#love my family. love the concept of a family.

[hauntedfalcon]

I love you Pacific Rim, I love you Ramin Djawadi's soundtrack, I love you Mako Mori, I love you found footage prologue, I love you entire concept of Drift compatibility, I love you only actual golden retriever man Raleigh Becket, I love you Kwoon scene, I love you "it's not obedience. it's respect," I love you Mana Ashida's powerhouse performance, I love you Stacker Pentecost's sun motif, I love you Chuck's jacket, I love you hallway fistfight, I love you Crimson Typhoon, I love you Otachi, I love you del Toro's "guy in a suit" approach to creature design, I love you Hansens with flare guns, I love you "for my family," I love you numerous artful nods to Jurassic Park, I love you "we can clear a path. for the lady," I love you forehead touch, I lo

[oceantornadoo]

ch1 something borrowed something blue (mafia!price x simon's sister!reader)

masterlist | next

-

“Yer gettin’ married next week.”

You scoff at your brother staring at his Scotch whisky like it holds the answers to the universe.

“And you’re the king of Egypt. Funny, Simon.” He doesn’t laugh. Instead, he glances at Johnny, his husband and right-hand man. The two have a silent conversation, a head twitch followed by a pursing of lips. Johnny’s lips are cracked and split, something you can’t imagine your brother is attracted to. Superb mental health does not run in your family.

Johnny rises out of his chair, a wooden thing that creaks with effort, and takes his leave. He ruffles your hair on the way out while you try, for the thirtieth time, to shove his side. You are, yet again, unsuccessful. He’s built like a tank.

“M serious, love. ‘Ve been in negotiations the past month. It’s happenin’ next Saturday, St Etheldreda's Church.” You run through a list of churches in your head. St. Ethledreda’s is not in Manchester. In fact, you’re pretty sure it’s not in your territory. Which means…

“Why’re you naming a church in London?” Simon’s quiet as his eyes bore holes into yours. This is one of his favorite tactics to use on his men - staying silent until they find the answer themselves. You hate when he uses it on you like you’re under his command and not his younger sister. 

“You can’t be serious.”

“We need an alliance an’ they offered.”

“Then write a fuckin’ treaty! Not a marriage certificate.”

“You know it doesn’t work like that.”

“It’s the 21st century.”

“Not in this family.”

That’s something you can’t argue against. Most people outside of your immediate circle don’t even know Simon’s married to Johnny, let alone into men. When he first came to power, you created a sob story for him - early marriage to his (female) childhood sweetheart, then fast-spreading cancer, ending with a man struck by grief. It allowed him a known reason for turning down arranged marriages while making him seem more human than your shared father. No one paid enough attention to you two as children to know the story wasn’t real, and fake certificates of marriage and death are a dime a dozen. Everyone knows he’s close with Johnny, his right-hand man, and that’s that.

“What about my bookstore?” It’s your pride and joy, plus it’s 95% legal. Mostly. 

“There’s bookstores in London.” London. Only 200 miles away, but it’s like another world. Another world where you can’t walk down the street where every single storefront owner knows who you are. Where the cops are on your family’s payroll and don’t blink an eye at the gun strapped to your hip. It doesn’t matter if you were raised away in your formative years, losing your accent and most concepts of slang that baffle you. It doesn’t matter if you only share a father with Simon, that your mother was a Riley employee and not Mrs. Riley. Manchester is your home. 

It doesn’t occur to you that you have a choice, mainly because you know you don’t. The firm, or mafia, gang, or whatever you want to call it, still operates as if women are objects to be traded and bought. Marriages are merely political agreements. Getting to run a bookstore, or cash-cleaning business, as a woman is almost unheard of where you’re from. Others might call you lucky, but it’s more like being a bird in a gilded cage. A glimpse of what a true, normal life might look like. Living in a flat above your store, hosting local book clubs, setting out free cookie samples - all to be ruined when Johnny stumbles through with a gunshot or the newest recruits are sent to grab more bullets from the basement. Every other week, you snap back from your daydream and remember that you’re a mafia princess at the end of the day, though duchess seems more adequate since the Rileys don’t have that big of a territory.

“And who is my husband-to-be in London?”

“John Price.”

“I’d rather marry Nikolai. In fact, I might just go elope.” Simon glares and you glare back. “I’m not marrying John Price.” You clarify, for emphasis. Simon leans forward in his office chair, looming over his desk like a puppet master. You’re in the chair across from him, crossing your legs casually like you’re not discussing your arranged marriage and potential future. “Contract’s done, love. Jus’ waitin’ on yer signature.” Your signature, the one change from the barbaric practices of old England. You could say no, but then Simon would have no choice but to cut you off. It would be a sign of weakness to the other families if he let a delinquent bastard half-sister run his decisions.

“I want to negotiate the contract.” It’s the closest your brother has ever been to rolling his eyes. They twitch with restraint, blonde lashes flickering. “This isn’t a TV show, kid. Yer not negotiatin’ yer bloody contract.” You uncross your legs, hands on your armrest like you’re about to leave. “Fine. Let me go call up the NCA, tell them all about my brother and his scary gang.” He sighs deeply, then pulls out his phone. “Bloody hell. Can’t wait t’ marry you off, fuckin’ arsehole.” You grab the bright pink stress ball on his desk, a stocking stuffer you gave him as a joke, and throw it at him. He doesn’t even bother to look up from his phone, huffing as the ball hits the side of his head. 

“Here.” He tosses you the phone that’s already ringing. There’s no contact name, just initials. JP. “Riley. Got a problem?” A smooth baritone emits from the phone’s tinny speakers. “Hope you’re not busy this weekend, future hubby. I can’t wait to see you.” Simon sighs at the consequences of his own actions. John’s silent on the other end, processing your words. Bit thick, that one.

“An’ why’s that, sweetheart?” It’s a term of endearment but he laces it with vitriol. “We’re having tea on Saturday at my store. Bring your contract and favorite lawyers. See you then!” You hang up before he can answer, tossing the phone back to Simon. He shakes his head at you.

“Smile, Simon. It’ll be nice to bond with your brother-in-law.”

This is going to be a very long marriage.

If you even get down the aisle.

-

Why does reader hate John? Why is she also a little shit? All will be revealed :)

[currentfandomkick]

Okay so. The batcat danny propmt

Danny really wonders just how many mirrors he broke, or ladders he walked under sometimes to have his luck be this bad. Most would agree that surviving an inter dimensional portal cracking open on top of them was a good thing. That getting powers was cool, and his loving parents would accept him unconditionally.

Danny begged to differ, and loudly protested the whole concept these days.

They believed ‘Danny’ and ‘Phantom’ were fused and needed immediate separation.

Jazz barely made it down in time to stop him from becoming Dan 2.0–this time omnicidal as his fright rejected him!

Which he knows isn’t entirely true. Tucker’s custody got swapped to his mom given the ghosts targetting Danny and Tucker refusing to not help him with it. The Mansons moved after Ida’s death, and Sam couldn’t contact anyone. He doubted it was from a lack of trying. Dani is exploring the world and had no clue he was in danger.

And its not like he ever entered a formal apprenticeship with any of his mentors; they have no duty of care to him…

It doesn’t stop his core from screaming.

Jazz was willing to give up college for him. And he, he couldn’t let her. As stupid as it sounds, she already gave up being a kid for him, he can’t let her give up her adult life for him too, even when she is fully prepared to.

So she dropped him off with Wulf, and the Court of Ecto Entities helping Danny learn to coordinate the Infinite Realms. He refuses to rule them, but he’s willing to help as a mediator for intra-Realms disputes and that’s what seemed to be needed.

The Court ran itself for the most part—Danny only needed as Judge of Judges on occasion.

His Court was ready for war when he arrived as he did. He silenced the portal instead of letting them kill his parents. As stupid as he feels, as much as he understands everyone demanding he step aside and let them enact vengeance for him he. He can’t.

Frostbite was the first to infer this, and somehow shielded Danny from the worst of it while his core gurgled at him.

There were whispers about after that. Everything blurred and his core ached for his fright. He’s always thrived on acceptance and mutual care—his core needs it to survive.

He only has his bond to Jazz to lean on now, and its far from able to help him recover.

Shadows thrashed about in ways he forgot they could.

Lady Gotham was pissed. On his behalf.

“Stolen of Mine,” she addressed him softly in a raspy, hissing voice he’d come to expect of her. “You are welcome to return to my territory. The perpetrators will not get within ten miles of my territory before one of my cursed ones decides to go to their location and release their misfortune.”

He nodded at that, he remembers that.

“And fear not, your birth parents will seek you soon.”

“Cool… my, my what!”

“Catwoman and Batman, they will learn of you within a week of you coming to Gotham. They will know you are theirs My Stolen One, and come for you on your terms.”

Danny can admit he should have asked for more details, but things got blurry and he had an ecto-IV in and was in the Far Frozen for a week or two before his human needs kicked his ass.

Lady Gotham plopped him into a clinic and Dr. Tompkins asked no major questions on where he got the new scars. Mostly gave him meds and checked he knew the shelters and soup kitchens nearby.

He did not know of those things. It was good to know now…

And maybe an hour after learning all that he ran into Ringmaster Reject.

Reject began cackling about “Just in time for the Anniversary!” Before Danny blacked out.

—-

Everyone in the family knew this time of year was difficult for Bruce and Jason. They tended to forget about her and that she lost her second son.

No one knew the first was lost around the same time. The baby she hadn’t informed Bruce of as it was early in her criminal career. It was before she became Catwoman. Back when Selina was a stupid girl who fell for the Tall Dark and Mysterious info brooker that dropped off the face of the earth. She found his ass in a Batsuit a few years later, and pretended with him that it was their first time meeting. For Robin’s sake anyways.

