#more human in some and more beast in others

[kaynanarie]

Eyes of Gold (Part 3)

(A WukongxReader story inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Lutung Kasarung.) (Part 1) (Part 2)

            The rest of the morning was spent scrubbing and drying out your old robes at the riverside. After a quick lunch break, Shihou showed you around the forest, perched on your shoulder the entire time. He pointed out trees ripe with every fruit imaginable, picked more of the purple-flowered jewelweed for your medicine, and gathered soft leaves to use for makeshift bedding.

            It was wild and beautiful and nothing like you expected. Even with the ominous reputation of Fruit and Flower Mountain at the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but feel at peace in such a paradise.

            “If I’ve been invited to the palace, why do I have to wait?” you asked Shihou that evening. While the sun had set, he helped you gather wood and light a small fire near the cave. His knowledge was unexpected but you were no longer surprised by the not-so-ordinary monkey.

            “Staying near the river makes it easier to wash until the poison ivy is gone,” Shihou explained, leaning against you to enjoy your gentle pets through his soft fur. “Plus, the King wanted some time to prepare a proper room for you. You’re an honored guest and he takes his role as royal host very seriously.”

            You were surprised to hear such a courteous reason. “Is it really that big a deal?”

            “He wants to make a good impression.” Shihou glanced up at you, his gilded eyes catching the light of the fire in a reddish glow. “You said you heard stories about Sun Wukong. Is that why you’re so scared of him?”

            “Well…I mean…” I pondered your response carefully. “The elders told us tales about him, mostly out of caution.”

            Shihou tilted his head curiously. “What did they say?”

            “The usual story,” you shrugged. “The Monkey King was a powerful demon that defied heaven and was imprisoned for it. He was sent on a journey to atone and returned to his kingdom once it was through. His spell on the mountain keeps it warm and bountiful year-round.” You glanced at the surrounding forest, green and vibrant even in the dead of winter. “But Monkey King hates humans and kills any that cross his path so the mountain is forbidden.”

            “He doesn’t hate humans,” Shihou argued with a frown. “He just knows how dangerous they can be. The King only wants to protect the mountain and his people.” A quiet melancholy fell over the monkey as he studied the fire. “The last time humans were welcome on the mountain, hunters killed our kind and stole from us. After that, the King banned all humans from his kingdom and forbade any demons from entering the village.”

            The pain and loss in his voice pulled at your heart and filled your eyes with tears. You couldn’t help but scoop him into a comforting hug. “I’m sorry.”

            “Don’t be,” he said, patting your arm in return. “You’re not to blame.” Even after you released him from your sudden embrace, he remained seated in your lap, reluctant to move away.

            “So, I’m still allowed to stay?” you teased, taping Shihou’s nose to lighten his mood. “Even though I’m human?”

            Shihou pouted but grabbed your hand, placing it back on his head for more pets. “You’re an exception. The King sympathizes with your exile and you’ve already shown more kindness than most humans. As long as Sun Wukong allows it, you are welcome on Fruit and Flower Mountain.”

            You only nodded, continuing to brush your fingers through Shihou’s fur. “You speak very highly of your King.”

            “Of course!” Shihou perked up, pride sparkling in his eyes. “He’s the Great Sage Equal to Heaven! He’s strong, handsome, clever, and he’s defeated every demon that ever challenged him.”

            “Sounds humble, too,” you muttered, earning a glare from Shihou. “I mean, he sounds formidable. What other stories do you know about him?”

            He tapped his chin in thought. “There’s a lot of them. Like how he became king by jumping through a waterfall and finding a palace on the other side. Or how he stole his weapon from one of the dragon kings. And then there’s all the adventures he had while on his journey.”

             Shihou launched into different tales of the Monkey King. He was a gifted storyteller, capturing your attention with vivid descriptions and excited gestures. From monks and dragon horses, to pig husbands and river demons, to kingdoms of women and mountains of flame. Every detail painted the journey for you, like he’d seen it with his own eyes.

            As enthralling has his performance was, the night grew late and your eyes grew heavy. You found yourself nodding off more and more, lulled by his soothing voice and your newfound security on the mountain. When you startled awake for the third time, you found Shihou watching you, a cheeky smirk on his face.  

            “I’m sorry,” you yawned, rubbing your bleary eyes.

            Shihou chuckled. “No reason to be sorry. It’s late and there are plenty of stories for another day. You should get some rest.”

            “What about you?”

            “I won’t be far, don’t worry,” he said with a reassuring smile. You nodded, shuffling half asleep to your makeshift bed. “Sleep well.”

            “You too–,” but when you turned back, he had vanished. Only the dying fire remained, crackling as its dim light flickered around the empty clearing. Even though you couldn’t see him, you could still sense his presence lingering in the darkness. With a last searching glance over the shadowy trees, you turned back to the cave.

            It was still gloomy and bleak but the leaves were soft and made the floor more comfortable. As you drifted off to sleep, the fire slowly burned itself to smoldering embers. The only light left was the glowing pair of golden eyes keeping watch into the night.

[jacketpotatoo]

Initial Thoughts on Arcane S2 (spoilers)

I think season 1 was far stronger because it told a much more focused story and centred its themes on the relationships of the characters. What I love about s1 is that you could pick two characters from anywhere in the show, and they'd be foils of some kind, or parallel each other, etc. We don't get enough time with characters talking to each other for that in s2. In s1, so much of the insight we gain from characters is through their conversations with each other - this is effective because they're there and reacting to each other, so you get the deeping of their relationships alongside development of the plot. I think this is why people resonate so strongly with Ep7 - it's so contained. The expanded cast of characters and expanded plotlines mean that at times, it feels like they're checking off plot beats rather than letting the story develop as its characters do. But this is also why I find the jayvik storyline to be the most compelling part of s2 - it's this beautiful medley of greater themes and personal ambition wrapped around inextricably in the other. I found the show's thesis on healing and destruction and the cycles of human violence compelling, and I liked that magic was a sort of tech/industrialisation stand in. Viktor had some GREAT lines that I need to spend some more time unpacking. Cosmic yaoi soulmatism is beautiful. Also speaking of episode 7, I also thought Ekko's arc was incredible and the best and he's the best and I love him.

