#talk about letting your hubris get the best of you

[writer-logbook]

Chapter length, sentences, paragraph... : how to balance your story ? [random pieces of advices]

Intro : I realized soon enough that my first writing project was a bit too ambitious for someone who hadn't written anything in ages, so I decided to start 2025 with a simpler one, just to 'oil the machinery' and get back into good habits while my hubris can rot in hell the meantime. That being said, let's talk about ✨rythm✨

Your chapter length is determined by the goal you settled for it : A short chapter often chimes with action and thus progress. It can sometimes give a sense of urgency, of acceleration (and sometimes of escape). In my case, it is bound to an increase in tension, the creation of suspense and tends to cultivate the reader's interest (i hope lol). A long chapter is more suited to introspection and 'descriptive' parts, it can help create moments of pause in the story, but it doesn't make it less useful ! In short : Adapt size to content.

Correlated but not dependant : sentence length. The length of sentences and chapters works together to shape the narrative rhythm. Based on that principe, you can mixt things up : long chapter with short sentences OR short chapter with long sentences. These combinations create a certain atmosphere: a long chapter with short sentences, for example, would tend to wear the reader out in the long run (but beware, it's hard to do well). And don't forget : one paragraph, one idea. In short : Try various combinations to suit the mood.

Consider the overall rhythm. And I do insist on that one.

Ellipsis might be your new bestie. Temporal, Event, Emotional... Anything that doesn't need to be said can be skipped. Why ? Because sometimes, leaving events off-page stimulates the reader’s imagination AND it keeps your attention on things that matter. To make it work, provide contextual clues and choose the right moment (I leave it to you, good luck). Vary your transitions and ellipsis, don't stick to the same ones and try your best to find a thread between the events (for narrative purposes). Honestly, that would require an entire blog entry but this is far too long already.

Outro: New year, new me. Yes I'm back, i'm sorry. The end of last year was a bit tensed and I took a one month vacations to go back home and make a total disconnection. But I'm back in business now (in theory). And no, i haven't forgotten about the tropes and clichés article I promised you. edit: happy new year btw

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

As someone who longs for a version of JTTW that emphasizes the horror, this was a fun read-through of your observations! Many thanks for the submission and for sharing your thoughts on this week's reading, @nikofortuna

JTTW Chapter 46 Thoughts

Chapter 46 for the @journeythroughjourneytothewest Reading Group! TW: discussion of body horror and Psychological Horror under the cut, as in I will be giving my own creative descriptions on the three Immortals’ inner feelings as they realize they are in fact about to die.

The reminder of Sun Wukong being a hyperactive monkey makes this ever so real. He is very neurodivergent once more.

Also Tang Sanzang taking the initiative! Seems like character development to me.

It is very adorable how supportive Sun Wukong is. Also accurate, as far as I can remember that monk can’t lie to save his own life.

Hehe, centipede moustache for the Immortal.

Very nice that the silver tongue of the historical Xuanzang is shining through a bit in this round.

One could interpret Tang Sanzang’s words as him calling his disciples, who are monks for all intends and purposes, treasures.

I am not sure if it is just me but I don’t find all these, what should be instances of body horror, particularly unsettling at all. The situations seem really more funny than anything. Perhaps I am desensitized on that front from reading the likes of Junji Itou before. Though it might also be that I just have no great care for gory things, because to me simply having a body is horror in and of itself, so I kind of have to be used to that and external wounds are much less scary to me than diseases and all that harms from the inside.

Besides unless there is a component of psychological horror to it as well it is just not all that impactful in my eyes. Only when I actually imagine the Daoists realizing in horror they are about to die and think of their emotions and what must be going through their heads in those moments does it have a scary undertone to it.

Like imagine having your head cut off and while it is no big deal at first, after your head does not come back the first time you call, your calls become increasingly more desperate and terrified until your voice gives out because you are dead.

Or having your insides in your own hands and while that is not problem to you as you can just put them back, enter the hawk snatching them up and you are left to stare from the hawk in the sky back at your empty hands with the dreadful knowledge settling in that you are already dead.

Or feeling the oil start to boil and desperately trying to claw your way out of the cauldron, but to no avail until you are finally dead.

I’d argue the first one had the least horrific death as it was a quick one and I can imagine him being so focused on calling for his head that, even though the dread is there, he didn’t even quite process what exactly was going on having neither the focus nor time.

Meanwhile the second one has the focus to realize.

The last one was most clearly described as distressing in the novel but only in one small sentence. Either way this one has the time to realize. Plus this is extra harrowing because goats are notoriously good climbers.

Now those mental images, those read as truly scary to me.

[iniziare]

Tag drop: Dorian Pavus

[gaywineauntsstuff]

Dick Grayson is my favorite lil guy

And my favorite way of consuming content of my favorite lil guy is the core 5 titans

There is also about 5 billion pieces of media where these 5 interact and some of it sucks so here I am scrapbooking canon together with glue and scissors so I can talk about how I view Dicks relationship with the other OG titans and how different these relationships are from one another while all still being boiled down to found family love

Dick & Donna: Listen. To. Me. These two aren't besties, or fav teammates or siblings. These two are the sun and earth revolving around each other except they each think the other one is the Sun. Dick Grayson and Donna Troy are the blueprint for platonic soulmates. Dick and Donna make everyone around them believe in ancient story by plato "humans once had 4 arms and legs and 2 faces and the God Zeus split them in half for their hubris and now they are destined to roam the earth forever looking for their other half". If y'all think Dick wasn't doing well after Jason died?? Donna Troys death fundamentally changed who Dick Grayson was and how he was written in teams for years. Donna Troy and Dick Grayson absolutely have debated getting platonically married (not canon but it is in my heart) and the only reason they haven't is BC if they do, Donna will kidnap Dick and never let him within 1000 feet of Bruce Wayne and Gotham.

Dick & Roy: remember how I said Dick was fucked up post Troias death in the comics? yeah? Roy Harper is the only reason he made it out of that period of his life alive. These two are like fire and Gasoline, they're quick and angry and always inexplicably near each other. They are VICIOUS with one another in a way they almost never are with anyone else. They try so hard to ruin their relationship bc implicitly they know (unless its the new 52 which I ignore for my own mental wellbeing-hey I did say this was a scrap book of canons) they'll always be there for each other. Roy Harper never misses, Dick Grayson cannot fall and yet Dick is there to hold Roy when his hand trembles and Roy is there to catch Dick when he loses his Grip.

Dick Grayson is the first person Roy calls to get Lian

Roy Harper is the designated keep Dick Grayson alive even if he has to tie the bastard up-

Dick (and wally depending on the run) help Roy with his addiction)

these two are each others roman empires

Dick & Wally: to cut back on the pretentious seriousness of this post. Every time these two are drawn together be it 80s road trips or being the most likeable part of tom Taylors run. Wally west always reads like he's about to invite Dick to swing with him and his wife. If you see them as platonic, romantic (right person wrong time is my favourite Fanon flavour but canonically I like em besties) or somewhere in between Wally West is always Dick Graysons best friend. There is something so wholesome about the fact that Wally canonically stalks checks up on Dick Grayson as much as he does his wife and twins and Dick who is a bat, notorious for expressing their love via breaking into your house and doing your casework for you. Is getting stalked checked up on by someone who loves him without it triggering his "see obviously you're not good enough they're literally babysitting you" paranoia. its like meeting your partners love language needs but its for deeply messed up individuals. They canonically call themselves best friends, and while Dick will always love Roy he always Likes being around Wally (as well as love him but that's a given)

(sidetone are you even besties if people don't think you're dating when they meet you?)

Dick & Garth: The amount of trust, love and respect that tempest holds for Nightwing melts my damn heart (but then again everything garth does melts my damn heart, baby Garth you will always be famous) they are such an underrated pairing and I love the fact that no matter the media, whether they're rivals like in the cartoons or Garth deferring to Dick as leader to the point where he disobeys aquaman (rebirth) Bc yeah THATS how much my purple eyed perfect boy trusts wing. There is always this really sweet understanding that Garth can go to Dick for advice (he asks for Donna advice in titans and advice on his relationship with Dolphin in the comics). And him and Dicks reunion post RIC? I love them sm. Its just... There was also a period of time where Garth was the only titan with sense and tbh sometimes its refreshing to see that when the rest of them (except donna she was dead at the time we never say a bad word about donna in this household) are being fucking insane

[martybaker]

There was only one couch

Tfw you cannot find the jayvik fic you crave so you write it yourself 🙃

I also gotta preface this with - I cannot write science talk for the life of me, in my defense they are sleep deprived so if it doesn’t make much sense, it’s not supposed to 🙈

—————————

They’ve been stuck at this problem for hours, any potential paths they managed to come up with immediately shattering after but a couple pokes of logic aimed to test the solidity of their foundations. Like bubbles popped by a child’s finger. Like heated corn kernels. Like dreams of making a difference-

Viktor’s too tired to think in metaphors.

