#please take this with a grain of salt hehe

[athousandbyeol]

discussion #2 (only friends): topmew as each other's reflection (analysing their clothing choice + identical colours)

the only friends series hashtag on twitter has been continuously bombarded with new updates. photos upon photos of the drama's bts are popping everywhere, arousing excitement and speculations. everyone is excited to see where the story goes and just what on earth p'jojo and p'nine have in store for us.

in this post, i want to address a trend i've been observing between mew and top's clothing styles, as well as the colour choices. it's riveting to discuss the similarity between top and mew as we see more pictures of them together. i personally think the attire and colours are very pertinent to their relationship, character traits and dynamics.

(warning: a very long [and messy] discussion ahead.)

let's look at mew and top's clothing styles as individuals beforehand.

their individuality

mew

so, this is the first picture of mew (from q4). from this introduction photo, he's wearing something particularly simple— bland. a white sweatshirt/knitted shirt, slacks, possibly a pair of sneakers and his glasses. the most prominent colours we see in this photo are white and black. very basic. resembles the fundamental understanding of the world, humans, the law, etc. white (the good) and black (the evil). mew is a mix of both. but as the white shirt is on top (no pun intended, hehe), it's safe to say mew is dominantly white than black, meaning he's good > evil.

side note: another thing i notice about mew's clothing style is he's always wearing two layers of clothing. an undershirt and a bright-coloured shirt. it signifies the complexity of his character, as well as his reservedness and timid personality that's very different from top. i think his initial styling choice is important because he'll revolve once everything falls apart.

yet, this picture also hides mew's evil side really well, and that's his glasses. mew isn't entirely smiling. he's smirking. behind those glasses, is the mew no one knows. perhaps, he's not as good as we think he is.

for now, what we see is an angelic side of mew that bewitched top into his knees. he's white and he's untainted. this is before top comes into his life.

top

top is very interesting to me because this is also the first picture we see of him, and he's wearing a white sleeveless shirt. as i've mentioned, white often personifies kindness, purity and innocence. it's intriguing to see this colour on top when the trailer shows top is everything but kind (at least to the dictionary description of the word. i believe kindness can be very subjective and depends on the situation/environment too).

but later, we're seeing more of top and the colours he's often associated with, mostly dark colours like black or blue.

this infers to top being more on the dark spectrum. i'm not saying he's entirely evil or innocent, but judging from the trailer, top is a fuck boy and he knows that. the colours he's assigned to portray his possible characteristics very well: cunning, manipulative, selfish, apathetic.

he's also wearing only a layer of clothing. nothing too fancy. a stylish shirt with slacks or jeans. very simplistic. illustrates his personality as someone who takes everything without much thought (i don't know if this can be proof but when he says to boston, "you introduced me to him. why are you mad? are you jealous?" it gives me an inkling that top never sees himself as the problem. it's always other people. not him. he guilt trips to his benefit. it's not impossible that he does this to mew too.)

side note: however, i do believe top has his own demons to fight, thus, resulting in him being a heartbreaker. it's either he's a (pathetic) narcissist, or he's very lonely. i'm inclined to he's a loner and a rich spoiled brat that gets everything he wants and never gets a no from anyone. also from the trailer, we see him consuming an alarming dose of medications/drugs. he's either suffering from a mental illness or dealing with substance abuse. that would be so intriguing and gives a clearer explanation of his actions, thought process and character traits.

different colours: top and mew (slowly) merging into one

so, one day, boston comes up with an idea that will change everyone's lives: he introduces top to mew. prior to this, we know mew and boston are (best?) friends while top and boston are fuck buddies.

in their first encounter, their clothing style and colours are very different. mew in his usual bright-coloured clothing while top in his darker/earthier colour.

they are completely from two different worlds. they are on opposite sides of the universe. but as the famous saying goes, opposites attract, top is attracted to mew as mew is to top. and if this is like any other romantic story, it will be so cute and i'll be cheering for them. it's not the case for them, though.

many speculate that this scene;

leads to this scene;

because they're seen at the club in the same attire;

they're wearing completely different colours and styles. but the kiss breaks that wall of individuality and we can see them slowly morphing into each other/becoming each other's reflection after that fateful encounter. it's more evident after this as they begin mirroring one another in terms of their style and colour choices.

matching colours signify unity and love

firstly, mew and top are both wearing shades of blue. as always, top wears a darker hue while mew wears something lighter. but there's harmony between them because they're tuning into each other— the same colour— blue. this is the result of their reciprocal love.

i want to believe at any point in their relationship, top does like mew too. as equally, as maddeningly, and as head over heels as mew is. and the colour of their clothes is proof (to mew). i speculated mew has a very traditional and conventional understanding of love/relationship. mew asking top, "can you wait? i think we can be more than a one-night stand," convinces me that mew doesn't want top to only be his bed friend. he wants something serious with top. something sturdy. an established relationship.

colours are one of the biggest forms of symbolism. every colour has its own meaning. choosing a colour for every character/situation/ambience is very significant because it speaks so much of the character and storyline. therefore, mew and top wearing identical colours signify their love for each other. they are equal at this point— their feelings are.

the impact of their love: analogous clothing choice and colours

it's so mindboggling to me that top is so much like mew now.

i've said this before but top is (maybe) a simple-minded person. a self-centred guy. he wears one layer of clothing and that's it, while mew will always wear two sets of clothing.

but what has happened to top?

he's wearing something very mew-coded here.

he's becoming like mew in the sense that he's (without realising) being tugged and entrapped in mew's aura/power. there's a study that shows you'll slowly adapt your loved ones' likes/style/way of speaking, etc. it's happening to top. he might not realise the impact mew has on him (yet), but at some point, he will. sadly, when that time comes, i think it's already too late.

i'm unsure of its relevance, but for now, i stand by the fact top is adding more layers to him as his feelings for mew heightens. it also symbolises top's openness to embrace his truest self and face the demons within. mew changes top; mew's love and kindness and empathy have touched top's cold heart.

while many think top is in control of their relationship, i believe mew is the true mastermind.

from these photos, i see less of the cunning top, but more of the lonely and desperate-for-true-love top.

and they're wearing similar colours in these photos too.

(top looks like he's in love and my heart is breaking.)

this is very cute and i really want to believe this is forcebook and not topmew. but it's topmew. and how wonderful. they're wearing similar stripey shirts too.

the impact of their love: mew's transformation

mew went from wearing something like this;

to this

(taken from lookjun's ig story)

mew is wearing the opposite of top's first photo we saw; a black singlet and a necklace. fascinating.

mew will never wear this combo. he's never the fleshy type. never the one to show skin. but i think this is the start of mew's rebellion and possible revenge.

i don't know if i can call mew's intentions an act of revenge, but he must've been so broken to know top and boston's affair even after they dated. the narrative navigates us to believe mew will undergo some life-altering experience after the (possible) break-up. so, this photo is like mew rebelling against top. the way to take down top is to be top.

he may or may not wear something else (since this is just a random video taken bts, after all). but still it's cool to know mew's discarding one layer of himself; symbolising he has lost a part of his soul— top.

sidetrack: the current topboston, the never-colliding worlds

this photo in particular catches my interest because it's top and boston on the lift (probably to a hotel room). however, top's expression surprises me because he doesn't look happy at all. it must have something to do with mew or boston said something top hates or they're discussing their relationship (?) like in the mock trailer.

but what makes me ballsy is top is wearing something very bright— very mew— while he meets boston.

i find it weird at first. but then i realised— this should be the moment we know top's feelings for mew are very strong and he won't let mew go.

it's very different from this picture of top and boston practically eye-fucking while mew is innocently wishing to be with top forever. (top, seriously, if you're a bastard we all think you are, i'm going to resent you.)

there's still this lingering connection between top and boston. but i do notice their colours never really complement each other. it's meant to be that way because this is a very one-sided relationship— never a symbiotic connection— more like a prey-predator or parasitic affinity.

conclusion

colours and clothing styles are important in understanding the depth of topmew's relationship. i see many writers associating specific colours with their characters because it adds a deeper 'flavour' to their craft (for example; p'aof's last twilight. the colours he uses in the trailer are insane).

essentially, when creating a character, making a character profile is the first (and the most important) step. hence, assigning the character to wear a certain colour or put on a certain style has so much to do with the story and the dynamic between the character and their surrounding.

i'm excited to keep an eye on topmew to see if my theory fits the intention/narrative the directors/scriptwriters have. they can't just ask these characters, not only topmew, to wear something without having any significance, yes?

