#<- of ambiguous flavour

[originalartblog]

(continued under the cut ↓)

did you hear about my amazing propaganda yet

[saym0-0]

hello jmart is t4t martin is no op jon is post top surgery. just letting u know. they told me themselves.

[total-drama-brainrot]

actually i despise the way that, out of all of the potential characters my brain chose to fixate on out of this show, the queercoded embodiment of gifted kid burnout was the one it settled on.

not the girlboss mean girls ripoff. not the perfectionist overachiever with control issues. not the overconfident over-competent manipulator. not THE goth girl artistic activist of the 2000s. you know, literally any of the characters with things like screen time or character development (read: character regression)

[airbrushfather]

today in danny's deed poll adventures. i am fairly confident with making the thing and i even (begrudgingly as FUCK) have sourced some legit enough paper to print it on. but now i am realising. what the fuck is my name.

[formshaper]

for the record: i usually call lucien(ne) just 'lucien' in threads (unless it's WITH an actual lucien/lucienne) and leave their pronouns as they/them (unless i'm feeling PARTICULARLY comics-inspired where i'll go with he/him, or show-inspired where i'll use she/her), but like. i consider show+comics lucien(ne) to be the same character and tbh i think they could've just kept her name as lucien and kept the she/her pronouns and it would've been just fine SO.

[akaashism]

some cigarettes after sex songs have no right being so sakuatsu. case in point: k and touch.

[daimaoryu]

i hope aether is the non-abyss twin i want more actual protag aether 😔

[teyvat-writer]

I know you didn't asked for this, but here

Yes,,,, YES

I must say, your writing style has improved from what I've seen in the past. I don't mean to sound patronizing or anything, I'm serious this is some good shit.

[corviiids]

questions to answer about your tav that have nothing to do with baldur's gate at all and are dubiously set in some ambiguously modern period

(you can also answer these questions about unrelated non-baldur's gate OCs if you want because it is a free world that we live in)

what smiley face would they use the most if they had a phone

regular morning beverage (and snack) order

how lactose intolerant are they and if they were lactose intolerant would this stop them from consuming lactose products

if they went to a modern day university what would they get their bachelor's in and do they enjoy it

instrument they wish they could play but can't

hobby or interest they are most embarrassed about

do they watch free-to-air tv

do they collect anything and what is it

do they prefer sweet or savoury foods

what are they allergic to

story of their first kiss (if applicable)

if they were at a corporate or school-sanctioned group bonding event and someone asked them to say one fun fact about themself what workplace appropriate fact would they choose

signature perfume (you can name a real perfume or just name some fragrance notes)

how late do they leave their gift shopping before birthdays / christmas / any other event where gift-giving is required

what mundane human job would they have in modern society to pay the bills and do they like it

given a bag of fruit-flavoured candies which fruit flavour of candy is their favourite and which one do they vehemently dislike

pick a random mild injury illness or miscellaneous ailment for them to consistently or periodically struggle with (e.g. bad knee, hay fever, bad acne). or don't

everyday task they must do but struggle with or simply hate

their top 3 songs on repeat

preferred adhesive item for general use (e.g. gluestick, sticky tape, blu tack)

do they use duolingo and what's their longest streak

social media platform of choice, if any

what material do they prefer for their coasters

how do they close their emails

how do they address groups of people in group chats or in person

favourite farm animal. (has to be an animal found on a farm)

name a toxic trait of theirs that is really just a beige flag at best

movie snack, if applicable

if you dared them on the spot to get a tattoo and they're not allowed to think about it what would be the first thing that came to their mind

if you met them, you the human person reading this, would you get along

[yardsards]

toshiro's existence in the setting of dungeon meshi is kind of funny to me

like, it's a common thing for fantasy settings to be Vaguely Ambiguously Medieval European Flavoured. and it's just generally kind of assumed that the whole world of the setting is flavoured like that.

but logically, it makes more sense for that flavour to NOT be the case throughout the entire fantasy world. like irl, medieval europe was generally confined to that one continent. in the rest of the world, shit like the mayan empire and song dynasty and the empire of ghana were going on.

so it makes sense for fantasy feudal japan to exist in the same world as fantasy medieval europe, just like how they existed simultaneously in real life. and it makes sense for the two cultures to have some cross-contact.

but it is not something i am used to seeing together in fantasy at all. and so seeing a samurai fighting side by side with a knight feels just delightfully absurd despite it making perfect logical sense

[witchthewriter]

𝐒𝐦𝐮𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰/ 𝐑𝐡𝐞𝐚 𝐑𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐲

⤷ gender neutral, ambiguous race, and any size reader. Requests are open, thank you for reading!

a/n: all characters over the age of 18. Also, this post is for those over the age of 18!🔞

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ

𝑁𝑆𝐹𝑊 🔞

𝐴 = 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 (𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑥)

Rhea, or Mami, as you sometimes like to call her, has the same aftercare every time you have sex at home. After ravaging you utter and completely, she asks you how tired you are (which means she can run a shower, a bath or if you just want to be wiped with a warm flannel).

When you want a shower, Mami will light a few candles and make sure the water is running nice and warm for you. She'll hand you a wash cloth and ask if you want company or not.

If you want a bath, it usually means you want a bath with her. So, she puts in your favourite smelling bath bombs, or oils - whatever you prefer, and lights a lot of candles so you don't have to use the bathroom light. She has soft music playing, so you can lean against her.

And if you're too tired, she'll bring over a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth, to wipe you down everywhere. Making sure you feel cleaner.

𝐵 = 𝐵𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 (𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟’𝑠)

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟:

Her biceps; she worked really hard on them, but also her stretched ears (she worked really hard on them as well). Oh and her tattoos, honestly, she likes a lot about herself. That's one reason why she's so confident...

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:

...Everything. She finds everything about you so sexy. The sound of your voice, the way you walk, your hands, the shampoo you use, the colour of your eyes, the way you look when you're concentrating so hard.

𝐶 = 𝐶𝑢𝑚 (𝐴𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑢𝑚)

Mami likes it when you cum in your underwear and she can take them with her. Especially when she's away, she'll bring them out and smell them while she plays with herself.

When you're together, she always loves to taste your cum. It's her favourite flavour.

𝐷 = 𝐷𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 (𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦, 𝑎 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑠)

You've both talked about your fantasies, and one of Rhea's is that she wants to fuck in the ring. She has wrestling sex fantasies where you're both in the ring and fighting/fucking.

𝐸 = 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦? 𝐷𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔?)

Mami knows what she's doing. Even if she doesn't, she'd never let you know. It's always fake it til you make it, and for you, she always wants to put on her best face - make you feel like you're in safe hands.

For the majority of it, she knows what she's doing. She's experimented with men and women, as well as transgender men and women.

𝐹 = 𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔.)

She likes cowgirl, seeing you on top of her. Looking into your face, seeing your pretty expressions as you grind against one another. She also likes it so she can grab your ass and pull your hair.

𝐺 = 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑓𝑦 (𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑠, 𝑒𝑡𝑐)

Humorous at first; getting you riled up in mischevious ways - getting you smiling yet horny at the same time. And then when you start to become breathlesss, when you start to wriggle and squirm, then she becomes more and more serious.

𝐻 = 𝐻𝑎𝑖𝑟 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦, 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑠, 𝑒𝑡𝑐.)

She's completey groomed - Mami waxes everything. It's for compeititons/matches. With the costumes being so short and tight, she has to.

