#and the different effects coming face to face with your mortality has on them

[eli-void]

the dust from the explosion that settles on the cardinals' shoulders and heads, is it like the ash for ash wednesday, reminding them that they too, are mortal beings who will eventually turn to dust? is this anything?

[dcxdpdabbles]

For Angel Brat, could we have some more focus on Bruce and Danny? Maybe Dick and Danny as well?

Bruce looks over to where Danny and Dick are each filling up their frozen yogurt cups. Dick's, is a vanilla and chocolate mix topped with various candies.

It seemed he had taken the open bar toppings as a personal challenge to drop a scoop of everything laid out into his container. Honestly, Bruce sometimes wondered if all of Dick's spontaneous flips were just a means to stay in shape, so he could keep eating the way he did.

Danny, on the other hand, had chocolate topped with only peanuts. His blue eyes- the only difference between him and Damian physically wise- kept wandering over longingly to offered sweeties but he was on a strict diet for his health.

Bruce can't believe that for all they have been searching for ways to keep Danny; they had neglected developing research for his illnesses. It felt a bitter taste in his mouth that they still could not find a cure for his boy.

Bruce Wayne was able to travel through time but make sure his son could run long periods without his heart or his lungs breaking down? Turns out he truly is just a mortal, and that was one of the worst things to realize when his son confidently bragged about being able to do two entire laps of their yard without nearly passing out.

He mentally did some calculations before stepping closer and touching Danny's shoulder. "I think you can have some chocolate chips."

His boy's face brightened in joy before he rushed to the counter, scooping the chocolate goods into his yogurt. It's another thing he noticed about Danny.

Unlike Damian, his youngest didn't bother hiding his emotions. He wore them like a badge of honor, letting them bleed across his face as quickly as he allowed sunlight to rest on them.

Bruce isn't sure if this is due to their different personalities- like the night and day of those two- or if it was because Danny had gotten out of the League when he did. Damian had broken him out to prevent him from being killed for his execution, but Bruce could not figure out where Danny had grown up.

His son's phrases and slight accent indicated midwestern. Bruce had no idea where, and every time he tried searching for him, the only thing that popped up was the already small rumors. Was this an effect of the timeline resetting? But why were there some posts and data on him left behind if it was?

It gave Bruce a headache; even Wally had no idea what was causing it. Wally, having been trapped in the Speed Force for so long, was the expert on it. Bruce shuddered to think of the alternatives if he couldn't figure out what was happening.

Bart had assured everyone that Danny was officially an anchor to their timeline, but if Wally's grim warnings that time was slowly erasing him- thus the lack of proof of childhood- then nothing they could do would save their son.

The worst part was not knowing if he would even be able to properly mourn him. Would Daniel Wayne vanish one day if no one remembered he was supposed to be there?

"Dick, I'm taking a pottery class. I'm going to make you something for your desk." Danny says, snapping Bruce out of his dark thoughts. Then he realizes he was moving on auto-polite, and the cashier was handing back his change.

He takes it with an empty smile turning to his children as Dick beams down at the youngest. "I can't wait to see it, Danny! I bet it will be the best one in class."

"I'll be the only one in the class," Danny tells him sheepishly, but a hint of sadness leaks into his voice. "I'm too sick to go to the center. Dad hired me a private teacher to come to the manor instead."

Bruce's heart squeezes painfully, and one quick glance at Dick's face lets him know his son feels the same way. Of course, nothing sows on his eldest face, but Bruce has known Dick for so long he can tell by the slight tightening around his eyes and the way the pain is tucked in his eyes.

Before he can think better of it, Bruce hears himself say, "I've always been interested in pottery. I'll see if the instructor wouldn't mind a second student."

"Really?" Danny's eyes are practically shining , which prompts Bruce to smile and shrug a shoulder.

"Yes, in fact I'm sure all of your siblings would love to take a class or two. Why don't you send a message in the group chat to see if they like to sign up?" He makes a motion that has Dick pulling out his phone to send in a different group titled "Keep our Angel."

His phone dings just a few seconds before Danny's, which the more petite boy takes as his own message coming through. Bruce never the less checks it anyway, swiping over to Dick's to read what he wrote

Dick: You are all taking a pottery class this Saturday. No excuse. Danny wants us there. I will hurt you if you miss.

His lack of emojis is bone-chilling. Bruce highly doubts any of his children will miss the event. And just as he predicted, Danny's smile grows wider when more dings can be heard coming from his phone.

"Everyone can make it!" He cheers, scrolling through the messages, looking like the world had just been promised to him. "This is going to be so much fun! Do you think the teacher won't mind?"

"I'm sure she will be happy for the raise." And if she wasn't, Bruce would quickly find someone who would. Money, to him, was never an issue.

Danny grins so brightly that Bruce wonders if he should invest in some sunglasses, but his heart does soar. Even if Dick has to reach out to adjust Danny's heart pump wires after they get stuck on the chair.

Effortlessly, Dick moves the attention away from the machine with a simple question. "Besides my gift, what else are you hoping to make Danny?"

"I'm going to make a vase for Bernard. Damian will help me buy him flowers and ask him out." Danny's words are accompanied by a brilliant blush, but he seems almost proud of his newfound courage to ask a boy three years his senior.

Did Bruce just get shot? He feels like he's been shot.

Dick's little spoon crumbles in his hold as his very famous and dangerous rage bleeds into his blue eyes. "Wow. That's so brave of you. By the way, where does Bernard live again?"

Bruce will have to postpone his deep dive into finding out where Danny was raised because if he takes his attention off of Dick for even a second, his eldest will kill that boy.

[bamsara]

Howdy! I just want to take a moment (or two…or three..yeah this is longer than I thought it would be) to talk about your characterization of Narinder in your TRoD fanfic, specifically his grievance over what he perceived the lamb to be and betrayel.

I like to think Narinder repeatedly calling Lambert a traitor (I think at least once a chapter actually lmaoo) over and over, is trying not so subtly to avoid thinking about the why behind the betrayel and the pain that comes with it. Especially since he'd already spent an eternity wondering about the previous betrayal of his siblings. How emotionally torturous it must feel to be in this cycle of rejection, from the people he depended on, even now from his own followers who don't recognize him. And then, when he and Lambert finally appear to be on the same page about something, Lambert goes and spares Leshy, reminding Narinder once again that his divine commands hold as much weight on the Lamb as they will decide to hold.

It isn't up to Narinder to decide how the lamb will act, as much as he wants to. It's one thing for Narinder to have people listening to him, but it's another to actually be heard, and after an eternity of silence during his imprisonment he's absolutely desperate for some form of control and impact. For someone to truly hear him. Which is a shame, because Lambert does, but Narinder cannot recognize it since they don't always give Narinder what he wants (since being a God is all about what you want), and instead are more interested in giving him what he needs.

I assume at this point, after being revived into a mortal form, he's actively given up on trying to understand why everyone just keeps "betraying/rejecting him" and would rather use his own inferences of their behavior as explanation, once again, for that feeling of control, since he's utterly mortified of hearing those words come from their mouths instead of his own (doesn't help that he can actually read minds either). He'd rather kill his siblings than hear the why (not saying the siblings were justified ofc, but understanding one's motivations is, y'know, important to effectively communicating with them in a way that's healthy) Despite needing to be heard, he's internalized that many won't bother listening unless he has control over them in some way, like he did before when he was powerful. When he mutilated his siblings, had Lambert create a cult in his name, being heard isn't just an emotional or mental aspect to his wellbeing, but is literally part of his power as well.

He was/is a God, he's used to followers prostrating themselves just to hear the time of day, giving their all to listen, hear, and follow him. It's why he struggles to separate the aspects that are ingrained in a follower, from those who are a friend. Unless they're also God he can't comprehend much of a difference, and expects them to be of the same or similar standing. He was friends with Lambert when he was Godly, yes, but he still saw himself as above Lambert, and expected them to lay down their life to him like a follower would. Yes, Narinder didn't want to cut them out of his own life in their death, but still expected them to just..die for him. He didn't ***just*** see Lambert as a friend, he saw them as a friend that was also his follower. An exceptional follower he loved, but not an exception. There was a power imbalance that Lambert now sees.

