#shifting scales vs

[alexanderlightweight]

shifting scales

violence and cannibalism , shifter!au pre-canonish

-

Magnus stares at the large grizzly bear roaring in the middle of his club and seethes. It’s only out of courtesy for seelie and unseelie that Magnus allows those with angel blood to shift in his club.

It’s because of this that he has bouncers and wards that alert him the movement of nephil blood. Hardtail — while not belonging to Magnus — should have similar protections and Magnus is furious that it doesn’t.

Magic is hard to wield, to use against another’s shifted form, but Magnus is more than adept at it after years of battle. His talents are unneeded however when something drops from the railings and pipes of the ceiling.

It’s an anaconda, a muddied swamp color with brighter hints of vicious green and gold tangled through it’s scales. Magnus takes two steps back in admiration… and respect.

The anaconda targeted it’s prey with precision while striking from above and Magnus watches as dripping fangs tear through thick fur and muscle on the neck and, while it strikes, the bands of it’s body tighten.

The shifter-bear dies howling, caught in a half-shift as he’s pulverized internally and around them, people are fleeing and screaming. There are no mundanes in Hardtail and every single person there can see what is going on.

“Magnificently done.” Magnus allows and he steps forward to admire the way the anaconda unwraps itself from the corpse

There’s a moment of contemplation as cold, intelligent eyes watch Magnus in return. Then, in an act that Magnus has heard rumors of, but never witnessed, the nephilim shifter eats the one it’s slain.

“Hermano—” a young woman murmurs and she’s looking at the snake as it magically expands and swallows the bear down with a grimace. “Did it have to be a bear?”

“It’s not like I’m going to forget what my own sister looks like, Izzy.” A deep, dry voice says and Magnus blinks because where the snake was, is now a gorgeous man. He stretching, smirk on his mouth and two small fangs still peeking out. He rests his hand on his belly for a minute and Magnus reminds himself to tell Ragnor about this, because there is no sign that he’s just swallowed another person whole in this form.

“I’ve eaten plenty of bears and never made a mistake with you.”

“Yes I know, it’s why we don’t have any siblings.” Then she winces and she turns to Magnus, as if he’s the one she’s worried about. “Alec didn’t eat any of them! It’s just he ate Robert, so we couldn’t have anymore siblings once our sire was gone.”

There’s a moment where she pauses, clearly aware that she’s only making this worse for her brother, though Magnus is reluctantly charmed. Especially by the irritated scoff it earns her.

“Robert wouldn’t have been allowed that privilege anyway. If she didn’t kill him, mom would have at least castrated him.” The shadowhunter mutters, “and I didn’t eat him. Mom did, I just poisoned him first and you know why I did that.”

The girl scoffs and flips her hair, “I never said he didn’t deserve I. Just that you’re why we don’t have any more siblings.”

“Again, it wouldn’t have happened even if he’d lived and mom could have married again.”

He pauses, face in a grimace and he shifts, massive form writhing before he spits out several unlit, adamas blades. A moment later he’s back on his feet and picking up the weapons with a grimace.

“You think a single nephilim is going to marry her again? Everyone knows what happened to her last mate.”

“All they have to do is not cheat.” Is grumbled and there is a sigh before the shadowhunter tucks the weapons away into his jacket. Considering he just spit them up, Magnus is curious as to where he’s putting them now.

Magnus is entirely too charmed by this conversation.

Especially given it’s highly inappropriate setting and the fact that he’s just witnessed something the clave and no shadowhunter has never admitted to being real. Another way for the nephilim and clave to pretend they’re better than downworlders, that they don’t participate in ritual acts of cannibalism.

“It’s not like it’s hard. If they want more partners like you do, then they just talk about it. He’s lucky my venom worked faster than my muscles back then.” And then he flashes his fangs at her teasingly.

She growls back and moves a little further away, but she’s not scared, Magnus realizes. She’s just wary and he understands instantly that it’s her instincts. She just watched her brother eat something that she shares instincts with and with the scent of bear-fear in the air and all of him, she’s hesitant to go near.

Magnus has no such instincts warning him away and he strides closer, intrigued beyond anything he’s felt recently.

“I suppose you’re the ones who want a meeting with me.” Magnus says, eyes intrigued as he watches the shadowhunter curiously. His eyes are unglamoured and they meet eyes that flicker two eyelids in quick delight when their gaze meets.

“An unruned, unbloodied nephilim recently appeared in New York. The mundane neighborhood she lived in was burnt down, the fire started from her house and looks to be purposefully and magically set.”

“The fire went beyond the house?”

“The wards around the house weren’t being maintained properly, as if they were focused more on hiding than actually protecting.

Magnus curses under his breathe because his instructions to Dot were clear and this is unacceptable.

“We know that things are tense right now, that there is danger. We’d like to have a more formal meeting, in a place of your choice.” Alec — as his sister called him — still hasn’t introduced himself but neither has magnus. “The girl has connections to the Circle and possibly Valentine himself. Now that she’s under my authority, she has my protection but I will not protect traitors. I need to know if she’s lying, her mind’s been tampered with, or if anything else might be going on.”

“I certainly don’t mind taking time out of my busy schedule for something as interesting as that.” Magnus drawls, like this isn’t the chance to get an in with the Institute while hiding the depth of his own involvement and hopefully, that Ragnor is involved at all.

There’s a pause, and Magnus realize he’s still being watched and then Alec nods, turning with his sister to walk away.

“Alexander, you haven’t given me a time.” Magnus says, magic reaching out to caress the hunter’s shoulder and he turns, eyes bright and interested.

“Send me a fire message when you’re free.” Magnus is told with a smirk, “I’ll come as soon as you send it.”

Magnus stares as the two meld back into the crowd with a smirk, knowing that Alexander has offered to be at Magnus’ beck and call, rather than the other way around.

[theposhperyton]

All evidence suggests yes

[muninnhuginn]

absolutely entranced by shows that are majorly silly but still manage to nail the angst

[gayconstruct]

Humans are Weird — Fever

We literally heat up to cook our bodies when we can't ward off things with our immune cells, and there's a VERY slim margin for what's healthy vs what's not. If you'd like to skip the context portion scroll down to the second set of emdashes

—————

For some quick context, I use some consistent concepts and variations of time words under the impression there's a unified, simplified time scale in an intergalactic universal community

Shifts are 10 hours with hour lunches

There's 3 parts to every species day — Work, Relax, and Sleep — all 10 hours

Diurnal aliens including most humans are working in the mornings, relaxing in the evenings, and sleeping at night

Crepuscular aliens are working in the evenings, relaxing at night, sleeping in the morning

And Nocturnal aliens are working at night, relaxing in the morning, and sleeping in the evening

The clock is from 01:00 — 30:00 (simple 30 hour days for an even number and more leisure time) and rolls over to 01:00 from 30:59 with 01:00 being the roll over from night to morning

Time Increments

Seconds = Instants

Minutes = Moments

Hours = Periods

Days = Cycles

Weeks = Phases

Months = Stages

and Years = Terms

—————

Temperature Rising

Diverse biomes and work sectors began to stir to life, as the many species stationed upon the Integrated Vessel Ro’Vanna responded to the coming shift change. The Universal Timepiece, standard across the known universe, finally struck 0100 Cycles, the nocturnal species like the Umborra and Nostro eager to spend their recreational hours peacefully, while Diurnal species like the Shal’Dorei and newly integrated Humans were waking to begin another productive morning. 

Qin, the most well known Troqir aboard and one of its select Charters, rushed to his station in the hub of the Astrometry Center, cranial crests flaring with an eagerness that to most of his crewmates would otherwise go unnoticed. Ready to start his shift as soon as his posterior hit the chair, the rather tall and muscular humanoid gracelessly plopped down, emitting quite the noise as he got started. Other species present had their full attention focused on their tasking at hand, not a single thought or care thrown to his quite hasty entrance to his station. Several crystalline scales in the crook of his neck iridesced at the thought of his companion joining him soon, his thoughts anywhere but the latest mapping data coming up on his Virtual HUD. Time passed quickly at first, the sturdy man pointing metallic fingers to different notifications that needed immediate attention, adjusting calculations to chart the next few thousand Cargo routes as he went. After roughly 14.5 moments, though, he turned to search for his oddly quiet coworker to notice that the Human had made no attempt to join him this morning, the thought causing a darker color to glisten across his crystal scaling.

He’s late.

Why is he late?

He specifically stated last night he’d “see me soon.”

He’s never this late.

For the first time in his life, Qin was completely out of focus. Several happy-go-lucky phases — human parlance, not his own — had enveloped him, exchanging his stark Troqir logicality for Human whimsy and curiosity. His work tempo was slower and uncoordinated, an unfamiliar feeling coalescing into the turbulent color shifts across his luminescent scales. Every instant that passed on the cargo vessel's timekeeper seemed to lurch at an uneven pace, a deepening pit forming at the base of his abdomen. For four and a half painstaking periods, Qin swallowed his personal thoughts to gain some form of traction on his workload, swallowing emotion as all of his people were taught and opting for diligent productivity, until - finally - the release of his allotted Nutrition Period arrived. There was no moment spared as his dense footfalls rushed towards his companions quarters, his focus unbroken as the ceiling dropped from 4 meters to a much tighter 2.4m. Qin, at just under 2.2 meters, absentmindedly ducked to overcompensate, having quickly become accustomed to this section and its many distinctions after quite a few visits. 

