#you ask holly answers

[little-mooose]

HELLO!!! I AM CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH THE REBLOGS FROM THE "WOULD YOU LIKE PEOPLE TOS END YOU SILLY ASKS?" SO I CAN SEND PEOPLE SILLY QUESTIONS!!!!

1. What is your least favorite kind of rodent?

2. What is your favorite cryptid?

OMG HI!!

capybaras, they're unnecessarily large. and their heads are kinda big but their legs are so small. it makes no sense!! they're like large, weirdly proportioned guinea pigs

nessie, she's kinda cute

[lokibrainrot]

Can you draw nutcracker making or drinking eggnog (with traditional nutmeg maybe)? :3

Woe! Mother Nutcracker be upon ye!

Im went crazy and hyper focused on drawing this and the baby brackens just appeared i swear

[morganaspendragonss]

Nice Ask Week, you have been granted extremely specific time travel powers ✨✨✨you can go back in time and give another season to a show that you think was cancelled too soon.  What show are you going back to save? ✨✨✨

ATLANTIS ATLANTIS ATLANTIS ATLANTIS

my bestie, my beloved. underappreciated in its time, it was thee tv show

ancient greek shenanigans!

too wacky for you? okay, how about this

this is pythagoras. he's desperately trying to find a way to save jason and hercules who are due to be executed in the brazen bull (probably the cruelest death at the time)

still not convinced?

gay! and no, they do not bury their gays! (this was in 2015 btw)

and if somehow you're still confused as to why i desperately want a show that was cancelled nearly 10 years ago back, please refer to this list of Actual Things That Happened in BBC Atlantis

tl;dr: bring back bbc atlantis 2k24

[piningpercussionist]

27 grams of uranium hidden in your house but you’ll never find where. On today’s episode of the twilight zone-

(... Should I text either of them some sort of warning? ... Eh, whatever- it's probably fine...)

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Hey so I’m confused about nevermore like… what is it’s actual purpose?

so i believe Nevermore was originally intended as a medicine for faeries living in the mortal world so they could withstand the high iron concentration in the atmosphere around cities. my sources have told me this is discussed at greater lengths in Modern Faerie Tales (particularly Valiant?), though i have not actually read the series myself.

in TFOTA, however, it appears to be used recreationally:

“[...] nevermore, a glittering golden powder so concentrated that it stupefies faeries and gives mortals the ability to glamour one another.” –The Cruel Prince, Ch. 12

there are some who suggest this difference is just an instance where Holly had an idea of what Nevermore was for MFT, and that idea morphed into something else later when she was writing TFOTA. that the difference is primarily just a world-building inconsistency due to The Passage Of Time(TM).

and while the former might be true, i'd argue that Nevermore, within the context of two separate cultures, would in fact serve different purposes.

i'll use the analogy of ADHD stimulant medication (since i am ADHD so it's my prerogative).

if someone with ADHD takes Adderall, it is a medication, because Adderall chemically balances something in their body which is inhibiting their everyday life (lack of dopamine, if you didn't know).

if someone without ADHD takes Adderall, they will experience a high. a stupefication, if you will. because they already have sufficient dopamine, and Adderall provides an influx of dopamine.

similarly, in the mortal world, faeries must chemically balance their systems to tolerate iron because human cities use iron in abundance. to do this, faeries living in the mortal word take Nevermore as a medication to balance the negative effects iron has on their bodies.

on the Shifting Isles of Elfhame, however, there is presumably zero iron. or at least very little of it since iron could potentially occur naturally in their environment. regardless, the people living on the islands don't need Nevermore to nullify an excess of iron in their systems, and therefore, Nevermore produces a drug-like effect in faeries as well as humans.

the reason it is still consistent is because we are receiving information about Nevermore from biased characters living in two separate cultures, who might not know how it is used in other Faerie cultures.

–Em 🖤🗡️

more theories & analysis

[idolbound]

If Meredith was offered a promotion outside of Kirkwall — to become Knight-Vigilant or a Knight-Divine — would she accept it? Conversely, if she was offered the position of viscount, would she step down as Knight-Commander to take it? Is it power in Kirkwall, power in the templars, or power in general that's more important to her?

headcanon asks - @starkhvn

Being a templar is still at the core of her being; it is, ultimately, what drives her day after day - to serve and protect and prevent anyone from enduring what she did as a child. It's a lot of unresolved trauma, 'solved' in her mind, by doing what she can to save others. It is a fundamental part of her identity, beginning the very day she lost her family and was saved by Ser Wentworth Kell. With a resolve of steel, she had decided then, as a very young child, that she would become a templar.

