#st and carrie parallel

[saltair-and-webweaves]

running down to the riptide.

she shall be called women - may sarton/what the water gave me - florence + the machine/exiled - edna st. vincent millay/letters to home - sylvia plath/inkheart - cornelia funke/never let me go - florence + the machine/vincent van gogh/march - louise glück/eragon - christopher paolini/never let me go - florence + the machine/harbor - john ajvide lindqvist/riptide - vance joy

[kayime]

parallel

my bad,hes been doin it likes that forever

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every (Other) Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . Day 33: Love Triangle Imagery . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

Hi so..... this is super awkward bc I don't think I've done one of these in almost a MONTH??? honestly it's because of low motivation, nothing to do with my interest in byler or stranger things analysis. I also have lots of ideas its just very hard to find the motivation lately to do one of these. Anyways, now that I'm pretty much back to doing these, I can carry on making the slides for these as well (bc im compiling all these posts into a slideshow that I'll release prior to S5, depending on how confident I am in byler by then).

So, as you probably know, a lot of Mileven fans or general fans of the show refuse to believe that there is a true love triangle between Will, Mike and El. I don't think that they are refusing to see it because they are stupid or because they are media illiterate (although maybe it comes to that), I think a lot of Mileven fans refuse to see the imagery because they know that if there truly is a love triangle then their ship is dead. They know, deep down, that if there was a love triangle there, then Mike's "better option" is Will. Or that Mike will end up with Will, based on how love triangles usually work in ST or other shows.

If an existence of a love triangle is there, then byler has to be canon. It would make no sense (and Milevens know this) to make a new love triangle where the original relationship ends up together in the end while the other character moves on.

This is a queer love triangle too. One ship is straight and the other is queer. We need to take that into account and not ignore it. The writers, some of whom are queer, should know that it would be a poor message for the queer relationship to be the one that is tossed aside.

Mileven has been purposefully shown to seem unhealthy and disingenuous, and Will doesn't know the true extent of that, so he selflessly gives up his own feelings for the other relationship.

El needs to be independent and needs to understand freedom from the men in her life.

So, if a love triangle does exist, then we should know which side will end up being the endgame relationship. But this is denied by a lot of people (for example):

The show spells it out that this is a love triangle so, so many times. I'm just going to talk about the imagery in this post, but there are so many things that point toward a love triangle. E.g. -- the parallels between Byler and Mileven which show that Byler is either just as loving as Mileven or more so, Will sacrificing his feelings for Mike, and Will literally having feelings for Mike.

This one is obviously the main one^^. This shot, on the surface, shows that Will is "getting between" Mike and El's relationship. Keep in mind that this is after the van scene where we have no idea what Mike is thinking. This isn't just a show of how sad Will is because of Mike and El's relationship either, because he's shown to be completely happy 2 seconds later.

In fact, it is actually Mike who looks between El and Will and seems upset or questioning. It's Mike's feelings that are beginning to become the wedge between him and El, not Will's feelings. Will is literally the one trying to glue their relationship back together -- so why put him here?

It's to show that he's getting between them in a different way -- not of his own fault. He's indirectly causing conflict for Mileven because of Mike's feelings.

This scene is different here because they purposefully put Will between Mike and El to make you feel bad for him. These scenes are not about Mileven's relationship/ how good they are for each other. The "cuteness" of their relationship is not something that's supposed to make you feel good, in fact, it's supposed to make you feel bad for Will who has to watch that.

In a love triangle, you're supposed to root for a specific relationship, and good writers will try and make you root for the relationship that will happen, in order for the viewers to feel satisfied. This shot just creates negative feelings about Mileven, which would be odd if they ended up staying together.

The funny thing about this one is that Netflix has begun to use this shot for S5 "promo" (its literally not promo, but yknow). They would only use this shot either because they are the most important characters in S5, or because their love triangle is one of the major romantic plot points that ends up paying off.

Also, after this shot -- Mike ends up stood next to Will. This is to show which "side" he has chosen, if you read between the lines. Despite literally just making a love 'confession' to El, the writers still had Mike stand next to Will instead.

This piece of imagery is similar to the last one in that Mike is choosing whose opinion he finds the most important. He is effectively in conflict with both Will and El, and his hands are crossed, showing that he is tied up between both of them. However, the directors chose to include a separate shot where Mike chooses to look to his left, where Will is:

This shows whose argument/ conflict he cares the most about. Even though he can't say anything to Will yet, he wants to see his reaction and what he's thinking.

In this one, the disco ball is purposefully placed between Mike and Will. This is definitely purposeful because the camera moves enough between the scene where Mike leaves to go find socks and the scene where he comes back to have it placed in the middle of Mike and Will. Read more about this if you search up the hashtag discogate >:))

Here are some more pieces of love triangle imagery that I can't say much about except LITERALLY LOOK!!! the writers are trying to show you that they are a trio of people with a complicated romantic storyline!!!

The imagery here is supposed to show a love triangle at first. But a lot of it just points towards the fact there is no other choice other than Byler. Most of the time it shows El and Mike being either the main couple with Will looking at Mike on the sidelines (making the audience feel bad for him) or it shows Mike choosing Will while El is independent or on her own.

Idk, with these you just can't deny that there is some sort of a love triangle, and when you acknowledge that there is one, it is extremely clear what is going to happen with it.