There at last, the tall, silvery man reached what was worth looking for, a door which read in standard human language,

Room 152

Aspen Wright

With the slightest shake in his hand, Qin formed his digits into a fist to knock. 

Knocking… he thought, quite the odd custom, but like many human practices, this was the most respectful of his companion’s personal space and time. For several instants, the silence in the Human Sector’s Hall allowed him no sweet mercy, the lone alien man uncertain what to do as his weight shifted back and forth between his feet, a metal clang ringing out with each motion. Thankfully, a digital projection finally slid across the width of the door, Entry Permitted, displayed in large English typeface.

Thank the Fathers and Mothers for universal translation.

With the invitation obvious and a rather low duck through the smaller door, Qin entered into the darkened room — the simulated window turned off, the curtains drawn, clothes strewn across the floor, and strange devices and pill capsules laid upon the table — not even the so-called “fairy lights” lit the quarters he had become so accustomed to. The Troqirian’s own voice came quieter than he expected, as he rasped out, “Aspen? Are you there?” A strange groan followed, then silence, then- a weary voice.

“Q-,” a cough, “Qin?”

“Y-yes… it is I, I am present,” a facepalm.

“Oh, this is a-” more coughing, “a surprise. Aren’t you on Lunch Break sweetie?”

For a moment, the light from Qin’s Luminescent Scales - ones at his nape, a few at his crests, even the ones on his exposed digits - shined brighter than before, a rainbow of colors flowing across their surface at the thought of being a “sweetie”, before taking a dim, solemn purple. “I- yes, but when you did not show up promptly 15 moments late after last night's recreation I- I began to worry. Lateness? Normal to an extent. Absence??? Abnormal, even for you… Did I… do something wrong? Did our meetings and leisure time make work uncomfortable for you?”

For his first time that entire cycle, Aspen bolted upright with a purpose, but immediately regretted it as a wave of dizziness caused the room to spin around him before he fell the wrong direction, right out of his bed into the floor.

The sight startled Qin, having no frame of reference where the human man was until now, “Fathers and Mothers! Aspen, are you injured!?”

With a weak chuckle and the groan of even more pain, he responded in turn, “I’m fine, I’m fine… I’m sorry to worry you, you never make me uncomfortable dear, I’m just a bit [under the weather] today.” Another small laugh came, and then he continued, “I was trying to tell you that, and I- I must’ve moved too fast… everything is- ugh everything is spinning. Could you help me back into bed?”

Frantic to assist, Qin’s larger form - clumsy in the smaller space, helped lie the smaller, lighter human in his nest, placing his head upon the pillow. Once situated, he covered the small man, as many human’s liked, and noticed his skin far hotter to the touch than normal, homeostatic balance oddly off. “Damn translator…” a joyous light crossing his scales as he used the human swear as he’d been taught, “for whatever reason the English to Troqirian dictionary hasn’t found a suitable translation for your imprecise speech… Could you please explain?”

“Ah, thank you for the lift, love.” Settling for an instant, eyes closed and his head on the pillow, Aspen pondered with a clouded, slow mind, trying to search for the words as his body ached and caught a chill. “... uh- an English idiom of common use in my native tongue… it’s like… to feel sick, to be unwell. I didn’t go to my work shift today because I’m too sick to go… I’m- I’m sorry I didn’t contact you to say something, this fever is really kicking my ass.”

Fever? What in the Cradles was a Fever? 

“Ah… Fever- yes. Hmm, and that is… The translator states you have an elevated temperature? You were hot to the touch, hot because you’re currently ill, or ‘under the weather’ as it were?” Pondering his line of thinking, Qin couldn’t help but attempt to puzzle it together, his evolved logic center placing presented data together to reach understanding. 

Why is his temperature so elevated? He… he’s too hot… His temperature felt at least 311.8°K through my temperature cells… Humans are on average 310.2°K and their species exhibits signs of death at temperatures of 315°K or more… Fathers and Mothers that’s far too close. That is far too close.

Startling Aspen’s tired eyes open, the large metallic man started in with question after question, “How are you okay? You were perfectly normal yesterday. You’re temperature is far too elevated! Are you dying? Do you need emergency services? I can call the Human Physician on board! I can, I can, I-”

“Stop. It is gonna be okay. This- uh this is a normal human response to various pathogens our immune system is unable to combat with its defense cells, so we get hotter and hotter to try to kill the invader before it can do too much damage. I’ve already spoken to the captain and the doctor and I was given some things to bolster my strength while I attempt to naturally ride out my fever. It’s gonna be okay Qin, I’m gonna be okay. The fever just has to kill the pathogen and it’ll break on its own.”

For several quiet moments Qin sat in disbelief at such a process. Actively breaking their delicate homeostasis for an illness? Their specialized cells unable to do it on their own??? He found himself running his digits through his smaller companions' hair as he pondered. He looked so weak, so small, so… precious. 

Breaking the deathly silence with a few coughs, Aspen shuddered from his fever chills, squinting to the light of Qin’s scales before smiling to himself, “I can see your scared glow through my eyelids, Qin, I promise I’m okay… though the comforting touch is nice.”

“Well your eyelids are thin layers containing Keratin and Collagen, it's a miracle your species is alive…”

A laugh, somewhat stronger this time, escaped Aspen’s lips as he smiled again, “And yours have thick metallic plates and the most beautiful glowing scales I’ve ever seen. What about it?”

A hot reddish-pink overtook the Troqir’s luminescent features as he realized what power the smaller man held over him. The power to care. The power to worry. The power to be emotionally honest, something found few and far between his own people. 

The power to be bold.

“Th-they’re beautiful, you… are beautiful, Aspen… I’m sorry I haven’t said it sooner. You always try to make advances on me, and I always try to deflect them with feigned ignorance.”

Slowly, the small human man scooted to leave some room next to himself in the bed, the blanket moving and leaving him even colder than he already was, “Please… could you stay with me a while longer… could you… could you cuddle me to keep me warm?”

The pink glow wouldn’t cease for some time, as the giant of a man laid down on the small bed and wrapped his warm silvery arms around his companion, a small humming noise coming from deep in his throat like a pur. Aspen snuggled close to stifle his chills, overjoyed to know his feelings were reciprocated. Feeling the radiant heat from his alien partner, he drifted into peaceful sleep for the first time that awful sick day.

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

ive been thinking a lot on the differences in how we view adulthood now vs back in roman times. on one hand yeah people came of age at a significantly younger age than they do now, legally speaking. but being an adult didn't mean the same thing to 1cenBC romans as it does to us. an adult was usually still under the power of a paterfamilias. idk ive been thinking about it bc as a teenager i was incredibly frustrated with my lack of agency and rights, esp cuz it seemed ridiculous in the historical perspective because usually people historically came of age in their mid teens. but now that im older and know more on how Rome functioned, its not as cut and dry as that. i was wondering if u had any thoughts on how the romans viewed adulthood?

What is adulthood, anyway?

Is it the right to make legal decisions for yourself? The 25-35% of Rome's population who were enslaved didn't have that. And as you pointed out, folks under the authority of a paterfamilias may have had limited or no legal independence. (They might have more independence in practice, though, as they got older, moved out or got married.)

Is an adult someone who works and provides for their family? Most Roman children worked, especially enslaved children. You watched and copied whatever your parents did, so you learned adult responsibilities fairly quickly. A 14-year-old Roman bride was expected to manage her husband's household, slaves, and often his finances and business - especially while he was off at war or trading. If needed, she would probably lean on her mother-in-law and other female relatives for guidance.

Is an adult someone who can legally and mentally consent to sex? Although many Romans thought sex with pre-adolescents was bad taste, the legal issue wasn't "Is this person old enough?" but "Has the body of a citizen, or a paterfamilias' dependent, been violated?" If you were a slave, or a girl married to a creep, you were out of luck.

Many cultures, including the ancient Romans, don't really consider "teenagers" a distinct age group. They're more likely to see teenagers as young adults, who might be more naive or irresponsible or in need of guidance due to inexperience, but functionally adults.

For Roman aristocratic men around 15-30 there's this odd tension, where they might be dismissed as overgrown boys or expected to act like mature men, depending on the speaker's perspective. In the Pro Caelio, Cicero asks us to give Caelius the benefit of the doubt for being only ~26 or so, as a father might indulge his son. But 20-year-old Julius Caesar had been entrusted with negotiating with a king, as ambassador to Bithynia. Nicolaus of Damascus tells us that well after being legally recognized as an adult, traipsing through a warzone, and becoming one of Caesar's staff, Octavian was still treated like a kid at home.

It may also be useful to scale our age range up: that 14-year-old girl was likely to outlive her husband, and probably had much more say in choosing her second and third marriages than her first. And as Roman marriages shifted from cum manu to sine manu, women became sui iuris (legally independent) at younger ages than before, because they only had to wait till their fathers died instead of their husbands. They could then own their own property, with some limits on how it was supposed to be used - unlike Victorian wives, whose property became their husbands'. So, when would we call a Roman woman an adult, and what do we mean by that?

You make a good point about modern teens being denied their rights, too. I think that's a more individualistic way of framing it than the Romans would have used - they put more emphasis on your duty to your family - but it is a real problem. "Protecting kids" usually translates into restricting what young people can do, but not teaching them how to stay safe, make good judgments, or get support. When they do ask for help, they're usually dismissed as whiny or lazy.

