#like seven out of 135 is not that many

[asymmetryestablished]

apropos of nothing in particular: hey folks who haven't been following me since 2017, check out the first art that ever grabbed me by the throat and demanded I write a fic about it

When Wash is feeling anxious/paranoid (which happens often and for various reasons), and they’re not actually in any danger yet, Tucker kinda casually holds the back of his neck, conveniently right over the mess of the implant site, just keeps his hand there. It sorta helps Wash feel a little safer.

[plaguedocboi]

Favorite chapter of Moby Richard?

Ah fuck man there’s 135 chapters and all of them are a fuckin’ trip. The gay sperm-squeezing chapter is always a highlight. I enjoy the chapter where Ahab holds some lightning and everyone is like Wow he’s so cool I would die for him. Whale Church is fun and ominous. The chapters of Ahab backstory make me feral. The part where Ishmael and Queequeg get gay married is adorable. Cetology is a classic and also extremely funny and very concise compared to later whale biology chapters (I’m looking at you, seven consecutive chapters about whale heads). The cosmic horror chapter of Pip being left in the middle of the ocean alone and Seeing God is definitely something. The last three chapters and epilogue are great if you want to be changed forever and also have your heart ripped out. So yeah in conclusion there’s many favorites for many reasons and there’s really something for everyone.

[delicatebluebirdruins]

The screaming staircase reread

notes made whilst reading my paperback copy of the book

also the foreward where Stroud talks about the show and his first image of the story has me feeling so many things (I love this bookmark so much)

16th October 2024

3 I love the opening

4 Lockwood’s sillyness

5 “I spied a movement: something shifting in the halls black depths”

6 “all the usuals emotions featured” glad that the law states part was give to Lockwood in the show

9 “when entering the house…” I love this bit and the house description and “halls, landings and staircases are the arteries and airways of any building”

Bright death-glow, the landing on top feeling would never come across on screen “then we find ourselves a ghost”

15 ‘It’s the simple things that matter most”

16 “already checked everything back in the office’ did you though?

17 “lamplight glimmered darkly in his flop of hair” and “irony is cleverer”

17th October 2024

19 Harry Crisp

20 “she felt as if something was looking for her, that it knew she was there, but couldn’t find her…”

23 “a nail being hammered into wood” love the implications for this because how would Annie know the process of what Fairfax did to conceal his crime?

27 “scary things with your eyes” don’t blame George

29 “I saw a girl sanding there”

31 I love the terms being explained even though we have a glossary

33 Lucy’s sing song voice

37 Iron to the face.

40 “It’s my responsibility”/ “to make bad decisions?” Lmao “Sun coming out, Lockwood’s glare softened to a grin”-> what tipped you off that Mr Hope was a geologist?

47 knocked the filings

51 “She was prettier than me”… “she looked to be like the kind of girl I’d always instinctively disliked” internalised misogyny Ding! Ding!

53 description of body

55 “would you call that even the slightest bit controlled? Nope I would not”

18th October 2024

57 the locket! I love this description

60 “sooty grin”… “suspended together between heat and cold”

66 Highgate Terror and the Mud Lane Phantom

68 the terror of the abuse not being finished with death… seven girls? Lucy is baby

72 Penny Nolan + pretty field of flowers

73 mustard coloured jackets and first sunrise corporation

74 Fittes Manual for Ghost-hunters; all sisters apart from Mary left home; advancement and ambitions; all her team died as “Jacob began to lose his nerve” (you know in the show they changed the name to Moorgate Mill? Real place in Wessex apparently)

80 “more accurate” piss off and an update on what happened to the mill and leaving for London

19th October 2024

84 corner shop my love

87 Umbrellas, walking sticks and rapiers

88 Lockwood smile, green and white spotted handkerchief “Almost here”

90 Murton Colliery Horror

92 “when he smiled at me, a warm light seemed to suffuse the room”

97-98 blessed scene- did the Skull first and the three (good, bad and indifferent) at the same time

100 “don’t care wave”

104 attic and more books

106 I love this bit in the show with the gag of Lucy pushing the lid and revealing the insult (It would have been funnier if George called Lockwood out on the time change or cases messed up)

108 Joe and Esmeralda (their namesakes Marissa’s ghosts) we can have them in the show it would just be them getting repaired

110 Uncle Lockwood- Hey Kensal Green!

112 I love Lucy talking about Lockwood and complaining about George

115 “Walking into darkness with Lockwood at my side”

119 dismissing his grandchild Lockwood’s pointed questions (spiders attracted cats repelled)

124 Clever Lucy wish we could have seen this scene in the show

128 love Cameron delivering this line in the show “you’d think…” love the talk about George

Part three the Necklace

133 “like dragon scales”

135 I wish this scene was in the show. Lockwood talking to Lucy and telling her they're going to the hospital. Alas we might have got it if Netlflix wasn't allergic to anything more than eight episodes (or the episodes were longer)

138 “adrenalin in the ambulance and stopped the rot”

140 Lucy don’t be dense hate this scene

143 how big a reward? Is it still applicable?

146 I am so glad this storm cleared

20th October 2024

153 “Barnes liked the rules more than most”… “inexpressibly old”

156 four weeks to two in the show and Barnes dissmissal of other cultures (so really upping the stakes in the show)

158 “it’s easily started by grotesque shapes” George!

160 now people cancelled the cases… did she?

165 “I messed up and disaster followed”

168 ghost-fog is so cool and Annie is so creepy here

172 “the smiley giraffe” 173 George is so funny

180 "maybe I just wanted to save something of her, so she wouldn't be completely lost..."

183 "this necklace is more significant to Annabel Ward than her own bodily remains..."

185 wanting to save Annie... how hot was the Sheen Road fire?

191 Lockwood requests and asks her to connect with Annie's memory

195 "marks of their profession and status"

200 here here George "I say it's a crime to refuse free food"

201 Gibbet hill?

203 Lockwood's wolf like smile

205 the moment that sparked a number of questions all boiled down to did Kipps know Jessica and like her? (personally I think they were friends)

207 Love this bit "almost got it Kipps" wish we got to Jack Bandeira jump around a bit in the show

209 a note of when this begins again Hugo Blake is 100% guilty

216 I want a mint

218 "doesn't really add anything" LOCKWOOD WHAT

219 Lockwood's aesthetically long coat hindering him again

21st October

222 casually threatening children

225 "she was so radiant it was like the other-light was already on her"

232 potential murderer

237 "this was our house, our home"

240 I like the change in the show "can I offer you some tea" intruder using the ghosts as distractions and weapons

255 Compliments on ghost-wards

258 ingratiation with the trio

265 missing boy of the Fittes team :(

271 George and Lucy team up

273 Lucy's scary eyes

278 "obviously guilty" HOW? (I really want to know Lockwood's thought process as it so obvious that he was suspecting Fairfax quite early on)

282 the Skull? "talking quietly in the next room" (when Lucy is showing Annabel the group* picture) I wonder how this story would have changed if the Skull was heard by Lucy earlier on? how many more insults would we get?... as I was typing this up I came to ask myself am I the Skull? when reading this book? and the answer might very well be yes

*good idea she should have got a copy and cut it up and just showed the other people one by one see what happens

284 worried Lockwood is my favourite

287 *sarcasm* I wonder who else is in the picture

22nd October 2024

289 Lmao Lucy

291 dear Cousin Throckmorton (i had the exact same reaction the first time I read the book)

292 ululation is a word I forgot the meaning of (and all I could think looking at it is Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds)... I love a map... blackface of course the crimes Fairfax has commited is varied for sure

294 "not really relevant" but isn't it though? not a thought in this girls head honestly

302 "Lucy's terribly jaded"

309 "the house was just the gate"

313 Lockwood's customer service voice must be great. It has to be.

315 another puzzle piece

320 "we worked together" a well you say? well, well, well

324 Lockwood talking about what type of man Fairfax is "a dreadful one isn't it obvious?" to me? Yes both times I've read the book and even without watching the show first. George and Lucy however? not so sure it is

23rd October 2024

328 disconcertingly bright death-glows

332 "I didn't like it's face"

334 clever George

337 Lockwood not believing in the Screaming Staircase

345 hello smell of blood

347 more bright death-glows

348 "It looks like blood, it smells like it. it'll do as blood for me" (I like the show altering this line a little bit to make it run better)

353 lmao Lockwood "You're a girl aren't you meant to be more sensitive"

362 those poor cats- hey Lucy does have a brain it just took a minute to catch up

365 poor little boy "his other-light lit nothing but himself"

368 I love this converstation and Lucy being pleasant about it

372 "Lockwood was too good a leader to ignore so strong a warning"

377 "it had come from the locket... A burst of energy" Aw Annie is trying to help

378 Lockwood "No Lucy, that's not the way it's going to be"

385 funny George... don't worry Lucy will slap Lockwood you just have to wait a bit

386 Castle Sherbourne? 388 Lockwood noticing the smoke

389 Fairfax a self made man my aunt fanny

393 "Don't give me that. You had no idea" George might have actually and just didn't share it like Lockwood did

394 "she was an actor too... she'd had a promising acting career, but had given it up because of... something or other"

400 Lockwood is cool, calm and collected

402 "feel free to shoot the girl' Lockwood said something, but I didn't hear what" okay what did Lockwood say?

406 "pretentious, self-regarding sort of fellow"

407 "Will Fairfax" the acting name but Will Fairfax ever grow up?

409 "passion between them" concealment and performance of secret relationships...

412 Forgot? Good for Annie though

413 Clever Lockwood sending a message to Barnes (also why did DEPRAC show up in the show?)

415 Grebe seeing and recognising the silver glass and going "uh oh"

421 Starkins being spooked by DEPRAC is so funny

424 Barnes is so great "in keeping with tradition, Inspector Barnes managed to remain deeply annoyed with us while grudgingly congratulating us on a job well done."

