#it was played mostly for jokes Which makes sense considering the source.

[caracello]

just found out about an official [spinoff? side series? idk what to call it] where, in one part, 🌃 goes on a date w the girl i kin from his source. Why don't i just blow myself up.

#REGGR GRHRH GRHG. #it was played mostly for jokes Which makes sense considering the source. #but like For me for deimos. that one was for me specificaly. #they were like oh yeah a kinner 7 years from now is gonna go crazy for this one. #gush:{🌃} #i will not lie with you though it tugged something in my little heart. #going to become the first ever normal shipper of these two. just for me. for <3...

[melverie]

So......about Solomon

Before we get started: Discussions on this post are more than welcomed as long as you keep it civil and constructive. At the end of the day, this is still a game about fictional characters, so there's no reason to literally harass others over liking or disliking a character If it truly upsets you that much--which is valid btw--than the best thing to do would probably be to simply not engage with the other party, and not harass them over it; you won't change anyone's mind that way. I know most of you aren't like this but unfortunately it still needs to be said Also, if you want me to add sources to some points, feel free to ask! I've tried to mention the chapters as I go, but I might still have forgotten some. Some of the arguments I make are also hidden behind certain player options; if you can't find them, fell free to ask about them and I'll gladly tell you Also also, general spoiler warning for both the og game and Nightbringer. I'm not really covering anything specific after lesson 60 in the og game and lesson 14 in NB, but I might still mention things from later lessons

Now, onto the actual topic. There've been quite a few arguments against Solomon in the past few days, but I mostly just want to focus on those three:

Solomon wanted to force MC into killing Lucifer at the end of season 2 in the og game

Solomon betrayed the brothers and keeps hiding behind "wanting to protect humanity" as a scapegoat for his actions (putting these two together bc I think they go hand in hand, but it'll make more sense later)

Solomon tricked Asmodeus into a pact without his consent

This entire thing is very long, so feel free to jump around if one point interests you more than another

Solomon wanted to force MC into killing Lucifer at the end of season 2 in the og game

[mainly 38-12, og & 38-15, og]

He did, yeah. But here's the thing

They were all forced into a corner since the fate of all three realms was on the line here, and with the Ring of Light's whereabouts still being unknown at the time, they literally had no other choice if they wanted to save everyone. It wasn't Solomon that randomly decided the only way to restore the Night Dagger's power was by killing a powerful demon, it's always been that way. And he can't just be like "Oh well, let's switch strategies then and focus on finding the Ring of Light" when the entire cast (minus Simeon) has no idea where the ring is and the last time any of them saw it was centuries to millennia ago, if not longer. They don't have the time to search for it considering all the destruction MC's Ring has already caused in such a short period of time

Solomon first tells MC to do kill Luci, only to add that he was just joking and knows MC would never actually go through with it. Then, he says that if they wouldn't do it, he'd do it himself. Which kinda sounds like forcing, right? Except this happens [38-15, og; pic below]:

He was prepared to, which doesn't clear him of trying to indirectly force MC, let's get that straight. But ultimately he drops it and accepts that maybe their only option really is to just die here. This is also the only time we see him acting against his beliefs btw

Also yes, Solomon might not have been the one that decided they needed to kill a powerful demon, but he seems to be the one that settled on said demon being Lucifer. The only other viable options would most likely be Diavolo and Barbatos. Don't know if the Demon King in his vegetative state still counts but similar to Diavolo, killing him would probably be seen as a direct declaration of war, so they're out. And from a strategic standpoint, Barbatos is the better option to be kept alive simply because of his powers. There most likely also is some kind of sentimental attachment at play here since Solomon is much closer to Barbatos than he is to Lucifer. None of justifies killing Lucifer of course, but we also need to acknowledge that everyone's hands were tied, they were out of time and given the circumstances, this was probably the best decision they could have come to (until Simeon showed up with the Ring of Light, of course)

Solomon betrayed the brothers and keeps hiding behind "wanting to protect humanity" as a scapegoat for his actions

First of no, he did not betray them. Ever since the end of season 2 Solomon has made it clear that his ultimate goal is to protect humanity and that he, similarly to Diavolo in regards to the Devildom and its denizens*, would do anything in his power to protect the human world and its inhabitants [38-15, og; pic in the point above] [38-19, og; pic below]

*friendly reminder that Belphie was charged with treason for planning to destroy the human world, since in Diavolo's eyes that would have severely damaged the chance of peace between the three realms [13-14, og]

Solomon continuously sticks to his beliefs. He said he'd protect humanity, and that's what he's doing. He never extended that kind of protection to the brothers, he never made any false promises, he didn't betray them in any way, nothing

I'd also like to point out he's not actively going out of his way to antagonize demons, or angels, or whatever. In fact, he even explicitly says that he does not wish to make an enemy out of either party [10-A, NB; pic below], which of course also extends to the brothers

You can even outright ask him if he's planning on backstabbing the brothers, and this is what he has to say [11-8, NB; pic below]:

And you know what? That is a valid concern. They can't say for sure what the future holds, and they just recently had to deal with the entire Ring situation that could have very easily destroyed all three realms, so wanting to be cautious and to be prepared for the worst makes sense. He also makes it clear that he does not wish to fight the brothers if it can be avoided, so there's that

And no, he's also not tricking MC into siding against the brothers in Nightbringer. Rather, he just wants to know that they're fighting for humanity should the relationship between humans and demons in general ever turn hostile. He puts the cards open on the table and gives a proper explanation to his reasoning for siding with humanity [11-8, NB], and once again goes a little further into detail before MC gives their answer [14-16, NB; pic below]. Plus it's up to the player if they choose to stand with him or not, and no matter what you choose, he accepts the decision

Also keep in mind that season 3 heavily suggests that the human world at large has no idea that angels and demons even exist, so MC is pretty much the only one he can even ask to help protect humanity alongside him to begin with. He can't just go up to a random guy on the street and ask them to fight something who's existence they aren't even aware of in the first place

Imo Solomon also seems to know more about where things might be heading than he lets on, with him actually knowing Nightbringer and whatnot, so granting himself some peace of mind by making sure he has at least one ally is perfectly reasonable

Also, Solomon is very much aware that he is not infallible. For example, he states that he realized he still has a lot more to learn about demons [60-20, og], and he even admits that he doesn't always know what the right course of action to any given situation is, which was part of the reason he first asked MC to help him with protecting humanity all the way back in season 2 [38-19, og; first pic below]. In season 2 he actually wanted for MC to be aware of what's happening, but it was Diavolo that decided it would be better to keep them in the dark for the time being [36-18, og]. He trusts MC's judgment and that they will help him make the correct decisions [14-16, NB; second pic below]

Solomon tricked Asmodeus into a pact without his consent

Before I get into anything, let's summarize the base situation so everyone's on the same page. This is based on the things Asmo tells us [53-16, og], as well as the things Sol tells us [6-18, NB]:

Asmo was trying to flirt with someone but their friends kept on telling him to leave them alone since he's a demon -> Asmo's dejected by this and goes to a tavern in Solomon's hometown

Solomon notices and feels sorry for him; he offers to talk to him and they chat for a bit

Asmo lets it slip that he's Lucifer's younger brother

they get drunk and end up forming a pact -> Solomon says that he was only able to forge a pact with Asmo because his judgment was impaired at the time

Right of the bat--yes, the way Solomon got his pact with Asmo is not okay. I'm not putting that up for debate. He fully took advantage of Asmo here, and there's nothing that can excuse that. I also want to make it very clear that it is in no way my intention to relativize this in any way. The way he went about getting this pact is, to put it simply, fucked up and I do not wish to condone that in any way. With the following points I simply want to explain how I see things. Maybe it'll put things in a slightly different perspective for you, maybe it won't. Now, I hope I made that clear enough, so let's continue

The way I see it, Asmo seems to be pretty okay with the pact. From the way he acts around Solomon in the present day all the way to him describing his reaction to the pact as just a "did I really sign that" [53-16, og], nothing seems to suggest that he holds any ill feelings towards Solomon, and personally I don't see any reason to be angry for someone who himself seems to take no issue with a situation that is directly about him

If it were as upsetting to Asmodeus as some make it out to be, surely he would have found a way to get out of it? Asmo is one of the most powerful demons in the Devildom; if he truly wanted to break the pact he could have just killed Solomon and that's it. And if the pact itself somehow prevented him from doing so, I'm sure Lucifer would have more than gladly stepped in. Heck, I bet all of the brothers would have made it into a family thing in a heartbeat if Asmo wanted out but couldn't do anything himself. As Thirteen told MC, Solomon is immortal, not unkillable

But speaking of Lucifer, shouldn’t the same sentiment about forcing others into a pact be held toward him, too? Because he basically did the same thing with MC. This is what happens when you tell him you don’t want a pact with him [20-14, og; pic below]:

Yes, this comes down to player choice and yes, you need to make the pact for story continuity, but it ultimately does not change the fact that in-universe he forces MC into a pact if they say no

Also speaking of forcing others into a pact--Mammon and MC, anyone? Yes, MC did it because Levi asked them to so he could get his money back. We know they had no ill intentions. But you never know what the future holds and Levi literally proposed to basically hand over part of Mammon's agency over himself for the money Mammon owns him, to someone Levi has met about 5 minutes prior, knows nothing about and who's only been in the Devildom for a couple of hours at that point, no less. Lucifer also mentions that demons literally cannot resist temptation [4-10, og; pic below], so there literally was no way Mammon could have just noped out of that pact. We all know how badly he wants his credit card back, after all

To top it all of, we have MC's and Mammon's conversation in Nightbringer where Mammon explicitly says that he would only want to forge a pact with someone that is special to him [2-9, NB], and that he'd make sure to be their first pact [2-11, NB], yet he is forced into his pact with MC. A pact that ultimately turns out to be exactly what he wanted, but nonetheless he was stripped of the ability to say no when it was forged

And for the record, I'm not saying "oh, others did it too, so we shouldn't be so harsh on Solomon!!!" No! Forcing a demon into a pact isn't something that should be taken lightly. A pact literally means a demon hands a huge chunk of control of themself over to a human for as long as the pact exists. And on the other hand, for a human, making a pact with a demon usually means selling their soul. Neither party should EVER be forced into it. We of course don't know if MC actually sold their soul to Lucifer when they made their pact, but even if they didn't, Lucifer's "I won't belong to you. You will belong to me" speaks for itself

What I am trying to say here is that if you want to be mad at Solomon for forcing Asmo into a pact without Asmo's consent (which, again, is valid), you should also be mad at MC for forcing Mammon, and Lucifer for forcing MC into a pact

Anyway, back to Solomon now

Solomon actually admits that he used to treat demons like collectables--more or less, at least since he immediately follows the confession up with "just kidding" [14-14, NB]. Judging by what we've seen in the og game though, he seems to genuinely make an effort to better his relationship with the demons he has made a pact with, or at the very least with Asmo and Barbatos. I mean, the difference between Sol's relationship with Barbs in the og game vs in Nightbringer is night and day

In the present time, Asmo and Solomon are also super close. I literally cannot think of a single instance where they did not get along (though it might have happened like once or twice). You can literally pic any part in the og game to see their relationship play out, but some highlights include Solomon saying he got a huge oil painting of Asmodeus as his "permit" to summon Asmo across worlds [39-13, og] (which is not something you would allow someone you hate to do btw) and both of them mentioning that the two of them repeatedly hang out together in the human world [Proud Brothers, devilgram on Asmo's page, og], the hickey on Solomon's neck that's most likely Asmo's doing [Who Left the Hickey?, daily chat with Mammon, og]. Asmo (while drunk) is comfortable enough to tell Solomon that his cooking sucks and Solomon actually takes it to heart [47-16 hard mode, og]. Then there's Asmo's excitement at Solomon being in the Devildom for the first time [Proud Brothers, devilgram on Asmo's page, og; both of the pics below]

There's also that infamous chat pic of them doing face masks together (that I unfortunately don't know which chat it belongs to, so if someone could tell me, I'd appreciate it <3)

I don't know about you guys, but that's not typically an activity I do with someone I despise

So it's clear that current day Asmo holds no malice toward Solomon

Which, finally, leaves us with the way they forged their pact in Nightbringer

[mainly 7-12, NB & 7-15, NB]

@impish-ivy already went over it in this post, especially in the tags (I highly suggest checking out the reblogs as well btw), but to reiterate--Asmo was IN NO WAY forced into that pact. His brothers tried to talk him out of it, but at the end of the day Asmo willingly agreed to it. Yes, they were in a dangerous situation, and yes, Solomon used that as a basis to ask for the pact, but as ivy correctly points out in the tags, Lucifer could have easily handled the situation by himself, yet Asmo agreed regardless. By implying that Asmo was in any way, shape or form forced into that pact you're not only taking away a huge amount of his agency, but you also deny him his character moment and development that came with this scene. Asmo himself says that forging this pact will finally help him accept himself as a demon. Taking this moment from him is doing him a huge disservice

Aaaand that's pretty much all I have to say

If there's anything else you'd like to add, OR if there's anything you don't agree with, feel free to share! And once again, I'd like to remind everyone that civil and constructive discussions are more than welcomed on here!