That being said, I definitely think the ball was dropped on the class commentary. The writers simply took on too much - just trying to explore the class tensions between Zaun and Piltover is enough to take up the entire season. And it's so deeply integral to the politics of the season, and to the balance of the relationships of various characters, that it's just a bit. sigh. Especially when nearly all the new characters introduced get killed off. And we don't get much focus at all on Sevika, who's one of the only main characters involved in revolution. I love Isha, but she felt so much to me like a plot device to me that i find it hard to reconcile. And the lack of class-commentary sours their portrayal of Caitvi alot for me. I personally think Cait's revenge to reconciliation arc was handled fine, and that a verbal apology wouldn't mean as much to vi as the action of freeing her sister did, but the last line of the show is hard for me. "I'm the dirt under your nails." I get that it can be interpreted multiple ways (see: non-problematically), but that had to have crossed the writers' minds. Is it intentional then? A reminder of Vi's insecurities, simply glossed over by Caitlyn? Does it just draw attention to the inequality of their relationship, indicate that there's further work to be done between them and individually? Honestly I feel the same way about where Zaun/Piltover is left off politically. This sort of ambivalent state that isn't endorsed (the sneers the council throws at Sevika are intentional), but is unfortunately realistic. I don't think the ending is a happy one at all. Ambivalent really is the word I'd use to describe it.

I also figure that I need to rewatch the show in full, including season 1. Thoughts might change! I'm still working things out in the brain. I do still think Arcane is a fucking beast and a triumph, and I will forever be inspired by it. I love these characters. every shipper won something and I think that's beautiful. Fortiche's animation is revolutionary.

[galehowl]

in the darkest night, guiding stars

Some rambling about Tailmon's and Caedemon's complicated relationship in Aurora below~

Tailmon and Caedemon are two of some of the oldest Digimon aligned with both their own and mankind in Aurora, and their relationship goes far back to the very genesis of the Digital World.

As Huanglongmon's creations and members of the Archangels, both of them served them and the four Great Beasts as guardians of their world, alongside the other eight of their kind. For thousands of years, they were the guiding light for all the other Digimon to look up to, until Lucemon's betrayal, and the other six Archangels siding with him. Having discovered what would later become known as the Dark Area - an eldritch, mysterious and volatile dimension existing apart from the Digital and human worlds, yet intertwined with them - he chose to keep it secret, and, in time, his own desires, made worse by the influence of the Area, made him turn against his world and creators. The six others that succumbed to it all the same chose to follow their leader, and nearly laid waste to the Digital World by breaching the dimensional walls and unleashing the Area upon it, but were ultimately stopped by the remaining three Archangels, the world's inhabitants, and Huanglongmon's ultimate sacrifice to seal the Dark Area away, along with the traitors.

Ophanimon perished in those battles, but was reborn in the far future, though without memories of her past.

It was the actions of mankind that called her to action once more, and what awakened Caedemon from his eternal slumber deep within the Dark Area. It was when humans, upon discovering its existence, breached it in an attempt to take control of its powers and Caedemon himself - and sealed the fate of both worlds.

Caedemon, like his brethren, was never meant to be awakened, and Tailmon was mortified upon eventually figuring out the identity of the decaying beast. In her eyes, rightfully, not only was he a traitor, but also even alone a serious danger to both worlds, having become part of the Dark Area itself, but he was also absolutely not fit to be a Tamer's Digimon, especially to a child.

Caedemon initially also did little to soothe her concerns, even with her disdain and suspicions for him obvious, as he exhibited a selfish, troubled and nihilistic personality, caring little for their own kind, and consistently questioning whether or not humanity is even worth saving, with all they've learned about it - a big contrast to her more optimistic outlook on things, a love for all living beings, and a desire to seek out good in everyone, even to the detriment of herself and others.

Though they do eventually mend their once broken friendship, it takes a long time for things to get better, and a lot of change ( namely for Caedemon ) for them to find a way to complement each other in working together - two beings plucked from past long gone - to guide both worlds into a better future.

[vourfrede]

beware of the scathing swordsman!

chapter i: the rebirth. masterlist.

content warnings: graphic descriptions of physical wounds, blade going into a mara mania, jing yuan is a little harsh.

taglist (open): @lunaescient @lov3-ly

his rebirth tastes like blood.

the perennial vestige of his foregone past is the cold, whetted object tearing the flesh of his torso capaciously. his tongue savors the taste of iron lathing his mouth, voice coarse like that of a barbaric beast's.

death beckoned its arrival, juxtaposed by the rain-lipped meadows burgeoning with crimson hued flowers. he feels his previously steady heartbeat stall, coursing ichor running cold ever so slightly as the breeze havered on.

how wondrous. he thought to himself.

a withering, trenchant pother churns in his viscera, squandering the dregs of his limp physique to the pinnacle. parted tendons stretch forth and welds with one another. crimson resurfaces in his vision

—he laughs.

wickedly, sickeningly, dementedly.

the sound of it echoes, a rattling clamor that reverberates through the hollowed space within him, crawling across his ribs and hollowing out his lungs. the laughter, once weak, now sharp and jagged, shatters the air like glass. his mouth twists in agony, contorting the edges of his lips into a smile so grotesque it seems foreign to him—an alien thing, borrowed from some other, darker place.

his muscles, unnaturally taut, seem to strain against the sinews and skin, as if his very being were stretching to the brink of rupture. there is no strength left in him, only the gnawing, insatiable hunger of something far beyond the human. a sudden impulse, as instinctual as breath, drives him to grasp the ground beneath him, to sink his fingers into the dirt like a beast reclaiming its soil.

the crimson—the dark pulse of life, or death, or both—gathers in his vision, bleeding from the periphery like a spreading stain, thick and suffocating. he blinks, trying to clear his mind, but it only deepens, pools into something more grotesque and vivid.

and there it is again—his laughter. a rasping thing, born of delirium. It’s almost… familiar now, comforting in its madness.

the sound seems to ripple through his very bones, resonating deep within the marrow. it isn't a mere laugh anymore—it's a grotesque anthem, a hymn to the fracture of his very soul. his breath comes in notched gasps, each inhale pulling him deeper into this phantasmagoria, each exhale plunging him farther into the abyss.