She kept their son and his kidnapping to herself. and her therapist nowadays. She told Bruce of the baby stolen from the hospital with a bunch of others but not that the baby was his. If he inferred it, he hadn’t told her he knew.

Her baby was still missing after fifteen years. She’d come to terms with knowing she’d never know him.

But she didn’t tell anyone the date he was stolen. That was her day to mourn as she needed. And this time, she just… didn’t want to be alone.

This year she decided to force her (soon to be legally hers) kids and Bruce to stay at the Manor and have a family day, for her sake.

Jason agreed once they agreed it was a ‘No Cape Talk’ day.

Things were going well.

Then an alert for a Joker Attack went off.

“Hello Gotham!”

Bruce, Jason and Dick tensed.

“Today i have a very special guest with me!”

The camera panned to an unconscious teen. Around the age her boy would be.

A boy with her face shape and build, with a younger Bruce’s nose and eyebrows.

Color drained from her face.

If, if that was Her Boy. The one she couldn’t name without Bruce. The one who came early and she couldn’t decide if giving him up was better for them or not. The baby boy she fretted over the existence of only to be taken from her before she could settle on what would be best.

That boy was unconscious, tied to a chair, and his head pulled back by a grinning Joker as the camera zoomed in on a him.

She catalogued the healing bruises from a collar of sorts on his neck, and lightning-like scarring peeking out from his tee shirt’s left sleeve.

“Looks like Brucie boy missed another one! Now, i think we should give him a big ol’ Gotham welcome, don’t you?”

Bruce and the others were speaking. She couldn’t hear them.

Not as a needle was brought into view. And a gas mask. And lip balm, of all things.

“What do you think Gotham? New Toxin from me, perhaps some good ole fear toxin from my buddy Scarecrow or should we play with Ivy’s poisons? You know where to vote, you get five minutes folks!”

—

Add on as you please everyone, and feel free to actually vote on Danny’s upcoming torture for whoever picks it up next (or if i add onto it, idk)

Shrodinger's BatCat Child

DP x DC Prompt

When Selina was pregnant with her's and Bruce's child, she was thinking of settling down and raising the child. But when she had given birth to the boy, someone had broken into the hospital and stolen not only her baby but also other babies had been taken from the hospital. She tried to find out who took her baby boy but couldn't find the perpetrator.

Heartbroken at the loss of her baby, Selina masks her grief with being Catwoman. She doesn't tell Bruce about their baby boy, even after the new boy that goes under the Bats wing. She does treat each new Robin as if they were her own son. She talks to Harley about what had happened when Damian comes into the fold, where she then reveals that she had a baby with Bruce to the man and what happened to their baby after a few sessions with Harley.

Danny is on the run from Amity, from the Fentons, from the GIW, and from Vlad. The Fentons found out about him being Phantom and attacked him. They then teamed up with the GIW to hunt him down. He doesn't want to go to Vlad, as the Fruitloop is slowly becoming more and more crazy to get him to become his son and slowly focusing less and less on Maddie.

He heads to Gotham, as the city spirit, when she was chosen to be part of his court because of her knowledge and power, had told him that he was one of hers, a child born in Gotham to a woman that wasn't Maddie, Catwoman, and that's also how he found out that he's the son of Batman as well, because Lady Gotham gave him that answer as well, but she didn't tell him their real names. He just hopes that his mom and dad will be happy to learn that their son is still (mostly) alive and on his way to them.

And then Danny is caught by the Joker. He couldn't put up that much of a fight as he used up a lot of Ectoplasm escaping the lab he was in. Tucker's family moved away during middle school, and so did Sam's family when the start of high school came, Jazz had returned from college to help him escape the lab he was held in, but had to go back if she wanted to keep the scholarship.

The Batfam was having a family day out in Gotham. Bruce and Selina were engaged and wanted to bond as a family. Then Joker began broadcasting across Gotham.

"Hello Gotham! Today, I have a special guest with me"

The camera panned to a boy tied up in a chair, head hanging low.

"Brucie Boy seems to have forgotten to mention that he has another brat to call his own, so I took it upon myself to inform you all about him!"

When Joker grabbed the face of the boy and showed it to the camera, the entire Batfam tensed. Because the boys face had the features of both Bruce and Selina, the cuts, bruises, and blood on the boys face couldn't hide that fact, and now they need to find the boy to save him from what Joker has planned for their son.

[lune-moon-nuit]

The influence of conformity & gender stereotypes on the characters of Stranger Things but also on US (the general audience)

The moment I stumbled upon the arguments of "anti-Byler," the most commonly cited one was their outright denial of heteronormative pressures and societal expectations that are instilled in us from a young age. These same dynamics influenced Mike and the other characters in Stranger Things. This realization brought to mind a personal childhood anecdote that illustrates this phenomenon perfectly.

I must have been around ten years old because I remember this happening on the bus ride home from a school trip to watch Ratatouille. At the time, I had recently befriended a boy in my class—we had been seated next to each other, which gave us more opportunities to talk than when I’d usually stick with my girlfriends during recess while he played soccer with the boys. (Just describing this setup already paints a clear picture of gender stereotypes and heteronormativity, even though this was in 2007—25 years after 1982, to put things into perspective.)

When I say we had grown closer, I mean that two kids had developed a friendship: we laughed together, enjoyed each other’s company, and simply got along well. But I vividly remember sitting face-to-face with Maximilien—yes, I suddenly recalled his name as I was writing this! Maximilien, with his freckles and ginger hair—and we were laughing and talking about the movie. At one point, I playfully held two strands of his hair between my fingers, pretending to guide him like Rémy from Ratatouille.

It was then that I noticed, just behind Maximilien's smiling face, my classmates observing us from the next row. They were whispering and giggling, their glances unmistakably filled with mischief. I immediately understood what they were thinking. Later that day, they confronted me, insisting, “You’re in love with Maximilien!”

I felt embarrassed and awkward. But the truth is, before their remarks, the idea hadn’t even crossed my mind. To me, Maximilien was simply a friend, someone I enjoyed spending time with. It wasn’t until my friends planted that seed of doubt that I began to question my feelings. For the rest of the school year, I convinced myself I had a crush on him.

Looking back, this memory perfectly encapsulates how deeply societal conditioning affects us, even as children. At ten years old, we were already internalizing heteronormative narratives from our peers, advertisements, media, movies, and TV shows. Everything around us reinforced the notion that if a boy and a girl were close, they had to be more than friends.

This anecdote resurfaced in my mind recently, and it struck me how pervasive this conditioning was—even in 2007, when societal attitudes had already progressed somewhat compared to the 1980s. Now imagine how amplified this must have been in the '80s, which sheds light on the behaviors of Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy (and others by the way) in Stranger Things.

These three characters—Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy—each insinuated that Mike had romantic feelings for El based solely on his acts of kindness and care for her. It becomes much easier to understand their reactions when you realize they were operating under the same heteronormative assumptions that shaped our childhoods. After all, didn’t we all have our own versions of Lucas and Dustin who convinced us we were in love with our Maximilien or El?

Before Lucas’s heteronormative remark, Mike had done nothing more than show empathy for El—protecting her and taking care of her after she told him she was being hunted by “bad men” and that her life was in danger. Mike’s actions stemmed from compassion and the fact that she had information about Will’s disappearance, not romantic interest. Their interactions were simply those of two kind-hearted kids getting to know each other, with Mike admiring her powers (like any kid fascinated by superheroes) and El being drawn to Mike’s stable family life—a concept foreign to her.

But then Lucas planted that tiny seed: “If you’re this nice to her, you must be in love with her.” From that point on, Mike started behaving more timidly around El, his perception of their interactions skewed by Lucas’s words. Dustin reinforced this by accusing Mike of neglecting their friendship because of El, which was a childish and reductive observation considering the circumstances. Nancy, too, perpetuated this when she directly asked Mike, “You like El?” after he inquired about her feelings for Jonathan.

All these comments were rooted in internalized heteronormativity—small seeds planted in Mike by his friends, just as their families, communities, and society had once planted similar seeds in them.

The result? Mike simply conformed to what he thought he was supposed to feel. If everyone said he loved El, then he must love her, right? So he invited her to the Snow Ball and kissed her—because that’s what he believed he was “meant” to do. After all, she had superpowers like the heroes he admired, and as a bullied, insecure boy who often felt powerless, her attention gave him a sense of validation. She needed him, depended on him, and he felt useful and in control by taking care of her.

At the same time, he barely knew her—they’d only spent a week together, and beyond the immediate crisis and her love of Eggo waffles, there wasn’t much else he understood about her. Still, this fleeting connection gave him emotional and psychological comfort during Will’s disappearance and presumed death—a situation where he felt utterly helpless.

All of this resulted in Mike simply doing what he thought he was supposed to feel and do: "If everyone says I love her, then I must love her, right? So let's invite her to the dance and kiss her! Besides, she has powers like my favorite superheroes—that's pretty cool for a bullied boy who looks like a frog, isn't it? If she's interested in me, wouldn’t that prove I'm normal after all? Plus, she depends on me, she needs me, she's lost without me, and I have to take her under my wing. I feel useful taking care of her! It's only been seven days since I met her, so honestly, apart from the urgent situation we're in, I know almost nothing about her except that she likes waffles. But at least, during this week, we needed each other, and emotionally and psychologically, it helped me cope with the disappearance and presumed death of my best friend—a friend who vanished after leaving my house, where I feel 100% powerless to protect or save him. Having some sense of control by taking care of El, who clearly needs me, might just be my way of projecting? Also, she looks like a boy with her short hair, and she was mistaken for Will three times throughout the season—what a coincidence!"

