#or the fact that people we meet can be dead for centuries in the real world

[another-goblin]

It's been established that people can look however they want in the dreamworld, even up to their species.

So (in addition to Sparkle being able to impersonate anyone), how can we be sure of anybody's identity?

How do we know, for example, that Firefly isn't actually some sleazy elderly millionaire who likes to pretend that he's a teenage girl to mess with people?

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog: Wakfu Season 2 (episode 17)

I find myself liking Eva a lot, during this rewatch, because I really am realizing that Eva&Joris is a very interesting and insane duo to consider.

If Ankama was wiser, they'd make them friends explicitly. Oh well.

Joris watching Adamai say this (Adamai is living through his worst nightmare of the person who loved him dying and coming back without memories, this time for real): 😬💀🚶‍♂️

This seems like some sort of waiting room for the meeting, judging from the fact that all the participants (as well as Grougal, but, to be fair, he's like a baby, it's logical that he'd be present with him until the very last possible moment, before being passed on to babysitters.)

I think it's interesting that Joris is sitting quite neutrally, looking exactly at Adamai and Armand, while Qilby is turned fully towards him.

...Studying him, perhaps?

Judging from the fact that Qilby was appealing to Sadida royalty by having studied their texts, and claiming to have met their god, he seems interested in learning more about people — maybe to manipulate, maybe simply curious.

Considering Qilby's connection with dragons and millions of years worth of memory, I could wager that he can feel/see that Joris is a bit weird.

(I know I am reading way too much into this, but let me have this lmaoo.)

This is why I find it quite fascinating that Qilby (interested in studying people around him, maybe seeking an advantage) is telling Joris (an old, dragonized Bontarian deligate) about a dragon that razed Bonta before Joris was born (Arty (Goultard's Dead Dragon Husband)).

Trying to gauge if Joris is secretly a dragon? If he knows that dragon? Trying to gauge his age? His opinions? Hmm???

This is one of the most short and uninformative Joris one-liners in the whole franchise. He's so epic for the way he dodges saying anything here.

Considering the fact that Joris is 1. pretty gullable, actually, 2. generally distrustful of people he doesn't know, especially royalty, 3. sounds pretty happy about this interaction here, I think Joris's opinion of Qilby is "this is a foreign leader, and the whole thing is going to cause a lot of issues. Eliatropes' happiness is worth it, though, and also he seems nice enough. But we are not friends."

Basically, I think Qilby has Joris on his side hook, line, and sinker. Lmaoo.

HE LOOKS SO AMUSED BY THE SHENANIGANS.

Joris LOVES Sadida Kingdom.

I'm insane about Brakmar. Of course the prince of Brakmar (a capitalist hellhole) would be the only one to give a lowly servant a coin.

[wipes tear] Tipping culture is real in Brakmar because otherwise people will not survive on their wage alone. Just like in America...

While none of them are shown, this meeting implies the existence of a kingdom for every race. (I need ecaflip lore so bad...)

I love this animation error so much. How did this happen.

Sitting cutely with his hands crossed.

Guys I think Qilby might have supremacist beliefs about his people. Idk, just a hunch.

And in THIS shot, the animation error is gone.

I want so, so bad to know about whatever the Ecaflip equivalent of Cra City/Sadida Kingdom may be...

Kerubim has canonically been to Trool fair and he LOVES fishing for quaquacks, and we know this from the anniversary map commentary (despite his painful and traumatic memories from episode 48 of Aux Tresors de Kerubim. He talks in the MMO about being uneasy about quaquacks since then.)

Another error — Joris sits there quite inconsistently...

@dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard @dullard HEY DULLARD HE SAID THE LINE—-

I love this so much. He's been dealing with politics for centuries, and he's so fucking angry that he allowed himself to slip up and say something antagonizing.

This is a bunch of rich people who have not known orphanhood or living in squalor in their entire lives, talking about putting children in mines, and trying to pass off a bunch of children who lost their parents in a war like a hot potato. And one of them, from a country that his country fucking hates, says that this might lead to a war.

I think Joris, with his life story and opinions and the tragedies he's witnessed in life, must be thinking things much harsher than this. Just a hunch.

This "us" doesn't include Bonta, btw :)

While I have issues with season 4, I do like that there was some moral ambiguity to the world leaders: with hindsight, I think we can say pretty easily that Brakmar's concerns are quite valid, even if false this time.

As I've said — Joris, like Yugo and Adamai, thinks pretty simply that everyone should always do good things, and that it's so so simple to be good — you just give people what they need! :) It's literally so so simple.

And that's how he, after becoming the ruler of Bonta in Waven, got to the point of having: cannibalistic wars, using living beings as building material and weapons, having 999 prisoners of war, spies and guards everywhere, implied slavery, as well as—- [I am forcibly taken offstage]

Once again, Wakfu demonstrates that Bonta and Sadida are very closely aligned.

me and @dullard have had countless conversations about this fucking episode, and he said a lot of interesting things. Here are some highlights, which he has allowed me to include:

I literally don't even know how to put my opinions into words, besides including these screenshots.

[that-ari-blogger]

It's Time

Ok, this song. (This post might be a bit heavy)

Usually, near the end of a musical, there is a quiet, reflective number before the bombastic finale. This is often the final straw for a large percentage of the audience, who find themselves brought to tears by the rest of the story, and this just catalyses it.

Stray Gods: The Role-Playing Musical has two of such songs. Adrift Reprise, and It's Time. I have already done some analysis on the former of those, but It's Time, I left for last.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

One of the strengths of Stray Gods is its connection. This is a story about a young adult trying to find her place and her purpose. She is adrift, with so many places to go, and she looks to her elders for advice. Surely, they have their lives figured out. Right? But no. I think Apollo says it best at Aphrodite's party.

"We get older, we have more to forget. We hold grudges longer. But wiser? No, not so far."

Stray Gods pulls on very real emotions in its audience, very few people in the audience know where they are going, or what their life will lead them to. So, the themes of fate and choice in this musical become more pertinent. You cannot know what your future will hold without it feeling like a burden, but you can make choices. Good or bad, you can always choose.

This is what the Adrift Reprise number is all about. But there is another almost universal experience that this story hits you with. An emotion that It's Time centres around. Loss.

The vast majority of humans have lost someone at someone close to them at some point in their lives. As you get older, the chance of this happening only increases. It's an unfortunate fact about being mortal. And here's the thing, in Stray Gods, mortality and immortality are not mutually exclusive.

Everyone in this story is mourning, either the loss of Calliope, or the old Hermes, or Hephestus, or the gods who have gone missing. These idols can live forever, but they can also not. The idols are humans, but more. More powerful, more magical, more experienced, but also more fragile, and more weak, and more weird.

Persephone's relationship with Calliope is subtle at first, but once you notice it, you see it everywhere. From the portrait of Calliope in Persephone's office, to the anger at her murder, to the immediate switch from avenger to protector the second she clocks on to Grace actually being Calliope's chosen successor.

So, when they finally meet in the underworld, this can either be an aha moment or a surprise, and either works.

"So many years of history,

The fights, the highs, the miseries,

I'm so proud of you, but it's time to go."

"I never truly saw before,

how trapped we were, how far from shore,

great at the time, but now it's time to go"

In a single verse, two stanzas, this song summarises what could possibly be a centuries long relationship. Tumultuous, but real. For all of their faults, there is a love there. You can see why the relationship broke down, and you know Persephone and Calliope well enough at this point to infer a few more details about that. But you also know that looking back, the connection is still there.

I also want to point out that nautical metaphor again. It links back to Adrift and gets referenced in just about every other song. But the difference now, is who it is aimed at. Usually, Grace is the one being called out for drowning in choices or something similar, but now its Persephone realising just how far out she is, and looking back on her relationship with Calliope, only now can she see where she went wrong. Maybe, if Calliope was still alive, she and this new Persephone could work things out. Now that Persephone isn't obsessing about that throne and can actually admit fault.

The tragedy is that we will probably never get to find out. Because Calliope is dead, and you can't change that.

But what about something you can change?

@ohnoitstbskyen has a phenomenal video titled Grief In Art, which I highly recommend you check out. In it, he gives the following summary of the emotion:

"Grief comes with anger, with emptiness. It comes with loneliness and exhaustion and a dozen other complex and multifaceted feelings that all intermix and grind against each other. That's part of why it can be so overwhelming."

I am willing to bet that this isn't a foreign concept to a large percentage of Stray Gods' audience.

So, tell me, if you were given the chance to bring back a lost loved one, would you take it? It's a complicated question. But if, right now, I told you I could bring back your mother or brother or friend, would you say yes? What price would be too steep? What is the value of a human life? How much would you give?

Personally, I would say yes. To me, every life is unquantifiable, and I would give anything for just a conversation with certain people.

But what about Grace? And what about Freddie?

There are two ways you can come at It's Time in the musical. Well, three actually, but we'll get there in a moment. You either are following the romance storyline with Freddie, or you are not. And from what I can tell, this song makes no distinction between the two. You bring your own baggage.

"It was quick and so was I,

I was not prepared to die.

But Grace, I choose this,

And I know you'll get by."

Do you bring Freddie back from the dead? It's possible, and you'd get your happy ending. You can, but should you? That much is up to you.

Actions have consequences, that's kind of the thesis of this story. One consequence of Grace's actions was the death of Freddie. You can undo that, if you want.

I have played through this game a fair few times at this point, and at this moment, I have gone through both options. If you were to approach this as a simple, numerical question, the answer would be obvious. There is no physical benefit in the game to either decision, so you should do what Freddie says and let her stay dead. The reason this is such a difficult choice is because of the humanity in it.

You know the right choice, to let Freddie stay dead, to not go against her wishes, to not give her the eidolon. Freddie says she is content with her decision, so you should go with that, right?

But are you strong enough to make that choice? I know I wasn't the first time I played this game.

There is one other element that complicates this, and it's fascinating to me. Because that third approach to this song is retrospect.

What if you have played this game before and brought Freddie back? Then you get Freddie's love confession, and it changes the entire story. It's prophecy, like Apollo warned us about. You know the fate you are trying to achieve, so you take actions against yourself to try and thwart it, essentially locking yourself in that path, whether you like it or not.

Does the promise of a happy ending change your choices here?

Final Thoughts

There is a reason I left this song until last. It's one of those songs in musical theatre that brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it or listen to it. The instruments, the melody, the fact that this is the only time Grace ever says "Farishta". Everything about this song is amazing.

Next week is my final roundup for Stray Gods, and as a quick reminder, I am putting out a request for your analysis, be it musical or artistic or lyrical. Send me a message, or comment, reblog this post, and I will try to include as many as I can (credited to you, naturally) in the final analysis to build a big picture of what everyone thinks of this musical.

So, stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[monstersinthecosmos]

thoughts on how Marius is still down bad for Pandora when he meets her again in Antioch, in fact still so down bad that it's likely that Akasha basically drew Pandora there so ensure she had loyal caretakers, even though she's twice divorced and even hassling slaves about their boner skills in the slave market, and remains down bad eternally, but still is basically enraptured by Armand's lack of preceding experience

YEAH I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ABOUT IT, THANKS FOR ASKING.

So like something about Marius’s specific flavor of bisexuality is that he seems to like different things in men & women (which feels real to life, tbh!), and part of this is Doylist in the way that Anne Rice wrote about women/what types of women her male characters were attracted to, but in the spirit of meeting the text where it’s at I always tend to think of Marius as someone with just fucking out of control mommy issues who is attracted to strong bitchy confident women (pos).