(or i'm just over-analysing everything because my literature brain is forcing me to look deeper and deeper into this)

whatever it is, topmew will hurt me and make me smile and i'm scared to wait for that day to finally come.

[1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (i) | 4 (ii) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12]

[whereismyhat5678]

Ngl, I felt sick as fuck today so I decided to draw myself 😎😎✨✨

This is legit what I wear to school on a daily basis- A hoodie, pants and my go-to hat. (Also my glasses, I actually have two pairs. I draw my red iconic ones since they’re easier and I like wearing em’ more, but I also have these glasses that also act as sunglasses. I thought it’d be cool to add this in-)

Also

You know how cool it’d be if I actually had CHARISMA? Like, I got so much game I could pull BOTH genders? Nah man that’d be pretty cool- let me be a gentlemen and swoon ladies over, let there be a man that actually calls be pretty sincerely. THAT would be kickass if you ask me. 👀✨

Although you know my ass in reality is like this with people I like:

I mean I general with friends and aquientences(?) I’m fine with talking to them, it’s just I think I’m a tad bit more nervous around people who don’t talk to me, like a person that’s only talked to me a little- ����

(I’m just gonna admit it I have no rizz, I talk big game but I actually have none, help 😭)

[psychereadings]

⁑ATEEZ'S IDEAL TYPES BASED ON ASTROLOGY⁑✨🌙

Please take everything with a grain of salt!

Hongjoong: 

This guy might be the definition of a Scorpio Venus and I love it. Hongjoong is very passionate about whatever he does, he’s individualistic and optimistic. Might want to try out many new things, and needs a partner who is willing to encourage them to do so. His Venus makes him need someone who’s intellectually stimulating and can handle his intense emotions and obsessive nature. He craves unconditional devotion from his partner and would not tolerate someone cowardly, timid or disloyal. With his Sagg Venus he might need someone who can ground him to reality since he can often feel like giving up on a project and moving to another one since it no longer stimulates him.

Seonghwa: 

With his Venus in Aquarius this guy is really into the ‘not-like-other-girls’ stereotype, he wants his partner to stand out in the best and worst way possible or just into people who come off as unique in certain aspects. Needs someone who’s their friend before their lover, a shoulder to cry on and he might be someone who can be a little hesitant to open up since he values his individuality above all else. With his cancer moon he seeks out partners who are more in tune with their emotions and have strong familial values that match his own. Needs someone to nurture him. His Aries mars makes him prone to being very free-spirited and needs to be the one in charge of the relationship,  being a provider fuels his ego. Why do I feel like he might eat up the goth mommy aesthetic? lmfao.

Yunho: 

Hehe this man is a maximalist, he loves the feel of luxury but he wants to feel grounded every once in a while, someone who can help him manage his finances while inflating them is just perfect in his opinion and honestly this is just the Taurus Venus speaking lol. He definitely has some far fetched idealisms surrounding his relationships which can lead to self sabotaging. Due to his Gemini moon he wants someone light hearted who can joke with him and understand his humor, someone who’s easy to please. Whomever he’s with must be intellectually stimulating and learn and enjoy his own interests as well. Being too sentimental or emotional might just scare him away as he might not understand what you’re going through very well. Attracted to people who find peace in their mess, who’re disorganized as this projects as ‘drowning in their own creativity’ in certain ways. With his mars in Scorpio he has a very intense and dominating side to him which pops up when in private so someone who can deal with that is perfect. Might be really into the hyper feminine look ngl.

Yeosang: 

Leo Venus: I love my Leo Venuses ngl 

Although this man’s Venus placement screams loud lover I’d like to suggest otherwise after looking at his moon and mars placements. My boy is TIMID but that does not mean he doesn’t feel deeply, because he does and his cancer moon portrays this side of him well. He feels deeply but his libra mars prevents him from expressing himself as openly as he’d like to. His ideal type would be someone who’s his complete opposite, someone who’s willing to confront him when things are a little crazy because he is not the one doing it. This boy’s a lover not a fighter! 

San: 

Another Leo Venus and he is the most vibrant ball of sunshine I’ve ever laid eyes on and it shows in his charts. San’s love language lies in contrast with Yeosang's. He is willing to devote his entire being to you and you will know when he does. His Mars in Scorpio adds to his passionate nature and it aspects well with his Venus. His ideal type must be someone whom he can show off to the world, someone confident and in tune with themselves and what they want from life. He wants to just stand beside them and bathe in their light (kinda sappy isn’t it?) He’s prone to having mood swings as he is very sensitive and would appreciate having someone who can deal with them properly. He just wants the soulmates trope for real.

Mingi:

I have a feeling that his cancer moon is heightened for some reason and does very well with his Leo sun. He might be easily hurt and prone to isolating himself during tough times. It’s hard for people to get close to him as he is very protective of his own space and doesn’t appreciate any interventions in it. His Virgo Venus also makes him extremely nit-picky when it comes to the dating scene. He, like Yunho, might have some very unrealistic expectations from his partners. His ideal type is someone realistic and practical, with whom he can share all his worldly troubles. He might be really into women (or men) who smother him or is very motherly and babies him. They need to be someone he can just fall back on during tough times and honestly a soft shoulder to cry on. His mars in Scorpio like San’s makes for a passionate lover and he wants someone who can keep with him (more ways than one??)

Wooyoung: 

AESTHETICALLY PLEASING. This man is here for the good times, he wants something light and fluffy that makes his heart flutter but at the same time he needs someone who is grounded and dependable, helping him tell the right from wrong. He just wants someone who’s willing to take risks and have a good time with him, leaving the rest behind and jumping into a bubble with just the two of them- running away from this cruel world. He needs someone who’s willing to indulge his more than crazy ideas and makes him forget about anything and everything else.

Jongho: 

He can be extremely possessive of his things and might be prone to viewing his partners as more of a possession than a lover ngl but that’s just my experience with Scorpio Venuses. Like Joong he just wants unconditional love and devotion, he likes the feeling of being treated like god lmao. His ideal type is someone loyal and honest. He might be very impulsive as well and wants someone who’s okay with indulging his every idea and notion. He’s also extremely practical and someone who’s got their head in the clouds just turns him off. He likes realistic people who have their shit together. He’s here to give you advice, not the type to sit and hear you mope, it doesn’t make much sense to him.

⁂Hey babes, Coco here. This has been delivered according to the poll we set up roughly a week back! I hope yall enjoyed the reading. Please remember to take everything with a grain of salt<33

⁂Also, we are a little busy at the moment but we will be getting back to all the requests yall have sent in starting Feb 27th, so don't feel disappointed if we aren't replying to them at the moment. We are still open to getting requests though. We'll be getting back to them shortly! 🍀🍀🍀

[perfectwitchcrown]

Make the Exorcist Fall in Love – Witches Part One

Ok, I finally finished this meta! I've broken it into two posts because it was getting a little too long. I’m covering some of the literary and historical references that Ekuoto plays with in regards to its witches hehe.. Regardless of whether Arima Aruma and Fukuyama Masuku are engaging with the actual history of witchcraft beliefs or the way it’s been filtered down into the contemporary cultural consciousness, I think it’ll be fun to present the real-life inspirations behind these ideas. Scholarly sources are cited so you can feel free to check out the information I discuss, and links are provided occasionally when I got lazy. All citations are in MLA form at the end of the second part because I didn’t feel Chicago footnote format would function well on Tumblr, so I apologize for any issues with the citations as I’m rusty with MLA. Take this all with a grain of salt, as I’m not an expert and also had to cover a lot of regions/periods of time. Hope you enjoy!

