#maybe Roman statue stuff

[the-casbah-way]

WHY is emailing potential supervisors so intimidating. like hey esteemed academic in the field i aspire to become qualified in do you want to put up with my stupid fucking research project. do you want me to plague you with emails for the next year. do you want me to ruin your fucking life you poor innocent soul ensnared by your duties to inarticulate sleep deprived classics students. god

[gyustarzzi]

ateez taking you on vacation

★ hongjoong

- Paris, France - takes you on an expensive date - will beg you to go on a night walk to see the beautiful lights, probably the most beautiful city you've ever seen - way too many photos for you to count - probably took a photo of you without you knowing and has it as his lock screen

" Isn't it beautiful tonight? "

☆ seonghwa

- Bora Bora, French Polynesia - the trip was originally for just the group but when he found out he could bring you along of course he couldn't say no - gets a two-bedroom premier beachfront villa estate (WHICH IS HUGE) - you guys go scuba diving and reef discovery with the other members - will dare you to do parasailing, which you both end up doing and let's just say it didn't end well. you get hit in the face by a bird

" I dare you to do the parasailing, if you do it then I'll do it "

★ yunho

- Rome, Italy - you guys go to a lot of historic tours through Rome (Colosseum, Roman Forum) and art-filled institutions (Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese) - yunho takes way too many photos of you and him during your trip - you guys almost get lost in one of Roman's catacombs, but don't worry you guys get out soon...somehow - probably will go back next time you go on vacation

" Oh shit..I think we're lost Y/N '

☆ yeosang

- London, England - he probably would go back bc he loved the city so much - takes you everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE (it's his only time to spend time with you all day) - can't stop fangirling over every photo you take of yourself - probably proposed to you at the top of The London Eye, if not then he would just kiss you

" Since you've been around I smile a lot more than I used to, and that's why I love you "

★ san

- Tokyo, Japan - goes to a lot of anime stores and buys way to much stuff - you guys not only go to Tokyo Disneyland but Tokyo Sea Lif Park!! - get to play with cats at Hogoneko Rafu Space and you guys end up adopting a ragdoll named mocha - not only do you get to spend time with San for a whole week, you also get to go home with a sweet kitty!

" She's perfect for us, let's adopt her! "

☆ mingi

- New Zealand - there are so many things to do in New Zealand so of course he would pick to go there - you guys would go to the glow worms cave, which you find so pretty but mingi is afraid they will fall on him (they won't) - you also get to take a tour around the Hobbiton movie set, mingi's treat - you do a lot of more fun stuff during the week you have together (Shotover River Extreme Jet Boat Ride in Queenstown, Waitomo Caves & Te Puia in Aucklund)

★ wooyoung

- New York City, United States - the members were on tour in america and one of their stops was new york city - you ended up flyng down there and surprising wooyoung at his hotel - you guys do a lot of sightseeing: the statue of liberty, summit one Vanderbilt, and you went on a cruise - at night you and the members would go out and have fun...maybe get drunk

" This view is amazing, it feels like I'm about to fall "

☆ jongho

- Sydney, Australia - you've always wanted to go to australia, so jongho decided to surprise you on your birthday - you spend a whole week there going shopping, sightseeing, playing in the water with jongho and having the best birthday ever (Darling Harbour, Queen Victoria Building, Sydney Opera House, etc.) - at the end of the week (your birthday) all the members, and your friends surprise you a birthday cake - you end up with the cake smashed into you face. wooyoung definitely didn't do it..

" You got a little something on your face "

[hometoursandotherstuff]

According to the description, this 1987 manor style home in Mcmurray, PA is newly remodeled to meet a Medieval Aesthetic. 6bds, 7ba, $999,900. Medieval? You tell me.

I do not recall the Medieval style having gold floral wallpaper.

Matching powder room.

I'm gonna say Italian Provincial, especially the gold angel above the fireplace.

Where the hell are they getting Medieval from?

Maybe the light fixture can loosely be called Medieval. I like the color of the double sink.

The cabinets and flooring are lovely. I like the black counters, also. Not sure about the wallpapered ceiling, though.

Wow, this is some fancy everyday dining area off the kitchen. When I saw the picture on the table, I thought it was an office.

This may be the fanciest laundry room I've ever seen.

Youch! Look at this dining room. Carved beams. There's a knight and stuff. I guess you could call this Medieval on Steroids.

Look at the bar. Wow, fancy Medieval style. They even have what looks like a church window from an architectural salvage yard. I'm disappointed that the rest of the house isn't like this.

Stunning wood in the office, plus a fireplace. Look at the ceiling. I imagine that this could be a library or den if you don't need an office.

The primary bedroom takes us back to the castles of Italy with the cherub mural on the ceiling.

Roman en-suite.

The bedrooms are very large. I wonder if this is the primary. It's very big and has a fireplace.

The en-suite has a vanity table and a marble tub surround.

Or, maybe this is the primary. I can't tell. The carpet needs to be stretched, there's an office in the corner and doors to the patio.

Look at the Zen statue in the niche and the and the etched mirrors. This is a serene retreat. This home's decor is all over the place, but that's okay.

A child's bedroom. Very sophisticated.

Interesting. An architectural salvage church pew and what looks like a confessional simulation.

Looks like we're in an attic family room.

Cool enclosed patio has a pool, hot tub, shrine, statues, sitting area, and a mural. Looks like a castle back here.

Very interesting home. I'd buy it. Looks like there's a tower- I wonder if there's a turret room.

.54 acre lot on a cul-de-sac.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/107-Treetop-Ln-McMurray-PA-15317/49791444_zpid/?

[thedvilsinthedetails]

Heyyyy…

hey im still figuring out what i wanna be called but for now u can call me Jamie if u want I’m genderfluid as fuck [they/she/he or whatever idegafatp]

some typa aroace spectrum probs grayace & demiromantic also omniromantic - in general I have nothing figured out

so a simp w like a slight preference for men ig but kinda ace most of the time but sometimes very not

neurospicy bitch

minor but adults can follow/interact idc tbh

writing request status: OPEN FOR MICROFICS RN

I’m a rosekiller loverrr but also a multi shipper so u never know what ur gonna see ig [but probably Rosekiller, Wolfstar, Dorlene, Starchaser maybe some sunkiller if I’m in the mood etc] for the record just bc I don’t ship smth doesn’t mean I support hating it even as a joke [translation: prongsfoot is chill leave them be]

if u don’t like smth, just ignore it, if u send me hate I’ll reply w shitty jokes probs

my dream job is to be an actor [screen actor specifically]

Media I like:

Fav TV stuff: Challengers, Gravity Falls, Cruella, 10 things I hate about you, into the spiderverse

Fav author is @neil-gaiman also that man is my idol so I’ll probs reblog him a shit ton [do u think he’ll like…mind that I tagged him? Sorry if this bothered u Neil!!!] Music [uhhh changes all the time tbh but for rn]: The Neighbourhood, Olivia Rodrigo, Conan Gray [Kid Krow phase rn], Chappell Roan, Renée Rapp, Green day, Ricky Montgomery, NOAHFINNCE, MARINA and Hozier

Spider-Man. Fucking love Spider-Man.

