#but they had really elaborate rituals about death

[madnessofmen]

Had a dream I was terminally ill, and a guy in a death cult I had a crush on asked if he could cannibalize me. I declined because I didn't know if my feelings were reciprocated, so he gave me a sprig of flowers and said to think on it.

Once he left, a guy from a different death cult tried to recruit me and warned me about the first guy, telling me that he was actually an undead being and the sprig he gave me was actually his arteries. the first guy then showed up and killed him with his teeth. I thought the artery thing was incredibly romantic so I agreed to let him eat me.

[xythlia]

— ❛ metamorphosis ❜

inspired by the greek myth of pygmalion and galatea, the sculptor who loved his creation so much he begged aphrodite to turn her flesh and blood so she would be his wife

› satoru x f!reader

› word count : 2k+

warnings : angst, m masturbation, mention of death but nothing explicit, readers a curse & a marble statue, something something be careful what you wish for (possibly gonna do a pt two because obviously reader came back wrong™)

Everyone who needs to know, knows how a curse is formed. Knows exactly where they come from and for the most part why. But Satoru could never wrap his head around why you chose to haunt him, and like this.

After your initial death it manifested as peculiar visions caught in his peripheral, a flash of white that dissipated the second any of his six eyes tried focusing on it. But the feeling of it, god it felt just like you. And it was so like you to play some elaborate little joke, even after death. As if your entire death had been one elaborate joke and not the second greatest heartache of his life.

He'd been careful, so painfully careful about controlling himself and not letting the despair of losing you suffocate him lest this be the outcome. He didn't want to see you that way. Instead throwing himself into teaching, into the present, lest he become shackled by the past even more than he already was. He tried so very, very hard to let you go.

But apparently it wasn't really up to him, because as the years passed you gained more and more substance, more form, and seemingly felt more emboldened to no longer hide in the corners of his eyes but forcing yourself front and center.

And what a odd form you took.

A statue. Innocuous at first glance but he was never one to take anything at face value. It was like you were carved by a sculptor par excellence, birthed not from chisel but as if from the universe itself. Every detail, down to the most miniscule, lovingly rendered in breathtaking relief. So much tenderness held captive in your hardened, unseeing eyes. A hand held aloft in an almost loving, beckoning position.

As the days passed he spent more and more time focused on you, on your appearance and looking at it not as a curse but perhaps the strangest of blessings. You hadn't come back as some thing all teeth or claws, in fact you never moved a muscle. Just like all the earthly sculptures bedecked in various museums around the world you stood much the same.

With each day came a new bauble he would fix to your marble form, a flower held here or there to your hair with scotch tape, his favorite scarf wrapped around your cool to the touch neck. This evolved into a sort of... ritual over time. It was something he took greater joy in than he would ever admit. Quiet nights spent murmuring to you, not minding that you never answered. You didn't need to. It wasn't as sophisticated as telepathy but just the same it was like he could feel your feelings in response to whatever he was saying while rearranging and redressing your stone body.

In rare moments when his fingers would brush against the stone he could almost swear it felt warm, as if just seconds away from giving beneath his fingertips like melting wax, and in the next second you'd be shrieking with laughter at being accidentally tickled by him.

Just like back then.

It did mystify him a bit, why you chose a marble statue and why you remain so silent and still. Maybe it would hurt too much otherwise, so he doesn't press you to speak or try to change your shape. It was just like when you were still here, he would've loved you no matter what so why would it be any different like this?

But still, he feels all the same longing he felt then. The need to touch you, hold you, see your back arching off his bed and feel your fingers gripping against his shoulder blades. The saccharine cries of his name from your lips, prayer like and spurring him on move deeper, harder.

His hands tremble against your inert ones, tears blurring you in watercolor relief as the world loses its focus. His breathing became laborious as he rested his forehead against you, always so cold to the touch. It did little to ground him against the tidal wave of grief soaked desire that rushed around his mind.

Without conscious thought his hand slid down his torso, palming at his aching erection through his sweatpants. It was obscene, even thinking about doing something like this with a curse but for better or worse he was devoid of thought in this moment. His lips pressed sloppy, open mouthed kisses to your alabaster skin as he rolled the waistband down, feeling his throbbing cock smack against his abdomen.

Satoru hissed feeling the warm weight of his cock in hand, the pressure felt good and a soft sigh fell from his lips as his eyes fluttered closed. Retreating into memory as his other hand gripped the frigid marble, so hard he was afraid for half a moment that it would bruise before remembering himself.

He licked the palm of his hand, wishing it was your tongue sliding against the veins of his cock before wrapping it around the shaft, stroking slowly at first and alternating to swipe his thumb over his flushed tip, practically dripping precum.

He's called back to a memory from early in your relationship, showering together for the first time mostly out of utility after being on a particularly lengthy mission. The way you'd slid your hands down his body, across his back and over his stomach had made his heart feel like someone strapped electric cables to it.

Its harder to hold back as he falls headlong into it, remembering how your hands looked wrapped around his cock, fingertips straining to meet around the full thickness of him. The thrill of it sends shivers down his spine, makes him pump himself faster.

You'd look otherworldly on your knees in front of him now, eyes teary and cheeks hollow as you struggle to take all of him down your throat but you were always so eager to please, especially when it came to him. Satoru can feel the coil tightening in his gut, and before he was truly ready it's already happening, thick milky spurts splashing against your skin and his balls throbbing so hard his thigh muscles even tensing up in response. It took monumental effort to keep himself steady, braced against your solid form as his cum decorated you with the most pornographic accessory yet.

As his breathing steadied he was overcome with the fact that he hates himself for this.

Hates you a little bit too.

How pathetic, to be reduced to masturbating against this lifeless vision of you. To play dress up with it. To speak and laugh with it as if it's his closest confidant.

Just as he felt himself on the brink of the emotional abyss of grief something caught his eye, making his breath hitch and it was as if all time stopped.

The color of the marble was different.

So subtle that he nearly missed it, but it was undeniable. Ever so slightly the pallor of your skin had shifted, as if the color was bleeding through slowly.

For the first time in a long while Satoru wept.

[cookie-waffle]

It’s probably so dumb to be feeling this upset over a copper-age mummy, but, Ötzi the iceman makes me so sad.

He didn’t get lost. He didn’t starve. He didn’t freeze to death. He was murdered in cold blood, and left there in the snow. His family never knew what happened to him. He was never laid to rest by his tribe.

If you’ve ever seen a mummy up close before, they don’t usually give you that same feeling of disgust or sadness that a fresh body would, because they’re so old and dry that they look a lot like detailed movie props. And their skin is hard, almost like plastic. It’s so easy to forget that the body you are looking was at some point a real person, who had a childhood, who cried, who loved, who had hobbies and interests.

One of the things that really gets me about Ötzi, is how he died. No sacred ritual. No elaborate mummification process. He was murdered, left there, and never seen by his loved ones ever again. And when you think of him as not just a mummy, but as a real person who likely had people waiting for him back home, it’s all the more heartbreaking.

Human greed and senseless violence transcends time. People still get murdered in cold blood, just like Ötzi was, to this very day. The only difference being guns instead of bows and arrows.

But, human compassion also transcends time. His family may have never gotten to properly mourn him, but thousands of years later, people world wide respect and mourn him. There’s something truly beautiful about that.

[lesbianjackies]

Thoughts on elaborate Period Rituals

oiugugjghrhfhfghgh

Okay.

so we’ve talked about this in travnation obviously but for those who do not know (literally everyone else) i really want periods to become a significant part of the wilderness cult and the rituals the yellowjackets partake in — specifically in the sense of their periods syncing up: shared blood and shared womanhood.

now. i want to talk about how this pertains to travis.

we’re going to analyze this from the assumption that travis is becoming a woman through her integration into the cult. i will give a full analysis on transfem travis if people are interested but for this we’re just gonna go off that assumption so i can delve deeper into the period aspect of it specifically.

travis has always had this sort of fixation on periods. i noticed this recently — in blood hive she plays it off as disgust but it’s not, really, if you examine the way she talks about it.

her response to nat’s teasing “are you scared of our menses?” remark is anxiety — she replies with a nervous “well i didn’t say that.”

the truth is — or, at least, how i read it is — that she is. but it’s not in the way you might think. she’s not disturbed, or disgusted, or intimidated by the girls’ menstrual cycles. she’s fascinated. she’s intrigued. she’s, in some way, jealous of this bond the other girls have, this connection they have with each other through the blood of their womanhood.

i think she wants in on it.

fast forward to qui, when shauna’s having her baby — who is the first to suggest the ritual to keep her safe? who is the first to spill blood, the first to bleed upon the altar of shauna’s womanhood and say, “we hear the wilderness and it hears us”? travis.

travis is the one who slices a knife across her palm, spilling her own blood as shauna bleeds next to her. i think shauna and travis are very connected in an often overlooked way — and i can talk about this, too, if anyone would like to hear it — and i think it is very apparent in this moment, in the intersection of their coming of ages, of their coming into womanhood.

shauna is giving birth. this is what is culturally and societally seen as the peak of womanhood, the fulfillment of a woman’s true purpose. next to her, travis is willfully shedding the first of her blood, the first step a girl takes into becoming a woman.

i would argue this moment is travis’s metaphorical first period.

now, there’s a subversion of the expectations of a woman going into labor here. shauna loses her baby. she doesn’t give birth to life, but to death. shauna is losing her cultural womanhood in this moment. she’s losing her connections to her life before the wilderness; she’s becoming less of a person dependent on others (on jackie, on jeff, on her baby) and more of a woman who belongs to the wilderness.

travis is going through a similar event. she has lost her father. she believes herself to have lost javi (though really that comes later). her only significant relationships now are nat and lottie — two opposing female forces in her life. she’s already given herself to them (edible complex sex scene — check out this analysis by @the-lonelyshepherd), but now she must fully give herself to womanhood, to the wilderness, to shauna.

that’s what’s going on in that scene.

now, to conclude, i believe this spilling-of-blood-as-travis’s-period thing is going to continue into season three and get more intense as it goes on — or, at least, i would like for it to. i think the spilling of specifically travis’s blood is important to the way these rituals are structured — she gives blood when shauna is giving birth. javi’s blood is hers and he’s the one the wilderness chooses. i think the other girls are going to become aware of this. i think travis’s blood is going to keep getting spilt.

and she’s going to spill it herself.

[wormssforbrains]

Did Edolon become Seinru? Well, yes. But actually no. (Edolon Character Analysis) [REVISED REPOST]

Content warning: Discussion of abuse, manipulation, cults, and canonically depicted gore

Spoiler warning: Snowbound Blood Volume 12.

