#those difficult words

[miregrave]

Trying to learn that it’s not my responsibility to create or maintain harmony in the lives of those I care about. They are allowed to have difficulties in their lives and struggles in their relationships with others and it’s not something that I need to ‘fix.’ I am not responsible for their happiness or peace. Their struggles do not make me a failure. All I can control is how I interact with them.

[sag-dab-sar]

Hellenic Polytheist Reconstructionists

Am I a reconstructionist? No. And I do think there is a difference between Recon and Revival.

Here is my feeling of difference, some are absolutely going to disagree with this but its my perspective:

"Polytheist Reconstructionism & Revivalism is the worship of a pantheon of Gods heavily influenced by the original religion that worshipped them. It is not a claim of continuity with that religion, or a desire to reinstate the ancient culture & its morals/laws. Reconstructionism attempts to be as close as possible to actual ancient practice without forgoing modern morals. While Revivalism attempts to remain close to the meaning of the ancient practice— allowing for heavy modern adaptations while still fulfilling the ancient practice purpose."

My entire practice has to be modified for my disability, I had dreams of recon but the methods I can't preform.

My zero spoon praxis is all modern:

My method of low spoon / no spoon libations is entirely modern and not at all how the ancient people would do it. Purpose: Doing libations is better than not doing them.

The idea of just invoking them. Saying "Hygeia" before a shower. Saying Theoi's names before a sip or bite to make it an offering. Etc. Purpose: Again literally anything is better than nothing.

Watching TV "with" the Gods (no I don't believe they're sitting next to me or anything). Purpose: keep the Gods in my life and mind, as they were ever present for the ancient people.

Defining "purity" as being clean with the clear ability to focus on the Gods even if in PJs. Definitely not ancient standard. I'd worship if sick if I can get all the symptoms under control (like cough medicine for example), have clean clothes, wash hands and face, focus. I'd worship on a period so long as I was clean and could focus. Etc. Purpose: while it is not the ancient standard of purity, purity is important so I had to have some sort of bench mark (its even more important in Sumerian but thats outside scope of post)

New Festivals (I usually write low spoon versions). I'm trying out some ancient ones but I find them hard to connect to (or at least don't have energy yet to appreciate them), I make my own right now. Purpose: The ancient people really liked festivals

I could go on, point is adapting ancient practices to make an attempt to meet the purpose is my goal. I'm not focused necessarily on using the ancient methods (well not yet I take things as my disability allows)

But without reconstructionists (many of whom are classicists) I would not know:

Miasma vs lyma. And this is important because I had met people who head veiled specifically to protect themselves from miasma because they thought it was that common and bad

Different methods of purity: just washing hands face; barley throwing; fire extinguished in water; few others

How to structure ancient prayers if you want to write them in that way. And how it is interwoven with Kharis.

Literally any ancient Hellenic Festival outside the book by Labrys (and I suppose Kosmos but I don't trust the author)

Debunks of modern Hellenic Polytheist things people are claiming are ancient when they are modern

Anything that requires translation from ancient Greek to explain the concept because either no English language translation exists or more often the English translation leaves out significant valuable information for religious practice.

Explanations of ancient texts and their context

Epithet explanations

Explanations of various Theoi beyond the "God of ___" one finds in website info blurbs

Ancient Greek Calendars

Book resource recommendations and often free access.

Website resources recommendations.

Journal articles & authors recommendations

If I didn't know the ancient standards and methods I would not be able to adapt anything at all and meet the "purpose"

........ literally being able to ask questions from people who have actual knowledge of the ancient religion and are willing to take time out of their day to answer

Reconstructionists do so much damn leg work in Hellenic Polytheism. So much. And so many people seem to refuse to acknowledge that. We take it all but never appreciate their approach. And many reconstructionists have been run off this website for no good reason.

I have seen a grand total of one person claiming to be recon who disparaged non-reconstructionists, and he was a xenophobic douche regardless. Beyond that I haven't had any recon disparage revivalism [edit: as in disparage the fact that it exists or claim its not Hellenic Polytheism]. Correction on information =/= hate. Pointing out something is modern =/= hate. Having different opinions =/= hate.

So to all the Hellenic Polytheist Reconstructionists: Thank you.

-dyslexic not audio proof read-

[solifloris]

[mellxncollie]

Sophus Helle, Gilgamesh — tablet X, line 55 Dead Boy Detectives (2024) — season 01, episode 07

[records-of-a-slacker]

I think the reason I like Cale so much and that he means just everything, is because his ideals are so close to mine and because he is proof of the kind of person I've always wanted to be.

I basically live by this saying I heard, something along the lines of be the person you wished was there that time no one was. Grow up to be that person who you would have needed that time you were suffering. It's kind of like my life motto. And Cale, he's like the physical manifestation of it.

He went hungry and starved a lot in his life, so now he always feeds the people around him and places a lot of importance on food and proper nutrition, as well as growing up well, and he even wishes the kids would be picky with their food. All his childhood, he was continuously betrayed and failed by the adults around him, who were supposed to take care of him but ended up hurting him so often. So now he's a reliable and caring guardian for all those kids who don't have someone to look out for them. He's never really had a home, and when he thought he did, he lost them one way or another, and he knows what's it like to not have a roof over your head and wander aimlessly without somewhere to go back to. So now he has tons of shelters everywhere, different villas like the one in Harris or the jungle, so that there's a home for him and his allies to return to wherever they go. And when he meets someone who doesn't have anywhere to go, he creates a place for them or takes back the place that was supposed to be meant for them.

When he first meets On and Hong, he feeds them, starting with bread, then meat, then cake, and then even medicinal herbs when he noticed On was hurt. When he met Choi Han, he brought him back so he had somewhere to sleep for the night, had a chance to clean himself up, eat well, and rest properly. When he freed Raon, he healed up his injuries and sent him off., and when he started following him, he always made sure Raon was eating well like with all of his allies. He gave the wolf kids and the tigers a whole neighborhood in Harris village.

