#rocking horsefly

[princess-josie-riki]

Year of the Alice Day 273

This is my first (and hopefully only) one-year project (which will be only 365 days) and this one is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland-themed.

In this pic, Sarah and Mary Sanderson found a rocking horsefly, much to Winifred's annoyance.

(Note: This is for the premier of Hocus Pocus 2.)

Made with Microsoft Paint.

Enjoy! ♠️♥️♣️♦️

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (c) Lewis Carroll

Hocus Pocus (c) Kenny Ortega, Neil Cuthbert, Mick Garris and Walt Disney Pictures

Idea and artwork (c) me

[irradiatedsnakes]

got my furry designs updated and artfight-ready halfway through the event

band-eyed horsefly karen, great black-backed gull randy, and yellow-footed rock wallaby oliver! ollaby, if you will

[rwbyredreaper]

Rocking Horsefly! But not really! What is that thing!?

[meme-streets]

dollars event warmup activity 3 crossover: once upon a time in the west (inspired by the story about how the trio were almost hired to play those three gunmen at the beginning of once upon a time) ---

The man who hired them had pale blue eyes and a twisted-up smile that Blondie didn’t like.  He finds he’s still thinking about it the whole ride over.

“We’re right on time,” Angel Eyes says with satisfaction, glancing at his watch as they tie their horses outside the station.  His voice is low, conspiratorial.  “You two ready?” “Yeah, yeah, we’re ready,” Tuco grouses, rolling his eyes at the question.  “Right, Blondie?” “Sure.”

There’s nothing much inside to be ready for.  The train station–if it can even be called that–is next to deserted when they walk in, save a woman that Angel Eyes sends running into the sunbaked wastes despite the dirty look Blondie gives him and an elderly telegraph operator that Tuco makes quick work of: locked up in the closet.  They poke around a little more, just in case, and find nothing of concern.  Not a word between them.  Then they stake their positions and wait.

Buzz.  Buzz.  Buzz.  A horsefly flits through the harsh summer air.   Tuco’s set up in one of the rocking chairs just outside the central building, leaned back with his hat over his eyes like he’s planning on taking a nap, which takes a level of trust or arrogance or both that the other two of them don’t have.  The fly has other ideas; it seems to have taken an interest in terrorizing him, and consequently he ends up trying to fight it off.  The fly seems to be winning.

Drip.  Drip.  Drip.  There’s a leak in the ceiling. Angel Eyes, for some reason, has picked himself out a spot directly underneath it.  Droplets bounce off the crown of his hat and collect along the brim, but he remains, statue-still, as if he doesn’t even notice.

Squeak.  Squeak.  Squeak.  The weathervane turns in the wind. Leaned at the hip against an old horse trough, Blondie trails a hand idly in the sun-warmed water and squints into the glaring sun down the tracks at nothing.  He turns back to cast his gaze over the desolate station and his two would-be partners.  All things considered, he does prefer shooting at the same target than at each other, just for practicality’s sake.

After a moment he pulls his hand out of the water and wipes it with a certain amount of distaste on his ragged red duster.  They’re all three clad in one, at their blue-eyed employer’s insistence.  Smells like a frame-up job, he had said to Tuco, who’d just shrugged and said it was all the better: couldn’t be traced back to them.  He’d had to concede it was a good point.  Doesn’t mean he has to like it. That’s just one of the things he doesn’t like about this job.  The whole thing is rotten and he’d thought so from the beginning.  Not just the frame-up–though he does, as a rule, hate getting involved in other people’s personal feuds–but the whole premise.  Meet a man at the train station and shoot him.  A fellow he’d never seen before causing trouble, trying to hunt him down, the man who hired them had said (his name was Frank, if Blondie recalls correctly, but he hadn’t liked him enough to care).  He hadn’t believed a word of that.  Of course, Tuco and Angel Eyes hadn’t either; it was a bad lie and hadn’t tried not to be.  But they hadn’t cared as much as he had.  And it had to be three men, he’d been insistent on that. “I didn’t get where I am by being careless,” the blue-eyed man had said, as if this was some profound wisdom they were too foolish to understand, and Blondie had wondered for neither the first nor the last time why he was entertaining this whole addle-headed idea to begin with.

