#this would very likely be pre-viking

[nordfjording]

excuse me but theres a grave mound in my town that every single person born and raised here has been convinced is real and important (partially because it's the last place the light leaves at the winter solstice. and if you have ever lived in a place that loses its sunlight, you know, you know. it also looks like one.) and for 30 years thats been followed up with 'but they analysed it and decided it seemed like a natural formation, nothing to see her allegedly'

but this year in the year of 2024 they have confirmed that it is in fact a man-made monument. likely around 1500 years old.

[000marie198]

I just realized.

Hiccup loves Toothless but he doesn't have a reason for it like everyone else.

Like, everyone in-universe loves Toothless right?

The antagonists are fascinated by him and are obsessed with him because he's a night fury. Pre-redemption Dagger loves him because of same reason and post-redemption, he likes Toothless because of many other things that have to do with Toothless’ personality. Stoick loves him as a son, yes that is very true, go rewatch the series if you don't believe me, all of the Berkians are in awe with Toothless because of his capabilities, the kids adore him, the dragons listen to him (because he had protected them for a long time), the animals stopped being afraid of him because he was protective and kind, and the Gang loves him for a lot of things, for his capabilities and his fun personality and intelligence, he is their friend just as much as Hiccup is. And we viewers love Toothless for a lot of things, we can make a very long list of reasons.

But then you get to Hiccup, the one person who loves Toothless the most, out of anyone in the whole franchise.

But then you think about which quality of Toothless does he love him for? His intelligence? His protectiveness? His loyalty? His speed or stealth?

Everyone has a reason to love this dragon, what is Hiccup’s reason?

And I thought back to the movie and the short movies and the series and realized, Hiccup doesn't have a reason.

He just loves Toothless, and he would love Toothless even if he weren't a powerful, fast, kind and intelligent night fury, he would love Toothless even as a tiny terrible terror (he has in fact, maybe in another universe).

Hiccup saw Toothless, saw his eyes for the first time and saw his own soul staring back.

Hiccup saw Toothless, saw his eyes for the second time and saw his own curiosity and intelligence staring right back.

Hiccup and Toothless’ friendship grew slowly, gradually and strongly, they love each other for no reason other than the fact they learned to trust each other, no ulterior motive.

And Hiccup moved on so fast from an overhead sketch scribbled hastily for scientific record to scribbles in the dirt of eyes full of life, the one thing occupying his mind as he stays within the same space as the one whom his people considered the offspring of death itself, feeling unworried and safe.

And Toothless, sharing his fish, even though he doesn't share with other dragons, napping in the same space as the human, letting down his guard enough to fall asleep, unaware of time passing till evening arrives, seeing a figure of himself being drawn in the dirt and allowing the human to reach out and touch him.

He comes to care about Hiccup just as much, enough to protect him from everyone and everything, even the rudeness of other vikings.

He doesn't have a reason to love Hiccup. One would think it's because Hiccup gave his flight back but no, Toothless broke the new tail that allowed him to fly free, he jumped into an inferno with no guarantee of survival, he ate an eel, he broke an alpha’s command when he heard his best friend’s voice, for Hiccup.

Everyone who loves Hiccup has a reason for it, be it his skills or kindness or compassion or intelligence or parental pride or hero worship. But Toothless would love Hiccup even if he were being reckless and stupid, even if he didn't win at something, battle or game, even if he becomes sleep deprived and half crazy, even when the boy couldn't fight as he does once grown, even when he was small and hidden and hated by many.

Hiccup and Toothless love each other, without a reason and unconditionally.

[skaldish]

odd question: did the norse people ever worship or venerate the warriors of Valhalla? or was it just a goal to aspire to?

The Old Norse people worshipped their ancestors, some of which went to Valhalla, and some who were definitely heroes. But I don't think they worshipped "the warriors of Valhalla" as an archetype, or as paragons to emulate. Valhalla wasn't even viewed as a goal to aspire to. Rather, it was a consolation prize for dying far from home.

Prior to the Viking Age, the Norse people believed they rejoined their family and ancestors after they died. However, this was dependent on the fact they would be buried in the family grave or barrow.

But going a-viking meant risking death far from home, and this death would most likely happen while out at sea or during a skirmish.

In order to reconcile the question of "Where do we go if we can't be with our families?", the Norse people concluded that if they died out at sea, they went to Njord's hall, and if they died in a skirmish, they went to Odin's or Freyja's hall. This way, they had the comfort of knowing they would still be with their gods and people if they perished far from home.

It's important to keep in mind that the vikings were not exactly a warrior class; as in, "being a warrior" wasn't their job. They were pirates. And like all pirates, their goal was to retrieve goods, either by trade or by raid. Most vikings had every intention of making it home alive, and just like being a skilled sailor improved these odds, so did knowing how to put an axe through a man's skull.

Dying while going a-viking was honorable for the same reason that successfully returning home with goods was honorable; it's the fact that a person risked their life to travel very far away and gather resources for their family and community. It's an honorable deed.

But just because this death was honor-worthy doesn't mean it was a goal.

First of all, let's consider the practical aspect here: In a pre-industrial era, no one in their right mind would waste an entire ship on a crew that didn't plan to come back in it.

Secondly, "dying gloriously on the battlefield" only has widespread cultural importance in imperial nations; nations motivated by dominion, conquest, and establishing their widespread rule. Not only were the Norse societies not imperial, they didn't even have a centralized military, let alone the manpower to fight the rank-and-file wars we associate with the term "war."

So I guess the short answer to your question is "neither." Heroes were definitely venerated, but the notion that becoming ulfhednar makes someone the worthiest of all worthies is a retroactive interpretation.

[shakemelikeasnowglobe]

F1 driver duos and the booktropes I associate with them

Max and checo: not a booktrope but you know those oscar bait movies about a person pursuing something to his own destruction being the best but also being doomed like I,Tonya yep those movies both of them are those movies

Lewis and george: gay book writen by a white woman who was raised on yaoi and tumblr shiping 2014, Its painfully British and might be a larry stylinson fanfic has a cute dog and the author is eventually canceled on Twitter for the age gap.

Carlos and Charles: not a book again but telenovela romantic pairs, Charles is the good boy the protagonist will end with carlos the second evil boyfriend who will eventually team up with the vilaness to break them apart.

Oscar and Lando: just heartstoper core mindless teen fluff who will win the GlAAD award of unburied happy coming of age gays

Lance and Fernando: all the daddy Dom mafia millionaire boss ceo booktok brainrot but somehow in both ends of the relationship.

Yuki and Daniel : like early 2010s young adult pre teen emotional coming if age Novel writen by someone trying so hard to be John green it will include some profound analysis about life and meaning tumblr would love for the quotable phrases then Hate it because they eventually realize the characters did some fucked up shit.