AUTHORS NOTE: Hello! Back in July I posted a similar version of this analysis, but since then I’ve realized a lot about Edolon and Seinru and decided to private the old one and republish this revised version instead. I think this version offers more canon compliant insight into both of their characters and I am much more confident in this version; so I hope this offers a new perspective into both of their characters :)!! They are both very very interesting and I have spent way too much time thinking about them.

In discussions of Edolon, something that people have found confusing is his seemingly drastic change from what we’ve seen of him pre sacrifice of Seinru and post sacrifice of Seinru. Before Snowbound Blood Vol. 12 came out, this was especially the case. 

From what we’ve seen of Edolon pre-ritual is a much more dependent and less confident person in comparison to those traits, while not fully going away, seemingly diminishing post-ritual. This paired with some concerning dialogue and actions pertaining to “becoming Seinru” has led to some… worrying conclusions. 

First, let's quickly go over some observations that have caused confusion or concern in some readers. These will be elaborated more on later.

Seinru saying to Edolon before their death, “As long as you're still here, I'll never truly be gone.” 

After Seinrus death, Edolons had a seemingly drastic change in character that involved picking up many of Seinrus traits.

Edolons severed hand was replaced with Seinrus hand.

So, did Edolon become Seinru? What does that even mean? Did Seinru really possess him?

While I find the theory that Seinru possessed or is controlling Edolon to be interesting, I think that there’s a lot more analysis and discussion to be had about Edolon being the person that he is today because of Seinrus manipulation and shaping of him along with a wide variety of other factors. Edolon not having full physical control over his actions absolves him of a lot of blame, which is much less interesting than all of his actions and feelings having a root cause that can be traced back to people, events or influences in his life.

So, in order to understand why Edolon seemingly changed, we have to analyze the way he was pre-ritual, leading up to the ritual, post-ritual and factors that would impact why he changed in the way he did.

As said before, prior to the ritual, Edolon showed less confidence and a dependency on Seinru. In many moments both his reliance on Seinru and his nervousness is shown,

A gaunt man steps from the shadows and slides up next to Seinru. They give his hand a gentle squeeze before disappearing behind the altar. As he nervously leans forwards(...)”

SEINRU: Dolo.  Out of the corner of your eye, Seinru steps forward, taking Edolon's hand in hers. She squeezes it, gently. 

Edolon approaches you, taking Seinru's place as they retreat into the sacrificial slab's gloom. Where Seinru knelt beside you, Edolon tries to loom. It only emphasizes his stoop. You laugh. To your displeasure, so does Pozzol. (...) Edolon glances in Pozzol's direction. His eyes drift instinctively to the altar, to the rim of darkness in the vague outline of Seinru. SEINRU: This is your moment. SEINRU: Everything, from here to obliteration, belongs to you.

Along with this, Edolon isn’t confident that he’ll be capable of taking her place as the high priest of the cult,

EDOLON: i'm just not convinced i have what it takes. EDOLON: i'm not like you. EDOLON: i'm still afraid. i'll still feel the pain, even when you don't. EDOLON: what if i can't do any of it? EDOLON: then all i'll have accomplished is adding more misery to my life. SEINRU: That's not going to happen. EDOLON: and this is not a role i was meant to play.

From this, we get some very interesting insight on Edolon dependency and feelings towards Seinru. Edolon depends greatly on Seinru for reassurance and guidance and looks for their care when he feels insufficient. Edolon sees Seinru as someone perfect, someone he needs and someone who makes his miserable life worth it. All this makes the idea of their death all the more terrifying for him.

Though post-ritual - without Seinru there to guide him - Edolon is seemingly much more confident and capable of his role in the cult. This supposed confidence only ramps up to extremes as he both unlocks his alchemic potential and ESPECIALLY as the events of Incursion take place. I don’t think analyzing quotes would do this change justice. Just look at any of his actions he takes to progress the game and crash an inauguration without Seinrus guidance. 

So what does this mean for Edolon? Why did he react and change this way in response to Seinrus death?

First off, we need to remember what character we’re dealing with here. In order to understand why Edolon responded this way to the death of someone he loves, you have to remember that this is Edolon. There are many factors of his life and upbringing that change the way that he responds to trauma. Due to the severe brainwashing from both Seinru and the cult, as well as the severe abuse he faced in his childhood, the way he reacts to the traumatic event of losing his partner is much different than a majority of the people faced with this kind of loss.

Rather than reacting with anger, fear, depression, numbness, or many of the other common reactions to the death of a loved one, he reacted in the way that the cult and Seinru manipulated him into reacting. Before their death, Seinru told Edolon what they wanted from him after death, and Edolon in turn became what they wanted him to become. He wanted to accept the gift and chance to grow that Seinru had told him they were dying for so that he wouldn't let them down. Along with this, as a Gaiaeon worshiper he has an extremely deranged view on the world. Edolon truly believes that the world should be destroyed in the name of Gaiaeons perfect reality and the sacrifice of Seinru would aid in that goal, even if he doesn’t want to lose them. To the cult, death is a form of release from the corrupted world that they live in.

Edolon is also driven by his need for revenge against Corporate. As a child, Edolon was raised and abused by The Executive for not being able to live up to his expectations and because of this was later abandoned by Corporate. Due to both the cult's brainwashing and wanting revenge for how he was treated, Edolon wants to destroy Corporate as a whole. In order to enact this plan, though, Seinrus sacrifice would have to happen. 

Along with this, Edolons childhood and his doom aspect has greatly affected how he views pain. He was raised to endure brutal circumstances, just like Sestro was. To him, pain is something that you must grit your teeth and learn to power through. It is something that you must become numb to in order to harness that pain and throw it back towards those who hurt you. And to Edolon, the final goal of the cult is something he must work towards, and Seinrus death is another thing he must painfully endure for the “greater good,” no matter how much he doesn’t want to lose them. (There’s a great analysis about this topic that you can read here; it inspired me to add this paragraph)

From these factors, we begin to see how all of these aspects of him are intertwined with each other and how they have shaped who Edolon is today. 

Now, going back to Seinru: We can see from this that Seinrus words have a very strong impact on Edolon. As said before, the severity of this impact on Edolon comes from his dependency and idolization of her paired with Seinrus manipulation of Edolon.

With this context, the way that Seinrus words impact Edolon after her death becomes more clear. The most important scene that shows Seinrus impact on Edolon and Edolons fear of disappointing Seinru is their conversation before her sacrifice.

To preface this part of the analysis: I think that Seinru meant everything that they said in this passage. I don’t think that any of the things they are saying are lies to get Edolon to go through with the sacrifice, they are just his true feelings, which are extremely selfish. It’s very clear that he is guilt tripping and manipulating Edolon into going through with the sacrifice, but I think his words being lies takes away from the harsh reality that this is just who he really is as a person. With that out of the way, let’s read through the conversation with this in mind.

EDOLON: and i wouldn't ever wish to disappoint you, either. EDOLON: but there's still a part of me that feels like i can't do it on my own. EDOLON: i need you, sen.

We can see Edolon admit directly that he doesn’t want to disappoint Seinru, something that shows the importance of their words on him. 

SEINRU: You're not as powerless as you were before. And you'll certainly be even less so, once you realize all of that wonderful potential you have tucked away. SEINRU: You're capable of achieving great things on your own, despite how you've been made to feel in the past.

By reassuring Edolon that unlocking his alchemic potential will make him more powerful, it sets Edolon up to feel more confident after her death. All of the words that she says here are very intentional to fully prepare Edolon for her absence after the sacrifice, something she directly says and is one of the last things she tells Edolon before her death: “I've taught you everything you’ll need from this point on.”

SEINRU: I want you to be the one to grow from this. SEINRU: I want you to be rewarded for everything you've been forced through in your life. SEINRU: You've come so far, Dolo. SEINRU: And you've helped me tremendously in our time together, don't you forget that. SEINRU: I only want to help you see in yourself what everyone else couldn't. SEINRU: I just knew you'd do great things the very moment I met you, you know. SEINRU: All of this is for you. SEINRU: So please, don't reject this gift. Don't let me down, now of all times.

And from this, we get some very interesting insight on Seinrus feelings towards Edolon as well as some insight into who she is as a person. We see here that Seinru is a very manipulative person with a deranged perception of what love is. Seinru is very much in love with Edolon, but the way that they show that is extremely selfish. Due to a combination of her belief in Gaiaeon as well as her truly believing that the world should pay for how they treated Edolon, she sees the sacrifice as a gift for him. It's a gift to grow on his own, become stronger, take revenge and destroy the world she sees as a wretched place that can only be purified by Gaiaeons “perfection.”

With this insight on Seinru and Edolons character, we can see exactly how this relationship molded Edolon into the person he is today. 

Both due to Edolons love for Seinru as well as her manipulation: Edolon accepted the gift that Seinru gave him. He took the sacrifice as an opportunity to grow, change and become stronger. A chance to take revenge against the world that wronged him and purify it with Gaiaeons grace. 

So, let's discuss the changes that happened to Edolon after accepting this gift. Or, in some cases, the lack of change. Remember how I’ve been alluding to but not elaborating on Edolons so called “confidence”? Yeah, let’s finally get into that.

As said before, prior to the ritual, Edolon was a nervous and insecure person who depended heavily on Seinru for guidance and reassurance. But afterwards, we can see him acting without Seinru with some level of confidence in leading the cult and enacting their plans. 

But don’t be fooled; Edolon is still a very, very insecure person. This so-called “confidence” is only what happens when an extremely insecure person with a deranged set of beliefs gains an unfathomable amount of power. Edolon is a very bitter man that truly believes that the world that wronged him belongs to him and he has the right to destroy and purify it, and through the cult, he gets access to going through with that plan. As he gains more power, we can see the timid and insecure person he was prior to the ritual morphing into a dangerous individual that now has a platform to spread his beliefs and the power to enact them. 

Some important quotes that really show this insecurity may be a bit hard to catch if you’re not looking, but really look at these lines. You can see the insecurity, resentment, and his crazed beliefs ingrained deeply within them. 

EDOLON: you want to know who i am? well, you're in luck. EDOLON: i'll tell you. EDOLON: i'll tell everyone. EDOLON: i'm not ashamed of acknowledging it anymore. EDOLON: my name is edolon vryche, and i am that regret. EDOLON: i'm the descendant of the holistic blight, the man who was soulmate to the executive and damned representative of his noble compact. EDOLON: clarud enthal made me. he raised me as his prodigy. EDOLON: and i am the rightful inheritor of the ruined world he left behind.

EDOLON: but truth be told, my admission wasn't meant to convince anyone here of what i'm saying. EDOLON: it just feels... good to get it out in the open!