Anyway, thank you all for reading, hope you have a great day! <3

#can't believe i'm writing something like this about some fictional guys that are loosely based on some other guys from the freaking bible #but here we are i guess #obey me #obey me swd #obey me nightbringer #obey me solomon #obey me asmodeus #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me mc #;mel's analyses #mel's starry musings

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

first day as the envoy of Yan, and i have a brilliant, amazing, fool-proof plan to assassinate the warmongering tyrant of Qin. I've got the head of a famous general inside a box, a poison dagger hidden inside a map and my backup is ruthless murderer who killed a man at age 13. mark my words, this day will go down in history!

update: my backup got cold feet and became catatonic with fear the moment we set foot in the palace. i quickly spun a story about him being a country bumpkin who was suffering culture shock but now the guards are suspicious and i have to approach the throne room alone--well, mostly alone. Oh, General-Inside-A-Box, we're really in it now.

update: the Warmonger laughed at my joke! i am going to get a good evaluation for regicide, which is normal to want and possible to achieve.

update: it's time to present the map. my palms are sweaty, knees weak and this scroll feels so heavy. i regret eating so much of my niang's dalu mian beforehand because someone didn't put enough salt inside this box and the general (heaven rest his brave soul) is starting to smell and to be honest it's making me a little nauseous. the fear rises in my gullet, strong and acrid, threatening to choke me, but i force it down and put on a brave front, like a swan on a tranquil lake, kicking like mad underneath. this is my one opportunity and i cannot let it slip away. Yan is too small to meet the might of this tyrant in open battle. for the sake of my people and all that i love, i must prevail.

update: i missed.

update: i am now chasing the Warmonger around the throne room. he cant unsheathe his Hugely Impractical Ceremonial Sword and none of his ministers are permitted to carry weapons so they just stand on the sidelines yelling advice. eventually the court physician comes to his senses and throws his medicine bag at me, giving the Warmonger an opening to finally get his sword out and cut me down. i throw my knife at him (also missed) as a final act of defiance but frankly speaking, there's not much face left to salvage here. when i enter the afterlife, the general is laughing so hard his head almost falls off again. i am never going to live this down.

update: I go down in history as a hero and one of the Five Great Assassins. really makes you wonder about the other four.

update: oh my god! my best friend is here too! what a sight for sore eyes, i can't wait to catch up and play some tunes with him!

notes under the cut:

The story takes place in 228 BC, the King of Qin is in the middle of a brutal war of conquest. In the span of just ten years (In 230--221 BC) he will unify china and become the first Emperor (the terracotta warriors belong to him). He will go down in history as both a cruel tyrant and brilliant statesman, to call him influential is to say the Yangtze river is "just a big puddle."

Jing ke -- (the assassin) originally hails from the state of Wei, which was conquered by Qin, afterwards he became a retainer of Yan and joined the plot to seek revenge. I simplified the story a lot for the sake of narrative clarity.

General Huan Yi -- former general of Qin who lost favour with the King. In an absolute bro move, he agreed to commit suicide and let his head be used as a "gift" for the assassination attempt. I couldn't find any sources on how severed heads were preserved during this time, but drying + curing with salt seemed pretty reasonable so i went with that.

yes, i did just combine the Second Century Warlord with Eminem to create an unholy abomination that is the deepest of deep cuts. 娘 Niáng -- [Mum] considered archaic 打卤面 Dǎ lǔ miàn--braised noodles

Jing Ke's buddy Gao Jianli (who is a famous musician) ALSO tries to kill King Qin to avenge his friend's death. He was recognised and blinded before his first attempt, but was allowed to stay. During this time, he ingratiated himself with the king and hid weights inside his instrument, biding his time until he could get close enough to take a swing (spoiler: he also missed).

#jing ke #qin shi huang #history meme #ancient china #chinese history #fuck ups make it into the annals of history jot that down #jing ke livetweets his botched assassination attempt posthumerously. uh. deathtweets ig. #my writing

[nighttimeebony]

Complaining about the love triangle in Wednesday, and complaining about Xavier and Tyler's (but mostly Xavier's) existence as characters. Spoilers and bitching below the cut.

I just don’t understand how two characters with actual superpowers managed to be so boring and unoriginal. Especially Xavier, who was already established as having a connection with Wednesday from their childhood. And considering his superpowers, they could have made it so that his personality compliments his superpowers, like we see with other characters.

Bianca is a siren, so she’s charismatic, confident, and ruthless. It makes sense that the school’s queen bee is a siren. Enid is a werewolf, so her personality is exactly like that of an energetic puppy; she’s friendly, sociable, but she’s also got more than a bit of a temper when provoked.

Xavier can make his artwork come to life, but he also has prophetic dreams, so he’s… mopey and emotionless. He’s not even creepy.

Since we know that he and Wednesday met when they were children, he could have been creepy and macabre like her and the rest of her family. If Xavier was allowed to be creepy or even remotely weird, he would have made for a nice contrast to the other characters’ friendliness while also giving Wednesday something familiar to help her navigate an unfamiliar environment.

Xavier also could have been one of the reasons why Wednesday would actually want to stay at Nevermore aside from the murder mystery she feels compelled to solve. While Wednesday does grow to love and appreciate characters like Enid and Eugene, at the start, Wednesday and Enid have basically nothing in common, and Enid seems to just get on her nerves more than anything else.

If you went the creepy, kooky and altogether ooky route with Xavier’s personality, Enid could then be the friend that gets Wednesday out of her comfort zone, while Xavier could be the friend that she just feels naturally comfortable with. She’d have someone that she could trade banter and dark jokes with, the only person that isn’t immediately put-off by her, the first person she meets outside of her family that would just get her. Then the romance between them would actually make sense.

And they could have done this!

One of Wednesday’s first real smiles of the series is when Xavier reminds her of the day they met at the funeral. But no. Xavier had to spend the rest of the season being weirdly infatuated with Wednesday, despite him having no reason to be, and also playing into the “nice guy” trope when Wednesday doesn’t return his feelings.

The show never even attempts to make you care about either Xavier or Tyler. Sure, Tyler has dead mom syndrome, but Tyler never expresses how he actually feels about it. He never reminisces on any fond memories he might have had of his mother or anything he knows about her, a fact that is especially weird in a show that uses family to develop its characters.

Wednesday is a character basically defined by the family she’s apart of, and in the show she is desperate to get out from her parents’ shadow (a weird choice, but at least a choice was made). But more than that, it’s established that she readily protects people from bullies because of the way her brother was bullied at school. While she states that she wants nothing more than to escape her parents’ shadow, it’s also shown that she inherited a lot of her interests and values from her parents, and that she would not be the person she is without them.

Enid’s biggest insecurity is the fact that she hasn’t “wolfed out” yet like the rest of her siblings, and that it has estranged her from her family and made her a source of disappointment for her mother.

Bianca’s whole character conflict is the fact that her mother is a cult leader that uses her siren abilities to manipulate her followers, and she’s trying to make Bianca follow in her footsteps, which Bianca fiercely rebels against.

But Xavier? We know literally nothing about his family, his past, or if he even has a life outside of Wednesday. Like, the only story from his past is the story of how he met Wednesday. We later learn that he and Bianca used to date, but why? We never learn the reason why they got together, but we know the reason they broke up: Xavier dumped her because he thought she was using her Siren powers on him (which she wasn’t). Great, so the only thing we learn from that is that Xavier is a racist dick and that Bianca, apparently, has no taste in men, considering that she spends a frustratingly long amount of time trying to get back together with him.

The reveal of this relationship only brings up more questions than it actually answers. Why did they get together? What did Bianca ever see in Xavier? Why did Xavier get into a relationship with her in the first place if the reason he broke up with her was because he thought she was manipulating him? But also, what evidence did he have to come to this conclusion in the first place? Especially if we know that Bianca wasn’t manipulating him?? Which, if we’re following that line of thought, what did Xavier even like about Bianca? All we ever learn about their relationship is one line of dialogue from Bianca, where she says that they were “good together”, but were they? How? It just doesn’t make any sense, and it’s really stupid.

The more I think about Xavier as a character, the angrier he makes me, because he really was just so unnecessary. The only use he has is to set up a love triangle and be an alternative suspect in Wednesday’s investigation. Basically, he only exists to get framed and make Wednesday feel vaguely guilty about inadvertently arresting the wrong person.

#wednesday #xavier thorpe #tyler galpin #wednesday addams #enid sinclair #bianca barclay #wednesday netflix #this doesn't really qualify as an anti shipping post but its not a pro shipping post so how tf do i tag this #shipping criticism? #yeah i guess that works #wednesday criticism

[lovelikethemovies13]

Hi there!! Words cannot describe how excited I got when I saw you we’re doing matchups. So fingers crossed that you’re taking requests for that. I’d be delighted to receive an outer banks or tsitp matchup <33 (If you have the motivation and energy for it of course!!)

Starting off, i’m an ENTP with a sun sign of taurus. I’m a straight (BUT 110% SUPPORTING) woman who goes by she/her. My hogwarts house is Slytherin. I’m 5’4 with chest length blonde hair, green bright eyes (with a brown line in the left one?) w a slim yet curvy body. I should wear glasses, but I don’t. Never. Not doin that. It doesn’t feel like me.

Describing my style will always be a touch cookie. One thing i know for sure is JEWELRY ALWAYS. Typically golden hoops. I dress in long skirts, dresses, sweaters, turtlenecks, blouses etc. Going for comfort but making it look somewhat chic. I wear pants on rare occasions (they are so uncomfortable for what?) I really don’t have a color palette - varies every day, multiple shades.. I’m not very into fashion, but I do enjoy an outfit. I used to sew, but I always fucked up five minutes into the project - so I dropped it. I dress for my own sense of pleasure and liking. Now obviously, one has constant desires to appear stylish to the public. But I do my very best to brush it off.

People tend to describe me as intelligent and observant, which I do agree on partly. The thing is that i hate bragging about myself, but secretly I consider myself better than anyone else. Talking to strangers and improving their day brings me life, but I’m also insecure about their judgemental thoughts on me. Got a special love for talking both on a shallow level, and a deep, philosophical therapy session looking ish convo. However, I do crave some solitude as a relief from the eyes of others. I’m such a fantastic friend once you’ve got to know me. I think about the small things and adore giving thoughtful gifts as well as letters. Ambition is my first name, but only if I find passion in the subject, and this is also probably the grounding sources for my anxiety ejdjsksb. My humor is definitively worth questioning. It’s just awfully dry and sarcastic (and yes, I do die laughing at my own jokes. THEY ARE FUNNY?). I assume I got this stone face frame before you crack me open as a way of not getting judged by fellow college students.. I cannot tolerate people talking shit about others. Obviously, I’m no picture perfect prize - but I have morals, respect and understanding. A lot of the times I speak & write in metaphors that are worth digging into to understand through and through.

In my free time i sometimes tend to read. Mostly classics and psychology inspired ones at the moment. Don’t worry, no collen hoover for me thank you. I have a huge interest in true crime and scary themes, and it has always been fascinating to me. Horror enthusiasts forever and always. Currently i take humanities courses, which is a lot of philosophy, history and culture. My way of handling emotions are probably by scream singing to emotional music, crying or just yelling out of the blue. I love shopping (my wallet does not agree) I play the guitar which has grown into becoming a huge part of my life!! When the environment allows it, I also sing. And write poetry. Other things I enjoy are researching stupid, unnecessary things. TAYLOR SWIFT (Folklore girly), kisses, physical letters, iced coffee, pretty nicknames, rain, people smiling at me, feeling loved and needed, thunderstorms, flowers (alive preferably, not dying)

About the things i dislike thennnn. Being excluded, people invalidating my feelings, car noises HAHA, slow walkers, not doing something perfectly at the first time, people who make fun of others, rude people who mocks others for no reason, maths… I have a strong disliking for schedules and having to be somewhere at a certain time. I cannot function properly w that on my mind.

My love language is most likely words of affirmation. There’s just something about a beautifully put together love declaration that makes me melt. Also, physical touch. This was something I used to feel awkward about but now I live for those gestures and touches. Something about the skin to skin, human to human connection. OH AND ALSO, acts of service. An act tells so much more than any word. With that said, those acts easily creates a red line with physical touch, such as making time for laying down with me. (I just realized what I just said is the polar opposite of word of affection. BUT HELLO?! I LOVE EVERYTHING HAHA)

I assume that’s pretty much it! Have a wonderful continuing day, or night - whatever time it is. Thank you dearly in advance <33

Your OBX Match Is: Pope Heyward!

he would definitely save up to buy you flowers or a book that you've been considering

when pope sees you reading a true crime book he'll give you some random fact about rigor mortis or how the autopsy could have been preformed

you'll spend days laying out at the beach together. sometimes he'll bring a book and read to you

pope listened to folklore for you because he knows how much you like it

he tried to write a poem about you when he confessed his feelings but it didn't turn out well so the two of you ended up laughing together as he tried to read it out

pope automatically defends you whenever someone says anything remotely negative about you

Your TSITP Match Is: Cam Cameron!

cam takes you out on the whale watching boat with him whenever he goes. he spends the entire time pointing out different sea creatures to you and telling you about them

he's a great listener and he'll listen to you talk about anything. he always gives you the best advice

he loves your sense of humor and he always laughs at your jokes

cam loves folklore too. he bought you the vinyl of it for your birthday one year (or the cd if you prefer that)

whenever you're away from each other for a longer amount of time he writes you letters at least twice a week

#thank you for sending me my first request! #lizzie's writing #obx #outer banks #pope heyward #obx matchup #the summer i turned pretty #tsitp #cam cameron #tsitp matchup #matchups

[myloveforhergoeson]

October 6th

Prompt: Undead🧟

Roxy would do just about anything to keep her witchy cover from being blown, even if it meant not telling Jo that her New Town High co-star was a simulacrum - a very well-put-together one at that.

