#originally this was one paragraph

[ennard-is-near]

Circus Baby totally recognized Michael.

I don’t know if this is a hot take, but she lies throughout the entire game, why are we taking her word for this one thing? I think that she knows (or at least suspects) that Michael knows who she is. Michael and Elizabeth are siblings and they have a pre-existing relationship, even if we don’t know anything about it. I think Circus Baby is super clever, and for whatever reason she knows that Michael is more likely to trust her if he doesn’t have that pre-existing relationship to go off of. So Baby pretends, like she loves to do, that she doesn’t recognize him.

I don’t know why she picked Michael to scoop, or if it was more of a “next guy who comes through that door, we kill” sort of situation. I don’t think the other animatronics would know who he is (why would they?), but especially based on how Circus Baby plays of Michael’s emotions (acting like a little kid, doing Elizabeth’s voice in the secret night, etc.) she knows exactly who Michael is.

Also she’s not stupid, she’d recognize her own brother. I don’t know why Michael says “They thought I was you…” because nobody ever says that (he is projecting maybe…) but either this can be ignored, or she’s smart enough to recognize two people are similar enough looking to be father and son. And if that’s the case, why wouldn’t she be smart enough to recognize her brother?

Plus, what are the chances that they’ve been down there a really long time, lots of maintenance guys come down there, and the one guy they choose to do the whole ‘manipulation and scooping’ thing to just happens to be Michael Afton.

Honestly, the whole thing with Circus Baby saying “I don’t recognize you…” over and over is a little sus. Like if new employees come down there all the time you’d definitely be used to it by now? Do you make a whole show of not recognizing every single new employee you meet? Why? To me it reads like Baby’s testing the waters with him a little, seeing how he’ll react to being spoken to directly, and seeing if he reacts to not being recognized by her.

✨ Also I just think it’s more fun ✨

[marzipanandminutiae]

WAIT WAIT WAIT

YOU'RE TELLING ME

THE TITLE CARD FROM CINDERELLA (1950) EXPLICITLY SAYS IT'S BASED ON THE PERRAULT VERSION OF THE STORY???

WE COULD HAVE AVOIDED ALL THE SANCTIMONIOUS EDGELORDS SMARMING ABOUT HOW "well Disney toned it down; the One True Grimms' Original akschully has blood and no fairy and feet getting cut up, so there" IF THEY HAD JUST

BOTHERED TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE MOVIE AND THEN GOOGLE "PERRAULT CINDERELLA???"

excuse me I need to go scream into a pillow

(I'm not saying Ashenputtel isn't possibly older as a folktale than its 1812 publication date in the Grimms' book, but Perrault's version was published in the 1690s. so...)

[corrodedcoughin]

I feel like Eddie is the type of guy to always have a slide whistle in his pocket and uses it to make incidental sound effects for the conversations that happen around him.

Nobody knows where he gets them all from and they don’t ask incase he takes one out and starts playing with it.

Wayne is so happy every time he loses one of the whistles. He absolutely never tells Eddie when he finds one of the numerous whistles that have rolled under the couch. He has an agreement with Steve to dispose of them secretly and securely.

Except one night when Steve’s driving around town with Eddie, he opens the glove box and there’s a bag full of whistles (seriously nobody knows where he’s getting them from. And in bulk?)

And Eddie is all ‘HEY!’ Which immediately makes Steve tense up in preparation for an argument with his easily antagonised boyfriend about the possible theft of offending musicals instruments.

But then Eddie continues with ‘more whistles! I didn’t take you for a fan dude!!’

And promptly shoves one up each of his nostrils and one in his mouth and tries to play them all at once while demanding Steve watch instead of watching the road.

Steves going to have to think of a new hiding spot.

