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ophiespeaks · 3 months

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On worldbuilding for drs:

I don’t want to claim to be an expert. However, I have taken a semester of specifically worldbuilding-oriented english writing, on top of being a literal english major. Needless to say, I think I know a *few* things on worldbuilding when it comes to fictional works. But drs are different beasts entirely.

When you’re writing, it’s easy to say “oh this is 20 miles from this” and leave it at that. But when you’re mapping/planning out new locations in a dr, for example, a post-dystopia where society is restarting at around the middle age- it’s important to be very aware of actual societal patterns and the WHY people would settle there. Understanding the fundamentals of human behavior is important for understanding worldbuilding as a whole.

Your world can look however. A remodeled United States, such as I have in my The 100 DR, won’t have the exact same lines for nations/communities. However, some nation/state lines exist for a reason. Most commonly, bodies of water. Large rivers or lakes in geography affect how people settle those areas. In the United States (which I’m using, because I have the most knowledge of the country and purely for that reason), the great lake area is incredibly fertile and has mild enough weather to be hospitable for all kinds of plants and livestock to survive year round. You can even weave this into land disputes- early english settlers to the ohio river valley fought a war with the indigenous tribes of the area for basically one reason- Beaver pelt. It was extremely valuable and actually they hunted beaver in the area to near extinction during and after the war. One people wanting certain land for purely agricultural and hunting reasons is a thing that has happened historically, and can be used as conflict points in a dr.

Language is also an interesting point. Sure, you can make up a language. That works fine. But also, knowing linguistics and incorporating aspects of cr language into your dr can make it more “realistic” and easier to learn and understand. Most languages stem from ancient languages- things like Latin and ancient Sumerian have stemmed into modern day English, Spanish, German, and even various Indian and broadly Asian languages. Using a post-dystopian US-centered example, you can take English and modify it to realistically have changed with times and cultures. Sticking with my 100 dr, there’s an existing language called Trigedasleng.

It’s derivative english. “Kom” in Trigeda is derived from “Come” in English, which ends up actually translating to something like “From” or “Of (the)” in English. “Kru” is directly derived from “Crew” on english, which means “people” in actual translation. “Heda” directly translates to “Leader” or “Commander,” but is derived from the English word “Head.” The head is in charge of the body, the Heda is in charge of the people. Trigedasleng is actually a “full” language developed by the writers of the TV show and even has an online translator. However, for my DR, I’m working on a lot more actual changes in the two languages, Trigedasleng and English. Only certain words have changed in canon, and I’m making a significant number of words actually change from their English counterparts.

Language also constitutes culture and societal differences. Does your dr society speak only one language, are multiple languages used? If they are post-dystopia, is the language entirely new, or derived? Again, in my dr, English is still used and spoken- but only specifically by Grounder warriors. Merchants, farmers, metalworkers, etc. only speak Trigedasleng. English is a language that has survived, but not thrived, during the rebuilding of society. Language can also be used to express class and status. Is knowing English a tell of formal education? Is speaking a “slang” version of a language used as a way to express lower classes or poverty? Take a look at American AAVE, used predominantly in poorer black communities. It’s English- with slight adjustments.

Take into account topography as well. If there is a mountain on one side, there may be a desert on the others. Take the Rockies for example, most of the land on the opposite side is desert because the mountains shield the brunt of the weather. If a society lives by the ocean or a big lake, the chances are that society has developed boats and use fishing techniques. If they live in snow areas, chances are they hunt rather than depending too heavily on agriculture yield. Valleys deep enough may have different weather than even just a few miles up in flatlands. Bogs, swamps, and other still water sources pose dangers to humans because of the species who live there, such as mosquitoes carrying malaria or aquatic reptiles such as alligators and crocodiles, or poisonous snakes. Therefore, it’s unlikely for a society to suddenly desire to live in the middle of the swamp, especially if they only have rudimentary technology.

Illnesses are also important to consider. For worldbuilding, it’s as much about the people and cultures as it is the physical map. Does one group have an immunity to one illnesses where another doesn’t, such as the real life application with the English bringing smallpox to the Americas? Would one group avoid another because they think they’re “sick,” whether literally or religiously? Religions are also a huge aspect of culture. We see it present even today in conflicts, and it also changes where people want to settle. Is there a “holy land” that the devout make pilgrimages to? Is there a blessed area that people believe if they can live there, they will prosper? Including the actual gods or deities in your dr is an entire other choice- but even if those religions are false or contradict other religions, people will still believe. It’s human nature to seek divine explanations when practical ones fall short.

If anyone has further questions, my asks *should* be open! I could rant about worldbuilding for hours.

Also, for reference, here are two (very rudimentary lmao) maps for my The 100 dr *some locations are changed from canon*:

#ophie speaks #shut up ophie #desired reality #reality shifting #shifting #shifting realities #shiftblr #shifttok #worldbuilding #drworld #dr scripting #shifting theory #the 100 #the100dr #on worldbuilding

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darklinaforever · 4 months

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Reylo's indetroner equivalent to date.

I mean, Dongfang Qingcang = Kylo Ben to death. They both killed their father for essentially the same reason ! And Rey and Orchid are both in the same situation of not knowing who they are and no one knows who they are either. Girls without a home and family, and who would really want have that, who don't know who they are and think that basically they are nothing, and who are alone. There's also the color coding of the guy and the girl, the girl's powers generally linked to healing, not to mention the mystical connection of the two characters which essentially allows them to resurrect each other at the end. Then obviously, they are in enemy clans. He is from the tribe of the moon, and she, from that of the celestial. Then we discover that she is in fact the reincarnation of the former leader of another clan, which the Moon Tribe once decimated, so she is the equivalent of the goddess of nature. So in short, the heroine was nobody, but then discovers her true identity which further reinforces the supposed enemy aspect between the two characters. Like Rey when she discovers (unfortunately) that she is Palpatine's granddaughter. Without forgetting that the heroine's primordial form at the beginning is an orchid, that's her name, and you are well aware that an orchid is a plant that needs sunlight. Something said in the series itself, and where we see Dongfang Qingcang taking care of Orchid by making her be in contact with sunlight as much as possible. Not to mention that fairies are often symbolically associated with light in our culture. And even if Orchid is ultimately not a fairy, she thinks she is for the majority of the series and is designated as such by the title. Yes. No doubt. It's Reylo pure and simple.

We'll see how The Hurricane Wars trilogy evolves in the future...

Talasyn and Alaric's relationship is reminiscent of many other well-known fictional romantic relationships for me. (Just like Reylo, and of course, also like Dongfang Qingcang & Orchid, and they are all generally - so not all - the same)

There is Romeo & Juliet by the obvious appearance of the star-crossed lovers, from an enemy clan in the middle of war.

The obvious myth of Hades & Persephone. Because sometimes Persephone is called the Light of the Underworld and she is also sometimes depicted with a torch. So always associated with light. Hades is on the other hand associated with death and darkness. It is also often pointed out that they are a power couple.

Of course ; Beauty and the Beast. But in the sense that the trope is used today in the idea of a man cathegorized as monstrous finally finding redemption / or evolved, through the romantic relationship he forms with a woman. (Let's be real, this is the direction we are heading)

The classics Jane Eyre & Mr Rochester ! The orphan heroine meeting a Byronic hero dressed in black. The emphasis of the relationship being on their spiritual / magical connection. (And probably later in the trilogy the emphasis for Talasyn & Alaric will be on their equality, like Jane & Rochester, I'd be hard-pressed, seeing as after all, it's taken from a Reylo fanfic and is about a trope of light / darkness, equality will inevitably come to the table at some point)

Erik & Christine from The Phantom of the Opera. The young orphaned woman associated to the light who finds herself in a complicated and tragic romantic relationship with a man having a traumatic past, and wearing a mask over his face. But who also offers to train the heroine and ends up doing so.

The other aspect of Reylo would be Darcy & Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice, but hey... as long as we don't get in the sequel the guy telling to the girl that she may be nothing according to her or for the others, but not for him like with Kylo (And Dongfang Qingcang from LBFAD) as equivalent to Darcy's failed declaration... well I can't really say. Hoping we will have it too !

I also hope that the connection between Talasyn & Alaric on a spiritual and magical level will strengthen even more, and also above all that the concept of equality will come to the table as their relationship evolves positively. (Which should normally be the case)

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triviareads · 11 months

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ARC Review of The Rebel King by Kennedy Ryan

Summary:

Maxim Cade and Lennix Moon Hunter are finally together after over a decade of near-misses. However, their relationship is tested by a kidnapping, then further tragedy that leads to a political situation that will have long-lasting implications for them, their loved ones, and the entire country.

My Review:

I finally got a chance to read the Kingmaker series leading up to its rerelease and I'm so glad I did. It really is a gorgeous series— very grand and sweeping in a way modern romances very rarely are: You have your Kennedy-esque family (no seriously, the way I SCREAMED when Max invoked Bobby Kennedy at the point in time he did) except Old Oil Money instead of New England patricians, you have two characters that should basically be mortal enemies because of what his family did to hers and yet they can't help falling in love, then you have this decades-long love story, the heroine is nicknamed the Kingmaker (which I am personally obsessed with; I love reading about a good kingmaker personality— both in real life and in fiction), and now the hero who is the Rebel King (the origin story is that his middle name is Kingsmen and his mom used to call him and his brother by saying "All the king's men" which.... if that isn't a reference to the book All The King's Men, I don't know what it is).

I deeply appreciate Kennedy Ryan's dedication to portraying Lennix's Native American heritage in a respectful manner— Kennedy consulted members of the Yavapai-Apache Nation and members of other tribes while writing these books. And Lennix's culture isn't just some background thing; it impacts how she lives, her ideals, and her politics.

Speaking of politics, I think regardless of your personal views, the political aspect of this novel is written in a fairly simple, approachable way that doesn't get too technical, and Kennedy seamlessly intertwines it with the romance. Do I think a lot of it was unrealistic? Yes, but the extraordinary political situation Kennedy sets up calls for an extraordinary solution so I rolled with it.

As for Lennix and Max's relationship, I am a fan of the overall trajectory in this book; a lot of authors tend to get lost somewhere along the way after the main characters get together, but Kennedy Ryan did a great job by not injecting petty drama or whatever, but rather, the turn the plot takes means there are lots of tough questions they need to answer about their future sooner rather than later. Also, reading them as a couple (which we don't see much of in the previous book) also reveals some interesting aspects to their relationship: Maxim is a lot more possessive over Lennix in this book than I thought be would be (and I feel like this goes beyond just as a response to the situation in the beginning of this book), and outside of the relationship, he becomes a lot more maverick-y, if that makes sense. Actually, in hindsight, Lennix is fairly steady in comparison.