𝐼 = 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑐𝑦 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡…)

Rhea is very loving, she's hands-on, wanting to touch you everywhere. Mami feels like she can't get enough of you, like she needs to feel you, every part of you. She loves you, and wants to have her smell all over you, and all of you over her. It's an animalistic feeling.

𝐽 = 𝐽𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑂𝑓𝑓 (𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛)

Nearly every night, or every second night. She has a lot of energy, and usually just masturbates for like an hour. It's more to kill time then anything. But she does think of you to jack off. She can't finish unless it's your face in her mind, well - your face and body... doing very naughty things.

𝐾 = 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑘 (𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠)

Mami lovess nipple play; pulling, pinching, sucking and biting. This kink is her own, and loves when she lays down and you just start sucking on her nipples, playing with them.

Rhea also likes wearing a dildo, especially this really girthy, large one. If she had a cock, it's exactly what it would look like. She likes when you suck it, and use it exactly as if it was a real cock.

Others include:

Using a blindfold

Handcuffs

Bondage

Spanking

Spitting

Edging

Dom/Sub

Praise kink

Mutual masturbation

𝐿 = 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜)

At home, in the shower, in the bath, on the floor in the bedroom, on the kitchen bench, on the dining room table, the couch. Anywhere is here favourite.

𝑀 = 𝑀𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑜𝑛, 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔)

Hearing you whimper, watching you walk by without any pants on, when you suck on a lollipop, when you just come out of the shower and only have a towel on, when you're sweaty, when you're cleaning, when you've just woken up. There's too many ways to get Rhea going, it just has to be revolved around you - and she's ready to go.

𝑁 = 𝑁𝑂 (𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑑𝑜, 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑠)

Threesomes, or letting anyone else see you as she gets to. Mami is VERY possessive over you. She doesn't like others seeing your body. That might shock you, but Mami doesn't want anyone else. She isn't interested in anyone but you.

𝑂 = 𝑂𝑟𝑎𝑙 (𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙, 𝑒𝑡𝑐)

Complete 50/50. Both giving and receiving, because Mami is great at giving head, completely amazing at it. But you also like to please your Mami. You want to make her happy. So, you make sure that she'll never experience anything better.

𝑃 = 𝑃𝑎𝑐𝑒 (𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ? 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙? 𝑒𝑡𝑐.)

All of the above. Because once again, it depends.

If she's been apart from you, then Mami is fast and rough - trying to get all of you at once, kissing and biting because she hasn't been able to.

But if she's been at home and wants to treat you, then she's sensual and slow. Romantic - sweeping you off your feet. Making you feel treasured.

𝑄 = 𝑄𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑒 (𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑥, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑛, 𝑒𝑡𝑐.)

Rhea prefers proper sex than quickies. She wants both of you to be satisfied. And if you don't have time for proper sex, then she'll wait until she has the time to sweep you off your feet. (side note: she's also very romantic, so that ties into it).

𝑅 = 𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 (𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑠, 𝑒𝑡𝑐.)

You actually have a sex bucket list! That's one of the reasons why you guys have such a packed drawer full of sex toys. But you can also find different kinds of lube in there, costumes, etc.

𝑆 = 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡…)

Depends.

After working out; three times. After a match (that she's won) five times. After a match that she's lost only once (and you're the one to initiate).

If it's her day off, then you could go three times morning, lunch and dinner. She can go for a long time as well. She really likes building up the pressure.

𝑇 = 𝑇𝑜𝑦 (𝐷𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑜𝑦𝑠? 𝐷𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ��𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚? 𝑂𝑛 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠?)

YES? OF COURSE SHE DOES! What a stupid question. There's a whole drawer full of different coloured dildos, butt plugs, nipple clamps, hand-cuffs, whips, paddles.

She actually laughed at the 50 Shades of Grey movie.

Mami likes to use a dildo on you, but she really likes nipple clamps on her. Doing that together causes a whirlwind of moans and cries.

𝑈 = 𝑈𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑟 (ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒)

She loVES to tease you, but as soon as you tease her, she can't handle it. It's like a short circiut in her brain. She can dish it but can't take it.

Rhea loves making you call her Mami, and moan as loud as you can. It's very gratifying for her.

Lightly touching you; especially in public. For example, pressing against your back and wrapping an arm around your waist. Or quickly kissing your neck.

She'll pick up your hand and kiss your palm and wrist. Her hot breath an overwhelming feeling.

𝑉 = 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒)

She doesn't make a lot of loud noises, but Rhea does have these beautiful moans that sound like actual heaven. On the flip side, she also has these animalistic grunts and snarls; both turn you on. How couldn't they? It all depends whether she's pleasuring you or you're giving her pleasure.

𝑊 = 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑑 (𝐺𝑒𝑡 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒)

Likes to leave black lipstick marks all over your face before events. Commentators have said how they see the marks going down your neck and ... then they had the opponent thrown at the commentators table.

𝑋 = 𝑋-𝑅𝑎𝑦 (𝐿𝑒𝑡’𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠)

Rhea is very muscled and toned. Big, strong shoulders, thick biceps, big hands and long fingers. She's got a six pack and a firm ass. Rhea looks like an actual fighter.

𝑌 = 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝐻𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑥 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒?)

Quite a high sex drive, she gets a thrill from dominating others. But she also loves to be dominated (but somehow all the while it feels like she's still in control some how). But she's into quality over quantity; if she can get out her energy in a productive way during sex, then her drive lessens greatly. But if you've been apart from each other for a long time then she's immediately going to jump you as soon as she sees you.

𝑍 = 𝑍𝑍𝑍 (… ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠)

She takes a while to drift off - especially if she's had a restful day. But if it's after a match she's out like a light. You'll be in the middle of a conversation and then just start hearing this snoring coming from your left side and you roll your eyes. (It's a canon event)

[aspoonofsugar]

Neo's Hecate = The Triple Goddess

Trivia is the Roman name of Hecate, Goddess of witchcraft, crossroads and ghosts. Neopolitan is Roman's Hecate, so her birth name is Trivia. Is that really all there is?

Obviously not. Or at least, Neo's allusion to Hecate can be read in multiple ways. Sure, it might have been an unplanned reference, but by this point (either willingly or not) Neopolitan has grown into Hecate's role. So, let's analyze ice-cream's girl allusion to better understand her story, with a focus on volume 9.

WHO IS HECATE?

Hecate is a Greek Goddes, who is later adopted by the Romans with the name of Trivia. Her origin is probably more ancient than Greek culture, though. In short, she is a foreign deity, who gets integrated into Greek religion. Similarly, Neopolitan is an unplanned character shoved into the narrative. However, she finds her place in the story and grows into herself.

Here are some of Hecate's most famous attributes.

Hecate is the Goddess of crossroads and magic. In particular, she is the master of darkness and the queen of ghosts to the point she is linked to nechromancy. She also rules over demons called Empusas, who are half woman and half beast (either a cow or a dog usually). They eat human blood and are linked to fire. Finally, Hecate is a psychopomp deity (like Hermes/Mercury), so she moves freely among Earth (human world), Olympus (world of the gods) and Hades (world of the deads).

Hecate is often depicted with three bodies and three heads:

She holds torches and keys, which are symbolic of her ability to guide people in the underworld and to travel among dimensions. Sometimes, she can appear as a dog, which is her sacred animal.