He's had his world completely flipped upside down, time and time again, destroyed, decimated. So he saves everyone else's world.

Cale is so special to me, because despite everything he chooses not to be bring harm to people because of the way he had been treated, but to be kind and make it so that the people around him don't suffer like he did.

[airenyah]

Episode 6: FadelStyle vs. Beginnings and Endings

In the past one and a half-ish weeks we've discussed at length just how good the last scene at the diner is and how Style drawing tears on Fadel at the rock concert was foreshadowing to Fadel ending the episode crying real tears. What I haven't seen discussed yet, however, is how that ending scene is actually a counterpart to Fadel and Style's conversation after the rock concert. And I think that makes the scene in the diner even more poignant. And it also makes the scene at the rock pub even more painful as well. Because they are basically the same scenes, just flipped. And I desperately need to talk about it or else I'll explode.

Part 1: "Tonight I am very happy"

In this scene Style knows something that Fadel doesn't: This will most likely be their last chance to be happy together like this. Tomorrow Fadel will go on his mission where the police will be waiting and then Fadel will be taken away from him.

But Style already loves Fadel, he is already worried about him and he really does not want to lose him. So he keeps trying to subtly talk Fadel into staying home from the mission and spilling the beans about the mission so he can explicitly ask Fadel not to go. But Fadel keeps his mouth shut. And as happy as Style is together with Fadel this evening, he is also very upset. He doesn't want the night to end, but there's no way around it. For Style this is a goodbye.

And for Fadel? Fadel went from I'll tell her this will be your last job to Ruerat is the last jerk we have to kill. After that, we can live however we want. Even in this episode, right before he goes to the concert with Style, Fadel tells Bison "Once we're done with Ruerat, I'll talk to Mother again", when Bison says it's time for them to quit. Fadel is on the same page as Bison now. Ruerat is their last victim and after that Fadel wants out. For Fadel, this is the last night where he's still stuck in his hitman life, but once he is done with his mission the weight will be off his shoulders and he can finally truly be with Style. For Fadel this is the opposite of a goodbye.

In the words of my mother: For Style, when the night is over life will end. For Fadel, when the night is over life will begin. Style is ending something and Fadel wants to begin something.

And another thing my mom pointed out is how they're standing in front of a pink sky:

And at what time of the day is the sky pink? Either at dawn or at dusk. The beginning of the day or the end of the day. And for Fadel this scene is only the beginning of the day while for Style this scene is the end of the day.

Part 2: "I think I already love you"

In this scene Fadel knows something that Style doesn't: Style has played him, has made him lower his protective walls, has made him fall for him only to turn around and betray him.

Style told Fadel he hoped that Fadel wouldn't get any more scars and yet here Style is, stabbing Fadel right in the heart and jeopardizing his life. Here Style is, bursting Fadel's bubble that he's finally started daring to dream about, a dream of a future where he wasn't lonely, a future where he was happy and himself with someone, Style, by his side. But Style is a danger to him. Style can't stay. As happy as Fadel has been together with Style, he needs to let go of him. For Fadel this is a goodbye.

And for Style? He has just spent a full week worrying sick about Fadel after his mission went wrong and went completely MIA. Style has likely (definitely) spent a week checking the restaurant every single day for any sign of Fadel's return, not giving up hope of seeing him again. And then Fadel is back. Style is overjoyed. The heavy metal concert wasn't their last day together, Fadel is pulling through on his promise to have many more nights like that with each other. The concert may have been the end of the day, but now against all odds a new day has come. For Style this is the opposite of a goodbye.

And so we're left with the exact opposite situation from what we had at the concert: Fadel is ending something and Style wants to begin something.

Conclusion

These two scenes go together, they're flipped parallels of each other.

At the concert, Style is internally saying goodbye to Fadel because he thinks their relationship will be over when Fadel gets arrested at the mission and the police take him away. At the diner, Fadel is internally saying goodbye to Style because he thinks their relationship is over now that he "knows" that none of it was real on Style's part since in reality he was working with said police.

At the concert Fadel is truly happy, because once his mission is over he'll talk to mother and when he's managed to convince her that him and Bison will be out, then Fadel can go and start a new life, a new future with Style. At the diner, Style is overjoyed because he thought he was about to lose Fadel, but Fadel has come back and now Style gets a second chance at a future with Fadel.

At the concert, Fadel is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Style ("What's wrong? You act like we're not going to see each other again."), but he has absolutely no idea that Style is in the process of bidding him farewell. At the diner, Style is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Fadel ("You were just calling me out for being affectionate. Now you wanna be romantic?"), but he has absolutely no idea that Fadel is in the process of bidding him farewell.

It's brilliant writing, really. And both scenes were flawlessly performed by both boys.

[nattikay]

Prospective Na'vi speakers enter the community at a wide variety of prior linguistics levels: some are formal linguistics students, others are experienced hobbyists, others learned a little bit by studying a foreign language at some point, and yet others are complete newbies who haven't even heard a word like "adjective" since high school.

I've noticed a few new students recently who were struggling a bit to keep track of which words are "nouns" vs "verbs" etc, so I made this little overview in hopes to help!

Although it's presented in a Na'vi context, this is really less of a Na'vi lesson per se and more of a very general basic linguistics lesson, aimed at new learners whose only prior linguistics experience was a high school English class however many years ago and need a quick refresher. That said, knowing what part of speech a word belongs to is vital to learning Na'vi because Na'vi is much stricter with its parts of speech than English is. In English there's a lot of words that can be both a noun and a verb depending on the context: for example, "I hunt today" (verb) vs. "the hunt was successful" (noun). In Na'vi these need to be two separate words: taron and sätaron, respectively. Colloquial English also likes to toss words around to different parts of speech (think something like "adulting"); Na'vi can't do that.

Understanding parts of speech will also help you understand what it means when a teacher says something like "case endings can only go on nouns and pronouns" or "infixes only go in verbs"!

