#no i will not stop making biblical references in my art

[iskenderix]

be vigilant. i love you

[generation-of-vipers]

Intro post (edited on the odd occasion) ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪

general info —

- my name is Kiki

- she/her or they/them

- 17 (2008)

- queer (pan n genderqueer but unlabelled)

- I am left wing, my politics are important to me, so if you cannot respect that then don’t interact please! For reference I support LGBT rights, feminism, immigrant rights, BLM, anti AI, basic human rights and much more! these things are important to me.

interests —

- music, particularly ambient stuff. I make my own stuff and maybe one day I’ll post stuff here. Some artists are like are the following:

— Ethel Cain, Sleep Token, Father John misty, Joan Baez, Fiona Apple, Kate Bush, Frank Ocean, Tyler, The Creator, Sza, Nina Simone, Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, The Smiths, Florence + The Machine, Doechii, Missy Elliott, She Wants Revenge, Otep, Hozier, Steve Lacy, Roberta Flack, Elliott Smith, Spiritbox, Tori Amos, Kali Uchis. There’s more, I just can’t think of them lol.

- art and drawing— ocs are fire 🔥 I draw and have done since I was young.

- writing and the analysis of writings—particularly when it comes to theological/biblical literature and poetry. Some of my favourite writers are the following:

— John Milton, Dante Alighieri, John Steinbeck, Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Hanya Yanagihara, Yōko Ogawa, George Orwell, Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf, Charlotte Brontë, William Faulkner, Albert Camus, Franz Kafka. Amongst others that slip my mind.

- video games — tlou, rdr, yakuza, ace attorney, bg3, ect. Those are my favourites at the moment but I also like other games.

-photography — maybe I’ll post some stuff here someday.

other stuff —

- im looking for friends and moots,, I’m not particularly fussy about ages but don’t be under 15 please 😭🙏 …

- my asks are currently open and I tend to answer 90% of my asks— so don’t be shy if there’s something you wanna know! Whether it be source questions or just general questions.

- dni if you are an ED/SH blog!!!! do whatever yall wanna do, I understand it helps some of yall cope n i cannot stop you but please I kindly ask you do not interact w my content if that is you !! I most sincerely hope things get better for you.

- thanks for reading, don’t be a weirdo.

[sk3l3talr3mains]

doodles from in the car, mainly still life and oc stuff with a single crk doodle 😭😭

i need to stop making biblical references with my character who is trapped as the unwilling head of a cult before i get smited 💔💔

my bbg Nephity 🩵 they’ve got a whole like, deer motif going on and is also the reason why half my art is probably blasphemy 🎀

[that-one-depressed-author]

I can’t really believe that I’m posting this at…

*checks time*

1:47 AM!

But, I’m tired of being silent and now have the motivation and energy to come forward!

I’m here to share my experience with Melody (yanderelmk)!

Let it be known that I could not write, draw, or even look at myself in the mirror after this happened for a good month!

Hello, everyone! Those of you from the Yandere!LMK Discord Server may remember me as Goat! In this post, I will be discussing my experience with the server and its owner, Melody. I want to go ahead and tell you all to not bother Melody or her blog, instead, go straight for the block button. This post is just meant to be a cautionary tale and hopefully provide insight and validation to those she is near or has hurt.

Here's a bit of context to the events leading up to my ban from Melody’s server. I had been stalking Melody’s blog for a little bit before I joined the server, and when I saw the Shauna situation, I felt like I needed to respond. I also have extreme bipolar disorder and ADHD, and even I didn't respond the way Shauna did. So, after making an anon emoji combination for Melody’s blog, I joined the server.

When I joined, I was a social anxiety-ridden mess, but I was welcomed with open arms. My own trauma from past friend groups clouded the already well-hidden red flags. Looking back, I noticed some things.

I noticed that when I first joined the server, everything I sent (drawings, writings, character-inspired makeup, etc.) was showered with love and praise. But the longer I was there, it slowed to a stop. Meanwhile, everyone who was close to Melody and in her inner circle got most of the attention and praise. I may be petty, but I am not jealous.

I noticed that Melody did little to talk about people causing problems and simply watched from the side. When someone was saying that their character would unalive mine because I shipped mine with the same character, Melody said nothing to stop it in the channel. But, later during a private call, she admitted she was watching it happen and didn't know whether or not to step in. As the server owner, she and her moderators should try and keep the peace when she sees something wrong.

And finally, I noticed that Melody had a bad habit of bringing up things that happened somewhere else where they didn't need to be brought up. Which leads me to my next topic: the events leading up to and the reason for my ban.

A little while before my ban, someone (I don’t remember who) had sent some Twitter fan art of the LMK characters as FNAF animatronics. And we all reacted positively, a few of us including myself talking about making it an AU.

So, Melody hosted a role play. I had used one of my OCs for this little role play, mainly her human design. We went for a few hours and when we had to stop, it was six in the morning.

Now, I had not slept for the past two days and was ready to pass out on my couch after a few after-role-play messages. I believe we had started talking about what our OCs would be like in a FNAF!AU and I had brought up one of my ocs whom I made with a group of friends and was the embodiment of lust.

Someone had mentioned and compared my OC to Asmodeus, the biblical king of lust. In my delirious, sleep-deprived state, I had incorrectly worded my message. I had said that I would say Asmodeus was a former sin of lust and my OC was the current one.

This was not what I had meant, I had meant using the name Asmodeus as a reference, not the actual biblical figure. And even then, I would have shortened it to make it even more of a reference. (ex: Ozzie, Azzy, Moudes, etc.) But, for some unknown reason to me, Melody had an issue with this.

She started an argument with me about how Asmodeus was from Christian religion and that it was offensive to Buddhism or something. I’m gonna be honest, the details are a bit fuzzy. In an effort to make me look like the bad guy, she brought up another set of OCs me and my friend group had made that were based around the Ten Commandments. (Also, I didn’t even use the biblical Ten Commandments because those are paragraphs, I used the ones from the Seven Deadly Sins anime!) These OCs were mentioned in that same private call outside the server!

Melody, being more awake than me, sent several messages in quick succession, not allowing me to get a word in or get my thoughts together. And as always, the person who could get more of a word in wins. Me, being half awake and ready to fall asleep, told Melody I was going to bed and would continue to talk about this later because I was tired and didn’t feel like arguing with her.

I woke up at around five in the afternoon and decided to go into the server and apologize for how I acted and let Melody know I was ready to talk. Only to find the server missing from the list.

Confused, I went to check Melody’s Tumblr blog to see if something happened or if I was banned by mistake. Instead, I found that Melody had made a post about banning me over a picrew I had made.

I will admit, the picrew was BDSM themed and it did include Nezha. But, I was not the first person to send it nor was I the only one who participated. Melody herself participated with one of her OC and Macaque. I will also admit that I forgot to spoil the picrew I made due to being tired.

However, I am not here to get into the ‘NeZhA iS tWeLvE’ debate. I'm here to share what I experienced with Melody and her server.

Here's what could've been done instead of straight-up banning me: talking to me about the image and asking me to spoil or delete it! I was given no warning of my ban, only waking up to it and seeing the post about it! She had made no effort to message me or inform me!

Alright, now that you have all of the info and my side of the story, time for a little analysis. I am a major psychology lover due to my own mental problems and I adore learning about the human mind.

Melody’s two nicknames in her server are ‘Queen’ and ‘Mother’. She is not either of these things.

A queen looks after her subjects, a mother looks after her children. Melody, on the surface, appears to look after the people in her server. But as someone who's seen beneath that surface and experienced people like this long before I met her, she is anything but.

Melody invites people into her server, welcomes them, and smothers them with affection. Then, when they aren't so new anymore, she winds to a stop and focuses on the people in her inner circle.

Melody watches over above, looking at everything and everyone in her server with the eye of a hawk. Waiting and biding her time for them to give her a reason.

Then, when she gains that person’s trust, makes them let down their walls around her, she sees them do something she doesn't like, and she finally has her reason. She strikes.

She removes them from the safe environment she builds around them and feeds them to the wolves. She takes mentally unwell people and puts them in an unsafe environment where they can be harmed.

She wounds them so they aren't thinking straight and baits them to lash out with posts on her Tumblr blog so she can paint herself as the victim. And once they do lash out, she links the places where people can attack them in the form of a ‘call-out’.

Have you noticed the fact that everyone Melody bans and posts about, deletes their blog? Now, I am not excusing these people's actions. But, no one should be put in an unsafe environment where they can be harassed and threatened.

In fact, I’m sure I would’ve been in a similar situation had I not gotten a hold of a close friend of mine. She comforted me, calmed me down, and distracted me from Melody. Her support and love allowed me to be the bigger person and not respond, blocking Melody and removing the problem.

But, I’m stubborn and tired of being the bigger person.

Melody is a manipulator and an abuser.

Let my story be a cautionary tale on these kinds of people. And, don’t harass Melody over this. If you do, you’re no better than her. Instead, go straight for the block button.

[tranquilspot]

[S] STRIFE!

Ha ah! Halloween season jumpscare~ You thought you'd seen the last of me (and this liveblog)!