I'd love to see more mixed-age spaces where adults and teens can talk about their shared interests, or work on cool projects like volunteering together. I think that will help break down adults' stereotypes of teens and fears about "kids these days," and teens will probably feel a lot less overwhelmed by the future with older friends they could ask for advice. Plus, it would provide an escape for teens with abusive families. The animal shelter where my mother volunteers is like that, and it's been really neat to see her learning new things, and the younger folks coming out of their shells.

[shortpplfedup]

Horrite time to get cancelled...

I loved Our Skyy x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars from start to finish. Yes, even the third episode. In fact, especially the third episode. And that's because Aof may have a flair for the dramatic, and he and his room might sometimes write themselves a little bit into a corner, but it's always in service of a point that he feels compelled to make. Aof doesn't go in for 'right' he goes in for 'real' and it can be hard to accept sometimes the ideas he treats with optimism vs the ones he treats with realism. Aof is very deliberate and specific in the stories he wants to tell, and they're not always satisfying. And nowhere has he leaned into that dissatisfaction more than in Bad Buddy. Pat and Pran are caught in a frustrating situation, and Aof has consistently refused to shy away from that for the sake of a traditional happy ending. Aof's major thesis with these two has always been 'love, despite everything'.

The big 'everything' in the Bad Buddy story refers to the parents, but things with the parents have offshoots and consequences for how Pat and Pran's relationship functions, both in the macro sense, in the continued need to hide, and in the micro sense, in the fact that really, truly, only one of them is hiding. Because Pat? Does not give a shit about Ming. Like TRULY. We see here that Ming is not one of his considerations, and even when asked to consider him, the distance that has grown in their relationship is such that where Ming previously was all up in Pat's business, now he doesn't even look because he doesn't want to know. In a way, Ming has accepted Pat and Pran's relationship by resolutely looking away from them. He has lost face entirely and the only solution to that is to pretend it isn't happening, which suits Pat just fine.

Dissaya though...well that's different isn't it. They are really in this closet, Pat is really in this closet for the sake of Pran's relationship with his mother. Pat and Pran's relationship is inherently unbalanced, because the compromise that Pat has made, the sacrifice he has made, is something Pran can never really make up to him. As I said to the clowns: Pran could give in to Pat every day, on everything, for the rest of their lives, and those scales would still never balance out. All Pran can do is accept Pat's sacrifice for the love it is, and love Pat back as hard as he can and hope they never regret it. And so, are they really going to fight about this? Is this really going to be an issue for them? Well...no. Are they going to get into their feelings about it from time to time? Absolutely. And then they're gonna fuck their way through that, because they're them, and they decided when they got into this that it was going to be for life, and there's really nothing else to be done in this situation but get over it.

Also I consider that this particular spat that Pat and Pran are having is only notionally about their relationship, but largely about Pran coming to a resolution about how large he wants to let Dissaya loom in his life, and thus will only scratch the surface because it's the beginning of a story we won't really see that ends up with Pran in Singapore. Pran is deeply contemplating Pat's oddly piercing words about his ability to stand on his own. Because one of the reasons that Pat has to make this compromise and stay in the closet is that Pran depends, in so many ways, on his mom. Dissaya is at the centre of his life. And I think this trip, and this fight, gets Pran to start the process of moving Pat into that spot instead. In the fourth episode, him saying that Dissaya is ok with the play because she knows it's just a play... I highly doubt that, but really, what is she going to do about it at this point? What can she do? Pran's too grown to send him away, and she knows what happened last time she tried to intervene, she nearly lost her kid. She'll tell herself what she needs to, and Pran will continue to shift the balance of his priorities from her needs to Pat's. It's that thing about leaving your parents and cleaving to your partner. If Pran can get to a place where he is independent, then he can give Pat back the openness that makes him happy, and maybe that can finally bring some balance. But we know that day is far off for them, beyond even what we've seen. All Pran can give Pat now is the promise that 'I can't live without you either'.

When it comes to these two, Aof is never going to give us the ease in the heart that we crave, because they don't have that ease either. Instead, we will get snatched moments, because that's what they get. We will get uncomfortable compromises, because that's what they get. We will get occasionally hurt feelings, because that's what they get. And we will get love, despite everything, because that's what they do. Yes it's unsatisfying. But I'd argue it's meant to be. The thing is here again: are you here for a ship or a story? And if you're here for a story, are you prepared for it to be an inherently sad and frustrating one, but that still has joy threaded throughout?

Man that leads me to so many thoughts about why juxtaposing this story with Tian and Phupha's works gangbusters, but I think that's a separate post.

[mindfulwrath]

The Triaxial Theory of Horror

I have a theory that most horror fits into a volume of conceptual space described by 3 axes, which are:

Discrete--Diffuse

Mobile--Sessile

Wet--Dry

The Discrete--Diffuse axis describes the source of the horror. A Discrete horror has a physical, usually tangible form; is recognizable as the source of the horror; and takes actions which make it horrifying. On the opposite end of the scale, a Diffuse horror is one with no obvious source, center, or primary actor. Most of Steven King's work falls on the Discrete end of this scale; Silent Hill falls close to the middle; and The Others lands on the Diffuse end.

(As a note, any point on this axis can be done badly; hamfisted Discrete horror rapidly enters a space I call "Ooga-Booga Horror," where the object/entity/what-have-you is so cartoonishly scary as to wrap back around to being silly. Likewise, poorly handled Diffuse horror becomes "Vapor Horror," which is so completely sourceless as to be nonsensical.)

The Mobile--Sessile axis, meanwhile, describes the behavior of the horror. A Mobile horror is one that hunts, pursues, clings, reappears, or otherwise moves around; 80's slasher flicks being a prime example. Sessile horror, in contrast, stays put, and the horror derives either from the inability to escape its radius of influence or the inability to stay away; The Haunting of Hill House nearly exemplifies the far end of the axis.

(Here, too, poor handling can lead to the inversion of horror into comedy, on a scale from "Imma Gonna Getcha" to "Just Leave, Bro.")

Finally, the Wet--Dry axis deals with the effects of the horror, and is essentially equivalent to the gross-out factor. Typically, Wet horror is rich in blood, brains, and body parts, while Dry horror keeps its victims physically intact; however, this scale is not necessarily coupled to the presence or absence of viscera. For example, The Color Out of Space involves significant bodily disturbance, yet remains relatively Dry due to the elision of details. In the same vein (but in the opposite direction), Crimson Peak is an exceedingly Wet horror film, yet utilizes actual gore quite sparingly, preferring to shift the language of decomposition onto the inanimate house; yet its substitution of red clay for blood in no way lessens the Wetness of the horror.

(And as expected, this axis has its own hilarious pitfalls; over-the-top gore rapidly enters "Blood Fondue" territory, while excessively dry horror risks becoming "Totally Scary, Trust Me." Some would argue that The Color Out of Space indeed represents a plunge into the latter category.)

Some examples, then, of the triaxial scale in action:

NBC's Hannibal is Discrete/Mobile/Wet. Hannibal is the primary source of the horrifying events, he can and will chase you down, and when he does, it's going to get messy.

Saw is Discrete/Sessile/Wet. While the threat of bodily harm is similar, and its source similarly known, as in Hannibal, the texture of the horror is significantly altered by the confined setting.

House of Leaves is two horrors stacked up in a trench coat: the parts dealing with The Navidson Record are Discrete/Sessile/Dry, while Johnny Truant's narrative is Diffuse/Mobile/Wet.

Likewise, The Shining nests Discrete/Mobile/Dry horror (Jack chasing Wendy around with an axe) inside Diffuse/Sessile/Wet horror (the Overlook Hotel itself).

Silent Hill, as mentioned, is close to centered on the Discrete-Diffuse axis, and is also nearly centered on the Mobile-Sessile axis, although it is consistently Wet.

The Magnus Archives utilizes all three axes nearly to their fullest extents, but tends to cluster in the Discrete/Mobile/Wet octant.

To be sure, there are elements of horror not described by these axes--internal vs. external, active vs. passive, certain vs. uncertain doom--but as a system for interpreting and categorizing the main structural elements of horror, and particularly for describing one's preferences in horror, the triaxial scale functions well.

[llamagoddessofficial]

hmm… how would wintering play out for snake Sans, Red, and Skull if they’re wintering in the same location with Mc?

All of them together? Sheesh. That's a lot of snakes.

Sans:

Hate. Hate. Hate.

He wants to be alone with her, he wants cuddly romantic wintering with just the two of them, their favourite shows on the TV... he wants to lay together on a pile of pillows and play with her hair until he passes out. Instead, he’s stuck with these two idiots. Every time he tries to settle down with just the two of them, Red and Skull get jealous, and soon what should’ve been sitting for five minutes ends up with Mc trapped for hours under a pile of possessive bones and scales.

As a highly venomous naga, he tries to make a point of keeping himself calm. One wrong bite on some human idiot and he could seriously mess up his chances of being together with her forever. If he has to answer the door, he wears a face mask. She appreciates it, and he’s also not too bad with being cold, so he’s the only naga she’ll take shopping with her.

She know about his secret Class A status, but she trusts him.

