#Do the children still associate that song with House?? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cleolinda · 10 months

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(For our purposes, listen to it without the visuals first.)

I wasn't going to keep posting about Unreal Unearth, but something happened yesterday.

It's been five months since I first heard this song, and I'm still astonished by it. You know the tiktok skit about the Star Wars wedding music, and the guy is grooving along until the Imperial Death March filters in, and then he's kind of alarmed, like, wha—? And then he realizes it slaps anyway and he keeps dancing? That is "Eat Your Young."

It's the morning of March 17th. The EP with the first three singles from the new album has dropped. I've got my phone blasting the song on the bathroom counter, I don't understand half what the man is saying nor did I expect to, I'm cheerfully mumbling along in the shower, grooving along,

wait they did what for a war drum

Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young

What the fuck, this song goes so hard. That's the chorus. The conceit of the whole album is that it loosely follows Dante's Inferno, so this is the third circle of hell, gluttony. Hozier himself says that he wasn't specifically thinking of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal—

“I don’t know how intentional the reference to Jonathan Swift was in this. That essay [Swift’s 1729 satirical essay A Modest Proposal in which he suggests the Irish poor sell their children as food] is such a cultural landmark that it’s just hanging in the air. I was more reflecting on what I felt now in this spirit of the times of perpetual short-term gain and a long-term blindness. The increasing levels of precarious living, poverty, job insecurity, rental crisis, property crisis, climate crisis, and a generation that’s inheriting all of that and one generation that’s enjoyed the spoils of it. The lyrics are direct, but the voice is playful. There’s this unreliable narrator who relishes in this thing which was fun to write.” [Apple Music album notes]

—and I believe him. The song's not a suggestion, a proposal; it's an invitation to atrocity in progress. I also believe he probably wasn't thinking of Greta Thunberg's iconic speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, not specifically, but that's what I hear in the song, like the flip side of a coin:

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! [...] You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil.

I feel like on some level, even coincidentally, "Eat Your Young" is the answer to the question, what would you sound like if you were that evil? Who would you be? I can think of a dozen possibilities just off the top of my head or looking around my blog, from something as petty as studio executives mangling trees to deprive striking workers of shade (while hoping they lose their homes), all the way up to the US school-to-prison pipeline. The National Rifle Association keeps politicians in its pocket while the US has more mass shootings than days in a year, Nestlé fucks shit up around the world as a way of life, even ChatGPT sucks up water while threatening jobs—and for what? And yet, I promise you most of these things weren't the inspiration for an Irishman’s song—some of them hadn't even happened yet. There's just that much fresh You Would Be Evil to go around. I am certain that Hozier wrote the song partly about (as one article puts it) "Ireland's housing crisis: Millennials, a generation sacrificed," given that time back in the day when he helped occupy a building—a housing crisis happening in multiple countries. There's so much of the world I'm not touching on. I can stuff a paragraph with links and it's utterly inadequate.

I haven't even mentioned war.

There's an overwhelming sense this decade of the future being fed into a meat grinder. That sense is in this song. What would it sound like to be in the head of someone who didn't give a shit about anything but profit? Well, it might sound like this.

And if you haven't heard it, well—I'm going to sound absolutely out of my mind after saying all that, but "Eat Your Young" has a beat and you can dance to it. It's sexy. And I'm certain that's on purpose. You get seduced into the sound of it, as if by something demonic, something that enjoys sucking down the future and is not going to stop. And the sheer fucking catchiness of the song keeps you listening to it—thinking about it—when maybe you push away the dry headlines we get everyday. If you let this song stay in your head, it becomes a lens. Five months later, I still think about it when I read the news. Maui was on fire and tourists stayed. Within days, the prospect of developers swooping in to buy up land reared its head. If there's something still to take, there is ground to break, whatever's still to come. Get some.

I was born in 1978 —I'm late Gen X. In my forties, I'm young enough to worry about the future still; I’m neither so rich that I can just plan to retire to Mars, nor so old that I can know I'll be safely gone before the world might go up in flames. But I'm also not my nephew, whose school year just started back up, or the neighborhood kids who race him home down the sidewalk in the afternoons. Yesterday, he had his very first mass-shooter lockdown drill. He’s six.

I think music can put the feeling back into numb fingers, and I think that's why "Eat Your Young" works so well—Hozier calls the song fun and playful, and I think you have to have that, something you can live with rather than just switch off for your own mental survival. We need music to feed spirit at protests; we need something to keep our feet moving. Don’t give up, don't close your eyes and slip away. Those kids, they have dreams we could try to steal back for them.

Since I mentioned Maui:

Why Hawaiian sovereignty has undeniable context for the Maui fires

The Climate Crisis and Colonialism Destroyed My Maui Home. Where We Must Go From Here

How You Can Donate and Help Support Maui Communities Right Now

The Maui Strong Fund

#music #music discussion #hozier #long post #eat your young #Spotify

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x-emeraldsky-x · 3 months

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~ Naruto Headcanons ~

Naruto Uzumaki

• Naruto makes all of the groupchats in his friendgroups and is the most active in all of them. "Super Seven Squad" has himself, Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Yamato and Kakashi. "Naru-Squad" has Sakura, Kiba, Rock Lee and Shikamaru. Sasuke and Gaara were added but Sasuke left and Gaara can't figure out groupchats. "Next Gen Parents" has himself, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Gaara, ect.

• After training with Jiraiya, he picks up writing as a hobby. He's good at writing narratives, but his handwriting takes a while to become legible.

• Considers Sakura his older sister, he acts on this quite a lot and calls her "Nee-San" sometimes

• If Just Dance were a thing in the ninja world, he'd be the master. Sakura would be his less enthusiastic partner

Sakura Haruno/Uchiha

• Sakura's love language is gift giving. Often she will spoil Sasuke with flowers, treats and very fancy, well thought out dates. This carries onto her friendships and family bonds as well.

• She takes note of things her "nieces and nephews" enjoy and makes sure to buy something for them every time she visits. Boruto and Shikadai often get Ninja Trading Cards, Metal and his sister get new ninja equipment, ect.

• Sakura goes all out for birthday celebrations, and Sarada has never had a boring birthday

• Naruto gave her a shirt that says "Honorary Uzumaki" some time after he came back from training with Jiraiya, she still wears it even when she's an Uchiha. Naruto got her multiple new ones when the first finally tore

• Sakura's a very sloppy sleeper. Snoring, drooling and always sprawled out. The only time she's not taking up the whole bed is when she's spooning Sasuke. She has drooled in his hair and she will again

Sasuke Uchiha

• He's the leanest and lightest out of Team 7. This works well in his favour because it helps with his agility, but it's impossible for him to get out from under Sakura or Naruto without the use of Ninjutsu

• He associates certain hobbies or items with the people he's near. Anything hospital related reminds him of his wife as well as pink flowers, ramen reminds him of Naruto, ink reminds him of Sai, ect.

• Sasuke is very touch-affectionate with Sakura, craving her hugs and kisses whenever they're apart. He gets embarrassed when he asks, however, so he's very subtle and indirect

• Always ends up on top of or hugging Sakura in his sleep. Over the years he too has become a sloppy sleeper, but as long as Sakura is holding him, he doesn't mind

Hinata Hyūga

• All of the Hyūga clan have very prominent veins, especially around their eyes. Each Hyūga member has a unique pattern or colour. Hinata's children inherit this trait, but it's harder to see

• Hinata's veins are mostly purple, and her veins form a heart shape on her left eyelid, but it's usually hidden by her multiple eyelid creases. Neji's veins were green and formed a look similar to lightning

• Hinata has very soft, pale skin. In the cold and heat, she's always the first to go red, so she always packs a hat and a jacket.