He drops the pencil and swivels in his chair, facing Jayce who’s already draped across their shabby sofa, long legs sticking out from one end, head inclined on the armrest on the side closer to Viktor.

“What if we…build an oven?” Jayce says. “Well not like, an oven, but reverse, a device that could contain the energy and…,” he waves his hands in the air as he talks, as if that would help illustrate his train of thought, “…uhhh, we could more safely work on directing the charges? Fuck, I don’t even know what I’m trying to say.”

Viktor chuckles. He doesn’t know why he does, it’s not even particularly funny, the exhaustion must have erased any common sense of his that was left. Yet it’s…comforting to see that same exhaustion mirrored in Jayce. The same dark circles, the same bone deep tiredness weighing him down, the same look of frustration after they’ve been hitting dead ends and running in circles. It’s a shared exhaustion, just like the hard work is shared. Probably should have called it a night hours ago. They both direly need the rest.

“An oven? That would be your hunger speaking, I’m afraid,” Viktor says, reaching for his cane, grinding his teeth to gather the energy to push himself up onto his feet.

“Nah, m’not hungry,” Jayce mumbles. “We had those sandwiches for lunch. Or was it dinner? What time is it even?”

“Too late by all accounts,” Viktor says, taking the few steps towards the couch. He looks at Jayce, who seems glued to the couch and likely is planning to spend the night there. Viktor looks towards the door, but hesitates. The idea of the track across campus to his lodgings really doesn’t sound appealing.

It’s not even that far, the university tried to accommodate Viktor’s needs as best as they could and gave him a room on the ground floor, plus the building is the closest housing to the Engineering department’s laboratories. And yet, today it feels miles away. Damn his leg, damn all the stairs, and damn his hubris for yet again pushing his body beyond its limits, knowing fully well it will backfire ten folds and render him even more useless in the morning.

Jayce notices his hesitation, damn his partner’s bright mind too. He can read Viktor too well, he guesses the reason for his histation despite Viktor’s lack of complaining.

“Oh, do you wanna sleep here? I’ll head home, no problem,” he suggests way too readily, already hoisting himself up onto his elbows.

Viktor tsks and pushes against Jayce’s chest, pushing him back down into the couch.

“Stay,” he hisses. Jayce lives off campus, it would take him much longer to get home. Viktor’s not about to kick him out. And he doesn’t care for compassion either.

Jayce knows this, yet the man cannot help but be kind and caring, and though it irritates Viktor when it's aimed at him, it is also a quality of Jayce’s that he admires. He’s kind to everyone. Meets everyone halfway. Though at times they push too far, and Jayce lets them. Too kind for his own good.

Viktor shakes his head, trying to clean it, the stacked up piles of thoughts seem to have all spilled inside his brain and are rattling around. Rest. He needs to rest.

He looks at Jayce, who is still lying down on the couch, hands raised as if in surrender, big doe eyes staring at Viktor. Was Viktor too cross with him just now? He’s unable to determine. He pats Jayce’s knee in an attempt to smooth over his own prickly temperament.

“I just…I need to take a moment. Before I head out,” he tries. He hopes Jayce won’t insist. He is too tired to come up with reasonable arguments. He doesn’t wanna fight.

But Jayce doesn’t fight, he nods, then he bites his lip and opens his arms.

Hmm.

Viktor considers.

The couch is clearly too small for one grown man, let alone two.

Still it would be more comfortable than the chair.

And Viktor’s not averse to touch. Despite perhaps coming off as such. To everyone, except for Jayce.

It is true that he doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, especially unexpectedly. But he is human and just like anyone else, he has moments when he would welcome touch. Moments when he finds it comforting. And Jayce is a very tactile person. He didn’t hold back from putting a hand on Viktor’s shoulder the very first day they met, and he hasn’t stopped since. Though there was a moment near the beginning of their partnership when someone pointed out Viktor’s (alleged) aversion to touch and Jayce panicked, apologizing profusely for making him uncomfortable, and it took days for Viktor to convince him he really didn’t mind. Because that was the truth, Viktor didn’t mind. Not when it was Jayce.

Of course cuddling on the couch was an entirely different matter.

They’ve never done that before, however, Viktor wasn’t a stranger to the comfort of a warm body next to his either.

From cuddling with his parents for warmth as a kid in one too small bed, to seeking the pleasures of a lover to relieve stress, the warmth of a body next to his undoubtedly had its benefits.

And he and Jayce are friends. It wouldn’t be a big deal.

And so Viktor slowly drops his cane to the floor and lowers one of his knees to the couch, trying to figure out how to arrange himself next to Jayce.

Jayce tries to help but it takes some maneuvering, what with Viktor’s leg and their sleep deprived brains, there are a couple of winces and pointy elbows and just way too many limbs, an “Oof” from Jayce when he earns a knee to his stomach, but eventually Viktor finds himself situated with his back against the back of the couch, his head on Jayce’s chest, right leg on top.

It’s…it’s warm.

It’s nice.

It’s not a big deal.

“Okay?” Jayce checks.

Viktor hums. He can hear Jayce’s heartbeat, feel his breath on his forehead. Smell the musk, the odor of an unshowered body, but he has no right to complain, they both haven’t showered for however many hours or days they’ve been locked in here.

Jayce’s heartbeat and breathing slows, but Viktor cannot slow his racing thoughts. He can feel every point of contact where their bodies are touching. He can feel Jayce’s muscular chest moving under his hand. Jayce’s right hand briefly pets Viktor’s hair before it settles on top of his shoulders. Viktor fights against the urge to burrow closer, to inhale Jayce’s smell, to place Jayce’s hand back into his hair.

Stupid sleep deprived brain. Viktor could have figured such close proximity to a warm body would reduce him to animal instincts. He can only be glad he’s way too sleepy for his nether parts to react as well.

Jayce feels his restlessness. How could he not, pressed so close.

“Viktor,” he whispers, warm breath tickling Viktor’s forehead and despite himself Viktor exhales and melts against that strong chest even more. “You can rest, V, I’ll wake you in a couple of minutes and walk you home.”

My ass you will, Viktor thinks, we’re both gonna fall asleep here, your right side will be completely numb and my back will be killing me tomorrow. He’ll barely be able to stand. But he’s too tired and too comfortable to say any of that now. It’s a Tomorrow Viktor’s problem anyways. This Viktor burrows closer against Jayce’s chest, letting all his worries and all the problems fade, falling into the sweet embrace of sleep.

[koalayoo]

ᴛʜᴇ ᴍʏᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ

michael kaiser x gn!reader

content: toxic! bf kaiser, hints of possessiveness, jealousy, insecurity, vague descriptions of his backstory, suggestive, spit kink, exhibitionism kinda, bro does not know how to show love healthily

author's note: tried guys, i couldn't get kaiser being sort of an ass out of my mind, he's a lot tamer than i wanted though. let's also not talk about how i've been gone for like a year.

wc. 1.5k

There was no pretending with Kaiser; he was toxic, and he wore it like a crown.

When you watched his games, you watched him hold himself on his pride. He had this look of self-assurance, a real “I know I’m better than you” stare that pierced those around him, opponents and teammates alike.

However, he was different with you.

Every minute that passed, every goal he scored, his gaze drifted to you. A miniscule lilt of his lips or smile of his eyes would catch your attention and you’d reciprocate all the same. And the reporters knew. Cameras would zoom in on the interaction between you two, commentators swooning over the one who managed to capture the Michael Kaiser’s heart. The man who lives off of the ethos of being the best. So when he scores the winning goal, it’s not a surprise when Kaiser and his teammates rejoice and the stadium bursts into celebration like a wildfire, human fireworks jumping for joy. The place was deafening and you felt electric. That was your man.

You and the other WAGs made your way onto the field. You adorned a copy of Kaiser’s shirt, signature 10 plastered on your back and the name Kaiser claiming your entire being. Congratulations were made to the other players as you scoured your way through the mass of people, trying to find your boyfriend, who stood in the centre of it all basking in the glory. He was surrounded by a throng and you found yourself second guessing everything for a minute.

There was Kaiser, renowned as a German prodigy and then there was you. A number of beautiful news women dressed to the nines stood next to him desperate for any word he would say for their channel. You saw his blue eyes land on you and he attempted to make his way over before being stopped by the same hoard of people. Same group of women attempting to press up next to him, rubbing up against his sweaty body, smelling his deep musky scent. 

You left.