One thing to note about me tho: obvi I love recommendations but I find starting literally any new forms of media really fucking daunting for no reason [this is everything: songs, movies, books etc]

e.g. I fucking love spider verse but I still haven’t watched movie 2, same w latest season of young royals, same with even like ONE song alone I find it rlly hard and really scary

so if u give me recommendations and I don’t get back to u about them for ages it’s not bc I forgot or i was ignoring u but bc I find it scary so pls be patient :)

also same w please don’t like assume I’m knowledgeable about like any of the music artists I named earlier bc tbh I don’t rlly listen to artists I listen to songs [im still a fan of a lot of music artists ofc but the artists I listen to ≠ the artists I’m a fan of]

HI! welcome to my crazy blog, I love making friends im not at all scary I promise :D

Btw my inbox is ALWAYS open for spam, ship ramblings [even if it’s not smth I ship], info dropping about ur hyperfixations, venting, questions etc. [the only thing is no illegal ships bc it will be ignored] also sorry pre warning im shit with the inbox chains [‘send this to ten people who…’] so often I won’t answer those sorry, anything else I will make sure to answer but the chains I sometimes just forget about sorryyy

Barty Crouch Jr & James Potter kinnie

got a FAT crush on Evan Rosier [he’s the loml he just doesn’t know it yet] and also a crush on Dorcas Meadowes

I write sometimes:

I fell for you like glitter on stage - rosekiller band au, this was a microfic series on tumblr that I posted on ao3 for convenience [words: 4548] [this is my fav thing I’ve ever written lol]

we are all just prisoners here of our own device - Jegulus, a oneshot on ao3 based on the song ‘hotel California’ by the eagles. [Words: 6162]

Oh where do we begin? The rubble or our sins? - ON HIATUS. Roman Empire Jegulus au with side Rosekiller, Wolfstar and Pandalily on ao3 [words: 6141] [currently I don’t want to write Jegulus - the hyperfixation hath faded]

also I’m in a marauders RP as Barty and u shld follow it bc we’re all super cool and funny and amazing and awesome and yeah @bartythebabygorljr

tags you’ll see on my page:

me and my old black biro > writing tag

Im in love with that Rosier boy > [this is a new one] me having a massive crush on Evan Rosier

the most boring soap opera > my life tag

I have an online diary called @miseryoforpheus if ur fascinated by my charming and irresistible personality

my Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/a4nOH

[The song at the bottom of my intro post changes all the time depending on how I’m feeling]

THIS BLOG SUPPORTS PALESTINE

THIS BLOG STANDS WITH UKRAINE

THIS BLOG THINKS JK ROWLING HAS A NEGATIVE QUANTITY OF BRAINCELLS

[nobody-nexus]

Okay so... I have an AU idea for TADC

So seeing all of these AUs for TADC around gave me an idea for one, and if I get enough positive feedback I'll probably draw stuff about it. The name for it is called The Sinful Circus AU. The concept is that the digital circus is a prison for some of the worst prisoners of all. Each one of the circus members are themed after one of the seven deadly sins, and their crime reflected of that. (Note: Lust, in this context, is NOT sexual- but more manipulation. Please keep that in mind)

Caine was the very first prisoner forced to put on the headset. He was Specimen 0, and therefore in there the longest. So long that he forgot he was even a human being in the first place, instead thinking he's an omnipresent AI. His real name is Camerom Ringler, and his sin was Pride. Crimes he committed involve fraud, identity theft, use of illegal substances, and various other unknown crimes

The second longest lasting prisoner is an older man named Roman Kingston, and his sin was Greed, using his royal status as a prince to steal from thousands of people. The circus made him insane, and now he's just in his own world, claiming a small portion of the place as 'his kingdom' while not being all quite there at the same time

The next was a woman named Amanda Dollie, who's sin was Sloth. She was the head secretary for the president at the time of her sentence, but she hadn't been a good one. She made a number of short cuts which lead to a near economic collapse. The circus pushes her around often, even though she can be put back together easily, it's still painful and hard to handle a lot of the time

Next was Jackson Conejito. His sin was Lust, but not in the way most think when hearing that. It was an intense longing for hatred and to cause havoc and chaos, becoming a menace DUE to this longing. Robbery, breaking and entering, and arson to name a few- this longing to give others hate grew more and more until he was finally caught. He's the least affected within the circus, but his bunny like appearance was a more ironic punishment

Soon enough the next one was a girl named Grace Mezzanine- who's sin was Envy. Due to her front of being a constantly happy and cheery person, most were surprised when it turned out that the lovable woman was a murderer- killing people who upset her or made herself conscious and jealous. Her love for musical theater taught her how to act, so her circus body being just as spineless as she was made the most sense

Second to last was Zoe Clash, who's biggest sin was Gluttony. They couldn't get enough attention, being the most well-known sinful criminal. A media star that, due to being so obsessed with beauty and being the center of attention, lead to the second most deaths even if indirectly. To match the ugliness in their heart, they turned into something that's hard to describe aside from 'unnatural' and 'mismatching'

The last currently alive, and the most recent of them all, was Polina Shutnik. Not much was known about the woman. She was born in Russia but grew up fully American. She caused the most deaths out of the people stuck in there. Anything that's considered a weapon will put the normally tired and anxious woman into a murdering machine until she passes out or the item is ripped from her hands. She's also the one who remembers the least about herself in the circus. All she remembers is having a headset put onto her head. She takes the form of a jester, confused and scared whilst looking for a way out

These seven aren't the only ones who were put in here, but most abstract into torturous monsters that the coders that keep them within use to hurt them constantly. Abstraction happens when the human body of the prisoner dies, and the headset isn't taken off within seconds after their death

These seven prisoners, here to live the rest of their lives within this digital torment... Or maybe not

(If you have any thoughts for this AU- let me know! I wanna work on this more because I find the idea cool and interesting!)

[felassan]

this post is under a cut in case anyone would consider it to be DA:D spoilers. (the things it mentions are not new information and it's minor stuff only)

a few weeks ago it was noticed that on this website, a new VA was listed as the voice of several named characters in DA:D - 'Olen', 'Marek’, 'Lord Borgiani’ and 'Templar Captain'. [source] like I said in the tags on that post, I'd guess that these are more minor-type of characters, like sidequest chars or quest-givers, -type of deal. (so this is overanalyzing for sure ik, its just a bit of fun). I was thinking about this again today, wondering what type of characters (e.g. what race, where are they from etc) they are, and also got to looking up the names online. disclaimer: I was just poking around on Google here, if anything here is incorrect or you're familiar with the names/words and know better, pls lmk! ^^

none of the names return any results on the DA Wiki.

Lord Borgiani - Borgiani seems to be a surname that originates in Italy. the nations and groups in Thedas have multiple inspirations/influences from irl (not just the one) ofc. one of these for Antiva is said to be Italy. Borgiani sounds like it could be an Antivan name, so I'm wondering if Lord Borgiani is Antivan. "Lord" implies they are a dude. their Lord status could imply that they're human nobility. Lord/Lady is a noble title in Antiva (not only there though, ofc). thinking of characters like Lord Otranto from Josie's romance and Lord Enzo of Rialto. putting "borgiani" into Google translate, it detects Corsican as the language and advises "bourgeois" in English, which, you could easily make a link from there to a character who has some form of status.

Marek - a "West Slavic (Czech, Polish and Slovak) masculine given name", like "Mark" in English. it's also a surname. allegedly the name means "warlike" or is ultimately derived from Mars, the Roman god of war via, e.g., "Marcus" (name sites are quite unreliable though in terms of the info on them sometimes). Czech, Polish, Slovak, Slavic & so on names in DA World crop up quite a bit as the names of dwarven characters, so I wonder if Marek is a dwarf?