I also noticed that in Season 4, the Duffer Brothers repeatedly wrote into the script how Robin and Steve are often mistaken for a couple by others. This happens because people don’t know Robin is a lesbian, but more importantly, because they can’t comprehend how Robin and Steve can be so close, so in sync, and have such incredible chemistry without being romantically involved. And yes, it’s absolutely possible—some people can be your soulmate without being in a romantic relationship with you. In fact, there are relationships that are healthier and more balanced as friendships rather than as romantic partnerships, and the people involved often realize this themselves. This doesn’t diminish the genuine love they have for each other. They love each other, they don’t want to lose one another, it’s just not romantic. It doesn’t take away from the strength or depth of the bond they share—it’s simply a different kind of love for a different kind of relationship.

This dynamic becomes even more compelling when you consider how heteronormativity shaped not only Mike’s understanding of his feelings but also everyone else’s perceptions of their relationship. Like Lucas, Dustin, and Nancy, we’ve all been influenced by these societal norms, projecting them onto others and perpetuating them, often without even realizing it.

[lover-of-mine]

Okay, I've been meaning to make this post and I never make it, but I'm rewatching s1 and the thoughts are in my head so, what better time than now. Like, I made this point before but I never went into detail.

The thing with 911 and love interests and the way none of Buck and Eddie's love interests ever stood a chance, is because in order for you to make a relationship work on a tv show, you need to make sure your audience cares about both parts. Obviously, getting 2 mains together, madney or bathena, works very easily because both characters exist on their own, so you're already invested in all parties involved, it's a lot easier to make the relationship work because you don't need to spend time making people care about anyone individually, you're just making them care about the relationship. But then you have the issue of making people care about a relationship when one of the parties is only there to be a love interest.

So let's take Henren. For all intents and purposes, Karen only exists to be Hen's wife, so if they didn't put in the work Karen would be very whatever, because as viewers, our loyalty in most cases will be biased towards the character we see the most. And considering we are introduced to Henren already established, they are already married with a child, which another thing that makes people be less invested, not seeing how it happened, the odds are stacked against Karen, which is bad if the show ever decides to use the character more heavily. But the show introduces her in a perfect way to avoid that happening. For starters, we meet Eva first. And we meet Eva while Hen is making up problems that aren't really there because of the ghost of Eva. We have Athena state how bad for Hen Eva is, we have the conflict Hen herself is feeling, we have her lying by omission. And yes, the whole thing leads to something a lot of people view as unforgivable, cheating, but during that whole storyline, we are siding against Hen, because she is letting this idea of rescuing Eva is making her step out on her family, so we are taking Karen's pain, we are taking Karen's side, and that makes us care about Karen, and therefore we end up invested on them together. And something else is how this all happens while we are still getting to know Hen, so there aren't any preconceived notions of how a relationship for Hen should go.

And the show knows how to work that concept in, but when we are talking about love interests for both Buck and Eddie, is that every relationship is introduced with something that's gonna make us side with them and ignore the other person. Shannon never stood a chance because she was written to be fridged, but leaving Chris is an unforgivable act, Ali isn't around and she fundamentally can't handle who Buck is, Taylor is introduced as willing to hurt Buck's family, Ana isn't around and Eddie is literally panicking about that relationship and even before that, the Christopher of it all, him getting hurt, not wanting Eddie to date, makes it so we're not the biggest fans, Natalia was only interested in Buck's death and since we were watching the damage his death did to everyone, it makes it hard to root for them, Marisol just didn't exist for the audience at all, and Tommy's past plus the circumstances they get together aka Buck hurting Eddie makes it very 😬.

And all of these happened while Buck and Eddie's partnership is continuously shown as getting stronger, so the relationships are fighting against two main characters who have a strong relationship, so it is really hard to establish something that will replace the idea of Buck and Eddie because they're fighting against 7 seasons of partnership. The thing that makes buddie is time. It's everything that happened to them (I mean, the actual thing that makes them it is Christopher but that's a different post). So for a relationship to actually replace them, you need to separate them and then give the new relationship at least half the time buddie had to establish themselves. Audiences generally don't get invested in relationships they didn't see happening, and usually when it's this far into a show and there is another option of paring 2 main characters, it's really hard to make a character likable enough to replace that. People just generally don't end up caring for a character that only exists to be a love interest.

The show knows that, see the way Karen was introduced, so that makes the way they handle Buck, Eddie, and love interests that more pointed.

[nenelonomh]

obsession in academia

!look a new nenelonomh academia post. oh, she's calling us out.

as the new year frivolity fizzles out, and we return to our routines, it is important to recognize and address obsession and "unhealthy consistency". many academics and type-a personalities struggle during the holiday season - viewing it as trivial or trying too hard to optimize their free time.

this mindset encourages burn out - before the academic year has even begun!

obsession in academia, often referred to as 'studyholism' or 'grade obsession,' is a common phenomenon experienced by students. over this holiday break, i definitely experienced some obsession over my studies - racking up a whopping 38 hours of study time over my december break - whilst i was waitressing full-time hours and trying to fit in holiday activities. luckily, i was able to recognize this - and spend less time on school.

i am defining this academic obsession as an excessive focus or preoccupation with academic achievement and performance. this obsession can manifest in various ways, such as relentless pursuit of high grades, constant studying at the expense of other aspects of life, and an overwhelming fear of failure. individuals who experience academic obsession may prioritize their academic pursuits above their physical health, mental well-being, social relationships, and personal interests.

type-a personalities : you have to be more careful

academic obsession is closely linked to type-a personalities, which are characterized by high levels of ambition, competitiveness, and a strong drive for success. type-a individuals often set extremely high standards for themselves and are highly goal-oriented. this intense focus on achievement can lead them to become obsessed with their academic performance, constantly striving for perfection and fearing failure. as a result, they may engage in excessive studying and neglect other important aspects of their lives, such as physical health, mental well-being, and social relationships.

this connects to the concept of "negative consistency," where individuals, particularly those with type-a personalities, may continue to push themselves relentlessly even during periods meant for rest and relaxation, such as the holiday season. instead of taking breaks to recharge, they maintain their intense work habits, leading to burnout. this negative consistency can result in chronic stress, exhaustion, and a diminished ability to enjoy leisure activities or spend quality time with loved ones.

recognizing this obsession

causes

❣ immense pressure to achieve high grades due to personal aspirations or fear of failure.

❣ parents, teachers, and society at large (community) may place high expectations on academic performance.

❣ the need for scholarships or financial aid can drive you to obsess over grades - financial anxiety.

❣ the competitive nature of academia can lead you to focus excessively on outperforming their peers.

❣ students often internalize the belief that their self-worth is tied to their academic performance. this can stem from a desire to meet personal goals or avoid feelings of inadequacy.

effects

❣ obsession can lead to anxiety, and depression. the constant pressure to perform can take a toll on your mental well-being.

❣ when you focus solely on grades, and prioritize memorization over understanding, you can hinder deep learning and critical thinking skills.

❣ excessive studying can lead to a lack of social interactions, affecting your relationships with your peers and family.

❣ stress and lack of sleep can result in various physical health issues, such as headaches, fatigue, and weakened immune systems.

prevention strategies

prevention strategies for academic obsession focus on promoting balance and well-being.

setting realistic and balanced goals - to help reduce the pressure to achieve perfection.

learning mindfulness techniques and stress management strategies - to provide tools to cope with academic pressures.

helping to create a supportive academic environment where all students feel valued for their efforts, not just their grades.

participating in extracurricular activities and hobbies - to develop a well-rounded identity and offer a healthy diversion from academic stress.

by implementing these strategies, we can help students (ourselves) develop a more balanced and sustainable relationship with academic endeavors.

i hope this was helpful! if you have any questions, send an ask to my inbox!

🫶nene

instagram | pinterest | blog site

[donnadiddadog]

the reaper pt 1

Summary: Y/N is a member of the Inner Circle, and there is a decision to have a suicide mission that would help win the war against Hybern - and Y/N has to take charge of it. Azriel cannot let Y/N go just like that.

Word Count: 1.9K ish

Warnings: Mentions of death and soldiers being harmed in war, slight cursing (if any tbh i don't think so). If anything is left out, let me know below!

a/n: First Person (but I use Y/N as a character, not an OC), I am going to convert this into a series cuz I have an idea (this is going to be slightly based on Nesta’s whole spiral in ACOSF in the next few parts). All credit for the prompt and the inspiration of the first half (loosely based on the story part 1) to “Farewell my love” (written by @allthehopesforlove) - you should check it out, too. It's pretty well written (sending you much love @allthehopesforlove<3). Also, the concept of the Eight is based on Manon from the TOG series! I' 'll upload the next few parts by Jan end (I have finals in two days what am I doing here????)

14th Jan 2025, Writing 3

There is no way that the war can be won without this move. That was the consensus as we stood around the replica of the battleground - Rhys was motionless as he assessed the situation and Cassian kept pacing around the tent that swayed with the wind. Mor was leaning against the chair, her injuries preventing her from standing up straight. I looked at Azriel as he stared at the map and tried to figure out.

The move was simple - a 300 soldiers in a formation that would cleave the Hybern army at the centre, at the weakest point. With the seperation of the army into fragments, the Spring, Autumn and Day Court Armies could take over the upper flank and the Winter and Dawn Court Armies taking over the lower flank; the Night Court attacks from the back to prevent anyone else from escaping. The Summer Court would join the 300 soldiers after they had seperated the army and prevent them from joining again which would turn the tide of the war against Prythian.