The sex:

The sex scenes in this book were seamless and really fit into the plot well, especially considering the insane span of emotions both Lennix and Max (especially Max) go through during the course of this book. And who said sex in a committed relationship gets boring? Not these two. Standout moments in this book for me include a very emotional sex scene after a very tragic incident (which would probably constitute as a spoiler), a scene in their kitchen where Max is full-on sucking Lennix's nipples through her sweatshirt and the noises the make gets everyone in the apartment hot and bothered lolol, and of course, the rare contemporary romance butt stuff (for both of them!).

Overall:

Honestly, I'd recommend this book to anyone and everyone: romance readers in general, fans of political dramas, anyone looking for a diverse romance... you name it, I genuinely think this book has it.

Thank you to Bloom Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

#arc review #arc #netgalley #kennedy ryan #SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books #bloom books #contemporary romance #romance novels

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shuinami · 2 years

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Why I love Nawi and Malik...

Kay, before anyone crucifies me, I only look at 'The Woman King' as a work of fiction, not as some documentary. If you look at it as a work of art that has something to say, rather than an attempt to recreate real life events (which it's not, and that's really not its goal), you might find it is a very beautiful movie, centring empowered and beautiful dark-skin female characters.

Spoilers Under the Cut

Also, I have both bad eyesight and bad memory (I watched it twice before having these thoughts), so if this was all obvious or I got some details wrong... sorry 💀!

I'm not to take away from the many other aspects and stories of the movie, it's just that this one stood out to me as someone who loves romance in media (when it's not forced). In fact, I like that this story is relatively minor in comparison to the bigger plot-lines going on in the movie.

Whilst I made a lot of new observations on a second watch, especially about the secondary characters, the thing that clicked the most with me was why I felt like Nawi and Malik's 'bittersweet ending' was actually so feel-good, despite them not getting together. I did like them, but on a second watch, the meaning of their relationship fell together like puzzle pieces.

Put simply, looking at each other helped them look at themselves, and what they really needed, which was not and was never even close to being each other.

Malik comes to Dahomey, resigned to subordination to Santo, who he "grew up with", despite Santo being a content, enthusiastic slave-trader, who sees Africans as a means to an end, rather than as human beings. We see his views again, when he tells Malik at the auction that he is "lucky it's not [him] for sale". Santo sees Malik as beneath him, and doesn't genuinely respect his humanity or half of his identity by constantly referring to Africans as "savages".

When Nawi sees Malik, she questions his identity and reiterates his permanently liminal place in the world between whiteness and his Dahomey background (which forces him to do the same). Meanwhile, she's on her own journey, in the liminal space between suppressed daughter and empowered Agojie, where her interest in men sets her back on her journey to achieve Agojie status.

When they meet again, she gives him a symbol of "courage and strength"; Malik literally says, "I have nothing to give you".

Later, when he 'buys' Nawi's freedom, she is rightfully outraged because 'owning' or 'keeping' her is not freedom. Malik does try to give her freedom (with the key), but as he said earlier in his own words, he cannot: he doesn't have anything of value to give Nawi.

This one may be down to my bad eyesight, but I believe he tries to wash the blood from her hands and can't. He cannot take away her identity, her aspirations or her scars, including the ones on her heart, which she references.

He details his plan about going to England which, on first watch, just seemed like an odd thing to say, given that... England was not welcoming to Africans/black people, not even until more recent times. I think this just furthered emphasised how much "nothing" Malik had to give Nawi. He wanted to take her away from her people, her home (to a place that, in reality, was no safer), in attempt to 'protect' her, but she never needed his protection, especially not as an Agojie and she also never wanted it either (like when he offers to walk her home and puts out his hand for her to take and she jumps down by herself). Freedom and safety for her is the freedom to be Dahomey and to participate in her community and her culture.

As with the knife/sword and the information about the opp tribe building numbers with other tribes from their night-meeting, Nawi takes what little she sees as helpful from Malik once again; Malik bought her a European-style dress, but she only wears, what was considered, the undergarments. Nawi refuses to be slowed down ("In Brazil, women wear long sleeves, long skirts," "How do they run?" "😁😬🙂..."), particularly by the influence of a man.

In the end, the Agojie come out on top in battle.

Santo urges Malik to escape, still with slave-trading on the brain, taking Africans in bondage at gunpoint onto the boat. Here we see Malik finds what he really needed, which is exactly Nawi gave to him. It was not her that he was looking for ("My mother sent me here to find myself and I found you"), but it really was the "courage and strength" to be secure in his identity, including his Dahomey roots, and to not be silent and complicit in the oppression of Africans. As stated by King Ghezu at the end of the movie, "[to enslave a people????] you must first convince them that they are meant to be bound", and Malik has finally seen "the majesty, the beauty" of Africa/ns - more than ever, he cannot stay silent whilst he watches his people in bondage.

Whilst he doesn't polish off Santo himself, yet again, what Malik does do is help Africans empower themselves; all he does is cut a rope (?), which anyone could have done, so long as their hands were not tied by a slave-trader.

Then, in their final scene, Nawi is trekking home with her Agojie sisters, after battles where one of her best friends and her mentor, Izogie, who she aspired to be like, able to be pierced by a spear and feel nothing, who told her to "never give her power away [to a man]" were lost. Malik looks up at her from a distance, she stops to acknowledge him with a nod, as if she 'sees' him and she turns back around to walk with her people. Her power and freedom are her own, her power and freedom are bound to her culture, to her community and to her sisters, definitely not to a man from a foreign land that she met a few days ago.

As Izogie said (and the first rule is to always listen to Izogie 😉!), Nawi does not give her power away. Instead, really she shared a piece of it with Malik, who had been looking for the wrong thing but, ultimately, found right and legitimately took action to stand up to oppression.

Them parting ways was just... it just puts a smile on my face in a way I never thought something like that could.

#it's a gritty movie but it makes the ending so sweet #romance is great but self-love and solidarity... woooo #not even slightly what i usually post oops 💀🤣#the woman king #shui meta

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lightdancer1 · 1 year

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One of the big differences between my ATLA stories and most:

Especially when set in wars is that I use two elements of real wars that are almost always omitted from military fiction for elements of realism and the grimdark comedic aspects that can and do happen in real life events, especially when far removed from them in time and space. The first is logistics. Unlike a lot of cases I put some serious thought into the logistical structures of various sides, as this is what often decides battles well before they're fought and all the other factors come in. A good logistics train can mean a side that technically loses battles will win the campaign and the war because the enemy falls apart.

A bad logistics train and a good fighting force is an army that marches far, wins itself to death, and then implodes with no real idea how and why that happened. The Fire Nation ultimately lopsidedly controls the sea war due to inventing Victorian-style armored ships complete with cannons (because while this isn't quite a thing in ATLA proper it's an element where on the high seas there's no Earthbenders to nullify this with good ol' dirt) against canoes and other kinds of ships.

It ultimately secures the land war by developing the logistical and communications apparatus in elite forces for a 20th Century combined arms war, against forces who range from tribal guerrilla raids to 18th Century logistics. More than a little of this is developed during the war, my Marauder Army is simply the Southern Raiders who switch their older red armor for black armor with golden pauldrons (that is admittedly a sartorial nod to the SS but they're literally armed agents of genocide....like the SS), the tanks and jet skis and the like allow the Fire Nation to become unstoppable in a fluid battle and yet its armies begin to exceed what it can really control or wield with what it has, creating a WWI pattern.

The second is propaganda for anyone and everyone and how wars and history are weaponized by all sides. The EK is fighting a major war, as my War of Air and Fire storyline illustrates in blunter terms in its westernmost provinces well before the genocide. In their view the war started with the seizure of Yu Dao and other coastal colonies and expanded from sporadic fighting to a continuous full-scale war. From the perspective of the Water Tribes the war starts with the Air Nomad Genocide.

For its own reasons under Fire Lord Sozin (specifically his Orwellian/40K influenced Night of Unremembering) the Fire Nation also elects to decide the world war began then, not with the earlier fighting against the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation also seldom admits it loses major battles, either doing its best to omit notice of major defeats or soft-pedal them or scapegoating individual commanders and pretending the defeat was the fault of a single individual when it wasn't.

This is what really happens with the Siege of Ba Sing Se, Iroh only learns of Lu Ten's death during the retreat, and it's not that the FN loses the Siege, it's that the EK not only won it but maneuvered events in the end to a point that it broke major elite forces of the Fire Nation to a point it began major recruitment of child soldiers to replenish its losses.

Everyone lies in wars. Military fiction seldom, outside of a few writers, really bothers to even acknowledge this or focus on it.

#avatar:the last airbender #atla fanfic #hundred year war #hundred year war trilogy

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pazodetrasalba · 9 months

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Against Factions

Dear Caroline:

Whether this is a serious, semi-serious or mock-pretend opinion (bearing in mind its connection with fictional novels, I would guess we're the second case), in many ways it is quite intuitive, and you would be in good company suggesting it. I think the US Constitution, the Federalist Papers and the intention of the Founding Fathers could probably be construed as quite at odds with what we would call 'multi-party democracy' and its excessively factional developments. And yet for all their evils, I don't think there are good alternatives to parties in a working democracy. They feel like inevitable emergent properties of the way systems of governance operate. Society having various ideological, social, and economic interests, it makes sense for like-minded individuals to group together so as better to promote their ideas and policies. As stable structures, parties allow for these ideas and policies to be preserved and implemented in the long run, for voters to have a clear grasp of what their possible representatives believe in and will promote if elected; they also mobilize said voters, raise awareness about issues and help in organizing campaigns and channeling dissent. Rather cynically, they also allow for alternative groups of elites to compete effectively for access to power and administration in a way that, at least theoretically, harnesses those ambitions to a specific, easily publicized and known program that facilitates voter decisions and choice. I could go on and on, but it would be a tad boring, and you don't need any instruction in these self-evident truths you are already aware of.

All that does not refute the fact that, in a lot of aspects, they are arbitrary. Our modern societies are very diverse and fragmented, which means that parties have to become as broad churches as possible to encompass the greatest number of followers amidst their fold. This obviously leads to situations in which a voter might like some, maybe even a lot of the policies of a party, but not a significant amount of them, and yet find him or herself 'forced' to vote for it 'as the lesser evil'. But prioritization is a common human curse: just like we have to make less than optimal choices for purchases and everyday decisions, so in politics.

I intensely dislike tribal signaling and sectarian partisanship, but I feel I am in the minority here (and mind you, I feel my country is many orders of magnitude more polarized and sectarian than yours). That is probably one of the reasons why competitive teams sports leave me totally cold, as I can't be bothered to 'identify with' and emotionally latch to a bunch of players who are supposed to represent my town/city/area/region/country.

To finish me, allow me a little gripe with the use of the term 'orthogonal', which is quite prevalent in specific tribes you belong to (EA and Rationalists). As far as I know, it is a technical term for Geometry and Linear Algebra (as per wikipedia, "the generalization of the geometric notion of perpendicularity to the linear algebra of bilinear forms"). I can't quite see the advantage of employing it in most contexts where 'unrelated' 'at odds', 'in opposition to' would do the same thing, and definitely sound less pedantic/nerdy-sciency/esoteric.