Content warnings for discussion of sexual violence, execution, images of cartoon nudity and violence (all Ekuoto panels), also major spoilers for Ekuoto and minor spoilers for Berserk, the movie Perfect Blue, and the movie The Craft

Link to Part Two of the meta (including works cited)

Witches – what did it mean to be a witch? Demonic Pacts, witch marks, and more

First off—what is a witch? This question is actually deceptively difficult to answer. For example, you can’t simply say that a witch is someone who practices magic: that’s too broad. “In September 1398 the theology faculty at the University of Paris approved a set of twenty-eight articles condemning the practice of ritual magic”—the targets of this were largely clerics (Levack 49), and there seems to have been a decent number of them (Apps and Gow 126). Those accused of witchcraft were considered distinct from these magic using priests for whom “this magic was practiced with grimoires or books of learned enchantments” (not that this was approved of by the church either) (Mackay 30-31).

What a “witch” was, is also something that could be wildly different depending on time and place. There was, however, a coalescence of ideas during the 15th century in Europe, followed by the “witch craze” of the Early Modern period (16th-18th centuries), in which there were an uptick in witch trials, provides an answer to what a witch is that has had a lasting impact in our present cultural consciousness (Witch Trials in Early Modern Europe and New England). This definition of witchcraft, then, I think, is the most relevant one to consider in this meta, although it will require a bit of generalization.

Essential to understanding this coalescence of ideas about witches is a book known as the Malleus Maleficarum, or “The Hammer of Witches,” a text on witchcraft published in 1486 by two Dominican friars, an order that focused on heresy (Mackay 1-2). Please note that mention of heresy, as it will be relevant later. How, then, did it imagine witches?

Christopher S. Mackay, in the introduction to his translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, calls this construction of witchcraft “the elaborated concept of witchcraft,” and defines it as follows (this is a direct quotation I just can't format it right on Tumblr LMFAO):

A pact entered into with the Devil (and concomitant apostasy from Christianity)

Sexual relations with the Devil

Aerial flight for the purpose of attending:

An assembly presided by Satan himself (at which initiates entered into the pact, and incest and promiscuous sex were engaged in by the attendees),

The practice of maleficent magic

The slaughter of babies. (Mackay 19)

The Malleus’s construction of witchcraft “represented a special form of heresy that played an important part in Satan’s plans for the Final Days” (Mackay 33) and borrowed elements from accusations made against earlier heretical groups (Saunders 85-86). It focused on women from the lower classes as opposed to priests who were practicing magic (Mackay 30-31). Heresy is key then to understanding witchcraft in this period. The Malleus’s construction of witchcraft also had a sexual focus, repeatedly bringing up the impact of demons on the genitals (Garrett 38). For example, there’s a whole section that details whether or not witches can take your penis away. The Malleus’s findings? No, but they can cast an illusion that makes it appear as though your penis is gone (Mackay 323-329). Breathtaking.

In Ekuoto, we see that the what makes someone a witch is a demonic convent, which involves erasing their names from the book of life and writing it in the demon lord’s book of death (which I will go further into depth on in the section on Sabbaths!), receiving a seal on their body, and merging bodily fluids through kissing or sex.

This process actually is pretty faithful to early modern beliefs about how one became a witch. The Malleus describes the process as involving a “sacrilegious avowal,” in which witches either make this vow to serve the demon ceremonially “when the sorceresses come to a certain assembly on a fixed day and see the demon in the assumed guise of a human as he urges them to keep their faith to him, which would be accompanied by prosperity in temporal matters and longevity of life.” While there, a new witch-to-be would be presented, and if determined to be “ready to renounce the Most Christian Faith and Worship,” signs themselves over (as in with a literal signature) (Mackay 281, 283). Non-ceremonially, a demon might just pop up when someone is in trouble and promise to help them if they help him (Mackay 286-287). So, here we see the idea of witchcraft granting long life and a physical signing over of the self to a demon.

But, witchcraft beliefs weren’t only constructed by books like the Malleus Maleficarum—those accused of witchcraft also contributed to these beliefs in their confessions (Roper Witch Craze 117).  As historian Lyndal Roper in her book Witch Craze describes of Early Modern witch confessions from Germany, “Intercourse with the Devil was the physical counterpart of the pact with him—and it was sex with the Devil which many accused witches talked about at length, rather than the pact which, according to demonological theory, actually made them Satan’s own” (Roper Witch Craze 85). Roper speculates that a large reason for this that many accused during this time period were illiterate, and so in their confessions, sex as the form of pact appears far in confessions than physical signatures (Roper Witch Craze 85). Regardless, we can see this as where Ekuoto borrows the idea of sex or kissing as a part of the demonic convent.

Sometimes, in these confessions, we also saw that the Devil would “give the witch a special diabolical name” as a sort of reversion of the baptismal process where a Christian name would be gained (Roper Witch Craze 116). Vergilius taking a new name as a part of his demonic pact then is completely in line with historical views of witchcraft, which I think is very fun of Arima Aruma.

Another idea of that shows up regarding people becoming witches is the idea of witch’s marks and devil’s marks, which were pretty significant in English witch trials. A Devil’s mark was a mark that was believed to have been left by the Devil when the witch becomes his, while the witch’s mark was believed to be a teat that the witch would use to nurse familiars their blood, although the terms were often conflated (Garrett 49-50). In England, searching for these marks was a major part of trials, and the experience was violating, the marks often being found near women’s genitals after they had been stripped of all their clothes, and pricked repeatedly on any mark that might be a witch’s or devil’s mark (Garrett 37).

Devil’s marks have been mentioned in Ekuoto, as seen in the earlier image, although we have not had any specifically pointed out. Vergilius’s heart under his right eye is likely a devil’s mark in my opinion, as he did not have it as a child when he was not a witch. I’ll be interested in seeing if it comes up and if there’s any significance to its shape. I could totally be wrong and it could just be like make up or a tattoo or something. This under the eye heart mark isn’t original to Ekuoto—heart patches for facial application have existed at least since the 17th century (not citing out of laziness but look up beauty patches), and under the eye heart make up was like a trend back in 2019 on Tiktok—but hilariously, 2012, when Marina and the Diamonds released Electra Heart, featuring MARINA with a heart mark under her eye, is also is presumably the year Vergilius became a witch (based on Daniel’s statement in one of the chapters that he’s been active for a decade). Maybe he’s just a really big Electra Heart fan lol.

The Witch’s Sabbath

A witches Sabbath was “where witches gathered to worship the Devil, dance, feast, indulge in sexual orgies, and practice cannibalism and infanticide” (Apps and Gow 120). As previously mentioned, the book Malleus Maleficarum set the stage for a lot of early modern witch beliefs within Western Europe. This text was written within a school known as demonology, “Commonly viewed as a branch of theology, philosophy and metaphysics” (Roper “Witchcraft and the Western Imagination” 119). Demonological descriptions of the witches Sabbath are an example of elite construction of witchcraft beliefs, and they focused on Christianity inverted: “The witches were bent double, candles in their anus, and in the place of the kiss of peace in the Mass, they had to kiss the Devil’s anus (Roper Witch Craze 113).

Of course, as also has been mentioned before, Early Modern witchcraft beliefs were also shaped by those accused of witchcraft drawing from their own experience in confessions. The dance, an element of the witch’s Sabbath, appeared in Witch’s confessions as an inversion of their village dances (Roper Witch Craze 107-108, 111, 116). At these dances it was said that music might be played on the fiddle and the bagpipes (Roper “Witchcraft and the Western Imagination” 128).