It's why Narinder's utterly baffled and offended, fearful even, at Lambert, someone he deemed as "traitorous", investing their time into still trying to talk to him..listen to him.. for virtually no gain…at his lowest point...when he himself is now "lesser".

Narinder tries so hard to not become invested in those he deems as "lesser" or "traitors" but its near fucking impossible, because like it or not, his desires and needs are so inherently mortal and genuine (desire for power, companionship, love, understanding, control, etc) that if he doesn't close himself off, he may have to face falling into the same pit of disappointment and failed expectations he fell in with Lambert/his siblings once again. So he doesn't, and hides away in his shack until Lambert comes knocking.

And now, as the cherry on top of this emotionally constipated bundle of angsty cat woes, he has to live and breathe as the very thing he deemed as "lesser". Being forced to invest in these mortal needs, now that they're a necessary component to his survival. This is also why I believe he goes on these little crusades with Lambert in the first place as well. Not only because they return to him a sense of routine and normalcy (also pining, coughocoughghhrbogh who said that?), but also because it allows Narinder to forget about investing in his own wellbeing for a while.

He was a God, he didn't have to go through the work it took to just do your laundry, eat, brush your teeth, or take care of yourself since he never had to. The thrill of adventure and battle, the adrenaline rush of near-death experiences, can't hold a candle to the mundanity of work. So when he's not crusading, he just..sleeps..wanders around..the fact he's not socially accepted by his own followers doesn't encourage him either. I mean fuck, he such a complete wreck after Lambert spared Leshy, he crusaded and neglected his health for so long he passed out.

His life is all work now, investing in himself, in others, being forced to have his ego get knocked down a few pegs, and care again despite how much it hurts. None of these things are "given", Lambert's love is not just given (as in, blindly follow) and that's what I believe will be an eventual "eureka" moment for him.

Living is work, but it's worth working for

He ain't hot shit anymore, but that's ok.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded ramble this was all actually just a very roundabout and ineffective ploy for me to talk about how I relate the song "Don't Speak" by No Doubt, to your Narinder's character. Happy belated New Year, hope you're doing well. :]

LKSDHGKLSDHGD HELLO. This is such a well articulated analyzation of Narinder holy moly, I hope you don't mind me answering this with not much to add on because WOW I'm really vibing with your takes on him and I wanted the world to read this too slkdghlksdhgs. I have a lot of my own takes on Narinder and how he'll progress to be as the story comes along, and eventaully some of this will be talked about in TROD either with the lamb and/or with other characters, particularly Ratau, as he comes to an understanding that others are understanding.

I have not had coffee yet this morning but I could go on for a day and a half about Narinder being used to getting what he wants as a god and the entire process of how actaully lonley and isolating it can be to be continously pedastaled and worshipped verses being on equal, human level with other beings and how long it takes for him to realize that.

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR

[gaysindistress]

Things that I feel like would happen when you’re in a relationship with Simon Riley trauma edition

Warnings: mentions of trauma and relating effects

Simon Riley masterlist

Plain and simple, Simon Riley has trauma. He’s seen and done some unspeakable things. He’s met the grim reaper and made it beg for forgiveness as he clawed his way back to this plane of existence. He’s looked God in the face and said “fuck your plan. I’m doing things my way.”

With that comes consequences.

He has terrible nightmares most nights where he wakes up with a raw heart and covered in sweat. His throat hurts from the screaming he must have been doing while he dreamt about his family’s murders. His eyes are sore from the tears he shed when he relived being buried alive. His body aches from being in fight or flight for so long. He hurts everywhere all of the time. Most nights he can’t sleep in bed. Instead he’ll lay on the floor or the couch because it’s uncomfortable but it’s what he’s used to. He only uses a thin blanket and maybe an old pillow that’s basically cardboard. Nothing can be touching him because he immediately wakes up. No one can walk past him or the room he’s sleeping in without his eyes snapping open. He has to face the door when he sits down because he needs to be able to see if anything happens. He’s concealed carrying at all times because he feels exposed without the familiar weight of a weapon at his hip.

Loud noises and crowded places are a big fuck no. Any loud bang causes him to flinch and his eyes to twitch. Crowds leave too much room for error. When he’s with you, he will not be out into a position where he can’t protect you. If that means you don’t go to concerts or clubbing so be it.

Your blood will not stain his hands.

Physical touch is difficult for him. He has to work his way up to it. It starts with small gestures like brushing his hand against yours when you’re walking or when you’re siting down. It eventually goes to holding your fingers (not your whole hand) and gripping your knee when he’s driving. After some time he’s able to keep his hand on the small of your back while also kissing the top of your head. However do not ask this man to kiss you in when you’re around the others. He will spontaneously combust at the mere thought of them seeing him be Simon and not Ghost.

He tries therapy but at a certain point, it doesn’t seem to help. Consistency is key and he doesn’t exactly have that with his job. The other issue is that therapy is not a cure. It is a managing tool. It will not ‘fix’ whatever you feel is broken. It can help repair what needs to be mended and it’s done that for Simon. He’s repaired all that he can but the long term effects of his trauma are here to stay. He’s not going to like going out. He’s not going to be comfortable with touch. His sleeping habits will be different until he finally shuffles off this mortal coil. He’s going to be harsh and abrasive to most. He’s going to be Ghost most of the time.

He’s going to be all that is he now because it’s who he is…and you love him for it.

[mjldx7]

What if...?

What if 'Without-a-Cure' had a bit of different effect?

After the three battles between Cang Qiong Mountian Sect and Sha Hualing's Demons the Shen Qingqiu still gets hit by the demon who was wearing the spiked armor that contained 'Without-a-Cure'. But, why isn't anything happening? Why isn't Shen Qingqiu's cultivation gone? Why did the palm strike still work? He was hit by 'Without-a-Cure', he should be. Oh shit... Well we can work with this?

...

Sha Hualing (Brushing off dirt from her clothes after the palm strike, seemingly happy though?): "Looks like we seemed to have made a mistake on what poison Peak Lord Shen has been afflicted by."

Shen Yuan who behind his poker face, activity freaking out (Qingqiu) : "If this is a threat to scare us by spouting nonsense about a poison of death or something else then spare it. You have lost your fight and are expected to hold up your end of the deal. Leave this Sect before you are forced out."

Sha Hualing: "Oh trust me Peak Lord Shen~ This Hualing tells no lies. Don't you want to know what is going to happen to you? Don't you want to know what monster you will become now that you've been poisoned?"

Luo Binghe: "What monster? Your not making any sense, Shizun isn't a monster!"

*Other disciples in agreement and confusion*

Shen Yuan: "Luo Binghe do not listen to her, go back with the other disciples to get medical treatment."

Sha Hualing: "Oh he isn't a monster yet, sure! But that poison that is now running through your dear Shizun's dantian and spreading throughout his body is making him one. What did those mortal stories call them... something like a vampire I think? Sadly that poison won't kill him but better to kill the monster yourselves before he loses control!"

So after Sha Hualing's speech Liu Qingge who is fed up by now listening to the demon's ranting finally gets the demons away, danhua sword style. He heard all of what they said sure, but he isn't enough of an idiot to not at least hear whether his martial sibling might die. Either way...

Shen Yuan has already started to feel odd by now, his head hurts, he's starting to feel dizzy, he falls to his knees onto the ground as the pain starts to spread from his arm to the rest of his body.

Liu Qingge of course goes to make sure that he is okay before, putting up a silencing talisman around them while doing so.

...

Liu Qingge: "Shen Qingqiu get up. What's wrong?"

Shen Yuan: "I'm not sure what's wrong shidi. That demon was just probably bluffing. I'm not-!"

Before that happens though the pain seems to become too much. Suddenly falling over to the ground, out completely cold. When Liu Qingge kneels down to check on him, his skin is seemingly becoming paler by the second. A bit of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as what looks to be a fang slightly sticks out.