[writeouswriter]

The curse has lifted (finally wrote more than like 10 words on something)

[lokh]

what do you think toshiro's version of laios would've been like if he was still with the group during the shapeshifter shenanigans

there have been a few speculations in the tag and among the fans and they are all very good SO i am going to take this opportunity to insert a bit of my shipping bias as i like in my interpretation LMAO agdsfgdfgv

i noted that in actuality shuro seems to have a very good grasp on laios' character??? this is most obvious in the manga later on but even seeing how he criticises laios in their fight... iirc nothing he says is actually untrue or wildly exaggerated, and while he does express frustration over something he feels like laios Should have control over (noticing his cues), he is also aware that laios isnt being malicious and that hes Just Like That. what i mean to say is that while i think his version of laios may seem more pushy and in-your-face, i dont think it will be overwhelmingly so. if its post-fight, i think the idea of laios (and marcille) being willing to do anything to get falin back made a big impression on him, as well as the idea that they need to eat and rest in order to succeed in their goals, so those aspects would be prominent in his version. he seems pretty observant, so i think for the most part the physical traits would line up, but i think there would be specific things that stand out to him that would appear strangely striking on his version of laios (like. idk something about his eye colour or the subtle contrast of his armour and chainmail. he seems to have a weird sense of aesthetics if extras are anything to go by lmao). if hed actually been paying attention all those times laios had gone on about what the hell ever, then it might be even MORE hard to tell apart his version since he would also have a good grasp on what laios should know. so either his version of laios is pretty difficult to pick out, OR despite the character being accurate his appearance is too. stylised lmao (exaggerated features or something) OR!! they just get him to pull out his monster gourmet guide thing and are able to tell from there. iirc everyone was surprised at its appearance so its possible toshiro had also never seen it before

IN MY IMAGINARY SHIPPING SCENARIO............ lets say that his laios isnt able to be picked out immediately and that the monster guide thing also doesnt immediately occur to anyone. what the real laios Specifically notices is how close this other laios keeps getting to shuro. and hes like. ??? why is he getting so close to him, theres no way i get that close to him??? but no one else seems to be picking up on it as weird, so hes having a small crisis like do i REALLY get that close to him???? and now that hes on the outside he notices shuro subtly leaning away and he feels both a wave of shame and..... protectiveness??? (JEALOUSY??????) and he immediately steps in and grabs him like Hey!!! cant you see hes uncomfortable???? weve been through this already!!! and like. ok i cant believe im doing this again but i need to separate this into different endings

a) the whump route: i dont think shuro ever envisioned Actually Telling laios about his frustrations outside of being basically cornered into it. has he ever spoken up against what was expected of him?? has he ever been confrontational???? i think part of what held him back from expressing his frustrations, along with the cultural norms, could be fear of what the reaction would be. if he had done the same in any other aspect of his life (his family, his inheritance), i think he would expect disappointment, disapproval, more proof that he doesnt add up to expectation. to be honest i dont think he Truly believes that laios is the type of person to react like this. but it was strong enough to prevent him from acting and i think would be projected onto his image of laios. maybe fake!laios says something dismissive like Well if it really bothered him hed say something right? what, he cant even stand up for himself? cmon, shuro, prove that you cant handle it just like everything else. and thats pretty much the fastest giveaway that it isnt really laios. of course this would be a HUGE tonal departure from what the actual episode/chapter was, so:

b) the dumbass route: both laioses break into fisticuffs, and, yes.... barking. and so they speedrun the entire encounter as the shapeshifters true form appears and, after laios points out that thinking too hard about others versions of you can tear apart groups and peace of mind, they pointedly do not speak of it again. they think about it though. a LOT

c) the normal route: both laioses argue normal like and the group ends up being able to tell them apart because the fake laios goes on a little too long about how theyre all here for falin and everyones like ok its not like he DOESNT love his sister but.......... the rest of the scenario probably goes like canon, though then i would want to see what everyone Else thought of shuro

[zabadi]

"The question as to who, and what, is responsible for African underdevelopment can be answered at two levels. First, the answer is that the operation of the imperialist system bears major responsibility for African economic retardation by draining African wealth and by making it impossible to develop more rapidly the resources of the continent. Second, one has to deal with those who manipulate the system and those who are either agents or unwitting accomplices of the said system. The capitalists of Western Europe were the ones who actively extended their exploitation from inside Europe to cover the whole of Africa.