Personality changes during winter are normal. But over winter, Sans in particular gets much... cooler. Calmer. In a haunting, silent way, sometimes he diffuses intense situations by literally just staring. It’s difficult to overstate just how intimidating it can be when Sans, usually brittle and confrontational with the others to the point of ridiculousness... is dead quiet.

It even unnerves Skull. That’s saying something.

He’s still the ‘alpha’. The other two naga, though they hate it, will defer to him. Sans generally uses that power to keep things from falling into an all-out brawl over who gets to cuddle her, because although they generally get along, winter emotions run high and there’s only one human.

He likes to take whatever blanket she slept on the previous night and wear it like a scarf through the day. Keeps him calm.

Red: 

He isn’t too happy about the current arrangements either. It’s way too difficult to get one-on-one time with his sweetheart. But he’s a big boy, he can deal with it; he’ll just prove himself a fantastic mate (& lover wink wink) during winter.

His personality change is a little embarrassing, from his perspective. He gets really soft and cuddly, really loving, drawn to her softness and natural heat. All he wants to do is sleep with his head on her lap... this big, posturing, macho-man naga turns all dopey and needy when it’s dark and cold.

Red purrs more, in winter.

He’s got a real knack for catching her when she falls over. Which happens A LOT in winter- all three naga are strewn around her house (probably asleep) and their tails sometimes end up poking around corners or shifting to someplace unexpected. A few times the ends of their tails will wind around her foot as a sign of affection. The amount of times she’s almost faceplanted after tripping on a stray tail is ridiculous, so at this point he’s got an instinctive knowledge of when she’ll fall.

He’s a serial flirt, drawling out pickup line after pickup line, because the warmth from her flushed cheeks is addictive.

He’s the only naga who can answer the door. He’s used to dealing with his own surges of aggression, so getting them for strangers during winter is nothing new.

... Red is the naga she’ll give the most casual affection to, over winter. He’s so cute when he’s cuddly.

Skull: 

The biggest out of all of them needs the most space. He takes over a whole room in the house, turning it into a nest that he mostly stays put in, because when he’s wintering he tends to forget how big he is and knock things over while wandering around following her.

At night he regularly tries to ‘convince’ (drag) her into his room, when she smells nice and warm and his cuddle patience is wearing thin. Sans and Red are usually available to rescue her.

His personality is pretty different when hes awake vs. when he’s sleepy. When he’s awake for those few hours, he wants to help out around the house, he wants to talk and wash dishes and tidy the few floor spaces not overtaken by blankets and tails. ... When he’s tired... he loses his self control, and forgets all but his favourite words.

(His favourite words are her name, ‘cuddle’, ‘nest’, ‘eat’ and ‘now’.)

Every day, he steals one of her used shirts from the laundry to keep in his nest with him through the night. The smell keeps him calm. He consciously knows he shouldn’t force her to sleep in his arms, but sometimes the instinct just gets so strong... having something that vividly makes him think of her when he’s at his most tired and cranky helps keep him from breaking out of his room and snatching her up.

His hunting instincts cause some concern, amongst Mc and the other two snakes- it’s obvious to everyone that he’s desperate to hunt something. To provide. They all are, but the way Skull’s eyelight tracks her across a room can sometimes be downright eerie. Mc tries to mitigate it by letting him cook.

He is not, under any circumstances, allowed out of the house.

[notfreetoday]

MPW Language Analysis Part 2

Segasaki x Yoh: Shifts in Emotion and Acknowledging Roles

Masterlist || Language Analysis Part 1 || The Importance of Amae ||

In Japanese, one cannot utter a sentence without communicating at least two things: (1) the actual content of the message itself, the referential meaning; and (2) a metamessage about the relationship between the speaker and the listener, an indexical meaning. A striking feature about Japanese is that it is the latter message that most often assumes greater importance.

From: Creating an Ideal Self: Theories of Selfhood and Pedagogy at a Japanese Ethics Retreat by Dorinne K. Kondo

Every sentence that Segasaki and Yoh say to each other carries 2 meanings - the one we read in the subtitles, and too often, the one that never travels across the screen. The "miscommunication" that many perceive to be happening isn't always just about "using actions vs words" (though there is much to be said about that too) - the words are being used, but it's hard to hear them when said words are in Japanese and packed with information English is simply not designed to carry.

So, with 6 episodes of corrections made and nuances explained, it's finally time to get back to actually talking about how all of this adds to our understanding of the characters and of their relationship. In these 6 episodes, both Segasaki and Yoh have run the entire gamut of speech levels - but where Segasaki shifts consistently and with purpose, Yoh tends to shift as a reflexive, or reactionary response.

Or, what Segasaki choosing to shift up a speech level means to Yoh, and what Yoh's inconsistent shifts tells Segasaki (and us), about his emotional state. I'm kinda sorta not really sorry about this but ah, it's maybe possibly probably even longer than usual??

Quick Recap of Part 1:

We established two key aspects of their relationship:

1) They both acknowledge the power differential between them - Segasaki, by using "rougher" speech patterns, and Yoh, by tending to stick to the more polite end of the scale. 2) They both consider themselves to be from the same "in-group" - Both of them default to informal speech patterns when speaking to each other (even Yoh, despite being the junior/lower on the social hierarchy)

And now on to Part 2!

Changes in Emotion: Yoh

Yoh tends to experience his emotions rather intensely, and through his monologues we understand that he isn't always able to process these emotions immediately. As such, the shifts in his speech levels tend to happen subconsciously - there isn't an immediately obvious, predictable pattern to those shifts, because they are simply a reflection of how he's feeling in the moment.

Y: あ、いや。なんでもない…です* Y: Ah, iya, nandemonai…desu* Y: Ah, no, it's….nothing* The shift to polite form, and the awkward manner in which he does it, reflects Yoh's growing insecurity (See EP 2 for other examples).

From the moment Segasaki starts returning home late, Yoh becomes more and more unsure of where he stands with Segasaki, and this growing emotional distance is conveyed through his speech patterns becoming (awkardly) more polite than in Ep 1. He speaks hesitantly and indirectly, until he gets drunk (and even then, his insecurity still shows in how he barely switches down to rough speech during their not-argument).

In Ep 3, we again see Yoh shifting up to polite forms often, except this time, the shifts show his gratitude as well as sincerity.

Because of how ridiculously expensive the pork bun is, Yoh expresses his thanks by saying the full ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu) here as opposed to just "arigatou" or other more casual forms. In return, Segasaki acknowledges the formality Yoh pays him with a nod (and a mouthful of pork bun).

Y: すいません Y: suimasen Y: I'm sorry This is the more formal version of "I'm sorry" (textbook pronunciation is sumimasen, but textbooks are for nerds Yoh's version is very common as well and still polite)

In both these scenes, Yoh switches to suimasen as opposed to his usual, and more casual, ごめん / ごめんなさい (gomen/gomen nasai), that he also uses in this episode. As previously mentioned, "sorry" in Japanese can also be used to mean "thank you". Here Yoh is doing both - apologizing for Segasaki having to "go the extra mile" to take care of him (ie, he feels he has imposed upon Segasaki - a fear he has mentioned a few times), and at the same time also expressing his gratitude for being taken care of. However, it's the shift up to the polite version that conveys his sincerity, and carries the extra message that - despite his regret at imposing on Segasaki - Yoh still values these moments and feels touched by them.

Both times, you see Segasaki taking note of this, albeit slightly confused, and probably a little shy too (Segasaki is after all, very good at picking up on social cues - especially Yoh's - and spends the whole of Ep 3 doing just that).

Y: 漫画が　とてもだめです Y: manga ga totemo dame desu Y: (My) manga is... really bad.

Yoh spends most of Ep 5 safely ensconced in the informal speech level, switching up only twice - the above scene, and later when he attributes his recovery to Segasaki's care as a way of thanks. The switch in the bathroom is sudden, and adds a sense of certainty to his statement that reflects the intensity of the despair he feels (even though he comes across as more kicked puppy than anything). The formality is also a way to "distance" himself from the reality of it, because it does hurt to acknowledge this.

All of these instances show us that Yoh's shifts up in speech levels tend to reflect when he's feeling vulnerable in some way - when he's insecure, dejected or hurt, or when he feels that he has imposed upon Segasaki.

So then, does Yoh also shift down?

Well, yes and no.

Left (Ep 4): Y: ふざけんな [very rude] Y: Fuzakenna Y: The hell are you doing! Right (Ep 5): Y: バカにすんなよ！[slurred vowels] Y: baka ni sun na yo Y: Don't look down on me!

Even if we include (just barely) the non-argument of Ep 2, there honestly aren't many scenarios in which Yoh shifts down to a "rougher" speech pattern - and he never drops as low as Segasaki does. This has to do with both his acknowledgement of the power differential that exists between Segasaki and him, as well as his less assertive nature. In fact, even when speaking to Man-san, with whom he shares his thoughts more freely, Yoh remains casual, but not rough. (Man-san is waaaay rougher than Yoh, tbh). Hence, when Yoh does shift down, it tends to be explosive and short lived, just like his frustration or anger.

So why "yes and no"? Because being lower in the social hierarchy also introduces another, more interesting way to express yourself - by choosing not to switch up.

We see this in Ep 5, when Yoh tries to lie about going to Man-san's place. He sticks to his baseline informal speech when he announces this, whereas he previously used polite speech in Ep 4. Is it possible that Yoh was simply overcompensating and trying too hard to sound casual to hide his lie in Ep 5? Yes. But before coming to that conclusion, there is another important detail to note - that instances like this, where Yoh doesn't switch up, have gradually been increasing as the show progresses.

