#hot takes from ancient greece

[kingconia]

Listen listen listen, housewarden's giving you their jacket bc your cold's reactions to you holding onto their arm like a koala after receiving the jacket

(P.s. the way you write is just so awesome it's like if you were born in ancient Greece you'd be writing mythological classics)

A/N: Ah! That is the most flattering, heartwarming words about my writing style I had ever heard... I can't thank you enough for this, dear.

I also hope that I understood your request correctly.

HOUSEWARDENS GIVING YOU THEIR JACKET BECAUSE YOU WERE COLD

Riddle Rosehearts. ❤️

— Riddle is, indeed, a very observing boyfriend. He notices the slightest discomfort in your actions, and so, it doesn't really take a lot of time from him to realise that you are getting cold;

— A gentleman he is, Riddle will instantly offer his own jacket. I think, he would be a very careful type of person, who takes it off, and actually extends it to you, instead of wrapping it around you freely;

— Once you accept, he feels very proud of himself! He is shining from the inside, and it means a lot for him that you accepted his help so easily! He is a good boyfriend, right?

— But he is a little surprised, when you cling into him all of the sudden... What is the meaning of it?

•

”Are you still cold?” Riddle frowns slightly, freezing on his place much like a statue. ”We can go back, in our dorm, and—”

”You are just so sweet,” you sigh out with a short smile on your face, pressing cheek to his arm. ”I can't help myself.”

His cheeks flare up instantly after hearing this. Whatever he planned to say doesn't matter now; Riddle can only awkwardly continue your walk, secretly satisfied by this sudden, yet pleasant outcome.

Leona Kingscholar. 💛

— Alright, I am sorry, but Leona doesn't really have warm clothes on himself on the daily basis? His body temperature is so high... And his only leather jacket is... Sleeveless;

— Nevertheless, he notices shifts in your body temperature even quicker than you do. He is a beastman, which means he can say a lot about your body, just by listening to your heartbeat and focusing on your smell;

— Since he doesn't have anything for you to offer, Leona suggests you the only warm thing he has. Himself. And by suggesting, I mean... He just hugs you from the behind, both of his arms hanging loosely around your neck;

— Leona doesn't expect you to cling on him and be so smug about it, though...

•

”...You are clingy,” he informs you as you rub your cheek against his smooth skin. ”And I am not your blanket, herbivore.”

Yet, as you can't see his face, Leona smirks. He knows that his body is hot—in many way than just one—and he is aware how welcoming his hugs must be in this cold. He originally expected more stammering and blushes, but you know what...

”Sure, Leona.”

...This is much better.

Azul Ashengrotto. 🩵

— Just as Riddle, he is very observing boyfriend. But I also think his care is more restless? He is overthinking everything, and overworrying about the smallest things, when it comes to you;

— As soon as you confirm his worst assumptions—yes, that you are a little bit cold; yes he is a drama queen—Azul becomes even more worried then before. You are his too fragile, but nevertheless, too valuable treasure in the world!

— Of course, he firstly offers you his jacket. Azul holds it out for you, so you could slip in it easily, and then carefully fixes the collar, and fasten the buttons, so you feel more comfortable in it;

— He is about to go and find something warm to drink or eat for you, when you surprise him by wrapping arms around him so suddenly...

•

”Angelfish?” He blinks, confusion painted on his face as he looks at you in a mild surprise. ”Is something wrong?”

With his free hand that you still didn't manage to capture, Azul leans to touch your forehead, trying to understand if you are suffering from a fever or anything else.

”No. Everything is perfect. And I have a perfect boyfriend,” you murmur softly against the fabric of his shirt. ”Thank you for taking care of me, Zul-Zul.”

His face softens instantly, and Azul can't help himself but to kiss you on the forehead. Ah, of course... That's it, you are just being soft.

”Sure, darling.”

Kalim Al-Asim. 🧡

— I like to think that Kalim himself always feels slightly feverish? He doesn't really feel cold, even if his body does. I am not sure how to explain this one;

— Nevertheless, Kalim is oblivious to his own understanding of the temperature. How can you expect him to understand yours? But don't worry, he makes it up for being a fussy boyfriend, who starts asking a thousand of questions as soon as he realises that you are cold;

— If it is your lucky day and Kalim has something warm to offer to you, he will!

— But if he accidentally forgets his uniform jacket... That could mean only one thing: you have to wait for Jamil.

•

”Ah, I am sorry... I keep forgetting things in dorm...” Kalim sighs quietly, trying to keep both of his arms up, in a imitation of the roof, as the sudden rain starts.

Instead of being saddened, you use the opportunity: you throw yourself on Kalim, wrapping arms around his stomach.

”Nothing can warm better than the hugs of true love,” you hum.

”Ah!” He instantly hugs you back, smiling widely. "Of course!”

(Jamil squints from the afar, noticing two familiar figure under the rain. Hissing, he grips umbrella even tighter.

”...Idiots,” he only murmurs, before fastening his steps.

He hates his work.)

Vil Schoenheit. 💜

— Vil is a very doting boyfriend. Sometimes it stays unnoticed by you, but he always looks out for you silently. He takes some pride in that, too;

— So, this time is not an exception: you don't even have time to confess about being cold, when Vil already helps you to put a very beautiful spring coat that he carried around all evening! Just for you;

— He instantly asks if you want scarf, or maybe, gloves, because he has them ready too! If anything, Vil also checked out the nearest cafe, so...

— You cut him through by merely clinging in his arm. Vil is not surprised, but he is slightly flustered. This is too straightforward for him, potato...

•

”Careful, would you?” He sighs, looking around, trying to see if you are alone. As he reassures himself that it is a safe zone, Vil instantly allows himself to smile more openly. ”Are you comfortable like this, potato? Or should I call you coala from now?”

Yet, Vil himself can't resist the urge to press cheek to the top of your head. As your soft hair tickle his sensitive skin, he chuckles softly.

”Call me whatever you want,” your voice comes out muffled as you bring yourself even closer to him. ”But I am going to be the lover of the best boyfriend in the world...”

Well, you are not wrong, but he still blushes slightly... How shameless.

Idia Shroud. 💙

— To your surprise, Idia is an observant boyfriend as well? Unless, he is a little bit too invested in rumbling about something, but all other time he checks on you constantly;

— Of course, he offers you his own hoodie. Though, Idia doesn't really like sharing clothes or anything at all, for you—and in such special occasions—he could do that;

— Idia helps you to put hoodie on, and jokingly pushes the hood on your face, snickering when you huff;

— But when he attempts to step away, and gets caught instead, Idia is... Speechless.

•

”H-hey?”

Idia saw that a countless times in anime and movies, but a mass-media is one thing, and a real life is a completely another!? He is not sure how to react, so he wouldn't look as a complete idiot!

”Are you comfortable?” You ask suddenly, in a very serious tone.

Idia nods enthusiastically. He is very normal about this.

”Cool.”

And with that, you nuzzle closer, closing your eyes. Oh, he tries to relax too, but... From the sound of his heart beating fastly, you could say it didn't end well...

Malleus Draconia. 💚

— Malleus always forgets about humans feeling weather differently, to be honest. He tries to look after you more thoroughly, but he can't find a golden line between an ”proper care” and ”too-worried pestering”;

— When you admit, after hours of night walking around statues of gargoyles, that you are a little cold, Malleus feels guilty for not noticing it earlier;

— Of course, he instantly offers you his jacket, in the most delicate and gentle way possible. Also asks if you want him to put in the fire your surroundings, so you could feel warmer;

— Instead, you wrap both of your arms around his right one. And he, honestly, is very confused...

•

”I believe, the temperature of my body is not that warm to help you here, the child of man...”

Yet, you look so peaceful, that Malleus unconsciously puts his free hand atop of your head, stroking your hair gently.

”Ah, but what about this warm heart of yours, Malleus?” You smirk, winking at him with the unhidden amusement as you say it.

Malleus can say that the tip of his ears are getting red. A soft sigh escapes his lips, and despite everything, he can't resist the urge to smile back at you.

”...If it keeps you warm, my dear.”

#twisted wonderland #twst wonderland #malleus draconia #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #vil schoenheit #vil schoenheit x reader #riddle rosehearts #riddle rosehearts x reader #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #idia shroud x reader #idia shroud

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 Eros: Chapter Two

Eros: Married to Dream of the Endless, you find yourself sent back in time to Ancient Greece where you, unfortunately, meet Oneiros. Fresh off a divorce and drowning the sorrows of his son’s death by indulging in the Panathenaia, you find yourself trapped beneath the lustful gaze of your future husband. In your defense, he seduced you first…

Warnings: Language, Taunting.

To Note: Morpheus x Wife!Reader, Time Travel, Oneiros is used for AncientGreek!Morpheus.

Word Count: ~2.8k

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By dinner that night you had nearly drowned yourself in turbulent thoughts and discomfort. Your friends were gossiping while lounging at a table, they were gushing about all the men and woman that had arrived through out the day. Apparently in the celebrations, orgies were a common occurrence among the aristocrats and it was always a guessing game of who would be getting with who, or more importantly, who would get the golden invitations to the orgies with the most powerful people of Athens. You didn’t mind the open sexuality of Athens, it was actually a freeing thought… but you’d spent the afternoon and night in a state of hurt with a very agonized heart.

Why did it pain you so much to see Oneiros in pain? It was clear that he was hurting. Hurting and drowning himself in wine and debauchery to take his mind and being off the fact that his son had died and he’d gone through a divorce. You hated seeing him like that. You hated it so much. But you were well aware that Morpheus had gone through this phase in his life. He’d gruelingly explained it to you on a rainy afternoon after you had pestered him about his past relationships. He was your husband and you loved him so much, yet you still knew very little about his past.

He hadn’t wanted to tell you anything. Hadn’t wanted you to know about his failings in martial relations and love period. But the Endless loved you with every grain of sand he possessed and had explained the sorrows and troubles he’d gone through… minus the time proceeding his divorce. Watching the debauchery unfold in front of you, you fully understand why he hadn’t uttered a peep about his greek era. The greeks certainly knew their way around bodily delights.

“Elpis?” You blinked and glanced at Merope, she and the other girls were looking at you with concerned looks. They had noticed a change in you since earlier, had barely touched food or drink and spent an awful lot of time sitting with a faraway look within your eyes. “You’ve been rather demure since luncheon, is all well?” It wasn’t like you could just unload all your troubles on the three women, no matter how much you wanted to.

“Just a headache,” You informed her before unfolding yourself from your curled position and rising to your feet. You brushed out nonexistent wrinkles from the skirt of your dress.  “I think I need some fresh air and to cool down.” Your fingers tugged at your clothes, undoing several pins that kept fabric folded against your body in a decorative way. The silken fabric loosened and draped until it was just barely held together on your body. Now you didn’t feel so smothered. “I’ll be out for a walk, don’t let me keep you up waiting.”