Olen - a given name and a surname. it's also a place in Belgium and Russia, and Olen was a legendary early poet from Lycia. this page gives Olen as being a name related to the name Ole, "a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name, derived from the Old Norse name Óláfr, meaning "ancestor's descendant". this page gives it as the "masculine form of Olena, a name ultimately derived from Ole." hmm, maybe someone Fereldan, Avvar, dwarven or from the Anderfels?

Templar Captain - as a character without a specified given name, surely they are a minor-minor/background character like e.g., "Templar Guard" from Lake Calenhad Docks (DA:O). self-explanatory. likely human.

[context, two]

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

n in home country. you expected to master foundations before developing personal styles.

as in you need learn tonal drawing of complex still life (fruits & pots & glass & fabric background etc), of plaster statues, of croquis* drawing, of like. tonal still life but with gouache (colored still life?), etc

(*croquis meaning rapid sketch of live models with clothing you suppose capture entire body include face clothing wrinkles pose etc. to illustrate how obsolete, this word in home country language something knew since very young but this word in english literally just now found way word it to search up in google just now learn word. have never heard of it before in english)

art school in undergrad level in home country. admission test is like. similar to US SAT but even more rigorous because like once a year only you go in for idk entire day maybe entire two days (never looked into it because not relevant to me) with millions of people n you get tested on these stuff. then people rank your drawings n give score n that determine what art school you can get into. i think

n heard there absolutely one “standard” style they prefer

which lead to like. expensive bootcamps like stuff where prospective art students live eat sleep draw in studio for weeks months confiscate electronics etc. like that is norm

if you know what home country is then this make sense because this exactly like test for college

vs in US you submit portfolio to each school showcase your art your style showcase individual

know people who got accepted into art school in US without have done any of these type drawings

dont think “have one standard style n have hell boot camp & grade art as if can be objective etc” is answer at all exactly

but having learned even like. a little of these foundations (pencil tonal still life mainly but also colored still life but more bad at that n forgot it so that one lesser). made me better artist.

n if have learned like, tonal still life of those facial sculptures busts (think ancient roman ancient greece classical style). n croquis. would help so much with draw people

because foundations exactly that. foundation that serve as basic where develop own art own style. light n dark. human body n anatomy. drape. wrinkles. color. environmental colors. etc

still use many techniques learned from tonal still life. for example draw curves with straight lines when sketch. which gives more precisions. or mentally see like complex curvy stuff like apple or face into geometric flat surfaces all pieced together etc. more bad at that one but it really help understand where put lines what direction best for shading for shading line placement etc

[cheolism]

Hiii I recently became a Carat and as an avid fanfic reader, I was wondering if there are any stories you can recommend!! I have no member preference, as long as there is an interesting story (longer the better, if there are chapters even better). And i love me a good smut 👀

hi sweetheart!! first and foremost, i recommend checking out the other authors of svthub. here you'll find a variety of svt writers!!! as of right now we're doing our spring collab, so def check that out!!! note that i only have a few members on here (gyu, joshie, hoshi, kwannie)? i didn't realize until i finished that i only had these four???? idk if this is my subconscious trying to tell me something but i'll continue to ignore it!!!

my personal faves are all reblogged under fic rec, but here's some that have stood out to me since reading~

spoiled by @wonusite ; KMG

"summary: you have never been spoiled, but that changes after you meet the man your mother is going to marry."

it's got four parts and is so fucking disgusting and wonderful it's ridiculous. it's seriously a marvel to humanity tbh and when aliens come and ask for a relic to prove that humans deserve to be spared from their alien wrath, i'll give them these fics <3

acouasm by @angelwoozi ; HJS

"n.) a ringing noise in your head — and it's just three words of promise whispered by yours truly during moments of sorrow, or moments of joy. the whisper also lives in the crevices of your mind during moments of pleasure, when he makes love to you, his true love."

it isn't necessarily long, but it is so fucking sweet and artful? in my tags i described it as truly belonging to the golden hour, and tbh i still stand by it. it's incredibly tender and freya's way with words reminds me of ancient greek and roman statues; there's an era in art called neoclassical, where artists mostly focus on depicting mythos and creatures from greek, roman, and christian lore. like, an angel with outstretched wings, her shawl expanding and wrapping around her, heaven's spotlight surrounding.

to the brim by @toruro ; KMG

"description: all your sweet husband wants is to put a baby into you—is that so bad?"

LISTEN mika writes some of the filthiest shit, i'm not even kidding. idk how her brain comes up with some of this stuff? somehow she KNOWS all of my deepest kinks and secrets and just writes them like they're NOTHING? truly a menace to society and we should all be on our knees thanking her.

bluff and nonsense by @thepixelelf ; KSY

"

“Soonyoung? Yeah I know him, you should too. He’s on the uni’s dance crew, and ever since he joined them, their popularity’s skyrocketed. I’ve met him a few times, great guy — got a tendency to run his mouth but hey, no one’s perfect. He’s smart anyways, probably knows how to deal with the consequences, right?”

or

Soonyoung never thought one bluff could lead to so much nonsense."

this fic fuckign RUINED ME. the others don't have as much plot as this, but even months after reading it still remains one of my favorite fics. i've been meaning to reread it? but i just haven't gotten to it, but i know i'll still feel the heartache and betrayal all over again, it's just that good. like it's so good you can feel the stabbing in your heart and tummy :(

vanilla by @milfgyuu ; HJS

"Summary: Joshua has a secret but perhaps it’s not really a secret at all. Maybe you’ve just refused to see it in an effort to keep your feelings at bay."

probably the dirtiest fic on this list. it's absolutely wild. there was NO preparing for everything in this fic? it's insane. absolutely insane fr. like -- even reading the tags can't prepare you. reader wasn't prepared and i really don't think ANYONE ever could have been.

stay-at-home husband/dad mingyu by @celestiababie

it's what it says! stay at home gyu who is willing to help his darling breadwinner spouse with whatever they need :) it's got multiple parts and such, and it's so cruel that it exists because it'll occupy my thoughts every once in a while and then i just have to stand there thinking about desperate little gyu whining while a teacher is talking. will change your life, 10/10 recommend

pussy sport by @duhnova ; BSK

"synopsis: leave it up to boo seungkwan to almost suffocate between your thighs, eat you out till you’re crying, and to figure out a new kink of his."

when i turn 108 and am getting ready to walk off the edge of the earth, and they ask me my secret to living so long i'll think back to this fic and smile, and then suddenly i'll be brought back to life. it's this serious. every once in a while someone on the svthub server remembers it exists again and goes feral. and i completely fucking agree, we should be going feral over boo seungkwan 24/7. to not be feral over boo seungkwan and this fic is a cardinal sin, and not the sexy kind.

[sleeplesssmoll]

So I've been reading the traces recently and came across a line that seems like it should be important to well at least something but I haven't seen anyone talk about it? Here's the line btw:

It's specifically the "you're imitating the Messiah" Part that's like making me think. So uhh yeah I just wanted to share it.

Sorry if it's a strange thing to send I wanted to see someone else's opinion on it.

Reverse1999 loves to put Vertin in the position of Jesus. We saw this at the end of Chapter 2 where she was sitting in Judas's position and Schneider was in Judas's spot. Arcana calls her "the savior" and describes Vertin in an almost biblical manner whenever she's interacting with her. Even her little Suitcase is called an "ark". However, this instance is a bit different.

Disclaimer, Idk much about religion but I did try to look this bit up because it reminded me of something too. If anyone has more experience in the matter pls feel free to correct me or add on. I will do my best but I might get stuff wrong.