[galedekarios]

meta master list

BALDUR'S GATE 3

early access content & cut content

i'm strong enough. i'll carry on alone - a meta about gale's strength of character

i cherish you - a look into gale's ea romance

gale & curing the orb - what the game had originally planned for gale

cut reactions & dialogues - 23 cut conversations from ea

the loss scene - major cut scene from ea

the deer stew scene - major cut scene from ea

gale's three tadpole dreams - cut content from ea

gale's condition & how artefacts worked - cut content from ea

the tiefling party - part 1 - cut content from ea

gale's key art

unused gale's scene / datamined cut scene found in the game's full release files

tara's cut content for companion gale

gale's introduction - early access vs final release version

gale centric

gale & his parents - morena & his father

the netherese orb - consequences for gale's magic

gale & physical ailments caused by the orb

the nautiloid - where was he & where did he see the protag

gale - where was he kidnapped? ( 1 )

gale & yartar, the city attacked by mindflayers - where was he kidnapped? ( 2)

gale's love language - acts of service

gale's arcane hunger and its consequences

the missed potential of orin kidnapping gale

gale & masking - tell me more about yourself

epilogue - class specific skills gale learns from his s/o

to know you love me for the man that i am, not the magic i command... none have loved me so purely before - a closer look at gale & his relationship with the protag

gale & his love for his friends

gale's youth & time spent before the game's events

gale as professor at blackstaff academy

gale as a born sorcerer with a wizard's education

epilogue - gale, raphael, elminster and mystra

last night alive / act 2 romance scene cinematic notes

last night alive / act 2 romance scene devnotes

the drow twins scene

gale's scars - ea & full release

what do you need? - the red thread through gale's greetings

when is gale's birthday?

references in gale's banter on selection

evil ending devnotes

relationships with companions & npcs

gale & elminster - mentor, friend & paternal figure

gale & elminster - an addition

minsc & gale - a meta about their relationship with each other

karlach & gale - a meta about the relationship between the two

gale & karlach - epilogue specific lines

what was i after all but a mortal plaything in sacred hands? - parallels between gale and shadowheart

gale & withers - epilogue specific lines

gale & the ash, the magma mephit

gale & lae'zel

gale & family

gale & morena

gale & tara - general dialogue

tara being protective of gale

gale & tara - epilogue banter

gale & tara - epilogue ambient banter

tara & her little love

tara can speak common but doesn't want to

tara likes to snoop through gale's things

dialogue collection of tara & gale

items

gale's epilogue outfit - items decriptions & analysis

god!gale's outfit - items details & analysis

gale's animation vs standard wizard animation - a comparison

the chosen's earring - idle champions item descriptions

tara in idle champions - item decriptions

armillary sphere - coliar, karpri, anadia

gale's companion icon

the epilogue room

piano playing

waterdeep

waterdeep's splendours - what makes waterdeep special

waterdeep's festivities and celebrations

ahghairon's lost nose - who was ahghairon?

gale, waterdeep & coinage - a meta about waterdeep's coins and gale's wealth

manycats alley & a hc

wedding traditions in waterdeep - the wedding band

waterdhavians and their way of life - class & station, character & temperament, other races, smalltalk

doth thy mirror crack - ambient dialogue & waterdhavian saying

waterdeep after the game ends - trouble is brewing

the hospice st laupsenn & gale's stay there

waterdeep's wards

part 1: dock ward

part 2: castle ward

shorts

gale & home

the finer things in life

until we wake again, my love

scent - tim downie's hcs

colours associated with gale - tim downie's hcs

gale's themes - tim downie's hcs

epilogue - bookworm gale sneaking into various libraries & book shops

epilogue - epilogue description of professor vs god ending

epilogue - new hobbies

a look at gale's lifespan with an elven partner

quiet is not always peace

romance epilogue details - a closer look at outfits outfits & animations

idle animations - a closer look

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD

musing on the companions' rooms

down among the dead men: a closer look at emmrich's short story in tevinter nights

emmrich's vows & vengeance episode

emmrich & audric felhausen - a look at tevinters nights & da4

emmrich & flowers - meta and headcanon

emmrich & regret - a look at what happens after the argument with rook

emmrich & lichdom

[krokodilsredimudil]

I'm finally rewatching ST, yay

A series of rewatch posts incoming!

s1 ep1 thoughts :

Sometimes I forget how fanon Byers are vastly different from canon Byers.

They are introduced as a very dysfunctional family.

No father figure, Joyce is rarely at home, Jonathan plays the role of a parent not only to Will but to Joyce as well.

Their color palettes are inverted further highlighting the inverted roles.

Jonathan literally carries a lot of weight on his shoulders and puts his desires aside. The role of a parent is a heavy burden for a teenager and he blames himself for failing (Will's disappearance)

Joyce clearly favors Will over Jonathan. She doesn't know about his photos or another job that took. They don't communicate much. (shown and said directly in the episode)

This is of course the starting point of their character development to the family we love so much.

2. Hopper 'show don't tell' introduction is so well done! No words said but we learn so much about Hopper, his situation and his character!

The first scene is a child's drawing with three people: a father, a mother and a daughter.

The next shot is the absolute mess on the table and many empty beer cans. Clearly the family is not there.

Drunk Hopper. Alone. Might be divorced.

He's wearing a hairband on his wrist. Something happened to his daughter and he's wearing her band. This is confirmed in the same episode a bit later. Brilliant!

Also, his character arc is established: he's defined by grief and loss of his daughter – he will change later and will not let another child die (Will).

3. A rather peculiar direct parallel of two 'kidnapping' scenes:

The scientist thinks that he escaped but the Demogorgon is two steps ahead and is waiting for him in the elevator.

Will thinks that he escaped but the Demogorgon is two steps ahead and is waiting for him in the shed.

Will is so tiny

However, these scenes are drastically different!

Questions that I want to be addressed in s5:

If the Demogorgon kidnapped Will, why wasn't Will screaming like the scientist? That's a big ass monster hungry for blood and Will is a literal child. Unless it wasn't a giant monster but a man? haha

Since when is the Demogorgon capable of telekinesis? Why not just smash the door open? And how did it appear in the shed in the first place if we've seen the lock on the front door of the house magically open? Unless there were two people, one with telekinesis and another waiting for Will in the shed ....

With my clown hat on, I'll see myself out

4. This Australia line. Is this the upside down Australia joke lmao?

5. This first-person POV shot showing where Will is.

6. Foreshadowing?

7. S2 demodogs and D'art foreshadowing.

8. S5 Will's arc?

s1 is my favorite season, still so good!

[geronimosong]

Okay, for a long time, I had a head cannon. Now that we have a great new adaptation, it is a good time to share it.

I firmly believe that the Neriad Percy meets after his fall from St. Louis Arch is Amphitrite, the Sea Goddess and Wife of Posiedon. Why do I believe this well? Firstly, she is the highest regarded Nereid, and after Amphitrite married Poseidon, the Nereids became part of their royal court.