his fingers rasps against the earth's flesh, plowing with ferocity, as if he could claw his way out of himself, out of this bane that is becoming more fervent with each passing moment. the ground beneath his fingertips feels inapt, slick with something other than dirt. it pulses with a rhythm of its own, an answering beat to the thrumming within the cavities of his heart. his mind, however, is too far gone to decipher whether it is the earth or his own body that is shaking in such violent unison.

a flicker of memory—outlying, waning—sweeps through his consciousness, like a dim light on the verge of going out. faces. voices. a life once lived, before this… this thing that he is becoming. but the memory is as fleeting as the wind, and the deeper he descend into his laughter, the more distant the wisps of his past become. his humanity skids through his fingers like smoke, ashen and dreary.

and still, his laughter continues. it echoes off the walls of his skull, becoming an outlandish language, a strange carol of torment, pulling him further into the lunacy that beckons with arms ajar. what is he now? something more, something less, something twisted beyond comprehension? does it even matter anymore?

the question lingers, but it is drowned out by his own voice—a savage, triumphant bay.

"his condition remains unstable as of now, general," an unobtrusive voice echoes within the thin ringing of his head.

gingerly opening his eyes, blade finds himself reposed on an aberrant surface. the pristine white glow of lights above gutters, blinding him in a trice before his vision gathers. his limbs feel leaden, blundering, as if he’s not quite in countenance of his own body.

the purling of glass wind chimes, the whispering of sand, the intermittent ripples and bubbling of brewing elixirs surrounds him. gradually, his mind begins to mend together the spalled dregs of his memories—a paroxysm of bestiality, chaos, and then darkness. the ache that strings along is keen and abrupt as his body protests any movement, a grim reminder of whatever ordeal he’s just survived.

unstable, the word straggles in his mind. the phrase feels too clinical, too objective to describe the jumble of his thoughts and senses. his heart pulsates, as he wrangles to piece together the state of things. his gaze carts across the room, but there’s no one to explain to him where he is, or more importantly, why he’s here.

as he tries to sit up, the acrid pain of his wounds smolders across his chest, and he quickly lies back down, gawking up at the ceiling. his mind races with questions, but the weight of his fatigue presses him down.

“damn it,” he mumbles to himself, swallowing back the doubt. he is not one for susceptibility, yet here it is, the stark reality of frailty. The reverb continues in the back of his mind, but he focuses on the present, the struggle for clarity amidst the fog of his thoughts.

and just then, a figure steps into his view—hushed, but with an air of ascendancy that blade instinctively identifies.

"jing yuan" he lampoons, each word spoken dripping with disdain.

there is a palpable stillness in the air, cold and inscrutable gazes burns tenfold as blade grapples on the thin sheets, the throbbing viscera amplifies.

"you're awake" jing yuan imparts, his voice a low murmur showing scant interest.

his words, however, are like the strike of a match, igniting a torrent of umbrage in blade's chest. the unrelenting darkness seemed to swallow him whole, for each puzzle pieces—the memories of betrayal, of power, of twisted purpose—begin to coalesce as his body writhes for liberty.

"you think this is your victory, don’t you?" blade’s baritone voice grows raucous, a raw rasp that barely sounds like his own. his words are entwined with rancor, but there is something else beneath the surface, within the bowels of his woes—something cavernous within that tremors with a forebode he can’t yet fully grasp.

"you're broken," he simply says, a frown chiseled in his lips. the frigidity in his tone gnaws at blade's resolve. "but that’s only a part of the process. there is still so much for you to learn."

"what do you want from me?" the words are guttural, forced from blade's throat as though they don’t belong.

jing yuan's gaze didn't waver upon blade's statement, earning a scornful glower from him. he then states in a measured, couth convenance,

"what i want, is for you to embrace what you are becoming. we can’t afford weakness in this world, yingxing. not anymore."

yingxing.

the name—yingxing—clings in the air like a facsimile, echoing through the teared cloisters of blade’s consciousness. it is a name he does not immediately discerns, yet it stirs something deep within him, a forgotten truth that corrodes at the edges of his sentience.

yingxing.

it’s his name, he realizes. it was. a name once forgotten, now resurfacing with the weight of an entire life he can no longer fully grasp. his true name, stripped away, shelved beneath the abhorrent carapace he has become. and yet, it feels alien on his lips, like a name of another—someone who, for all his fury, is slipping away with each passing moment.

jing yuan eyes on him with an vacant gaze, his eyes like two pools of endless depth, akin to an abyss veiled with golden irises. he stands there, unmoving, as if he is the very embodiment of calm and control, the furor coiling within blade trifling to him.

"embrace it, blade," jing yuan mutters with a voice like silk. "this is your rebirth."

and with a final, scourged laugh—one that is does not belong to him—blade, yingxing, feels a chilling spark of acceptance.

vourfrede © reposting, plagiarizing, and/or translating to be avoided.

[alice-the-demon]

Hell Tower Lore (Demons: classes and stages)

Ah, Hell... The place of damnation par excellence, full of people that didn't make the nicest choices when they were alive and/or have a very bad behaviour, ruled by 7 monsters that represents the famous 7 deadly sins and the worst of humanity.

Demons are creatures with animal-like behaviours that can be really dangerous depending on what kind of personality they have and on the powers that reflects the sin they represent, but can be defeated if exposed to the sun and they'll become a pile of dust. Pretty much like vampires.

When a person ends up in hell they either become an Imp or a Hell Animal:

Imps can be recognised by their "almost human" look: they have pointy ears, claws, fur, a long tail and horns (+ an extra feature that differs for each demon depending on what sin they represent), their way of acting is similar to cats. They're the weakest kind of Demons, people who in their earthly lives did some light yet bad things, like hurting someone else once (verbally or physically) or having done some controversial actions without redeeming themselves... In short, overall people that may seem okay but revealed to be problematic to have around. They can either transform into Angels when they get redeemed with the help of an Archangel, or in a Hell Animal if their behaviour/mindset gets worse during their stay in Hell.