It was clear that they weren’t convinced by your words as you strode past them with your peplum fluttering behind you. It was a hot night in Athens, but the breeze from the Aegean Sea cooled you down as you took a garden path that led straight to the beautiful water. Standing at the waters edge, you crouched down and brushed your fingers through the slightly warm water. This wouldn’t last forever, surely, your Morpheus was probably ripping through realms and universes trying to find you… you just had to deal with his past self until you went home.

Which you didn’t know when that would happen.

And you didn’t like the idea of leaving this Morpheus in pain.

But could you actually do anything about that?

You didn’t exactly have a handbook on what to do when you time traveled.

Destiny will be up your ass if you screwed this up…

Then again maybe this was supposed to happen?

You growled and dropped your face into your hand with a more than exaggerated groan. You didn’t sign up for this time travel bull shit when you married Morpheus! All you had to be, according to Morpheus and just about everyone else in the realm, was his wife. Of course you wanted to be active in the realm and help out the denizens, dreams, and nightmares as their queen, but no one held you to duty.Just as you sighed and dragged your fingers down your face, pulling your eyelids as you went, you felt a tingle in your being and a shiver run up your spine. You rose to your feet and turned around.

Ah.

High above on one of the balconies overseeing the Aegean Sea, lounged Oneiros in all his glory. His tunic was half on his body, revealing a great expanse of his star sculpted physique. His hair was ruffled since you had last seen him. Right. Lucienne reluctantly mentioned that Morpheus had a few hoe eras. This was one of them. Even though he wasn’t your Morpheus, you could still feel his inherent desire and lust. It was certainly directed at you since you had met eyes with him. That both scared and excited you.

“Elpis?” Kynna’s sweet voice broke your stare down with Oneiros. Jarred from holding the lustful gaze of Oneiros, you blinked rapidly. “What are you doing outside all alone? Did you have a bad dream?”

“Kynna!” You softly exclaimed, striding up to the girl and plucking her from the ground. What on earth was she doing out of be? There were half naked adults everywhere! “You’re supposed to be in bed.”

“You’re not in bed,” The little girl pointed out like it would make a difference, making your eyebrow pop up. The utter cheek!

“That’s because I was out for a walk, come little one, back to bed, you have a great many activities to do tomorrow.” Continuing to carry Kynna, you entered the large stone building and walked towards her families wing. Your heart throbbed in your chest the entire way to her room.

You sat in your seat stiff as a bored. It was another extravagant luncheon hosted by one of the noble families. You hadn’t wanted to accept the invitation, you weren’t versed in the politics of Athens and certainly didn’t know anyone other than your three knew friends. The only plus side to attending was the delicious food served. You’d spent a lot of time snacking on olives while partaking in wine, and it was nice to eat a proper grecian meal.

Under normal circumstances, the men would eat separately from the woman, but since it was Panathenaia, an exception was made so everyone could mingle and celebrate in shared fashion. As uncomfortable as you were with the flirting and innuendos, you did find yourself laughing at a few crude jokes and well entertained by the conversations you found yourself drawn into.

The men and woman of Ancient Greece were beautiful, impossibly so, but they were also so easy to get along with and forget that you didn’t even belong in this era! Several times you found yourself falling into a place of comfort you should not entertain! So every time a conversation got a little too intimate you pulled back. But that being said, you carried small talk and day to day conversation quite well.

At least until a certain someone arrived.

Your attention was drawn to Oneiros like a moth to a flame. You couldn’t help it. Not when he was the love of your life and the very being you promised to spend the rest of eternity together. Not when you had allowed the anthropomorphic being to place a physical part of his Endless being within your own so that you may spend every moment he had left in time with him.

But he wasn’t yours. At least not yet. That didn’t stop the smoldering looks he sent your way and it certainly didn’t stop the fire that burned deep in your belly until you squirmed in your seat. Gods damn that being for being your kryptonite! Wanting payback for what he was causing you, you began eating grapes. One by one. Allowing your fingers to linger on your lips while you held his gaze.

 It was a rather torturous sight to see.

The purple peplum you had on, held in place by golden pins and a decorative belt that wrapped around your waist. The fabric was just as light as all the other peplums you’d ben dressed in, but at the moment you felt like it weighed a tonne. Feeling suffocated by your feelings, the heavy gaze of Oneiros that seemed to follow you everywhere, and the general sultry atmosphere that enveloped the commons, you had slipped to the gardens for an afternoon stroll. Even with the fresh air you were still struggling to control your emotions.

“I just want to go home,” You softly murmured to yourself, allowing your hand to brush over several hibiscus flowers. “But I can’t even have that. No, someone just wants to fuck with me and my heart by forcing me to live through one of my husbands darkest times.” Sighing, you continued running your fingers over flowers and leaves. Lifting your eyes to the skies, you willed time to go by faster, wishing for the relieving darkness that harkened a sleep that blocked out the visceral agony you felt.

Before you had married Morpheus, you used to be so excited about falling asleep at night. You practically lived two lives, one on earth during the day, and second, more meaningful one in the Dreaming at night. You knew almost all of the denizens of the Dreaming before you had become romantically involved with Morpheus, so your nights had literally been a second life. But then the Endless had finally decided to make his intentions clear with you.

You had been swept off your feet by a blanket of stars Morpheus had weaved himself and courted like a spoiled regency debutant. It had been so extravagant that you had nearly told Morpheus that he only needed to get you flowers and talk to you regularly… but you had quickly found that bestowing you with gifts and words of affection were his love language. He wanted to shower you with gifts. He wanted to bespoke words of adoration to you. You were his universe. He was the being you never knew you needed. Together you felt complete.

Sniffing while your eyes burned, you hastily wiped at your eyes and nose lest you start balling in the middle of the garden and cause an upset. Why were you doing this to yourself? You knew you were playing with fire. Finding yourself and stopping the threatening onslaught of burning hit tears, you cleared your throat and looked up at the flowering pink shrub you found yourself in front of.

Oleander.

Smelling the fragrant blooms, you reached up to take one of the pretty blooms. It was just out of reach, but if you stretched on your tippy toes, you could probably reach it. So you stretched upwards, pressing close to the plant. Your fingers brushed the soft petal, but you couldn’t get a good grasp that wouldn’t tear the delicate bloom apart. In your struggle, you hadn’t noticed his approach and jerked in place when fabric bushed against your back as a pale hand reached over your head and effortlessly plucked the bloom for you.

Freezing in place as your breath caught in your chest, you clutched your hands to your chest. It wasn’t like you could ignore him now. Slowly turning your head, your eye met vibrant blue and you had to force yourself to stay still. Gods all you wanted to do was wrap your arms around his body and never let go! Oneiros twirled the bloom between his lithe fingers, all the while maintaining his intense gaze with yours.

You fascinated him, hypnotized him with your eyes, demanded his heart and passion with but a glance. Yet you never drew close enough to indulge. It was maddening, for Oneiros wanted no other but you. You’d drown out the sharp sting of loss he felt. He was sure of it. But something kept pulling you away the moment he was sure you’d finally break. The Endless offered the plucked flower to you, waiting for you to either accept or refuse it. Given your rather flighty disposition, he half expected you to flee the garden.

But you didn’t.

No. Oneiros was surprised when one of your slightly trembling hands reached to accept the flower. Your eyes were trained on the bloom, and you made sure not to touch him… but your silence spoke a million things.

It was getting harder and harder to avoid interacting with Oneiros. You didn’t know if it was because you naturally gravitated towards him, or if it was because he clearly wanted you. Nothing you did rid you of the pain you felt from him. So you had gone to the baths to try and soak out the stress you felt. It was nearing midnight, so most of the nobles were either indulging in bodily delights, drinking, or sleeping off the alcohol. That meant you could enjoy the public bath house in privacy.

So you slowly made your way into the steamy room and carefully unwound the belt around your waist. Then your fingers plucked the pins from your shoulders and you carefully folded the silk cloth that hung around your body. The steaming water looked inviting as you stepped down into one of the pools, and you sighed at the nostalgia that filled your mind. The bath house pools were much like the large bath you had in the Dreaming, and made memories of relaxing in it cradled within Morpheus’ arms as he told you stories of past dreams, surface within your mind.

You wanted to go home so bad.

“Are tonights revelries not to your appetite?” You jerked in place at the sound of his voice, your head snapping around to see Oneiros lounging in a corner of the bath. Shit. Shit. Shit. It took everything you had not to stare at his naked body leisurely sprawled across the sitting ledge without care. His black messy curls made your fingers twitch for they ached to run through them. Oh, it wasn’t just those curls either, you wanted run your fingers along his skin, trace his muscles, adore the curves and planes upon his otherworldly body, kiss him until you were forced to take a breath… It took you a solid minute to find the courage to reply.

“I do not usually partake in such festivities, my lord,” You replied, a slight tremble in your words. A black eyebrow arched and you forced your gaze to the carved statues of spites mounted at the end of the room. “I am more reserved with my affections.”

“But not entirely opposed as your skin paints a different story,” Oneiros pointed out, his eyes lingering on the faded marks of someones apparent love. Oh yes, someone had the pleasure of indulging in your body. Someone worshipped you greatly and with complete devotion. The marks were subtle, but intentional. Territorial even. The Endless watched as you flushed beneath his scrutiny, and took great enjoyment in knowing that he did have an effect on you. “Who would leave a creature as lovely and delicate as you, by yourself during such festivities?”

“He’s away on business and I do not seek to control him,” You told him, carefully unfolding yourself from your tight ball. Instantly the Endless was drinking in the view of your gorgeous curves and faintly loved skin. He wanted to devour you. You wanted him to stop hurting. So you rose to your feet in the water and slowly sloshed over to him. “Why are you here, my lord?”

Clearly he didn’t expect you to ask him such a question, but nonetheless he humored you after taking a sip of his wine and eyeing your goddess like body. Soft and begging for worship. One he would surely get lost in should the chance arise.

“I am enjoying the festivities, the same as you,” You nearly snorted and rolled your eyes. He may not be your Morpheus, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t pick up when he was lying. You lifted your chin.

“No, you are not,” Now that was a bold statement to say directly to his face, and you could see his eyes darken.

“You dare think to know my intentions better than I?” He questioned back, eyes searching yours to see how far you would push his patience. Your lips were distracting, after your grape stunt he had wanted nothing but to devour them to see if they were indeed as soft and inviting as they looked… as was the rest of your glorious body. Tender curves begging to be caressed, clear skin aching be marked once more, lips that called to be tamed…

“I know enough to wonder why you are here, rather than with the men and women desperately throwing themselves at you.” You informed him before turning to the side and moving back towards your folded dress. You left the bathhouse and a ravenous Endless behind, your heart beating fast in your chest.