EDOLON: SHUT UP! EDOLON: i think you've had MORE than enough time to SPEAK!

And all of these beliefs were very much instilled into him by Seinru. Before their death, they said this to him: “Everything, from here to obliteration, belongs to you”; and after, he says “THIS ROTTEN, DESOLATE CARCASS OF A WORLD… BELONGS TO ME!!! ” It’s very clear how deeply Seinru molded Edolon into the person that he is today. So many of the actions and words that he says can be led back to something that they said to him. 

Now, going back to the other change: being able to act without Seinrus guidance. As we discussed, before the ritual he could barely act without Seinrus guidance, but after he was able to go through with all of the cults' plans and act without them. But, is that really true? I think to Edolon, he’ll never truly be alone because he believes that Seinru will always be with him, even in death.

Before their sacrifice, Seinru tells Edolon that “As long as you're still here, I'll never truly be gone.” This is something that Seinru means in many, many ways; both literally, mentally, and physically. 

In the most literal way, even after Seinru has died he still lives on through the homunculi. In the process of the sacrifice, Seinrus soul was used as a key to open The Abyss, and the lime blood was used to bring Gaiaeon into the physical world through homunculi. Now, Seinrus' soul controls the homunculi from The Abyss. These creatures have aided Edolon through his plans and been by his side almost every step of the way. 

We can even see Edolon talking to Seinru through a homunculus which he literally responds to from beyond the grave, or more literally, from The Abyss where his soul now resides. 

Speaking of The Abyss… I won’t get too deep into this until a bit more elaboration is offered, but Seinru quite literally lives inside of Edolons mind(scape) which is connected to The Abyss (or, is the abyss? don’t ask me).

Inside of Edolons mindscape, we can see golden vines coming from Seinru growing all across of Edolons mind. They’ve quite literally ingrained themselves to Edolons core, inseparable from his mind and from his body. 

Which is the next topic; how they’ve ingrained themselves physically into Edolon, from his exterior to his interior. 

Externally, we can see Seinru all over Edolon. On Edolons sacrifice/incursion outfit, we can see their blood color and center of their sigil - a diamond - pressed close to Edolons heart and placed throughout the outfit. On Seinrus sacrifice outfit, though, we don’t see any of Edolons blood color, symbolizing that Seinru will live on through him after their death.

We can also see Seinru ingrained into Edolon in the most literal and physical way possible when Edolon replaces his severed hand with Seinrus.

Which, can I just mention… Seinru does their best to control the homunculi directly when they can, and there is no doubt in my mind that they willingly brought their body to Edolon after he told the homunculi to. I believe that to Seinru their bodies becoming one, fusion, is the purest form of love and romance. To be inseparable and ingrained into him is more than to show that they are each other's lover, it’s to be one. It’s to be each other's heart, to be each other's soul. I think that this belief has been passed onto Edolon as well. 

Another way they are connected is the fact that they were bonded; as long as Edolon lives he will feel the pain of withdrawals in Seinrus absence. Seinru has left a mark on Edolon that can never be severed; but this mark does not just show on his body, it shows in his actions, words, and mannerisms. 

I think that Edolon is imitating Seinru in a lot of ways after their death in an attempt to fill the role that they left behind. Edolon is still very much himself, but we can see little bits and pieces of Seinrus personality now picked up by Edolon, whether this be subconsciously or intentionally. The most notable one being Edolon picking up on Seinrus usage of :) and their witty one liners, something Edolon never did before their death. We can also see a lot of the beliefs that Seinru preached being repeated by Edolon (This obviously also comes from them being in the same cult, but I find the similar wording most likely to be intentional).

SEINRU: We are in the business of entertainment. :) EDOLON: something that we left behind. :)

SEINRU: Your strongholds don't protect you or anyone from the agony of this world. They compress it, scoop it all up and dump in it one big writhing core of pain. EDOLON: new pain folds itself over old pain, until it all coalesces into a hulking mass of agony.

SEINRU: Otherwise, everything we've accomplished together, all that we've worked so hard for up until this very moment... SEINRU: All that pain would be rendered meaningless. SEINRU: All your effort, wasted. EDOLON: when dealt in excess, the very idea of pain, no matter the cause... EDOLON: becomes simply— EDOLON: meaningless.

In the end, though, I believe that Edolon “becoming” Seinru represents something: the cycle of abuse. The cycle of abuse in this context specifically is in reference to victims of abuse becoming their abusers due to not healing from the trauma of their abuse. Many victims of abuse who have not healed will subconsciously inherit the traits of their abuser and continue to perpetuate them through relationships of any kind, thus creating new victims. If this cycle is not broken, it will never stop. 

Because of this, Seinru will always be a part of Edolon. 

So, I think Edolon did become Seinru in a way, but Seinru also became Edolon. They are each other's hearts and each other's souls, and in the obliteration of the universe, they would become one in the vast nothingness that is Gaiaeons perfection. 

They are truly the most sane and normal couple in Vast Error.

[juicedbeetle]

I know everyone already figured this probably but I hadn't paid attention before to when beej exactly takes his coat off and I was curious, so I'm pleased to report that he left it somewhere in the kitchen

not to mention he is briefly alone with adam in the kitchen while he was there getting the stuff for the sandwich

leaving aside my contemplation about how beej cannot affect the world of the living so those aren't coke, popcorn and 3d glasses he found in their house (probably manifested them himself the same way he takes the coat off. possibly from his mary poppins ass jacket, like with the mic) I like to think that he thought about getting them so he could snack alongside them, other than the obvious "upcoming show aka their death" use, not to mention the fact itself that he takes his coat off makes it feel like the mait's house is his as well, since you usually do it when you arrive home.

hell, I think he doesn't even need a coat whatsoever and just

started doing the "taking it off when I'm home" ritual because he saw adam doing it.

and in general I love this whole beginning part where he just acts like their house is his own, goes into their other rooms to do who knows what (first alone to the left then with adam in the kitchen), sits on their furniture like he owns the place, knows it like the back of his hand

actually I get the feeling that despite the fact he sat down first, he's also imitating adam here, like it's something the guy does all the time so beetlejuice has the whole thing memorized by now. but that's just speculation anyway.

I just get sad because I think he was really excited to meet them and already knew them really well, like he's not lying when he calls them friends, he's known them intimately for 10+ years (and, yes, it's been very creepy). he's lived with them and gotten used to this warm sitcom-y feel and then when they actually meet him they're terrified. Rightfully so but, ouch.

like, nothing goes like he planned right from the start, not just because they're not scary (and I mean, his whole plan was... to have them scare the new house inhabitants into saying his name? and then what? great plan beetleboose great thinking ahead there, a mastermind really), but because they didn't just magically act like his new best friends like he hoped and probably made up in his mind for all those years 😵‍💫

I mean, for all his solitude... the guy totally talks to himself. all the time. that is just a given to me. even besides the clones, the hand thing in say my name, the soliloquy, the guy probably had full fledged conversations. I can hardly imagine how many times he fantasized about talking to the maits for the first time in very elaborate scenarios in his head not to mention participated to all their conversations in the same way he does in this beginning segment and basically took it for granted that they'd enjoy his company same way he enjoys theirs, that is to say, the idealized version of their company he created in his head. siiigh, I love this whole part a lot, you can tell.

[shortpplfedup]

Of course I have fallen down an ITSAY/IPYTM rewatch rabbit hole the moment I have things to do. Instead of spamming @bengiyo lemme liveblog...

On Viki the new subs are chef's kiss. Grammar, tone, readability, idiom usage, much improved. I also FINALLY know what MoRaoYuLok means!

Man the fight they have at the temple after this middle school play is the EXACT same fight they have in the bathtub in IPYTM. Like the dialogue is almost word for word. I love that the same fight bookends the beginning and end of the acting dream for Oh Aew. HOW IS THIS SHOW STILL GIVING ME NEW TEAS YEARS LATER?

'I think someone like you will quit eventually' - cut to him quitting in IPYTM and them having this exact same fight. And people say Teh changed...HE NEVER DID.

If I could ask Boss one question I would ask him when Teh's dad died. Like...it haunts me. I feel like so much of Teh is explained by his dad's death. Like, does he die before or after the middle school play? Was it illness or incident? It's the last key to completely unlocking the character and I WANT IT.

I have so much more of an ear for Thai now than I did when I first watched this, and the difference in that plus the difference in the subs is making this a whole new experience.

I also now know what 'Saleng' means thanks to the subs. MLC's Leng's parents really named him after a sidecar motorcycle? Jail.

Man now that I know a smattering of Thai, Teh and Tarn were really basically dating. Like she had expectations, he'd made promises. He really just abandoned her to run after this boy he swore up and down he hated.

I always forget Oh Aew had 90 thousand Instagram followers. And he wasn't even showing feet. You know his DMs were wet. Oh Aew's influencer status needed to be explored more.

They actually translated some of these thirsty Instagram comments 🤣 'I want to be the red bean up there' referring to the red beans topping the oh aew dessert. HORNY JAIL FOR OH AEW'S INSTA FOLLOWERS.

Teh literally got under the covers and stared at this man's picture for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG.

WHY DID I START THIS?!

Hoon really treats Teh like an annoying little brother.

Teh and this pomade 🤣 THE RITUALS ARE INTRICATE AND ELABORATE.

This teacher really decided to roast Teh in front of everybody🤣

Teh really sitting here at this cafe dragging down the mood with his heavy vibes.

Man I forgot how petty Oh Aew could be 🤣 'Oh Bas you're so smart, so much smarter than dumbass Teh *bats eyelashes*

The friends really went through it with these two. You know how hard it is to maintain a friend group that includes two people who are in love/have beef? Yes I put those two things together. Kai n'em fighting for their lives this whole show.

Not Bas the New Friend putting his foot right in his mouth talking reckless about this Chinese play and the whole group bracing for impact. Nobody warned him these two are in love/have beef?

Oh Aew embarrassed as shit now, plan totally rumbled, not that Teh's dumbass even understood why he wanted to do a CHINESE PLAY WITH PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.

'Didn't anybody tell you?' WHY Y'ALL AIN'T TOLD HIM INSTEAD OF LETTING HIM GO POPPING OFF AT THE MOUTH?

Man I had forgotten how subtle yet totally clear the acting in this was from jump. Billkin and PP's eyes, their face journeys, the small microexpressions, the body English...you know exactly what they're thinking at all times.

Teh: 'Oh? A Chinese play?' Mod n'em's facial expressions: 'Oh shit here we fucking go.' Bas's face: 'What just happened? Why'd the temperature drop 20 degrees?'