Quote:

There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.

John Adams

#caroline ellison #politics

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pr1ncemax · 3 years

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would anyone like a guide to/overview of the bribri (tun-si) tribe?

#jurassic world #like theyre actually a pretty big part of the island history but crichton was like: i am a white man this is not my conversation to have #crichton: but if u need more reason to hate ingen they were colonizers lmao #also i mean the fictional aspect of the tribe #not the real people #jurassic park #jp #jwcc;#jwcc

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kenobihater · 3 years

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You’re (Probably) Drawing Archers Wrong

Hello, my name is Len and I’ve shot archery as a hobby for as long as I can remember. I have a problem: fanart depicting archery is oftentimes Very Wrong! I feel like most of this stems from not using good reference pictures, and from a general lack of knowledge. So, I wanted to create a post for anyone interested in accurately drawing an archer! Disclaimer: this is not a comprehensive post or a tutorial on how to shoot, and is intended for artists. That said, if you’re interested in archery, you may still find value in this post, though I recommend doing your own research. I’m certain there will be errors here considering I do this as a hobby not a profession, and I welcome corrections. Finally, archery can be dangerous, and even if you don’t read any more of this post, PLEASE read the safety section.

Safety

This part is going to be a PSA, because the thought of someone reading my post, getting into archery themselves, and doing these things? It terrifies me. So, rules number one, two, and three are: never aim at another person (duh), never use a damaged bow or arrows, and never, NEVER dry fire a bow. Dry firing means drawing back and releasing the string without an arrow. This can make your bow EXPLODE. It can hurt you, and even if your bow doesn’t explode, it’s fucked it up so bad that you should never shoot that bow again. Don’t do it, and don’t draw art of people doing it. Okay, PSA done, now onto the rest of the post.

There’s a TL;DR at the bottom!

First thing’s fist: the equipment! Archery requires four things: a bow, a quiver, arrows, and protective equipment (which is usually what I see most posts lacking). The first thing you should do before you draw your archer is decide what type of bow to give them. I’m not covering crossbows because I’ve only shot one once and I also Hate Them. There are three main types of bows: longbows, recurves, and compounds.

Bows

There are two different types of bows that are commonly called a longbow: English longbows, and flatbows (yes I’m considering flatbows a type of longbow to simplify things). English longbows are very large and have a very high draw weight (which means it’s hard to pull the sting back). These were used mainly by the English in the Middle Ages. Flatbows are typically smaller and have a lower draw weight as well as a slightly different profile. These were mainly used by Native American tribes such as the Hupa, the Karuk, and the Wampanoag, as well as prehistoric Europeans and the Finnish, among others. It is often seen in historical fiction and fantasy, and the English longbow is usually depicted as Robin Hood’s preferred bow type. I believe Katniss uses a flatbow in the beginning of Hunger Games, but don’t quote me on that.

Recurves have limbs that curve outwards and are smaller than longbows. Many, many cultures have used these, including but not limited to certain West-coast Native American tribes, the Mongols, the Scythians, the Greeks, the Turks, the Koreans, and the Chinese. Recurves can be made of either wood or of a combination of wood, horn, and glue, making them either composite or non-composite. These are the bows you typically see mounted archers using, and are often used in competitions today. It’s commonly seen in fantasy, and is the bow type used by Legolas, Tauriel, Katniss Everdeen in Mockingjay, Merida, Green Arrow has a lever action, and Hawkeye uses a silly collapsible one.

Compound bows are the most commonly used bow among hunters, are almost always made of fiberglass and either carbon fiber or aluminum, are Technical Looking, and pack the biggest punch for the least amount of effort. It’s a modern invention used worldwide. I don’t know where else to put this, but almost everyone who I know that shoots a compound uses something called a trigger release (pictured below) to draw back the string because it means your release is cleaner.

So, those are the main types of bow! Google which bow would be appropriat for the era and region your character is from, or if they’re from space or an alternate dimension, pick whichever you think fits the character the best.

Quivers

There are two types of quiver: back quivers, like Legolas wears, and hip quivers, like those used in the Olympics. Which quiver you should use varies from culture to culture and time period to time period. If it’s fantasy, set in modern day, or set in the future, you can chose whichever you prefer.

Arrows

Arrows can have shafts of wood or fiberglass, can have real feathers or synthetic for fletching, and can have countless different types of heads. The main two that are in use today are called field points and broadheads, and most commercial arrow shafts allow you to freely switch them out.

The arrow on the top is a field point, used only for target practice, and the arrow on the bottom is a broadhead, used only for hunting or war. You never hunt with a field point, and never practice with a broadhead. Basically every fictional character out there is shooting to kill, so they’ll all use either a broadhead, or a culturally appropriate variation of deadly arrowhead (bodkin, scythian, flint, etc). Do your research! A Native American wouldn’t use a bodkin, and a Scythian wouldn’t use a flint arrowhead!

Protective Equipment

The one really necessary piece of protective equipment is hand protection. If your character uses a three fingered draw or a pinch draw (we’ll speak on draws later), they need either an archery tab, or an archery glove. If your character is using a thumb draw, they need a thumb ring. These three pieces of equipment keep archers from getting blisters and damaged skin.

This is a tab.

This is the type of glove that I use. All an archery glove needs to do is protect your three draw fingers, but it can be more traditionally glove-like than this one. I’ve even seen ones that are a combination leather bracer and archery glove that give big Fantasy Vibes.

This is a ring. Some historical ones can get REAL ornate and pretty.

Another piece of protective equipment that is commonly used is an arm guard or a bracer. Not everyone uses one, because if your form is good the string should not be hitting your arm, so you can get away with not giving your character one. They can vary in style from something like the more minimal one below up to a full leather bracer.

Form

Form can vary greatly and I’m not about to diss other archery disciplines especially ones I’m ignorant on, so just know that not every culture has the same form. I’m just going to cover a few cultures’ variations, and what I’ve been taught by 21st century Midwest archers. There are several aspects to form, as form is just another term for “everything pertaining to how you shoot”. I’m going to break it down into stance, posture, draw, elbow discipline, holding the bow, and anchor. These are not the only aspects of form (there’s aiming, release, and breath control), but these are the only relevant aspects to drawing archers. I will not be covering mounted archery because I’m sadly ignorant on the topic. I recommend doing your own research and looking into Mongolian mounted archery.

Stance

The thing all stances have in common is that you should put your feet a shoulder-length apart, balance your weight equally between both feet, keep your knees slightly bent, and stand facing approximately 90 degrees away from your target. There are three stances that are common that I’m aware of: squared, open, and closed.

Squared stance means keeping both feet squared up to an imaginary line. Open means that you’re facing slightly towards the target. Closed means you’re facing slightly away. I vary between square and open, and to be honest I’ve never noticed a difference. So long as you draw your character standing with a stable stance, facing away from the target, you should be good.

Posture

Your posture should be with your back straight, your hips squared, and should never have you leaning. Below is one of my favorite archery pictures, not only because I love Marilyn, but because it is a great illustration of what not to do posture wise.

See how she’s leaning back? Yeah, don’t draw your character like that, it looks foolish.

Draw

There are four different types of draw that I’m aware of, I’m educated on three, and I have experience with one (though I’m itching to learn to thumb draw). The types of draw are three fingered draw, otherwise known as Mediterranean draw, pinch draw, thumb draw aka Mongolian draw, and Japanese draw, or torikake. I know fuck all about Japanese draws, so I’m not going to speak out of my ass on topics I don’t understand (if anyone reading practices traditional Japanese archery I would love if you chimed in!). I highly recommend doing your own research on which civilization your character comes from and which draw they use, especially if it’s Japanese because I’m not covering that here.

First up is three-fingered. This is the draw I use, and it’s the most common draw in my limited experience in the Midwestern archery community. It is common in Europe and the Middle East. It requires you to use three fingers, partially wrapped around the string. You do not pinch the arrow. Most people place their index finger above the arrow and their middle and ring finger below, though I’ve seen all different variations. If your character is right handed and uses this draw, draw the arrow on the left side of the bow. Lefties do the inverse, and make sure and draw a left handed bow while you’re at it.

Next is the pinch draw. I’ve never shot with this, nor seen it used. It was common in the Americas and for a time in Ancient Greece. You’re supposed to physically pinch the arrow between your thumb and index finger. Your character would need a full archery glove if you draw them with this grip. The release is supposed to be smooth because there’s only one point of contact, rather than three. I believe you would place the arrow on the right side of the bow when using this technique, but I cannot speak with certainty as I’ve never seen it done (again, lefties would do the opposite).

Last but not least is the thumb or Mongolian draw, though it is/was also widespread in Korea, China, Russia, Persia, Turkey, and the Roman and Byzantine Empires. In this draw you wrap your thumb completely around the string and tuck it behind your other fingers. You do not grab the arrow. This draw utilizes your strongest digit, and so it may be less strenuous than other draws. This draw is commonly used with mounted archery. If your character is right handed and using this draw, put the arrow on the right side of the bow (lefties, do the inverse).

Elbows

Another aspect of your draw that is important is elbow discipline. The elbow of your character’s string hand should not point up into the air. It should point straight back, like the picture below.

Now, the other elbow is important, too. Don’t draw them with a locked elbow, instead keep it slightly bent and rotated inwards, like the picture below.

Holding the Bow

Your character shouldn’t have a death grip on the bow. Instead, show it resting in the curve between the thumb and index finger. Here’s a wikihow article that describes the different ways to hold different types of bows that is more succinct than I could ever be. Ignore the crossbow (derogatory).

Anchor

Everyone needs an anchor. What’s an anchor, you ask? An anchor is a fixed spot that you draw your string back to whenever you’re going to shoot. It’s necessary in order to ensure consistency, which is accuracy’s best friend. Your anchor spot can vary. I anchor at the corner of my lip. Some people anchor underneath their chin. Some anchor to their ear. I’ve even seen some people in Asian disciplines anchor behind the ear or almost above the head, which is incredibly impressive. Bottom line, unless your character’s archery discipline has them draw behind the ear or above the head, you need to have them touching their head somewhere. The only wrong anchor is a short anchor. If you can’t draw the string back far enough to touch your face, that means you’re either trying to draw back a bow with too high a poundage, or the draw length is too short for you. The picture above of the person with the compound trigger release has a good anchor point on their face. The picture of the person with the arm guard has a good anchor point under their chin.

This person, on the other hand? Their anchor is out in space, that is to say they don’t have one (also their elbow discipline, posture, and stance are atrocious). I see this in fanart ALL THE TIME. It’s a pet peeve of mine. Don’t do this, have them anchor to their head or behind it somewhere.

