#BUT YEEEEEEAH

[dnd-smash-pass-vs]

Inevitable been thinking about how that one anon viewed Laios as a monsterfucker, and I think it made me realize the source of that confusion:

I think many monsterfuckers, and also many (dare I say most) monster devourers like Laios, both derive their desire from the same source: a latent wish for apoteratosis, the wish to become a monster.

Linguistic side note: apotheosis, becoming a god, breaks down to apo- (towards the end point), theo (god), -osis (turn noun into verb), so I swapped in the root for monster, hence apo- terato -osis. Side note over.

Monster devourers are a rather rare archetype in (mainstream) fiction, but they do exist. Those who seek to mimic or emulate the monster's power, those who find them endlessly fascinating and study them well past the point of obsession, those who wish to show their dominance over the monster by proving that they can kill and eat it... and I think Laios is the first I've seen who takes the title quite so literally, where his obsession goes straight to monsters-as-food.

Monsterfuckers, meanwhile wish to become close to the monster in a non destructive way (or at least a typically less destructive one, usually the only casualties are furniture and few bandages are needed, but I'll acknowledge that exceptions definitely exist). They wish to bond with it, to connect to it through lust or intimacy, to be able to stand at its side. They wish, on some level, to join it. Side note, I'm not saying this is true of all teratophiles, some are just kinky and driven by the thought of positive physical pleasure, or who find the personality of a given monster appealing, but I do think the apoteratotic desire is an underlying driver for many, I'd guess well more than half, it's just a subtle enough thing that I don't think most are consciously aware of it.

There's also a third point to the secret apoteratosis triangle that might surprise you: the monster slayer. Sure many, even most, slayers are driven by something like disgust or xenophobia or even rationality, but a significant minority land in the "if you can't join 'em, beat 'em" a.k.a. "I can't be you, so I'll destroy you" camp.

And these three reactions are, I notice, the three most common reactions that people have to one thing: the unattainable desire. The sentence begins "I cannot have it..." and these three camps end it different ways.

The teratophages say "so I shall dominate it." They seek what power they can grasp so they can have some modicum of control, so they can try to "have" it anyway. The kaiju corpse scavengers in Pacific Rim including refined and suave mob boss types just smacks of this attitude.

The teratophiles say "so I'll get as close as I can." There's a werewolf romance book where they're considering trying to turn the girlfriend, though they have no idea if she'll survive it (boyfriend was turned by accident then abandoned, so he's clueless, and they haven't found any others to teach them), and she says that she's fine remaining human, because she shares the power through him. "I have it, because you have it." The façade eventually breaks and in a vulnerable moment she confesses that she'd be willing to risk even a likely death to try to be turned. When they get in contact with an elder who can turn her safely she doesn't even wait a week.

The teratophobes write that whole sentence as "if I can't have it, then no one can." I'm sure everyone has seen enough examples of this behavior to understand that it's just a kind of love turned corrupt.

I'm not the first to notice the underlying apoteratotic urge: the aforementioned werewolf story, indeed many werewolf and vampire stories romanticize the transformation of a human into a monster. Back to Dungeon Meshi, author Ryōko Kui is fully aware of it with how Laios's underlying desire is eventually brought out of the subtext and explicitly named as his dysphoria with humanity, and his wishing that he could be a monster. For Laios that desire skipped right past the socially unacceptable monsterfucking, explicitly a form of bestiality in that world, to the socially acceptable devouring, though tempered by his respect and admiration of monsters into a desire for symbiosis with them. He cannot become one in truth (or so he thought when younger) but he could become part of their food web. It's as close as he thought he could get. Of course, that's the Watsonian explanation; the Doylist explanation is that Ryōko Kui wanted to subvert expectations, and also wanted to explore this angle of it.

So, all taken together, I think people read Laios as monsterfucker coded simply because teratophiles, teratophages, and teratophobes all share the same root motivation: apoteratosis. Thus, all three branches are coded very similarly.

It's similar to something I've seen in Batman fandom: some fans project romantic love between various members of the Batfamily, which is both wildly against canon and thoroughly hated by some other branches of fandom. But it is understandable, since familial love and romantic love both come from the same root, love of another. If someone doesn't recognize the simultaneous similarities and distinctions, it's all to easy to conflate them. If you don't actually understand the distinction, then the signs of affection between siblings might look the same as the signs of affection between lovers. Likewise, if you don't understand the distinction, the urge of the monster devourers (or ecologists) might look the same as the urge of the monster fucker.

I've sat on this for near a month, partially because of my repeated absences, partially because I wanted to honor it with an equally in-depth response. But 24 days later I've still got nothing, while I can't speak for that particular person I think in general you hit the nail right on the head for the base roots. I got no notes. Even with Laios...like all I can add is how supplemental materials actually confirm he did want to be a monster researcher but found books too dry, the only one who seemed to really *get* monsters was shunned. and how wild he goes when talking with an actual werewolf, "The existence I thought unobtainable is now right in front of me".