Hecate is one of the Goddesses associated to the moon. In particular, she is the falling moon to Artemis's crescent moon and Selene's full moon. According to other traditions, she is a part of Artemis/Diana. This Goddess is the Moon in the Sky, Artemis on Earth and Hecate in the Underworld. Whatever the case, both Artemis and Hecate have a triple nature to them.

This triple nature makes Hecate an example of Triple Goddess in modern Neopagan religions. The Triple Goddess is the archetype of a female deity linked to the three phases of a woman's life. Youth (Maiden), Maturity (Mother) and Old Age (Crone). Her male counterpart is the Horned God.

As you see, Hecate is hard to define. Just like Neo. Both are ambiguous and difficult to grasp. Still, let's try to understand ice-cream girl better by using this mysterious Goddess. Let's focus on three things (obviously :P):

Hecate's link to the number 3 and how it is used in Neo's story

Hecate and Artemis's bond and how it mirrors Neo and Ruby's

Hecate's imagery and attributes and what they mean for Neo

The first is an analysis of Neo's interiority (microchosm). The second explains Neo's role in the story (macrochosm). The third offers a synthesis and a conclusion (balance).

RULE OF THREE (MICROCHOSM)

Hecate is known for her three heads and three bodies. Neo is a normal human, but the number 3 still comes up in her design:

Pink, white and brown. Strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The three flavours of the Neapolitan ice cream. The three sides of Neo's self:

We are ruled by thirds. In fashion we compare no more than three colors. Our personalities are defined by the id, the ego and the super-ego- always warring vying for control. But our goal is harmony. Balance. (Roman Holiday, chapter 13)

According to Freud, the human mind is made of three parts. The id is where fear and wishes lie. It is a primitive and instinctive force. The superego is society’s expectations. It is where morality and ideals are. The ego is what balances the other two parts. It mediates between wishes and duties.

As per Roman Holiday, Neo is a combination of Neopolitan (pink), Vanille (white) and Trivia (brown). So, Neo's color scheme is a metaphorical representation of id, superego and ego:

Pink represents the id - Neopolitan is Trivia's pink imaginary friend. She embodies everything the child is forced to repress, like her pink eye and her wish for freedom.

White represents the superego - Vanille is Trivia's surname and a shade of white. The Vanilles want their daughter to fit into society and despise her disability, which makes her "odd".

Brown represents the ego - Trivia has brown hair, wears brown clothes and a brown contact lens. She is conflicted between her parents' expectations and her own wishes.

In her childhood, Trivia is unbalanced because her family forces her to repress her id. She cancels her pink side and projects it on her imaginary friend Neopolitan. So, Trivia undergoes a transformation and claims this part of herself back:

As the old saying went, “You can’t put the moon back together”. At times you had to destroy something to make something even better in its place. When Mama had shattered Neopolitan in front of their burning house, Trivia finally understood that she had been broken all along. Losing her friend was Trivia’s first step toward putting herself back together and embracing her true, best self. (Roman Holiday, chapter 11)

She re-arranges herself and her three parts:

Pink becomes the color of Neo's ego (her truest self). She stops hiding her eye and dyes half of her hair pink. Similarly, she embraces her Neopolitan persona more.

Brown becomes the color of the superego. It is a color linked to Neo's female authority figures like her mother (Carmel) and her teacher (Beatrix Browning). It is still present in Neo's color scheme, but much reduced. Similarly, Trivia is still there, but feels more like a mask than Neo's real self.

White becomes the color of the id. It is the color of Neo's family name, which she sheds. However, Neo still loves her parents, so her semblance dyes a lock of her hair white as an unconscious response to their death.

Roman Holiday is the story of Trivia Vanille's death and Neopolitan's birth:

As far as she was concerned, Trivia Vanille was buried under that mess, too. Neopolitan was the sole survivor. (Roman Holiday, chapter 26)

Neo leaves behind her parents and their strict rules to become a living manifestation of the id:

She just wanted to do whatever she wanted. And for the moment, what she wanted was to help Roman set the world on fire. (Roman Holiday, chapter 26)

Neopolitan does whatever she wants, even if it hurts others. She embraces her deepest wishes and chaotic emotions. This is the character we meet at the beginning of RWBY.

Well, Neo's arc in the series is to discard this person and to become someone new once again. After all, Neopolitan's name is linked to renewal and transformation. "Neopolitan" comes from Naples, which means "new city" (neo + polis). Naples's fantastic origin itself is a story of death and rebirth. According to the legend, this Italian city is born from a Siren, who dies for love. Her body transforms into the city and gives new life.

Similarly, Neo is a character able to be reborn countless times (neo = new + poly= many). So is Hecate, whose name may refer to the Greek number 100, as the Goddess is said to have one-hundred forms.

Our Neo/Hecate is then a multifaceted force, who goes through destruction just to embrace creation.

Neo's change in the series starts with a loss:

She loses both Roman and her inner balance:

There was one thing To help escape the misery And now it's all disarrayed You took my whole life away You sent me back to nothing Now you'll pay

So, she needs to rebuild herself once again:

We must live with balance But balance is blind (Lost her world) Vengeance is a riptide In a fairy tale, she'll find Inside A new me, I'm ready But who will I find? Inside I've gotta let go but could I lose my mind?

Volume 9 is where this inner transformation takes place. This time the new found harmony among id, superego and ego is not described by Neo's three colors. Rather, allusions are used.

In the Ever After, Neo is associated to three different Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass characters:

The Hatter, who represents the id

The Cheshire Cat, who represents the superego

The Jabberwocky, who represents the ego

THE HATTER - THE ID

“Well, I'd hardly finished the first verse," said the Hatter, "when the Queen bawled out 'He's murdering the time! Off with his head!'" "How dreadfully savage!" exclaimed Alice. "and ever since that," the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, "he wo'n't do a thing I ask! It's always six o'clock now.”

The Hatter is a Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass character. He is famous for the Mad Tea Party, where he, the March Hare and the Dormouse chat with Alice. The original book reveals that the Hatter "killed time" while singing, so Time refuses to run normally for him and his friends. As a result, they are stuck in an eternal tea-party, as it is always tea-time for them. In the 1951 Disney movie, instead, he celebrates Alice's unbirthday.

Neopolitan has been stuck in time since Roman's death. She can't move on, so she focuses all her energies on revenge:

So close to closure The one thing you need Underneath a monument with a dedicated plea

Killing Ruby becomes Neo's One Thing to the point she organizes a special tea party of her own:

Ruby's unbirthday party, to be precise:

Cinder: And you… should have never been born…

Where she can dissolve Little Red in a cup, as if she were a sugar cube:

Kill for kill Eye for eye Blood for blood It's time to die Retribution tastes so sweet

The Hatter is a hostage in his tea party and Neo is a prisoner of her revenge. Both are consumed by their inability to go on. Both have killed time and can't face their future.

In Neo's case, the reason why she murders time is pretty clear. It is a coping mechanism to avoid grief:

In Wonderland, the Hatter can drink tea at every hour. In her fantasy world, Neo can stay with Roman forever:

Neo-Roman: Y’know once Neo realized where she was, everything changed. Always loved the idea of a place to run away from it all. Do whatever you want. I offered that to her back on Remnant.

This is also why the first thing Neo does after landing in the Ever After is to evolve Overactive Imagination and to kill the Jabberwalker:

The creature is symbolic of death, as they kill Afterans permanently. So, Neo metaphorically negates her grief (the Jabberwalker) through illusions (her semblance).