I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I bowed. "You're the woman who spoke to me in the Mississippi River." "Yes, child. I am a Nereid, a spirit of the sea. It was not easy to appear so far upriver, but the naiads, my freshwater cousins, helped sustain my life force. They honor Lord Poseidon, though they do not serve in his court." "And … you serve in Poseidon's court?" She nodded. "It has been many years since a child of the Sea God has been born. We have watched you with great interest."

"If my father is so interested in me," I said, "why isn't he here? Why doesn't he speak to me?" A cold current rose out of the depths. "Do not judge the Lord of the Sea too harshly," the Nereid told me. "He stands at the brink of an unwanted war. He has much to occupy his time. Besides, he is forbidden to help you directly. The gods may not show such favoritism.' "Even to their own children?" "Especially to them. The gods can work by indirect influence only. That is why I give you a warning, and a gift." She held out her hand. Three white pearls flashed in her palm. - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Theseus and Amphitrite, Athenian red-figure kylix C5th B.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art

Secondly, in mythology, King Minos questions Theseus's parentage with a ring thrown into the sea. Proving his connection to Poseidon, Theseus dives, carried by dolphins, to Poseidon's palace. Amphitrite treats him as a son, gifting him a purple cloak and a crown. Theseus triumphantly returns to his ship with these divine presents, reminiscent of Percy's encounter with a Nereid in "Lightning Thief."

Though Theseus proves his parentage to Poseidon, the god is not in the underwater palace. Theseus gains the ability to breathe underwater from Amphitrite. This parallels Percy's first underwater experience. You might ask why his stepmom would decide to help him; well, it is her kingdom that is at unwanted war, and Percy is her hope, too. In Riordan's own words, Poseidon and her have an open relationship:

“Most of the gods are jerks,” Delphin agreed. “And they have a lot of girlfriends even after they get married—” “Gah!” Amphitrite said. “I wouldn’t care about that. I’m not the jealous type. I just don’t want to be mistreated. I want to be my own person, do my own thing, without some man lording over me!”

As the years went by, Amphitrite discovered that Delphin was right. She did love her children even more than seabass, and most of the time Poseidon was a very good husband. He did have a lot of affairs with nymphs and mortals and whatnot, but strangely that didn’t bother Amphitrite so much. As long as Poseidon didn’t try to own her and tell her what to do, and as long as he was good to their three children, Amphitrite was cool. She was even nice to Poseidon’s demigod children, unlike some other goddesses I could name. (Cough, Hera, cough.) One time the hero Theseus came to visit, and Amphitrite treated him like an honored guest. She even gave him a purple cloak to wear, which was a sign of kingship. She’s been pretty cool to me, too. She doesn’t freak out when I leave my dirty laundry in the guest room. She makes cookies for me. She’s never tried to kill me that I know of. Pretty much all you could ask of an immortal stepmom. - Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

The description that Percy gives of Neriad matches the way he describes Amphitrite in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Although it could be argued that all the Neriads are described in the same Percy imagines the Neriad to resemble his mom because of the warmth she emits.

She had flowing black hair, a dress made of green silk. Light flickered around her, and her eyes were so distractingly beautiful I hardly noticed the stallion-sized sea horse she was riding. - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

She came in riding a hippocamps, in traditional depictions Amphitrite is represented either enthroned beside Poseidon or driving with him in a chariot drawn by sea-horses (hippocamps). It is one of her queenly attributes that separates her from the other Nereids along with her crown.

Amphitrite was gorgeous. The more she tried to avoid the gods, the more they pursued her. Her black hair was pinned back in a net of pearls and silk. Her eyes were as dark as mocha. She had a kind smile and a beautiful laugh. Usually, she dressed in a simple white gown. - Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Amphitrite sat on a coral ledge, watching the sunset filter through the deep water and make rosy streaks in the seaweed forests. A seabass lay in her open palm, all blissed out, because Amphitrite really had a way with fish. Normally I don’t think of sea bass as cuddly, but they loved her. Delphin could see why Poseidon liked her. She radiated a sort of kindness and gentleness that you don’t see in a lot of immortals. Usually with gods, the longer they lived, the more they acted like spoiled children. Delphin wasn’t sure why, but that whole thing about getting wiser as you got older? Not so much. - Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Hestia is the only other God that Percy has such an honorable description of in this entire book. This is significant. So, I can't wait to see if the show proves my theory to be right or not.

[littlechaoticwitch]

Things I want to happen in future Dead Boy Detectives seasons

-Edwin and Crystal bonding over their grief about Niko's “death”. Both blame themselves for what happened and still have nightmares of Niko's body, so they turn to each other for comfort and a beautiful new bond is built between them. They're still catty and bitchy to each other, but in a more loving and playful way

-Maybe an unpopular opinion but I really don't want Payneland to get together in this season, purely from a narrative perspective. I would much prefer for Charles to slowly put the pieces together and realize he has been in love since that night in 1989, but confused those feelings for a strong friendship due to the rampant homophobia of the AIDS crisis and his own father being an asshole. It would make any future intimate moments with Edwin feel more special and carry so much more weight, especially since he KNOWS that Edwin is in love with him back, he just has to figure out what these feelings mean. Plus, the idea of him being all bashful and excited of being loved by TWO amazing people is good therapy for all the bullshit he had to deal with when he was alive, let my boy have that.

-Please please please let Charles get some closure on his past. As in he gets to haunt his murderers for an episode or stand up to his father, but that’s me wanting him to get some well-deserved revenge

-PLEASE give Crystal her own closure too! Personally, I would love to see her stand up to her parents and eventually cut them out of her life, but that's just me loving the narrative of cutting toxic parents out of your life. Also let her find a way to kill David because being buried underneath that damn tree isn't good enough for me

-Honestly we would to see an exploration of Edwin's family and the fact he was alive when the first world war happened. There could be a lot of unpacked trauma there (whether it's from the religious views of the time, societal expectations/pressures, or from his own parents) and how it shaped Edwin into the person we know now

-NIKO NEEDS TO RETURN (idk if she's a ghost or a demon or whatever now but she needs to come back and still be her bubbly self, I love her too much). My theory is that the Principal is her ancestor and her coming back could somehow link back to her father's death

-FLASHBACKS TO OLD CASES

-GALA EPISODE! No, listen, this only serves the purpose of getting to see them dressed up and the episode itself being pure shipping fuel

-More low-stake episodes, at least in the beginning

-More monsters-involved cases, such as vampires or dragons or werewolves. As someone with an unhealthy obsession with monsters, this would be a delight

-St Hilarion's being fucking burned to the ground (Crystal needs to do it, I will accept no other way)

-Esther Finch was such a fun antagonist for the first season, but I would want the next antagonist (regardless if they’re introduced in the second season or later on) to be a little more threatening. Still campy as fuck but maybe someone who has more of an active role in being an asshole. A demon would be a huge leap from a small-town witch who sacrificed young girls to stay youthful, so maybe a formerly-possessed psychic (which would parallel Crystal’s storyline) could work.