[liiittlehand]

Doodles of my babies!!!

[ohgaylor]

Taylor “I hate marriage” Swift (part 1) (lyric connections)

[allmyandroids]

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 - 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴

[lets-try-some-writing]

Goretober

Well yall, its that time of year, and me feeling angsty while also wanting to work on my ability to describe things has led me to decide that this is clearly the best thing to do with my time. With that said, here is your warning. I am going to attempt to keep up with the prompts for the next little bit, so if that ain't your thing, best just steer clear of anything I post with 'Day XXX' on it. That said, for those of you who like this stuff, enjoy.

Day One: Stabbed

“Optimus!” The Prime was rushing forward to stand between the team and the enemy, completely unable to slow at such high speeds. Ratchet felt his very spark blaze in sheer terror as he saw the look of dawning realization reach Optimus’s optics in time for the dooming hiss of creaking components to echo in the area. There was no stopping it as the harpoon fired from one of Shockwave’s newest weapons and sliced through the air with the precision and speed of a sniper rifle. 

There was no time to think, there was no time to act, not as the glint of deadly steel sped across Ratchet’s straining optics. In reality, it must have only been a terrifying two or three nanokliks… However as medical protocols were activated, Ratchet saw the proceedings in terrifying detail.

Optimus’s face was the embodiment of true terror as the harpoon sliced through abdominal armor, its serrated edges catching on wiring and protoform as it spun like a torpedo. It all seemed like a sickening slow-motion holofilm as outer plating was ripped apart in a spray of energon which was only accentuated as the harpoon tore past secondary and core layers of supposedly blast-proof armor. Protoform all but exploded in a sea of shattered components, quickly leading internal organs to squelch out from the harpoon’s entry point in a horrifying display. Then as time began to speed back up, the still spinning harpoon tore its way out of Optimus’s back, sending pieces of spinal column, wiring, and entrails flying out onto the stone beneath their pedes.

Distantly he could hear Bumblebee and Bulkhead screaming, and somewhere Arcee was dealing suppressive fire as Ratchet threw himself into action. A thousand warnings complicated his sub-processing routines while he skidded to his knees, running scans even as he assessed the damage and focused on trying not to purge. The Prime was in a quickly growing pool of his own energon, and thankfully the harpoon had broken all the way through his frame and thus was not stuck within him to aggravate affairs further. That of course was merely a small mercy though as every medical protocol Ratchet knew was reviewed and activated. 

His digits shook as he struggled to decipher where to even begin his emergency repairs. Optimus was obviously in shock. His optics were blaring and his venting halted and tried to sputter back into regularity desperately. The Prime’s intake hung open, his face plastered into horror and quickly morphed into one of undiluted agony. Despite that, he couldn't scream, not as his entire frame struggled to continue functioning with the gaping hole in his abdomen. 

From where Ratchet knelt trying to frantically start welding shut weeping fuel lines, he could see internal organs pulsing and contracting as they tried to function even while all but destroyed. Small wires grasped at the air they were never meant to be exposed to as charge and energon crawled along them. Oils spilled from devastated purification systems and mixed with the unholy combination of components, organs, and half-processed fuel that was only growing larger within the wound and around Optimus’s frame. Shattered pieces of skeletal protomatter and yellow spinal fluid joined the mess and dug into angry lacerations. 

“Hold on Optimus! I’ll fix this! I will fix this!” Ratchet pleaded, trying to comfort himself more than the rapidly fading Prime before him. Deft digits reached into the wound and he began to carefully remove shards of metal that infested the damaged areas, all while doing his best to maintain composure. Wires clung to his digits as he worked and again the organs pulsed, all in time with Optimus’s distressed attempts to vent. There was too much damage and too little time.

“Frag it all, hold on Optimus!” Ratchet all but begged while finishing up what cleaning he could manage out in the open. He then proceeded to try to ease his churning tanks with a deep vent while pulling out half-destroyed organs to try and weld the wounds shut for the time being. If he could just stop the bleeding, he could get Optimus back to base and put him into emergency stasis until he could work something out-

“RATCHET! WE NEED TO MOVE!” Arcee screeched as blaster fire echoed nearby. Ratchet ignored her as he worked to tend to the pulsating organ within his grasp. His tanks churned with even more urgency as the organ which he assumed to be part of the fuel tank, oozed a mix of blue and rust-colored substances. It stained his servos and the texture had him shaking horribly as he welded the weeping component into a semi-stable state and hurried to try and at least cauterize the rest of the wound until he could do more. 

This time, Optimus did scream and the nauseating scent of burning energon and protomatter had Ratchet gagging while he worked. However, he did not dare stop, even as Optimus spasmed, only held down by Ratchet bodily holding him in place as his welder dealt with the worst of the wound. Grasping wires seared and withered, weeping wounds sizzled and closed up as molten metal forced them into place, and the ghastly concoction of bodily fluids within the wound smoked until they were reduced to ash. 