That said, however, as she has ascended through the ranks, implementing new, effective methods to better control the mage population of the Gallows, Meredith became hungry for power. From her point of view, more power meant more control; for Kirkwall, her birthplace and her home are important to her, and to imagine going beyond its borders and leaving permanently would almost be unfathomable in the sense that she has never truly left the city-state, besides the occasional 'work' trip to the White Spire in her years serving as Knight-Commander.

While it would not be a decision made lightly, were Meredith to be offered a promotion to become Knight-Vigilant, she would take time deliberating it, ensuring that everything she had done for Kirkwall's Circle would be kept and maintained. Depending on when this theoretical promotion is offered to Meredith, she would discuss with Grand Cleric Elthina to prepare Cullen to take on the role as her direct successor and one that, for the most part, Meredith believes would follow in her footsteps.

Of course, being in command of the entire Templar Order (well, as likely subject to the Knights Divine, of course), would allow Meredith to implement the same regiment changes across all Circles under the Chantry's command. It would be one of those "with great power comes great responsibility" moments for Meredith, but I do believe with enough planning and thought, she would take it. Her hunger for power at some point would take over her desire to protect her home city, doing more than she ever could've imagined as that scared little girl.

edit: I realized I kind of contradicted myself so I'm amending this and referring to this headcanon for the bit about Viscount.

However, were she offered the position of Viscount - I think she would refuse. Her place in the context of Kirkwall is in the Templar Order. After all, enacting Martial Law and blocking an election, rather than necessarily claiming the throne for herself speaks volumes; she is playing the role without necessarily giving people genuine cause to call her a true tyrant or dictator. She remains in control of her templars, and uses this armed force to take control of the city-state without actually taking the title itself. She is not a politician, but she plays the game of politicking with what she has and what she is 'allowed' to do - but her interest is not to necessarily control Kirkwall. She is only interested in placing yet another puppet on the throne with the interests of the Chantry and Templar Order in mind, much like how she and Elthina threatened Dumar to allow them to do what Val Royeaux and the Chantry desire with regards to Kirkwall. So, if she was asked to become Viscount and to leave her station as Knight-Commander, she would refuse.

It is interesting to me the way that I believe Meredith would rather die than give up her current role to be placed on the throne as an established political leader. The idea of taking up an even more administrative position without the ability to have military-like power at her beck and call, as well as not having direct control over the mages of the Circle, is simply not in her interests. She has power enough in her role as Knight-Commander to dictate what happens to the mages (who she views as the most dangerous), that she wouldn't want to be the leader of the city-state and gain power in that sense. And lastly, she's seen what's happened to the past two Viscounts in her time! She wouldn't want to be on the throne in what she perceives to be a much weaker and unsafe position than she would be in the Gallows.

[nottheweirdest]

Why do you ship sonadow (I ask this in a way so I can hear your analysis on them ❤️)

Hi!! That's a great question and this might be too long of an answer but I tried to keep it reasonable! 😋 When I started shipping Sonadow I'd just gotten back into the fandom after some... idk... 20 years away. Netflix had added Sonic X (which I'd never seen) and I was like... ooo what's this, my favorite character from childhood!? Imma check this out! And I started watching it and then asked myself the age old question 'I wonder if there's fanfic of this?'

And sure enough....

I started with Sonamy fics until Shadow made an appearance in Sonic X. I had no idea who he was. I'd never heard of him before, but I was immediately swept up in his and Sonic's dynamic. The connection they had was deep and instantaneous. It didn't need words or confessions. There was just something there, some sort of inherent understanding. They understood each other in ways no one else ever could. They were equals, so evenly matched that they constantly pushed and challenged the other to be better, and when it really came down to it, they were there for each other. They fought, bickered, and taunted, but in the end they trusted each other, even with little to no reason to.

Sonic and Shadow don't hold back with each other. Each is exactly what they are in the other's presence. For others, they may be softer, more patient, more reserved, but with each other they don't have to alter themselves. Shadow can take what Sonic can give and vice versa. Shadow, for one, wouldn't want it any other way, in fact, he'd take it as an insult if it were. And for Sonic it's incredibly refreshing to be around someone who doesn't put him on a pedestal as a hero. Sonic's a worthwhile opponent, steadfast in his beliefs and understanding of what's right and wrong, and even though both of those things may irritate Shadow from time to time, he respects it.