All 300 would most likely die. A 95% chance according to me, Cassian agreed with that figure, if not implying that the danger was higher. Feyre was watching her mate, I think she was just scared that he would choose to be the one to lead the soldiers now nicknamed the Regiment 300. The final stand.

There were arguments made in favour and against, Rhys and Cassian at each others throats, Azriel trying to calm the whole situation down. I stood there watching them all fight and try to figure it out while the clock ticked. Hybern would not stop their planning, their tactics just because we couldnt get our shit together. The other High Lords were aware of this plan, it was Beron who had assigned the final duty of choosing the Regiment 300 from the Night Court rather than any other Court. He deemed it fair - that it was us who had to shed the final blood. Meant it as an insult but it was right.

I dont remember much because it was a blur. I had slammed my fists into the table, looked them dead in the eye and explained why it couldnt be any of them. How if Morrigan rode out, she wouldnt make it ten steps before falling dead from her horse. How Feyre could not go to war because she was not trained enough yet. How Rhysand cannot go to war because he is the High Lord and his death would mean a constitutional crisis. How Cassian and Azriel cannot go to war because they had to lead the Night Courts attack with Feyre assisting. How Amren was not going to since she had to figure out the Cauldron’s final secrets. And that only left me.

I wasn't exactly a military person, like Cassian was. I was a strategist, I knew the military tactics but nothing more. I wasn't interested in the training part of it. But I was a damn good leader, people listened to me and I could hold my weight for a while in battle if it came down to it. I could do it, I had to do it. It was the only option left and I knew that I would have to do it. If only to see my family, the Inner Circle, see the sunrise day after tomorrow.

Azriel spoke almost as a whisper, “You cannot possible think that I would allow you to go and do that. To go and kill yourself.” Before Rhys could agree with him and argue with me, I looked Azriel dead in the eye and asked him to find another individual to sacrifice then. And he had stopped breathing, his mind turning. But he wouldnt accept it, his eyes betryaed that he would have rather tied me down than let me go. That is the male I know, the one who cannot bear to accept my demise. Oh Azriel, if only you knew how much I hate this decision of mine. Sweetheart, we were supposed to have a lifetime together.

Further arguments were made but I turned to Rhys and spoke to him mind to mind. He turned to me, face to face, man to man. And I reminded him of that phrase that all good monarchs were supposed to live by. I bent the knee, bowed my head and waited for him. He took a sharp breath in and spoke in his regal voice, “Y/N, you have been given command of the Regiment 300. Ride in the name of the High Lord of the Night Court and make your last stand. Defend Prythian and may the Mother be with you.” I rose and bowed to my High Lord as I turned.

I left the tent before Azriel could grab my hand, before he could see the tears drop. Cassian held him against his will and I could hear Azriel bellowing out my name, cursing the gods for letting this happen, attempting to hurt Cassian to reach me in any way, in any form. Feyre held Mor as she mumbled about this not being fair.

The decision was made, I would lead the Regiment 300 tomorrow at dawn. I had summoned the Eight - my military advisors but more than that my closest friends, we had grown up together, seen each other do things that we thought weren't possible, reaching positions and training to higher levels. My most trusted souls. Pieces of my heart each of them. They were going to join me in the suicide mission and I had to see them all one last time before dawn.

I went to my tent to prepare my armor and set my affairs in order. I told my sentry to prepare my horse and get the men together, I would address them as Commander about their suicide mission. That I would join them in their deaths would be my greatest honor. The last stand would be made. And we would win.

I remember the taste of blood in my mouth, the feeling of sweat dripping, the tightening of my hands on the spear. I remember the feeling of my horse running forward, looking to my right and my left to see my friends, my chosen few, surging forward through the mud. I remember it all.

And I remember waking up in that godforsaken tent with that male looking at me with hazel eyes full of concern and I knew what had happened. I had forsaken my soldiers, the regiment had been abandoned. I led them into war and I deserted them to die.

Slapping his arms away and throwing it off me, I ran out of the tent. Running to see that the sun was almost setting. We had set out at sunrise, it was now sunset. No, this cannot be true. Where are they? Please don't let it be true. I gasped at the sudden pain in my side, noticing that I had an injury to my left flank. The arrow hit me when we first made contact with the army.'

The battleground was barely half a kilometer away, clutching my side to prevent any bandages from falling, I ran the distance trying to see what had happened. I heard Azriel calling out to Rhys and the rest. They were alive but I didn't care about that right now, I had to check on the Eight, my regiment. It was mostly a downhill journey, with a few slips due to loose rocks. I kept my head down to not see what was ahead, I didn't want to lose hope, and I didn't want to accept what had surely happened.

I smelt it before I saw it. I didn't hear it because they were all dead with spears and arrows jutting out of their bodies. No, that is a lie - I did hear it. I listened to the vultures and crows in the sky and on the ground. Feasting. I reached the base of the slope and I looked up at the battleground. A crematorium. A graveyard. The site of my greatest failure.

And I tried catching my breath, looking at the bodies, at the mangled flesh and bone, at the blood that soaked the mud as my bare feet made contact with it, at the horses whose legs had been twisted and intestines hanging out, at the soldiers with cracked skulls, one with his leg blown off, and another completely impaled on a spear.

I couldn't feel anything, my face was numb, and my hands were numb. I was numb. I trudged along because I had found my entire regiment dead but I had to check on the Eight. I had to see their dead eyes so I could tell them that I would join them soon. That is my punishment, that is the price for this mistake. Blood will appease blood.

So I walked to the start of the bloodshed, the site where the regiment hit the Hybern army for the first time. Where I was supposed to lay dead and broken. I was the leader of that regiment, the commander who had told them that this was our last stand. Yet I was alive and they were dead. I stepped on something and I heard a crunching noise. I took a second, hyperventilating before I looked down and saw it. I saw her.

I had found what I was looking for - the Eight lay together in a small circle, almost as if they were trying to hold each other’s hands in their last moments. It seemed that they had tried to create a triangle to penetrate the defense. It had worked but it worked because they fought to the death. The rest of the regiment must have gone through breaking the army from the inside out and the move worked. The Summer Court must have shortly followed. And they didn't stop until they had won the war.

I fell onto my knees, into the mud, and I was shaking, with grief, loss, and despair. And I picked up her body to try to bring it close to mine, to try and hold her one last time. She was long gone but it seemed as if this would help, somehow reduce her pain and make it easier for her to go. I can only imagine what it was like when she had to go, how alone she felt, how betrayed and disgusted she felt that the Commander had been saved, not them.

If I could I would have saved you, I am sorry, it should have been me, I should have died. I don't deserve to live, I will join you.

I screamed those words into the air as I held her and crawled to the rest, begging for them to wake up, to not forgive me but to punish me, telling them that I would join them. That I was the betrayer, the reason for their deaths. That they should never forgive me.

I cried into the mud with their bodies next to me. My wound had already been bleeding profusely and I thought it to be poetic justice that I, too die next to them from a wound I received at the battle that they died in. Except they would die a warrior’s death and I would die a coward’s death. Right next to them.

This is what I deserve. And there was only one person to blame for this.

Azriel.

[oh-no-its-bird]

I'm having. So many Uchiha Houhua thoughts. Like I know so much of his existence is geared towards survival but. The hc of Uchiha's use of war fans,I have to wonder if he ever finds him half heartedly fiddling with a delicate seeming Tessen, remebering an old friend now far gone, just as razor edged and yet still missed.

And it may be my own fondness for the concept of a spider summons but so much of spider behavior is "Please Leave Me Alone" which is very on brand for Houhua. Camouflage and careful, delicate and yet still so dangerous, setting invisible webs between leaves and waiting for the worse predators to pass. (Also using spider venom to fuck with his heartrate for the possum jutsu maybe?)

The entire concept is so delightful and I'm very thankful to have seen all your little tidbits on it

YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU SENT ME A STRAWPAGE I JUST SAW IT LAST NIGHT BUT FELL ASLEEP BEFORE I COULD COPY PASTE IT TO REPLY TO HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Omg hi funny seeing you here (<- batting my eyelashes, twirling my hair)

Anyways I love this, actually. Like, a lot.

Ough,, Houhua unable to look at war fans without thinking about both SY and SQQ,,,

I think it's actually especially fun to think ab like. The difference in fighting style between (Japanese) Uchiha styled war fan techniques and (Chinese) Cang Qiong Sect war fan techniques. Not even counting the much more specific Qing Jing Peak style of fan techniques.

That also goes double for sword techniques, especially considering the plans for Houhua to go into sword smithing.

Houhua has literal decades of the Cang Qiong sect sword style engraved into his fucking bones. Into his soul, even, if you consider the whole 'cultivators swords are usually tied to their spirits in some way' thing.

He's going to have the worst time trying to switch to Uchiha sword styles-- though I think the sharingan + the unfamiliar, tiny body without all the muscle memory of his past life will help him at least get his footing

,, Hey, is muscle memory held in the actual muscle or is it held in the brain? That's a thought.

ALSO. THE SPIDERS.

I. I cant lie to u, you are making an amazing argument rn for him having a spider summons. I love the idea sm, I am now faced w the ultimate dilemma of choosing between a spider contract or a rat contract.

On one hand, they both carry undertones of like 'there might be a bit more to see here than just a coward' bc of the associated (mostly negative) connotations of rats and spiders both being like, underhanded, sneaky, that sort of thing. But the spider tho,,, ough,, it also shows a side of implied manipulation that might be fun just from the angle of like.

Yeah you'd expect him to have some sort of rodent contract but hes actually been designated spider coded by the universe, actually.

I forget if I posted this snippet yet or if I only posted it on the discord but take this really quick:

So like. This moment, where Kabuto bets Houhua will get some form of rodent contract (for obvious reasons) while Hana bets he gets a fucking worm. But now make it even funnier bc they're both wrong and he got a spider contract.