• She has indented knuckles and is quite plump. This used to be an insecurity for her, but her friends and partners helped her embrace it

Kiba Inuzuka

• Kiba loves to sing. He typically makes up random songs about what he's doing, like washing dishes or sweeping the floor, but he also likes to sing music from his playlists. He enjoys calmer music, but he'll sing almost anything

• Team 8, Mirai and Himawari are the only people who know Kiba sings. Kiba loves his hobby but he's too embarrassed to sing in public

• On bad days, Kiba will sit with Shino on their bed in the dark brushing his hair with his fingers, singing softly to him to help them both relax

• After finding out about Shino's sensitive eyes, he went and bought blackout curtains and dim lights for his house so Shino could walk through comfortably without his glasses

Shino Aburame

• Shino is a very jealous person, and he sucks at hiding it. Many people have had to hold him back to prevent him from saying nasty things

• During Shippuden, he formed a bond with Akamaru. Since then, people called him Akamaru's second owner or second dad. He embraced this fully when he and Kiba got together

• He loves working with the dogs that the Inuzuka clan raise, but he does get very attached emotionally. If he had his way, he and Kiba would have about 30 dogs running around the house

• His eyes are a very deep brown colour, in the light they would shimmer with a orange-gold like colour. Due to his sensitivity to light though, only Kiba and the odd doctor have seen this.

• He gets cold very easily, so he's constantly layering his clothes. He and Hinata both would huddle in next to Akamaru on missions in the winter

• He has small scars on his body where his bugs come out, but they go unnoticed by the human eye at a distance. Hinata and Kiba always panic when they see Shino bleeding from his bugs breaking through his skin

Shikamaru Nara

• Shikamaru loves puzzle books, like Sudoku. He often buys magazines to complete these puzzles, sometimes looking into the latest gossip

• Once he and Temari are in a relationship, he carries a small summoning scroll that holds a giant folding fan, just in case of emergencies

• Shikamaru loves the food from Sunagakure, the rich tastes and flavours are to die for, but he can't stand the heat of the desert. Fortunately, Temari often brings Suna ingredients home so they don't miss out when they're in Konoha

• He unironocally loves some One Direction songs, although he'd never openly admit it. It's a secret he'll take to the grave

• Sakura caught him singing What Makes You Beautiful once and she has never let him live it down

Rock Lee

• After Neji's death, Lee starts to grow his hair out in remembrance. It takes him a long time for him to grieve but he soon finds peace with the loss

• For a short time after the war, Lee joins the Anbu under Kakashi's guide. After the birth of his first child however, he quits and becomes a Chūnin exam proctor for Konoha

• He and Shikamaru form a bond due to their relationships within the Suna trio. They become each others biggest defender when it comes to Kankuro, who still doesn't want to share his siblings with them even as an adult

• In The Next Generation period, he doesn't talk with Gai that often, focusing more on his family, friends and career. He has little time for other things

• He lived in Suna for a couple of years when Aiko and Metal were born. When his duties were needed back at Konoha, he took Metal with him because of Gaara's busy schedule. They visit each other as much as the can during holidays

• Scared of Temari

Temari no Sabaku/Nara

• Temari has very rough and dry skin. Her lips are usually chapped and peeling, and her hair is very coarse. She doesn't know what skin and hair care is, and even if she did, she'd ignore it

• She has a scar on her back near her right shoulder from protecting Gaara from a Suna villager, no one knows about this scar except Shikamaru who saw it on accident

• Very protective and loving of her little brothers, she'll always throw herself between them and an enemy if it means they'll be safe. Kankuro and Gaara worry that they'll lose her because of this

• Surprisingly very affectionate, and she loves to spoil all of her loved ones to the point they need extra storage to keep their gifts

• Sakura was her first close friend from Konoha, they relate quite a lot with their love for their family (even though Sakura's is not by blood). In their later years, Sakura introduced Hinata to Temari, and after a bit of a rocky start, they have girls nights every couple of weeks. Just the three of them

• Has fought with Kankuro over getting a puppy many times. In their early life, they couldn't afford or take care of one, but as adults, Temari finally gave in. She bought Kankuro a puppy for his birthday before she left for Konoha

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correctproseka · 9 months

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Toyafuyu and their parallels:

I did say I wanted to make this post. And Toya and Mafuyu have similar issues at home with a similar way to deal with them, so let's start.

Problems at home:

Both of them have similar problems at home, mainly with their parents.

While we dont actually know what toyamom and mafudad are doing, for barely being even mentioned, Mafumom and Toyadad are extremely similar on their behavior towards their kids.

- Toya's dad wants Toya to practice and practice piano, making him practice the entire day, even as a child, with the consequences of that, Toya didn't have hobbies, barely had any friends before (besides the Tenmas) and barely even knew what he liked.

- Mafuyu's mom wants Mafuyu to study and study the whole day, trying to make her quit archery and music so she can focus on her studies. As a consequence of that, Mafuyu didn't have any hobbies, no real friends outside if niigo and doesn't know what she likes.

Toya's dad wants Toya to be a classical musician, Mafuyu's mom wants Mafuyu to be a doctor. Both of them push their children in places they don't want to go in and have said they dont.

Both of them already had their confrontation, as of jp right now, both of their parents still disagree with what they're doing, but the difference in the acting because of it comes later.

Their mental health:

Because of their parents being both suffocating, they have similar issues.

Toya's only real friends were the Tenmas, and that was because his dad knew them, possibly he knows other people from his dad, but only the Tenmas actually became friends with him.

Mafuyu didn't have any real friends before niigo.

That made one of their differences, also will explain later.

None of them had any hobbies before music.. you could possibly count Archery as a hobby point for Mafuyu, but at least at the start she didn't feel much about it and it was probably just a small escape, a tiny start of a rebellion.

They both felt stuck, but they describe it in different ways.

Toya felt stuck inside a bird cage, forced to sing like birds.

In which he finally managed to open.

Mafuyu felt like a Marionette, making what her mom/the person in the strings asks

One that she also managed to escape

Both of them only managed to escape with the help of music and real friends (vbs and niigo).

Main differences

On how they're treated by the parents theres only a few.

Toya was able to rebel earlier, by influence of Tsukasa, not only that but he has more.. freedom to rebel than Mafuyu ever had.

Mafuyu's first rebelling influences were niigo, mainly Ena and Mizuki on this part, and even then she barely could do it without her mom taking away everything she had.

The differences in how they're treated on here may be because of the rest of the family.

Toya is the youngest of 3 songs, both of the older ones are already at classical music, so his dad can afford to have one Black Sheep, his legacy is already being fulfilled, so even if he disagrees with the style, he doesn't need to outright stop it.

Mafuyu is an only child, there's no one else to follow mafumom's dreams and expectations but her, this puts her under a tighter leash than Toya has.

And without friends, she couldn't do that first step out of that house.

Their real family

The people who help them be themselves, who let them have a break from their house, their real family and home

Mafuena and Akitoya bonus:

Imagine an akitoya image here i already did 10 images

Nothing much, just both like how lively the shinonomes are with each other, because of how cold their house are.

There is a reason both Toya and Mafuyu are associated with snow.

Bonus 2: event

Imagine an event with them, they start talking about their family to each other and bonding with similar rules and expectations, maybe Mafuyu also meets Ken as an image of a better dad. Maybe someone else is with them, someone with good parents stopping and going: that is not normal.

Just so they can grow a little bit together, find reliance on each other from their issues.

#project sekai #proseka #colorful stage #prosekai #pjsekai #puroseka #mafuyu asahina #toya aoyagi #touya aoyagi #character essay #.. idk what came over me

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diamondperfumes · 10 months

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The assertions that Dany will "succumb" to her family's allegedly "evil legacy" or the "taint" in her blood require pathologizing her for being an abuse victim borne of rape and incest, buying into bioessentialist "genetics is destiny" argument, and decontextualizing most of the passages from her book arc. This post, with a song juxtaposed with out-of-context quotes from Dany's chapters, is an excellent example.

"Every child knows the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness." The only "mad" Targaryens were Rhaegel, Aerion, Aerys II, and Viserys III. If you want to stretch it, you can include Baelor, though he was more pious and fanatic than mad. Maegor was cruel but lucid. Rhaegar was not mad, despite being Aerys II's son. And the narrative has distanced Dany from Aerys II several times, because one of ASOIAF's central theses is not "you are your father's child," but "you can overcome your father."

"She could not look behind her, must not look behind her" is not Dany "refusing to look at her family's history." This is taken from her fever dreams in AGOT Dany IX, and what she can't look back at is an icy breath that would cause her a "death worse than death, howling forever alone in the darkness." It's the first time Dany sees the Others in her dreams, and she is the only other character in AGOT to dream of them, the other character being Bran.