Hell Animals are anthropomorphic creatures that have less of a human aspect and more of an, well, animal. They're people who, in their earthly lives, either hurt/abused someone else multiple times, contributed to a grave crime/genocide, have a very messed up mentality or somehow did all of the above. They're generally criminals who are better to avoid, they might even start a deadly fight if you accidentally bump into them. Although they can be very hotheaded and hard to reason with, they can become better and transform into an Imp... But most times these people can become so rotten that they spiral even deeper into their sin, to the point they transform into horrid beasts.

Hell Beasts are the final stage of Demons, they're monsters as big as houses and they're recognised as the most dangerous and mortal creatures in creation. On the contrary of the previous stages, the Beasts aren't capable of going back or redeeming, they've lost the last piece of humanity they had and become violent beings with their first thought in mind being attacking and/or eat anything they see. They live in the forest at the center of Hell, near to the castle where the 7 Deadly Sins live and away from the Imps and Hell Animal's city so that they don't end up mauled.

Demons are categorised in 7 classes and they all have different powers as I'll show here.

(⚠️CW for suggestive pose and sexual themes in the Lust section, +16⚠️)

Wrath

The most destructive kind, they have super strength and high durability, their claws are capable of cutting through hard metals. They are recognizable by their more pumped arm muscles, red fur and the tip of their tail resembling a lightened fuse of a bomb.

Imp: they might be small but still capable of doing some damage if provoked. When angry they might act like cats. It's kinda adorable tho

Animal: they look like anthropomorphic bulls. They're more easy to make them angry and can defeat anyone by simply flicking the opponent.

Beast: bull-like monsters with multiple legs. They spend most of their time giving headbutts on the tree trunks of the forest or attacking other beasts/anyone who meets their eyesight.

Pride

Let's be fair, they're the hardest ones to bear. This kind of Demons believe they're the best and most powerful ones, although they don't really don't have anything spectacular aside from being able to run as fast as a cheetah. They are recognizable by their more pumped leg muscles, orange fur and the tip of their tail resembling an arrow.

Imp: they don't have many peculiarities, you can see them strut all the time.

Animal: they look like anthropomorphic fishes. Now they're both quick both on land AND water, their teeth are more sharp and their fur is constantly wet.

Beast: piranha looking creatures with limbs to walk on land. They are so quick that you can barely follow them with your eyes. It only takes a moment of distraction to find out one second later that one of your limbs is missing and that it's in the monster's jaws.

Greed

The most hated ones in Hell. With their increased stealth abilities and ability to fly these bastards can be excellent thieves and scammers, giving Hell many economical problems because of it. They are recognizable by their bird wings, yellow fur and the tip of their tail resembling a claw.

Imp: they spend most of their time in the streets, always finding new victims to snatch their wallets or anything expensive looking.

Animal: they're half Imps and half ravens. You can see them soaring in the skies of Hell, often straight up nosediving towards the localised objective. 60% of the time they also accidentally grab the person they're stealing from because of how big their claws are.

Beast: raven-looking monsters with many claws, they live hidden in the bushes of the forest. If you have the misfortune to get caught by one of them you won't be able to get freed by their grasp, as their claws are as strong as the thickest metal around.

Envy

These guys have amplified senses, capable of seeing objects and hearing even the smallest whisper from great distances. It might seem like a pretty weak power at first, but used well it can be helpful in battles to anticipate the enemy's moves. Plus these Demons often get paid to stalk others by request. They are recognizable by their fly wings, green fur and their tail resembling a magnifying glass.

Imp: they live their lives normally with the exception that most of them give a menacing look to anyone they cross. Other times you can see them angrily mumbling with themselves as they listen to a conversation from the other side of the city.

Animal: they look like insects with humanoid limbs. These guys are pretty much known for giving the coldest insults to others, preferring to obsess over others's business than taking care of themselves.

Beast: fly-looking creatures with multiple eyes all over their bodies. It's impossible to catch or even touch them, as they see and hear everything around them. They're as fast as Pride Imps.

Sloth

The most innocuous ones, more or less. Their tail contains a special poison that can paralyse anyone for half an hour, but they don't use it much. They don't even trim their fur, making them look like giant walking hairballs. They are recognizable by their huge blue fur and the tip of their tail looking like a scorpion one.

Imp: it's rare to see one outside of their homes or of the Hell's Spa, and it's even rarer to see one doing something relevant like... I dunno, paying taxes or something.

Animal: they look like anthropomorphic llamas. They smell like rotten cheese and their breath is so bad that no one can describe what it smells like without going in a coma.

Beast: a mix of llama and goats creatures. They don't do anything. They just lay down on the grass field of the forest and do nothing. Their fur can be trimmed, although with much difficulty, and used as pillows, sheets and more, but it's rare to get this type of fur because of how these Beasts are such easy targets for the other ones to eat.

Gluttony

The tail of Gluttony Demons produces a special sweet liquid that can make you feel dizzy and see hallucinations when swallowed (think of it like LSD but in liquid form). Because of that they're often abducted by greedy people to squirt all of the juice from the tail and sell it to others, commonly known as "Demon Juice". They are recognizable by their bat wings (I forgot to draw that in the Imp below, whoops) purple fur and the tip of their tail resembling a fruit-looking sphere.

Imp: some of them have dark circles under their eyes and a little scruffy appearance. Usually they carry around a cup so that they can drink their "Demon Juice" whenever and wherever they want... Or just directly put the tail in their mouth and munch it.

Animal: they have some characteristics of a bat, making them look like vampires. They have an even more scruffy look, most of the Gluttony Animals have their tails ruined and shriveled up due to the gland that produces that liquid being damaged by squeezing continuously the tail. Because of this, half of them assault or manipulate other Gluttony Demons to desperately drink their Demon Juice and make them feel "good" again.

Beast: bat-like monsters. They are always hungry, always in search of anything to eat, always screeching loudly and desperately. They're just as dangerous as Wrath Beasts, capable of sucking out the blood of a being as big as them in less than a half a minute. The 7 Deadly Sins, taking turns every day, have the job to feed these Beasts in particular, so that they don't eat most of the other Beasts or, in the worst case, that they don't exit the forest and add more havoc than there already was in Hell.