In recent times, they were joined, and to some extent replaced, by capitalists from the United States; and for many years now even the workers of those metropolitan countries have benefited from the exploitation and underdevelopment of Africa. None of these remarks are intended to remove the ultimate responsibility for development from the shoulders of Africans. Not only are there African accomplices inside the imperialist system, but every African has a responsibility to understand the system and work for its overthrow."

-Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

[puppydoggraham]

Mizumono is the first time Will sees Hannibal broken like how he was. He probably didn’t expect him to be. At that point he struggled to realize that Hannibal was able to be hurt. Especially to that capacity. Will isn’t used to someone caring about him. So that coupled with the fact that he probably thought Hannibal wanting to run away with him was just another facet of his manipulation led to him being as shocked as he was. But it wasn’t manipulation. Hannibal was willing to leave then and there if it meant Will would go with him. When Hannibal stabs Will, in a sense he takes it. He doesn’t pull away. He leans into it and clutches onto Hannibal. At that moment right before Hannibal shoves the blade in, you can see the expression on his face where he realizes that Hannibal actually cares. He warned Hannibal. He gave him time to get away. He probably thought Hannibal would be gone. But he wasn’t. He wanted to wait for Will. He couldn’t just not see him again. Before leaving for Europe he gave Will a reminder of him that would be apart of his body forever as well as serve as a physical representation of the emotional agony he experienced in the kitchen.

During the scene, Hannibal talks about how he gave Will a rare gift and that he didn’t want it, which Will responds with “Didn’t I?” That’s the problem with their communication or lack thereof. They speak in metaphors and abstract ways that make it hard to understand what’s going on for the audience and between each other at times. There’s so many layers. Things get lost in translation. Will didn’t understand the extent of Hannibal’s care. He thinks every interaction he has with Will is just apart of their back and forth game. But it’s not.

Their communication is much less convoluted than usual. Which isn’t to say there’s a total absence of metaphor. But there is a much greater emphasis on the raw emotions of what both of them (especially Hannibal) are feeling. Shots linger. The camera doesn’t shy away. It makes us watch the entirety of the heartbreaking scene from when Will turns around and Hannibal is there to when Hannibal leaves and the rain washes over him.

After that, Will regrets not running away. He decides to set off to Europe. He remembers what Hannibal said. That he didn’t want his rare gift. That Hannibal let him see him and know him just for Will to take his freedom away from him. So Will takes the time to learn about Hannibal. Prove that he did actually want the rare gift. Prove that the reason he didn’t run away with Hannibal wasn’t because he genuinely wanted Hannibal locked up with his freedom taken away.

It was because he was scared and in denial. In denial of his own feelings towards Hannibal. In denial of Hannibal’s feelings towards him. Caught up in the ongoing battle of choosing restraint over indulgence. Of going along with what is socially acceptable and ‘right’ according to broader society rather than listening to his true desires which he isn’t even fully aware of with how repressed and suppressed they are. Hannibal scares him not because he’s afraid of what Hannibal would do to him. No. He’s scared for what he’ll become if he embraces his desire like Hannibal wants for him. At that point in Mizumono, Will isn’t ready to embrace anything. He defaults back to what he knows.

Finally when they reunite, what is one of the first things Will says to Hannibal?

“I wanted to understand you before I laid eyes on you again. I needed it to be clear what I was seeing.”

He didn’t understand Hannibal before. Hell, he didn’t understand himself. Despite seeing Hannibal in a way that even Hannibal acknowledged, he didn’t truly understand him. He didn’t understand Hannibal’s history or the feelings that Hannibal had for him. Through traversing Europe, Will was able to clear his head and understand Hannibal at last as well as learn to embrace the darker side of him that he has suppressed. He knows he can’t erase the past, but he wants to make up for his lack of understanding in the best way he knows how. He wants to prove that does understand through taking the time to and deconstructing the barriers that got in the way of that and his misconceptions about Hannibal.