Make the Exorcist Fall in Love both presents the witches Sabbaths using ideas of inversion of Christian doctrine and of social gatherings with dance and music. For one, the witches set up shop in an abandoned church in France, where they place a statue representing Beelzebub in the sanctuary. Symbolically, then, they’ve inverted the worship of God to the worship of a demon.

Additionally, you can see the Witches lined up to kiss the statue on what seems to be a phallic protrusion. They’re inverting, then, the kiss of peace the same way historically witches were thought to kiss the Devil’s anus. Roper has a description of a woodcut that bears similarity to this image, describing it like so: “At the centre of the image, witches perform the anal kiss on a giant goat, while long lines of assorted pairs of Devils and witches wind their way in a snake like spiral around the picture, playing phallic-looking bagpipes and horns” (Roper “Witchcraft and the Western Imagination” 137-138). Now, traditionally this kiss is delivered on the anus rather than the phallus, but I’m not an expert so I can’t speak to whether there were regional descriptions of Witch’s Sabbaths that varied that Make the Exorcist Fall in Love is drawing from. I can say, though, that Berserk’s portrayal of a witch’s Sabbath, which imagery-wise definitely seems to draw from woodblock representations, does feature the diabolic kiss being received on the phallus rather than the anus. It is possible that this scene was visual inspiration for Ekuoto’s witch’s Sabbath. For those who are interested in independently checking what I’m talking about, it’s in chapter 139 of Berserk.

Now, in the same above panel in Ekuoto, we also see that the witches are singing a song. This song is an inversion of the Anglican hymn “Holy Holy Holy”—the original lyrics, that the witch’s invert, are “Holy, Holy, Holy! Though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man, thy glory may not see: Only Thou art holy, there is none beside Thee, Perfect in power in love, and purity.” The hymn is originally about the trinitarian god, so this inverted version becomes a worship of Beelzebub.

If you want to give the original song a listen, here’s a link to a recording:

This song later also appears in the flashback to the 2011 Beelzebub fight (where, interestingly enough, an eclipse is featured very prominently. Eclipses are pretty common “ooh spooky eek” imagery but it also made me wonder if there’s potential visual influence from Berserk). This also further establishes it as a song associated with Beelzebub.

Inversion also shows up outside of the Sabbaths in Ekuoto. Dante in the below images is invoking the Trinitarian formula: “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” which is from Matthew 28:19 in the Bible. Verge, and other witches in Ekuoto, invert the Trinitarian formula: “in the name of the mother, the daughter, and the evil spirit.” Not only is this an example of inversion, but it also aligns with a neopagan concept, the Triple Goddess (although usually the triple Goddess is expressed as the Mother, the Daughter, and the Crone). I’m not going to cite this because I’m lazy, but if you want you can check this one out on Wikipedia. The Triple Goddess in neopagan beliefs harkens back to older religious forms where goddesses appeared in groups of three—one of these, from Hellenistic religious beliefs, is associated with witchcraft: Hecate was associated with magic, and often depicted in a triple form (Also too lazy to cite this but you can check this out also on Wikipedia in both the Triple Goddess (Neopaganism) page and the Hecate page. You can also check it out on Encyclopedia Brittanica). Interestingly, and as I’ll touch on later, Baba Yaga also sometimes appears in three forms in folklore (Forrester xxxiv).

Walpurgisnacht

Now, the description of the woodblock of a witch’s Sabbath mentioned in the previous section wasn’t of just any Sabbath—it was a Sabbath on the Brocken, where according to legend witches would have a Sabbath every year on Walpurgisnacht (Roper “Witchcraft and the Western Imagination” 137-138).

Walpurgisnacht is on April 30 into May 1st, and is an actual real life religious holiday, celebrating the canonization of Saint Walpurga. It’s celebrated through festivals, some of which involve dancing around bonfires. In the 17th century, a book written by Johannes Praetorius cited the peak of the Harz mountains in Germany, the Brocken, as a site in which witches would meet for a Sabbath on the eve of May 1st (Weishaupt). It was this book, the Blockesberges Verrichtung, that features the woodblock mentioned in the Sabbath section, and would inspire some of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s drama of the mind, Faust (Roper “Witchcraft and the Western Imagination” 135-138). Faust also has a famous presentation of Walpurgisnacht on the Brocken (Weishaupt).

So yeah, Ekuoto’s mention of Walpurgisnacht is in reference to this! Moving on to what they’ve also mentioned in conjunction to Walpurgisnacht:

Baba Yaga

First and foremost, Baba Yaga has nothing to do with Walpurgisnacht in folklore, this is an invention of Ekuoto. The Harz mountains are in Germany, whereas Baba Yaga is a figure in Slavic folklore.  

Stories in which Baba Yaga appears often have several themes: “she lives in the forest, which is her domain” (Zipes VIII); that her house has chicken legs (Forrester XXVII); that her “house may be surrounded with a fence of bones, perhaps topped with skulls (Forrester XXVIII). She sometimes also has a black cat (Forrester XXVIII). Jack Zipes, in the foreword to Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales, describes her as “not just a dangerous witch but also a maternal benefactress, probably related to a pagan goddess” and “inscrutable and so powerful that she does not owe an allegiance to the Devil or God or even to her storytellers” (Zipes VIII). Sibelan Forrester, in that same book, describes her as “both a cannibal and a kind of innkeeper, a woman who threatens but also often rewards” (Forrester XXXV). Skulls with light coming out of their eye sockets shows up in the fairy tale Vasilia the Beautiful—“the eyes of all the skulls on the fence lit up, and the whole clearing became light as midday” (Forrester XXXVIII, XLIV, 175).

Now, so far in Make the Exorcist Fall in Love, we’ve been presented with Baba Yaga as a witch who Satan calls different from the other witches, who tried purifying the angry souls of those killed by the church until she became corrupted by their rage and desired the power to kill god, and has at least three contracts with Satan, Asmodeus, and Beelzebub (but not Leviathan). She also appears as a black cat.

The parts that most clearly draw upon traditional Baba Yaga folklore are the skulls, the chicken legged house in the middle of the woods, and the idea of her being a total wildcard. As far as I can tell, the backstory they’ve given her about purifying souls killed by the church is completely original to Ekuoto, although it could be in reference to either some piece of folklore or literature that I’m not familiar with. Traditionally, the bones and skulls in Baba Yaga’s home are presumably a threat that the hero might next be a victim of hers (Forrester XXIX). Here, they are victims of the church.

The closest thing I have been able to find is the invented backstory is from Dubravka Ugrešić’s book, Baba Yaga Laid an Egg, published as part of the Canongate Myth Series (themed around reinterpreting international mythology): “That they would finally stop bowing down to men with bloodshot eyes, men who are guilty of killing millions of people, and who still have not had enough. For they are the ones who leave a trail of human skills behind them, yet people’s torpid imaginations stick those skulls on the fence of a solitary old woman who lives on the edge of the forest” (Ugrešić’ 243). Here also the skulls are affiliated not with her cannibalism but the killings of patriarchal power. The book was originally published in Croatian and has several different languages it is available in translation, although, as far as I can tell, Japanese is not one of them, so I don’t know how familiar Arima Aruma would be with it.

I’m also fascinated by the beheaded, veiled skeletal figure with the large stomach wound we see who points towards Baba Yaga’s house. Baba Yaga is sometimes presented as a mother (Forrester XXXVIII) and the large stomach opening to me almost looks like the surgical removal of a child from the womb, although that may be a stretch.

Contemporary c-sections are also often horizontal, although historically in Europe and the Americas, up until developments in surgery and gynecology in the nineteenth century, they were only performed when the mother was dead or had no hope for survival. The images I’ve seen depicting c-sections in the 15th and 16th centuries seem to depict vertical incisions though, which lines up more with this figure’s wound. (I’m not citing these but will provide links: https://www.webmd.com/baby/what-happens-during-c-section; https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/cesarean/part1.html ). I think it would also line up with some of the other imagery that’s been established in series, such as the wound/vagina/pregnancy image combo we got in the first chapter with Asmodeus.