(⚠️LAST WARNING, ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT EXPLICIT, THE SECTION BELOW CONTAINS MENTIONS OF PROSTITUTION AND SEXUAL ACTIVITIES⚠️)

Lust

Most of these demons live in wealth (gee, I wonder why) yet they're also really feared by others because of their ability to control anyone's mind by simply listening to their voices. They are recognizable by often wearing revealing clothes, having pink fur and the tip of their tail resembling a heart.

Imp: they can be really nice companions/friends with benefits, especially if you want some nice... Uhm... Services. They might be cheaper than the Lust Animals, but their quality is just as high, especially with their long slimy tongues.

Animal: they're viper-like creatures with additional heads as hands, to not be confused with Hell Snakes. They're sneaky and some even cruel with others, they get paid even more than Imps by people with... Questionable tastes, to say the least.

Beast: they're three headed snake monsters. Even by just looking at one of their 6 eyes you'll enter in a trance state and be the next appetizer of this ravenous and slimy creature.

[mals-writing-corner]

Cw: Roman Slavery, MCD

"Youth" did not mean a child in ancient Rome. It was a younger man who was very feminine. A femboy, if you will. It could be considered a third gender that only young men could have. But it did not mean underage.

This is inspired by the emperor Hadrian who made his dead lover into a god.

Special thank you to some amazing people who helped me out! Wolf and Ajax in the Ghoap Discord, and @paranoidpandora here on Tumblr! These three and I had a super fun brainstorming session, and after talking with my good good friend @irate-iguana , I came up with this idea. I may not make this into something bigger, but who knows 🤔

Roman emperor Soap who has been ruling for a long while. He's no longer in youth, his beard making sure of that. His skin is darker, more weathered. But, even as he's now left his youth, he doesn't have a youth yet. Even as his advisors try and push some onto him, he doesn't have one.

That is, until an outsider, the Ghost, is dragged into town. He was found on the outskirts, murdering traveling Romans. He was to be put to death. But he was the most beautiful youth Soap had ever seen. So he decides to take him as his slave. But his advisors will *not* let him anywhere near the emperor. So, Soap keeps him as his slave, owns him, but makes him fight in the collesseum. He watches, every fight. He's *terrified* that the Ghost is going to die, he's going to get killed by one of the beasts they throw in there, animal or human. But every time, he rises above. It seems, though, that the collesseum tempers his anger. He becomes more calculating as he continues to fight. So, Soap employs him to his praetorian guard, his personal bodyguard as it were. And, having fought in the arena, Ghost now knows Latin. He and Soap end up talking to each other, and eventually, Soap announces that Ghost, even with the scars of the arena, shall be his youth, because he's as beautiful as a youth. He doesn't know how old he is. Ghost won't say, maybe doesn't even know himself, but he's more beautiful than all the youths in Rome. They start a sexual relationship. In private, Soap is the bottom, the submissive, but in public, he carts Ghost around like his *lover* is the submissive one. Because youths could only be submissive. But Ghost is also good at his job. There have been several assassination attempts already, and Ghost has thwarted all of them. This only serves to make Ghost even *more* popular. But it also means his guard goes down more. And another assassination attempt goes through. And for his efforts, Ghost gets a dagger in the back. Soap uses that same dagger to slay his would be assassin, but it's too late for Ghost. He's dying. In his final moments, Soap frees him from his bonds of servitude, so that he may have a hero's death. Soap mourns his lover. He commissions statues in his honor, depicting him with the beauty of Venus, and the strength of Mars. He prays, every night, that his lover might return to him. One night, as he's laying across the marbled feet of his lover, he feels a cold hand touch his back. He looks up, and sees his lover, carved from marble, leaning down towards him. He explains that he was the child of Venus and Mars, and that Vulcan, his mother's husband, was jealous of him, of the attention he got from his mother, to a child who wasn't his. So he cast Ghost from Olympus, taking his memories, and his godly powers, but his youthful beauty could not be taken. Now, Venus and Mars see how loved their son is, and have brought him back as a statue, with Vulcan's blessing, but only for a moment, to give Soap the choice.

Continue living, or join him.

Soap doesn't even choose, he gets up into the pedestal and kisses his lover, holding him close as they turn to pure white marble. They would henceforth be known as the emperor, and his lover.||

[angelwishess]

Rambling about Floyra again because they genuinely make me ill

Kyra and Floyd’s relationship is honestly hard to describe. Not in the way that its confusing, but its so much deeper and complex than anything i write can convey ??

They’re both people who have never had the privledge of being able of being vulnerable, let alone infront others

They’re both people who have never been truly understood. Floyd being watered down to nothing but his mood swings, and Kyra her impulsiveness.

They’ve both never let many people get too close to them. People know them but they never understand.

They are the first and only people to ever and try to understand eachother. And they do, more than anyone else. If no one else can, who better than them? They understand eachother in a way much deeper than most realize.

Floyd never needed anyone. Kyra never needed anyone. Atleast not until they met eachother. Then, they realized just how much they needed the other. And they finally understood what it meant to love one person so much it hurt.

Kyra has mood swings, just as bad as Floyd. Its just shes grown to be able to hide it, but she has to fight back the urges to just get up and walk away from it all, the urges to get violent. Being a princess has trained her to always be “presentable”.

But then she meets Floyd, whos so unapologetically himself. And he shows all of the traits she has surpressed in herself for the longest time. And he does it without a care in the world.

And it makes her realize, its not a bad thing. Having emotions she cannot control does not make her a bad person.

While Kyra is still very emotionally constipated and struggles to understand her own emotions, somehow knowing Floyd helps her know herself, too.

And, Floyd makes her feel human.

Floyd has always been seen as some sort of “wild child”. Someone to be avoided. Labeled as uncontrollable and unpredictable, treated as something to fear.

But when he meets Kyra, hes treated gently for what feels like the first time. She treats him delicately, almost like glass. She calls him pretty, and looks at him with no fear, but with pure adoration. Genuine love. And he cant help but melt from it. She looked past the person many painted him as. And saw something beautiful.

For once he isnt being treated for some kind of unpredictable beast. And for once, Kyra isn’t being treated like someone who needs to be perfect all of the time.