We don’t see Will at peace often. He’s always tense. Constantly looking like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. However during that scene as they gaze at each other, Will has an ease about him. He can finally let his walls down and share a smile with the man he loves. There’s no pretenses between them. It’s yet another genuine moment they share. And although we know what comes next, Will was able to indulge. At least for a little while.

[howdy-do-da-day]

Captain Kirk wont even look at a beautiful woman because he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable in a professional setting and yet people still act like he's nothing but a horndog

[atlasdoe]

hello, i am bored. here are some unpopular opinions that may very well get me cancelled if i posted this on tiktok

do not read if you know youre going to get mad if i say something you disagree with

the over feminisation and over-aggressive characterisations of sirius and remus are so left field it makes my eye twitch. like if you wanna write them like that then fine but don't tell me that one scene of sirius wearing something nice and one scene of remus throwing harry up a wall (while he's in the middle of like a twenty year war with all of his friends dead mind you) means that they were as people are interpreting them in cannon

the fandom isn't misogynistic. you just want everyone to care about the same characters the way you do despite the fact that very little of them (especially the girls really besides lily and the black sisters) have any character/story to care about to begin with

on that same note, it is not wolfstar and jegulus' shippers job to write dorlene and marylily fics. there are over 6000 fics tagged under dorlene and over 2000 for marylily which is really impressive and a really big number for ships containing two people who don't have any connection to one another

we cannot blame every death on dumbledore. dumbledore was manipulative and not a very good person but he wasn't out here deliberately getting all the people on his side killed

this fandom is obsessed with tragedy so much that tragedy has now become repetitive and boring. i love a good sad story but what is the point in taking every single character and making them live the worst life possible. its like yall are only capable in caring for a character if they have literally the worst ending ever

the marauders weren't child soldiers. They were young but they weren't children.

on the same note just because barty, evan and peter (and any other death eater) was young does not excuse them of their actions. I'm 20 and I know that i wouldn't betray all of my friends or help torture new parents into insanity

deciding that pandora somehow had to be a part of a death eater family was the worst thing this fandom did to her character

it pisses me off when the fandom will bend over backwards to try to connect the same 12 characters to every headcannon imaginable when there are so many other characters that you could use

despite this tho i hate the whole "ravenpuff" thing. As someone who actually cares about Emmeline, Edgar, Fabian, Gideon, Amelia, Benjy, Caradoc and all of that it annoys me to no end when the only time people post about them is to shove them all into the two least cared about houses and decides that they were all friends while giving them the most uncreative name out there. if you dont care about them then dont post about them

marlene is the most overrated character in the fandom

james and marlene being childhood best friends is my least favourite headcannon

mary obliviating herself is the worst headcannon

remus lupin is a bottom

sirius black is tall

marlene being in ravenclaw > marlene being in gryffindor

this fandom really needs to remember that barty and evan were villains. if you like them then that's completely fine but stop trying to make them secretly good

i can only ship sirius with remus but i can ship remus with literally anyone (so long as they are actually his age or older. for some reason i cant ship remus with people who are over a year younger then him)

i dont think its fair to say that if you like regulus then you cant shit on snape stans but it is utterly unfair to stan barty and evan but shit on snape stans

fancasting and commenting on normal peoples tiktoks is stupid and embarrassing. we are HATED by other fandoms and is it because we are unable to stay in our lane. stop getting into other peoples buisness by commenting "REMUS LUPIN" under a Spiderman edit

james would not have stopped talking to sirius after the prank. He'd be mad at him and he'd tell him off but he wouldn't stop talking to him. If James had to pick between Sirius and anyone he's picking Sirius

on that note i think the only people who weren't talking to sirius after the prank was remus and lily. mostly because i dont think anyone other then the marauders and lily would even have known that remus was a werewolf at the time