To a different side of the field, away from the commotion, closer to other players but away nonetheless. It was times like this that you realised the disparity between you two. He was a god in the soccer world and you were some regular person that managed to capture his “cold, imperceptible” heart, or whatever the media wanted to paint. They knew how to be cruel too. 

“Kaiser Finds Love: Is This The End Of His Legacy?”

“Fans Label Michael Kaiser’s Girlfriend as a Gold Digger After Recent Scandal”

“Trouble in Paradise? Michael Kaiser and his Girlfriend Seem to be Calling it Quits”

Soccer fans hated you. You were ordinary. A sign that any one of them could have been Kaiser’s but he chose you. People hated it. You didn’t deserve the lavish life being Kaiser’s guaranteed: Michelin star restaurants, paid vacations, VIP treatment. You agreed, you didn’t deserve this. You lived the life of a woman who got it too good to be true and you’d come to the conclusion often that this life wasn’t meant to last. Kaiser was always going to leave you.

You shied away into yourself, continuing to praise and make small talk with the other guys to shield yourself from feelings of insecurity but Kaiser always knew best. Kaiser always knew how you felt and that fuelled his hubris. No one knew you like he did. That you felt inferior to him. That you needed him to feel good about yourself. When you felt an arm snake around your shoulder and pull you onto a firm, broad chest, you knew exactly who it was.

You looked up, met his eyes, and looked away just as fast. His face slowly creeped closer to yours, his face finding home in the crevice of your neck, his nose trailing against the skin behind your ear. He smirked.

“If you can’t handle the spotlight, then maybe you shouldn’t stand next to me.” Kaiser whispered mockingly into your ear.

You eyed him from the side, surprised. “I- I just…” You sigh, trying to put some distance between you both. “...got in my own head is all.” Your eyes wander down, hands fidgeting with the hem of your shirt.

Kaiser chuckled, head leaning over your frame. “Is that so?” He teased in a sing-song manner. “Should get all up on mine.” He sneered, grabbing a strand of hair and playing with it, making you look up. You roll your eyes lightheartedly. “‘M joking baby, you know that.” 

You hum, looking back up at him, finally making eye contact that lasts longer than a millisecond. He smiles, looking less like a dick and more like your boyfriend. You want to smile back but then you feel the flashes of camera light around you, the bright white stadium lights seeming jarring and suddenly all your feelings of self doubt come back. He notices, like always, and laughs lightly holding no bite.

“Fuck… I love whenever you look at me like that,” He murmured, eyes squinting slightly as he takes you in. 

“Like what?”

“Like, that. With your self-consciousness, that stupidly meek look. Like I want anyone but you.”

It wasn’t hard to understand. You needed Kaiser more than he needed you. At least you thought that. But Kaiser knew what love was, and… what love wasn’t.

Love wasn’t his mom abandoning him as a child, love wasn’t his fathers palm making contact with his unmarred skin, love wasn’t his father howling anything but his name, love wasn’t the rugged, dingy house he grew up in with a scrawny blanket for comfort, love wasn’t the “work” his father made him do just to survive, love wasn’t contained in the fingers that wrapped around his own neck.

Love remained trapped in the shreds of leather in his childhood football, in the ink injected into his skin, entwined within the blue roses displayed against it. Love was the endurance he held, the will to continue to live. Love was the way you held him every night, how your fingers tugged against his blonde-blue hair to pull his head up, in which your lips softly met his when his mind began to wander.

Love was you.

But by god was Michael terribly woeful at showing it.

Heat rushed to your cheeks and you looked away bashfully unsure whether to take that as something to appreciate. He grabs your fidgety hands and holds them in his. “You know, jealousy looks good on you but… devotion does too.” An eyebrow raised, your face showing your confusion. “Come on, you know what I mean. Show everyone you’re mine,” He leans in closer, his nose rubbing against yours affectionately. “and that maybe I’m yours.”

Cerulean eyes filled with a bit of insanity and hunger trail around you both. It didn’t take a genius to realise that when Kaiser’s mouth tilted up obnoxiously that everyone's eyes were on you. You stole a glance and saw large professional cameras and phones pointed in your direction. A part of you screams surely they weren’t aimed at you but for Kaiser to be showing this much affection in public? That turns your thoughts straight.

“Micha…” Your voice tried to warn affectionately, almost inaudibly. “We can’t…”

His hands grab you by your waist and press you against him. “Why can’t we? Can’t handle a little challenge?” He taunts. “Tsk, tsk, thought my girl was better than that.”

You place your hands against his hard chest, musculature felt beneath your finger tips that took years to cultivate. 

“I-” 

“You?” He lifts your hands to rest on his shoulders and leans in impossibly closer. “You think too much, that’s what.” His lips begin to graze against yours and you begin to blink slower, feeling an invigorating haze of heat begin to trail over your body with a gentle caress like a cloud drifting through you. 

“Live a little. Kiss me like you mean it, right here, right now. Let’s show everyone, hmm?”

He waits for you to move first, to show that you actually want it and when your eyes finally flutter close his warm lips capture yours in a soft kiss. It makes your mind feel misty. He amps up the pressure and pushes himself into you. Fingers dig presser indents into your hips. Hands trail onto his neck, and he notes how he likes these ones better. 

You’re distinctly aware of everyone in the stadium, quite certain you heard a few gasps and camera shutters in the distance. You wish you could say you didn’t care but you did and reluctantly pull away causing Kaiser to furrow his brows with a pout. He was tired of talking, tired from the game, tired of waiting. His calloused fingers gripped your chin sharply, causing you to look up at him.

“Open.” He commanded.

You knew exactly what was happening. 

Hesitant. Nervous. Inadequate.

He was waiting.

You opened your mouth, looking up at him expectantly. A glob of spit left his mouth like a thick drop of rain, slow and deliberate. Intimate. His gaze never left yours. The action was filled with defiance, superiority, impatience. When it entered your mouth he lifted your chin up, closing your mouth. A smug smile made its way to his face.

“Nothing could ever make me give up on this.”

reblogs, likes, and comments are always appreciated! this is my original work.

[cynthiav06]

Listen, I read your post about Percy's strategic genius and I thought something.

Percy, Sally, and the entire Jackson family are descendants of Odysseus.

Sally is also damn smart, just look at how she competently got rid of Gabe and remained in full advantage.

And that is why how Athena treats Percy in this way.

He is a descendant of her beloved mortal, so similar to him in his mind and the son of her sworn rival, who tormented this very mortal and prevented him from returning home.

You seriously have no idea how GENIUS that headcanon is like holy hell the sheer depth it adds to everything is insane.

1. Athena begrudgingly guiding Percy in Titan's Curse, getting extreme deja vu (God's probably get that a lot) from the situation and how conflicting she gets over the mortal that is Perseus Jackson for his uncanny resemblance to Odysseus when it comes to his wit and his personality minus strangely the hubris.

Despite her disdain for him out of some strange loyalty, she tells him of his fatal flaw and how it would endanger him.

She let's her loathing for Poseidon get the best of her in Titan's Curse and votes to kill Percy and Thalia but Percy like Odysseus has both the wit and achievements she can't overlook despite her desperate intentions to and hence in the Last Olympian she acknowledges in her own subtle way that Percy is the greatest demigod of this age. That he's saved both the world and his friends.

2. Annabeth proud and confident as ever would be flabbergasted that Percy who she despite her supposed love for him undermines him almost always when it comes to his intelligence finds out that her mother has acknowledged Percy for his strategic mind and that he is the descendant of her mother's most favored mortal ever. (Maybe just maybe it will tone her hubris down a notch and then some, and if we are really lucky, a reality check)

3. Percy would laugh, probably shrug at the revelation. After all, stuff like that makes no difference to him.

4. But I can imagine if Sally knew beforehand about it, then how much hell must she have given Poseidon over it and probably still finds it to be a hilarious coincidence .

5. To Poseidon himself, it must have struck as an agonizing coincidence, but for the better, because for all of Poseidon's flaws, he loves his own intensely. His godly children, his monstrous children, his demigod children, and Percy, he loves most out of them all by his own words and he loves him so in some strange manner for the same humanity he scorned Odysseus for having.

Sally must have made him see the error of his ways, and even Poseidon for his quick temper would be loathe to not change his opinions on mercy then. (If the Queen among mortals tells you, you listen)

All in all, everything that happened in the Odyssey with Poseidon Odysseus and Athena would have come to a good closure with this.

That a millenia later by strange set of circumstances Athena and Poseidon begrudgingly acknowledged the folly in their perspectives from the times of Odyssey all because Poseidon met Sally Jackson and sired a demigod child who by a twist only the fates could make up turned out to be the descendant of Odysseus himself. (I reckon the fates must be cackling in glee at the whole thing)

PS: Hermes is having a blast with this news of Percy's ancestry.