Note: Vertin was placed in a coma because the Foundation wanted her out of the way. This is relevant to the theory.

Here is what I found:

Source

The Jewish high priests were apparently looking for a reason to get rid of Jesus. As the revolutionary leader of a new movement that challenged the religious status quo, he posed a threat to their power. But they couldn’t just take action themselves. Ultimately, sentencing was up to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor at the time. And they needed to provide him with a legal justification for Jesus to be crucified. The trial of Jesus A number of witnesses testified against Jesus before the Sanhedrin, a Jewish court. Although the Gospel of Mark says many of them gave false testimony, Jesus didn’t confirm or deny their accusations. In fact, Jesus remained quiet through most of his trial, refusing to respond to the charges leveled against him. But he did respond to one question. Asked, “Are you the Messiah?” he seemed to admit that he was. Caiaphas, the chief priest, called this blasphemy. And then the others agreed that Jesus should be put to death. 

This trial parallels Vertin's story.

Moving on, this trail is in the chapter where Madam Z is playing ping-pong while trying to convince her friend to vote for her decision. The whole thing is an analogy to referring to how Vertin started off as the simple Timekeeper who kept records of the end of eras and now she plays this pivotal role that is rocking Foundation's core. She is the real ping-ping ball being batted between two factions of the Foundation. She has no say in the matter because she is now an object in a bigger game. Her fate relies on the people around her. Poor little Vertin is always a pawn in someone else's game. I highlighted some bits in red from the trail posted below that helped me put it together in my head. You can see it if you click "Keep reading." I hope this helps!

Also, thanks for giving me a chance to really look at this. I glossed over it the first time but the scene is even more intense now and I have a deeper appreciation for it. Any corrections or additions are welcome cause I'm out of my depth here.

Source: Chapter 4-16 Ball Game

Ping, pong. Ping, pong. Ping pong ping pong ping, pong. Ping. Pong.

An imitation show?

Yes, an imitation show. A ball imitation show, little thing.

You're imitating the Messiah, while I'm imitating an orange ball made of plastic.

Being pushed back and forth by two rackets, I have nowhere else to go. Once they apply a force on me, I can't help bouncing to the sky. 

You can see how the air flows across my dry, wrinkled skin ...

Oh, what a coincidence! Aren't you in the same situation as mine now!

Ha! Look at your frowning face-

Your face wrinkles from the eyebrows to the nose tip, but people can barely see those light furrows. We know what that means. You have a poker face, and it's never your fault.

But for now, your face is not the thing that matters. Well, maybe for someone it is, but still, it's not. You know what really matters?

The game! Yes, it's the game, of course the game matters!

Everyone loves the game. They gather at the stadium, yelling or roaring vehemently. They choose one team to become its fan and spend good money on a team uniform or an autographed ball.

Yet, it's just a ball. You see where I'm coming from?

Just a ball. Its outline, a circle, could be found in any geometry textbook and anywhere in this world. When the first hominid picked up a coconut and threw it to the sky-and caught it—and threw it—and caught it-and threw it again, when she felt joy and yelped, had she ever thought of the future?

The future where a simple ball has become so complicated and enchanting, now we call it the present.

Complicated and enchanting?

Hahahahahaha! Yes, sure! Complicated and enchanting!

Use your silly and smart head to think about this ball game carefully.

The complex scoring rules, the harsh requirements for reactive agility, the countless possible foul points ... Your fingers, your wrists, and arms, a correct way of using them will lead to victory!

What matters more is, like every ball game, it focuses on how you serve the ball and hitting it back.

It's not an easy job as it sounds. When you are in the game, you need to concentrate. Where will the ball come from, and how will you return it to your opponent-you need to figure that out within half a second.

Use your power in a proper way, move your feet in a stable pace, inhale and exhale at the right timings.

Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong. Ping. Pong...

The sound will last forever and ever until that bouncing little thing falls to either side of the court.

[mooncaps]

Still thinking about her.

Like, ancient people carved these out of rocks, in great detail, because that's how enamored they were with the idea of a being who was beautiful and feminine, and had a penis. Maybe they were inspired by meeting an intersex person or trans girl in their lives. Maybe the art was an expression of what they wished they could become. Or maybe they were the fetish artists of their time, taking commissions so they could pay their bills. Whatever the reason, someone decided that this concept was of such importance that it needed to be carved into fucking statues.

I've only done light research, but Aphroditus seems to have originated as someone's high-concept fanon idea of "what if Aphrodite, the beautiful goddess of love, had a dick?"

And then a few hundred years later someone else expanded that concept into their OC Hermaphroditus, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, who basically got named after his parents' portmanteau ship name. (And then the writer used that OC to tell a cautionary tale about being ensnared and cursed by the actions of evil women or whatever.) But also it became the origin myth for intersex bodies, as it was said that anyone who bathed in the pool where Hermaphroditus was transformed would then be similarly transformed themselves.

There's one tale of the female Aphrodite where Theseus sacrifices a goat to her, and the goat transforms from a she-goat to a he-goat.

Some Romans, when they adapted Aphrodite into Venus, seemed to conceptualize Venus as genderfluid, sometimes taking the form of Venus Barbata, or Bearded Venus. "The name Venus in itself, is masculine in its termination, and it was perceived that the goddess becomes the god and the god the goddess sometimes." [x]

So it's evident that people have been thinking about gender bending concepts, and feminine beauty in a body with a penis, for a very long time. Aphroditus dates back to at least 7th century BC. They even held festivals where people cross-dressed to honor Aphroditus. The festivals allowed "women to act the part of men, and men put on woman's clothing and play the woman." [x]

And that stuff makes me feel a little more connected to humanity and history. I don't know what I am, gender nonconforming, genderfluid, or maybe a trans girl, but in any of those labels, it's comforting to think that people in history were probably feeling the same feelings. Maybe some of their attempts at femininity looked a bit like mine, since they didn't have access to laser hair removal either. Maybe when some of them put on women's clothing, they felt a little scared of how much they liked it. Maybe some of them felt like they weren't really feminine enough to deserve to take on the role of a woman. Maybe some of them felt a little sad when the permission of the festival passed, like I felt when the permission of Halloween passed and I went back to wearing boy clothes. Maybe when they conceptualized this deity in ancient Greece, they were trying to dream of what I sometimes try to dream of: a heaven where gender is more flexible than it is here. Maybe some of them wanted to imagine that the gods had these genderfluid powers because they wished they could have such powers, like I wish I could have such powers.

Maybe there are some ancient Greek and Roman people in the afterlife who smile when they see me put on a skirt, remembering a festival 2500 years ago where they did that. And that idea warms my silly heart.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I'll take a break to focus on the actual book I'm writing, but don't worry, I promise the final book will be the best one of all. See you in August! -Danny Words: 2,203 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Book Listen to: 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' -by U2

LXIII: Which Boss Do I Have to Fight to Get Some Validation Around Here?

She knows all the people in this room, but the way she thinks about them, and how they interact with her now that she's physically different, is kind of off.

"We talked to Apollo," Ara starts explaining. "He said Gaia reawakened the Python, keeping the Oracle of Delphi prisoner—that's why Rachel can't see anything now."

Ella the harpy, Tyson, and Rachel will leave with the Romans, they'll try to rewrite the Sibylline books, which is why Ara called for a meeting.

"But Gaia is permanently asleep now," Will reasons. "That means Dad can kill the Python now!"