Considering she had only read about them, often hearing a few tales from her father and his warlock buddies, she just chalked the simulacrum's heterochromatic eyes and slightly slanted posture to the NTH make-up team. That, and she had only ever seen celebrity Ellis Bonecall on TV, playing Desmond Gloomvine opposite Jo's Rachel Blesse and Jett's Drake Steel. It was only now, standing by the refreshment table at the New Town High mid-season wrap-party, that the girl noticed the aura of magical stitches holding many of his body parts together.

Since Kendall couldn't make it (he was grounded after fighting with Katie), Jo had invited her best friend to meet her fellow cast members and poke around the set.

Of course, the young witch jumped at the opportunity; Just because the show got so much wrong about the supernatural didn't mean she didn't enjoy watching it. However, the casting directors would probably be incredibly pleased to know they had gotten one thing correct... Their choice to cast Ellis as their Frankenstein-type character.

Who better to play the role than the real deal?

Since she was the star of the show, Jo was being pulled in every which way by her fellow cast members, leaving her plus one alone in the back of the large studio set. Naturally, Roxy had gravitated toward the food, where she ended up accidentally bumping into Ellis as they both went to grab the last cupcake.

"Oh, sorry," Ellis apologized, voice sounding as though it was too old for his body. "Go ahead."

That should have been her first clue, and the second came moments later as she also apologized, glancing up into his brown and blue eyes.

"No, please!" The witch insisted, beginning to feel as though she had touched a balloon as the hair on her arms and neck stood. That was normally a sign her body detected magic, gravitating toward the source; Third clue. "This party is for the New Town High cast, not their friends..."

As she stepped back, the boy held his hands up in defense. Wiggling his fingers playfully caused his skin to reflect some of the light from the fluorescents hanging above them, giving the witch a quick flash of silvery magic stitches holding most of his fingers to his palm, and his elbows to the rest of his arm. "Really... You'll probably save me anyway. My mom hates it when I have sugar." Before she could stop herself, Roxy quipped, "Well, just because she created you doesn't mean she gets to control you."

That sounded mostly normal, but the way his brows shot up at her choice of words alerted her to the fact that if she could sense his supernatural aura, he could probably detect hers as well.

Trying to save herself from an awkward introduction, she laughed a bit, and that seemed to calm Ellis down. "I've heard just about all the Sabrina the Teenage Witch jokes myself... And you don't have to worry, I'm not here to bust you. Just a teen, like you, trying to make it in this industry."

"Ah, I knew there was something different about you, Sabrina Spellman. And don't you worry either, your secret is safe with me."

#thats all she wrote fic #taswtober :) #shortie again hehe

[ben-the-hyena]

For the Hate Thing, 3 and 10?

3. Any fandoms that don’t appeal to you?

Whenever I look at HH, HB or Encanto content I become very angry even if obviously I don't bully people for what they like so I just move on, but I HATE these franchises so much seeing them getting love and seeing characters I find loathable be turned into cutie blorbos makes my blood boil. Also whenever I look from a distance at the TOH because it never interested me (andthemorepeoplepraiseittoberepresentativeasitssolequalitythelessIwanttowatchit) and SU and ML because I used to love them but they played with my feelings and went a way I really hated so I am bitter but torn with good memories. Also as much as I LOVE TDC and ATLA and do love fandom content from it I sadly am a bit cold towards their fandoms in general. TDC because is unfortunately became very toxic with the biggest number of bad personal meetings in a fandom I ever had with popular self victimizing whiners who preached to their cult followers how me and others were evil for disagreeing, and ATLA because I hate how most of its fans are super snobbish about their franchise they consider to be the best ever and are in denial about how ATLA is mostly good solely for its script writers whereas its 2 creators can't weite for shit and when they do like the comics and LoK it sucks ass but they still praise it because it has a pretty package and feel superior by comparing it with other franchise that have nothing to do with it except the title which is already an old pre-existing word

10. Any fandom you’re ashamed of being in?

HM/PM. OK SO I AM PLAYING WITH WORDS, IT IS NOT ABOUT HATE I JUST NEEDED TO VENT ONE THING ABOUT MYSELF. Ok so not ashamed per say, and not toward it, no no this fandom is very healthy for now, fun, funny, neither too popular nor too obscure, it has the uniqueness to have several lores/canons so you are allowed to make up your own picking elements from here and there, in short it's a haven for imagination to the point it was one of my first Tumblr fandoms and my very first followers was a HM related blog (thank you @asktheghosthost I never forgot you I just never fekt brave enough to start a conversation >.>). No, no I feel ashamed because of MYSELF in that fandom X'D As a post I reblogged yesterday rightfully pointed out, despite being about murders and suicide this fandom is very pure with hardly any swear, nsfw content and risky jokes. Yet EVERY SINCE I joined that fandom I have made steam headcanon posts, sex jokes and sus fanart with words that don't hold back (AND I CONSIDER DRAWING SHIPPY NSFW) as well as recently a very dark HC of the Phantom feeling incestuous lust for his own daughter. I act super differently from most of the fandom to the point I had been banned from the DA fanclub oncr for having posted a shitpost of Ezra pointing at a hole on my piece of paper saying "I made that hole with my dick" and got me back because I apologized and didn't know that would be forbidden XD No really I just have a risky sense of humor and am kind of a perv for almost every fandom I am in, and if ghosts even can still eat, drink, sleep and other stuff they absolutely don't need to do anymore just because they want to, why not fuck ? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND... As I had said, fans base themselves on different canons mixed in with their own ideas to make their fanons, so do I. But mine strays so far from several canon elements and other general ideas fans share that sometimes I feel like I am a fraud x') I HC stuff nobody HCs : Master Gracey is Emily's father, Constance is her aunt and never owned the Mansion, most of the characters died on the same night of 1877 after a curse from unknwon sources, I use names nobody uses... We are allowed to (like in all fandoms you can but here this one fandom IS made for that for how many lores it can hold) yet even if I have fun I sometimes feel ashamed when I see more "general lore friendly" fanons that essentially just changes a few thing from one canon and it makes me wonder if I truly love the Mansion for what it is then to their eyes then. Especially when I read remarks from the fanon wiki in the pages of my own comics that precise "once again Ben-the-hyena base herself on nothing". I know I may be reading too much into it, but it almost feels like other fans may think I "fanon it wrong" and I wonder if this is that side thoughr that had me contribute so little about this fandom these years

#ask #anon #moi #haunted mansion #phantom manor #asktheghosthost #avatar the last airbender #helluva boss #hazbin hotel #the owl house #encanto #strangely the cuphead show and Ducktales anger me and I hated their last 2 seasons and yet I am not mad seeing content and love it #steven universe #miraculous ladybug #the dark crystal #lol #fandom #fans don't look

[pain-in-the-butler]

I finally watched the Noah’s Ark Circus musical with subtitles (over the course of four days - it was my downtime activity while my sister’s wedding was happening) and I have some Thoughts

It’s not a very good play lol. I could tell that was true even without the subtitles .

The song where Sebastian and Will don’t want to hold hands while they do acrobatics is the only song that I remember thinking was catchy. The rest of them were shockingly weak. No earworms to speak of .

Most of the actors do the best they can within the parameters they’re set but it’s just not well-adapted for the stage. And it’s way too dark! What an unhappy note to end a story on. It’s more or less faithful to the arc but I really wish it hadn’t been. It’s just not a pleasant tale .

Lycoris is rather dark too, but because it’s also very dramatic and romanticized and pretty (and Grell is there), I think it still lends itself to a better stage adaptation. Noah’s Ark is mostly just about people having really shitty lives and it ends on Sebastian concluding that humans are desperate creatures. Also a lot of children die. Gee, what a fun way to spend a night out....... 😐 .

I think it was frankly irresponsible to cast a young child as Ciel, if not any child. It’s not a fun role for a kid, and it’s also just inappropriate considering they really played up Kelvin’s thirst and creepiness. I think it’s far too frightening for someone who is only twelve. Reo did really well despite it all - but of course he was exhausted by the end and I think it was just way too overwhelming for him .

I care less about the circus crew than ever. The cast really tried to put themselves out there, but there’s too much overacting in an attempt to get you to fall in love with everyone/pity them before they’re killed. It’s really corny .

That said, it was cool how many of the circus people could actually do tricks! I loved how Dagger knew how to ride a unicycle, and Peter and Wendy’s back-flips were fun to watch .

I wanted to love Agni and Soma, but whenever they were on-stage, they just seemed like caricatures. I skipped their song/dance in the second act because I remembered it feeling out of place and tonally bizarre .

The servants aren’t too bad. Their actors almost always get really hammy in any play, but they’re meant to be clowns, so you expect it. However, having Bard and Ciel say “Those are the Phantomhive servants” simultaneously right before Bard blew up the manor really hit the powerful note it was meant to .

Abberline and Hanks my beloved. All their comedy skits were brilliant. The way their jokes made Furukawa and Reo break character and laugh during the Undertaker scene was so cute. I smiled any time they were on stage .

Speaking of Furukawa, of course he did great. His performance here made me realize why I love Campania so much more: it’s great to see Sebastian being smarmy and show-offy, but even better to see it juxtaposed with a desperate Sebastian who’s afraid for the first time in his life. It gives you that full scope of his character. Throughout Noah’s Ark, Sebastian is not struggling at all, so even though Furukawa is killing it with the facial expressions and poses, I felt a little bored by the script .

Most of all, I got the overall sense that everyone was doing the best with what they had, which was uncomfortable. I ended up feeling sorry for everyone who had to adapt such a difficult story.........

If I was in charge of the stage play (and I shouldn’t be), I think I would have toned things down and been less faithful to the source material. There’s no need to make it a comedy, but even tragedies need to possess lots of humanity in order to make them an enjoyable experience. I don’t think the circus antics and AbberHanks was enough to encourage a good atmosphere. I would have walked out of the theater feeling rather hopeless and uninspired if I had watched Noah’s Ark in-person.

In act two, the tragedies are just one after the other. The children dying in Kelvin’s performances, then the basement, then Kelvin getting shot and Joker slowly wilting in misery, the other Circus members getting killed, the doctor revealing the prosthetics are made of children’s bones, Ciel’s panic attack, “killing” Doll, the orphanage being abandoned - and then Sebastian sings a song about desperation and that’s the end, time to go home, bye!

I’ll honestly think more about how I’d change this, just as a fun exercise in storytelling. But if you liked Noah’s Ark, I’m happy for you! As for me, I’ll stick with rewatching Campania for the millionth time.

#kuroshitsuji #a

[petitelepus]

Hello! I’d like to request a TWST match-up please! I’d also like to apologize for doing this as a submission rather than an ask, but I couldn’t fit this in an ask and wanted to give you a thorough description to work with. If you’d rather not, than feel free to delete.

I’m 5’9” with bob-length purple hair. You’ll almost never see me without a full face of makeup (I love to do colorful looks), but I dress more casually than I’d like to most of the time. The styles I see myself wearing in my head (high fashion and glamor) do not match the clothes I end up wearing in real life (mostly basics, leggings, and jeans lol). I’m non-binary (she/they) but I love to present very femme.

 I’m a textbook Libra and an INFP-T, but I consider myself to be more ambiverted. It takes time for me to warm up to people, not because I’m shy necessarily, but because I’m awkward and godawful at small talk. However, once we’re friends, I’m super open and can be pretty outgoing. I’ve been told that I generally have a mature and calming presence at first, but I’m a silly person once I’ve warmed up to them. Sometimes I can have a bit of a temper, but even then, I can think clearly enough to tell someone, “I’m ticked right now. Give me some time to cool down before I get worse and say something I don’t mean at all.” This also goes for times where I’ve hit a very low point emotionally, where I know I can mostly sleep off a bad funk. I’m resourceful and quick-witted, and have a fine-tuned sense of humor. I’ve delivered some great one-liners throughout my life, but on occasion they don’t go over too well, which can be a source of anxiety for me.

While I’ve mostly conquered my issues with self-confidence, I still struggle with them from time-to-time, generally in the presence of anyone who I perceived to have accomplished more than I have in the same amount of time or less. I also have a bit of a bad habit getting caught up in things that happened in my past and letting that affect how I view myself now. If I have anything going for me, it’s my wit and resourcefulness. 