No, but seriously, you have given me more pjo brainrot. (Now I hope this keeps you awake like it does me)

And on that note, Percy would totally canonly be the biggest fan of Epic the Musical, lol.

I have a feeling I am not going to stop talking about this now.

[apollophanes]

Spiritual Pollution in Hellenic Polytheism

In Helpol, we have three concepts known as lyma, miasma, and agos.

To some, humans are seen as naturally pure beings, but because we are living mortal creatures, spiritual dirt can cling to us and make us impure.

Here, I will discuss these three types of pollution

(Disclaimer: Some of this information comes from my own personal interpretations, and therefore may not apply to the beliefs of everyone)

Lyma

Lyma means "something to be washed away". Itis generally just physical dirt. It isn't much of a big deal when it comes to spiritual matters. However, it is still best to be free of it when approaching the gods.

Miasma

This is where things get complicated.

Miasma is essentially general spiritual pollution. Miasma is something that is completely unavoidable and should not be shamed (well, depending on the cause). Miasma is mainly caused by things related to life and death. This includes sex, childbirth, visiting a cemetery, blood, sexual fluids, etc.

However, miasma has different degrees of severity. More severe miasma comes from acts such as rape, hubris, murder, etc.

Miasma also spreads from people to people. If you walk past someone on the street who just came back from a funeral, their miasma will cling to you as well. This also highlights how unavoidable miasma is. But usually, this kind of indirect miasma is not as bad.

We are not allowed to approach the gods in a state of miasma. Luckily, miasma is not difficult to get rid off (excluding the more severe cases listed above).

All you need to do is wash your hands.

If you get a cut on your leg, the blood is miasmic and therefore you can't approach the gods. But all you need to do is wait for the bleeding to stop, wash away the blood, wash your hands, and then you're good to go.

There is a debate I once had on whether miasma prevents us from praying, giving offerings, and participating in festivals. To me, the answer is yes, but not with prayers. Let me explain why.

In a very simplified description of a certain myth, Orestes killed his mother. This caused him to enter a state of severe miasma and a state of agos (which I will explain later). Long story short, he prayed and asked Apollon to help purify him, in return for a grand offering later on. Apollon heard the prayer and came to help purify Orestes.

In this example, we see that Orestes was still able to pray to Apollon in the worst state of miasma, but promised to give offerings later on.

This implies that prayer is not an issue with miasma.

Here is another example: You don't need to wash your hands when talking to someone, but you should wash your hands if you want to give that person food.

In a similar way, in my opinion, you don't need to wash your hands for a casual prayer, but you should wash them before giving an offering. Although, I also prefer not to pray when I know I am in a miasmic state.

However, this is my own interpretation and others may have different views.

There are other ways to cleanse miasma such as khernips, incense, and scapegoats.

Ocean water is also said to cleanse miasma extremely well.

Agos

Agos is a cursed state and is the most extreme form of spiritual pollution. However, agos is not easy to get.

If you commit a horrible act such as murder, you will be in a state of extreme miasma. However, when the gods notice your crime and get enraged (keep in mind that it is usually not that easy to anger the gods), the miasma evolves into agos.

Miasma is a naturally occurring thing, but agos only comes from the wrath of the gods.

Agos is difficult to remove and is a pretty big deal.

Luckily, you don't need to worry about agos unless you're a horrible person who commits heinous acts.

Aaaand that is my interpretation of spiritual pollution in Helpol. I hope this post can be helpful to you!

Blessed be!

[scwheeler]

♟˖ ࣪⊹ — ‘I KNOW IT WON’T WORK’

pairing: ethan landry x reader

summary: your boyfriend had become distant suddenly but confronting him about it only makes it worse

author’s note: inspired by gracie abrams’ “I know it won’t work” I LOVE THIS SONG AND GRACIE (lyrics will be in orange for reading & red for ethan !!) also you can send in requests and ideas!! #ANGST #SLIGHTSPOILERS

you looked over two seats at ethan who was quickly jotting something down in his notebook. it was a different color than his actual econ notebook and the lecture hadn’t even started yet so you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

but the loud slam of the classroom door shutting snapped you out of your trance. your teacher begun the class and you watched ethan shove the notebook in his backpack through the corner of your eye. however, you completely shrugged it off once the teacher started speaking.

sitting by your friends at the park was finally a peaceful event with all the stormy clouds and rain disappearing. it seemed there were only clear skies and chirping birds around until you faced ethan.

he avoided eye contact and tried to look elsewhere. anywhere. aren’t boyfriends supposed to want to look at their girlfriends? you even reached for his hand once but after he attempted to ‘discreetly’ move his away, you gave up. for a studious little student, he really couldn’t tell how distant he became.

at first you thought it was all in your head. maybe it was the stress building up from your upcoming finals or because of the mysterious murders surrounding your neighborhood. yet your fears were confirmed when even your friends brought it up.

even chad for gods sake!

only a couple of days ago, the friend group was laughing and chattering like a bunch of middle schoolers. you guys were loud enough to be heard from miles away but there was an awkward tension once ethan started to shy away from you.

where was the sweet boy who waited in front of your dorm room for a whole hour before finally knocking and asking you out?

where was your boyfriend who would not let go of your hand while walking around parties? who followed you everywhere that some people even asked if you had a stalker!

where was the boy who messaged tara and mindy a million times about what flowers you like so you would be happy on valentine’s day!?

that boy was obviously not present because your door remained silent. no doorbells or late night knocks for a last minute sleepover.

your hands stayed untouched. the only time he almost reached for it was when he put his hands down to help him getting up and leaving.

you went to parties alone now and instead of sitting on the couch just whispering and gossiping with ethan, you sat on the stairs and waited for mindy and anika to say one of them were too wasted to party anymore.

so after finally mustering up the courage, you marched to his dorm room and knocked on the door. first chad opened the door with a little confused face, “yes?” you ignored him and invited yourself in like a hundred times you’ve done before.

“is ethan here?” you asked and took a look around the dorm. chad shut the door behind you and walked towards you, “yeah he’s in his room, are you gonna talk to him?”

you immediately looked up at him, “oh god did mindy tell you too!?” you groaned and felt like you sunk in a batch of concrete. chad let out a shy laugh, “well we’re worried about you guys, i mean you’re the SECOND best looking couple on campus.”

you lifted an eyebrow and questioned him, “and who’s the first?” “obviously me and tara,” chad answered and went to go sit on the couch. you rolled your eyes at his hubris and approached ethan’s room.

but before, you knocked.

“yes, come in,” you heard ethan say from inside and you carefully turned the bedroom doorknob. “chad if you need help in eco—” ethan turned in his spinning desk chair that you got him last year since you knew he can’t focus with moving around.

he stopped himself at the sight of you and wished he locked the door. “oh y/n. what are you doing here?” he calmly asked as if he didn’t ditch you for the last couple of weeks. you scoffed at his ignorance and shut the door to avoid any eavesdropping from chad.

ethan stayed in his chair and watched you take a seat on his nicely tidy bed. there was an immediate silence that suffocated the room before you decided to speak up first.

your words completely shattered the glass surface evident in the room, “do you still love me?” ethan looked up from ground and met your eyes for the first time in weeks.

“w-what do you mean?!” ethan exclaimed and seemed to be taken aback. “what do i mean?” you repeated. “i mean do you still love me? because you’ve been avoiding me like i’m the fucking black plague! you run away from me as if we’re literally not boyfriend and girlfriend!” you spilled out your emotions onto your so-called boyfriend.

your hand gestures were flying everywhere and all the suppressed feelings of anger and sadness came out. “so please just answer the goddamn question. please,” you pleaded for just one answer.