Ara grimaces. "But your father angered Zeus. We might not see him a while, or worse—"

"Wait, if we stop getting prophecies, that's completely alright," Nyssa replies. She's the counselor for Cabin Nine because Jake refused to step back in. "We lost two great inventors already, and it's not like Hephaestus goes out of his way to have tons of kids, our numbers are thinning—"

"I'm perfectly aware of it, Nyssa, thank you." Ara silences the girl. "But we should be worried about Apollo."

"Why? No more prophecies means peace!" Percy argues.

Ara gives him a look. "No more prophecies means we'll face our future problems blindly, and trust me, there will be problems. We've been stripped of our advantage, and that's not all that worries me."

"What is?" Piper asks reluctantly.

"Zeus will punish Apollo for his delulus of greatness, and he has a special way of humiliating Apollo... I'm pretty sure he'll use it again."

Will's face loses color. "That's terrible news! We could be left powerless! Our whole cabin!"

"I'm aware of that too," Ara sighs. "If this doesn't end well, you might lose them forever..."

"Hold on, time out," Percy intervenes. "I'm lost."

Annabeth explains. "Zeus once punished Apollo by stripping him of his godly status. He turned into a mortal, and was forced to do a series of trials until Zeus considered he'd humbled him enough."

Jason looks concerned. "What could've happened if he'd failed those trials?"

"He would've died, most likely," Ara says. "None of his descendants would've kept their powers, maybe. Some traits at best, whatever they could've learned in training, but stuff like—"

"Magic healing, music powers, perfect aim, the light..." Will shudders. "All gone."

"Your job is important," Ara turns to Rachel and Ella. "The books have information concerning what's next, maybe it'll tell us if we need to prepare in case Apollo's absence causes another conflict in Olympus. We mustn't get too comfortable in our peace."

She scans the room and sees the campers' good mood dying before her eyes. Ara's expression turns guilty, but she keeps going.

"Keep your eyes open. Apollo might reach out to any of us, he could show up at camp and have no memory of who he is—Gods, he might not even look like himself at all! But balance is needed whether we like it or not, if you find him, bring him to me."

No one is happy with her lecture, but Ara ends the meeting and sends the group of Romans away. Nico approaches her and nudges her arm. "You didn't need us after all. You kept them under control the whole time."

She smiles a little. "I thought they would fight me more on it."

"You're too scary now, but don't worry," Jason grins. "You'll get used to being almighty."

Almighty raises her myth. 

What if that line was about her as much as it was about the sword? She's powerful nowadays, but hardly a myth. She would need to become history for that, and her death doesn't feel any closer.

"Ara?"

"Hmm?" She gives a start.

"I said, can you do me a favor now?" Nico asks, his eyes fixed on the Big House's entrance. "Stay near."

Ara is intrigued, she follows him out and sees what he'd been staring at from inside. "Hey, guys," Percy smiles at them. "Annabeth just told me some good news!"

"We're going to spend our senior year together," Annabeth beams, "here in New York. And after graduation—"

"College in New Rome!" Percy punches the air. "Four years with no monsters to fight, no battles, no stupid prophecies. Just me and Annabeth, getting our degrees, hanging out at cafés, enjoying California—"

"And after that..." Annabeth smiles sweetly at the boy. "Well, Reyna and Frank said we could live in New Rome as long as we like."

"That's great," Nico says, sounding genuine. "I'm staying too, here at Camp Half-Blood."

"What?" Ara looks at him with shock.

"Awesome!" Percy exclaims.

"So," Nico clears his throat, "since we're going to be spending at least a year seeing each other at camp, I think I should clear the air."

Percy hesitates. "What do you mean?"

"For a long time, I had a crush on you." Nico shrugs. "I just wanted you to know."

Percy looks at the boy blankly. "You—"

"Yeah. You're a great person. But I'm over that," he smiles a bit. "I'm happy for you guys."

"You... so you mean—"

"Right."

"Wait," Percy frowns. "So you mean—"

"Right. But it's cool. We're cool. I mean, I see now... you're cute, but you're not my type."

Ara snorts, not believing her ears.

"I'm not your type..." Percy blinks. "Wait. So—"

"This is gonna take a while," Ara guides Nico away with amusement.

The boy snickers. "See you around, Percy. Annabeth."

If that isn't surreal enough, Annabeth and Nico high-five, and then the boy openly smiles at Ara and pats her shoulder. Even if it's a closed smile, it's enough to bewild her. Nico makes his way down the porch steps and shouts at someone to wait for him. Will Solace, out of all people. Almost immediately, both boys glow in the same bright yellow light.

"Holy shit," Ara breathes.

"Huh," Lily says, coming out of nowhere. "Yeah, I can see it."

Ara jumps. "Gods, Lily, stop doing that!" She lowers her voice with confusion. "Did you see that, though?"

"What?" Annabeth grins at the girls. "Don't tell me you couldn't tell! I'm sure you were the first to find out!"

Ara looks at her smiling. "Yeah, what an idiot, right? But no, I meant..." She hesitates, it's still not her place to tell others what she just saw. "Nevermind. You know where Reyna is?"

"Talking to Piper by the lake," Lily responds. "Need me to come along?"

"Nah, it's fine, I gotta feed Pollo anyway," Ara shows her a lighthearted smile before walking away. "Go waste time with your elf."

"Don't call him that!"

"Don't forget Mom picks us up in an hour!" Percy shouts, coming out of his dazzled state.

"There you are!" Ara finds Reyna and Piper. "Ready to go?"

"Yes. Again, thank you for letting us stretch our stay."

"You're always welcome here," Piper says. "If you need to take a break, get away... you've got Frank now—he could assume more responsibility for a while. It might do you good to make some time for yourself, when nobody is going to be looking at you as praetor."

"Would I be expected to sing that odd song about how Grandma puts on her armor?"

"Not unless you really want to," Piper grins. "But we might have to ban you from capture the flag. I have a feeling you could go against the entire camp solo and still beat us."

"I'll consider the offer. Thank you." Reyna pauses. "I wonder... You two are children of Venus. I mean Aphrodite. Perhaps—perhaps you could explain something your mother said."

Piper and Ara share a look, and the younger girl crosses her arms. "Go ahead."

"Once in Charleston, Venus told me something. She said: You will not find love where you wish or where you hope. No demigod shall heal your heart. I—I have struggled with that for..."

The answer comes easily to Ara. "Don't have to be scared. Love is a vast concept and its fulfillment comes in many forms, rarely is it ever another human. Before Leo, love would come to me by helping people and not dating. It really is in the most random places."

"You are an incredible person," Piper adds. "And you have friends, sometimes that's even better than a partner."

"I can attest to that," Ara nods, then adds playfully. "But if you ever feel like giving dating a try, I'm available until my boyfriend comes back from the dead."

Reyna stares at her. "I can't tell if you're being serious."

"This is a special offer with a deadline," Ara retorts half-joking. "I find you frustratingly attractive."

Reyna laughs and Ara feels like she just accomplished a great deed. She perks up at the sound but then something hits her across the face. The girl groans and looks around in confusion. "What the..."

Ara looks down and it takes her a moment to understand what she's seeing. She picks up the item and Piper gasps. "Is that—?"

"Oh my gods," Ara's hands are shaking. "Oh, gods! What do I do?"

"What is that?" Reyna asks.

"That's Leo's!" Piper says. "It fell from the sky!"

Ara feels like maybe she should sit down before she opens it, but her impatience gets the best of her and she opens the scroll with trembling, clumsy fingers.