In college, I studied English and Creative Writing and had big dreams to work in publishing, but those dreams got dashed. Now, I’m in beauty school getting my esthetics license and hope to work as a pro make-up artist once I’m done. However, my background in literature and writing are still important to me and I love doing literary analysis and writing fic. In my free time, I love to watch reality TV (mostly RuPaul’s Drag Race and most of it’s spin-offs), write, and play video games. I used to do ballroom and latin dance, but I’ve been on a break from it for a little bit as I got burnout. However, I hope to return to it once I’ve graduated from beauty school. I have way too many plushies than someone my age should probably own, but I love cute little buddies to snuggle with.

In a partner, I look for someone who I can genuinely consider a best friend/one of my best friends. They also have it together for the most part and could guide me a little bit when I have to navigate through rough waters. Alternatively, I’d like to be the person they go to first when they need a different perspective on something that’s bothering them. They need a good sense of humor too, because if they can’t laugh at my jokes or make me laugh too, then we might have issues.

I match you with Lilia Vanrouge!

As a Libra, there is a chance that you don’t like negative or pessimistic people, as you thrive with happiness and joy. Not only that, but INFP people are idealistic and try to find goodness even in the worst situations. Lilia is exactly the same way and this old Fae loves having fun and is maybe one of the most optimistic people you will ever know.

He is a huge fan of your hair and has suggested that the two of you should dye your hair the same color. Lilia is also a fan of your make-up skills and supports your studies 100 percent. He likes to offer himself for you to practice your make-up skills and if you need help then he is happy to aid you. With long age comes a lot of wisdom.

It doesn’t matter to Lilia if you appear a little awkward at first, he can see right through you and happily gives you time to get used to him and his company. You open up to him quickly and he is happy to see the more outgoing and silly side of you. Not that he dislikes your mature side, but Lilia actually admires that side in you also. It takes a lot to recognize when you aren’t feeling well and it tells how mature you are when you ask to be left on your own until you feel better.

Lilia has lived a long life so it’s only natural that you might feel a little intimidated by his accomplishments, but he always tells you that you shouldn’t fear him or feel bad about yourself. You’re witty and resourceful and those qualities carry you through troubles that life may throw at you.

He is sorry that your dreams didn’t come true, but as said above, he supports your new dream of becoming a make-up artist. If you ever write anything, Lilia would love to be your test reader and point out things he likes and some points that may need some fine-tuning.

What’s RuPaul’s Drag Race? When you explain the show to the Fae, Lilia’s eyes widen in excitement. He wants to watch the whole show and all the seasons and spin-offs with you and talk about the drag queens’ dresses! The two of you actually take notes about how the queens do their make-up so you learn more from them.

Lilia is actually a pretty decent player and would love to play video games with you! He would also like to dance with you, but with your size difference, it might be a little funny to others to look at, but if you will do him the honor of dancing with him then he will show you a great time.

Plushies! Yes, you can never be too old to have a plushie or two! Also, you can always trust Lilia to laugh at your jokes since he finds them genuinely funny and he hopes you enjoy his jokes as much as he enjoys yours.

Lilia wishes that you see him as your best friend, for he would love to be yours. As said, he is older than he looks so he is wise. He will happily guide you through the hardships that life may throw at you if you let him help you. If he ever feels like he needs someone’s shoulder to lie against, you’re his number 1 choice to go to. He trusts you that much.

#twisted wonderland matchup #matchup #twisted wonderland #twst #lilia vanrouge #dasfreefree

[thereisabearonmyceiling]

here it is, by popular demand (like 2 people told me to do this, blame them) and because i am a man of my word:

The (in)Complete Terrible Horrible No Good Awful MCYT Cinematic Universe Family Tree

SOME NOTES

- this is done mostly from memory (plus the occasional glance at the dsmp wiki, that shit's complicated) and so i might have missed some things

- i am aware this looks less like a family tree and more like a map of the subway. i did my best, deal with it

- "canon" covers anything that was mentioned/referenced by the creators ever, no matter how ridiculous

- as far as headcanons go, i tried to include the most popular ones/the ones that would make the most sense (like characters who are the same species being related). some are a bit of a stretch and also some of them contradict each other, but i had to make this work somehow cut me some slack. most of these aren't my headcanons, they're just ones i've seen floating around a bunch

- assume a general /rp for the entire thing, especially where romantic relationships are concerned. i don't ship real people and this is supposed to be a lighthearted bit of fun, don't take it too seriously

- there are a grand total of 63 characters on this thing, or 62 if you don't consider the dragon egg to be a character. 46 of them are actual mcyts (48 if you consider drista and mumza to be mcyts). the rest are either mobs/npcs or other characters played by the same people

- i drew this with crap glitter pens because that's what i had on hand. i tried to make it readable (would have digitized it but i don't have my tablet on me and it would be too much effort anyway), but in case i failed there's more detailed notes under the cut (as well as some explanations)

- if you want to make any additions go right ahead, feedback is also welcome but if you find a spelling mistake keep that shit to yourself

ok here's the stupid amount of notes:

(from left to right. sort of)

ethoslab - docm77: doc has said multiple times that etho is his dad. this is a joke but we're taking it as canon here

doc - awesamdude: creeper dudes

sam - foolishgamers - ponk: they have a sort of love triangle going on i think

foolish jr & finley: foolish's totem kids

foolish - captainpuffy - michelle: papa puffy adopted both of them

puffy - nihachu: canonically were dating at some point. no idea if they are still

puffy - dream: popular hc that puffy is dream's mom

dream - drista - dreamxd: dream and drista are siblings and xd is probably related to them somehow, i mean just look at the guy

dream - georgenotfound - dreamxd: idk which one of them george is into, maybe it's both

george - shubble/shrub: shroom people

shubble - katherine elizabeth: (empires) nature wives

dream - ranboo: i haven't seen anyone hc them as family for a bit, but it was a thing at one point and so i'm counting it

ranboo - tubbo - michael : they're married. michael is their adopted son

ranboo - ranbob: ranbob is ranboo's descendant in tales from the smp

tubbo - captainsparkles (is it sparkles or sparklez?): i used to see a lot of posts about captain being tubbo's dad, again idk if it's still a thing

dream - fundy: is their wedding canon to the dream smp? unclear. is it canon to this chart? absolutely

fundy - yogurt: fundy's adopted fox child

fundy - eret: failed (?) adoption attempt. i'm counting it

eret - herobrine: canonically related

herobrine - joehills: is joe related to herobrine? are they the same person? is herobrine hels joe? is it the other way around? i don't know, but something sure is going on here...

eret - karl jacobs - quackity: according to the dream smp wiki, eret used to be engaged to karl and quackity. i did not know this

karl - quackity - sapnap: fiances

sapnap - badboyhalo: bad is sapnap's dad

bad - skeppy: this is the only one with 'other' because i don't know what category to put 'their canon lives are directly connected to each other' in. the wiki said 'life source' but i don't have a colour for that

quackity - purpled: i know these two are bussiness partners at most but! technically and legally speaking, if purpled is a minor then quackity would sort of count as his legal guardian. no i'm not grasping at straws shut up, and also ignore the fact that the dsmp doesn't have the same laws we do

purpled - punz: mercenary bros

purpled - xisumavoid: clearly purpled bedwars and xisumavoid creator of bedwars are related. or at least enough people think so for me to put it on the chart

xisuma - evil x: are they brothers? is one of them a clone of the other? are they both clones? who cares, it's going on the chart

wilbur soot - sally - fundy: fish fucker #1, fish, and fox son

wilbur (technically ghostbur but i couldn't fit him on the chart) - friend: he also fucked a sheep apparently

the entire mess of the sbi family dynamic. is here. includes a fridge

wilbur - grian: button eyed chaos brothers. just look at them side by side and tell me they aren't related

grian - grumbot - mumbo jumbo: grian and mumbo created a robot son for the purpose of winning an election. they then left him in a box in season 7. they aren't good dads but they are dads, and that's all that matters here

grian - pearlescentmoon: something something sun and moon siblings

grian - dragon egg: he yoinked the dragon egg and now he's gotta raise a baby dragon, what more is there to say

geminitay - dragon egg: she also yoinked the dragon egg and wants to raise a baby dragon, but for much nobler purposes (at least i think so. i should really watch that episode)

dragon egg - ender dragon: the actual owner of the dragon egg, could all these people please stop taking it it's very rude

ender dragon - illumina: dragon hybrid illumina is a thing and i totally didn't just really want to have a speedrunner on here, i would never tamper with this very serious scientific document like that

gem - fwhip - mythicalsausage: wither rose alliance are also siblings. empiresblr said so

grian - jimmy solidarity mr gaming: jimmy has a cod head. grian's head is a cod head. i thus conclude they both have cod genes and are therefore related

jimmy - ldshadowlady: royal fish siblings

jimmy - ijevin - slimecicle: it is my personal headcanon that all minecraft slimes originate from one single massive megaslime, and are thus all related. also for the purposes of this bit of the chart, jimmy is now a slime hybrid instead of a fish one

jimmy - scott smajor: in 3rd life? flower husbands. in empires? fishfucker #2. yes jimmy is back to being a fish

lizzie - joel: they are married! also fishfucker #3 (last one, thank god)

joel - scott - wilbur: someone on my last post said to make the fishfuckers relatives. here you go, i hope you're happy

scott - xornoth: kind of brothers in another life maybe? good enough for me

xornoth - joey graceffa: it might be a one sided relationship but it is a relationship and so it goes on the chart

scott - zombiecleo: this one is probably the biggest stretch but it's their hypothetical 'widows alliance' from 3rd life. no it didn't happen, and even if it did i don't think it would belong on a family tree, but it's here anyway

cleo - bdoubleo100: if bdubs dying would make cleo a widow then that means bdubs and cleo were married in 3rd life, and that's just a fact you'll have to deal with now

IN CONCLUSION

i am tired, this took way too long, i don't think it was worth it, please reblog this so at least i don't feel like i completely wasted my time. if any ccs see this i am sorry, especially if i called you a fish fucker. good night

#mcyt #hermitcraft #dream smp #empires smp #3rd life smp #that's it i'm not tagging everyone #ceiling bear talk show #i'm pinning this shit so you can't avoid it #save

[oatbrew]

hi! i saw that you play tears of themis and your fav is artem, so i wanted to ask if you could do an analysis on marius and his relationship with the mc? <3

omg ok marius is a dark horse because i didn't expect to like him so much and artem is my bias as a character and partner (for me specifically! lol) but marius's relationship w rosa is my fave if that makes sense? so some stuff here is supplanted by my hcs and conjectures and i’ve only reached up to part 2 of episode 5 so bear w me if any info here isn’t entirely on the nose

i’ll preface w a necessary joseimuke tangent that a common otome theme is unequal power dynamics involved in class/career/status positions (which is part of the appeal and the fantasy), with the male character’s entrance into the mc’s static life more often that not being the inciting incident of the story rather than the reverse. in these fish out of water stories, the fish is usually the mc; she enters his world rather than the other way around, which can sometimes result in a very rigid and gender-normative outcome. in the worst of it, especially where the mc is purely designed to act as a placeholder for the reader and lacks personality, her character development is mainly to fill in an emotional/nurturing caretaker position while the male love interest takes on the role of an actual protagonist (i.e. he is more active in driving the story and shaping his environment, gets all the action moments, his inner world is more respected than hers and hers just completely hinges on his). so all of this just results in a one sided (or at least one sided portrayal of a) relationship… which isn’t that appealing imo

so one of the standouts with tot even as they ascribe by some usual tropes is rosa herself. the usual mold of many otome mcs is the yamato nadeshiko, the japanese ideal of femininity: virtuous, gentle, nurturing, demure, and humble. rosa has elements of this but the thing is she’s also a really really excellent attorney even just starting out. to be good at that kind of job requires keeping a sharp and rational head, being confrontational and persuasive, and asserting yourself at the opportune moments — traits which are all traditionally considered masculine.

marius is an artist. he’s a ceo w a sharp business acumen, intelligence, and even cunning but when he chose a path, he picked up a paintbrush first. he appreciates aesthetics, ideals and the inner life of people (as expressed through his art) more than ambition or mind games suited to running a business, his primary motivation is derived from his relationships with his family and supporting the nxx, and he’s running the company for duty and others’ sake rather than his own. if anything marius fits a caretaker mold more than miss “married to her work” does

as for the wealth disparity, it’s more a source of exasperation and potential point of conflict than it is a reason for her deference or a source of attraction. if it helps with the mission fine but she'll snark about it and his privilege lol which is a nice departure from the usual rich man/everywoman route

so whenever marius and rosa interact, they feel like they’re on a level playing field not just in their relationship but in how the story treats them. they feel like two young adults trying to make sense of their early 20s, their careers, and all the upheaval happening in their city. another notable significance is that marius is the only love interest that she's consistently antagonistic with (playfully...most of the time). she has nothing but respect for artem and vyn and while she'll playfully rib and tease luke as close friends do, marius's irreverence and put-on rich boy smugness always has her geared towards attack mode to bring him down a peg just in case.