Carrying The Bow

The best way is to just carry it in your hand by the bow (not the string). You can give your character a bow sling, or a back mount like Legolas has as well. You can slip the string over your shoulder and wear it across your back in a pinch, though this may damage the string. The only really wrong way to carry a bow is by the string, though you can damage your bow carrying it on your back if you’re stupid, and I’ve never tried to do so with a compound. Too pokey.

TL;DR

If you’re drawing a fantasy character, go buck wild. Still make sure to give them the right type of arrowhead, hand protection of some sort, a strong stance (no kneeling or sitting), good posture, a sensible draw, elbow discipline, an anchor point (don’t be like the person above!), and a good way to carry their bow, but you can have fun with the rest. If you’re drawing a character from history, research the archery discipline they would most likely use, and draw them with the appropriate bow type, quiver, arrows, protective equipment, stance, posture, draw, elbow discipline, anchor, and bow carry.

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vampvre · 2 years

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What is self insert and how is that Bella?

A self-insert is defined as “the literary device to have a fictional character represent the author of a work of fiction, either overtly or in disguise.” Meaning that it's a character that can be replaced with the author. It's often frowned upon as a lazy or “cringy” tool in literature as it removes all the difficult work from creating an intriguing character and simply writing oneself into the story, which can be an uncomfortable read when going over the overly personal fantasies the author places invents in their work. Despite this, however, a self-insert can be used properly if the character is well developed and fits into the story in such a manner where the reader can see an actual character instead of the author’s ideal version of themselves in their fantasy world. For example, being overpowered and completely perfect in the view of what the author considers beautiful, admirable, skilled, etc.

Bella Swan is an overt example of a self-insert, which we can determine from her physical description alone in the book. Bella is described to have a “wide forehead with a widow’s peak,” “heart-shaped face,” “brown eyes,” “pointed chin,” “brown hair,” “pale skin,” etc. All of which can also be attributed to Meyer.

Seen above, the similarities between Meyer and Bella’s description from the Illustrated Guide. Also, this image from TV Tropes discussing self-inserts, outlining Stephenie's similarities to Bella’s description.

This aspect of Bella Swan being a self-insert is clear enough, but doesn't really amount to anything. Appearances are the most insignificant trait of a self-insert, in my opinion.

The actually substantial element of Bella Swan being a self-insert is her fulfilling the role of being the ideal version of the author in their set world. Being so incredibly “unremarkable,” and yet garnering the attention of the hottest, most perfect guy in school who absolutely adores her for reasons she can't comprehend.

Bella as a vampire in breaking dawn is fantastical and quite like a fairytale, getting the man she loves as her 17-year-old husband forever (⚠️) where everything is perfect and she's an exceptionally tame newborn, contrasting intensely with Carlisle’s time spent as a newborn in the depths of self-loathing and despair; which of course is not addressed. Of course, she has a power, supposedly an exceptionally rare occurrence, despite the Olympic Coven having about half of their members with powers (5/9, including Renesmee). Also in Breaking Dawn, she not only has a power, but she has one so powerful that Aro is frightened of how she uses her shield in such a horrifyingly powerful way, overshadowing greater powers like, oh I don't know, the fucking avatar as a goddamn vampire?

This gets troublesome with Meyer’s overt racism in her books, as well as her mysticism of indigenous peoples. Appropriating and misinterpreting Quileute legends while inviting her white protagonist to sit in on a council meeting for the elders of the tribe, with Jacob’s line “you are the first outsider ever [to hear the stories],” illustrating Bella’s exemplary uniqueness that fulfills some colonial bullshit fantasy of Meyer’s.

There's more to say about it but I don't think I have the energy to further explain this. Hopefully, this helped :)

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godcantstopme · 3 years

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nobody asked but im gonna let you guys in on a little thing i recently learned that blew my mind:

every single thing thats existence isnt based in the physical world is completely imaginary. corporations? gender? the united states of america? every single one of those things is based upon human mythology and none of them are real outside of our own collective imagination!!!

another fun fact for you before i get back to that last one: these social constructs are at the core of what makes us so different from other animals!

see, the reason that homo sapiens are so complex when compared to other animals is that we have the unique ability to make wild shit up. no other species can create myths or tell stories like we do. other animals can lie and communicate, sure, but they cannot converse about anything that's not based in physical reality. a monkey is able to lie and say that there's a lion around so that it can steal another monkey's food, but is simply unable to tell the other monkey that there's a fruit spirit who will to strike it down if it doesn't share the food. this is because animals aren't able to conceptualize things outside of their physical world. all aspects of their social structure and behavior are based upon their genetic makeup, and these things can only change when their dna does.

humans, on the other hand, have creative abilities that are simply nonexistent in any other species. we can create entire stories about things that have no physical existence. an obvious example of this is any kind of cultural mythology such as the stories of nature spirits, divine entities, or various ideas of an afterlife. but the thing is that all kinds of non-religious entities, such as corporations or countries, are just as mythological.

this post ended up being longer than expected so i put a 'read more' option in lmao- but this is a really cool concept so id encourage you to read through the whole thing!! (there's also a tldr at the end of the post under the cut fyi)

the company Target is a great example of this. you may want to stop me right there and tell me that target obviously isnt a myth of any kind. you can find its stores all over the world, and talk to millions of people who interact with it every day. but let me ask you this: if every target location worldwide was burned down, would the company still exist? of course it would. they would simply build new stores and continue on as usual. similarly, if the hundreds of thousands of people who work for target all vanished off the face of the earth, the company would still exist. the death of the ceo would not equate to the death of the company- the ownership would simply be passed on to someone else, and target would remain in existence. no matter how many of the physical components of target are destroyed, it continues to exist. this is because its existence of corporations isnt dependent on anything physical. they are simply products of complex legal storytelling. every single company's existence began when a lawyer performed all the required rituals, did the necessary spells, and declared it to be real. once this ceremony is complete, every single legal system, politician, and person acts as if something tangible has been changed and that this entity truly exists. and for all intents and purposes, it does. it can only cease to exist if a judge should perform all of the rites and rituals that are required to banish it from existence.

now, how the hell do we differentiate things that "really" exist from things that are just a product of our collective imagination?? you really just have to ask one question- would it still exist if people stopped believing in it?

you see, the legal system only exists as long as a significant amount of people believe in it, along with other myths such as the power of the government, justice, and human rights. without those beliefs, it would crumble. the country of the United States of America exists because people worldwide believe that it does and act accordingly, but gravity and genetics existed long before we were ever consciously aware of them. gravity didn't suddenly pop into existence when Newton's theory of gravity was published in 1687. this is why anything that depends on human belief in order to exist is, essentially, fictional.

but just because these things are a figment of our imagination doesn't mean that they dont matter. human myths are what work together to form our society, whether positively or negatively. myths such as human rights, the legal authority of elected officials, and the importance of empathy are what nearly everything around us is based off of. they are are infinitely important and absolutely exist, just not outside of the human mind.

had we never developed the ability to create myths, we would've remained as other human species did for millions of years and how all other animal species continue to exist today- living in small groups with our worlds consisting only of our physical reality. our ability to create stories and, consequentially, to bond/establish trust with humans outside of our known "tribes" has allowed us to also create mass systems and rules that dictate behavior. this is precisely what makes us so unique. creation and imagination are at the core of humanity.

(plus, when you think about it, the fact that we were able to make up such complex and incredible stuff is really fucking cool)

tldr: if something wouldn't exist without a significant amount of people believing in it, then its a social construct. our ability to create these social constructs through imagination and storytelling is what has enabled us to live so differently from other animals, and this creativity is at the core of everything that makes us so uniquely human!!

note: the majority of the information, concepts, and ideas within this post originate from pages 25-39 of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which discusses the anthropological history of humans. i just wanted to share it because it's so fascinating to me and it altered my entire understanding of reality!!

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yamayuandadu · 3 years

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The Two (or more) Ishtars or A Certain Scandalous Easter Claim Proved to be The Worship of Reverend Alexander Hislop

Once upon a time the official facebook page of Richard Dawkins' foundation posted a graphic according to which the holiday of Easter is just a rebranded celebration of the Mesopotamian mythology superstar Ishtar, arguing that the evidence is contained in its very name. As everyone knows, Dawkins is an online talking head notable for discussing his non-belief in such an euphoric way that it might turn off even the most staunch secularists and for appearing in some reasonably funny memes about half a decade ago. Bizarrely enough, however, the same claim can be often found among the crowds dedicated to crystal healing, Robert Graves' mythology fanfiction, indigo children and similar dubiously esoteric content. What's yet more surprising is that once in a while it shows up among a certain subset of fundamentalist Christians, chiefly the types who believe giants are real (and, of course, satanic), the world is ruled by a secret group of Moloch worshipers and fossils were planted by the devil to led the sheeple astray from the truth about earth being 6000 years old, tops. Of course, to anyone even just vaguely familiar with Christianity whose primary language isn't English this claim rightfully seems completely baffling – after all it's evident in most languages that the name of the holiday celebrating Jesus' resurrection, and many associated customs, are derived from the earlier Jewish Pascha (Passover) which has nothing to do with Ishtar other than having its origin in the Middle East. Why would the purported association only be evident in English and not in Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, virtually any language other than English and its close relatives – languages which generally didn't have anything to do with Mesopotamia or early christianity? Read on to find out what sort of sources let this eclectic selection of characters arrive to the same baffling conclusion, why are they hilariously wrong, and – most importantly – where you can actually find a variety of Ishtars (or at least reasonably Ishtar-like figures) under different names instead.

The story of baffling Easter claims begins in Scotland in the 19th century. A core activity of theologians in many faiths through history was (and sometimes still is) finding alleged proof of purported “idolatry” or other “impure” practices among ideological opponents, even these from within the same religion – and a certain Presbyterian minister, Alexander Hislop, was no stranger to this traditional pastime. Like many Protestants in this period, he had an axe to grind with the catholic church - though not for the reasons many people are not particularly fond of this institution nowadays. What Hislop wanted to prove was much more esoteric – he believed that it's the Babylon known from the Book of Revelations. Complete with the beast with seven heads, blasphemous names and other such paraphernalia, of course. This wasn't a new claim – catholicism was equated with the New Testament Babylon for as long as Protestantism was a thing (and earlier catholicism itself regarded other religions as representing it). What set Hislop apart from dozens of other similar attempts like that was that he fancied himself a scholar of history and relied on the brand new accounts of excavations in what was once the core sphere of influence of the Assyrian empire (present day Iraq and Syria), supplemented by various Greek and Roman classics – though also by his own ideas, generally varying from baseless to completely unhinged. Hislop compiled his claims in the book The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife. You can find it on archive.org if you want to torment yourself and read the entire thing – please do not give clicks directly to any fundie sites hosting it though. How does the history of Easter and Ishtar look like according to Hislop? Everything started with Semiramis, who according to his vision was a historical figure and a contemporary of Noah's sons, here also entirely historical. Semiramis is either entirely fictional or a distorted Greek and Roman account of the 9th century BC Assyrian queen Shammuramat, who ruled as a regent for a few years after the death of her husband Shamshi Adad V – an interesting piece of historical trivia, but arguably not really a historical milestone, and by the standards of Mesopotamian history she's hardly a truly ancient figure. Hislop didn't even rely on the primary sources dealing with the legend of Semiramis though, but with their medieval christian interpretations, which cast her in the role of an adulterer first and foremost due to association of ancient Mesopotamia with any and all vices.