Oh Aew said leap if you're feeling froggy and they were really about to scrap over a 3-year old petty beef. Who says men aren't emotional?

Teh was out of order making fun of Oh Aew's grades and he knew it immediately too. Forever popping off at the mouth and instantly regretting it, from the beginning.

Bas looks so distressed that he caused this whole altercation. I'd actually really love to know Bas's perspective on this story, because from where he's sitting the whole thing is WILD.

It's really striking me on this rewatch how protective the friends are of Oh Aew, not just Bas but Phillip n'em as well. He always engenders such loyalty, whereas Teh is harder to love hence why he doesn't have other friends except their mutuals.

Oh Aew called Teh an asshole with his whole chest, love that for him. Teh was absolutely being an asshole.

Kai really like 'how y'all still beefing off some middle school shit and we about to be in COLLEGE? Let it go!' And you really get the feeling Oh Aew really did want to try to squash it until Teh came at him all RAH.

I never really got a sense of the dynamic between Oh Aew and his parents. It's clearly loving and supportive, but it doesn't seem terribly affectionate and it's maybe a little distant? Idk how much of my reading of it is due to it not really being foregrounded as compared to Teh's familial dynamic. But Teh is main character and Oh Aew is the love interest so Teh does get a deeper dive.

You forget all the time that Teh is totally the spoiled baby brat of his family.

In this scene where they're waiting for the admission results, you can see Oh Aew's stress level shoot up in real time when he realises Teh has entered the room. Teh has put in his head that he's not gonna make it, and he doesn't want Teh to see him fail (and probably gloat about it he's thinking). And then Teh FOLLOWS him...no wonder he runs away like Teh's the devil. Teh's literally number 1 on the admissions list and Oh Aew didn't make it. And he thinks there's no way he can make it through the admissions system so the dream's dead. With the hindsight of realising that everything Oh Aew did since their fight was a combination of wanting to prove to Teh he was wrong about him plus hoping that they could repair their broken relationship and be close again...ARGH this show will forever put me in my feels.

Oh Aew always looks so small sitting on that beach alone in this scene. It's been said a million times, but the filmmaking in this show absolutely slaps. That tracking shot following Oh Aew getting his bags from Teh and then walking away as Teh follows? So good...

You really feel the weight of Teh's apology here, how he first apologises for the immediate offence and then realises no, that's not all he feels guilty about. The apology is such an unburdening for him and you can feel the weight lift off him when Oh Aew accepts it. Also, Oh Aew's surprise and immediate surge of emotion at each stage of Teh's apology...ugh these boys acted DOWN, so detailed, so effective!

This show is built around Teh and Oh's conversations, they're so important to me for how raw and vulnerable they always are. Part of the reason things fall apart for them in I Promised You the Moon is that they stop talking to each other like this, because they're trying to be brave, or to be grown up, or to be considerate, or to hide how not fine they are.

For Oh Aew to say 'I forgive you but bitch I DESPISED you, I don't know if we can ever come back from that' was such a moment. Teh being forced to sit with the possibility that what he broke with his pride and selfishness might not ever be fixable, and deciding to try ANYWAY...see this is why despite him being the worst he's also the best.

No but Teh really went from calling that sidecar 'hideous' and 'embarrassing' to taking it everywhere because it could carry Oh Aew, and all the things he wanted to give Oh Aew. But this fool really packed up every school book he owned in a suitcase he stole from his brother and left his house at the crack of dawn to give them to Oh Aew. Down HORRENDOUS.

Oh Aew's smile before he answers Teh's ke yi ma always gets me.

Guess I'm back on my ITSAY/IPYTM bullshit

[moth--knight]

SOSOSO I WAS TEARING THROUGH YOUR BLOG (bc I love your fanfics they are so CRUNCHY) and I found an ask about what projects you would like to write and stuff and you said something about a comic with Umbran hair rituals but it was lost bc you couldn't draw I CAN DRAW AND I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THEM PLEASE PLEASE INFODUMP (I can't make comics but I can make concept art please madam just one chance I need that brainrot 🤲🤲🤲)

SCREAMING !?!?!?!!? HELLO !!!!!!!!!!

So fucking HONORED you enjoy my fics. Crunchy is SUCH a good description. Crönchy™

This Barbie is me always thinking about Bayo to be clear

OH MY GODDDDDDD HAIR THOUGHTS. YES. OKAY. LET'S DIVE IN. BELOW DA CUT CAUSE I AS PER USUAL AM GONNA RAMBLE.

I just have a collection of various headcanons and such so I will put them in no particular order o7

Hair is DEEPLY personal to witches, because it is used as the medium for summoning. So caring for your hair is considered one of the most important things you can do (I have had this hc forever but CATLD made it canon, so I feel justified. HA.)

In Bayo 1, we see all the witches in flashbacks have their hair covered in some way (only Jeanne's hair is really visible, but it is still restrained in those little gold nets, and in CATLD Morgana's hair is kept up in elaborate horns) so I hc that witches tend to keep their hair up or covered or protected once they reach adulthood - they only let it down/uncover it when they are alone or around people they trust!!

To touch another witches hair is a HUGE deal - I wrote about this briefly in this fic, but essentially to be allowed to touch/brush/style another witch's hair is the ultimate sign of trust!! Even witches who train together constantly or are directly related don't necessarily ever touch each other's hair. It is like. The biggest of deals type thing. To be invited to touch someone's hair is basically laying your heart bare to say "I trust you completely" and to take that invitation is like saying "I will care for you forever."

So Cereza using her hair to repair Cheshire in CATLD??? HUGEEEEEEEEEE

Witches tend to keep their hair long. If they cut it short, it usually is out of grief (Jeanne's hair is short in Bayo 1 because of this) or to symbolize a new era of their lives (Bayo's hair is short in Bayo 2 because of this).

Their is also a ritual cutting of hair which I mention in this fic, which symbolizes the swearing in of a new leader of the Umbra. Witches cut a small lock of their hair and burn it together to show their trust in and loyalty to a new leader.

Another ritual is when a witch makes her first pact with an Infernal - generally whoever is the leader of the clan will grant said witch something to put in their hair/cover their hair with as a sign of respect and welcoming to the clan proper as a "full witch" (Jeanne's little golden nets were her gift from the Elder. Bayo's headcovering in flashbacks she made herself, but Jeanne stitched it and her whole outfit with gold <3)

So Madama Khepri is the 'Protector of Time' and her description says that she can determine a person's fate by gazing at their shadow. But I think it would be neat if she COMMUNICATES said fate by wrapping a witch in their own hair (just like we see with Bayo and Jeanne in Bayo 1/Bayo 2 respectively).

Speaking of, that hair wrapping we see Jeanne do for Bayo and then Bayo do for Jeanne when they are both almost dead/down for the count? It is actually the death ritual for witches. If their bodies are left behind when their souls are taken to Inferno, whatever witches were closest to them will wrap them up with their own hair and bury them. All the witches in those Lumen sealed caskets in the first game are entombed like this. Oof.

In CATLD we see Morgana's hair in horns, and Jeanne and Bayo's with little cat ears adorning their heads. I am going to say that such styles are usually youthful fads, and a way to teach witches how to control their hair with magic on a small scale before they start to use it for summoning. Once witches get older they tend not to do such styles anymore - Morgana is one of the rare exceptions, and keeps her hair in huge horns because she loved the style (in her youth, small horns were the fad. Other witches found her odd for never letting the style go.)

Most witches don't dye their hair or alter it majorly, outside of the rare haircut. The fact that Viola's hair is dyed would cause the witches of old to keel over and die LOL. (I hc that Viola's natural color is actually a light brown, so if she properly summoned a battle suit or an Infernal that would be the color of her hair despite the dye)

Okay. These are the main ones I can think of right now? I am currently working on a Morgana POV fic with her growing closer with others and letting go of grief through hair and trust actually, but it is pretty short and experimental and non canon compliant after a certain point, so.

You mentioned drawing!! AUGHHHHHHHH. Listen, listen - if you do feel any artistic inspiration from this, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DRAW WHATEVER. JUST SEND IT TO ME. AUGHHHHH.

I just love witches and their hair. Thank you for giving me the chance to ramble on like a madman about it. #normalmode

[snakegorl212006]

Diasomnia  Journal Entries

---------------Malleus Draconia----------------------------- -Called him Tsunotarou/Hornton for the longest time -Vil,surprisingly, told me his actual name -despite being a ghost who’s supposed to reside and be found mostly in his own wing, he’s actually mostly founded in the woods outside my house -i did some digging to this guy and all i see are legends -malleus was cruel and cunning individual -he ruled the land with a iron fist and would punish anyone getting in his way -i asked him about it to which he only made him said -”even now stories. The only history they see of me is only filled with blood and brimstone” -he tells his own story and the many names he has been called. -over the years even after death, people seek any means into destroying him   -i asked him what made him bite the dust (and then explaining that i'm asking him how he died as he doesn't know who Queen is.) -he told me he placed a curse on these grounds which cost him his life -whatever ritual he did permanently made him part of this castle of a wing -though,especially after what happened to my door, i don’t underestimate the guy -but he acts like a complete and total sweet heart -unlike azul who half of the time he’s most likely faking, he’s completely genuine -but i would say. Possessive should be his middle name -literally would not like for me to leave at all -i sometimes accidentally overhear conversations between lilia and him about some diabolical plans to lock me away or finding out some elaborate way to get an attachment. -i’m hoping still i don’t have to figure out what he’s like when he doesn't get his way (Aka; me not consenting to have an attachment.)