the antagonism is mostly a front and for jokes but how often do we get an mc who’s just prickly and ill-disposed? that fact that he inspires a less “likable” side from her adds a unique aspect to their relationship. mainly since it also highlights a layer in the mc’s personality that makes her feel like her own person with agency and her own opinions rather than a passive audience surrogate. the fact that he’s also younger and still obviously trying to figure things out for himself also adds a nice slight “noona romance” vibe in disrupting the usual power dynamics. in this sense marius has to work a little harder than the others for her to consider him as a long term romantic partner or even at least acknowledge her genuine admiration of him. she wouldn’t poke if she knew he couldn’t take it but because they keep things so facetious i don’t think she realizes the extent of how much he deeply desires her respect and esteem as an equal. they both know that his devil may care rich playboy persona is just an act but after playing the part for so long i honestly think that as confident as he is, marius also can’t help his fear in what being completely open with her would entail. not that she’d be fooled enough to buy the facade like everyone else but that she’d see right through him and still find nothing in him that she would want. because while he truly doesn’t care how others judge him, she’s a different story

yet in the same vein i don’t think he can resist it either. it’s interesting that they have this contradictory dichotomy of being very comfortable w one another but also still holding each other at a certain distance. he wants her to get to know him truly even as he’s reluctant to show his entire hand. they talk seriously about their goals and worries and couch it around lightheartedness and their usual rapport. his feelings come through the most w his love language (guess which one) which we might just easily dismiss as him being materialistic but i think genuinely is his truest way of showing affection

the first time they met i think marius kept flirting and making her flustered because it’s his habit. he liked her well enough and probably didn’t consciously realize when his feelings became more serious. upon getting to know her and vice versa, he kept it up because he doesn’t have much faith in retaining her attention without it. the teasing and come-ons for the most part are just a guard. he figures it’s easier for him to deal with if she doesn't like his act since it’s technically not him. yet he desires her focus so he’ll risk instigating her exasperation bc it’s the most sure fire way to get her to keep looking at him. if he gets to be in her head even as “that annoying ceo”, he’ll take it because it means that he’s become an indelible part of her life. additionally im sure he just likes the act of teasing her because of how many yes mans and players w agendas he must have witnessed his father and brother deal with secondhand and how much more now that he’s the one facing them.

he likes that she’s kind of rude and upfront with him. it makes him feel like a normal person and less a means to an end or a tabloid subject. it’s fun to tease her and be pushy bc it must be hard to find friends to be yourself with and let loose when you’re uncertain about people’s motivations, on whether they’re there for your money or for you. i gather maybe outside of his family and a few close allies/friends, being raised in the spotlight and becoming the self-proclaimed rebel must have been lonely in ways that marius probably hides and affects w that impetuous and carefree attitude. and rosa who couldn’t give a shit about wealth or influence gives him that opportunity to be marius without the von hagen name attached

and on rosa’s side, i think she keeps her distance and pretends that hes like a pesky little brother because she recognizes that realistically any relationship with him would pose a lot of challenges that she doesn’t know if she’s equipped to handle. rosa works as an attorney and joins the nxx because she wants to defend people and fight injustice. her coming to the spotlight is just a side effect from working high profile cases (which markedly enough really only begins with marius’s case) and not something she actively sought for. witnessing the ways in which wealth and fame can inspire ugly behaviors in people, i don’t blame her for being wary in potentially entering a world like that esp with her relationships at the scrutiny of basically everyone else but her and marius. she’s genuinely attracted to him and his flirting is frustrating because it can be annoying but she construes it as just him messing around and trying to get a reaction from her as usual. i think a big part of her believes that marius isn’t genuinely interested in her as a serious partner and that he’s mainly acting out of habit (which may have been initially true). and being such a career woman (and also bc of how the game logistically functions in that rosa’s desires for the men can’t be made explicit except maybe outside of sr/ssr cards and personal stories lest the devs be accused of favoritism), she is pretty oblivious or at least willfully in denial w the guys’ romantic designs and interest on her and vice versa. so rosa’s investment in her side of things is mainly expressed in between the lines

and what they tell us is that she does know who he is. she can see him and cares for him even as she’s shutting him down in the same breath. she pays attention to what he does and what his actions tell her beyond the front of his words. she recognizes the ways he might be shackled by virtue of his position (and somewhat by his own volition) and insists that he’s “on the verge of breaking free” i really don’t think she’d have smug, flirty and passionate marius any other way even if it meant having to deal w some bad pick up lines forever

anyway i love them. i think their relationship inherently opens up a lot of possibilities that can be interesting for future conflicts and character growth. plus they’re a lot of fun

#reply. #anon. #tears of themis

[naivesilver]

pinocchio/lampwick for the 'if they had a kid' meme (from whatever AU/in whatever capacity works for you) 💗

Wow, somehow I was suspecting you would send an ask like this, wonder how that came to pass ashkhskahah jk jk, thank you 💝

If They Had A Kid Meme

So listen, I know you likely expect me to use a version of them from one of our 367452785468 AUs, but I already gave your AU bitches a baby there is this thing that has been boiling in the back of my head for like a year now and I'd really like to put it in words, so behold - Descendants!verse Pinocchio & Lampwick (and related offspring)

Because listen, the Descendants might have a canon biological child of Pinocchio already, a boy named Pin, but I won't condone it. One, it's a dumb name, two, I can't let them negate my favorite Pinocchio ship ever, three...listen, they can't all have children of their body that look exactly like them. I will suspend my disbelief with everything but Pinocchio-focused matters.

And mostly, look, the movies have this pretty bullshit division where villains and their kids are relegated on this crappy island and everyone else gets the rest of the world, and I think it would be very funny if Lampwick, despite not being exactly a good guy, took a look at that situation, went "uh no thanks I'm done with weird islands" and BOOKED it out of there out of a) sheer force of will b) intercession from his newly reformed boyfriend. And then they adopt a young daughter, because I firmly believe they would make great girl dads, and that is why y'all are here, isn't it?

Name: Amelia (means "hard-working" but also "maid from the forest", so it's two jokes at the price of one)

Gender: Female

General Appearance: Rounded face and features, dark and curly hair, dark eyes

Personality: A spirited, active little girl

Special Talents: Well, she's pretty young still (which makes sense if you consider that her parents were actual children during their story, so their daughter would have to be years and years younger than the kids of the various princesses and knights), so there is still time for her to grow into her eventual abilities. Pinocchio's teaching her to whittle, though, and she can already whistle a lot better than him.

Who they like better: It's pretty 50/50, tbh. She goes to Lampwick when she wants to play some rougher games/needs to coax someone into getting her out of trouble, but Pinocchio is a source of daily comfort and stability when she's upset. No favourites here.

Who they take after more: Tragically for everyone in the premises, Lampwick. She was laughing at his jokes as soon as she learned how to speak, which should have been a dead giveaway.

Personal Headcanon: Her grandfather would spoil her rotten and you can't convince me of the opposite

Face Claim: Josie O'Brien in Outlaw King

#bewilderedmoth #ask meme #descendants #pinocchio #pinocchwick #lampwickcore #if freenklin sees that name I'm done for #but I'm right I'll take no criticism only compliments

[morporkian-cryptid]

Today in "Elliott's Niche AF AUs": one (1) person asked me about this, sooooo...

Lupin III Discworld AU crossover headcanon pile thingy!!!

For those who don't know: Discworld is a flat world held on the back of four giant elephants on top of a giant turtle, floating through space. That world has magic, as well as trolls, dwarves, goblins etc... but in a way that's meant to subvert typical fantasy tropes.

Ankh-Morpork, the biggest city on the Disc, is a hotbed of crime, innovations, and innovations in crime. It is run by a council of guilds, and by a Patrician (a lifelong tyrant; he's elected by the guilds but he has the final say in everything). Notorious for having an Assassins', Thieves', Beggars', and Seamstresses' (sex workers) Guilds. Also notorious for its Watch (the police), which is actually surprisingly good at solving crimes. It's also the biggest immigration destination on the Disc.

Character backstories/situations:

Lupin : half-quirmian-half-agatean (Quirm being the DW equivalent of France), grew up in the Agatean Empire (DW equivalent of China/East Asia). He moved to Ankh-Morpork to follow Fujiko, and/or to escape Zenigata. He’s an illegal thief (meaning he's not registered with the Thieves' Guild), and his favourite hobby (besides just stealing in general) is screwing with the Guild. Commander Vimes, the head of the Watch, is supposed to catch him (or at least help Zenigata catch him), but he's secretly rooting for him because he dislikes the Guild slightly more than he dislikes Lupin.

Jigen : son of a couple of Agatean immigrants in Ankh-Morpork, grew up as a street urchin in the Shades (the most crime-ridden neighborhood of the notoriously crime-ridden Ankh-Morpork). He joined the Assassins’ Guild later in his life as a (mostly self-taught) sharpshooter, with a talent that outshone that of the Guild's best students. He later quit the Guild after he met Lupin (possibly had a contract to kill Lupin, and decided “screw this I’m going with him”). He can use any kind of shooting weapons, but favors crossbows. He’s tried stealing and using the gonne (DW's first and only firearm); it didn't go well. He somehow managed to learn one single spell from the wizards, the fireball, by becoming pals with Arcchancelor Ridcully (wizard, head of the Unseen University, and famous for his unfortunate passion for crossbow shooting).

Goemon : agatean immigrant/fugitive, master swordsman. He left Agatea because Fujiko stole his Zantetsuken and fled to Ankh-Morpork, so Goemon had to follow her to retrieve his sword. He then met Lupin and Jigen and decided to stick around. The Zantetsuken is a talking sword, and its personality is basically the embodiment of Bushido. It's extremely annoying (like all talking swords), but Goemon loves it. (it was probably his only friend back in Agatea)

Fujiko : agatean immigrant/fugitive. Ran away from the Agatean Empire chased by Goemon. She joined the Thieves’ Guild, but everyone confuses her for a seamstress because her technique usually involves seduction. She tried it on Vetinari once. It failed spectacularly.

Zenigata : agatean immigrant, part of the Empire’s police force, who came to Ankh-Morpork chasing Lupin. He only brought his assistant Yata with him, and has to cooperate with the Watch to have resources to catch Lupin. Vimes doesn’t particularly like him, but he’s good at his work so he can’t say anything (they're both too stubborn to get along).

Bonus:

Yata: Zenigata’s assistant, came to Ankh-Morpork with him, rapidly became great friends with Rufus Drumknott (the Head Secretary of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari). He has a bad influence on Drumknott. He also befriended Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, but then again Carrot befriends everyone.

Ami: She's a clacks operator. Clacks are basically the DW equivalent of telegraph. There's a group of clacks hackers called the GNU, so she might have joined them.

Albert: He's part of the Patrician's Dark Clerks (they're the secret services of Ankh-Morpork)

Rebecca: She's from Quirm. That’s all I have about her for now. (Quirm's the equivalent of France, but in the french translation it was made into an equivalent of Italy)

Random-Ass Headcanons

Lupin gets along like a house on fire with Moist von Lipwig (former conman and current postmaster, notorious adrenaline junkie), both figuratively and literally. Lupin and Lipwig sometimes team up on heists and rely on each other’s help, when they’re not busy competing against each other because Lupin keeps daring Lipwig to thieving competitions.

One of the contests’ goal is to steal Vetinari’s manuscript, The Servant. Fujiko wins. She wasn’t even in the race.

///

Fujiko quickly became friends with Adora-Belle Dearheart (Moist von Lipwig's rather explosive girlfriend), they get together every now and then to trash-talk their respective boyfriends.

///

For some reason everyone thinks Lupin is a werewolf. (it’s actually Jigen)

(maybe. I haven't yet decided whether or not he is. That would be a very good source of angst, considering what most werewolves are like, and also a very good source of domestic fluff if the whole gang has to adapt to the moon cycle and Jigen's transformations. Idk. Might be fun.)

///

Fujiko owns a horse golem (a gift from Adora-Belle or something she stole, we may never know). The Gang also owns a carriage, modified with a spell so it will drive faster, and they drive it completely carelessly. It has been destroyed and rebuilt countless times. (actually a bunch of spells, Lupin probably found a way to blackmail Ridcully so he could mod the shit out of his carriage. Or they rely on Jigen’s friendship with Ridcully)

///

Lupin uses swamp dragons as firearms (dialogue courtesy of @marquise-de-clarabas: Jigen: You stole a dragon??? Lupin: I didn’t steal him! He’s his own person and can make decisions himself! Dragon: I wanna steal). He has an alias and disguise entirely dedicated to visiting the Sunshine Sanctuary For Sick Dragons, and somehow became friends with Lady Sybil Ramkin-Vimes (Commander Vimes' wife, and the greatest expert on swamp dragons in the city, probably on the Disc). Vimes doesn't know about it, and Lupin finds the whole situation hilarious. He constantly makes jokes about how he’s playing with fire.

///

The Thieves’ Guild and the Watch are competing to catch the Gang, but secretly Vimes is rooting for the Gang (the Guild just hates them). That said, Vimes also hates Lupin (only slightly less than he dislikes the Guild), because he's always a little shit whenever he gets put in jail, and then he immediately breaks out.