Now of course the disciples outside are still terrified, they can't hear whatever it is thier Shizun and/or Shushu's are talking about they just saw the Peak Lord of Qing Jing Peak pass out.

Eventually the Head Disciple of one of the Peaks passes through the silencing talisman to ask whether or not Shen-Shushu is alright. They get told off and to wait for the Peak Lords to come back and to tell the disciples all to go to the Qiong Ding Peak Hall for now. What did they expect. Liu-Shushu is a fighter, not a thinker...

[writingwithcolor]

Any advice for handling race in reincarnation situations?

@swamp-spirit asked:

I'm writing a story that includes characters being reincarnated with completely different appearances. It's a fantasy world, and most of the characters are being reborn in the same region, but I still want a range of skin tones and features in the main cast (this is a comic). I have weird feelings about a character being 'reborn' with notably lighter or darker skin, but it also feels implausible and lazy for people to Just Happen to have a similar appearance when the theology of the story doesn't support it. Characters being reborn, and taking out things specific to real life groups, what are the major things you'd want an author to read up on or take into account? (Note: there is not a 'white' looking ethnic group in this story)

I don’t think it’s a problem as long as the skin tones don’t have any correlation to the circumstances that they’re reincarnated into.

- SK

It’s an interesting question, because in most religions where reincarnation/ transmigration of the soul is a feature of “what happens after death”, remembering one’s past life is not really part of the package deal. From what you’ve written, it’s not clear to me where the “memory” of these characters’ lives are held. Is there a 3rd person omniscient narrator telling the audience who each person is in their next life or do the characters themselves retain memory of past lives?

Assuming this is your typical reincarnation scenario where characters retain no memory of previous lives, it doesn’t much matter. The next life is the next life. Who a person was in their previous life and that identity, in theory, means nothing to them. This also means whatever personality, values, experiences and so on they had in their previous life no longer has meaning. They are, in effect, another person. However, you say you feel awkward about the above which makes me wonder if characters are remembering past lives, in which case…

If you study pretty much any major Asian religion where reincarnation is a part of the belief system, having no memory of the previous life is par for the course. In present-day religions like Jainism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism, only “special” (I’m using the term very casually here) entities like bodhisattvas, guru, arihant, buddhas, etc. usually get to keep their memories, while the rest of us (literal) mere mortals are supposed to lose our memories between lives as a part of Samsara. In Hinduism, even the gods often forget their previous lives, unless their reincarnation had a targeted purpose (Like being born to defeat an evil entity). 

For most people, it is only through prayer, devotion, meditation and accumulated virtuous/ good/ compassionate deeds that humans are thought to deepen their understanding of the nature of the universe, and thus have the capacity to remember past lives (I’m, again, paraphrasing very loosely here from several years worth of university history+religion courses).  

This is why the isekai genre in Japan is largely regarded as a “cheat”/ parody genre of fantasy. The protagonist, according to common Japanese cultural beliefs, which are quite heavily grounded in Buddhism, is definitively “cheating.” Not to get too ironically biblical, the character’s success often comes from the forbidden knowledge borne of their previous life. 

Thus, there are two ways I look at your characters’ predicaments: 

It’s not technically reincarnation - not by the way most major world religions define reincarnation, anyway. You have people who died now inhabiting other bodies, but that’s not the same as the transmigration of the soul. Also, you want to delve into the weirdness (and maybe heaviness) of “Wow, I went to sleep with one face and woke up with another.” There are certainly stories about people who have had dramatic cosmetic plastic surgery, weight loss surgery, HRT, etc. and then experienced the difference in the “before” versus “after” of how their altered physical appearance makes them feel, as well as how other people treat them. Even if the community your characters are born into now differs from their previous community (Which I guess would make this more a “I traveled between dimensions, and my appearance altered in the process” sci-fi adjacent affair), their new life will still have social environments with differing attitudes towards human physical appearance that will affect your characters’ emotional states. 

Isekai it up and play with the ridiculous contradiction of having past lives and differing memories of one’s appearance. Isekai manga, manhwa and webtoons all make use of this trope heavily, especially with protagonists who experience a “glow-up” (Ex. Going from a Plain Jane OL to beautiful fantasy heroine) or, by contrast, protagonists who end up in very different forms from their original lives (Tensura, I’m a Spider, So What?). I’d be creative and go even more granular. Being able to tan after a lifetime of getting sunburns or no longer needing glasses might be nice, but what if the new body lacks the enzymes to process dairy or alcohol? What about dealing with differences in hair texture? Skincare routines? What about living life as a very tall person after being quite short or vice versa? What if you bumped into an acquaintance from your previous life, and one of you clearly got a more “coveted” reincarnation?  See how far of an extreme you can take this idea until it feels too uncomfortable or ridiculous. 

Marika.

[a-bottle-of-tyelenol]

Seeing people on tiktok say that they can’t feel bad for Ctimene (ody’s sister and eury’s wife) because Eurylochus gave up on her, unlike Odysseus who never gave up on Penelope, genuinely infuriates me.

cw: discussions of suicide particularly towards the end

People act as if it’s Eurylochus’ fault for not being strong enough, as if Odysseus is the expectation and not the INSANE outlier, and say that Eurylochus borderline deserved to die because of it. Ignoring how gross that mindset is, especially given the implications that Eurylochus killing the cow was effectively an act of suicide, Odysseus should NOT be seen as the typical man because he isn’t.

He should have died. Multiple times, in fact. If we look at the Iliad, Odysseus would have died during the war if not for Athena’s intervention (she literally redirects a spear in his abdomen so it’s not lethal when he’s alone and completely surrounded by Trojans) and that was likely the case for the ENTIRE TEN YEARS that they fought, a luxury that no other man (barring Diomedes) would have been given. I bring this up because it sets a precedent on what to expect with Odysseus and how he is inherently treated differently than regular men.

I see Eurylochus defenders often bring up how magic and monsters are not the norm for regular men, and how Odysseus is only chill with it because he was chosen by Athena and related to Hermes, and they’re RIGHT. I literally cannot stress enough how insanely bonkers it is to treat Odysseus as the standard for men, or humans as a whole, when his experience is so different! Even just as a king, he was likely far more exposed to the gods and magic than your regular footman would be. Do you genuinely think Eurylochus would have ever spoken even a word to Achilles, a half-mortal? How likely was it that he knew Ares and Aphrodite were disguised and physically on the field (so close that Diomedes literally stabbed them), let alone got close enough to experience it himself? He likely knew that Zeus’ favor was in play, or that Apollo was blessing the other side, but how much was he really faced with? How much did Odysseus bother to tell him? Within the context of how I think EPIC’s version of the Iliad would go, how much of Eurylochus’ experience of the war just him handling the men and spreading the basic plans or news from Ody to their armies? How much did Odysseus filter that news? And even if he didn’t, how real was it to Eurylochus when, as a normal man, he likely never faced any of this himself?

It’s implied in EPIC (through the fact that it’s never brought up) that the crew, including Eurylochus, don’t even know about Athena! They don’t even know that she was helping! They don’t even know that she left!

How is Eurylochus ever comparable to Odysseus?

Back to the original topic, Odysseus’ will to go home was so inhuman that it nearly destroyed him! He spent the entire musical desperately grasping to the side that makes him human— the man that he was when he left home— and his choice to stop and delve into the other side of himself fundamentally changed him! He is not the man Penelope knew! And she will have to fall in love with him again!

Odysseus is consistently placed as something above man and below god, and it is consistently the driving force of every conflict he experiences. He is too mythical, which drives the wedge between him and his entirely human crew. He is too much of a man, which incites the tensions he has with every god he comes in contact with. The only reason Odysseus makes it home in EPIC is because he started leaning away from being a man! That is the entire point of Monster! That is the entire point of Scylla likening him to her! That is the entire point of Odysseus having a song named after him!

Eurylochus fundamentally does not have this option! He, quite literally, is just a man and that is the whole point of him taking the phrase from Odysseus! He isn’t attempting to justify himself, he’s admitting defeat because no regular man can go on like this! And he’s right!