"I made a horror just as great, but surely they deserved it. Harsh justice is still justice." This is Dany feeling guilty for crucifying 163 slavers. How is that a sign of madness or refusal to confront her family legacy? It's actually a sign that Dany has empathy even for the worst of humanity, even for her enemies. Also, crucifying slavers isn't evil. It's odd that the same fandom that calls Dany a slaver, slave trader, slave profiteer, and slavery enabler, also calls her a tyrant or mad for crucifying slavers. What is she supposed to do with slavers? What is the "proper" way to handle them?

The mother of monsters passage is more proof that Dany is introspective and self-critical. In children's media, shounen anime, and Marvel movies, a villain may unironically call themselves a monster, but in more complicated, nuanced, adult literature, characters who call themselves monsters usually aren't bad people. They're the self-deprecating, humble, and thoughtful characters who are reflecting on their flaws and mistakes. Again, if Dany is someone who refuses to think about the dark side of her family, she would not agonize over the consequences of using her power. Monstrosity is associated with being stigmatized, ostracized, and alienated by hegemonic forces in society, and those characters who identify with monstrosity often have something to reveal about the violence of the status quo and the normalization of oppression.

George is deconstructing the coin quote, not reinforcing it. Madness/greatness, ice/fire, east/west, north/south, sun/moon, pain/pleasure, love/hate, are all dichotomies in the novel that George sets out to show can unite in some way. As I said, most Targaryens were not "mad," and I find it odd that for a fandom as progressive as it frames itself to be, the ableist stereotyping of "foreign otherized race from the East is genetically predisposed toward madness" isn't something fans problematize more.

Dany longing for the house with the red door and wanting to rest, laugh, plant trees and see them grow, are also seen as signs of madness because of her statelessness and homelessness. If a teenage girl has been raped and abused, and is herself a product of rape and abuse, and comes from an exotic Eastern family, then apparently her longing for home is actually a bomb waiting to detonate inside her, because she's unfit to belong anywhere. It's shocking that this mentality is seen as media literate or subversive.

"Dragons plant no trees" has already been disproven by Dany's arc itself. Dany reclaims fire and blood by the end of ADWD because she realizes the peace in Meereen is false (which it is). Jon Snow goes from wanting to hire glassblowing apprentices to plant crops in greenhouses to grow food, to abandoning his vows and declaring war to save his sister, and then dies. Why is that not seen as a sign of "succumbing to madness?" The acts are narratively paralleled. Perhaps––and this may be crazy, but stay with me––the thesis of FeastDance is that you cannot grow, build, and heal a nation in soil watered with blood. No such rebuilding or regrowing is possible unless and until real change occurs, and for real change to happen, the corrupt old guard cannot stay alive.

Certainly TWOW will be a darker book for every viewpoint character, but it's interesting to see how a combination of pathologizing Dany for her gender, ethnicity, genes/biology, trauma, and stateless/rootless/homeless status as an exile/diaspora, with decontextualizing her chapters, quotes, and passages, and an overall misunderstanding of the themes of ASOIAF, to single Dany out as a "dark" character who won't be able to "outrun" her "negative family history."

#daenerys targaryen #canondany #my discourse #meta #asoiaf meta #asoiaf

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dollywheeler · 10 months

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October 2nd, 1996

Dear diary,

Apparently, mom has run out of things to clean and is in instead coping with her nerves by continuing to sort through the stuff in the basement. She said she'd noticed some things while we'd been clearing space that she thought Mike might want back. It's already waiting by the door, as if she wants to make sure she doesn't forget - as if she only has one chance to give it to them. I almost tripped over the box when I rushed into the house to change and shower before coming here.

I don't think I'm nervous about it anymore. Sure, I'm worried about Mike and mom interacting - I have no idea what to expect from that. The theater had already been awkward enough that was only a conversation of about five minutes. Now they'll be spending the entire evening together. Hell, do they even know how to cook? Mike's letter said he could, but I just assumed he meant being able to boil potatoes and cook sausages to an acceptable degree.

It's going to be weird seeing him host.

The first time with Nancy had been weird like that too, seeing mom be the guest for once instead of the one in charge. Except, Nancy had been happy to let mom help, recognising mom's instinct to take care of her children. I doubt Mike will let her even step foot in the kitchen. Mike has always been stubborn like that.

I think he's caught on to me and Daniel - I mean, obviously he should have seen us at the dance, but he disappeared for a huge chunk of the night so I thought he'd missed most of the slow dancing. By the time I noticed him and Will return, the night was almost over and everyone was making the most of dancing with all their friends one last time. Still, he has this knowing look on his face when he watches us now, like he's sizing Daniel up. If he dares give his opinion though I might strangle him. So far he hasn't said anything, but he's generally been really good at being professional at school.

He doesn't go out of his way to talk to me unless I approach him first - which I only did to ask more details about Friday. Maybe I'm starting to look forward to it. Just a little bit. I just want to know what their house looks like from the inside, and even though it's going to be awkward talking about what they've been up to the last eight years, I can't help but be curious what life has been like for them outside of Hawkins.

The Stevenson's hallway light just started flickering, so I had to grab a chair and screw the bulb in tighter. Luckily that seems to have done the trick.

I hate when lights do that; it always sends chills down my spine. It's funny because I know it's nothing, it's literally just a faulty bulb, and yet I'm bothered by it. Sandy would joke it's because it wreaks havoc on my sense of perfection, which honestly might be the case. Blaming that one nightmare would make more sense, except nothing about that dream had been all that frightening. I think about it often, so even if it had been scary at one point, it's just a cool curiosity to me now, a weird association my brain makes; table lamp -> weird dream I had when I should have been too young to remember.

Speaking of; I handed in my final assignment for Will's class but I don't know if Will liked it. I mean, I think it's as well as I could have made it - even though the details on the wallpaper are lacking - but he always gets this weirdly pinched expression when he looks at it. Usually I would assume it was disappointment, like he'd hoped I would have done better, but even I'm proud of my drawing so I doubt that's the case. We'll see when I get the grade back.

Anyway, I'm going to get back to practicing guitar. I got distracted playing - or at least attempting to - 4 Non Blondes before, but I should get back to Where's My Mind? so that I can at least play one full song before jumping onto other things.

Love, Holly

#holly wheeler #the third wheeler #mike wheeler #stranger things #fanfic #byler #will byers

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aroaceleovaldez · 1 year

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Speaking of their depiction of Will's anxiety- the Stymphalian birds were specifically chosen for him, because in the myths they can only be taken down by archery. But they're saying here that Will had a traumatic experience at the hands of monsters who have historically been defeated by archers. And then he didn't dedicate himself to archery at all? For the 5+ years he's been at camp? Reverse superhero origin story where instead of vowing to fight crime as the result of a loved one's death they just never leave the house ever again

Yeah! Or music/sound (which his satyr is specifically noted to be skilled at - Woodrow teaches the music class at CHB in The Hidden Oracle), which Will also doesn't do anything with besides his sonic whistle or healing hymns (which apparently are actually just his mom's songs and not hymns) at all until that gets retconned in TSATS. Like, we know he has a sonic whistle and healing hymns, but it's kind of a specific thing that he's not as musically or archery inclined as his siblings. So why half-retcon half of that, make these birds that can specifically only be defeated by sound and archery a major part of his backstory, and then... we never get any payoff for it? He faces them again, but it doesn't go any better than it did the first time? There's no building of his character there.

Also, Stymphalian birds are actually sacred to Artemis. Yknow. Apollo's twin.

I get that TSATS was trying to cameo a lot of monsters we've seen before, but making Stymphalian birds specifically part of Will's backstory feels kind of weird and doesn't make a ton of sense? Because when we see them in SoM it's implied they were specifically sent to CHB, so why would they try to maim the random kid? Especially a son of the sibling of the goddess they're sacred to?

The only explanation I would accept is that the Stymphalian birds that attacked Will in New York were actually the ones from CHB in Sea of Monsters after they flew away, and Will just got really unlucky. But timeline-wise that actually doesn't work, cause SoM and TTC are the same year, and Nico and Will are the same age, so Will should be 10 or 11 in SoM/TTC (depending on if you accept Nico is 13 or 14 in HoO). And TSATS tells us Will arrived to CHB at age eight, which would mean he's been at CHB longer than Percy has and so the birds couldn't be the same ones from SoM. (Yes I'm still mad about the absolutely broken timeline there.) Also if they're dissuaded by noise, there's no way they're going to land in the middle of New York City of all places.