"Hey, guys!" Leo's tiny projection comes out of the scroll. Ara makes a bizarre noise with her throat and holds tighter onto it, unable to look away. Reyna and Piper get closer."Sorry to leave you like that. Bad news: I died. Good news: I got better! I had to help my bud Cal. We're taking Festus to—" 

The image glitches and Ara shakes the scroll impatiently. 

"Back as soon as—" 

More glitching and static.

"Cook tacos when—" 

More static. 

"¡Vaya con queso! Love ya!"

The scroll turns off and Ara gets angry. "That's it?!"

"Leo's alive!" Piper hugs her. "It worked!"

"Smart," Reyna hums approvingly. "Seems like our date will never come to be, Strategus."

Ara twists the scroll in her hands. "An entire freaking week where we both almost died and all he has to say is Vaya con queso?" She's fuming. "Well, good for his bud Cal! I hope they bring me a shirt from whatever stupid countries they visit on their super fun holiday away from everyone else!"

Piper steps back. "I should get Lily."

"I should leave," Reyna says promptly.

The girls hurry away while also spreading the news about Leo. Soon enough, Ara is surrounded by an eager crowd that wants to hear the message. Ara plays it back, glaring at the projection. 

Lily sees her expression and nudges Nico, both taking her away from the congratulating crowd that calls her boyfriend cool and intelligent before she can kill them.

Steam is practically coming out of Ara's ears. She's forgotten all about her duties, her hurt ego stops her from thinking clearly while she paces around her room.

"Look at the bright side, Queen B, he'll be back soon and you won't mope for months like with Percy!"

"Hey! It wasn't my fault!"

"No one's saying that," Annabeth replies, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Ara keeps throwing her tantrum. "This is the same boy that used to send me weekly scrolls to my apartment to tell me I looked pretty in a dream he had—and now I get nothing!"

"For all we know that 'Love ya!' in the end might've been just for you," Nico pokes fun at her.

"I'm gonna strangle you," Ara warns him.

"Dude, why are you angry? He broke the curse!" Lily insists. She had to catch up quickly with Annabeth's help to understand the full context of what was happening.

"I'm happy but I'm angry that he kicked me out of the ship like I was getting on the way, and now he's taking his sweet time to talk to me!" Ara glares at the pinboard in front of her, packed with pictures of the boy. "Ugh, look at this! Oh, you should've seen the way I cried for him—Ugh, I hate him!"

The group shares a roguish look. They know Ara can't handle big emotions, especially when it comes to Leo, so right now she's fighting to regulate herself. But if Leo doesn't get there fast, Ara's high will suffocate her until it knocks her down and leaves her unable to get out of bed.

"Birdy," Percy approaches and places a hand on her shoulder. "Leo's probably saving his romantic speech for when he sees you in person. He knows you love it when he makes a show out of it."

"The scroll was a perfect opportunity to show off," Ara argues with a pout, but she's calming down.

"Yeah, but he had no way of knowing you would be the one to get it and have it slap you across the face," Nico replies. "Besides, you know he worships the ground you walk on—What's the big deal?"

Ara takes a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "The big deal is that the curse is broken," Her fingers skim the picture of him in the bunker's platform, smiling big while showing a thumbs up to the camera. "And he's traveling with a goddess whose sole purpose is to tempt men so they stay with her..."

"Hey, Calypso isn't like that," Percy tries to defend the girl's honor, but Annabeth pulls him back and shakes her head, now is not the time to try and reason with a frightened Ara.

"You're saying you don't trust Leo?" Lily questions with disbelief.

"I'm saying I have no way to contact him, and if something happens mid-journey, or Apollo shows up and I'm not here..." Ara scowls at the drawing of the Argo II in the middle of her pinboard. "Without the oracles here to guide us, anything can happen."

Next Book –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[chronotsr]

Pre-G1 Modules, part 4...A - The Judge's Guild Roundup

Part 4a? This is one of those projects that keeps ballooning in scope forever.

Again, keeping with the theme of "trying to not get too historical", Judge's Guild was a group formed by Bob Bledsaw and Bill Owen to release DM aids, in part because then-TSR didn't think it was a viable market. Note that this is Bob Bledsaw Sr., the guy responsible for the nazi incident at Judge's Guild a few years ago was Bob Bledsaw Jr. Anyway, JG was responsible for a lot of materials ranging from setting materials, adventure modules. A lot of luminaries ultimately come from JG, including recently passed legend Jennell Jacquays, so they're a very worthwhile topic to review. I will not talk everything they put out between 1976 and G1 because I'm already planning on touching on (edit: 3 of 6) items today, so we will focus only on their for-sale, non-serial modules.

City-State of the Invincible Overlord (1977)

This is stretching the definition of module -- it's more of a setting book. CSIO is a setting supplement for, yeah, a city state of an invincible overlord. I hope you like maaaaaaaaaaaaaps! Essentially, an overlord stays above and aloof to the factional struggles of the people beneath him, roman emperor-style, and details out a bunch of characters and places within a city. It's, actually pretty good, I think a modern revision of CSIO would probably be pretty fun to play in, especially if you omitted a lot of 1970s gunk (like the frequency of slavery). It has this nice quality where it's much more brief per-location than modern city sourcebooks, but has many many varieties of the same concept. You might want a tavern, and there are so many to choose from. Here's a random assortment of buildings you can find in this book:

A park of sexy statues with a pleasure cult hiding in the rush

A 'fear shop' where the owner will go to ridiculous lengths to scare you

A GILF brothel

The tavern that Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser always go to

A siege engineer you can bribe for promotions

The map is almost, too comprehensive. I'm not sure what % of buildings are described but it's gotta be close to 20%, which is REALLY HIGH by ttrpg city standards. I'd guess that Green Ronin's Freeport is maybe 1% described. The book also has the traditional regulars of a city book (laws, sewer maps, factions) as well as the admittedly novel idea of a full advertising system to acquire hirelings. It, probably didn't merit a full page, but the idea of caring this much about where precisely those hirelings is coming from is kinda novel.

Regardless, this is an adventure module review blog, not a city review blog, so we have done our due diligence and may now proceed.

Tegel Manor (1977)

Oh boy, it's a megadungeon. Here we go. So despite that ominous cover, it's only 30 pages, so it could be worse. The essential schtick of the adventure is that there's a destitute (by noble standards) paladin who owns the deed to an extremely haunted mansion and is desperately trying to pawn the problem off on someone else. You can bully him into helping, but he's a complete coward.

The house is magically fireproofed because adventurers are just like that. A good sign, I think? Surely this won't be a tedious monster closet festival? We have a pretty standard rundown of a town and,

That's one of the most unfortunate names I've ever seen. If I was a dwarf named Cretin Nodcock, I feel like I would also not give a damn about my appearance. Or maybe work on a name change. This adventure really lavishes in its old timey words, we have a paladin described as "poltroonerous" (cowardly), a passing mention of "white wassail" (a mulled white wine), et c. Relatively little is given about the surrounding town and countryside, just enough to get us into the manor asap.

The first floor is a greatest hits of a haunted house. Animated knives, disappearing ghosts, screaming, the walls ooze GREEN SLIME, et c. Here's the stuff (across this entire dungeon) that isn't rote:

A creaky floor that gets so loud that it stuns elves' sensitive hearing while a wall crusher goes off

An animated yellow mold that looks like a sleeping woman

An animated painting of a battle that shoots arrows outward randomly

An animated painting that paints the party, and if it succeeds the party is petrified

Rust monster on flying bed action

A room of opaque gas-filled tubes that contain a variety of people, monsters, objects in animation. I bet the elf lord would have some nice things for their rescuer.