You can make a thousand arguments over the conflict of free will and fate— particularly when it comes to the cows and the crew. In the Odyssey, it is very likely that, had the cows not been touched, it would have been possible for everyone to return home, but because they ignored the prophet’s warning, man’s free will overwrote that and their fate then became to die. This only works in the Odyssey, however, because Poseidon never actually tries to kill Odysseus (and by proxy, his crew) in that story! He can’t because it was always Odysseus’ fate to return home and the gods cannot ignore fate! In EPIC, however, that’s not the case and Poseidon likely would have just killed the crew in that final fight before they reached Ithaca anyways. Odysseus would have been the only survivor regardless!

And why is that? Because Odysseus is unlike the other men and comparing any of them to him is inherently setting them up for failure. Eurylochus did not have to love Ctimene any less than Odysseus loved Penelope in order to give up. He did not have to love her less than he loved the crew that he fought so hard to keep alive. He did not even have to be weaker in will than Odysseus. His fate was sealed as soon as things started going wrong because that is the fate of a mere man in a tragedy.

And even if that weren’t the case and Eurylochus could’ve gone home if he hadn’t killed that cow, he literally could not have know that. He was starving and wracked with thirteen years of trauma and three years of grief and starvation. It is insane to me to say that he couldn’t have loved Ctimene as much because he gave up after everything that he went through— because he thought (correctly) that he was going to die regardless. As someone who severely struggles with suicidal thoughts and has for my entire life, I do not love anyone any less just because I’m on the brink of giving up and the same is true for anyone that’s given up. They don’t love their family, their partners, their friends any less than the ones that fight to keep going. It is simply more complicated than that.

We don’t know much about her in canon, but I believe that Ctimene was loved and that she deserves to have the space of anger towards Odysseus and grief towards her lost husband, regardless of his decisions. Eurylochus can love her with his entire being and still end up where he did. Iirc, Odysseus in the Odyssey wished that he had been killed during the war because of the hardships he faced trying to get back home. That wish, regardless on if he acted on it, does not mean he loved Penelope any less.

I don’t like this notion people have that Eurylochus’ love is lesser than Odysseus’ just because Eurylochus gave up, and I don’t think it’s fair to compare them at all.

The message this gives off is really gross to me and is a bit too victim blamey and unempathetic for my tastes. Eurylochus made a hasty decision (a lot, if not most, people who commit suicide do it impulsively during a low point) and it was one that was fueled by extremely idiosyncratic circumstances. To me, everything Eurylochus did was understandable and even relatable to a degree, even up until the end.

Eurylochus is more like me, more like the average person, and Odysseus could ever be and I would never see his love as any less just because he failed to meet those impossible expectations.

[plushiesssforcrying]

Can I request Hermes with a winged fem!s/o. Reader has dragonfly like wings and can fly extremely fast

🔔 message received !

— i did bullet points and second person pov on this... if you want it differently, feel free to send another ask. let me know whatever you guys like. i think it's a little sucky, it's been a hot minute since i written requests...

୨୧ character ┊ hermes.

୨୧ pronouns ┊ she / her.

୨୧ contents ┊ reader is a mortal with wings. female reader only implied.

It was simply a blessing from Phobos. he gifted you a pair of beautiful wings and you couldn't wait to show this off to Hermes.

Almost immediately, he asks to race you.

And you accepted without hesitation.

Foolish decision when you've yet to grown used to flying.

You crashed into a tree within twenty minutes of the race.

Hermes laughed first before he helped you.

It takes a while to get used to flying and zipping all over the place. Hermes tried to help but his wings are feathered rather than veiny like yours.

Once you get used to it though, it is such a fun perk!!

He's denied a kiss from you by floating off the ground before, so guess what!! Now you can just take it!

Absolutely marvels at your wings. The way it looks and moves is just so intricate.

It's really transparent and looks thin but it's pretty resilient, he likes looking through them and see the funky shapes that come out.

It's like mirror funhouse.

While he's definitely happy you can fly together now, he missed when he can just pick you up in his arms and watch you scramble in his arms.

He also praise you at how it's so much more low maintenance than feathered wings since you wouldn't need to prune.

Does that thing where you kiss someone but covers your face with something, he does that with your wings. No it is not effective. Yes, he is aware.

He'd jokingly confuse you with an actual dragonfly whenever he spots one.

“Oh my me! I must be seeing doubles!” As he looks back between you and the dragonfly.

He'd pull you in for a mid air dance at one point. Not that he doesn't already do it before you had wings but now you can actually keep up.

thank you for requesting ♡

[doodle-pops]

Of Heroism and Heart

Glorfindel x reader

A/N: I've never been one for writing the whole 'modern–day reader falling into Middle Earth stories', I always preferred to read them. So, I'm attempting my hand at this for the first time. It is a bit different from what is typically written. So, here's your Glorfi fic that won the poll.

Warnings: none, tooth-rotting fluff, Glorfindel has learned how to use his charisma.

Words: 1k

Synopsis: Talks of heroism and villainy become the new philosophical method of displaying one's charm.

“There’s a saying about villains and heroes where I’m from,” you began, your voice thoughtful and reflective. “It goes something like this: ‘A hero would sacrifice you to save the world, but a villain would sacrifice the world to save you.’”

Swinging gently in the breeze, swaying side to side in your hammock, your elven Lord sat across from you, engrossed in the exchange of tales and sayings from your world. Each day seemed to bring a new layer of fascination as he delved into the intricacies of human culture and thought. He had never expected your arrival to kindle such curiosity and interest in his heart. Mortals were extraordinary beings, but your presence had illuminated new facets of their nature that he had yet to explore.

His gaze followed the motion of the potted celandines hanging above, his lips pursed in contemplation as your words settled into his mind. “Care to elaborate?” he inquired, his curiosity genuine.

Shouldering a casual shrug, accompanied by a half–formed smirk, you stretched languidly in the hammock, nestling further into its embrace. You playfully placed your small feet beside his torso. “It’s just one of those sayings people come up with, you know? Derived from observations about heroes and villains,” your tone conveyed a sense of ease, as if you were simply relaying common wisdom passed down to you. “Heroes are driven to save the world, which in turn saves their loved ones. However, sometimes, their loved ones end up perishing in the process of saving the world. On the other hand, villains prioritize protecting their loved ones before pursuing their goal, even if that means destroying the world.”

His brow furrowed as he mulled over your explanation, his expression a canvas of deep contemplation. With each piece of your interpretation, it was as if puzzle pieces were clicking into place within his mind, accompanied by mental light bulbs illuminating his understanding. His appearance resembled that of a bemused puppy, and you couldn’t help but toy with the idea of labelling him your “Golden Retriever,” a nickname he strangely seemed to embody.

“What specifically are you conveying here?” Glorfindel’s head tilted to the side, his gaze fixed on you with a tinge of displeasure. “Your words seem to imply that villains are superior to heroes, given their commitment to safeguarding their loved ones. I find myself in disagreement with that declaration.”

Laughter bubbled from your lips in response to his dissatisfaction, prompting you to sit upright and meet his gaze directly. “What it suggests is that when faced with a choice between saving the world or saving their beloved, a hero would typically choose the world, while a villain would opt for their loved one,” you clarified. “Heroes tend to be focused on overarching morality and the greater good, whereas villains are often more concerned with their personal connections. It’s a play on perspectives—what’s considered right or wrong isn’t always straightforward.”

Glorfindel blinked rapidly, his gaze unwavering as he sat upright to face you directly. His unruly golden locks, cascading like sun–kissed tendrils, framed his countenance like an ethereal halo. A soft blush warmed your cheeks despite the intellectual discourse at hand. It was easy to lose yourself in these conversations, and at times, it almost felt like he possessed an uncanny awareness of his own effect on you.

“I beg to differ,” he asserted firmly, a challenge evident in his voice. “I am regarded as a hero by many for my accomplishments, and I would never permit harm to befall either the world or my beloved. I would strive to safeguard both.”