This 'fight' is funny and laughable. It isn't really to be taken seriously. DAD lighting the candles on the cake can be seen as threatening (and dangerous!) if you was none the wiser that is. It's the boy's birthday, and his dad is aggressively celebrating it. Makes me wonder if strifing really is a custom in Homestuck, or if it's specific for the universes that will play SBURB/SGRUB. Whichever is the case, it's a mock battle is this situation. Or perhaps ageing IS threatening to John. Adulthood (or rather adolescence here) is a scary thing.

Colors, logic, art appreciation

I can't stop appreciating the art style and the dedication to its scarce (for now) details.

Like here, the very moment the candles are lit the flames go bworh! (damn and all at once?)

That's a transition frame, right? So neat. The nuance between the predominant black and white style and the colors is well-done. Less is more. The 'STRIFE!' logo thingy appears (two colors, kinda echoing to the candles. Flames = threat; but also Rochefoucault's quote from earlier?! hmm thoughts for later) and we have a brand new concept shown to us: Strife options. Aggrieve and abjure. By the way neon green and sky blue goes well together, it almost hints at John's and Jade's exchanged colors duality. Color theory is great once you get the hang of it! Aggrieving is offending someone. Rather than a physical attack, it suggest an emotional one. "I don't want your overwhelming love dad, or your stupid cake". Something among those lines. Also, he's such a dork making those movements with his hands. It looks like pseudo kung fu moves. He attacks and a lot more green appears on screen. Freakin' love the flash game effect on the background, and the simplified Slimer looming behind John, as if it was his familiar/symbolic beast having his back. Comical and kinda scary, with his ridiculous small eyes and large mouth. So he strikes, and is auto-pastried which is a pun on Auto-parry, a term and running gag from its predecessor Problem Sleuth. Still on my color observations (what can I say, I'm an artist that love art) this AUTO-PASTRY! is magenta kinda (but not really) close to the batterwitch's fuchsia. Guess I was too eager with that one. However it's nice to see there's different hue of the same color

The flashing dual color thing will also be used later for kernelsprites and ^2 sprites (this duo is Jasperosesprite^2's). The joker magnet echoes to the 'auto-pastry!' text, emphasizing the fact that the cake has comical properties.

Then he slides back into his previous position, simple and efficient (battle and artistic choice wise). If Aggrieve was an offensive and active tactic, Abjure is its opposite.

But before he reacts, it's DAD's turn to attack with a RPG naming system, like the Final Fantasy series (probably a tribute). 'Guardian Rubric: Coddlebrand'. Rubric is a title, but can also be a rule or a explanatory note (school). Is 'guardian' here a category or is he actually grading John on the spot? Perhaps the remaining word will shed some light.

Coddle is overprotecting, so that's what John could rejecting. Brand is a label, so is it a category or insincere 'marketing'. Depends on the point of view we position ourselves: Dad's or John's.

But here's a succinct (even subliminal) text that appears during the cake attack: 'Dotesmite!' What does it could mean? *do some research* Ooooh I see. Crushed by fatherly affection. Smite is hit, but according to world reference there's also a biblical meaning: kill/strike down. John in itself is a biblical name, but I don't see Dad Egbert being cruel to his son. He ain't Abraham. From there there's not much left to do in this flash. I'll just note that the movement effect during the Abjuring is reminiscent of John's windy powers, the blue and yellow colors coincident with his future God Tier outfit. Harmonious improvisation on Hussie part, for sure. Welp! We're done with this first Strife flash. It's writing was very laborious for unknown reasons and I'm very very sorry for 2 months of inactivity. Thank you for your patience, and I'll see you soon for the rest of Act 1. —> Coming soon

[nysocboy]

Gemstones Episode 1.8 Review: Kelvin's testicles, Jesse's butt, and ancient Philistine penises

In the last episode, Scotty kidnapped Gideon and Jesse, forced them to open the church vault, and stole the Easter offering money, incidentally confessing that he had been in love with Gideon.  Judy and BJ had a breakup scene, but Kelvin and Keefe barely appeared.  In Episode 1.8,, their romance is centric. 

An Old Man's Dick:  It's still Easter evening.  After dropping off Judy at her house, Baby Billy asks Tiffany "Who wants to suck an old man's dick?" She goes down on him while they are driving down dark country roads near the estate.  Suddenly Scotty, driving away with the money he stole, runs a stop sign and crashes into their car!   They are unharmed, but Scotty is near death (Tiffany finishes the job by accidentally shooting him).  Then they steal the money.  An interesting call-back here: earlier Scotty implies that he forced Gideon into oral sex, and he dies while interrupting consensual oral sex, an ironic punishment of the sort you would see in 1950s horror comics. 

Top five young ministers:  Gideon admits to being Scotty's partner in the offering-theft plan, and is rejected by Eli and Amber.  But he doesn't mention his part in the blackmail plan!  We cut to Jesse telling his siblings that they are in the clear. But how do they know he won't tell later, and implicate them in the assault?   Worried that he'll be arrested, Kelvin is having anxiety attacks and "sharp shit pains in my stomach" (hemorrhoids?).   Even if he wasn't convicted, the scandal would destroy his career.   "I was in the Top Five Young Ministers to watch last year -- I got a reputation -- a following."  Wait -- if he's so famous, why is his whole plot arc about proving his worth?

Denim brings lunch:  We cut to scenes where Baby Billy and Tiffany leave town with the offering money, Eli worries that the whole enterprise is corrupt, and Jesse apologizes to Gideon for pushing him away and starting the whole mess. Eli admits, for the only time in the series, that the church's finances are not entirely above-board.

 Next, Judy tries to mend her relationship with BJ by bringing him lunch at the optometrist office.  Whoops, his coworker Denim already picked up lunch.  "So you're having sex with BJ?"  No, she's a lesbian -- she has a wife.  This does not convince Judy, who calls her: "One of those benevolent lesbians, out to meet a hot guy, make friends with him, so you can sample-suck some clean dick."  BJ's nonchalance about LGBT people, plus Judy's sort-of nonchalance, will become important later.

He refuses to take Judy back, so she storms into the parking lot and starts destroying cars, finally getting arrested.

Hemorrhoids and Testicular Tumors: Keefe is swimming while Kelvin tries not to look at the body that is giving him so many unwelcome desires.   He wants to know how he can rid the world of darkness, when he's surrounded by it: his mother died, Eli was assaulted, the church was robbed.  He concludes that God is punishing the family for "not being who we say we are."  But Kelvin had nothing to do with those things. How does "not being who we say we are" apply to him?

"Don't you think God is being a little harsh?" Keefe asks.  We all wear masks; we hide things even from ourselves.  

Kelvin laugh/cries and says "I think we're getting off easy...when the Philistines stole the Ark of the Covenant, God punished them with hemorhhoids and testicle tumors."  

He's referring to an obscure story in 1 Samuel 4-5, where the Philistine thieves were punished with opalim. The King James Bible translates the Hebrew word as "emeroids" (now "hemorrhoids") and the NIV as "tumors."  An article in Biblical Archaeology Review points out the importance of penises in Philistine art, and suggests"flaccid penises."   No one mentions testicles; apparently Kelvin invented it, to correspond to the glimpse of Keefe's testicle that began his recognition of his homoerotic desire.

Next: "You should go, Keefe."  Keefe doesn't understand: "You want me to make a store run?"  Kelvin becomes angrier and angrier: "Go.  Leave.  Get out. I am no longer fit to lead you!" 

Kelvin scratches his butt as he says this.  Apparently he has hemorrhoids, and thinks that God is punishing him -- an ironic punishment for having anal sex? Will testicular tumors come next? 

Keefe disagrees: "There's no one more worthy than you."

 "Get the fuck out of here! Now! Do I need to call security, motherfucker?"  This is shockingly aggressive.

Keefe wades away, holding his swimsuit like he held his shirt during the mushroom head scene.  The intimacy he enjoyed that night has been revoked.  Kelvin falls into the pool and screams and cries.

Why does Kelvin send Keefe away?  If he's no longer qualified to be a spiritual leader due to the assault of the blackmailers, they could certainly continue to live together.  It must have something to do with the "hemorrhoids and testicular tumors," the intimacy they shared, or even homoerotic desire itself.  Kelvin believes that it is evil, demonic, that Keefe is a serpent who tempted him.  I don't care much for this association between LGBT identities and sin, but the show has been careful to establish that it's in Kelvin's head, not a general theme, structurally or in-universe.  

Jesse's Butt: Jesse invites his crew and their wives to "movie night," but the movie is actually the video of their sex-and-drugs party. He has decided to come clean: "These flawed men and myself have participated in some illicit, sinful activities."  Is this a callback to Kelvin's belief that he has participated in "illicit, sinful activities" with Keefe?

No one wants to see the video except Mandy, Chad's wife. Jesse advises that she might not want to because it features "Chad's gray testicle." Another testicle reference?  Is seeing that, like, the belly of the beast?   But they all go to the screening room, even Chad's underage kids (um...that's illegal).  

As they watch, the wives storm out in anger and disgust. Amber starts throwing things at Jesse, yelling that he drove Gideon away and destroyed the family.  Then she grabs an assault rifle and shoots him (with buckshot) in the butt, a symbolic anal rape. 