425 Lockwood defending his choices and the "fullest most radiant smile" is so great

427 prep school nice (have fun kids)

428 Sad "His name was Sam McCarthy. For the record, he'd been twelve years old." (I do love the show for having Penelope approached and thanked the trio personally and having them attend the funeral as well)

431 party time hello "harp"

433 "we met each others eyes, smiled, and looked away"

435 I LOVE Lucy telling Lockwood about the Mill Incident

437 I giggle quite a bit at Lucy going "I don't need lights" and immediatly trips over a box

439 Lucy has no time for your nonsense

440 Lockwoods laugh and how well Lucy knows him "He'd thrown his head back, I could tell"

[endlesswoexxx]

⤑ (  jude demorest  .  nonbinary  .  they/them  )       —      blasting cry by ashnikko  down  main  street  we’ve  spotted  ELIAS ADDAMS  sporting  their  signature  tormented expression.  the  thirty year  year  old  WEREWOLF  who’s  been  in  town  for  SIX MONTHS  often  can  be  seen starting unnecessary fights, throwing the first punch, asking questions later, standing for what they believe in, defending the defenseless,  or  working  as  a  VET/OWNER at PORTUM VETERINARY.  people  say  they  display  purposeful  and  absent minded traits,  but  we  rather  trust  their  vibes:  never taking no for answer, flipping off the camera, going off the handles.  also,  we’ve  heard  they  love  BASKING IN THE MOONLIGHT !   aren’t  they  fascinating ?

𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 ➷ 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 ➷ 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐆𝐄 ➷ 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓

➷ BASIC;

Full Name: elias addams Age: thirty Birthdate: june 12 Zodiac Sign: gemini Place of Birth: tba. Ethnicity: white Gender: nonbinary Pronouns: they/them Sexual Orientation: pansexual Occupation: Veterinarian and Owner of Portum Vet. Languages Spoken: English

➷ PHYSICAL;

Height: 5'6" Weight: 135 lbs Eyes: Blue/Gray Hair: Blonde Build: Slim/tall Tattoo: tba. Piercings: tba.

➷ HEADCANONS;

↪ Does not know when to give up a fight. Argues for a total of five seconds before they start throwing hands. ↪ Has an unhealthy love for coffee ↪ Has a new companion, a tuxedo kitten named Mochi ↪ Loves horror movies, books, and anything meant to spook ↪ Learned to cook when they was young, and over the years it's become their love language ↪ Loves any and all extreme sports/activities ↪ Can always be found in the wild - hiking, camping, snowboarding, cliff jumping, etc.

➷ BRIEF INTRO;

Born into a family of seven, Elias grew up far sooner than they needed to in order to help their struggling parents both raise and provide for their kin. While they never complained about all the work they did at home, it had become pretty evident that their help was needed to keep the family afloat.

They didn't really have much growing up. Could barely scrape by, so by the time they were twelve, Elias began packing grocery at the local corner store for a quick buck. It wasn't much, and definitely didn't get their family out of bad situations, but at least they had a roof over their heads.

Having so many young werewolves around meant that every full moon Elias and their family had to travel far into dense wooded areas in order to remain living amongst humans. They built a shelter far enough out to not give themselves away, and still have a home to come back to once the moon was gone.

Growing up, they never could afford having pets around the house, but that didn't stop Elias from learning everything they could about animals and eventually getting a job at local pet stores and animal shelters. It was the closest thing to owning one that they had.

With a new passion discovered, Elias worked hard to get an education and break the cycle. They wanted to provide their family a good and comfortable life so that they never suffered the way they did growing up.

Moving to Portum was like breathing clean air again. Elias, while they loved humans, had never felt like they belonged. Their werewolf dna burned strong and true, and they didn't want to hide it anymore. Didn't want to keep pretending like they were something they weren't, so while it pained to leave their family behind, Elias made the decision to move.

Purchasing a Veterinary clinic in town, they were able to move all their belongings and start a new life.

➷ WANTED CONNECTIONS;

Platonic.

Having only moved here about five months ago, I can assume they'd picked up a good amount of people to call friends/acquaintance. Elias is very opinionated and stands behind all their actions, but they will lead with politeness if not kindness. These could be new friendships, people they met when they first moved here, clients, coworkers, other werewolves, etc. etc. //

Familiar.

While they haven't been in town long, I can assume they've met people throughout their lifespan and perhaps ended up in the same place. We can plot this out more in dms, but muses whom they feel strongly for. //

Romantic.

Elias is out and loud. Do what they want, when they want, and with whom they want. I can assume that while they haven't had any real relationships just yet, there's been few who interest them beyond friendship. Hookups, flings, one night stands, situationships, will they won't they, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, etc. //

Antagonistic.

They will stop at nothing to get her point across and if that means throwing a hand or two, then so be it. We can come up with the dynamics of these connections in dms, but I can definitely assure that Elias has pissed off more than a few people in their brief stay. //

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Look below the cut for eight great fics featuring Wild Magic and other strange magical mishaps! And also! Don't forget to leave comments and kudos if you liked the fics!

Exercises in Humility by talesofsymphoniac (1808,General) Warnings: None

Essek loses his hair instead of Fjord

Reccer says: It's a pretty silly premise, but gets into deep feelings about where Caleb and Essek are during the Aeor trip

The Baa-llad of Essek and Sheepleb by allmadeofstardust (574,General) Warnings: none

Jester decides to get Essek to kiss sheepleb

Reccer says: It's some soft, cute, fluff!

Wild Magic Surge by literalfuckinggarbage (4907,General) Warnings: none

A wild magic surge de-ages Caleb into a seven year-old Bren.

Reccer says: It's very sweet

Wild Magic is a Bitch by literalfuckinggarbage (5478,General) Warnings: None

A wild magic surge de-ages Essek into a toddler. Cuteness ensues

Reccer says: Its just so precious! Little Essek is adorable and polite and just so sweet

Something Fundamentally Wrong by ProcrastinatingPalindrome (3214,Teen) Warnings: None

Essek touches a strange magical pillar in Aeor and accidentally turns into a strange but cute little creature with far too many legs

Reccer says: It's very cute and silly

A Flumph for Your Thoughts by toneofjoy (3715,Teen) Warnings: None

Caleb gets turned into a flumph

Reccer says: It's very sweet, but also has Caleb being a bit of a brat (in a good way)

Everything in Aeor is Fine by mousecookie (18017,Teen) Warnings: Body horror

Essek and Caleb discover a dark object in the depths of Aeor. It begins to subtly corrupt the mind of whoever comes into contact with it.

Reccer says: With switching perspectives, this fic is able to dive deep into the thoughts and emotions of both Caleb and Essek.

And two recs each for wild magic is for lovers by jakia (1870,Teen) Warnings: none

Set directly post 135, five ways Caleb or Essek experienced a wild magic surge

Reccer 1 says: It's a fun and cute exploration of the wild magic table Reccer 2 says: It's a lovely look at what could have happened to Caleb and Essek during some of the Aeor wild magic surges. Wild Magic surge number 5 is my favorite.

soft and safe by royalgreen (allyoop) (1323,General) Warnings: none

Essek cuddles sheepleb as they head through the astral sea

Reccer 1 says: Sheep cuddles! Love confessions! Polymorph Shenanigans! It's a wonderful bit of fluff, and even has fanart! Reccer 2 says: Goes AU after c2e136, so Essek is the one carrying Sheepleb when the Mighty Nein enter the Astral Sea and approach Cognouza. It's the Sheepleb cuddling scene we all wanted to see and that canon cruelly denied us.

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. And hey! Don't forget to leave comments and kudos for the lovely authors! Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week’s theme is our recurring theme: Old Favorites!

[atopvisenyashill]

The Dornish Prince Who United The Seven Kingdoms

aka my “who the hell was Myriah and Maron’s father” meta

Like many of the ruling princes and princesses of Dorne, we have very little information to go on when trying to piece together this Unnamed Prince of Dorne. It’s equal parts odd and frustrating, because this Unnamed Prince was one of the most important figures in Westerosi history and yet we don’t have a birth date, ascension date, marriage information, birth dates for his children, a death date, or even a name.

And yet this is the man who stopped Daeron the Young Dragon’s conquest of Dorne only to successfully negotiate a cease fire between Dorne and the Six Kingdoms as well as a marriage contract for his heir and daughter Myriah with Baelor the Blessed. His influence lives on in his son, Maron, who furthered his father’s peace negotiations by meeting with Daeron II and agreeing to enter the Seven Kingdoms at last - but with a Targaryen bride and more than a few concessions. Daeron’s shortsightedness in dealing with Dorne leads directly to the Blackfyre Rebellions but you can’t deny that Maron at least was a shrewd negotiator because he and his people came out of this negotiation having given up very little. Myriah, for her part, is a well loved Queen despite racism in Westeros against the Dornish, and goes on to have several children with Daeron, who she seemed to love.

So…who the hell was Maron and Myriah’s father? Well, looking at the series proper, the world of ice and fire, and fire & blood, I’ve come up with two theories on him.

Theory One: The Marence Martell Theory

Marence is the son of Aliandra and Drazenko (or possibly, he’s the son of a second husband).

Theory Two: The Qyle Martell Theory

Qyle, the younger brother of Aliandra and only son of Qoren Martell, takes the principality when Aliandra dies childless.

Let’s delve in…

The Facts

Aliandra Nymeros Martell is born in 115 AC so any siblings must be born after this date.

Aliandra's younger brother brother Qyle (and their younger sister Coryanne) is old enough to disapprove of Aliandra's flirtation with Alyn Velaryon in 133 AC.

Aliandra and Drazenko Rogare married during the Lysene Spring 134.

Drazenko died in 135 under suspicious circumstances (it's because his family was acting up see: The Fall of the House of Rogare)

Now a little bit of speculation here...

The Small Council is desperate to marry off Baela in 132 AC (when Aliandra is 17) bc she’s unruly and mean and does hot girl shit, so they’re not gonna betroth her to someone much younger than her, because they need this girl to get laid and calm down.

Qyle is brought up as a potential match. If Aliandra is 17, he could very well be 16, or near enough, and an option for her to marry. This would make his birth year 116 and make him 42 at the Submission of Sunspear.

If Marence is Aliandra's only child by Drazenko, born in 135 AC, it would make him 23 during the Submission of Sunspear.

If The Unnamed Prince of Dorne Is Marence Nymeros Martell

This is interesting for a few reasons. For one thing, it puts Marence of an age with Aegon IV, who was also born in 135 AC during the Lysene Spring as well. It makes sense that Baelor, with his cousin Aemon already on his mind due to his captivity, would see a man roughly the same age as one of his male cousins, and think of Aegon's recently born son, Daeron II, as the key to smoothing things over.

Baelor eschews marriage, not just with his sisters, but in general, and while we don’t have his POV to see what he was thinking about an heir (if he was even thinking of it), given the precedent of uncles and younger brothers usurping female Targaryens, and Baelor’s own *waves at the Maidenvault* nonsense about women, it seems likely Baelor viewed his uncle as his heir and not Daena the Defiant, and thus betrothing the first born son of Viserys’ first born son to Myriah, Marence’s first born daughter, ties everything together neatly.