Date Published: 1/22/24

Last Edit: 1/22/24

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#dream of the endless x reader #morpheus #lord morpheus #dream the endless #sandman x reader #dream the endless x reader #morpheus x reader #the sandman #dream of the endless #the sandman netflix

[lifeafterdeath-if]

Life After Death is a Slice of Death Romantic Drama that takes place within the afterlife. It’s rated 18+ for depictions of violence, sexual themes, alcohol use, explicit language, and, of course, death.

You’re dead.

It’s still something that you have to get used to. That you were happily, or at least you told yourself anyway, living your life within the world of the living only to end up in the world of the dead by nightfall— Elysium isn’t exactly what you were expecting, the bustling city being an eclectic mix of various points in history, but you’re certain you could be in worse places.

Making a new “life” within the walls of the ever-growing city seems an almost impossible task.

That is until a kind stranger, garbed in Victorian-Era clothing, offers you a place to stay at the Silver Towers; an apartment complex that has all walks of life seemingly crammed into its well-structured walls.

Will you be able to find your place among the new ensemble of people? Will you be able to find a connection with someone that you had never been able to create in life?

Only time will tell as your afterlife commences.

Customizable MC: Name, appearance, gender (female, male, and non-binary), sexuality, smattering facets of your life before death, and more!

Detail how your MC feels about their death and the world that they’ve left behind? Happy, sad, angry?

Discover all that Elysium, and its many Districts, have to offer as you meet more and more people.

Engage in a romance with 1 of 6 romantic options— from the kindly stranger to an ancient warrior. Each one gives you an insight into a world that seems so far from your own.

Forge friendships that will last through time.

Follow your MCs journey as they discover what their Life After Death will truly entail.

Edward/Elizabeth Clarke: A soft-spoken individual, with a heart of gold, and a penchant to help those in need. They also happen to be the very individual that offers you a place to stay within the Silver Towers. [PROFILE]

Kaspian/Kassandra Drakos: Hot-blooded and slightly obtuse, Kas is an individual from Ancient Greece; a Spartan Warrior that still has some of their old teachings ingrained in their very being, even after all these years. [PROFILE]

Jace/Jade Reed: Your new roommate who, fortunately for you, seems to have come from the same time as you. With a sunny smile and excitable disposition, they’re clearly a person that anyone could go to if they needed a shoulder to cry on. Only time will tell if they have one as well. [PROFILE]

Yvan/Yvonne DeLuca: The owner of the most influential club within all of Elysium— Afterlife. A rather on-the-nose name, of course, but that doesn’t stop the lines from forming throughout the night. With ambition running through their veins, and a silver tongue, nothing has ever made them slow down. [PROFILE]

Gabriel/Gabriella Caelius: An Angel sent from Heaven to watch over Elysium— a post that seems to have been subjected to for quite some time if their total apathy towards the city at large is anything to go by. It’s clear they want nothing more than to leave, but aren’t able to. [PROFILE]

Celian/Céline Keres: The Mayor of Elysium, maintaining order within a place that is simply a waiting room for most of the inhabitants within, who has a reputation for being cold; not wanting anything to mess with the city they love so much. Of course, another moniker is commonly attached alongside their name— The Grim Reaper. [PROFILE]

DEMO TBA

#life after death #interactive novel #interactive fiction #hosted games #choice of games #character profiles will be added soon

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hi!

I was looking for this Sterek story where Stiles went on vacation to Greece I think? He came along a statue of Derek from ancient times. I think Derek was cursed to stone until he found his soulmate and he came back to life once stiles found him!

Hi @thanksyoucomeagain! @magicbayleef says it's this one and threw in another one just for funsies. Also! Fun fact I just learned that Michelangelo's David's penis is small because back then a small penis was a sign of masculinity.

Second Place Trophy by 3rdgenderfromthesun 

(7/7 I 15,362 | Sterek)

Stiles was second at just about everything in life, including the second person in recorded history born without a Soulmark to indicate to him that he had found his Soulmate. However, the first person had been dead for nearly two thousand years. Unless, of course, he was also the same statue that legend said was waiting frozen in time for his Soulmate to take his hand.

AND

I Touched A Statue and Got A Super-Hot Boyfriend by NephilimEQ

(24/? I 86,623 I Mature I Sterek)

Stiles came back around to the front and gently reached up and grasped the marble hand with his right. He was surprised to find that it felt warm. He held on a moment longer and then went to let go to hand Lydia his phone to take a picture…and then nearly had a panic attack when he felt warm fingers grasp his hand, then heard a grunt and felt a strong tug towards the floor as something fell down next to him.

...or also known as the story where Stiles' life gets turned completely upside-down when he brings a statue to life, and he becomes pulled into a web on mystery that leads him from Italy, to Greece, to Ireland...all the way back to Beacon Hills. Will he find answers or only more questions?

#teen wolf #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #mates #soulmates #lost fic #anon

[kakasaku-week-2023]

And the prompts for KakaSaku Week 2023: (AU)gust are live! Come explore our favorite couple in all the universes. Each day has two trope prompts to choose from, as well as a challenge quote to include, all submitted and voted upon my our lovely server members.

Feel free to fulfill one, two, or all three of each day's prompts. Fics, art, moodboards, songs, we want to see them all! (It's understood that some of these may require a little more explanation, so see below the cut for details.)

Have questions? Want to brainstorm with others? Need to gush about KakaSaku in general? Send us an ask.... or come join our Discord! We're open for ONE WEEK starting today, ending next Sunday (6/25), approximately 3:30pm PDT.

Click here to join the Scarecrows and Cherry Blossoms Discord Server!

(AU)GUST PROMPTS (August 6-12, 2023)

Day 1 - Historic AU (Think regency, medieval, Victorian eras. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome... The 80's? Take your pick!) 🌸Trapped in a Small Space 🌸Innocent 🐺"Never cruel or cowardly."

Day 2 - Someone Else's Show (What if Kakashi was a waterbender? What if Sakura was a Slytherin? Explore all of your TV/movie possibilities today!) 🌸Domesticity 🌸Wingman/Wingwoman 🐺"Should I stay or should I go?"

Day 3 - Modern AU (Probably the most self-explanatory... Have fun!) 🌸3 A.M. 🌸Missed Connections 🐺"You have my sword."

Day 4 - Fantasy AU (Give me your best Elvish courting rites, your witchy incantations, your dragons and mermaids and nymphs, oh my!) 🌸Hot Springs 🌸Seduction 🐺"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

Day 5 - Swapped (Body swap, gender swap, age swap... Switch it all up on this day!) 🌸Booty call vs. Butt dial 🌸Beach 🐺"Oops."

Day 6 - Mythology (For all of your Hades/Persephone needs. Take your favorite folk tales and go nuts!) 🌸Soulmate 🌸Morning After 🐺"Not if your were the last person on Earth."

Day 7 - Canon Divergence (Canon but not. Where the butterfly effect is in full flight!) 🌸Pakkun Makes a Starling Discovery 🌸Arranged Marriage 🐺"Why are you in my house?"

#kakasaku week 2023 #kakasaku #(au)gust

[captorsicallfriends]

why pjo's portrayal of the greek gods is fucked up and how it's affected perceptions surrounding ancient Greece.

*breaks down the door to your inbox with an axe*

start talking now oh my god I want to hear your hot take so bad. I've been interested in religious studies (primarily the Hellenistic and early Roman religious atmosphere (of course acknowledging that the word religion is post-Enlightenment and conceives of supernatural belief as a subjective individual belief, which is inconsistent with how supernatural matters were dealt with in the Ancient world) and how they intersect with early Christianity and proto-Christianity) and I've been fascinated with the Greek gods and I need your hot take on why their portrayal is wrong and leads to incorrect assumptions about Ancient Greece.

oh you bet your bottom dollar i will talk about this. true to the post from which this originated, i will prep no material and all this is off the top of my head so don't quote me!

If you follow my Greek mythology sideblog, you'll know i am unequivocally a Zeus defender. Now I can make a million posts about Zeus alone but I will take a more holistic approach on the gods in general and the perception of Ancient Greece.

The West has been obsessed with Ancient Greece for centuries: the culture, philosophy, history, mythology, mathematical and scientific advancements, and much more. Now it's one thing to take interest in a country's history or a historical era; it is completely another to claim it as your own and make it an ideal state of life to achieve, because if you know literally anything about Ancient Greece, it was anything but. What I'm trying to say here is that Ancient Greek culture has been commodified, glorified, rewritten, and reclaimed by the West when it was never theirs to do so. I've often seen this sentiment expressed by Greeks about their homeland: "The history comes first, the people second." I think a prime modern example of this mindset was when same-sex marriage was legalised in Greece, which was a huge step forward for an Orthodox country with an extensive history of homophobia, but people outside of Greece began making jokes of Greece "returning to their own values" (referring to Ancient Greek practices of pederasty which is hugely problematic and not at all representative of any gay rights if you know what it entails) and people excited to "finally hold lesbian weddings in Lesbos" (signifying the West's perception of Greece as simply a tourist hotspot and not a country with an intricate history and culture). In short, Greece is already unfairly used for the West's agenda of glorification and attempts to build itself a culture that frankly isn't theirs at all.

Now, how does this involve pjo? A lot, my friends, a fucking lot. The publication and popularity of the Percy Jackson series has simply exacerbated all the aforementioned issues in this post. First off, the worldbuilding on which The Lightning Thief relied and the rest of the series ultimately holds is that "Olympus moves with the centre of Western power", which is just. Wow. There are a million things wrong with this concept that would need its own post, so I recommend this article called The Whitening Thief that essentially explains the white supremacy of it all. If you do not want to read the full article, the main premise is that the Percy Jackson series equates Westernism with civilisation and that without it there was "chaos and darkness", which as Paule describes it, is "sipping at a pretty racist cocktail".

note: I have realised how aggressively off-topic this is to the original statement I made, I'm getting there, I promise (although I did warn you it was something I could talk on for hours with little material)

Let's finally delve into the depiction of Greek gods in Percy Jackson. I'll actually start on a bit of a positive note that apart from the weird (for lack of a better term) comparisons of Hades to Adolf Hitler, the original Percy Jackson and the Olympians had some okay characterisation of the gods (I have some reservations about the goddesses on which I will elaborate later). They're prideful and neglectful parents (the myths actually contradict that latter part but I digress) but each with their own complexities and concerns. To use Zeus as an example because he's actually the god who falls short the most in terms of consistent characterisation in my opinion, he lets Percy live in TLT "for the sake of peace in [his] family", indicating a care and sense of duty for Olympus and for his fellow gods, and while he lets his pride and paranoia get the better of him at times, he is shown as a serious authority figure and someone who's trying to keep his realm together, and such characteristics wouldn't be too far off from his mythical counterpart.