It’d been his luck that Angel Eyes had caught them at the right (or the wrong) time: in a lull, putting the bounty con on hold for a while to let the heat die down, and he had a job for three guys paying good money.  Suspiciously good money, really, which is the other thing he’d pointed out, but Tuco had said not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and it’d be nice to make a buck without a rope around his neck, and the last thing Blondie felt like was another argument about money (they’ve been having a lot of those lately) so he’d just dropped it. Tuco had joined up for the money, of course.  Angel Eyes had made some noise about not forgetting old friends, but neither of them really believed it, not after whatever kind of falling out Tuco had apparently had with him however far back.  Blondie, for his part, had been coaxed into hearing the offer because he and Tuco are partners–even if that technically only applies to the bounty scam–and with no ropes to shoot, he’d had nothing better to do.  But he hadn’t been convinced. Then Angel Eyes, upon hearing his arguments, had turned to Tuco and joked, “I think he’s just afraid of being outdrawn,” and that was the kind of thing that no gunslinger worth his salt could let slide, however stupid it might be, so he’d had to say yes.

Squeak.  Squeak.  Squeak. He sighs and shifts position against the trough, starts cracking his knuckles one after the other.  Flexes his fingers when he’s done.  At least it pays well.  And when it’s over and done with, he can take this raggedy old coat off.  Maybe it’s vain of him, but it looks awful with his hat.

Lowly, softly, the tracks begin to rumble. Blondie looks down across the rails again, but there’s nothing yet.  You always hear them before you see them.   Distantly, the whistle howls. He keeps looking, the rumble growing stronger and stronger, the water in the trough trembling with ripples, until finally in the blue-brown distance he sees the gray beginnings of the engine.  Hands on their guns, they wait.

At last, the train screams to a halt and sits before them, huffing smoke like a live thing.  Still, they wait.

A door opens; they all tense, a string drawn tight–but it’s only a mail drop.  The door slides shut.  Nobody gets off.

Blondie doesn’t like this.  It smells like a trap, like a setup, and his instinct with these things has never failed him before; he’d be long dead if it had. He watches Angel Eyes’s fingers twitch against his holster.  Watches Tuco glance between them and then tip his head, once: a signal.  They all three move across to the center of the platform and shake their heads at each other as the train starts to huff and puff out of the station. “Wrong train,” Tuco says simply.  “We’ll go back inside and ask that telegraph operator.” “Alright,” Angel Eyes agrees, and Blondie shrugs.  They start to turn.

From behind them comes the wail of a harmonica, and every last hair on the back of Blondie’s neck stands straight up.

There’s a man standing behind the tracks.  They only see him as the train chugs out of their way, with a pack hanging from one hand and the other raised to his mouth, sliding that harp back and forth as he plays, that godawful noise filling up the empty sky above the station.  Gets into of Blondie’s bones and makes him feel plucked like a wrong chord, the sound thrumming all inside of him.  There’s something horribly wrong, here.  He’s never felt this way in a standoff. “And Frank?” says the man. Angel Eyes shakes his head.  “Frank sent us.” “You bring a horse for me?” The other two glance back at the post where their horses are tied. “Looks like we’re shy one horse,” Angel Eyes says, chuckling.  Tuco laughs too.  Blondie doesn’t.  He can’t shake the feeling they shouldn’t have agreed. The stranger shakes his head, slow, solemn.  “You brought two too many.” They aren’t smiling anymore.

The seconds drag by, stretch out, jute-rope-taught.  The harmonica echoes in his ears.

A volley of gunfire.  Pain explodes in his ribs.  He pulls the trigger, stumbles, and falls.

The weathervane turns.  Squeak.  Squeak.  Squeak.

[onenicebugperday]

@theonewiththesoks submitted: I have so many new friends to introduce to you!!!

The only species I’m not sure about is the one in the video which was taken in northern South Carolina at Brookgreen Gardens.

Speaking of which I don’t think I shared the insect hotel from the gardens this year so forgive me if I resubmit it! I also saw the cross section of a live beehive between glass panels again this year which I think may have been my first ever submission to your blog! (BG is very bug friendly in case you haven’t noticed lol, they’re huge into nature preservation and education)

I didn’t realize that lovely horsefly was female until after I took her picture and saw the distance between her eyes. Thankfully she accepted my gift of a dandelion but she was less grateful for the sip of water I poured out beside her on a rock.

PS I learned about Toxeus magnus recently and how they nurse their spiderlings, it’s so so cute! Highly recommend you look into it if you haven’t heard of them yet :’)

An excellent group of friends! I don't think I saw the insect hotel before but it's a fun idea. The fly is not a horse fly but you're right that it is a female! The slug is huge and beautiful. The fellow in the video is a flat-backed millipede, likely in Xystodesmidae, but I couldn't say which species exactly. And I did know about Toxeus magnus nursing its young :)

[thebrightestlodge]

IDK what everyone's talking about, this GGST Season 3 leak with Horsefly is gonna rock

[bugwolfsstuff]

Alright I have finished Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer!