Bottass and Zhou: that one book your very obnoxious book friend will recommend saying it's very good but it's just a soft thriller from 1980 about a teenage boy obsessing and stalking his low key weird neighbor and about 300 pages of heavy handed love and murder metaphors involving deers bears and bunnies by the end you really don't understand what is about but the subtext it's actually good

Pierre and Ocon: both are secondary love interests on a book that once was a wattpad original they only exist so the actual main love interest looks good so they are an inch above absolutely dreadful still main love interest is so bad they are considered good by the haters.

Logan and Alex: both are wattpad Born lover boys in different books Logan it's the secondary love interest who was actually the good option but he is against a tatoo covered dark haired asshole so he loses meanwhile Alex is in those quirky mindless fluff books that it's almost all pining he id basically a manic pixie dream boy.

Hulkenberg and kmag: weird mommy erotica you will find in that old single aunt room about vikings and pirates or both hallmark style holydays books about finding love for the ripped blond lumberjack in a small town, or a gay erotica actually written by a gay man who skips the fluff and its mostly about hot ripped blondes getting down to business.

[broomsick]

Holy spaces & shrines in the modern norse path

Before we dive into the oh-so-diverse topic of holy spaces, let me first specify a few practical tips!

I’m very much aware that the definition of the term “holy” is deeply subjective and varies depending on one’s opinions. I’ll elaborate on a few of my thoughts on the topic further!

In no way are you bound by any rule regarding this aspect of paganism.

I will base my post off of my research, granted, but also on my personal experiences and practices!

Now, what makes a holy space sacred? Not necessarily "holy" per say, but simply sacred.

The very first factor to consider is, what is sacredness? Lots and lots of pagans engage mostly in solitary practice, so much is true. Which is why lots of us find ourselves gravitating towards spaces others may not necessarily find any sense of "sacredness" in. The corner of your room where you tend to pray the most? Sacred. Or the spot in your garden where you perform your harvest ritual every year! It’s the connection we feel to the space that makes it sacred in the first place. But a space being holy depends on whether or not we choose to anoint it in such a way.

When something is sacred to me, I tend to feel a sort of spiritual pull. A swelling of the heart, if you will, like the feeling I get when faced with a breathtaking landscape. The feeling of spiritual connection to a particular spot is the first intuition one needs to tune into when choosing a holy space. After all, staying in tune with one's intuition might be one of the most important aspect of any spiritual practice.

Within nordic practice, a holy space is often called vé, a sacred enclosure. Vé's are attested in numerous toponyms as well as ancient texts, such as Beowulf, or the Skáldskaparmál. Their omnipresence in Scandinavian toponyms might, when considered through a pagan lense, signify something quite interesting: the holiness of a space depends on the space itself, its location, rather than what's inside it— or rather, how grand and ornate it is. When building a holy space for oneself, one does not need lavish decoration, or an elaborate shrine with the gold foil and the statues.

However, there are a few steps one can follow in order to anoint a space as holy, if one wants to reconstruct a few practices from pre-Christian Scandinavia. Although I'll specify that as always, no rule is set in stone when it comes to neopaganism. The choice to abide by them or not is entirely up to the practitioner. And in any case, even as I was gathering these few ideas, it was clear that, as always, pre-Christian practices centered around holy spaces vastly differed depending on the place and the time. Regardless, I think it's fun to do some research on the topic in order to reconstruct on our own terms a holy space in the nordic tradition.

The first step? Having a good knowledge of your area. Both before and during the Viking Age, holy places were more often than not located outside. It can be a great help to know where to find the greenery in one's area. Is there a beach near home that the public has access to? How about a large park where you can spend some time alone without being bothered? Even your backyard does the trick! Anywhere you can see the sky and breathe the open air is already perfect. Now, the Germanic tribes would generally worship near an object of particular importance, such as a grove, a body of water, a clearing in the forest, a hill... Although this doesn't seem to be very present in historical attestations, and considering I'm devoted to Yngvi-Freyr, I'm an especially big fan of worshipping in plains, or fields!

I think it's important for me to note that if you are lucky enough to live near a body of water, you can choose to engage in one of the most popular forms of offering in nordic historical practice: throwing offerings out to sink into the water! This practice was especially widespread, evidence of it having been found as far as Britain and Iceland. Evidently, if one chooses to engage in such a practice, it's important to respect the ecosystems and stick with offerings that won't damage them (acorns, stones, flowers and the like). As for an outdoors shrine located in a forest, or near woodland, it would have been customary during pre-Christian times to center a holy space around a tall tree, perhaps representing the World Tree Yggdrasil.

Considering lots of neo-pagans prefer to keep their practice discreet, it goes without saying that the holy space of your choosing does not need to be especially big, nor especially decorated. It can be as small as it is humble! One of the spaces where I most like to worship is the little corner of the yard, tucked under a cedar tree, where I rebuild my hörgr every year, as soon as the snow melts for good. Nothing too flamboyant!

Now, the second step to building a little outdoors shrine for yourself is to choose a representation of the deity to adore. It's said that the human-like appearance of this representation mattered little to the Germanic tribes, whose representations of the Gods could be rather simple, and not especially ornate. For this reason, it would be perfectly logical to even choose an object associated with the deity in question to serve as the main representation placed in the sanctuary. If we're talking about Freyja, a falcon statuette, or feather could do the trick! As for Fenrir, any wolf imagery could work as well! In the case of Thórr, one could replicate the case of Donar's Oak and choose to center their shrine around a particular tree (the rowan are the oak would make the best choices, if one is to pick a tree sacred to Thórr). These are just examples, and the possibilities in this regard are limitless. This "main" representation can be used as the center of your sacred space, and given offerings during rituals or celebrations. In my case, I like greet this representation both when "entering" the sacred space and when leaving it, as a sign of respect!

If one so desires, it's possible to set up some kind of "delimitation" in order to mark the entrance of the sacred space, or its outline. I like to place either ribbons on nearby branches, or litter stones here and there to lie in a loose circle (we wouldn't want to block the rays of the sun from reaching the earth and keep the greenery from growing). In order to signal the entrance of shrines, the Germanic tribes would generally use heaps of dirt or pillars of stone, among other things.

Another intresting element one might include in their sacred space is the presence of fire! Whether this be a bonfire, incense, a simple candle or even just a handful of ash, there's lots of ways to include the "element" of fire into a modern day shrine. It's a means of warming up the space, so to speak: tending a fire in the shrine is akin to having a hearth in the home!