[brainrot-jikan]

im not the biggest alhaitham/kaveh shipper (because im a rare pair ho) but it seems to me that in alhaitham/kaveh getting-together fics tend to be... unequal.

the beautiful thing about alhaitham and kaveh is that they're both equally right and equally wrong and equally dicks about it. but the writers for alhaitham/kaveh much more frequently seem to give alhaitham the burden change (the burden of the character flaw) instead of kaveh.

in any good character arc, the main character has a fatal flaw or misconception, and by the end of that arc they have addressed that flaw in some definitive way. scrooge was a scrooge and learned that being that way was detrimental; merlin from finding nemo was overprotective to a fault and had to learn that he couldn't (and shouldn't) control everything and to let go; the wolf from little red riding hood learns that you should stop while you're ahead.

stories centering around romance tend to lean heavily on character arcs, which makes sense. and since romance generally requires two individuals to be vulnerable and open and emotional with each other, it makes double sense that alhaitham/kaveh authors zoom straight into alhaitham's lack of emotional vulnerability.

this bothers me.

in society, individuals are expected to experience and present emotions in a specific way. if someone dies, you cry. if someone smiles at you, you smile back. if you're at a party, you're supposed to be having fun. if you don't do these things, you're seen as impolite at best and a inhuman freak at worst. when these behaviors are frequent it's often viewed as emotional immaturity, or a lack of ability to feel at all. the inability or lack of willingness to conform to societies emotional expectations of you is seen as a flaw and a reason for exclusion.

alhaitham is canonically disliked and avoided for being the way he is. he prefers it this way, but that doesn't mean the people perpetuating this avoidance are in the right. they are the societal pressure to conform that alhaitham blows off. alhaitham could be the way he is for a lot of reasons: avoidant attachment style, trauma, following someone else's example (eg. his grandmother), or just his base personality. it doesn't MATTER. he is the way he is. kaveh having to accept that should be part of the story.

putting the burden of the fatal flaw on alhaitham, making the way alhaitham treats kaveh and the people around him the problem, feels invalidating. it implies heavily that alhaitham's way of interfacing with the world, alhaitham's very SELF, is incorrect. my suggestion is to flip a larger portion of that burden onto kaveh. kaveh 👏 character 👏 arcs 👏

some examples/recommendations:

- make kaveh project his insecurities onto other people but especially onto alhaitham; he's overly reliant on other people for his own self worth, and he perceives alhaitham's lack of positive feedback as a direct reflection of how alhaitham feels about him. but learns along the way that alhaitham doesn't hate him, kaveh's actual struggle is with hating himself and being unable to his own self as worthy of love. maybe throw in how you are responsible for your own recovery, other people can help but you can't rely on them to carry you through self actualization.

- or, kaveh tries to make alhaitham behave more like a "normal" person, to be more pleasant and emotive and forthcoming, and then realizes he's in the wrong for trying to make alhaitham into something he's not, possibly for all the wrong reasons (not because he likes alhaitham better like that, but bc society says that's healthier and a better/more conforming way to be)

- or you could go ahead make alhaitham's issues the main problem but they're too complicated to overcome in a short period of time, so kaveh has to accept alhaitham is doing his best in his own way and not push for unrealistic and unhealthy changes. he could alter his own behavior to give alhaitham space and time and a safe place to land.

that got sappy so it's past time for me to dip out. go forth and ship things; but maybe consider letting alhaitham be a rude stone-faced bastard if he wants to be.

[flowersforthemachines]

anyways!!

while I'm in a bit of a writing rut I thought that maybe throwing my existing WIP concepts at the public to see what could potentially sound the most Interesting TM would not be the worst idea. surely there could be worse ideas in the world. probably.

[swiiivet-screamathon]

"Ah-- shit shit shit-- Milky I need a hand--!"

"What have gotten you so bold now then?"

"I don't have time for your snark-- just come help!!"

"Or else?"

"You're responsible for cleaning up two 10 kilos worth of wafflebot ingredients--"

"This problem isn't my fault! Can't just put that on me, tut tut."

"I thoroughly do not ca-- arGH-!!!! Get down here!!!"

"Fine, fine, what do you need?"

"That crank, pull it now, as hard as you can--"

He raises his staff--

"No no, not magic, it will break it all--!"

"Huh? How the hell is that supposed to work?"

"STOP ASKING AND PULL IT--"

He floats down and apprehensively grabs onto it.

"HURRY!??"

He gives a glare to Crepe, but pulls it... And tries again-- whoo-wee is he going for it.

"Holy-- Okay just magic this thing up, be careful and do not move it at all."

Smilk glares again at Crepe but lets go, and does way wave his wand-- a set of strings get summoned that holds the collapsing wafflebot in place and Crepe quickly sprints over to pull the lever, that pulls with no resistance whatever. With the switch it enables some mobile poles that hold up the machine.

"Phew-- wait hold on-- no don't leave I know you're about to. I'm not judging you."

"I think you should be grateful enough that I saved your little project regardless of your earlier audacity."

"I am, I really am, genuinely thank you for helping me. But apparently there's some safety hazards that needs to be discussed if you don't want me to kick you out."

"... You dare threaten me?"

"It's not a threat, it's for everyone's safety here-- There's a lot of physical work that goes on here, if something falls on you and you can't lift it off you that's a hazard that PV will never let go. This is essentially a construction zone, you know that right?"

"I've got no reason to stay here if you want to follow through with it. In fact I can level this entire place if I'd so choose."

"Sigh, look, I know you're a secretive stubborn twat, but if you didn't want to be here we wouldn't have constructed an entire floating capsule for you to live in, so I have to do my due diligence to make sure no work accidents occur, or else we both get kicked out. Do you have a physical disability?"

"And here I thought you good guys would have more-- tact, than that."

"Shadow Milk, I know you like avoiding personal questions but this one has to be answered today; do you want me to go tell Vanilla to get you to talk or will you answer me right now?"

"... Not what I'm aware."

"Okay, so your inability to pull a very light and greased lever is just a lack of exercise?"

"There's no point in putting any effort in your physicality when you're baked immortal and can solve all your problems with magic. That's something you mortals have to contend with, not me."