-----------------------Silver------------------------------ -that explains why there’s so much wildlife -something about this guy literally makes him the embodiment of every disney princess -he’s also a little sleeping beauty -not only he has a pretty face but, he’s prolonged to sleep spells -he says he always had this problem as long as he could remember -he sometimes pops out of nowhere and i blame lilia and malleus for this behavior -an illness is what got him unfortunately -he’s also very sweet. -he protects me from lilia’s cooking(forever grateful) -silver also comes to me for advice as lilia,unlike everyone else here, keeps up with modern times -i had to become his personal google translator so he can understand his father lilia -he’s also almost as gullible as kalim -I just happen to idly spin my broom stick around and now Silver thinks I know my way around weapons,specifically a sword. -he had a desire to train with me one day -i asked him what killed him and he told me he got caught with a plague -i felt bad for him for he’s genuinely pretty sweet -terrible way to go down that’s for sure -he told me that lilia saved his life with a last minute attachment,by choice, which allowed him to become a ghost -”sebek and others though i recovered fully due to this no knowing the truth that i was just a ghost like lord malleus and sir lilia”

------------Sebek Zigvolt------------------------------------ -loud -ill tempered -borderline racist -has a high distance for humans which is ironic to say the least -bost about his abilities often and love to talk about malleus -he is super smart and knows a lot in terms of core subjects -he actually doesn't walk around with that heavy armor 24/7 -very protective of his master and idolized him -i did ask him how he pasted which got him boating how he was slain by the hands of his master -i said i was sorry and he got angry and said “Being slain by Wakasama is the greatest honor a warrior could achieve” -i played along and apologize -he’s strong and often helps me with cleaning and arranging things -he expressed great happiness when i gifted him a old painting of malleus(who i bought from sam) -aside from the usual complaining and worshiping the grounds that malleus walks across, he’s really……obsessed with my demise -half of the time i can’t comprehend if he hates me or wants me to become a ghost like them -i mean i’m human and he doesn't like me much but he always is present and advocates with any idea on how to get me to turn into one of them…

--------Lilia Vanrouge------------------------------- -a cryptic old man with the personality and body of a young man in his early twenties - i also feel like he really wants me dead, yet he treats me like he’ve been best friends for the longest time -likes to tell interesting stories of his youth and his time with malleus -he actually gains a camera at some point in time and took pictures which weren’t half bad. -there is a painting somewhere in this wing were a old full body portrait of lilia back when he was army general(still tying to find but he keeps actively moving the dang painting 😤) -based on this i can confidently assume that they have been alive for over 700 years -he said i wasn't far off yet never elaborated further -he makes many,and i mean many, attempts to make me feel comfortable in the Diasomnia wing -this involves in locking me in the wing possibly taking the same idea from jamil’s attempts -bats sometimes flutter around him which ended up being one more creature to take care of -for some odd reason he’s more connected to modern day news ,topics and trends. -he has requested to have a laptop but the way the wing is set up, he has to used electrical outlets from other wings -which then he elightens me of the capacity of the ghost that resides here -this is when i figured out about their paranormal magic and energy usage -this explains on how malleus was able to travel to the woods outside the main house and how some ghost actual know each other -for example leona,who hates him, and vil knows about malleus

[kaddyssammlung]

Take Me Back To Eden-

transcript from the Revolver mag Special Edition

I don't own any of this!

In the cold, slow-moving early days of January 2023, something incredible happened, with

no warning. Sleep Token unleashed a new song upon the world that was, at the time, their

most jaw-dropping offering to date. Chokehold begins omniously with a scratching, grinding buzz and Vessel sings declaratively “When we were made, it was no accident, We were tangled up like branches in a flood”. The soft trill of a piano comes in, the suspense builds and then one of the most dramatic riffs the band have committed to record crashes down.It's just the first twist in a dynamic single full of them.

Chokehold struck a crowd with fans and landed Sleep Token cosigns from some unlikely voices. Lorna Shore, frontman and deathcore YouTube star Will Ramos covered the song and then dissected Vessel's vocal technique with a panel of experts. On the Charismatic Voice YouTube channel. Even Wilder was when American Idol star Chris Daughtry surprised a crowd at London's Royal Albert Hall with a dusky acoustic performance of the single. Yet the most remarkable thing about Chokehold is that, for all the fervor it steered, the song Sleep Token released just 24 hours later had even more profound impact on their career. On January 6th, the day after Chokehold's release, the band dropped a second 2023 single called The Summoning. If Chokehold started a fire, this new song poured kerosene on it. A near 7-minute masterpiece, The Summoning took Sleep Token genre blending approach to new extremes, spanning the divide between death metal-esque savagery and slutty funk. Not only did it work socially, but it somehow made beautiful sense conceptually. The song quickly went viral on TikTok, partly because of the stunning contrast between the styles it plays with and also due to its esoterically charged lyrics. Sleep Token had hinted at lustful thoughts in the past, but The Summoning was easily the most overtly sexual song to date. At this point, over half a decade into their career, Sleep Token were hardly unknowns, and the hype around them had been building in the underground alternative metal scene. But the one true punch of Chokehold into the Summoning sent them skyward.

Sleep Token dominated online conversation, trending on Twitter for days on end, and their streaming numbers shot through the roof. Multiple songs trended on Spotify simultaneously, but it was The Summoning that really took off, rocketing to 15 million plays on the platform in less than two months. As of this writing, it tops 18 million Spotify streams. On January 17th, Sleep Token embarked on a sold-out UK headlining tour, playing some of their biggest venues to date, including the 5,000 capacity Hammersmith Apollo in West London. Befitting the band's grounding audience and the launch of their latest chapter, these rituals were notably scaled up in terms of production. Sleep Token performed amid a stage setup, festooned with plants, and vessels started wearing an elaborate shoulder piece emblazoned with gold to protect him from sleep, for some fans have theorized.

Additionally, the trio of female backing singers from 2022's Room Below Ritual were along for the ride. The three women affectionately nicknamed the Vesselettes in some fan circles, performed in cloaks, their faces covered while they stood eerily stuck still. The tour was made even more special by Sleep Token, debuting two brand new songs during their set, the angsty pop metal exercise Granite and the elegant, chest-infused Aqua Regia. The studio versions were released in the middle of the tour, once again dropping within 24 hours of each other on January 18th and 19th. Respectfully, even before Sleep Token's third album was formally announced, fans understood that this sudden wave of new songs heralded an imminent follow-up to This Place Will Become Your Tomb. After the release of the apocalyptically heavy Vore in the middle of February. That speculation became fact, Take me Back to Eden, was announced for a mid-may release and was set to be the final installment of the band's album trilogy. The group's devotees had already been trying to figure out the record's title from the secret code that had appeared on the band's lead-up graphics. On Take Me Back to Eden, the turbulent hot and cold dynamic between Vessel and Sleep reaches its breaking point. His devotion to and lust for Sleep persists, but Vessel recognizes that he is quite literally in a Chokehold within their relationship, even more so than on the band's previous work. His emotions were conflicted enough on this record. On Granite, Vessel rages against Sleep's uncommunicative behavior, even labeling him aggressive and controlling, while on Aqua Regia, despite the song's undercurrent of desire, he affirms that he is done dancing to alarm bells.

By track 9, Do You Wish That You Loved Me he reaches the firm conclusion that not only is Sleep incapable of returning the love he has craved all along, but perhaps Vessel himself cannot muster the same devotion he seeks from the deity. I cannot hope to give you what I cannot give myself.

By the album's closing track, Euclid, the relationship has finally splintered,leaving Vessel feeling reflective but also anxious to move forward knowing that Ijust need to leave this part of me behind.

Once again, every song to Take Me Back to Eden comes with its own visual identity, but the symbology is Sleep token's most complex and detailed to date.

Each song is represented by its own fantastical character, best described as monsters or demons that are illustrated by Alex Tillbrook in the art booklet that comes with physical copies of the record. Some of the creatures appear in music videos' form as well. Each character looks distinct from the others, but they do share some common features. Many have devil-like horns, and the majority have an unusual number of body parts. The character representing Ascensionism has four arms. The one for Rain has three heads, and the creature for Chokehold has numerous arachnid-like legs.

Meanwhile, the character representing War has arms with two venues, flytrap-like mouths in place of hands, echoing the song's motif of consumption and swallowing, and linking to its title's reference to the fetish voraphilia, the erotic desire to consume or to be consumed by another person or creature. In addition, most of the characters hold at least one weapon, and many wear some form of armour. These accoutrements are possible, reflective of the heightened sense of conflict between Wesley and Sleep throughout the album.

The character representing the summoning, who wears a shoulder piece akin to the one

that Vessel wears on stage, clutches a huge gun, almost as big as the creature itself, while others wield axes and other bladed weapons. In two of its four hands, the floating character in a knight's helmet representing Ascensionism holds a handgun and a three-pronged dagger, like a mini version of Poseidon's trident. There are also a few references to weaponry in the lyrics in Chokehold. Wesley reclaims, I come as a blade, a sacred guardian. When in Aqua Regia,he speaks of a perfect start to a perfect war, putting down the roses, picking up the sword.

One compelling fan theory about these characters is that their sleep previous vessels. Others speculate that they could be a physical manifestation of Vessel's personal demons, or even past versions of Vessel himself. Indeed, there are references to the concept of past lives on the album. In Ascensionism, the line, tell me you met me in past lives,suggests Vessel's and Sleep's toxic bond predates this lifetime, or perhaps that's just what Sleep tells Vessel to create, the illusion that their connection is stronger than it really is. The Apparition reinforces the idea, well I believe somewhere in the past, something was between you and I in my dear. If Sleep and Vessel have been entangled for decades or even centuries across different incarnations, it raises the question of what the weapons are for.

Are they for Vessel to use while defending and protecting Sleep, or tools for him to battle the deity as the toxicity between them worsens? The two song-representing characters who've most intrigued fans correspond to the album's final two tracks, both are quite different compared to their armoured, multi-limbed peers. The figure for the pain-mouthed song Take Me Back to Eden, interestingly Sleep Token's only title track to date, has no face but bears angel wings and a scythe. Their juxtaposed element of an angel and a Grim Reaper evoke themes of death, worship,and immortality. All themes that crop up at the end of the album's story defend consensus as that title track concludes Take Me Back to Eden, while the album's actual closer Euclid wraps up the trilogy overall serving as a sort of epilogue. The character representing that song is a masked figure dressed in a toga-like garment holding Vessel's severed head. What does that ominous image mean about the future of Sleep Token? Some fear it's a signal at the end of the band, while others have wondered if it foreshadows the group re-emerging with a new story and a new look perhaps similar to the way Slipknot changed the mask with each album's cycle, or how Ghost kill-off versions of Papa Emeritus to make way for a successor. At the very least, the figure reflects the song's focus on rebirth throughout the death of the old Vessel proclaims I must be someone now. Musically Take Me Back to Eden is Sleep Token's most ambitious body of work to date.

Its sonic rage is considerably greater than This Place where we come here to folding in sounds and genres. The band hadn't touched before. The extremes are also so much more pronounced.

The summoning and Vore are the heaviest songs of their career so far, while a eerie, almost tropical-sounding deary statue of me is Sleep Token at their poppiest. Meanwhile, the colossal Are You Really Okay feels like Sleep Token's taken a arena-sized ballad, though its lyrics are claustrophobic, dark, and hint at self-harm. Since its corresponding character is holding a baby ( Since its corresponding character is holding a baby and the song mentions Vessel being woken up by a loved one dripping crimson on the carpet, some fans have posited that Are You Really Okay is not about self-harm at all, but rather a miscarriage). The most impressive musical feats on the record, however, are Sleep Token's two longest songs to date. The super-sized pair the 7-minute Ascensionism and 8-minute Plus Take Me Back to Eden unify every aspect of Sleep Token's sound, from delicate piano balladery to crushing heavy metal to bursts of trap-infused R&B (Both notably use autotune to add a disembodied quality to vessel's voice.)