Here are my thoughts for a few pages i have dog-eared and since i value my phone storage I'm just gonna quote them instead of pics.

-----

Page 214

Harald sniffed the coin. Its gold surface glowed so warmly it seemed to be on fire. You have giantish blood, girl? (Samirah) I can see it in your eyes."

[Samirah:] "That's also none of your concern."

------

(assuming he's referring to Loki being a Jötun)

Oooh, so Rick is gonna address the different species of gods' thing this time around? I wonder if Loki's kids would have special powers or something being half Jötun?

Personally I'm gonna headcanon regardless if it's never brought up again.

-----

Page 226—227

[Samirah:]"We may all die," She muttered, "but this will definitely get Ran's attention".

[Magnus:] "Why?" I asked. "What is that thing?"

Our catch broke the surface and opened its eyes.

"Meet my older brother," Sam said, "the World Serpent".

Chapter 33: Sam's Brother Wakes Up Kinda Cranky

------

Squeeeee! there's my boy—snake! Jörmungandr!

I guessed a little while before this that they were gonna catch him but shrugged it off. So i was very happy when my boy chomped on that cow head.

Also is it just me or does anyone else get really happy when the demigods refer to their godly/monster sibling as brother or sister?

Like yes! That giant snake boy is your big bro! You share a dad! (or if you're going by the Loki ate a giantess's heart and gave birth to the monster three myth, then parent)

------

Page 237

"In other words, you don't know." the goddess (Ran) arched her eyebrows at Sam. "And you, daughter of Loki, why are you siding with the gods of Asgard? Your father is no friend of theirs— not anymore."

"I'm not my father," Sam said. "I'm a— I was a Valkyrie."

"Ah yes. The girl who dreamed of flying. But the Thanes of Valhalla expelled you. Why do you still try to earn their favour? You dont need them to fly. You know very well that with your father's blood—"

------

That not anymore part in reference to Loki upsets me and puts me even more on Loki's side.

*looks at Loki and his children's treatment* I could not guess why he's not your guys' friend anymore! Even though you:

Tied up his (first) wife (not Sigyn the other one) and kidnapped his children in the night

Chained one of his kids (Fenris), threw one into Helheim (Hel) and threw the other into the ocean.

Turned one of his other kids with his 2nd wife into a wolf that then dismembered the other child.

Shoot the now wolf kid and used the dead kid and the wolf kid's guts to chain Loki to a rock.

Have a snake drip ACID onto his face while chaining him to the aforementioned rock.

There's probably more but thats all i can think of at the top of my head.

Also the shapeshifting teasing.

------

Page 331

[Magnus:] "Why are you showing me this?' I asked"

[Loki:] "Because I like you, Magnus. You've got a sense of humour. You've got zing. So rare in a demigod! Even rarer among the einherjar. I'm glad my daughter found you."

[Magnus:] "Samirah...that's how she can turn into a horsefly. She's a shape-shifter like you."

[Loki:] "Oh, she's Daddy's girl, all right. She doesn't like to admit it, but she's inherited a lot of things from me: my abilities, my dashing good looks, my keen intellect. She can spot talent, too. After all, she chose you, my friend."

I clutched my stomach. 'I don't feel so good.

[Loki:] 'Duh! You're on the verge of death. Personally, I hope you wake up, because if you kick the bucket now your death will be meaningless and nothing you've done will matter.'

------

LOKIIIIII! My baby boi, girl, sometimes horse! Why do I find it adorable that he calls Samirah daddy's girl?

Also the way he compliments himself lol

-----

Page 334 and a bit of 335

You know how to ruin conversation" Loki said "I killed Balder, the god of light—the handsome perfect, incredibly annoying son of Odin and Frigg." He stepped towards me and poked my chest, emphasizing each word "And-I'd-do-it-again".

In the back of my brain, my common sense yelled, DROP IT! But, as you have probably figured out by now, I don't listen to my common sense much.

"Why did you kill him?"

Loki barked a laugh. His breath smelled of almonds, like cyanide. 'Did I mention he was annoying? Frigg was worried about him. The poor baby had been having bad dreams about his own doom. Welcome to reality, Balder! We all have bad dreams. But Frigg couldn't stand the idea that her precious angel might bruise his little foot. She exacted promises from everything in creation that nothing would hurt her beautiful son- people, gods, trees, rocks...Can you imagine exacting a promise from a rock? Frigg managed it. Afterwards, the gods had a party to celebrate. They started throwing things at Balder just for laughs. Arrows, swords, boulders, each other nothing would hurt him. It was as if the idiot was surrounded by a force field...Well I'm sorry. The thought of Mr Perfect also being Mr Invulnerable made me sick.