There's just other monsters they could have picked that would have made more sense. Or even mortal animals! We know from previous books that there's a thing about mortal animals sometimes having vendettas against the children of gods associated with their species for curse reasons or etc! Apollo actually has a lot of those! And it can become enough of a problem even to young demigods that it can require them to come to camp early before monsters can begin tracking them (ex.: Annabeth with spiders - monsters seemed to only become a problem after she tried coming back home the first time). Why not have it be Will being attacked consistently by normal mortal crows, because he's a son of Apollo? Or snakes - in the first book Percy even mentions fighting off two snakes when he was a baby because they were sent to kill him. I mean, Will's from Texas! We can absolutely scrounge up some snakes for him to fight. And it would fit more with acknowledging how he's from Texas specifically, just like how much the book tries to emphasize that Nico is from Venice.

It feels like one of many dropped plot points that make me say I wish TSATS had been worked on longer so that these types of things could have been ironed out and maybe turned into something consistent.

#pjo #riordanverse #will solace #tsats #the sun and the star #the sun and the star spoilers #tsats spoilers #ask to tag #ask #Anonymous #fun fact based on TSATS' timeline for Will he'd only have been at camp about two fewer years than Annabeth #which means he DEFINITELY should have become cabin counselor after Lee instead of Michael #which is further evidence as to why the timeline for him in TSATS makes absolutely no sense #heck for all we know there's a possibility TSATS!Will should logically be cabin counselor rather than Lee based on seniority #we dont know when Lee joined or how old he was. but if he had fewer years than Will then Will should be cabin counselor #and apparently if Will has been there for like two years already by the first book it wouldn't be difficult for him to outrank his siblings #this is exactly why we dont usually see demigods who join chb before 12 - it throws everything off #unless it's like cabin 9 doing their weird game of hot potato or Nico who's on his own #you need to acknowledge that you're gonna end up with a cabin with a 12 year old in charge (like Annabeth/cabin 6)#not that cabin 7 didnt end up with a 12 year old in charge anyways in TLO but they only had 3 different 12 year olds to pick from #so its different. limited options and all when the rest of your cabin is dead #long post //

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abiiors · 1 year

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Do Me A Favour

yes, like the arctic monkeys song.

warnings: angst, just sadness. at least there's only 900 words of it.

White knuckles gripping the steering wheel, that’s his most vivid memory—something that he will always associate with today. White knuckles and the sound of a car door slamming shut.

And the anger in her voice as she tells him to fuck off…

Two hours before as he sits outside thei—her house, eyes red-rimmed yet bone dry, he wonders how everything came to this. How did he suddenly wake up one day in a cold hotel room all alone?

The car door opens viciously, her scent fills his lungs once again and what would have once driven him crazy, nauseates him even further.

‘Speak,’ she mutters as soon as she enters the car. Her tone is clipped and short, frigid enough to rival the arctic.

He looks over her features; the same sparkling eyes, now filled with so much indifference; the same full lips, now pressed in a straight line. ‘Why are you so angry at me?’ It’s soft, whispered, almost as if it slipped out without him realising it. But she hears it regardless.

‘Why am I—for fucks sake, Matty, are you hearing yourself right now?’ she scoffs, then takes a deep breath. The meaning is clear to him. He’s not worthy of her anger, of evoking any emotions in her.

‘Do me—do yourself a favour, Matty. Sign the papers, don’t make this harder than it has to be.’ She brings a hand up to her face to rub her eyes as if that would somehow make the exhaustion go away. And his heart stutters in his chest.

The ring that once sat on her finger is gone. The ring that he used to caress and kiss lovingly, the ring that he put on her finger on the happiest day of his life, has simply been discarded. The only thing that’s left behind is a ghostly pale band the colour of death.

‘You really want that?’ he asks stupidly. Of course, she wants that, his brain tells him, she wouldn’t get the lawyers involved if she didn’t. ‘You really want…’

‘What? For us to be over?’ she rolls her eyes and laughs mirthlessly, ‘we have been over. For a long, long time.’ The irony doesn't escape him that even in the middle of a fight, they still finish each other's sentences.

‘Don’t say that, darling…’ The nickname slips out—muscle memory, a habit that won’t die so soon, maybe ever. She doesn’t even register it, so used to him calling her that all the time. It’s some solace to him that she doesn’t.

‘I understand you’re angry with me, I do,’ he tries to placate her, holds his hands up in surrender and then an idea strikes. It’s insane but he’s willing to give it a try at least. Willing to do just about anything at this point. ‘Punch me if it makes you feel better,’ he grabs her hands, coaxing them into fists, ‘hit me, break my nose, beat me black and blue yeah? I know you’re angry, I know–I accept every single thing you’re mad at me for—’

‘Mad at you?’ she seethes and wrenches her hand away so forcefully that she almost hits her elbow against the door. ‘Matty, this is not some stupid fight! I’m telling you it’s over and there’s no coming back from it,’ her voice rises higher but he refuses to take the bait.

‘I know it’s not some silly fight–fuck, believe me, I know it’s not,’ he yells louder than her, and then in a softer tone, ‘but…but I know we can save this, I know we can—’

‘Stop!’ She holds up a hand as if that would physically stop the words from coming out of his mouth. Tears threaten to spill over as water gathers at her lower lashline. ‘You are still the exact same person, you know that? Taking me and my emotions for granted, you think if I hit you it will make all the hurt and pain go away? Or do you just want me to do something that would make me just as bad as you, huh? Worse still.’

There’s venom in her voice that he has never heard before. Words, rotten and foul that spill from her mouth. The same mouth, the same person who used to tell him how loved he was, how precious.

‘I’m glad we never had children,’ she spits at him. ‘Although I don’t doubt “absent father” is a badge that would bother you. Being an absent husband clearly fucking didn’t.’

He flinches, unable to come up with a coherent answer. Heart cracking open and ready to bleed all over his car.

A shadow of uncertainty crosses over her features for the briefest of seconds, almost concern, almost regret. But it’s swallowed whole by steely resolve.

She furiously wipes at her eyes and places a hand on the door handle. ‘Don’t contact me again,’ her voice is firm, ‘my lawyer’s contact information is in the email.’

‘Wait—’

‘Goodbye, Matty.’

The door opens and thuds shut before he even registers it. The sound echoes with finality around the car, the final nail in the coffin before this marriage breaks down and withers away forever.

He watches and waits till she’s back inside, waiting to see if she will turn around and wave goodbye, even if it’s forced; or give him a smile, even if it’s fake. But she simply slams the front door shut.

His hand hovers mid-air, a half-formed wave, a pathetic goodbye.

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broomsick · 1 year

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What daily things do you find your gods in? For example, finding Freyr in the sound of a bird's song or Loki in the flames of a fire. It'd be cool to see a list of your associations for them. c:

Personal day-to-day associations with the Gods

Óðinn: the traditional Scandinavian music I listen to, reading books, hearing or telling stories, darkness in general (like after having closed all the lights in the house), red wine and strong alcohols such as spirits, local woodland berries such as currants, gooseberries, blackcurrant (etc).

Yngvi-Freyr: cooking/baking (especially traditional food), windy days, hikes in the woods, fall colors, sunsets, road trips, picking flowers, light rain, gardening, the countryside, cold tea, the moment when spring becomes summer.

Thórr: doing manual work, beer, dusk, taking well deserved breaks from work, cloudy days, evergreen trees, disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with the open air, eating or cooking red meats, weather events ranging from light snow to strong rains, singing at the top of my lungs, joking around with friends, going to the bar after a hard week’s work, celebrations in general.

Freyja: showering and taking baths, perfumes and anything fragrant, eating fruit, doing a skincare routine or buying a new skincare product, collecting fallen tree leaves, visiting a pagan shop, practicing magic, warm colors and especially red, petting cats, having funny exchanges with friends and sharing current concerns with them.

Frigg: learning traditional crafts, attending local events, speaking with elders, enjoying a moment of harmony with family, feeling at home, cooking or baking, browsing through farmers’ markets, telling a loved one I love them, doing nostalgic stuff to reconnect with my childhood (such as watching children’s movies!) and doing divination, especially tarot.