Together, the two pieces feel like a culmination of the band's sonic explorations so far, elevating the music into the heady realm of progressive rock while floating with the long-form movement-based structures of classical music. Even as it marks an incredible step forward for the band, both creatively and commercially it landed at number 16 on the Billboard 200 Take Me Back to Eden and occasionally looks back. It's the most self-referential installment of Sleep Token's trilogy, especially towards its conclusion where the nods to previous songs become most overt in particular lines in the opening verse of Take Me Back to Eden.

I dream of phosphorescence, bleed through spaces, and we drive through crystal waters Perfect oceans can be interpreted with callbacks to sundowning in this place will become your tomb, read prospectively. Later, the titled rap evokes the LP's beginning by echoing the opening lines of Chokehold, creating poeticbookends to the album's narrative. Similarly, the entire trilogy concludes looping around to its start with a section of The Night Does Not Belong to God being revived in Euclid, bringing the story full circle. As for Sleep Token's own story, Euclid's image of a vesseldisembodied hit notwithstanding the band's journey continues. At least for now, Take Me Back to Eden has skyrocketed them to previously unimaginable heights. The latest, this anonymous masked band with their eccentric whip, lashing sound, and dizzying mythology have become bona fide arena headliners. They sold out a breakthrough-year-capping December gig at London's12,500-capacity Wembley Arena within just 10 minutes. We know Sleep Token's story will continue in 2024, too. They already have shows booked, including an April run in Australia, an appearance at Las Vegas' sick New World Festival. We want that. What does the future hold?

Might they scale even higher heights? To sleep, to dream.

[fullmoonfireball]

oh yeah i was sent this one by @sludge-wizard​ and then failed to elaborate bc the conversation kind of derailed so

Magolor genuinely doesn’t believe DMK is who/what he says he is at first. Like, yes, he looks and sounds like Meta Knight, and definitely seems like some parallel version of him. But his reflection? All Magolor had heard of the Mirror World at this point was silly little legends- tales of wishes without work and rituals children perform at sleepovers- so he wasn’t quick to believe him. Besides, plenty of magicians with mirror-based magic exist, it’s not like the moves that distinguish him from his counterpart are that special.

Dark Meta Knight, being full of himself, hating being likened to Meta Knight, and overall just unafraid of death, was VERY quick to shatter himself purely to prove a point.

Once that hurdle is jumped, they get along... startlingly well, actually. There’s definitely an edge of hostility to their interactions, like they might just start beating each other up, but in a way that’s less “they hate each other” and more “this is good enrichment for them”

Magolor is VERY curious about the Mirror World after learning it’s real, and likes to pepper DMK with questions about it. Unfortunately, he’s not the best person to ask about... anything, really.

Both of them think it’s hilarious to make Meta Knight’s life an absolute nightmare, even if only for a little while.

Kirby is frequently begged to not let the two of them be in the same room together, much less the same team. Usually, he’d be upset about that kind of request but... no, they can see why people want them separated too.

[sainamoonshine]

Okay everyone, I’d like to test this bit of story with you all. Tell me what you think about it please! It’s not the first chapter but like, the beginning of the inciting incident.

It’s about a warrior princess who is a Chosen One but accidentally ends up in a Romance with the bad guy instead of killing him As Foretold.

And two things to understand about this warrior princess is that she is lonely and touch-starved and somewhat horny, so you know. Content warning I guess lolol

***

When she was a teenager, she had often found herself fed up with the intricate and violent rituals the knights came up with as an excuse to touch each other — the ones she also participated in, just as desperate as the rest of them to feel hands on her body. She had often lain in bed at night and imagined, instead, elaborate scenarios in which she was grievously injured or had come down with a deathly illness. She would then shiver and twist under her covers as she contemplated the novel, titillating idea of soft healer hands touching her with care. Caresses, rather than the shoving and jabbing of everyday life on the training grounds. Perhaps even fingers might be trailed through her hair, a privilege that she had not been the recipient of in far too long. Or a kiss would be pressed to her brow. It seemed… unlikely, she had eventually decided. Childish musings of a weak mind about a reality that could not happen and was shameful to want.

Besides, the satisfaction she had found in those scenarios quickly lost its allure once she had realized that it was of an emotional rather than physical nature — yearnings of the heart instead of the bedroom. The second one could be laughed off if ever discovered; the first one could not.

She had tried then, with all the fresh vigour of youth, to picture hands upon her for reasons other than fighting or mending. But without any sort of experience to guide her mind, to help her figure out what, exactly, to imagine, she had found the fantasies lurid and off-putting. She did not know hands aside from her own, raised in care or otherwise; she only knew the bruises of the training grounds and the knights jostling roughly until they remembered she was among them, at which point they would pull away from her, shame faced. She had experimented, for many months, with imaginings of that same jostling but without the part where it ended. Roughhousing, pushed past the point where it became something else. But just as with the fantasies of illness, these also felt like unbearably naive and shameful ideas.

These wandering thoughts, in any case, were swiftly banished from her mind on the day that her esteemed father and king finally allowed her to train with the war hounds and introduced her to the dog handler. On that day she was astonished to realize that gentle touches… could also be firm. That an unyielding grip could be applied with care. That a touch did not have to be a shove or a caress but could just as well be a hold. The collar around your neck did not necessarily have to hurt, and could even with time become a comfort and a promise of safety if you only chose to accept it as such — and trusted the one who held the leash.

Suddenly, the concept of intimacy took on a new meaning in her mind.

Callahan may not actually be a dog, but neither was she a sickly maiden on her death bed nor a valiant knight — not really. She was tool first and foremost, and only incidentally a person. She had no agency of her own; her fate had been marked in stone from the moment of her birth. She was a warrior princess of prophecy, who fought at the command of the gods; and her father’s pride and joy, whom he paraded around and unleashed on his enemies as he pleased. If that did not make her a dog, then what was she, then? But if she was a dog, then did she not deserve a handler, also?

It came down to respect, she eventually realized. Of course her power and strenght was known, and appreciated, and counted on. It was even sometimes feared, and certainly set her apart from her peers. She had no peers, as a matter of fact. But no one had ever done anything to earn that power. Her loyalty was taken for granted; her willingness to submit to the will of her king and gods so expected that no one had ever bothered to command it.

Perhaps this was why she envied the dogs. Because at least when the handler put his hand on the nape of a hound, it was because he thought the beast — no matter how well trained — might decide to leap and bite someone. It was an awknowledgement of danger. If Cal ever took a lover — which she would not, as it would be cruel to, when she knew exactly how young she was to die — then she thought that she would have liked to have one that respected her enough to think her dangerous.

As time went on, the night time scenarios continued to occur, and now featured worlds in which the warrior princess was not at the beck and call of the king or the gods, but answered to masters who took a more… hands-on approach to bridling her. Men who would not keep her at the end of a long and loosely held golden leash, but a sturdy leather one. Who would stoically endure her biting and trashing until she at last submitted to their calm and confident authority, once they had proven that she could trust them. Who dared to impose authority onto the royal princess, chosen of the gods. Men who were just as strong as she was, and who wrestled her the way the knights did but with the intent to keep her on the ground rather than spring back up immediately with a grin and a laugh. And whose gentle treatment of her wounds came with a side of holding her still until the stitching was done. In her mind, she inhabited a fanciful reality in which she was cared for, beloved, and allowed to crawl into a warm lap to rest — without having to pretend that she might not also bite if not for the weight of a steady hand.

She wanted to be wild in the ways of a wolf, and she also wanted to be tamed, as only a dog could want both at once.

Before she had realized it, the vast gaping chasm of loneliness had birthed a burning need to find someone confident enough to challenge her. Such was the way of pain; if left unchecked, it can sink its roots into anything that might possibly soothe it, causing one’s mind to grow in unpredictable directions.

It is important to understand this aspect of Callahan’s psyche, in order to understand what happened next. After a long and brutal duel, once they were both breathless and flush with the rush of the fight, she managed to disarm the shadow king. In retaliation, he seized her sword arm and twisted it aside, grabbed at her throat to push her back against the wall, and started speaking in the deepest, most commending voice that she had ever heard in her life.

She did not listen to a word of it. The voice itself was too much of a shock. It rang like the death knell of existence, low and rough enough to make her feel as if she ought to strain to listen, yet with enough gravitas that surely not even the wind would ever dare to speak over him. It was a voice born and bred to lead armies. A voice that expected to be obeyed.

She moaned.

[friendofcars]

I know a lot of people have pointed out that Maura, Calla, and Persephone serve as mirrors for/are counterparts of Gansey, Ronan, and Adam, but before she is Adam's mirror, if she is at all, Persephone is Noah's. As time loops, Noah has died, is dying, will die, and so will persephone- something of which I think they're both aware. they reflect each other's ghostly qualities. more on Adam later, though!

(in hindsight, part of this list reads like diagnostic criteria. unintentional on my part. take from that what you will. this is also really long. it gets more analytical towards the end.)

From a more meta (?) perspective, I think the purpose of Noah and Persephone being parallels to one another is to foreshadow Persephone’s death (in concert with her name) via parallel descriptions and narrative roles to noah: a lot of her descriptions and actions are ghost-like, not just generally, but Noah-like too!

1. appearance and impressions: light, vague, approximate, ephemeral - except for their dark eyes

“There was something out of place about his clothing, his mostly combed-back fair hair.”

“Persephone knelt on the edge of her bed, draping a crimped pale cloud of hair around Blue’s face.” (I think it's also worth mentioning here that the woman who dies in Opal is described as cloud-like).

“[O]ne was smudgy, just as he said, with a rumpled, faded look about his person, like his body had been laundered too many times.”

“He looked pale and insubstantial in the yellow, late-night light of the room behind him; the skin beneath his eyes was darker than anything. He looked less like Noah than the suggestion of Noah.”

“For a second, all that seemed to be visible was his pale face; his dark clothing invisible and his eyes chasms into someplace unknowable.”

“Noah’s chin ducked farther, his expression somehow black, his eye sockets hollowed and skull-like. Were they looking at a boy? Or something that looked like a boy?”

“He thought of what a cruel mockery that mirror-version of her had been, the terrible child-creature from his ritual before. Nothing like this airy whisper of a person in front of him now. ”

“When pressed, people often remembered Persephone’s hair: a long, wavy white-blond mane that fell to the back of her thighs. If they got past her hair, they sometimes recalled her dresses — elaborate, frothy creations or quizzical smocks. And if they made it past that, they were unsettled by her eyes, true mirror black, the pupils hidden in the darkness.”