Hislop claims that Semiramis was both the Whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelations and the first idolater, instituting worship of herself as a goddess. This goddess, he argues, was Astarte (a combination of two flimsy claims – Roman claim that Semiramis' name means “dove” and now generally distrusted assumption that Phoenician Astarte had the same symbols as Greek Aphrodite) and thus Ishtar, but he also denotes her as a mother goddess – which goes against everything modern research has to say about Ishtar, of course. However, shoddy scholarship relying on few sources was the norm at the time, and Hislop on top of that was driven by religious zeal. In further passages, he identified this “universal mother” with Phrygian Cybele, Greek Rhea and Athena, Egyptian Isis, Taoist Xi Wangmu (sic) and many more, pretty much at random, arguing all of them were aspects of nefarious Semiramis cult which infected all corners of the globe. He believed that she was venerated alongside a son-consort, derived from Semiramis' even more fictional husband Ninus (a mythical founder of Assyria according to Greek authors, absent from any Mesopotamian sources; his name was derived from Nineveh, not from any word for son like Hislop claims), who he identifies with biblical Nimrod (likewise not a historical figure, probably a distorted reflection of the god Ninurta). Note the similarity with certain ideas perpetrated by Frazer's Golden Bough and his later fans like Jung, Graves and many neopagan authors – pseudohistory, regardless of ideological background, has a very small canon of genuinely original claims. Ishtar was finally introduced to Britain by “druids” (note once again the similarity to the baffling integration of random Greek, Egyptian or Mesopotamian deities into Graves-derived systems of fraudulent trivia about “universal mother goddesses” often using an inaccurate version of Celtic myths as framework). This eventually lead to the creation of the holiday of Easter. Pascha doesn't come up in the book at all, as far as I can tell. All of this is basically just buildup for the book's core shocking reveal: catholic veneration of Mary and depictions of Mary with infant Jesus in particular are actually the worship of Semiramis and her son-consort Ninus, and only the truly faithful can reveal this evil purpose of religious art. At least so claims Hislop. This bizarre idea is laughable, but it remains disturbingly persistent – do you remember the Chick Tracts memes from a few years ago, for example? These comics were in part inspired by Hislop's work. Many fundamentalist christian communities appear to hold his confabulations in high esteem up to this day – and many people who by design see themselves as a countercultural opposition to christianity independently gleefully embrace them, seemingly ignorant of their origin. While there are many articles debunking Hislop's claim about Easter, few of them try to show how truly incomprehensibly bad his book is as a whole – hopefully the following examples will be sufficient to illustrate this point: -Zoroaster is connected to Moloch because of the Zoroastrian holy fire - and Moloch is, of course Ninus. Note that while a few Greek authors believed Zoroaster to be the “king of Bactria” mythical accounts presented as a contemporary of Ninus, the two were regarded as enemies – Hislop doesn't even follow the pseudohistory he uses as proof! -Zoroaster is also Tammuz. Tammuz is, of course, yet another aspect of Ninus. -demonic character is ascribed to relics of the historical Buddha; also he's Osiris. And Ninus. -an incredibly racist passage explains why the biblical Nimrod (identified with – you guessed it - Ninus) might be regarded as “ugly and deformed” like Haephestus and thus identical to him (no, it makes no sense in context either) - Hislop thinks he was black (that's not the word he uses, naturally) which to him is the same thing. -Attis is a deification of sin itself -the pope represents Dagon (incorrectly interpreted as a fish god in the 19th century) -Baal and Bel are two unrelated words – this is meant to justify the historicity of the Tower of Babel by asserting it was built by Ninus, who was identical to Bel (in reality a title of Marduk); Bel, according to Hislop, means “the confounder (of languages)” rather than “lord” -the term “cannibal” comes from a made up term for priests of Baal (Ninus) who according to Hislop ate children. In reality it's a Spanish corruption of the endonym of one of the first tribes encountered by the Spanish conquerors in America, and was not a word used in antiquity – also, as I discussed in my Baal post, the worship of Baal did not involve cannibalism. This specific claim of Hislop's is popular with the adherents of prophetic doomsday cult slash wannabe terrorist group QAnon today, and shows up on their “redpilling” graphics. -Ninus was also Cronos; Cronos' name therefore meant “horned one” in reference to Mesopotamian bull/horned crown iconography and many superficially similar gods from all over the world were the same as him - note the similarity to Margaret Murray's obsession with her made up idea of worldwide worship of a “horned god” (later incorporated into Wicca). -Phaeton, Orpheus and Aesculapius are the same figure and analogous to Lucifer (and in turn to Ninus) -giants are real and they're satanists (or were, I think Hislop argues they're dead already). They are (were?) also servants of Ninus. -as an all around charming individual Hislop made sure to include a plethora of comments decrying the practices of various groups at random as digressions while presenting his ridiculous theories – so, while learning about the forbidden history of Easter, one can also learn why the author thinks Yezidi are satanists, for example -last but not least, the very sign of the cross is not truly christian but constitutes the worship of Tammuz, aka Ninus (slowly losing track of how many figures were regarded as one and the same as him by Hislop). Based on the summary above it's safe to say that Hislop's claim is incorrect – and, arguably, malevolent (and as such deserves scrutiny, not further possibilities for spreading). However, this doesn't answer the question where does the name of Easter actually come from? As I noted in the beginning, in English (and also German) it's a bit of an oddity – it actually was derived from a preexisting pagan term, at least if we are to believe the word of the monk Bede, who in the 8th century wrote that the term is a derivative of “Eosturmonath,” eg. “month of Eostre” - according to him a goddess. There are no known inscriptions mentioning such a goddess from the British Isles or beyond, though researchers involved in reconstructing proto-indo-european language assume that “Eostre” would logically be a derivative of the same term as the name of the Greek Eos and of the vedic Ushas, and the Austriahenae goddesses from Roman inscriptions from present day Germany – eg. a word simply referring to dawn, and by extension to a goddess embodying it. This is a sound, well researched theory, so while early medieval chroniclers sometimes cannot be trusted, I see no reason to doubt Bede's account.

While Ushas is a prominent goddess in the Vedas, Eos was rather marginal in Greek religion (see her Theoi entry for details), and it's hard to tell to what degree Bede's Eostre was similar to either of them beyond plausibly being a personification of dawn. Of course, the hypothetical proto-indo-european dawn goddess all of these could be derived from would have next to nothing to do with Ishtar. While the history of the name of Easter (though not the celebration itself) is undeniably interesting, I suppose it lacks the elements which make the fake Ishtar claim a viral hit – the connection is indirect, and an equivalent of the Greek Eos isn't exactly exciting (Eos herself is, let be honest, remembered at best as an obscure part of the Odyssey), while Ishtar is understood by many as “wicked” sex goddess (a simplification, to put it very lightly) which adds a scandalous, sacrilegious dimension to the baffling lie, explaining its appeal to Dawkins' fans, arguably. As demonstrated above, Hislop's theories are false and adapting them for any new context – be it christian, atheist or neopagan – won't change that, but are there any genuine examples of, well, “hidden Ishtars”? If that's the part of the summary which caught your attention, rejoice – there is a plenty of these to be found in Bronze Age texts. I'd go as far as saying that most of ancient middle eastern cultures from that era felt compelled to include an Ishtar ersatz in their pantheons. Due to the popularity of the original Ishtar, she was almost a class of figures rather than a single figure – a situation almost comparable to modern franchising, when you think about it. The following figures can be undeniably regarded as “Ishtar-like” in some capacity or even as outright analogs:

Astarte (or Ashtart, to go with a more accurate transcription of the oldest recorded version of the name) – the most direct counterpart of Ishtar there is: a cognate of her own name. Simply, put Astarte is the “Levantine”equivalent of the “Mesopotamian” Ishtar. In the city of Mari, the names were pretty much used interchangeably, and some god lists equate them, though Astarte had a fair share of distinct traits. In Ugaritic mythology, which forms the core of our understanding of the western Semitic deities, she was a warrior and hunter (though it's possible that in addition to conventional weapons she was also skilled at wielding curses), and was usually grouped with Anat. Both of them were regarded as the allies of Baal, and assist him against his enemies in various myth. They also were envisioned to spend a lot of time together – one ritual calls them upon as a pair from distant lands where they're hunting together, while a fragmentary myth depicts both of them arriving in the household of the head god El and taking pity on Yarikh, the moon god, seemingly treated as a pariah. Astarte's close relation to Baal is illustrated by her epithet, “face of Baal” or “of the name of Baal.” They were often regarde as a couple and even late, Hellenic sources preserve a traditional belief that Astarte and “Adados” (Baal) ruled together as a pair. In some documents from Ugarit concerned with what we would call foreign policy today they were invoked together as the most prominent deities. It's therefore possible that she had some role related to human politics. She was regarded as exceptionally beautiful and some texts favorably describe mortal women's appearance by comparing them to Astarte. In later times she was regarded as a goddess of love, but it's unclear if that was a significant aspect of her in the Bronze Age. It's equally unclear if she shared Ishtar's astral character – in Canaan there were seemingly entirely separate dawn and dusk deities. Despite clamis you might see online, Astarte was not the same as the mother goddess Asherah. In the Baal cycle they actually belong to the opposing camps. Additionally, the names are only superficially similar (one starts with an aleph, the other with an ayin) and have different etymology. Also, that famous sculpture of a very blatantly Minoan potnia theron? Ugaritic in origin but not a depiction of either Astarte or Asherah.

The Egyptians, due to extensive contact with Canaan and various Syrian states in the second half of the Bronze Age, adapted Astarte (and by extension Anat) into their own pantheon. Like in Ugarit, her warrior character was emphasized. An Egyptian innovation was depicting her as a cavalry goddess of sorts – associated with mounted combat and chariots. In Egypt, Ptah, the head god of Memphis and divine craftsman, was regarded as her father. In most texts, Astarte is part of Seth's inner circle of associates – however, in this context Seth wasn't the slayer of Osiris, but a heroic storm god similar to Baal. The so-called Astarte papyrus presents an account of a myth eerily similar to the Ugaritic battle between Baal and Yam – starring Seth as the hero, with Astarte in a supporting role resembling that played by Shaushka, another Ishtar analog, in the Hittite song of Hedammu, which will be discussed below.

