clary’s reckless behavior, Raziel is blamed for the current situation of Jace being under Sebastian's control—where is the blame and accountability that rightly falls on Clary and Jace? Nowhere.

vii. Alec and Jace’s parabatai connection severing for a second, a minute, a whatever is brought up here. Not in CoFA where it should’ve been addressed rightaway.

viii. The Iron Sisters are underutilized and shoud've been already greater part of the world in the series. Also they were all regular Shadowhunters once. They all mingled among the Nephilim society. Whatever is the reason the Iron Sisters do not speak to men? Sexism but it is okay because of the faux feminism.

ix. The Battle of the Burren is nonsensical. So much battling happens, but no one really targets Simon. Alec is a sitting duck, but doesn’t get attacked. Jocelyn has time to talk with the opponent... where is the urgency actually?

x. Why does Camille need Alec to kill Raphael? She could do it herself just as well.

xi. Maryse tells about this mark Valentine had put on all of the Circle members in order to track them. Why doesn’t Maryse reveal this long before this? Because it did not exist until it was come up with for the purpose of this story, in a very minimal way too.

xii. Jace prioritizes making out with Clary despite not knowing how long the damaged rune that binds him to Sebastian will give him freedom instead of getting right to the point of revealing Sebastian’s true plan. What a fucking waste of time.

xiii. Summoning Azazel had no result and thus no point (except teasing Asmodeus).

xiv. Magnus says how the revelation of Sebastian's true plans should not be delivered by fire messages rather than face to face, which brings up the question of why didn't Clary communicate with the others via fire messages? She was not in place to receive them safely, but nothing stopped her from sending them. Fire messages are underutilized in the series, and Clare seems to have completely forgotten their existence most of the time. And ever if Clary for some reason or somehow was not able to send fire messages, the writing should've explored and addressed that not being an option, because now it creates a hole.

xv. Alec exchanging his energy with Magnus in CoG and here in CoLS is an imitation of intimacy.

xvi. I just absolutely loved this Goodreads review for its poignancy and simplicity: “someone call the nonsense police because we have a big case on our hands”

[ammonitetheseaserpent]

AAAAAAAA I NEED TO TALK ABT THE NEW EP-

I didn’t think the ep would give me something to talk about so quickly (I’m only just putting this post out now bc I had to get my thoughts in order) but this episode gave the Collector a whole new layer to their character and aaaaaaa I need to talk about it! They’ve further expanded this character’s status as a foil to both King (via the new Collector species) and Luz (via the Collector reliving her adventures as well as his use of character-trope-y terms when describing Eda). They’ve got DUALITY just like I’ve been sayiiinnnng! And we can finally see more of what Dana meant when she called him morally grey!

First of all, the Collector is ah. very messed up - no fault of their own, though. He’s a god raised by a collective who (from what can be gleaned from this ep) view and treat mortals more like servants or items than people. Then he was under the thrall of Belos - and while he clearly wasn’t solely responsible for twisting the Collector’s morals, it definitely couldn’t have helped to be around someone who didn’t view anyone currently around him as people.

Now though, through their interactions w/ their first good influence in King, we see the more “good” aspects of them shining through - ones that kinda conflict with what they were taught. On one hand, they’re oblivious to the level of fear they cause, but on the other, he’s vehemently opposed to the idea of actually hurting people (Titans at the very least). On one hand, he has no qualms about and sees no issue with turning people into living puppets, but on the other, their interactions with François tell us that he does have some sense of boundaries. Granted, there’s a high likelihood that, where they are right now, he’d only be this caring and considerate to Titans (who are only like. a few steps below the Collectors), but the capacity’s still there.

The biggest difference between him and the rest of their kind, though, is that he’s a child - a deeply traumatized child. We don’t know much about what they’ve been through (yet), but it’s clearly left one hell of a mark. I’d also like to refer to a previous post, where I mentioned that them being a child/having that sense of malleability and innocence is a double-edged sword. It’s the thing that means they see (almost) no issue with how the others taught him to think and act - but it also might be the thing that allows him room for their mind to be changed, for him to be shown the error of their ways and what they’ve been taught. And I really want to see how that plays out - how those little good-aspect-seeds might grow, how he might grow because gggrrrggggrfhgf they’re such an inTERESTING CHARACTER-

[cursedfortune]

violentemperor the fact that she is touch starved is really the strangest thing about her.

I'm going to actually address this as more of a headcanon post for a few reasons. It's an old but very active still headcanon, and still valid to this day. I don't expect anyone to remember every detail about my muse, fuck knows I forget a lot myself xD But also since I have new moots/followers, I thought it may be helpful. I'm quoting friendo above for the sake of having a clear basis to answer, btw, not out of negativity.