"Well that lever is made with magichanical engineering just like most of the equipment in here, where if affected by uncalculated magic will screw with its wiring and make it unable to control its items as precisely as it currently does, so you're gonna have to do some physical stuff in the world ever."

"Last I checked I still wasn't employed here to do your petty work."

"Breathe in, breathe out-- Okay, how about we take this another avenue; do you want such an obvious weakness where if I throw a rock at the back of your head you're out cold?"

"And you think I'm so blind with my multitudes of eyes that I can't see you revving up your wafflebot to throw one at me to prove your puny point?"

"Eugh, your confidence is going to get you killed-- I'm just considering getting him anyways, he'd get through this layer of ego and I wouldn't have to waste my entire afternoon on this when I should be fixing what broke my machine in the first place. Look, you can be physically weaker than the average cookie and not be weak overall, I am very much willing to admit you've got a good head for magic, certainly better than the 'prodigies' from the school, I'm not judging you for struggling in this avenue."

"Curious how you believe it's ego that's making me not want to do your labor for you."

"And here I was suspecting you just wanted to get paid to do the-- eugh, """puny""" labor. I mean it's obvious you're here for a reason, if you weren't you wouldn't be here, anyone with half a brain could figure that one out, yet it's also something you're not willing to just not say outright. I doubt it's embarrassment, you don't get embarrassed, you just get annoyed-- it really does feel like it's your ego, that you're the Beast of Deceit, so you have to be all macho all the time retaining a mystery because what else beyond that is a better lie? It'd be a lot more appreciated if analysing your dough answered these questions, simply knowing you're full of knowledge does nothing to help with your stubbornness."

"D'aw, do you really think that lowly of me?-" Suddenly a marionette's control bar appears above Crepe and the strings ties itself around their limbs, lifting them off the ground-- much to Crepe's complete disappointment. Though it seems that they shuffle strangely underneath their coat.

"-Believing me to be a petulant child who's roleplaying out their fantasies? What could I possibly have done to give you such a view of me?"

"This isn't exactly helping your case. Why haven't you left yet?"

"Out of the two of us I'd describe you as the petulant one, trying your best to squeeze an answer out of me, such patheticism is entertainment."

"I think I'm being quite reasonable trying to get neither of us evicted, though if the only reason you're sticking around is to watch me be mad then maybe I should go tell Vanilla that you're no good fit here."

"It is true that eventually your absence would be noticed, and who else would be the bigger suspect; but that only matters if I care to be a criminal to this floating rock, doesn't it?"

"You're gonna threaten to crumble me over trying to determine whether you can lift a twig? Real slick there, bluey."

"Of course not! One of us actually has some tact, you know. I've got far better means to ensure things go my way."

"For as long as I've known you I cannot say I could even fathom what 'your way' is supposed to look like, your motives aren't exactly consistent."

"You were right with one thing, I am the Beast of Dec--ough--!"

Suddenly Smilk is ensnared into bindings made of golden scrolls, where he looks down to see what occurred only to become immediately disappointed and glare at Crepe.

"I've got him Crepe! Land safely!" Crepe's own puppet strings poofs into the ether and Crepe themself falls to the ground yet lands without any damage.

"Took your time, that's for sure."

"I know, I'm sorry, but are you harmed?"

"No I'm good. No, this wasn't really an emergency at all, sorry for alarming you but I needed you here quickly to settle a thing."

"Huh? Settle a thing? What's with the puppeteering then?"

"I just wanted a better look at them! Land bound cookies are so difficult to keep eye contact with. We were having a civil discussion"

"He threatened to 'make me absent' so that he wouldn't have to confront you."

"Are you pushing Shadow beyond his boundaries?"

"Well his boundaries are a workplace hazard and if I want to keep my workshop I need to get some answers out of him."

"Okay, before we get explanations to catch me up, are you going to threaten Crepe again, Shadow?"

"It wasn't a threat, just playing around."

"No playing around either?"

"If you're currently threatening me with these bindings what choice do I have?"

"I'll take that as enough of a yes." The bindings unfurl and dissipate into golden sparkles, letting Smilk stretch his newly freed limbs.

"I want to hear Crepe's telling first, and then yours Smilk, any objections?"

"If you insist."

"Before I start, can you go pull that lever?"

As asked, Pv walks over to the pointed lever and does indeed pull it, where one of the wafflebots legs raise up into the air.

"One of the supports holding my wafflebot collapsed and fell on me, so because I was busy trying to not get crushed to crumbs I asked Milk to pull the lever to get a new support, but he could not pull it. Once it was sorted and fixed I asked him about it since being unable to pull it is a sign of extreme physical weakness, and knowing the stipulations for me staying in my workshop I needed answers that he's been avoiding continuously."

"And is your telling different from theirs?"

"I wouldn't exactly define it as avoiding."

"You've not answered me at all!"

"It's his turn to speak."

"... Fine."

"I'm neither a huge fan of you treating us like children settling a meaningless argument, calling mom was entirely unnecessary."

"I'm not quite sure how else to handle the situation, I apologize. But if they are speaking the truth I have to admit I am concerned. Can you really not pull that lever?"

"The writer and ringleader has no need to deal with the activities the rest of the troupe employs, my job is to direct, not anything like that."

".. Crepe? Can you promise you won't tell anyone about what you witnessed today for Shadow's sake?"

"I couldn't give any less of a shit about spreading any rumors, that's the easiest promise I can make in my entire life."

"Good, I think you can go then, I'm sure he'd like some seperation right now."

"Why can't you guys just leave my workshop instead of the other way around? Eugh, yeah sure, don't break anything. T_T"

...

"If you don't mind me asking, can you stand for me? On the ground."

It's just barely noticeable that he seemed taken aback by the sudden request.

"What, don't want me to bring you to my eyelevel too?"

"No, I want to see you walk around the room."

"Do you really think I'm so weak I can't even do that?"

"Well if you can then it should be simple to prove me wrong, to rub it in my face about how wrong my inquiry was, shouldn't it?"