Baldr: the color blue, cloudless skies, very cold days, whenever I see springs or waterfalls (which doesn’t happen that often but still!), seeing children play, birds’ song, listening to soft music such as flute, harp or lyre, whenever I willfully build up self confidence (I always feel like He’s the one encouraging me).

Loki: listening to classic rock or power metal, starting bonfires or woodstoves, fire in general like playing around with a lighter or matches, playing pranks, making spontaneous decisions, puzzles and riddles, masks though I’m not certain why.

Týr: seeing fur garments such as fur coats or winter clothing, traveling by boat, camping in thick and isolated woods, browsing through medieval shops, wolf imagery, cuddling up by a fire after a cold day spent outside, whenever a battle scene comes up in a movie or show, celtic music but I’m not sure why I make that association honestly!

Hel: gothic-style clothes, incense, skull imagery, practicing magic and divination, spirit work, ancestor work, visiting loved one’s graves and leaving flowers, graveyards in general (especially those in small villages), learning about different spiritualities and the way they each envision the afterlife.

Heimdallr: caring for animals, spending alone time outside, climbing trees or rocks, high places in general, reading through the Völuspá, making the effort to listen instead of speak, making a kind gesture randomly, helping people in general.

Skaði: hiking in the mountains, stays at cabins, exploring woods, staying at very unpopulated areas, evergreen trees and especially spruce, watching snowstorms, meditation, hearing/reading mythological stories, winter comfort foods such as soups and meats, stargazing.

Eir: herbalism, learning about local plants and trees, brewing potions, caring for a sick loved one, kitchen witchcraft, and something we call “grandma recipes” over here, that consist of dubiously scientific medicine (lying on your left side to heal an upset stomach quicker, using potato peels against warts, etc). I’d have to make a whole post to list those out. These types of medicine tricks that seem mysteriously effective ahaha!

These are only a few of my deities, but they’re the ones I feel closest to these days.

#ask #asks #norse paganism #norse gods #deities #deity work #heathenry #spirituality #polytheism #norse polytheism #witchcraft #upg #personal #paganism

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isefyres-archive · 3 months

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐘𝐒

It's a fact well known that the main God wordshipped in the city is the Love Goddess, however, there are two other Gods that are by her side, her companions and lovers, sometimes husbands as according to the stories. While initially wordshipping the Valyrian Gods, after the Doom, Lys began to develop it's own culture and temples, to stablish themselves as different from the Valyrians. While other Gods remain on the Lysany Mythology; a sometimes God of the Sea, Goddess of Marriage and Longevity and God of Death.

Aelagona: The name of the Goddess of Love derives from the Valyrian word of Jorrāelagon. She is the most worshipped God in Lys and both women and men alike praise her presence. Celeberations for her occur for a week each month, in which those who are in couple engage in offerings for good fortune and wealth as well fertility if they wish for children. Through the city, there is dance and food, and what is often offered to the Goddess is maidens, during that week, a lot of maidens who come of age offer their maidenhood, it is said that given on that week, the Goddess would favor them through life with passionate thirst. Aelagona has two husbands, each one representing the sun and the moon, war and peace, both warriors in different ways. It's costumary in Lys when a husband is off to war, that a wife would take a lover, if bastards are born from this, they are raised in the main household, and it's a sign that the husband will come home safely.

Areāzma: The God of War, Battle and Strategy. He is Aelagona's main husband and lover. It is said he found her bathing on the shores and claim her as his on that same night. This is why he is also associated with the Moon and the Night. Soldiers wordship him before battle and during war itself. Areazma, alike the Love Goddess takes his name from a Valyrian word of War and does take lovers in the battlefield but it is less common. Soldiers and sometimes sellswords would wish for good fortune in battle in his temple by bringing their wives and bathing them in blood, a sign of one's willingness to fight for what they love and protect it. Areazma is accompanied in battle at times by the Goddess of Marriage and Longevity, Haerōsa, who alongside him, choose special warriors who are treated as heroes upon return.

Apovēzos: The Sun God and the god of peace times, songs and poets. Associated with good crops and deals, Apovezos is the Love Goddess second husband, who she took during the day Areazma left for war one day. Apovezos is also worshipped in the pleasure houses of Lys as stories say that the children of Aelagona and Apovezos are blessed with the pure Valyrian beauty and foresight of dreams. Celebrations in his honor happen on the temple during the day, where foreigns alike are invited and requested to join a dance celebration. Refusing to do so is seen as a bad omen. Apovezos is at times, associated with the crops and hunting, seen with a bow and arrow in most of the artwork around it.

𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐘𝐒

While minor Gods prayed on Lys, they are still part of their Pantheon. They are seen as companions, lovers or children of the main Gods, depending on the stories told by the main ruling houses of Lys.

Aembar/Aembara: The dual role of the Gods of the Sea. The Sea is seen as both depending on the state of the weather itself. A good weather and fast sail is atributed to Aembar, Sea God and the storms are seen as warnings and omens from Aembara. Both are said to be born from the Love Goddess and each one from each of her husbands, and they are as well, seen as lovers, something taken of their Valyrian tradition. Rituals take place the night before sailing and they have to be done on the deck of the ship, kneeling down the statues of both of them and pray, before as well, make love on the deck to be blessed by the Love Goddess.

Ābraera: Goddess of Marriage and Longevity, also seen in the battlefields. Seen as sister of the Love Goddess, she offers soldiers in the battlefield a safe return home as well a life well spend. Not a lot of festivities are done around her, except during wedding themselves. The female warriors of Lys do take her as their main Goddess to wordship and in order to enter the ranks, one must be wed the night before, to show the goddess trust in their marriage and life. She is often depicted as being a lover of the God of Death, Haerghon. It is said she brings the spirits of the dead soldiers to him in hall of heroes.

Haerghon: God of Death and the Afterlife. The Lyseni people see death as a great honor if all rituals are done properly. A good life spend in love, fertility, deals and all other aspects of life, are worthy of being taken to the Hall of Heroes, where your soul is said to spend eternity living, rewarded for your life. Haerghon is the less worshipped God among the pantheon but he is nevertheless respected and despite seen as a lover of Abraera, he is also seen as a lover of the Love Goddess. It's tradition before battle, in pleasure houses, that soldiers are allowed for free in the houses where the bedwarmers and women of silk welcome them, and give them honorary rites, in case of their death.

#artwork╲ houses › mutuals can interact.#lys is now mine george can't take it away #and all of this because of dore.ah my beloved

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goddess-in-heaven-and-hell · 1 year

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Gwynriel weeks 2023 - Day 8: Favourite Headcanons

As my final entry to the wonderful Gwynriel weeks, I just did a little brainstorm of my favourite Gwynriel headcanons. Some random, some connected. Tell me if you agree with them :)

@gwynrielweeksofficial

- Hand touches whenever possible. The first time their hands touch will be like an electric spark for Azriel. He’ll just wonder the whole day if it was accidental or not, or if Gwyn also still feels the area of skin being warm and prickly.

- Touching Azriel’s hand becomes a love language in and of itself. He needs reassurance: Gwyn grabs his hand and squeezes firmly. He is nervous: Gwyn takes on of his hands inbetween hers. He woke up from a nightmare: she will trace the scar tissue gently until he falls back asleep.

- One time, Gwyn gets hit on in the club by another male. Azriel is trying to find a way to intervene, but he is not sure if Gwyn wants to be associated with him, if she wants everyone knowing they are an item. So he just waltzes over to them and casually inserts himself in the conversation. Gwyn notices his dilemma, that he might be too unsure of himself to claim her outright by kissing her in front of the guy or whatever. So she just reaches out for him. And Azriel immediately stands two feet taller.

- Quiet nights in the library of the House of Wind. Gwyn’s feet in Azriel’s lap, both reading the same book to discuss later. They take turns picking, and Azriel makes it his mission to always suggest a book more smutty and more daring than Gwyn.

- Gwyn will lead the flirting in the early stages of their relationship. She would be the one initiating some alone-time, she’ll get him little hand-made gifts just because she thought of him, she’ll even dare to be a little suggestive once she got more comfortable with anything sexual.

- After half a year Gwyn will be a blushing mess.

- Azriel finally came to the conclusion that the woman is the perfect match for him. And enter Azriel in courting mood:

- Complimenting her every day, softly kissing her hand after escorting her somewhere, buying her little treats and sneaking them past Cassian after their morning training, romantic picknicks under the moonlight - the male had a few years to sort his shit out.