I blinked, trying to get the sting out of my eyes. Loki's voice was so full of hatred it seemed to make the air burn.

"You found a way to kill him."

"Mistletoe!" Loki's smile brightened. Can you imagine? Frigg forgot one tiny little plant. I fashioned a dart from the stuff, gave it to Balder's blind brother, a god named Hod didn't want him to miss the fun of chucking deadly objects at Balder, so i guided Hod's hand and...well, Frigg's worst fears came true. Balder deserved it.

"For being too handsome and popular"

"Yes!"

"For being loved."

"Exactly!"

----

"Ill-do-it-again" Honestly real of him.

And like tbh Balder had it fucking coming. Like from what I can recall no one else besides Frigg and Loki knew of the mistletoe weakness. So all it would have taken for some dumbass to accidentally throw the mistletoe and killed him. It just happened to be Loki and he was doing it maliciously (or in my eyes, for vengeance).

Also why is the All part of "we all have bad dreams" Italicized? Loki what kind of dreams are you having? You okay?

I dont think its intentional but the way Magnus goes:

"you killed him for being loved?"

And Loki responding "Exactly!" makes it sound like Loki was jealous lmao.

Someone get my dude some therapy, i don't think he gets enough love.

-----

Page 335, my favourite part

"Oh please" Loki stepped back, examining me with a look of disappointment, this only a matter of degree. So I killed a god. Big deal! He went to Helheim and became an honoured guest in my daughter's palace. And my punishment? You want to know. My punishment?"

"You were tied on a stone slab," I said, 'With poison from a snake dripping on your face. I know."

"Do you?" Loki pulled back his cuffs, showing me the raw scars on his wrists. "The gods were not content to punish me with eternal torture. They took out their wrath upon my two favourite sons - Vali and Narvi. They turned Vali into a wolf and watched with amusement while he disembowelled his brother Narvi. Then they shot and gutted the wolf. The gods took my innocent sons' own entrails... Loki's voice cracked with grief. "Well, Magnus Chase, let's just say I was not bound with ropes."

Something in my chest curled up and died - possibly my hope that there was any kind of justice in the universe. "Gods."

Loki nodded. "Yes Magnus. The gods. Think about that when you meet Thor."

-----

YAY THEY ADDRESSED THE CHAINS!

Also one of the main reason why i am on Loki's side.

Like go on, tell me how thats justice. Tell me how the dude that got their first three children taken and thrown away or chained then got their two new sons get brutally murdered and then chained with the entrails of said two sons is the bad guy here?

And the fact that it specifically says 'cracked with grief'

As in he actually cares about his kids—well at least his sons.

Rick don't fuck this up for us, please don't make him an irredeemable monster next book.

Also the fact that he says the gods watched in amusement implies that he witnessed this...they made him watch...his innocent sons get murdered and gutted. (I am not even going to think about that Sigyn also likely saw too)

Like...

....holy fuck...

...how? How are we rooting for these guys to be saved?

This is why we need a Son of Loki! Luke AU and several one-shots revolving around Loki as a parent in general.

Hel even Magnus goes WTF.

-----

Alright this is getting too long ill make a second part later

[the-friday-knight]

This is already off the wall and I love it.

I love the ‘rocking horsefly’ thing

[swapauanon]

The horsefly is a rocking horse.

And then there's the weird bird who's speeches I can't remember...

(Not going to get a lot of commentary until we get to scenes that weren't in the trailers and sneak peaks.)

[irradiatedsnakes]

dialtown furry world

yellow-footed rock wallaby oliver (he feels like a mammal to me, but something unconventional- hence, marsupial. the charismatic, energetic vibe of a macropod suits him, but not the implied violence of a full-on kangaroo, so i eventually settled on a wallaby, with the species in particular for visual reasons.)

great black-backed gull randy (while i originally considered something that swans prey upon, probably some kind of small fish, fig @/tigsbitties instead suggested something that is a predator of swans. which is much funnier. gulls also fit in with the sort of "trashy" vibe, slotting in neatly alongside pigeons, raccoons, and opossums.)

band-eyed brown horsefly karen (vibes-wise, much like oliver, she just really strikes me as some sort of insect. horsefly is a bit of an obvious joke, but i do like fly in particular, as a very mundane sort of animal, subdued in appearance, with hidden depth (at least, i think so. ever looked at robber flies? cool as fuck). which, i suppose, could be said about lots of bugs, but flies in particular i think are really underrated. as before, species chosen for design reasons.)

furry world gingi is visually identical to regular world gingi.