We cut to shots of Baby Billy and Tiffany rolling around in their loot,  Eli using his influence to get Judy out of jail, Keefe driving away crying, Scotty's van being dredged up, and Jesse yelling "She got me in my meat! She broke my butthole!" The background song is "Oh, Lord," by Geordi:

Oh Lord, what's wrong with me.  I can't seem to be what I wanna be

And it's not for the sake of tryin'

I tried so hard, God know, and felt like dyin'

And if you've been watchin',  you woulda seen me cryin'

So, O Lord, won't you give me your hand?

The siblings and their partners have broken up.  Gideon is gone.  This is the low point of their lives, and there's just one episode left for things to get better. 

Next: Episode 1.9 Review: Jesse is racist, Judy is a rapist, and Kelvin is the Devil

[bookish-afrolatina]

Banned Books Club - Book 4: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

Book Description

"There are no monsters anymore, or so the children in the city of Lucille are taught. Jam and her best friend, Redemption, have grown up with this lesson all their life. But when Jam meets Pet, a creature made of horns and colors and claws, who emerges from one of her mother’s paintings and a drop of Jam’s blood, she must reconsider what she’s been told. Pet has come to hunt a monster—and the shadow of something grim lurks in Redemption’s house. Jam must fight not only to protect her best friend, but also uncover the truth, and the answer to the question—How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?

In their riveting and timely young adult debut, acclaimed novelist Akwaeke Emezi asks difficult questions about what choices you can make when the society around you is in denial." - https://www.akwaeke.com/pet

Where It's Banned

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi has been banned in school districts in the following states: Texas, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, & Kentucky (2021-2024 school years). https://pen.org/book-bans/pen-america-index-of-school-book-bans-2023-2024/

Why It's Banned

As with many other popular banned books, Pet's main character is a trans girl. According to BookLooks, a tool developed by Moms For Liberty,"this book contains violence including references to child abuse; references to sexual assault; profanity; controversial religious commentary; alternate gender ideologies; controversial commentary on government and society including policing."

Why I Recommend This Book

Stopping children and teens from reading about a character experiencing child abuse does not stop them from experiencing that abuse. Keeping books like Pet away from them can actually make young people feel isolated and less likely to seek help if/when they experience it themselves. This book is a great tool for getting them into the mindset of being able to identify abuse and speak up against it, especially since it addresses the fact that the perpetrators tend to be people the victims know like family or community members. Religion-wise, the book literally describes the biblically accurate depiction of angels in art. Personally, I found that fascinating. The "controversial commentary on government and society including policing" was actually one of the best parts of Pet for me because it shows how folks can become complacent after reaching a sort of equilibrium. The truth of the matter is that the government, society, and police have been violent towards Black folks, especially queer Black folks and we have a right to talk about that. Black children experience this aggression regularly! Not only do I recommend this book, I recommend that guardians and parents take time to talk about it with their kids.

This is a great tool to use for discussions: Educator's Guide.

See how others did the same here:

Exploring Justice through Fiction: Middle School Students Analyze the Book Pet

By Cierra Kaler-Jones

How to Access This Book

The Libby app

This is one of my most used apps on my phone because I can add e-cards from my local library, state library, AND the Queer Liberation Library to check out e-books and e-audiobooks. It is available on browsers, Apple's app store, Google Play, and the Amazon app store.

The Hoopla app

Similar to Libby, I can access e-books and e-audiobooks from my library on here but I can also access films, comics, and music. On Hoopla, we also don't have to wait until another person is done with the book before we borrow it!  It is available on browsers, Apple's app store, Google Play, and the Amazon app store.

Books Unbanned

Books Unbanned is a resource is meant to help those who are struggling to access banned books in their states! Brooklyn Public Library founded Books Unbanned in 2022 and now, you can get access through multiple library systems as residents of the US.

The Banned Book Club by DPLA

The Banned Book Club, launched by Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) makes digital versions of banned books available to readers nationwide. The ebooks are available to all readers across the country for free via the Palace e-reader app.

More Resources

Book Résumés - Unite Against Banned Books

Book Résumés help teachers, librarians, parents, and community members defend books from censorship. They detail each title’s significance and educational value and are easy to share with administrators, book review committees, elected officials, and board members.

[anpcreates]

Is it bad I have the need to share my most recent #sketch/#art/#artwork of my #original #webcomic and #biblical #oc #OTP #ship with everyone of my #ocs #Lucifer / #Satan (obviously in #devil form 😩🤌🏻) & #ArchangelMichael (in human form 😉 ) being #cute and #cuddly together? Yes I ship the devil with archangel Michael, fight me 1 v 1 mate. 💪🏻

Mika (Michael) loves his Lu (he canonly refers to him as "Lui Darling") 💖😭 my heeeeart. I love however I was able to do a pose making Lu look devilish hugging and grabbing around Mika, despite he means only genuine affection. He hates being in devil form but is comfortable and trusts Michael enough to go balls to the wall devil to snuggle up to Mika 🥺😭💖

These two help me sustain living. My shiiiiiiip I love them so much ...help me-

ALSO

HEY

IF YOU READ THIS ALL THIS FAR DONT STOP, IM ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR #artmoots / #moots / #artmutuals / #mutuals / #artsupport / #artistsupport ! Follow and help me here and on my other sites like BlueSky, X, and deviantART? I'll gladly follow and support you back 💪🏻😉😎😀🤗😭💖

Follow me on BlueSky!

Follow me on deviantART!

Follow me on Twitter/X!

[trecciolinoooooo]

hi, my name is Giorgia but you can also call me Ilindissë (is my quenya name) (actually Neithan is good too), I'm 20, aroace and I'm from north Italy

I'm an aries ascendant cancer

I'm studying architecture, I really like drawing, singing (I'm a soprano), playing tin wistle, doing crochet and needlework, also I play the guitar and I'm a cosplayer

I mainly make fanart but sometimes I write fanfiction too

people make me very anxious I apologize if I don't always replay (I also apologize since I'm self conscious that I have a terrible character (I'm very short-tempeted))

I'm literally obsessed with Tolkien and the silmarillion fandom is my main fandom (my @ is referring to Fingon)

my fav character of all times is Maglor

my main kins are Homura Akemi, Alone (Hades) and Marcille Donato

I like angst👍

fandoms I'm in:

✶ Tolkien (mainly Silmarillion)

✶ game of thrones (reading asoiaf)

✶ dungeon meshi

✶ saint Seiya (and lost canvas)

✶ Madoka magica

✶ the owl house

✶ legend of Zelda (pretty new here)

other interests:

✶ D&D

✶ angels (mainly the biblically accurate ones)

✶ history of art (mainly renaissance and mannerism)

✶ ancient music and strange instruments

✶ create stories (@elin-thebat can confirm)

✶ @lil-tina and @sayakyo always says I have an hyperfixation with trains but that's not true I swear Chiara stop saying this/hj

this is me if you even care ( @sayakyo gifted me the plushie :3)

I hope we'll be friends :)

[onedaughterofman]

Untitled vignette #3 (Papa Emeritus III x Omega ghoul)

Summary: Terzo begs Omega to stay the night.

Warnings/tags: Angst. Forbidden love. Biblical references here and there. Around 2K words.

A/N: Help me, Terzo is pointing a gun to my face. He's forcing me to write this, guys. (Actually @coreyvoss and @vanmec amazing art has made me fall for these two and now I can't stop)

“I have to go back.”

“Stay.”

It’s pitch black in the bedroom, but Terzo doesn’t feel fear. A long time ago he learnt not to fear the darkness, but to embrace it as an old friend. In the light, his eyes have seen innumerable and incommensurable horrors, while in the dark he’s felt nothing but a warm welcoming.

Just like the silk bedsheets hug his naked body, the shadows drape in a comforting hold.

“You know I can’t.”

“Even if I order you to?”

The silence is oppressive, loud. Outside, the wind howls and dances around the trees, mixing with the cicadas’ eternal song. Terzo’s white eye, the one that marks his connection to the Emeritus’ lineage and his status as one of the chosen ones, shines bright as a warning.

If he decides to cast his order, the faint glow will become a shining, blinding light that will consume the darkness of the room.

In front of him, Omega tilts his head. There’s something on his pupils, a strong emotion Terzo can’t decipher no matter how hard he tries to. “You wouldn’t. You know I don’t like that.”

“Well, of course,” it’s the reply. Terzo’s voice is full of air, barely audible over the whistle of the wind. “You’re not my servant, after all.”

The bed frame creaks when the ghoul’s weight shifts. He sits up, letting the purple sheets fall from his torso and hung around his waist. Terzo’s fingers dart out to him, curl around the other’s forearm and squeeze until he can feel the twitch of muscle under the heated skin. “I still want you to stay.”

“I can’t.”

Like an unpleasant dream, the scenario always repeats itself. Terzo’s logical mind knows what they are doing is forbidden, a taboo, a punishable and shameful act. To have sex with a ghoul for ritualistic purpose is allowed, but not to lay with them in any other context.

More so, it’s unheard of a human, of a Papa to develop any kind of feelings towards them. The ghouls are servants, soldiers, they are followers lessen than humans. In hell, they are low rank creatures who feed off human’s energy like parasites.

To rest in bed with one, limbs tangled and fingers intertwined, is an offence. To cling onto them with tenderness and a heart heavy with love is even worse.

It doesn’t matter. Terzo is not one to follow ancient beliefs or hear the words of closed-minded elders. Still, Omega is tied to the rules, bound by a relatively clear contract.