"Hmh..."

He floats down to the ground and lands as indicated by a subtle sound, though to the most observant it seemed unsteady.

"You want me to go down the catwalk now? Wanna watch me pose while you're at it?"

"However you want to interpret 'walking around the room whilst on the ground' is good, I don't need poses."

"I didn't think I'd ever get to see you this sick..."

He does as requested, taking a prance around the room, but with each step it becomes clearer and clearer that it's a struggle with every foot that goes past the other, getting wobblier and wobblier. Once a circle has been met he swiftly returns into the air.

"There we are, fulfilled your fantasies now? Gonna sleep well tonight?"

"I can't believe I never noticed your ailment, I'm not sure what to say. My first instinct is to ask whether you want me to see if you can be healed or helped."

"My ailment? I don't have any ailment, besides a headache from this entire thing."

"Are you lying by omission again or do you really not know that's not normal? Every cookie I know who can fly can also walk just fine, no struggle at all."

"Sounds pathetic to me."

"Sigh, Crepe was right you know. Staying in here whilst being so weak endangers everyone, you included. You may be immortal but you are still fragile, you know I know that. I can do my best to help you regain some of that strength though if you want the help."

"... What'd that look like?"

"A variety of things, but probably first establishing if you've always been this way, or if this is a deterioration."

"I've not deteriorated."

"... But?"

"... A library doesn't shelve itself."

"I see. Well, either we could investigate your dough to see if anything is fundamentally wrong, or we can go straight into very basic exercises to get your body back into the idea of being used again."

"You will not get me on some regimen. >:I"

"Then I won't suggest it, but something has to be done if you want to stay here in the workshop, even if it isn't some scheduled rigorous thing. We can try something here right now though, come here."

He quietly and apprehensively floats back over, where Pv takes each of his hands into his own.

"Stand again."

He looks to the ground, his feet dangling in the air, but after a moment steps back down again.

"If you need to you can put all your weight on me, you won't fall."

"Of course I won't fall, I can fly."

"Well, I won't drop you either way."

A couple seconds passes, he already seems to struggle staying in one place. A minute passes, he's starting to shuffle his feet to regain balance. Another minute, and he gives up, floating back into the air, ripping his hands away from Pv.

"Walking was easier than standing, wasn't it?"

"..."

"It seems that will be our benchmark for now. My deepest gratitude that you were willing to commit to that, I'm proud of you."

"... (> _눈。)"

[polarisbibliotheque]

Staying alive - Dante and his s/o

It works, you can't tell me otherwise!

Devil May Dance - Stayin' Alive, by Bee Gees

Pairing: Dante x Reader

Summary: Oh, hellish imps. One of your least favorite demons. It doesn't help that they managed to chain you to a chair at the local Disco - luckily, Dante will surely be there to save the day. And to dance.

Author's Note: I friggin' love this song, thanks so much anon for throwing this with Dante here, it works like a charm!! I almost screamed when I saw it xD My mom is a HUGE Bee Gees fan, so I listen to their songs all the time since I was born hahahaha

I've been writing this one since you guys sent me the songs, but as I mentioned before, my health got in the way as always. I'm managing my energy and a bunch of personal issues that appeared the last couple of months, so I decided to finish this one and focus on the Halloween specials of this year! Fret not, though. I'm keeping all your suggestions and I'll write them - it's just gonna take longer than I expected "^^ Also, there's a throwback here to a very special Devil May Dance, hope you guys like it!

Well, out of all the situations you could have found yourself in, that would be your most unexpected one.

It was a stupid mistake, really. A step in a wrong place, a weaker grip on your sword, a miscalculated attack from an enemy. When you least expected, there you were, caught by a bunch of hellish imps, tied to a chair on the local Disco in town, of all places.

With the imps, well, imping around as all those annoying little creatures used to do.

They were one of your least favorite types of demons, that you had to be honest with yourself.

“You know, if you keep doing that, you’re gonna end up breaking it, stupid little thing.” You said with a sigh, head boringly held by one of your hands.

“Says the big bad devil hunter tied to a chair!” The imp taunted back, still smacking the amplifier. You could kick it into oblivion and make it fly to the next country without a plane, but with those chains you were really useless. You sighed again.

“That’s an amp, you buffoon. Its purpose is to amplify sound, if you want something to happen, you have to put some music on, jerk.” Yes, Vergil’s vocabulary got to you – then again, the best way to describe those demons was ‘buffoon’. Vergil’s colorful vocabulary did have a purpose.

“Blah blah blah – talking too much for someone in your situation!” The room exploded in a bunch of high-pitched devilish laughs and you could only roll your eyes.

“Honestly, I hope that thing breaks and electrifies you. That will serve you as a lesson, you moron.”

As if words had power, the thing immediately broke on the hellish imp hands and sent a wave of electrifying shock through its body – making it shake viciously and drop the thing immediately as it fell to the ground with the tongue sticking out of the mouth and mumbling something while unconscious. The other imps stared at you as you smiled with pride – as if you had actually done something.

“Told ya.” You perked on your chair, looking as proud as you could in that situation. Your weapons were tossed on the other side of the room – and you had already gone through the suffering of watching those buffoons playing around with your stuff until they got bored. “Keep messing around and you’ll all end up dead by stupidity.”

Suddenly, a very well-known bass line started playing – followed by a guitar, a set of lights dancing around the club and the colorful squares on the ground starting their own choreography. You raised one eyebrow, trying to understand what was going on and, really, why the Disco started functioning all of a sudden.

“WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!” Until you saw an imp at the sound booth, messing with a bunch of wires, spinning on one of the office chairs – that definitely didn’t belong to the DJ.

Well you can tell by the way I use my walk I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk Music loud and women warm, I’ve been kicked around Since I was born

Well, well, there it was. Stayin’ Alive. Quite fitting, if you had to say, given your situation. Quite ironic too – and if Destiny really was a humanoid entity, you wanted to have a serious talk to it, because why in all hells it had to be joking around with you that much?