But as the series progresses, either Rick got lazy or he attempted to further capitalise his work to make it more palpable, he turns the gods into caricatures by excessively inflating one characteristic they may have into their entire personalities. Returning to Zeus, his paranoia is amplified to an absurd extent that one can simply not fathom why the gods would be the better option than the Titans. As I said initially, he had bouts of paranoia that would be almost normal for someone with such a powerful position, but this is completely derailing any connection with his mythological counterpart, he may as well be an OC with the same name and title as him. To use other gods as an example because I promised a holistic approach and I have seemed to only talk about Zeus (sorry!), the writing of the goddesses Hera, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Athena is simply misogynistic. I'm sorry, there is no other way I can find myself to describe it. Typically feminine goddesses Hera and Aphrodite are extremely demonised and condemned for their flaky and vain attitude; Hera is the evil stepmother archetype and Aphrodite ultimately becomes weak and useless. The "virgin" (quotations referring to Athena) goddesses Artemis and Athena also don't seem to extend past superficial, unoriginal characteristics like being a vehement man-hater who kicked out two sapphics from the Hunt and a goddess who Rick stops at nothing to render her a horrible parent and person (using the Roman myth of Medusa, exaggerating her prideful nature, etc) respectively. And you cannot tell me they're not misogynistic portrayals because just a few minutes on pjo tiktok will show you just how many times Hera is referred to as a bitch (keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!!). Then there is TOA and COTG, which makes me want to cry just thinking about Zeus' portrayal there (yes we're going back there). The god who was consistently thought of as a gracious, protective saviour of the people in Ancient Greece (full list of epithets of Zeus, read at your leisure) is an abusive autocratic tyrant?

To go back onto the topic, how do Riordan's works affect the overall perception of Ancient Greece? Well, as I said before, it contributes to the white supremacist view of Ancient Greece as the epitome of civilisation and the glorification of the era, but it also turns Ancient Greece into a fandom to an extreme extent. Now, obviously, I'm not talking about people with a healthy obsession with Ancient Greek history and Mythology (myself included) who like to engage in content about it. I'm talking about people who claim Ancient Greece as an extension of Western, mostly American culture, and ultimately engage in a form of cultural appropriation that strips Greeks of their own history and narrative. This includes writing 'feminist' retellings of Greek myths, taking Riordan's (inaccurate) readings of the mythology as indisputable fact, and removing the myths from their historical and cultural context. People forget that much of these myths were stories written for entertainment and take them as a sort of Hellenic Bible (which delves into the Christianisation of Greek Mythology but that's a whole other post). In short, Westerners think they can do whatever the fuck they want with Greek mythology and Greek gods because they think it's theirs with which to play around, ultimately ignoring the country, history, and the culture from which they actually originate, and it's thanks to Rick Riordan that this attitude has blown up to an insane extent.

*sighs* Thank you for coming to my TedTalk and I seriously admire you if you made it this far.

#diya answers #i wrote all this instead of doing the pile of homework i have so yeah enjoy #sunset-telepath #rr crit

[the1975attheirverybest]

Matty, ATVB, Simulacra and Simulation

responding to a question that someone asked ( which @abiiors has been kind enough to pass on to me). Here’s a brief explanation that I hope makes some kind of sense. ( please easy on my friends yall. Their blogs aren’t means of contacting me🩷)

it’s all very ✨meta✨ and ✨postmodern✨ I’m not really joking this is the kind of philosophy that Matty is referencing when he calls things “postmodern” or “meta.” So, strap in. Grab a snack or a drink or a joint.

ANYWAYS!

The relationship between art/ media, and “reality” has been a hot issue of contention for philosophy going alllllll the way back to Ancient Greece where Plato argued that artists are “liars” who “copy” reality and try to pass it off as real. 

This obviously brings up questions regarding imitation, invention, recording, copying, representation, transcribing, etc etc etc. 

the book that Matty is referencing Simulacra and Simulation takes up these issues in the context of our current society (postmodernist, late stage capitalist society). 

The book argues that we have become sooo obsessed with media that we have replaced “real life” with it. We treat images, recordings, video, memes, etc as real as the things that they are based on (real life). 

In this way, what we know now as reality is actually a simulation of reality. 

According to the book, this did not happen overnight. It’s something that we moved towards over centuries. The real move likely started in the 1600s and it took until the 20th century to get us to the point where we are now. 

“Simulacra” is all the excessive media that we have used to replace the real world. Signs, symbols, ads, billboards, video, sound bites, etc. 

simulacra are NOT “pretending” to be real or “hiding” the truth. They have simply BECOME THE TRUTH because we treat them as true.

The book refers to this phenomenon as “hyper reality.” Like more real than the real. The thing that we started off simply recording or copying (“real life”) has turned into “less real” than thecopy of it (the video, picture, movie, insta post, etc).

The book makes a dramatic analogy of this by telling a hypothetical scenario where someone decided to make a map of a giant empire that is soooo detailed and accurate that it becomes as large as the empire itself. So people start to treated as if it ISSSS the empire. Not a map of it. 

Fun fuckin fact: this book came out in the 80s lmao. So before social media. Imagine how wild it would be today?

Why is Matty referencing this book? 

Well, let’s take a look at his Instagram posts (pause for a moment to consider the irony that he’s posting an Instagram story of a book about how everything is basically an Instagram story of reality. Peak Matty Healy? I think so. )

The first quote that he posted is

 Simulating is not pretending: "Whoever fakes an illness can simply stay in bed and make everyone believe he is ill. Whoever simulates an illness produces in himself some of the symptoms.”

As I said above, simulation is not meant to “trick you” its not covering something real underneath. It IS the thing now. It’s acquired the status of being real. So, if someone goes so far as to act sick, stay in bed, make themselves sneeze, cough, stay up all night so that their eyes are red and they haven’t slept and they’re super tired, they might as well BE SICK. in fact now they AREEEE SICK they’re not pretending. 

2. The second quote is 

Therefore, pretending...leaves the principle of reality intact: the difference is always clear, it is simply masked, whereas simulation threatens the difference between the "true" and the “false,the real" and the imaginary 

“Pretending” would be considered lying. Like there is a truth distinct from what you are portraying and you seek to hide the truth by portraying it differently. “Simulation” however doesn’t leave any difference between what’s true and what you show publicly, the two collapse into one another. 

What does this have to do with ATVB?

Well, Matty is taking us back to “If it’s method acting but what you’re acting is actually your real life then what’s acting and what’s real?” Right?

There are, of course, other ways to extend this conundrum in light of 2023. That is, what’s rhetorical difference between “Truman Black” and “Matty Healy”? What’s the difference between the public perception of Matty Healy and the “real” Matty Healy? (Is there even such a thing?) If he commits to a joke or a bit AI HARD is the “bit” even a bit anymore? If not, does it lose its effectiveness? Cuz obviously people do acts  BECAUSE they’re acts. They’re not reality. Except we now live in a world where all “acts” can and are indeed real. 

Furthermore: is there a difference between the first and the second halves of the show? During SATVB NA the answer was no most of the time. Because they blended the setlist. BFIAFL and greatest hits were no longer clearly separated. They played bits of both at the same time. 

If all of this is true, what then does it even mean to be “sincere” or “earnest” in a world where everything has an equal degree of reality all the time?

DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE TO ANYBODY AT ALL OR AM I INSANEEEE

#matty healy #atvb #simulacra #simulation #the 1975 #atvb2024 #SATVB #ross macdonald #the 1975 satvb #george daniel #adam hann

[blackleatherjacketz]

When In Rome

Orestes (Agora) x Female Reader

Summary: You travel back in time and run into Orestes who makes sure you are very taken care of.

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Power Play/Imbalance, Bathing Together, Bath Sex, Water Sex, Vaginal Sex, Kissing, Tattoos, Togas, Torches, Time Travel, The Butterfly Effect, Ancient Rome/Egypt, Roman Baths, The Night Sky

Word Count: 2k+

Read more Oscar stories HERE!

The warm water surrounds your naked body as you allow yourself to sink deeper into it, steam slowly snaking its way into your pores as the woman who helped you get undressed disappears behind an archway. You weren’t exactly sure what was going to happen to you once they separated you from Jack. You could have been put in jail, sold into slavery or even executed, so a meal of bread and wine followed by a hot bath seemed like a pleasant enough alternative.

“Your companion is just a few rooms away,” a man starts speaking to you as he enters the room, almost as if he were waiting for the handmaiden to leave before addressing you. “If your thoughts still linger on him.”

He’s dressed just like the other soldiers who found you on the dirt road today, only with more adornments fixed onto his wardrobe. The armor on his chest reflects the light of the torch without any blemish, letting you know that he hasn’t done much fighting lately despite the scars on his face and hands. The cloth draped around his shoulder is a deep crimson, bleeding into different shades of red and gold before fading into a light cream around its tips. His charcoal curls remain tucked behind his ears as they cascade down the back of his neck, making you wonder if you had ended up in ancient Greece or ancient Rome; or if maybe you were somewhere else entirely.

“He’ll be safe here tonight,” he starts again, pointing in your direction, “Both of you will be. He’ll be given all the wine, food and comfort he could possibly need.” He removes his sandals by the spot you placed your clothes earlier, noting their unique design before taking the cloth off of his shoulder. “I hope you were offered the same accommodations in my quarters?”

His quarters… right. So he owns this house, and from what you remember of high school history class, most of the people who helped you, too.

You nod as he looks at you, his handsome face coming into full view as the flame on the wall licks at the warm air just above him. It casts a golden hue onto his skin as he takes his armor off with the rest of his clothes, setting everything down in a neat pile next to yours as the definition of his muscles becomes more apparent. He stands up and lets you see him, all of him as a peppering of black curly hair trickles down his trunk between his legs as you do your best not to stare in awe. He’s a wonder to behold, a perfectly sculpted specimen of musculature; truly someone had to have painted a picture or carved a statue of him to commemorate his beauty at some point in history.

“Is the temperature of the water pleasing to you?” He brings you back to the moment and starts walking toward you, his footsteps barely audible as the moisture from the bath coats the brick floor in a clear mist. “I always like it a little hotter than most.”

You try not to stare at his dick as it bounces between his legs with each step he takes down into the bath with you, but the Roman gods had truly blessed this man. Your breath halts as your mind jumps ahead to what it would feel like to have him inside of you, to find out if men from hundreds of years ago were any better at pleasing you than those from your own time period. No, you shouldn’t be thinking about that, about him or your own physical pleasure right now. You should be thinking about how to find Jack and come up with a way to get back home.