“y/n, i do love you. i truly do and i have but i just don’t think i can handle a relationship right now. it’s all just too much and with…econ—i can’t balance it,” ethan rambled and lied through his teeth, blaming his avoidance on fucking econ as if you weren’t in the same class.

he wasn’t hearing you out and was just piling excuses on top of excuses. you were sick of it. you wanted to have a civil conversation with him, talk it out like adults or in those cheesy romcoms where the couple makes up in the span of three minutes and a really extravagant song or romantic montage.

you could feel tears approaching the rum of your eyes but held them back with only a few managing to escape into your cheeks. “ethan, part of me wants to walk away 'til you really listen because i hate to look at your face and know that we're feeling different,” you were the one avoiding his eyes now. those big brown eyes of his that made you melt like ice cream on a hot summer day.

you wiped the few tears off your face and tried to remain calm. unknown to you though was ethan’s perspective. he wanted to get up and hug you, hold you and say he was sorry. he wanted to bring a dozen roses to your doorstep every night until you forgave him.

he held back his tears and looked up at your teary-eyed face. he thought to himself, ‘cause part of me wants you back, but i know it won't work like that, huh? why won't you try moving on for once? that might make it easy’ so he looked out the window and muttered, “let’s just break up.”

you bit your lip at the bitter words spit out by the boy you loved with all your heart and continued to even after this moment. you couldn’t even bring yourself to respond and opened the door to escape the suddenly stuffy room.

you ran out of the dorm room, ignoring chad’s questions and words from behind you. you didn’t stop running and hoped the cold air would dry your tears before you friends could see.

out of nowhere, the skies turned grey and for the first time in weeks, there a trickle of rain. even though the distance from your apartments was less than a few minutes, it felt like forever. it started pouring and your clothes were drenched.

you thought about how stupid you were and regretted ever stepping front in his dorm room to begin with. you sat on the stairs in front of your apartment, crying and trying to catch your breath. you could barely keep your eyes open with the rain and your tears drowning you. outside it was dark and you were all alone. except you weren’t.

ethan watched you from his room. his heart ached for you and your tears and he had to restrain himself from running down to you. he clenched his jaw and breathed through his teeth as he watched you slowly get swallowed by the darkness and rain.

i know we cut all the ties but you're never really leaving and part of me wants you back, but i know it won't work like that.

brrring! brrring!

ethan turns his attention to his phone and honestly hopes it to be you but his hopes falter as he sees the number and picks up the phone. “is it all taken care of?” a voice spoke on the other line.

“yes, she’s out of the picture so we are not going to hurt her.”

[v3suvia]

On Diomedes of Argos.

Typically, when people think about their favorite heroes of the Trojan siege, they think of the likes of Achilles, or Odysseus, or even Agamemnon (or if you’re based, Hector.) And while these are all valid to whatever extent— because let’s be real, no one is choosing favorites based on who has the purest moral standpoint— they’re not exactly remembered for the noblest of reasons.

Achilles spends half of the Iliad inside his tent as a sulky burrito, and the other half slaughtering Trojans and crying over the consequences of his own actions. Odysseus is a chronic liar, and Agamemnon is Agamemnon. But at the end of the day, they’re still remembered (for better or for worse, really.)

Though, on the topic of Homeric heroes, I feel there is one who is often overlooked despite achieving great feats over the course of the epic; Diomedes of Argos. (Note: arguably the most metal of the Achaean heroes at Troy.) So, let’s rant talk about him!

Diomedes was one of the key players in Homer’s Iliad— a recount of the last year of the Trojan siege. Being summoned to fight under oath, Diomedes headed his fleet of 80 ships to Ilium. As well as having a whole chapter dedicated to how kickass he was [read more about that whole thing here], the king of Argos was also a master strategist, and extremely noble— not just in his war efforts.

For example, there are multiple points in the Iliad where he checks the leader of the Trojan expedition, Agamemnon, calling him out on his cowardice or for otherwise being an inadequate leader, [Book 9; ‘Agamemnon, I will begin by taking issue with you over your proposal… do you really believe the Greeks are the cowards and weaklings you say they are? If you for one, have set your heart on getting away, then go.’] [‘Zeus has granted you many things… He gave you the sceptre of power and the honour that comes with it, but he did not give you courage— and courage is the secret of authority.]

And one instance where he truces with the Trojan hero, Glaucus— both of them exchanging armors (on an active battlefield, btw) to honor the fact that their grandfathers had been allies, [Book 6; ‘So let us avoid each other’s spears... And let us exchange our armor so that everyone will know our grandfather’s friendship has made friends of us.’]

He is also one of the only soldiers in the war who avoids committing hubris in the entire epic, which is probably the most telling of all his virtuous traits.

Diomedes also has a proverb named after him! ‘Diomedean Necessity/Diomedean Compulsion', which basically means when someone does something for the greater good (despite the reluctance of the person in question.)

This is taken from the myth of Odysseus and Diomedes taking the wooden statue of Athena— dubbed the Palladium— from Ilium. During this heist, Odysseus tries to stab Diomedes in the back to steal the acclaim of taking the Palladium for himself.

Rather than punishing Odysseus on account of betraying his ally for personal gain, Diomedes ties him up and drags him back to camp instead, because he knew the Greeks couldn’t win the war without Odysseus’ wisdom.

Anyway, why the rant? Sure, I could sit here and convince you that he’s the coolest Greek hero, but what would I be trying to accomplish in doing so? Well, it’s simply because while every other Homeric hero is recognized and represented in modern media, Diomedes isn’t.

He wasn’t even mentioned once in Troy (2004), the film adaptation of the Iliad! Despite him being the focus of multiple chapters in the book, as well as playing a big role in the Achaean army’s over-all victory.

I’m sick of everyone (and by that, I mean most modern media) depicting him as though he was just some dude™ in the Iliad when he was actually (from a mildly biased standpoint) one of the best of the Achaeans at Troy.

TLDR; Diomedes of Argos = Based. He solos ur favs (probably. He almost killed Ajax the greater at Patroclus’ funeral games 💀)Put him in more movies/shows/games so me and the other two Diomedes fans can be happy.

[yandere-paramour]

Yans During a Hurricane

In honor of a hurricane absolutely ravaging my state, here is some content before my power goes out.

Vivien

Vivien is worried. Like really worried.

He lives in an apartment, so he's not worried about his indoor plants, he's worried about his plot at the community garden. He doesn't care how wet it is outside, he will do whatever he can to try and save those tomatoes.

He's also worried about you and him. Obviously, he wants you to come over, the thought of you weathering the storm alone is physically painful.

He tries to think of everything you both might need from snacks, making sure both your cars are gassed up, and collecting plenty of batteries and flashlights.

It's like he's planning for doomsday, he's really worried. The thought of being unprepared and something happening to you because of his hubris makes his stomach seize up.

He gets stressed and tries to turn that into making things. He does a lot of cooking and baking for the two of you, making enough so you don't have to leave the house for a few days and can just stay inside and wait.

You're going to have to somehow get him to calm down and relax otherwise he will work himself into a state.

His apartment building isn't the best so, of course, you are the first in the city to lose power. You both gasp in unison at the sudden way everything grows quiet.

Vivien nearly cries when the cookies he's baking suddenly stop. The thought of not being able to provide for you is very, very upsetting to him.

You'll have to redirect/cajole him into a new activity that doesn't require electricity like tending to his plants, that always calms him down. Or maybe build a blanket fort, rainy days like this are perfect for blanket forts.

Gently you poke into his side and ask if he wants to build a fort on the rug, and he gives you a quizzical look, wondering if you're making fun of him or something.

When it becomes clear you're serious, his face lights up and he drags every single chair, pillow, and blanket in the apartment.

He is very strategic as he builds, and you just let him do his thing, knowing he needs this to be able to feel secure.

When it's done, your fort is a masterpiece. It is large enough for you both to crawl inside, and Vivien has decorated it with some small battery-operated tealights so there's enough light to see. The many pillows are comfortable to sit on, and you both giggle like excited children as you both do a craft together.

You two spend the night cuddled in each other's arms in, snacking on fresh fruit, talking about nothing, and listening to the melodic rains outside, and finally, Vivien is able to take a breath and know that this storm will pass and you and he will be okay.

Atalanta

Do you really think Atalanta Montclair is going to stick around and have to deal with running out of food and her power cutting out? Get real.

She, her parents, and, by extension, you are getting tf out of there.

Atalanta makes the executive decision to shut down Montclair Industries for a few days. She doesn't want her employees to have to work when they should be with their families, and she definitely doesn't want anyone to get hurt or worse in the process of working.

Whatever happens, she'll deal with it when she comes back.

She even puts Noelle in charge with a promise of a bonus while she's gone (And you know Noelle's taking that shit, there is nothing that could come up that Noelle couldn't handle)

Somewhere where a hurricane is not currently raging, that's where you're going.

Enjoy a nice sunny weekend with your wife and In-Laws!

Lots of normal Montclair activities (beach lounging, fancy dinners, going to the theatre, museum browsing, generally experiencing what it's like to be in another part of the world)

Any worries you have about things back home, Atalanta will soothe and comfort you and generally do everything she can to make you calm down. If it makes you feel better, she can give some employees a quick call to make sure everything is perfectly fine.

She wants you to enjoy the little vacation with her, so just let her send a quick text, and then she'll get you another fruity drink so you have something to sip on while you both walk through the night market.

Noelle

Noelle is mildly concerned, but she is not going to pass up a few days off to spend with her Darling.

Atalanta left Noelle in charge of the company while she's gone with promises of a sizable bonus (and you know if Ata says sizable, she means it), but that's really only for anything big or emergent.