At the same time, Neo enters the Ever After and gives in to her id. She has her desires and instincts control her completely. She loses all filters:

(Then suddenly) Scratched through the surface And you've found a key Unlocking what you thought was safe inside a box But it's somehow been set free (Finally)

Overactive Imagination's evolution is a physical representation of this psychological process. Neo spirals throughout Mistral and Atlas, but in volume 9 she hits rock bottom and stops acting rationally. She becomes the incarnation of her anger, which manifests through her semblance. Her illusions are typically silent. However, in the Ever After they speak, as Neo is letting her inner voices out of the box:

Say something real Do you only speak in riddles, chatterbox? I'm waiting for your ugly mouth to spit it out

This is why she becomes a chatterbox. She tries to communicate through her creations.

In particular, she makes an imaginary Roman (the Hatter), who looks and sounds like the real deal. He becomes the dominant voice in Neo's mind and speaks to and for her. His presence highlights Neo's inability to accept Roman's death. She hides in a lie. Just like Trivia used to cower behind her imaginary friend Neopolitan. As a child, Trivia can't accept Neo is a part of her. As an adult, Neo can't accept Roman isn't with her anymore. In this way, Neo's first real human connection gets reduced to an imaginary friend. This is the tragedy of Neo's adventure in the Ever After.

All happens because Neo surrenders herself to the id (her inner world). Still, it can't last forever. The id is a powerful source of energy and drive, but it is also destructive. So, Neo self-consumes until she has nothing left:

Neo-Roman: (voice in Neo’s head) You’ve finally done it! Little Red’s gone. With your Semblance stronger than ever now, we can take over this whole absurd place! Why not? Offing Little Red can’t be all you wanted… Right?

She puts so much into destroying Ruby, that she ends up empty. A vessel for others to take advantage of.

Curious Cat: You’ve lost something most important, haven’t you? And now you have nothing left. How delightful! An empty host, perfect for me to fill.

THE CHESHIRE CAT - THE SUPEREGO

The Cheshire Cat appears twice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The first time, he guides Alice at a crossroad and points her towards the March Hare's house. The second time, he appears at the Queen of Heart's croquet game as a giant head. The Queen and King are offended by his presence and want to behead him. Still, he is a head without a body, so the execution of this death sentence is complicated. Eventually, he simply fades away and disappears.

The character is inspired by the saying "grinning like a Cheshire Cat", whose origin is unknown. Among the many hypothesis, there is one about a grinning cat-shaped cheese. The cheese was cut from the tail, so that the last part eaten was the head of the smiling cat.

In RWBY, the character who alludes to the Cheshire Cat is not Neo, but the Curious Cat. Still, Neo and the Cat's stories are intertwined, as they destroy each other. The Cat possesses Neo and Neo kills the Cat.

Both characters eat and get eaten. They eat like the two wolves of Ruby's Little Red Riding Hood. They get eaten like the cat-shaped cheese, until only a floating head remains. A head separated from the body. A mind detached from reality:

“We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” “How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice. “You must be,” said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Neo and the Cat are mad, so they meet in the Ever After. However, their madnesses are opposite:

Neo loses herself in fantasy (the Ever After) and runs away from the real world (Remnant). She lets her unconscious feelings (id) run wild.

The Curious Cat is trapped in fantasy (the Ever After) and wants to reach the real world (Remnant). They are consumed by an imposed purpose (superego):

Curious Cat: I’m not like the other Afterans here, I’m cursed with curiosity. I need to know everything!

Blacksmith: A terrible thing to have a broken heart… And there’s nobody to send them (the Cat) back to the Tree for repair.

So, Neo and the Cat are foils, which is why they share the song Chatterbox. Both blabber non-stop. However, Neo's illusions speak her truest self. The Curious Cat instead uses smart words to hide their real intentions. Neo shows her inner beast (the shadow), while the Cat wears a mask (persona). So, Neo is the embodyment of the id and the Cat is her estranged superego. They are an external force, who comes and takes control of Neo's life:

The possession is a metaphor of Neo's state of mind. She goes from moving many characters around to becoming a controlled puppet. From shouting to radio silence. This switch is conveyed through the Curious Cat speaking through and for her.

This is Neo's nightmare, as her life is a struggle to be heard. Among other things, Neo refuses devices that make her sound robotic. She dislikes artificial voices because they sound fake to her. And yet, the Curious Cat forces Neo to speak their words. The Cat becomes Neo's new voice.

This is the result of Neo losing her inner drive:

NeoCat: She has no attachments to your world. Nothing to return to.

She is left with no wishes nor fears. She is a living id, who transforms into a walking superego. However, both extremes are wrong. A person is made of both her id and her superego. Both parts are needed to make an individual, which is why Neo is asked to face herself once more:

The Tree has the girl confront the pain and grief she has been ignoring. And yet, these feelings are what saves her:

NeoCat: No! These cracks, these feelings! I can’t… I can’t!!!

Thanks to them Neo gets back in control of her life. Symbolically, the Jabberwalker she kills in the beginning appears to finish the Cat off:

In this way, the cycle is complete and Neo's ego can finally surface.

JABBERWOCKY - THE EGO

Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

The Jabberwocky is a nonsense poem Alice finds in Through The Looking Glass. She initially can't read it, but then she realizes the verses are written in mirror-writing. She holds a mirror to the text and the poem appears. Despite being able to read it, though, Alice can't understand it:

"It seems very pretty," she said when she had finished it, "but it's rather hard to understand!" (You see she didn't like to confess, even to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.) "Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don't exactly know what they are! However, somebody killed something: that's clear, at any rate."

The poem conveys two main ideas:

It tells about a slaughter:

He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back.

It is impossible to understand, as it is full of gibberish and invented words

This is true for RWBY's Jabberwalker, as well:

They embody death, as Afterans killed by this creature are negated ascension

They jabber as they walk, which is why they fail to communicate with others

How does this relate to Neo? She kills the Jabberwalker, but assimilates them in her illusions. This happens because the creature is Neo's mirror. They reflect our Hecate in the making.

The Jabberwalker is a monster of grief who dies unheard:

Jabberwalker: Stop… It… Cease! No! NO! NOOOOOO!

Neo is a villain whose grief stays unrecognized:

Ruby: If you’re looking for an apology, you’ve wasted your time!

Not only by others, but by Neo too. She kills a part of herself in the Jabberwalker. Her most vulnerable and real part, that wants to communicate:

Say something real Do you only speak in riddles, chatterbox? I'm waiting for your ugly mouth to Say something real Do you only speak in riddles, chatterbox? I'm waiting on your ugly mouth to spit it out

She is a chatterbox that screams, but is not listened to. She can't talk, then she gains the ability to speak through her semblance. And yet, she can only be heard. Never understood. Similarly, Alice eventually learns how to read the Jabberwocky poem, but doesn't comprehend it.

This is why the Chatterbox song is so mysterious. Is it about Neo? The Cat? Both? Who sings what? Are they singing to each other? Or is it Ruby singing to them? It is impossible to say, just like it is impossible to grasp the full meaning of the Jabberwocky.

So, this song is about Neo and the Cat, but plays while RWBYJ fight the Jabberwalker. That is because the monster represents Neo's frammented self. They are the girl's ego, which is so broken and confused she herself negates it. Her journey in the Ever After, though, helps Neo find inner clarity:

(Waiting for it Sugar-coated All you need is here Come and find what Redefines you Make it crystal clear)

By the end she sees herself crystal clear:

Neo-Roman: To have what they have. What a thing, huh?