- Azriel attending the dusk service of the priestesses just to stand in the dark in a near-trance after he heard Gwyn sing. Then, naturally, he asked her every chance he got for a little song.

- Gwyn complied. But only after making him promise that he’d return the favor.

- And he did. Mostly on the nights that were interwoven with nightmares and Gwyn would wake up covered in sweat and tears. Then he’d pull her into his arms, stroke her hair and sing the songs his mother taught him when he was young.

- He’d teach her how to play the piano and soon they would play intricate melodies with four hands. Nyx especially is a fan and demands a song or two whenever Auntie Gwyn and Uncle Az babysit him.

- Azriel’s heart squeezing together painfully when he sees Gwyn interact with children. She’s a natural, her own bright spirit so in tune with the kids.

- Azriel will be delighted to find out that Gwyn wants multiple children, but they decide to wait a little before starting to try, since Gwyn is very young and Azriel needs to sort his issues out first lol.

- I feel like they have a secret codeword (if they don’t end up being mates) for when Azriel’s social battery has run out and all he wants to do is lay down in the dark and quiet. Gwyn would find an excuse to leave immediately after hearing it.

#gwynriel headcanon #gwynriel #gwynrielweeks2023 #gwyneth berdara #Azriel #acotar #acotar headcanon

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rotationalsymmetry · 8 months

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A Spoonful of Sugar

I'm a teenager. It's a school day and my alarm just went off. 20 minutes later one of my parents sticks their head in my room to complain that I'm not up yet.

I'm a kid, not sure what age exactly. My dad comes in and pretends to be a dog to wake me up. (This has happened many times. He does it with the exact same phrasing and intonation and pretty much the same set of behaviors each time. Probably got it from a parenting book or something.) Kid-me finds this hilarious and an excellent way to start the day.

I'm an adult, early to mid 20's, with a group of other mostly young people in New Orleans post-Katrina, to tear down houses contaminated with black mold at the request of their owners (mostly black people) so that even if they don't have a house any more at least they own the land. If we don't do this, the city will hire people to do it at the owners' expenses and seize the property (ie the now vacant lot) if the owners don't pay it back. Anyways, point is, someone comes around with a guitar and a song when it's time to wake up.

I'm thinking about all the things parents of babies and toddlers and otherwise very young children do to cajole them into doing things. Stickers and little prizes. Oh, you aren't sure you want to eat that? What if the spoon was an airplane flying around, what then? Which toothbrush do you want to use, the red one or the blue one? (I loved getting to choose my school supplies, what cartoon characters the pencils had on them, the erasers shaped like fruit that didn't really erase, all that.) Bedtime routines. Bath toys.

Little kids are still young enough to make it everyone else's problem when they're forced to do something they don't want. So, everyone else finds ways to make it so that it isn't being forced, so that the kid wants whatever has to happen. Gummy vitamins. Chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs.

But adults, teens, older kids, have enough self control for that fight to be strictly internal, and often when other people stop cajoling us into doing what's best for us we don't pick up the slack ourselves, we push instead of finding ways to pull. And one thing I love about this site is the genre of posts that are about finding ways to get yourself to want to go into the carrier.

I've been pretending I'm in ninja training while brushing my teeth. Do not ask me how tooth-brushing prepares me to be a ninja. I got the idea to stick though. I've been using mnemonics -- ridiculous association mind games -- to practice remembering people's names, something I've always been bad at to my embarrassement. I have so many things I don't really want to do but that I think I should do. Sometimes it's not fun silly stuff, sometimes it's more sort of stoic reframing, like "ok I'm dreading this doctor's appointment because I'm telling myself it'll be frustrating and a waste of time, I can't make sure it's not a waste of time but there is some chance it won't be a waste of time and if so then showing up is doing the right thing, and I can make sure that I show up" (and so I give myself a good grade in showing up to a doctor's appointment, something that may or may not be normal to want but is in fact possible to achieve as long as you're doing the grading yourself, or can convince someone else to do it for you.)

I'm trying to notice intrinsic joy more. Taking a shower feels good so I get free "reward" as long as I'm noticing that it feels good. Physically moving my body, stretching and using my muscles, at least some of the time, feels good. Resting can feel good. Routines like having tea in the morning feel good and give me something to look forward to and some sort of continuity in my life, predictability. This feels good. This feels good. This feels good. This feels good.

#I'm two hours overdue for my first rest #I could give myself a bad grade in self care #but I also don't have to because I am the grader #I can do a narrative evaluation #I can cut myself some slack #I can give myself a bad grade but get excited about the challenge of working up to a good grade #I can give myself a bad grade and treat that as neutral information that has nothing to do with what kind of person I am #I can give the thing I was trying to do a bad grade bc hey maybe this approach isn't working for me #it is my responsibility and my obligation to decide what the best way is to handle this I am not answerable to anyone else

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moonah-rose · 5 months

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If you're still doing the ask game, can you do Robin as you said he's your blorbo?

He is! Thank you anon!

Favorite thing about them: HE JUST SO CUTE! I'm a sucker for characters who appear one way but then completely take you off guard. Robin looks like your typical grunting simple caveman but then reveals himself to be the kindest, wisest, most mentally tortured character in the show. Add to that he's basically a human pupper. My previous blorbos (Thirteen, Arthur Morgan, Spike) have all had "Kitty!" vibes but Robin is pure Pupper.

Least favorting thing about them: That he didn't get to move on. :( The show was really playing into how desperately he wanted to go by the end. I was even certain that as soon as he felt "Christmassy" he would get to leave but it didn't happen. Let him rest! Also the incest...Just ew.

Favourite line: "She no porcupine!" / "I want my lawyer." / "Before you was moonah, before house was moonah, everything come, everything go, but always there, moonah." / "I miss a lot of people. But more come along."

Brotp: Canon is him and Julian. Chess husbands are so real, but queerplatonic imo. Fanon is him and Alison, he is her good boy.

OTP: I'm like the only person who actually thinks him and Mary were cute? Gremlin couple ftw. But really Robin/Mary/Annie is my favourite polyship and the only one I've actually written fic for so far.

Notp: Pretty much everyone except Mary, Annie, Julian and possibly Thomas.

Random headcanon: His whole going mad thing from the book is still an ongoing problem. He has more coping mechanisms now but still has bad 'spells', some of the ghosts help him through it but others have become so used to him just "being strange" they just ignore him and wait for it to pass like in Not Again.

Unpopular opinion: I think he was a good dad. For the time. For a man who had thirty kids and most of them probably with his sister. The way he talks about the importance of "raising children together, in peace and love" and watches over his animal friends when they have babies, how sweet he was putting Kitty to sleep, he seems to love just being around kids. I dunno if that's unpopular, it just always seems to be Pat or Cap who get talked about when it comes to dads and my boy was over here fathering future generations, as well as putting the work in to raise said kids - but he often gets passed off as too immature or uncaring, like forgetting the whole duality of his character and how he's never as simple as he appears to be. Like sure he probably picked those babies up by their ankles and carried them on his shoulders, but he never dropped them!

Song I associate with them: Starman by Bowie. My Tears Ricochet by Taylor Swift is so him/Sophie/Humphrey.

Favorite picture of them:

Just look at him, hims just the cutest little thing!

#bbc ghosts #robin the caveman #larry rickard #bbc ghosts spoilers

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bokutosmochi · 2 years

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general iwaizumi headcannons

what's it? general sugar level? 0.7k allergen warning/s? brief mentions of harassment regulars? @hanayanetwork

♧ one of those people who dress well without putting any effort at all. it's either that or he just looks good in everything, it doesn't really matter as both of those options are totally unfair.

♧ always smells good. this man could spent the last two hours exercising, have sweat pouring from his pores and still smell nice.

♧ has tried to learn the guitar at one point, but volleyball took up too much of his time, and now university's taking it up. still, he's learned a few songs and he has a guitar hanging in his room

♧ doesn't like carrying bags if it's not sport/athletics-related. if he needs to bring other things that aren't his keys, wallet, and cellphone, he'll just stuff it inside his pockets. it absolutely looks bad and bulky - is that a notepad in your pants or are you just happy to see me? - but he literally cannot give a single shit.