For Marence’s part, this plan is incredibly risky. Daeron and Myriah are around 7 and a lot can change in the ten years it will take for Myriah to reach the age of majority. Maron could die, and there’s no guarantee Marence can have another child before he himself dies. Myriah could die and throw the whole plan into question. Marence’s people did just torture the everloving hell out of Aemon (and while the Wyl's are a bit notorious for being super violent towards invading forces, we have no idea whether Marence encouraged that the way Aliandra and Deria do, or if he discouraged it the way Nymor does), and Viserys might not be too fond of the plan. But this is Aliandra’s son. This is the son of a goddamn Rogare. High risk plans with little hope of succeeding are their lifeblood and it's clearly a chance that may be worth taking if he wants to finally calm down the warring.

And being Aliandra's son, it's even possible she told him stories about her relationship with Alyn (hopefully not the sexy ones but who knows). Perhaps he's thinking that this might work out, if Baelor can come here and forgive him after they tortured Aemon and killed The Young Dragon, if his mother could find something worth respecting in Alyn. It's a young man's dream for a better, less violent future for his people and for his young children.

If Marence is the Prince, it also means he dies pretty young. Maron is ruling Prince by 174 AC, so even if we push the death date to have happened the very first month of 174 AC, it means Marence is just 39 years old when he passes. He lives long enough to send his daughter to an unknown fate in a still hostile kingdom, to see Baelor die, Viserys II die, and Aegon the Unworthy take the throne and make overtures at continued war while Mariah is essentially a hostage in King's Landing, and now, with only his young son Maron to protect her and to protect Dorne. A wild, risky life with a sad, early death; just like his mother Aliandra.

If The Unnamed Prince of Dorne Is Qyle Nymeros Martell

Firstly, if it's Qyle, I can 100% see why he kills Daeron I and tortures Aemon; we already know he dislikes the other kingdoms of Westeros and after spending years being forced to make nice because of Aliandra, who dies childless and passes the principality to him, an older, hardened Qyle may decide there is no point in trying to make peace with these people. He takes a page out of his ancestor Meria's book and decides to fight dirty and to the last man. Why on Earth would he trust them, why on Earth would he confine himself to the rules of their game? Even without dragons, these people insist on destroying his home so he will fight them until his last breath.

And then this deeply pious seventeen year old (the same age as Aliandra when the principality passed to her!) shows up barefoot with all the hostages who are mostly unharmed and asks to make peace. And now Qyle is approaching middle age (being like 44 at this point), looking at this very odd mirror to his deceased older sister, who is asking him to put aside all anger. There's no charming flirtation or coy words like what Alyn offered Aliandra nor is there the threat of violence and subjugation like what Daeron offered just a few years before. It's a risk yes, but when faced with this bloody-footed seventeen year old and the release of the hostages, it might seem like a risk that's worth taking.

And again, if we push his death date to the first month of 174 AC, it means Qyle is 58 years old. Hardly old by our years, but it's more than several other notable rulers get in ASOIAF. Old enough to have seen relations with the Iron Throne go up and down and when he dies, the future is uncertain yes, but he's spent his life trying to make things better in the only ways he knows how.

SO THAT'S THE UNNAMED PRINCE OF DORNE.

I think both scenarios are interesting and they both seem likely! I hope one day we know a little bit more about this elusive character, as well as about Myriah and Maron - did Myriah resent the marriage her father arranged for her? Did she resent having to give up her claim to the principality or did she see this as a chance to gain further power? Clearly, Maron believed in continued peace making through marriage because he agreed to marry Daenerys as an adult; how close was he to his father then? Was he devastated by his father's death? Did he love Myriah and write to her the way Oberyn and Doran loved Elia? If he is Qyle, and older when he has children, does this impact how he sees them? And if he's Marence instead, and had children young-ish, does that impact their relationship? How does he even die???

Much to think about and I hope we get concrete answers one day!

[blueguitar]

A long time ago, i used to tell people that for awhile i worked at a guess your weight and age booth at an amusement park. Whenever i said this no one ever doubted me. Sometimes they'd ask me to guess their weight and age. i'd look 'em up and down and say something like, "You're twenty seven, NO! twenty six and you weigh... one... forty." i was never even close to right, not even once. Those people would tell me, "No. i'm 29 and i weigh 135." And then i'd tell them, "Yeah, i wasn't really good at it. i gave out way too many stuffed animals. i didn't have THAT job long."

[ablatheringblatherskite]

4, 10, 20, 135? :)

AAAAAHHH YAYY, thank you so much for the ask, Teaspoon (can I call u that?? Or do u have a better nickname suggestion!)!! So sorry it took a bit, I was trying to PERFECT this answer LOL (the book recc part especially took me a bit HAHA)

4. A poetry book that reads like a story

I think I'm gonna have to say When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne!! I absolutely adore those poem books aaaaaaaa, I left them in our other home and I miss it so muchhh. I'm not sure if the question means all poems are connected or each poem feels like a story on its own, to me they really feel like the latter. They're so cute and beautiful and charming and nostalgic and agghhhhh

here's some of my favorites, just to name two of many:

and

Wind On The Hill

No one can tell me, Nobody knows, Where the wind comes from, Where the wind goes.

It’s flying from somewhere As fast as it can, I couldn’t keep up with it, Not if I ran.

But if I stopped holding The string of my kite, It would blow with the wind For a day and a night.

And then when I found it, Wherever it blew, I should know that the wind, Had been going there too.

So then I could tell them Where the wind goes… But where the wind comes from Nobody knows.

10. A book that got you through something

Okay this is a toughie, but only because I can't remember any specific times. BUT BOOKS HAVE ALWAYS AND FOREVER WILL HELP ME GET THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFICULT THINGS!

BUT one book that I am sure has helped me through SOME difficult things is Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. That's honestly one of my main comfort books ever since I was like, ten years old. Some people consider it to be slow but I think that's why I love it 🥺. It really takes time to depict the more mundane, realistic moments in between the high-stakes, perilous ones in their adventure. It's really about the ENTIRE journey, and I really love that

20. A book that got you out of a reading slump

I think one book that ripped me FIERCELY out of a reading slump was Wings of Fire, book 6: Moon Rising. I absolutely LOVE the Wings of Fire series (it's no surprise that it's about dragons LOL. I... love dragons...), and I'll be honest after finishing the first quartet I was skeptical about continuing to the next part of the series just because it ended so well, but I was NOT DISAPPOINTED. Disclaimer: I have yet to find a copy of book seven... BUT CAN'T WAIT FOR WHEN I FINALLY DO 😭

135. Recommend any book you like!

oh GOSH THERE'S SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM. UMMM. Alright I have two!

Okay so there's Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, a REALLY underrated book imo that I love so much, that I think you'd like if you like fantasy and adventure that takes place in the real world. I don't know if COZY is the right word for it but it'd really cozy to me even if they characters are often in danger lol, but I think the biggest reason I love it so much is because it's a real love letter to books and reading (and even writing as well!). It's about a book binder and his daughter, and the book binder has the ability to read characters from books to life. I read it when I was ten and have loved it ever since.

Then there's the Wings of Fire quartet by Tui T. Sutherland, which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO THIS DAY. If you love dragons and fantasy, then you'd probably like this!!! Yeah it's a children's book but who CARES. This book series is about five dragonets who have been told all their life that they are destined to stop the Sandwing queen war, and their journey as they try to do exactly that. The world-building is so cool, with the different type of dragons, and I love the five main characters so much and their relationship with each otherrrrr. Seriously one of my favorite series ever.

ANYWAY IM SORRY AGAIN FOR THE LATE RESPONSE!! I've been thinking about this ask for days I swear thank you so much for asking it 🥹

If you wanna ask me more book-related asks, fire away!!

[tetsuro-wulf]

The Wulf's Eye: RP Journal #135 | Wellness Spirit

Jeez.. what a lovely few days it's been. Today I even fell asleep at my desk after visiting Kugane to pick up any reports or marks for the board next week.

Lately, I've planned to open more services at the Okami Shrine, which has proved valuable to many new faces that have grown attached to the network. Two of 'em are the same folk that seemed quite eager about my tales, already I've planned to tell more next time they're around. The service I held was the return of the Seven Chakras, which can prove helpful for both new AND old faces... one of the shrine visitors seemed rather enthusiastic and.. dare I say, obsessed with the concept for themselves. Even Quistess was interested in going in-depth about said chakras with me another time, so I'm looking forward to that.

The next day, we set up the infirmary for Wellness Exams again for the first time in a long while. Had our three volunteers who kept busy most of the night. I was surprised to have gotten more strangers outside of the network than hunters themselves.. after all, they tend to be damn stubborn when it comes to receiving a physical. But to my pleasant surprise! Rakushi showed up! He came to get an exam properly, and Deirdre took care of him. Glad his love convinced him, blessed, really. He seems like, most of all, he needed one. I was DISAPPOINTED to see none of my BOYS show up. I only hope that they checked each other out privately.

Afterward, I jumped from providing nutritious bentos to our patients... to sparring with Sohei Hiroyuki, who happened to be practicing in the dojo. There, mukoso, right into a spar. I figured that I ought to keep myself on my toes in these busy times. There are so many operations happening at once, huh?

We're chasing a void whale

We're chasing the causes of these damned Torii gates

Got involved in a number of hunts from the board lately--

All the more reason, right?

Tonight, Corvus and I tracked down the Void Whale from our first encounter. That thing supposedly sends off lesser voidsent to feast on aether... only to be eaten by the whale to enhance its powers and grow. Damn abomination.. this was in Mor Dhona, but I scared the shit out of its imp minion, who ended up revealing to us that it plans to attack Thavnair soon. Hopefully, We'll set up another party with the folks who helped us originally. Afterward, Corvus invited me to a spar. I was hesitant at first since he looked like he'd hardly slept, ironically walking in on me passed out at my desk, but I thought, "He could be put to sleep by a spar, no?" Yeah... I feel bad I ripped out a chunk of his arm, but I guess it's both of our faults, eh? Still.. the feeling between my teeth...

I don't want to feel that shit. Ever. Again. How do yokai eat people?