Raising an eyebrow, you leaned in, your foreheads nearly touching as you met his steadfast gaze. “And how, might I ask, do you intend to accomplish such a feat, renowned Lord Balrog Slayer?”

Drawing even closer, his forehead pressed gently against yours, and he whispered with an air of triumph, “I would ensure your safety...for you are my world. Without you, the world would lose its meaning; you are the bane of my essence, my reason for existence, the very breath I inhale. There can be no world without you at my side, just as there can be no you without the world. As a hero, I would save my world, meleth–nîn. I cherish you deeply.”

A lump formed in your throat, a mixture of emotions leaving you momentarily speechless. The rising heat in your cheeks contrasted with the tears that shimmered in the corners of your eyes. The rush of emotions and the depth of his words left you with a heartwarming smile. Glorfindel’s eloquence had the power to move your soul and reshape your worldview. He effortlessly wove his sentiments into words that stirred your heart, offering you a love and life you had previously only encountered in fairytales. The dream of falling in love with Prince Charming had become a vivid reality ever since you had stumbled into Middle–earth and into his arms.

In the stillness that followed, he took advantage of the moment, his fingers gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. He placed soft kisses on your forehead and cheeks before hesitating, his lips hovering near yours. The anticipation hung in the air, drawing out the moment until his lips finally met yours in a fleeting, yet intense, kiss.

Pulling away, his lashes brushed against your skin as his lips traced playful patterns along your cheeks. “You’re quite the romantic, you know?” you giggled.

“If it means being right, then I shall embrace the role of the romantic for you, my beloved,” he murmured, a warmth of affection evident in his smile.

“Just ensure you tie your hair before rushing to save me, I don’t need another hair–pulling accident in this day and age.”

Masterlist

Taglist: @eunoiaastralwings @koyunsoncizeri @ranhanabi777 @lilmelily @someoneinthestars @mysticmoomin @aconstructofamind @hoshinokurasa @singleteapot @the-phantom-of-arda @rain-on-my-umbrella @asianbutnotjapanese @ilu-stripes @justellie17 @justjane @bunson-burner @stormchaser819 @wisheduponastar @roselovesong @batsyforyou

[woodlaflababab]

Aang during the Ember Island Players. This is an Aang character analysis, not a kataang meta. Kataang will obviously be talked about as it's an important part of the episode, but I want to make it clear, this is about Aang, not kataang.

Anyway, one thing I've never really seen mentioned is Aang's fear of the upcoming battle with Ozai. We see it before the invasion, a fear so pervasive he literally can't sleep due to crippling nightmares, but by the end of the Nightmares and Daydreams episode, it is resolved and he gets sleep. He wakes up feeling much better and ready for the invasion, and it seems like he's gotten over his fear.

Except, he hasn't. He's just returned to his usual state of 'pretend like everything is okay and everything will be okay'. We know this because we see a small crack in it the day of the invasion. During his kiss with Katara.

I don't know why nobody points out the fact that a child said "what if I don't come back?" Aang has died before. He is starkly aware of his mortality, of the very real possibility that, if he fails like he did in Ba Sing Se, that's it. Aang, though he doesn't mention it outside of this one moment, is genuinely thinking about and worried over the idea that he could die in just a couple hours.

Katara then tries to comfort him, as she does. "Aang, don't say that. Of course you'll-" but, as often happens, this doesn't work on Aang. No amount of someone telling him to feel differently is going to stop his fears. He doesn't even let her finish. Like he knows her words, though well intended, don't actually reflect reality.

Instead, he kisses her. This is his response to his fear. I think multiple things go into this, but part of it probably has to do with his avoidant tendancy toward difficult emotions. He distracts himself with other things, and I honestly think there's a pattern of him using his crush on Katara as a point of distraction. After all, his crush on Katara is one of the few good things he has in his life, the others being his relationships with his other friends, but those don't have the same effect as a crush.

Then we get to the Ember Island Players. We get to the infamous kiss scene. Katara here is totally right and understandable. There is a war going on, there is a very scary battle coming. She is being faced with reenactments of trauma. All of that stuff is going to feel far bigger than relationship issues. It's hard to sort through your feelings on a crush when you're trying not to be overwhelmed with traumatic memories, especially ones relating to the regular fear of losing said crush.

I think it says a lot that Aang left when he did. The direct reason is because he's upset about what the actor Katara said, but again, Aang is avoidant in nature. He takes emotions he can't handle and covers them with ones he can. You know what comes after the moment where he left?

The lightning strike. His failure. His death. One of the worst things to ever happen to him. Something that has literally left him with a permanent scar. He hyperfocuses on his insecurities with Katara, and conveniently leaves right before he has to witness the Fire Nation's version of his fall.

I think this also explains a lot about where Katara's head is at. She comes out later then Aang, which means she probably watched that scene and left shortly after. She's seeking Aang after being forced to watch the time she nearly lost him. So, of course her mind is on fear and war. Of course she's avoiding discussing their relationship when she was literally just exposed to a horrific reminder that losing Aang is still a very real possibility.

Their arguement, while played for drama, is very real and indicative of the way each of them is responding to fear. Aang asks for validation, seeks a distraction, wants to know if there's more to his world than just the pressure he is under. Katara is afraid, confused, and just wants things to stay as they are, because the alternative is losing Aang.

Aang, when given a non-answer, given nothing to focus on (either happiness at a yes, or sadness at a no) goes for a kiss, just like before the invasion. Again, these kisses are more than someone with a crush, these are Aang facing down potential death and wanting to carry something with him.

And of course, everything else happens as we know it, Katara pulls away and storms off and Aang realizes what a mistake that was and beats himself up over it. He returns to the play, clearly with it still on his mind (and notably reminded of the time he kissed Katara at the invasion). So, he's stewing over that, successfully distracted.

Until the end of the play when he is forced to watch his worst fear happen, unable to walk away because he didn't know it was coming. Even before we see Ozai actually kill Aang, we are shown Aang's reaction just to the comet arriving. A look of fear so stark it's almost dissociative. We aren't even shown his reaction to Ozai's defeat of Aang (probably because that's a little too morbid for a kids show).

But that look is important. That look is the thing he was desperately avoiding the entire play. That look is the root of his desperation to get an answer from Katara, and his focus on their relationship. The reason he and Katara have that disconnect because they are both facing the fear of Aang's death, and Katara can't focus on something that feels trivial on comparison, while Aang is focusing on it because it is trivial in comparison.

It's a really dark episode when considered what it says as an Aang episode, not a kataang episode.

[crooked-wasteland]

Hello there, it's nobody again. (rimshot)

Today I wanted to talk about an idea that I have been speculated in my head for a bit of time. That being the fact that the concept of story being in the afterlife doesn't seem to really exist at least from a writing standpoint.

At first, the idea of Hell being more so an actual livable society of demons and sinners seems interesting, but the execution makes it get boring fast, especially in the case of helluva boss S2 where a bunch of the World building feels really confusing. (Crimson's mafia, the rehab center, and the anti-blitz party and all the confusing morals there.) There's also the case of Heaven and Hell being effectively the coin (or more accurately ball) of each other considering that it's implied that heaven still has working services or activities involved.

Then in the case of Hazbin Hotel. (Though I haven't seen or plan to watch the show) A pattern I've notice from critical reviews is how lacking the backstories are. Sinners characters like Angel dust or Husk don't get focus on their pre-death lives. We are given background to their hell lives, but they're mortal history in comparison feels like an afterthought. We don't really have any context to what made them sinners in the first place. This problem of lacking origins even affects characters like Charlie, as we have no context as to why she's so adamant on her plans of redemption.

It reminds me a lot of the JJ Abrams Mystery Box philosophy of just hiding something for the sake of hiding and not really creating a solidary answer for us or even their selves. Not every character needs to get explained immediately or do so in complete detail. (Take Alaster's case). But I feel like they should have at least set up the groundwork of how this characters came to be in that sense.