In a nutshell, I ship them because each is what the other needs and what no one else could provide. They fit together, like yin and yang, and the amount of beauty in that balance in something that makes my writer heart very very happy. 🥰

[gingermintpepper]

What’s the significance of each color in Ancient Greece? So green is the only neutral color and it represents mostly natural and earthy things, thank you for telling me that part !! Anyway, as for my Hyacinthus design’s hair being brown, it’s due to the combination of it being a fairly common interpretation of his appearance and also because I find I like how it looks with his skin tone and the purple of his eyes.

Okay, firstly; thank you so much for answering my question too!

Admittedly you can't beat out good, old fashioned colour theory so that's completely fair haha! I still think it's very interesting that brown became the common interpretation of his features so I'm always glad to hear other people's view on it <3

With respect to what colours meant or symbolised in Ancient Greece, it's a super fascinating topic because the Ancient Greeks had a very different perception of colour than how a lot of people - and in this case I'll generalise and say english-speaking people - perceive colour. In a lot of languages, especially older ones, colour wasn't just a way to describe the physical perceptional reality of an observable object (that is, the light reflecting off the object that gives it its perceived hue - the way we perceive colour now) but colour was also used to describe the way in which the people experienced the world. A really good way to think about it is now, if you wanted to distinguish between two types of blue, you would instinctively make a distinction between their shades ("This blue is darker/lighter!") whereas these older people would distinguish based on things in their present, shared world that best matched what they were being asked to describe ("This blue is like the sky/the sea!")

That's an important concept to keep in mind because ancient greek was very unique in that, in addition to this concept of colour being completely intertwined with physical objects (and therefore also acquiring the properties of these objects in the minds of the people), the ancient greeks also did not particularly care about distinguishing between different colour hues (that is, differences in specific individual colour) but rather they were entirely focused on a colour's value - that is, whether it was considered light or dark.

Taking all of this into consideration, the question 'what is the significance of the different colours in Ancient Greece' is a bit of a tricky one to answer because unlike say, Ancient Egyptian which has very clear colours (red, white, green), very clear physical objects that give those colours their property (the desert sand, the sun, people's skin) and very clear symbolic meanings that arose from the natures ascribed to those physical objects due to their influence on the people's lives (hostility, power, new life), Ancient Greece's colours and the perception of those colours was much more abstract and poetic, contingent on their understandings and perceptions of things like light and dark, the sense of touch or taste (sweet and bitter/wet and dry) and what quality was ascribed to the object whose colour is being perceived. Colour was a matter of cosmology, of philosophy and there were many different schools of thought on it from Empedocles' physicalist theories to Anaxagoras' realist theories.

All of this is to say, take the meanings I outlined in this handy-dandy table with a tablespoon of salt! These are based on my understanding of the language used to describe things in classical writings that have survived and my own bias towards Empedocles' physicalist theory of colour and the nature of colour which I also think is very useful for people into greek mythology as a whole due to it making clear links between various gods creating things from mixtures of the four basic elements of nature and the colours that are the result of these mixtures.

I hope this helps even a little and I very much encourage you to do some research into different Greek schools of thought when it comes to colour and the perception of colour as well as how colour affects/reflects the innate nature of all things!

(Also, slight extra note, I left out Kokkinos (scarlet/blood-red) from the table because I didn't really think it was relevant for this outline despite it definitely being an ancient colour. It's a bit difficult to find examples of it with the kind of descriptors Empedocles outlines and I don't want to make assumptions based on third hand knowledge on the greek concept of the nature of things. I'd like to believe it was addressed in more detail in Empedocles' original document - only a fragment of the original some two thousand lines have survived after all - it is confirmed that Empedocles spoke on the recipe for blood and flesh, an equal mixture of all four elements as opposed to bones' four parts fire, two parts earth and two parts water (which is why bones shine white, there's more fire than earth or water) - and I don't want to conject or make assumptions.