09.21.2024

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 135

Amy’s Choice/The Man Who Knew Too Much

“Amy’s Choice”

Plot Description: When the Doctor returns to Amy’s life after five years, she faces an impossible choice

This one has one of the most heart wrenching lines

Oh god. Rory’s ponytail

The “Dream Lord” couldn’t give either of them a job? Anything? To give them more of a life? Make it more convincing? I dunno…especially considering the eventual twist (I think)

Nah. Doc, sometimes you CAN tell it’s a dream when you’re in it

Amy really gets the short end of the straw in this whole episode. She can’t run for half of it because dream her is extremely pregnant, we don’t have a job for her in the dream world yet (Rory gets to be a doctor), AND she’s the one this whole thing relies on

The sweater that old lady put on the Doctor is actually kind of goals. I want it

Oh. I love her putting the Doctor in his place. Yeah, this town is SUPER DULL, but you don’t get to say that shit when you’ve been yanking a very very pregnant woman around all day

“Nothing bad could happen here” as the Doctor examines the piles of dust that used to be this town’s children

Doctor Who can make anything scary: today? Old people in large groups. They’re a far cry from Wilf’s seniors group

The competitiveness between Rory and the Doctor is a really tiresome plotline that…god, does it ever end??

This VW bus full that the Doctor just keeps picking up every relatively young person in the town 💀

It’s kind of funny that Rory’s grand gesture is cutting off his ponytail 💀

Oh no. I don’t feel so good, Doctor

“This is the dream because if this is real, I don’t want it” 😭

You never told Rory you love him?? You two are getting MARRIED IN THE MORNING!! (Whenever morning ends up being) last episode he said it was a crime that he hadn’t said he loved her in seven hours

Oh shit, I forgot they were BOTH dreams

Wait. So he saw the Dream Lord again in his reflection, but…do we actually see him again??

“The Man Who Knew Too Much”

Plot Description: The wall comes down in Sam’s mind and all hell breaks loose while Dean and Bobby are powerless to help. The battle for heaven comes to a head.

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: well, no one died. Sam doesn’t know who he is, but that doesn’t mean anyone’s dead because of it

I can’t believe we’re at another season finale already

God bless this bartender. She’s way more patient and understanding at the end of her shift than I have EVER been

Sammy, you are much more than just some guy. You are one of god’s…..or the devil’s specialest little boys. I know you don’t know that right now, though

This girl does not have a self-preservation bone in her body if she’s going to go into that room alone with Sam while it looks like that and he just broke in…

Remember how I said I’m always a Castiel apologist? Yeah. Well. Professor Milf just died so…there is one thing I can’t forgive him for. He blames Crowley, but she said it didn’t get bad til the angel arrived

Wait…this whole time he’s been asleep? Or knocked out? So HOW MUCH OF ANY OF WHAT I HAVE WATCHED HAS BEEN REAL??

Why are we in so many dream scapes today??

So like…who’s this girl supposed to BE? What does she represent? Because she’s a figment of whatever Sam’s brain has cooked up

I know he’s in distress but “it was night and now it’s day” is a really funny line. Very “if there’s a lock, there must be a key” from The French Mistake

This Sam vs Sam thing I’d gonna be so anticlimactic. Wait… there’s ANOTHER ONE? Is it Lucifer!Sam??

Oh shit. Soulless Sam killed that bartender during a hunt. Like KILLED killed her, not failed to save, not couldn’t turn her back to human. Something was holding her hostage and he shot her to get rid of its leverage

See, BALTHAZAR has self preservation. He’ll betray when he thinks it’s the right thing to do but he’s only going so far

I………both do and don’t wanna know why Crowley believes Cas is “the bottom in this relationship.” His exact words. Castiel is gunning to be the next god or next to god. He’s the one renegotiating the terms so you get zero souls. He’s the only one who has ever SET any terms (I know there’s a difference between dom/sub & top/bottom, and I’m really describing the former rather than the latter here. I’m ace, not stupid, but it does feel like the writers Crowley forgot.)

I do like Cas giving him the ultimatum of flee or die

Oh…the next piece is the piece that remembers hell 😭

He’s not the next one, he’s the last one. That also feels anticlimactic, especially for a finale…BUT I GUESS THAT’S HOW IT GOES HERE SOMETIMES

Convenient that it’s right after Dean and Bobby leave that Sam gets the last bit back

Oh no. Should I be saying my goodbyes to Balthazar now? Does Cas know he betrayed him?

Rip Balthazar. Cas, I love you, but this isn’t you, babe. I know this isn’t your heart 💀😭💀😭

Yeah. So, like…if you’re in a war and you HELLA betray your temporary ally, maybe don’t be surprised when they team up with your enemy? Especially when your old temporary ally is not known for being a good person and is in fact the KING OF HELL

How many times does Raphael die??? Rip Raphael. Even though you were my boy’s enemy, if it weren’t for wanting to kickstart the apocalypse again, you would have been real cool

Castiel is entering his villain era and I am here for it

I’m not proud of what my feelings are doing as Sam literally stabs Castiel in the back with the angel blade, which doesn’t work, and Cas tells them it won’t because he’s no longer an angel, he’s their new god.

“Been On My Mind…”: they had me goin with that bartender for a while, but after six seasons…three more than it was supposed to go

[islamic-methodologies-made-easy]

Among the moral characteristics that the Qur’an focuses on, and glorifies so much is “Justice.” The sense of justice seems to comprise a very big portion of one’s faith. Those who are just, are very likely to have faith even if they don’t profess so; while those who are unjust, are very likely to be hypocrites even if they don’t waste any of the rites and rituals of religion. Those with just hearts, are the true soldiers of faith without any regards to their color, age, rank, race, etc. In the Qur’an Allah confirms many times that believers must be just and He confirms that He loves those who are just. He says in the Qur’an: “Allah commands you to render back your Trusts to those to whom they are due, and when you judge between people, judge with justice.” [The Qur’an (4:58)]. “O believers, stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even if against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin , and whether it be [against] rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Do not follow the lusts [of your hearts], lest you swerve, and if you distort [justice] or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well acquainted with all that you do. O believers, believe in Allah and His messenger, and the scripture which He has sent to His messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before him. Any who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His messengers, or the Judgment Day, has gone far, far astray.” [The Qur’an (4:135-136)]. “O believers, Stand fast for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the others’ hatred to you make you swerve to what’s wrong or depart from justice. Be just, that is closer to piety: and fear Allah. Verily Allah is well acquainted with what you do.” [The Qur’an (5:8)]. “Say [O Muhammad], ‘My Lord has commanded you to act justly . Turn your faces up toward Him at every time and place of worship, and call upon Him , making yourselves sincere towards Him in religion. As He brought you into being, so you shall return.’ ” [The Qur’an (7:29)]. “Allah ordains upon you justice, kindness and showing liberality towards kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, injustice and transgression. He admonishes you so that you may take heed.” [The Qur’an (16:90)]. “Allah does not forbid you as regards to those who did not fight you on account of faith, and did not expel you from your homes, that you deal justly and kindly with them. Verily Allah loves those who maintain justice.” [The Qur’an (60:8)]. Prophet Muhammad said, “Those who are just in this life, shall be resurrected standing upon pulpits of pearls on the judgment day.” [Recorded by Al-Hākem]. He also said, “Allah shall protect seven kinds of people from the blazing sun on the judgment day, the first kind is just rulers.” [Recorded by Bukhari and Muslim]. From this, one may conclude that the second pillar upon which the methodology of reformation in Islam was built is, “Rooting the sense of Justice.”

[neil-gaiman]

How Did you come up with the first eve in the story about adams wives? I haven’t been able to find anything about her after I read it and I want to know if she’s an actual biblical character or just someone you made

She's from the Midrash. I learned about her as a 12 year old, from my barmitzvah teacher. There was a point in there, long after I'd put her into Sandman, where I was starting to think I'd imagined her, when I ran across her in Robert Graves's Hebrew Myths....

Excerpt from: The Hebrew Myths by Robert Graves and Raphael Patai (New York:  Doubleday, 1964), pp 65-69

Chapter 10: Adam's Helpmeets

(a) Having decided to give Adam a helpmeet lest he should be alone of his kind, God put him into a deep sleep, removed one of his ribs, formed it into a woman, and closed up the wound, Adam awoke and said: 'This being shall be named "Woman", because she has been taken out of man. A man and a woman shall be one flesh.' The title he gave her was Eve, 'the Mother of All Living''. [1]

(b) Some say that God created man and woman in His own image on the Sixth Day, giving them charge over the world; [2]  but that Eve did not yet exist. Now, God had set Adam to name every beast, bird and other living thing. When they passed before him in pairs, male and female, Adam-being already like a twenty-year-old man-felt jealous of their loves, and though he tried coupling with each female in turn, found no satisfaction in the act. He therefore cried: 'Every creature but I has a proper mate', and prayed God would remedy this injustice. [3]

(c) God then formed Lilith, the first woman, just as He had formed Adam, except that He used filth and sediment instead of pure dust. From Adam's union with this demoness, and with another like her named Naamah, Tubal Cain's sister, sprang Asmodeus and innumerable demons that still plague mankind. Many generations later, Lilith and Naamah came to Solomon's judgement seat, disguised as harlots of Jerusalem'. [4]

(d) Adam and Lilith never found peace together; for when he wished to lie with her, she took offence at the recumbent posture he demanded. 'Why must I lie beneath you?' she asked. 'I also was made from dust, and am therefore your equal.' Because Adam tried to compel her obedience by force, Lilith, in a rage, uttered the magic name of God, rose into the air and left him.