In Ep 5 and 6, Yoh uses the slightly less formal gomen nasai to apologize (contrast this with Ep 2's suimasen mentioned earlier). Given that Yoh himself mentions in Ep 5 that he thought Segasaki would be angry, and in Ep 6 clearly underscores his apology with a proper bow (yes, there are standards to how you should bow in Japan) - you would think that these 2 situations would be the perfect time to switch back up again. So why? Once again, the key to unlocking the metamessage is the wider context; i.e., we need to consider what Segasaki has been doing. please indulge my desire to sound cool and mysterious despite already announcing it in the title

Establishing Roles: Segasaki

In direct contrast to Yoh, Segasaki is very consistent with his speech shifts, and a clear pattern emerges. First off - when Segasaki is angry with Yoh, he drops straight down.

Left (Ep 2): S: てめぇ [very, very rude] S: temee S: You Right (Ep 5): S: 分かってねぇだろ　分かってねぇから　泊りで仕事とか言い出すんだろうが [slurred Rs, word contraction, slurred vowels] S: wakattenee daro wakattenee kara tomari de shigoto toka ii dasun darou ga S: You don't do you? You don't understand and that's why you can just say things like you'll stay out to work overnight.

Like, waaaaaaaay down. The argument in Ep 5 is the most obvious example of this, but using "temee" to address someone like he does in Ep 2 is very very rude and, together with the "haaah?!" Segasaki says before this line, also does a lot to convey that he is Not Happy.

S: 明日は仕事すんのか [word contraction] S: ashita wa shigoto sun no ka S: すんのかしないのか、どっちだよ [word contraction, informal, assertive end particle] S: sun no ka shinai no ka, docchi da yo S: Are you working tomorrow? S: Working or not, which is it?

The lines in this interaction from Ep 3 aren't really rude per se - certainly not compared to temee - but they are rougher than his usual and very direct. We've seen Segasaki do this multiple times throughout the episodes - dropping his levels when he's being assertive, and it is in response to that assertiveness, that Yoh gives the following reply:

Y: いや、ないです [plain forms, but with the addition of desu form] Y: Iya, nai desu Y: No, I don't [have anything planned]

Mixing plain forms with -desu at the end makes Yoh's reply a little more formal, and is another way in which Yoh acknowledges the power differential between them. Being higher in the social hierarchy means Segasaki enjoys a greater sense of linguistic freedom, and shifts down in speech level are therefore unsurprising, and indeed, expected.

So, if there is no real need for Segasaki to shift up, then, what does it mean when he chooses to do so?

Left: S: まあ　残念ながら　相手は大嫌いな俺ですけど S: Maa... zennen nagara aite wa daikirai na ore desukedo S: Well, unfortunately, your partner is me - who you hate so much Right: S: 好きにさせてもらうけど...な ？ S: suki ni sasete morau kedo... na? S: I'll gratefully do as I please...yea?

After an entire episode of using Yoh's own words to tease him as a way to try and get Yoh to face his own feelings, Segasaki lands his sharpest and strongest push of the day in these 2 scenes not by reinforcing the hierarchy between them, but by subverting it. Shifting up to a more formal speech level when he doesn't have to, particularly in the second scene where he uses deferential word forms, creates the illusion of elevating Yoh in the hierarchy, which is then immediately undermined by the irreverent tone in which Segasaki says them.

In other words, Segasaki only shifts up as a power play.

S: よくできました S: yoku dekimashita

We first see Segasaki use this formal way of saying "well done" at the end of Ep 3 and again in Ep 4, and it brings to mind the literal stamp of approval that teachers often give to students in school. Here, there is no teasing or subversion of the hierarchy going on. Segasaki is establishing his role in Yoh's life - to provide and care for him - through the use of polite speech, and reinforcing the power differential between them in the most straightforward way possible.

This use of polite speech allows the speaker to indirectly index their social identity - often as one who is in charge or responsible. Within the Japanese household, it also happens when a role/obligation (often parental) is being carried out - eg , a parent might switch to polite speech to indicate their role as provider when asking the rest of the family "What would you like to eat?". Similarly, we again see Segasaki underscore his role in the following:

Left (Ep 5) S: ごちそうさまでした S: Gochisousama deshita S: Thank you for the food Right (Ep 4) S: 寝るなら部屋いきな* S: neru nara heya ikina S: If you're going to sleep, then go to the room alright?

In Ep 5, Segasaki leads the saying of this standard phrase, customarily said at the end of a meal to express gratitude to everything that made the meal possible. It is the use of the full, more formal version (as opposed to just gochisousama) that indexes his role as Yoh's caregiver when he leads in saying this, and indeed he spends most of Ep 5 enjoying that role. In Ep 4, although he does not quite use the -masu form here, the imperative form "ikina" brings to mind a parent trying to coax their child to bed, the same way Segasaki is doing to a very drunk and sleepy Yoh.

This is the key we were looking for - with every episode, Segasaki consistently reinforces his role in Yoh's life, the same way he consistently responds to and encourages Yoh's amae. And with every episode, Yoh becomes a little more confident of his place with Segasaki, a little more willing to believe that maybe Segasaki might really return his feelings. It's easy to look at Yoh in Ep 2, see him push Segasaki away, and think that the same Yoh appears in Ep 5, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Because in Ep 2, a drunk Yoh barely drops to rough speech, whereas in Ep 5, a sober Yoh feels safe enough to even "curse" a little (well, as far as cursing goes in Japan at least, which admittedly is not far). In both word and action, they have both grown, and have both contributed to the strengthening of their relationship.

So! In conclusion (omg we made it to the end) we have established that:

Segasaki has a clear, predictable pattern in his shifts - he switches up to formal when establishing or reinforcing his role in Yoh's life, but when he's serious, or angry with Yoh, he drops all the way down.

Yoh is less consistent, because his shifts tend to be more subconscious and reflective of his emotional state. He's more inclined to switch up when he's in a vulnerable state, eg, feeling insecure or dejected, or when he wants to express his sincerity in apologizing or showing gratitude. When he's nervous, or in response to Segasaki either being direct with him or upset with him, he'll sort of switch up too (ie, he'll mix polite forms with informal forms, or he'll try to say things in an indirect way).

Through the use of speech level shifts, both Segasaki and Yoh indirectly reinforce and acknowledge their individual roles in each other's life, and by observing the changes in these shifts over time, we the audience are able to track the progression of their relationship as well.

In the next part, we'll look at the differences in the way they speak to others versus between themselves - looking specifically at examples from Ep 4, 6 and 7.

As always, thank you for reading, and feel free to ask any questions! (*ˊᗜˋ*)/

[ruinedsam]

I wish this was how the Gadreel arc was revealed: https://www.tumblr.com/casmcqueen/657105126390185984/having-thoughts-that-were-inspired-by-this-post. We don’t know what’s happening and why there are all these weird time skips, Dean is insisting everything is fine as Sam gets increasingly concerned about this and Sam is skeptical but we hear Dean saying he is stone number 1 so Sam believes him because he trusts Dean more than anyone, and there is a scene where Sam confesses that the last time he experiences this kind of time loss, he was possessed. Dean assures him that’s not the case, but he weirdly looks guilty and pained as soon as he thinks Sam isn’t looking. As the season progresses, it grows more and more ominous, reaching the climax with the reveal. And for irony’s sake, it needs to happen like it does in canon, with Crowley giving Sam the panic word and pushing Sam. So we think this is an ordinary case, and it’s weird we don’t see Dean but Sam doesn’t notice it due to the angels so it’s not explicitly on screen that it’s odd Dean’s absent, until Crowley enters and warns Sam. We get the reveal montage after Crowley makes Sam realize and Sam kicks Gadreel out, and possibly Crowley mentions that they see how Sam is the guy who overpowered Lucifer during this scene. Soon after Sam wakes up freshly unpossessed, we get the horrific sense of betrayal Sam feels when he discovers Dean was lying to him every time Sam brought up his concerns over his losses of time. I think this should also feature Hallucifer—and there’s this really good snippet I saw but can’t find of Hallucifer being ready to throw down over this angel possessing his vessel and he is about to tell Sam who this angel is but Gadreel intervenes before he can so that would be fun to have early in the reveal sequence where the only person who told Sam the truth was his hallucination of Lucifer to have a delicious reverse parallel of Dean being how Sam knows Lucifer isn’t real vs Dean helping to gaslight Sam for months while Lucifer told Sam the truth of it—so Sam is now no longer able to rely on Dean for his grasp of reality. As Sam fully processes the scale of Dean’s betrayal, we get a scene of Lucifer that mirrors when Hallucifer was telling Sam that everything he was seeing was just psychological torture from Lucifer in season 7. I think the scene or episode should end there

YES I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOREVER

The gadreel arc had so much potential it's insane. Shifting the POV to Sam makes it such a good horror story and it's so, so frustrating that the writers chose to pretend it's not bc they were too afraid to make Dean look bad instead of going for it. And from a storytelling perspective it would be so much more effective and honestly a breath of fresh air that spn sorely needed. This is why Carver is my nemesis it could have been so good!!!! Imagine if we had gotten the horror Sam experienes instead of Dean's annoying self-pity. As it is, this edit of S9A from Sam's perspective is the closest thing we got, you should check it out :)

And yesssss throw Hallucifer in!! Lucifer being the only one who told him the truth...truly delicious 👀👀👀 Sam completely adrift, unable to trust anyone, his sense of reality fucked 👀

[hueningsloverr]

౨ৎ favorite crime !

pairing: HIGHSCHOOL AU - toxic!hueningkai x reader x jake summary: huening kai was never on any high school girls list for dating, yet somehow he crept onto yours. and as quickly as he came into your life, he was able to ruin it even faster. that's where jake stepped in. word count : 0.8k extra: kai is super toxic in this, as it's inspired by olivia rodrigo's song 'favorite crime', please don't let anyone treat you the way he does !!

part 1 // part 2 // part 3

sim jaeyun was not someone you willingly messed with.

yet, when kai saw the two of you standing there, all he could think of was starting a fight.