Her true wish is the same as ever. She wants a real connection. To succeed she has to let go of an imaginary one:

As a child, Trivia lets go of Neopolitan and finds Roman. As an adult, she lets go of Roman to find someone else. Trivia dies and Neo is born. Neo dies and someone new is born:

Blacksmith: She will have the chance to return her broken heart… And becomes something new. Such is balance.

Life from death. Creation from destruction. This is what transformation is. Symbolically, Neo kills all her three parts. She murders the Jabberwalker (ego), she rips the Curious Cat to shreds (superego) and finally releases Roman's illusion (id). Now, she is ready to move on.

HECATE AND ARTEMIS = SHADOW AND LIGHT (MACROCHOSM)

Hecate/Trivia and Artemis/Diana are two intertwined Goddesses. In particular, Hecate is sometimes described as a part of Artemis's triple identity. This Goddess is:

The Moon in the Sky (The Crescent Moon to be precise)

Artemis/Diana on Earth (Goddess of hunt)

Hecate/Trivia in the Underworld

Doesn't it remind you of anyone?

Ruby is

Associated with the Crescent Moon (Crescent Rose)

The best Huntress of all

A Red Grim Reaper with a Scythe

She is the Artemis (Crescent Moon) to Neo's Hecate (Falling Moon). This is why Neo's role in volume 9 is to play Ruby's Jungian Shadow:

In analytical psychology, the shadow is an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego ideal, leading the ego to resist and project the shadow. In short, the shadow is the self's emotional blind spot, projected as archetypes.

The shadow is everything that is repressed or hidden. In Ruby's case that is her emotions over loss and grief. So, Neo becomes what links Ruby to these feelings of death. Just like Hecate/Trivia is the part of Artemis/Diana, who appears in the Underworld. This is why Neo and Ruby fall together in the Ever After.

During their fall, Neo transforms in three people Ruby cherishes: Oscar, Yang and Penny. What do they represent?

They are linked to future, present and past. In particular, Oscar is waiting for Ruby outside (future), Yang is in the Ever After with Ruby (present) and Penny is lost (past).

They are the three people Ruby's conflict is focused on in the Atlas Arc. In volume 7, Ruby disagrees with Oscar on telling Ironwood. In volume 8, Ruby and Yang fight over what to do. In volume 9, Ruby must overcome Penny's death.

These two meanings are linked to two roles Neo fulfills towards Ruby. That of Triple Goddess and that of Goddess of crossroads.

1- The idea of past, present and future ties into Hecate being a Triple Goddess:

The fates are a representation of this Goddess and a declination of the Three Hecate Sisters, also known as Maiden, Mother and Crone. They are archetypes linked to three different phases of life. Youth, maturity and old age. In other words, past, present and future.

As Ruby's Hecate, Neo often brings up past, present and future throughout volume 9. Here is a quick list:

Ruby and Neo's fall in the Ever After (Penny is past, Yang is present and Oscar is future)

Ruby's first meeting with the Blacksmith, which is followed by the appearance of Neo's Jabberwalkers. There Ruby sees three weapons. Penny's sword is Ruby's inner child (past). Alyx's knife is the role Ruby is currently trying to fulfill (present). Summer's axe is who Ruby wishes to become (future)

Ruby's fight with Neo's Jabberwalker, where Ruby hallucinates three people. Cinder is the foe Ruby lost to (past). Penny is her current inner demon (present). Salem is the villain Ruby must eventually face (future)

Neo's crazy tea party, where Neo destroys Ruby by using three loved ones. Penny is a dead friend (past), Oscar is a friend Ruby could kill (future) and Little is a friend that dies (present)

Past, present and future haunt Ruby, so that she can accept who she was, understand who she is and move towards who she will be:

Past Ruby: So, are you a Huntress? Like the ones you read about in books? Ruby: I… I don’t know… Past Ruby: They always saved the day, didn’t they? Always knew what to do. Always won in the end. Ruby: But… life isn’t like a fairy tale… Past Ruby: That’s right! It’s up to you to make things better, isn’t it? Everything all depends on you! Your sister needs you, your friends need you, the whole world needs you to keep fighting, forever and ever, against an invincible monster that took your mother! Past Ruby: Mom was the best… but even she failed. That doesn’t seem fair. None of this seems fair. Ruby: But… What am I supposed to do…? Past Ruby: You can do whatever you want. Be whoever you want! You don’t even have to be Ruby Rose… So, what are you gonna be?

2- Neo brings to the surface Ruby's inner conflicts. She starts with the three struggles Ruby faces in Atlas and she keeps going by using her Jabberwalkers to re-create Atlas's destruction twice:

Finally, she has Ruby fight her inner demons all at once:

Neo-Ironwood: Who were you to think you knew what was best for Atlas? Neo-Pyrrha: I was the best and brightest Beacon had to offer. But I traded my life so my friends could live! Neo-Penny: Just like you were too late to save me at the Vytal Festival… I died in Atlas too, didn’t I? (walks towards Ruby) Can you imagine what that's like? To be completely and utterly failed… time and again… (kneels down to Ruby) by someone who meant the world to you… Neo-Pyrrha: How many more people are going to die because of you?! Ruby: I’m trying to save everyone! Neo-Ironwood: And yet with all your best intentions… Have you ever stopped to wonder if you’d done more harm than good?! Ruby: It’s not my fault…! Neo-Ozpin: How many more lives do you have to ruin before you realize you’re not cut out to save anyone?! Ruby: NO!!!

This happens because Neo is a manifestation of Ruby's id. Just like Hecate is a Goddess linked with crossroads and choice, Neo forces Ruby to transform.

Ruby's hidden self and her conflictual feelings are intertwined in Neo, who is the part of herself Ruby refuses to aknowledge until it explodes.

Let's juxtapose these two scenes:

Ruby: What is this about? The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?

Ruby: Is that seriously what this is all about? You still blame me for what happened to Torchwick?!

In volume 4, Ruby asks Tyrian why he is after her and mentions Torchwick. In volume 9, Ruby is surprised Roman's partner wants to avenge him. This happens because throughout Mistral and Atlas, Ruby starts shouldering too much responsibilities by herself. Her whole ego becomes intertwined with the duty to stop Salem. By doing so, she neglects other parts of the self:

Maria: You know, you don't give yourself enough credit. Ruby: Oh… Thanks. Maria: That wasn't a compliment.

Which leads to the shadow suffering and festering. Inside Ruby, the shadow is her grief and trauma. Outside, the shadow is Neo. A secondary villain with a revenge agenda, which is nothing compared to the threath Salem represents. And yet, Neo's personal grudge grows until she becomes dangerous for Ruby's own existence:

Neo-Roman: You don’t deserve to die, Red. You deserve to be broken down… Torn apart… wiped from existence.

In this context, Ruby refusing to empathize with Neo is really Ruby refusing to empathize with herself:

Give me anything But this symphony of technicolor rage You call it righteous, meaningful It's anything but love Don't take me for a fool I know this all too well so Leave your tears to someone else cuz It's not just you who lost it all

Neo kills the Jabberwalker because she doesn't want to accept Roman's loss. Ruby doesn't see Neo because it would mean to look at her own pain.

The end result is bad for both girls. On the one hand Ruby is overwhelmed by trauma and chooses to disappear. On the other hand Neo realizes how empty she is after Ruby is gone. That is because shadow and light can't live without each other. They need to integrate, which is what Ruby and Neo do by the end.