♧ the sweetest guy ever. will stand up for someone he sees that's getting harassed in the streets even if he doesn't know them, would cross the street if there's a woman he might be making uncomfortable, would pretend to be a stranger's boyfriend if some douchebag's not taking no for an answer.

♧ gossip is his guilty pleasure, mostly because of oikawa marites amp. one minute he's scoffing at people gossiping to themselves, the next, he's attentively listening to oikawa spill the tea.

♧ has a very asmr voice. it's deep and raspy and absolutely perfect!! sometimes he'll talk to someone and they'll shiver -- not because of intimidation or attraction, but simply because his voice triggering their asmr. especially if he's whispering to someone. or if it's his sleepy voice!!

♧ he doesn't really have a playlist. all the songs he likes are blended into one playlist and whenever wants to listen to something while studying, he just clicks on one of those 24/7 copyright free lo-fi music on youtube. the one and only playlist he has is the one he listens to when he's in the gym. that's literally it.

♧ ... really missed oikawa when he first went to california. he missed his sarcastic-sounding compliments directed to the people around them, he missed having to fish him from a group of fangirls, he missed his best friend. the person who's been by his side since they were children. iwaizumi was usually the one to initiate the facetimes and texts, hiding it under some lame excuse like wanting to make sure he wasn't dead yet.

♧ during his college days, he attracted so many girls from his university and even other nearby campuses (is anyone surprised?). they'd all invite him to house parties, only for him to politely decline their offer. though he did not pursue volleyball as a professional career, leaving his days as an ace behind, he still had a burning desire to be the best and that isn't going to happen if he spends his days partying and getting drunk.

♧ has his own signature scent that he's had since high school, maybe even middle school. he hasn't changed it because he's too lazy to do so - why would he fix something that's not broken? - and also because he likes how people associate him with a certain scent. he kind of finds it cute.

♧ absolutely not one of those maniacs that lets their phone battery hit single digits -- not if he could help it. he always charges his phone once it hits the thirties and always brings a spare charger with him if he's going somewhere.

♧ he's always ready for anything. and by that i mean he always has ballpens in his pocket, bandaids, a protein bar, anything that he may need through the day, really.

♧ his usual way of unwinding after a hard day's work is really just laying in bed, watching godzilla. obviously, if someone were to run him a bubble bath or something of the likes, he's not going to complain, but sometimes just he just thinks it's too much effort. he'd rather have a short, thorough shower than hear straight to bed.

♧ honestly has a hard time making friends. he's so focused on his studies, cooped up in his stuffy dorm room that he didn't really get the time to do so, then people who did want to befriend him were a tad bit too intimidated by his strong stature to actually come up to him and strike up a conversation. we all know he wouldn't hurt a fly though.

i get: reblog

you get: green curtains

do we have a deal?

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liiilyevans · 1 year

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I prefer hiding in plain sight

My fourth drink in my hand

These desperate prayers of a cursed man

Spilling out to you for free

Or, Draco spills his secrets when he's had too much to drink. (Thank you @cruelsummer-ficfest for giving me this song!)

TW: mentions of torture, mentions of suicide

Read on AO3

There was a reason Draco never got drunk, or at least, he’d gotten better at not getting too drunk. And it was because he talked entirely too much when he was drunk, his sarcasm out of control and what little filter he did have thrown to the wind. So, he’d taken to drinking in private after a disastrous visit to Blaise’s house where he’d not only questioned the sincerity of his engagement to Pansy, but also whether she would make it out of the first year of her marriage alive. Certainly not his finest moment.

But how could he resist another drink when someone as beautiful as Astoria Greengrass was topping off his wine?

Frankly, it was a miracle Astoria was even speaking to him. It was no secret that she had supported Harry Potter long before the Dark Lord’s return. She had been one of the few Slytherin purebloods who opposed the abhorrent treatment of Muggleborns. Despite her sister’s association with the children of former Death Eaters, Astoria had kept her reputation clean while at Hogwarts. From what he remembered, she had defended a Muggleborn who had been sorted into Slytherin while everyone else in their house had treated him as a social pariah. Astoria hated Death Eaters. Meaning she hated him.

Or so, he’d thought.

Since the war had ended, he had run into her a few times, and she had always been cold towards him, condemnation evident in her eyes. Her sister had also let it slip that she had a good working relationship with Harry Potter of all people. What would a war hero like Harry Potter like about a pureblood princess like Greengrass? Draco figured it had something to do with her brashness and her loudmouth.

When he’d found her sitting alone at a corner table at the Goyles’ first ball of the year, he’d been prepared to piss off and find himself another hiding spot. Astoria had surprised him though with tired eyes and a small smile gracing her red lips. She’d nodded to the seat next to her, and Draco had felt drawn to her, perhaps because she looked as lonely and lost as he felt.

Then she’d flagged a waiter down and demanded a bottle of wine. Red. Pinot noir not cabernet.

When they finished the first bottle and Astoria was asking for another, Draco realized he should have stopped. He felt at ease for once, his stomach no longer tied up in knots of anticipation. His cheeks felt warm, no doubt a result of all the alcohol he’d consumed. Instead of drumming against the table, his fingers were relaxed, one hand resting on his knee and the other resting on the table. He was dangerous when he got comfortable.

Astoria didn’t look like the alcohol had bothered her at all, her hair still up in the elegant twist only one stray strand resting against her cheek. It framed her face nicely, showing off the angle of her jawline. Her lips were still painted that dark red as if that was the color of her lips all the time and not merely pigmented oil. When she wasn’t cold and aloof, Astoria was quite pretty.

Not that he was allowed to think about that. She’d hex him if she could perform Legilimency.

“Remind me why you still come to these parties, Greengrass?”

He wasn’t drunk enough to call her by her first name.

“Why wouldn’t I come to these parties?” She rested her chin delicately on her knuckles. Draco wondered if her hands felt as soft as they looked.

“Because you stand against everything that these parties represent?” he said, waving his glass around wildly. It was a miracle none of the wine ended up on his hand. “Opulence? Luxury? Money?”

Her lips quirked up into a smirk. “I like expensive things.” She gestured to the satin gown she was wearing. “This is by Blanchet.”

The French designer. Draco was familiar with him only because his mother always raved about what a genius he was. And Astoria’s dress looked stunning on her. It was a deep red color, nearly the same shade as her lips. The halter top fastened around her neck, and a deep V traveled from her collarbone past her breasts to the middle of her stomach. The skirt flowed freely around her, nothing like the poofy monstrosities that some of the girls had chosen to wear tonight. The delicate skin of her back was on display as well. Draco tried to keep his eyes away from there, as well as away from her breasts, and it was proving to be more difficult as the night wore on.

“Say what you really meant, Draco.” It was the first time she’d said his first name, and he thought it sounded more seductive than she meant for it to. Her voice had dropped a few octaves, giving it a more breathy quality. She was challenging him.

Draco leaned toward her, anger spearing through his stomach. Her chin was resting on her hand while her elbow sat on the table, something his mother would have killed him for. When he leaned forward, he expected her to jerk back, like just being within a few inches of him would taint her, but she didn’t give an inch. Instead, the smell of jasmine and cedar invaded his senses like he was invading her space.

“The ostentatiousness? The forced niceties? The hatred of Mudbloods?” It wasn’t something he would normally admit, but the alcohol had loosened his tongue. In the few conversations he had with her, she had made it abundantly clear where she stood before and after the war. Luckily for her, that was the winning side.

“There you are,” she muttered as if she’d finally cracked the shell of an oyster to find a pearl inside. “Where was all that fire during the war, Draco?”

It was like someone had doused him in the Black Lake in the middle of winter, his anger completely smothered. Draco reclined back in his chair, his gaze lingering on the couples on the dance floor rather than Astoria and her perceptive eyes. He thought he spotted Greg coaxing Millicent Bulstrode onto the floor. Astoria’s gaze was burning a hole into his head, her brown eyes alight with some emotion Draco couldn’t name.

“I was too busy trying to survive my own home to really fight in anyone’s war,” Draco finally muttered, taking another sip of his wine. It had all seemed like some grand adventure, taking up his father’s mantle and restoring his family’s reputation. Then, he was told to kill his headmaster, and that fantasy had crumbled to ashes bit by bit. He rested his hand on the table. “My aunt lived with us, you know.”

“Bellatrix Lestrange?”