Adam complained to God: 'I have been deserted by my helpmeet' God at once sent the angels Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof to fetch Lilith back. They found her beside the Red Sea, a region abounding in lascivious demons, to whom she bore lilim at the rate of more than one hundred a day. 'Return to Adam without delay,' the angels said, `or we will drown you!' Lilith asked: `How can I return to Adam and live like an honest housewife, after my stay beside the Red Sea?? 'It will be death to refuse!' they answered. `How can I die,' Lilith asked again, `when God has ordered me to take charge of all newborn children: boys up to the eighth day of life, that of circumcision; girls up to the twentieth day. None the less, if ever I see your three names or likenesses displayed in an amulet above a newborn child, I promise to spare it.' To this they agreed; but God punished Lilith by making one hundred of her demon children perish daily; [5] and if she could not destroy a human infant, because of the angelic amulet, she would spitefully turn against her own. [6]

(e) Some say that Lilith ruled as queen in Zmargad, and again in Sheba; and was the demoness who destroyed job's sons. [7] Yet she escaped the curse of death which overtook Adam, since they had parted long before the Fall. Lilith and Naamah not only strangle infants but also seduce dreaming men, any one of whom, sleeping alone, may become their victim. [8]

(f) Undismayed by His failure to give Adam a suitable helpmeet, God tried again, and let him watch while he built up a woman's anatomy: using bones, tissues, muscles, blood and glandular secretions, then covering the whole with skin and adding tufts of hair in places. The sight caused Adam such disgust that even when this woman, the First Eve, stood there in her full beauty, he felt an invincible repugnance. God knew that He had failed once more, and took the First Eve away. Where she went, nobody knows for certain. [9]

(g) God tried a third time, and acted more circumspectly. Having taken a rib from Adam's side in his sleep, He formed it into a woman; then plaited her hair and adorned her, like a bride, with twenty-four pieces of jewellery, before waking him. Adam was entranced. [10]

(h) Some say that God created Eve not from Adam's rib, but from a tail ending in a sting which had been part of his body. God cut this off, and the stump-now a useless coccyx-is still carried by Adam's descendants. [11]

(i) Others say that God's original thought had been to create two human beings, male and female; but instead He designed a single one with a male face looking forward, and a female face looking back. Again He changed His mind, removed Adam's backward-looking face, and built a woman's body for it. [12]

(j) Still others hold that Adam was originally created as an androgyne of male and female bodies joined back to back. Since this posture made locomotion difficult, and conversation awkward, God divided the androgyne and gave each half a new rear. These separate beings He placed in Eden, forbidding them to couple. [13]

Notes on sources:

1. Genesis II. 18-25; III. 20.

2. Genesis I. 26-28.

3. Gen. Rab. 17.4; B. Yebamot 632.

4. Yalqut Reubeni ad. Gen. II. 21; IV. 8.

5. Alpha Beta diBen Sira, 47; Gaster, MGWJ, 29 (1880), 553 ff.

6. Num. Rab. 16.25.

7. Targum ad job 1. 15.

8. B. Shabbat 151b; Ginzberg, LJ, V. 147-48.

9. Gen. Rab. 158, 163-64; Mid. Abkir 133, 135; Abot diR. Nathan 24; B. Sanhedrin 39a.

10. Gen. II. 21-22; Gen. Rab. 161.

11. Gen. Rab. 134; B. Erubin 18a.

12. B. Erubin 18a.

13. Gen. Rab. 55; Lev. Rab. 14.1: Abot diR. Nathan 1.8; B. Berakhot 61a; B. Erubin 18a; Tanhuma Tazri'a 1; Yalchut Gen. 20; Tanh. Buber iii.33; Mid. Tehillim 139, 529.

Authors’ Comments on the Myth:

1. The tradition that man's first sexual intercourse was with animals, not women, may be due to the widely spread practice of bestiality among herdsmen of the Middle East, which is still condoned by custom, although figuring three times in the Pentateuch as a capital crime. In the Akkadian Gilgamesh Epic, Enkidu is said to have lived with gazelles and jostled other wild beasts at the watering place, until civilized by Aruru's priestess. Having enjoyed her embraces for six days and seven nights, he wished to rejoin the wild beasts but, to his surprise, they fled from him. Enkidu then knew that he had gained understanding, and the priestess said: 'Thou art wise, Enkidu, like unto a godl'

2. Primeval man was held by the Babylonians to have been androgynous. Thus the Gilgamesh Epic gives Enkidu androgynous features: `the hair of his head like a woman's, with locks that sprout like those of Nisaba, the Grain-goddess.' The Hebrew tradition evidently derives from Greek sources, because both terms used in a Tannaitic midrash to describe the bisexual Adam are Greek: androgynos, 'man-woman', and diprosopon, 'twofaced'. Philo of Alexandria, the Hellenistic philosopher and commentator on the Bible, contemporary with Jesus, held that man was at first bisexual; so did the Gnostics. This belief is clearly borrowed from Plato. Yet the myth of two bodies placed back to back may well have been founded on observation of Siamese twins, which are sometimes joined in this awkward manner. The two-faced Adam appears to be a fancy derived from coins or statues of Janus, the Roman New Year god.

3. Divergences between the Creation myths of Genesis r and n, which allow Lilith to be presumed as Adam's first mate, result from a careless weaving together of an early Judaean and a late priestly tradition. The older version contains the rib incident. Lilith typifies the Anath-worshipping Canaanite women, who were permitted pre-nuptial promiscuity. Time after time the prophets denounced Israelite women for following Canaanite practices; at first, apparently, with the priests' approval-since their habit of dedicating to God the fees thus earned is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy xxIII. I8. Lilith's flight to the Red Sea recalls the ancient Hebrew view that water attracts demons. 'Tortured and rebellious demons' also found safe harbourage in Egypt. Thus Asmodeus, who had strangled Sarah's first six husbands, fled 'to the uttermost parts of Egypt' (Tobit viii. 3), when Tobias burned the heart and liver of a fish on their wedding night.

4. Lilith's bargain with the angels has its ritual counterpart in an apotropaic rite once performed in many Jewish communities. To protect the newborn child against Lilith-and especially a male, until he could be permanently safeguarded by circumcision-a ring was drawn with natron, or charcoal, on the wall of the birthroom, and inside it were written the words: 'Adam and Eve. Out, Lilith!' Also the names Senoy, Sansenoy and Semangelof (meanings uncertain) were inscribed on the door. If Lilith nevertheless succeeded in approaching the child and fondling him, he would laugh in his sleep. To avert danger, it was held wise to strike the sleeping child's lips with one finger-whereupon Lilith would vanish.

5. 'Lilith' is usually derived from the Babylonian-Assyrian word lilitu, ,a female demon, or wind-spirit'-one of a triad mentioned in Babylonian spells. But she appears earlier as 'Lillake' on a 2000 B.G. Sumerian tablet from Ur containing the tale of Gilgamesh and the Willow Tree. There she is a demoness dwelling in the trunk of a willow-tree tended by the Goddess Inanna (Anath) on the banks of the Euphrates. Popular Hebrew etymology seems to have derived 'Lilith' from layil, 'night'; and she therefore often appears as a hairy night-monster, as she also does in Arabian folklore. Solomon suspected the Queen of Sheba of being Lilith, because she had hairy legs. His judgement on the two harlots is recorded in I Kings III. 16 ff. According to Isaiah xxxiv. I4-I5, Lilith dwells among the desolate ruins in the Edomite Desert where satyrs (se'ir), reems, pelicans, owls, jackals, ostriches, arrow-snakes and kites keep her company.

6. Lilith's children are called lilim. In the Targum Yerushalmi, the priestly blessing of Numbers vi. 26 becomes: 'The Lord bless thee in all thy doings, and preserve thee from the Lilim!' The fourth-century A.D. commentator Hieronymus identified Lilith with the Greek Lamia, a Libyan queen deserted by Zeus, whom his wife Hera robbed of her children. She took revenge by robbing other women of theirs.

7. The Lamiae, who seduced sleeping men, sucked their blood and ate their flesh, as Lilith and her fellow-demonesses did, were also known as Empusae, 'forcers-in'; or Mormolyceia, 'frightening wolves'; and described as 'Children of Hecate'. A Hellenistic relief shows a naked Lamia straddling a traveller asleep on his back. It is characteristic of civilizations where women are treated as chattels that they must adopt the recumbent posture during intercourse, which Lilith refused. That Greek witches who worshipped Hecate favoured the superior posture, we know from Apuleius; and it occurs in early Sumerian representations of the sexual act, though not in the Hittite. Malinowski writes that Melanesian girls ridicule what they call `the missionary position', which demands that they should lie passive and recumbent.

8. Naamah, 'pleasant', is explained as meaning that 'the demoness sang pleasant songs to idols'. Zmargad suggest smaragdos, the semi-precious aquamarine; and may therefore be her submarine dwelling. A demon named Smaragos occurs in the Homeric Epigrams.

9. Eve's creation by God from Adam's rib-a myth establishing male supremacy and disguising Eve's divinity-lacks parallels in Mediterranean or early Middle-Eastern myth. The story perhaps derives iconotropically from an ancient relief, or painting, which showed the naked Goddess Anath poised in the air, watching her lover Mot murder his twin Aliyan; Mot (mistaken by the mythographer for Yahweh) was driving a curved dagger under Aliyan's fifth rib, not removing a sixth one. The familiar story is helped by a hidden pun on tsela, the Hebrew for 'rib': Eve, though designed to be Adam's helpmeet, proved to be a tsela, a 'stumbling', or 'misfortune'. Eve's formation from Adam's tail is an even more damaging myth; perhaps suggested by the birth of a child with a vestigial tail instead of a coccyx-a not infrequent occurrence.

10. The story of Lilith's escape to the East and of Adam's subsequent marriage to Eve may, however, record an early historical incident: nomad herdsmen, admitted into Lilith's Canaanite queendom as guests (see 16. 1), suddenly seize power and, when the royal household thereupon flees, occupy a second queendom which owes allegiance to the Hittite Goddess Heba.

The meaning of 'Eve' is disputed. Hawwah is explained in Genesis III. 20 as 'mother of all living'; but this may well be a Hebraicized form of the divine name Heba, Hebat, Khebat or Khiba. This goddess, wife of the Hittite Storm-god, is shown riding a lion in a rock-sculpture at Hattusaswhich equates her with Anath-and appears as a form of Ishtar in Hurrian texts. She was worshipped at Jerusalem (see 27. 6). Her Greek name was Hebe, Heracles's goddess-wife.

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 51.35 - Imperial vs Emmanuel, Cam

Imperial came into this match as strong favourites, having cruised through the quarter-finals unbeaten, never scoring fewer than two hundred and five points. In fact, to put this in perspective, Imperial have four 200+ scores - all other teams combined managed seven between them. The closest another team has got to them was St John’s in the first round, and they lost by fifty five points. 

Emmanuel, meanwhile, had a rougher path to the semi-finals, losing both in the first round (to St Andrews), and the quarter-finals (to Edinburgh, they’ve obviously got a weakness for the Scottish universities), before redeeming themselves by winning their next matches. They scraped into the last four with the lowest winning score in University Challenge history (and their combined score from six matches was lower than Imperial’s from four), so came into this as pretty clear underdogs. 

However, competitions aren’t won on paper… but unfortunately for Emmanuel, a neg from Pullinger on the first starter for ten set things off exactly as could have been predicted. Her buzz of ‘Odysseus’ is wrong, and allows Mays to steal the points with ‘Aeneas’, not even waiting for Paxman to finish the question. 