Ideas for common, historically attested offerings: Ethically-sourced animal bones, gold or golden jewelry, tools, representation of the Gods, beads and beaded jewelry, alcohol, food and meat…

Now, let's pull away from the history lesson and let's dive into modern, neo-pagan practice! I'd wager some of you are wondering, how exactly can one keep a whole shrine, but make their practice as low-key as possible?! After all, I know firsthand that solo practice is especially common among neo-pagans. So my answer to this question is, who said anything about keeping? One piece of advice I've already given to a few fellow pagans in the past is to create a little portable shrine all to yourself! Let me explain myself: you arrive at your chosen location, you put down a basket full of decoration and you put up a temporary space in which to worship for an hour or two. You take out a deity representation, a few candles (if they're allowed on site!), a handful of offerings and a cloth on which to place them. And when you're done with the ritual, you pack up your things and make sure you leave the site as clean as when you first found it. In other words, what I’m suggesting is the possibility of gathering a few designated worship items in order to make oneself a portable, personal little shrine! It might seem like a silly idea at first, but I’ve discovered it’s not only a fun habit, but it’s also greatly helpful on a tight schedule to have a quick and easy way to engage in outdoors practice.

As always, I wrote this post aiming to help fellow pagans find ways to balance historical practice and modern, solo practice! I hope these few ideas did the trick, and wish you all a good and plentiful spring season!

First picture

[violet-moonstone]

HTTYD Modern AU Ideas (Small Town + Cryptids)

I'm always a bit perplexed when the interpretation of modern day Hiccup is that he would be wealthy...yes his father is a chieftain, but he's the chieftain of a tiny, rugged island without luxuries, even for the ruling family. The Haddocks dress and live in the same quality of clothes/lodgings as everyone else, and Hiccup isn't treated better than his peers. In fact, I feel like him being Stoick's son only highlighted his inability to fit in during the first movie.

Anyway, there's very little status distinction going on in Berk past Stoick having more decision-making power. And pre-HTTYD 2, we don't see a large population on Berk or a focus on luxury or convenience (we can assume that this is because the period between HTTYD 1 and RTTE take place during and just after a state of constant war against the dragons.)

Keep in mind this is while there are contemporaneous cultures in the franchise (Like The Wingmaidens and the Defenders of the Wing) that make Berk look rustic and provincial in comparison. And for a real-life comparison, you can look at the wealthy kingdoms and empires that were flourishing elsewhere in the world at the same time as Europe's Viking Age/early middle ages.

Modern day Stoick to me is a community leader (frequently re-elected mayor, town manager, sheriff, etc) of a tiny middle-of-nowhere town. With the mayor option, Hiccup would certainly be well-off compared to many of his peers, but much closer to middle or upper-middle class. Apparently a mayor's salary can be dependent on how big the town/city is, so there's a good chance Stoick is making an average salary anyway. Either way, I think he would be so frugal that even if they had money, Hiccup wouldn't grow up knowing about it until his teens.

I'm thinking modern day Berk is either the Midwest (because a lot of people in the midwest have nordic ancestry and that would be a great way to represent the americanized viking vibe we get from the franchise) or the Northeast because those forests are haunted af and definitely where you'd find a downed dragon that is the offspring of lightning and death. Either way I'm putting it in the States, because the dragon riders are very clearly American teens (+1 Canadian) with a vaguely Viking aesthetic. Maybe the mascot of the local high school has something to do with Vikings (A Berserker? maybe Berk and Berserker Island are merged here so we can get the Berk Berserkers), so the town has a bit of a viking fascination.

also i think it would be fun if the dragons in the modern au were cryptids or aliens. Maybe instead of having a feud that lasted for several generations, it was more like a recent series of disturbances, which much of the town initially responds to with skepticism (like making fun of Hiccup for having a cyptid sighting and trying to catch them) and then ramps up to aggression when the cryptids/aliens make themselves unambiguously known. Bonus points if it takes place in the 80s. So not quite a modern AU I guess, but closer than the 800s.

[estoned-png]

As a DenEst historian I can confirm that Den and Est would have met during the viking ages or at least a century or two prior to the crusades, especially because the events of the viking ages and post-viking-age pre-crusades affected what happened during the crusade era (that being that Den really really wanted to get Est).

-HetaEstoniaHQ

first of all WOAHH look at me very vaguely knowing history🤓☝🏼 but yeah theres so much that can be explored in their relationship just because of their super long shared history i wish more people focused on them not just in modern times like fics and headcanons and stuff‼️and if no one else does it i fear i will have to do my research and write them myself

second of all HIII IM A BIG FAN OF UR BLOG

[lightofraye]

Portrait Of A Woman

Yes, another version of this. Deal. 😆

I'm always changing and growing, revising my life and what I'm blogging about. I joke that I'm a gossip columnist (because I do refer to other celebrities besides Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles), but it's only to share my other interests.

So what are my interests? The purpose behind this blog?

Many things. I title it Ramblings Of A Writer for a reason. I write and boy, do I ramble!

I’ll also be redoing my masterlists to make it easier for folks to find certain posts. I won’t be redoing posts—no need to do that, but perhaps reposting information being redone. Like “Version 2 with new stuff” or better organized information and having those on the masterlists instead.

Let's begin with me:

Who am I?

My online nickname: Raye

Pronouns: She/her

Astrology: (Western) Pisces, (Eastern) Metal Monkey

Country: United States

I am anti (and I make no apologies):

Anti Danneel/Anti Elta

Anti Misha

Anti AAs

Anti Destiel

Anti Hellers

Anti Cockles

Anti Abuse

My ‘custom’ tags:

#Jensen Supportive (I believe I'm the originator)

#Music Choices by lightofraye

#lightofraye on abuse

I also frequently use #Jensen Concern, though I am not the originator (like I thought I was!).

What I’m reading:

Fictional: The Dresden Files, currently Battle Ground and Peace Talks

Non-fiction: The Body Keeps The Score

Where am I at with my writing:

BA Script: Judging by the math… 1/2 of the way through. Loving it! First draft!

Pre-plotting my horror/thriller

Vikings? VIKINGS!

So many more planned. Someone knock out my muse. 😅

What am I watching?

Burn Notice (finally getting the last season!)

Daredevil (again!)

Once Upon A Time

Supernatural (forever and ever, ahem)

The Good Place

A Discovery of Witches

About this blog:

I really, honest to gods, did not start this blog to be an anti. I know my anons would disagree with me and claim I always “hated” Danneel, but that just isn’t the truth. I came to Tumblr to find a new kind of social media as I was feeling soured by Facebook, disliked how Twitter had changed, escaped Livejournal years ago, not a fan of Reddit, and the “newer” social media sites weren’t my thing. Plus I’ve kept seeing hilarious screenshots from Tumblr on Facebook and decided to check it out!

I initially started by following pages about Supernatural, Sam and Dean Winchester, the actors Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. I did not go seeking anti-Danneel posts; they more or less fell into my lap. When I started reading a few posts, something clicked in my mind, explained why I was struggling with how I felt about her. I kept analyzing her behavior for a long while, what she said, and thought maybe something was being seen by fans that wasn’t being seen by me.

The explanations made sense. I felt I could breathe again. That’s when I remembered the least recognized method of abuse: emotional and mental. That fit Danneel to a T. Especially the more I looked into what she’s said and wrote over the years and saw how Jensen behaved around her in videos and photos. Even when they were supposedly trying to push the “happy couple” narrative, it just did not look true. Especially given Jensen’s talent as an actor! If he couldn’t even fake being happy or in love with her….