“People won’t speak, and I’ll lie if they ask. I’ll say we were performing a sex magik spell, gathering energy for the upcoming full moon’s ritual. Whatever.”

A cloud of condensation forms in the air when Omega exhales slowly. He sighs, a hand moving to rub at his mask. Even without being able to observe his face, Terzo knows there’s a displeased expression on it. “I can’t see you without the Papal paint on.”

“Why not? Is that too blasphemous? Too profane?” Terzo teases, moving to sit up.“Will Lucifer himself strike you down with his unholy wrath?”

“Sathanas,” the ghoul corrects, voice gentle. There’s the ghost of a smile on his tone. “King Sathanas is the wrath one, according to you humans.”

“Right. Lucifer is pride. Sathanas, then?”

For a long moment, Omega stays in silence. Terzo’s nails absentmindedly trace patterns on the dark skin of his arms, travelling up and down and sending shivers across the demon’s spine.

That’s the thing with human vessels. They remain sensitive to pain and pleasure, in a way that a demon’s body is not. Being able to possess this carrier is a luxury someone like him can only achieve by making a pact with The Clergy. “King Asmodeus might laugh,” he replies, after a beat. “For my love would be stronger than my lust.”

“Oh, what a shame.”

Terzo’s bare chest moves when he exhales, air exiting his lungs in a series of hollow chuckles. There’s no genuine feeling behind his laugh, noting but an empty resignation. He knows the world of demons is and will always remain mostly a mystery for a simple human. It doesn’t matter if he’s Papa, or if he has studied scrolls after scrolls of mythology and occultism.

They belong to different worlds. Like the horizon doesn’t touch the ground, the earthly realm will never cross the infernal one. Any type of contact is only an illusion, a longing desire between the two of them. It’s in that infinite but minimal space where Terzo finds Omega, where he clings to him.

The ghoul’s voice is a low purr in his chest when he speaks up again. “But King Asmodeus is a hypocrite. You heard the story, right? From the Book of Tobit.”

“I barely recall it. Just some nonsense old men used to spew at me when I was around five years old.”

“It’s an old tale. More ancient than me.”

Terzo laughs. “That’s a lot.”

“You’re not young yourself, in human years.”

Even if he tries to appear upset, Terzo knows Omega is right. He has gotten old, something he both despises and dreads. When he was younger, he used to believe he’d never live to this age. Now, to be this old and still under the claws of The Clergy…

That’s shameful. He has become a conformist, someone who will go up a stage, sing and dance round and round for any resemblance of power and authority.

It’s all a lie, a deceit. A Papa is only a figurehead with no substantial power. He’s a marionette, a puppet with no visible strings. “Continue,” Terzo urges, through clenched teeth.

If Omega notices something is wrong, at least he doesn’t mention it. His arm moves, slithers over the other’s shoulders to pull him closer. Terzo’s skin is cold, naturally running at a lesser temperature that the one a demon can reach. “The tale says King Asmodeus used to haunt a woman. He killed anybody who dared to spose her, before they even managed to consummate the marriage. They said the King was infatuated with her, or simply rejoiced in the pain he caused.”

“That sounds like something people would say.”

“It does. To humans, infernal creatures are only monsters.”

Omega is right. Through history, the infernal divine has been painted as naturally evil, cursed. Demons have become nothing but bottom feeders, destroyers of the world and torturers of innocents. It’s a shame, because Terzo finds so much beauty in them, so many extraordinary qualities that humans can’t even dream to posses.

Breathing out, Terzo’s body falls onto his companion.“I find them quite charming, myself.”

“I know.”

“So? What happened then?”

“A human named Tobias, advised by archangel Raphael, married the woman.” Behind the mask, the demon’s eyes are lost in the distance. Terzo can see his dark pupils tremble, as if he could witness the scene developing right in front of him. “He tricked King Asmodeus into getting away from her, and then Archangel Raphael ambushed and sent him back to Hell.”

“Right, a tale as old as time. The dear angels always win over the wicked ones.”

Outside, the wind falls back into a faint whisper. It feels as if it has become full of their secrets, carefully lowering its voice to keep them safe and sound, away from prying ears.

Deep within the silence, Terzo muses over his words. “What happened, really?” He asks, and his tone is extremely mellow, too delicate.

“I don’t know. The King would be dead and gone before anybody hears it from him, but… stories fly around. Some think he grew attached to the woman and he killed her suitors because their lust for her was far more stronger than the love they felt.”

“He has a heart, then. One that wept for a woman.”

Without warning, Omega’s palm falls on his face. The pressure is surprising but not unwelcomed. Terzo’s fingers curl on the thick wrist, noting the size difference between the two of them. “Don’t say it out loud. He’ll overhear you,” the ghoul warns, but there’s a glint of amusement coating his sentences.

“I think a King of Hell has more important things to do than to mind little old me.”

Cold air hits Terzo’s skin when Omega’s hand drops from his face. There’s a remnant of smudged black and white paint on his palm, and Terzo tries to whip it away with the pad of his thumb. The ghoul stays in silence, lips tight and jaw locked. “You believe yourself so untouchable all the time,” he sighs. “Often I worry.”

“Luckily I have my own demon to take care of me.” The tease in his voice is way subtler than Terzo wanted it to be. For a long moment, he considers what to say and when he finally speaks there’s something thick coating his throat. Is it fear? Is it angst? “Will you kill them, Omega? Anyone who dares to try and bring harm to me?”

In slow motion, Omega’s head turns to stare at him. Even in the darkness, Terzo can recognize the heavy weight of his burning gaze. He doesn’t need to see it to believe it’s there. He’d recognize it anywhere, with eyes opened or closed, here and in the end of the world.

“If it were for me, no one would touch you.”

The sharp nails barely graze his cheekbone. Omega’s hand lingers above his face, floating in the air as if he was afraid to fully touch him, offering nothing but a fleeting caress. To have a monster, full of pointy teeth and long claws, handle him so carefully makes Terzo tremble deep inside.

Omega treats him like he’s precious, fragile even. He treats him as if he was something divine, a god among humans. For the first time in his life, when he’s with his ghoul, Terzo feels worshipped for who he is and not for who he’s supposed to be.

To Omega, he’s not an empty figurehead. He’s divine.

“Stay,” Terzo pleads, when the fingers begin to move away from him. The imploring tone of his voice is one that he uses for no one, that no one else shall hear. “Leave before the sun rises, if that’s what you want. In the dark, we’re free.”

“I’ll be gone before the morning,” Omega forewarns, letting his body fall on the pillow.

Even upon hearing those words, Terzo still clings to his wrist."I’ll keep the Papal paint on,” he rapidly comments, in an effort to disperse the emotions that contaminate the air. An insolent smile stretches his lips. “No profanities under this unhallowed ground.”

“I like you better with your paint on.”

“And I like you better with the mask on.”

The sound of laughter echoes through the carefully decorated room. Over the time, Terzo has filled the place with trinkets and paintings, with everything and anything that caught his eye. It was all in an effort to make that place feel more like a home and less like a prison.

Omega’s body is too warm. Terzo’s exposed skin feels on fire, but he endures the heat as he leans even closer, draping around the other. When the demon’s breathing is slow and peaceful, he decides it’s time to shatter the silence.“What happened to the woman?”

For a few seconds, Omega merely ponders on what to say. “She married a man, and they lived together under the glory and misericord of god, until the end of their days.”

“A boring, tragic fate.”

“Not everybody can love a demon.”

A soft, languish sound exits from the ghoul’s throat. Even with the mask concealing his face, Omega seems plagued by dread. A demon like him shouldn’t be capable of experiencing such raw emotions, for that is the fate of the humans.

Still, hidden in the shadows and embraced by the one who will become his downfall, Omega allows himself to dream. In the morning, he’ll deny it, but now…

Now he dreams, eyes closed and arms open.

Before the sleep overcomes them, Terzo’s voice rises again. “I’d say not everybody is lucky enough to be loved by one,” he comments, narrowing his eyes too.

Protected by the deep darkness, no Emeritus’ eye casting a judging glow and no kings of hell laughing at their misfortune, they rest in ephemeral bliss.

PS: I don't know what to say, except I'd die for them and I'm a sucker for big scary monsters falling in love with a human.

[mergist]

The Role of Sailor Moon in Finnegans Wake

(re/crosspost from another blog)

Finnegans Wake is probably the greatest mystery in literature, a monstrosity of a book written in "night language" where words deform, split, rearrange, take on other meanings and become jokes in other languages. Its world is a dream someone's having, its character change and turn into each other and play-act all the wars and families and Biblical falls in history, and its structure is as deep as its references and its sense of humor. It's the ultimate exercise in classical interpretation, the kind where scholars try really desperately to see what it was that James Joyce meant to communicate to us. 

What makes this interpretative task more difficult is the finding of things that seemingly shouldn't or couldn't be in it, leading people to write off the whole exercise as chasing ghosts of meaning. For instance, Robert Anton Wilson (rest his merry soul) claimed that one chapter perfectly predicts the bombing of Nagasaki, and that fourteen particular paragraphs read backwards will yield Bach's Stations of the Cross. 