When they’d started talking so quietly, Draco had no idea. All he knew was that thinking about Aunt Bella made his head hurt, and he needed more wine if he was going to have this conversation. He nodded to the bottle, and Astoria topped off his glass.

He took a sip. “I don’t know what she was like before she went to Azkaban.” His mother knew, of course, but he had never bothered to ask her. “But she was . . . volatile when she lived with us.” That was putting it mildly. “Sometimes, she’d be in a good mood, which for her meant obsessing over the Dark Lord, and other times she’d be agitated, snappy. Then, she’d take her mood out on the first person to upset her. And it depended on the day if she used her words, her wand, or her knives.”

Astoria flinched. It satisfied Draco. She was always so self-righteous because her father was never involved with the war, like she was leagues better than the rest of their high society. While she might have briefly experienced what it was like to live with Death Eaters, that had been Draco’s hell for two years. Snape had credited Aunt Bella with teaching him Occlumency — and she had — but he had never bothered to learn the methods she used. She considered Draco to be a terribly bright student, but that meant her expectations of him were incredibly high. Whenever he wasn’t performing up to her standards, he was punished with gruesome images that ranged from his mother hanging herself to his father’s soul being sucked out by Dementors. Draco had quickly learned to block his aunt’s attacks and earn her praise. He’d been so idealistic at the time — so blinded by glory — that he thought she’d been making him better.

“That’s awful,” Astoria breathed.

Draco hummed in response. Ironically, it was living with Bellatrix and her penchant for torture that were partly to blame for his disillusionment with the Dark Lord and his cause.

“Why didn’t you leave?” she asked.

“And go where?” Draco asked annoyed. As if leaving that house had ever been an option. His mother had kept him close the summer after his sixth year, terrified that the Dark Lord would send him on another ‘mission.’ By that time, regular meetings were being held at Malfoy Manor, which often included torture and occasionally murder.

For once, Astoria seemed at a loss for words. She glanced down, her nail scratching against the mahogany table. Draco’s eyes raked over her again, and Merlin, she really was pretty. When she looked up again, Draco held her gaze, too drunk to care that he’d been caught staring.

“I’m sorry,” Astoria said. “I didn’t realize . . .”

“That my life wasn’t as grandiose as you imagined?” he supplied bitterly.

She looked away from him. “I thought you got a free pass. That because Harry testified at your trial, and you testified against other Death Eaters that you got off scotch free. I didn’t realize . . . what you went through.”

Draco snorted. It shouldn’t have surprised him, and it really shouldn’t have hurt him, but it did. Of all the assumptions made about him, that one stung the most. It was easier to compartmentalize, he supposed, than to examine the realities of the war; that not everyone who was a Death Eater enjoyed the killing and the torture, that their souls weren’t completely black like that of his aunt, or that they might have suffered during the war, too. But no one wanted to hear those stories.

“Well, my life certainly hasn’t been a jaunt in the woods.” It was more like a trip to the Forbidden Forest.

Suddenly fingertips were wrapping around his forearm that rested on the table — the one where his Dark Mark was — and Astoria was leaning toward him, jasmine and cedar once again invading his space. Her hand was warm and soft around his arm, her touch gentle. There was a kindness in her eyes that chafed against him, like his regret for ever taking that mark did.

“I am so sorry that happened to you,” she said softly.

Draco snatched his arm away from her, and her brow furrowed in confusion. He’d said too much — let her see too much. Astoria hadn’t been touched by the war — not like he had. She’d only dealt with the regime at Hogwarts, which was a fucking walk in the park compared to the horrors he’d seen at his house. She didn’t know what it meant to be so bruised and battered on the inside that you didn’t even like yourself anymore.

“I don’t want your pity,” he sneered.

She leaned away from him then, and he saw the wall shutter closed. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and she gave a curt nod in understanding. Then, she stood up. Draco made no move to stop her, just watched her through narrowed eyes.

“For what it’s worth,” she said softly. “I do feel sorry for you and for what you went through. If you ever want to talk about it, well, I’m sure you’re more than capable of finding my office in the Ministry.”

And Draco was left with his wine and a cacophony of emotions that he would rather not sort through as he watched Astoria walk away from him.

#drastoria #draco malfoy #astoria greengrass #tw: mentions of torture #tw: mentions of suicide #hp #my writing #cruel summer series

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themidnightguardian · 1 year

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Day 27: Muffled Screams -- Naruto & Sasuke

Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto | AU: where Kakashi took them all in and they live together | Content Warnings: nightmares, referenced past trauma, some light paranoia & hyper-vigilance

Whumptober Masterlist

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Naruto bolted awake in an instant, moving on years of instinct telling him that there was something wrong, some threat, and that if he didn’t wake up now, he’d be getting a kick to the ribs—or worse—in a second. He blinked at his surroundings, confused for a moment as he took in the white-washed walls and the soft bed underneath him, things he’d only ever had here at Kakashi-sensei’s house.

The only place he’d ever associated with comfort. With safety.

It was hard to reconcile that sense of safety with the agonized screaming that was audible, if muffled, through the wall that separated Naruto’s room from Sasuke’s.

He threw the covers off, grabbing the kunai he kept under his pillow and slipping out of bed as quietly as he could. The Hatake compound was supposed to be safe—it had been warded to hell and back even before Naruto had gotten his hands on the defenses, and now every inch of the perimeter was covered in some type of seal or another—but that didn’t mean that someone hadn’t found a way to sneak through. They’d only been genin for two months now, but if Naruto had the element of surprise, maybe he could hold off an enemy long enough for Kakashi to arrive.

Only…when Naruto slid through the door into the other bedroom, he didn’t see anyone right away. The window was shut, the seal tag plastered just below it still intact, none of the traps disturbed. Sasuke was alone, but he was screaming, thrashing violently in his bed as if he was trying to fight an unseen enemy, face scrunched up in pain and wet from where he’d been crying in his sleep.

Nightmares, Naruto realized grimly.

There had been a time not that long ago—back when they were in the academy, rivals but strangers still, back before Kakashi-sensei had made them a team, made them a family—when he would not have known what to do. When he wouldn’t have understood even if he’d recognized the pain.

(Naruto had nightmares, too, after all, though they were quieter. It had never been safe to be loud when he was vulnerable or hurt.)

But now, having lived with Sasuke for two months, the urge to comfort was as natural as breathing. Even if this exact situation hadn’t happened before, Naruto still remembered the way Sasuke had gone stock-still seeing Kakashi-sensei’s sharingan the first time, still remembered the way he’d thrown up after that one spar where he’d managed to cut Naruto pretty badly, still remembered how he’d found Sasuke one night sitting in the kitchen, dark bags under his eyes but refusing to sleep. Naruto knew that sometimes Sasuke needed to be pulled out of his own head.

He dropped the kunai on the floor and approached slowly until he was able to kneel beside Sasuke’s bed. It had to be done carefully, or else Sasuke was likely to hit Naruto in his panic.

So he started humming. Lowly, at first, though slowly getting louder in volume, then graduating to softly singing some of the words, though Naruto didn’t remember all of them. It was a song he’d picked up in his early days of living alone, before the Hokage had found out he’d been kicked out of the orphanage, before he’d had an apartment. He’d lived, if only for a week, in the Red Light district, sleeping under dumpsters and spending the days sneaking through the streets. The children there had sung it, and Naruto had heard it enough that the melody had stuck, even if not all the words had.

By the time he was finished singing, Sasuke was awake, lying on his side and staring at Naruto in the dark.

“Alright?” Naruto asked, barely a whisper. When Sasuke didn’t answer, Naruto stood—he’d grab the futons and go wake Sakura, then; this obviously called for a living room camp out—but before he could go far, Sasuke grabbed his wrist.

“Don’t—” he said, voice strained from the crying or the screaming or both. “Don’t leave—”

“Okay,” Naruto soothed immediately. It must have been a really bad nightmare for Sasuke to ask openly for company. “Just…grab your blanket, okay? And whatever pillows you want. And then we’ll go get everyone else. Maybe sensei will let us cuddle with his ninken again. Does that sound alright?”

Sasuke barely nodded, but he grabbed his topmost blanket all the same and let Naruto lead him down the hall, never once letting go.

#whumptober 2022 #naruto #sasunaru #uchiha sasuke #found family

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