So I’m an Anti-Danneel. I’m also Anti-Misha for his behavior over the years, towards Jared, towards Jensen, the lies he’s peddled and keeps peddling. (For instance, no, Castiel would not have ‘fucked’ Dean upon pulling him out of Hell. No, CW was not being homophobic.)

I am absolutely very pro-Jared and pro-Jensen. I know, I know…. “But Raye, you’ve written posts criticizing Jensen! How can you be pro-Jensen??”

My answer is a variation of this: “Because I care! I am not blind to the flaws of either men! I am wildly concerned about Jensen, about what seems—to me—as excessive drinking, ‘empty’ eyes, unhappy and stressed smiles.”

For the vast majority of the AAs, it seems I’m not pro-Jensen if I don’t see him as flawless, a god upon the perfect pedestal, the Ken doll That breaks my heart. He is flawed. He is imperfect. I see more than just the pretty mask. I want to see and know the man. He isn’t just a beautiful trophy for us to ogle.

He’s caught in a rock and a hard place and I acknowledge that hard. It’s just only the negativity is seen and not the love and support. 😕

What can I tell you about me?

I could say so much. I’m the third child of a family of four kids, and the only daughter. (So that was fun.) I’m a gamer, read comics (still read a few, such as ElfQuest), got into reading fantasy books (Dragonlance’s War of the Lance was my first!), have a massive interest in psychology, in wanting to understand the human mind. I’m fluent in two languages—English and American Sign Language.

Ah, that last one might surprise some folks. No, I am not deaf—but my parents, two of my three brothers, and everyone on my mother’s side of the family are. I half-joke that my first language is ASL, not speaking with a voice. It’s not a joke though; it’s more or less accurate.

I’m a writer. I’m working on several screenplays, have plans for novels, dabble in poetry. I’m an amateur artist—have sketched with pencil and Photoshop. I haven’t done so in a while, but I love art. I do a lot under the creative umbrella, and most of it is as an amateur—photography, wishing to learn pottery, and so forth.

I’m a mother. I’m divorced (happily so, trust me). I have born children of my body and I have children of my heart. I have suffered loss deeply profound that I wish people would talk more about so we all realize we aren’t as alone as we fear.

I’m an advocate for better, stronger laws against abuse, of the protection and services for survivors. Largely because I’m a survivor, but also because I give a damn about people. I’ve experienced it all, starting from childhood to my (thankfully) now-ex-husband. I am hoping to start a series of reels explaining the red flags of abuse, how to recognize them, how to get out if you are in an abusive situation, and what organizations exist to contact for help (if any do exist). Keep an eye out for those when I start posting them!

A link to the ever-in-progress masterlist.

First masterlist, largely anti Danneel posts. (My thorough anti Danneel post, highly recommend reading it.) Second masterlist, more anti Danneel. Third masterlist, assorted posts. The links will be defunct due to changing my Tumblr name. So just switch out rrahuntersblog to lightofraye and it'll work. I'm reworking those too! Bear with me! My first About Me. My second About Me Redux.

[morlock-holmes]

The people you’re arguing with re: pre-modern quality of life, are all broadly rationalist-adjacent, and are therefore deeply committed to arch-Whig-History and will never concede that anything was better for anyone ever before this exact moment in time.

for what it’s worth, I get your point - comparative social status is really great, and people who had a lot of it might’ve been very unwilling to give it up in order to certain material benefits of industrial society.

For a total no-brainer post-industrial example - anyone who’d trade being a trust fund playboy in the early 20th century for being a lower income wage worker today is a fool. There is no way you could legitimately argue that the internet is better than a life of relative leisure, high status, and wealth.

the further back you go, the trickier the argument gets, due to things like antibiotics, motorized transport, etc all being pretty handy, but I absolutely would go to bat that the median Regency English gentry or noble had a better quality of life than the median lower income American, in many respects.

go back to the Iron Age, gets a little trickier, but idk, I might still say that a high status Viking leader had a better life than I do, but it’s a smaller chunk of society the further back you go. Wealthy Romans seemed to be having a pretty decent time, tbh

I do think I’m more sensitive to relative status than some people. That said, I also think a lot of the Whig History fans I’ve known were part of the current socioeconomic top 10% and just didn’t realize how much it sucks to not have that status. Especially looking at a guy like John Green going in on it, like yeah John, of course you don’t rate being nationally known and respected for making a living pursuing your life’s passion, you’re doing that now

Well, I have another side to things, though you get most of it.

I mean, I don't want to overestimate wealth here. Part of my point is *also* that, assuming what we read of Diogenes is true, he was probably more fulfilled as a human being than Elon Musk, and Elon Musk is the world's richest man in the safest and most technologically advanced time in human history while Diogenes lived in a god damn jug.

Like, people who idealize or become nostalgic about the past are very, very often asking,

"Why do I feel so [angry/tired/hopeless/trapped] despite the fact that I have easy access to [insert material comfort here]"

And the response is very often to say, "Because you are fundamentally irrational. [Insert material comfort here] is actually the most important advancement in all of human history."

Like, in that conversation one person says,

"You live better than anybody in pre-industrial times."

And when I say, "Well, I don't know, Leonard Da Vinci and Gengis Khan seemed like they did okay"

A second person comes along to say,

"Well, those are inherently scarce positional goods, you can't expect social advances to make those more prevalent, what modernity actually gives us is travel, a library, a well-stocked sewing room, a hundred paintings you painted yourself"

And when I say, "Yeah I don't have that stuff either" a third person says,

"Yeah, obviously you can't expect to get that stuff, modernity gives you flush toilets, iPads and childhood vaccines."

And first of all yeah, I know, I said that, and second:

*Boy* have these rose-y eyed optimists spent a *lot* of time telling me what sorts of human pleasures I really ought to stop expecting to have more of.

I mean "wasn't stillborn" is quite literally the *absolute bare minimum* that a person can expect out of life.

Remember how in the 50s some kid would hate peas, and his parents would force him to eat them and if he complained they'd say, "You ought to be grateful for those peas, there are starving children in Africa"?

Turns out that "You'd better learn to be thankful for this because it's all you're gonna get and you could have it a lot worse" isn't actually optimistic or empowering.

And that sentiment lurks just below the surface of a lot of these odes to modernity.

PS - If you asked that pea hating child whether he would want to trade places with that starving African child he might well say, "Well, at least *he* isn't being forced to eat these awful peas!" and I think there is some justice to that response even if it doesn't represent a literal desire to experience a famine.

[raayllum]

Callum 🤝 Stoick

“For you, my dear, anything.”