“Persephone blinked up, her black eyes a little far away.”

“A mirage had appeared at the end of the exit ramp, only now that they looked a bit harder, it was a real person, behaving like an unreal person... Her hair was a blond frothy cloud and her skin was chalky. Except for her black eyes, everything about her was as pale as the psychic beside Maura was dark.”

“He was, Adam noted, nearly disappeared already. He was more the feeling of Noah than actually Noah.”

“He thought of what a cruel mockery that mirror-version of her had been, the terrible child-creature from his ritual before. Nothing like this airy whisper of a person in front of him now. ”

Even her tarot cards resemble Noah: "Spidery lines and smudgy backgrounds suggested the figures on each card..."

2. movement and body language

“Czerny was on the ground. Not dead, but dying. His legs still pedaled on the uneven surface beside his red car, making drifts of fallen leaves behind him.” Re: drifts- I associate both Noah and Persephone with air (especially as a symbol of dwindling life).

“Persephone was a poor but energetic sleeper; her midnight shouting and nocturnal leg paddling ensured that she never had to share a room.”

Like the tarot cards, Persephone's belongings look and act like Noah's dying body: “Most of the bed was covered by strange, embroidered leggings and plaid tights running in place...”

“Noah seemed about to put his hands in his pockets and then didn’t. Noah’s hands seemed to belong fewer places than other people’s.”

“She twirled a hand around in a vague sort of way. Blue took this as a sign to find a place to sit.”

“Behind her, Persephone stood in the doorway, her hands clasping and unclasping each other.”

“Noah made a series of incomprehensible gestures, more agitated than she’d seen him.”

“ Noah immediately spotted Gansey and made a generalized flapping gesture.”

“Persephone flapped a hand as if it was too difficult for her to explain.”

“When he straightened, he realized Noah had drifted from his room to stand near Gansey.”

“Persephone tended to get caught in odd drafts and blow around.”

“Behind them, the stairs creaked, and both Calla and Blue leapt...She’d gotten over her shock and was now merely angry at being shocked. “You should make some noise when you enter rooms.”

“Noah. You’re creepy as hell back there.” In the deep, shadowed entrance of the church, Noah stood silently.”

“Because it was rare that Blue noticed the moment Noah actually appeared.”

“Persephone, and the furniture lurked against the walls.”

Both Noah and Persephone often seem childlike in comparison to their friends, too, emphasized by their preternatural knowledge of the story (Noah's through nonlinear time experience, Persephone's through psychic ability).

3. quiet and distant voices

“Persephone’s tiny, breathy voice said, “It’s available. I mean, open.”

“Her dainty, child’s voice was soft enough that Blue had to hold her breath to hear it. ”

“Oh dear,” Persephone said in a small voice — and Persephone’s voice was already quite small, so her small voice was indeed tiny — but she turned and went up the stairs. Her bare feet were soundless as she did.”

“One at a time?” Persephone suggested, her voice nearly inaudible.”

“Noah’s voice, cool and barely there, whispered in her ear. “Please say something to them.” ...Noah’s voice was faint but desperate. His distress hummed through her. “Please.”

“He thought he heard Noah’s voice, distantly... “I’m sorry. Can you say it louder, Noah?”

“Noah, who could go unnoticed for hours, whose room was pristine, whose voice was never raised.”

“Persephone’s quiet voice cut through Maura’s and Calla’s increasingly loud competition.”

“Noah, who could go unnoticed for hours, whose room was pristine, whose voice was never raised.”

“Persephone finally spoke up in her tiny voice.”

“Now,” Persephone said, and her voice was very small and soft. “Are you the Magician? Or aren’t you?”

“She sighed deeply. She sighed a lot.”

“Even though Ronan was snarling and Noah was sighing and Adam was hesitating, he didn’t turn to verify that they were coming.”

4. obscurity/evasion of others' memories

“-it was always difficult to know details when it came to Persephone-”

“Adam,” he demanded, “what is Noah’s last name?” Before Gansey had asked, Adam felt as if he must have known. But now the answer slid away from his mouth and then from his thoughts entirely, leaving his lips parted. It was like losing his way to class, losing his way home, forgetting the phone number for Monmouth Manufacturing. “I don’t know,” Adam admitted.”

“Everyone had been surprised to discover Persephone had a last name.”

“Maura offered, “It’s the Russian in you.” “Estonian,” Persephone replied.”

and soon after,

“Maura gestured toward the third member of their group. “And Persephone is Russian.” “Estonian,” Persephone corrected softly.”

The fact that only a handful of characters can see Noah also applies here. A lot of the examples in the appearance section also fall under this category!

5. recycled language: from other people and other points in time

“Good morning,” Persephone echoed. “It’s too early. My words aren’t working, so I’ll just use as many of the ones that work for you as possible.”

“No,” Adam said softly. Persephone echoed, “No?”

“He’ll be a champ,” Blue said, punching Noah’s arm lightly. “I’ll be a champ,” repeated Noah.”

“Is that all?” she whispered. Gansey closed his eyes. “That’s all there is.”

and then,

“Noah, standing next to a pile of plywood and four-by-fours, asked, “Is that all? That doesn’t seem like very much.”

and a three part example:

“Ronan was right. Things felt bigger. He may not have found the line, or the heart of the line, but something was happening, something was starting. Noah said, “Don’t throw it away.” This is right after Ronan kills the wasp in Monmouth and deposits it in the waste basket, but Noah is, of course, referring to Gansey's second chance at life, for which Noah has sacrificed himself.

and

“Don’t throw it away,” Noah whispered. “I’m trying not to,” Adam replied.” This is right before Adam takes the Camaro to Cabeswater to stop Whelk. Noah is now referring to Adam's chance to make a sacrifice to Cabeswater and wake the line, to supplant himself in the story where Noah left off. This is perhaps the point at which Adam definitively sets along the path that leads him to Persephone, but first, before he goes, he mirrors Noah one last time: “Noah stood directly in front of him, hollow eyes on level with Adam’s eyes, smashed cheek on level with Adam’s ruined ear, breathless mouth inches from Adam’s sucked-in breath.” The parallel injuries, the opposing presence/absence of air (read: life)- it's a turning point! It's almost as if Noah starts to cede his mirroring of Persephone to Adam in this moment- he doesn't lose the qualities he and Persephone have in common, but they become secondary as Persephone's primary role in the story crystalizes as a mentor to Adam. I think you could also consider Persephone not as a mirror to Adam but a lens- microscopic, telescopic, or both. She's instrumental in his psychic awakening and self healing and does so by teaching him to shift his perspective, to look both within himself and far beyond himself, finding the connections in between. I still think Adam and Persephone mirror one another, especially with regard to their generally quiet and distant demeanors and psychic abilities that distinguish them from their friends, but it's a parallel that gets crafted mid-story, not a parallel that frames the story from the start- even if Adam is inherently psychic independent of his sacrifice, which I think he is!

and finally,

“Goodbye,” Noah said. “Don’t throw it away.” I don't think this needs any further commentary:(

6. relationships with friends: noah + gansey and persephone + maura

Gansey and Maura can also be considered mirrors of one another; given Gansey's experiences with falling into cavern pits, the Henry hole in the ground situation, etc., we can tenuously equate Gansey's (second) death with Maura's disappearance into the caves. Noah knows that Gansey is fated to die through his nonlinear experience of time (time along the ley line in particular, I believe). Persephone is implied to have known Maura was going to disappear too: when the characters return to Fox Way in the epilogue of The Dream Thieves and find Maura's note, we read: “As Persephone climbed the stairs, Calla said accusingly, “This is your fault. Did you know this was going to happen?” Noah is also aware that he cannot stay in the story forever ("I'm almost gone anyway"), and it seems to me that Persephone knows she will die too (mainly because her giving her tarot cards to Adam seems like a precautionary measure/a parting gift). I'd even go as far as saying that Noah dies for Gansey and Persephone dies for Maura, although they "die for" their respective friends in different ways (Noah designates his death as a sacrifice for Gansey's life; Persephone dies in the process of trying to save Maura's- but unlike Noah's death, her death is not integral to Maura's survival. Two distinct actions and outcomes, but not entirely unrelated ones. I'd argue they both make the biggest sacrifices for Gansey/Maura in their respective groups of friends.).

And because I can't not make this about Adam again, Persephone herself doesn't see Adam as like her: in the prologue of Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Persephone comments on how new to life he seems (in contrast with her agelessness), how she isn't suited to bargains like he is, and especially this:

“She was a far better psychic when she had her two friends Calla and Maura with her: Calla to sort through her impressions and Maura to put them in context. Adam seemed to have potential in this department, though he was too new to replace Maura— no, that was a ridiculous way to put it, Persephone told herself, you don’t replace friends. She struggled to think of the proper word. Not replace.”

Like the Gray Man (see "Adam Parrish and his band of merry men" which sort of happens in a contrived way in TD3 w/ the Crying Club being rather unmerry men), Persephone recognizes Adam as a leader of the kids' quest, much like Maura's leadership amongst the psychics of Fox Way.

7. other notes

I think it's worth mentioning that Noah doesn't enter 300 Fox Way until after Persephone's death. I haven't reasoned out why exactly, but I think it's intentional.

They're both harmed by literal mirrors (not narrative foils nor the Blue/Gwenllian type of mirror)- when Gwenllian possesses Noah, Jesse Dittley halts the possession by putting a mirror in front of Noah, which makes him incredibly distressed. Persephone, of course, dies between the mirrors in perpetuum in the Fox Way attic.

In the epilogue of The Dream Thieves, Persephone and Adam flank Noah as Ronan brings Aurora into Cabeswater: “And there was Noah, shoulders slumped, hand lifted in an apologetic wave. On one side of him, Adam stood, hands in pockets, and on the other side was Persephone, her fingers twisted together.” In the same section, Ronan realizes Aurora looks like Matthew, which to me serves as an implicit reminder to consider how Noah and Adam are similar to Persephone as well.

I don't really have any summative thoughts on this, but I think it would have been incredibly cool if Persephone turned out to be a ghost as well... but alas...

[wxlfbites]

TheGreenWolf Review

As promised, this is my official review on the coyote tail I purchased from thegreenwolf (Lupa) on Etsy. Firstly, I'd like to rewrite my original review and then elaborate and add photos of the tails flaws so that others can see firsthand what I mean. Deeper review and photos below the cut.