“And now it’s alright, it’s ok, and you may look the other way…” You started muttering the lyrics, lightly tapping your foot on the colorful ground. If that song didn’t remind you of your red devil, you didn’t know what would.

Smiling to yourself, you forgot the imps for a while. You could almost see Dante at the Devil May Cry, barefoot on a lazy Saturday, dancing around the floor of the shop while you giggled at his huge desk. He had some great moves and was definitely showing off now that he had someone to dance to – you were reading, comfortably settled on his big chair, until the jukebox started playing Bee Gees and Dante couldn’t stop himself from dancing.

You didn’t last long with your book though: your red devil grabbed your hands, leading you to the center of the shop; your very own dance floor. You never really talked much about that with Dante, but you were quite certain he didn’t have many opportunities to go out dancing and have fun – even if he was the most fun-loving guy you had ever met in your life. He was a Sparda, after all, and you knew how much Dante avoided being around people so he wouldn’t put them in any sort of danger. You could almost see him dancing alone at the Devil May Cry for so many years – probably watching Saturday Night Fever on that sorry old television of his, copying Travolta’s moves and learning it all only to have fun… By himself. But now, he had a partner to share that with – and you could see in the brightness of his smile how much Dante enjoyed it.

Both of you waited a whole lifetime to start enjoying the things you had dreamed about for so long.

You snapped out of your golden memories, though, when you heard a shot and a loud sound of something falling on the ground. Furrowing your brows, you looked to the other side of the room and, lo and behold, those hellish pestering things were messing with your stuff again while prancing around to the sound of disco music.

That was something you never thought you would see in your life.

“Oi, put that down! You’ll end up breaking it!” You pointed at the imps joking around with your guns, but they only made funny faces and flipped you back as a response. You just stared at them with contempt in your face, having almost no expression but a very annoyed one. “I swear, I’m gonna hang you all by your feet when I get rid of these shackles, you fucking clowns.”

Among the laughs and the music, though, another shot rang outside the club. No one really cared about it, until the door burst open because the imps outside were yeeted in – flying through the dance floor while screaming, stamping the wall of the stage right across the club and leaving a trail of blood on it as it fell dead to the floor.

Looking at the door, you couldn’t help but shake your head and smile. Bathed in the dancing lights of the Disco, Dante strutted in – sword resting on his shoulders, arms open while his free hand held one of his guns.

“Ey, you guys started the party without me?” He stopped after taking a few steps in, illuminated by the twinkling lights on the floor and the ceiling – that cocky smile plastered on his lips.

Oh, you loved that man. So much. How couldn’t you?

“Wouldn’t call this a party when I can’t dance.” You showed him your foot chained to the chair – and you could see in those sky-blue eyes, a sort of compassion mixed with love and a little bit of pity; crowned by his endeared but still convinced smile.

“No worries, babe, your man’s here to help you.” With a wink, Dante skillfully glided through the dance floor, shooting some imps on the way. They tried to block the man, but he swept the floor with the demons with a swift move from his sword, back to his shoulder with a flowy movement. “Got the wings of Heaven on my shoes, I’m a dancin’ man and I just can’t lose!”

You had to laugh at how happy Dante looked while gliding his feet on the colorful squares on the ground, spinning around to hit a couple more imps who tried to get to him. Facing you, Dante winked one more time, now keeping his sword on place and dual wielding Ebony and Ivory.

One step to the right, a shot at a flying imp. One step to the left, a shot at another devil who tried to run towards him. Keeping the groove, Dante spun again doing his old trick of shooting around the club and hitting multiple enemies at once – you ducked and covered your head, still laughing at his antics. Spinning his guns in his hands, Dante coordinated his steps, the beat of the song and the shots being fired.

Ah – shot – ah – shot – ah – shot – ah – shot – stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive – and a little pause for a choreography as he faced you, as if Dante was putting on a show for you only.

“Woohoo, get ‘em, cowboy!” You had to. Dante usually had fun while fighting, but not like he was having today – it’s not like it was a difficult or life-threatening fight, so he could afford being a lot more playful and goofy.

And you had to love goofy Dante.

A couple more shots, and the imps surrounding him were all but stunned, laying on the floor while recovering for the next round. So, Dante did what he did best.

“Stayin’ aliiiiiiiiiiiiiveeeeeeee…” Singing out loud, shaking his hips, and pointing around only to finish the phrase pointing at you.

And of course, he had to be even more over the top. As the demons got up from the floor – helping each other, fighting each other, trying to stand and walk a straight line – Dante started to walk towards you in the rhythm of the song, shaking his hips with every step only to accentuate even more every beat, as if he was a cowboy who had just laced you and now was approaching his bounty.

“Pffffft, you’re ridiculously campy, cowboy…” You couldn’t help but slightly flush, hiding your face on the hand you previously leaned on while completely bored. Well, you couldn’t say you were bored anymore.

“Guilty of all charges, sheriff!” As he approached, one imp tried to get him from behind only to be kicked on the face and thrown into oblivion by Dante’s strength in the process – those sky-blue eyes never left you, though, as well as the playful smile on his lips. “You can arrest me and throw away the key!”

“Hmmm, I might keep these chains then. Maybe I can tie you to our bed when we get home.” You had to tease him back, or it wouldn’t be you and Dante. You saw a sparkle of both fun and desire inside his eyes, as Dante let out a delighted laugh – and kicked another demon on the face.

“Ha! Now that…!” And he had to let the choreography down for a couple of seconds to turn around and shot a few more demons – spinning his dual guns in his hands before doing so, and once more to put them back into their place – but quickly turning back to you; resting one of his hands on the back of your chair, leaning down so his eyes would be leveled to yours. “Is somethin’ I’d love to try, sheriff. You can tie me up and love me any day, sugar.”

You would’ve quipped back if Dante hadn’t used his free hand to cup the back of your neck and pull you into a quite loving kiss – given the situation you found yourselves into. The demons were still trying to get back in shape, now that some of them had run away and some others were still insisting on keeping the Disco to themselves, but with Dante around… You didn’t have to care about demons that much.