Everyone loves to draw comparisons between Callum and Hiccup (when they’re pretty fundamentally different people beyond the obvious surface level similarities) but sleep on this comparison! Love it

Gonna go on a deep dive cause Hiccup is one of my favourite characters ever but I've never written meta about him so

In some ways, Hiccup and Callum are similar - especially in terms of how they present. They're both goofy, more than a little awkward, deeply curious and compassionate, extremely loyal once you've earned/have their loyalty, a bit flighty and sometimes focused too much on the big picture in lieu of missing the little things. They both grew up feeling like the wrong fit for their environment/culture and it takes bonding with a mysterious, dangerous enemy and subsequent life changing adventure for them to start figuring out where they belong (and how). I think they'd get along splendidly and would absolutely show off flying tricks

However, they are also radically different, mostly because Hiccup is far more rebellious (and particularly in early HTTYD1) far more selfish than Callum is.

Due to a vicious cycle of "I want to prove myself to the village" -> "I mess up" -> "Village is annoyed by me" and a lack of other tangible options of places and circumstances to go into, Hiccup is about as bullheaded as it gets. Even before he meets Toothless, he's not super concerned about being a Viking according to his people's standards, and we don't know if he actually tried at being a traditional Viking very hard before he switched to machinery and inventing (I've also leaned towards not, but that's up for interpretation). He simply wants them to recognize that he can be a Viking, too, by his own standards - and in some ways better and more effectively than they can because he's using his smarts and not just his ('nonexistent') brawn. He's effectively beholden to no one but himself, especially since his relationship with his father is so strained and Gobber does his best, but is understandably not a perfect substitute / cannot be everything a 15 year old boy needs or wants to have socially. This is also why Stoic's scoldings are so ineffective, because pre-Toothless Hiccup doesn't really care that much if he royally mucks things up for the Village time and time again if it's in pursuit of praise/recognition - which is not entirely unreasonable (we all want attention/positive reinforcement) particularly for a teenager, but it is short sighted and immature.

Then he meets Toothless, and learns 1) how to put something and someone else heavily above his own wants & needs, and 2) how to contribute to the village in a way that would be beneficial for everyone, not just the people (beginning of the movie)/himself, or for the dragons/himself (when he was planning to run away), but for all of them, irregardless of himself. This journey is ultimately what's culminated in the third movie by finally living up to his father ("How do you become someone that great, that brave, that selfless?") by willing to do with Toothless what Stoic was willing to do with him: to let him go, so that he'd be Safe. The first thing Hiccup ever did, that set him on an entirely new path after all, was to set a dragon free. I always thought it was very fitting that was his final act as well.

And it's this journey from selfish slightly sarcastic but intelligent, sympathetically immature teenager to a wiser, selfless, less independent but more reliable adult, aided by the events of the films, the memory/inspiration of his father, everything about Toothless and his love/support of Hiccup, and Astrid being about as devoted to Berk as it gets (which is absolutely something Hiccup needs) that allows him to be a great Chief. He's able to put the greater good of his family and people above what he may personally want in the short term ("I was so busy thinking about the world that I wanted, I didn't think about what you needed") to prioritize his goals in the long term ("And we'll guard the secret until the time comes that dragons can return in peace").

And due to all of this, Callum starts out in a fundamentally different place, because he always has an internal and externally imposed responsibility from the start: Ezran. "Take care of your brother," are Harrow's final, parting words to him, after all, and we see Callum take this with him throughout the series, whether it's trying to be assassinated in Ezran's place, promising to return and help him once Zym is brought home, or rushing to defend him when he thinks there's another plot against the king. This is also where we see Callum's selective loyalty creep in. While Callum would make a great general due to his tactician skills and ability to think ahead, he is ultimately too reckless and obsessive to make a good king - or in the Hiccup comparison, Chief. Although both are leadership roles, having Ezran / others there to temper him occasionally as a general is crucial - he needs that safety net (or someone to tell him to keep his eyes on the road) which him being the final authority on the throne would not provide ("I may be queen but even I can't stop those two when they've set their minds on something") that not being on the throne can marginally provide. This is also one of the reasons why I don't think either Callum or Rayla are really suited to a long term life at court / as royalty, but post for another day <3

Callum also has more of a temper and more of a nasty temper toward his loved ones as well that Hiccup really doesn't have a shred of - he'll be sarcastic and a bit snippy but he'll never aim for the jugular, y'know? (Hiccup is also more marginally prone to self blame probably because he's grown up enough to take full responsibility for his actions after a childhood of mostly shirking/dismissing them, but like side tangent)

So like Callum's consistent sense of responsibility keeps him tempered and more mild mannered and less rebellious (and him and Harrow have a much better relationship than pre-HTTYD1 Hiccup and Stoick, which absolutely helps; each may have resembled each other more in HTTYD2 esque dynamic if Harrow had lived to see Callum mature / grow into himself a bit more) but also leaves him far more selectively loyal / focused on his own bubble most of the time.

Like Hiccup is just loyal enough (aided by Astrid) to his People to like be able to do the ins and outs and enjoy it overall? And I've never gotten the same sense from Callum at any point in the series (which "I'm beholden to my inner circle, not some silly kingdom" - thank you TOX). And I do think the way Callum would want to change the world is more magic based - teaching other people how to connect and harness magic - is more in line for him overall but again: post for another day (and we'll have to see where canon goes). Because of Toothless, Hiccup's bubble expands to Astrid and the gang and his father, fully, and stays expanded; Toothless gave him the family & support he needed to no longer need Toothless to stay in the same manner. For Callum, his bubble is Ezran, expands to Rayla as well over the course of arc 1 at first because of Ezran and because of their own bond - and it doesn't really expand with the same intensity to basically anyone else (see Callum being worried, sure, about Soren in 4x06/4x07 but also a lot more focused in general in how Soren's absence is affecting Rayla and thereby focusing on reassuring her)

Callum is also just way more of a loose canon, at least to me. Trying out the lightning spell just because in 1x05 with no safety net, staying way too long at the Great Bookery in 5x04 when they absolutely could've just come back after stopping Aaravos and co., and again: he just has an edge to him that Hiccup doesn't? It's hard to describe and I don't think there's necessarily a reason behind besides "they're two different characters with accordingly different characterizations" but I can't see Hiccup doing dark magic or being tempted by it - even if it was to save Toothless, or something? He's just too much of a bleeding heart/animal lover and a lot more Ezran on that level

Long characterization aside, I actually think Rayla and Hiccup are probably more similar in that rebellious / witty streak to your disappointed more restrictive tougher mentor (Runaan, Stoick) but that Callum 100% has Stoick's devotion to Valka down pat. "For you my dear, anything," the slow approach in asking but not assuming she'll be his wife again, the forgiveness and understanding of Valka and Rayla staying away all that time, the "I don't want another. Your mother was the only woman for me. She was the love of my life" excuse me while I go cry.

[adobe-outdesign]

OK to Jynx Review?