“It’s good, it’s great, thank you,” you stutter, watching the water slowly envelop his hips and waist.

“Forgive my manners, you must think me rude.” He points to his chest as he takes his last step into the water, barely covering his nipples as he approaches you. “I’m Orestes, and you are?”

“Maria,” you lie, hoping the name is as ancient and international as you think it is.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” He smiles and wades through the water to get closer to you, the ripples from his movements ebbing and flowing against your skin as the heat from his body begins to permeate through it. “Those markings on your body,” he notes the tattoos on your shoulders and chest, tracing the design on your upper arm with his fingertips, “I haven’t seen anything like that before.”

Your body tenses as he follows the black outline of the flower up your arm, sending a tingling sensation into your spine as he spreads the trail of moisture across your chest. He rests his hand on your shoulder where the ink meets your sternum before disappearing entirely. Something about him touching you like this makes you more acutely aware that this is actually happening, that he’s a real person just like you and not just some dream your subconscious whipped up after falling asleep watching reruns of HBO’s Rome.

“Where did you get them?” He asks, scanning the pattern of your artwork.

Your mind starts racing through all the nearby countries that would have been actual places during this era, somewhere he’d actually believe you could be from before opening your mouth.

“Sevilla,” you tell him as his fingers start to massage the taut muscles in the back of your neck. That's a place near here, right? Oh wow, he’s insanely good at that. Oh my God…

“Spain?” He raises an eyebrow as he continues to rub your neck, his full lips pouting into a playful smirk. “That’s a long way from here.”

“Yes, it is.” You keep your speech plain as he leans into you, smoothing his fingers up into your hairline as he reaches for something behind you, all but pulling you into his chest. The smell of red wine and sweat ignites your senses, his axilla nearly suffocating you before he lets go and pulls back with a sponge drenched in soap.

Right. You’re in a bath. Duh.

But wait a minute, wasn’t there a movie about this? The Butterfly Effect? If you keep going along with this, you might not be born or something even crazier could happen? Didn’t Jack warn you about this at one point, too?

“Will you help me wash?” His eyes darken in the amber light of the distant flames, olive cheeks flushing a hint of pink as he awaits your answer.

You point to yourself as if you don’t already know that you’re the only two people in this room. “Me?” You laugh nervously, “You want me to…?” You find it difficult to breathe all the sudden, your previous thoughts of him becoming that much more realistic with each passing second. “Yeah,” you nod, “I can do that.”

Eh, butterfly effect, schmutterfly effect.

You take the sponge from him, squeezing it gently as you press it into his skin. You take your time massaging your way up his forearm and bicep as you feel his opposite hand take your waist, forcing your lungs to inhale and your nipples to harden. You do your best to ignore how good his hand makes you feel, his thumb softly brushing against your belly as you rub deep circles into the muscles of his chest. You keep your eyes on the sponge, watching as the soap drips through your fingers and onto your wrist before splashing cloudy circles into the water below.

You stand on your tiptoes and reach up behind his shoulders to wash the skin beneath his curls, the soapy water cascading down his body and onto your breasts as you grab the sponge with your opposite hand. You pause as you feel his member begin to grow against your navel, his lashes feathering against your cheek as his nose needily nudges you to continue.

You nudge right back, turning your head to the side just enough to align your lips with his before he kisses you. Soft, tender lips press into yours as he glides his hand to the small of your back, forcing you to let go of the sponge as you wrap your arms around his neck.

He guides you to the edge of the bath, leisurely walking you backwards until your shoulder blades collide with the border as he parts your lips with his tongue. That scent of red wine is now a full bodied flavor as it excites your taste buds, notes of grapes and pomegranate nearly intoxicating you more than the small glass you drank before. He moans into you, consuming every inch of your mouth with unbridled ferocity as the flavor increases, cupping your face in his hand.

You comb your fingers through his hair in return, breathing into him as your chest rises and falls in time with his, hearts beating in the same rapid rhythm as you both tremble in delicious anticipation. You gasp as he forgoes the grip on your face to claim purchase on both of your thighs, the buoyancy of the bath aiding in lifting you up high enough to straddle his waist.

“Gods, you’re so beautiful,” he whispers, hungrily taking your bottom lip between his teeth.

“You too,” you mutter, licking his mouth as he pulls your lip taut.

You kiss him again as he softens his bite, groaning as his dick throbs beneath your junction, teasing you to the brink of frustration. The warm water surrounding you conceals just how wet and ready you are for him to enter as you wrap your legs around his hips, crisscrossing them behind his ass. You feel him thrust gently between your folds as he continues to kiss you, palms squeezing your cheeks until he finally angles his hips just right.

A stifled gasp leaves your lips as he pushes inside you, forcing your head to fall back in ecstasy as he fills you up inch by ancient Roman inch. He pulls you into him, stretching you out with his impressive girth until he bottoms out, hips flush with the underside of your thighs. He pulls back and pushes in again, grinding into you as the water surrounding you splashes against the edge of the pool like the Mediterranean at high tide.

Cradling your head as he increases his pace, he shields you from the impact of his desire as he kisses down your neck and jawline. He hums into your skin, tasting every part of you that he possibly can as he slowly pulses wave after blissful wave into your core. He moves as if he’s known you your entire life, every delightful spot inside and out of you as he brings you close to the edge with utter delectation.

Your moans echo off the vast brick walls of the building, disappearing into the night sky through the absent roof of the room he continues to please you in. You tug on his curls as he brings you closer, your body keening into him as his pelvis pushes against your clit from an angle he’d never be able to hit on land. You close your eyes as the waves crash around you, the warmth of your pleasure erupting through your torso into your extremities in a series of shakes and spasms as you cry out one last time.

“Orestes!” His name is but a silent scream in your throat as your toes curl in sheer delight. Droplets of water splash onto your face as he finishes his exertion with a hushed moan, biting into your clavicle as he coats your inner walls with his timeless orgasm. He quivers just as erratically as you, letting you pull him in so close, the two of you merely merge into one being under the silent audience of stars.

He smooths your hair back away from your face as he remains inside you, kissing your cheeks and forehead with a smile as he catches his breath. “I bet you’re exhausted from your travels,” he croons, kissing your lips again.

“A little,” you admit, not wanting to leave this moment, despite having broken the space-time continuum.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

----------------------------------------------------------

Tags: @johnny-simpfinger​ @letsby​ @stormkobra-5​ @cozykali​ @oscarseyebrow​

#Oscar Isaac #Orestes #Agora #Orestes x reader #Orestes Smut #oscar isaac fanfiction

[contemplatingoutlander]

In photos: New Year's celebrations from around the world

This Washington Post photo article has some beautiful photos from New Year's celebrations across the globe. I encourage you to see them for yourself on the Post's website. Above is a gif made from several of the photos. Below are the still photos used in the gif, as well as their descriptions from the article.

Sydney, Australia

"Fireworks over the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge during New Year’s Eve Celebration in Australia." DAN HIMBRECHTS/EAP-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Taipei, Taiwan

“Fireworks explode at the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan.” CHIANG YING-YIN/AP

Istanbul, Turkey

“People take photos with light decorations set up for New Year’s in Istanbul." ERDEM SAHIN/EAP-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Bali, Indonesia

“Fireworks illuminate the sky as revelers celebrate New Year’s at the beach in Bali, Indonesia." DAVID GANNON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Bangkok, Thailand

“Fireworks explode over the Grand Palace in Bangkok." ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA/ REUTERS

Athens, Greece

“Fireworks explode over the ancient Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill in Athens." ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS/REUTERS

London, England

“A view of fireworks over the Big Ben and London Eye to mark the New Year’s celebrations in London." HOLLIE ADAMS/REUTERS

Myanmar

“Hot air balloons fly over Myanmar’s ancient temples just before the sunrise on New Year’s Day.” AUNG SHINE OO/AP

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024! 🍾🎉🥂🎆

__________________ Washington Post Article Credits: Photo editing and production: Kenneth Dickerman, Thomas Simonetti and Sandra M. Stevenson.

#new year's 2024 #celebrations around the world #sydney #taipei #istanbul #bali #bangkok #athens #london #myanmar #photography #the washington post #kenneth dicerman #thomas simonetti #sandra m stevenson #my edits #my gifs

[mrs-toohot]

This week's episodes: Live react

Candace is taking my man on a date? I'm gonna have thoughts.

(Also my MC's name is Sophie)

Firstly, he'd better say no.

Okay, so he can't say no. Fuck.

Awww 'the look on his face turns from shock to reassurance when he notices your expression'

"You know you have nothing to worry about, right? You and I are solid." aw omg stop??? so cute

"I'd never break your heart, Sophie, you know that, right?"

Oh we're getting three stress tests

"What if Wesley is already making out with Candace?" Nora STFU you bitch lol. If we were friends that would be funny, but we're not so shut your slut whore bitch mouth.

How insecure do you have to be to press the button because you found out that she's 22 and American? Like wtf? Yeah cool she's a model, but Jesus Christ, do you really think your man is going to fall over himself that easily? HE'S ON TV! HE'S BEING JUDGED FOR HIS ACTIONS!

'No, I trust Wesley' is obviously my choice.

"There's nothing hotter than a guy who knows what he wants and isn't afraid to go for it."

Yeah, cool, but this is just telling me that she wants him. Again, I am not phased.

Again, trusting Wesley. This is easy af

'Candace is perfection incarnate' Yeah but she's also got pink hair and my man's a CEO like fr he wants a WOMAN not a GIRL.

Okay as predicted, Candace is Cassia's ex (Lucky Candace... damn...)

'If she sees even a small opening with Wesley, she'll jump on the opportunity'.

Um yeah but she's not gonna.

God, this would be so much harder on a loyal Ryder route. I'd be genuinely shaking in my uggs rn.

Yay, I passed the easiest test in the world

Seriously you would have to be insanely jealous to fail this, the fuck???

Oh sweet we get $10k!!!

Ancient Greece Party!!! Writers should've made it a Roman Empire party just to keep it current and up to date

Amari - I've always wanted to dress like a goddess Antoine - You don't do that already? Could've fooled me.

EXCUSE! ME! SIR! YOU'D BETTER HAVE THOSE LINES ON MY ALTERNATE ROUTE!

Why is Wesley literally in underwear tho

NO HE DID NOT JUST GREET ME LIKE THAT

"Sophie! There's my girlfriend!"

"I'm not interested in pursuing a taken person".... Why does this fill me with dread. What is she going to do? Is she gonna try and break us up and THEN pounce on him?