[randomitemdrop]

Table of Minor Curses

All effects are permanent until the curse is lifted. (Note: please don’t curse your players with real-world disabilities or medical problems that people get made fun of for having, that’s not cool.) A few of these might have gone all the way to Moderately Inconvenient, fight me

Gravity affects you at a slight angle

Nobody can remember your name

Everyone knows your name, identity, and backstory

There is a widespread belief that rubbing your belly is good luck

There is a widespread belief that you are high-level royalty slumming it in disguise

There is a widespread belief that you are an actor playing a role hired by the party

You believe you are an actor playing a role hired by the party

Resting Berserker face

Athlete’s foot

Acid reflux

Inability to tell the difference between Orcs and horses

Inability to tell the difference between rocks and bread

Inability to tell the difference between leaves and money

Inability to tell the difference between Undead and non-Undead

You sprout an extra finger on each hand and an extra toe on each foot

Every time you sneeze, a random object in your square or an adjacent square catches fire

(Non-Halflings only) under the light of a full moon you become a Halfling. If a Halfling character rolls this curse they become a Were-Human

Hiccups

Animals are scared of you

Aberrations are convinced you’re an old pal

Immune to potions

Orbs give you sinus discharge

Armor gives you hives

You compulsively narrate your every action

Voice is twice as loud

Voice is half as loud

Voice and mannerisms of (roll d12) 1. Christopher Walken, 2. Betty Boop, 3. Elmo, 4. Homestar Runner, 5. DM’s choice of Disney Classic characters or whatever you call the shared Mickey/Donald/Goofy/&c. series, 6. DM’s choice of Looney Tunes, 7. Grindcore vocalist, 8. Bad 4Kidz anime dub protagonist, 9. One of those steampunk rappers from the early 2010s, 10. Hulk, 11. Surly mid-century gangster, 12. Macho Man Randy Savage

All music causes Irresistible Dance

DM chooses a word or phrase that now has the effect of Vicious Mockery on you every time you hear or read it

DM chooses a word or phrase that now has the effect of Hideous Laughter on you every time you hear or read it

DM chooses a smell or taste that now ignites Berserker Rage on you every time you smell or taste it

DM chooses a type of creature or object that Turns you every time you are near one

Perpetually under the effects of the spell Grease

You drop every item you attempt to hold

The curse conjures a single immortal (roll d10) whose only goal in life is to irritate and frustrate you (physical pain is incidental): 1. Horsefly, 2. Rat, 3. Crab, 4. Disembodied voice, 5. Gelatinous Cube, three inches across, Hastened, 6. Fire Elemental, size class Tiny (all stats one-fourth of standard Fire Elemental), 7. Lurker, 8. Mimic, 9. Halfling Bard, 10. Exact duplicate of you

You physically resemble a famous outlaw

You physically resemble a famous enemy general

You physically resemble a famous actor or musician

Unable to speak verbs

Face is upside down

Uncontrollable bioluminescence

Uncontrollable jazz hands

Feelings of antagonism cause you to compulsively snap your fingers like in West Side Story

The next non-living organic substance you touch will stick to you as if coated in Sovereign Glue

If viewed by magical means, you appear to contain vast magical power as if some powerful magical item is hidden inside you

Hair and fingernails grow at a hundred times the usual speed

Your body odor becomes significantly more powerful and smells like delicious meat

You leave clearly visible tracks wherever you go, regardless of terrain

You sweat ink

When making a list you are perpetually unable to think of the last item

[sidesinwonderland]

[You find yourself back in your horsefly form in a familiar forest. You find Thomas perched on a rock. From the look on his face he doesn’t seem too happy]

[Thomas asks are open]

[caterpillarinacave]

AIW allusions in the RWBY V9 clips

One thing I haven't seen anyone talking about in regards to the new RWBY clips, is the Alice in Wonderland references, so as an AIW fanatic I figured I would give my take on em’!

Example 1, one of the first things we see is a ”rocking horsefly”. These are just little whimsical bugs that add to the vibe of wonderland.

(First photo is from the new RWBY V9 clip, second is from Disneys 1951 Alice in Wonderland)

Example 2: The flamingo? Flamingos are used as the Queen of Hearts croquet mallets, and they tend to be… unhelpful. Here, this bird has a design that goes pretty well with the AIW design style, and has a sort of smirk on its face. I would also like to point out that it could be related to the Dodo, but that doesn’t seem super likely.

Example 3: The mouse. Mice show up a couple times in AIW usually as background, excluding the Doormouse, who stays at the Mad Hatters table and sleeps. The Doormouse isn’t a guide in the books (that role is filled by the Cheshire), but it seems like she might be an animal buddy/sidekick.