It's also been implied that she had something to do with binding Beelzebub from entering Germany:

That file really closely follows the contours of a Baba Yaga fairy tale—getting lost in the forest, the flaming bone torch like in Vasilia the Beautiful. I’m extremely fascinated by the way in which Baba Yaga is being presented in Ekuoto and can’t wait to see more about her motivations.

Continued in Part Two

[jaeyunverse]

cat boy

pairing: yang jungwon x fem!reader

wc: 1882

genres: some fluff, mostly crack, enemies to lovers, neighbours au

warnings: profanity

summary: yang jungwon is pissed his cat likes you more than him. or, in which jungwon’s cat plays cupid and sets you up.

note: this is extremely unserious!!!! i only wrote it for funsies but i enjoyed the process a lot :) i hope the fic manages to bring a smile on your face hehe

masterlist

There was an angry-looking Yang Jungwon standing at your door.

You didn’t know why he was so pissed. You just knew you didn’t care.

“Your incessant knocking woke me up,” you replied dryly and leaned against the door frame, arms crossing over your chest. “You better have a good reason for ruining my sleep.”

“It’s five in the evening.”

“What’s your point?”

Jungwon’s jaw clenched, and the corner of your lip curled up a smirk. Provoking him was always so satisfying. Always so easy and entertaining.

It was crazy how he was the sweetest person with everyone else but the moment you opened your mouth, he glared at you and looked like he was plotting your death. The discrimination and harsh treatment you’d received from the boy upon moving into your apartment had hurt at first, but you’d soon learnt to take it with a grain of salt.

You’d learnt that it was way more fun to push his buttons and see just how far you needed to take things for him to reach his breaking point.

“Just shut the fuck up and listen to me,” Jungwon snapped, pointing an accusing finger at you. “I need you to stop playing with my cat. Do not touch her. Do not call her name. Do not do the weird fucking meowing thing you do where she meows back at you and you have those god awful meowing conversations. Do not—”

“Oh, yeah,” you interrupted and pretended to deeply think about something. “I think it was just yesterday that Cleo told me you were popping a vein over her liking me more than you. I must say, Yang, you have reached a level of pathetic I didn’t even know existed. Yelling at your neighbour because you don’t get validation from your cat? Tsk.”

Embarrassment and anger coloured the entirety of Jungwon’s face a deep red. “You don’t get it!” he exclaimed. “Cleo keeps clawing at the front door! She doesn’t even want to stay with me anymore. She stares at me with so much resentment because I don’t let her play with you all the time!”

“I’m confused,” you said, your eyebrows furrowing. “Why don’t you let her play with me if that’s why she hates you? Your problem has a very simple solution—”

“But she’s my cat!” he said, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He stepped closer to you, desperation evident on his features. “I don’t care if she plays with you, but the more she does, the more she realises that she’d rather have you take care of her.”

“Well,” you sputtered, a little taken aback by how much his cat’s preferences had distraught him. “If it’s any consolation to you, I don’t have the time or resources to look after Cleo, so she has no choice but to stay with you.”

“I don’t know how to make her love me again,” Jungwon mumbled to himself, not having heard you at all. “I know cats aren’t very loyal, but I didn’t think Cleo would dump me after everything we’ve gone through. I pay the landlord more money so she can keep staying with me without having to hide from anyone. I fought—”

“Yang!” you yelled and grabbed his shoulders. He snapped out of his reverie and looked at you in despair. You’d never thought you would feel bad for him, but you found yourself offering, “Do you want me to show you how I play with her? I don’t know why she prefers me over you, but maybe I’m doing something you aren’t. Maybe you’ll know what it is if we play with her together.”

Jungwon nodded eagerly. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“Now?” you asked incredulously. “I have to meet a friend for dinner.”

“Please,” he begged, and you didn’t think you’d ever heard him sound so hopeless before. “Just for ten minutes.”

You hesitated a bit for a moment, but then reluctantly agreed. “Ten minutes.”

Jungwon watched in awe as you interacted with Cleo. He couldn’t remember the last time he saw his ginger Ragamuffin so excited.

“Hey, Cleo,” you cooed, cupping her face in your hands. “How are you doing? How’s the most precious girl in the world doing?”

Cleo purred and leaned into your touch. Smiling, you caressed her cheeks and kissed her nose.

Gathering her in your arms, you stood up. The cat rested her head on your shoulder and closed her eyes.

“I really don’t see Cleo hating anyone,” you said to Jungwon, a small frown settling on your features. “I mean, look at her.”

He sighed and padded towards you, stopping only when he was right beside. His arm brushed against yours. “I don’t get it either.”

And then, as if to prove to you that he wasn’t lying about his cat having something against him, Jungwon lightly petted her.

Cleo’s eyes snapped open and her nails popped out. She pawed at him and he withdrew his hand immediately.

“Oh.”

“I don’t understand why she’s acting this way,” he lamented. “She was good to me until you came along!”

You scoffed in disbelief. “Are you seriously saying this is my fault? Did you even consider the possibility of you being a horrible owner?”

“You did not just say that!” Jungwon looked extremely offended, but you didn’t give a shit. You couldn’t believe he was blaming you for his problems.

“I don’t even need to say anything,” you sneered. “Cleo running away from you to me speaks volumes.”

You saw your neighbour’s jaw clench. His hands curled into fists at his side, and you wondered if you’d gone too far. You know he loved his cat; insinuating that he wasn’t taking good care of her probably hurt.

Besides, you knew it wasn’t true. Jungwon was a huge animal enthusiast. He’d looked after a turtle when he was five and had decided then and there that a career surrounded by animals was what he wanted. He was studying to be a veterinary doctor now.

Before you could open your mouth to apologise, he muttered, “I should have known this was a bad idea.”

Your blood boiled once again. “You really do have a knack for being the most ungrateful asshole anyone could ever come across, Yang.”

In your arms, Cleo meowed and lifted her head from your shoulder, staring daggers at her owner.

“Ungrateful?” Jungwon snorted in disbelief, not noticing the glares the Ragamuffin was sending his way. “You haven’t done anything since you came here! I don’t have shit to be grateful for.”

Cleo growled, and the boy finally acknowledged her anger.

You pointed a finger at Jungwon and fumed, “I take back what I said before. I do see Cleo hating you. You’re a little bitch who—”

“Oh, spare me.” He cut you off with a roll of his eyes, but you paid him no heed and continued,

“Maybe she’d like you better if you liked me better!”

The cat meowed again. The message was very clear. She agreed.

“I do like you...” Jungwon said defensively, but it was a pathetic attempt that convinced no one. Especially not Cleo.

“Yeah, sure.” You let out a humourless laugh. “You’ve obviously been a jerk to me from the very start because you think you’re the unapproachable, dark-haired, broody lead and I’m the sunshine who is supposed to make you open up.”

He gave you a sour look. “You’re not the sunshine.”

“And you’re not the main character you think you are. I’m not going to put up with your attitude anymore. Just stop being a dick and tell me what you have against me.”

Jungwon hesitated for a moment. You watched as he contemplated whether or not to tell you the real reason behind his grudge, and with each passing second, you slowly started to get a good idea of why.

You knew it was going to be something stupid.

He proved you right.

“I was trying to rent the apartment you’re living in. It has a better view and is way bigger. I live with a cat and you live alone—I thought it was unfair that the landlord chose someone who doesn’t even need the space.”

You were speechless for a while. You took your sweet time to wrap your head around the fact that Yang Jungwon was one petty son of a bitch.

“That’s it?” you finally asked. “You hate me because I snagged the apartment you wanted fair and square?”

He didn’t confirm. He didn’t need to.

You exclaimed, “Grow the hell up, Yang! So what if I got it? It’s been six months; move on!”

“You don’t need it as much as I do!” he protested.

“You don’t know that!” you said angrily. “You don’t know me! You never tried to.”

Jungwon opened his mouth to retort, but he didn’t really know what to say. He knew he was the one at fault. Maybe he should have apologised.