"jake!" he called out, faux happiness lacing his voice - that same venomous undertone still present. "i see you found (y/n), that's good."

jake nodded, stepping slightly in front of you, "go away huening." he ordered, taking a moment to look around a truly notice the amount of students who stopped and stared. "you do not want to get into a fight on school grounds and become a criminal."

kai laughed, shaking his head, "i just want my girlfriend back, sim."

students stopped and watched, and it truly felt like every fight scene in every cliche coming of age movie ever.

two boys fighting over one girl.

except this time, there was no happy ending.

there was no clear winner.

even if jake pummelled kai now, he would only come back again and again. and if kai somehow beat jake, the nightmare for you would never end.

"jung," jake began, an almost teasing tone to his voice. would he really use kai's korean name now? was he just dying to be on the same level? "your 'girlfriend' says you two broke up, and even if you two were still together, no one is keeping her from you."

it was tense.

kai was motionless.

god, this really was just another cheesy rom-com, wasn’t it?

“right, forgive me jaeyun.” kai smiled, backing away.

his sudden shift in demeanour was unsettling.

kai was never one to back down, not with you at least. the smallest disagreements would always turn into full scale fights, so why wasn’t this?

then you noticed the presence of jake's - no, he was jaeyun now to everyone - entire friend group.

jungwon, sunoo, heeseung, sunghoon, jongseong, and even ni-ki.

they practically had kai surrounded.

of course he backed down.

he was cornered seven to one.

“jaeyun, thank you but-“ you began, turning to the boy who now stood behind you.

yet, he had this cold look in his eyes, as if he couldn’t even hear you. he was simply staring kai down, begging for him to try to make a move

"it’s no issue. huening you just need to know your place."

it was pitiful, truly, the look of embarrassment that flooded kai's face. as someone who was usually so powerful, he now stood in a position where he was nothing. it was as if the roles had been reversed. it was a cold deck, but instead of the dealer favouring kai, they suddenly favoured you.

it was hard for anyone to turn a blind eye to what was happening now. instead of being able to ignore how you slowly began covering up, stopped wearing makeup, and practically disappeared off the map - always hiding away somewhere with kai instead of your friends or family - people were forced to see your relationship for what it really was.

and see kai for who he really was too.

"don't be cruel jaeyun-" jungwon warned, his presence suddenly engulfing you as you became hyper-aware of the other six boys. "he isn't worth it."

heeseung nodded in agreement, though the smile on his face was quickly replaced with a frown as his eyes recognised familiar faces in the crowd.

kai's friend group.

why was this every surfers vs bikers movie ever?

"hyuka!" soobin called, smiling softly, seemingly blissfully ignorant to the situation he was walking into. behind him were the remaining three friends kai had managed to keep during his school career - beomgyu, taehyun, and yeonjun.

yeonjun.

he was arguably the worst.

after kai began hanging around him more and more, he started becoming less like himself. of course, yeonjun wasn't solely to blame, and he really was quite enjoyable to be around most times. just, some times he went too far and people learnt to distance themselves from him simply out of self respect. whilst soobin managed to keep yeonjun in check, he was busy and couldn't always be there.

and poor beomgyu and taehyun were in no position to stop him.

"we were looking for you," taehyun beamed, slinging a shoulder across his friends shoulder. "don't want our sweet 'ning causing problems for his classmates!"

kai grumbled something under his breath, so inaudible you doubted even taehyun could hear. yet, his cat-like eyes widened exponentially and you understood then and there that kai was spreading his venom.

"soobin." sunghoon greeted, trying pass off an unbothered look. "please look after your friend, i believe he's going through something involving heart break."

soobin nodded, and you watched as kai collapsed upon himself internally.

"know my place." kai mocked silently, his wounded ego shining through.

"jaeyun," you began again, turning back to your friend. "i appreciate you looking out for me, but it truly was not needed to this degree."

jaeyun nodded, a gentle smirk gracing his face as he was finally able to accept that he had won a fight that truly never even began.

and the prize?

you.

authors note : this one was pure me wanting to fight my old friend pls excuse this i got carried away with how much i loathe him

©2023 — all rights reserved to hueningsloverr , please do not plagiarise or translate any of my work

[bestworstcase]

This is probably outside of your purview, but do you think the fights in RWBY have gotten worse, or just different from what came before?

i think there has been a shift away from tightly-choreographed showcase fights toward a more naturalistic approach prioritizing setting and character over rhythm and composition. whether or not this is aesthetically preferable is a matter of taste, but it is absolutely to the benefit of the narrative as a whole.

there’s this beat during the group fight vs tyrian in volume four where tyrian kicks ruby and her aura ripples out from the point of impact in such a way to create the illusion of deeper motion: it looks like her ribs buckling as that force moves through her body, it feels like we’re seeing this formidable new adversary break her fucking ribs after throwing JNR around like ragdolls. it isn’t shot with any particular artistry or stylistic finesse; the shot is instead lined up to emphasize the violence.

that serves a more important narrative purpose than aesthetics: it makes it believable that ruby just cowers in dread after taking this hit, it viscerally drives home how dangerous tyrian is, building tension, setting the stakes for the upcoming fight with qrow, and thus it also underscores the contrast between tyrian’s wild brutality and qrow’s discipline when they fight and qrow tips the scales not because he’s stronger but because he doesn’t let tyrian rattle him… it’s doing quite a lot of work for a mere handful of frames.

compare, say, the nevermore fight, which is beautifully shot and choreographed but doesn’t have a lot to say: ruby can plan elaborate tactics on the fly and communicate them to her team well enough to execute the whole thing flawlessly, and… that’s kind of it. RLR2 does all the narrative heavy lifting. and that’s fine, to be clear, because this is a point where the story is still setting up the board and introducing us to these characters.

but the nature of rwby as a story is that the fight scenes cannot stay that way. and this isn’t even a “monty/not monty” thing, you can see the experimentation with using fights as a medium to develop character and theme starting early in volume two: ruby calling out team attacks and narrating yang’s semblance during the mech fight, splitting up the team on the train so wby can each duel an opponent who represents their personal struggle*, doing the battle in breach as a sequence of character moments, etc.

(*weiss feels disgusted by what the SDC has become and wants to reclaim the schnee name -> she faces a white fang officer who loathes her for being a schnee; blake is torn up about not knowing how to solve all these big social problems and reeling with the emotional fallout of leaving adam’s white fang -> torchwick tries to push those buttons; yang feels rootless and hollow and worried her current outlook is unsustainable -> she has to fight somebody she literally cannot touch and her increasingly frustrated attempts to punch through get turned against her the instant she overextends.)

in early volume two it all feels a bit clunky and uncoordinated in part because the mech fight is still so stylized. the fights on the train and the battle in vale are less so; you still get those tightly-choreographed sequences, but balanced out with moments that are more raw and real—the fake-out “slow-motion killshot” that turns out to be just weiss’s time dilation catching up, followed by the lieutenant grabbing her face and yanking her out of the air, is a particularly effective example with the grapple being shot with the same intention as tyrian kicking ruby in the chest—and also just more grounded in who the characters are (weiss gets in trouble trying to be fancy, yang’s frustrated determination is both a strength and a weakness, blake takes torchwick down with brutal efficiency because she’s used to fighting people but she also lets him say his piece before knocking him out because that matters to her).

so like—waves hands—volume two sets the course that is followed in the latter volumes where the fights become increasingly less about style and more about substance. the style is very much still there, it’s just not The Main Event anymore. it’s garnish on fight scenes you can write robust character analysis about.

[hiding-in-the-vault]

I would love to know more about the cave au. Why are the cave more dangerous now? Who's death Dream managed to get safety for bringing them back?

And because I'm a huge fantasy dwarves and fallen london fan : how did the architecture change? Is it safe to build underground or is everyone nomadic now? How is the food situation?

Long post oh boy!

The cave au is kinda like taking Dream's original mention of a "world altering event" and making it very literal. In minecraft terms, I'd describe it like the cave and cliff update installed overnight except on amplified mode. All of this is because there is so much imbalance™, that's the overworld is behaving erratically.

Most of the shifting already occurred underground by the time they noticed something was wrong. But things shifted a looott to the point where what they had explored had been altered or displaced, and what now expands below dwarfs their existing tunnels in comparison. So to answer the first question, it's essentially uncharted, for one. For two, the mobs are acting as unpredictable as the earth is, swarming the tunnels en masse. But more importantly, the longer theyre down there, the longer this goes on, the more the mobs get altered themselves. (which originally was so i can say hey more things glow now :) pretty!) But now, we're talking like massive spiders in every classic work of fantasy. I'm mulling over introducing new things here too, for flavor. (like those mods with the huge centipedes ughuhg) Maybe a warden or two gets displaced and starts wandering the tunnels, who knows! On that note, sculk is probably on the rise as well and they need to be careful about keeping it from getting too close.