(One could argue that the conversation in the clip is a reference/version to/of “I’m an Alice)

Example 4: Cheshire Cat. I’m mostly just going off the image, and the fact that I love the Cheshire Cat, but it seems like this character is definitely alluding to our favorite wonderland cat. Plus, it seems like Ruby is meeting him soon after landing on the island, so they might be acting as a guide the same way they do in AIW.

Example 5: The Queen/King of Hearts. I’m just guessing here, as the person in this image is donning a crown, wearing red , and the Queen of Hearts is so important in most adaptions of AIW.

Landscapes/Settings:

Example 6: This tunnel thing. Its pretty straight forward, with AIW having a lot of falling down stuff. It actually gives me an Alice through the Looking Glass vibe, with the bright colors and almost mirror like walls. Plus the blue butterfly could also be an allusion.

Example 7: The beach. A decent part of Alice in Wonderland is actually spent on the beach. Alice spends time in beach locations at both the beginning of the book and the end. It isn’t really an allusion but it fits the theme.

Example 8: This last bit here. This image shows a lot of different landscapes, but the garden like one, and the mushroom one both stick out, as the places shrunken Alice spends her time in the book.

Obviously, not everything is an allusion, but these are just some thoughts of mine!

[o-craven-canto]

A list of the typs of sins and punishments in Dante’s model of Hell, if you care about this sort of thing:

Antinferno. The antichamber of Hell, where the damned are kept before Charon ferries them across the Achaeron river. It also contains the “blameless and praiseless” quasi-damned, which as punishment for never committing fully to either good or evil run eternally after a meaningless banner. On a carpet of worms. While being stung by wasps and horseflies. This also includes the angels that were loyal to neither God nor Lucifer. (Canto 3)

First circle (Limbo). This contains the souls who died without any particular sin to punish, but also without baptism, and therefore cannot enter Heaven. (Except very few illustrious Jews and pagans who were personally brought to Heaven by Jesus after his own death.) In sum, babies who died before baptism and particularly noble pagans. No punishment, except a state of eternal godless gloom. (Canto 4)

Circles 2 to 5 punish the incontinent, that is, people who were unable to restrain their own passions and impulses. The further down you go, the less noble said passions are, going from excess to dearth of love.

Second circle. Here Minos, judge of Hell, assigns all the proper damned to their final punishment. The Lustful are thrown around by endless hurricane winds (and possibly smashed against rocks? That’s unclear). (Canto 5)

Third circle. The Gluttonous lie like hogs or worms in stinking mud under a filthy, freezing rain. Occasionally they are also scratched and bitten by Cerberus. (Canto 6)

Fourth circle. Ostensibly guarded by the demon Pluto, pagan god of mineral wealth. The Hoarders and the Wasters (the two opposite facets of Greed) roll around massive boulders in two opposite crowds around a circular arena, until they smash against each other at one end; then they turn and roll their boulders towards the opposite end, and so on. (Canto 7-8)

Fifth circle. Fully occupied by the cold swamp of Styx; those who are destined to lower circles must be ferried by Phlegyas. Two kinds of sinners: the Wrathful, who are constantly insulting and beating each other in the mud, and the Slothful (which are basically... people suffering from depression), who are stuck to the bottom, eternally drowning. (Canto 8)

Sixth circle. The walls of the great burning city of Dis, guarded by the Furies and by an army of demons. The space inside the city walls is filled with burning open tombs, where Heretics are punished (or specifically “those who deny the immortality of the soul”, so perhaps not all heretics; Epicureans are mentioned). After the Final Judgment, all the tombs will be closed. (Canto 9-11)

The final three circles are located inside Dis. They punish malice, that is, actively and intentionally doing evil. Malice is divided into violence and fraud, which are, respectively, perversions of strength and intelligence; intelligence is a higher faculty than strength, so fraud is a worse sin than violence.