When you look at Pandora and Bianca they’re both sort of sexually realized women who challenged him, and then you think about his relationship to his mom and his realTIONSHIP TO AKASHA — this is getting into headcanon territory but listen I just know he’s the kinda guy that wants a woman to step on his throat. The way he was a rebellious outsider as a mortal and his complicated social status maybe lends itself to the way he views men & women and his power in between them. It's sort of like an inverse of the power dynamic he might have had in Roman society, and again HEADCANON TERRITORY but it makes me wonder how much of his sexual preference was influenced by taboos in his society and what did his privilege lend to him, vs what ways he might have felt inferior or emasculated.

It seems like he likes women who challenge him and men who will look up to him, right?? How much of it is because of his mommy issues, how much of it is being the spirit of his age and his Ancient Roman sexual hangover, how much is it that he got murdered by a cute guy that took advantage of his barbarian fetish? Idk! Will he ever submit to a man again idk?!

He is in LOVE with women who are either unavailable or who can cut him down to size. And I think he’s also got that flavor of misogyny where he sees women as lesser beings—even as an object of affection, it’s that way people can be well meaning and still infantilizing & condescending to women as like, precious little creatures. I think he sees women as lesser than himself, and his ancient Roman kink finds it thrilling to submit to them. 

And the men he likes tend to look up to him and respect him and need him. He wants Armand to be a pupil. He wants Lestat as a pupil, and they can never be around each other for too long because Lestat can’t behave. He loves Thorne immediately because of how admiring and respectful he is, and he loves feeling useful as a host or as a teacher. Same with Daniel, where it begins with him as a caretaker. With the exception of Akasha, he doesn't really care for women in his life the way he does with men, except we learn again and again that Akasha doesn't actually need him. It turns into worship of her, turning her into a project as her SERVANT rather than her teacher.

But yeah like, Armand really IS the opposite! Armand was going to be his student in all things, not just his education but even encouraging him to be promiscuous and sexually realized, as well! But he sees Armand as a blank slate, someone who’s on borrowed time, A WIZENED FUNEREAL SPIRIT OF A DEAD MAN IN CHILD’S CLOTHES! And like Lestat, Armand also failed (in his own way, in Marius’s estimation) in Marius’s lessons. 

Marius didn’t know what exactly the cult did to Armand to indoctrinate him, all he knows when he finally DOES find Armand is that he’s thriving as a cult leader, and Marius feels betrayed as fuck, and too insecure to risk rejection by reaching out. It doesn’t ignite him the way Pandora and Bianca do. He doesn’t spend CENTURIES obsessing over him and searching for him the way he did for Pandora, he also doesn’t spend TWO THOUSAND YEARS worshipping him the way he does the mother he didn’t have as a mortal. His need for Armand exists in a very specific space and he’s not super interested or capable of of fixing the mess.

AND LIKE I HAVE TO ALSO POINT OUT, we can’t forget that Armand was a rebound from Bianca. He wanted Bianca. Bianca reminded him of Pandora!!! 

Oh, yes, she was to my taste as if I'd made her - the daughter of Pandora - it was as if Botticelli had created her, even to the somewhat dreamy expression of her face. And she did have a seemingly impossible mingling of fire and poise. But I had in my long miserable years seen many beautiful humans, rich and poor, younger and older, and I had not felt this sharp, near uncontrollable desire to bring her to me, to take her to the shrine with me, to spill out to her whatever wisdom I possessed. What was I to do with this pain? How should I be rid of it? How long would it torment me right here in the city of Venice where I had chosen to seek comfort from mortals and give back to the world in secret payment my blessed and well-educated boys? On rising, I found myself shaking loose light dreams of Bianca, dreams in which she and I were sitting in my bedroom and talking together as I told her of all the long lonely paths I'd trod, talking together as she told me of how she had drawn from common and filthy pain her immeasurable strength. Even as I attended the feast with my students I couldn't shake off these dreams. They broke in on me as if I were falling asleep over the wine and meats. The boys vied for my attention. They thought they had failed the Master. When I went to my rooms to paint, I was equally confused. I painted a large picture of Bianca as the Virgin Mary with a chubby Infant Jesus. I laid down the brushes. I wasn't content. I couldn't be content. I went out of Venice into the countryside. I searched for the Evil Doer. I drank blood until I was glutted. And then I returned to my rooms, and I lay down on my bed and I dreamt of Bianca again. At last before dawn I wrote my admonitions down in my diary: This desire to make an immortal companion is no more justified here than it was in Florence. You have survived all your long life without ever taking this evil step, though you know well how to do it - the Druid priest taught you how to do it - and not doing it, you will continue to survive. You cannot bring over this child to you, no matter how you envision it. Imagine her to be a statue. Imagine your evil to be a force that would shatter that statue. See her then in fragments. Know that that is what you would do.

I WONDER IF THIS SUDDEN SHARP DESIRE TO TAKE HER TO THE SHRINE WAS AKASHA MEDDLING AGAIN?? I'm not sure how literal that is, but! Hmm! Inch resting!

I also gotta share this part because it’s like my fav VC quote lol - 

She looked at me gravely. Then she smiled too but she didn't answer, and all her secrets folded inside her - the sordid things, things to do with blood and gold. For a moment, I thought my powerful self-control would be lost. I would embrace her, whether or not she would have it, and take her rapidly by force from the very middle of her warm and safe rooms to the cold and fatal domain of my soul. I saw her, positively saw her as if the Christian Satan were giving me visions once more - I saw her transformed by the Dark Blood. I saw her as if she were mine, and all her youth burnt out in sacrifice to immortality, and the only warmth or riches known to her those which came from me.

SORRY IM JUST REALLY OBSESSED WITH THE COLD & FATAL DOMAIN OF MARIUS'S SOUL, I GOTTA SHARE IT ANY CHANCE I GET. He choses Armand because he needs a rebound, because he is SO in love with Bianca and knows it can’t end well. She’s too like Pandora, and he remembers what Eudoxia said about how older people don’t take to vampirism as well. He knows he needs a young blank slate to train, and he FINDS Armand while he’s floating around feeling sorry for himself about Bianca. 

So by design, Armand IS the opposite of the types of women he likes, and he treats it like an experiment and treats Armand like a pet. 

AND LIKE BIANCA WINDS UP HIS FLEDGLING TO SAVE HIS ASS, AS WELL, EVEN IN A DIFFERENT CONTEXT. 

Anyway. 

Also, something something Akasha didn’t approve of his turning Amadeo, didn’t allow for Marius to rescue him, but allowed Bianca to live in the Shrine with him for like 100 years, I wonder how involved she was with the whole thing. 

My thoughts are a mess but I think, basically, that’s how I feel about it !!!! I ranted about Bianca but TLDR; Pandora is his actual type and Armand was his pet.

[acrossthewavesoftime]

top five things YOU have written 🫵🫵 that you're ok with sharing ofc :3

That's a very difficult and interesting question, thank you! :) I don't really know if I can pick five and rate them in a set hierarchy. I like many things I write, shorter and longer, finished and unfinished, so here are 5 that come to mind:

I don't write for it very often, but what I write, I enjoy writing a lot. The early 19th century AU which I came up with for @nordleuchten in which a few generations ago the Stuarts managed to produce some sort of heir, making the Hannovarians bog standard German provincial rulers instead of British monarchs. The man you know as George III and his heir, Prinz Georg stand to inherit the throne as it is expected that the Stuart line will come to an end in their lifetime. Georg is pretty much good old Prinny, who however decides to take drastic measures when he finds that being patronised by his dad as a grown man has become insufferable. He decides to take an alias and join the British navy, because what else cries freedom so much as watching romantic sunsets at sea? In the act of leaving clandestinely, he is caught by one Karoline von Braunschweig, a beloathed cousin acting as his mother's lady-in-waiting. Georg takes to life at sea like a duck to water despite the fact that it turns out to be nothing like what he imagined, and becomes a celebrated hero of the Napoleonic Wars. Hijinks ensue when his cover is blown, his brother Ernst tries to take over the succession, and he realises he doesn't actually loathe Karoline, quite on the contrary, really. Karoline meanwhile has to explain a big belly away, and George sails for a place called Trafalgar... It's all delightfully off and the real George and Caroline would probably disapprove, but sometimes, certain AUs are not meant to be very accurate, just a little silly.

Less silly and as far as my research goes, as close to history as possible, my story on Henry Clinton and Mary Baddeley. I have written so much about the two already, it's almost a novel. I am fascinated by the mutual respect, suppressed affection and surprisingly good documentation there is. Theoretically, their relationship is a communist party meeting worth of red flags; a power dynamic between employer and employee, a substantial age gap, Mary being very much reliant on Clinton's protection from beng sexually harrassed by an officer in her husband's regiment and him falling in love with her while she was pregnant with her husband's child are just the most obvious ones. Regardless of all these things, both, given time, found love. Let's hope I will finish it one day so we can have the big budget adaptation i'm dreaming of ever since learning about the two...

I have a similar thing going for the Graveses, which is a little more light-hearted in that both Mrs and Mr Admiral were two very outspoken people, with Margaret in particular passing judgements on people in her letters worthy of Jane Austen novels. There is some tragedy in that they met at a point in their lives where they both seem to have still been processing the death of a beloved loved one, and both helped raise a child that was not their own. Given their eventful lives, bubbly family and their very loud personalities, however, I think this one writes itself a little easier.

A Stuart AU in which Maria Beatrice d'Este, now Queen of England, has had enough. Identifying, in her mind, her husband's unchanging licentious ways as the reason why God takes all her children from her young, she decides to commit regicide when she realises she is pregnant once more, in order to protect this child at least; because if James is dead, he can no longer commits acts displeasing God, right? The flaws in her logic aside, she makes this last desperate attempt to suffocate James, the husband who has abused her for so long, both physically and mentally, in his sleep with a cushion, but fails as he wakes up. Fleeing England in the middle of the night, Maria Beatrice manages to find a passage to the continent and makes it to The Hague, where the Prince and Princess of Orange now have a political scandal on their hands. What ensues is an intense triangular situation in which everyone is faced with ghosts of the past; Maria Beatrice, who never wanted to get married and have children, is faced by the involuntarily childless Mary who would do everything to be a mother; William by his own conduct towards Mary when they were newly-wed, which he finds himself reminded of by some things Maria Beatrice recounts of her marriage, fearing he may have mistreated Mary, and all three of them by the question of who will one day be James' heir, Mary, or the baby, if it turns out to be a boy, Maria Beatrice is about to have? Includes such memorable scenes as the one in which William feeds a toddler potential pretender a waffle while engineering his ascension to the throne during a council meeting (hey, the waffle-thing at least is based on an event and person during his own childhood, so).

I'm currently writing a little something quite light-hearted featuring Louise de Kérouaille and exploring her perspective on her relationship with Charles II, which I find quite delightful.

If any of you want to know something else about the stories (since I don't post them to AO3), feel free to ask. :)

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

VH - Job Interview (1/2)

(Ever wondered how to recruit a near-invincible vampire into your hero agency? Well, read this and learn.)

Tw: a bit of body horror, but it's two or three sentences, so. You do you.

*

It was a known fact that the Hero agency director had never been in a fight or killed anyone – not directly, at least. She spent most of her days in her huge office, a cube of transparent walls with a magnificent view on the town. A lot of her work consisted of doing the paperwork and giving meeting after meeting. Some guests were less willing than some to strike an arrangement with her, but somehow she always pulled through. People smiled when they saw her for the first time. When she left them, they still grinned, but maybe their eye twitched a bit with the effort, or their clenched fist was shaking.

However, it was also a known fact that the Hero agency director had never been killed once in her life.