The level of haunting really goes down and it just becomes an assemblage of roughly halloween monsters in increasingly ridiculous patterns. If I was running this, I'd probably shrink the manor down into a greatest hits version of these rooms, because this is a SPRAWLING manor and it's room after room of "there is a wolf, there is a wight, there is a moldering desk". When you think of Gygax going "why would anyone want to buy a module?", this is sticking in my mind. It's not "Dwarven Glory" bland but it IS a never-ending gauntlet of monsters punctuated by silly rooms.

A rare luxury after all the room-by-room shit. Just some good ol' fashioned silliness.

Inexplicably under the house is a further dungeon-dungeon, which is mostly rat tunnels. Happily some of these maps feature little blank lines to mark your revisions from the official map, which is a nice little conceit.

I am always, always, always happy to have a new riddle to throw at my party, although I'm not so good at riddling myself.

Curiously, lich is spelled with an e at the end here, I have no idea how normal this was at the time.

Like most GMs, I have a crippling addiction to random tables for miscellaneous crap. This is a really hard to parse table but I believe how it works is:

Roll a d12 to determine what the statue does from the first list of results

Follow that result vertically down to the array of concepts

Roll a d8 and pick from that vertical list of results So for example, I rolled d12=5; d8=8. I go to 5 in the first list (Advises), follow it down vertically to the third column of results (the one that starts with Location), and index down to 8 (Directions). My magic statue advises directions to the party. What a nice guy! This table bothers me so bad that I rejiggered it real quickly in excel, because with the benefit of widescreen monitors it's pretty easy to fix:

Tegal Manor wraps with some extra resurrection rules, in case you needed more realism in your magical revivification. I think I prefer it just working, thanks.

Modron (1977)

There's honestly a stunning lack of underwater content in RPGs, I think. Underwater is such a magical location, both experientially and in mythology. One of these days I will set an adventure in one of those sets from the old 1986 Journey to the West TV show, the underwater sea dragon palace ones? They're so fucking cool. Everything is better with underwater dragon palaces.

Right. Modron. Focus.

Modron is another one of those "straddling the line between module and setting book" situations, only much smaller than CSIO. The art all looks like Prince Valliant, which by that sentence alone either means you're going to love or hate it (I hate it). Our titular Modron is a goddess, but also a temple, but also a port town. We will deal with these in order.

Goddess Modron is a river goddess who was worshipped by the town and the temple. She is implied to be, kind of like wonder woman in a weird way? She has to exist underwater, or she dies in 6 rounds (so 6 minutes), which is pretty fucking lame but I too know the struggle of dry skin. She's a fertility goddess (who isn't) and she does d20 years of damage when she lovetaps you. Tragically, she is no longer worshipped in favor of Mitra. COWARDS! LOVE YOUR RIVER/SEA GODDESSES.

Modron's Temple is very, very briefly explained. Essentially, only the oldest people in town know how to find it, via the cellar of the tavern. It's completely underwater, and a lot of mermen hang out there. The head priestess can drain your water! Google says that one love tap would exhaust you, two would probably kill you, and three would definitely kill you. It's implied in this section that a JttW-style Triton Coral Kingdom is, in fact, hanging out off the shoreline somewhere.

Town Modron is your standard raided port town. There was once two gods worshiped here, then it got messed up by raiders and ECONOMICS and some light civil war. It's okay, ya boi Invincible Overlord is sending you a bailout, making him a better autocrat than most living politicians. Apparently they have a pet seamonster who serves the overlord directly? Awesome! We need more pet kaiju in the world.

The actual area-by-area is pretty blasé. The local rulers are varyingly competent (the king is competent but a huge sex pest), there's a guy who takes you on guided tours to, anywhere in the multiverse? Somehow the blacksmith has figured out how to rustproof armor, which will really piss off your rust monsters. The book makes a point to say that the jailor is a particular bastard, so Judge's Guild says ACAB? Unlikely but a very funny concept.

Tragically, we end our adventure without a map of the palace, the temple, the other temple, or anything. I don't believe this is the first supplement to contain Mitra as JG's most famous god (well, Mitra is a real-life god anyhow), but this is certainly the first adventure-ish module to feature him. Dark Tower is quite a ways away!

A poison coral table is, one of those things you would only ever see in early DND. That is so unbelievably specific. The book ends with many such cases, there's a pearl randomizer that doesn't include any fun magic effects or anything, merely linking to Supplement II. Boo!

So originally when writing this, I had intended that part 4 be a whole unit, but then I realized that I was going to have to include these semi-adventures in the roundup. So to my great shame, we will continue this later.

[khaire-traveler]

hey, I feel really drawn to the sun god Elagabalus but I can find like. Nothing on him. Any sources or information or anything?

Hey, Nonny!

Honestly, I have no clue who this deity is. Unfortunately, I have not heard of him. One of the few things I can find on him that seems...informative is on Wikipedia (still a source, just not usually a good one to use). This is the source here. I also found this source which tells us that, in Rome specifically, Elagabalus was worshipped as part of the Sol Invictus (Invincible Sun) cult. With that knowledge, looking into that cult might be worth your while, although the Romans were not the first worshippers of Elagabalus - that would seemingly be the Syrians. Not big on using Britannica as a source, but it also seems to be one of the few trustworthy ones out there.

Elagabalus also did not have any dedicated statues. He did, however, have large stone slabs with markings - some indefinable still - that seemed to venerate him. The image of an eagle with its wings spreading protectively over an object was also a major thing of his; this image was seen on Syrian-Phoenician coins.

I suggest looking into the Syrian practices related to this god, if any have been recorded. Since this god is originally Syrian, I think it'd be good to see what the original beliefs were about him. If you can't find anything, which can unfortunately happen, maybe stick with this Roman stuff until you're able to find a good resource on the Syrian stuff. I'd recommend looking into books that cover the topic of ancient Syrian gods in general. This could definitely lead you somewhere.

I'm sorry that sources are so far and few between, but I hope you're able to find something good from this post. I wish you the best on your journey ahead. Take care, and have a good day/night. 🧡

[magpie-trinkets]

We don't know wether Pokémon Legends Z-A will be set in the ancient past or recent past, but regardless, I would like some more context for these things specifically (I am a sucker for lore):

These are specific details I remember from when I played X, so it's an assortment of notes I remember/checked in with Wikidex and Bulbapedia.

From here on I will theorize a whole bunch and expand on these topics so, um. History and imaginings ahead. All the information is from Wikipedia.

Firstly, we can safely assume that Lumiose City (the city that is the focus of the trailer) is heavily inspired by Paris, France. The city of Paris is really fucking old: according to Wikipedia, the Parisii (a Gallic tribe) settled around the river Seine between 250 and 225 BC, and the Romans colonized them in 52 BC. All of this to say it's OLD. But I doubt Pokémon Legends Z-A will thrust us into old Roman times, for one specific reason: the Eiffel Tower, or its Pokémon equivalent, Prism Tower.

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair, so it's fairly modern. If we were to take into account this, we can deduce the setting for Pokémon Legends Z-A could be set around late 19th century France. This is NOT "3,000 years old war AZ and Floette stuff."

If you wanted to have a game centered around that event, you would have to set the game's history period even before the Parisii. It could be that Lumiose City was built after the 3,000 years old war, and they're electing to stretch the time periods and architecture to fit it, but I sincerely doubt it. Prism Tower looks too futuristic for that.