This could also maybe play interesting into Houhua and Kabuto's sort of ongoing quiet squinting in eachothers direction as they both go 'this guy isnt as simple as he seems...' as Kabuto mentally recalculates some of Houhua's behavior

This also can just bring out a pretty fun "hey so lets talk about in universe stereotypes and associations when it comes to summoning animals" which I just think is fun. Like, culturally, what does it mean to have a contracted animal? Do some people treat it like they might astrology personality tests? Do some people think its just nonsense and pure luck or not that deep?

For some people it probably isn't that deep, while for others (specifically those who might come from families who always have the same contract, or others who sign blank contracts where they really are sent to an animal that matches them best) it really is a good way to try and analyze them

And like. Where does that leave Houhua?

This could also just be fun for when he interacts w Orochimaru, who fucking hates bugs (insert my own personal favorite hc here that he hates them largely in part due to the many times he was stuck inside his own rotting body, infested with bugs)

And like, Houhua and Orochimaru will inevitably interact, though I'm not 100% sure on how it goes just yet. But like. Houhua having a spider contract and Orochimaru coincidentally hating spiders. Could be funny.

PLUS YOU'RE SO RIGHT FOR LIKE. SPIDER VENOM POSSIBLY PLAYING INTO HIS PLAYING DEAD ACT. UR SO SMART FOR THAT.

Anyways. Yeah ok I think spider contract Houhua would go pretty hard for multiple reasons. Give him a big fluffy spider with big ol eyes.

Houhua can maybe get another contract further down the line and then get the rodents he deserves.

Im so glad that you've been enjoying the SQH in naruto au nonsense I've been pumping out!! I'm like. Halfwayish done with chapter one but it keeps getting longer. I'll get there eventually.

I really need to update my tumblr vault with all the recent additions to the au but want to update it when I post the actual fic so I can link the fic to the chapter, so I'm holding off on that

Anyways, thank you for your ask!!

[briechyne]

What is 'Luxury' To You?

Luxury—a word that conjures images of grand mansions, designer clothes, and lavish vacations. But what does it truly mean? Merriam-Webster defines luxury as "the condition of abundance or great ease and comfort," and "an indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease." From its historical roots linking it to indulgence and even sin, the concept of luxury has always been about more than material wealth.

Popular culture, particularly Hollywood, reinforces a glossy version of luxury: red carpets, opulent parties, and a life of excess. Yet, is that all there is to it? Many aspire to this lifestyle, drawn by its allure, while others find luxury in far simpler joys. This leads to the question: is luxury only about grandeur, or can it be something deeply personal and meaningful?

For me, luxury is not about extravagance but authenticity. Growing up in a middle-class family with its financial challenges shaped my understanding of what abundance means.

I dream of wealth—not for indulgence but to eliminate money worries, to live freely, and to focus on what truly matters: family, nature, and a life of intentional simplicity. My vision of luxury is a modest French chateau surrounded by greenery, a home where every corner tells a story of care and love.

We live in a world driven by consumerism, where happiness is often equated with owning the latest gadgets or wearing high-end brands. But what if luxury wasn’t about owning more but about appreciating what we already have? True richness lies in moments of gratitude, mindfulness, and meaningful connections—a warm meal, a serene walk, or laughter shared with loved ones.

Luxury, then, is not a singular idea but a deeply personal journey. So, what is luxury to you? Let’s explore this on my Patreon ⬇️ together.

🙍‍♀️Kiki has the open door.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: EPIC: The Musical

(Thanks to @knightsweeties for this image)

Now this maybe my most unique review. As technically speaking. This is a Concept Album that then became a unique full on musical.

Epic is a musical adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey created by Jorge Rivera-Herrans.

And this means I will not be discussing the Visual Quality. Which is something I am heavily reliant on for my reviews of things.

But for such a special case. I think I have found my areas of review

The Plot

The Characters

The Music: (Are the songs good? Are they good Narrative? What do the songs say)

The Themes (What are the moral lessons)

Inspiration vs Interpretation (What does it do different from The Odyssey?)

Final Thoughts

_____________________________________________________________

The Plot

The story takes place at the very last days of the Trojan war. Odysseus and his allies are inside the Trojan horse. (A complex monument to Athena to trick the Trojans to let them into their city) They want to end the war and go back to their families.

(The Horse and The Infant)

The crew bust out of the wooden horse and proceed to attack the city, rescue Helen (the whole reason they are in the war in the first place) and finish this war.

During the invasion, Zeus gives Odysseus a vision of his death, which he says can only be prevented by killing the threat here and now. And shockingly, Odysseus finds out the threat... is an Infant.

Zeus and the gods tell him that this baby will grow up and murder him along with everyone he loves Unless he kills him now. (Including his Wife, Penelope)

Odysseus wrestles with this morally as the child reminds him of his own son who he hasnt seen in 10 years. But eventually does kill the baby by dropping him off the side of a wall (Just a man)

After the raid, Odysseus and his fleet leave to go home to Ithaca. But during the trip they realize they are out of food and must find some or they will starve before making it home (Full Speed Ahead) So Odysseus and his best buddy, Polities go to check the first island they find.

Polities notices Odysseus is obviously a mess and tells him he needs to be more accepting of life and others (Open arms) which allows them to talk with the Lotus Eaters, who tell them where they can find food.

After this, Athena slips into Odysseus' mind to tell him to get a grip by reminding him of his past (Warrior of the Mind)

Ending the first saga (Troy Saga)

The crew go to the cave and find a ton of sheep, enough to feed the entire fleet, but Unfortunately find out that this cave has a Cyclops that is pretty ticked about them killing his Sheep. (Polyphemus)

Despite trying to negotiate, the Cyclops attacks (Survive) The result has Odysseus losing Polities along with several soldiers. But Cleverly the wine they gave the Cyclops was drugged with the Lotus that the lotus eaters had given them earlier. The crew Blinds Polyphemus and Escapes (Remember them) After which they steal his sheep and right as they leave, Odysseus reveals his name and that Polyphemus will Remember this pain. Which was not a smart move.

Athena sees this as proof that Odysseus has changed and she is Done (My Goodbye) so she tells Odysseus she is leaving. Odysseus tells her not to let the door hit her on the way out. As he has some grievances

(End of the Cyclops saga)

And because of Plot, a Storm appears and is making it impossible for Odysseus and Company to get home (Storm). But they thankfully find some Floating Islands which happen to be the home of the Wind god Aeolus, whom Odysseus believes can help them, but after what happened the crew is starting to have doubts, including Eurylochus (Luck Runs Out). But Odysseus pulls rank and says we going to ask anyway.

So Odysseus meets with Aeolus who helps them if he plays a game. Aeolus put the storm in a bag and tells him no one can open it or it will release the storm. While also spreading a rumor among the crew that the bag Odysseus is holding has treasure. (Keep your friends close) And Odysseus tells them its a rumor and that NO ONE can open the bag. His Paranoia keeps him awake for 9 days as they sail across the calm sea. But unfortunately when he fell asleep, SOMEONE opened the bag and the storm got free, blowing them to the land of Giants... where Poseidon happened to be.

Poseidon reveals that he knows about what they did to Polyphemus and He is not happy. As surprise, Thats his kid. And decides to teach Odysseus a lesson about how "Ruthlessness is Mercy upon ourselves" (Ruthlessness). The sea god wipes out the fleet, leaving only 43 men under Odysseus command. But before Poseidon could finish Odysseus and the last ship. Odysseus used the last of the wind in the bag to escape.

(End of the ocean Saga)

Odysseus and the remains of his crew end up on an island. Odysseus is pretty shaken over the whole thing and tells Eurylochus to hold whatever he was going to say and go scout. Eurylochus takes some men and goes scouting, only to come back alone. He reveals the men got turned into pigs by a powerful Sorceress, Circe/ (Puppeteer).

Odysseus goes off on his own to go plan how to deal with the powerful magic user when Hermes finds him and gives him a flower that will counter Circe's Magic. (Wouldn't you like). So with this he goes and confronts Circe alone.

Odysseus and Circe clash and are basically even until Odysseus managed to get his sword at her throat (Done For). But Circe decides to use the power of seduction to get a handle on him. Which fails as Odysseus is too in love with his Wife, Penelope to fall for the seduction, and he simply pleads with her to free his friends. (There are other ways). Circe, moved by his devotion tells him that there maybe someone that could help him, but the man is dead and that they would need to go to the underworld to find him.

(End of the Circe Saga)

Odysseus and Crew make it to the underworld where as they are searching for the Prophet Tiresias, Odysseus is haunted by the deaths of his comrades, Polites, and then by his mother who died of a broken heart waiting for him to come home. (Underworld).

They Find the Prophet who says that he doesnt see a world where he helps him get home, but does foreshadow events of the future, including how the man that is with Odysseus' wife is haunting and has a trail of bodies behind him (No Longer you).

Odysseus realizes that if he wants to get home, he must embrace Ruthlessness and become a monster. (Monster) And so the group leave the underworld.

(End of the First Half. End of the Underworld Saga)

Sirens appear and one pretends to be Penelope to get Odysseus to jump in the water. But Odysseus manages to get the siren to tell him what path to take to avoid poseidon, which involved going through the Lair of Scylla, a monster that crossing has a cost. (Suffering)

Though as soon as he got the information, he shot the Siren with an arrow and revealed he knew they were monsters. He and his crew capture them all and reveal they put beeswax in their ears to block out their song and he had read their lips to get the info. Now knowing where they need to go, Odysseus orders his men to cut of their tails and throw them back in the water, making them drown. (Different Beast) Revealing he has accepted Ruthlessness.