Cute toga, omg that one hairstyle (you know which one) it is CUTE

"His jaw goes slack as he takes you in" dear god who is writing these LIs and can you please take over LITG

OH HE LOOKS SO FUCKING HOT FJDKHGSBF

HE'S GOT A LITTLE LIGHTNING BOLT EARRING GUYS LOOK AT HIM

You suddenly feel shy under his smouldering gaze. (Oooof)

'I can't remember if I've ever mentioned, but my parents own a hotel nearby'

Yes babe you did but please take me aside and tell me exactly what you're planning on doing to me once we get there.

I am teetering on the edge of BFFs with Cassia, and then I'm hoping I can jump her bones. She's so hot I stg

Amari's outfit is so boring

NORA'S OUTFIT IS SO CUTE

Elena's outfit is so mid

ANTOINE'S GOT WINGS bhfkdsfasdhvdbs HAHAHAHHAHAHAH he's so fucking extra I can't

SLAY NAOMI I LOVE YOUR BUTTERFLIES

ONCE AGAIN ZAYN'S OUTFIT IS TOO MUCH he's got a lion head as a dick cover wtf hfkdbsahs

Excuse me while i thirst over cassia deeply

Blah blah blah playing beer pong with Wesley

WYM YOU'RE STARTING TO SOUND LIKE NAOMI

WHY YOU BEEN SPENDING TIME WITH HER

THIS IS MAKING ME MORE JEALOUS THAN THAT DATE EVER DID

bdhsfksdahfsd me distracting him though ahehehehehehhe

"That was a dirty trick, love."

Yeah, I know, that's why I did it. Now do it back.

OH ANTOINE'S TELLING AMARI HE LOVES HER aaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwww

Since when are they that serious the fuck

"Should I say something to Amari?" About Antoine being noncommittal? When he's been all in for me since day one in my other playthrough? Nah babe, I'm good. I believe it.

Aww Wes brought me brekkie. OJ.

AWWW HE WANTS TO LEARN TO COOK FOR ME BECAUSE HE'S SHIT AT IT of course he is, he's never had time to cook because he's been too busy working.

WESLEY SLEEPS NAKED WESLEY SLEEPS NAKED OH MY GOODNESS HE'S GOING TO MAKE ME BREAKFAST WITHOUT ANY CLOTHES ON

Oh Lana's got snitching to do sigh.

WHAT THE FASHIONNOVA IS ZAYN WEARING HSKADFHBSDA

Oh Zayn and Nora in the suite?? I see I see.

okay i forgot to write during the workshop because Wesley

Literally stop Antoine and Amari are wearing matching outfits CEASE

Okay wait...

I decided to stay out of it, and Zayn and Nora got back. Lana annoucned they broke the rules, and then the game glitched back to my conversation with Amari about Antoine in the bathroom???

URGH i had to restart the episode.

skipping skipping skipping

Even though I'm replaying this i still forgot to take screenshots of the workshop. But trust me Wesley's dialogue is REALLY CUTE

muaahahhaha the benefit of getting a glitch is that now I know NOT TO TRUST ZAYN AND NORA

ha 'IMMEDIATELY WESLEY IS ON YOUR SIDE'

They learned from last season where people got SO MAD at Liam & Henri hahahahah

AW IS RYDER GOING!?!?!?

UM UM UM WHAT THEFUCK IS WESLEY GOING ON ABOUT? "What if Sophie walks away once I tell her?!"

BABE TELL ME WHAT!??!?!?

SOMEONE GET A BETTER SCREENSHOT THAN THIS PLEASE HUFDSHKAVFSBJASD I NEED A NEW SCREENSAVER

#thth2 #too hot to handle game #ththg #ththgame #thth #thth game #thth wesley

[thedansemacabres]

A Modern Harvested Look Into Dionysos Nykletios

[ID: A mostly green image with a large, vibrant grape left to the left and blurry brown grape trunk in the background to the off-centre. Next to it is a large, close up image of an unripened verdant grape cluster.]

LITTLE DO MOST PEOPLE KNOW THAT MUCH OF THE MODERN GRAPE HARVEST HAPPENS AT NIGHT, as dedicated winemakers wish to ensure the consistency of their crop—lord Helios’ rays are what ripen the fruit, at the mercy of Dionysus’ influence. Other times harvest does during cool days, but the harvesters are still pressed to ensure the safety of the harvest—hot fruit spells problems for the winemakers, and winemakers are what buy the crop to ferment. And when I was there on the cool afternoon, Helio’s light fading from the horizon, I felt Dionysos there with the whisper of Nyktelios. 

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT 

Nykletios (Νυκτελιος “of the night”) is an epithet only directly mentioned perhaps once, kin to Hestios; as such it may be hard to get a direct usage on the meaning of this epithet. Pausanias states:

Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 40. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "After the precinct of Zeus [in Megara] . . . you see a temple of Dionysus Nyktelios (Nocturnal), a sanctuary built to Aphrodite Epistrophia (She who turns men to love), an oracle called that of Nyx (Night)."

Riding the Phallus for Dionysus suggests that this epithet may be connected to a larger mystery cult, that of a veiled Dionysus, with rites perhaps similar to the one Plutarch mentioned. Several of Dionysos’ rites occur within darkness—within Agros, his rites were nocturnal, invoking the terror and awe of Nyx’s darkness. His other mysteries likely involved the night as well. 

Night is also invoked several times with Dionysos, such as in the Bacchae. One example I associate with Nykletios are these lines from Dionysos and Pentheus: 

ΠΕΝΘΕΥΣ τὰ δ ̓ ἱερὰ νύκτωρ ἢ μεθ ̓ ἡμέραν τελεῖς;  ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΣ νύκτωρ τὰ πολλά· σεμνότητ ̓ ἔχει σκότος. Pentheus When you dance these rites, is it at night or during daylight? Dionysus Mainly at night. Shadows confer solemnity.

Even as these rites are no longer practiced, it is almost fitting that modern harvests mostly occur at night—and winemaking during harvest season can easily draw into the dark nights as well, as we work on the grape and yeast’s schedules, not our own. 

A MODERN TAKE ON DIONYSUS NYKLETIOS 

As epithets can have multiple functions, I place Dionysos Nykletios in both the night harvests of vines, comforting frozen hands as we harvest fruit for the best vintage, along with his endemic nocturnal rites. The modern wine world is both alike and like the ancient one—the wine season is still within winter, with the worst moments for a winemaker being the time before Christmas until next March when the wines are finishing. 

If there was a day a hellenic pagan vineyard would exist, I would imagine that a procession would be in store for a religious harvest—though, there would not be any free juices allowed to paint the skin red. When you harvest grapes for wine, you do not want to burst the berries, and I could imagine Dionysos’ laugh when it eventually occurs. 

Dionysus Nykletios, May your hands warm us Under eternally Dark Nyx As the vintage is pressed And made into your Fine wine. 

References 

Csapo, É. (1997). Riding the Phallus for Dionysus: Iconology, Ritual, and Gender-Role De/Construction. Phoenix (Toronto), 51(3/4), 253. https://doi.org/10.2307/1192539

Gilbert Murray, & Ian Johnston. (2015). Euripides Bacchae: A Dual Language Edition. Faenum Publishing Oxford, Ohio.

#dragonis.txt #paganism #witchcraft #pagan #hellenic polytheism #helpol #witchblr #dionysus devotee #dionysos deity #dionysus deity #dionysus worship #hellenic polytheist #hellenic pagan #paganblr #pagans of tumblr #deity worship #vīnum

[aromantic-enjolras]

Muslim and Maghrebi Amis headcanons

So I said the other day that this fandom needed more Muslim Amis, if we’re writing Modern AU set in France. I don’t have much time right now, but let me try to put my money where my mouth is for a bit.

For context, my usual headcanons of the Amis are that Jehan is Jewish Algerian (his family moved to France after the independence), Feuilly is Egyptian and arrived to France as a unaccompanied minor, and Bossuet is Senegalese and got to France as an adult. Marius’ dad is Moroccan, but of course he didn’t know until he was an adult. For the time of this post, Grantaire’s mom is Greek.

Feuilly works at a kebab place. It is hell during Ramadan, because it means he has to work the entire day in a hot place, surrounded by food, without drinking or eating. His boss is Muslim too, so at least the minute sundown hits they close and go home to eat.

Another, less dramatic bad consequence of his place of work, is that he spends his days cringing at French people pronouncing the items on the menu horribly wrong. He sometimes slips and uses that pronunciation when speaking to other Maghrebis and he wants to die. Those words just have no meaning to him at this point. They’re just sounds customers make.

Jehan and Feuilly bond around speaking similar Maghrebi dialects. Also, the struggle to find restaurants that serve Halal and Kosher food. Jehan complains that it isn’t fair that Feuilly can eat kosher but he can’t eat halal.

Feuilly and Enjolras (and Marius, later) are always the designated drivers/herders of drunk people because they are the only Amis who never drink.

When Marius discovers his dad was Moroccan, he converts to Islam (his far-right grandfather is horrified). He’s very serious about it, he’s super diligent with his prayers. Bossuet teases him a lot about it, he calls him “imam” and “haaji” and he asks him when he’s going to do the peregrination to Makkah.

Marius immediately starts learning Arabic to read the Quran. Enjolras decides to join him, because it’s important to be inclusive, and is very frustrated to discover that Quranic Arabic does not help him communicate.

Bossuet can read and write Arabic because he learned in Quranic school as a kid, but he doesn’t speak a word of it (and if you take the vowels out he’s lost as hell).

Bossuet is not a practicing Muslim. He eats pork, he drinks excessively, the whole shebang. He’s quite unapologetic about it. That said, he does have a different set of “clean” social media for the people at home. One time Grantaire posted a picture of them having a beer at the Musain during Ramadan to the wrong account by accident and Bossuet almost had a heart attack.

The rest of the Amis end up picking random sentences. Courfeyrac one time said “ya Allah” in front of his parents and his dad flipped his shit over “bad influences”.

Grantaire is super into Ancient Greece, and whenever there’s a debate in the Amis about whether something is Greek or Maghrebi or Middle Eastern he ends up saying some variation on “you’re all Greeks, anyway”. If Feuilly tries to say he isn’t, he simply goes “you’re from Alexandria, shut up”.

And believe me, there are a lot of debates over whether stuff is Greek or not, especially food. It usually ends with Grantaire and whoever the other person was making the dish and bringing it to the Amis to let them decide which version is better. The others aren’t complaining!

Hope you enjoyed this!

#Les Misérables #text posts #my posts #headcanons #my headcanons #religion #Jehan Prouvaire #Feuilly #Bossuet #Marius Pontmercy #Enjolras #Grantaire #long posts

[omg-im-such-a-masochist]

Maso ever since I’ve read your stories and as a spooky person myself I’ve always thought what would sex be like with vampire Matt! 🤔😈

Okay, okay, okay…*whispers* breathe, Maso, bReAtHe!