Two people who have never been vulnerable, find themselves being fully vulnerable to eachother. Their flaws and ugly parts all bare and on display for the other to see. So clearly exposed, for the very first time.

And yet, even after all of the flaws and imperfections, they still love eachother so purely and so genuinely. Even without having to hide their issues or hold themselves back— they could be themselves, together. Unapologetically together. They looked past the surface, past all of the grime and cracks and found something beautiful only they could truly understand.

The purest form of love, and it cannot be described as only love.

They are not just lovers, but something much deeper and much more worse. They are something that can only be described as even more than platonic or romantic. Soulmates, twin flames, eachother’s other half— whatever you want to call them. They are everything and more, somehow and in some way.

They are complex, and their bond runs deeper than any bond theyve ever had before. Not many realize it, but they dont need anyone else to realize it. They know eachother and they understand eachother and thats all they need.

At the end of the day when theyre overwhelmed and tired, they know they can find home and comfort in eachother. In eachother, they found a new freedom to be vulnerable. Within eachother they found peace. A bestfriend, a lover, a favorite person, partners in crime and in life, and something even more.

Their love was slow, patient. It developed over time and only grew deeper. A sudden realization of the obvious truth. They realized, that they’ve already given their hearts to eachother. Kyra was already his, and Floyd was already hers long before they even knew it.

To be so in love that it was so natural, basically second nature to simply just give yourself away to the other. It was ridiculous but it was their truth. Before they knew it they became irreplacable parts of their lives.

“Til’ death do we part” is a lie. Because they’ll find eachother even after that. In every universe, in every world. One way or another. They were already worlds apart, seperated from eachother in this reality; and yet still they managed to find eachother even so.

Their love is pure, unapologetic. Raging, uncontainable and raw. It shines brightly, burns bigger than any fire. It is so deeply instilled in their very beings that it was hard to believe one could love another so much. They never even thought they were capable of such a thing.

But then again, they always did have a way to bring out every part of eachother, sides of themselves they never even realized they had.

I could ramble about them even more but i’ll stop myself for now … HEHEHE

Theres something about someone who’s watered down to something unpredictable and wild, seen as an uncontrollable whirlwind of emotions that is incapable or caring for anyone but themself— melt in gentle hands. Someone who is seen as “scary” go soft and letting themselves be vulnerable in someone else’s arms … its my favorite trope and u can NEVERR tear it away from me 🔥🔥

(When I said “flings” i meant when people for some reason make him some sort of flirty play boy ?? I am not kidding the amount of things ive seen of that 😭)

A special thank you to @screamintoad for letting me yap about them 🫶🫶 ily man HEHEHE 💗

[rizzoreads88]

If E/ucien is next who will train Elain?

We know in each sisters book their training is important. Most of Acomaf Feyre is training with Rhysand, Cassian & Azriel… in Acosf Nesta is training for most of the book. So who is going to help train Elain?

If Elain and Lucien’s book is next Lucien cannot train her. He doesn’t even have mental powers. Now I know a lot of e/ucien shippers theorize Elain is going to either go off to the human lands w Lucien or to the spring court… We know in Acosf Rhysand wants to station Lucien at the spring court permanently. So once he’s there who would train elain there? Tamlin?… we know it’s hinted that Elain MAY have shifter powers so theoretically Tamlin could train her how to shift but what about her main mental powers? Tamlin doesn’t have those mental power. Also we know where Tamlin is at in the story right now he is in no place to train anyone yet. He’s depressed and off in beast form. So we would need Tamlin to start healing and his healing arc long before he starts to help train someone else. I know some e/uciens also think Elain is going to go off with Lucien to Vassa and Jurian… ok but who would train her? Again they don’t have those power.

I think it’s safe to say Rhysand and Amren are the ones who will most likely help train Elain with her powers. Now we know Rhysand and Amren don’t have seer powers but Rhysand has a lot of mental powers, he’s also very Knowledgeable and is the most powerful high lord. Amren didn’t have the same powers as Nesta but still helped trained her mentally as well because Amren is much older and more knowledgeable then most of the characters in the story . So these two could actually help train Elain.

So if E/uciens books is supposedly next where and who would train Elain? “Well Lucien could go back to the night court…” your right he could so what’s going to happen then? Lucien is just going to chill in the Nc while others train Elain? I personally don’t see that happening. We know Lucien doesn’t even like to spend a lot of time in the Night court as is now. His story is established with Vassa and Jurian being his friends and we know he will have to mend things with Tamlin. Whether you like Tamlin or not a big part of Lucien’s story will be his friendship with Tamlin. Tamlin is to Lucien what Rhysand is to Cassian. They are chosen brothers, best friends, court members ect. & another point to show Lucien won’t spend the next book in the night court is that Rhysand says they need him permentantly stationed at the Spring Court. So we know the next part of Lucien’s story will be in the Spring Court/ Human Lands.

We also know Lucien won’t be the one to train Elain because he doesn’t understand Elains powers either. In Acomaf he didn’t know what was going on with her when she was having visions. Which tells us he doesn’t know much about seers & definitely not enough to train someone with those powers. I also think Lucien still needs to come more into his own powers. He doesn’t even know he is a spell cleavers son yet. So He probably has a lot more powers then any of us know or he even knows.

We know Elains training will be important and if E/ucien is supposedly going to happen i just don’t see how her training would even happen then.

[rewritingtales]

if  the  witch  can  turn  people  into  were-creatures,  curse  them  to  be  half  human  half  beast  for  an  eternity,  he  wondered  what  she  could  do  to  ones  that  were  already  that  naturally.  it  brought  a  small  smile  to  his  lips.  the  idea  of  zeke  and  the  witch  carver  facing  off  head  to  head.  “then  there's  the  enchanter  that  did  the  same  thing  to  prince  adam.  what  a  shame.”  he  feigned  concern,  making  a  tsk,  tsk,  tsk  sound  with  his  tongue.  no,  he  really  didn't  care.  he  just  wanted  to  see  if  he  could  egg  the  big  bad  wolf  on  some  more.  “as  long  as  i'm  alive  you  won't.  i  tend  to  rather  enjoy  the  stories  of  others.  what  makes  them  formidable  foes  to  the  heroes  at  least.”  for  someone  that  could  make  himself  immortal,  he'd  be  around  for  centuries  to  haunt  the  other  man.  what  joy  that  brought  him.  “does  one  only  need  allies  at  a  time  of  war?”  brows  rose,  but  only  ever  so  slightly  and  for  a  couple  of  seconds.  he  couldn't  risk  those  pesky  little  lines.  “wars  can  often  times  be  avoided  entirely  due  to  the  connections  one  has.”