My bet, then, is in late 19th century. The World's Fair concept could work here, and instead of building the one tower they could build the entire city.

Enough Paris talk, let's move to Versailles, or its Pokémon equivalent, the Parfum Palace.

The Palace of Versailles was turned into the official seat of the monarchy in 1682. This would mean that, if we were to follow my theory, Parfum Palace could be older than Lumiose City. There's also a mention of a war "300" years ago. This could be a reference to the French Revolution of 1789-1799. Was there a similar war in Kalos? Was AZ, who is said to resemble a king's portrait in the Palace, have been involved? It could also explain why Parfum Palace is a museum in present-day Kalos, after the monarchs were driven out. This could mean that Pokémon Legends Z-A could be set a century after the Kalos Revolution.

Now, onto pure speculation: I would set Victory Road and the Pokémon League to have been built during the Medieval Ages. The simple architectural style of the ruins reminds me of very simple fortresses and castles, and the Romanesque architectural style (10th-13th century European style) or maybe older than that, pre-romanesque? The Franks and Carolingian architecture? As for the Pokémon League architecure, I would situate it as a Gothic Cathedral. The Gothic style of architecture evolved from the Romanesque (which means late 12th-16th century), and they're known for their high towers, intricate detail, and big-ass coloured glass windows. Also, the armed woman statues inside the League could be a reference to Joan of Arc, who lived in the 15th century. Was the Pokémon League constructed to honour a similar historical figure, a heroine from the Pokémon wars?

And as for Shabboneau Castle and the sun clock from Anistar City, for the former it's just a countryside castle/manor (I wouldn't say it's 100% medieval, but that's just me), of which there are a lot in Europe, and for the latter I have no fucking idea. What the fuck is that.

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

MFA Dionysos Photo Dump + Chat!

As was promised so many days ago, here's a photo dump from my trip to the MFA Boston last Thursday! The amount of stuff they have on Dionysos is actually incredible, and as I said in my initial post, I would really recommend visiting if you ever find yourself in New England/near Boston :)

Also, just a fair warning, this is going to be a pretty long post - prepare thy selves!

To start, I would like to let everyone know that they did put Dionysos on a coin, in case you were worried (coins aren't a big thing for me, but I thought this was kind of cool)

Next, we have this vase featuring Dionysos and two satyrs! I love the relaxed pose of Dionysos, who's holding a drinking horn in His hand

This vase here features Dionysos in a vineyard. I find it pretty interesting that He seems to be depicted with a beard more on the vases than on His statues, although that seems to be a maybe more common theme with all the Gods? Would love if someone knew why this happens!

Another interesting vase, this one depicting the worship of Dionysos. This is probably one of the reasons that I love art history so much - we can get a much more precise picture of what the past was like through the art than the writing, IMO. If ever I find myself either A. immensely rich or B. with a group of super talented friends, I would love to recreate this. I forget which festival this was, although my guess is Anthesteria.

Moving on to the statuary - this depicts Dionysos and a Maenad, in the act of sharing wine (specifically from the Maenad to Dionysos). Although the arm is broken off, the jug "hanging" from the Maenad's hip is a wine jug, which it seems is actually being prepared to be poured into Dionysos' drinking cup. This is definitely a scene I'm planning on keeping in mind for future ritual - the idea of giving to Dionysos as if He were standing in the room, holding His cup out for wine.

This is one of my favorites - a head of Dionysos (called Bacchus, because it's of Roman make). When you're there in person, His eyes are just about at eye level, and there's something incredibly powerful about looking almost directly into the eyes of your God. This is usually where I stop and do my prayers to Dionysos, since the statue gives such a feeling of connection!

This is a Roman sarcophagus depicting Dionysos' triumphal return from India. I feel like He gets a bit lost in the chaos, but the vibes on this coffin are immaculate! The chaos on the coffin is really fun, with Hercules is at the front, drunk after having lost to Dionysos in a drinking contest. This whole thing definitely fits the mythological timeline's vibes well, since, if I remember correctly, this is the starting point of His conquest that leads Him to the kingdom of Thebes in the Bacchae.

This ceiling painting by John Singer Sargeant is definitely a different depiction of Dionysos than how I see Him, but it's meant to be an homage to Dionysos as the God of the theater (I believe), and it definitely gives off those vibes. Also, the pose that He's making is really fitting!

This one's a bit blurry, my apologies! This depicts the moment that Dionysos finds Ariadne on the shores of Naxos, and just before He throws Her crown into the sky. I'm not the biggest fan of this particular style of painting, and as far as I can tell, there's no real reason for me to dislike it. But to give credit where credit is due, I feel like Dionysos finding Ariadne is a severely underrepresented theme in art, and I do appreciate the artist for actually making a piece on it. The story of the two of Them is probably one of my favorites, and I think about it at least once a day :)

Final one! This statue is actually a lot smaller than it looks, and a 17th or 18th century recarving of a different Roman work. This is Dionysos and Ariadne, originally a satyr and a maenad. I love how there seems to be a sense that They both see each other as equals - both in the similar position of the hands in front, the looks on Their faces, and also (not pictured here) Ariadne's hand on the back, which is resting pretty close to Dionysos' butt, in a playfully loving manner. Everything about this seems to speak to a relationship founded on love, equality, and ease. It definitely captures at least Dionysos' vibes - I haven't prayed to Ariadne much, but I feel that it must capture Her vibes as well :)

TL;DR: Art is cool, museums are cool, go while you're still a student and getting into places for free, and praise Dionysos (obviously)!

[internetskiff]

I think the biggest disappointment in Rebirth for me is how The Otherworld/Zerzura is portrayed. I genuinely think the only 2 good appearances it had are the one from the beginning,

and this specific room overlooking Tihana's tower.

The rest all just feel, idk, weirdly unnecessary and unfinished to me. For example, apart from the confrontation with Tihana, I actually felt we spent too little time inside her tower - we just sort of took an express elevator straight to the top. In a game with long and drawn out subsections her tower is honestly the only one I felt needed to be longer. I'd much prefer if the weird scuffle at that one Otherworld train station with a Wraith was cut out in favor of expanding it.

Honestly, is it just me, or is the architecture a little too well preserved for an ancient crumbling civilization? You'd expect this shit to be falling apart by now, no? This stuff is arguably older than the Romans, hell, the ruins of their architecture is literally nearby and clearly in a much worser state. I guess you could argue this implies Zerzurian architecture is built to last, but I don't know, it just feels as though there is something missing. Honestly, I feel like Bunker introduced Zerzura/The Otherworld in a much more interesting manner. We get a single glimpse of what their architecture's like:

absolutely fucking love this room. It's shaking, it's crumbling, rocks fall from the cave roof and shatter the flimsy wooden bridges. The pit beneath is full of swirling fog, the gate between worlds obscured by it erupts in sudden flashes of light that illuminate the entire pit. You catch glimpses of looming, crude stone columns, carved with swirling sigils of unknown purpose. There's a statue of a Zerzurian Alchemist (Temaku, maybe?) holding an Ankhari Stone. It seems like the Romans were desperately trying to maintain this room (I assume the wooden bridges are their doing), but it's clear that sooner or later this whole place is going to collapse into the void below. I genuinely think this room does more worldbuilding for Zerzura than Rebirth does in it's entire runtime. I hope if Frictional continues making Amnesia titles involving The Otherworld, they'll take this sort of approach with it. I rly don't need to have extensive knowledge of their tram networks or power plants. Just give us small glimpses into a fucked up terror dimension beyond human comprehension. After all, that's what it was always built up to be.