I also left out Erythros or basic/primary red according to Plato's list of basic colours because that seemed to have specifically been preferred by Egyptian Greeks according to linguistic data. If I opened up that can of worms with respect to the shared Egyptian-Greek colour language including the way the Greeks like many early peoples did not culturally perceive blue until the invention of Egypt's blue dyes then I would be writing forever and you would never get an actual clear answer about Greek colour symbolism separate and apart from Egyptian cultural influence lmfao. )

A few of the documents that helped me consolidate this information include Sassi's 2022 Philosophical Theories of Colour in Ancient Greek Thought and Ierodiakonou's Empedocles on Colour and Colour Vision. There are also a fair few translations and discussions of the fragments of Empedocles' On Nature still floating about - my copy is a somewhat archaic volume of Leonard's 1908 translation but I never went out searching for updated interpretations and translations of the text since its constantly referenced in perceptional philosophy papers LOL

Anyway, yeah, hope this helps! :D

[goblinbugthing]

OKAY. 🌲, 🌾, and 💧 for Holly please :)

YEAH YEAH YEAH HOLLY MY WIFE MY LOVE BY BELOVED

🌲 - What is their greatest strength, and their greatest weakness?

OOOGh.

Holly’s greatest strength……. Probably their smarts. She’s pretty goddamn intelligent. They learned a LOT of stuff from the Radiance when they were sealed together, and Radi’s a 500 billion year old Goddess. That woman knows her stuff. She taught all she knew to Holly, so she also knows her stuff.

Their greatest weakness has gotta be how unreasonably trusting they are right out the gate. Both Hornet and Ghost have said on multiple occasions that her blind trust in everyone around her is gonna get her killed eventually. Happened with PK, it’ll happen again.

They always counter this by saying that they can directly sense ill intent, and negative emotions as a whole, thanks to their direct connection to Void, but that doesn’t necessarily keep them safe forever. People change, and sometimes, it’s really hard to get out of a situation that went from healthy to unhealthy.

🌾 - How do they get along with people they just met?

Usually pretty well! As I said before, she’s a very trusting person, and with her ability to sense ill intent/negativity, she can make close friends pretty quickly. That combined with their personality and status as a benevolent monarch generally makes them easy to befriend.

💧 - What are they most passionate about?

HISTORY. HOLLY LOVES HISTORY. History of Hallownest, history of other kingdoms, history of shit before bugs became sentient, history more ancient than the goddamn planet itself — she loves history with all her heart. They will jump at ANY chance they get to ramble.

We love that for her, honestly. Talk your shit girlie

[hollisartsblog]

holy fucking shit ive never found another hollis? 2) amazingg art fuck yeah

YESS ITS A FIRTS TIME FOR ME TOO!! sometimes i wish my name was more popular! also thank you very much🫡💗

[raspberrysmoon]

oh freak /pos all the way. ily lots <3333 /sib

oh hell yeah. one of the only opinions that matters to me. ilyttt hehe /sib :3

[ze-ppe-li]

These, THESE WILL MAKE U WALK NO MORE!!! WITHIN ONE ROUND

MOMO!!!! NAYEON!!! SEULGI!! JEONGYEON!! MOONBYUL!!

RYUJIN!! TZUYU!!! LISA!! ROSÉ!! IRENE!!! SANA!!! CHAERYEONG!!

YUQI!! SOYEON!! MINNIE!! YUJIN!! YUNJIN!! KAZUHA!!! JIU!!

DAMI!!! SIYEON!!!! SUA!!! GAHYEON!! WHEEIN!! KARINA!!

GISELLE!!

(i believe I'm forgetting others.....)

Momo, Ryujin and Yunjin would definitely make you pull a johnny joestar👀👀

[piningpercussionist]

busy this weekend? i’m looking to hit up the movies or something. few things look good. my treat.

- 🛼 (flowerspowers, super cool girl anon)

*Kim perks up, seeing the message from Ramona.*

Oh, hey! No, I'm not particularly busy... I mean, I've got an early shift on Saturday, but that place is perpetually dead- I could easily dip out towards the end, or sooner; they wouldn't miss me. Hollie owes me anyhow.

What kind of movie were you thinking? I have no clue what's out right now...