When discussing the bonuses, Mays comments of the answer that ‘it surely can’t be Times Square’, but it is. He must have discounted it on account of its being too obvious, but sometimes even University Challenge can be obvious. His teammate Fatima Sheriff cracks out her catchphrase on the next starter, offering ‘Secretary’ as the answer to a Maggie Gyllenhaal film, even though she knows its wrong ‘just so they can move on’. She isn’t one to dilly dally, and I like that, as we’ll come to see on a subsequent bonus set, which takes rather longer than this one… 

Emmanuel Captain Malcolm brings them back into positive figures with the second starter, ‘Amen’, and she looks delighted to have got off the mark. Pullinger is the resident Shakespeare expert for the Cambridge side, and she is able to confidently rattle off two of the Bard-based bonuses, to tie the scores. 

The lead changes hands with a Thatte starter, and some very impressive knowledge from Wrathall gives them a hat-trick on ‘writing systems’. For the picture starter, Pullinger recognises Beatrice as the character referenced in an extract from Dante’s Inferno, and Emmanuel take around half the episode discussing the bonuses. Okay, it wasn’t actually quite that long, but it was a full one minute and fifty seconds, or nearly thirty seven seconds per question, which seemed painfully excessive. 

There are undoubtedly many lovely elements to Paxo’s softening in old(er) age, but his lack of vitriolic ‘hurry up!’s is sorely missed in my opinion. Maybe I’m the one being a grump now, but I have to disagree with Paxman when he said of their third answer ‘it was fun watching them work it out’. It may well have been, had it just been a touch quicker.

At this point Emmanuel were making a mockery of the pre-match predictions, and had a comfortable forty point lead. Unfortunately for them they would only score ten more points in the entire match. 

The next starter is fairly straightforward geography (straightforward only if you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world map, of course), which is meat and drink for the preternatural Zeng. A hat-trick of bonuses on John Conway, (including one on tessellation which I knew from a very dodgy excel model I once built which tessellated the surface of the frustum of a cone with triangles) brought them within fifteen points.

A neg from Sheriff allowed Malcolm to sweep up Emma’s last points of the match, but a brilliant buzz from Mays on the next starter had Imperial with the bit between their teeth and there was nothing that Emmanuel, despite their strong start, could do to counter the juggernaut once it got rolling. After a 70-35 opening in favour of the Cambridge quartet, the match would end with a 135 to minus 5 run against them. 

Zeng and Sheriff mix up ‘anaphase’ and ‘telophase’, but no matter, and pretty much as soon as Imperial take back the lead you can tell they’re having a great time again. They’re playing with confidence, and when the lead stretches out to a comfortable margin they know they’ll make it through to the final. 

The music bonuses seem very tough, with all of the answers being ‘rare’ composers, rather than any of the usual, guessable suspects, but Mays and Jackson are able to laugh about not knowing them. 

No one knows that Egypt are the most successful team in the history of the African Cup of Nations, but when you hear the words ‘English counties’ on the next starter you can already tell its going to go to Zeng, and he duly obliges. He picks up the next one too, a capital city/periodic table mash-up that couldn’t be more in his wheelhouse if it tried. Another hat-trick, this time on Irish geography, brought them up to one hundred and thirty points, double that of Emmanuel, who appeared to be out of ideas.

Mays smiles nervously at his own brilliance following his answer of ‘verdigris’ on the next starter, before Sheriff has somewhat of an existential crisis on the Wim Wenders bonus set, because she can visualise the answers to each of them in her head but can’t quite access the knowledge. ‘I’ve looked up his name once’, she says of Dashiell Hammet, ‘Because I was like, oh it's that guy’, and Paxman says ‘was that the guy you looked up’ after he reveals the answer. She desperately asks teammate Jackson if he might know the third bonus, but he can’t remember it either.

The second picture starter goes to Zeng, and then Sheriff makes up for forgetting Dashiell Hammett with an impressive buzz on ‘William S Burroughs’. The gong sounds soon after, confirming their victory. 

Final Score: Imperial 170 - 65 Emmanuel, Cam

A good match that, which looked as though it might be more competitive than it ended up being. When you have a man like Max Zeng though, you’re never going to have a too long a drought on the buzzer, and with solid work on the bonuses Emmanuel were always going to face an uphill struggle. As Paxman said at the start though, it's no mean feat being the twenty fifth team to leave the competition.  

Join me next week for Edinburgh vs Reading. If Edinburgh win then the Final will feature the winners from two of the previous three series!

[books-letstalkaboutem]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Quotes that I Loved

This is just a list of quotes or excerpts that I highlighted while reading the book- literally all of them and there are a lot. I’m going to go ahead and say spoilers below just because there are so many quotes and while I don’t think the quotes actually spoil anything, I don’t want to accidentally spoil something for someone.

Some of the quotes might seem a little weird out of context but these are quotes that hit close to home, made me say “Hell, yeah, Addie!!!", quotes that made me laugh, and then basically all of the other quotes that I loved while reading.

I know that I didn't completely fall in love with this book like so many other people did, but it was still so beautifully written and there were so many amazing quotes in this book.

And just a heads up, I read this on my kindle, just in case the page numbers I list don’t match with your copy of the book.

Spoilers Below:

Quotes that Hit Close to Home

“Three and twenty, a third of a life already buried.” Page 39

“The day passes like a sentence. The sun falls like a scythe.” Page 41

“[...] and when she dies it will be as though she never lived.” Page 42

“I am so tired of not having choices, so scared of the years rushing past beneath my feet. I do not want to die as I’ve lived, which is no life at all. I—” Page 46

“[...] she swears sometimes her memory runs forward as well as back, unspooling to show the roads she’ll never get to travel. But that way lies madness, and she has learned not to follow.” Page 61

“His parents meant well, of course, but they always told him things like Cheer up, or It will get better, or worse, It’s not that bad, which is easy to say when you’ve never had a day of rain.” Page 97

“But then a night would go long, and a day would start late, and now he feels like there’s no time at all. Like he is always late for something.” Page 119

““I see someone who cares,” she says slowly. “Perhaps too much. Who feels too much. I see someone lost, and hungry. The kind of person who feels like they’re wasting away in a world full of food, because they can’t decide what they want.”” Page 140

““Life is so brief, and every night in Rennes I’d go to bed, and lie awake, and think, there is another day behind me, and who knows how few ahead.”” Page 167

““I mean feeling like it’s surging by so fast, and you try to reach out and grab it, you try to hold on, but it just keeps rushing away. And every second, there’s a little less time, and a little less air, and sometimes when I’m sitting still, I start to think about it, and when I think about it, I can’t breathe. I have to get up. I have to move.”” Page 177

““Small places make for small lives. And some people are fine with that. They like knowing where to put their feet. But if you only walk in other people’s steps, you cannot make your own way. You cannot leave a mark.”” Page 179

“It was such a lovely jar she had kept them in. But the glass is cracking now. The water leaking through.” Page 215

“Moments of joy register as brief, but ecstatic. Moments of pain stretch long and unbearably loud.” Page 225

“[...] you’ve never felt called to any one thing. There is no violent push in one direction, but a softer nudge a hundred different ways, and now all of them feel out of reach. Page 226

“[...] in wanting to live, to learn, to find yourself, you’ve gotten lost.” Page 226

“He lets it ring, holds his breath until it stops. He tells himself that if they call again, he’ll answer. If they call again, he’ll tell them he is not okay. But the phone doesn’t ring a second time.” Page 229

“He misses the structure, misses the path, misses the purpose. And maybe it wasn’t a perfect fit, but nothing is.” Page 257

“That he’d blinked and somehow years had gone by, and everyone else had carved their trenches, paved their paths, and he was still standing in a field, uncertain where to dig.” Page 283

“And those first two years, he was happy. He had Bea, and Robbie, and all he had to do was learn. Build a foundation. It was the house, the one that he was supposed to build on top of that smooth surface, that was the problem. It was just so … permanent.” 283

“Choosing a class became choosing a discipline, and choosing a discipline became choosing a career, and choosing a career became choosing a life, and how was anyone supposed to do that, when you only had one?” Page 283

““The vexing thing about time,” he says, “is that it’s never enough. Perhaps a decade too short, perhaps a moment. But a life always ends too soon.”” Page 333

“He is all restless energy, and urgent need, and there isn’t enough time, and he knows of course that there will never be. That time always ends a second before you’re ready. That life is the minutes you want minus one.” Page 421

“The world is wide, and he’s seen so little of it with his own eyes. He wants to travel, to take photos, listen to other people’s stories, maybe make some of his own. After all, life seems very long sometimes, but he knows it will go so fast, and he doesn’t want to miss a moment.” Page 438

Quotes that Made Me Laugh

“Henry loves his sister, he does. But Muriel’s always been like strong perfume. Better in small doses. And at a distance.” Page 120

““Sorry, Book,” she mutters, lifting the cat gingerly onto the back of the old chair, where he does his best impression of an inconvenienced bread loaf.” Page 248

““It’s Halloween!” defends Robbie. “It’s the twenty-third,” says Henry, but Robbie treats holidays the way he treats birthdays, stretching them from days into weeks, and sometimes into seasons.” Page 274

Quotes that made me say “Hell, yeah, Addie!!!”