After that, Odysseus and crew make it to Scylla's lair, where Eurylochus finally confesses that HE opened the windbag. Odysseus felt the betrayal, but instead of responding with anger, simply tells him to light six torches. As they enter, Scylla appears and feeds on the crew, mainly the 6 holding torches. (Scylla)

After they escape the lair, Eurylochus figures out Odysseus just sacrificed 6 of them to Scylla to get past. He confronts odysseus who doesnt deny it. (Mutiny) Resulting in Eurylochus attacking Odysseus in a fight for leadership, which Odysseus nearly wins but was stabbed in the back (Literally) By his crew. Eurylochus takes command and when Odysseus wakes up, they are on the Island of the Sun god. Where there are cows roaming. Odysseus realizes that this is VERY bad and says to Eurylochus to NOT touch the cows. But he says that he is hungry and kills one. Unfortunately... that was a mistake. Odysseus is quickly put back as captain and he orders them to get on the ship and Row as fast they can before the sun god sends someone... but its too late. the Sun god sent Zeus.

Zeus tells them they messed up and that they will need to pay. (Thunderbringer). Zeus gives Odysseus a choice, His life or his crews. Odysseus not wanting to make that choice, still picks his own life. Because above all else, he wants to see his wife and son. Zeus kills the crew and destroys the boat, leaving Odysseus alone.

(End of the Thunder Saga)

we cut to 8 years later. Where Telemachus is living his life without his dad, wondering what his life will be and only knowing his dad through stories. He also describes how Suitors are after his mom and they bully him. (Legendary) One Suitor, Antinous is especially crass and Telemachus tells him to shut up, to which Antinous says "Or what?"

This leads to a fistfight in which Telemachus is badly losing, until Athena intervenes to help Telemachus. It still ends with the boy's loss but he put up more of a fight. (Little wolf).

Telemachus bonds with Athena and convinces her to go help her other friend. (We'll be fine).

Athena then searches Odysseus' memories to find out where he is, only to find him on Calypso's island. Calypso being a goddess and holding Odysseus there against his will, Odysseus was trapped their and is almost on the brink of ending his life as his guilt is harassing him to a point of no return. (Love in Paradise). He even desperately calls out to Athena.

Athena decides to help Odysseus by pleading to Zeus to have him Released. Zeus says "Lets make it a game" and tells Athena she has to convince Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hera and then himself if she wants Odysseus freed. (god games) Athena Agrees and gets each one to agree until getting to Zeus, who nearly kills her over being made a fool of in his game. But her pleading did eventually get him to agree.

(End of Wisdom Saga)

Odysseus was building a raft from materials on the island when Calypso appeared and told him that she is letting him go, as someone demanded his release. She proceeds to tell him her feelings on the matter (I'm not sorry for loving you) in which she sort of apologizes (but more like how a Youtuber apologizes) Odysseus tells her he does love her, but not in the way she wants. Which pisses her off.

He sails on the raft when Hermes appears who gives him the Wind bag containing the storm, saying this is his final chance while telling him how to get home (Dangerous), explaining how super risky it is. Odysseus follows the plan which leads him to facing Charybdis and successfully sailing past him (Charybdis). Odysseus is finally approaching his home as he sees it in view, but Poseidon appears, revealing he had been WAITING for him.

Poseidon tells him that he needs to get in the water and accept his fate. Odysseus pleads for forgiveness as its been so long and they have both suffered enough. (Get in the Water) But Poseidon takes the words as an insult and hits him with a god move, Shatter the Ocean. As Odysseus sinks to the bottom of the ocean, he hears the voices of all his dead friends and loved ones saying they are waiting for him, and he takes his final breath... Until he reawakens as a monster.

Odysseus revives and uses the storm bag to get out of the water and unveil HIS finishing move on Poseidon (Six Hundred Strike). He bests Poseidon, but the storm has been released and now Odysseus cant get home. Odysseus tells Poseidon to call off the storm, or else. Poseidon tells him he cant kill him. Odysseus says "Exactly" and proceeds to stab Poseidon until he begs for mercy and agrees to call off the storm

(End of Vengeance Saga)

We cut to Penelope who saw the storm on the Horizon dissipate and take it as a sign that her life is going to change. So she puts a challenge to the suitors. String her husbands bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe heads and the one who succeeds will be king (The Challenge)

The suitors end up trying for several hours to achieve this but all fail. Antinous points out how this is all just a trick to stall and that they should just go to the shore to ambush Telemachus who is on a diplomatic mission, and once they kill him, the queen will be theirs to do with as they please (Hold them down) but as he got them all agree, an arrow flies through 12 axe heads and strikes Antinous in the throat, killing him.

Odysseus reveals himself, and he knows their plan. Odysseus is Super pissed and says he will kill them all. (Odysseus) He is now the monster. Odysseus made sure all their weapons were gone and methodically kills them all. The suitors try all sorts of tactics, from sneak attacks to pleading for mercy, this of course fails. Some suitors managed to find the room with the weapons, only to find Telemachus waiting, who was armed and a full fledged warrior of the mind, and he is doing work as the suitors all rush to attack him to use him as leverage to escape Odysseus wrath. After some time, Telemachus is worn down, but Odysseus appears and VIOLENTLY MURDERS THEM ALL.

After the suitors are dead, Telemachus and Odysseus talk and finally reunite. After the reunion, Odysseus tells Telemachus to tell his mother he is home and that he will be there in a moment. He wanted to talk with athena who was there with Telemachus. (I cant help but Wonder) Athena and Odysseus both talk about what they both want next, understanding that they are in different places, but its a sign of mutual respect and care. Athena wishes him luck.

Odysseus finally arrives in front of penelope. In which he bares his soul to her, unsure if the monster he has become is worthy of being by her side, and asks if she would fall in love with him again. (Would you fall in love with me again). Penelope reveals that he is still her husband deep down and that she has waited 20 years for him and she doesnt care where or when, He is her husband and that she will love him, over and over again. They finally reunite.

So yea, thats the plot of Epic and its beautiful

Granted there are changes from the Homer epic poem its based from. But... that will be covered later.

Overall, solid plot. Beautiful and simple.

9/10

_________________________________________________________

The Characters

There are a lot of Characters named in Epic. So bare with me.

Odysseus: The main Character. The journey he went on from a man that was gripping with the pain he has caused, to a man accepting ruthlessness, and becoming a monster to get home, while still realizing he is still who he is deep down is a fascinating character exploration. If we compare him to the Odysseus of the Homer myth, he might actually be a much more morally gray character. But for Epic it works as he has his wants and desires. He is cunning and loves his family, and his desire to do whatever it takes to see his family again is surprisingly human despite the monster he becomes. He is my favorite character in the musical. He is deeply flawed but he is the best for this story. 10/10 (Funfact, his instrument associated with him is a guitar, nylon when normal, electric when in intense scenes)

Eurylochus: He is the supposed 2nd in command but as the journey goes on he grows to doubt his captain's abilities. I like how he is a hypocrite in several things within the story, showing that perhaps he always wanted to be the one in charge, but also has love and care for Odysseus. Out of all the characters on the crew, he likely understands Ody the best, but also failed to see what he was becoming. 10/10 (Fun fact, his wife, Ctimine is odysseus sister. She isnt mentioned in the musical, but it makes Eurylochus his brother in law making the betrayal extra tragic)

Telemachus: The son of Odysseus and Penelope. He has spent his life getting picked on by the suitors. But after he becomes friends with Athena, he discovers how strong he can be. He is a pure soul and believes his father is still out there. He becomes a warrior of the mind thanks to Athena. I do wish we got a bit more out of him, but he does do his part well. (Fun fact: His Nickname, Little wolf. is a reference to when Poseidon calls odysseus crew a wolf pack swiming with the shark. Since he is Odysseus kid) 8/10

Athena: The goddess of wisdom, and battle tactics. She starts off the musical more calculating and cold, pointing out how Odysseus is losing his composure and smarts because of his emotions. She eventually leaves after a huge argument and is filled with remorse, deciding to make amends by watching over his son, She befriends Telemachus and really realizes her mistake. She even goes as far as to fight Zeus to get Odysseus free, a fight which left her scarred. Athena going through an arc of GAINING empathy and mercy, as opposed to odysseus, making their reunion touching but also sad, like old friends that are now on different walks of life. Her dynamic with Telemachus is top teir. 9/10. (Fun fact, Athena's ability is often misconstrued as time manipulation, but its actually her speeding up thoughts to make everything around them seem slow. Its similar to the power of the Flash)

Poseidon: The god of the Sea, he basically is the big bad of the story as his introduction basically shaped how Odysseus went about trying to get home. Poseidon is pissed that Odysseus blinded his son and left him to suffer, stating that this is all odysseus' fault. He even mocks and reprimands the King by stating if he had just killed Polyphemus, none of this would be happening. He kills most of the crew, and shows how much of a force of nature he is. It isnt until we get to the Vengeance saga that we see Poseidon's true colors. He is petty, cruel, and vengeful. He isnt Ruthless as he claims, because if he was, he would have Killed Odysseus earlier. He wanted Odysseus to suffer. And its only when the tables are turned we see how pathetic he actually is. Solid performance. 10/10 (Fun fact: Poseidon's music in EPIC is represented by trumpets and brass section that gets more electronic and distorted the more wrathful and angrier he is. He was also meant to appear earlier and Tempt Eurylochus into opening the bag, but this was cut.