"hm."  yeah,  he  definitely  had  to  find  this  witch  &  end  talk  with  her.  they  didn't  need  false  monsters  in  the  world,  they  had  those  like  him  &  those  of  his  he  turned  &  let  loose  on  the  realm  to  unleash  chaos  upon  all.  his  pride.  his  legacy  -  not  that  he  meant  to  die  any  time  soon.  he'd  remain  only  to  cause  more  suffering;  be  it  for  himself...  or,  preferably,  others.  he,  too,  enjoyed  the  solitude,  which  accompanied  his  life  in  its  entirety.  his  house  was  hidden  quite  well  in  the  depth  of  the  forest  &  other  than  the  occasional  hunter  (or  woodsman),  some  animals...  he  was  usually  alone.  life  was  good.  "it's  good  at  that."  he  wanted  to  see  his  forest  now,  compare  it  to  his  own,  see  if  maybe  he  could  see  himself  making  a  second  home  there.  not  that  he  planned  to  announce  ...that  plan.  "hah,  funny.  never  gonna  live  that  down,  am  i?"  but  ...  if  the  stories  about  him  carried  this  far,  he  was  doing  it  right,  wasn't  he?  head  tilted  sideways  in  ...  wonder,  maybe  confusion.  "what  could  someone  like  you  possibly  need  an  ally  for?  got  any  enemies  hidden  away?"

[prismatoxic]

i just think he's neat.

[articskele]

Thinking about....... Sun Onceler.........

[abluehappyface]

I'm going to post what is I guess a story relating to my personal experiences being on this earth. This is mostly for my benefit. Look if you want I guess, but just know that there will be some potentially triggering stuff, but I don't know what it is, so I can't tag it right now

My Life as a Monster

You stare at me like I'm some sort of beast, a thing merely meant to be caged. Something you feel the need to be protected from. You watch, knowing that I can't get you from your bedroom window, at the spectacle you think I am. You aim your camera at me, the flash reflecting off the glass I sit behind, as you film and photograph me for no other reason except that I'm here. When I'm among you, you stare at me with mocking gazes, your eyes becoming yet another set in an endless number of pairs that make their way to dig into mine. No matter how well I think I'm camouflaged, you always sniff me out, and then you let me know how I'm unwelcome here.

I'm especially afraid of women. All humans my same age startle me, but women more so. Women have always been more scornful to me. They told me how unwanted I was for me to hear. They shunned me from their groups, leaving me an outcast as a child. Women do not like me, I know this as fact.

Their actions are always deliberate. Humans make it a point to leave me out, to the point I feel I'm not one. I may have lost my humanity, turned into a beast, or maybe both at once, but I know for certain that there are times where human is something I'm not. I may be the monster stuck inside a human husk that I think I am, or perhaps I'm an outcast being overdramatic, but I know that humans do not like me. I do not fit in. I am but a beast.

As if being ostracized as a child wasn't enough, you continue to gawk at me. What have I done to receive your judgement? Why must you hunt us beasts? Mother doesn't understand why I don't leave the cave, as if I ever could. If I leave the cave, the humans will stand watch, waiting to scout me out.

My existence is a worldly secret, and a secret I shall stay. If I seek out a place amongst the humans they will reject me. No human will want me as a partner or friend. I am a beast in a world where existence is a joke. To avoid their mocking eyes, the cave is where I stay.

I know humans are resilient beings, that they can choose to change, that acceptance of us monsters is not unheard of, but I do not depend on it. When you've lived the life of a beast, you prepare yourself for scorn. Your hopes mustn't be up too high, else you'll fall and break your horns. I wish I was the fuzzy, colorful beast that humans love, but I am not. I am a dark, shaggy beast, with curled, antler-like horns, fangs, claws, and eyes that glow white in darkness. I am not a friend to them, I am something to be hunted.

As much as I love being my beastly self, I fear being myself is what's causing my downfall. I don't want to change to make myself palatable to the humans. They do not deserve it after what has happened to me. Even so, a monster like me still wonders what connection can feel like. To think some humans tolerate me, like me even, but they live too far away... I wish I could be with them.

However, this is no longer the case. Past human friends have betrayed me, apart from one. I have no true desires to befriend humans. As my grandmother once told me, I'm "too monstrous and hostile" for friends. I'm to monstrous for everyone. I'm too monstrous for myself. The human body I reside in is just a defense from the humans around me. I feel no true, meaningful attachment to this body.

I am the metaphorical version of a kitten that wasn't socialized. I cannot connect with others. I do not connect with others. I'm not meant to. I am designed for solitude.

I'm just a creature who's strange. I know I should care not of what others think, and yet I still do. I care because I am afraid. I am still afraid of humans my own age, especially women. If I could get everything I needed without leaving this house, the world would never see me again.

I am such an irrational thing. Here I am, a potential gynephobe who's a lesbian being encroached upon by a beast. Here I am, knowing most people don't care about me, yet I still care enough in case they press record again. Humans could be nice, but I must distrust them for my safety. They'll never know me well enough to know this. I must make sure of it.

I feel it has gotten so hopeless that my younger sister feels that she needs to intervene. She does a lot of talking for me. She pulls at my arms to try and get me to speak with humans. Even if it was a joke, it made me realize how hopelessly helpless I am. She feels I speak to no one, and she is right.

Worst of all, I know that I must change. Eventually I'm going to have to provide for myself. I don't wish to tell mother of my beastly affliction, though I have no reason not to. I suppose I am a cautious beast. How cautious is too cautious I wonder?

The beastly affliction is affecting major parts of my life. I remain in the cave all day. I speak to no outsiders. I rely on my little sister too much. My mother says she feels she has failed me. I do not wish to be a defective child. I do not wish to be a beast. I wish I could cry beastly golden tears until I'm washed clean of my beastly essences.