It's not in my purview to defend interpretations like this, only to say that if these weren't put in on purpose then holy shit are they fun coincidences. If you stop worrying about what Joyce was really communicating and take the text as is, it's a postmodernist's wet dream. (Maybe literally.) The interplay of meanings and structures found inside of it makes it as easy to do "personal" readings in as the Bible, and presents it as an object of study that is forever yielding up new and interesting associations. 

To that end, let's see if something's in the Wake that absolutely could never be there. I picked Sailor Moon, the much-beloved 90s anime about schoolgirls who fight monsters from another dimension. Television itself hadn't been invented yet, although there's inevitably a scene of people watching it in the Wake - presumably Joyce predicted some way to eventually play movies outside of theaters. He also mentions Popeye ("I yam as I yam") and lived in the 30s, so he knows about the beginnings of animation as an art-style. So we're in by a thread. 

We're also handicapping ourselves with the word "sailor" here - sailors and tailors appear many times in the text but this is generally recognized as pointing to a character/motif called the "Norwegian captain". The captain and the tailor who he shortchanges for new clothes makes sailor outfits a prominent part of the Wake (and the Japanese sailor outfits are the only reason to put "Sailor" in the title of Sailor Moon), but also takes up a lot of the room for anything female to be happening here. (There is a male character who prominently wears a tuxedo, though...) To make up for it, we have the other motif of the moon goddess (which Sailor Moon very much represents, for reasons I'll leave to one side) and of other planets in our solar system (since her friends have titles like Sailor Mercury, Venus, etc). 

So, my short case, not going through every page here:

255.30 foundling filly of fortyshilling fostertailor

A young woman appears in the sailor/tailor distinction, also called the "wishful waistress". The girl who turns into Sailor Moon (Serena in English from 'Selene' for the moon, Usagi in Japanese after the word for rabbit, as in the Moon rabbit), and is a lazy layabout even long after she hears the call to heroism. (Since the book is a dream, it makes extra sense for her to be sleeping a lot in it.)

255.31 shopahoyden, weighing ten pebble ten, scaling five footsy five

Tailor's shop; ship ahoy - the sailors are here (ten in total, five in the first season and five more introduced in later seasons); hoyden: an ill-bred girl (again lazy and sleeping); the waistress's measurements are given as five foot five and ten stone ten (or 150lbs) and this seems to check out. (Her other measurements are given shortly after - including the number 28, referring to a class of schoolgirls who figure throughout the book as 'the Maggies'.)

594.34 saelior, a turnkeyed trot to Seapoint, pierrotettes, means

A sailor dancing (turkey trot was a dance denounced by the Vatican) and pirouetting here; a feminine white-faced pantomime character called a Pierrot, or a Pierrette when played by a woman. (Suggests a dance in moonlight, or between the proverbial moon and the white-masked tuxedoed male lead I mentioned earlier.)

428.08 is saling moonlike. And Slyly mamourneen's ladymaid at Glads-

Sailor Moon; sailing like the moon across the sky; 'saying goodnight' (deformed); moon and morning - the cycle of night ("fighting evil by moonlight..."); Gaelic mavournin: sweetheart.

600.33 Molly Vardant, in goodbroomirish, arrah, this place is a proper

Molly (or Naru), Serena/Usagi's best friend, sometimes given the fan title of "Sailor Earth" (and she seems to represent Earth and normal humanity in contrast to the magical antics of Sailor Moon); Molly is verdant and ardent; Dolly Varden: a fashionable woman's outfit in the 1870s covered in flowers.

220.03     THE FLORAS (Girl Scouts from St. Bride's Finishing Establish- 220.04 ment, demand acidulateds), a month's bunch of pretty maidens 220.05 who, while they pick on her, their pet peeve, form with valkyri- 220.06 enne licence the guard for 220.07     IZOD (Miss Butys Pott, ask the attendantess for a leaflet), a be- 220.08 witching blonde who dimples delightfully and is approached in

Traditionally a section outlining the Maggies and their connection to Issy/Izzy/Izod/Isolde, a daughter in the family the story follows - but consider a "month's bunch" here to mean "the bunch collected in the passing of the moon" and another meaning appears. These are the magical female warriors (Valkyries) who rib the flawed, blonde Ms. Beauty Spot (Serena/Usagi) - the other Sailor Scouts (Girl Scouts) that the series follows. 

This ties Serena and the Scouts into the fabric of the Wake by making them at least isomorphic to Issy and her Maggies, making further Sailor Moon references a matter of referencing prior interpretation on these two subjects.

[lesbian-helen-gansey]

(In which I triumphantly return to tumblr to do half-baked Biblical interpretation in regards to Adam Parrish’s name)

Before I get into the name Adam, I want to do a quick stop on Parrish. A parish, is the district of a church, so it does have religious connections, but I want to talk about Parrish blue. Maxfield Parrish was an artist in the early 1900s who mostly painted really vibrant and fanciful landscapes. Since we know that MS loves art, I feel like it would be a shame to overlook the potential Parrish Blue connection. Maxfield Parrish was a super interesting painter because he layered paints in a way that gave the color a really luminescent quality. The specific shade of blue he achieved with these techniques was named Parrish Blue. There’s no real point to this information other than an artist named Parrish created a shade of blue named Parrish Blue, and Adam Parrish has blue eyes, and I think it’s a fun little connection. And that I love Maxfield Parrish’s art. Now to Adam. In a religious context, Adam is the symbolic first man, and in the books, I feel like most of the overt references to the Biblical Adam are through the imagery of dust and dirt representing a sort of humanness, especially in relation to class and status. Like, Adam perceives himself as dirty because he is poor and works in contrast to the sort of “untouched-ness” of his wealthy peers who don’t have this sort of real and symbolic dirt on them. Which, I find sort of interesting in general because I don’t think this interpretation is part of the Biblical narrative. This is Adam’s perception of himself. In the Genesis story, God makes the Earth, and he says the Earth is good, and then from the Earth he creates Adam. At least initially, being created from the dirt isn’t some sort of negative. In the books, Adam perceives his “humanness” and his origins as a bad thing, but that’s his own perception; it’s not something that’s really true, and his friends don’t feel this way about him.

In addition to the way that Adam’s association to the dirt demonstrates his own negative self-perception, I’ve become also sort of fixated on the way that Adam’s curse in Genesis mirror’s Adam’s story in the Raven Cycle and his relationship to Henrietta. In Genesis, when the humans eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and are cursed by God, Adam is cursed with an antagonistic relationship to the Earth. He will struggle with the ground to make it grow food for him. He is cursed to have a hostile relationship with the place that he has come from, which I feel like is so reflected in Adam’s relationship to Henrietta. The idea in the books that he comes from “Henrietta dirt” and he now has this very hostile relationship with Henrietta and he struggles so much to make this place work for him and bear fruit for him in the sense of giving him something good and worthwhile. Like Adam’s curse in Genesis, where Adam will have to “toil” for the Earth to give him what he needs, Adam Parrish has to work extremely hard. The curse is that it will be hard labor and very difficult to get what he needs from the place that he comes from (The Earth, Henrietta.) “By the sweat of your brow, you shall eat.” (I also think there is maybe a slightly less logical relationship here to Adam’s struggle with his relationship to nature in the form of Cabeswater. Like, it’s hard and a lot of work for Adam to get this forest to work. I especially think of where God says the earth will grow "thorns and thistles” for Adam. But I feel much less strongly about this connection because I don’t know that I’ve really fully fleshed it out in my head. In the verses, the thorns and thistles are a punishment in opposition to the way that they are protective of Adam in BLLB, so idk about that one.)

I’m also very fascinated by what this means for Adam Parrish in context of the last part of the curse of Adam where God curses him to return to the earth, which, in the context of the Genesis story is death, but for Adam Parrish would be a return to Henrietta. “To dust you shall return.” If Adam’s story is so aligned with the way that Adam is cursed, is Adam in some way destined to return to Henrietta? There’s almost like a duel meaning to this aspect of the curse in the Genesis story because on one hand, it is the final blow of the curse where now Adam will die and return to the Earth, which is now hostile to him, but there’s also this sense that it’s in this return that he’ll finally be reconciled to the ground, the place that he comes from. The difficulty of both Adams’ lives come from being disconnected from where they come from, but God says that Adam will eventually return to the place that he comes from and has struggled with so long, and that sort of full circle-ness has a very reconciliatory nature to it, at least to me (particularly in the reading of Genesis as an allegory for the story of the early Israelites and their eventual return to the land of Canaan later in the Pentateuch).  (I feel like there is another aspect here of the concept of exile and Adam being forced to leave the garden of Eden and how Adam Parrish has left, but is really struggling at Harvard, being away from where he comes from).  

(I should also probably caveat that this is from a Christian perspective bc that’s what I’m familiar with and that’s the religious presence in the books in regards to Ronan’s Catholicism, but I don’t know in what ways this would or wouldn’t hold for the other religions that share the Adam story)

[mahalshairyballs]

Oscar was awesome too at his panel, and what an handsome man ❤️

But the panel had a moderator and they usually hog the time, which he did.

They also mostly promoted an original comic book story Oscar is producing and coming out soon. They even brought in two artists for the comic. It looks good, maybe? I'm a bit hesitant about it. They showed a trailer and it looked like a mixt between Moon Knight and Constantine (even the art, the main character looked like 616!Marc with a side of John Constantine, and throw in the biblical lore of Constantine too). And it's the redemption story of a bad cop through mythology elements? Hmmmm

Not sure about it, but I'd give it a try.