Basically, all she has to do is keep her phone charged and nearby, and check it every once in a while, and that's an extra few thousand on her paycheck.

Noelle is very pleased about that.

You're usually alone during the day, but now Noelle is here with you! You're so happy to spend so much time with her!

To begin your little respite, both of you start with a relaxing bath together, which always turns into a little skincare/spa night. Noelle is so very gentle as she wipes your face with toner, and you get to see her cute puzzled look as she surmises which face mask to give you.

As a little treat, she orders in from whatever restaurant you like best and you both eat on the couch, laughing at a movie you pick. She cradles you in your arms, kissing your arms and hands and hair because she doesn't want to mess up your moisturizer.

After the first movie, Noelle inspects her supplies. Of course, she has everything she needs, but she may need to top off your snack stash if you've been hardcore snacking this week.

Anything you need, she will quickly get delivered so you both can spend the next few days being as comfortable as possible (with a generous tip for the delivery guy for braving the pouring rains).

She lives in a much nicer apartment than Vivien, so her electricity never cuts out so you both stay comfortable and warm the whole weekend.

Noelle spends the entire weekend absolutely doting on you. Anything you like, she is doing with you and making sure to praise you for every breath you take. She will paint with you, bake with you, even game with you (but she's terrible). She knows she's terrible, but she just wants you to have fun.

You catch her watching you with tender eyes many times, and you are just so touched by how much she loves you and how well she takes care you. You in your matching pajamas, clean and moisturized, fed by some chicken and rice Noelle cooked for you, soft and sleepy and ready for her to brush your hair and cuddle you to sleep, humming that little song she always hums for you.

By the time the hurricane has passed, you're severely disappointed that Noelle has to go back to work, but she just kisses and comforts you, saying that if you be a good girl and wait for her, she'll bring you a treat back later.

[starlitprism]

"That's a Major": My Marcille Degree Rant

OK we're starting with this. Funny right? Yeah.

BUT IT GOT ME THINKING

You know what no one brings up in that story? NO ONE?!

This is just a major. This is a MAJOR! YOU CAN DO IT AT HER ALMA MATER.

It is not HER FAULT that this was available. She went in, saw something interesting and went "COOL" because IT'S A MAJOR. Because apparently this CODIFIED FORM OF STUDY is also just something the elves hate. NOW, it honestly seems to surprise all the characters that this was a MAJOR she could choose but let's be honest here. This is just a reverse of the meme where experts greatly overestimate how much the average person knows about their craft. Of course they don't know. The only one that WOULD know in the story is the impetus for the whole FUCKING PLOT.

She who probably would respond by "yeah I know. That's on the curriculum. I took an intro class" BUT NO. We don't get that because she's too busy being dead or other weird shit partially thanks to that same set of courses. Like, you will notice everyone is super surprised when they bring her back but NOT HER. SHE KNEW. Everyone else is like "look at this unholy abomination" when it's just like a history degree. Seriously though, Falin seems a little surprised and disoriented at first but otherwise seems utterly unfazed at waking up in a blood circle surrounded by a dead dragon's innards.

THAT SAID, I am exaggerating for comedy. Here is what we actually know. In the very next scene in the hot tub, she does note that there was something about the circle that felt wrong to her. So maybe she didn't know her shit about this. Or, maybe she only knew about it academically as related to what Marcille studied and never seen or experienced it in any way. That or somehow Marcille managed to keep a secret from the woman she very obviously adores with her literal everything which I... doubt. Then again, she is Laios' sister so who knows if she carries the same level of general obliviousness (I am also autistic like Laios is so I can just state that outright. We can be fucking OBLIVIOUS at times).

It also goes to show, the elves are idiots. They are so certain that this is so unknown that they have to hunt individuals while there is some professor(s) somewhere just... teaching it. Or at least something related! For, like, a day job! And they never even think to ask "where are all these people learning this" NO. THEY DON'T. THIS IS GONNA KEEP HAPPENING. BECAUSE IT'S JUST AVAILABLE. AND THEY, in their hubris, can't imagine ANYONE EVER having this information BUT THEM. It could just be freely available and everyone knows not to talk about it because the elves got a SPIKE in their collective ass!

Ok, you ask, "but what if it was a secret?" and you know what? Fair. To that I have to say https://tenor.com/view/marcille-best-girl-failure-tantrum-breakdancing-dungeon-meshi-delicious-in-dungeon-gif-7429268588073434370

(The above is a picture and link to a gif of Marcille on her head, kicking her legs wildly because this girl doesn't react normally ever to anything) This. This is Marcille when something happens. She's not subtle. She has never been subtle. She commonly screams her reactions. I call bullshit on secret.

More importantly though, that's not really how education tends to work. People study something and, outside of MAYBE grad school level or PhD level minimum, you largely talk with people who know your subject.

You gotta remember, education is a bunch of nerds who want to talk about their shit. People don't just research something to know it. They research it to publish it and have it peer reviewed even if it's just an assignment they turn into their professor which I guess is like a first step to publishing.

Research is gathered, references found, pointed to, and then showed off. AND IN THE CASE OF PRACTICAL STUDIES, people do it! You got to prove your research was right. Otherwise it's a bunch of potentially useless theory. So if you think Marcille hasn't done SOMETHING like this before, there's no way. She was confident she could do SOMETHING about it. Just saying, I would pay a lot to see the face's on the member of her dissertation committee.

I brought this up with some friends and they mentioned that she might have just studied Dungeon creation and studied Ancient Magic on her own. And fair but then Ancient Magic wouldn't be her specialty would it? At least, except in a very egotistical self estimated way without ANY outside feedback which is a core tenet of education. Unless she was the pre-eminent lone scholar of ancient magic of course but she never goes on about that so i'm going assume that's not the case. Here is what we got from the show

In the show she says "What I specialize in is actually ancient magic which is highly forbidden. It's use is frowned upon but using it to revive Fallin, it's our best option"

When Senshi and Chilchuck, protested she just says "magic doesnt' have morality"

Now I could be wrong but for this wonderfully high-strung woman whose reactions are so so much, this looks practiced and calm. She either has defended this before, was quoting something someone else (like a teacher), or somehow she has suppressed all her beautiful exaggerated weirndess in the midst of ABSURD amounts of stress. Personally, I think Option 2 and 1 are more likely as this is a highly emotional subject for her and her self control is shit.

Like seriously, let's say her alma mater doesn't have a class that teaches ancient magic. Let's say, no one but her knows much of anything. What would happen if someone caught her in the library grabbing strange books that have scraps of ancient magic knowledge in them? She's allowed to be there but she's just so... HER that she would probably jump in surprise and try and justify it while trying NOT to reveal what she is researching. And because she has all the cool of a pickle, EVERYONE in school would know Marcille was up to something.

The above is a picture of Marcille losing her shit from a video titled "Marcille gradually losing her mind for 6 minutes || Dungeon Meshi. The link to it is https://youtu.be/gmY2x8_nnjw

So yeah, there would be rumors. The worst kept secret in the school is Marcille is a bad girl who researches something questionable. To say nothing of the fact that this girl has demonstrated major teacher's pet energy. I would put my money on there being at least one professor there who gets occasional downloads of ancient magic from one of their top students all while they look on going "I can tell no one" unless of course there is an actual program.

FOR MY FINAL POINT I HAVE BUT ONE WORD TO GIVE. Internet

By which I mean, the lack of it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to research something based only on the physical books you have access to in a specific location? IT TAKES AWHILE TO GET ANYWHERE.

That means travel for you or your subject matter and, with something like THIS that could be considered dangerous, you would have to be SO damn careful to make sure you don't get a reputation as "the ancient magic girl." That said, she's a (warning, spoilers) half elf so she has time. SO MUCH TIME. But we know it hasn't been too much time because Falin attended at the same time as her. Falin and her brother did various (failed) things for several years before Marcille showed up at the dungeon. I, at least, don't know how much time passed but they both clearly look to be in their 20s or so to me. Could be wrong due to the art style but that's just my read. At most, SUPER low 30s. Which means, Marcille couldn't have been traveling everywhere taking months and months to cross seas to get specific books for that long. That time would get eaten up so very quickly.

WHICH LEADS US back to the start. And my claim that the simplest most likely explanation IS

This Is

A Major

[darkspellmaster]

I have a couple questions if you don’t mind?

1. Why do you ship Lizzy n ciel?/gen. I personally don’t ship them since they’re cousins and it could be considered a proship based on that-

2. Do you believe in the r!ciel is the mastermind theory?/gen

As interesting as it is, I don’t personally believe in it. But I’d love to hear your thoughts!!

I'm gonna answer two first because I thought a lot about it.