Sometimes, when the circumstances called, or curiosity got the better of her, she ventured far from her office to see the situation for herself. In this occurrence, it was a little of both. She had seen a lot of incredible things in her life: humans gifted with unbelievable powers, wars avoided because of a technicality, one (1) meeting beginning on time. It was the first time, though, that she’d ever heard of a real vampire in this century. She couldn't miss the opportunity.

The home she walked in was pretty much the antithesis of her office. She frowned at the disorder, the burnt and torn books on the ground, and most of all the putrefaction stench looming in the air.

The superheroes team who waited in the roome looked at her both like a god to be feared and a precious thing to be protected at all costs. Only one of these things was correct. It was led by a Superhero so superheroish she was called UltraHero. The latter stepped up, her left hand rubbing her neck.

“Well?” asked the director.

“Well,” hesitated the tall, bulky woman, “it all began with my neighbor, you see. She’s retired and so she spent all her days in her house. We play chess sometimes, and she told me that the son of her cousin’s first wife who was staying with her had heightened hearing. It’s not really a power, just a major inconvenience, he hears unpleasant sounds all the time, like last week when a cicada -”

The director had a tense smile. Ultrahero was as sweet as she was powerful, but she tended to ramble when she was nervous.

“I can live without knowing about the cicada. Can you make it shorter?”

“Erm. Yes. Anyway, it’s hard for him to know when a noise is alarming or not since he hears all kinds of things all the time, so when he complained about screaming, my neighbor assumed that it was a very unhappy or a very happy couple. Only the sounds came from under the ground, so he came to find me and I checked to see if everything is all right, but the house was empty, and I found a secret passage, and, uh- here we are, I guess.”

The director drew in a calming breath.

“Ultrahero”, she said in a low, deliberate voice, “can you tell us exactly what’s inside?”

“Oh uh- yes. I should have started by that, I suppose. Well, hmm, a corpse, to begin with. A man. He doesn’t look like he’s in a good state – even for a corpse, I mean. He’s been, like, clawed or something. There’s not a lot of blood, though. It’s like he’s been dried. Also, there’s a pretty lady in the room. She’s in a glass coffin, but she doesn’t look dead at all – like Snow White, you know? And there’s…”

She hesitated.

“There’s a thing", she said at last. "It’s chained. I don’t know what it is. I don’t really wanna know.”

There was fear in her voice. The director nodded.

“Let’s see.”

She closed her eyes and focused. Images flooded her brain. She opened her eyes wide.

“Oh,” she whispered. And then: “Oh.”

The superheroes looked at her with anxiety. It was a rare sight to see the director bemused. She licked her lips:

“The man is dead. The woman and the other are alive. They think. Unfortunately.”

“What did you see?” ventured Ultrahero, while the others looked at her with incredulity at her boldness.

The director patted her thick arm:

“You do not want to know.”

She walked in the secret passage. She didn’t pay attention to the corpse in her way and stopped in front of the thing instead. Ultrahero hadn’t exaggerated a bit. The director knew it was a vampire and conscious, but it was hard to admit it. It was vaguely human-shaped. But the skin. Dear gods, the skin. It formed layers around the body, folded like huge petals of some monstrous flower, smelling like rotting flesh. The rest covered every orifice on the body, including the nostrils and the gaping mouth. The eyelids had melted into the cheekbones. The chains that held it to the wall were not around, but burst through the torso. The thing was curled on itself and didn’t move, but she could hear its thoughts loud and clear, and that was the most alarming.

Fascinated, the superhero team saw her shudder for the first time, and that knowledge snapped her out of it. Her voice became even drier and colder than usual:

“Execute him.”

“But, Ma’am... why?”

“Look at him. That’s a mercy kill, isn’t it? That’s only justice. You have no idea what this thing had done. End him.”

They all hesitated, looking at each other or at their shoes. Killing someone in cold blood wasn’t easy to them.

“But – can you tell up an example, at least?”

She told them. Their faces went pale. They all jumped in and tried to kill it,“tried” being, of course, the key word. They used knives, cursed knives, axes, fire, firearms, grenades, lasers and energy beams. All they could do was breaking the thinner layer of skin, the one that covered the mouth and the nostrils. For all their efforts, the creature was in fact getting better.

“Stop.”

The director crossed her arms. Now that the first moment of surprise – and she had to confess, horror – had passed, she took note of certain facts. She had in front of her an apparently invulnerable specimen. She didn’t believe in invulnerability. However, she didn’t mind if her foes did. A small smile formed on her face.

“What about the lady?” asked Superhero.

“No one approaches her. She’s more dangerous than all of you reunited. We’ll find a way to kill her that is safe.”

She spoke with her eyes glued to the vampire, and saw what she expected to see. Despite his state, despite his chains, he had twitched.

“Isn’t that interesting,” she whispered.

Then, her tone louder, she ordered:

“Cut his chains. We’re bringing him to the agency.”

“But what are we doing to do with that?”

“I have my idea.”

*

Vampire Hero is a recurring character. His job is to troll current villains. Check the Vampire Hero Masterlist or Tag for more snippets with him.

Or back to Hero x Villain Masterlist.

[nickmakura]

Adult Scooby-Doo TV Show Pitch

So, the idea with my theoretical Adult Swim Scooby-Doo TV Show is to avoid any inclination this is a reimagining. I'm envisioning this is as being a sort of continuation of the concepts and story present in Zombie Island, Witch's Ghost, and Alien Invaders. But, attempting to keep up the original episodic format of "Where Are You?" and breaking some limits of what you can put these characters through.

Part of the reason "Zombie Island" works, is because these are the same characters we grew up with. But they're a little older now too. They all have jobs, they're long past high-school, they have adult expectations. But for the most part, Hanna-Barbera doesn't change anything about Mystery Inc's personality, and instead drops them into a scenario that is dark and gritty. Which makes it far more terrifying.

But another reason is Zombie Island keeps the inherent comedy without sacrificing the horror. Good stuff.

So how do you take the concepts of Zombie Island, and transform it into a monster of the week Scooby-Doo show?

Coast to Coast with Scooby-Doo!

Part I: The Plot

After the harrowing experiences dealing with true brushes with the supernatural and the paranormal, Daphne Blake is now more convinced then ever that she needs live footage of a real honest to good ghost. If they can get one on camera, and report it, this will be the find of a century.

Sticking with the original plan, Scoob & The Gang travel across America investigating real folklore and horrors, in hopes of finding something real.

Part II: The Formula

So, Coast to Coast With Scooby-Doo is kind of a mix of genres. But for the most part, I want it to be a Horror Comedy Mystery show, but it's also a road trip show. One of the things I liked about Zombie Island, is that it took place in New Orleans, and introduced us to real New Orleans cuisine. From beignets, to po' boys, crawdads, gumbo and jambalaya. But it also told us about the voodoo scene in New Orleans.

I'm now dead set on heading out to New Orleans sometime just to try the food, and I think that's something that can really help drag Scooby-Doo down to earth. It makes you really want to visit these places, and maybe investigate a haunting while you're there too.

So, here's the setup.

Spooky Cold Open, probably a Murder

Theme Song

Scoob & The Gang ride the mystery machine into town, probably with some sort of banter. Velma brings up where they're going, and Shag is like "Yo man, it's been a minute since we've been out to New York! You guys think Trinidad Golden Palace is still open? Like they had one crazy Shark Sandwich dude!" Then another member of the gang brings up they're actually looking to go to the statue of Liberty, where, by the way, there is ACTUAL rumors of buried treasure and ghosts. This changes depending on local

The gang stumble upon mystery, ask questions, find out gruesome details, meet suspects. Daphne & Fred interview some people.

They film the hauntings as they're happening, and search for clues.

Then, as the episode progresses we figure out whether or not this thing is real or fake. If it's real, the gang have to find a way to take down the monster using ingenuity and what they've found in the episode, or they have to capture the culprit and breakdown the mystery.

Small things, but I feel like having a constant bet between characters whether or not it's real or if it's fake would be something really fun actually. I think the audience would have fun getting in on the question too, and guessing along with the gang.

Part III: The Adult Part

So, this is a show for adults, but the fact it's FOR adults will not override that it IS Scooby-Doo. Which is to say, that it will have murder, swearing, mentions of sex, but it will not go beyond what you expect in terms of tone from Scooby-Doo. It's a fun horror comedy mystery show about 4 friends and their dog who investigate spooky mysteries. You can't change that core premise or you risk it no longer being Scooby-Doo and something else entirely.

So if you need a member of the gang to swear for a scene, you can, but it can't breach too far out of character for the group. Like Fred can say fuck, but he's still the leader Dad type guy who likes Daphne, and likes building absurd rube goldberg type traps. Shaggy can smoke weed, but he's still the goofy moral center of the group. He makes fun sandwiches, he cracks dumb jokes, he's scared of getting stabbed, but he sticks around for his friends. Velma can be a lesbian, but she's still the quirky smart character who loves books and science.

But most importantly you need to make sure it's still abundantly clear to the audience that no matter how much drama or crazy shit they see, Scoob & The Gang are all best friends who love working together.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World: Prologue

I haven't reread the whole of the series ever (my last reread was in preparation for the finale), so with the books getting more popular and the show simultaneously entertaining me and getting my goat I figured I'd jump onto the bandwagon and maybe get some validation from internet strangers. As the title states, this is a reread, so I will be spoilering the hell out of everything, so if you're a show only fan or still working your way through the books, please run away screaming (but tell your friends!).

...

Okay now that I can no longer hear any screams, let's get into things. I first started reading The Wheel of Time in 2003 in middle school, catching up in time to read New Spring when it debuted and the subsequent novels after (except oddly, Towers of Midnight, which I didn't get around to until the finale was right around the corner, so I guess my longest reread only goes up to book 12 technically). It's probably my outright favorite fantasy world and has a lot of characters I love - in fact, at times I feel I don't quite fit into the fandom because I don't have an irrational disdain of any of the common hate sinks bar maybe Gawyn, and even then some people are making me like him a little bit more so I don't know what I'm going to do then.

That said, like most readers who came of age in the 21st century, I do have a lot of problems with Jordan's worldview. It's a rather interesting friction: the man was definitely trying to write a world without the sexism of our modern era (and to a lesser extent other prejudices as well), and yet he could never rise above them himself. I'll probably spend a lot of time talking about this kind of stuff and what might have been done instead.

Likewise, when we reach the inevitable Slog (and sorry people who didn't start reading until the series was finished, it's real), I'll be talking a lot about how the plot might be adjusted for brevity and, once we reach the Sanderson era virtually everything I want to talk about will be magnified tenfold because as much as I enjoyed his efforts at the time, I've greatly soured on him as an author in general and as Jordan's heir in specific since.

But for now, let's focus on what's important: The Eye of the World's first prologue: Dragonmount.

The palace still shook occasionally as the earth rumbled in memory, groaned as if it would deny what had happened.

As first sentences go, I'm not in love. It's not bad, but it's just a little too vague; "the palace" doesn't really give my mind's eye much to work with because they can vary so much depending on when and where they were built. It ends well though.

The dead lay everywhere, men and women and children, struck down in attempted flight by the lightnings that had flashed down every corridor, or seized by the fires that had stalked them, or sunken into stone of the palace, the stones that had flowed and sought, almost alive, before stillness came again.

Despite its length, a sentence like this would work better to me as the start. It's shocking and terrifying; this is a level of violence we won't see channelers pull off until much later in the series.

The mind-twisting had struck at the core, ignoring peripheral things.