While I'm not the biggest Jynx fan, Smoochum is okay. Jynx was always kind of a weird pick for a pre-evo, as it doesn't really feel like Smoochum's presence really enhances the line in any way, but it is nice to at least have one design here that isn't quite so questionable.

Visually, the pink and yellow palette is nice and there's a fair amount of emphasis on the lips, which makes sense as kissing things is Smoochum's entire deal. The hair is cute and has a nice shape to it as well. It's nothing all that memorable, and I'm personally not a huge fan of human-like baby Pokemon like this, but it's harmless.

Also, side note: Smoochum looks 10x cuter in its original GS art. The slightly wider body shape, inquisitive expression, and little buck tooth really make all the difference.

I've gone on record saying that Jynx is my all-time least favorite Pokemon and yeah, sorry, not a fan of this one.

Obviously the biggest problem here is its face, which is undeniably pretty racist and generally just uncomfortable. This is not helped by it being extremely human-like and vaguely sexualized, with the kissing thing and the chest. They did try to fix it a bit by giving it purple skin as opposed to the original pitch black color, which is slightly better—but purple's not that much different and they didn't really do anything to fix the face, so it's kind of a band-aid solution at best.

Speaking of which, I've noticed that most people try to justify Jynx's design with baseless speculation, which is weird because we know exactly why it's Like That. Here's a design from the beta version of Red and Green (the following information is courtesy of Helix Chamber):

This is either beta Jynx or a Pokemon closely related to it. Its name is Buu, which makes it obvious that it's based on the Ultraman monster Woo, which is A) female (note that Jynx is 100% female), B) a yeti-ish creature (hence the parka here and Jynx's inexplicable ice-typing), and C) a creature with a dark face:

There's no evidence to suggest that GameFreak meant any harm here, but that doesn't make either the beta design or Jynx itself less racist. Just kind of an unfortunate design all around.

Also, even putting that aside, there are just some other odd things with Jynx. It's abnormally humanoid, with hair, five fingers, a dress, and even boobs for some reason. I love humanoid 'mons, but this is a bit too much, and it's hard to see Jynx as something that lives out in nature normally. I also wish something in the final design reflected its ice-typing.

Here's a particularly good redesign that fixes most of my issues with Jynx but still feels like it captures the spirit of the original to some degree:

However, and this is going to sound weird: I think Jynx should get a regional.

Here me out: I get that GameFreak probably doesn't want to acknowledge Jynx too much, but a regional would be the perfect opportunity to redesign it— the regional could even be featured in place of regular Jynx going forward in things like the anime. There are some interesting elements to the design that you could play with—give it tentacles or fins and make it a water-type siren, make it normal-type and give it a viking theme, theme it after different kinds of dancing like Oricorio, etc.

Though on the bright side, Jynx's existence did at least give us one very pretty TCG card, so there's that much, at least:

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Are you still doing that viking time travel au?

Part One: Bodies

One: You are Here.

Two: Here.

Author's Note: I am! So there's science I kind of completely bullshit because I just kind of stole the language from some studies I'm familiar with and probably a very shitty replica of how the British actually store archaeological material but I got so caught up in details I couldn't get it finished so it's thoroughly bullshit! The burial is based on the Repton Warrior, adjusted for fictional use ofc.

Archival Description of Burial A452 and A453 of Red Sail Hall Site

School of Archaeology - University of Oxford

Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art

Though further exploration into the site is certainly precluded by the sealing of the original site by the private owners, the four-month trial period of archaeological work on property associated with Red Sail Hall has proven themselves to be incredibly fruitful. Please review the following in-situ finds of particular significance. Of a group of 34 burials immediately south of the gardens of Red Sail Hall, the burial of an adolescent male, an extraordinary 187 centimeters is of special note. In an abutting grave was a second male inhumation, was found that of a child perhaps aged 12 standing at 134 centimeters.

The elder male was a person of obvious importance, apparently having met his end in battle or some other violent means. Likely incapacitated by a blow to the head as suggested by lacerations to the skull, the elder was then dispatched by sword cut. When measured, the damage to the vertebrae suggests the femoral artery would have most certainly been severed. The burial is in truly pagan fashion. On a silver ring around his neck was a silver Thor’s hammer between two red glass beads. A leather belt around the waist had been secured with a belt and bronze buckle with a fleece lined iron scabbard with an impressive tri-bloom pommel in classic Norse fashion. By the sword hilt there was a folding iron knife, a fixed knife with a wooden handle and halfway down the thigh was found three iron keys.

The skeleton in the abutting grave was tentatively Christian and of much poorer origin. A lead figure on a leather cord around the neck suggests Anglo-Saxon Christianity. An iron seax at the waist was of Cumbrian origin but the iron fittings of a leather quiver with bow and arrows inside found deposited at the left hand were of clearly Welsh origin. No other grave goods were found, but pollen deposites would suggest the presence of Michaelmas Daisies and Autumnal Crocus, suggesting a harvest-time burial.

Would recommend both graves for sampling and dental isotope analysis. Low-humidity storage recommended.

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

Oxygen Isotopes Conclusive Report of Paired Samples A452 and A453

Red Sail Hall Sample A452

Based on a framework of radiocarbon dates, the studied inhumation grave of Red Sail Hall Sample A452 upon analysis of radiocarbon determination and isotope ratio mass spectroscopy reveal an observed dietary variation of game protein intake with high amounts cereal grains primarily wheat. Noted markers of deprivation at aged 15-16 are seen. This finding is consistent with an origin of the Danish mainland of the 150-50 BCE.

Red Sail HAll Sample 453

Sample of nebulous value. Sample noted to be from a child with pre-adolescent degrading of sample in-situ. Whilst there is no clear pattern of isotopic offsets between skeletal elements, the sole first molar analyzed shows a high degree of isotopic enrichment for both δ13C and δ15N. As the first molar forms during infancy, a conclusion of high status, high protein diet can be drawn. The second sample however, suggests marked poverty and high cereal and plant based diet. This finding is consistent with an incongruous origin of the samples labeling suggesting instead the British Isles, most likely Cumbria, 1st Century CE

Conclusion signed and certified by Aroha Kaipo, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Isometric Laboratory, New Zealand.

Red Sail Hall, 21st Century

“I’m not entertaining the possibility because it’s not possible.” Arthur snapped, pacing about the kitchen. Rhys dragged his hand down his face.

“How many times do we have to go over this? Zee did the results herself!”

“Once more, I bloody suppose because I am standing right here!”

“I’m not saying I know how, I’m just saying its you. And Magnus.”

“It’s horse shit!”

“Arthur!” Rhys pressed him into a chair by the shoulders. He was practically vibrating with agitation. His leg started bouncing.

“I am not a figment of my own imagination! I’m just here!”

“Yes, you are.”

“They can’t have drug up my corpse from the back garden when I am standing right here!”

“And yet they have.”