-And finally, the agency adopts a not-so-normal dog. While a ghost dog would make sense, it would be funnier if it was a hellhound or some kind of mythical creature they just picked up on a case. Niko wanted it so they could be more like Mystery Inc.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jim Acosta at The Jim Acosta Show:

As disturbing as the images coming out of the protests against the Los Angeles ICE raids may be thus far, what we are about to witness over the next week could leave yet another indelible Trump stain on the nation. Trump has a long and disgraceful history of exacerbating and even fomenting political unrest in America. Of course, there are his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that culminated in the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. But the simmering tensions in L.A. may have stronger parallels with the first Trump administration’s response to the George Floyd protests that resulted in the violent clearing of Lafayette Square outside the White House. That shameful episode, which began with the autocratic and nightmarish vision of armored national guard vehicles rolling through the grounds of the White House, ended with federal officers firing rubber bullets and dispersing chemical sprays on protesters, all with the apparent purpose of muscling demonstrators out of the way for a staged Trump photo-op outside St. John’s Church.

As Trump was on his way to stage his strongman wannabe stunt, I asked him whether he had, in fact, brutalized demonstrators surrounding the park for just such a moment. Just minutes before his trip to St. Johns, I was in the Rose Garden, listening to Trump giving remarks about how peaceful protesters should not have their voices drowned out by a mob. On that day, the only mob were the forces unleashed by Trump on the crowd. The sound of those rounds being fired at protesters could be heard as he was speaking. A chilling moment to be sure and exactly what Trump wanted. [...]

As it turned out, the nation was not fully aware of just how dangerous that moment had been. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper later told CBS News that, behind the scenes, Trump had asked whether it was possible for U.S. military personnel to fire on the demonstrators. Trump Asked Whether Protesters Could be Shot, Esper Says “Norah O'Donnell: What specifically was he suggesting that the U.S. military should do to these protesters? Mark Esper: He says, "Can't you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the legs or something." And he's suggesting that that's what we should do, that we should bring in the troops and shoot the protesters.” In California, Trump appears to be chomping at the bit for yet another violent clash with protesters. Whether his aim is to clear the way for a stronger authoritarian grip on America or to simply distract the public from his recent catfight with Elon Musk, Trump seems ready to rumble. His decision to deploy the National Guard, without the consent of the state’s governor, into what should be a domestic law enforcement response has the look of an attempt at provoking another Lafayette Square-like confrontation. Trump is even insisting demonstrators cannot wear masks - something his ICE officers are allowed to do as they are tearing undocumented mothers away from their children. Trump has the nerve to ask what masked protesters have to hide. A good question for ICE. Adding to the menace of the current situation is that Trump has stocked his cabinet with yes-men, all too willing to carry out a rogue president’s wishes. Trump’s current Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth seems eager to prove he would go one step further than Esper, already volunteering to send the U.S. Marines into L.A. [...]

What was left of the mask hiding Trump’s mean-spirited biases toward Latinos has long since fallen. During the 2024 campaign he described migrants as “poisoning the blood” of America. Trump "poisoning the blood" comments Since returning to power, Trump and Miller have both insisted that Constitutionally protected due process rights do not apply to immigrants. His few remaining apologists on this issue continue to insist their immigration policies have nothing to do with race. If it were not so tragic, these gaslighting efforts would be laughable. The game is over. We can all see what we see. Trump’s mass deportation initiative, at least according to any cursory view of incoming news reports, seems to be almost entirely designed to remove people with brown skin and Hispanic last names from the U.S. Could the president step forward and finally reveal what’s driving his hatred toward this important and growing segment of the population? Latinos have made invaluable contributions to this nation. Forgive me for asking the question: when did a Latino ever wrong Trump?

The Trump Regime is hellbent on causing a confrontation in Los Angeles in a bid to cement more power.

[invenusworld]

the parallels between Saint Blaise and Revati Nakshatra

St. Blaise is said to have healed animals (who came to the saint on their own for his assistance) and to have been assisted by animals.

He received a message from God to escape to the hills in order to avoid persecution. He came upon a cave that was surrounded by sick animals. He was able to cure them of their illness. The men who were hunting in this area recognized him as a bishop where he was brought before the governor and killed.

Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears.

Another story relates that on that journey to jail, a woman begged him to save her pig who had been seized by a wolf. Bishop Blaise ordered the wolf to release the pig and the wolf obeyed.

In an incantation collected by a priest from a herder in 1784 the herder asks Blažej to:

Lock the mouths of all wolves and she-wolves, lynxes, snakes, scorpions, hornets, sorcerers, and witches with three keys from the Virgin Mary,

So that they do not smell, hear, tear the skin, tear the hair, eat the flesh of the cattle, spill their blood, break their bones, or even see God's herd.

The presiding deity of Revati Nakshatra, Pushan, is the lord of cattle and the lord of the paths. He leads, protects and gathers the herd in their movement, particularly to new pastures. In this way he also protects the soul in its journey to the next world.

The following is a hymn to Lord Pushan:

Shorten our ways, O Pushan, move aside obstruction in the path: Go close before us, cloud-born God.

Drive, Pushan, from our road the wolf, the wicked inauspicious wolf, Who lies in wait to injure us.

Who lurks about the path we take, the robber with a guileful heart: Far from the road chase him away.

Tread with thy foot and trample out the firebrand of the wicked one, The double-tongued, who ever he be.

Wise Pushan, Wonder-Worker, we claim of thee now the aid wherewith Thou furtheredst our sires of old.

So, Lord of all prosperity, best wielder of the golden sword, Make riches easy to be won.