“First, let’s cut you lose, shall we?” He still had that playful tone in his voice as he let go of your lips, but as Dante kneeled on the floor to see the shackles, his eyes turned to you with nothing but care in them. “Be careful, Imma cut it down, ok?”

You nodded with certainty and kept your feet together, straining the chains as much as you could so Dante could easily cut it with his sword and not fear hurting you in the process.

“And… You’re set free, babe.” Of course, he had to use that sultry tone he always did whenever he decided to use Lucifer or Faust while sparring with you.

And you would’ve paid more attention to that, if it wasn’t for your sheer and rather intense joy of being cut from those chains.

“Ah, freedom, at last!” You got up in a jump, making him laugh with how happy you were. “Now! Who’s the first one I’m gonna hang from the ceiling, huh?!” You had your hands on your hips, staring at the imps with such a deranged fire some of them actually screamed in terror and tumbled away, flying for their lives through the smashed door.

“Will ya look at that!” Dante clapped while laughing, watching as only a few demons remained to try to stand their ground. “I’ve never seen you scaring so many demons at once!”

“See? I’m learning!” You proudly strutted towards your gear on the other side of the room, mirroring the little show Dante put on for you before. He just stood there, hands on his hips, gladly watching you dance. “Gotta thank Vergil for being such a great example!”

“Oh, bet he’s gonna love hearing that!” With a laugh, Dante punched an imp who tried to get him by surprise – now flying away to hit another couple of demons who inadvertently tried to follow. “But hey, keep on shakin’ those hips like that, hot stuff, I might have to one up ya.”

You let out a mischievous giggle in response, now feeling even more motivated to let yourself loose on the dance floor. While checking your guns – making sure they were in one piece, all bullets where they should be, no damages – you kept moving to the rhythm, singing the lyrics you knew so well.

Dante crossed his arms, gladly watching the show you were putting on – now casually hooking your guns to your holsters and moving to check on your sword. The imps gathered together, blabbering around like screeching minions, preparing a supposedly devastating attack with all their forces combined to bring both of you down – but Dante couldn’t care less. He had a delighted smile on his lips, arms still crossed and tapping one of his feet on the floor to the beat of the song, barely holding himself still.

He guessed his lifetime of bad luck was to compensate for the one moment in his life where you appeared – out of nowhere, in the middle of a job, covered in demon blood and spite. That was the luckiest Dante had ever been and he could see that happening as all the luck he never really had.

Who could’ve guessed that after all that hell that he called his existence you out of all people would find him – and see him? Someone with a heart of gold, a soul of steel, a spirit like fire and kindness like water; who would challenge him but also complement him in all the perfect ways Dante could have never imagined.

Watching you dancing while strapping your sword on your back like he always did, turning around to wink at him and shake your hips from side to side to the beat of the song, raising your arms above your head and closing your eyes while smiling… You were better than any dream. You were his partner, his sheriff, his lover. He only wished he could’ve had an entire lifetime with you in it.

“Hoo, is it me or it’s gettin’ hotter in here, babe…?” With those words from his lips, you opened your eyes once more, trying to read what he was about to do when Dante took his sword from its holster and left it on a table.

“Dante…!” You immediately widened your eyes as he started stripping off his coat while making the most obnoxious and campy stripping dance you could have ever seen.

“What…?” Of course, being the man he was, Dante feigned innocence. You just pointed back at him – blushing like the first layers of Hell, but with a radiant smile on your lips. Honestly, he lived just to see that sight every time you decided to grace him with it. Dante would never tire to see you smile so genuinely.

“There are hellish imps here, red devil. Have some decorum.” Again. Vergil’s vocabulary had its purpose – and when it came to his twin brother, you had to admit colorful words were the best you could do to try to voice some of your exasperated feelings.

“Oh, you thinkin’ I’m gonna take it all off?” Dante pointed at himself with his free hand, his coat hanging on the other hand. He let out a hearty laugh right after. “Ha! You are gonna have to work for that, sheriff!”

You had to fall into a fit of laughter as Dante started spinning his coat on the air only to throw it away dramatically, going back to his best Saturday Night Fever dance. You didn’t know if you wanted to melt through the floor into oblivion from embarrassment or if you wanted to get into the challenge. Therefore, laughing was the only choice available, really.

You had to note, though, that the embarrassment only came from having an audience – you could still hear the imps arguing and wondered if they would end up killing each other in disagreement – because if you were both alone at the Devil May Cry… Dante would have the dance-off of a lifetime after that taunt.

“Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother, you’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive!” You decided, even if feeling a little awkward, to mirror Dante’s dancing – pointing at him while singing, finally strutting towards your red devil.

You had your whole life to kill demons – dancing with your lover, though, was a lot more important in your book.

“Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’, and we’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive!” Dante pointed back at you, ready to meet you in the middle. Those lyrics, though, they were quite fitting to both of you – with everything you had to go through on a daily basis, somehow, you always remained alive. Together.

There was some kind of poetry in that. At least in Dante’s point of view.

As the famous riff sang its lyrics, you finally reached each other, starting a perfectly synchronized choreography you both invented during a boring afternoon at the shop – which ended up being not so boring after all. With you dancing while perfectly mirroring him, Dante couldn’t help but have the brightest and most delighted smile on his lips – his face lighting up like the sun, barely noticing he was laughing from enjoying that moment.

The most mirroring he ever got was from a shadow doppelganger at the Temen-ni-gru – and that thing was hell bent on killing him with his own powers and tricks. Now dancing? That was a first. Something he had only seen on movies like Footloose or Grease, something he thought he would only have in the realm of daydreams. Oh, how he loved turning those into reality with you.

“Ready…” Of course, you both were very much aware you weren’t alone - the imps weren't as subtle as they thought they were. Your lives were made mostly of stolen moments like that, but it was something you would never complain about. Better to have those moments than to have nothing at all – and the imps were about to steal it away from you. Looking into those sky-blue eyes, you saw Dante’s typical spark and his smart smile on his lips, winking at you as soon as he understood what your eyes were saying. “NOW! ATTACK!”