.

And then there was only 15 minutes left to the panel for the fans questions. So even though I was pretty early in the queue, I didn't have time to ask my question 😩 and nobody asked a similar question. I wanted to ask it so much ugh >_< maybe he'll go to other conventions who knows

He hinted again at a season 2 or something more with the Marc system coming in the future, but as long as we don't get any official confirmation I'll stay skeptical with my expectations.

He answered often with how much he cares about the character(s) (and he literally said the verbal version of my 'character(s)' to talk about the Marc system, I love him ❤️) and how it's one of the roles that stuck with him/impacted him the most. He said that was why he became one of the producers of the show along the way, how he got so into the stories and the character(s) and wanted to be even more involved ❤️

He said something so great about how comic books are modern myths, and that myths have always been used by people to tell deeper story, and how speculative fiction was even better to tell these stories/shows layers of emotions than regular stories that shows you things literally. I do hope we can find a clip of that answer somewhere online

Someone asked how he prepared/what research he did about DID for the show. And I already knew his answer for that question but it was nice to hear it irl. He said he consulted with mental health professionals and mentioned that one autobiography that became his reference for the show.

Someone else also did tell him that his British accent was perfect (and he was from the UK himself).

Oscar also talked about how much he enjoyed playing Steven because he is 'so honest, so authentically himself', I love how he put it, aw Steven ❤️

I think that was all the questions/answers related to Moon Knight there were at the panel.

And then, as someone else said it, Oscar 'basically called Pedro Pascal a slut', yeah but he called Pedro Pascal his slut. Pedro gets close to everybody but Oscar only wants him ❤️ when is he going to get announced as Frenchie? I'm waiting !

I was pretty close to the stage when the Q&A stopped, and even though they asked us all to wear a face mask in the room for the panel, Oscar when he left touch the hands of everyone he could like a rock star before he left. ❤️

.

I really wish I could've asked him my Jake question, but he was adorable and amazing anyway ❤️ he makes jokes but can also have very deep and interesting answers.

There's no way he won't play the Marc system again, he loves them too much.

Oh and he read comics as a kid, and as seen by his new original comic project, he still likes comic books, so maybe that means he'll read the one I gave him ❤️

[appleflavoredkitkats]

Who Are the Four Horsemen of the Dream SMP Apocalypse?

Art by: Viktor Vasnetsov

[TW’s: torture, death, murder, manipulation, alcohol, substance abuse, discussions about the end of the world, religion, starvation, violence, implied gambling, blood, alcoholism]

Word Count: 3.5k

INTRODUCTION

Hopefully I finish this before I feel too sleep-deprived, but I’ve been thinking about the presence of horsemen in Quackity’s “My Enemies” stream. These mysterious, hooded figures are quite odd to say the least, and their involvement with Las Nevadas still remains unknown. There has been a debate on whether there were three horsemen or four, and in my opinion, I believe that there are four horsemen present.

Why four? In the first scene, three horsemen arrive at the Dream SMP on a dark and stormy night. They seem to have come from the south, entering Eret’s castle from the back. As they stop to pull their Netherite swords out, air raid sirens are heard from the distance.

Similarly, in the last scene, Quackity is seen placing a book in Wilbur’s memorial before leaving, riding his skeleton horse, Ossium. The scene cuts from first person POV to third, and we see a hooded figure, presumably Quackity because of how both came from the same direction. Additionally, air raid sirens are also heard from a distance.

[MORE UNDER THE CUT!]

I theorize that these two scenes take place at the same time. The prequel scenes only began after we see the sequence of Quackity torturing Dream, and it ends after the flashbacks of Wilbur. We can synthesize that both these scenes are set at the same time, and that these horsemen are going to meet at a certain point on the prime path.

What may suggest that these four horsemen are supposed to be parallels to the biblical four horsemen?

Firstly, seeing the bits they do, Quackity and Schlatt do know a lot of biblical references. Schlatt has compared Tubbo to Jesus once, and Quackity has said many prayers as jokes in the Dream SMP. It’s just… easy to take inspiration from biblical symbols and references, and also, the four horsemen are just very popular figures in history, so you know, why not?

Also, this may also sound RIDICULOUS, but the fact that this stream establishes that Tommy got resurrected three days after he got killed is actually very reminiscent of, well, you guessed it, Jesus Christ. 72 hours is oddly specific, and I don’t think the cc’s made it that way for no reason. Tommy’s parallels to Jesus—which is a VERY funny phrase—could imply that the Dream SMP might draw more parallels to Christianity, and the four horsemen could be another one of these references.

Also, Quackity mentioned how in Las Nevadas, he made four casinos for him and the rest of El Rapids. So, we know four is a number we can associate with Las Nevadas, and there’s a chance Quackity gave these casinos to three other people. Four casinos, four horsemen.

What is the purpose of the four horsemen in the Dream SMP? When the air raid sirens went off, we can think of these four horsemen as the bringer of chaos or danger into the Dream SMP, very reminiscent of the purpose of the original four horsemen in Christianity. We can also connect it to the end of the world, as these four only appear when the world begins to end. This can imply that these four, who are most likely allies of Quackity in Las Nevadas, are somewhat connected to how the Dream SMP will end.

Now, who is who? Admittedly, it is difficult to find a definitive answer on which member represents what horseman, so I’ll try my best considering all the possibilities for each. I’ll add my own ranks on how probable I think they are, but I have to specify that these are subjective- I am not a beacon of truth, y’all.

So let’s get started.

Firstly, I want to discuss who might NOT be a horseman to narrow it down a bit:

Any minors might not be involved. In Sam’s face reveal stream, aka the first stream mentioning Las Nevadas, Quackity and Sam agree they don’t want Tubbo and Tommy to participate in underage gambling. Don’t know if this applies to Ranboo and Fundy (since he might be canonically a child? Who knows), so they get more of a pass, but the clingy duo might not.

The Syndicate. I’d like to think that the Syndicate, as well as Dream, are Quackity’s main foils of the server. As they are the richest and also the most skilled in PVP, Quackity stands no chance against them even with his sharp tongue. As these people are foils against Quackity, and also probably hate his guts, Quackity might not hire them at Las Nevadas. I theorize he’d probably use Dream as a watchdog against the Syndicate, but that’s a theory for another time. 

Additional point about Dream: he’s in prison.

Anyone from Kinoko Kingdom because it’s clear Quackity severed all ties with them.

The Eggpire is half-half. They can possibly join, but also can’t, Quackity can manipulate them into joining only for their inevitable demise, or Quackity wouldn’t wanna associate with them after the explosion incident. They’ll at least get a few passes in some categories, but again, not entirely sure.

CONQUEST

Also known as Plague, Pestilence, and in some occasions, both Jesus Christ and the Antichrist, Conquest is shown to be riding on a white horse, donning a victor’s crown and a bow. There are many interpretations of Conquest, especially with their ambiguous morality. Some people can perceive them as bad, representing the origin of many wars. Some people claim that they represent pestilence and plague as their arrows are slathered with the infections they want to spread. In some cases, they can also be interpreted as good, as their description is heavily reminiscent of Jesus Christ himself. Others would rebut that there is also a possibility that they might be a fake replica of Jesus created by Satan, thus making them the antichrist.

Sam (8/10)

Sam is my first choice when it comes to Conquest because, firstly, he fits the appearance. He is one of the only people in the Dream SMP who dons a crown, and they also possess a bow which they frequently use. I’d say that Sam as Conquest matches with his ambitions as a member of the Badlands, Pestilence or Plague match with his possible crimson infection, and Antichrist matches with his inability to keep Tommy, the possible Jesus figure on the SMP, alive or safe. 

My only issue is: would Sam be one of the three who arrived at the Dream SMP in the beginning? Sam is very strict with his job as warden, so it is unlikely that he would be seen far from it.

Any of the Eggpire (7/10)

As Conquest is heavily depicted with pestilence or plague, any of the Eggpire may fit under this category. As their goal as the Eggpire is meant to conquer the Dream SMP, this also matches with the goal of Conquest. Additionally, one of the Egg’s weaknesses is Church Prime, something heavily resembling Christianity, so if the Egg is its opposite, we can view the Egg as somewhat of an antichrist. 

I say Punz, Bad, Ponk, and Hannah have a higher chance of being Conquest, while Ant is a solid ‘maybe’. Punz could’ve been the one who blew up the Egg, Bad can be easily persuaded by Quackity, Ponk is one of the only capitalists of the server that may participate in Las Nevadas, and Hannah’s character heavily fits the theme of pestilence when it comes to nature. Additionally, I like to believe that Conquest was the horseman on the skeleton horse (that isn’t Quackity’s), especially since they were holding a dandelion in one shot, something that could be attributed to “pestilence” because a dandelion is a weed. This may imply that Hannah could be part, but because they haven’t interacted much beforehand, we wouldn’t be sure. More insight on Punz: he once mentioned he upholds his duties as mercenary more than he might love the Egg, so there’s a chance Quackity bribed him to join Las Nevadas.