ALSO evan, barty and regulus would not befriend remus after the prank. firstly they wouldnt care and even if they did they would be more likely to abuse the fact that they know about him being a werewolf

im sick of seeing people try to shame others for shipping wolfstar but not marylily because "theyre the same ship." theyre literally not. just because YOU hc mary and lily to have a similar dynamic as remus and sirius doesnt mean that theyre the same and doesnt mean that everyone else should think so to. Same with literally every other ship that gets compared to another based on headcannons

this is getting really long so imma leave it there

[governmentmandatedryujinstan420]

meme dump sorry if you haven't noticed but yes it's almost all ishaan no i' not insane i'm just posting more of discord memes here now, yes there will be more, and no i won't apologize for spontaneous uploads bc this site wiped 8 paragraphs when i tried to click the EDIT BUTTON. more when i FEEL LIKE TOUCHING THE SITE WITHOUT FEAR OF THE WIPE.

[fruitybashir]

two little snippets for the final astp chapter 🫶🏻✨️

[etirabys]

I feel worse eating monogamous animals. like... maybe that guy was married

[qroier]

edited my post from yesterday on spiderbit eurydice and orpheus to be clearer. it is now. way longer klsdjfk. but the idea is the same. anyway enjoy reading if you do and uh. pues f if you don't, no? lskdfjsdk. kinda already mentioned it in the post but should clarify here that i'm 100% talking about the greek myth.

-

Thinking about spiderbit as eurydice and orpheus is so interesting to me, cause I think depending on how you look at it and how you think of the story, there's an argument for both. And then you remember everything that was purgatory and how clear of a parallel it is to the myth hdksjdks. Honestly though, I feel like the purgatory parallels are the biggest reason roier cubito as orpheus is winning out on that one poll, and I kinda have to disagree with that. The evidence for orpheus roier is there from the start. Roier cubito is always and forever a perfect, permanent orpheus figure even before considering purgatory, and it's down to the devotion roier and orpheus cling to and the grief they both drown in. (The rest under the read more)

Backtracking first for a bit to set the stage. There are many different versions of the eurydice and orpheus myth out there, and its nature as a myth means that interpretations (and translations of any original latin or greek versions) are always changing. Disclaimer of course that my understanding and general knowledge of the myth has been mainly influenced by the wider english-speaking cultural approach to it. I'm focusing on the orpheus archtype from my understanding of what it means (which I'll explain along the way) because otherwise if I didn't I'd end up getting too boggled down in "virgil said this according to this translation" and "ovid went more in this direction following this translator" details. and there is no way in hell i'm struggling through translating on my own with my measle little two years of latin classes under my belt lskdjfkldfj.

But regardless, here's a very basic and brief summary that most versions tend to follow: Eurydice and orpheus are married. Eurydice dies. Orpheus treks out to the underworld through the power of music to save her and get her back. He's told the only way he can have her is if he makes the treacherous trip back to the mortal realm without turning to look at her once. He looks back right before he makes it, and fails in saving her. Sounds familiar, right? slkdjfsk

Don't get me wrong, orpheus cellbit still makes sense in a way. That's part of why the poll and idea in general is so interesting. Heed the disclaimer again but to me, the biggest, most obvious, and most immediately linked connotation the myth has always had is one of devotion. Like the type of devotion that would take you all the way into the afterlife and all the way back in the hopes that that might save the person you love. Cellbit cubito is nothing if not devoted, and normally in the loudest ways possible. He loves shouting out his devotion at all times to anyone in close proximity. It just makes sense that if anyone could hold the level of devotion necessary to be orpheus it'd be him, cause we all know he'd do anything for roier.

Plus being honest, it also makes sense just going by the dynamics in their relationship that they most often present to others. Roier cubito kinda likes playing into the dynamic of asking other people to "save" him, whether that's from mobs or hunger or anything, so long as it's not something actually serious. So much so that the idiot (said lovingly) has conditioned everyone, and I do mean everyone, both islanders and audience alike, into thinking he's defenseless and needs saving. Maxo put it best that one time when he said he felt like roier after cellbit saved him from some mobs, only for cellbit to have to correct him and say that it's usually the other way around. As far as most are concerned, cellbit does the rescuing while roier gleefully asks for the help. It is very easy to make the jump from the idea that eurydice is being saved and the image of roier cubito calling out for help with a scorpion that he could (normally at least, I know he didn't have any weapons or gear that one time during purgatory) bring down on his own. It definitely doesn't help that cellbit is, of course and as always, already running to roier with a weapon in hand to kill the scorpion. At the first chance, he's already trying to help. Anything for his husband.