Seventh circle. The circle of Violence, separated from the others by a great ravine created by the earthquake that shook Hell at Christ’s death. The ravine is guarded by the Minotaur. Divided into three sub-circles or gironi:

First girone. The Violent against Others suffer in the Phlegeton, a river of boiling blood. The worse their sin, the deeper they are sunk: robbers are boiled ankle-deep, murderers up to their waste or neck, while tyrants are wholly down. Centaurs armed with bows and arrows prevent the damned from escaping. (Canto 12)

Second girone. The Violent against Themselves: Suicides are turned into suffering trees that can only speak (and bleed) when their branches are broken. Harpies nest in their canopies and feed on their leaves. Squanderers are pursued and devoured by hounds, often breaking plenty of branches as they try to flee and hide. After the Final Judgment, the Suicides’ original bodies will be brought to Hell and hung from their branches. (Canto 13)

Third girone. A vast sandy desert, made scorching by a slow snowfall of fire, which punishes those who are Violent against the Natural Order. Sodomites are allowed to run to dodge the fire, though if they ever stop they will be bound to the ground for a hundred years, while Blasphemers have to lie with their back on the burning sand, and Usurers sit on it with their head between their knees. (Canto 14-17)

The seventh and eight circle are separated by a great abyss. Travellers must be ferried through by the human-headed dragon Geryon, demon of Fraud.

Eight circle (Malebolge, the “evil sacs”). The circle of Fraud, divided into ten concentric rings or bolge.

First bolgia. The Seducers march in rows as they are flogged by devils. This is passed over pretty quickly. (Canto 18)

Second bolgia. Pimps and Flatterers are sunken in a pit full of human feces. (Canto 18)

Third bolgia. Simoniacs, i.e. clerics who buy and sale holy offices (big concern in the 14th century!) are lodged upside-down in holes, with their feets on fire. There is a small number of holes; when a new damned soul comes, it occupies a hole by pushing everyone further down. All wicked popes in history are jammed in the same hole. (Canto 19)

Fourth bolgia. Oracles, Astrologists, and Witches (including all prophets from pagan myths, which apparently did not gain points for making true prophecies) walk in a row with their head twisted backward. (Canto 20)

Fifth bolgia. Barrators, i.e. corrupted politicians, are cast in boiling pitch. Whenever one tries to flee, or even rises too far out of the pitch, flying devils called malebranche (”evil clutches”) fish them out and tear them apart with metal hooks. (Canto 21-22)

Sixth bolgia. Hypocrites walk with heavy monk-like robes, which have gilded surfaces but are actually of thick lead. The one exception is Caiaphas, who tried Jesus: he is crucified in the ground and trampled by all the other damned. (Canto 23)

Seventh bolgia. Thiefs are tormented by a variety of snakes (and occasionally dragons). Sometimes, snakes jump on the damned and merge with their body into grotesque chimeras; sometimes beeing bitten by a snake will cause a damned to turn into a snake themself, while the snake may gain human form. (Canto 24-25)

Eighth bolgia. Ill Advisers, i.e. people who tempt or advise others to sin, are wrapped in great flames. (Canto 26-27)

Ninth bolgia. Sowers of Discord, e.g. those who start civil wars, religious schisms, or strife within a family, are brutally mutilated (e.g. disemboweled, beheaded, disfigured) by a sword-wielding devil. Wounds, of course, heal only to be reopened again. (Canto 28)

Tenth bolgia. All sorts of Fraudulents are afflicted by all sorts of diseases: hydropsy for forgers, malaria for perjurers, leprosy for alchemists, rabies for identity thieves. (Canto 29-30)

The eighth and ninth circle are separated by a pit in which the Giants and Centimans from classical myths, plus Nimrod who built the Tower of Babel, are chained. (Canto 31)

Ninth circle. The circle of Treason, which is set apart from regular Fraud by the addition of broken trust. It is entirely occupied by the frozen waters of river Cocytus, which pools on the bottom.

First zone (“Caina”). Traitors of their Family, stuck in ice to their waist. (Canto 32)

Second zone (“Antenora”): Traitors of their Homeland, stuck in ice to their necks. (Canto 32)

Third zone (“Tolomea”). Traitors of their Guests, lying in the ice on their backs so that tears pool and freeze inside their eyes. Apparently people who commit this sin can go straight to Hell before they die, while their body is taken over by a demon (this of course makes no sense in Christian doctrine). (Canto 33)

Fourth zone (“Judecca”). Traitors of their Benefactors, completely entombed in ice. At the center of Judecca there is Lucifer, traitor of God, trapped up to his waist, whose eternally flapping wings cause Cocytus to freeze. Lucifer has three mouths, with which he’s constantly chewing the three “supreme traitors”: Brutus, Cassius, and Judas. Lucifer’s navel marks the exact center of the Earth and the Universe. Under his legs starts the tunnel that leads one through the other hemisphere of the Earth, right to the shores of Purgatory. (Canto 34)

[finalvortex]

Maltor, what do you think 'Commander Anne' will be about?

well.

Sasha came upstairs into the kitchen to find the table strewn with maps and diagrams, the paper held down under the weight of a mix of objects; flipwart pieces, Sprig's action figures, salt and pepper shakers. Face down and snoring amid all this was the mop of Anne's hair.