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

Jude seems like the person who would randomly come up to Cardan and say “kiss me you piece of shit” 💀💀💀

hmm canonically speaking, i'm not sure i really agree. not only does "piece of shit" not appear to be within the Faerie lexicon (their insults are much more creative), i can't think of a scenario in which Jude would sling around such heavy-handed insults before a romantic moment.

which isn't to say she doesn't get angry with Cardan. we all know she very probably does. i just don't think it's in her nature to mix anger/insults and romance.

when Jude is at her lowest low, when she is the angriest at Cardan she's ever been, the most she does is wheel around and slap him. she doesn't clock him, she doesn't tackle him to the ground or attempt strangulation. she doesn't even really use fighting words. it's a one-and-done slap, and it is certainly not a romantic moment.

Cardan on the other hand.... 👀 while "piece of shit" might not be something he'd actually say, he does canonically say "you're a dirty mortal liar" to Jude. which isn't exactly in a romantic moment, but is something i can very easily see being transposed onto one.

–Em 🖤🗡️

(p.s. if this was meant as a prompt for more writing, please tell me that explicitly in future asks! i might not agree with a canonical interpretation of this line, but that's not to say i wouldn't write something like this into a modern contemporary setting. this ask seemed like it could go either way, so an explicit request is very much preferred 🖤)

more theories and analysis

[heartofspells]

Hi ❤️✌️

May I inquire further about 'you'?

Of course you can! I think you're going to like this one (if i ever manage to finish it; we're staring down a very endless-looking barrel here help)

For those that have seen the Netflix show and are in The Know, yes it's based off that. If you haven't seen it...no big deal! I've changed things anyhow! But it's all very stalker Remus, trying to be good Remus, desperately in love (obsessed) Remus a la Joe Goldberg. And then we've got Sirius, who is perfect and flawless and can do no wrong whatsoever (lies) a la Love Quinn (you know, with the family and the money and the working for a living and the SUPER co-dependent relationship with her brother (James)). There is stalking (duh) and spying and Inner Monologues and manipulation and Murder along with Creative Body Disposal.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but for those that are interested, I cannot WAIT to share it. This is becoming my new baby (co-parented by @narcissa-black-supermacy because she said so).

"Worst decision of my life," remarks Benjy, working his crossword again, but he smiles, and Remus is forced to admit that it lightens him. For the first time, Remus feels like he's catching a small glimpse of what Sirius sees in the other man, his friend, there by his side, filled with a deeply ingrained camaraderie built from years of a forming and solidifying relationship, no matter what infatuations might stand directly behind its walls.

Sirius huffs out a laugh. "And if I ever believe that, I'll eat my right foot. I'll even carve your name into it."

"Oh, well," murmurs Benjy, eyes flickering up to Sirius, "I was going to say that's going overboard, but if you're going to brand me with your name, by all means."

And just like that, so instantly it twists his stomach, Remus is restraining himself from ripping Benjy's lips from his mouth as it spreads into a leading smirk. Sourness bubbles inside of him as Sirius continues talking, not acknowledging the expression on his friend's face, Remus no longer hearing his words.

You'd like that, wouldn't you? Having him branded into your skin, or better yet, you branded into him so that everyone will know he's yours. You're just sick enough to do it, too. You'd look down your nose at anyone else who even thought of doing such a thing, but you'd carve those letters into his flesh, tattoo him in the empty spaces he still has, but I won't let you. He's mine, Fenwick, and he's perfect as he is. I wouldn't need the proof of claim to know that, and I'd never worry about anyone else taking him from me. He'll never want to leave me, whereas you'd bore him to tears in no less than three hours.

"…and Reg was always adamant about it, no matter how well he convinced everyone else to the contrary, so I count that as a win in the book of Black." Sirius is still speaking, jostling Remus from his thoughts as he shifts in his chair, gaze sliding over Remus, his mouth quirking upwards. "You just did it again," he announces. "What is that, the drifting? You're like James. He's got focus problems, too, but his is a bit different. He doesn't tune out; just jumps when you're not expecting it. Bit jarring until you get used to it."

Oh, great. Potter again. So much for escaping him, but at least he's apparently missing lunch this afternoon. It's better than nothing, and I'll take what I can get.

[hollypies]

Slides in!!!!

hi hi!!!!

hey hey do you like this style of art

because we've been doing art like this more and kinda wanna do art of your rw ocs like this but also if you don't like it: we don't wanna force a style you don't like on you

OOOONO THESE ARE GORGEOUS!!! I actually use a style like this sometimes when I do warm up doodles!!! It so so cool to look at and I love the way you all used a faded type brush!! Eating these!! Also that iterator is so pog . So swag!

Kissing you all on the head /platonic!!!!!