#it's driven by passion

[asgardian--angels]

Saw one of your replies on the national forests post, and had to say you have THE COOLEST job. Keep on trucking, that's awesome.

Hi there! Thanks for the kind words. I agree, it is a super cool job, and we need more young people becoming environmental scientists and wildlife biologists and entomologists - so if anyone out there reading this likes to be outside, likes watching animals, wants to help protect the nature that you grew up with near where you live, or just wonders if running around with a butterfly net catching bugs can be a job you get paid to do... I highly recommend considering conservation biology or a related natural resource/natural history field for college :)

[angeltownn]

That worm I Hate . And his burger.

[roobylavender]

[microwave noises]

[thepersonalwords]

You have to chase your dreams with all your heart.

Lailah Gifty Akita, The Alphabets of Success: Passion Driven Life

[gingermintpepper]

Day 2: Hyacinthus

Interpretation notes and trivia below the cut!

Designing Hyacinthus as well as deciding on a personality for him was one of the first big problem I had to solve when the topic of a retelling came up. In most texts, he exists to be loved and then to die and even then, the focus of his death is not his own but rather on Apollo, the one who loses him. General modernised interpretations of him likewise tend to make him agreeable and inoffensive, the sort of character who is likeable and upright but never challenging or ornery. I didn't like any of those options, so I instead decided to build my Hyacinthus from the ground up - for better or for worse. His red hair is his most striking feature, it is his mother's divine hair colour and he is the only one of her children to have inherited it. Similarly, Hyacinthus is the only one of his mother's children to inherit her magic. While some of his siblings were born with a few passive gifts from their mother (Argalus' 'perfect' memory and Polyboea's affinity for mental calculations and projections, for example) Hyacinthus was born with a talent for sealing and warding magic and thusly, much of his life has been shaped by the pursuit of knowledge and his wish to use his talents to better his kingdom. Much of his good-nature and zeal for life and learning is destroyed by the circumstances of his death and entombment. When he is revived, he is angry, lost, devoid of most of his memories and desperate to fill the missing gaps of his soul. He's selfish and snappish, hurt and desperate to hurt others but, most importantly, he is searching. When he is revived, all the world has heard his story but he is not apart of it. They do not remember Hyacinthus, the mage-prince of Amyclae or Hyacinthus, the teacher of men. They do not speak of Hyacinthus, who charmed the gods for their knowledge or Hyacinthus whose beauty was bested only by his wit - they speak of Apollo and his lost love, Apollo and his grief, Hyacinthus, the lover of the Radiant. One can only hope that he will find whatever it is he is looking for on this journey.

Some fun trivia:

Youngest son in a family of seven, his magic was the catalyst for Clio revealing her true identity as a Muse to her children.

Actually prefers to be called 'Hyacinth' but has made peace with people ignoring his wishes and just calling him Hyacinthus out of habit or formality.

Has an intense resting bitch face and struggles with visibly expressing happiness or sadness. This is also a trait he shares with his mother, though his older sister Hegesandre also shares this feature. Cynortas was technically a part of the resting bitch face club but he practiced smiling and looking cheery so much as a child that now has the opposite problem where he can smile through anything, even pain or anger.

Left home when he was 10 to study at the Parnassus Institute for Gifted Children. The Institute specialises in training the children of the Muses, but occasionally it will take in normal people who show great promise. Hector, who becomes quite close to Hyacinth during their tenure together, was one of those people.

Was recognised by Apollo himself at his graduation and was gifted a laurel wreath. Apollo declared him the Shepherd Laureate which made Hyacinth the third Laureate alive at that time - a status shared only by Orpheus, the Poet Laureate and Asclepius, the Doctor Laureate.

Despite his title, is atrocious with animals and genuinely despises both sheep and goats. Has a mild phobia of goats in particular due to a traumatic incident when he was first climbing the mountain where a particular wild goat absolutely terrorised him. Along with following him for days, it would eat anything he left unattended and even bit and headbutted him numerous times when he would try to wrestle his food back from it. He was so bothered by the title in fact, that he asked Apollo if the designation was a joke at his expense. Apollo never denied that it was a joke but he never confirmed it either.

Exceptional hunter but prefers trapping to hunting by dog or arrow. Has never been one for weapons and much rather prefers to fight bare handed if the occasion arises.

Despite his laurel wreath being such a precious object, Hyacinth has never properly worn it. He wore them around his left bicep after obtaining them and when Polyboea contracted phthisis and needed comforting, he gave them to her as an object that would give her strength. Polyboea was buried with his laurels so he never got the chance to wear the wreath on his head.

His favourite colour is a dark oak brown and his favourite hobby is reading. His favourite food is fish roasted by a river and shared with people he loves. He died at 28 on the first day of Karneios.

[backjustforberena]

No more, but e'en a woman, and commanded By such poor passion as the maid that milks And does the meanest chares. Eve Best as CLEOPATRA in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ (2014)

[sapphicgardensinmymind]

Been thinking about this idk

oh my god this just changed my life. there is so much to unpack. first of all i think violet or doralee typed this up for her because there’s no way judy is saying son of a bitch husband no matter how true it is.

judy bernly went to catholic school CONFIRMED? this is so so so important

the sorority thing makes so much sense. will not be elaborating right now.

trophy wife instead of housewife is so funny i’m so sorry. i kind of love that for her? but also not at all because that man did not deserve her

most likely to die happy??? blue ribbon for best casserole???? COOLEST. CULOTTES.

thank you so much for sending this i’m going to be thinking about it and unpacking it for weeks actually

[ilovefredjones]

dal r’el they could never make me hate you

[liliaceaae]

@immortal-raine your tag devastated me beyond comprehension so i needed to draw kotatsu reuniting with mylo & rhea to cope

realistically kotatsu probably would have re-integrated into the wild and it probably would be better for him to be free but the sad animal trope hurts me too badddd

i’m thinking optimistic ending: kotatsu comes back to the RA with them and gets to see tama after they win the wano fight

or bittersweet ending: where kotatsu has already found a family in the wild and has baby kotatsus. so they leave him be, but reassured that they know he’s doing well

[thepersonalwords]

Knowing God is like listening to beautiful music. His words have power. He lifts me up & soothes my soul. He makes me dance. He gives me joy.

Germany Kent

[number1villainstan]

chisaki kai is an animal pretending to be a machine.

[beccawise7]

Wednesday Wisdom...

Absolutely Love This ~ 1000x yes.

💜🖤

"Passion creates progress."

[starryeyed-seer]

The thing about Sol as a character to me is that... I don't think or believe sol is some heroic good guy who is only doing lovely caring things, because obviously not. That is not what i am asking for.

There is just a big difference between "2d cartoon incel abusive dudebro loser" and "has reasons for actions which are more complex than being a dickhead"

....and i find it surprising how often I see people assume and prefer the first? I don't understand what is fun or interesting or compelling about that.

I can imagine an angle of 'absolute power corruption, a lack of acknowledgement or care for those below, the cosmic horror of god just being a petty jerk', but i also have never seen that argument

[madokamanga]

[antisphinx]

sorry if this briefly becomes a final fantasy blog. im doing my best over here but im so hyperfixed on it i want to rip my skin off

[bluebellhairpin]

"What kind of sick coward holds back his power while his friends get devouroured?" ARES. I KNOW YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A GOOD POINT THERE SWEETHEART. BECAUSE SAME. WHAT KIND OF PERSON LETS HIS FRIENDS DIE WHEN HE HAS THE ABILITY TO STOP IT?