///

Rincewind (famously bad wizard with a shit luck and a tendency to run from problems) once got arrested by Zenigata, because he got startled by him yelling LUPAAAAAAAAAN! and started running for the hills, making Zenigata believe he was Lupin in disguise. Rincewind is terrified of Zenigata.

///

Zenigata is actively trying to stop the Thieves' Guild from catching Lupin and Co, both because he wants to catch them himself, and because he knows what the Guild does to illegal thieves and he doesn’t want it to happen to Lupin.

///

Lupin stole Ridcully’s hat (custom wizard hat with a bunch of pockets, drawers, a crossbow, and a tiny flask of alcohol) as a gift for Jigen’s birthday. He also stole Lipwig’s hat (golden cap with dove wings), after which Adora claimed she didn’t recognize Moist (dialogue courtesy of @marquise-de-clarabas: Moist: C’mon babe, it’s me, your boyfriend! Adora, knowing full well who he is: I have never met this man in my entire life). He also raided the Assassins' Guild's armory/museum to get a birthday gift for Goemon.

///

About Jigen and the gonne (spoilers for Men at Arms) : basically, the gonne being such a dangerous and destructive weapon compared to crossbows, it has a nigh-magical attraction on people, and awakens and strengthens whatever lust for power, vengeance, blood etc they have. It basically controls its user and feeds on their convictions, addictions, wants, etc. The only person known to have resisted it is Vimes (because he's a stubborn mofo with a sense of morals you could bend iron on), and even he came damn near to losing his mind. (And Carrot, because... he's Carrot.)

Assuming the gonne didn't get destroyed in this AU: after they steal it, Lupin tries to use it, gets completely possessed/cursed (again) and accidentally tries to murder his friends (again), prompting Jigen to take it from him. Jigen then gets possessed as well, and they start fighting for the gonne, until Goemon just walks in, takes it out of their hands and takes it away. Goemon's completely unaffected by the gonne because 1) of his ascetic training and 2) "it is a filthy morporkian artifact and cannot compare to the noble art of the sword."

///

Zenigata often teams up with Angua (resident werewolf of the Watch), they get along very well. The Gang is very easy to track, they smell like a tobacco factory that has caught on fire.

///

Yata and Drumknott (Patrician's head secretary, and confidante, sort of) get together after office hours, and argue about whose boss is the best (because as we all know they both have a crush on respective bosses). One day Drumknott accidentally calls Vetinari “Sempai” after he heard Yata call Zenigata that all the time.

///

Lupin follows Lipwig’s example and steals all of Yata’s pencils every time he visits the Pseudopolis Yard (the Watch's HQ). Drumknott is fuming when Yata tells him about it.

///

Leonardo Da Quirm is butt-naked, because Part 4.

///

Something with vampires, probably.

///

tagging @carriagelamp and @mad-whoman-with-a-book00 because I know you may be potentially interested in this AU ^^

#lupin iii #lupin the third #discworld #ankh-morpork #terry pratchett #lupin iii discworld au #already making a tag in case i make more posts; you never know #the hobbit's headcanons

[battlinghurricanes]

DEIPHOBUS TIME!

I'm honestly not entirely sure how I got such a deeply involved concept for his character and motivations, but I definitely did. I just feel like he fits into an especially interesting place in everything and that there's a lot of great potential with him.

Shout out to @petalveinedwarrior for enabling me and also I'm very sorry for being incredibly long winded. My bad.

Also DISCLAIMER! I am NOT an expert on the Trojan War and all its surrounding mythology lol. This is just for fun, based on my own fairly limited knowledge of the myths (though I think I pretty much cover everything that’s relevant to this). These are just my headcanons woven with some details from various myths. Sorry if anything’s missing or inaccurate!

SO!

-

First and foremost, I headcanon Deiphobus as the oldest of Priam and Hecuba’s children after Hektor.

Hektor calls Deiphobus the dearest of his brothers, and to me, this is why. They are the closest in age and they were the closest growing up, best friends when they were young. They also get the closest to being on equal footing which means a lot to Hektor, who often feels distance between him and his other siblings because of being heir to Troy.

Despite the relatively equal ground and Deiphobus treating Hektor with a very casual familiarity, deep down, he idolizes him. Deiphobus adores and admires Hektor, ever a younger brother in how he looks up to his strength and intelligence and reliability but close enough in age to not feel the same envy as so many of their younger siblings.

Deiphobus is aware that he is next in line to inherit the throne of Troy after Hektor, and the possibility of that is more real to him than to the rest. He doesn’t envy or want the responsibilities Hektor has to bear being the first son and admires him for it rather than resenting him. He never wants the weight of Troy on his shoulders.

Additionally, as close as they are, Hektor confides more openly in Deiphobus than the rest of their siblings. Consequently, he has a more realistic idea of both the burden he bears and also the ways he struggles to manage it like any human would.

Deiphobus holds Hektor in the highest regard- he means the world to him. It is a strange and unique combination of relating to and understanding Hektor exactly as he is and then loving him so dearly for how remarkably he seems to do in all of it, all that Deiphobus adores and strives to be like.

Hektor calls Deiphobus the dearest of his brothers, but Deiphobus would never need to say the same of Hektor, that much has always been obvious.

Deiphobus himself is ferociously loyal, boastful and fiery proud, wild and energetic, and always quick to smile and laugh with a sharp sense of humor. He’ll defend his own with tooth and nail, Hektor first and foremost, and they make a well balanced pair. Hektor’s level headed sense of responsibility softens many of Deiphobus’s rough edges, and Deiphobus’s enthusiasm breaks through many of Hektor’s more anxiously formed reservations.

Deiphobus would do near anything for Hektor, to a concerning degree in the eyes of some, but Hektor, by his nature, isn't overly controlling. He doesn't want Deiphobus to change how he is. Mostly, the only place Hektor truly pushes him is on moral grounds, for better rather than for worse.

Deiphobus hates to spend time overthinking anything, which benefits him in some ways, but also frequently has him following the example of those around him without considering what might lean towards cruelty. Hektor never tolerates hurtful and needless rudeness or otherwise, and their friendship doesn’t spare Deiphobus his reprimands.

Hektor's needling, though, has him step back and reexamine his actions and the second look is generally what he needs to correct his missteps. Admittedly, he’ll sometimes act better in some way solely to please Hektor, but far more often than not, he’ll come to recognize why it’s best with time and continue that way from his own compulsion.

(He grows and his conscience sounds irritatingly like Hektor.)

Deiphobus is actually one of the best of his siblings at not holding a grudge. He might for drama or humor’s sake, but once a squabble is past, he’ll easily set it aside in favor of having fun with whoever he fought with.

Regardless of his flaws, Deiphobus is amiable and of the opinion that it’s never worth passing up a good time over some pettiness. He’s never one to ignore the value of little joys, no matter how fleeting they are.

Before the war, when he is still younger, there is Antheus. He’s the pretty son of Antenor, and both Deiphobus and Paris are quite taken with him. Paris’s involvement rubs him the wrong way, but he elects to ignore it as best he can. It doesn’t sit right to consider policing Antheus’s actions. He can hardly demand he stop seeing Paris while still insisting on his company, after all.

Besides, he can’t really complain. Antheus favors him with his presence often, laughing at his jokes, stealing off his plate when they share meals, tumbling with him when they wrestle. And when Antheus lifts his hand to idly toy with his lower lip as he smiles slyly at him, Paris is the last thing on Deiphobus’s mind.

Hektor teases him sometimes when he turns up ruffled from some exchange turned overzealous, but his flustered frustration pales in comparison to his excitement, so Hektor gets away with it. Oh, he loves Antheus and the feeling is so heady, better than the most potent wine.

Then it all shatters when some men rush into the palace with Antheus’s limp body carried between them. He was in the gymnasium with Paris, they learn. One throw from Paris with a warped discus and Antheus was gone. Deiphobus stares at the blood soaked in his lovely hair.

Deiphobus is ready to rip Paris apart, but when his brother is guided in after, there’s just no room for it. He’s in complete hysterics, shaking all over as he hyperventilates, and screaming would have gotten through to him no more than their family’s vain attempts to calm him down.

Paris is inconsolable afterwards. He retreats in on himself, though without any attempt to defend himself, first to give himself the blame. He makes for a pitiful sight, and at first, Deiphobus can’t stand being in his presence at all, to take his anger and grief out on him or otherwise.

It doesn’t take that long for Deiphobus’s anger to grow more painful than cathartic anyway and, well, it is hard to lash out at someone acting exactly how he feels. He feels the same heartbreak and pain he sees in Paris and he can’t find it in himself to rage against him when he’d rather just sit and cry himself.

Paris does take it upon himself to face Deiphobus after a time and claim responsibility for what happened that day. Deiphobus doesn’t forgive him, doing that feels... off, but he manages to convey that he won’t turn on him for the accident with Antheus. He thinks that might make Paris feel better but he can’t truly tell.

It all still hurts then, even as they try to get things to settle. Nothing but more time can do anything more to heal those wounds.

And time passes and then Paris returns from Sparta with Helen, and, well.

The brewing war doesn’t drive a rift between Deiphobus and Hektor, but it does force a new distance between them. The pressure on Hektor spikes and never eases, and the time he has to spare becomes exceedingly rare.

Much of the time the two would have spent for themselves together now shifts to working together to manage the complications that come with this new conflict; Deiphobus has new responsibilities to shoulder himself. More work, less play, but the mutual affection and respect between them remains just as strong as before.

Deiphobus can’t help but feel a certain bitterness over having the casual companionship of his brother taken away from him, but he does all he can to set it aside. He refuses to let it be another source of stress for Hektor, so often too caring for his own good, and he doesn’t hold it against him anyway.

As always, Deiphobus remains aware that these tasks could easily have been his and, privately, he feels woefully inadequate in the face of that possibility. And truly, it just serves to make Hektor even greater in his eyes, handling it all with grace he can’t imagine. He knows he’s not perfect, yet still, it’s hard to imagine that anything could ever truly bring Hektor down.

And so, Deiphobus helps his brother in the ways he can and loves him as ever, always ready and eager to fight at his side.

Deiphobus leads a contingent himself, and does it well. It comes easier to him to manage a smaller group like that. He does as directed and guides his men through the fighting. One can say what they will about his ability to lead, but his capability as a warrior is undeniable.

Things shift between Deiphobus and Paris as well. Much of Troy turns on Paris, some faster than others. Deiphobus ignores the greater dramatics which, in his opinion, help nothing. Still, it is often tempting to berate him for his flippant disregard of the battles so he does, which is, admittedly, not entirely unwarranted.

However, Deiphobus and Paris share a mutual, unspoken understanding that they simply cannot focus on the war at all times. Sometimes it must be set aside. This is more often true to Paris than to Deiphobus, but that invites Deiphobus to keep Paris’s company when he can no longer bear all the stress.

In turn, when Deiphobus approaches him like that, Paris can trust not to be reprimanded as he so often is, as that gets ignored along with the rest of it. So there are times during the war where the two can be found together affably, chatting about nothing important. Their personalities can still mesh in such moments.

And, well, it’s shocking how steady things can stay over nine years of war, but they do. Death and loss become far too familiar companions, but they can do nothing but keep fighting through that, and things proceed much as they have been.

Until, of course, Achilles.

With all the cruelty of fate, it of course follows after they get the closest to driving away the Achaeans as they ever have. Such a brief, amazing hope. In his unmatched fury, Achilles slaughters their soldiers, butchers many of his brothers, escapes Scamander’s rage through the grace of the gods, and drives the army behind Troy’s wall with his advance, except for-

Then-

Hektor is dead.

Deiphobus tastes blood in his throat screaming at the sight behind the chariot.

In a way, it’s a blessing that it takes twelve days to get Hektor’s body and another twelve to bury it. With his death, command of Troy and her allies has passed to Deiphobus, and he could barely lead his own horse after losing Hektor, much less an army.

Deiphobus falls to pieces. He can barely process it, losing the one he held in the highest regard, held every confidence in, believed in to his core. Hektor was the best of all of them and now he’s dead, leaving him shattered. Deiphobus is hysterical, wildly heartbroken.

In this time is when Priam first turns on his remaining sons. He lashes out at them as he prepares to ransom Hektor’s corpse, degrading them as the most worthless of his sons. Still half blind with tears of grief he can’t hold back, he thinks that it’s true in the same moment he thinks of how he will now have to take Hektor’s place, worthless ruin though he is.

Most often, Priam refrains from speaking of his remaining sons after that, and in rare, fleeting heartbeats he almost seems contrite over cursing them. Neither is enough though to keep him from savagely reproaching them in unpredictable instances as Troy continues to spiral towards its doom. Deiphobus shakily chokes down his father’s abuse without a word.

Of course, he returns to the battlefield once Hektor is buried, coming to truly learn the crushing weight of his new role. How did his brother bear this? Every day feels like one failure after another; he’s not strong enough, not smart enough to do this. He tries anyway, each day more taxing than the last.