See, spooky sibling nonny, vampire!Matt is a concept that lives in my head rent-free. I think of it more than I should and constantly catch myself daydreaming about random scenarios with this handsome vamp at least once a week. So let’s delve deeper into this delicious experience, shall we?

For a man who’s nearly 3.000 years old, Matt is quite ahead of his time when it comes to the sheets department. A vampire/human orgy is merely a Friday tea party to him, and sex toys quickly become quite boring once you’re three millennia's worth of age. At this point, he has seen - and engaged in - a little bit of everything: sex with women, men, both at the same time, virgins, orgies, he drank from every fountain and delighted himself in every.single.water he could find. And although Matt is a very skilled lover, he grows bored very easily. A hot body, a beautiful face, and mind-blowing sex will make his eyes roll in boredom after the second encounter. So you see, spooky nonny, it is not easy to keep this vampire around! Unless of course, you have what Matt calls the “BBF”, or the “boner-bringing factor”, which is your mind.

From his throne, Matt stared intently at you “Trapping a lover with your bedroom skills is easy, and quite frankly, predictable. After I’ve fucked you in every single position I can imagine - and mind you, I know endless of them - what else will you bring to the table that will make me lust over you? Because I’ve seen everything, haven’t I?! After I’ve bent you in 678 different ways and used you for two nights in a row, why would I still desire you? See, the itch is gone. The novelty factor is also gone, and a car can only hold its new scent for so long” Matt grabbed a blonde woman from the crowd and pulled her down to sit on his lap. He pushes her golden hair to the side and lays a soft kiss on her pulse point, without taking his gaze away from you. “Tell me, little dove, how high are you willing to fly to please me?”

*Maso’s whispers in the background of the club* Weirdo 🙄

Okay, so back to the “BBF” thing, Matt is a man who gets turned on by looks first and then will continue to be turned on by your mind. In his nature, he’s a predator, but no predator enjoys the hunt when the prey is casually offering themselves to the predator. It’s for one, not fun, and secondly boring. And we all know Matt’s second most hated word is “boredom”.

He wants to feel the thrill of the hunt, it makes him feel almost alive again. The chase, the back and forth, bringing into submission a significantly challenging prey makes their blood taste as sweet as condensed milk on Matt’s tongue. And once you successfully turned him into a sweet tooth, he becomes this irrational sex creature, that’s driven by his constant need to get his fix.

And that’s how we arrive here, at the core of you ask, spooky nonny. Matt’s performance in the sheets department. Now, needless to say, you successfully managed to not only capture the California vampire king’s attention BUT also manage to keep his interest high - very high may I add -, and this is both your paradise and hell inside one ancient vampire. Because Matt’s love language is physical affection-

“Wait a minute” Matt pushes the blonde girl away from his lap and onto the floor, “Who said anything about love? The question was about sex, not love. Why are you bringing subjects of the heart into this?! I don’t need to love to fuck, nor do I need to fuck to love. So let’s keep the focus on the fucking, ok?”

“Whatever you say, your Highness” *flips the bird behind his back*.

Right, so sex, we all know that Matt-

“Hold that thought” Matt jumped down from his throne to the floor, “You’re starting to bore me, let me do the talking”. He began to pace around the dance floor like a philosopher in Ancient Greece, head tilted back and looking up at the ceiling as his index finger tapped against his chin.

“Sex” Matt began “Intercourse, copulation, mating, coitus…well, fucking. It’s the most beautiful, powerful, fun, relieving activity The Almighty has ever come up with. If you stop to think about it, sex is the only thing the little fucker from upstairs hasn’t taken away from us vampires” Matt chuckled before he continued “When I was human, I loved to spend a lovely summer day at the beach, I loved drinking coffee, I loved eating meat…but of course all of that was taken from me the day God didn’t hear my prayers and I was turned into a vampire. So the only concrete thing I could still enjoy as a vampire from my human life was fucking, can anyone blame me when the first thing I did as a vampire was set up an orgy inside a convent and had the sassy milf who entitled herself as the ‘mother superior’ sucking my cock the whole night through?!” Matt stopped pacing for a moment and briefly mumbled “She was pretty hot, too bad she’s dead now. Ugh, what a shame” He shrugged and started pacing back and forth across the dance floor once more.

“Anyway, sex with me is otherworldly! Transcendental, intimate in ways you’ve never experienced before, intense, will probably make you cry and unable to walk straight for two weeks, deep enough to reach your soul, addicting as fuck, deliciously sinful. You can ask anyone in this room, they’ll all tell you the same”, Matt chuckled.

“Although I must say, not everyone can handle a night with me. They usually can’t last half of the night. Just because it is too much, too personal, too spiritual if you will. An unexplainable out-of-body experience. Like fucking a demon in your dreams” Matt stepped closer to your chair.

He places both hands on the armrest and as he leans forward toward your lips he whispers “You seem interested enough, little dove. Do you want me to fuck you? Wanna know what it feels like to have a vampire cock inside of you? Yeah?” Matt chuckled “Then come, dovey. My room’s upstairs”.

Tags: @theworldofotps , @writtingrose , @aerynscrichton , @daddyhausen , @melissahausen , @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin , @sophiewolfheart-blog , @sultryfandoms , @new-zealand-chic , @crowleysqueenofhell , @thealliasylum , @legit9thlunaticwarrior , @adamjf , @josiewrites , @seeingstarks , @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch , @whenimakeitshine1234 , @moxkindagirl , @sunshinevirus , @im-just-a-mississippi-girl , @ripleyswhore , @tahiri-veyla

#matt jackson x reader #matt jackson imagine #matt jackson #masochist writes #✨le spooky season✨

[suchan3rd]

New Flame FemReader x Leo Valdez Part 3

this is part 3 please read the other two parts before this one.

Tw: Claypso being a bitch to Leo

The next few mornings were filled with your siblings gawking over you and your lack of makeup. When coming to camp the last thing you thought to pack was lip gloss and eyelash curlers. So your siblings spend twenty minutes every morning doing your hair and makeup, coordinating it with your outfit. (Which is almost exactly the same, every day) Every morning you'd complain about it, you did have to get up earlier for them to do it. But in reality you loved it. Finally feeling like you belonged to something, finally feeling like you were a part of a family? This was what you always wanted. This was why you were always so eager to be claimed. But Aphrodite? You just didn't see it. At all of your previous schools you'd never been the prettiest. No one was lining up to date you. But when you stepped out of your cabin and walked across the sage green grass, you couldn't help but notice the prolonged stares. The quick glaces behind coffee cups. You'd never had this kind of attention before. And you weren't sure if you liked it or not. One morning in particular you were sitting next to Piper at Aphrodite table when Caleb from Hermes cabin walked up to the head of your table.

"Lookin' fine ladies" he said, addressing everyone, but glancing down at you. You blushed and rolled your eyes.

"How do I look Caleb?" Asked Drew, fluttering her eyes at him.

"Hot as ever Drew" he said, flashing a grin before going to sit at his table. The thing with Caleb is, he's not bad looking. His hair was a close to yellow blond, slightly fluffy. He had blue almost gray eyes. He was tall, with deep abs. You knew this because any time he was training, he took his shirt off. So yeah, he was like any basic white boy. But you weren't attracted to him. His personality sucked. Self-absorbed, and always thought that he was the center of attention. Like everyone was so blessed to be in his presence. The only good trait about him were his siblings.

"Caleb was totally checking you out" Piper commented, shoveling a forkful of eggs into her mouth.

"That's a disgusting thought" you say, picking up a piece of butter toast.

"He was though," she said pointing her fork in your direction, "and why wouldn't he? You are gorgeous" you blushed and rolled your eyes, pretending not to care. But in reality it meant a lot to you that she thought you were pretty. Gorgeous, even.After breakfast Aphrodite cabin had sword fighting with Apollo cabin. These two cabins often got paid together because their hearts were never into the fighting. Apollo mainly used Bow and Arrows. And Aphrodite didn't really fight, but it was still required for them to take it. This time you were paired with Kayla. Your sword was a long curved scimitar made of celestial bronze. The hilt was made of dark metal covered in a brown leather, little divots in the handle made room for your fingers to fit perfectly into place. When you'd choose your sword when first arriving at camp you had been drawn to this sword for some reason. And apparently it had belonged to some important ruler in Ancient Greece that you haven't heard of. Kayla had been at camp longer so she had a slight advantage over you. Lucky for you, she was more used to fighting with a bow and arrow. After 10-15 minutes you beat Kayla. You two had been the last ones fighting, since most of your cabin mates didn’t really do, fighting. So most of Apollo cabin had won. Except for you and Piper, who were actually trying to win. The rest of the day’s training went like that. You and Piper trying. The rest of your cabin not giving two shits. Lunch came and went, so did dinner. Nothing that day had been eventful until the Campfire after dinner. Everyone was pumped up, the fire blazed ten feet high and glowed a bright mix of orange and gold. Everything was great. You even started to feel better from the day's uneventfulness. But it all stopped once you heard the crashing. Coming from the woods were large crashing noises and shouts. And bursting through the woods came a giant metal dragon. The same one you’d seen many times before, Festus. And who came running out after him? The one and only, Leo Valdez.

“Festus, come back!” he shouted, “You’re not fixed yet!” A series of clicks and squeaks came from Fests as he ran towards the other part of camp.

“Leo what the Hell are you doing?” Came a shout towards your left. You turned to see a lean figure standing up. Calypso. Leo’s snotty girlfriend.

“Chasing my dragon?” he said, slowly coming to a stop by the fire. Calypso rolled her eyes and stomped over to Leo. You were close enough to them to hear their hushed argument.

"You are causing a disruption" Calypso chided, holding a tight grip on Leo's arm

"Ok?" Leo said, confused, "there are disruptions all the time at camp,"

"I just got here Leo!" She shouted through gritted teeth, “And you are embarrassing me”

“How am I embarrassing you? I’m the one with soot all over his face, chasing a broken mechanical dragon.” Leo reasoned

“You are so obnoxious Valdez!” Calypso shouted trying to get one last grasp at control and spun on her heels and stomped off towards nowhere in particular.

#leo valdez #piper mclean #pjo fandom #pjo hoo toa #rick riordan #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #calypso #greek myth memes #y/n #fluff #fem reader

[mamachasesmayhem]

Congrats on 100 Babe! 🎉🎉

Can I request Bradley and Champagne & Sunshine?!