2. I think R!Ciel is and isn't the mastermind. What I mean is that I think he was part of the reason for the death of Vincent and Rachel, and why it happened, but he's also the victim of his own hubris and his actions as a child.

I honestly believe that R!Ciel has some sort of brother complex with O!Ciel. Every line he says regarding O!Ciel has an undercurrent of something being not okay with him allowing his brother space to be his own person. He's codependent in a lot off ways. When O!Ciel said he should play with Lizzie, R!Ciel basically told him he'd rather stay in and play with him. The going to the lake, it was clear that R!Ciel wanted to stay home too and felt sad when told to go with the family to have fun. He goes out of his way to get him stuff to help his cough (though that could also be him trying to make O!Ciel sick, but I doubt that), and we've seen that he insists on taking pictures and doesn't like it when O!Ciel leaves his side. The two biggest ones though is the Chapter where Dee is making food with R!Ciel and Vincent and when Vincent mentions Weston and having house brothers, R!Ciel gets this look in his eyes that is just blackness as he says that he doesn't want fake brothers. Then there was his whole freak out when O!Ciel told him he wanted to be a toy shop owner in London and insisted that he was going to do it too. My honest to god guess is that R!Ciel was convinced somehow, probably at a party, that the best thing to do was get rid of his father so that he could be Earl and order O!Ciel to stay with him. As he told O!Ciel even if he has Lizzie there he would rather be with him. Because Sebastian, the dog, was tied up, I think it would have had to have been R!Ciel, or someone the dog trusted and clearly he was locked up so he wouldn't be hurt. This is where I think R!Ciel comes in for being the Mastermind. My guess is that after his talk with Rachel, he realized that the only way to get what he wanted was to get his father out of the picture. He probably didn't want his mother to die, but she seems to have gotten in the way of the attack. I don't think he killed the dog either. What I think is that our main big bad came up with a way to kidnap Vincent, or told R!Ciel that was the plan, or at the very least intended to harm Vincent. The deal probably was that the person would make sure he and his brother would be together forever. So R!Ciel agreed, let the persons in, after locking up the dog, and probably attacked Tanaka when Tanaka caught him and realized what was going on. The person I think behind all of this is Viscount Druitt. He's in every important arc, either in person, a part of it, or mentioned. In the Red butler arc he was a suspect, in Curry arc he's a judge, in the Campania arc he's part of the Aurora society and tries to become an emperor. In Weston he's the way that Derrek Arden is alive. In the Green Witch he's show to be a Prefect and went to school with Vincent, Dee and the mysterious Violet House Prefect. (By the way Yana tends to like to hide things behind word balloons I've noticed or covering the eyes). We haven't seen him in the Blue Revenge or Blue Memory arc yet, but he'll likely show up at some point. So my money is on him manipulating everything from behind the scenes for some reason. 1. There's a lot of reasons I ship Lizzie and Ciel. The main one being I actually like how their personalities click. Ciel respects and cares about Lizzie. He's amazed by her and probably was a bit jealous of his twin due to their relationship, though he never seemed to show it. We know Ciel can get upset and jealous when it comes to Lizzie as he broke a damn vase when he couldn't draw her into the show. He's gone back for her and protected her a number of times: The bear, and the boat are the top two in the manga. Plus standing up for her at other points too.

Not only that but he also helped her to come out of her shell after the Campania and be her strong self as well. He lets her hug him and Sebastian pointed out that he only sleeps well when she's around.

Lizzie has shown protection for him too. In the Campania, rooting for him during the cricket match. And in the Demon Six issue she fought with Charles Grey to stop him from going after Ciel. So we know that she cares deeply about him. She brings out the best in O!Ciel and in turn he brings out the best in her.

Another reason I'm okay with the shipping is that traditionally in nobility it was common place to marry your first cousin. Queen Victoria and her husband Albert were first cousins. Several members of the royal family have married distant cousins over the years, even the late Queen Elizabeth and her husband prince Phillip were cousins. So that isn't something that bothers me. The way I see it it's following the tradition and it makes sense for the siblings to have Lizzie be with R!Ciel since the boy doesn't seem to be able to defend himself very well . And it would make sense for Lizzie to protect O!Ciel from others due to his illness. She nearly beat Sebastian until he had to go harder on her and she held up to one of his punches well enough that she was able to speak before passing out. The Girl broke glass with her sword going through it! I think she'd be a good defender to him. Lastly, I sort of see the pairing as maybe yana's way of doing the snow Queen. In a side chapter we've already seen Lizzie as Gerta, who is looking for her best friend Kai, who was taken by the snow Queen. Kai in this case, is Ciel, and the Queen is Sebastian. If you know anything about the story then you know that part of the tale is about two friends growing up to be adults through various adventures to find one another. Or Gerta to find Kai. Also Ciel has the mark on his right eye, the same place the Queen put an ice shard in Kai's eye to make him follow her. There's also the fact that Sebastian calls her the child of the sun, and one of the aspects about her is that Lizzie melts Ciel. So that's another reason why I ship them. As for the pro vs anti shipping thing, I tend to stay out of it. I'm not a fan of Ciel x Sebastian because he's a demon that wants to eat him, and it's strange to pair them up. But I'm not going to dictate to anyone who they can and can't ship. I'm very old school in the ship and let ship mindset. If I'm not a fan of the pairing I just move on, unless the story is just that good and then I'll skip over the pairing I don't like. Simple as that. I have nothing against people that don't like the Lizzie x Ciel pairing, just as I hope others don't have issue with my liking of it. Hope that answers your questions.

[restinslices]

Hi I I aorry if this is a bad request but do you think you could write something with Annabeth where you're her Athena sister?

I wrote general headcanons since there wasn’t a specific prompt. If you want smth in particular or smth expounded on, feel free to ask!

I’m gonna mix in book lore and tv show lore

Remember I don’t have perfect memory though so be easy on me

Anywho-

Being Annabeth’s older and accomplished sister means she admires you but is also jealous 

I don’t think the jealousy leads to her trying to sabotage you or anything but I think it’s obvious to spot 

You have a special eye that she wishes she had 

Annabeth is great at architecture and noticing small details, but nothing slips past you 

If she notice small details, you notice micro details 

If she’s great at architecture, you’re perfect at it

If she’s a great captain, you’re a perfect captain 

You let her run the team to be nice. Apart of her hates it but the other is appreciative 

I think she’d appreciate it more if you gave suggestions and helped in places where she lacked 

I think that hubris thing would slip in and she wouldn’t wanna accept the help but then she’d realize you have points and she’d give in 

I think having Annabeth as a younger sister means watching how her and Percy’s relationship grow 

You’re the first to be like “so, Percy? When are you two getting together?”

She denies it, very loudly may I add 

“What?! Me and Seaweed Brain?! HA! US? TOGETHER? NEVER!” “…” “…” “Seaweed Brain and I. Guess you can’t think while you’re crushing”

It aggravates her that you seem to know everything before it happens 

You two have the most realistic sibling relationship in your cabin 

Sometimes other campers try to watch Annabeth’s temper 

Not you 

You two poke at each other, you stress each other out, you make each other laugh, you give her advice, you comfort each other, you challenge each other, you do it all

After Luke’s betrayal Annabeth is pretty sensitive so you try to be there for her and fill in the empty roll Luke left 

You’re working double time

Considering you’re her older sister, you also help when it comes to training 

I don’t mean in groups, I also mean one on one 

But naturally, that also means you’re very hard on her 

It’s for her benefit. She’ll understand that one day if she hasn’t already. It’s to make her the best warrior possible 

Being Annabeth’s sister means giving her womanly advice also 

Athena ain’t there and Chiron is not teaching any of that shit. Let’s be fr 

That’s what also adds to your bond 

It’s not like you’re only family when you’re at camp 

You’re family and still help each other even when you’re out of camp

And you don’t just talk about camp and monsters 

You talk about other shit in the world 

Yeah, don’t die by monsters but you know what else will fuck you over? Not doing your taxes.

I feel like I also have to address when Annabeth was taken 

You obviously wanna be apart of the team that goes to get her, and tbh if Percy wasn’t the main character and had to be the 5th person, you’d go 

Whenever she returns, you’d check in to make sure she’s alright and try to keep her spirits high after seeing Luke

Off topic but dare I say y’all build Lego shit together?

I just feel like if you can’t build actual buildings, use Legos

Since the two of you train a lot, especially one on one, y’all balance each other really well 

Take the two major battles for example. The one at camp in BOTL and the final showdown with Kronos in TLO

Anyone going against the both of you would get hit repeatedly 

And I don’t mean only one of y’all are swinging, I mean both of you are playing off of each other 

The modern youth would call this “jumping”-

That doesn’t sound as beautiful though 

If she’s throwing a left, you’re on the right 

If she jumps to hit the enemy high, you’re sliding to hit the enemy low

If she’s grabbing someone, you’re delivering the final blow via stabbing 

You spend so much time together, your minds are practically linked  

When one of you is injured in battle, the other will make sure to aid them, even if neither of you are nurses 

After TLO, Annabeth is told she can rebuild Olympus in her image 

Guess who she’s asking for help?