I am a pathetic beast. I am not strong. I am a lowly creature. I am a strange thing that cannot be understood. I shall forever remain a beast, and society shall forever hate me.

I feel I am stuck in place. I don't often think about my beastliness, but when I do it feels paralyzing. I don't know what to make of it. I don't know if it will change. I turn 20 in three days and I'm still the beast from when I was 16. I'm still the monster, I feel I forever will be. I feel the world has gone one without me, but I'm fine with that. I know nothing else at this point.

[karanseraph]

Today's double feature: The Last Knight (2017) and Transformers One (2024)

I like both of these movies, but I like them in sorta different ways. I feel like Transformers One is a quality movie that is also a good Transformers Movie. Whereas, I actually think The Last Knight is a good Transformers movie without necessarily being what most people would think a quality movie in general.

And the two movies do also have some aspects in common:

The Arthurian themes. This is overt in The Last Knight. The Movie opens with the dark ages prologue involving Arthur and Merlin and a crashed Cybertronian spaceship with knights that combine into a dragon. There's a talisman that is also basically Excalibur. There's themes of a leader who departed who then returns. It's overt.

In Transformers One the Arthurian themes take some interpretation to recognize. You may need to know a tiny bit about the lore to see it. But there's the concept of chosen worthy leadership, there's a macguffin artifact tied to that worthy leader and leadership. In times when that leader is gone, things are dark and the land dies. But when a worthy leader rises with the artifact the wealth of the land can be restored.

That's the biggest parallel for me. One's maybe more the excalibur era and the other perhaps the grail era, but still, similar themes and resonance.

But there are other small things.

Like, Cybertron having a layer of nature and organic matter over parts of its surface. That's not necessarily exclusive to these two works, I think some of the comics and maybe some of the Beast Wars era projects did this, too. But it is something these two movies share.

There's a betrayal. In Transformer One it's framed as D-16/Megatron betraying Optimus. In The Last Knight, Optimus is perceived by Quintessa and Megatron to betray Cybertron but also by his friends on Earth and the Knights to have betrayed them.

One of the more epic battles of The Last Knight is Bee fighting Optimus in order to save him from Quintessa's influence.

In terms of ranking, Transformers One remains in my top two. The Last Knight is somewhere below my top four. I'm wondering if it might actually be in fifth place.

I do like some things about The Last Knight more than either Revenge of the Fallen or Dark of the Moon; that it has less crude humor and eccentric humans mostly existing for comic relief. And it's a little better in how it uses human characters than Age of Extinction, too. For example, I said previously that Age of Extinction did something right with giving us more robot characters that interact with each other. The Last Knight also does this, but although it has large numbers of background humans, it's distinct in how it doesn't have as many eccentric comic relief humans as earlier movies, and how it doesn't do the thing Age of Extinction did in allowing each human character to bring about two other human characters with them. Cade still gets to do this for some scenes, but Vivianne and Sir Burton are separate characters who travel with bots, mostly, Simmons literally phones in a role, and Lennox returns as the main face for the collective background human military characters.

Since I found out that Transformers One is on Paramount+ in my region, and since I still have access to this service, I've been watching it every day and then watching some other Transformers content I have access to. Back-to-back like.

It's only been a few days.

The first day I watched Transformers One and then about 6-ish episodes of EarthSpark 'Season 3 '. Transformers One IMO, is the superior work. I don't hate EarthSpark (the obvious shift between seasons 1 and 2 does frustrate me). It generally does a lot of things I like. One of them is that it has an interesting animation style in which the 'Transformers Bots' come out looking very toy-like and the special effects 2D in style and it makes me feel like the whole thing is someone playing with toys, but in a good way (except one of the kids I'm playing with wants to go in a direction I don't like). Anyway, Transformers One is just a more epic thing all around. It's from the same era but made with different style and design. Less like toys (weirdly, considering Director, eh?) and more like an animated Science Fiction/Adventure in general. Also, arguably deeper resonance in the characters and their arcs.

The next day I watched Transformers One and then Rise of the Beasts, which only came out a little more than a year before. So, similar era of media, again. Animation vs 'live action' (but we know those bots are all animated just in a 'realism' style). The characters look pretty good to me in both. And the plots and characters and their arcs are different, but both are interesting and have resonance. I mean it's like the 'brothers' that turn into enemies with one, but then in the other it's largely about these two (three but Primal is so ahead of the others) guys from different planets trying to do their best for their own families and coming together to fight a destructive force. So, both movie are pretty epic. I kinda want others to watch these back-to-back to see what they feel, because one movie is like the one splitting apart and the other is about separate people joining as one.

Now, today I'm watching The Transformers: The Movie (I believe I own this one) and Transformers One back-to-back double feature. I'm still in the midst of this. But I think TF:tM holds up. It's 80s as Hell, right? 1986 up against 2024. But if I think about it in terms of "was this good or typical of its time" then both movies looked good in their era. Both animated, though different in technique and style. Both make use of Quintessons while the main foe is someone else. Both pretty epic plots. Both have that sort of cultural resonance where Transformers One does have those sort of Prince of Egypt vibes (I see what you did TFWiki) or like shades of Set and Osiris or vaguely The Lion King where there's a pair of close characters who split apart dramatically with betrayal. And Transformers: the Movie is very Hero's Journey itself borrowing heavily from Star Wars. Both these movies made use of some amount of celebrity casting and it worked. Transformers One several more girl or woman type characters than Transformers: The Movie, but that's also likely reflective of the eras in which they were made. Transformers One still mainly has the one main pink heroic girl and dark bad girl characters which is a thing with this whole genre of the action toyline adaptation, but yes, many other different types of bots in the background.

I think maybe Bumblebee tomorrow?

[thebirdandhersong]

There's a lot that can be analysed in The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne about eugenics, actually

[willowfey]

sometimes life is boohoo sad and then ur mom brings u back a creamy mango lemonade freeze with mango boba and hello kitty halloween spa things and suddenly u are woohoo glad

[beeapocalypse]

oh tma is nipping at my heels. i miss the extinction