Past all pursuers lead us, make pleasant our path and fair to tread: O Pushan, find thou power for this.

Lead us to meadows rich in grass: send on our way no early heat: O Pushan, find thou power for this.

Be gracious to us, fill us full, give, feed us, and invigorate: O Pushan, find thou power for this.

No blame have we for Pushan; him we magnify with songs of praise: We seek the Mighty One for wealth.

Revati is also associated with the Pashupati avatar of Lord Shiva

Pashupati - The herdsman of all creatures

The lord of animals. Sovereignty. Protector of herds and movable wealth. Faces the five directions & rules over the five elements. He is often compared to Rudra, Shiva’s form as the lord of beasts. The difference being is that Pashupati is connected with domesticated animals and moveable wealth. Pashupati is the headman rather than the hunter. But he is also the one who shepards souls in their after life. At least this is suggested by the infamous cremation grounds in Kathmandu called Pashupatinath. Rudra carries the energy from universe to particular; Pashupati carries the soul from the particular to the universal.

[moonchild-in-blue]

Some more thoughts on Caramel, but this time isn't so sad - more hopeful than anything I suppose.

I mentioned before how the general thematic parallels BTS' Black Swan, but after letting it sit for a while, this is actually Interlude: Shadow, almost to a T. I'm mostly musing out lout, and this is a bit all over the place with prose and comparisons, so. It's going under a cut, feel free to skip it if you'd like.

(but if there are any ARMYs here in the Sleep Token side... pls walk with me on this 🥺💜)

So. Caramel. A song about the dark side of fame, and the subversion of a lifelong dream turned into nightmare. About the loss of privacy and identity, about being under blinding limelights; about the steep price artists (in this case Vessel) pay for recognition.

About being hurt by very hands that raised him up. Exploitation, gossip, entitlement, etc etc. Icarus suspended near the sun, burning but never falling.

Interlude: Shadow is about exactly that. About reaching the top and realising how lonely and precarious that position is. A barbed wire tight rope over an expecting amphitheatre.

You don't need to listen to the song, but I'd invite you to take a look at the translated lyrics.

Suga references several lyrics of past songs (most notably, their debut song No Dream), where they used to dream about the life they now have, about being able to make the music they want and having it be listened and received by millions - and how bitter that dream has become.

Both Caramel and Shadow talk about the fear and anxiety felt while being on such an elevated stage. The fall is too high, the expectations are too much - but so are the blessings received.

There's this recurring theme of - "I got what I've always wanted, so it'd be selfish of me to complain. I'll endure and smile and dance through it all, because the other option is to turn away from it all."

The key difference in them is that Shadow, like its name, focuses on the two conflicting personalities of the artists - the person they are on stage, the person they are beneath that mask, and how those two co-exist together. Who is the shadow and who is the self (which was the whole theme of their Map Of The Soul series).

Meanwhile Caramel seems less like a me versus me case, and more of a me as a whole versus the audience. Who I am, and who I am forced to be. Which I guess are two different sides of the same problem, simply from different perspectives.

(Black Swan is more about the loss of love and passion for the art stemming from the pressures of fame, which do see a little bit here but not quite. I won't be surprised to find this theme in other future ST songs though. It certainly points that way)

Now, Shadow is almost entirely focused on that - the dark side of it all, the struggle, the fear. The Map Of The Soul series (Persona, and it's successor Seven, where Shadow is from) is a complex exploration of the various sides of "the self", and how that applies to artists (obviously BTS but any creative will relate to that A LOT).

As such, the hopeful, preserving sides are confined to different songs - the most prevalents being On, and We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal.

Both of these mention how, despite it all, they reached their destination and will continue to walk alongside their fans, through blood and pain and agony. They promise us they will stay and endure, and ask us to do the same along them.

(for context, this album came out early 2020, after many talks of a possible disbandment given the amount of pressure and scrutiny they were facing for becoming too famous too fast. You see the connection.)

THIS is the message that prevails above all, and the more I listen to Caramel, the more it dawns on me that same urge to stay and carry on together.

So stick to me Stick to me like caramel Walk beside me till you feel nothin' as well

Even when he's free-falling, even if he feels trapped and backed into corners, the thing that stands out, very name of the song, is Caramel. Stay with me. I'll continue to dance, but do it with me. Come to the show, sing along. Stick to me.

And. Ugh. I don't know man. There isn't really a poetic way to end this, not groundbreaking final conclusion. Just. Yeah. It's the same as it always has been. We're in this together.

It's hard on his end (and while I am focusing on Vessel, this absolutely does equally applies to the four of them), and because it's hard, he asks us to accompany him. There really isn't much we, as fan, can (or should) do aside from showing up and singing along - both literally and metaphorically. It's a "My struggle is my own, but thank you for listening and sitting beside me".

That's what's it's all about. Connection. Mutual understanding. Crying together and shaking some ass. As much as I feel for him as a regular person deserving of privacy and respect, I'm grateful for being able to enjoy the music and have fun with the rest of this community if you will. By putting out a song as direct as this one, they are trusting us with their struggle and vulnerability, so the best thing we can do in return is simply show up where it matters.

To circle back to that BTS connection, Caramel is MOTS all in one. The ugly and the good all together. And much like them, it all goes back to their core foundation of doing it all together. It's Young Forever. It's Spring Day.

Pass the end of winter's cold Until the spring day comes again Until the flowers bloom again Please stay, please stay there a little longer

[carto0ncritter]

It is incredibly disrespectful to incest survivors to imply two characters with 0 familial relation have an incestuous dynamic because 1 of them is liked more by an authority figure than an other. This is in no way comparable to actual incest shipping and you are minimising the actual harm present in incest dynamics.

It genuinely wasn't my goal to come off that way, but I still stand by the fact that shipping two characters who have a sibling rivalry or a golden child/scapegoat dynamic, with a shared authority figure WHO IS ALSO THEIR ONLY PARENTAL FIGURE in the picture, DOES carry incestuous undertones.

You also can't say that incest between adoptive/found siblings is somehow less of an issue than one between blood relatives. When it comes to Catradora, the writers, intentionally or not, wrote the dynamic as if they were adoptive sisters under a shared mother figure.

Inc*st actually doesn't have only one definition:

Catradora fits the second definition, and I don't think I am in any way disrespectful to inc*st survivors by saying this.