You of course 

When you eventually leave camp to do your own thing as an adult, it’s very bittersweet

Bitter because you’ll miss each other and won’t be able to talk to each other late at night 

Sweet because you’re both in good standing with each other, Iris messages, and you both know you’ll do great things on your own journey 

When she needs help though, she’ll call you

And you’ll always answer 

Because you’ll always be family 

You promised 

That ending was corny asf. I’m sorry.

I’ve only read the PJO series so far. I’ve been procrastinating on the others, so I only mentioned those books. And if her personality ain’t 100% accurate, my bad.

[broodwolf221]

An argument for the veil remaining intact

From someone who really wanted veilfall.

Please: If you know this will upset you, do not read. Do not harass or attack me about this. Take care of yourselves and be kind to other people - like me! - by not subjecting yourself to things that will anger/upset you. This will also draw from current, real life things; I don't go into detail, but if you don't want to read that, this is your Please Scroll Past warning.

In an twist from my norm, this is going to contain both watsonian and doylist perspectives.

For those who may be unfamiliar or get them confused: in reference to the Sherlock Holmes books, a watsonian view is that any mistakes made in the text are because Watson made an error while recording Holmes' endeavors. Thus, a watsonian view is one that exists within the narrative framework rather than outside it. A doylist view is that these are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's mistakes instead, thus looking at the narrative from an outside view.

From a purely watsonian perspective, I think veilfall would have been narratively satisfying and I certainly understand why so many people wanted it and are disappointed that it did not happen. That's super fair! As I said, I wanted it, too. But I also think that the in-text explanation for why it's not a good idea is a genuinely valid one and did a fair bit of work in convincing me.

But in this case, I find the doylist view to be a lot more relevant.

The world - our world, the real world - is in a time of major strife. With the rise of fascism, with the increasingly explicit hatred of queer people, with the sustained hatred of POC and disabled people (including neurodivergent people), with misogyny and classism and everything that's going on...

A queer dev team made a game where the underlying statement is that you cannot save through destruction. And this is relevant. It is incredibly relevant. It is powerful, profound, and important as a message. There is no single violent revolution that will fix the world and give us a utopia.

There are so many people who are waiting for the revolution. Who want a violent disruption. Who fantasize about living in the ruins of society. I'm not saying this is horrible or anything, it makes sense why these fantasies exist, but they obscure the necessity for the grueling work that is truly necessary.

I'm not saying there is no place for revolution. There absolutely is! I'm also not condemning the use of violence wholesale - there are times when people have no other recourse, I understand that. But I'm an American and I'm mostly talking about my fellow Americans at this moment in history because that's the context I know best and it would be the height of hubris to presume to know enough of every single culture and the entire world to speak for everyone.

There's this fantasy about waiting for the revolution and then we'll rise, then we'll fix the broken system, then everything will happen... and the actual impact of this fantasy is that people can abandon the movement in anticipation of the revolution.

In the end, Solas does not tear down the veil, killing thousands in an act of profound restoration. Instead he binds himself to his mistake and turns to his first victims, those who are still alive, and commits himself to easing their pain and the pain they bring into the world.

This narrative is so timely and so relevant. It has a message. It has many messages.

The need for compassion even in the face of disagreement (again, please note I am saying compassion not tolerance not rolling over and letting your oppressors walk all over you - but it's a known thing that compassion for others - even those you dislike or disagree with - is a functional tool in the arsenal of sociocultural improvement).

That there is no point at which a person cannot change their mind and take a new path. Regardless of how committed they are to a singular outcome, they can always change, and that such change is usually created through the use of compassion and sympathy. Solas can bind himself to the veil. So many people he cares about have spoken to him about this, counseled him about this. And in the end, he can accept their advice and change.

Solas is not a villain, and veilfall is not meant to be cruel. But it's an important message that destruction is not restoration, even when that destruction will bring about a certain kind of restoration. That there are paths forward, meaningful paths forward, that do not rely on violence as a tool. That do not utilize destruction.

All media is a reflection of the time it is created in, and DAVG is no exception. And in this time, I find the veil staying intact to be important, especially when coupled with Solas' plans to ease the Titan's pain. I think it'd fall a lot flatter without that, if he just said "okay, you're right" and bound himself to the veil and then just did his own thing. That'd be giving up. But he's not giving up at all - no one had to suggest that he heal the Titans, he immediately turned to that on his own.

Bloody, ravaged, dealing with this immense cathartic grief, and he still decides he's going to do this. He will make a different path for himself. He will find another way - a harder way - to make things right.

This isn't a criticism of those who are disappointed by the lack of veilfall. Everyone is going to interact with media in different ways, particularly when expectations have been building up for so long. I thought that the veil remaining intact would be immensely disappointing to me, perhaps even ruin the game, and I was surprised when it didn't feel that way. And I've been giving it a lot of thought ever since, and this is where I landed.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

Ur so sick and i adore your hcs and i was wondeeing if yiu had any hcs of athena and persephone being protective ovee artemis cause im pretty sure you mentioned it in one of ur posts posts that they are

Hiya! It's true I'm kinda obsessed over Athena, Artemis, and Persephone - or the sister trio ❤️

I did indeed talk about Athena and Persephone being protective over Artemis before, but I wouldn't mind talking about them more!

Artemis is the youngest and shortest of the trio, so Athena and Persephone naturally have the sisterly urge to baby her :)))) Athena might not show it out but the big sis instinct is there in her.

When mama Leto and the twins were living being chased everywhere by the Python, it was Demeter who took them under her protection when they reached Sicily. That's how baby Artemis came to live with teenage Persephone and be free from danger for the first time since she was born.

Artemis is Persephone's first official sister (she wasn't very close to Eileithyia and Enyo at the time because they live far in Olympus), so Persephone was really excited. She doted on Artemis, giving her the best fruits and play with her all the time. Artemis loves her big sister a lot!

Since Artemis is the older twin, she always put on a brave face and be the trusting shoulder for her brother, Apollo. But she was still a kid and had fears of her own. Aside from Leto, Persephone is the one she came to the most to seek comfort.

Persephone has her mother's sheltering nature, so she is willing to spend hours just staying by Artemis' side. They don't have to talk every time, just simply sitting next to each other and rest.

Before Artemis became an official Olympian, she was still ostracized by mean people for being a bastard child of Zeus. Persephone DID NOT let anyone who disrespected her sister crawl out alive.

This one is true myth: one time, Persephone dragged a living woman to the Underworld because she ceased to worship Artemis.

Yeah, Persephone took her protective sister role very seriously.

Athena joined them rather late. Even though Athena was "born" from Zeus later than Artemis and Persephone, she is still the oldest by chronology because she was conceived by Zeus and his first wife Metis.

At first, Athena was cold, distant, and quite self-centered, only willing to do things to Zeus' favor and enhance her reputation. She's not fundamentally bad, it's just engraved into her core to always strive to be the best and she hadn't been connecting with others yet to learn sympathy.

Artemis and Persephone are the first siblings Athena truly connects with, during the time she was staying in Sicily.

Athena disapproves of Artemis' reckless tendency, sometimes gets annoyed at her like the typical oldest sister to her youngest.

Overtime, Athena softened and began to willingly help Artemis whenever she got into troubles (after giving her some scolding)

One time, Athena was teaching Persephone and Artemis weaving robes for their father (inspired by true myth), but Artemis failed miserably. So Athena made a robe in her place so she have something to present to Zeus.

Athena and Persephone were highly alerted when Orion came around due to his nasty reputation. They would follow Artemis everywhere to make sure she is never alone with him.

When Orion was being inappropriate with one of Artemis' nymphs, Athena and Persephone (and Apollo too) rushed to defend her. But upon arriving, Artemis already shot down the guy, only sparing him because she didn't want hassle with Poseidon.

The three of them continue to stay by her side from that day in case Orion ever return for revenge.

When Orion died from his own hubris and the scorpion's sting, Persephone and Apollo suggested to turn him into a constellation and be forever chased by the giant scorpion as punishment.

Athena tried not to fight Artemis during the Trojan war. When Artemis challenged Hera and got beaten, Athena quietly scolded her for her insolence but still went to check up on Artemis.

Athena also went to Hera asking her not to mind Artemis too much and just ignore her (so that Hera won't beat up Artemis again)