Eventually, Optimus stopped screaming, his frame falling limp. At some point, Ratchet dragged his ailing Prime back to base. Then next he knew, Ratchet stood beside the medical berth his Prime lay on, a syringe in his grasp and ready to plunge into an exposed fuel line to ensure Optimus did not wake during what was bound to be a very grim and unsettling series of surgeries.

Extra

Optimus over here like:

[intoloopin]

✹ … ⥁ A DAY IN LOOP NEWS: APRIL 30TH, 2024 (1/3): After six years in operation, New Wave Music declares bankrupcy and immediate shut down.

Announced and held on the same day by New Wave Music's founder and CEO Seo Chanhyuk, an emergency public press conference has been held on company grounds this tuesday (April 30th) announcing the immediate termination of the record label - stated in the CEO's opening speech to be privately inactive since early April:

"Our last act as New Wave Music, a fully operating entertainment company, was the release of LOOPiN's single album 'Reason: Start', on March 23rd. Although imperfect and not done according to the members and the staff idealized vision, it was the way found by our superiors to share the work of our artists while keeping the transparecy needed to protect our shareholders and colaborators in our final moments. For the rushed release that has hurt the people that allowed us to go this far, we deeply and sincerely apologize."

As the points of major highlight in the short interview, comes the fate of New Wave's current groups: rookie girl group PASS(i)ONE (2024 -) and boy group LOOPiN (2018 -):

"As a compromise to PASS(i)ONE's promotional contract with Mnet and the CJM Group as the winner of 'Be The One', due on March 1st, we've put all our resources to make their debut meet the required expectations. We're proud to say that, despite all complications, we have succeded and proudly repaid our dept to our partner companies. But we can't go on any longer; we can't take PASS(i)ONE any further."

PASS(i)ONE is a nine membered girl group debuted on February 26th, three months after their extremely successful 3 member run on Mnet's survival reality show 'Be The One', where small and medium companies sent trios made out of their close to premiere trainee teams, all in chance of winning a highly sponsored debut in the first semester of 2024. The group is made up Dahyung, Cai, Chaeun, Bless, Kendall, Wanee, Furumi, Yeji and Marcie, all no longer signed to New Wave Music. Their future is currently unknown, altought CEO Seo hints over the conference that they're not disbanded.

Regarding the future of LOOPiN, however, the CEO declares himself unable to speak on:

"LOOPiN has always taken pride in being a self-producing, self-fulfilling act. We've terminated our exclusive contracts with all member colaborators on March 28th, and since then I have personally encouraged their persue for new agencies. But what has been decided for their future as a team has been done privatly and beyond our professional input or awareness. To whataver happens in their future, we can't add any further comments."

MORE FOR YOU ... LOOPiN's official Youtube channel, group Instagram and Twitter pages attached to New Wave Music permanetly deleted | Netizens attempt to solve the unspoken in New Wave Music's Seo Chanhyuk's final speech...

[kikithedeceiver]

Yakumo's lines for Eiden's birthday!

Characters Aster Morvay Yakumo Edmond Olivine Quincy Kuya Garu Karu Blade Dante Rei Eiden Missing: Tall Aster & Explosive Recall Blade

[manto-m8]

Droplets of water, the drought is ending.

[barkingangelbaby]

i should get a treat every time i take my meds!! it has been so so so difficult to even drink water today, much less swallow my meds.. everything hurts so much :c im currently crushing my pills up n mixing them into my drinks bc it's been so hard, rip.

i was barely able to speak aloud today too /: I rly hope im feeling up for doing some light chores tmrw. anyway. time to try to drink my little oxy water without crying !!

[definitelynotafurinasimp]

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

THE :D HOLY FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

[mimiteru]

Sometimes i remember that Johnny Cage is like a celebrity in the mk universe so i have this scenario where if he ever is invited to Rupaul's drag race he would def act like Joel McHale did

[theauthor27]

Look at this hat I own:

[ohgaylor]

Taylor really went there this time

[dragonomatopoeia]

at any given time I am thinking about Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside (2020) by Cesario, J., Johnson, D. J., & Eisthen, H. L.

[polkanight]

So there I was, happy, doing my shit, feeling great and stuff, browsing through my reference folder when suddenly. WHEN SUDDENLY.

I FOUND THIS PICTURE:

https://www.deviantart.com/galifardeu/art/with-many-rivers-ahead-81337306

AND I WAS LIKE OH GOD NO, SHIT HERE WE GOOOO

and that's the story of another Aaravos fanart, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[small-purple-duck]

Spotify wrapped told me I listened to 30,022 minutes this year and I did 28,250 minutes last year. That is a 1,772 minute difference and I am PROUD OF MYSELF