As for who dies-- ngl, I haven't decided 100%. For what it's worth, this is only the First death, not the only one. I've been thinking one of the teens, as they seem most likely to wander too out from camp and get Got by something. First I thought Tubbo, but I don't really want Tommy to have to ask Dream to bring him back. (not like he'd do it alone- the entire group wants to avoid casualties) Then I thought Tommy, but discduo can't hog limbo forever, right, we've been there and seen that! My desire to not repeat things that already happened in canon vs whatever actually feels most likely, FIGHT!!

I haven't put too much thought into generated structures yet, like the dungeons or ancient cities, but I would like there to be some change there as well. It'd be coooool. (shaking your hand, i loove dwarven architecture) The walls of the caverns themselves often have a stretched feel about them. A looot of stalactite and stalagmites, on massive scales. I'd say it is safe enough to build, once they find a place that feels fitting- a cavern big enough for them but not too big that they'll have to share it. Water, nutrient rich dirt, existing vegetation preferred, etc etc. But even then, the caves do still shift on occasion. Basically earthquakes that will require them to do some repairs and plan structures around, but it's possible! They think, anyway :D

And finally food. They go in prepared the best they can. A lot of them has massive farms and lots of animals, ofc. They can't drag too many animals into the caves with them, but they prepared as much food as they could before going on, with intentions to start new farms once they settle down. Lots of potatoes, yay for Dream! And Some the underground lakes have a surprising about of fish in them. In all the uproar above ground, there was a lot of flooding, but many of those bodies of water pooled underground as well, taking the fish with them. This becomes a bit more reliable as time passes as well, as the fish adapt.

I'm kinda rolling with mobs very short life cycles and using that to explain why they change so much faster. Also Magic™

[rainhadaenerys]

Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin

I wrote about this before, and I made an edit about this as well, but I wanted to write a separate post just for this topic because I think people really don't understand what "madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin" means. I see many people taking at face value that half of the Targaryens are mad and that Targaryens are ticking time bombs, and I also see other people criticizing GRRM for including the madness theme for the Targaryens, criticizing him for supposedly adding genetic determinism and stigmatizing mental illness. But I think both are missing the point.

The madness vs greatness theme is not about half of the Targaryens being mad or great (this isn't even accurate with what we're shown in the books, as very few Targaryens were mad). The madness and greatness theme wasn't introduced just to add some cool mythos to House Targaryen. The madness vs greatness theme is a commentary on what it takes to be great: madness. And it's a theme pertaining to Dany specifically.

The theme was introduced explicitly for the first time in a Dany's chapter, as something that is said TO Dany, right after she liberated three slave cities:

"I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land." - Daenerys VI ASOS

In fact, this is the ONLY time in all the books in which the Targaryens are stated to be mad or great (sure, there are times where the books talk about the Mad King, or say that this or that Targaryen was mad, but this is the only moment in the books where the coin toss and the theme of madness vs greatness are explicitly mentioned). It's not something that is brought up several times or given much emphasis, it's something that appears only this time, and is only said to Dany.

And why is this concept introduced only to Dany, and at this moment? Because it's meant to be a thematic reflection on what she just did. Because what she did was MAD. To think that you have the power to defy an institution as ingrained as slavery, to think you have the power to make such a huge change in the world, and to actually attempt it, it's something that most people would consider madness. Because it's seen as an impossible thing, it's seen as crazy, it's seen as suicide. But that's exactly what greatness is: to do things that most people would consider madness.

And this theme doesn't even start in ASOS, it starts back in AGOT. The only reason Dany is even in a position to attempt to end slavery, is because she did a mad thing in the first place: walk into a pyre to hatch her dragons. And the narrative points this out several times:

"No. He cannot have my son." She would not weep, she decided. She would not shiver with fear. The Usurper has woken the dragon now, she told herself … and her eyes went to the dragon's eggs resting in their nest of dark velvet. The shifting lamplight limned their stony scales, and shimmering motes of jade and scarlet and gold swam in the air around them, like courtiers around a king.

Was it madness that seized her then, born of fear? Or some strange wisdom buried in her blood? Dany could not have said. She heard her own voice saying, "Ser Jorah, light the brazier."

[...]

When the coals were afire, Dany sent Ser Jorah from her. She had to be alone to do what she must do. This is madness, she told herself as she lifted the black-and-scarlet egg from the velvet. It will only crack and burn, and it's so beautiful, Ser Jorah will call me a fool if I ruin it, and yet, and yet …

Cradling the egg with both hands, she carried it to the fire and pushed it down amongst the burning coals. The black scales seemed to glow as they drank the heat. Flames licked against the stone with small red tongues. Dany placed the other two eggs beside the black one in the fire. As she stepped back from the brazier, the breath trembled in her throat. - Daenerys VI AGOT

~

She could feel the eyes of the khalasar on her as she entered her tent. The Dothraki were muttering and giving her strange sideways looks from the corners of their dark almond eyes. They thought her mad, Dany realized. Perhaps she was. She would know soon enough. If I look back I am lost. - Daenerys X AGOT

~

As she climbed down off the pyre, she noticed Mirri Maz Duur watching her. "You are mad," the godswife said hoarsely.

"Is it so far from madness to wisdom?" Dany asked. - Daenerys V AGOT

When Dany says she is determined to conquer Westeros, even though it seems impossible for someone who has nothing, she is called mad:

"I mean to sail to Westeros, and drink the wine of vengeance from the skull of the Usurper." She scratched Rhaegal under one eye, and his jade-green wings unfolded for a moment, stirring the still air in the palanquin.

A single perfect tear ran down the cheek of Xaro Xhoan Daxos. "Will nothing turn you from this madness?"

"Nothing," she said, wishing she was as certain as she sounded. - Daenerys III ACOK

Later, when Dany ends slavery, people call her mad for it, for daring to challenge an institution that is seen as the right order or things:

"I have a gift for you as well." She slammed the chest shut. "Three days. On the morning of the third day, send out your slaves. All of them. Every man, woman, and child shall be given a weapon, and as much food, clothing, coin, and goods as he or she can carry. These they shall be allowed to choose freely from among their masters' possessions, as payment for their years of servitude. When all the slaves have departed, you will open your gates and allow my Unsullied to enter and search your city, to make certain none remain in bondage. If you do this, Yunkai will not be burned or plundered, and none of your people shall be molested. The Wise Masters will have the peace they desire, and will have proved themselves wise indeed. What say you?"

"I say, you are mad." - Daenerys IV ASOS

~

Xaro caught it in the air and took a bite. "Whence came this madness? Should I count myself fortunate that you did not free my own slaves when you were my guest in Qarth?" - Daenerys III ADWD

And we also see people looking at Dany as if she is mad when she approaches the sick Astapori, because this is something people consider to be very dangerous:

By the time Aggo returned with Grey Worm and fifty of the Unsullied loping behind his horse, Dany had shamed all of them into helping her. Symon Stripeback and his men were pulling the living from the dead and stacking up the corpses, while Jhogo and Rakharo and their Dothraki helped those who could still walk toward the shore to bathe and wash their clothes. Aggo stared at them as if they had all gone mad, but Grey Worm knelt beside the queen and said, "This one would be of help." - Daenerys VI ADWD

That's what the madness vs greatness theme is about. It's not about how half of the Targaryens are great and half are crazy. It's about how to be great you have to be mad (not in the clinical sense, like the ASOIAF fandom thinks, but in the sense that you have to do things most people would consider mad). That's the whole point of the theme and it's why it’s been applied only to Dany's character so far: she is an extraordinary person, someone who would DARE to do something that most people would consider impossible and mad. And even GRRM points this out in his interview:

The whole point of the scene in A Game of Thrones where Daenerys hatches the dragons is that she makes the magic up as she goes along; she is someone who really might do anything. (source)

Finally, I just want to mention that Aegon the Conqueror, who is considered to be the greatest Targaryen for conquering Westeros, was also called mad for this:

“A bold plan,” Grand Maester Orwyle said cautiously, when he heard it. Mushroom prefers “madness,” but adds, “they called Aegon the Dragon mad when he spoke of conquering all Westeros.” - Fire and Blood

[megyulmi]

Fushiguro Megumi, Shadow seen through the lens of Zen Buddhism:

[wherever there is light, there is shadow; wherever there is length, there is shortness; wherever there is white, there is black. just like these, as the self-nature of things can not exist alone, they are called non-substantial. - buddha]

➠ Megumi & the illusion of I and not I:

Within Zen philosophy, shadows are often interpreted as elements of mystery, the unknown, and impermanence, and represent the veiled aspects of existence that transcend human understanding. Much like impermanence, they are ever-shifting and constantly changing, mirroring the transient nature of life itself. At the same time, shadows are inseparable from light and their interplay reflects the interconnections and interdependencies of all things.

It is no different when it comes to a self. The shadow is not separate from a self, it is the very idea of a self.