Too bad his stubbornness wouldn’t let him go down without a fight.

“It’s not like you ever tried to get to know me either,” Jungwon muttered.

“I brought you home-baked cookies the day I moved in. You said you didn’t want them and shut the door in my face. I invited you to my house-warming party too, but neither did you reply to my email nor show up. You really think I didn’t try to get to know you? To be friends with you?”

Your voice was laced with bitterness, but there were traces of genuine sorrow in it as well. The fire in your eyes from your bickering had winked out and you looked tired.

The boy found his resolve crumbling. Shame and guilt began to build claw at him from the inside. Maybe he had been unnecessarily harsh.

“I—uh..” Jungwon tried, “I’m sorry.”

You raised your eyebrows. “For being so rude to you, I mean, ” he added hastily. “You didn’t deserve it.”

The apology could have been way better but you weren’t going to complain. “Okay.”

Setting Cleo on the floor again, you moved towards the front door of his apartment. “I’ll get going.”

However, before you could turn the knob, Jungwon blurted, “Are—are you free now? Maybe we can hang out and get to know each other?”

“Oh.” You were dumbfounded. Out of all the things you expected him to say, this was not it. “I have to meet a friend tonight. I told you.”

Embarrassment tinted his ears a deep red. “Right,” he squeaked after clearing his throat. “Forget I asked.”

“Well—” you started after a beat of awkward silence— “I won’t be out for that long. Do you wanna come over to watch a movie later?”

“I have to get up early tomorrow.”

You decided that this was clearly not working out—but it wasn’t that bad. So what if Jungwon and you couldn’t hang out? You were on good terms now. That was an immense improvement in your relationship already.

Your neighbour, however, didn’t seem to be in the mood to cut his losses and move on. He tried again, “The weekend?”

You paused. Racked your brain to make sure you didn’t have any other commitments. “The weekend.”

“It’s a date.”

Strangely, you didn’t correct Jungwon. He didn’t take his words back either.

Cleo’s tail swayed in silent approval.

[sleepymaven]

The Bsd "Fyodor is Atsushi's Father" Theory:

My Not-so-Deep, Not-so-Serious Explanation on Why This Could Totally be Canon

Signed: A Sleep-Deprived Idiot

(Spoilers for the Entirety of Bungou Stray Dogs)

So... with Chapter 118 in bsd releasing, I have noticed a lot of Fyodor as Atsushi's father related things popping up and... I'm not mad about.

If anything, I'm happy the theory is getting more attention. People even seem to be taking it as canon fact, even if just jokingly.

Really, I believed the theory was plausible since it first was brought up in the fandom, but I never actually thought it would be canon because that just seemed too crazy. But those were the thoughts of a sweet summer child since the manga has gotten to the point where that might be the least crazy thing possible.

So, here I am at my keyboard yet again, ready to ramble about how, if this does somehow turn out to be canon, this might be actually rather predictable even to those who don't dive deep into the nitty-gritty lore.

Now, I won't ramble on and on endlessly about the book and Atsushi's ambiguous past and how he may be the book or a page from the book and yaddy-yadda. Instead, I'll focus on some key aspects of Atsushi's character design. First off...

His hair.

As I said, this is not all that serious or deep, so take my words with a grain of salt before you start bashing me or something for being ridiculous. You signed up for ridiculous when you started reading past the title.

Anyway, back to Atsushi's hair.

As we almost all know, Atsushi used to have a black streak in his hair that was later removed for unknown reasons, but he also has white hair.

Now, I could jokingly proclaim, "Hehe, biologically impossible Fyodor x Nikolai lovechild," and be done with it, but I am no clown, unlike Nikolai. No, I have a better, probably completely wrong, idea.

Most of us know that Fyodor has a thing for white-haired men.

Exhibit A: Every fucking member of the Decay of Angels

I rest my case.

Also, I feel the need to mention that 3 out of 6 of them have red-ish eyes while the other two have purple-ish/blue eyes. Just pointing out that little tidbit I noticed while finding pics for them.

So, it would make sense for Fyodor to pick and choose which attributes to give to his quote-on-quote "son" when he made him from the book, picking out certain traits he found appealing and pleasing to the eye.

(Also, yes, this could mean that Fyodor could have chose specific attributes that were similar to Nikolai. Boom, lovechild route.)

This could explain certain similarities between the characters who seemingly have no biological connection between one another. Their only connection then only being through Fyodor by just knowing him.

Got all that? Alright, next up...

His eyes.

Now, Atsushi's eyes are rather unique, even for the world of Bungou Stray Dogs. What also sticks out about them is the fact that they are pointed out and focused in from time to time.

Example:

(Fucking gorgeous eyes he has, btw)

To break down the colors of his eyes... While in normal lighting in the anime, they appear to be normally purple and yellow with just a hint of green in it, but under the full moon (as seen here) we can see that his eyes are a light green-yellow at the bottom and purple on the top that fades into blue.

(There are also a few times where his eyes also change while using his ability. Like when they turn almost fully yellow.)

I want to point out the colors of his eyes and the fact that they change due to certain circumstances (i.e: using his ability, being under the full moon), which is clearly not normal in their world seeing as how other ability users don't seem to do that at all.

(Edit here: I actually would like to mention that, in the manga, Nikolai's eyes also change color. The green one sometimes will change to match his normal eye whenever he uncovers it. I saw a theory talking about how it might change depending on whether or not he is lying at the time, which is pretty neat. More Atsushi and Nikolai parallels.)

Now, this might seem like a bit of a stretch just like the rest of this post, but the colors used for his eyes are similar to the eye colors of people Fyodor knows, though they are different shades.

Purple like Fukuchi. Green and blue from Nikolai.

Fyodor's eyes are also a shade of purple, kind of, so... Yeah, that works too, but Fukuchi's shade of eyes are closer to Atsushi's.

Yeah, that's all I can think of now and this is already way too long (if I start talking about Atsushi's mysterious past, I'm going to make this a mile long. Maybe later tho), so I'm ending it here for now.

Alright, bye ya'll.

[starsworldd]

solar return observations pt. 5 (asteroid edition)

readings are open! 💜

only take what resonates and take with grain of salt 💜

more focus on asteroids, but i wanna say for the asteroids its not proven info!! i have done a little research but that doesn’t mean it’s guranteed so PLEASE take with grain of salt!! 💜

♢ aphrodite (1388) retrograde can mean getting involved with some negative drama that year

♢ as important as it is to check where your solar rising falls in your natal, i think it’s also important to check where your natal rising falls in your solar return chart. it can give you more clues as to how that year will go for you! (in my opinion)

♢ osiris (1923) in the 2nd house could mean finding a new job or new ways to regulate your finances

♢ mozartia (1034) conjunct 10th house ruler for that year can mean that you earn recognition for demonstrating musical genius or intelligence

♢ when planets are at anaretic degrees, look at the house where it’s ruling (ex: if mercury is at 29 degrees, look at the houses where gemini and virgo are located). those house’s themes may have some sort ending or grand finale which often give way to important experiences or lessons for the future. endings with new beginnings <3 (overall look for planets and asteroids that are at 29 and 0 degrees, especially 29, they will be important!)

♢ having asteroid saga (1163) in the 4th or 12th house can indícate an emotionally chaotic time

♢ this has been said before im pretty sure, but if you have moon conjunct sun in your return chart check what house its at. that’s where you have a completely blank slate

♢ in my opinion, where your born asteroid is (13954) can show where there’s a fresh start as well

♢ years which i had ganesa (2415) in my first house i was pretty content throughout the year

♢ adagio (576901) in the 12th house can indicate a fast-paced year, there’s a lot to keep up with

♢ asteroid tattooine (278141) in the 6th house can mean a very plain kind of desolate day-to-day (but also hardworking!!)