[thedawningofthehour]

Honestly, with that last bit of the latest chapter, I kept thinking about that time Galois was talking to one of the turtles (I’m not sure who anymore) about how corporal punishment was bad for child development, hence why his father Draxum didn‘t discipline him that way and how interesting it was that Splinter did smack them once in a while. It really paints Splinter as the worse parent between the two…until you remember how ‚Galois‘ came to be

I've mentioned this before, but this is really where both their backgrounds and knowledge come to a head. Draxum is Norse, born after the Viking Age-but as we've seen, the Yokai are typically slow to change with the times-and I picture his childhood and culture to be pretty similar to that of Viking-era Scandinavia. And Viking children were actually very gently-raised, despite the reputation of Viking warriors. (I realize that Vikings refer specifically to the warriors and everyone else would be Viking-era Scandinavians, but considering the Faroes aren't technically Scandinavia I'm just using it as a catch-all term) They were mostly raised by their mothers, and while they worked like any other non-aristocrat child would in that age they understood the importance of play and allowing kids freedom to grow and discover themselves, and corporal punishment was not common. They were usually quite close with their parents as well, despite their fathers being away from home so often-Viking warriors would wear necklaces made of their children's shed baby teeth for luck in battle.

Add to that, Draxum is highly educated and child development is one of his areas of study-not what he specialized in, but it was relevant to his work in public health-and the Yokai were more advanced that humans in many subjects for most of history, so the lack of benefits of corporal punishment has been known the the Yokai for a while. (the Yokai also didn't really have Dark Ages or periods of religious fanaticism that choked progress-they had some, but they weren't as widespread and their ability to remain connected through magic negated a lot of the repercussions and allowed the rest of society to keep progressing while they got that out of their system) And, to be completely fair here, Draxum has one kid. That he kidnapped as a teenager, already fairly self-sufficient and didn't need to be taught how to take care of himself. He was able to give Bella and Pax back to their parents for the hard stuff, and by the time they came to live with him full-time Bella was seventeen and Pax just kind of did his own thing, they were both very independent kids who didn't require a lot of hands-on parenting. So he was extremely well-prepared for this fatherhood thing, and got to skip the really tough stuff to boot.

Splinter, meanwhile. Hamato Yoshi was raised with the belief that the world would literally end if he didn't dedicate his life to fighting, if he wasn't willing to die and sacrifice those he loved for the cause. And he was primarily raised by his grandfather, so assuming Yoshi was born somewhere around 1960-65 (which would make him early forties in 2005 when the turtles were 'born' and he was mutated, fitting in with his decade in the Battle Nexus and his acting career spanning from his late teens to early thirties) it's likely that Grandpa Sho was born 1900-1920. So...pre-WWII Japanese guy, in a rural area. Obsessed with tradition and willing to sacrifice his own daughter for the clan. I think it's a pretty safe bet to say he was a proponent of physical discipline, and Yoshi was raised pretty harshly.

He's uneducated, having dropped out of high school to move to the US and pursue his acting career, and never expected to have kids. He wanted his line to end with him, I even mentioned that he got a vasectomy when he was with Big Mama because he didn't want any surprises. He did tons of drugs, lived a violent life even before being forced to fight in death matches, and never once gave a thought to how he'd parent. Until he suddenly became a single father of four.

And he did it with zero help. He didn't have the knowledge Draxum had, no social services that would give him free diapers and no babysitters to let him catch some sleep. He didn't even have a home at first, he had to search for a place to keep them safe and hidden and scavenge for food and toys, all while juggling four kids. His kids were super-soldiers, designed to hurt people-and when they got old enough to rough-house, it became very clear that they could hurt each other. And Splinter had to stop Raph from putting his brothers through the drywall because god knows he can't take them to a hospital, and a quick slap hurts less than if Raph had to live with accidentally maiming or killing one of his brothers.

So to me, it was less of a choice and more that corporal punishment was the only way Splinter really knew how to parent. He was exhausted and didn't know how to talk to kids and if he didn't get his point across it could have disastrous consequences for them. So he raised them much in the way his grandfather raised him. It keeps them alive, and Splinter doesn't really have the luxury of prioritizing anything else. After a while he becomes numb to it. So the O'Neils criticizing his use of corporal punishment makes him mad, because it's real easy for them to say that when they hadn't gone through what he had. He did the best he could. How dare they say it wasn't good enough.

[hauntedwizardmoment]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

PLEASE I LOVE ALL YOUR WORK SO MUCH ANYTHING YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT

HI i'm sorry this took forever but i needed to figure out what i wanted to talk about and i think im gonna expand on peregrine and jace's + porter and ghorza's whole deal in it's a three-way call and he knows nothing

my initial concept for this fic was just straight-up the one day where we did a ton of posting about starbreaker cheating on their partners with each other, and then the image of jace having an absent husband who he cheats on sprung forth fully-formed like athena from zeus' forehead.

i needed to pick somebody to be his absent husband and figure out why they were absent. i landed on an OC from blood and turpentine for his husband (peregrine is kind of my go-to Guy To Get Mad At because i made him up specifically to suck and be jace's shitty ex, so in this timeline he is jace's shitty husband). and the concept of "jace gave up an adventuring career for his relationship" because thats the kind of thing that happens a lot irl (happened to my friend who got married right out of high school actually!!) and it's smth that would definitely build a lot of resentment for my version of pre-shatterstar jace who really values his autonomy and self-determination

i also wanted to get across the feeling of "there was once a LOT of love here, but it's gone now" so i tried to figure out what were some qualities that would make jace fall in love with someone, then find ways that those qualities would evolve into something repulsive. i landed on protective and doting (he likes feeling desired! he likes feeling like someone has his back!) and turned those into patronizing and cloying (now his freedom is being restricted and he's being treated like some little purse dog).

i think something that jace really struggles with in his relationship is feeling excluded from peregrine's life; he's an adventurer, he's out on the road all the time, he's not allowed to share details of his missions with jace due to [handwavey council of chosen rules], he can't even text jace from his work phone because that's for Business Only. jace's main motivation for his affair is feeling seen and held by someone, and being part of something bigger than himself. it's why he wanted to adventure full-time after graduating, and it's why in this timeline you see him still getting set up to be part of porter's plan.

peregrine is a good fighter, he's very protective of his whole party, but he's fundamentally a very scared and insecure person. the idea of losing jace terrifies him so much that he begs him to quit his job and retire to elmville/play housewife forever. he's scared that his relationship will fall apart if he doesn't provide, so he takes any mission the council sends his way. he worries that jace will get hurt while working at aguefort so he gets him magic items (a ring and cloak of protection) and doesnt want to see him working at aguefort (he graduated from there, he knows the school's reputation). he views all of these as his noble sacrifices. and when jace doesn't show him enough appreciation for making said sacrifices, or god forbid implies that he's unsatisfied, he gets upset and throws them in his face (his job pays for the house), minimizes jace's own work (says jace 'plays around' with spell components, as if they arent part of his Literal Job as a sorcery teacher), and is generally a HUGE dick about it.

re. ghorza, she's actually a PC from a campaign i was in, played by one of my irl friends lia who has let me talk her ear off about toxic yaoi as of late. the way lia played her was as a very buff viking barbarian who is also into philosophy and poetry and has a Sensitive Side, and eventually she abandons her initial goal of conquest to help liberate the kingdom our PCs were saving. i didn't get into her and porter's relationship a ton because this fic was very jace-centric BUT i do picture her and porter as having an open relationship. she knows about jace and has been angling for a threesome, but porter correctly identified that jace would freak out at the whole "i have a wife" thing so he lies to jace about that. what she truly doesn't know about is the groundwork for porter's plan, because porter doesn't want someone equally matched with him in strength as a minion, he wants someone easier to push around, and jace fits the bill.