It is important to note that Buddhism rejects the notion that the self is a permanently existing unchanging individual entity and sees the concept of self, ego, as a product of consciousness, which arises in a sentient being as part of the process of living i.e. consciousness itself is, at any moment in time, dependent on many things that are always changing, and consciousness itself is always changing, hence so too does the conceived self (when I use the term ‘self’ from here on, I am referring to the ‘conceived self’).

Another important thing to note is that Buddhism transcends dualistic concepts such as ‘Good vs. Evil’. It is the heart of Buddhism that Enlightenment sets one free from such false dichotomies, and from the cycle of suffering altogether.

However, when the Shadow, the unknown self, is not integrated into the self as a whole, one fails to recognise the non-dual nature of existence and may end up with a sense of ‘Goodness’ or ‘Rightness’. You separate the world as you separate the self, to attain gain from defining yourself and the world in a dualistic way. We see Megumi separate the world as such, the Good and the Bad or the Right and the Wrong. He integrates his entire sense of justice into the concept that helps him navigate the world in the most convenient way for him. He does not confront himself nor his ideals (although, he starts to, when he crosses paths with Yuuji, who does not truly fit his perceived idea of ‘Goodness’, but he justifies it, by laying the blame not only on Yuuji, but upon himself). Throughout the manga, it is clear that Megumi fears his Shadow (and the potential that lies in facing it), because he is afraid of what might peer back at him from the dark if he stands face to face with that part of his self (i.e. what if his perceived notions are wrong altogether).

However, what Megumi fails to recognise is that he loses his true sense of self by diving the world into ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’, and therefore, struggles to place himself in either of the categories. Tsumiki is good, so she must live a life free of suffering (or fairly). Yuuji is good, so he deserves to live. Where is Megumi’s place on that scale of ‘good’ and ‘bad’? He is not as good as his sister, he is not as kind as Yuuji, so of what value is his life? But on the other hand, he is not as bad as for example, Sukuna is, so his life cannot be completely worthless. Instead of seeing reality and accepting it for what it is, Megumi clings to his conceived idea of how the world (or people) is ‘supposed’ to be and it leaves him in a stalemate. He stays standing where he is, because he cannot imagine himself standing anywhere else.

In that same sense, he separates himself from his Shadow. For Megumi the Shadows are not a truly innate part of himself (an essence of being), but merely a Technique. A way for him to protect his perceived ‘Good/Right’ from ‘Bad/Wrong’ and because he cannot fit himself in either of the categories (not good enough or not bad enough), he cannot see himself as anything other than a tool. The world he has to navigate feeds onto his notions. In a way, Megumi has always been a tool, within the world of sorcery or outside of it, on an interpersonal level (but this depends on how one regards his relationships with Tsumiki and Gojo for example) and so, he continues to regard himself and his technique as such.

Megumi struggles to see beyond what is conscious, but the Shadow is what lies beyond his consciousness. Therefore, he has a hard time understanding himself and his technique on an innate level, because he can only see that which is conscious, the rest remains hidden in the Shadow, influencing his behaviour, creating reactive patterns within him, and distorting his perception of reality.

There is a concept called Non-dual Awareness in Buddhism, which refers to an awareness that transcends firm distinctions between oneself and the rest of existence. This is what we see Megumi struggle to cultivate throughout the manga when it comes to his technique (and sense of self). In a state of non-dual awareness, one understands that one is inseparable from the entire process of reality. Imagine you are standing in front of an ocean, looking at a single wave, is the wave still an ocean? The wave may have its own distinct properties, but it is also still clearly the ocean, i.e. it is both itself and the ocean at the same time. Such is the case with human beings. We are our individual selves, but we are also continuous with the particles that constitute everything in the known universe. Undertanding such, Buddhists see that selves are fuzzy and cannot be neatly defined. There is no objective boundary at which I end and the rest of reality begins.

➠ liberation:

How can Megumi reconcile with his Shadow, that unknown self?

The process of liberation within Buddhism is largely a process of gradually embodying the truths of non-duality and no-self, while learning to let go of your individual preferences, desires, expectations, and attachments. Through this process, we come to participate more fully and compassionately in our world, let go of fear, and accept the endless ebb and flow of all things. We resist nothing.

The way to liberation is to become an observer, a witness of your own mind. For Megumi to embrace his ‘full self’, he must embrace the impermanence of life (and therefore, self). And I believe where Akutami is leading him through all his suffering is that path of awakening, where Megumi is the Shadows and the Shadows are him.

To be continued...

[Disclaimer: This is only a personal opinion as just another reader. Additionally, English is not my native language and I have never read JJK in English, so certain terminologies I use may not be the correct equivalent of the English language.]

[nova-dracomon]

Me, Myself and I: When I’m you, but also me

Or, what it's like to be a your own dragon, but also literally intertwined with two other dragons as a single dragon

So we are a system of five dragons with three of our members collectively identifying as a hydra linktype, but each of them also has an individual form outside of that. As a hydra, we feel like we ride a weird line between what it means to be an individual and what is the self. We’re writing this to share what our daily life is like because we thought others might find it interesting! There’s not that many hydras around in the alterhuman community that we’ve seen at least.

We are a single dragon – we share a single body even in the headspace and are connected in a way we don’t share with other headmates. However, it gets extra fucky because we aren’t always together like that nor are we always all present in it when combined. Sometimes only two of the three hydra members combine at a time to be a hydra – it’s not necessary to have all three. Because of the shifting make-up of members, the appearance of our hydra form–the number of limbs, wing arrangement, and size also changes. Generally speaking, we'll be the size of whoever the largest dragon in the group is at the time. The one constant is that we always have gold scales.

Does Identifying as a Hydra Mean I Must be Plural?

How do you know when you’re a hydra then?

How do we know when we’re an individual dragon vs a single unit as a hydra? The easiest way to tell is because we’ll look like a hydra in our headspace. When someone isn’t in hydra form they’ll appear as their individual form. We can “tune in” to another headmate’s frequency and get a glimpse at what they’re doing/where they are from the front. It’s like adjusting the dial on a radio and can happen as quickly as if you glanced over at a mirror. Beyond essentially looking down at ourselves to check, we can often just feel it. The usual scenario is we feel like we’re in hydra form and we quickly check-in to confirm.

What does “just feel it” mean? It can mean feeling the phantom sensation of another neck alongside our body’s physical one. It can also mean feeling like our thoughts/feelings are “fuller” and we’re experiencing the thoughts of another fellow hydra head running parallel to our own. Another common occurrence is we can feel closeness, a unique lack of boundary, between what is me and us. 

Something we’ve been asked is who is controlling the body then? Do certain heads control different parts? How do we decide when we are moving around the headspace or collectively fronting? When we’re a hydra we’re not three dragons that have been glued together we are a single dragon. We all collectively control everything. As long as we have a shared intent, our body will move accordingly. And if we disagree? It definitely happens, but communication barriers are basically nonexistent. We feel each other’s thoughts and feelings as instantaneously as our own. It’s unusual to be frozen in indecision, it’s more like hesitating before making a choice. Talking things through just happens so quickly.

To share a mind

The thoughtleak is real. Thoughtleak happens between all of our headmates, usually when we’re close to each other in the headspace, but when in hydra form it’s more intimate. There’s definitely been times where we’ll suddenly feel an out-of-place emotion and have to consider who it belongs to. Which, that can happen with our other headmates, but it’s a stronger, more pressing feeling and harder to distinguish as someone else’s since hydra. When we’re not in hydra form, the rules seem to be the same as our non-hydra headmates: thoughtleak amount depends on proximity. It’s not possible for us to be both a hydra and in individual forms at the same time. It’s one or the other. Likewise, shifting between them doesn’t leave us in a limbo state. There can be a general knowing or sense that the form is going to shift soon before it does, but the actual change in form happens quickly.

Also, our other headmates are not able to just hop in and suddenly decide to join us as a hydra. There’s not a great way to explain it besides we’re able to do it because we’re drift-compatible. It’s just not possible unless we’re on the same wavelength.

Choice is punk and being an otherlinker is not only valid, but actually extremely cool.

The things you choose for yourself are powerful and we choose to describe our hydra-self as a linktype. This may or may not seem odd given everything we’ve said up to this point, but we have a specific reason for it. Everything: merging, being close to one another and sharing with each other is a choice. The linktype descriptor immediately communicates to others that we are collectively choosing to become another, different dragon together.

Nothing happens against someone else’s will. It’s impossible to Voltron into a hydra if we’re not comfortable with it. Forming together as a hydra is contingent on us not only on us being in tune with one another, but actively desiring to be close to one another. You gotta be drift-compatible and be willing to get into the robot. 

If you're interested hearing more of our rambles on being a hydra check out our older writing A Few Thoughts on Being a Hydra.

Parting Thoughts

We want to finish with a quote from Thorn. It was said in response to our 30 day alterhuman challenge, but we feel sums everything up nicely:

"We have a strong bond that has grown stronger over time. There’s a quote saved on our phone that I want to paraphrase: 'Right now, they feel like they’re in a box–like the menial distance between them is some forced, unnatural barrier that shouldn’t be there. Right now, they want to tear that barrier down.’ Being a dragon inherently comes with a feeling of power and pride, but being a hydra is about love and connection. We often joke that the only thing we love more than ourselves is each other. We’re close with our other headmates, but there’s something about becoming the same being as one another. A unique level of synchronicity and trust is needed for it. I love them.” – Thorn