Deiphobus can hardly bear Paris after Hektor’s death. A large part of him hates him for it, desperate to pin the blame on someone despite knowing deep down that he’s not responsible. Though, even then, part of him is drawn to Paris, broken same as him, shaped by a sort of desperation to grieve for their brother with him. Misery loves company.

His anger burns hotter, but now he can’t bring himself to berate him even in the way he did sometimes before all this. He never confronts him with his hatred, such that it is. He simply avoids Paris entirely, knowing that if he indulges in the impulse to curse him for what happened to Hektor, he would fall apart at the seams.

Even now he can’t face the truth of what happened and keep going. It is all he can do to try never to think about it.

And then, with the aid of Lord Apollo, Paris kills Achilles.

The undecided limbo of Deiphobus’s feelings towards Paris topples into something like affection the moment he hears of it, connecting them once more. Paris has destroyed Hektor’s murderer, avenging him, and that matters to Deiphobus more than anything else.

That night, the two of them drink together until it half kills them, close enough to keep knocking shoulders as they revile Achilles with the worst profanities they know. It’s the only celebration they can muster after everything, but they’re both laughing for the first time since they lost him.

(When the night grows damnably late, Deiphobus’s attempt to laugh turns into retching and Paris collapses to the ground when he tries to get up to help. They suffer the agonizing morning together.)

They make a strange pair from then on. Friendship would be a generous word given the still unavoidable tension between them, but they somehow manage to maneuver around that and share a certain closeness. They maintain it despite differences that grind against each other. Sad as it is, it’s one of the only things either of them have left.

Paris and Deiphobus also weather Priam’s spontaneous tirades together. Usually wordlessly, but there is something to be said for the company of someone enduring the same pain you are. It is a quiet solidarity, but a significant one.

They talk of the war far more often now. Every day it devours more and more of their lives, always harder and harder to ignore or set aside. On rare occasions, they do still manage it. Those conversations make for a breath of fresh air, though that does little to stave off the feeling of drowning.

And then Paris takes a poisoned arrow and dies.

Deiphobus doesn’t wail and sob in the same way he did for Hektor. He’s too numb for it now. It hurts in an unnatural, distant sort of way. All he can muster is a ugly, stilted feeling of shame for letting himself come to care for him in the first place. Of course he would die like the rest, he should know this by now. He crumbles further.

After Paris’s loss, there's only two reasonable options for what to do with Helen. Either they need to return her to Menelaus or arrange a new marriage and keep her in Troy.

Helen pleads to be returned to her first husband but Deiphobus competes with Helenus to be the one who weds her. Troy does not stop them. There is a quiet but tangible tension to the city and he doesn’t think their people would tolerate Helen departing. He competes with everything he has left and he wins. And they marry.

That first night, Helen stares at his back while sitting in her new place on his bed. She expected to be treated like a piece of meat, a feeling she's grown well used to through living her life under the eyes of men, but he's barely even looking at her. He fought for her hand with an undeniable, feral sort of desperation. What was it for if he doesn't even want her?

"Why?" she asks him. "Why bother going through every effort to marry me only to be so cold now? What do you want?" Her voice would cut razor sharp if only she wasn't so tired.

He turns to face her with bloodshot eyes narrowed in a glare, riddled with barely restrained anger and grief. "I'm not letting you leave," he forces out and Helen pushes down the urge to scoff because that much is obvious.

"It has to be worth something," he continues. "There has to be something we fought for. If we just let you go back, then it won't have been worth jack shit." He paces, not looking at her again. "I won't allow that. Don't think you can avoid all this so easily now that Paris is gone. There has to be a point. My brother is dead because of this shit! If you're gone, then what would be the fucking point?!"

His brother. He means Hektor. He means Paris. He means every last one of them, so many dead. He means Hektor.

Helen doesn't reply. There is nothing she can say to that. For all that it doesn't make a difference, what he's laid before her is something she knows well. She's spent so long now berating herself and blaming herself for all that's come to pass and she understands. She hates this, all she wants is to go home, but she understands him.

She knows that they both hate each other and themselves all in equal measure. What a wretched pair they make, Helen thinks.

Not that they make much of a pair at all. They're rarely ever together. Deiphobus camps outside whenever he can, and when he can’t, he goes out of his way to avoid her. Helen accepts it as the best she can expect from the truly miserable situation this has become. The war drags on, but the truth hangs in the air that Troy is losing.

Then the horse.

The people, starving so desperately for peace, bring it inside the walls. Deiphobus tries to be cautious. He tries to think of what Hektor would have done. He commands Helen to walk around the horse, calling out in the voices of the Achaeans' wives. If there's some wretched spy or invader, let them show themselves. He'll kill them.

No one answers. Deep down just as desperate for peace as them all, he breathes a sigh of relief and leaves the damn horse.

He hopes the Achaeans filled their mouths with blood, biting their tongues as hard as they must have.

Troy is burning. The Achaeans fill the streets with slaughter; they are everywhere. Reunited with her husband after so, so long, Helen tells Menelaus where Deiphobus is. And so, Deiphobus dies alongside Troy.

(Deiphobus and Hektor meet again in the Underworld and Deiphobus tries to apologize for his failure to keep Troy safe. Hektor will hear none of it, refusing any of the anger he has every right to put on him. Still, a long time passes where Deiphobus silently and anxiously wonders if that was a lie, if Hektor truly does hate him for what happened.

Hektor keeps throwing him tense, unsettled glances sometimes when he thinks he’s not looking, even though he never says a thing. Each one worms further and further underneath his skin and he starts to squirm under the conviction that he’s done something wrong. Something Hektor holds against him.

When it finally grows so unbearable that Deiphobus confronts him about it at last, Hektor flinches and doesn’t disguise his fear and upset. Deiphobus braces himself. But then, mangled in with confusing, ashamed apologies, Hektor recounts for the first time how he died.

Athena luring him to his death in Deiphobus’s shape, speaking in his voice. How he turned to face Achilles believing he had support. When he called for a spear from his brother, he was alone.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I think of it at all, I’m so sorry I let you believe I was angry with you because of it. I’m not, it had nothing to do with you, you shouldn’t have to know of it at all. I just- remember it sometimes. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Deiphobus feels nauseous. Hektor looks even more so.

“If I had actually been there-”

“No! Don’t do this. Achilles would have just killed you too.”

“We wouldn’t have died alone, then.”

They clutch at each other, these battered remnants of their souls, carrying with them the wounds of their lives.)

#the iliad #deiphobus #hektor #hector of troy #paris of troy #and misc others i wont tag lol #trojan war #greek mythology #my writing #goal: make everyone else have thoughts and feelings about deiphobus too #hes my randomly selected emotional support child of priam #and hes perfect for my favorite thing #weird little character studies #hopefully this was at least somewhat interesting to read #its been a long time since ive done a post like this #an unsurprisingly it is way too long lol #sometimes it really is just all or nothing with my headcanons #i also think about the version where achilles is going to marry polyxena and deiphobus grabs him while paris stabs him in the back #inchresting

[kannra21]

Sniperhaul fanfic

ˡᵐᵃᵒ ᶦ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉˡᶦᵉᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶦ'ᵐ ᵈᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᶦˢ

Overhoe finally broke out of Tartarus after a very long time. However, he couldn't have done it without the help of a certain villain mistress. 😏 Who's she and why did she choose to help this terrible (x2) man? Find out bellow.

characters: overhaul (chisaki kai) x sniper lady

word count: 3k

warnings: angst, past memories, handless overhaul, hurt, comfort, gangs, yakuza, just girl taking care of her mans

notes: I'd like to thank the person responsible for proofreading this work bc I'm supposed to keep their identity a secret. 😎 Thank you once again! And of course, the manga and characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi. @meefal you were excited to see the final product so here you go, hope you like it. 🖤

✂-------------------------------------------------------

Overhaul couldn't remember how long he'd been there, he'd lost count weeks ago. The only thing he knew was that he was in "Tartarus", a prison located 5km off the coast of the Mainland. It may function like a conventional prison, but in reality, those who're deemed a severe threat toward the safety of the nation were locked up and monitored closely, regardless of whether their sentence has been decided on yet. The facility was divided into 6 levels, where the potential threat level of criminals was deemed "higher" the further underground you go. It's a prison where, once you enter, there's no chance of leaving.

He sat there in his cell, B10 being the lowest level in solitary confinement. It was too cold for his head to function and too dark for his eyes to see, with the small window above the prison doors being his only source of light. There was also an opening where prisoners received their meals, but considering that he lost his hands, the guards could easily enter without worrying too much for their well-being. They'd leave whatever they offered that day and give him a disgusted look before locking the doors after themselves. He couldn't see his reflection nor touch his face, he probably looked like crap by now. His skin was itching and he felt disoriented from all the germs occupying this space, it's been a while since he's gone out for some fresh air. 

He was practically Quirkless and yet they locked him out in the worst, most dreadful place the isolation block had to offer. He couldn't even feed himself properly, he couldn't do anything by himself whatsoever. But there was only one thing left to him; he spent days and days thinking about pops, Chrono, yakuza and everything he could have if it weren't for those stupid heroes-- no, if it weren't for his plan that so grandiosely failed. It made him feel miserable, desperate even, and with grief soon followed acceptance. It was all his fault, and he needed to live with this burden for the rest of his life. Because of him, pops is still handicapped to the bed somewhere, wherever the heroes might have taken him. 

He stood up and started beating the cell with his leg, curing his frustrations. He didn't know why he was doing it, it was irrational and he's hurting himself unnecessarily, but for some reason it made him feel lighter. At least he could transfer some of his inner pain to the outside world. Other criminals laughed at his patheticness, especially since they knew why the guards were allowed to enter his cell. They shouted that it was impossible to escape, but he wasn't trying to. He knew that it was useless a long time ago. 

Midnight came and all the prisoners mostly fell asleep. Overhaul, however, couldn't sleep a wink. Because of the dark room he spent most of his days in, he lost his sense of time so he was pacing around, deep in thought. He couldn't dream of anything nice anyways. 

"Can't fall asleep either?" a feminine voice could be heard from the other side. Wait. They allowed women here? What could she have possibly done to deserve such punishment? 

He leaned his back on the doors and slid down to the floor, trying to find the right words.

"Yes." he sighed, enthusiasm lacking in his voice "But it's not like I need you to talk about my problems." 

"Hm, whatever. Go beat your head against the bars. Fall unconscious, loser."

The man snorted, which might as well be his first time he ever did that. 

"Well, this certainly sounds effective. It's not like I have anything to lose anyways." 

"Hey." the tone of her voice was earnest, and it aroused further questions in his jumbled up head. 

"What?"

"We're going to get out of here." 

Is she being serious now? "Really? Because as far as I know, we're locked out here for good. We don't even know the severity of our sentences. They can do whatever they want with us."

"Not quite. You know that they're being supervised by 'The Hearts and Mind' party offshoots. They can’t do a thing to us as long as they have their heads to the pikes." 

This might be true, but he didn't believe in anything the government's been telling them lately. It's only a matter of time before they switch their plans and play by their own rules, because stabbing people in the back was the only thing they've ever been good at. 

"How did you end up here?" 

Oh the long-awaited question. She wondered when he'd ask. 

"It's not like I need you to talk about my problems."

He smiled, he liked this vicious side of hers. But he also realized that she could be nice as well because if that wasn't the case, she wouldn't spread promises of the escape. At least that's what he thought. 

"Sorry about that." 

"It's okay. We've all been here for a very long time, now weren't we? We lose our cool and act like total assholes."

"Direct and straight to the point I see." his deadpan voice could be heard from the other side of the bars. 

"'Been raised this way, for the better or worse." it didn't sound like she was bragging, yet it felt like she was just talking about herself, honest and confident, to cover up what she felt was wrong. The incoming topic which she'd rather avoid. 

The villainess didn't want to open up about her past, so she just answered his question. 

"I killed people beyond counting, following AFO's orders. He always wished to become the world's greatest demon lord and thus promised us enormous change in the hero society. So in order to achieve that, he needed his underlings. And that's how I ended up here."

"You were loyal till the end."

"You know what they say; there can be no progress nor achievement without certain sacrifice."

Wise beyond her years and just as sad. He wondered how her face looked like, how the world's been treating her. 

"I had my own sacrifices as well."

"Do you regret them?"

...

"I do." 

Now it was her turn to snort "Really? And I thought that people situated this low couldn't have regrets. You remember what they said about us. 'Beasts in human clothing', 'Simply dreadful beings'." 

He felt insulted, maybe the things she said were true but it's not like he was anything similar to these pigs he shared the same air with, unfortunately.

"I regret hurting the person important to me. The old man who once took me in when I was very young. He was the infamous boss of Shie Hassaikai." 

Something clicked in her, it's such a small world they're living in, "Yakuza? I know you guys. We used to trade with you back in the days."

"Todou Gang?" 

"You said it."

"But... you were a force to be reckoned with. One day you just collapsed and not a single trace could be found. According to certain sources, there was no way anyone could determine the exact cause of your downfall. So what happened?" 

"I killed them all." 

... 

"AFO told me to kill them to prove my loyalty to him and, of course, to make sure that there was no one I could turn to other than himself." 