In my honest opinion, thegreenwolf (Lupa) is way too overpriced for the quality of her work. The tail I bought came up to $46.44, making it the most expensive tail I've ever bought (and all my tails have come from Etsy shops) and it's the worst quality tail I have. There's a giant bald spot on one side that can't be covered, the sides of the tail are flattened in a way that makes it look like a sideways beaver tail no matter how much I fluff it and shake it out both rightside up and upside down, the hide where the loop (for tying or attaching a clip) is completely exposed a good inch or two and the loop itself is literally just stapled on. I paid $27 for Cash (my other coyote) and even though I was slightly disappointed in his size when he arrived, even he's better quality than this one. Obviously when it comes to taxidermy, there are things that are unavoidable, like the bald spot, but that also means you need to price accordingly to the flaws. I paid $65 for my entire gray fox pelt (paw pads and whiskers still intact) at a renaissance festival. If I'm paying almost $10 less than that for just a tail, it better be the best quality money can buy. So. In my opinion, she's price gouging the shit out of scrap quality taxidermy and only able to get away with it because of her claims of spiritualism.

After being called "petty and rude" and getting accused of doxxing Lupa (??????) for simply having a negative review and opinion, I just wanted to say a couple of things to kinda of clarify things?

In no way was my review meant to elicit hate or harassment toward Lupa. While I am aware of some controversial things regarding her views on nonhumanity, the intention of my review was simply to warn the nonhuman and vulture culture communities that this seller is, in my opinion, pricing items much higher than they are worth and doing so simply because she claims them to be more spiritually charged based on her spiritual practice and beliefs.

I have bought tails from Etsy shops since 2012, not only have I never encountered a taxidermy tail that wasn't altered (meaning: not sewn together with other tails to make them longer) for more than $25, I've never purchased a tail that I felt needed to be reviewed poorly; let along a tail that was purchased from a seller who very proudly and confidently talks about her decades of work with taxidermy and her skills in the field. I guess I just expected more from her based on the "experience" and "skill" she says she has. I've also personally started to work with taxidermy myself, though I'm not nearly as skilled as many in the field, and I really only end up working with bones after I let the animals I find naturally decompose. I did try my hand at preserving a rabbits foot, which I am happy with, but even so... I am far from "skilled". Even if I were, I wouldn't be selling my work for more than I believe it's worth. If I sold my rabbits foot right now, I'd only want $15 max (including shipping) for him which includes the leather wrap around the top, money spent on Borax, the overall time I spent working on him (severing the foot, cleaning, waiting for preservation, cleaning again, wrapping the leather) and then the shipping costs if I had to ship him. From what Lupa says in her listings, her tails are secondhand, to quote her:

"" The majority of what I work with is secondhand or reclaimed in some manner, whether its old fur and leather coats, [...]

meaning she doesn't even actually tan/preserve them, they come to her already tanned and she just adds the loop and spiritual ritual. If she were working with these tails from the death stage, doing her own taxidermy, then maybe I could understand the price. The fact that she's basically charging for a stapled on leather loop and a spiritual ritual that not everyone subscribes to is frankly asinine. I've seen taxidermists who tan their own hides charge way less than Lupa is. So yeah, I definitely think people are getting ripped off.

Now for the photos. (some of the flaws I talked about don't translate well through a camera so totally feel free to use your own discretion when it comes to whether or not you think I'm over exaggerating or just bullshitting. This post isn't meant to be an "evidence of". Explanations of what the photos are depicting will be given in the alt text.

And there ya have it, folks. My review on Lupa Greenwolf. Feel free to take it or leave it. I’m not here to tell you not to buy from her. I’m just here telling you that I personally don’t think her stuff is worth what she charges and that you can definitely find better. While I’m disappointed in what I spent my money on, I won’t be returning my tail simply because for one, I’d have to pay return shipping so I’d still be wasting money even if I got a refund, and secondly, in the grand scheme of things, spiritually speaking, the way a tail looks is unimportant to me. None of the flaws I’ve mentioned make me love or respect the tail as a once living being any less. It’s just the principle of price gouging and inflated ego’s that I have an issue with.

[myrddin-wylt]

Okay I keep mentioning it and I'm not sure what else to add to this headcanon, so I'll just drop it here and elaborate later. this time based off Arthur being able to see ghosts and fae: I can't help but wonder if he ever talks to his mom. does Habren visit? is it too painful? for one of them, both of them? does she watch over him all the time as the one ghost he can't see because he never actually accepted her death? does he go over to where she died on the Salisbury Plain and talk to the standing stones just sorta hoping she can hear but doing his best to not actually look for her lest he see her?

Imo he's unable to see her for most of his life because he simply doesn't want to. he can barely remember how to speak Brythonic and his adoption of the invaders that killed his mother will always be his deepest shame (regardless of his autonomy or lack of in the matter). imo once he starts dreaming in Old English, he stays far the fuck away from Habren's grave. he doesn't invoke her name. he gets angry at Morgan for mentioning her. she is dead to him.

(There may have been some exceptions, perhaps especially during the viking invasion. I'd say after Chippenham, but Chippenham is where I hc Mathias put an axe through Arthur's spine, so I doubt he'd be able to walk all the way out to Stonehenge after that. maybe after the Battle of Hastings, when he promises Habren that this is the last invasion he'll ever suffer, and to apologize for what he's preparing to put Morgan, Erin, and to a lesser degree Duncan through.)

I think he gets better as he gets older though, as is often the case with him. I think once he's able to come to terms with who he is and the language he speaks, he makes very occasional journeys to Stonehenge. definitely he goes once Alfred is born. once he returns to England from across the Atlantic, squalling babe in his arms, he takes a trip out to Salisbury Plain. It's honestly not the best idea or the easiest trip with Alfred still so small, but Arthur needs to do it. he needs to go to the place that holds the dubious honor of being both his own birthplace and Habren's grave. he wants to show his mother his greatest accomplishment, his pride and joy, even if he is named for an Anglo-Saxon king.

Habren falls in love instantly. her son has a son! he's such a little thing but so was Arthur. she doesn't really expect Arthur to be able to see her and it's a bit of a surprise when she realizes he's staring right at her. he asks her to hold Alfred and hearing him speak English is still jarring to her but she holds out her arms anyway to receive him. they don't speak much - the British stuffiness had to come from somewhere, after all - but they don't necessarily need to, especially with Alfred; even if Habren and her son were the talking type, Alfred surely would have put a hold on that, what with his baby powers of inducing baby brainrot.

He goes again to introduce her to Helena, then Matt (who's already too old to see her, unfortunately), then Jack, and Eliza, and Jane, and eventually Peter. it's a ritual he does for all of his children that none of them really understand or remember. but it's important to him. and it's important to Habren. at some point he has to go to tell her about losing Alfred, at least as his son; surely out of his entire family, Habren likely has the most sympathy and comfort for him, even if she can't quite relate. how could she? she died long before Arthur and Morgan grew old enough to do anything remotely like rebel, much less disinherit. she does try, though, and it's certainly better than nothing.

in any case, Arthur does love his mother, even if he can't really remember her, and even if he wouldn't even look for her for nearly the entirety of his early life. it must be odd for him, once he realizes he has more experience as a parent than she does; he can ask for advice but she can only give him so much guidance, especially as the world modernizes. it's better to just enjoy her company, then, he decides. he lets her stay dead to him. at least most of the time.

[character name guide]

[sinisteryuri]

HII FOR THE TAG GAME. please do elaborate on #girl???

sickos: HAHA YESSS.

i actually answered with a little excerpt already so im going to talk about my characters from this general universe because. i love them.

cw for suicide and abuse under there

MOLLY my best friend molly. here is some older art of her !!!

so molly is 18, she lives in a world where some people have superpowers. kind of dc style. she’s an up and coming vigilante in the Big City (which is ILLEGAL but public opinion is mixed bc the government is like. not the best). she ran away from her suburban home after her older sister, angel, attempted to ritually give her superpowers for a plan to turn her into an Actual angel (not a real thing in universe). the powers thing worked but was traumatic and destroyed their relationship. molly is really self-sufficient, reckless, and attributes her continued, lucky survival to the existence of a higher power of angel’s creation. she has a grudge against the government because of the way angel was harmed by the government’s systems. her reckless but effective methods quickly get a lot of attention, both positive and negative, from the media and other heroes and vigilantes like lyov and lyra.

ANGEL the worst ever.

i don’t have a picture of herSORRY.

angel, got into like a sidekick training program really young and was considered a prodigy. she would spend winters in the city with the big shots and summers at bible camp with molly. her and molly’s parents commit a religious double suicide when she’s 17 and she walks in on it and develops a sun-centric religious belief system to deal with her grief. she keeps making increasingly dangerous mistakes at her internship under her manipulative mentor and returns home full of a justified but incredibly misdirected anger that she unleashes on molly, and molly’s friends, darcy and elise, over the next few years, culminating in grievous injury to all of them. she believes herself to be chosen as a divine being and her goal is to get revenge on the ex-mentor who scarred her face and also become an Actual angel with molly so they can meet their parents.

LYRA my best friend

lyra is a career hero following in her brother’s footsteps by day, a masked vigilante doing gritty rescue work by night. she doesn’t want the flashy fights and advertisements of her brother’s career, and instead she’s drawn to disaster work, holding up fallen buildings, pulling people out of fire, the hands on help people need. their parents want her doing magazine spreads and pr interviews, something primarily rescue heroes are notoriously not offered due to the lack of glamour in their work. so she takes things into her own hands in the mean time and does double the work, because anything is worth it for helping real people outside of publicly hunting down individual criminals. and as a bonus, she gets to meetup with this mysterious other vigilante who is really cool (it’s molly).

ORFEAS my best friend

child actor of hero work. he is actually a pretty normal dude. he wants to retire early and go to college for med school and his and lyra's parents are pushing him to wait longer, which he doesn't want to do. he's worried about his fame affecting how people treat him because he doesn't want an advantage. he briefly trained with angel. they had a little teen romance going on but she also scared him because he didn’t know how to help her.

LYOV MY SPECIAL GUY

old man yaoi. it's them. they knew angel fairly well when she was in training because at the time they were working as a hero. since, they've learned of corruption and separated themselves from the industry, working alone as a vigilante figure, though lucille helps them with tech behind the scenes. they come from a big family that they don't feel they can talk to after the death of an estranged brother who almost killed them when they were a child in a drowning, and they still feel the guilt of tearing the family apart, as they feel their family members took sides after the incident. they want to help molly out because she reminds them of angel who they still worry about as they never found out what happened to her. she just disappeared. they live with lucille and rowen and their kid and have a sad old man yaoi self-pity desire to date them and help them parent their kid.

THIS ISNT EVERYONE BUT IM ON MOBILE. PLEASE ASK MORE QS IF YOURE INTERESTED EVER. I LOVE THESE GUYS SO MUCH.