Both see themselves more clearly, so they are finally able to empathize with each other:

Their conflict almost kills them, but once they get throught it they are ready to become better versions of themselves. They die and are reborn:

Since she had used her Semblance for the first time to create a butterfly with one pink wing, one brown, with white spots all over- then sent it out her bedroom window and watched it flutter away until she lost sight of it and let it go. (Roman Holiday, chapter 11)

Like two butterflies, who step into a brand new phase of their lives.

HECATE (BALANCE)

Neo's story is about finding balance inside and outside:

Inside- As a child, Neo is too repressed (superego), so as an adult she becomes uncontrolled (id). Her arc has her grow more balanced (ego).

Outside - In volume 9, Neo is Ruby's shadow (id) and brings out all of Ruby's negative emotions. By the end, though, Ruby is able to understand Neo and feels sympathy for her. This is because our LRRH doesn't refuse her own shadow anymore.

In other words, Neo is an id character, who has to integrate both with herself and with the world around her. This fits Hecate, who is a Goddess linked to the Underworld. The Ever After itself is a representation of this kingdom for three different reasons:

It is the world before (under) Remnant

It is the world of the deads (buried under)

It is the world of the unconscious (buried inside)

This is why Neo's semblance grows more powerful while there. Hecate is the queen of ghosts and Neo grows powerful enough to rule the Ever After with her materialized spirits (illusions). On a deeper level, our lady of the deads must face her own grief. So, like other characters, Neo goes through the stages of grief. In particular, Neo's stages are represented by her reactions to different characters:

The Jabberwalker she kills (negation)

Ruby she stalks and tortures (rage)

The Roman she materializes (bargaining)

The Curious Cat she is controlled by (depression)

All these meetings are a part of her journey to find both acceptance and herself. Maybe this is why throughout volume 9 she progressively becomes more and more Hecate-like. As a matter of fact, she aquires many attributes of the mysterious Goddess.

She gains her personal Empusas:

The Empusas are Hecate's demons, who look like girls with some odd body parts. In this case, Neo's heterocromia.

The Empusas are usually monsters linked to fire that appear as half-dogs. Here, Ruby sees the Jabberwalker with Cinder's head.

She finds her own Horned God:

The Horned God is the Triple Goddess's companion in neopagan religions. The Jabberwalker is a horned creature associated with Neo.

She commands a pack of dogs (the Jabberwalkers) and she herself plays the part of Ruby's dangerous wolf. This fits with Hecate's sacred animals being dogs.

Finally, she stands beside a wicked torch:

Torchwick-illusion is her companion in the Underworld and a symbol of her friend's lost soul. She even uses Roman's voice to lead Ruby towards death. Just like Hecate holds torches to guide mortals in the Kingdom of the Deads.

Despite all this, there is still an attribute missing: keys. They represent Hecate's ability to travel through worlds. However, Neo is stuck in the Ever After:

Jaune: So Neo can’t go through the door…

This happens because she has still to fully bloom into Hecate (herself). However, she is making progress and by the end of volume 9 she reaches acceptance. A necessary step to grow.

In particular, she dispels her illusion of Roman. She overcomes her grief by overcoming her own fantasies. This is interesting because it is the opposite of what happens in Roman Holiday:

“He caught a lock of her hair and showed it to her. It was white. “This is new. It suits you,” he said. Why would she have done that with her Semblance?” (Roman Holiday, chapter 26)

There, she represses her sadness over her parents' death, which manifests in her illusory white lock of hair. In the series, though, she lets go of an illusion to move on. Why is that so? That is because Neo herself is a combination of illusion and reality:

“Roman shook his head. “Show them who you really are.” Neo changed back into herself, but swapper her school uniform for her favourite suite. Roman handed her her parasol. (Roman Holiday, chapter 22)

Roman Holiday is the story of how she realizes illusions are a part of who she is. Volume 9 is where she learns she can't live in a world made only of illusions. So, she chooses to face herself for real:

Once she emerges from the Tree, she will gain her allusion's ability to move freely between dimensions (psychopomp) and will go through the door. She will leave her fantastical world (the Ever After) and come back to reality (Remnant).

[thegoldenhoof]

After reading multiple metas on all sides, I think the biggest problem with OFMD, specially Season 2 is that it is almost entirely built on tell don't show. Worse sometimes it is hint, don't tell or show. This is not great writing in itself but it is made worse when the POV characters are all shown to have a rather unstable relationship with reality and memory.

Stede is self-centered enough to just not acknowledge or even notice things around him that don't actively interact with his focus which is mostly just Ed. He is self-centered to the point of being delusional about other people and reality of circumstances. Season 2 sees him doing better and his rescue of the crew is his highest point. But we see this even through Season 2 in his interactions with Lucius and during Ed's apology his interactions with Zheng Yi Sao.. Basically anyone not Ed.

Ed is shown to have a negotiable understanding of truth - seen with his Ed/Blackbears/Kraken split, his "I didn't kill them, the fire killed them" dissociation with his own actions, his rewriting of the context of his own memories (Knife parade) or just straight up forgetting shit (Talent show). And yes all of these are trauma responses but that does not dismiss the fact that his perception is far from objective.

Izzy is straight up shown to be lying in his first interaction with Ed regarding Stede. He is aware of his surroundings better than Stede and Ed but he is also supremely blind to himself and his interpersonal relationships. Where Stede is delusional about the world he can be interpreted as delusional about himself.

We as the audience ofcourse can put context to their words from their actions and this worked ok in season 1 (not always but mostly and that becomes important later) But Season 2 leans much more heavily on tell without show. (Yes yes budget cuts...but that doesn't change the final product).

Where season 1 added some flavour of back story with tell dont show, Season 2 expects dialogue to do all the heavy lifting (none more than Izzy's death speech) without this dialogue being backed up by action. Worse (or better) this dialogue isn't exposition which makes the scene better but which also means more often then not it is merely hinting at a meaning.

So we have half explained dialogues, sometimes with dubious context, used as a substitute for action given to us by characters with established unreliable perspectives. The heavy lifting of understanding the meaning of these dialogues, their significance and weigtt, has then been shifted to the audience interpretation. This interpretation is of course done per individual interest and bias. This is not bad in itself but remember this has been happening since season 1. Which means the new interpretations are being built on older interpretations. Those little flavour back story hints have now become the lens through which the entire season 2 is meant to be understood.

We are all watching a different show in a sense and that us not a failure of the audience. It is, rather, an accidental byproduct (and a failure) of the show's design because of the combination of all the above factors which was (made worse by the budget cuts leaving less time/space for action)

The show then unfortunately comes down to whose POV are you accepting (and certain fans have turned this into an exercise of moralizing self righteousness.) and to what extant.

A true understanding, imo, can only be by accepting that none of their perspectives are absolutely true and trying to center the objective narrative between all of them in a way that best fits all their perspectives AND accounts for all their blind spots, rather than lift any one POV as the absolute uncritical truth. (And fans on all sides have been guilty of this)

(P.S. I think this may also have worked positively towards making this show so huge is season one because it left enough ambiguity for us all to project on it multiple complex and sometimes contradicting interpretations creating an Illusion of much greater complexity that was more in our collective heads than in the actual show.)