Even outside of Catradora, if two fictional characters were taken in together at the same time, by the same person (who became their parent figure in all but name), have lived under the same roof for years, spend 24/7 together without having separate lives, bicker constantly but forgive each other right away, get in all sorts of trouble together, compete for their parental figure's affection, and have parallels with other sibling characters, then sorry to say, but that's incest-coded and I won't ship these two FICTIONAL characters.

Whether characters with a dynamic like the one above 👆 are actually adopted, written as found siblings on purpose, or accidentally written that way, it's 💯% valid to be against shipping them. It doesn't make you a homophobe, I promise.

[imagination-mess]

You could read this (Izuku) before this post for it to make sense since it's different timelines and are connected to each other post-wise.

Imagine the Pro Hero Dynamight at the Hero Expo signing, taking pictures, and talking to fans. He continually keeps seeing the same book repeatedly when fans are asking him to sign it for them. He attempted to find it at the plaza and discovered they had sold all the books out. There were a limited amount of books that were available early in the day. He will stay with the curiosity. 

After the long weekend at the Expo, he was just dying to go home after the long weekend he had. He needs to not socialize for a week.

He was carrying duffle bags filled with gifts from his fans. He gets stopped by Kirishima who was delivering a gift from a fan who was too scared to give it to him which is a book with a dragon behind a blond man on the cover. The same one that he saw early among the fans.

When he finally gets home, he immediately drops the duffle bags and goes to freshen up before going to bed. It was exhausting to socialize with his fans. He loves his fans, but he needs his breaks between them. 

This is the only Hero Expo he would do because they are the only ones who would follow his accommodation. He hates being in tight, crowded places. They didn’t overbook him, unlike other places that he never went back to. They would put his section on one of the higher floors to have more room. The staff majority of the time are fans of him, but treated him professionally and showed respect for his boundaries. He gives them a picture and signature at the end of the day to show his appreciation to them. 

Due to him only doing it at this expo specifically, his VIP tickets would always be sold out within an hour after the tickets opened. The combo tickets get posted later that day after an announcement, to be sold out within less than an hour. 

It was the next day that he organized his fans' gifts and put them in a room filled with them. He takes some back to his office at his hero agency. 

When it was the end of the week, he was finally free from his duties as a hero. He took a seat in his recliner to give the book a try. The book has been mocking him for the past week.

If it doesn’t get his attention within 2 chapters, he is dropping it. That’s what he told himself, only to be glued to the book. 

Bakugou has a physical and verbal reaction while reading it, especially the betrayal and backstabbing section of the book. He was cursing the fictional character hell and back. He had to put the book down for a bit because he was getting heated. 

There was a coincidence that parallels his life, especially feeling guilty over something that was out of their control. The main character in the book, their mentor, loses their abilities in the process of bringing more time for the main character to escape for safety. The character blamed himself, but the mentor wanted him to live. It was like things like that. 

Within a few hours, he finished the book and just stared at the wall where there was a portrait of his friends at a bar. His mind just progressed what he read because, damn, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. 

He went online to see if there were other books from the same author. This book came from a fanfiction website and got published without the other's permission. The author's accounts were already deleted when he went and tried to look up their account. 

He could see the fans cursing each other because some fans were harassing the author on posting the books back online because they took it down for fear of getting sued. It was trending on social media. 

There is a bunch of fan art floating through the internet that was reposted by the deleted original author account who was an artist as well. They were a bunch of fan art that was reposted. There are a variety of alternative universes of himself throughout the fanart that he found himself scrolling through. The author drew portraits related to the stories they wrote. 

He may or may not have saved the Dragon King fanart from his phone to his home screen. Now he was left curious about the other books, if they were as good as The Dragon King. 

He may or may not have demanded Izuku to let him borrow the Demon Prince and The Mage when Bakugou saw them in the other Pro Hero's Office bookshelf.

Next Pro Hero Shoto

[dearlybelovedemilyko]

The Patron Saint of Things That Go Boom

or who’s St. Barbara and what does she have to do with Shadows House?

I came across the name St. Barbara a while back, when I was looking up the meaning of the name Barbara for a possible Shadows House name meanings edit (you know the ones). It didn’t cross my mind that a Catholic saint could possibly have anything to do with a manga about shadow people in a cult and I googled her solely out of curiosity but, as you can probably infer from the fact that you’re reading a post about it tagged #shadows house, I was in for a surprise.

To sum up her life story, St. Barbara was born the daughter of a pagan noble, who kept her locked up in a tower and sheltered from outside influence. One day he came back from a trip to find that in his absence she had converted to Christianity and wanted to dedicate her life to faith as a virgin, which was not only a really bad look at the time but also ruined his plan to marry her for money. He then turned her in as a Christian to the prefect, who sentenced her to imprisonment and torture and, when she didn’t lose her faith and her wounds were miraculously healed every morning, to death. (Another Christian tried to defend her and was also sentenced to death)

St. Barbara’s father insisted on being the one to carry the sentence, killing her himself. However, a storm broke out as soon as she died, and both the father and the prefect were struck by lightning, burning to death as punishment for their actions. 

Due to their role in her story, St. Barbara is seen as a protector against lightning, and consequently against fire and explosions (there is also an old belief that she could control them). The connection to explosions was so strong that she became the patron saint of literally anything explosion related, anyone who works with explosions, or anyone in danger of dying in an explosion, from gunsmiths to miners. Hell, look at this actual website calling her “the patron saint of things that go boom".

Sounds familiar, right? Barbara’s seizures, both in the manga and the anime, are accompanied by lightning effects. This is more subtle in the manga, in fact I hadn’t realized what those lines were supposed to be until I watched the anime (see: the gif right after the title of this post), but they’re clearly there. She’s the only character that gets this effect, nobody else so far produces lightning along with their soot.

Her usual seizures take the shape of a storm/tornado, complete with wind sound effects in the anime, while the worst ones we’ve seen so far, the one that gave Barbie her scar and that one that almost killed Barbara, have notably caused, guess what, explosions.

Notice also how it was raining in both occasions, and how in both of these explosions someone nearly died.