With how unnecessary the past feels it feels as though you could probably rewrite Hazbin as a different style of fantasy. For example, it could be a Sci-Fi story. Heaven and Hell go from being different planes of existence to different planetoids. Maybe heaven the privileged class staying on the moon to planet hell. Heck, you could even put helluva boss in there still. Just have them go to different planets and they still have the idiotic society jokes that Viv took from Invader Zim.

Again it's not a perfect transition but the fact that you could mostly scrape off the red paint of the hell verse and you could potentially get the same story in a different circumstances feels bizarre. But it makes sense given that Zoophobia, Viv's first big project was effectively a mashed-up world consisting of all the cool ideas and character types that she liked at the time, some of which transitions later into the helluva verse.

Anyway I'd like to hear your thoughts on my silly Theory and I hope you have a nice day.

Hello again Nobody.

I have also made the comparison and reference to JJ Abrams’ mystery box TED Talk when criticizing Medrano’s works countless times. There’s a really interesting comparison to be made between Medrano’s styles of directing in Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel in this regard.

Season one of Helluva Boss was far from perfect as a story, but where it was lacking felt duly intentional. The mention of Barbie for the first time is delivered with a close up of Verosika’s face, drawing attention to the line and giving it a sense of importance. Similarly, the relationship between Blitz and Fizzarolli is foreshadowed by the framing in Loo Loo Land where the Robot entertainer is large on the screen, surrounded by children. In the same frame, Blitz is small and alone. His closeup comes from a downward angle where Blitz is glaring up at the stage.

These all are very well done. The timing in particular is perfectly balanced to mark the interaction as important. An appropriate and strategic use of closeup shots draw attention to mysteries to be revealed later in the story.

This is a stark contrast to how Hazbin Hotel is dealing with its “mystery”. Charlie’s history with her father is never referenced by the show, so when she is reluctant to call him in Dad Beat Dad, it comes from nowhere. She didn’t seem hesitant to answer his call in the first episode and he did send her to the meeting. So we have to assume that he knows of her Hotel and he has previously shown to be not just willing to help her, but vital to her opportunity. There were no serious questions about Charlie’s relationship to Lucifer that was born from the narrative. Similarly, when people ask what Pentious did to end up in Hell, it never warranted a full flashback. It is something not so important to the larger story that the pretentious trial confession is absurdly overblown. It's a question born from not understanding the characters, not because their story was honestly that important to know. The big mystery reveals are not intentionally set up, but reactive to genuine questions from viewers due to the complete lack of world building and character consistency.

On the note of setting, you are absolutely right and that fact is a huge issue to the structure of the show. Medrano doesn’t understand how setting contextualizes a narrative, after all she doesn’t see the importance of setting for a story, let alone its metanarrative. By being placed in an afterlife, it forces the world to reckon with concepts like morality. If this was in a setting like you suggested; a Sci-fi system where the wealthy elites colonized the moon and the poors are making do on Earth as labor slaves, forced to pillage the planet they live on to their own extinction while struggling to carve out their own societies (or just Piltover and Zaun), you are now looking at the constructs of a world without needing to make a statement on morality. Setting really does matter when you are designing a story. What themes and messages are you trying to send and how your setting and inspiration can contextualize those messages as being academic or dogmatic.

If we were not in Hell, we wouldn’t be gauging the actions and traits of the characters to figure out “what they did wrong” to be in this setting. We would simply know their crime is being unlucky without needing to spend any time actually drawing attention to it.

[quinloki]

I'm not even into yandere normally but I'm thinking about a polyam yandere situation with some of the WBP division commanders. Maybe you were a stowaway, maybe you were a hostage they couldn't bear to get rid of. Regardless you're entrapped between the group of them now. With such a large crew someone always has eyes on you. They rotate you between different DCs to sleep with, like a prized possession they share.

Also, if anyone is too harsh with you, there's always Marco to heal and soothe any injuries. He seems like the softest, most rational one--but in reality he's the most obsessed.

WB lets it happen--anything to keep his sons happy and under control.

Help it's too early to have these thoughts OTL

… you can’t do this to me.

You can’t

I…

Gods -

You get hurt defending one of them- you’re no one really, just some islander, never left your village hardly never mind your island, but the WBP have been protecting the place for half your life. You watched things improve.

Like most people you lookup to them, so when other pirates start a fight with them at port you’re staying out of the way, but you’re also close by. You’re not much of a fighter, but you want to see them fight, you want to witness your heroes being heroes. You’re so unskilled comparatively that you don’t realize that Marco isn’t moving because he knows an attack is coming, you think the attack is working.

Moving before you can speak the realization hits all three of you at once. The pirate turns toward you as Marco turns to see who those third person is, and it all happens just fast enough he can’t stop you from taking the strike. Clumsy and accidental, it’s still deep. Deadly, if not mortal.

The white beard pirates erupt in ferocity - they had been holding back cause they don’t treat weaker crews cruelly, but now someone under their care has been harmed. The battle barely lasts a second after that.

You’re in Marco’s arms, flames flaring around you as he takes you back to the ship. It takes days - fighting off infection and fever with his help, he and some of the other commanders listen your fever dreams - your devotion, and they watch you struggle to live. The offending crew will be on the bottom of the ocean if you don’t pull through.

When you come around there’s a celebration. You are quickly effectively adopted by the crew. You’re so enamored with all of them, these great men you idolize, that you are on your best and kindest behavior. You couldn’t dare to put them out or offend them.

By the time you’re fully recovered you realize that something’s wrong. No one’s talking about how they’ll miss you. No one’s talking about getting you home. They’ve talked about your room, your space, your home and you realize they don’t mean the island.

You stand at the railing of the great ship, so large you hadn’t barely felt the list and tilt of the waves from your recovery bed, and you see naught but sea.

Marco puts a hand on your shoulder and when you look up at him you see a darkened face and fiery eyes, a fierce and demanding gaze hidden in the hooded eyes that always seemed so docile. Thatch, Izou, Ace, and a couple other commanders are standing around. Their kind smiles and warm expressions slightly off just like Marco’s.

Menacing to you with your new understanding.

“Don’t worry, yoi.” Marco says, even and clear voice oddly reassuring, equally terrifying. “We’ll keep you safe, pretty bird.”

And Marco is the constant. It’s his eyes you see in the dim edges of the kitchen when the drugged food Thatch is giving you starts to take effect. Marco sitting in for tea with Izou, while you’re bound in shibari, elegant and beautiful and immobile. Marco who pulls Ace off you when he’s fallen asleep buried inside you and you’re too tried to get out from under him.

Marco who sits on Pops’ shoulder when you’re called to talk to the Captain.

Marco who soothes your rope burns and relieves the ache of bruising marks even as he moves over you, laying you down so sweetly beneath him. Don’t worry sweet little bird, he’ll be so gentle, so precise, so sing for him in that song that no one else gets to hear.

[earlymorningfoxhunt]

Hello, we're a system/collective who started listening to Malevolent on June 7th, 2024, and boy did it hit close to home! not only because of the jarthur body sharing blues, but also johns individual experience with his identity made us feel seen in a way we haven't felt before.

the way john has to figure out what differentiates himself from both arthur and hastur, despite feeling trapped behind arthurs eyes and chained to hastur heart, aligns with our experiences... a lot. so we've been making a compilation for the past month that includes all of the moments that made us go OOORRG as well as different folks commentaries (mostly consisting of us going OOORRG). this is going to be long as shit because this entire show is this.

also if your a system/collective who likes malevolent: PLEASE put ur favorite moments/ur thoughts

and if you haven't listened to malevolent: hey, you should give it a try and then come cry to me about it :D

A Compilation Of Malevolent Moments That Hit Differently As A System:

The Caves: (34:59-35:20)

during their argument john laughs while arthur trips over things

hehehe ya

The Path: (43:06-44:05)

johns questioning if he's feeding off of arthurs emotions or if hes learning them for himself, new split type beat, trying to figure out where each other start and end.

"we are of two minds, and more and more im realizing two souls as well. there's a bleed over effect but you are something entirely your own, john."