Shaushka – a Hurrian and Hittite goddess whose name means “the magnificent one” in the Hurrian language. Hurrian was widely spoken in ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia (and in northernmost parts of the Levant – up to one fifth of personal names from Ugaritic documents were Hurrian iirc), but has no descendants today and its relation to any extant languages is uncertain. In Hittite texts she was often referred to with an “akkadogram” denoting Ishtar's name (or its Sumerian equivalent) instead of a phonetic spelling of her own (there was an analogous practice regarding the sun gods), while in Egyptian and Syrian texts there are a few references to “Ishtar Hurri” - “Ishtar of the Hurrians” - who is argued by researchers to be one and the same as Shaushka. Despite Shaushka's Hurrian name and her prominence in myths popular both among Hittites and Hurrians, her main cult center was the Assyrian city of Nineveh, associated with Ishtar herself as well, and there were relatively few temples dedicated to her in the core Hittite sphere of influence in Anatolia. Curiously, both the oldest reference to Shaushka and to the city of Nineveh come from the same text, stating that a sheep was sacrificed to her there. While most of her roles overlap with Ishtar's (she too was associated with sex, warfare and fertility), here are two distinct features of Shaushka that set her apart as unique: one is the fact she was perceived in part as a masculine deity, despite being consistently described as a woman – in the famous Yazılıkaya reliefs she appears twice, both among gods and goddesses. In Alalakh she was depicted in outfits combining elements of male and female clothing. Similar fashion preferences were at times attributed to Ninshubur, the attendant of Ishtar's Sumerian forerunner Inanna – though in that case they were likely the result of conflation of Ninshubur with the male messenger deity Papsukkal, while in the case of Shaushka the dual nature seems to be inherent to her (I haven't seen any in depth study of this matter yet, sadly, so I can't really tell confidently which modern term in my opinion describes Shaushka's character the best). Her two attendants, musician goddesses Ninatta and Kulitta, do not share it. Shaushka's other unique niche is her role in exorcisms and incantations, and by extension with curing various diseases – this role outlived her cult itself, as late Assyrian inscriptions still associated the “Ishtar of Nineveh” (at times viewed as separate from the regular Ishtar) with healing. It can be argued that even her sexual aspect was connected to healing, as she was invoked to cure impotence. The most significant myth in which she appears is the cycle dedicated to documenting the storm god's (Teshub for the Hurrians, Tarhunna for the Hittites) rise to power. Shaushka is depicted as his sister and arguably most reliable ally, and plays a prominent role in two sections in particular – the Song of Hedammu and the Song of Ullikummi. In the former, she seemingly comes up with an elaborate plan to defeat a new enemy of her brother - the sea monster Hedammu - by performing a seductive dance and song montage (with her attendants as a support act) and offering an elixir to him. The exact result is uncertain, but Hedammu evidently ends up vanquished. In the latter, she attempts to use the same gambit against yet another new foe, the “diorite man” Ullikummi – however, since he is unfeeling like a rock, she fails; some translators see this passage as comedic. However, elsewhere in the Song, the storm god's main enemy Kumarbi and his minions view Shaushka as a formidable warrior, and in the early installment of the cycle, Song of LAMMA, she seemingly partakes in a fight. In another myth, known only from a few fragments and compared to the Sumerian text “Inanna and the huluppu tree,” Shaushka takes care of “Ḫašarri” - a personification of olive oil, or a sentient olive tree. It seems that she has to protect this bizarre entity from various threats. While Shaushka lived on in Mesopotamia as “Ishtar of Nineveh,” this was far from the only “variant”of Ishtar in her homeland.

Nanaya was another such goddess. A few Sumerian hymns mention her alongside Inanna, the Sumerian equivalent of Ishtar, by the time of Sargon of Akkad virtually impossible to separate from her. As one composition puts it, Nanaya was “properly educated by holy Inana” and “counselled by holy Inana.” Initially she was most likely a part of Inanna's circle of deities in her cult center, Uruk, though due to shared character they eventually blurred together to a large degree. Just like Inanna/Ishtar, Nanaya was a goddess of love, described as beautiful and romantically and sexually active, and she too had an astral character. She was even celebrated during the same holidays as Inanna. Some researchers go as far as suggest Nanaya was only ever Inanna/Ishtar in her astral aspect alone and not a separate goddess. However, there is also evidence of her, Inanna and the sky god An being regarded as a trinity of distinct tutelary deities in Uruk. Additionally, king Melishipak's kudurru shown above shows both Nanaya (seated) and Ishtar/Inanna (as a star). Something peculiar to Nanaya was her later association with the scribe god Nabu. Sometimes Nabu's consort was the the goddess Tashmetu instead, but I can't find any summary explaining potential differences between them – it seems just like Nanaya, she was a goddess of love, including its physical aspects. Regardless of the name used to describe Nabu's wife, she was regarded as a sage and scribe like him – this arguably gives her a distinct identity she lacked in her early role as part of Inanna's circle. As the above examples demonstrate, the popularity of the “Ishtar type” was exceptional in the Bronze Age – but is it odd from a modern perspective? The myths dedicated to her are still quite fun to read today – much like any hero of ancient imagination she has a plethora of adversaries, a complex love life (not to mention many figures not intended to be read as her lovers originally but described in such terms that it's easy to see them this way today – including other women), a penchant for reckless behavior – and most importantly a consistent, easy to summarize character. She shouldn't be a part of modern mass consciousness only because of false 19th century claims detached from her actual character (both these from Hislop's works and “secular”claims about her purported “real”character based on flimsy reasoning and shoddy sources) – isn't a female character who is allowed to act about the same way as male mythical figures do without being condemned for it pretty much what many modern mythology retellings try to create? Further reading: On Astarte: -entry in the Iconography of Deities and Demons in Ancient Near East database by Izak Cornelius -‛Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts by Mark S. Smith -ʿAthtartu’s Incantations and the Use of Divine Names as Weapons by Theodore J. Lewis -The Other Version of the Story of the Storm-god’s Combat with the Sea in the Light of Egyptian, Ugaritic, and Hurro-Hittite Texts by Noga Ayali-Darshan -for a summary of evidence that Astarte has nothing to do with Asherah see A Reassessment of Asherah With Further Considerations of the Goddess by Steve A. Wiggins On Shaushka: -Adapting Mesopotamian Myth in Hurro-Hittite Rituals at Hattuša: IŠTAR, the Underworld, and the Legendary Kings by Mary R. Bacharova -Ishtar seduces the Sea-serpent. A new join in the epic of Ḫedammu (KUB 36, 56 + 95) and its meaning for the battle between Baal and Yam in Ugaritic tradition by Meindert Dijkstra -Ištar of Nineveh Reconsidered by Gary Beckman -Shaushka, the Traveling Goddess by Graciela Gestoso Singer -Hittite Myths by Harry A. Hoffner jr. -The Hurritic Myth about Šaušga of Nineveh and Ḫašarri (CTH 776.2) by Meindert Dijkstra -The West Hurian Pantheon and its Background by Alfonso Archi On Nanaya: -entry in Brill’s New Pauly by Thomas Richter -entry from the Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses project by Ruth Horry -A tigi to Nanaya for Ishbi-Erra from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature -A balbale to Inana as Nanaya from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature -More Light on Nanaya by Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman -More on the Nature and History of the Goddess Nanaya by Piotr Steinkeller A few introductory Ishtar/Inanna myths: -Inanna's descent to the netherworld -Inanna and the huluppu tree -Inanna and Enki -Enki and the world order -Inanna and Ebih -Dumuzid and Enkimdu

#mesopotamian mythology #sumerian mythology #inanna #ishtar #astarte

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dragynkeep · 3 years

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In regards to Until Dawn I definitely think Emily gets an unfair amount of hate. Like yeah she's a bitch but a bitch who owns the fact she's a bitch (wow I used that word a lot) and especially when she's so smart thinking up plans to survive on the fly I just wish people would appreciate her more. Same with Jessica homegirl fell down a fucking elevator shaft which left her unconscious in below freezing temperatures for at least 6 hours heavily injured, and that's assuming she's at least somewhat dressed. But they're both unfairly written off when they're two of the most hardcore characters in the game.

I mean besides the whole wenhu uh huuuuuh. What are aspects of the game you liked? Story elements, game mechanics, characters and I guess best endings?

i’m definitely not one to cry misogyny when it comes to the reception of fictional characters but the reception of emily & jessica who are traditionally aligned to more victimized female characters in the horror genre — the bully & the sexually active “whore” — as compared to ashley & sam, who’re the girl next door & final girl respectively like. it’s very clear the game was continuing on these tropes that the genre was built on & didn’t do very much to change before the last three decades.

emily & jessica both showed they were completely capable to survive but their femininity, promiscuity & “attitude” condemned them whereas characters like josh or mike who are just as asshole-ish as emily were far better received. it sucks, & it is changing slowly, but i hope these two are better received in years to come because they were two of my favourites in the game.

uhhh, i really liked the butterfly totem system, even though that in itself might have been problematic because i don’t remember if the tribe where the mountain is situated actually used totems or not. a lot of the self aware horror tropes were also very fun for me because they absolutely reminded me of an almost “scream” esque vibe, & it completely fit with josh’s psyche & his interests as a film & horror aficionado. as a psych student i did also love the therapy sessions, though the psychiatrist was completely unprofessional — understandably so considering it wasn’t actually him lmao.

#until dawn #emily davis #jessica riley #owl.txt #answered #q

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lightdancer1 · 2 years

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Where do you get your ideas for each au that you write from? Every time I read one of your stories I find myself beyond amazed with the plots and just the way how you write these stories overall.

With my first AU it was simply wanting to write Avatar: The Last Airbender as it would have been written if it were a part of my broader multiversal cosmology. Including the Urhalzantrani as the central cosmic figures, a multiverse, and the slow dawning awakening on the part of the people in that universe of the nature of the truth....and since it's an ATLA story they get to fight back and win a victory. In the course of writing that story one of the main ideas, a Fire Nation Katara as a villain and a bloodbender led me to the idea of the opposite, a Water Tribe Azula who'd be a hero.

That led to the idea of the Dragon-verse, which combined with it themes from the alternate history novel Fatherland. The Dragon-verse also took in the other half of my main themes in my original fiction, with that Azula incorporating a few aspects of Xaderavcal the Unifier on smaller scales, specifically the experience of mind-whammy from super-science, a berserker mode, and gleefully burning down the society that made her into what she became.

From there it grew to seven different AUs, each of them designed to interweave into the others, with the House of Wonders AU in a separate kind of storyline that spun out of talks with @ultranos over the notion of what time in the asylum would have realistically done to Azula and how the storyline might have evolved if she had actual realistic human limits.

The seven AUs basically developed from the first when the glimpses of alternate universes in a specific scene in the third story of the Fire and Water verse led me to want to develop various universes, with the seventh, the Fire Sage AU, working as the 'if it had been the 'good' cosmic horrors instead of the bad ones that made first contact' scenario.

I also take in each case with the Fire Nation various influences from real life societies and fictional totalitarian regimes that serve as the theme of various universes, as well as experimenting with a variety of different people to fill the niche of Fire Lord, and making each case where this happens feel like its own story and its own universe rather than coming across as cookie cutter plots.