At this point the parallels seem too clear to be unintentional, and I'd believe you if you told me that somehow Somato and I fell down the same internet rabbit hole researching about this saint, so I thought I should share this information with you guys.

There are lots of coming and going fan theories about Barbara's soot powers, if we ever get to see them, so maybe this can give us some clues. It would certainly be interesting if she turned out to have lightning and/or explosion powers that she still can't control, and that work involuntarily during her seizures. It would also be cool as hell if she got a gun.

[kevin-the-bruyne]

more unhinged descriptive poetry 😭😍🤭

okay anon I KNOW you were talking more about the ribcage stuff than the - umm - the little mermaid parallel but hear me out.

I said they were Ariel and Flounder and well I was wrong. While Khaotung is exactly the type of person who would suffer a witches curse just to fuck a hot guy, I think any self respecting FK fan with an ounce of honestly will admit that First is obviously Sebastian.

Anyway here's a little FK Little Mermaid AU crackfic and yes you read that correctly this is absolutely a crab!first and mermaid!khaotung fic 🤣 there's also a guest star cricket! Enjoy!

-----

First claws onto a log, regains his balance and checks that Khaotung’s little rowboat is still within sight somewhere ahead. He’s not feeling super happy at Khaotung after he had so unceremoniously tossed him into the river. But, it’s not like he can just let Khaotung suffer the consequences of the witches curse because he was too shy to actually flirt with the prince. Besides, First knows that Khaotung had just panicked when the prince had startled seeing Khaotung staring intensely at a crab and jokingly asked him if he was going to adopt First as a pet.

Pet!!!! First can’t believe the audacity. He’s the advisor to the King, he is Khaotung’s guardian.

And as Khaotung’s guardian, First scurries as fast as his little legs will carry him, to catch up to the boat. He tries to take the slow rowing as a good sign that the prince is trying to prolong their romantic ride through the swamp. But the closer he gets, the more obvious it is that Khaotung is just sitting and twiddling his thumbs. Given that Khaotung would much rather be home listening to cool music, First is not surprised this swamp date isn’t going well.

Once he’s caught up to the boat, it's easier to keep up with it but he hardly knows how he should convey to the prince that the different species of algae is not the best date conversation material. Actually, First knows that Khaotung would love to hear about algae but Khaotung can’t talk and so he can’t ask any questions and the prince is certainly not covering any of the interesting things about the algae, like whether or not you can make a bouncy house out of algae underwater (you cannot they will spread out like dandelion petals in the wind). 

It’s while he’s deep in thought that he runs into a cricket, “Onii-chan!” The cricket recognizes him and breaks out into a big smile, “Onii-chan! Onii-chan!” the cricket chirps. 

“Ah! Pond!” I’m a little busy right now.” First says, but then immediately undercuts his own haughty stride by staring sullenly at the drifting boat.

“Watcha doing, onii-chan? If you’re into voyeurism, let me tell you already! Nothing will happen between them. The quiet one hasn’t said a single word.”

“That’s not–” He really doesn’t have time to explain the parameters of Khaotung’s curse right now, “You were with them?”

“Yes! Pond was in the boat!! But Pond got bored. There’s no music that Pond can dance to.”

Even this cricket knows that dates need music. Why can’t this stupid prince- wait if Pond dances then–

“Wait, Pond! Can you play music?” First asks

Pond hops up and down excitedly, ‘Sure Pond can!”

“Oh my god!” First takes hold of the cricket and swings him around, “We can save this date yet!!! Pond!!! Play your music” 

Pond chirps happily for a bit and hops excitedly when First finally puts him down. Just as he’s about to ask where his music box is, Pond stands very still, opens his mouth and starts screaming.

First is startled by the volume and his heart sinks, that he foolishly trusted this unserious cricket but then miraculously, more crickets start screaming, he can hear the faint clicking of rocks and splish splash of water and suddenly the forest comes alive with the symphony of it’s creatures. He sees Khaotung stir, the prince too is looking around in wonder.

First scurries after the boat again, Pond running after him still screaming. First picks up a broad looking leaf and starts playing the flute on it, harmonizing with the gentle sounds of the swamp. The prince moves closer to Khaotung now so that they’re sitting on the same side both, looking around them in wonder, hearts beating and fingers slowly tangling between them.

Unfortunately chaste handholding was NOT part of the contract so First stops playing to sprint ahead of the boat, scuttling up a vine so he can perch on a branch and starts playing in earnest, the most heartfelt romantic music he’s learned in his life. He watches Khaotung melt a little and lean against the prince who has a shy smile on his face. First blows on that leaf with a gusto he didn’t know his lungs could carry.

“Onii-chan!!,” Pond yells, “Fireflies!!!! The fireflies are awake!” And amidst the sweet soft sound of flutes, and tittering of birds and the chirping of crickets the whole swamp lights up, in little sparkles like the stars have descended amidst them.

The prince and Khaotung are really close now, nearly huddled, First sees the prince’s hand moved from Khaotung’s shoulder to the back of his neck. Pond is staring intently at the sight below and First too, is a little curious, and the sounds around them taper off as though the whole swamp is waiting with baited breath for the two lovers to finally take that step.

They’re very close now, almost underneath them and First too has stopped playing to see the climax of the show.

“Shit!” First’s two front legs topple from leaning over too far and he’s unable to stop himself from freefalling off the branch, down and down. He collides with something soft, but not wet. There’s a loud yell and a lot of rocking. He’s quickly grabbed by someone, the prince teetering for a few dramatic seconds before he’s fallen into the river with a spectacular splash.

Khaotung is in the boat, looking over the edge in concern as a sludge covered prince trudges out of the water, First tucked safely in Khaotung’s arms.

“Sorry,” He mouths up at Khaotung, who shakes his head and pats First on the head reassuringly.

[orthodoxadventure]

Great and Holy Saturday

Great and Holy Saturday is the day of mourning for Christ. The service is partly shaped as a lament, yet it also carries a sense of anticipation for His Resurrection. This is reflected in the Church hymn:

"In the tomb with the body, in Hades with the soul as God, in Paradise with the thief, and on the throne with the Father and the Spirit, You were, O Christ, filling all things, You who are infinite."