“If she must grow roots, she would rather be left to flourish wild instead of pruned, would rather stand alone, allowed to grow beneath the open sky. Better that than firewood, cut down just to burn in someone else’s hearth.” Page 31

“[...]from this moment forward, her life will be her own.” Page 48

“There is a defiance in being a dreamer.” Page 117

““It has only been two years,” she says. “Think of all the time I have, and all the things I’ll see.”” Page 132

“It will take time, but time is the one thing Addie has plenty of. So she opens her eyes, and starts again.” Page 192

“But then Addie straightens, lifts her chin, smiles with an almost defiant kind of joy. “But isn’t it wonderful,” she says, “to be an idea?”” Page 261

Quotes that I Love

“[...] never pray to the gods that answer after dark.” Page 7

“What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?” Page 15

“The things that last, even when memories don’t.” Page 16

“As if you couldn’t like one place and want to see another.” Page 23

“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.” Page 35

“The kind of place where time slips and blurs, where a month, a year, a life can go missing.” Page 39

“[...] attraction can look an awful lot like recognition in the wrong light.” Page 56

“The rise isn’t worth the fall.” Page 56

“Being trapped, buried alive, these are the things that scare you when you cannot die.” Page 57

“Funny, how some people take an age to warm, and others simply walk into every room as if it’s home.” Page 58

“Déjà vu. Déjà su. Déjà vécu. Already seen. Already known. Already lived.” Page 66

“[...]a lifetime of knowing brushed away like a tear.” Page 73

“[...] and it is sad, of course, to forget. But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten. To remember when no one else does.” Page 77

“[...] ideas are so much wilder than memories, that they long and look for ways of taking root.” Page 77

““These days, everyone’s looking down,” muses Sam. “It’s nice to see someone looking up.”” Page 101

“Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real, if you are real. After all, how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered?” Page 103

“If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?” Page 103

“Dreamer is too soft a word. It conjures thoughts of silken sleep, of lazy days in fields of tall grass, of charcoal smudges on soft parchment.” Page 11

“She considers the cut of their clothes, the absence of bone stays or bustled skirts, and thinks, not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, how much simpler it would be to be a man, how easily they move through the world, and at such little cost.” Page 129

““I remember you.”” Page 135

“The darkness claimed he’d given her freedom, but really, there is no such thing for a woman, not in a world where they are bound up inside their clothes, and sealed inside their homes, a world where only men are given leave to roam.” Page 163

“She watches these men and wonders anew at how open the world is to them, how easy the thresholds.” Page 165

““I think there are many ways to matter.”” Page 179

“But ideas are so much wilder than memories, so much faster to take root.”” Page 210

“He is full of roots, while she has only branches.” Page 212

“Easy to stay on the path when the road is straight and the steps are numbered.” Page 229

“Outside the window, the day just carries on as if nothing’s changed, but it feels like everything has, because Addie LaRue is immortal, and Henry Strauss is damned.” Page 235

“[...]I didn’t want to live forever. I just wanted to live.”” Page 236

““There’s this family photo,” he says, “not the one in the hall, this other one, from back when I was six or seven. That day was awful. Muriel put gum in David’s book and I had a cold, and my parents were fighting right up until the flash went off. And in the photo, we all look so … happy. I remember seeing that picture and realizing that photographs weren’t real. There’s no context, just the illusion that you’re showing a snapshot of a life, but life isn’t snapshots, it’s fluid. So photos are like fictions. I loved that about them. Everyone thinks photography is truth, but it’s just a very convincing lie.”” Page 239

“God, it feels good to be wanted.” Page 256

“[...] And ideas are wilder than memories. They’re like weeds, always finding their way up.”” Page 261

“Homesick—Henry knows that one is supposed to mean sick for home, not from it, but it still feels right.” Page 262

“Dressing up, he thinks, is just like watching cartoons, something you enjoyed as a kid, before it passes through the no man’s land of teen angst, the ironic age of early twenties. And then somehow, miraculously, it crosses back into the realm of the genuine, the nostalgic. A place reserved for wonder.” Page 274

“Bea always says returning to campus is like coming home. But it doesn’t feel that way to Henry. Then again, he never felt at home at home, only a vague sense of dread, the eggshell-laden walk of someone constantly in danger of disappointing.” 282

“He doesn’t know what he believes, hasn’t for a long time, but it’s hard to entirely discount the presence of a higher power when he recently sold his soul to a lower one.” Page 284

““You can’t make people love you, Hen. If it’s not a choice, it isn’t real.”” Page 290

“He has asked the wrong god for the wrong thing, and now he is enough because he is nothing. He is perfect, because he isn’t there.” Page 290

“A life reduced to a block of stone, a patch of grass.” Page 299

“The present folding on top of the past instead of erasing it, replacing it.” Page 306

“She knows the paint will fade, rinsed off by a puddle, or simply wiped away by time, but that’s how memories are supposed to work. There—and then, little by little, gone.” Page 307

“Without the bells, the organ, the bodies crowding in for services, the church feels abandoned. Less a house of worship and more a tomb.” Page 311

“God is so large, why build walls to hold Him in?” Page 311

“Once you know about a thing, you start to see it everywhere. Someone says the words purple elephant, and all of a sudden, you catch sight of them in shop windows and on T-shirts, stuffed animals and billboards, and you wonder how you never noticed.” Page 314

“There is a freedom, after all, in being forgotten.” 325

“Memories are stiff, but thoughts are freer things. They throw out roots, they spread and tangle, and come untethered from their source. They are clever, and stubborn, and perhaps—perhaps—they are in reach.” Page 327

“They’ve been lucky, so lucky, but the trouble with luck is that it always ends.” 329

““You said it yourself, Luc. Ideas are wilder than memories. And I can be wild. I can be stubborn as the weeds, and you will not root me out. And I think you are glad of it. I think that’s why you’ve come, because you are lonely, too.”” Page 332

“She closes her eyes, reminds herself there are many ways to leave a mark, reminds herself that pictures lie.” Page 337

“She may not feel the years weakening her bones, her body going brittle with age, but the weariness is a physical thing, like rot, inside her soul. There are days when she mourns the prospect of another year, another decade, another century. There are nights when she cannot sleep, moments when she lies awake and dreams of dying. But then she wakes, and sees the pink and orange dawn against the clouds, or hears the lament of a lone fiddle, the music and the melody, and remembers there is such beauty in the world. And she does not want to miss it— any of it.” Page 342

“Luc’s smile darkens. “Because time is cruel to all, and crueler still to artists. Because vision weakens, and voices wither, and talent fades.” He leans close, twists a lock of her hair around one finger. “Because happiness is brief, and history is lasting, and in the end,” he says, “everyone wants to be remembered.”” Page 351

“It is a sign, when even gods and devils dread a fight.” Page 367

“And this, he decides, is what a good-bye should be. Not a period, but an ellipsis, a statement trailing off, until someone is there to pick it up. It is a door left open. It is drifting off to sleep.” Page 419

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

11th August >> Mass Readings (USA)

Saint Clare, Virgin

    on 

Thursday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time.

Thursday, Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the feria (Thursday))

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Ezekiel 12:1-12

You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime while they are looking on.

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house. Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on, prepare your baggage as though for exile, and again while they are looking on, migrate from where you live to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house. You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime while they are looking on; in the evening, again while they are looking on, you shall go out like one of those driven into exile; while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it; while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness; cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.

   I did as I was told. During the day I brought out my baggage as though it were that of an exile, and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness, shouldering my burden.

   Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ask you what you were doing? Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it. I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; as captives they shall go into exile. The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden and set out in darkness, going through a hole he has dug out in the wall, and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 78:56-57, 58-59, 61-62

R/ Do not forget the works of the Lord!

They tempted and rebelled against God the Most High,    and kept not his decrees. They turned back and were faithless like their fathers;    they recoiled like a treacherous bow.

R/ Do not forget the works of the Lord!

They angered him with their high places    and with their idols roused his jealousy. God heard and was enraged    and utterly rejected Israel.

R/ Do not forget the works of the Lord!

And he surrendered his strength into captivity,    his glory in the hands of the foe. He abandoned his people to the sword    and was enraged against his inheritance.

R/ Do not forget the works of the Lord!

Gospel Acclamation

Psalm 119:135

Alleluia, alleluia. Let your countenance shine upon your servant and teach me your statutes. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 18:21–19:1

I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.”

   When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Saint Clare, Virgin

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Thursday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Philippians 3:8-14

I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters: I consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

   It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 16:1b-2a, 5, 7-8, 11

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge.    I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.” O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,    you it is who hold fast my lot.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me;    even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me;    with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,    fullness of joys in your presence,    the delights at your right hand forever.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Matthew 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs! Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Matthew 19:27-29

You who have followed me will receive a hundred times more.

Peter said to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[danceworshipper]

Giulio Moretti - HPMA Character Profile

template by me // images created using the zepeto app

NOTE: I am a cisgender female. As such, I have been hesitant to make a trans oc and will not be going into much detail about Giulio's experiences specifically related to his gender. If anything in here feels iffy to anyone not cisgender, please let me know and I'll correct it

Personal

Full Name: Giulio Antonio Moretti

Gender: Male (trans)

Sexuality: Demisexual, polyamorous

Birthday: June 1st

Age: 11

Birthstone: Alexandrite

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Blood Status: Full Veela

- I'm mostly using these headcanons written by @carmilla-the-bird, though over time I might end up changing a couple details

- I'm not certain if full Veelas would even use wands/go to magic school but these ones do because I say so

- What I'm specifically adding is that since HPMA takes place later than the full HP series, there has been a new method developed to allow full veelas to better coexist with wizards. This comes in the form of a clear gemstone that can be inserted into any piece of jewelry, usually necklaces. While the stone is worn, the charm [or allure, as I call it] that all veelas have while glamored is dampened by up to 80%. Another effect is that when angered, the veela won't be able to lash out with their fire magic, unless they've trained their magic well enough that's it's less of an instinct and more of a conscious choice. Minors are legally required to wear it at all times, except in their own home with only their family around. Once an adult the veela can choose whether they want to wear it or not. The stone has a similar trace to underaged magic, so when a Veela who's a minor takes it off, the Ministry is alerted and their location will be tracked

3 Positive Traits:

- Empathetic

- Resourceful

- Playful

3 Negative Traits:

- Irritable

- Addictive

- Pessimistic

Usual First Impression: When meeting Giulio, most people see him as a spoiled and stuck up little boy. This isn't true. He's just very wary of strangers, so he doesn't tend to leave a good first impression. Once he's more comfortable around someone, his positive traits outshine the more negative ones

Location

Birthplace: A Veela-specific clinic in southern Italy. His mother travelled there for all of her children's births, and the midwife there is the woman who delivered her

Current Home: His family home in England, a medium sized house under a strict Fidelius charm, which his aunt is the Secret Keeper for. His bedroom is on the second floor, looking out over the fish pond in the backyard

Future Home(s): Fresh out of Hogwarts he'll share an apartment with Lori with heavily warded Floo access. Later homes TBD once his love interests are planned out

Favorite Place: The little house the family rents for a month every summer in southern Italy. The town is full of good culture, and better yet, good food. It feels peaceful, even when there's a loud festival going on

Disliked Place: The woods a mile down the road from his home. The woods are the last place Giulio saw his grandmother before she went missing, and now they feel like they're haunted. He refuses to go on walks there anymore

Appearance

Face Shape: Round, slightly pointy chin

Eye Color: Deep teal

Hair Color: Whitish blond

Hair Style: Self cut (horrifies his mother), slightly uneven, medium length. Not brushed every day, fluffy

Skin Tone: Pale

Freckles/Spots: A few beauty marks on his face, two near his right eye and one on the left side of his chin

Scars: None yet

Piercings/Tattoos: None

Height: 5'7" [fully grown]

Weight: ~ 135 lbs [fully grown]

Physique: Thin. Luckily for him, Giulio's family has always had rather "boyish" bodies - wide shoulders, not very curvy - but he's still got too much woman in him to be fully happy with his form

Clothing Style: Baggy tops, loose pants, nothing fancy. Giulio tries to attract as little attention as possible, because while he's glamored people stare at him a lot anyway, even with the dampener. He does like colored pants, but his tops are usually grey and black. His dampening necklace is the most eye catching thing he wears (as it was a gift from his missing grandmother) and he wishes he could take it off, but he legally can't

Carried Items:

- The last picture of him, his sisters, and his grandmother ever taken

- A lighter. He likes having the fire near him since he can't access his own fire magic

- His hair scissors, for whenever he feels like it needs to be trimmed

- A container of Silly Putty he got from a Muggle convenience store

- His water bottle

Magic

Wand: 10" Veela hair wand in Fir wood. A very pale colored wand that's a bit rough around the edges. The hair is from his younger sister Martina, who yanked the strand right out and handed it to the wandmaker after no wands appeared to choose a very defeated looking Giulio. The wand was made while Giulio watched, and he checked it many times throughout the process to make sure it felt like it would have him, which it did.