The main con to this is that: why would the Eggpire willingly join Quackity, or why would the Egg allow them to join Quackity? I can see that Quackity might break their brainwashed states because he has a good way with words, but people like Bad, Ant, and Punz have stated that they’ve been fully controlled by the Egg. Also, Quackity makes it clear he wants to eradicate his enemies, so he might not want any members of the Eggpire to join Las Nevadas… unless there’s a traitor?

Schlatt, Mexican Dream, or Wilbur (6/10)

Heavily connected with winning if you take Manberg, Mexican L’Manberg, or L’Manberg into mind.

Wilbur also has a memorable crossbow, but I don’t know if that counts as a bow.

Any dead characters have a high chance of joining Las Nevadas because of its possible connections to death and the revival system of the SMP.

Other possibilities with short explanations and low but possible odds:

Eret: Has a crown, his betrayal can be seen as a “win”, has Tommy’s bow from the duel. Can be seen as an antichrist figure.

Jack: As he is against Tommy, he can be seen as an antichrist figure. Might be working with Las Nevadas because of his deal with Quackity.

Ranboo: He’s a minor, but he also has a crown and a bow so, maybe? He’s not much of a conqueror or winner, though.

Connor: Didn’t really conquer much, didn’t really win much, he’s just here because of Schlatt, honestly.

WAR

War is depicted to be holding a raised sword as they ride atop a red horse. After conquest, war is expected to follow, and War is tasked to break any type of peace on earth. He is tasked to kill, or make humans kill each other. The prominence of red symbolizes bloodshed or immense anger, something very present in war. Multiple depictions of War show him with his sword raised upwards, signifying the start of a battle.

Schlatt (9/10)

The man’s literally torn the Dream SMP apart (/lh). This man is always keen on fulfilling his goals, and if it means he’ll have to fulfill them in the most twisted of ways, he will do it. Him winning the Election brought immense conflict in the Dream SMP, and many people were torn apart on which side was the right or wrong side. One of Schlatt’s prominent colors besides blue would be red, as it is the color of his tie and the color of his ghost form’s horns. Red could represent the bloodshed of those who died during the Manberg-Pogtopia conflict, or red can signify the anger Schlatt had for his own cabinet.

Schlatt was also gifted a sword by Dream called “Shclatt”. The sword only holds heavy significance because of how Fundy treasured it like an heirloom.

Wilbur (8/10)

Another good possibility too as Ghostbur was recently seen to admire red a lot more than blue in one of Tommy’s streams. We can also view the creation of L’Manberg as a place that broke the peace in the Dream SMP as they didn’t really NEED to create L’Manberg and declare war, yet, he did. Red can also resemble his anger for what has been done to L’Manberg- everything is pretty self-explanatory, honestly.

My only qualm with Wilbur being one of the horsemen is how we can’t really… tell if he’s in the Dream SMP? He seems to be very clear on the fact that he does NOT want to return, so he might not even be there when the four horsemen became a thing.

Any of the Eggpire (7/10)

Honestly? Same reasoning as the first explanation for the Eggpire. This also applies for why they might not be one of the horsemen.

Do I even need to explain the red part, or do we just all understand that red is literally their brand.

The Eggpire practically breaks peace in the server and is keen on taking control of the entirety of the Dream SMP. The Egg is shown to be ruthless towards anyone, and will even let some of its followers kill people if needed. 

I see Bad as someone who might qualify for this position more because he initiates a lot of the activity in the Eggpire. Same goes for Ant, Punz, and Ponk, but they don’t really take initiative most of the time.

Jack Manifold (4/10)

The only reason I kind of added him here was that he wanted to kill Tommy, but Jack isn’t entirely selfish or peace-breaking. I do think he might play a role in Las Nevadas, especially since if Quackity has access to the nukes, only Jack and Ranboo might be the only two who helped him gain access.

Jack is also… very angry at Tommy. Rightfully so, because he basically surrounded a good portion of his life trying to kill Tommy only for him to realize that that might not be his purpose in life. He blames Tommy for a lot of the loss in the server, so he has a lot of anger, but he has no one to vent it all out to.

Other possibilities with short explanations and low but possible odds:

Eret: Did the first betrayal, but that’s about it. He’s also participated in several wars against others who disagreed with him being the king.

Ranboo: Participated in wars, but is a peacemaker so, y’know.

Fundy: While he does possess Schlatt’s sword, he isn’t much of an initiator of wars as much as he is merely a follower. He has shown that he is quite angry at those who have used him, but the anger has dissipated lately into some sort of sadness/denial.

Connor: He’s mournful that Schlatt, a close friend, has died, but he isn’t really one to be angry. He tried living far away to make his own independent nation, but it didn’t impact much of the story. He also one possessed “Ghostbur’s Stabbing Knife”, which could represent the sword.

FAMINE 

Famine is seen to be holding a scale (presumably for food) as they ride atop a horse. Famine is also denoted to be the only one speaking, saying “A quart of wheat for a denarius! And three quarts of barley for a denarius! But don’t ruin the oil and the wine!”. This statement basically means that we have to pay a full day’s worth of earnings for a bit of wheat and barley but oil and the wine, something not considered human necessities, can have the same prices. This shows an unfairness when it comes to acquiring basic human necessities. This is especially damaging to the poor as Famine’s statement can possibly make the poor poorer, while the rich remain the same. It is implied that the wider the gap between the poor and the rich, the closer we are to the end of the world.

Fundy (9/10)

This may be a long answer because I am biased towards Fundy, but Niki once stated that Manberg was in some sort of a famine because of the destruction of farms. Because of this, certain citizens have resorted into eating spider eyes from the EXP farm, but it was notable that she was practically calling out Fundy, someone who literally advertised spider eyes to any person he talked to in the Dream SMP.

Fundy is also hinted to be heavily connected to these hooded figures somehow. In his dream, he was chased by one until he slept in a black bed, the color of Famine.

Additionally, in his dream, he held baked potatoes (food) which could be related…? He’s also a libra so… scales…?

He is also a notorious prankster in the Dream SMP and will bargain for anything as long as he profits from it. He’s not the richest by any means, but he loves doing pranks that involve stealing belongings from other people.

Schlatt (8/10)

Similar reason to Fundy as he was the president of Manberg responsible for these famines. Additional note for this is that he also taxed Niki, one of their only food sources in Manberg. 

Schlatt also likes to joke around about being rich, earning money, or being a businessman often, especially with the entire Schlatt coin joke. Connected to Famine’s trait of making the rich richer, possibly?

Famine’s statement can also apply here as it is implied that if humanity doesn’t possess the basic of necessities, they might at least have wine which won’t provide any solutions to humanity’s starvation at all, but it will distract you from your starvation by making you heavily drunk until you finally die. This is very reminiscent of how Schlatt died.

Sam (6/10)

Sam is one of the richest people on the server, matching Famine’s want to keep the rich rich. Only problem here is that Sam is at least very generous and provides a lot of people with resources when needed.

Sam could possibly be connected to Famine because of how he treats Dream in prison. In an attempt to torture Dream, he starves him, cutting his food supply.

Same problem remains with Sam not being able to join whatever the hell the four horsemen are because of his duties as warden.

Any of the Syndicate (1/10)

Only giving an exception here because the Syndicate is exceptionally rich and is more selfish about it than others. Low chances, but Ranboo… might? But it’s still a bit iffy for me. Niki might as well because of her connections to the Manbergian famine, but still on the fence with this one too.

DEATH

Death is often depicted riding a pale horse, but some variations have called the horse light green. Death does not don a weapon themselves, but they are always accompanied by Hades. Hades in Christianity is the place or state of the departed spirits, meaning Death has contact with those who have died. Sometimes, Death is depicted with a scythe similar to the Grim Reaper, but some say Death has no weapon at all as Death themself is the weapon. Death is not only meant to collect souls and end lives, but they can also represent the end of an era of humanity.

Quackity (10/10)

I would say Quackity can fit any other category, but I am so sure that Quackity is death because of how death and toying with death seems to be one of Quackity’s main themes in the Dream SMP. Quackity, once hesitant about killing others, has been shown to now impulsively want to kill others: first with Techno, then Ranboo, then Dream. 

Quackity will also most likely acquire information about revival on the Dream SMP, so he is in close proximity with Hades, or in the Dream SMP, the Void. This also heavily ties in with the idea that he will make others gamble away their canon lives only for him to resurrect or return their canon lives if they ever successfully gamble it back. 

Quackity is also known to be very powerless in terms of PVP and battle, but you know what he succeeds in? His own words. He is his own weapon that can get him whatever he wants as long as the person he’s up against is in a vulnerable position. 

He is also confirmed to be one to have a skeleton horse, and some depictions of Death’s horse show that it is very corpse-like.

A bloody scythe can also be seen in Quackity’s first lore teaser, and that can be attributed to Death.

Other possibilities with short explanations and low but possible odds:

Schlatt: First owned the revival book but he literally does not know its contents. Fits the “they are their own weapon” trait.

Dream: The only exception I can give. But again, he is literally in prison…?

Wilbur & Mexican Dream: Only putting these two here because they have experienced death. These two fit the “they are their own weapon” category too.

Connor: Wants to revive Schlatt, but that’s it.