This feels pretty on-theme for the story, really. The Shadow tries to subvert the major powers of the world but its defeat is primarily orchestrated by a bunch of farmers.

The edge of his pale gray cloak trailed through blood as he stepped across the body of a woman, her golden-haired beauty marred by the horror of her last moments, her still-open eyes frozen in disbelief.

Well I made it four quotations before we needed to talk about feminism so that's... more than I expected, really. Meet Ilyena, a character so posthumous that despite being part of a prologue 3,500 years before the main story she's still already dead by the time it starts! Obsessing over dead women is probably one of the biggest complaints this series gets and boy does it deserve it. Despite electricity being long gone, our characters have no shortage of fridges.

That said, I do want to note that as it stands in this book, things aren't that bad. In this book. See, in this book, Ilyena isn't the only victim - the children she and Lews had are also among the dead, as are quite a lot of other people who just happened to live or work in the palace or were visiting. Except for the use of LTT's title "Kinslayer", none of them will be mentioned again after this book - in fact, the non-family members are completely forgotten after the prologue. But again, that's jumping ahead. In this book, Ilyena is about providing a specific name and face to the tragedy, humanizing all of the victims by proxy in a way that, "Twelve hours after saving the world, Lews Therin went insane and killed two hundred and sixty-five people including all of his blood relatives," does not.

...brought by merchants from across the World Sea...

We talk a lot about how Jordan was too immersed in southern culture to understand how its gender roles were about as universal as Mongolian throat singing, but not enough about how he's too immersed in globalized petro-fascist markets based on maximizing inefficiencies for the global elite to use to extract wealth to understand why a real planetary utopia living in harmony with nature wouldn't be shipping luxury goods across the ocean when there's perfectly fancy fabrics to make at home and anyway the Green Men should be able to help silkworms thrive anywhere if you're that desperate for something breathable.

On the other hand, points to him for not going crazy about Gateways and assuming that all global trade could be handled by teleportation just because they're a fun tool. I will have a lot to say about Gateways as we approach the authorial transition.

For a moment he fingered the symbol on his cloak, a circle half white and half black, the colors separated by a sinuous line. It meant something, that symbol.

Even now though, it means something other than what it once meant (being the sign of the seals on the Dark One's prison) and before too much longer it will pick up two more meanings, one for each half. The Wheel turns and the world changes.

Behind him the air rippled, shimmered, solidified into a man who looked around, his mouth twisting briefly with distaste.

Props to Ishamael for clearly Traveling with the True Power even this early on in the series.

Not so tall as Lews Therin, he was clothed all in black, save for the snow-white lace at his throat and the silverwork on the turned-down tops of his thigh-high boots.

Thigh-high boots! <3 (Seriously Ishy how can you want to destroy the world you can express your fashion sense in?)

Also note how this contrasts the Aes Sedai symbol described earlier. There's a little bit of white though, because it can't be helped even by the Shadow.

It will soon be time for the Singing, and here all are welcome to take part.

One detail from the Sanderson novels whose origin I'm uncertain of but like regardless of who came up with it is Rand's claim that the AoL was NOT paradise and that it was rotting from within even before the Dark One got involved. The latter half of this sentence suggests one such flaw: having the Voice is a hell of a talent, but apparently there were places that did not welcome all potential Singers. This could just be a result of the War, but maybe it speaks to something deeper.

“Shai’tan take you, does the taint already have you so far in its grip?”

Ish here is mostly pissed that he doesn't get to enjoy his gloating, because for all his talk about nihilism, he is petty first and foremost.

Dangerous for you, fool, not for me.

Ironically, all things considered it's really the other way around - Shai'tan is no threat at all to the Dragon soul and will utterly ruin Ish by the end. Ish really isn't anywhere near as clever as he makes himself out to be, he just looks smart because he's the last survivor of Academia.

“So you do remember some things. Yes, Betrayer of Hope. So have men named me, just as they named you Dragon, but unlike you I embrace the name.

This is an odd detail, all things considered. LTT's fatal flaw was pride (this very prologue says as much), so why wouldn't he be proud of a flattering name? I wonder if we get any more details on this in the books or if it's just a little detail that was lost in the shuffle.

But it is not enough. You humbled me in the Hall of Servants. You defeated me at the Gates of Paaran Disen. But I am the greater, now. I will not let you die without knowing that. When you die, your last thought will be the full knowledge of your defeat, of how complete and utter it is. If I let you die at all

See what I mean about Ish? This is not the behavior of someone who is tired of existence and wants everything to end, it's the behavior of a dude with a petty grudge that he dresses up in fancy terms and fancier boots.

[Ilyena] will give me the rough side of her tongue if she thinks I have been hiding a guest from her. I hope you enjoy conversation, for she surely does. Be forewarned. Ilyena will ask you so many questions you may end up telling her everything you know.

Quick, name a female WoT character that Jordan doesn't think this description applies to! Can it be done? I doubt it. Another common criticism is that for all of his 3,000 characters, all of the women were just his wife. I don't think it's quite true, but I do think that the women he knew well were all cut from pretty much the same cloth.

“A pity for you,” he mused, “that one of your Sisters is not here.

This is another oddity. AoL healing required all five kinds of weaves and they didn't divide things up by gender anyway, so why wouldn't a Brother suffice? There's plenty of male Aes Sedai who haven't gone crazy at this point, and it's been only a couple days at most so you wouldn't think people would have time to reflexively assume men wouldn't be helpful. Is this another kind of healing that works better when you do it cross-gender? Maybe Towers of Midnight mentioned that?

Helplessly he convulsed, thrashing, his skull a sphere of purest agony on the point of bursting.

Good to know that every incarnation of the Dragon suffers horribly for no good reason, I guess. Rand's nihilism is a lot more understandable to me than Ish's is, considering how little suffering the latter actually endures.

“You can have her back, Kinslayer. The Great Lord of the Dark can make her live again, if you will serve him. If you will serve me.”

"Your kids are fucked though. We put their souls in vacuoles and then jettisoned them towards Sindhol, so we can't fix that even if we wanted to. Also you balefired half of them repeatedly, we think. Hard to be sure because there's no record of them left except some silhouettes on that doorway over there."

(More seriously, they're being left out right now because LTT isn't cognizant of their demise, making this the only excusable omission.)

“Ten years your foul master has wracked the world. And now this. I will. . . .”

Plus a whole century of societal collapse, but I guess RJ hadn't come up with that detail yet. Hell at this point maybe Shai'tan was still supposed to be ET's son.

You and I have fought a thousand battles with the turning of the Wheel, a thousand times a thousand, and we will fight until time dies and the Shadow is triumphant!

Ish says this and the fandom as a whole treats it as true but... we don't actually know this! Third Agers often state that they HOPE to be reborn, which suggests that's it's possible the Wheel stops reincarnating some souls (replacing them, presumably) - and who better to retire than the people who stop being grateful for existence and start actively trying to undermine you?

Further, Rand's epiphany is about how despite the crushing cycle of everything, anyone can still hope to live a better life - there's no guarantee that Ishamael falls to the shadow every time, or that he ever has before or will again! Hell, he could just repent even after he falls. Bro has choices, he just refuses to see them.

His own sons and daughters, sprawled like broken dolls, play stilled forever.

This is actually another odd detail. I don't know how Aes Sedai fertility works, but while it's not implausible that LTT & IS could have children who were of the age where their play is the most notable thing about them, they should also have kids old enough to have grandkids by now! Lews' murders could potentially number in the hundreds without starting on the servants and faithful companions.

Also note that while Ilyena's demise horrified LTT and left him with nothing to live for according to the narration, it isn't until he sees that he's killed all of these people he loved that he actually tries to commit suicide. This is the sort of thing that's completely neglected going forward, but it is nice that things were a little more complex than him finding his girlfriend in the fridge and his mom in the oven.

The land around him was flat and empty. A river flowed nearby, straight and broad, but he could sense there were no people within a hundred leagues.

This is a pretty subtle sign of just how much death the last ten years must have entailed: the Erinin is flowing through a temperate part of the planet (there being no indication that the Earth's axis was significantly affected by the Breaking) yet there are no cities nor farms within a hundred leagues. By all rights there should be, but now they're gone. One can see why balefire was banned.

He did not believe it could come, forgiveness. Not for what he had done.

Maybe it's just my own weird moral code speaking but I think stuff one does while literally and entirely involuntarily corrupted by the source of all evil shouldn't really count against them. Obviously he's in shock, but it seems like something that carries on into Rand's behavior as well and it's a little depressing that in a series about free will vs. determinism there's such a common attitude that the stuff you're doomed to do regardless counts against you more than the things you had a choice in.

Because in his pride he had believed that men could match the Creator, could mend what the Creator had made and they had broken. In his pride he had believed.

And he wasn't wrong to believe that, he just did it wrong and doesn't consider that there might be other approaches. Tunnel vision is a real affliction in this series.

Only a heartbeat did the shining bar exist, connecting ground and sky, but even after it vanished the earth yet heaved like the sea in a storm. Molten rock fountained five hundred feet into the air, and the groaning ground rose, thrusting the burning spray ever upward, ever higher.

No denial on the earth's part here, just straight up compliance.

Of Lewis Therin Telamon, no sign remained. Where he had stood a mountain now rose miles into the sky, molten lava still gushing from its broken peak.

Now imagine a million more dudes doing this and you start to see why the Breaking was as destructive as it was.

Then [Ishamael] was gone, and the mountain and the island stood alone. Waiting.

Presumably Ishamael went off and told someone about LTT's suicide before being vacuum sealed for a millennium and change, cuz otherwise there's no way people would know what Dragonmount was.

The oceans fled, and the mountains were swallowed up, and the nations were scattered to the eight corners of the World.

The west, the Waste, Shara, the sea, the Mad Lands, north Seanchan, southwest Seanchan, and southeast Seanchan. There, we've turned what was obviously an odd turn of phrase into a literal statement with all eight items acccounted for!

Let the Prince of the Morning sing to the land that green things will grow and the valleys give forth lambs. Let the arm of the Lord of the Dawn shelter us from the Dark, and the great sword of justice defend us. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time.

Well Rand did most of those things, but I don't remember any lambs, so I guess really he lost the war and the whole of the epilogue was a taunting dream the Dark One wove for him to distract him.

(God I hate those kinds of theories. If your assumption is that nothing is true, your theory is dumb and you should feel bad.)

From Charal Drianaan te Calamon,The Cycle of the Dragon.

So a lot of people talk about the conlanging in this setting and I just want to point one thing out: the fact that we go from the Old Tongue in the AoL to this New Tongue in the Fourth Age suggests very, very strongly that Randlanders are not inexplicably speaking English or anything close to it but something in between the two fake Tongues. We have a clear transition from things like "Telamon" and "siswai'aman" to "Calamon" for example, that dragon doesn't really fit into except as a distant ancestor/descendant.

Anyway, that right there is the prologue! I would compare and contrast it to Amazon's adaptation, but I cannot because they have not adapted this sequence yet. It's something of a shame, because I think the prologue is very important for making it clear that we're not actually doing a Tolkien-esque story like the early chapters suggest, but after seeing Winter Dragon I can also sympathize with not wanting to lead with this. That said, I am deeply depressed we couldn't keep Billy Zane and hope against hope that Rafe will find a role for him to be crazy in.

The TV show does do a sequence set in the AoL, but it's closer to being an adaptation of part of The Strike at Shayol Ghul than anything else, so I will hold off until we get there after A Crown of Swords.