Also at a broader creative level, I never lose sight of the idea that each of these worlds is a deliberate creation, where the characters are devices to tell specific kinds of stories. One very deliberate aspect of telling such different stories and different iterations, like the affably evil totalitarian overlord of the Dragon-verse versus squishy happy cuddly badass Iroh in the Sins-verse and the Azulon II spinoff or House of Wonders Ursa vs Empress of Humanity Ursa is to reinforce that. I think too much of the Avatar fandom, as Tumblr, Twitter, and Reddit show regularly and sadly loses sight of this because the world as it was created felt real enough it was easier to feel the characters were real, and not characters in a story. Treating them as means to tell the tale allows each tale to stand on its own without feeling like they duplicate each other or are required to do so.

TL;DR: To slightly misquote J.R.R. Tolkien 'the tales grew in the telling.' And include elements from my original fiction + reading on history and military history, which is very helpful in telling war stories and making them feel like actual glimpses of other worlds that could exist.

As always I appreciate and am humbled by the feedback. It's a pleasure to know that people enjoy reading my stories as much as I enjoy writing them.

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glitxhwayventeen · 3 years

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We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow

Minghao: Chapter 1 (Sirens)

Characters: Minghao x female reader

Genre/Warnings: multi-member au (different scenarios), werewolf au, fantasy, smut, angst, fluff, potential blood mentions, genocide, runaways, domestic violence, child abuse, blood mentions, death mentions, gang activity mentions, lots of dick jokes, suggestive content, tiny drug mention if you squint, violence. Any others will be put as warnings when future chapters are thought up/written.

Author’s Note: I recommend listening to Sirens by Cher Lloyd. It’s a strange choice I know. It doesn’t necessarily go with this chapter. But i think it’s actually a pretty good song, so I used it for a loose inspiration for Minghao’s opening Chapter.

Please remember that all of these chapters and the content within them are a work of fiction! They’re just for fun/entertainment!

Bold= Dialogue Italics= Thoughts

Slight 🥀 but mostly ☁️

We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow Master List

Chapter 1: Sirens

These last few days have been some of the best days of Minghao’s life. Not to say he’s had a bad one, he actually considered himself quite fortunate in that aspect compared to his brothers. Most of his pack didn’t even know what Minghao had done before he joined them. They just figured it wasn’t anything good. He had this… bad boy aura about him that they couldn’t quite place. So no one really ever wanted to fuck with him, not that he was complaining. I mean don’t get me wrong, he could do some SERIOUS damage to an opponent, he just didn’t want to have to. He was done with and over all the fighting. He fought his whole life. Now, he was tired. Boy, was he tired. He got so tired sometimes that it felt like his bones were scraping each other and if he didn’t lay down in the middle of whatever he was doing, they’d crack and break apart from his body. He’d never tell his brothers that though, he didn’t like them worrying about him. He wasn’t helpless, he was quite capable of taking care of himself and others. He just never had to because he had the Alphas looking out for the pack all the time. It wasn’t his problem to watch out for anyone and he liked it that way.

That is, until he met you. Before you, he saw the world for all its horrors and terrors. With you around, he saw all its beauty and grace. He never thought that imprinting would be like this. He felt almost high when you were around. No one ever really explained it all in depth to him. He didn’t realize that just someone saying your name would make his heart jump out of his chest. He took one look at you and he realized you were all he cared about. Sure he loved his brothers, but he knew if push came to shove they could protect themselves. Apart of him knew that of course you could too, but for the first time, he actually WANTED to take care of someone.

He always needed to be sure you were okay. He’d ask how you slept, if you ate, how you were feeling, if you were happy. It frazzled his brothers, he’d never done that with them. It was strange seeing such a loving side of him. They knew he loved them because they were his brothers, but they absolutely KNEW he loved you because you were his mate. But seeing him worry himself sick over your well-being was… different to say the least. They were actually pretty sure you had replaced him with an identical looking version of himself when they weren’t looking because, again, he just wasn’t even acting like the Minghao they knew.

You didn’t mind of course. You actually loved that he cared for you so much. You were so tired of having to take care of yourself for all this time. You didn’t think you were very good at it and, quite frankly, it was exhausting. You had been on the run for centuries before you met the pack. It was lonely and if there was anything in this world that you actually hated, it was being all alone. You came from a tribe where the bigger the family, the better. You missed it. So when you realized Minghao had imprinted on you, you couldn’t have been more happy. Because now, not only did you get a mate who loved you more than life itself, but you got his crazy pack brothers too. You figured he loved you anyway, he hadn’t actually said the words to you yet, still, you could just… feel it. You could even feel that his brothers loved you. They reminded you a lot of your original brothers. They were loud and rambunctious, and they’d do anything to protect you because you were their brothers mate. It was perfect.

As you both lay asleep in your now shared bed, you cuddled on top of his toned chest like always, you heard a loud, almost in human, scream from outside. It made you jump almost a foot in the air, and had you falling in the floor. You had let your instincts and guard down quite a bit since you came to live with them a few weeks ago because you felt safe. So the terrible noise from outside scared you a great deal. Minghao was quick to act of course, rushing to scoop you in his arms and quietly rocking you to calm you down.

“Shh. It’s okay baby it’s gone now. Don’t worry. It’s okay, I’ve got you.” He spoke softly as he stroked your hair gently, still rocking you in place.

“I- I know I just wasn’t expecting it. Who the hell screams like that this early in the morning?” You questions, both of you knowing it was more rhetorical than anything.

“More like who screams like that in general.” Minghao said, half joking and half concerned, though he was trying his best to hide it from you.

He had come to realize any sounds out of the ordinary could set you off into a panic attack. He didn’t like seeing you scared, and he didn’t like your heart rate spiking for anyone or anything other than himself.

“I just hope it’s over now-” you start, but just as you were about to finish your sentence, another loud screech forced you to jump from Minghao’s arms and hide under the bed.

He knew he couldn’t help it, it was now part of your instinct to hide in the darkest place possible from danger as you were out alone in the woods for decades and it was the way you kept yourself alive. Still, he couldn’t help the small whine that came from within his chest as he saw you hiding. He hated the fear in your eyes, it made him feel so helpless. He tried to coax you out from under his bed by trying to tell you it was just a passing noise. But, once again, the noise came back. Except this time, you actually managed to hear it without the sleepiness or your mating pull clouding it. Oh no! You quickly go out from under the bed and grabbed onto Minghao.

“Hao, where are the other boys??” You asked quickly, the fear in your eyes seeming to amplify.

“Probably asleep, like we should be so let’s-” he tried, still wanting to attempt to get more hours.

“No Hao! We need to find them. We need to find ALL OF THEM right now!” You all but yell as you quickly grabbed a pair of shorts, slipped them on, and threw open your bedroom door.

“(Y/N)! What the hell?? They’re all sleeping come on let’s go back to bed” Minghao whined, clearly not understanding the gravity of the situation.

You ignored him as you opened the door closest to your bedroom, you were greeted with Chan sitting on the edge of his bed, you could tell he was also woken up by the loud scream. Good, he’s safe. Now the others.

You then opened the door across the hall from your room. In it, you found Seungcheol yawning putting on pants in order to try and investigate the strange noise. You then pushed open Joshua and Jeonghan’s rooms, in them, you found both boys to be just as shocked from your actions as Minghao was. But nevertheless they were safe so you didn’t care how crazy you looked. After them, you dashed to Jun and Soonyoung’s shared room, letting out a quick relieved sigh seeing them both already standing close to their door.

You kept doing this until you had finished your rounds of Jihoon’s, Seokmin’s, Seungkwan’s, Wonwoo’s, and Hansol’s rooms respectively. You were so beyond happy that all the boys were okay that you almost cried real tears, they were already brimming at your waterlines.

“(Y/N), we all heard the noise. But it just sounded like someone yelling. We’re all fine. You worry too much.” Seungcheol assured you, giving you a small pat on the head to show gratitude for your care for them.

“No Seungcheol. You don’t understand. That wasn’t just any random villager screaming. That was something more vile than you could even imagine. And it prays on men, specifically horny-” you stopped yourself mid-sentence. “Wait.” You paused. “WHERE’S MINGYU??” you said, realizing very quickly that one of the wolves you were thinking of while saying your piece was unaccounted for.

You dashed to his room and busted the door open. And sure enough, his big ass form was there laying in bed, sleeping like a baby. Thank God.

“Alright. Somebody’s been hanging around Jun’s paranoid ass too long.” Hansol joked your way, earning a chuckle from a few others as well.

“Hey!” Junhui tried to defend himself.

“No you guys don’t get it. That scream, that was a siren’s victory call. I was legitimately worried for your lives.” You protested, Minghao coming up behind you to wrap his arms around your waist.

“A siren? What’s that?” Chan asked as all the boys looked to you for elaboration.

Boy, you sometimes forgot how young and inexperienced with the supernatural they were. They were far better with people than you were that’s for sure, but when it came down to other magical beings, it was like you were speaking a different language. And you only really ever did that with the foreign wolves as you knew both English and Chinese.

“A siren’s one of the most deadly creatures you can find. They look like regular people, most of the time, they’re absolutely beautiful. That’s what makes them so scary, they look like angels. But they’re pure evil, they lure people to their deaths late at night, mostly men. Mostly horny men. They use them for sex, to procreate. Then they kill them in brutal, horrible ways. Afterwards, they let out that God awful scream. That’s why I got so worried with you guys, I thought that…” you trailed off, shrugging your shoulders slightly.

“That what? One of us got our dick wet and our head chopped off?” Joshua laughed out, clearly amused that you considered them all horny men.

“Well yeah, kind of. You can’t blame me. I know what most of you go to the village for late at night. When I realized what the scream was, I just had to make sure you were right. I didn’t want to wake up the next morning to have to go out and find a fucking body.” You huffed as Minghao gave you a small peck on your shoulder to try and ease your tension.

“Well, thank you for caring for our safety. But we’re big boys. We can take care of ourselves. Well most of us…” Soonyoung assured you, standing more proud than he should’ve as he looked at Jeonghan.

“Yeah… that’s kind of what I’m worried about…” you let the joke pass your lips, trying your best not to laugh.

The other boys went into a roar of laughter as Jeonghan tried his best to hide his own amusement behind a fake angry face. The laughter seemed to be just enough noise to wake the life of the party up finally.

“Hey guys” Mingyu yawned. “What’s gonna on? Why are we laughing?”

“Well (Y/N) seems to think we’re gonna get our dicks chopped off.” Jeonghan responded to Mingyu, earning another quick chuckle and a slap from Jihoon.

“Oh well… that’s nice… any particular reason it’s me and you or is everyone else invited to the dick chopping party too?” Mingyu spoke again, trying his best to hide his obvious confusion with a joke.