You know how you behave with strangers vs people close to you differs, yeah? Maybe for some people not a lot, maybe for others it is. It's like that. It's still you, just a different flavor of you depending on who it is.

Witches in my lore communicate less verbally and more through touch and energy. They can share a look and it will contain a conversation, because they share energy with one another that carries with it the impression of how they are feeling/what they are thinking to whatever extent they wish to share.

Mortem's natural tongue is touch and speaking without words. She had to adapt to the other races and learn the value of speaking with her tongue since they value it so. Yes, in her canon, fae and elves - as well as specific mage-types can communicate with her in her natural "tongue" but very early on in her canon she is sentenced to exile for being convicted of treason.

By default with people, since I keep all interactions separate unless plotted otherwise, Mortem interacting with anyone will have her in that solitude of exile. Does she go out into cities and other places? Yes. Why? Because her work as a witch requires her to. She was exiled from a neighboring country she called home. Her homeland hasn't exiled her, but she is shunned from being involved in their affairs. You can't really stop a witch unless you put them down, and Mortem is temporarily immortal and can't be. So her homeland tolerates her so long as she just stays away from the politics and keeps to her forest mostly. Which she does. She only leaves her forest when she has to for her work as a witch (aka fulfilling her purpose that is directly related to mortals).

So when it comes to touch and all that, Mortem is deprived of her natural form of communication. She is essentially mute because no one speaks to her and she is shunned, outside of those who don't realize they are speaking to traitor usually. Other witches exist, but because Mortem has witch hunters solely dedicated to killing her she doesn't usually venture near her own people because she doesn't want to risk troubling them with her burdens either.

To circle back to the initial point:

You know how you behave with strangers vs people close to you differs, yeah? Maybe for some people not a lot, maybe for others it is. It's like that. It's still you, just a different flavor of you depending on who it is.

When it comes to her engagement with mortals - yes. Sometimes she has a fling. She doesn't get close to others emotionally, however. In the RPC, it's a little different because it's not strictly me being 100% in her canon. She has three ships at this time that are all long term and mostly slow build ones. She doesn't get close to people because people don't live much more than what feels like a blink of the eye to her. By close I mean, she will value someone and enjoy them but she won't let them know her and make herself vulnerable, by the way. Her relationships, when they randomly pop up (or at the start of rp interactions) will always be friendly and one-sided because Mortem will fully enjoy someone and accept them sharing themselves with her - but she is very... sleight of hand when it comes to how much she shares in return.

How she engages with people casually and by default is very honest, but she omits a large portion of herself because 1) witches just be like that and 2) because of her longevity and isolation.

Being touched by someone who cares about you is different from being touched by someone who is casually friendly with you. And for a witch, those differences are loud and clear. She is a war veteran that was promptly exiled and isolated, she has been hunted by witch hunters the majority of her life and all her tolerance for torture and pain comes from them. Her life is mainly made up of physical hurt and emotional distance. Which is why I've said when her smiles falls, it's her true expression showing. Because Mortem is relatively neutral down to the emotional base. She doesn't lie about how she feels, she'll tell you she's pissed off or upset with a smile on her face because she doesn't feel close to someone. But when she relies on someone, like one of her ships for instance, she'll let that smile that wards off others fall and touch/want to be touched in the ways that she needs it. The way her people communicate to some degree. Those are the individuals that get to see how things really make her feel without the vaguely threatening smile she usually always wears.

Touch may never be what it was once back when she was younger and among her people, but it can be close when she has bonded with someone closely.

You can say she has a pretty face and sex appeal and therefore wants for nothing, that she has a personality that can easily make friends. And you'd be right. Because that's the point. She made herself that way because it was necessary, and what she didn't is just natural to her/her kind. But just because she has it doesn't mean it's utilized and it certainly doesn't mean she lets others touch her often or gets close to others to have their touch matter (<The big point here). Physical touch is important to Mortem and her people. Her isolation has made it so that she is both hesitant to engage in it (because mortal customs differ) and wanting it very much (because it's natural to her kind). She is touch-starved but she keeps it to herself unless someone she feels like she can be vulnerable with comes along. Aka, like the three ships I currently have with her.

Mortem is old, war torn and has been isolation for a very long time by default when it comes to any of her interactions. That's how I write her. In every ship she has, I don't hesitate to write about it either. This blog has documented it well. I'm not expecting everyone to keep up with that, that would be insane. I just hope this helps clarify her usual persona vs when she allows herself to be vulnerable for anyone new or anyone wanting a reminder or something. ^^

If you made it this far I can only give you raw onions and finger guns. But at least the onions are peeled.