[morgana-ren]

... Come to think of it, that vampiric competitiveness that kept Astarion as a comparatively dull tool to other minions of other villains has not served Cazador well at all. Imagine what he could have if he instead dangled the offer of true vampirism in front of Astarion as the carrot to slavery's stick, and used that motivation to mold him into a tool by nourishing that manipulative nature with the skills needed to be a successful hunter, rather than using him as a punching bag and occasionally bait.

Sure, Astarion already brought enough beautiful people for his master to enjoy if the little "eat this rat or get flayed" choice was a frequent enough occurrence for him to consider it normal. Based on how you first meet, he's already a half decent sneak and liar when it doesn't come to hiding his dinner (though he clearly gets better at it, since we never discover the bear he snacked on) and when he puts his mind to it, he can be very flattering- at least as keen to butter you up as Gale when he wants something. With him in our party, he's clearly sharpening his guile and beguiling and he doesn't have a master vampire guiding his development. Imagine if he had a real teacher.

If Cazador was a little smarter about how he played with his toys, we might have a very different mess of a man on our hands, and a much more dangerous one... A resentful one of his master, I can't imagine that changing, but perhaps not as rebellious if they were to ever cross paths again because there would seem to be more paths to freedom from his shitty circumstance than "run and pray I'm never discovered because how could I ever hope to overpower the monster that's haunted me for centuries?"

Why, poor Tav might well have ended up one of those beautiful people offered up to his master.

Truthfully, the little I know of Cazador has him seeming up his own ass-- to a fault.

I don't think he ever considered utilizing Asto as a tool, mainly because I don't think he considered the fact that he might need tools. I understand the mind frame of arrogance that one might find themselves in given the ultimate power of a vampire lord, but this complacency has inevitably ended up breeding his end.

The cruelty, as far as we know, was the point of it all. Asto himself says that he got off on it, and thoroughly enjoyed the power he had over others to the degree that it became the driving point behind his very existence.

However...

After a recent playthrough, I have a few theories about Asto and his checkered history with the Gur, because as we know, it wasn't actually Cazador who sent the monster hunter after him. If you cast 'Speak with the Dead' on the hunter who has been sent to hunt him, you can discover that it wasn't quite Cazador who sent him. Who it was isn't said outright, but given some changes in dialogue, I'm inclined to believe that it's likely someone high and powerful to them.

After all, what kind of monster hunter would barter with a hag just to fulfill a contract for some random asshole? Especially a Gur that would be well versed in the Faustian nature of deals with such creatures? But if someone meaningful-- someone powerful-- asked you to do a thing, or had a message relayed to you to do so... well, that's a different story.

The fact that Cazador showed up to save his life could be entirely a coincidence-- or maybe it isn't. Cazador clearly is aware of his absence, and if there are others who seek to have him hunted, who else but Cazador would have the information they seek? It's been hundreds of years since 'Politician Astarion' disappeared. Who else would have known that he was still alive? Who else would know that he had disappeared from his 'post?'

I have a strange feeling that Cazador, while ultimately being a sadist who did indeed get off on it all, has a little more involvement with his demise than is initially made straight forward information.

And if there was ulterior motive there, he likely never would have considered honing Astarion's talents beyond torturing him. There's a reason that Asto was kept as he was, though the full extent of everyone's involvement is too shadowed to truly speculate with accuracy in this current EA state of the game.

I don't doubt that Cazador enjoyed it. Not even a little. But I don't think that's all there is to it.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

4/5. Re-releases (in audio) on 2/20/2024.

Vibes: RAINY DAYYYYS, indoor guy/outdoor guy, recovering from a breakup, redemption of the douchey ex

Heat Index: 3/10

This audiobook is actually a bind-up of two novellas. In Waiting for the Flood, we focus on Edwin, who's dealing with the dissolution of his decade-long relationship by being a shut-in (in the house he bought with his ex, Marius) and restoring old books. When the flood of the century begins to hit his neighborhood, he meets the gentle, charismatic, and undeniably hunky Environmental Agency employee Adam. The question is, can he open his heart to a new risk?

The second, Chasing the Light, brings Marius into focus--he's basically lost himself and is trapped in apathy both personally and artistically. Until, that is, Leo comes into his life... and they end up truly stuck together (forced proximity fans, this one's for you).

I love Alexis Hall, everyone who knows me knows this, and while these novellas aren't Glitterland level excellent (I mean... it's hard to follow that book) they're gently funny and emotional in a way that, as per Alexis, feels so real. And frankly, I love the concept of reading these novellas in sequence. Because like. When two people get together as young as Edwin and Marius did and stay together for TEN YEARS, the breakup is very rarely this truly one-sided thing.

To me, Edwin's side of the story, which I did love, makes it easy for people to classify Marius as this villain. As they would! While Edwin never makes Marius sound horrible, this is the ex that he's spent literal years moping over. Seeing Marius's perspective really humanizes him, and like--sometimes, the person who broke up with you deserves love, too.

Quick Takes:

--These are very easy, mellow reads, and I LOVE SO MUCH THAT THEY'RE LITERALLY CENTERED AROUND A FLOOD. Look: floods bad in real life. But rainy days? So good. And this is a perfect rainy day read (or listen). And I finished it on a very rainy day! I win! Alexis describes the weather in conjunction to the general mood of the story so well. I love his prose. I love love love it. You know this.

--Again, I find it really cool that Alexis added this novella about Marius that doesn't take away from the bad place he's in (a lot of the deterioration of his relationship with Edwin clearly had to do with his own deadness to the world and general issues) but also humanizes him. He's prickly. He's not an easy guy to like immediately, the way Edwin is, while very sad, and easy cuddly sad boi to feel for. But... I liked 'im. I liked his love story.

--Because these are novellas, those love stories are quick, reliant on you buying into immediate chemistry, and sort of set up the romances versus telling the whole story. However, I totally believed that we were basically being introduced to people finding their soulmates. It worked for me. Novellas can be tough, but these sold the relationships.

--As much as Edwin is Baby, I also appreciate that like... The story called out him moping a lot. It called out the fact that sometimes relationships just END. Sometimes, people, or one person, falls out of love. You can't do anything about it. Eventually, you must break up.

That doesn't make it any less painful, especially when a relationship is as long as Edwin's and Marius's. But acknowledging that reality made it a lot more impactful to me.

--I'm focusing a lot more on Marius and Edwin because the novellas are from their perspectives. But Adam and Leo were also very charming--I mean, especially Adam. He was a like, competently hot and sweet and ooooooh I was into it.

I really enjoyed these funny, sweet, snarky novellas. They aren't my favorite things Alexis has ever written, but they are very comfy and snuggly and rainy day perfect.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[terramythos]

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Reading Notes

Full Review Here!