CONCLUSION

Honestly, my first conclusion for the four horsemen were Sam/Conquest, Schlatt/War, Fundy/Famine, and Quackity/Death, but I only see Quackity as Death to be something that is HIGHLY possible. For Conquest, I shift between Sam and one of the Eggpire, for War, I shift between Wilbur and Schlatt, and for Famine, I shift between Fundy and Schlatt. Again, no definitive answer, but I’d love to hear your own thoughts on this.

I am very tired, but also remember to reblog if you do enjoy this! Again, would love to hear your own insights, and would appreciate any type of discussion! :D

[ackermanshoe]

So as a hardcore rivamika shipper I can't let ANY scene / panel pass by so this scene definately intrigues me. Doesn't it to you? I mean we already know that they were riding side by side the whole way here but is there a reason why it had to be Mikasa herself that was positioned right next to the horse that Levi was caressing for?

Y'all call me a delusional but I did art for my final 2years of high school which was the most important exam in my life so far yeah?

And in art we are told to excessively analysis and theorise even the smallest part of an artwork. Aside from that have you ever analysed a movie scene by scene in English class? Well if you haven't then listen close and if you have then you know what I'm about to say.

Symbolism of the horse

- purity strength victory competition, freedom, naturally wild spirit, power, stamina and most importantly

Man's most loyal companion in battle

Biblical horses also represents force strength and determination.

Take it how you will but a lot if not ALL of these adjectives can be use to describe a certain girl called m i K a s a .

By now you probably know what I'm trying to get it right? But I'll explain in my own words and be as concise as possible. If this scene was to be interpreted as an artwork or a movie scene, mikasa being the ONLY other person in the scene and for her to be directly specifically be positioned right under the horse is a direct representation of her persona. It could be the fact that Levi is the one who sees her as the horse because he is caressing the horse HOWEVER, however Levi and the horse in this scene directly goes under the "man's most loyal companion in battle" is literally such a direct symbolism of rivamika's relationship. Who is his right hand? Mikasa. Who is the person he went to directly ( in the forest scene ) and said "let's go"? Mikasa. It's not that they are by luck fighting side by side it's the fact that Levi litarelly placed her into his squad to be his "most loyal companion in battle". So what my point is that Levi caring for the horse in the scene directly shown above Mikasa is a another indirect hint isayama has left for us to not only directly see Levi's action towards her but to hint the subtle subconscious meaning behind how he sees her.

Mikasa's wild nature is the reason they met, the reason they mainly had their interactions and Levi's soft gaze at the horse???? It's an absolute give away, the look unmatched that he only spares for Mikasa and a naive animal which has no fault and is constently controlled by people ( ahem ahem ). Levi basically sees Mikasa as someone who is a slave to their emotion and he sees the burden she has to carry ( just like the horses carrying humans) he cares enough to leave a caring hand and a soft look at her because he knows she needs it. And if I'm reaching a bit far ( let me ) the solider who interrupted the whole moment could be isayama subliminally hinting towards the fact that because they're are so many variables in their lives they don't get to interact as much or have any ackertalk. You can also see that a solider is also standing behind Levi's horse but where is his face? Hmm isyamam could have easily added their face if he wanted to but he did NOT. Will it be reaching to Mars if I say that this reminds me of how they communicate and the entire world seem to stop? The people around them exist but they create a world of their own and the guy at the back having no face = no identify = doesn't matter, just like others who ( no matter who they are ) they don't matter when the Ackerman's interact!!

Apart from these I could go on and on about the matching coloured of the horse and Mikasa's hair, it's the same shit. Notice how the horse is a "dark horse" and a dark horse is used to refered to someone who is usually behind the shadows and surprises everyone with their talent or skills or something that makes them outstanding from the rest. Interesting how a 2 second scene can tell us so many things isn't it? A lot of you mentioned here or just in aot fandom the fact that Mikasa seemed "outcasted" from the 104th cadets, well there you go. Apart from her attitude towards the captain she never showed her powers to him until they actually engaged in battle, which is Mikasa being the dark horse to him and to the rest of the world in aot.

Well guys I hope you read this long ass analysis, yeah come tell at me at this r E a C h but this is literally what being English and art teachers want you to think like. So if you wanna blame anyone blame my teachers 🤣 immkidding bye

I love analysing anything related to Levi and Mikasa so pls drop anything if it's relevant !

[thegreymoon]

Word of Honor

Wait... what is this drug they are taking?

An antidote for what? And why do they need it so badly??

***

Of course that’s your plan 🙄🙄

I DON’T TRUST YOU FOR A SECOND. 

***

Who the hell is Lao Bi?

I just double-checked the number of the episode I’m watching. Why do I feel like I have chunks of information missing? First with the antidote, now with this. 

***

AND THE GHOST KING HAS LANDED!!

WEARING FULL RED AND NOT FUCKING AROUND!!

***

LMAOOOO, look at his stupid face 🤣🤣

You are so fucked, asshole 💀💀

***

OH MY GOD. HE SUMMONED THE GHOST ARMY!

THEY ARE STILL OBEYING HIM? AND AUNT LUO IS THERE?? 

HOW? WHEN??

SERIOUSLY, DID I MISS A FUCKING EPISODE AGAIN?

***

I AM SOBBING 😭😭

Also, this scene is positively biblical 😅😅

***

LMAO 😂😂

How (and when??) did you get away from the Scorpion, you disaster?

***

I had to go google these two elves to figure out who they are 😐

Frankly, I don’t understand how it was expected of me to deduce their link to Prince Jin and Zhou Zishu. Would it have killed them to give us a few flashbacks for them too?

***

THE HAIRPIN SCENE!!

BABIES ARE NOW MARRIED AND HAVE A SECT TO RUN!

I still don’t know how we got from where we were in the last episode to all this, but I’m not complaining!! 🤗🤗

***

You and me both, brother 😅

This entire episode has me feeling like I’ve somehow landed in a completely different show! 

***

Again. 

What secret medicine and since when??

The one thing that keeps coming to mind is WKX’s mother and the poison she used on Zhao Jing, but. How did Zhao Jing weasel his way out of that? And if it is the same poison, how is the Scorpion using it on the Ghosts now? Where did he get the recipe and the antidote?

***

Ah, so Scorpion’s second assassin is still alive!

Good to know! I was wondering what happened to her!

***

Anyway, I have all kinds of feelings about this 😶

***

Well, this is a whole new heartbreak 😢

***

But, Aunt Luo, why? 😢

Yes, he wants to kill everyone, the humans and ghosts alike, but he has been trying to save her department since the beginning! I never fully realized it until now, but it always bugged me a little when her maids would come crying to him and he wouldn’t take them back under his wing, sending them back out into the world instead. He’s been rejecting them, pushing them out, giving them money to start a new life because he wants to save them. 

***

I love the elves even if they feel like they wandered in from another story! 😆

I love this black one and his dedication to curing A-Xu’s alcoholism 👇

But the white one is a riot 😂😂

When he went, “I remember someone asked me to find to find him a girl with a great figure. I found a lot, but he...” and then drifts off into pointed silence 😂😂

***

Okay, truthfully, I am really not a fan of these last two episodes 😕 I’ve been informed that they apparently had to cut a whole nine episodes because they lost their funding and I feel for everyone involved, I really do, but it’s such a pity the story had to devolve into so much mess so close to the end. Nothing makes sense anymore, it feels like they are rushing to tie up storylines that don’t really fit together because they didn’t have the chance to grow organically. It feels like the entire story is taking place off screen and I’m just sitting here frustrated and confused. For example, this:

Didn’t we see the Scorpion King and WKX colluding, like, minutes ago? Why is he back with Zhao Jing, fighting against WKX now? I mean, it’s probably a scheme of theirs, but at this point, do we really need that ‘reveal’ when we are two minutes away from the finale? And if it isn’t a scheme and they are really fighting against each other, where is the fallout? We didn’t get to see anything that led to this, we didn’t get to see Scorpion returning to Zhao Jing. We are just ‘told’, oh, the Ghost King is surrounded and they are about to kill him 😕

I really hope they pull themselves together for the last four episodes because this lack of coherence and logical progression is really nuking all my emotional investment here. 

***

Wen Kexing in killer mode is always a treat, though 😋

I love his fight scenes so much! 

***

Zhou Zishu is here and all this is supposed to be very emotional but I feel like the story has folded in upon itself and I’m just... bored? I don’t believe any of them on anything right now and am just waiting for something to happen to draw me back in. 

***

OMG, yes, please stop talking and start fighting again!

Since the plot is apparently dead and buried, at least give us the blood! 

*** 

Oh, hi, Ye Baiyi! 🖤

My grumpy hundred-year-old baby, I missed you!! 

***

Yeah, Chengling can fuck all the way off now. I have zero patience for this. 

***

This alone makes it obvious that this is some scheme. 

I feel so sad for Zhou Zishu, though. Whatever it is they are doing, they should have told him. 

***

There is always the danger of a show going one twist and turn too far and that has definitely happened for me here. I have no idea what to do with all this, but he remains a work of art.

***

Very appreciative of your service here, sir 😋

***

Well, this looks ominous 😆

I feel like all three are plotting his demise. 

***

So many tragic gays on this show 🙄

Also, by this point they were not even trying to be subtle. He was clearly sharing a life with this man, loving him and grieving for him. He even refers to Rong Xuan as ‘their child’.

***

Is there even any doubt at this point?

*deepest sigh*