So it makes sense that orpheus cellbit, who clearly loves doing the saving, would drag himself through hell in his devotion to save eurydice roier, who loves being the one saved! But then you start remembering how the story came about. You start wondering, well, why does the devotion need to be so strong? Why does eurydice even need to be saved? What has brought the both of them to the gates of the afterlife? Oh. Right. It's because she died. She's dead. Eurydice, the love of orpheus’ life, is dead. 

Saving her takes and is devotion, yes, but it's also an attempt to escape grief. If she’s saved, there’s no need to mourn. If she’s saved, then she’s not dead and there’s no grief. And, always, there is no one more grief-riddled than roier (except maybe maxo, whose grief has permanently killed him). No one knows more intimately than roier how tough of a fight it is to escape constant grief because he is constantly grieving, and it just keeps getting worse. His number one recurring theme since arriving on the island has been that he will lose loved ones. To the point that sometimes, even if the person is still technically around, the grief around them and the relationship that once was finds ways to persist (just look at the mess that revolved around spreen cubito before he was confirmed to be dead).

The devotion still applies to him too, of course. Even though it's in quieter ways, there's no denying that roier is as equally devoted to cellbit as cellbit is to him. Cellbit once promised roier he'd rescue him if the feds ever arrested him. Roier once told cellbit he'd go after him and wouldn't stop until he got him back if the feds tried taking cellbit again. And that's not even the only time roier has promised that, he's said similar things multiple times before. He even had to fulfill that same promise once already, back during the regret arc when cellbit went missing trying to save felps. If there is one thing that is true, it's that roier is not lacking in orpheusian devotion.

Actually, extending that devotion from being based in romantic love to also including familial love just makes it all the clearer how much of an orpheus roier has already been. Orpheus fights through the journey, holding on to hope and powering himself through devotion, because the alternative of having permanently lost eurydice, of having to succumb to grief, is too much for him to take. Roier fought through the entire island and later a dungeon, holding on to hope and powering himself through devotion, because the alternative of having permanently lost bobby, of having to succumb to the grief of loosing his son to something outside of his control, was too much for him to take.

And then they both fail. Orpheus looks back too early. Sometimes he forgets, in his excitement to be so close to the end, sometimes doubt gets the best of him and he has to check, and sometimes the need to see his love again overwhelms all his senses. Sometimes maybe it's somehow all three. Roier also looked back too early, in a way, but cucurucho only knows what way that actually was. It could have been that he technically did die right at the very end before he could make it through the dungeon, or it could have been that the gods were feeling particularly cruel that day. Either way, bobby wasn't returned to him. Either way, eurydice vanishes in the morning light after orpheus gets one last glimpse of her. Either way, Bobby vanishes behind the door after roier and jaiden are given only 10 minutes to say goodbye.

This is all without even touching on some of the details about how roier's singing charms everyone he meets and how music is such an important part of his character (for those of you unfamiliar with the myth, orpheus' connection to music is so deep that the greeks named a constellation after his lyre). Or, as notes in the last version of this post pointed out, how his previous journeys to the underworld have shaken his faith and trust (which would probably need to be a whole entire other post on its own). 

Roier is just permanent orpheus. He can't help it. If you believe that characters in myths are left behind, endlessly retelling their journeys even once the book is closed, then orpheus is still there, making that trip to the afterlife and back. His story is being retold through roier, who is here now. Roier, who has already gone on two trips to the afterlife and back, already told this story twice before, and is now preparing himself for a third (even a fourth, if you want to extend this whole thing and include purgatory and the eggs). It’s retold in how Roier has to do the saving, again, because he keeps getting left behind. In how he’s always drowning in grief, in some way or another. How he’ll drag himself through the journey every single time if it means a chance at saving someone he loves. If it means saving himself from more grief.