Penelope: While technically only in 2 songs, Penelope is the most influencial character in the story, as She is Odysseus' drive to get home. She is the one holding things down in Ithaca while she is missing. And when we meet her, we find out how clever and strong she is. She had held the suitors down with her own tactics, keeping them from acting out longer than many could expect. She even figured out Odysseus was arriving after seeing a storm. But what stands out most is that she is the person that defeated the Monster Odysseus was. She saw right through it, she knew her husband. Penelope showed she was the strongest in spirit, and her love for Odysseus matches his love for her. And its truely beautiful 10/10 (Fun fact: She is the most mentioned character in all of Epic. and is only not mentioned in the Cyclops saga.)

I could also go on about the other characters such as Circe, Antinous, Polyphemus, and more. But I think I can summarize and say. Phenomenal characters

Overall

10/10

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The Music

(Are the songs good? Are they good Narrative? What do the songs say)

Yes AND YES

When it comes to the music, Epic does a great balance of Having a solid Narrative through line for most of the songs. Though there are some bits that do need explanation of how things get to point a to point b. But its usually a minor thing.

I think Epic's soundtrack falls into two categories.

Songs I listen to when I listen to the whole thing.

Songs I can listen to by themselves.

Now for me, Songs such as Just a Man, My Goodbye, Ruthlessness, Done for, Thunderbringer, Legendary, Dangerous, Get in the Water, The Challenge, and Would you fall in love with me again.

Are all songs that I can listen to by themselves and not even need to think about the plot, these are songs that are perfect for AMVs and are emotional Peak.

This isnt to say the songs not on this list are bad, its actually a case of, listening to them makes me want to go through the whole saga. Its great in a different way.

If I am being honest, this maybe my personal favorite musical. The attention to detail Jorge does with call backs to previous songs or foreshadowing. The special association of characters to instruments is (Chef's kiss) The more you listen to the songs, the more you find out.

It is mainly an album which means the focus is the songs and it shows.

10/10

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The Themes (What are the moral lessons)

So interesting fact, according to Jorge, Epic's main lesson is about Ruthlessness.

Now many people misconstrue what Ruthlessness actually means.

Many assume it means brutal and harsh tactics in order to achieve what one wants. But that is not the case. We actually see how in some cases being Brutal and harsh ARENT ruthless.

To be Ruthless one must do something without being merciful or compassionate. It means you are going in without taking emotion into account. You want to get to your goal no matter what.

Another way of putting it, it is being determined to get to what you want no matter what. That is how Ruthlessness is defined in this musical.

to be honest, I actually find that moral lesson kind of weak.

BUT there is another lesson in Epic that I think is a much more valuable lesson.

Love is a powerful Action.

Whether it is for good or bad. Love is the driver of EVERYTHING in Epic.

Odysseus was willing to sacrifice his crew for Love. Odysseus fought a god for love. Penelope waited for 20 years and dealt with the worst people, all for love . Never waivering.

Love is what convinced Circe to help Odysseus, Wanting love is what made Calypso force Odysseus to stay on the island.

Athena's Love (as a friend) for Telemachus helped her go so far to save Odysseus.

Love is a powerful action that can shake the world.

That is what I believe is Epic's TRUE theme is.

8/10

_________________________________________________________

Inspiration and Interpretation (What does it do different from The Odyssey?)

So there is a LOT of changes to Epic that make it distinct from Homer's The Odyssey.

I dont think I will be able to list them all, but I will list a few

The story starts at the end of the Trojan war, where in the odyssey it actually starts with Telemachus 10 years after this point

Odysseus never directly faces poseidon, Poseidon just sent a few storms.

Odysseus isnt torn up about what happened in Troy. His crew was hit with a storm after they were being bad sports in the war

Aeolus was actually a king and not a wind god.

Odysseus was not Athena's champion, their dynamic was added for this play. Diomedes was actually athena's champion.

Odysseus dealt with Charybdis and Scylla at the same time in The Odyssey, and no one mutinied him over it

Odysseus actually had to sleep with Circe to save his men, and they chilled on her island for like a month. While in Epic, he doesnt sleep with anyone except Penelope.

(And this is a fun one) Tiresias actually does help him, telling him to NOT sacrifice the cows on Helios' island as it would result in him not getting home for a long time.

Odysseus was actually at Ithaca for a bit before he attacked the suitors, meeting Telemachus earlier on in which they hatched a plan.

There were no games to free Odysseus, the gods basically agreed he suffered enough.

Telemachus heard from Athena that Odysseus is alive, but she was disguised as an old man when she told him

The bow the suitors had to string was a Recurve bow, its not mentioned in the song, but the men had no idea there was a special trick to stringing that bow.

The Winions arent real, the Lotus eaters were originally humans in the Odyssey and were just high on Lotus.

Odysseus was given a unsinkable garment that helped him get home.

And thats most of the interesting ones

Anyway The Odyssey also tells a tale more focusing on the trials and tribulations, praising Odysseus' cunning while reprimanding his dishonorable tactic. While Homer!Odysseus was mainly babysitting idiots, Epic!Odysseus was actually a bit more at fault for things that happened. One odysseus had to be freed and left to his own devices while one had to learn Ruthlessness to get home.

They may tell the same tale, but they do it in different ways.

Epic is different enough that it is clearly Inspired by, not ripping off

this one isnt for grading, I just wanted to put this here.

__________________________________________________________

Final Thoughts

Epic is truly Epic.

It is a wonderful musical that gives a little bit of everything. it rewards the listener if they dig a bit deeper. It is filled with emotion and it was crafted with pure passion.

It may have started as a concept album, but it is a tale of Ruthless determination and a will to dream.

I love this musical and I hope you all give it a shot.

btw, here is additional art my friend made

[sircantus]

Hellooo!

I hope you had a good sleep, I want to ask about your fic "Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding banana phoneee". I adore it, and I want to ask how do you came up with the plot? I'm new here, so I really don't know if you already answered something similar.

And I want to ramble about you fic. I ADORE it, I think is really good. I really enjoy horror and stuff like that, and the idea of suddenly having two brothers, and been the only one in your family to be able to remember that you never had two brothers is *chef kiss*.

Sircantus, please bless us talking about this fic!!

So the plot is actually inspired from a childhood fear of mine where i thought everytime i closed a door all my family members on the other side would take off masks bc they were actually aliens just pretending to be humans and i had no way of like. Confirming they were MY family.

It was just like a passing fear i had as a kid weird little “would that be fucked up or what” kinda thought but yeah then i remembered about it at some point years ago and was like “hey what if au? Kinda? Imposter family?” And thus banana phone was born.

Altho the sequel itself was also made of the concept of like. What if those imposters had Feelings. And just wanted some Family. And then i also craved scary Kristin so yeah thats where the plot went! Im kinda satisfied with it!

I love the whole vibe of it and Tommy’s entire horror movie pov. Im a sucker for soft horror also. Like horror where things are scary but like. The horrors have hugs. And stuff. The horror is the hurt and the comfort. Also the concept of there always being a bigger fish in the ocean (twinsduo vs kristin) is a really fun horror aspect. That, paired with the angst of twinsduo in general….aghh its fun its fun and i feel like im not explaining it right but thats fine everyone will just have to go read it a million times to understand :)

[v1nnyh3r3]

I kind of love the thought of V1 just not wanting to kill. Like sure, they have to, they were built for it, but they're sentient. They know their actions have consequences. They know they're separating families, that these are people, even if they don't remember being people.

They didn't want to kill V2, the one person that they thought could understand them. V2 just picked a few fights with them and the arms kind of just dropped.

They felt bad for killing their kin, it didn't have to end this way. They were just so angry at it all that it boiled over. So they're keeping the arm on them like a memory.

They're feel so guilty for what they've done, for what they've caused, but can't say anything. There is nothing that can give them speech. So they're stuck yelling in their own head. They can't even cry.

They gave mercy to Gabriel because they understand he simply was protecting the people of hell from those who were invading and wiping out everything in their path. Just killing off hell like they did earth.

They spare the Ferryman (or atleast I hope yall did),make friendship with the terminals, free the Prime souls.

They know the Earthmover is also trapped there, down where no one will hear their wails of agony. And I don't know if it's just a mercy kill, or because of their programming overriding everything else. Might be a bit of both.

Cybergrind is there, but they can be more lenient on themselves there because there's no real people there.

Anyways, this was just a concept I fiddled with in my little lizard brain. I love this angsty Gopro so much.

[shelter-clangen]

What is Dear's and Kindread's (i can only hope thats how it is written i forgot so fast) relationship? Friends, cat married, something else?

Love their designs!

man I dunno. “companions” is the only word that works for them

I think unless I make things like…really clear, or I spell it out for you guys directly, the majority of the relationships in this comic are going to be weird as fuck and strange and indescribable and,,unbelonging to any sort of definition or creed. And that’s kinda the nature of things when you’re dealing with a group full of violent individuals and cannibals that are all at least a little unnerving and creepy in their own ways all living together and trying to cooperate as a team instead of slaughter each other ! Kindred and Dear share a bond that’s unlike anything else and is extremely unusual and strange in the world they live in. The idea of “making friends” and cooperating with others as a team never occurs to most cats in the woods, the EXTREME vast majority of cats in the woods are very solitary and try to slaughter everyone they meet the second they see them. Kindred’s a weird and freaky fellow for coming up with an alternative, and it’s that freakiness that’s bringing them all together. So the fact that Kindred and Dear are even friends to begin with is kind of legendary.

