behemoth-v

[behemoth-v]

Lamia and the Soldier (1905)

"Lamia and the Solider", painted in 1905 (oil on canvas), by John William Waterhouse. Now sits in a private collection in London.

one of my favourite works by waterhouse is “lamia and the soldier”, and in my opinion, it’s a staple of the pre-raphaelite movement. early in his career, waterhouse painted graeco-roman scenes in the smooth, sunlit manner of alma-tadema. but as his style matured, he fell (irrevocably) under the spell of the pre-raphaelites, drawn especially to the arthurian romances adored by poets like lord alfred tennyson. lamia, however, looks elsewhere for its origins: back to ancient greece, and to john keats’s 1820 poem of the same name.

keats’s lamia is set during “moth-time” (aka, dusk), that shadowed, trembling cusp of evening when reality frays. a young charioteer hears a soft, beguiling voice calling him. the source? a maiden more beautiful than any he’s known. he falls helplessly in love. but the reader knows what he does not: this exquisite girl is no girl at all. she is a lamia, a monstrous, half-serpent phantom who has shed her true form to seduce him. and when he learns the truth, when the illusion breaks, it destroys them both.

waterhouse’s canvas distills that fatal moment: the calm before the unraveling.

the young soldier stands in full gleaming armour, every inch the noble knight, helmet and sword discarded in indiscretion. he looks down on her, not with disdain, but with a profound mixture of curiosity, wariness, and tenderness. he is drawn to her, but also perhaps aware, on some instinctive level, that she is not what she seems. and below him she kneels, barefoot and golden-limbed, draped in a soft rose gown that slips from her shoulders. one of her hands rests gently on his arm-plate, the other clasps his hand with reverent intimacy.

what first appears to be a scarf coiled around her waist reveals itself as something else—a serpent’s tail, trailing onto the mossy ground. peacock-hued and glimmering, it evokes keats’s line: “a woman’s mouth with all its pearls and blushes, / and a serpent’s tail of mottled hues and rushes.” the moulted skin at her feet, glistening with oily iridescence, is the only clue to her true nature. it is not overt, but it is undeniable. she is not human. she is the predator, in disguise.

she may love him. she may kill him. likely, she means to do both.

in the older greek myths, lamia was a queen turned child-devourer by hera’s wrath, twisted into something monstrous. over time, she became a type rather than a name: the lamiai (λάμιαι) - phantoms who seduced young men before feasting on their flesh. they blurred into the empusai, vampiric, shape-shifting women who used sex as both lure and weapon. in this painting, waterhouse doesn’t render lamia as a beast, but as a vision so lovely it aches. this is what makes the painting terrifying: she does not look like a threat. she looks like an angel.

as always, requests, inquiries, or discussions welcome!

[behemoth-v]

Looking for MXM, mature, literate 21+ long term discord writing partner. I exclusively write/am interested in writing with male characters that are over the age of 30. No teens, no young adults, no younger/older dynamics. A mature couple of men that have grit, depth and experience..

Hey, all. My name is Bishop, 25 years old Male, Midwestern American, Central Standard Time. Replies can fluctuate between 5-8 paragraphs depending upon the scenario.

Long term slow-burn friends, enemies or strangers into lovers. A good mixture of Action and Slice of Life, obviously with more emphasis on Action, but those slice of life moments that make the characters feel all the more genuine.

I’m into medieval, greek/norse mythos, wild westerns, cyberpunk, futuristic, steampunk, fantasy, utopia, dystopia, apocalypse, superheroes, wizards, werewolves and vampires, intergalactic, 80's, 90's early 2000's and more.

Explicit/intimate content is important, however it won’t be the central focus of our plots and should happen as frequently as it would in a mature themed television series. In terms of roles or labels, I consider them interchangeable between characters as I don’t like sticking titles like top/bottom, sub/dom on characters.

I love sharing concepts of aesthetics with word building and what our characters would wear/live at. Their pets, headcanoning their thought processes, etc

My ideal partner is someone with an eye for detail and subtleties and a good amount of general writing experience. My starters and replies can be lengthy, but I don’t intend for that to be a reflection of my expectations. I expect you to do what you can or can imagine. Quality over quantity, write how you envision the scene going, describe what you want, but don’t try to overcompensate for length by forcing yourself to describe how the patches of grass sway with the wind or anything like that.

One plot I have in mind: A valiant, powerful knight is tasked with escorting a dangerous prisoner across a far off land to the place where he will be charged and likely killed for his crimes. What will unfold between them in the duration of their travels? All sorts of challenges threaten their ability to make it. All sorts.

Dialogue to me is just as important as descriptions so I try within my best efforts to capture what my character would say or how they’d say it. If we’re in a scene where there’s conversation happening but not a lot of movement or change in the setting, let’s give each other a chance to let our characters have a back and forth instead of closing off the conversation after two replies.

For faceclaims, I very clearly have a type. I generally use actors such as Chris Evans, Henry Cavill, Jensen Ackles, Pedro Pascal, Jefferey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace, etc. I won’t try to make you use a certain faceclaim, but I won’t lie and say that physical appearance doesn’t matter to me. Just needs to be someone a bit aged and good looking, you know?-

Well, that’s all I have for now, if you’re interested, feel free to like the post and I’ll shoot you a message.