For some questionable reasons, and he didn't dare to admit that it was empathy he felt towards a random stranger and a former gang member he shared some history with, Overhaul wanted to fill the silence that lingered between them. Perhaps, because he felt guilty for making her reveal more than what she initially intended. 

"I used pops' niece, a 6-year-old girl who had an extraordinary Quirk; it allowed her to rewind a person's body back to a certain state. That means she could put a body back to before it was injured or before the person even developed a Quirk. With that, I wanted to create a Quirk-erasing drug to get rid of the Quirk society altogether and to make sure that yakuza could rise once again. I cut her skin every day to take blood samples and to test her regenerative abilities. However, pops didn't approve of it, so I handicapped him to the bed and planned on waking him up the moment I realized my plan, to make him proud of the achievement. Unfortunately, it didn't play out as I wanted and I never reached him."

The silence followed and the woman wore a disheartening smile on her face. It's not the answer she expected, she didn't ask for another sad story from another messed up person she's met in her life. But the intentions were pure and for her, it was good enough. 

"We both fought for something only to lose it all, huh?" she laughed, but it was prominent in her tone that it was bittersweet. 

"At least you're brought here in one piece." 

"At least you can still revive your parent."

Were they comforting each other? Were they jealous of each other? Were they wallowing in self-pity? They couldn't tell. The only thing they certainly could was the embarrassment they felt from the moment they realized that some of the prisoners were eavesdropping and making fun of their vulnerabilities. See? That's what they hated the most about opening up about themselves; they were worried about their feelings being perceived as a joke. The only way to protect themselves was to rise up the walls and never let anyone get closer, except they didn't regret exchanging a word or two, as long as it was the two of them. 

The next day, 8:34PM Mainland-side entrance, the guardians of 'The Bronze Gate' announced a code red security lockdown. Panic and shouting could be heard from across the hall and the security alarm announced the potential danger. 

"Close any and all passageways on each floor. All workers are to enforce strict measures to maintain order."

"The surveillance system is down! It seems like we've been hit by some sort of EMP attack!"

Static waves were spreading around the metal frames and the prison doors of the isolation block unlocked. Overhaul could hear the commotion outside and the villains leaving their cells in a hurry, but as much as he tried, he couldn't push the heavy doors open.

"3 seconds until we're back online- wait... What the... With the system down we can't monitor the inside!"

"Nice, 3 seconds be damned." he beat the door with his legs, pushed the surface with his shoulders, leaned all of his weight on the godforsaken thing just so it could finally open. Nothing. It seems like he lost a couple of pounds during his stay here. He couldn't believe his eyes, this couldn't be happening to him. After all this time of patient waiting and hoping to meet pops once again, it turns out he'd be the only one still trapped and all because he didn't have any hands. He panicked, he really couldn't decide on what to do next. But then he remembered-

"Go beat your head against the bars, loser."

That's it! This might be his only chance to escape! He didn't have much time left though, he could hear the shooting nearby so he definitely needed to hurry.

"The system won't come back on!! The ones in solitary confinement are breaking out!! Inside!"

"Control unit's on site!! Execute lockdown in the isolation block!"

"Follow procedure! If even one of them steps a foot outside their cell-"

"Fire!! Open fire!!"

Muscular threw whatever he could find in this messed up place back at them, excitement prominent in his big smile "You ain't gonna kill me with those puny toys! So how about you show me the exit already?!" 

Other villains were joining him, still overwhelmed by the sudden freedom they've been given "Dammit... After all that time..."

"Meat..." Moonfish mumbled as he cut his opponents with his blade-like teeth. 

The villain lady joined them in the run, still carefully examining her surroundings in case they were tricked into something, "The system isn't responding to my Quirk. 'Guess Tartarus really is falling." 

As she was running down the corridor, she could hear beating noises coming from one of the doors. It sounded dull so the person must have been using their head. 

"Eh, don't tell me the idiot actually listened to my advice. He must be desperate." 

She came to the doors and turned the circular lock in a hurry. She really didn't want to stay in this place any longer, but she couldn't leave him behind either. It's not like she could use him for anything since he was basically handless and Quirkless so why was she doing it? She didn't have an answer. Maybe it was their talk from the other day, maybe because they were both gang members with a history, maybe because of her regrets and her wish to do something right for once. Or maybe because she was just this kind. Nah, this couldn't be it, she never did anything in her life that didn't require a certain purpose. She cast her heart aside a long time ago and did what was necessary for the accomplishment of the mission. It would be weird if she suddenly started using her heart again, now wouldn't it? She was AFO's personal assassin, there was simply no way. 

He came out of the room with eyes wide in puzzlement. He was finally free and ready to find pops so he could possibly revive him and try to fix things as much as he could.

They looked at each other for the first time. They never said it aloud, godforbid, but they liked the other's eyes. And perhaps the eyes were a window to a person's soul, their broken souls, tormented by the life's temptations. They were still so young, probably in their twenties, and yet they looked older at the same time. Maybe because of the seriousness in their faces, their stronger stance, the way they defied their fate. They were destined to fall apart, no one would argue with it, but circumstances drove them to take action and rise from the bottomless chasm. And now they had each other. 

"We need to get out of here," she stated and pulled him by the sleeve that hung loosely from his shoulder. They escaped Tartarus and raided a small shop near the coast to change clothes and to mingle into the public unnoticed. She quickly picked out a dress and threw herself at work while Overhaul was still standing by the shop display, looking out for the potential intruders.

He couldn't erase the thought of this being some sort of a really weird first date; the girl coming out of the stall and the guy examining her looks. He shook his head, he never had this kind of thoughts in his entire life. He needed to pull himself together. 

The bob-hair came out and adjusted the ammo on her utility belt. He looked at her from the corner and she was stunning; intimidating with a tad bit of femininity in design. He stood there and watched how good it fit her curvy form. The thoughts wandering in his head sounded so wrong, terribly wrong. He needed to bring himself to stop. 

"Oh right, I almost forgot." she took a shirt off the shelf and came to him, showing him the garment in her hands "You need a little help, right?" 

"Sure.'' his voice was small and he stood still while she undid his buttons. Maybe from the outside he looked completely calm, but from the inside he was a complete mess. He looked at her face and wondered if she knew, the kind of effect she's having on him. She raised her head and he looked to the side, there's no way he could look her in the eyes at this point. He hoped she didn't notice. 

"You like this one, don't you?" she asked, filling the awkward silence. 

"Looks don't matter, the most important thing is to change and avoid getting caught." She looked annoyed. Great. He wanted to shove his head though the wall. Wait… Why was he thinking that? 

"I choose the clothes I like. It makes me feel better in my skin."

"You look good in it."

She looked at him surprised and he quickly corrected himself "the dress looks good."

"Sure." she trailed off and put the new shirt over his shoulders. She could feel his muscles tensing. This was probably because of the cool air, she assured herself. 

"Why did you break me out of Tartarus? It's not like I could be of any use to you." 

She buttoned up his shirt and fixed the wrinkled parts on the garment, hand accidentally brushing over the left side of his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

Well... that was a surprise.

"I thought that maybe you could be of some use to the demon lord. Not Quirk-wise, but you may offer a valuable set of information. Something that the demon lord would appreciate greatly." she could feel it slowing down and her heart dropped just as much.

"But also because I... liked you."

He looked at her incredulously and she smiled. She pinched him to bring him out of the trance and he complained. "Don't be awkward, say something."

"I like you too... I, this is my first time I ever said this to anyone. It's weird."

She slapped him gently on the shoulder and he reached to take it but, yea, no hands.

"What the hell?"

"You're the one who's weird. But I guess that I like you this way." she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek "Ew, you should definitely shave though. No doubt about it."

The former yakuza boss swore; he'll never understand women. But for some reason he couldn't deny that he was particularly drawn to this one. He wondered if pops would approve of her.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #overhaul #chisaki kai #sniperhaul #shie hassaikai #ch 311 #bnha spoilers #bnha fic #crack ship #parody

[khaireis]

so i’ve been doing research on the word hubris lately because ancient greek philology and translation is a special interest of mine, and i’m posting the results under a cut here because it’s a little long, but the tl;dr of it is that hubris is no more of a religious term than theft or assault is, and it would be better to just say impiety if you mean impiety (or asebeia if you want a greek word)

tw in here because i do mention violence, sexual assault, and one instance of suicide in a tragic play

(prefacing this with sorry if i keep switching between hubris and hybris, they’re both two ways to transliterate ὕβρις, they mean the same thing)

I’ll start with the Liddell-Scott ancient-greek-to-english dictionary definition, which translates hubris as “wanton violence, arising from the pride of strength or from passion, insolence, freq. in Od., mostly of the suitors.” Hubrisma is an outrage, hubristes is a violent, overbearing man. There is also a verb form, hubrizō, to do hubris. I very intentionally say to *do* hubris, rather than to *be* hubristic, because while hubris was associated with a certain attitude, in practice the word indicated one’s resulting actions. Demosthenes uses forms of hybrizō in his speech “Against Midias”, to describe the man punching him in the head during a festival. Nowhere in this is mention of piety, because the opposite of hubris is sophrosyne (sound-mindedness, self-restraint). The opposite of eusebeia is asebeia, an absence of piety.

Next I’m mostly going to summarize an article called “'Hybris' in Athens.” by Douglas MacDowell, because it’s quite a nice exploration of how hubris is used in both literary and legal contexts. He actually argues that there’s no evidence or reason to believe definitions change between either setting.

He begins with a discussion of all the ways hybris can be used in texts, including its use describing rowdy and loud animals. Sound seems to be an important factor, because he also cites a legal document where hubris could have been charged against the defendant (rather than just assault) for jeering and clucking at the man he struck. The myth of the Lapiths and the Centaurs is a fitting example of a hubristic dinner party, considering uses of hubris to compare people to horses (an especially hubristic animal). Hubris for men involves eating and drinking too much, being loud and making rude jokes, being sexually inappropriate, engaging in useless pursuits, doing violence and murder, and being disobedient to name just a few acts.

This disobedience is where one might get accused for hubris toward the gods, but in this sense it would be the same severity of crime as disobeying a king or stealing from a temple, because as MacDowell states, “...hybris is not, as a rule, a religious matter” (22) and also that “there is nothing to show that the Athenians generally thought that hybris had any more to do with the gods than any other kind of misconduct.” (22-23) Denying the existence of gods might be another example of religious hybris, at a time when atheism and antitheism were not separable, but this was also during a time when impiety was punishable by death, so take that as you will.

The definition of hubris that MacDowell comes to is self-indulgent misuse of energy or power. The exact reasons for hubristic actions are unclear, whether it arises from the arrogance of tyranny, or having enough wealth to be disruptive in public, or simply the energy of youth. Kambyses does hubris to his subjects by killing them without trial. Aeschylus in “Suppliants” uses hubris to mean lust and entitlement of men toward women’s bodies. Plato says a child is the most hubristic of animals, and hubris is definitely associated with teenagers and rich people, but not exclusive to them. A case appears in Athenian law where a father had to defend his son from accusations of hubris for killing another student with a javelin while messing around and not taking training seriously, and the defense was that the act was unintentional. Hubris is something done knowingly, without care for whom it may harm.

On that note, hubris very often has an identifiable victim. Victimless hubris does show up in texts, such as a story of a party of rowdy young men traipsing into the desert simply to explore, but is less common as what most texts are concerned with is the *crime* of hubris. Aristotle differentiates the crime from simple assault by saying hubris is doing harm for the pleasure of feeling superior. Other scholars have defined hubris as treating another as one would an enslaved person, but it’s interesting to note that Athens specifically had a law protecting enslaved people from hybris.

In literature, the term is sometimes used meaning “depriving someone of a prize or privilege which he has earned” (MacDowell 19), such as Agamemnon’s seizure of Briseis, or Menelaos’ refusal to bury Aias. Yet, hubris can also be done to oneself against other’s wishes, as with the case of Deianeira killing herself with a sword. “If committing suicide in sorrow, shame, and despair can be called hybris, that shows that hybris does not necessarily involve pride or arrogance, or setting oneself above the gods, or a desire to disgrace another person” (MacDowell 19).

So, to summarize, hubris in ancient Greek is not the same as hubris as it’s used in English, and it does not carry religious connotations. Hubris in ancient Greek referred to unruly behaviour without care for authority or those around you that could get hurt. Hubris can be attempting to control or disobey the gods, but thinking yourself on the same level as the gods is more accurately described as impiety or asebeia, a separate crime that could be of similar severity.

Sources:

LSJ definition: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=u(/bris1

MacDowell, Douglas M. “'Hybris' in Athens.” Greece & Rome, vol. 23, no. 1, 1976, pp. 14–31.

Further Reading:

Cohen, David. “Sexuality, Violence, and the Athenian Law of 'Hubris'.” Greece & Rome, vol. 38, no. 2, 1991, pp. 171–188.

Filonik, Jakub. “Athenian Impiety Trials: A Reappraisal” https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/Dike/article/view/4290

#hellenic polytheism #no proof readers we post like dyslexics