I don’t think they’re very…romantic? I dunno. Romance isn’t really something that exists in the woods, and if it does, you bet your doggone dollar it’s gonna be gory and weird and strange and very rare. To these cats, you’d have to be a very strange person to see another cat, your own prey, and intentionally choose to keep them around and in your presence for longer than is necessary for a hunt, or for other reasons than just “their suffering brings you pleasure.” They can’t procreate. No one in the forest is capable of bearing a litter or are fertile in any way, so like… these cats don’t really have any reason to go find a mate or start a family. Family isn’t a thing that exists here. No one has any parents or relatives. I don’t think they even have words for it in their language. They might not even have words for “romantic partner,” but we’ll see. Maybe they have words for “those rare kinds of confusing degenerates that play friendly with their prey, but like, for months or years at a time. for some freaky, sadistic, unfathomable reason.” haha.

So like… relationships for them aren’t…really anything like our own idea of what making bonds is like for us. I mean, we have our tiny handful of “boxes” and labels for what we slot all of our relationships into, we have our “family” and “boyfriend/girlfriend/datefriend” and “spouse” and our “friends” and like. Smaller things beyond that, like “acquaintances” and “co-workers” and some queer spaces have “queer platonic partner” as an additional option, which is a little bit less clearly defined of a box than the others, but to me personally, my favorite kinds of relationships to write are ones that exist outside of any and all of those spaces. Ones that are uncertain, yet noticeably intimidate, in ways you can’t quite place. Ones that are hard to slot into any sort of category, where people always ask me, “hey, what label accurately describes these two?” And the answer is honestly none of them lol. And unless I make it clear, I think the majority of the relationships that pop up in Shelter will probably fall under the amorphous “I dunno” category haha. Whatever relationships that do pop up, I want the concept of meat to be a through-line concept for all of them.

Kindred and Dear are close companions. Dear never talks, but Kindred understands everything she says just as perfectly as if they were having a conversation aloud. He may have his own blind spots in communication, but most of the time he’s dead-on accurate with how he understands everything she’s thinking and feeling. They cuddle at night. They never devour one another, and instead, share this strange form of deep loyalty. She’s his bloodhound and best bodyguard. They definitely came up with the idea of the Shelter together. Kindred leads, and Dear follows. They’re not scared of each other and trust each other implicitly. They contrast each other’s personalities. They’re going to eat your children in the dead of night. Whatever it is they are, they’re definitely a duo.

[lexirosewrites]

This is a big tangent, but there's a movie coming out called Better Man, know next to nothing about it, but I keep seeing trailers for it before other movies I've seen in theaters for the last few months, and in the trailers they mention that it's "from the director of The Greatest Showman" and that made me finally read your steddie fic that's inspired by the greatest showman, "a million dreams" it's been in my marked for later forever lol and I love the high society world building sm! Just wanted to slip this in for slick sunday!

oooooh i’ll have to look into that movie because i haven’t heard of it!

i’ll be honest in saying that “A Million Dreams” is relatively low on my priority list of fics to finish since it’s not one people have shown a lot of interest in, but i promise it’s getting finished some time this year because it’s already a year overdue!😅 i loved the concept of omega Steve running away from high society and pressure to marry in order to join the circus and find out what family is supposed to look like and love (with his alpha, Eddie) should feel like❤️

[0wldn0]

For the family dinner, wouldn’t it be cute if breakdown and bumblebee rounded them up to announce they were gonna be conjux’s?( Ik in your Breakbee post it was like “conjux-to-be”, I just associate the word with being married, idk if that’s accurate tho 😓).

Awww this is so cute!! 🥺💕I love to imagine them announcing it when everyone is together like that! I do think it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone though FDHDFH Those two are not subtle at all, the situationship could be smelled from a mile away 😭

((Also, yeah! I think "conjunx" is very similar to humans' concept of marriage! There are four acts of affection that two bots need to commit before becoming official conjuxes, I've been thinking about what those may be for Breakbee a lot!))

((I don't know if this is fanon or canon but; I really love the idea of Cybertronians bonding their sparks together after becoming conjuxes! Literally sharing a part of their souls with one another... How sweet is that? Such a deep commitment for someone you hold dear, feeling them in your soul all the time after that. I really love that concept so so much. So of course, I made it canon in my AU, hehe.))

If this is the first family dinner though, I think they would only say they're in a relationship, not conjunxes yet! After all, I can see both Bumblebee and Breakdown not wanting to go that far so soon. They both do love each other, but they've only known each other throughout the war, they could only meet once in a while, and they barely managed to spend long days together. They both aren't sure how the war changed the other either. So, while their adoration is still mutual, they would take their time and see how their relationship will develop in this time of peace! Because who knows, despite all the adoration you may feel for someone, in the end you may realise that you are just not fit to be with them in a romantic sense. And considering Cybertronians literally share their souls with one another in this AU, a huge decision that they can't un-do, they wouldn't want to jump into being conjuxes immediately.

Of course though, they do end up realising that they want each other as one another's sparkmate!! Even then however, it is kind of scary to take a big step like that, especially for Bee. I imagine that Bee would still not be used to how things are currently, kind of like Wildrider. The difference is that, Wildrider craved danger and adrenaline because that's what he was used to, peace scared him and made him uneasy; while Bee is afraid that these peaceful times will slip through his fingers if he settles too much into it, he feels as though nothing can hurt him if he just doesn't let himself sink too deep into the idea of peace.

Breakdown doesn't take it to heart and is understanding of Bee's decision. He is worried that this way of thinking may be... unhealthy. But he would rather die than force Bee to do something he doesn't want to do.

It is after the whole "Motormaster gets captured by the Quintessons and the Quintessons manage to get control of Menasor" arc that Bee realises that he doesn't want anything to happen to either of them before he can experience being Breakdown's conjunx. He was so close to losing Breakdown there, so now, he is realising that his fears were keeping him from getting the life he wants.

It is true that things may not be peaceful all the time, but if the peace does cease and there's a terrible danger again, he would rather be able to say that he experienced sharing his whole being with the person he loves anyway, than to lose them before ever getting to do that.

((How interesting would it be to bond with someone that already has a gestalt bond? Do you think the rest of the Stunticons would be able to feel Bee's presence too, even if it is faint? That's so interesting to think about!!))

[dailydemonspotlight]

Dante - Day 151

Race: Fiend Occupation: Devil Hunter Alignment: Neutral, with the Devil May Cry Agency January 13th, 2025

Okay, okay, this might seem stupid, but... I wanted to cover Dante for today for one reason, and one reason alone. A joke that only made sense in my head. 151 is the amount of Pokemon there are in Gen 1, right? And people say that SMT is just demonic Pokemon, so why not cover a crossover demon from SMT for the Pokemon number? Yeah, it only worked in my head. Still! Dante! While the fact that it's DMC Dante is just a victim of a stupid bit, Dante is an incredibly interesting figure to dig into, historically speaking- he's far more than just the silly, pizza eating devil hunter that Devil May Cry fans are familiar with. I'm not gonna be talking about his appearance in DMC, as that's not really the purpose of this blog (though I do fully recommend the DMC games, they're fucking fantastic,) but I do want to talk about the man from whom Dante got his name: Dante Alighieri.

Dante Alighieri was a complicated man, to say the least. Born to a rather modest Italian family in 1265, much of his life is recorded in his poetry, as he was an avid author and poet. Betrothed and set to marry someone- a girl named Gemma Donati- at the ripe age of 12, Dante was unfortunately in love with someone completely opposite, Beatrice Portinari. While this might seem like the setup for a romance book where they get together at the end in spite of their parent's protests, Dante instead spent his time pining over Beatrice and writing poems to her, frequent sonnets contained in the text Vita Nuova. What this is relevant to might seem strained on the surface, but Vita Nuova actually also serves as an important insight to Dante and his thought process- what led him to writing his most important work, and what'll make up the majority of this analysis: The Divine Comedy.

The jokes about the Divine Comedy being a piece of Bible fanfiction aren't... inaccurate, but it's doing a slight disservice to the work to proclaim it as just that when it really does expand on biblical study and serve as a fantastic piece of literature in-and-of itself. It's an honest to god masterpiece, and the reputation it's built up is well deserved. Split up into three works- Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso- the multi-part series of poems goes into depth about the layers of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, as well as their roles and purposes in the grander scheme of things. Driven and shown around by his mentor and main inspiration, the Roman poet Virgil, Dante walks through and experiences a heavily layered metaphor of the consequences of sins and the prizes of virtues, with Virgil serving as the voice of reason throughout.

I can't get too in depth with the work, because I've only read bits and pieces and this is more of a summary, if anything, but Dante's Inferno is where a lot of the conceptions of hell even come from- each layer being based on a deadly sin is a commonly recurring motif throughout much of literature that talks about hell, as well as the idea of the layers themselves. Shit, the layers of hell in ULTRAKILL are literally just the layers of hell in Inferno! Still, the separation of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven into layers is given a lot of weight, and while I do laugh at the fact that he kinda just put the people he doesn't like in hell and the people he does like in Heaven, the work overall serves as a multilayered metaphor for... a lot. It's incredibly complicated. Dante himself seemed to take inspiration from his own suffering and exile for the work, and it shows in how it develops and he uses it to understand his own issues- as it goes on and the comedy moves from part to part, the prose grows more beautiful and as Dante moves from Hell to Heaven, it begins to paint a picture of hope.

So, why was this guy chosen as the namesake of everyone(I think)'s favorite cocky devil hunter? I... don't know! It's probably due to the fact that Inferno is by far the most popular and influential work in the Divine Comedy, and it goes into depth about hell, demons, and devils, everything that Dante deals with on a daily basis. I personally haven't gotten very far into the DMC series (I'm only just starting 3) but from what I can tell, a lot of the literature themes seem to tie together in the whole family tree of Dante, Vergil, and later Nero. Many of the character's names are taken from poetry, after all. So, yeah. Not much else to talk about here, other than the fact that DMC is pretty coool. Also this blog is now featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series.