Animagus: As a veela, Giulio can transform into pretty much any bird shape. He has no need to go through the animagus process

Boggart Form: Him, fully matured, very womanly, and in a wedding gown just like the ones his older sister Alessia fawns over

Riddikulus Form: Him in a ridiculously exaggerated Bloody Baron costume

Amortentia (to others): Someone smelling Giulio would smell new pillows, the faint burning metal scent that clings to him, and the dry shampoo he uses

Amortentia (to them): He doesn't smell any sort of romantic interest yet. What he smells now are safe, comforting smells, like the cigars his mother and aunt smoke, the perfume all his sisters use, and the smell of his favorite restaurant in southern Italy

Patronus: Bird of Paradise

Happiest Memory: Receiving his wand once it was completed, and finally feeling the connection and power he'd heard so much about but thought he'd never have

Mirror of Erised: Some might consider it sad, but all he sees is him, happy, the way he wishes he was - including not looking at all like a Veela. Someday this will change

Family Spells: It's not really a spell, but the Morettis have a particular bird call that, when paired with the right charm, will alert every living family member to the caller's location, should one desperately need help. It's only to be used in emergencies. Giulio isn't sure he wants to know why his grandmother never used it

Inherent Magic: Veela stuff - storm sense, fire, bird transformations, allure, slight levitation abilities

Family

Grandmother: Francesca is not an ideal parental figure. She grew up in a time when full Veelas were treated with nearly the same suspicion and prejudice as werewolves, so she's very anti-human. However, she was still one of Giulio's best defenders and most treasured family members. She places a huge importance on family and is the one who came up with the idea of the special danger call. Francesca went missing when Giulio was seven, and there have been no clues as to what happened.

Mother: Valentina is a kind, gentle woman who cares for her family before anyone else. She and her sister were taught all their lives to be nothing more than a pretty face, and while Bianca rejected this, Valentina embraced it. Even now, with her own mother nowhere to be found, she has trouble remembering to be herself. She wears her necklace at all times, terrified to be without it

Father: Giulio never knew him. He's not sure he even has one

Aunt: Bianca is, in many ways, the exact opposite of her sister. Bianca embraces all of her less than proper instincts, and even walks around in public completely unglamored, acting as a good deterrent to anyone who might want to come say hi, innocent intentions or not. Gets angry very easily, and has caused public property damage more often than Valentina would appreciate

Sisters: Two older sisters, one younger. All Slytherins while in school

- Alessia, six years older, prefect. A headstrong young woman who takes advantage of her allure to get what she wants, and is skilled enough to fight off anyone who gets too "friendly". She likes to have a collection of boy toys she never lets get too close, but secretly only has eyes for the Hufflepuff prefect, Lina.

- Emilia, four years older, Quidditch captain. Hates her allure with a passion and refuses to even think about romance until she's out of school. Could kick anyone's ass, and will do so if she feels the need to. Very protective of Giulio, has gotten into at least eight shouting matches with those who misgender him

- Martina, one year younger. The baby of the family. A bit of a spoiled brat, and too young to fully understand exactly why her older siblings are all so wary of strangers, or letting her out of their sight. She dreams of being the Minister of Magic, and of being able to take her "stupid, ugly, and stupid" necklace off for good

Pets: The two family screech owls which trade off being at school/home, and an Abraxan Giulio found on Hogwarts grounds that likes him a lot

Family Values: The Morettis hold nothing higher than each other. The family's main priority is sticking together, and always doing whatever they can to help each other achieve whatever they wish. The family is also, as a whole, rather reclusive

Opinion of Family: Giulio loves his family. For all their faults, they hold true to their values and he couldn't imagine one of them ever betraying another. Even if they won't ever truly understand him, they've all tried and they do what they can, and it means more than he can say

Friendships

Introverted or Extroverted: Introverted

Best Friend: Oleander Loris. Her anger issues, her weird pink eyes, and her tendency to drag him along to social outings are all things that Giulio comes to appreciate over time. He originally became curious about her on the train ride to school, when she stumbled looking at his older sisters but didn't notice him at all, and they spoke for the first time in Flying class. Lori is definitely a force to be reckoned with, and the fact that she's not affected by his allure in the slightest makes him feel really happy

Worst Friend: TBD

Friend He Didn't Expect: Cassandra. They aren't the best of friends, and maybe they can't be considered friends at all, but she doesn't hold the contempt she seems to hold for most others for him

Who He Wishes Was His Friend: Kestra Fernera. She's got fire powers, and she doesn't have to be chained down by the Ministry. He thinks she's super cool, and is very jealous of her and how popular she is, but he's far too nervous to try and talk to her

List of Casual Friends:

- Brian Haywood-Reese @catohphm

- others TBD, but likely the main cast of the game. Mc friends welcome, if any are interested!

Romance

Current Crush: None

Current Partner: None

Past Partners: None

Future Partners: TBD

His Type: Pretty much anyone who's able to look past the allure that Giulio hates so much and also isn't afraid of him in his natural form, though most people haven't even seen it

Hogwarts

House: Slytherin

Prefect Status: No

Quidditch: Not on the team, but plays casually

Clubs: TBD

Organizations: None

Favorite Class: Flying. Duh

Least Favorite Class: Potions. It gives him a headache surrounded by all the fumes

Favorite Professor: TBD

Least Favorite Professor: TBD

Timeline

Young Childhood:

- Giulio realizes young that he hates the idea of being a girl, and insists that his mother change his name. His family thought it was a phase, but once they realized it wasn't, they became more serious and started to see what they could do to help him

- He's a sheltered child, learning early the importance of staying close to a trusted adult. He sees the horrors of what can happen to a Veela caught unaware at a young age when he almost loses his mother to someone who wanted to sell her, and never looks at strangers the same way again

- At five years old Giulio is given his dampener necklace. He refuses to wear it until his grandmother forcibly puts it on him. He decides it's not that bad, though it feels like it's choking him and he doesn't like the muted feeling in his hands that comes from the loss of his instinctual magic

- At seven years old, Giulio is on a walk with his grandmother in the woods when he hears a loud screech. She sends him back toward the house, saying she'll be right behind him. Hours pass, and she never follows. There's no evidence as to what that screech was, or what happened to his grandmother

- At eleven years old, Giulio spends a week traveling to different wandmakers around Europe trying to find a wand so he can go to school in the fall. For some reason, his magic is picky and not a single wand even comes close to working for him. When he's given up all hope, his little sister Martina asks if the wandmaker takes custom orders, and rips out her own hair to be used for Giulio's wand. It's the first time Giulio cries happy tears, hovering his hand over the uncompleted wand and feeling it call to him already

School Years: TBD once I'm able to play the game

Post Graduation: Giulio moves into an apartment with Lori soon after graduating. While she immediately starts work, Giulio takes time to find some higher education, and work on training his Veela magic now that he can take his necklace off whenever he wants

Career(s): TBD

Marriage and Children: TBD

Death: Giulio will be murdered by [redacted] in order to save [redacted]'s life, but he'll be very old (around 200) and will have outlived his lovers, so he doesn't see it as too much of a shame. He'll be buried in the family garden and have some lovely flower bushes planted over him

Notable Facts Not Previously Mentioned

- The Veela magic in Giulio recognizes him as a boy as soon as he does. When his allure kicks in, anyone attracted to men finds themself affected, while those strictly into women do not, even though male Veelas are practically unheard of

- His aunt Bianca paid a personal visit to Hogwarts before he was enrolled, ready to throw flames if he was going to be put into the female dorms. Luckily, she didn't need to worry, as once the situation was explained it was settled with a simple change in his paperwork

- Giulio hates being cooped up indoors for too long. Even in the coldest days of winter, he'll spend as much time as possible outside

- Starting in third year, Lori will figure out how to get the necklace off of him without alerting anyone [putting it on herself within a few seconds], and Giulio will occasionally spend a few hours free and in his natural form in the Forbidden Forest. Unbeknownst to him, wearing the necklace saps at Lori's magical core, and it takes her a day or so to regain her strength if she wears it for more than thirty minutes

- Giulio will likely have three partners in the future. He could never even imagine having one, so if his younger self was told he would have three he would probably have a difficult time believing it

- Cutting his hair so frequently doesn't affect his magic like his mother feared it would, though he does feel nauseous when he does it

- The dark teal eyes are something only he and his sisters have, which is how he knows they all have the same "father" or whatever they had. His mother, aunt, and grandmother all have the traditional black eyes. Not even Alessia ever saw any type of man around when her younger siblings were born, so there are no clues as to how the four of them exist

- As much as he hates the dampener, it does him a lot of good when he's younger. He gets angry easily and often feels very defensive, so without it he could have gotten into a lot of trouble

- Though he doesn't like his allure, Giulio will sometimes take advantage of it like Alessia does if he wants to get out of something. He won't fight it, he'll play nice, and let whoever he needs to back off get a little dazed

- He wanted to hide the fact that he was a Veela when he first came to Hogwarts, but with two older sisters and his allure he couldn't