(Troparion of Paschal Hours, Tone 8)

When the Lord Jesus Christ completed the work of redemption by His death on the Cross, He rested, lying in the tomb in perfect repose. The services of Great and Holy Saturday draw a parallel with the creation of the world, when God rested on the seventh day from all His work. The Lord’s body remained in the tomb, while His soul descended into Hades and brought out the souls of the righteous dead. By descending into Hades, the Lord abolished it. Christ the Saviour’s descent into Hades is also a theme of the Great and Holy Saturday services.

In a homily on Great and Holy Saturday, St Gregory Palamas said: “Thus the deceiver was deceived: he attacked the flesh of Christ, viewing it as destined to suffer and die, and yet, unwillingly, he brought Light into the gloomy underworld, so desirable to him, and presented the Giver of Life to the souls tormented by him through spiritual death. Not only this, but he also mingled the Body, from which resurrection and immortality flowed, with the dead, hastening to consign it to death and the grave. Truly, the Lord could have thwarted even these wicked schemes, but He did not; rather, He wished even more to undergo the Passion for our sake, for this reason He became Man.” Hades expected only the humanity of Christ, who chose to become Man and took suffering upon Himself. Hades was deceived. In its depth, the Light shone brightly. Grant us, O Lord, to see the light of Your Resurrection.

[dribs-and-drabbles]

The things I loved about Last Twilight ep 11:

Night joking with Day about not farting whilst stood at his hospital bedside...the same place Mhok then wears a shirt with 'Proud' on it later as Night explains Porjai's baby's name is Poomjai - which translates to 'be proud' - harking back to the Fart Proudly shirt from ep 2. 👏🏼

Mhok's 'St Louis Blues' shirt at the beginning of the ep setting us up for all the heartache later:

"I hate to see the evening' sun go down...

...I got them Saint Louis Blues; just as blue as I can be

He's got a heart like a rock cast in the sea

Or else he wouldn't have gone so far away from me"

"You're not disappearing on me, are you? / If you can see again, don't disappear on me." | "I can't see" | "Let's break up"

Mhon, Day's mom, watching Day and Mhok through the hospital room door and slowly warming up to their relationship. Explaining that she's not against them dating but that she's concerned that Day needs someone who has the means to take care of him. Inviting him to be there when Day takes his bandages off, effectively inviting him into the family circle, giving him a chance.

Day reassuring Night that he doesn't need to feel guilty still when the operation doesn't work. 😭

This shot in particular, as the series has shown us before, Mhok is Day's eyes:

"True blindness is the inability to see any hope" and Day's singular tear.

I'm mentioning it again but Mhok wearing a shirt with 'proud' on it with Day in a shirt with 'goodtime / nice dream come true' on it, whilst Night tells Porjai she should be proud to have carried the baby alone, and for both Porjai and Night to have gotten the dream family -> her baby and a wonderful parent/soon-to-be-spouse.

But also them wearing those shirts during dinner with Day's mom and Night - a dream for Mhok to be accepted and both Mhok and Day being proud of Mhok's achievements. #proud

Food as a love language -> come eat with us, try this food I created and cooked and gave to my two sons and now I'm offering it to you...be part of our family.

Without realising perhaps, Mhon sows the seed of pressure on Mhok to be able to provide for Day when they're talking in the hospital when she says she just wants someone who can really take care of him - who has the means to do it. And then in letting Day go to Songkhla with Mhok to test whether they can live together, she's increasing the pressure Mhok feels. Which then gets amplified during the car accident and when Day doesn't answer the phone. All this leads to his decision to not leave Day.

The parallels of Day/Mhok and Porjai/Night when it comes to roles in their relationships. Night says he doesn't understand what his mom means when she says 'being a caretaker and a boyfriend are two different things' - now, we haven't seen much of Night and Porjai's relationship but I'd be willing to bet he's being more of a caretaker to Porjai than a boyfriend at the moment - he calls her Khun, she brushes off any suggestion that something is going on between them, and she goes to live with her mom... I wonder if we'll see Night coming to an understanding about this differentiation in ep 12, and whether it will play a role in helping Day and Mhok's relationship 🤔

TOTO!! I had been waiting for an appearance by Au. By the way, Day's new caretaker in ep 10 (the rude one from the end of the interviews in ep 1) is also an assistant director on the show, Meng Chaiyapat, so that's two cameos. I wonder if we'll get a third with Aof.

Mhok's blue lightening underpants! Plus the parallel of Mhok waking Day up with the dripping wet hair on his face.

How gestures and touches serve as a language for Day and Mhok - touching the lips as a way to communicate that one wants to kiss for example - and that touch in general is so weighted for them...but that they also use these things to trick and keep teasing each other.

The green and blue towel hanging next to each other over the airer in Day and Mhok's room. 😭

Mhok's 'Hawaii' shirt when he tells Day he wasn't chosen to go. (I missed this the first time round).

The way Day actually is giving it the most on the dance floor and genuinely deserved to win but can't see/understand that. Day automatically assumes that every good thing that comes his way is because people pity him. It's not surprising that this is the fear he falls back on when he finds out Mhok lied to him. This is his go-to gut reaction/response. That and feeling like he's a burden or causing trouble to others.

THE 'I LOVE YOU SO DAMN MUCH' CONFESSION SCENE. Mhok's face, the way the depths of his feelings settle within him just before he says it, the callback to the 'come closer' moment they had earlier in the ep, Day's voice cracking as he says it back, and the hug afterwards. It's all so perfect and not enough people are talking about it dammit.

Night in Mhok's blue, even Mhon has a blue dressing gown over her grey pjs, but Day is in that pink and white shirt but the pink is only over half of his body, and not on his left side over his heart, spelling trouble ahead. And as @grapejuicegay pointed out - it's not a groove mindset kind of a day, it's a rains county. The colours are colouring and the t-shirts are t-shirting.

The PARALLELS. "Read this to me" harking back to ep 1 when Day asked Mhok to read something to him, and now Day asking Mhok to read the paper. What was the text on Mhok's blue bag? 'I love to hear your voice'...? Ooof, hits hard.

Mhok respecting Day's last wish like he did when he burst into Day's room and got fired, and when he took Day up the mountain and offered to quit to appease his mom. Mhok is just so good.

"Mom, did I do the right thing?" Day realising immediately that he was too impulsive. 💔