My OG BBSQRL, I adore you more than life itself 🥹

I had two requests for Champagne & Sunshine, on for BB and the other for Jake or Javy so I’m writing two with focus on separate parts 😂

The first time Bradley met the future Mrs. Bradshaw, she knocked the breath straight from his lungs. Literally. She had been on her evening run along the shoreline while the Daggers were playing dogfight football, and Bradley, not paying attention to his surroundings, plowed right into her. After helping her up and brushing the sand off of her face, he had convinced her to let him take her to dinner as an apology. They’ve been inseparable ever since.

All I want is champagne and sunshine, lookin’ for a good time

It was a gorgeous September day when the newest Bradshaws tied the knot on the sunny California beachside where they collided, almost exactly 3 years prior. They celebrated surrounded by their friends and found family and the reception will undoubtedly be remembered as the party of a lifetime. The champagne and laughter flowed freely as they danced the night away. The next day, they departed for the bride’s dream honeymoon; a two week long Mediterranean adventure.

Sippin' on the stars, while we layin' under sunlight. Tanned skin, light eyes, oh my, she so damn fine

The newlyweds spent the first week in Rome, Bradley’s choice, being the typical cheesy, American tourists and soaking in the culture and fantastic food. The second leg of the trip was spent in Santorini as Greece was his new wife’s dream vacation destination. The romantic vibe of the island paired well with the love flowing off of the couple in waves as they spent their days exploring the black sand beach, touring the Castle of St. Nicholas, and the ancient ruins of Thera. After a handful of adventures, Bradley had begged for a lazy day. Mrs. Bradshaw reluctantly gave in and they settled on renting a small boat to sail in the Amoudi Bay. Bradley mentally thanked Penny for forcing him to help with her boat so many times, unintentionally learning how to sail had really paid off in this moment.

Kissin' on her neck, we be runnin' from the night time

Glowing orange and high in the sky, the sun shines down on his wife and her tiny bikini that should be illegal with how hot it is on her as she’s stretched out in the hammock netting at the front of the boat. After dropping the anchor, Bradley moves to join her and she seamlessly tucks into his side.

“It’s so beautiful here, do we really have to go home?” she mumbles into his chest.

Bradley chuckles, turning until his face is buried in her neck and leaving soft kisses against her skin. “We can’t settle into our new house and decide which room will be the nursery if we don’t go home, silly girl.”

She quickly scrambles to sit on his lap, eyes wide with excitement. “You make a solid point, Chicken. Whatcha say, start working on the roost of baby Bradshaws right now?”

#controlled chaos squad #mama mayhem #mama mayhem writes #mama may celebrates 100 #bradley bradshaw #champagne and sunshine #top gun maverick

[baejax-the-great]

Hi, I saw on one of your ao3 comments that you think Homers' Achilles is on the spectrum. This is a really interesting idea to me, but I don't know that much about autism - could you elaborate on why you think that? (Also, I think all of your fics are amazing ☺️)

Autism as a word and diagnosis did not exist in ancient Greece, and I have no idea if there would have been a similar concept about it (doubt it) or if more likely people with certain autistic traits would have been considered to have a certain type of personality. So for me to say that Homer deliberately wrote Achilles as "autistic" is a little tongue in cheek.

That said, reading the Iliad I did have a moment of "Ohhhh, dude's autistic I get it." Some people might look at my reasoning and say, "well, that could be a whole other thing with these other reasons," and that's fair. This is just how it came across to me and why.

Sense of justice/fairness. This is one of the more obscure autistic traits (that often gets misunderstood and shit upon by people), but it's how the book begins, so I'll start here. Autistic people are more likely to learn and follow rules to a T. This gets rolled into the trait of "rigid thinking" and has been related to autistic people's preference for solid routines. To think about where you lie with this trait, one example is the "walk" signal at a crosswalk. Some people jaywalk when the road is very clear and no one is around. Some people jaywalk when the road ISN'T clear because they don't give a fuck. And some people will wait for that light to turn white no matter what because that's what you are supposed to do and there are rules (although culture/country of origin will also affect how much relevance traffic lights have in your life).

This is a rule, but it has little do to with justice. So to figure out where you stand in terms of justice sensitivity, another metric is how angry you feel when you watch someone cut in line and not get punished for it. Some of us will sigh and move on with our life because dicks are everywhere, whatever, and some people will have a harder time letting go because this person broke a rule in an obviously unfair way, and they should be punished for that.

This trait does not mean that autistic people have a better sense of what justice is or what rules/laws are "just." That is all very subjective. But this trait does result in a stronger negative reaction to seeing those rules/laws violated.

Such as rage.

Achilles fits the bill here in both in terms of rigid thinking and his sense of justice. His reputation in the Greek tradition is as someone who was very educated. In fact, he is the most educated with regards to law and religion than the rest of the Achaeans thanks to his time with Chiron. More than that, he actually cared about what he was taught and was considered kind of a stick-in-the-mud in terms of believing that the armies should follow the rules and customs of their people at all times and that violating their own laws was bad, even if you really, really wanted to bang a hot chick.

When Agamemnon decides to take Briseis, he is breaking a Rule. The common interpretation of what happens here is that he has violated Achilles' pride and honor in doing so, and Achilles loses his shit. That's valid. To me it read a little differently. I mean, for one, Achilles is 100% correct in the first book. Agamemnon pissed off the gods in a way he shouldn't have bringing plague on everyone, and how does he solve this? By agreeing to do the thing Achilles told him to do to solve it and then immediately violating their customs to steal from Achilles, bringing down a plague of "Achilles is not going to help you anymore."

Achilles cries to his mom that he wants the gods to fuck over the Greeks to prove Achilles right, which is deeply immature, but also really makes sense to me. Like, Agamemnon did this shitty, illegal, rules-breaking thing, and he needs to feel the consequences of that action. Achilles isn't a god who can bring down a plague, but his mommy is, so get fucked, Agamemnon. It's Zeus time.

During the time Achilles is out of the fighting, he is routinely called hard-hearted, stubborn, and other words to indicate he will not be swayed, which again speaks to his rigidity of understanding how things should be done.

The Way Achilles Talks About His Emotions. Achilles very clearly states what he is feeling throughout the book, and he often restates it. We get it, bro. You're mad. And then sad. Really, really sad. While this is almost definitely for the audience to understand his feelings and just how deep they run, Homer also could have just told us outright what he was thinking without having Achilles say it out loud repeatedly. It also felt to me that Achilles talks about his feelings far more often and bluntly than other characters do, but again this could be because the story revolves around his 'rage.'

Regardless, even if it was purely for audience benefit, this is a behavior I have noticed with my adult ND friends, which is basically after a childhood feeling confused by what other people around them are doing or why they are reacting to things in a certain way, they have a strategy of very bluntly expressing themselves and where they are at in this situation. It can be far easier than trying to follow the subtleties of NT culture and just get whatever issue it is out in the open. Saying to someone "I am angry at you" can come off as overly aggressive and blunt depending on context, but it cuts to the heart of the matter. We can compare this with Odysseus, who does not express any very deep emotions at all in the Iliad (other than the fact that Thersites should shut the fuck up, anyway), presumably because that's nobody else's business.

The Embassy. Achilles' point to Odysseus that this entire war was started over a man stealing a woman is so correct and so ignored. He looks at this situation and says: Paris stole Helen, and Agamemnon rallied all the Achaeans to come make war with Troy. Agamemnon steals Briseis, and I'm meant to... keep fighting for him? In what way does this make sense?

Everyone around him sees it from a completely different perspective, basically that Achilles got angry over a girl. To Achilles this is not what it is about at all. And I'm with him on this. If stealing a woman is a sin egregious enough for thousands of Greeks to spend 10 years attempting to sack a city, then it is the same amount of egregious for Agamemnon to take Briseis and he's lucky Achilles didn't kill him immediately and sack Argos. He's getting off easy, which Achilles tells him.

Reading Odysseus lay out his argument followed by Achilles cutting him down with that bit of logic was like, yeah, I'm with Achilles, I don't even think he's being stubborn I just think he's right.

In the embassy chapter, Achilles also has his famous line about despising men who say one thing but mean another. Being very truthful and having difficulty noticing lies is another common trait of autism, and it would make sense for Achilles to find the dishonesty of his colleagues deeply annoying.

Old British scholars called him a sociopath. This might seem like a weird one, but I'm adding it into evidence. When I read the Iliad, I see Achilles as a very emotional person. Given that half the book is about his grief over Patroclus, I find calling him incapable of caring about others incredibly bizarre. But in addition to determining that these scholars who wrote these batshit essays have never once in their life had a friend, much less a friend that they loved, this kind of fits with how a certain type of old-fashioned scholar understands autism. I've actually been at neuroscience talks with crusty old assholes who talk about how autistics and orphans are incapable of empathy, and then use evidence that really just says to me they express empathy in a different way. (Yes, orphans. For real. A real talk I went to in like 2015. Did you know that orphans don't have feelings and don't care about the feelings of others. /s) Add to the old British tradition of their feral private school kids (which I believe they call public school? idk those assholes in blazers, you know the ones) literally caning each other for being smaller, weaker, or just different, and this to me is solid evidence that Achilles is neurodivergent and unwittingly awoke the bloodlust in these old (dead) bastards.

Speech Patterns. Not being able to read Ancient Greek, I can't actually say much about this one, but multiple scholars have commented that the way Achilles speaks in the Iliad is different to all the others. He has a unique way of speaking. Again, this is not necessarily an autistic trait, but it is common for autistic people to have different speech patterns than NT people, so it's more just a "hmmm, maybe" than actual evidence.

I feel like I'm forgetting other little things, but I'd have to fully reread the Iliad with this in mind to jog my memory, and maybe one day I will. TLDR; Achilles has a very rigid way of thinking and an uncommon way of expressing his emotions.

And as always, autism is a spectrum. Anything I've written about here isn't necessarily true of any autistic person out in the world.

#iliad posting #tagamemnon #man do I want this in the tags? I feel like... #listen I am not autistic I just believe in their beliefs #aka I'm related to autistic people and have ADHD and we got that overlapping vibe you know #anger outbursts are also a known trait of autism #there's also more subtle stuff #achilles gets really upset that despite being the best warrior he's not being appreciated #and sure that could just be pride or an obnoxious personality or whatever #but I've also seen this in my ND friends where maybe they are the best at tennis #but someone else is made team captain #because that person is more likable #and the ND friend is like but I'm better and I deserve that honor #and it really frustrates them #like Agamemnon sucks and everyone at that meeting knows it #but nobody sided with Achilles because conflict at this point is just like... can we not #okay rambling incoherently in the tags now I guess #achilles #old crusty scholar: as we see by the embassy chapter achilles is evil and awful #ND me: okay but he was 100% correct tho so I don't see the issue #people might be dying but he won that argument and that is the important part