♢ leo moon in the 10th house could mean doing concerts/gigs for people hehe (if you’re in that field)

♢ asteroid messier (7359) in the 12th could show an especially chaotic sleeping schedule

♢ fletcher (3265) in the 4th can show moving to a better home, it’s not guranteed but definitely more enjoyment in the domestic side of life

♢ asteroid sirene (1009) conjunct big 3 can mean you draw people in with your artistic pursuits

♢ i think having karma (3811) conjunct lilith could mean payback for your previous wrong deeds, and although it’s not pleasant i find that lilith has a very much “just do it” energy so you’ll just end up doing what you have to do to make right of your situation anyways

♢ when i had artemis (105) in my 10th house i noticed that i had a better connection with my dad throughout the year

♢ asteroid nereus (4660) in the 5th house mean that you feel that someone else has stolen the spotlight from you

♢ cancelli (5842) in the 12th house may mean that there’s a focus on taking care of your mental health for that year

♢ hades (h41) shows where things take a TURN (good or bad i find)

hope you enjoyed!

[woniefication]

Ship your moots with each other (yes, you’re in it too 😏)

First time encountering a flirty anon lowk nervous >< JK JK I feel like a matchmaker hehe (this is all just a joke please take it with a grain of salt!)

@orimuraa 💘 @chrrific

@manariee 💘 @glittercrashhh

@sojumimi 💘 @saemisic

@amatariki 💘 me

@douqhnxtss 💘 @shyoko

@lilificationn 💘 me

im lowkey cupid i feel like these ppl would be very compatible

[studioeisa]

I literally have no idea about f1. I just know it's a circuit race sort of thing but nothing more than that. I'm reading your F1 things but I feel so dumb lol. In your recent ask you said you are a F1 fan and excited for the 2025 season, mind taking us (oblivious people like me) along with you? Like what's is F1, how does it work, who are and things like that. Who are the handsome younge racers (I'm really sorry), how things work and things like that. Please 🥺

hi, sweet anon! i'm a couple of days late but you are so cute ‹𝟹 i'm fairly certain that there are people who will be more knowledgeable in talking about this (since i'm new to the sport), but i'd love to throw some resources your way. the official f1 instagram posted this informative highlight for people who are new to f1, with short videos on how the races work/when they take place/etc.! i think it's one of the best official resources you'll get ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ the lineup of drivers for 2025 can be found here (the handsome young racers, as you've said! hehe). i also really like this 'beginner's guide' tumblr post that delves a bit into the teams and its drivers in a more humorous way (take some of the opinions with a grain of salt, though!) ⭐you're right about f1 being a motor racing competition and the first race of the season actually kicks off on march 16! plenty of time to join the club/keep your eyes peeled c:

[mythmerth]

fluff vs feel good merlin fics…?

It has come to my attention from my last post with the ask about a long fluffy merlin fic that I, perhaps, do not know how to separate the definition of fluff from my own definition of feel good fics. When I think of fluff I tend to think of lovey dovey feel good hehe type of fics. HOWEVER, my definition of feel good may be different than other people and thus may not actually BE fluff…. oops!

In order to make up for this I’m gonna list off more merlin fics that I consider to be on a “fluff — feel good” scale, but first I’ll give my own interpretation of “fluff” and “feel good” so you know what to expect!

— When I think of the definition of fluff, I think of things very lighthearted, low stakes, very lovey, being emotionally and PG physically intimate (soft), playful in a sweet way, and generally just not really having the highs and lows of angsty fics.

— When I categorize something as feel good it tends to be not very stressful, minimal angst, quickly resolved/humorous relationship issues, powerful characters, has a hopeful tone/no doubts about a happy ending, makes me laugh multiple times, and high in emotional and physical intimacy (and yes I am a Smut Enthusiast). Some feel goods have more or less of these than others for me but that’s what the scale in my head is weighing them on.

that being said, to the best of my ability here is the list ranked from fluff to feel good merlin fics! fluff fics are often a lot shorter than the plotty ones (but I tried to throw some longer ones in as well that I’d consider to have a good amount of fluff BUT these also tend to have more angst so you’ve been warned)

fluff

Twitch Your Whiskers and Pull My Tail by BlueSimplicity. Soft, sweet bonding, a bit silly

The Great Merlin Bake-off by Elizabeth. Long, low stakes, silly, so many pastries

Merlin Myrddin the Muralist by deanpendragon. So touching, very soft, strong and healing bonds

Nobody Expected Uther to Approve So Damn Hard by Nakyrah. Silly, soft, quick developing relationship

Tales of Magic by amithia. Soft, developing relationships, gentle magic/love

I know why the birds sing your name by ironfamjam. Long, hopeful, developing characters with gentle moments/love, some angst

We Can Always Run by kairennart and queerofthedagger. Long, some angst, strong bonds and soft moments, adventureful

Ironing Out the Kinks by Lex18. Long, so smutty, like 90% smut but also soft, quickly resolved issues

All Things Loved and Lovesick by horsecrazy. So funny, strong bonds, humorous miscommunication

We Are All Diamonds by Footloose. Long, strong bonds/love, soft moments, power duo, quickly resolved issues

The fools will still be fools by horsecrazy. So silly, smutty, low stakes

Evil Overlord Inc by Footloose. Long, very silly, power duo, high stakes but also not worried about it

feel good

I feel like with BBC Merlin fics it’s hard to find low stakes/no angst fics! maybe it’s just my lists, and also that I was trying to avoid making this all lower word count fics (there’s definitely some 40k’s I left out if anyone’s interested), but once the word count rises it’s tough to find. hopefully this agrees well enough, I scoured the fluff tag I swear but the angst sneaks up in there too

I also have noticed that I might not actually read a whole lot of pure fluff? I very specifically seek out mature and explicit merlin fics, which I think is partially the cause of that. Also merthur and fluff are hard earned; the rivals/strangers/enemies to lovers goes STRONG and so rarely do we get to fluff very quickly. There’s always some stressful situations these two are in I swear to god. also please note that I have read SO goddamn many fics that any rank inaccuracies are likely also due to my memory blurring on fic specifics,,, my apologies for this! so take the specific ranks with a grain of salt- I don’t remember the exact details of all of these, more so the impact they left on me as a whole!

anyways, I hope this is accurate enough and that you can find some fics here that are what you’re looking for <3

~ feel free to send asks if you’re looking for specific recs, I’ll do my best to find some that fit the bill :]

[forallnumbersosc]

[Since this blog has gotten so much love I thought I'd post some bonus art from before I decided to make the blog!!!]

[DISCLAIMER: Some of these designs (notably Gaty and Infinity) are outdated!! Please take em with a grain of salt :'D]

[this was my second ever concept art of these guys! Gaty's design is outdated here but its basically where this all started :')]

[ill keep everything else under a cut since this post is getting long as im writing it djfjwjfjf]

[some Two's]

[Infinity Concepts... they look a bit different than this in the actual blog--]

[early drawings of 6 and 9!! and also my concept for Donut with the factor of 4, which i am still really happy someone asked about hehe]

[and various Fours...

....if it wasnt obvious he's my absolute favorite to draw-]

[i posted this last one on my main as well but i love it so much it goes here too]

[ghost-bxrd]

Fae!Dick scaring Lex Luthor? He deserves that :)

I don’t know much about Lex Luther apart from that he made Conner and that he’s kind of Superman’s nemesis so take the following headcanons with a grain of salt. 💚

Science and Fae!Dick only get along to a certain point. Dick does NOT like it when people mess with the natural order or with nature. So him heavily disliking Lex from the get go is a given.

Dick isn’t allowed to make him go away completely (Bruce sadly put his foot down regarding that) but he takes full advantage of the galas they attend together to absolutely HOUND Lex. If he’s not allowed to make him into food for his trees, he’s at least going to have some fun with the human.

Lex learns to DREAD each public event he knows Wayne’s strange kid will attend, and no matter how much he tries to avoid him, the boy is always suddenly THERE.