“I’m stayin’ alive!” You and Dante sang out loud – if you could call that kind of shouting singing – as you spun on the colorful floor, taking one of your guns from your holsters. You ended up with your backs to each other, your arm by his arm, pointing the guns at the demons at the same time. “Let’s rock!”

The imps expected everything but the rain of bullets. They planned a massive attack, all of them at the same time, and still you and Dante made their forces seem like nothing but a wave of hungry mosquitoes during summer – and that because you were each holding only one of your guns.

They could barely get near you before realizing they wouldn’t be able to make it in one piece. The attack was a failure and the best option they had – for those left alive anyway – was to run. You and Dante kept shooting, hitting bullseye with every quick shot. They first screamed as a battle roar, but now they screeched in terror, fleeing from every broken door and window of the Disco – until there were only you and the red devil left.

“Well, guess we showed ‘em a lesson.” You sighed, relief washing down your spine while you put your gun back into its holster. Dante did the same, but you barely waited for him to look back to you. “Thanks for the rescue, cowboy. It was worthy of Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For a Hero.”

“Ah, don’t mention it…” But you cut his dismissive words short with a kiss.

It was intended to be a quick kiss – the types of kisses you would always use to shut him up whenever Dante started self-deprecating or playing down how much he was worth – but soon you wanted more. Stepping closer to him, you didn’t let his lips go, resting your hands on his chest while Dante, even if surprised at first, immediately laid his on your hips. The song was still going, and you both still had the fire to keep dancing, but you could take a few moments to enjoy that kiss with more heart than you intended at first.

You had every intention, though, to keep it going for as long as you could – Dante’s lips were too wonderful to be half-appreciated – but as Stayin’ Alive found its last chords, another song seamlessly started to let its golden beats and delightful guitar color the place with new rhythms and notes. Apparently, the DJ imp had figured out how to keep the whole collection of disco songs playing – and you couldn’t complain about that.

“Hey…” You parted the kiss abruptly, mirroring Dante’s smile from also recognizing the song. “It’s our song, cowboy!”

You held Dante’s hand, pulling him even further into the dance floor, while he let his head hang back with a laugh at the words he never thought he would hear in that damned life of his. Stepping closer to you, he spun you around only to catch you in his arms, dancing together the same way you used to dance at the Devil May Cry – you both giggling and singing to each other.

“Do you remember? The 21st night of September?” Oh, yes. September. The song that wrapped you both in golden dreams and shiny days – the song Dante would always run to you to have you in his arms while singing, the one you would always search his hands to hold while dancing. The one Dante never thought he would be able to have with someone else.

Dante couldn’t have another entire lifetime with you, but he could have that one – and even better than that: you could have that song together. Your song.

He could get used to the sound of that alright.

[cuips-not-cute]

my two cowboy steve pieces for @toburnup's beautiful @steddiebang brokeback mountain au, searching for the elephant. a must-read for artful prose and the most earnest gay cowboys to ever exist🤎🤎

[min-kit]

Okie seeing this take on here but did Lou in any way confirm that bucktommy is a stepping stone to buddie??

No, I don't have the links to anything he's said, but he's been playing nice about buddie cuz ppl have ofc asked him about them (in the way that "hey is bucktommy a stepping stone for buddie" type way), but he's also kinda gently pressed to give bucktommy a chance. Which only makes sense! Like he's an actor, and 911 is one of the most popular scripted series on television right now. He wants to stick around! (I want him to stick around coughs)

People (certain shippers) just like to say everyone has said bucktommy is a stepping stone for buddie when no one has said that at all, and Tim has in fact said that buddie is not in the works right now. Oliver has said that he doesn't even know if he wants buddie to happen, but that he'd be open to the possibility of it should they decide to take the story in that direction (but has also said he doesn't want to tell the story of a man discovering he is bisexual and automatically be seen as having feelings for his male friends).

But people take all of these other things of them going "I could see this [about buddie]" and taking it as a confirmation of things to come for Buck & Eddie when... that's not what they're saying at all.

I've decided not to worry about it & enjoy the ride Tim is going to take us on & considering he keeps calling BuckTommy a "love story" and a "rom-com", well.....

[apinkladyapple]

Stack saying "It only hurts for a second" while biting at smoke's neck to turn him

[lunarharp]

being attached to that moment qifrey held a baby one time and my ideas for the future :)

[dafpork]

repeating myself here, but for good reason: the Silliness of the dafpork dynamic, however you determine the definition of Silliness, is really so integral to me and i think a big part of what makes them so special and personal. and i think that's a big reason why i was so afraid to post even the most innocuous stuff on main--even if they're not being clingy or cute together in a drawing, even in the comics where they're bickering like children or just being Themselves, there's this undercurrent of love beneath it that feels so comparatively intimate. they can have their moments of Unabashed Earnest, and they stand out much more and feel more special when you have them being dumb together to contrast it with... it's hard to pin down and they're hard to pin down, and that's why i love 'em, y'know? the variations on their dynamic is boundless, and so is their love, and so is their hijinks. they're not easily squeezed into an identifiable little box, and while i think that can trip some people up, i think it works to such a great strength with them. it's why i have trouble doing ask memes or drawing prompts with them (though i should try more!), because Dafpork Is Dafpork--they have minds and emotions and dispositions of their own and this blog functions to just sit back and observe what that all is, rather than force it. and that's how you get such a broad spectrum of Stuff, too; them being cute together, or being obnoxious, whether at each other or with each other, or they're not quite anything at all because the only one who knows what they are is each other. there's just truly so much and i really don't think it can be condensed into a bite sized trope or sweeping label.. and considering Daffy's anarchy and Porky's stubbornness, that feels very fitting. maybe it's a reason as to why it's difficult for some people to get on board with them, but i feel like it's such a great strength, and it's a great motivator to spread their gospel all the more, too! to try and get people to understand! so thank you for reading this, because if you're here then it shows you're curious and want to uncover more about them. me too!