The Fall:

oh my god this episode. this man got so fucking pissed, not at john for rubbing the death of arthurs child in his face, but at arthur pulling host rank???? i was like ya buddy you can rot in a pit for a few months, mf you cant do that!! we we're listening to this at work and we were so pissed

The King: (35:00-36:25)(45:18-48:57)

its the first time arthur talks for him and its the first time he feels johns tears.

arthurs confrontation with the king and the feeling of no matter how much you hate each other, you're going to have each others back. for us personally it feels like a sucker punch to the gut every time he says "because i cant lose another person!"

The Unconquerable:

when we wrote down the title we didnt know why the episode resonated with us, but now I come back to it a month later as a yellow introject. we have horrid memory issues on top of memory issues, so it hurts something familiar to see the state yellow is in when he gets thrown into arthur. not knowing who or where he is but still trying to hold the cards, arthurs disappointment that hes not who he wanted him to be. its a new kind of painful. its the odd solace that comes from a shattered mirror.

we see arthurs frustration but its almost nice to be able to hate him for not giving yellow more grace.

The Train: (4:19-8:10)

I have literally told this guy he looks 80lbs sopping wet before, this entire episode is perfect. the bickering, the team work, the having to navigate socializing, it feels so nice

The Tear: (12:14-22:48)

ya...

The Detective: [(3:50-7:05) (10:40-14:58)] (28:09-28:18)

we made the mistake of listening to this on the way to getting tacos and we just had to sit in the parking lot, crying as john got to be seen for the first time by an ally. I've never had the experience myself(others in our system are out tho) but seeing it go well for him sparked something in me, enough that it pulled us to front for the past few weeks. that, w. it was a very important moment to us

and on a completely different vibe, "have you ever... before?" fuckin "well with out my excellent call outs" silly guy

The Order II: (23:26-24:00)

huh? oh hes not talking to us

The Witch: [(16:11-17:24) (25:30-26:56) (29:00-33:17)]

the whole episode honestly, start to finish.

no, im not including the ending speech it makes me physically ill

WITCH: This woman cared for you?

JOHN: Yes. 

WITCH: Lies! She cared for your mortal!

JOHN: He couldn’t hear her! I was the one who received her care, her kindness, her –

WITCH: Intended for another!

JOHN: What does that matter!? She knew no difference between me or him! She knew nothing of the soul that heard her, whether it was… (He sighs in frustration.) It was the same care. The same… compassion. 

UUUUUUUUUGGGGG

Honorary Mentions:

all of johns memory issues in season 4:

how every time he came back he would be defensive saying "right, i knew that!" even when he didn't remember, that's a classic.

Intermezzo: (5:00-5:46)

kayne and his many many voices/me not me/ its not about the names were given its about the names we choose

every time jarthur says we/our

The King:

"well at least thats what the loudest voice in my head says" ya? and how many voices are in there?

[mehmetminded]

I’m gonna ramble about Beware of Chicken for a sec. Kay? Kay.

I’m gonna start putting these under a read more since they get kinda long.

In its first book Beware of Chicken asks a simple question. “What if there were no consequences? What if you could fight off the guards? Fight off the army? What if no one could stop you as you did whatever you wanted?”

It’s a question our main man Jin struggles with in that first book. Jin’s answer is more or less “just don’t be a giant dick”, but BoC itself gives a different answer.

The question is flawed. There are always consequences.

Most cultivators spend their whole lives wrapped up in their own petty struggles for immortality. They break and steal and kill, not because they’re necessarily evil, but because to them these actions don’t have consequences. Even Xioulan, ostensibly one of the goodest people in the setting, behaves like this at first. Before she recognizes his strength she briefly considers killing Jin as an “impudent mortal”. Sure she decides not to, but it’s not because killing mortals for being rude is wrong. It’s because this specific mortal has done her a great service and it would be shameful to kill him now.

We can’t put too much blame on her though. She’s a product of her environment. When she is recovering from her PTSD she’s basically told to “get over it” by her sect and even her father. It’s expected that she detach herself from these feelings as other cultivators have. They reiterate to her that “one faces the heavens alone.”

I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like a great way to avoid thinking about how many people your actions have hurt and killed.

While he doesn’t use the word “consequences” Jin explains in no uncertain terms that every action we take effects other things. He tells Xioluan that everything is connected. The task a person must undertake isn’t deciding how to act when there are no consequences. Rather, it’s coming to the realization that every action has consequences.

Interestingly, this is similar to how children develop empathy. When they are young children have a hard time separating their own thoughts, needs, and experiences from those of others. As we grow we learn that other people are different from us and want or need different things.

The reason people keep assuming Jin is older than he is, is because he actually acts like an adult. Jin’s solution of “don’t be a giant dick” only works for him because he’s already an empathetic person. He considers the needs and feelings of others and works to help them. Not to get something out of them or to make himself feel good. He does it because he’s a grown ass man who knows actions have consequences.

Children throw tantrums and break things when they don’t get their way. They have strong emotions that they don’t know how to handle and don’t know where they come from. They need to be taught that their actions have consequences.

When he steps in at The Dueling Peaks at the end of the third book, Jin goes from Fa Ram’s dad to the dad of every young cultivator in the Azure Hills. He steps in where their actual parents didn’t and teaches them the lesson the rest of the world wasn’t strong enough to.

When your actions result in someone getting hurt it’s your responsibility to make things right again. There are other lessons to be learned and more growing to be done, but this lays the foundations for real empathy.

“If you break something, fix it.”

[highlordofkrypton]

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Happy freakin' birthday, @matrixsss! I wanted to do something a little different on your special day and include Amara in your gift. I hope I got her right, I based her off your descriptions and interactions of Kara!

We both know that Johan is the actual little sibling in this relationship because he is the biggest brat.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

I need to assemble an army.

Chaos reigns, debris blasted from castle walls. Fire soars through the skies and poison tipped arrows whirr in the distance. He stands in the heart of bloodshed, ignoring the clang of metal against metal and the cries of the wounded and dying. The demons are closing in, circling like vultures on his fraying tenacity. This war has torn the walls of this reality, and horrors pour in from other worlds. They do not need more gore and ghouls, yet here they are.

As the Mother’s herald, he should have prepared himself better. He should have known, but foresight is not his gift and the Mother speaks in goddess-damned riddles. And so, he is trapped pulling plans out of his ass in hopes of gluing the shattered pieces of the universe together.

He cannot work with the powers of one existence; he must draw upon the very best of the best, much to his dismay. Johan loathes working with others. Even worse, Johan hates asking for help.

There are the usual suspects from everywhen: his mother from when she was an archer, his father before his heart broke, his lover after he mended his worth, the fox who built a den around him and the Queen of Death where everything began. These people are easy. They are his family. They do not ask for more than an explanation. The rest… 

He sighs, tipping his head to the side and dodging knives thrown his way. He pinches the bridge of his nose. This is going to  be a pain. He’ll save Jurian for last.

With his abyssal hand, he digs his metal fingers into the very fabric of this universe and tears it away. The veil comes apart to the symphony of unmaking. Johan steps through the portal and closes it behind him; it won’t do to destroy existences, lest he risk a catastrophic ripple effect. It takes too much time to cultivate creatures, souls and sentience. He must fix it, and quickly. Johan plucks his key players, assembling them quickly and efficiently—the amenable ones, at least.

***

The dungeons smell vile. They reek of humanity and mortality—of bodies failing from lack of something or other. Johan makes a face, and schools it just as quickly. Feeling is wasted energy, especially when he is on the cusp of metaphorically pulling teeth. Cauldron, he remembers this place from another life. Another moment of weakness. It hammers at his temple, demanding his attention in the same way his ghosts linger on his peripheral. They blend into the humans, pleading for escape. He ignores them.

He finds her hidden away like some useless thing. It is a testament of the King’s stupidity. He doesn’t know, and may never know, the prowess he has cultivated here.

Johan grips the iron bars of the cage and tears them off. She protects the humans, like they’re worth anything but specks in the grand scheme of things.