Lex doesn’t know what’s wrong with Wayne’s ward (he suspected alien at first), but he SWEARS he saw the boy eat a live bird the other day. And then watched as the bones rearranged themselves and flew away. He ran several tox screens on the alcohol he had that evening, but all came back clear.

Grayson, because at this point Lex remembers his name, has it out for him. Lex is sure of it. He must be some kind of metahuman, or something cooked up in Gotham’s labs. God knows Gotham is its very own warning. But Grayson’s kind of weird takes the cake, and he swears he didn’t imagine the way the boy smiled at him last night, the picture of adorable child obedience, and kept growing teeth. Lips stretching back impossibly wide to show rows upon rows of teeth that most certainly shouldn’t be in a kid’s mouth. But upon Lex’s horrified stuttering Wayne had just looked at the boy proudly and said he’s very proud of managing to brush them all in under an hour tonight. Lex downs five glasses of champagne to get through the rest of the night. Ignoring all the teeth-eyes-feathers-moss-overgrown-roots-please-stop becomes easier the tipsier he is.

Grayson wants to kill him, Lex decides. Grayson wants to kill him, and Wayne is either a fool not to see his kid is some kind meta-slash-alien-slash-experiment-slash-whatever-the-hell’s-got-this-many-teeth, or he really is as stupid as everyone claims Brucie Wayne to be. But Lex is a smart man, and he’s not gonna go down without a fight. He’ll get a tissue sample and figure the thing out and devise a plan for counteracting assassination attempts. Easy.

When Lex finally manages to snatch a dna sample from the boy and puts it under a microscope. And— he has to recheck several times, but— all that shows up under the magnifying glass are cells of plant matter dating back millions of years. And traces of animals whose remains can only be found in museums these days.

Grayson hands him a glass of champagne during the next gala. Lex has no intention of drinking it, but when he takes it from the boy’s hand and he smiles his too-many-teeth smile Lex could swear— no, no that can’t be. That’s most DEFINITELY not his tooth in the kid’s mouth, right? (He obsessively checks the mirror in the bathroom and tells himself he‘a imagining how one of his teeth is the wrong color compared to the rest)

Lex avoids Grayson like the plague after that. This kid and his mysteries aren’t worth his dwindling sanity (or his teeth). Thank you and good day.

Hehe alright that’s all I got for now. Hope you liked it 💚

[elowhinn]

Heyhey! I sent you an anon ask a bit ago (pretty sure, I don't remember), but I'm a writer as well and your X stuff has made me rlly want to write for TBHX (X in particular, unfortunately /lh) but I'm rlly new to writing x reader stuff, so I was wondering if you'd have any tips maybe? I'd greatly appreciate it 🙏 Also lowkey rly anxious about posting my stories and letting ppl read them, but that's a whole other thing 😭

AWW HII !! <3 , huhu ;-; I'd say I'm also pretty new to writing ( In general ) So I don't have that many tips either , but I'll try my best to help out hehe- please take this with a grain of salt .

X reader stuff is like.. On top of the hierarchy of self indulgence, so like I'd say the biggest part in writing x readers would be is to like use second person, with the "you's" and what not, I mean you can use first person too but like- It can sometimes border into OC, which isn't bad I swear ( it rlly... depends on the writing style ! )

I quess this would be more of nitpick, but I suppose avoid like Y/N stereotypes; with the " Stop Fighting!! ", or the saviour complex that Y/N's usually have, and sometimes mary sue... ( OP readers can count in that context but as I said it depends.. ),

x readers are very much self insert, so I'd say avoid like giving reader features- you can dance around it with hair and eyes, but giving like actual features like blonde hair blue eyes would ruin it a lot for people,

Last tip I suppose is to have fun ! Like this is your writing, why care about other people's opinions so much? Your writing is for yourself remember that, getting recognized is a bonus but like; If you do experience anyone negative just block them, dont let them ruin your fun y'know !

As I said take it with a grain of salt hehe, I'm not too good at giving advice :,) With posting, don't be shy! There will always be an audience for the content you put out so dw! Who knows hehe you might also meet your future friends with that !! :3

[emilys-bangs]

I desperately hope you write part 3 of emt!reader x Emily...because I am an emt 🙈🙈🙈

Omg no way!!! That's so cool (and intimidating, please take everything with a generous grain of salt😭) we're literally living vicariously through you lolll. There will be a part three and hopefully many more!! We still need to get them on their first date hehe

[velvetdolor]

SWEET LORD YOU’RE A FORCE! genuinely speaking, anything you put your mind to, you also have the will to pursue it actively. you also might have an inclination to working amongst friends, opportunities via networking, or even pursuing something in digital, media, marketing, political communities and revolutions, and realm of arts. social media also might be another interest or something you utilize often. if you have a friend group, i can tell that your platonic relationships bring in so much opportunity and wildness to your life?? or you might be super involved in your communities

you expand the most and are in your element when you embrace the chaos of it all, even if it kind of throws you off center when it comes to your identity or paternal influences? if that makes sense.

you’re a dichotomy! you’re equal parts logical and unconventional, while also being unapologetically an emotional person—which is so beautiful. i honestly feel like you’d be pretty extroverted and take a lot of initiative when it comes to talking to people or making friends?

both your north node, pluto, and jupiter are in the 8th—there’s so many trials and honestly i get this palpable of constant emotional tyranny and chaos in your life 😭😭 but it’s almost like you’re kinda used to it? in the long run, it’ll push you to new heights. with each struggle, there’s a blessing on the way.

with an aries rising, you might have a slightly red or warmer undertone to your skin or a charming birthmark. some aries risings do well with sports or things in the physical realm and they also have a really cool eyebrow structure! it’s in the 22nd degree though, so these might soften your features and give you a more cooled down and watery vibe to you,

in many ways, you could be dreamy! oooo i could imagine you being someone’s crush or pretty popular in this area of life with your Lilith in the first house hehehhee 🫂 lots of appeal, wildness, and intensity here! kind of random, but your lot in fortune is in both Virgo and the sixth house. valuing your health and especially your gut health will be important and rewarding! this could also point to you doing well in a holistic medical field, physical training, nutrition, and dietary fields.

your relationship with your physical body is super important!

you might also end up meeting your future partner at a networking/social event at work or online :p

oh! and this is so important to mention, you may be super motivated to be politically involved— but not necessarily in pursuit of governance but in terms of taking part in communal revolutions. protests and speaking out to connect with various communities is also a strong suit and you have the back bone for it honey.

i’m not a professional astrologer, so please take these with a grain of salt since these are my interpretations of these charts. 💗🧌 i didn’t really get into reading aspects since I’m still learning them !!

I hope this was a decent read and that it was fun even if not accurate hehe

[my-marbles]

ohemgee omg it would be so #awesome to see jargon in the mymarbles universe !!! i dont have much of him developed or anything yet but he loves napoleon and eating hot chips + great value frozen mango chunks .. has a CHRONIC bad habit of picking up a book reading it halfway and then dropping it + starting another one under the guise that he'll "get back to it eventually." lowkey hes kind of an annoying loser but he doesnt mean to be

Please tell me he’s the freaking anomalocaris

He has a lot of cool accessories which is smth I avoid for my marbles designs 💔 unfortunately. Plus I wanted to be able to have room for fun things like the tail, hair and mouth mandible things. Tho since there’s enough to have significance I decided to give him a necklace at the very least! Changed it to more of a star-ish thing since as of right now the cross doesn’t exist since Christianity probably doesn’t exist … take that with a grain of salt tho. With how the colors worked he ended up looking a bit naked haha - tho I was at least able to do some pants/shoe visuals. As well as the darker sleeves! I’m surprised I haven’t done a character with the dark blue + gold color scheme yet since it’s one of my favorites. I decided to do somewhat of an exception and make him a duller blue than normal! I thought it really fit the loser main character of a 90s movie vibe he has going on. Speaking of that idk how old he is but he at least seems like he could be friends with a young Stacey hehe since that’s kindof the people he hung around (very Frank vibes)