-while I am going into these mostly blind (literally my max exposure to Sherlock Holmes is some of the show Elementary and the Guy Ritchie films) this specific story is a little spoiled for me. Oh well -there is licherally no publication year on my copy lmao What (1887, thanks Google) Part 1 (ooo a two parter- scandalous) Chapter 1 - Mr. Sherlock Holmes -ill be real I have like no context for the afghan war except Classic British Colonialism part six billion or whatever -"the great wilderness of London" lmfao -I feel like I vaguely knew Watson was an honest to God doctor but its still surprising considering what I know of other adaptations -shout out to Holmes inventing a fictional(?) version of luminol? Which apparently was discovered early 20th century, lol. -too bad forensic evidence is still so sketchy a century and a half later, Holmes -BOY I WISH THE POLICE WERE A THING OF THE PAST, BRO. -Holmes meets Watson for the first time and almost immediately stabs himself in the finger to prove a point. The serve Chapter 2 - The Science of Deduction -"haha no way is he addicted to narcotics" oh my sweet summer child -watson: I swear I'm only super fascinated by Mr Holmes because my health sucks and I'd be bored otherwise that's it I swear. -ooh I like the observation that Holmes is basically self taught and ignorant of a lot of things people take for granted. I don't think I've gotten that impression about the character before -i mean it's impossible now not to know Holmes is a detective, but since this was the first story, I have to wonder if some original readers really didn't know going in. If so this bit would be fun because based on the character study and Watson's list of Holmes' knowledge you can figure it out yourself. -watson: man this writer is full of shit, what a moron Holmes: me? :) God that's funny -the unintentional prophecy of Holmes wanting to "make my name famous". God lmfao Chapter 3 - The Lauriston Gardens Mystery -oh hey the actual crime mystery is here -rip random American dude I guess? -goddamn that setting description really digs into a bleak tone, huh -my main observation is the apartment was seemingly abandoned if the dust is any indication, so he was not a resident but brought there. Poisoned makes sense if he was not injured -ok, lol, the Rache thing NOT being Rachel is the thing I had spoiled, and they've already dropped that in the intro chapter to the crime. So I guess I don't know where this is going. Fun! Chapter 4 - What John Rance Had To Tell -watson is smart actually -though I think RACHE being a red herring as Holmes suggests is way too easy -tho Holmes guessing the murderers appearance leads me to believe it's someone he knows. (Also weird that Rance is also a five letter R-E word). -could even make the argument that it could be a fucked up version where the C and H are switched and mutilated, but I have no clue why if the murderer supposedly did it -then again I also don't know why the murderer was the injured one with no sign of a struggle. Maybe a third person? Or something unrelated/accidental? OR the dead dude wasn't actually poisoned, we only have the police's word on that -OH HE SAID THE TITLE OOOOOHHHH -also Holmes seems more invested in the fun of the mystery than the fact some dude was fucking murdered, presumably by a friend based on what he said earlier Chapter 5 - Our Advertisement Brings A Visitor -watson be like "well the guy was fuck ugly so it's probably good he got murdered" like bro??? -yeah no way is this the culprit. Like we're maybe a quarter into the book. If it IS him then there's way more to it -Some Rando In Disguise It Seems -tho I have to say putting an ad out for a (potentially?) valuable piece of lost jewelry like a wedding ring would attract grifters whether they had any relation to the murder or not. Seems like a weird oversight to the plan. Chapter 6 - Tobias Gregson Shows What He Can Do -seeing how 3 different papers frame the murder, specifically political motivations, is a little funny even if I'm missing some of the context of the time. -interesting frame for the chapter, someone else telling a story to the leads. I guess it adds some variety to the presentation (and lets us see red herrings that wouldn't trip up Holmes) -some of the terminology didn't age well, which is unsurprising -- "street Arab" rather than "street urchin". -HOW THE TURNTABLES. THE PLOT THICKENS. ETC Chapter 7 - Light in the Darkness -RACHE again. Hmmmmm. Only this time it WOULD be the victim's blood, not the murderer's. Is the handwriting the same? Plus the original height observation? And the first RACHE was almost hidden, but this one seems more in the open based on what Lestrade said. -again the use of framing where one of the less capable detectives talks about what they've done and discovered to add some variety -ok so this guy was murdered in a much different way than the other, which seems odd, unless someone else did this one. -and the pills point to Stangerson killing Drebber, but then who killed Stangerson? If he was poisoned he would have been stabbed independently of that. -and why two different kinds of pills. Is one an antidote to the other, maybe? It's possible the murderer planted it in Stangerson's room, but why, if the goal was to implicate him? So it probably is actually his. -holmes just knowing and there being some plot contrivance why he can't say does kinda fizzle the stakes a little (never mind this gets resolved in like 2 pages) -but assuming he IS right, I was correct about there being 2 people... which might explain the differences in the 2 murders? -the cab driver! He was mentioned early then everyone seemingly forgot he was present around the time Drebber died. -"it's the end of the mystery!" Uh yeah except the second person is almost certainly at large and there's an entire second part to the story, Holmes. Lol. Lmao Part 2 - The Country of the Saints Chapter 1-- On The Great Alkali Plain -colonialist worldview ahoy -doyle my guy you know quite literally nothing about ecology here like it's ok to admit it -*lists 3 predators* "these are the only guys that live here, in the great miserable American plains," that's not how any food chain works. Also you live in fucking London -I'll stop roasting him lmao -i guess it's like the Nevada salt flats or something?? A little more valid I guess -... huh. -this is quite the framing for part 2 of a murder mystery I'll be real. -the idea of this huge mass of white people traveling through the western desert and biblical references in the like makes me think of Mormons more than anything... -and Stangerson makes his appearance here which sure is fascinating if the dude fucking died (unless the whole antidote and fake death thing is the real shit). Or he has a twin or something. Or this is the past. -oh my god they are Mormons -why are there Mormons making pilgrimage in the salt flats in the first Sherlock Holmes murder mystery??? This shit is wild -"my kid now" ok, word, Ferrier -bringham young is in this SHERLOCK HOLMES story and is also a fucking dick. I'm going insane   Chapter 2 - The Flower of Utah -ferrier gay as fuck let's just be real here -so is this like where the backstory for the wedding ring comes from? If so this is pretty extensive. I do wonder how it all ties into the first story. Like we went full cowboy western here -twu wuv exposition etc Chapter 3 - John Ferrier Talks With The Prophet -"the Mormons suck by the way" ok Doyle go off? -i have to emphasize again that Brigham Young is a character in this fucking Sherlock Holmes story. Like. A villain. This is just crazy to me lmao -The Danites were a real thing apparently? Man. -my guy put in a FOOTNOTE and CITATION about Mormons being misogynistic. There are no footnotes anywhere in the story except to be like "no really they called women heifers here's the guy who said it" I am literally not making this shit up. Doyle based actually??? Chapter 4 - A Flight For Life -we are like half through the second part and I have to fucking state again this is a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery thats just straight up a western now with Brigham Young as the antagonist with the title character nowhere in sight -it hasnt been like outright stated and he could just be tan but theres so many references to Ferrier having brown skin it does make me wonder if he isn't white. The only thing that would be odd with that is he isn't racially discriminated against in a Mormon compound. Especially since his adopted daughter is deffo white & he is discriminated against for NOT taking wives. I can't see that really happening if he isn't white -"there are two ways out of the room... there is the door, and there is the window. Which do you care to use?" DAMN dude -Stangerson & Drebber really do be 2 complete cunts huh. Fuck those guys -doyle: I need to name the guy who rescues Ferrier and Lucy from the Mormons. In America. I got it! "Jefferson Hope" Chapter 5 - The Avenging Angels -we got 3 chapters left??? -"once safe in Carson we may rest for the remainder of our lives" is that on the nose foreshadowing -at least now the wilderness is being described in beautiful terms -Oh RIP Ferrier I guess. They bothered to dig a grave, lol? -honestly I'm a little surprised they didn't try to hunt Jefferson Hope down for good measure since they're supposed to be ultra vindictive. Unless they didn't know he was with them? I guess maybe they didn't? -... nope, they knew and put out a warrant. Again why not try to track him? Too hard? -and convenient random guy Hope happens to know who doesn't hate him who we havent ever seen before -lmao he just leaves her to die I guess? "Oh well some rando married her so it's all over"?? Surely true love would, I dunno, trump social conventions? I guess not LMAO -i guess that's one way to circle around to the first half of the story Chapter 6 - A Continuation of the Reminiscences of John Watson, M.D. -I'll be honest, it could be because this is the first story written about Holmes, but I'm pretty confident this WASNT a mystery one could figure out based on the evidence presented, which is something I was led to believe was a staple of these stories. But I guess it's possible the style just wasn't nailed down yet -maybe you could figure out how the crime was committed but not the motive -that line about vengeance might be the quote to use -I like this part of the narrative where we really see into Hope's actions. I think so much of the story in America was unnecessary; I just didn't feel strongly about the characters like I do actually seeing his perspective here. Why bother with the whole stranded in the desert thing and going into so much detail about how Lucy and Ferrier came to live in Salt Lake City? I dunno, I think it might have been better to be shorter and from Hope's perspective if you must include that section of the story at all - and again, it's not like you could have figured out all that shit based on the first half of the story. I appreciate the kinda experimental time jump but I don't think it worked great -ok the Russian roulette pill thing is a bit weird but sure king, go for it -i know it's metaphorical probably but I like the kinda Gothic touch of Lucy and Ferrier following him to the murder   -"let us see if there is justice upon the earth, or if we are ruled by chance" ok that's pretty raw, go off king -i mean if I have to choose a revenge story from around this period I'd definitely go for Monte Cristo but this is fun too -why try to cover up the crime with the whole Rache thing if you know you're gonna die tho lol -i guess to buy time to kill Stangerson too? Chapter 7 - The Conclusion -I do like the detail that the murderer's blood was on the scene but not the victim. That WAS revealed early but I never suspected a bloody nose to be the source. If it had been a wound there probably would have been evidence of it; a limp or something. That is pretty clever. -but on the other hand, Holmes WAS privy to information we never get (Hope's name and connection to Drebber), so I wouldn't call this a fair mystery. -lestrade and Gregson getting all the credit as predicted lmao -my man closes with Latin? I gotta look it up -"The public hiss at me, but I cheer myself when in my own house I contemplate the coins in my strong-box." -basically, I'm awesome even if no one knows it Well! That was interesting. I liked the mystery itself, and the revenge narrative portion of the conclusion. It's a strong start to a famous character. I think we get a little lost in the weeds with the time jump in the second half of the story, way too much detail and I don't think it focused on the right characters for most of it. Also I have to be a stickler on the fair mystery thing; there are some things you can deduce, but Holmes literally had info we never receive so it's ultimately not fair. I hope this does genuinely change in future stories. I certainly didn't mean to start with the first one, that was an honest accident lmao

[thefaybul]

The Origins of Acting and What is Acting?

Liar,  Archilochos, 7th-century BCE Swept overboard, unconscious in the breakers, strangled with seaweed, may you wake up in a gelid surf, your teeth, already cracked into the shingle, now set rattling by the wind, while face-down, helpless as a poisoned cur, on all fours you puke brine reeking of dead fish. May those you meet, barbarians as ugly as their souls are hateful, treat you to the moldy wooden bread of slaves. And may you, with your split teeth sunk in that, smile, then, the way you did when speaking as my friend.

This is a Greek poem from the 7th century and is likely similar to the poem that the first  actor may have recited in wooden carts pretending to be the parts from a poem, Thespis. Incidentally this is where the term Thespian comes from which is a term for an actor. We are going to explore acting. Acting then went through many phases and especially in Greece it grew in popularity before being a form of entertainment throughout the entire world. I am not an actor so I felt it best to use the words of actors to explain and elaborate on the points of what acting is in this video.

In fact Stella Adler, an American actor and acting teacher, once said “The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.” This leads to what the Greeks used in plays and what acting is actually about which is masks. Ancient Greeks used masks in plays to show the emotion that was meant to be portrayed, thus allowing the audience to know better what is happening. 

Nowadays, we look for more emotion and reality in the scenes. As Sanford Meisner once stated about acting “Find in yourself those human things which are universal.” Then as Gary Ballinger said “The more personal, the more universal.” Which brings us to more quotes about acting and why it is so universal and human. Oscar Wilde (hopefully you know that one) said “I love acting. It is so much more real than life.” Which to me, all these quotes say and even from the beginning of acting, the more real and honest the actor's portrayal is the more universal and real it seems therefore it is a better performance. Which brings me to another quote from George Burns “Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made.” Which means that acting is just that, faking sincerity to illustrate a point or emphasize the emotion of the scene. Acting is pretend to enthrall, entertain, and even to reflect ourselves. Gene Hackman will get the final quote of “Honesty isn't enough for me. That becomes very boring. If you can convince people what you're doing is real and it's also bigger than life -- that's exciting.”

Extra points if in the comments you can tell me what the two masks in Greek plays represented. Next month we will be diving into Songwriting. See you all again soon. Always remember to Be Your Own Fable.

Liar, Archilochos, 7th-century BCE https://bombmagazine.org/articles/1999/10/01/fragments-and-poems-from-the-ancient-greek/

Origin of Theatre - The First Actor https://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/background/24a.html#:~:text=According%20to%20tradition%2C%20in%20534,we%20get%20the%20world%20thespian

50 Great Acting Quotes to Inspire You - https://www.ace-your-audition.com/acting-quotes.html

[tinykingbird]

Hinge Review October 2022

Following last year’s investment in the background-check nonprofit Garbo, Match Group today is rolling out Garbo-powered background checks to its flagship dating app Tinder. MatchFinder .com - Find YOUR Match, today! נערות ליווי בקריות Matchfinder's Dating Sites are for people that are serious about Dating other genuine singles, we provide a fast site with an easy to use un-complicated interface, Try Matchfinder today for Free, meet the person of your dreams . Progressively older patterns are obtained from trees in recent buildings, older buildings, archaeological sites and ancient bog oaks. It is possible, particularly in dry, desert climates, for organic materials such as dead trees to remain in their natural state for hundreds of years before people use them as firewood or building materials, after which they become part of the archaeological record. As mentioned earlier, the fact that the Middle Kingdom dates were regularly found to be too young by several centuries caused the surmise by Damon and Long that the influx of cosmic rays changed four thousand years ago or thereabouts. This would result in giving older dates than the true age. Our free online dating app lets you meet locals and go on dates with them in real life.

This application combines all the best dating app features and makes it easy for you to chat and meet new people. You can also purchase additional credits to continue using advanced communication features. Our job is to maintain a safe, clean environment Kiwis can access from the comfort and safety of their own home - so you can just have fun meeting new people! The place for singles, romance, dates, and meeting that special someone, since 1996 . Before meeting ex Jacob Busch, the Hustle actress revealed to PEOPLE that she had tried out Raya, an exclusive dating app for high-profile singles. Register for your FREE account on MatchFinder .com - Find your Match on the always free Singles site since 1997 - MatchFinder .com . Whatever you’re looking for, we’ll help you to find your perfect match! Meet, match and chat with more people immediately. Passion, adventure and new people are waiting for you. Big status icons are self created.

They are looking for friendship, learn different cultures, real love or relationship with foreigners. Looking for passion, romance, a serious relationship, or even that special someone to start a family with? However, the male leads have frustrated viewers beyond belief, such as when Jason Mesnick dumped his final choice and went to be with his runner-up, or even when Ben Higgins committed a Bachelor Nation faux pas and told his final two picks that he was in love with both of them. A coin, vessel, or other common artifact could link two archaeological sites, but the possibility of recycling would have to be considered. Variations on this are "I'm laid back" and "I'm down to earth." In his list of 10 things he hates about Plenty of Fish profiles, Greg Hendricks writes that these are so common that he ignores profiles that include them. Millions of users, both guys and girls, are searching and finding each other every day.

You can choose what you’re looking for: just chatting, dating, or finding a serious relationship, making friends or starting a family. Matching, chatting, setting up dates - as easy as they can be. As the term "invite-only" suggests, you can only join the community if someone in your social circle sends you an invite link. Learn More Join for Free . Join the free national Dating site - MatchFinder .com! According to the dating site review website, Dating Scout, SingleParentMeet garners more than 50,000 active weekly visitors. Creating a profile is free. It’s easy, fast and free! It’s a crucial moment in the relationship, so be sensitive, have empathy and do not judge. Video-dating apps like Tickr, 15 Winks and Charm have yet to prove there was something in Chen and his co-founders’ original idea with photos currently the focus for apps such as Grindr and Tinder. On the heels of strong first-quarter earnings, dating app giant Match announced its plan to introduce a new live event experience to its flagship app, Tinder.