[bbarnesbby]

Through the back door

Pervy!contractor!Joel Miller x fem!reader

(photos from pinterest, and not an accurate representation of how the reader is perceived in their appearance)

Summary: A fresh faced personal assistant catches Joel’s eye whilst working on his current job, and who can blame him for going after what he wants? Even if it takes some convincing…

Words: 2k

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI, dark!Joel Miller, Joel is VERY crude and pervy here, he's also very forward, creepy men, catcalling, groping, coercion, lots of sexual innuendos, but no actual smut, my lil brain knows nothing about construction sites or contractors and it shows<3, my dyslexia lol

!! I do not consent to or accept any instance in which my works are copied, edited, reposted or translated on tumblr or any other website. !!

!! Please also note that this is fan fiction and I would never tolerate the themes in this being repeated in the real world. I am not responsible for what you consume on this website, all warnings are given and if you don't feel comfortable with them then your opinion is valid and understandable, but not invitation to hate on or shame this fanfic !!

Thank you and please enjoy <33

The repetitive click of your heels on the dusty pavement below you seems to be the only thing you can hear over your laboured breathing as you rush to get back to the office building, the place that could only affectionately be described as your own personal hell.

When you'd first gotten the job, the ambiguously labelled title you had been assigned did confuse you at first. However, now as you grip the holder for four coffees in one hand, and a bag carrying a series of different flavoured salads, sandwiches, and kinds of pasta in the other, you realise it was all to cover up what you'd really be.

A bottom-of-the-barrel personal assistant.

The job itself isn't one you would complain about, everyone has got to start somewhere after all, especially coming straight out of college. It's just the assholes you work for that make you long for an escape.

Young men with no degree, making them easily less qualified than you, having the audacity to make requests that must be completed in unrealistic time frames seem to be the bane of your existence. The fact they have the power to do so only down to the fact they have family working the important positions in other branches of the company.

That and the thing hanging between their legs.

Pushing your thoughts of distaste aside, you glance at your wristwatch as you round the last corner of your journey before the building is in sight. You notice you've got a good five minutes before you're eligible for a scolding from your boss and let out a sigh of relief.

But as you get closer to your destination, you notice construction tape seems to have materialised around the walkway to the office building in the fifteen minutes you were gone, men already drilling into the ground you need to walk over to get where you need to be.

As you hurry to the now construction site, you stand for a moment confused, huffing as you look around for anyone who could help you in your predicament.

Your eyes scan a group of men standing by the bed of a pickup truck, presumably talking about their job at hand. You walk along the makeshift fence made up of scuffed traffic cones and more construction tape until you're near enough parallel to the truck, not crossing the tape out of concern you may disrupt whatever's going on.

"Excuse me?" Voice loud enough to be heard but still polite, you gain the attention of a couple of the men, their averted gazes prompting those who didn't initially hear you to look over too. A small but friendly smile pulls at your lips but soon falters when a few of them let out their renditions of low whistles and unsavoury comments towards you.

"You alright, pretty lady?" One of them smirks, dark, invasive eyes giving you a once over as he runs his hand over his dark brown, almost black, hair.

Was this building a magnet for sleazy male stereotypes or something?

"Um, I work here." You stumble over the statement slightly, the discomfort you feel under his penetrative stare affecting your speech as you weakly point at the building behind them.

"Yeah, no shit." The same man darkly chuckles along with a couple of the other workers, eyes raking your form, clad in a blouse and pencil skirt. But you feel you might as well be naked in front of them, stuck there like a deer in headlights as they continue to ogle your body. Before he can make any other comments, he's lightly pushed to the side as another man approaches.

"Shut up, Tommy..." His voice is deep and commanding but has a playful nature behind it, the two of them clearly well acquainted with one another.

He looks to be older than the men around him, broad frame imposing as he comes to where the tape separates you from him. Although, the way he carries himself suggests he's probably in a position where he could do whatever he wanted with the equipment on the site, but have no one to answer to for it.

"How can I help, sweetheart?" He sounds friendly enough but has that dirty, smug look on his face that tells you he's not any better than the men who'd previously been eyeing you like a piece of meat.

Despite the sickly feeling that swirls in the pit of your stomach when looking at him, you realise he's probably your best shot at getting you where you need to be.

"I need to get back in the building," your voice is timid as you try to avoid the burly man's gaze, opting to look back to where men are starting to pull up the concrete slabs that once made up your path back into your workplace. Though the pause after you've spoken prompts you to glance back up at him, catching him looking down the gap between your chest and slightly unbuttoned blouse, "I work here-"

"Yeah, you've said that." he cuts you off with a smirk, taking in your mortified expression before looking over the construction site with a huff. "Well my boys are pretty deep in their work now, and I can't have ya walking through here when we've got equipment running," he gives you another once over, "don't want a pretty girl like you getting hurt, do we?"

He's smiling again, but you see straight through it and tense at the realisation these men will be working here for god knows how long.

"What should I do then?" You ask with furrowed brows, readjusting your hold on the coffees that now uncomfortably weigh down your hand.

"I mean I could carry ya over," he laughs as though it's a joke, but first impressions tell you he'd jump at the opportunity to get his filthy hands on you -- no matter the circumstance, "how bout I take you in the backdoor?"

The way he worded the innuendo didn't fly over your head the way you wish it did, and the combination of his comment and the way he's now running his pink tongue over his bottom lip making you feel sick in multiple ways.

You reluctantly nod, just wanting to get back to work and away from this man. The obnoxious nepo babies that unfairly dominated your field of work suddenly felt like prince charmings in comparison to the man now stepping over the flimsy barrier that once separated you. But as he came that small distance closer, you couldn't help but feel some attraction to his broad frame and tan skin. And those arms...

His slight chuckle pulls you out of your thoughts, wide eyes snapping up to meet his leering expression as prickling heat floods your face in embarrassment.

"C'mon, I'm Joel by the way," he tilts his head, gesturing for you to walk in front of him. It's a request you realise most likely has ulterior motives, but you do so anyway after muttering your name in return.

Rounding the corner, you falter for a moment as the cluttered alley comes into view. Your gut instinct is screaming at you to tell Joel that he can fuck right off back to wherever he came from, but you figure that would cause more commotion than the slim possibility he'd try anything in broad daylight.

But as you carry on down the alley and squeeze past a particularly cluttered area of multiple dumpsters and bins, you become more uncomfortable as he spews another innuendo about how 'it's real tight, huh?'

His irksome behaviour soon becomes less of an annoyance and more of a concern though.

Once you're past the worst of the clutter you soon realise that it wasn't just an obstacle, but also serves as a wall -- blocking any further view for anyone passing by.

Turning around, you merely stand there as Joel comes closer. His daunting frame becomes more intimidating in the dim light of the narrowing lane you now find yourself trapped in, helpless.

"Doors just there," he mutters while pointing to the slightly beaten-up side door to the left of you, a twisted attempt at making you believe you still have any control over this situation.

Not trusting your voice, you simply nod at him with your eyes still locked. You'd prefer him to leave before you turn your back to him, but when he makes no move to do so, you quickly rush to the door in the hopes you may be faster than him.

But faster you are not.

First, you feel the heat radiating off of him, and then you feel the hard chest, the wandering hands, the grinding hips. As he invades your space and presses himself against your back, you try to squirm away, but only end up pinning yourself between the door and his imposing body.

"Where you tryna go, sweetheart?" His breath is hot against your neck, sending shivers down your spine and to places that make your body hot with shame. "You really wanna go back in there? Where those people are just gonna treat you like shit?"