[wildlife4life]

Fuck-it Friday

It is just past midnight where I reside, so that means its officially Friday. Normally I don't post till the sun is shining, but I am traveling today and visiting with family, so I won't have access to computer time till much much later.

Tagged by the always lovely @panbuckley, who posted a very steamy snippet. So I am going to continue this trend myself, or try to at least. Here is some very vague smut from NFL Buck.

Eddie is on the precipice of tipping over into orgasmic bliss, but a tight grip at the base of his cock, snaps him back. He cries out, "Buck please." Behind him with his own cock deep in Eddie's ass and lounging back on the dark blue sofa, Buck chuckles. Eddie feels the vibration of his delight more than he can hear it. "You didn't answer me." The younger man states. The hand not withholding Eddie's pleasure, hits the rewind button on a small black remote. The projected film in front of them reverses, pulling the figures of the players of the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings back to their pre-snap formations. "Two high safeties, 5 man rush, what should I call?" Buck repeats his earlier question with a swivel of his hips, grinding up against's Eddie's prostate. A whimper is pulled from him and Eddie squeezes his eyes shut, relishing the stimulating euphoria mixed with the pain of being held at the edge. The warm plastic of the remote is dropped on his thigh and Eddie can't hold down a moan of appreciation as Buck grips his hair, yanking his head back. "I told you to keep your eyes open. Don't want to miss anything, now do we?" He growls in his ear, nipping at the cartilage. Fuck. Having his eyes on the footage of the Chicago Bears was the whole reason Eddie joined Buck in the first place. He liked to help his boyfriend with his studies, give advice, and his own opinion on what the defense is doing and how Evan should respond. The reward for doing so, usually came after pages of a notebook had been filled and several hours of film had been watched. But the first game of the Ram's season with their new shiny quarterback was just days away and Buck was a ball of nervous energy. Working out did little to take the edge off. Video games with Christopher (and losing horribly) just added to the problem. Not even a pep talk from his personal trainer Owen Strand could help. So Buck turned to film hoping that being over prepared would ease his mind just a little. Eddie ventured into the screening room wanting to give him some relief and Evan immediately showed him how he could. A sloppy blowjob lead to Eddie's first orgasm. A seat in Buck's lap, his chest pressed tight against Eddie's back, and stretched tight around Buck's cock, has Eddie on the edge of another. He just needed to focus. Give Buck a play to beat the scheme. He needed to open his eyes and see past his pleasure. Just for a moment and then Eddie can finally fall into the inferno, with Buck just behind him. The sharp trill of Eddie's phone breaks his focus and has his eyes opening for all the wrong reasons.

Never really written man on man smut before, so I hope I'm doing something sort of right? Idk. I just wanted to put the fuck in fuck-it friday lol. But this is a scene I've had in my notes for awhile for this fic. Hope you all enjoyed!

If you want to see more NFL Buck just search under the tag nfl on my page.

Tagging (no pressure): @prince-buck-diaz @thekristen999 @thewolvesof1998 @hippolotamus @monsterrae1 @bekkachaos @911onabc @911-on-abc @alyxmastershipper @brokenribsdiaz @cowboydiazes @cowboy-buddie @lizzybizzyzzz @glorious-spoon @oliverstaark @cowboy-buck @starlingbite @housewifebuck @devirnis @spotsandsocks @jesuisici33 @forthewolves @transbuck @wikiangela @rogerzsteven @bigfootsmom @try-set-me-on-fire @homerforsure @sibylsleaves @shortsighted-owl @spaceprincessem @heartbeatdiaz @barbiediaz @princessfbi

[dieletztepanzerhexe]

Sculpture to Be Seen From Mars, 1947

A ten-mile-long earthwork depicting an abstract human face, Noguchi’s Sculpture to Be Seen From Mars was, as the artist himself once put it, “a requiem for all of us who live with the atomic bomb” and alternatively “a flight of the imagination.” Prompted by the World War II atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which horrified Noguchi—“he often spoke of his fear of atomic annihilation,” Hayden Herrera writes in Listening to Stone—he began thinking about end-of-mankind scenarios. “It was in 1945, wasn’t it, when we dropped the atomic bomb?” Noguchi once reflected. “All of us were concerned about our place on earth, and that it might be rather precarious.”

For Noguchi, the monumental work was intended to be “an eternal reminder to the rest of the solar system that the planet earth, seemingly bent on self-destruction, once had its civilizations,” writes Friedman in the Imaginary Landscapes catalogue, hailing it as the artist’s “most impressive memorial to the futility of war.” The work, as Friedman points out, was also Noguchi’s way of showing his respect and reverence for ancient and indigenous monumental forms, such as the pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in the Andes. “‘Earth sculpture’ is nothing new,” Noguchi said. “It’s just a new name for an old thing.”

The earthwork also connected to Noguchi’s ongoing interest in outer space and the cosmos. When the art critic Lucy Lippard asked Noguchi to use a photograph of the project in her 1983 book Overlay, paralleling contemporary art with prehistoric sites and symbols, Noguchi replied, “I recently saw a reproduction of a face which was found in the landscape of Mars taken by the Viking Satellite. I think it would be very appropriate to show this version along with mine. I have written to the Mars Research Laboratory asking for this image and will send it to you if you are interested.” The connection of rocks across the universe was not lost on the artist. “Ultimately,” Noguchi told Calvin Tomkins in The New Yorker in 1980, “I like to think that when you get to the furthest point of technology, when you get to outer space, what do you find to bring back? Rocks!”

An incredibly moving, visionary concept that, as Friedman notes, in many ways preceded the land art and conceptual art movements that would emerge and flourish in the second half of the twentieth century, Noguchi’s memorial to mankind was intended for “some desert, some unwanted area.” It was, as the artist put it, “a sculpture just to be seen from the air so that, when you come to a landing, you will see the sculpture there.” That Noguchi was concurrently working on the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial suggests he was balancing both a belief in America’s future technological prospects and an acknowledgment of the bleak potential for mankind to destroy the planet and itself. Sculpture to Be Seen From Mars is today only memorialized in a single photograph of a model Noguchi had formed out of sand.