[koraki-grimoire]

Witchcraft in Hellenismos

Disclaimer: This post is non-exhaustive, and though I'll try to equally spread my focus, it will inevitably lean towards the kinds of magik I personally practice.

Often, in modern pagan circles, people are under the impression that Ancient Hellenismos either didn't have or despised witchcraft. This is largely from three causes. The first is simply misreading, or failing to come across witchcraft in the Hellenism they research. Second is only reading about or adhering to branches that didn't like witchcraft (usually due to it being perceived as hubristic) and therefore assuming that's the most popular opinion. Finally, sometimes people apply their assumptions based on Christian and Germanic culture to Hellenismos, and assume it carries the same attitudes.

In actuality, the view of witchcraft was historically more neutral. Witches weren't typically seen as hags, but maidens, respectable men, priests, and more. It should also be noted that, frankly, "witch" is a slightly tonally incorrect translation usually applied to the word "pharmakis."

For historical attitudes towards witches, we can read works surrounding mainly Medea and Kirke, as well as Hekate if we go past pharmakeia.

But pharmakeia and nekromankia (necromancy) are far from the only forms of witchcraft or magik--which in Ancient Greek would be "mageia" or "goeteia" depending on time and place, but will simply be called "magik" here.

So, with that very long introduction, let's get into types of magik.

Pharmakeia - Herbal Sorcery, Witchcraft

Pharmakeia is perhaps the most recognizable form of magik in historical Hellenismos. As mentioned, it was associated with the heroine Medea, as well as the goddess/nymph/hero (it's complicated) Kirke. This was magik performed using the aid of herbs, and both historically and now blends magik and science. It includes brewing poisons, casting curses, potionmaking, transmutation, and more. Kirke, famously, used pharmakeia to transform men into swine, whereas Medea tended towards poisoning, but both had variety in their craft.

Generally, when pharmakeia is translated, it's done very broadly compared to other kinds of magik. For example, pharmakeia is usually translated, especially in the Odyssey, to "witchcraft" or "sorcery." Pharmakis--the word for a practitioner of pharmakeia--is usually translated to "witch." This often leads to misconceptions of witchcraft in Hellenismos being specifically oriented around herbs and transmutation, when that's only a small piece of the picture.

Nekromankia/Nekromanteia - Necromancy

Nekromankia is far more famous now in its Anglicized pop-culture form, but it was most certainly present in Hellenismos. It's important to clarify that in Ancient Hellas, nekromankia was magik pertaining to the dead, not things such as zombies and raising the dead. In Hellenismos, the maintenance of good relationships between the dead and the living is of great importance. There were plenty of festivals devoted to placating and celebrating the dead--not to mention the monthly Attic holiday Hekate's Deipnon, devoted to honoring Hekate, goddess of nekromankia. So, unsurprisingly, there were witches who gravitated towards this as a craft.

Multiple Hellenic deities were associated with nekromankia, the most notable of which being Hekate, but also Persephone. Though, of course, any khthonic deity--especially khthonic theoi who also had non-khthonic aspects--were relevant, such as Haides or Hermes. A practitioner of nekromankia would be referred to as a nekromanteías.

Manteia - Divination, Oracles

It should be noted that manteia is heavily contested as being a form of witchcraft or even magik in Hellenismos, but it certainly meets the qualifications. The main reason this debate exists is controversy around magik in Hellenismos in general, since as most Hellenists know manteia is so central to so much of our religion, and those who dislike magik are insulted by it being considered that. Additionally, the definition of magik is constantly in flux--it's debated in modern magik circles, and it's even harder to apply a definition we can hardly agree on to an ancient culture with its own independent definitions.

Manteia is, most simply, the power to give prophecies, divination, and the use of oracles. It's the power of the Pythia (Delphic Oracle), it's in the Olympian Alphabet Oracle, it's every single seer and prophecy and divinatory method known to us.

Someone who practices manteia is called a mantis (usually translated as "soothsayer" or "diviner") or a khresmologos ("oracle"), depending on station.

Heliomanteia - Solar Magik

Heliomanteia is hard to find detailed historical information on, but most simply, it's magikal invocation of the sun. This is generally done by attempting to harness the power of the sun, or by requesting the aid of solar deities (namely, Helios).

Interestingly, Helios had many associations with witchcraft and warding off evil. It could be assumed that, due to the qualities attributed to Helios, heliomanteia would be best used to reveal truth, ward off evil, harness the power of fire, promote life, and similar.

Presumably, a practitioner of heliomanteia is a heliomantis.

Goeteia - Magik, Charms

Goeteia (in modern times "goetia") is a term for magik that fell out of style for general magik around the 5th century BC in favor of mageia. It, additionally, was shoehorned into a dichotomy of theurgy (divine, "professional," and virtuous magik) and goeteia (low, malicious, and fraudulent magik). This was largely due to political and social overhaul. The name became associated with fraudulent and harmful magik, and talk of goeteia in Ancient Hellas is a major source most anti-witch Hellenists use.

The goes (practitioner of goetia) was maligned, seen as hubristic and either trying to go against the power of the gods or intending to scam others. Plato famously portrayed them as malicious frauds, and he was not alone. Since the term "goes" is generally translated as "witch," it's not a leap to figure out why this lead to a lot of anti-witch Hellenists.

However, before this (and technically after), "goeteia" simply meant magic, charms, and similar. As a unique practice, and not simply an umbrella term for witchcraft, it can be considered channeling, a relative of nekromankia, or baneful magik, depending how much one leans into the later definition.

Theourgía - Deity Work, Divine Magik

Theourgia (in modern times "theurgy") quite literally translates to "deity work" or "god(s) working." It is ritual, sometimes magik, done with the intent of invoking one or more of the theoi. This was the ritual magik often performed by priests. In fact, it could be considered the mainstream magik of Ancient Hellas--assuming, of course, that one considers it magik.

It's not only historic magik that was central to the religion, but sets historical precedent for the controversial phrase "deity work." The existence of theurgy as the "higher form" of magik in Ancient Hellas is singlehandedly enough evidence to prove the phrase is not and would not be considered inherently hubristic. It should be noted that this form isn't inherently superior, but if you asked Plato, he would disagree.

There are certainly more forms of mageia in Ancient Hellas--For example, I skipped over amulets (periapta), which were almost incontestably the most common magik in a lot of Ancient Hellas, since they could technically fit under some other crafts and because they're the easiest to research on your own. It's a similar case with potions, too.

One important takeaway is the hard line between magik, religion, and science is a fairly recent invention. Pharmakeia could act as medicine, not just sorcery. Many potions were also medication. Frankly, the more women were involved, the more practical it tended to be, with 'spells' often being genuine aids to childbirth and/or birth control. This didn't make them any less magikal, and the magik doesn't make it less real.

And I hope I made it very, very clear, but witchcraft has always been in Hellenismos, and isn't inherently hubristic. That is a myth, and is rooted often in historical (and modern) classism, misogyny, xenophobia, or similar. Always consider your source's incentive to stigmatize before discounting all Hellenic witches.

[therealvinelle]

Bella is doomed

Kind of a continuation of my previous post.

By the end of Breaking Dawn, Bella is wonderfully happy with her life. Edward, Renesmée, Cullens, material wealth, vampirism, she has it all. Unfortunately I don’t think she has any idea what she signed up for, and it’s not just because this girl thinks being a vampire means being a sparkly princess.

So, when it comes to being a Cullen, Bella signed up for this really specific type of lifestyle that can’t last forever. Even if living among humans while keeping the secret in the 21st century was sustainable (and it isn’t - facial recognition, social media, and our tech overlords mean that the Cullens are playing with fire), human society will still change. The day will inevitably come where Bella looks around herself and doesn’t recognize the world she’s living in. And I think that will be a very real problem for her.

Bella is by no means poor, but she is a lower middle class girl who has been working on the side since she was fifteen so she can get into college. When she meets the Cullens, she very much notices their material wealth. She notices their cars, their clothes, their house. She’s mortified by Edward’s ostentatious gifts, but she clearly covets that wealth. And she very badly does not want to be that kind of person. She is every bit the romantic who wants true love and the whole shebang, so for her to ever admit that Edward’s wealth is a perk she enjoys, something about him that she’s attracted to, would be up there with aborting Renesmée on the list of things Bella is never, ever, doing. I digress.

Bella’s happiness in Breaking Dawn is built on three things, there’s 1. Edward, 2. Renesmée, and 3. the Cullen family package. And the Cullen family package is the people in the family, the family dynamic, and their lifestyle.

So, the lifestyle is doomed. This is just a fact of life. Environmental change alone means things will change.

Then there’s the fact that the Cullens are a very dysfunctional, and quite young, coven. Edward and Rosalie don’t get on at all, he consistently believes the absolute worst of her, that she’s out to get him (in this outtake he thinks she’s lying about Bella being dead because it’s Rosalie, she’s the worst), and the nicest thing he’ll say about her is that she’s too headstrong and proud to eat people. Just… this guy despises her on every level. Alice and Rosalie are not close either, they seem to be civil enough around each other when times are good, but Alice jumps on Bella with far too much zeal. Rosalie herself reflects (x) that Alice seems to prefer Bella over her. Then we have Jasper and Edward, who also don’t seem close at all, in Midnight Sun Edward has so little faith in Jasper’s ability to learn control that he wonders why the guy even burdens everyone else by trying. In every way he seems to hold Jasper in very low regard, and they don’t seem to be at all close.

You also have Rosalie and Emmett eloping every now and then, you have Edward leaving for years at a time, you have New Moon where the whole family scatters.

I don’t think the Cullens staying together forever is a given at all, in fact I believe a split is inevitable.

Just - Bella signed up for this wholesome, stable family, but she doesn’t know who these people are at all. In Eclipse she’s shocked to learn Jasper and Rosalie have personalities. She also very much see them as a nuclear family of father, mother, and children, but do Carlisle and Jasper have a father/son dynamic? Esme and Alice a mother/daughter dynamic? They love each other like family or believe they all do anyway but the nuclear family is just the cover story they need to blend in.

The point I’m trying to get at here, is that Bella signed up for a lifestyle that won’t last, with a family filled with people far more complicated than she realizes and that most likely will break apart down the line as the cracks become chasms.

I also think that Edward is not such a certainty in her life as Bella thinks, I think he fell for the human and that their marriage only survives in Breaking Dawn because Bella’s amazing control lets her remain human in so many ways, and even that survival is untenable. But that’s for another post.

Bella wanted vampirism because she wanted this happy ending she didn’t fully understand, and as that happy ending starts falling apart she’ll come to resent vampirism.

Basically, by the end of Breaking Dawn I’m just left feeling bad for Bella. She has no idea what vampires are or what she signed up for, she signed up for a very specific type of lifestyle that won't last forever. America won't last forever, society will turn like a kaleidoscope, and a time will come when the world she's living in is one that isn't hers any more than the 21st century is Carlisle's. And this is all even assuming the Cullens last forever, when this is a very young coven who have serious, deep-running internal strifes and dysfunctions.

[doctorofmagic]

My thoughts on What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The very title of the episode sends a shiver down my spine. And this is where we’re going to start.

~ long post under the cut ~

A year ago, I wrote this post as an attemp to dive into one of the most important traits in Doctor Strange’s personality: love. Stephen is a being made of love, made to love, no matter which interpretation you have when you watch Infinity War. If you don’t read comic books, you’ll understand the moment you meet Donna. You’ll begin to understand how her death reshaped his entire subjectivity out of fear of failing, being powerless and unable to control everything around him (especially death), thus the arrogant and yet a disaster of a man we all know.