His hips continue to grind into your ass, becoming more calculated rather than ravenous, as though his words and body are working as one to persuade you.

"I know those guys, they'll chew you up and spit you out." His words become harsh and his rough hands harsher, beginning to untuck your blouse from your pencil skirt, reaching up until his fingers are splayed across your stomach. The skin-on-skin contact is undeniably thrilling, as he now caresses it with finesse.

"So fuckin' soft," he mutters into your hair, inhaling before releasing a rumbling groan, "I'd treat you like the sweetest thing, baby."

You grimace at his words, far too much commitment behind them, leaving you spiralling into another panicked frenzy. You squirm again, this time having more success as you're able to turn to face him, although not fully able to escape his unrelenting hold yet. Facing him, you see how dark his eyes have become, set on you like a predator eyeing its prey.

His hair is slightly tousled, the way he'd previously been ravaging your body having that effect. You realise there's no way you can persuade him to stop his pursuit of you, so you decide to cave, at least you hope he thinks so.

"Let's not do this here." You say it quietly so as to not come off too demanding, peering up at him through your lashes in a way that you hope looks innocent enough for him to believe it. "Wouldn't you wanna do this someplace comfier," your voice switches from scared to sultry, “hm?”

He quirks a brow at this, slowing his assault on your body to a stop, but not yet taking his hands off of you, “you wanna do this somewhere else, sweetheart?”

The pet name still irks you, but provides some ease in telling you your comment hasn’t pissed him off at all. Trying to run along with your manipulative escape, you nod up at him, taking your bottom lip between your teeth and pushing your own crotch closer to his. You tell yourself it’s all for the bigger picture, but you can’t ignore the way your body has come more accustomed to his touch in such a short period of time.

"Mhm,” you’re nodding again, placing a hand on his firm chest, and slowly, teasingly, sliding it lower, “do this where you can take real good care of me… Show me what I'm missing?"

There's a pause, his expression unreadable as he continues to penetrate your façade with his stare. His lack of response has you rethinking your words, brows twitching as more sick scenarios of what could ensue consume your thoughts. But then a dark chuckle fills the tense silence, Joel shaking his head as he smirks down at you. Stepping back, he tucks his hands into his pockets and gives you one last once over before nodding his head and making his way back down the alley.

"I'll keep an eye out," are his last words before he disappears past the trash and clutter, out of sight.

But maybe not quite out of mind...

-----

First fic done! All likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated and I am open to requests on future fic ideas you may have<33

[fairy-switchblade]

Okay, so a few questions that might be asked around butch/femme culture are Why identify as butch over masc? Why are butch and femme still relevant terms now, when they’re almost 100 years old?

Here is a helpful infographic.

We have reached a stage in queer culture, as of 2023, where most aspects of the queer individuals experience are divided and categorised. We think of each individual element as a separate area of our life, and use neat terms to describe them as such. This has its uses, and is an essential process for some. However, in this case it lacks a flexibility and subtly which many people need to adequately describe their experience in a way which is empowering to them.

Now lets look at the next picture.

Butch and femme are very special because they are able to transverse not only the boundaries between gender and sexuality, but also gender roles, sexual roles as well as orientation, and our shared history. Butch is, all at once, a gender, a social role, a historic position, a sexual orientation, and a sexual role. It is necessarily fluid and ambiguous, and for this reason can be very freeing. We need to words to describe how our sense of gender and sexuality merge.

Now you could say that “queer” will do the same thing, and lots of people do prefer it which is of course, entirely up to them, and fair enough. However queer on its own will not have enough of a ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’… flavour to it, if you like, which ‘butch’ and ‘femme’ respectively do. “Masc” also does not have quite the same complexity, and from what I have seen is more specifically used to talk about gender presentation alone. There isn’t anything else quite like butch, and femme.

[chin-chilla-7]

How the Obey Me Brothers Eat You Out

I’ve had a bit of a rough day so I made myself feel better by writing some of my headcanons on how I think the Obey Me Brothers would eat you out. This is for any hole you have down there, I left it ambiguous. Also I rate each bro based on my personal taste so that is there too. I hope you enjoy!

This is 18+ content so no minors.

Lucifer

- Lucifer is very very good at giving oral. - He has such a way with his tongue it will leave you thinking about it for days after. - He enjoys giving it, too. He particularly enjoys the noises he can get out of you. It fuels his pride and everything. - He’s quite a tease with it. If you’re someone who gets shy/flustered in the moment, he will be using that to his advantage. - Is known to slip a finger or two in while he’s playing with you. - Cause that’s another thing: he loves the idea of tying you up before he gets between your legs. You will be there a while if you accept. - Like he really knows what he’s doing and you feel it. - 11/10 would recommend

Mammon - Is a lot messier than Lucifer but boy does he have the spirit. - He likes to think he’s really good, and brags about how good he is. But he’s fine at best. - He doesn’t really do a lot. Just kinda back and forth motions. Which feels good, but there’s no flavour. - Though, he is more than happy to remain between your legs for a while, so that makes up for some of it. - Overall a solid 7/10. You’re gonna have a good time, but you’ve had better.

Leviathan - Okay Leviathan is shy but is really into the idea of you riding his face. - Like, him laying in the bathtub, you kneeling above him, his Ruri-chan pillow beside him. It’s a dream. - He’d probably leave out the Ruri-chan part when telling you. - You’d more than likely have to guide him on what to do, but he doesn’t mind! At that moment, he really wants to please you. Besides, he’d do anything if it means you remain over his face, y’know? - 8/10 because he’s more open to criticism than his older brother.

Satan - Is also pretty good at oral. He knows what he’s doing. He understands human anatomy from all the books he reads, so he gets how to make it feel good. - However, he is probably least interested in doing oral, if I’m honest. - He just doesn’t really like doing it. He’ll do it if you ask, but it’s not something he craves. - It’s not like he complains about doing it or anything, it’s just not something he gets off to. - 6/10 I guess, because he lacks enthusiasm 

Asmodeus - I think it comes as no surprise that Asmodeus knows what he’s doing when giving oral. - And he really enjoys it: giving, receiving, pussy, anal, whatever. He’s more than happy to do it if it means his partner’s getting the most of the experience. - He knows how to make you feel good, and boy, you feel good. - It’s almost a relaxing experience. You know you’re in good hands with Asmodeus at the wheel. - 10/10 no complaints. Overall great time.

Beelzebub - Okay, my boy Beelzebub truly loves giving oral. He could go at it forever. And I mean that quite literally. Like, you had to beg him to stop after you came the… you lost count. But you really needed a break, even though it seemed that beelzebub was ready for another course. - This boy is so good at oral. Not in the skilled way that Lucifer or Asmodeus is, just purely in the way he eats honestly and earnestly. - Not to mention his tongue? Covers a large surface area, I’ll tell you that. - It’s something that you find him asking to do a lot when he wants to get intimate. Like, it’s his favourite thing to do with you. - 10000/10 this boy can get it anytime.

Belphegor - He would rather not eat you out. - Not because he doesn’t like it, but because he just doesn’t want to do it. Avatar of Sloth and all that. - But the times he does agree, he prefers you riding his face: again, less work for him. - He gives it a shot, but you always feel like he doesn’t try. - Though, a secret hack is to mention the way one of his brothers makes you feel and his jealousy will beat out his slothfulness and you will have yourself a pretty good time. - Personally, though, a 6/10. He could try harder.