“No man. It’s mostly you two.” Laughed Seungkwan. “You’re the ones who always seem to need to bury your dicks in something, not us”

You snort as you turn yourself to bury your face into Minghao’s chest, now wanting to go back to sleep knowing everyone’s alright.

“Alright alright you horny kids. All jokes aside.” Joshua spoke up. “(Y/N) how serious is this siren threat?”

“Well I’ve seen one siren take out half a town before. So pretty serious I’d gather. I dont know where all this dick chopping came into the conversation, but I’d say everyone needs to stay inside once it gets dark out until further notice, just to be safe” you mumble out from Minghao’s chest.

“Okay guys. You heard the all knowing wolf lady” Seungcheol said, earning a playful glare from you. “No more going out at night. Not for a while. No exceptions. All dicks must remain in tact” he declared.

“Aw man” Mingyu pouted, he was disappointed but also understood that the pack’s safety came before his hormones.

You let out a small giggle as Minghao lightly laughed as he placed a little kiss on the top of your head.

“No that’s enough excitement for one night. Everyone back to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning.” Joshua decided, ushering everyone back into their rooms.

Once your bedroom door was closed, Minghao picked you up mumbled an “I’m exhausted” before he placed you on the bed, the bags formed under his eyes showing you just how tired he must be. He joined you moments later and hovered himself over you.

“Do you really think the guys will stay inside because of the siren?” He questions while moving a lock of your hair behind your ear. You clasp your hands behind the back of his neck and place with his hair.

“Hmm. Don’t know. I guess we’ll see. If someone wakes up without a dick, we’ll know they didn’t listen” you said with a cheeky ass smile, much to the delight of your loving mate.

“Got it, no dick means they’re the siren’s bitch” he said aloud causing you to chuckle at his thought process.

“I promise I’ll still wake up with mine though” he added, earning a sweet smile from you. God, what did he do to deserve such a cute little mate?

“Good. I’d be real disappointed if you woke up with it gone.” You playfully pout, stroking his cheek during your sentence to further add to your point.

“Well you know how I hate to disappoint love” he said, a hint of mischief in his eyes as he pecked your lips with a bit more passion than you thought he would’ve used this early in the morning.

“I thought you were tired?” You questioned as best you could while he was trailing his kisses down to your neck, nipping at the sensitive skin gently.

“I was.” He mumbled into the crevice of your neck. “But I realized just how hard it is to resist your cute self. So now I’m thinking of some… other things we haven’t quite gotten to just yet” he answered with a playful smirk, making his intention completely obvious to you. Boy, this morning was already off to a fun start.

Another Author’s Note: I know what you guys are thinking, you’re thinking I meant succubus. But I meant Siren. There’s many different versions of both and I just happened to use the Siren version where they sing the men to lure them to their deaths on land. On another note, I finished three chapters in one day. I’m a bit proud not even gonna lie. I hope you guys liked this one. Minghao’s next chapter will be smut as I want to get their first time together out of the way as soon as possible. I don’t really know why. It just feels right you know?

(Updated 7/27)

#seventeen #seventeen angst #seventeen au #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #seventeen smut #svt au #seventeen x reader #svt minghao #minghao #the8

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hecallsmehischild · 3 years

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Recent Media Consumed

Books

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. About ten or fifteen years ago, I tried to read this and was totally overwhelmed by it. I kept it around, hoping maybe someday I might be able to read it. I finally have, and here are my impressions: WHY SO MANY NAMES. WHY YOU HAVE TO NAME EVERYBODY, AND EVERY TRIBE OF PEOPLES, AND EVERY INANIMATE OBJECT, AND EVERY LANDSCAPE FEATURE. WHY. *ahem* So. I have a general comprehension of the events of The Silmarillion, but I dealt with it by doing what you do for an impressionist painting. I (mentally) stepped way back and let all the names flow by me, and if there were names that were repeated a lot, then I mentally attached appropriate plot points and character details to those names so I could track with who they were and what they were doing. And, actually, I found myself able to hang on and enjoy the book for the most part. This is going to lead into a re-reading of the Lord of the Rings books, since I haven’t read those in about as long…

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I haven’t read some of these books since pre-teen years, with one required re-read of The Two Towers in high school (i.e. it’s been many an age since I’ve read these and my memory of the stories has been far more heavily influenced by the movies). In re-reading the first book, I was struck by the extreme tone shift for the Elves and Dwarves. Elves seem much closer to happy, mischievous fairies than these ethereal, solemn pillars of elegance and grace the movies show them to be. And Dwarves are far more bumbling and craftsmanlike than the movies show. Aside from that, The Hobbit was a pretty solid adaptation from the book, and the book also reminded me that this story was the first time I experienced “NO, MAIN CHARACTERS DON’T DIE, HOW DARE YOU,” and probably was the first book to make me cry. I must have been 8 or 10 years old. I FORGOT HOW MUCH THIS STORY INFLUENCED ME.

A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell. I have a longer-than-usual list of things to say about this book. First is that it was just that level of difficult that I was struggling to understand while reading it (on Audible), but I think I got it. Sowell has several base concepts that I see repeated throughout his books, though he does like to dedicate whole books to specific aspects of the same topic. He is pretty damn thorough that way. So, for example, I would put this book in the middle of a three-book spectrum of similar concepts: Intellectuals and Society (most concrete and easiest to read), A Conflict of Visions (next-level abstraction, a little difficult to read), Knowledge and Decisions (root abstract concept, very difficult, I have not been able to get past chapter 2). The second thing I have to say is about a couple interesting concepts it proposes. Its whole point is to help readers understand the roots of two ways of seeing the world that come into severe conflict politically, and he calls them by their root titles: the constrained and the unconstrained visions. He traces the path of each back through the intellectuals that most spoke of them (tending to contrast Adam Smith with William Godwin and Condorcet). Though he leans heavily toward the constrained vision (based on reading his other works) he does his best to make this book an academic study of both, with both of the visions' strengths and flaws and reasoning and internal consistencies fairly laid out. In doing so, he helped me understand a few things that make this situation really difficult for people on opposing sides to communicate. One of them is that root words and concepts literally mean different things to different people. I had some vague notion of this before, but he laid out three examples in detail: Equality, Power, and Justice. It was kind of astounding to see just how differently these three words can be defined. It makes me think that arguing about any specific issues rooted in these concepts is fruitless until first an understanding has been reached on terms, because otherwise two parties are endlessly talking past each other. Another really interesting idea he brought up is the existence of “hybrid visions” and he named both Marxism and Fascism as hybrid visions. This was especially fascinating to me because I have seen the accusation of “Nazi” flung around ad nauseam and I wondered how it was that both sides were able to fling it at each other so readily. Well, it’s because Fascism is actually a hybrid vision, so both sides have a grain of truth but miss the whole on that particular point. In any case, this was a little difficult to read but had some fascinating information. For people who are wondering what on earth this gap is between political visions, how on earth to bridge the gap, or why the gap even exists in the first place, this is a really informative piece.

Movies

The Hobbit & Fellowship trilogies (movies). I mean, it’s definitely not my first watch, not even my second. But I went through it with Sergey this time and that means the run-time is double because we pause to talk and discuss details. This watch came about partly due to Sergey’s contention that Gandalf’s reputation far outstrips his actual powers, so we ended up noting down every instance of Gandalf’s power to see if that was true. Conclusion: Gandalf is actually a decently powerful wizard, but tends to use the truly kickass powers in less-than-dire circumstances. That aside, this movie series was always a favorite for me. I rated The Hobbit trilogy lower the first time I saw it but, frankly, all together the six movies are fantastic and a great way to sink deep into lore-heavy fantasy for a while. And I’m catching way more easter-egg type details after having read the Silmarillion so it’s even more enjoyable. (finally, after about a week of binge-watching) I forgot how much this story impacted me. I forgot how wrenchingly bittersweet the ending is. I forgot how much of a mark that reading and watching this story left on my writing.

Upside-Down Magic. Effects were good. Actors were clearly having fun and enjoying everything. Story didn’t make enough sense for my taste, but it was a decent way to kill flight time.

Wish Dragon. So, yes, it’s basically an Aladdin rewrite, but it’s genuinely a cheesy good fluff fest that made me grin a whole lot.

Plays

Esther (Sight and Sound Theatres). < background info > This is my third time to this theatre. There are only two of these in existence and they only run productions of stories out of the Bible. The first time I went I saw a production of Noah, the second time I saw a production of Jesus. My middle sister has moved all the way out to Lancaster, PA in hopes of working at this theatre. My husband and I came out to visit her. < /background info > So. Esther. They really pulled out all the stops on the costumes and set. I mean, REALLY pulled out all the stops. And the three-quarters wrap-around stage is used to great effect. I tend to have a general problem of not understanding all the words in the songs, but I understood enough. I highly recommend sitting close to the front for immersive experiences. This theatre puts on incredible productions and if you ever, ever, EVER have the opportunity to go, take it. Even if you think it's nothing but a bunch of fairy tales, STILL GO. I doubt you'll ever see a fairy tale produced on another stage with equal dedication to immersion.

Shows

The Mandalorian (first two seasons). Well. This was pretty thoroughly enjoyable. It felt very Star-Wars, and I’d kind of given up after recent movies. Felt like it slipped into some preaching toward the end? Not sure, I could be overly sensitive about it, but I enjoyed this a lot (though I did need to turn to my housemate and ask where the flip in the timeline we were because I did NOT realize that the little green kid IS NOT ACTUALLY Yoda).

Games

Portal & Portal 2. Portal is probably the first video game I ever tried to play, back when I had no idea what I was doing. Back then, I attempted to play it on my not-for-gaming Mac laptop. Using my trackpad. Once the jumping-for-extra-velocity mechanic came into play, I just about lost my mind trying to do this with a trackpad and gave up. Later I returned to the game and played it with my then-boyfriend on a proper gaming computer. Now, after having played several games and gotten better at "reading the language" of video games, I decided I wanted to see if I could beat the Portal games by myself. Guess what. I BEAT 'EM. Yes, I remembered most of the puzzles in Portal so that's a little bit of a cheat, but I'd say a good 2/3 of Portal 2 was new puzzles to me. It is crazy how proud I feel of myself that I could beat Portal 2, especially. Learning how to play video games at this age has really knocked down the lie, "You can't learn anything." Though I still suck at platformers and games that require precision. Since I find those types frustrating, I probably won't be playing many. Games are about enjoyment, so I'll push myself a little, but not to the point where I can't stand what I'm playing.

The Observer. I like the concept and the art but I don't think I could keep trying to play this game. It's really depressing. My in-game family members all died of illness or accident or committed suicide. I also kept getting executed by the state. In order to keep us all alive I'd have to do pretty terrible things that I have a hard enough time contemplating even in a fictional setting.

Baba Is You. Fun and interesting concept, but I got stuck pretty early on. Don't think I want to push as hard on this one.

#recent media consumed #n00b gamer child #child loves books #child loves movies #child loves shows

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