Where do I even start? Stephen loved her sister deeply and felt responsible for her death. And then, slowly, he also lost his parents and his brother. He fell in love with Clea but he also pushed her away. He loved Zelma platonically and lied to her, which was enough for them to break their bond. He felt attracted to Kanna but screwed things up, even though they remain friends. He was forced to kill the Ancient One, the only father figure he had ever since his father died. And lastly, the only person who would never leave his side... also left. Yes, even Wong. Stephen has SO much love to give but he’s also afraid because he’s cursed. He truly believes his love in poison. And would you look at that? What If really delivered a story where this is actually true.

What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The level of understanding when it comes to the character is... inconceivable. What could possibly reshape Stephen into following a dark path but love? The very premise of the whole episode. This is so much more than a love letter. This is literally too much, in all senses.

Fine, let’s begin.

What if the best of intentions has very strange consequences?

No. You used the word “strange” for the pun but this is not the word. Nah-ah. I’d go with ATROCIOUS, for starters. Things are gonna escalate so quickly, my friends.

Seriously, tho? Christine is SO SO SO SO beautiful, they’re so cute together. I have this feeling that MCU!Stephen was quite toxic because of his arrogance and this is why they didn’t work out. But WhatIf!Stephen???????? He’s always praising her, teasing her in a healthy way, respecting her and listening to her. HE TRULY LOVES HER, I’M GONNA CRY ALL OVER AGAIN, PLEASE, NOT THE CRÈME BRÛLÉE, PLEASE

I’m going to leave this shot here because we need to go back to it later. Hold that thought.

And bonus points to “Yeah, well, I would call that quite remarkable.” / “Well, I would say the same about you.”

GODS. THE PAIN. STOP THE PAIN.

So in this reality, Stephen didn’t caused the car accident because he was checking his phone while driving. Also it was not the reckless attempt to pass the truck. Well, maybe it was the consequence of this act? The fact is, the car behind them loses control, which makes them crash. Does it matter? We’ll learn later that no, it doesn’t.

And yep... Christine dies. Have you noticed the shattered heart? Ah, the pain only gets better and better.

Again, Stephen blames himself. More than anything, this is so important because Stephen is all about guilt. We still need to meet Donna so we can add yet another layer of guilt. But the feeling exists. This is what corrupts Stephen’s heart and soul in all his iterations. This is what makes him the character I love so much. I love this SO. MUCH. In addition, his stubbornness to accept his condition. Man won’t take a no. This, this is Doctor Strange in character. Stop complaining about NWH Stephen, it’s pathetic.

Okay, “grief-stricken”, Stephen found the Mystic Arts and became a sorcerer. That’s when he learned about the Time Stone, the Eye of Agamotto and Dormammu. Nothing changes, he saves the universe. But time does not heal his deepest wound.

I love Wong so much. Every time Wong does something, the world is healed. Really. We’re going back to him as well but for now I’ll just leave this shot.

BUT STEPHEN, DOING SOMETHING RECKLESS? HE’D NEVAH

Aaaaaaaannnnnnd then he did.

He goes back in time. It’s been two years since he lost Christine. I think he reacted pretty nicely, despite the circumstances. Now let’s go back to that shot I said I was saving for later.

Stephen is so light-hearted here. Also, during the first time he lost Christine, he had no idea what “The Price is Right” was. He knows now, which means he probably tried to learn more about the show because of her, because of grief. HAHAHA MORE PAIN

AND THEN HE

AND THEN SHE DIES AGAIN

AND THEN HE KEEPS GOING BACK IN TIME

AND SHE KEEPS DYING

AND THE MUSIC

AND HIS VOICE

AND HE TRIES TO CHANGE FATE BUT IT CAN’T BE AVERTED

HE EVEN TRIES TO STAY AWAY FROM HER LIFE BUT SHE DIES ALL THE SAME, WHY

AND EVERY TIME THEY CRASH, HE FEELS THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHY

I’M-- *ugly sobbing noises*

Apparently, not.

And this scene when he simply... closes his eyes before she dies again...?

This is where this episode had me in endless tears. It got me the four times I watched it. I’m dead serious.

Okay, so, next the Ancient One appears to Stephen, explaining that Christine’s death is an Absolute Point in time. It cannot be changed. Stephen needs the accident to become the Sorcerer Supreme and defeat Dormammu.

And this is where Stephen starts his journey into darkness. “Nothing is impossible, you taught me that. I only require more power.” Disobeying the Ancient One, Stephen then travels in time, seeking the Library of Cagliostro. Now, if you’re not aware of that, Cagliostro was a sorcerer who studied time in comics, and later became Sise-Neg (there’s a recent post on this because of the new Defenders run). It’s funny to think that Sise-Neg also destroyed the world when he became a god, however he grew past his pettiness and remade reality. Stephen did not possess such power, as we’re about to see.

PS: “Stop torturing yourself, Stephen.” Naur but he should use this line like a mantra. Especially comics!Stephen.

Not gonna lie, tho. This place reminds me of the Temple of the Vishanti from T&T (of course I was going to insert T&T somewhere, it’s me).

And of course they’d go for a pun with his name haha. I don’t know how to feel about this, tho. I feel like the episode is too heavy and dark for comedy. But it is what it is.

Okay but why some books are in cages??????????? And wow, it seems Cagliostro also gathered knowledge about several fields of magic.

And then Stephen learns that, in order to break an Absolute Point, he needs to absorb more power. This is when I went “oh-oh, here we go”.

And for real, is this Shuma-Gorath? Why are they keeping his name a secret? Is this the same creature from the first episode with Captain Carter, right? RIGHT? It has to be Shuma-Gorath.

Of course he tries to be polite and ends up all hurt haha. O’Bengh warns him about love but he will not listen. “Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.”/ “Is she worth the pain?”. Please, this is Stephen. He eats pain for breakfast.

Also, also, let’s take a break. We’re finally going to get monsterf0cker tentacle-lover Stephen Strange. It will cost us everything but here we goooooooooooo (yes, I went frame by frame for your more obscure fanservice needs)

Gods, I love this sequence so much it hurts. Okay, here we go.

Shmebulock???????????

AND HE STOLE THE CAPE??????????? AND DREW THE LINE ON BUGS??????

The grasp this man is holding on me right now...

Some of you will understand. I’m with you.

And here are the grostesque ones. These are hard to take SS but I had to.

Animation, sound effects, OST? CHEF’S KISS TO ALL

And lastly... the tentacles. Yeah, if you’re new... this is a thing.

Fanservice. Fanservice everywhere. (low-key the reason I also waited to write this review, I wanted to enjoy this part so badly but I was too sad for that lmao)

Okay so. O’Bengh is suddenly OLD and DYING, until we realize that Stephen spent CENTURIES absorbing mystic beings. CENTURIES. WTF STEPHEN. He had nothing in mind but the goal to save Christine. And people wonder why he went insane???? I’m sorry, O’Bengh, but I can’t take you serious when you still call Stephen Sorcerer Armani. Oh, and also because you watched him absorb beings for centuries in silence lmao. But I guess I have to because you said that Stephen is split in two since the Ancient One cast a spell on him, splitting the timelines and making them exist in the same reality before he could travel back in time. I know, it’s complex. Anything for the plot.

And now good!Stephen has an evil!twin who wants to absorb him back in order to become whole and break the Absolute Point. Cool.

I said I wanted to talk more about Wong because I think people are not talking about him enough. Wong is so important in this episode. He’s the one who’s trying to heal Stephen after Christine. He’s Stephen’s anchor.

Also, THEY FINALLY USED A SPELL WITH THE NAME OF THE VISHANTI. HOORAAAAY

So, for the sake of our understanding, I’m addressing the characters as evil and good!Stephen. Let’s go. Evil!Stephen summons good!Stephen and gods, he still holds such a strong grasp on me... unbelievable. THE DEEPER VOICE BENEDICT USES???? PLEASE, DIDN’T WE HAVE ENOUGH?

Imagine his strength to hold so many beings inside him, fighting to control him. BRO, THIS IS TOO TOO MUCH

Fine, I’ll not post SS about the fight because I’d be here all night long but I WILL say this: NOT CLOAKIE!!!!! NAAAAAAAAAAUR

Also if you ask me if I recognize any of the spells? Maaaaybe the Flames of Faltine, the not-so-crimson Bands of Cyttorak and a little trick Magik does with her portals. That’s how far I go.

I’ll not comment on the “seducing yourself to stay in the trap”. I will not. I’ll just say that the first person Stephen thought of when “Christine” was talking about the crème brûlée was Wong. That’s it.

And finally evil!Stephen absorbs good!Stephen and releases... UNLIMITED POWER (I love when the stone goes red as if it was bleeding aaaaaaa)

I can fix him...

This scene here? Poetic cinema. (I love his wings so much)

And when Stephen says her name and the other monsters’ voices echo “Christine”, AAAAAACKKKK

AND OF COURSE CHRISTINE WOULD FREAK OUT, BRO. LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE BECOME BECAUSE OF YOUR TWISTED LOVE. I’M NOT DOING FINE.

Oh, but it’s too late anyways because Stephen broke reality haha. This scene is interesting because Stephen is the only one who sensed and/or talked to the Watcher until now. I read an interview that the Watcher kinda showed up but it’s also about Stephen’s keen senses. Bit of both, let’s say. Still, man, 616-Watcher is not that cold. 616-Watcher would watch this and say “how about I intervene anyway?”. WhatIf!Watcher is brutal.

The way Christine looks at Stephen one last time also KILLS ME, DESTROYS ME, BREAK ME INTO A MILLION PIECES.

And this is where my soul left my body.

This is how they end the episode. This is how you leave me speechless and with teary eyes. This is how you give me a whole existential crisis.

This... this was brutal to watch. Really.

What can I say after this? I’m used to reading painful things when it comes to Stephen. Aaron’s and Cates’ runs are heartbreaking on so many levels. Hickman’s New Avengers is not easier. Coincidentally, What If? Magik Became Sorcerer Supreme and The End. And now Death of Doctor Strange. And yet, after everything I’ve been through, I’d never expect to watch something so brilliant, so tragic, so heartbreaking and unexpected in the MCU. Never. This is top tier content and this is my favorite character with SO MANY LAYERS and SO MUCH UNDERSTANDING. I can’t put into words how meaningful this whole episode is to me, or how deep it touched my heart and soul.

I’ve been struggling to find the proper words since then, I still can’t. All I can add is, I cried for the 4th time now. This is too, too much, even for Stephen stans. Even for the ones who are used to pain, regardless of which media you’re into: comic books, live actions or animated movies. This is literally more than I can take and yet I’m so, so grateful. The voice acting, gods, how did Benedict manage to create a better Stephen than the one he’s literally playing in real life???????????? HOW

This episode really took the max potential Stephen had to offer as a character, added tons and tons of layers based on his grief, depression, arrogance and need to control everything and created a tragic masterpiece. In 7 years of being a Doctor Strange fan, I've never read or watch something that could go this deep into the character. The closest I can think of is Mr. Misery and the metaphor of Stephen's depression. This is a whole new level of respect and understanding. This is more than a love letter. This is peak maestry. It’s perfect, it’s heartbreaking, it’s... gods, I can’t.

Sorry for dragging you until this far. Before I wrap up this review, I just wanted to remind you all that Stephen will appear again, he will smile again, he will be surrounded by people again. So this is not the end. It was painful but be brave. We still have a few more steps to take.