So the stage is set. Purgatory happened. Orpheus has loved, again, and he's lost, again. Roier may like it when he's the one being saved but he's been forced yet again into a position where he has a chance to do the saving. He's facing an increasingly insurmountable mountain of grief on one side and a plunging chance at salvation on the other. The book has been turned back to its first page. The story is rewinding to tell itself again. We know what path he'll pick. Now all that’s left is to see if this third trip succeeds. To see if this retelling is one where orpheus does not look back. And if he does? Well.

"Dying again, [Eurydice] did not blame her husband — What could she complain of except she was loved?" - ovid, translator: stanley lombardo

[rainbowsandwhumperflies]

The Winged Servant - drabble

Content warnings: referenced whump of a minor (kinda), referenced punishment, victim blamey headspace

masterlist

taglist: @kaleidoscope-of-thoughts @toyybox @rainydaywhump

Notes: I am so sorry about how short this is, but I have just been so exhausted lately and can't seem to write longer things. If you'd like to only be tagged for longer, more official things, let me know :)

I was only about halfway through my list of chores when Prince Ryan interrupted me. “Onyx, are you going to make a cake or something tonight?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” I agreed, bowing. “May I ask what for?”

“Oh, I wasn’t-” He frowned, tilted his head at me. “I wasn’t requesting a cake. I was wondering if there was one planned already. You don’t remember what for?”

Shit. No, I didn’t remember. And I hadn’t been punished in SIX days. Which wasn’t some kind of record, obviously, but it had been nice.

Except- except of course I was going to get punished again at some point. I’d known that already. Good servants weren’t so hung up on whether or not they were getting punished. Punishment only made me better at my job, and it wouldn’t do me any good to be selfish about it.

“My apologies, Your Highness, but I don’t think I remember.”

“Huh.” The prince didn’t look like he was going to punish me. He didn’t look upset. He wasn’t telling me about any rules I’d broken. “Do you… know how old you are, Onyx?”

I blinked. “Seventeen, Your Highness.”

“… Oh. Uh, do you know, like, what month it is?”

“Ah…” No one ever talked to me about what month it was. It wasn’t relevant to my chores. But Her Majesty had been wearing less layers lately, I thought, so… spring? Summer? “May, maybe, Your Highness?”

“April. Do you really not remember when your birthday is?”

My birthday?

Of course I remembered my birthday. Everyone knew their own birthday, and the birthday of people close to them, right? Like, Jayden’s was in November. The twins’ were in January. Mine was…

My birthday. Mine.

The problem with my birthday was that good servants didn’t really have many things that belonged to them alone. A whole day to celebrate just me would get in the way of things, probably. I wouldn’t be as productive.

“You’re nineteen today,” Prince Ryan said quietly. “You’ve been here for a year and a couple months. If you’d like, you could tell Jayden, and I’m sure he’d make you some kind of treat. Sorry, um. I didn’t realize you didn’t know. I guess that makes sense, considering everything, but… huh.” He straightened his posture and put a smile back on his face. “Well. Back to your chores, then, I suppose.”

I stared blankly in his direction as he walked down the hallway.

Nineteen.

Hm.

[cirrus-grey]

I know it's kind of the point, the passions of man versus the indifferent cruelty of nature, but it is amazing to me how much the Whale in Moby Dick just does not give a fuck.

The whole book sets it up as this malicious, intelligent demon that has it out for humans and wants to kill them all, and then when the Pequod finally catches up to it it's just... puttering along, enjoying the weather, having a grand old time. Even after they attack it and it destroys one of the boats it just kind of sits in the water nearby swatting at debris with its tail and ignoring them. Even at the end, the final destruction of the ship and deaths of all the crew, it kind of just has this attitude of like. Hey. You. I thought I told you to fuck off. Like -

Ahab: From Hell's heart I stab at thee!

The Whale: Oh, not you again. 🙄

[leafith]

✨▫️◽◻️🪶◻️◽▫️✨