“Who the hell are you?” She speaks as if she’s armed—as if she stands a chance. She doesn’t. Not like this, not yet.

“Your freedom.”

She scoffs. Of course, she would. Amara has never been impressed by Johan’s theatrics or grand gestures. Even in the face of a god, she would dare spit at him. She doesn’t, this time, but she has in other streams of time when he overstepped. With a bite like a viper’s she is one of the few who could adjust his behaviour through sheer stubbornness.

He moves forward, she urges the frail humans to huddle further back behind her.

“Come with me.”

“No.” Her eyes narrow, flicker towards his body to try and find something she can steal and use against him.

Amara’s honour has always annoyed him. Now, even moreso. She’s going to make him do it, isn’t she? She’s going to make him… be nice.

“I require your assistance.”

“I have no idea who you are and I have no interest in helping you, anyway.”

“We have not met yet, and we may never, but you do know me.”

Amara scrunches her face, annoyed. “That makes no sense.”

Irritation flares up within Johan; she knows how to push his buttons like the irritable little sister he never wanted, never asked for and never planned for. He knows how to win her over, but he doesn’t want to.

“It is no fault of mine that your infinitesimal mind cannot comprehend the needs of the very universe.”

“Hey, I’m not the one who needs help. You are, so watch your tone.”

“For a caged bird, you are annoyingly confident.”

Beneath her bravado, Johan can smell her apprehension and her fear. The dungeons of Hybern are a dangerous place—a place where monsters are born, and Amara has always been able to walk in between both. It’s why Johan admires her. He runs through a gamut of emotions from frustration to anger, and ultimately steels his resolve. He is safe with her; they have never said it because that’s not who they are. Well, she might have said it and Johan pointedly ignored her because he refuses to acknowledge his still-beating heart. (It should be dead, and he should feel nothing.)

I kind of, slightly, just a little bit, like you and care about you, echoes in his memory. What an embarrassing sentiment and the sentence itself… a butchering. Yet, it weighs in his chest. He can trust her, it’s why he’s here in the first place, he simply has to show it.

“You are my sister and I need you to save the world. Please.” Johan offers her his metal hand, a sign of trust. Their hands are a testament of their pain and their survival. She trusted him with rebuilding hers. “I will free your humans, too, but I need you.” He hides his face, ashamed by his weakness.

“Alright,” Amara says with a sincere smile. “That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?”

He was wrong; this is a small price to pay to have his sister at his side again and to feel safe.

I don't need an army, he amends, quietly. I need my family.

[englandsgirl18181234]

Hi👋 hope your having a good day or night

So I have some questions about your chthonic aus hope it’s ok if I ask them but anygays since the power Zeus used to damage Athena’s soul was basically stolen from Hades could if he found out about it while Athena is still alive could he heal the damage and save Athena and anyone else who’s soul has been damage

In the regret au who is the one who manages to calm Athena and Apollo down and how do they do it and also how do the other gods react to truly finding out how much Athena has been suffering and in the regret au how does Hades react to all this because I don’t think you talk about he in this au I could be wrong

Thanks🙏for reading

Hi!! Hope you're having a good day/night too! And questions are always welcome! I love answering them, even if they might take a little bit because my brain won't cooperate.

And yes, Hades could potentially heal soul damage while the person is alive as long as he knows about it! But how he would have to go about it would change drastically depending on a number of different things. Whether the person was a mortal or a god, how badly their soul was damaged, what caused the damage in the first place, things like that.

Athena from right after God Games, for example, would be handled with a very different approach than an Athena from right before her death in Astraphobia. The damage would be much more extensive by then, and Hades' own feelings towards her at the time would also have an effect on how quickly that healing happened. Hades has calmed down a lot as far as grudges go by the time Astraphobia happens, especially compared to how he was in ancient Greece.

Other answers under the cut!

So in the Regret AU, I'm kind of torn on who's going to manage to get through to them. Because on the one hand, Hestia would be the best at it naturally, compared to the others. But at the same time, she just became Queen of Olympus, making them much less likely to trust her than before. The realization that Zeus, being King of Olympus, basically had impunity to do whatever he wanted is a Major reason the two are so afraid of him. Zeus, in their eyes, essentially killed Athena and faced no consequences for it. They want less than nothing to do with whoever currently has the throne.

Zeus himself trying to talk to them would just make things worse and everyone knows it.

Hera isn't going to work for a number of reasons, including both her association with Zeus and how badly she's treated Apollo and Athena in the past. So she's also a no go.

The protections Athena and Apollo set after the Olive Tree Incident won't let Demeter within a hundred yards of the palace, so that's not happening either.

Poseidon would be worse for Athena specifically, which would definitely send Apollo even further into fight or flight mode. And since flight wouldn't be much of an option, that would probably just end with the two of them fighting Poseidon while he tries not to genuinely hurt them. That sounds rather entertaining honestly, but I'm not super confident in writing fight scenes so I'd probably skip it.

Aphrodite isn't happening because of the spill over taking her out. She'd just send them spiraling even further if she tried.

Ares would definitely be seen as a threat, no matter if he was trying to be or not. Which would suck, because he'd definitely do pretty well if he could come to the realization that they're basically continuously triggering each other into panic attacks brought on by anxiety and paranoia.

Artemis I think wouldn't really know how to handle seeing Athena, and particularly Apollo, so utterly freaked out over what she's convinced is no big deal. I think she'd be really blunt about it too, which wouldn't help in the slightest. Apollo is definitely the more emotionally intelligent of the two of them, so him being the one that's freaking out isn't super great.

Dionysus I'm pretty conflicted on as well. Because on the one hand, he's the God of Madness and Apollo and Athena are definitely tipping towards that point if they're not already there. But on the other hand, after so long at Camp Half-Blood, I'm not certain he'd even see it as a problem that needed to be dealt with. Half-bloods are paranoid as all hell, and for good reason. It keeps them alive. He'd probably look at them, see that they're not actually hurting anyone, and then tell the others to call him again when they have an actual problem. But that could also be my lack of confidence in writing him talking.

Let's be honest with ourselves, Hephaestus wants nothing to do with any of this. This is not his circus and those are not his monkeys, he's going back to his forge. He'd feel a little bad about it, because he can see that the two are genuinely terrified and truly think Zeus is out to get them, but he'd also know that he is not the right tool for that task.

Hermes I'm not certain on either, if I'm being honest. It would really depend on if I stick to the rocky relationship I have him and Athena have in Astraphobia because of Luke, and I haven't decided if I'm going to keep that or not yet.

I could potentially bring in Hades that way actually! As a "Hey, we didn't want to bug you during winter, but you and your wife are our literal last resort. Please help us help them before they drive themselves even more insane," kind of thing. Which would actually be a really good segue into the whole "Hey, Athena's way worse off than we thought," talk.

And I honestly think Hades would just walk in with Persephone and listen to the two of them talk. Persephone would take care of most of the talking and help keep the two focused on the conversation so they can calm down enough to be rational, but I could definitely see him using his reputation and power as like, a deterrent if that makes sense? Basically telling them that "Hey, while I'm here? Zeus is not going to be able to hurt you, I will not let him." It calms them down a lot more than any of them expect.

And oh boy, when the others find out that Athena's condition is so much worse than they already thought? All of them are going to be so horrified.

I'm honestly really torn between having Hades be the one to reveal it, in which case he finds out during their conversation, or having Apollo reveal it so Zeus can go to his older brother and genuinely beg Hades to see if there's anything he can do to help Athena.

And speaking of Zeus, I genuinely feel kinda bad for everything I'm putting him through here. Like, the man did some shit, God Games did still happen, but he genuinely did not intend for Athena to get hurt, and especially not so permanently.

It's a little like someone with a temper shoving somebody during an argument only for them to fall and crack their head open, from my point of view. Absolutely horrifying and it should never have happened in the first place, but the consequences of that single action during a fit of temper were several leagues of magnitude greater than anyone involved expected them to be.

I love all your questions, my dude (gender neutral)! Please send more if you think of any! They help me work things out that I'm having trouble pinpointing!