Gently, Sasha shook her friend. When that achieved nothing, she shook her less gently.

"I'm up! I'm awake!" Anne bolted upright, eyes clearly bloodshot from lack of sleep.

"Anne, are you... alright?"

"I don't know. I've been up all night going over our options."" Anne poked an action figure experimentally, and it rocked back and forth. "I don't know what to do."

Sasha looked over Anne's spread of maps. "What about the other towers? If we can get a message through to the toads at the East Tower, we could join forces and form a pincer attack on Andrias' forces about... here."

"I don't know... I'm still not used to working with the toads. Even if I can trust them, what if we can't sync up the time and place properly? We'd be slaughtered."

"Ooh, ooh!" said Sprig, popping up seemingly from nowhere. "Why don't we send a squadron down through Bogwater Canyon?"

Sasha looked down at him with some surprise. "Like Sergeant Bilgewater did in '48?"

"Yeah! When he took down the Horsefly Rebellion!"

Anne shook her head. "That's a deathtrap for sure. What if there's an ambush waiting for them? It won't work."

"Anne, this... this is war. You have to take risks. Make sacrifices." Sasha picked up a pawn. "It's like... in flipwart, sometimes you have to give up a piece for the sake of protecting your king."

"These aren't pawns, Sasha. They're people. And I can't- I can't-"

"Can't what, Anne?"

"I can't let anyone else die, ok?"

Silence fell over the room. Sasha's expression of shock matched Anne's own, as if neither of them had quite expected her to say that.

After a moment, Anne looked down and away. "Not while they're my responsibility."

[writers-worst-nightmare]

could you maybe do Deku and allmight reaction to seeing All for one the most powerful villain showing great fear actually sweating and seeing his legs shake as he see Deku and allmight S/o and All for one comments

"How... how are you still alive i ripped you apart turned you into ash in my prime how did you coming back you have not quirk"

and S/o says "You can not escape Lady death"

Deku and allmight at that moment find out thy have been dating the literal deity of death

WE LOVE A BADASS Y/N!!!!

I changed up the pronouns and text a little so it would be more of a gender neutral thin’t (I am guessing that is what you want, if you want the reader to be female just send the ask again)

Warning(s): implied gore(?)

DEKU:

”how…how are you still alive I ripped you apart, turned you into ash in my prime, how did you come back? You have no quirk…” All for one muttered as his legs quacked beneath him. Eyes wide with fear as he stared down at the seemingly innocent y/n. Y/n was wearing black ripped black jeans with fishnets loosely showing through the rips of their jeans, dirty four inch platform heels (laces tied loosely together), a black tank top with some rock band on it, although the tank top was hard to see considering how it was almost completely covered by a large oversized leather jacket with varies buttons and spikes, they wore a large silver lock necklace along with a smaller necklace that had a skull on it, along with that one too many silver rings where decorating y/n’s fingers. Y/n stared at the villain with a bored expression on their face, locking eyes with the molten faced All for One before getting up and shutting towards the male villain with confidence. Deku stared at his s/o as they showed face-to-face with all for one. Even though the villain was a good few inches taller then the hero-in-training it didn’t really matter since y/n was clearly the superior one in the fight. The Alpha that ruled over everybody and everything with just one glance. Tilting their head to the left slightly y/n stared at all for one before answering the villain with a silky smooth voice.

“you can never escape the god of death, darling.”

Deku froze, with his feet planted firmly onto the ground. He know he should run for his life. Seeing how now the person who he thought of as his partner the god of death!? That’s crazy…

but somehow, someway, something in his little brain told him not to run away from y/n.

ALL MIGHT:

all might had been scared himself when he saw all for one quacking in fear as yo stood before him. After giving his whole speech about he was going to destroy the world, you strutted forward, eyes locked with his as you met his gaze you looked at him meaningfully.

”how…how are you still alive I ripped you apart, turned you into ash in my prime, how did you come back? You have no quirk…” All for one muttered as his legs quacked beneath him. You let out a soft giggle, which soon turned more harder and harder until it was a full on evil laugh. Starting into All for One’s face you gave him a ‘are you that stupid’ look before patting his head out of obvious pity.

“But baby, darling, honey-bear, you cant kill the god of death…” you horsefly whispered into all for one’s ear as you pulled away and smirked as saw him tremble even harder beneath your hold. Your eyes locked with his facial features which was nothing at this point.

and what did all might do?

well, instead of being the faithful, string partner he always wanted to be for somebody

he ran

he ran further and further and further then he could have ever thought his legs could run if he wasn’t such a sucker for his own selfish fears