#(( present only in Gaea ))

[soraeia]

Stops walking to just sit down in the grass and rest, hunching over to heave a deep, tired sigh as she tries to recovery from a sudden spell of dizziness. "....More...?"

Quiets a series of coughs into a handkerchief, pulling the cloth away only to notice a stain of blood.

[anotheroceanid]

As a both a fem! percy and "percy looks like rhea" enthusiast, let me me present you:

Fem! Percy being quite literally the carbon copy of Rhea. If it's already bad enough as a boy, just imagine how much more obvious the resemblance if Percy is a girl. Imagine Zeus's reaction at being called out on his bullshit by a miniature version of his mother for the first time. the Olympians' reactions as Percy grows into a young woman, looking more and more like Rhea each year. Poseidon adoring her even more because not only she's his precious daughter, but also reminds him of his dear mother, the one they both inherited their eyes from and the one he faintly remembers before being devoured.

Maybe that adds another layer on Kronos' fixation on Percy. He's convinced she's the reincarnation of his wife, and while she betrayed him, it's stated she cared about her in his own way.

And because i'm jercy trash first and foremost, both of them sharing even more dramatic paralells of kronos/rhea with their romance. Zeus is definitely having a blast at seeing them together, and the rest of the Olympians are often hit with dissociations when Jason and Percy are together, seeing their parents for a moment instead.

According to the myth, Kronos was the one who pursued Rhea because he only wanted her as wife, and she loved him at some point. Just Jason falling head over heels for Percy at first sight and actively going after her, to Zeus' utter horror (and maybe Poseidon, but I think he actually keeps in mind that's his daughter and doesn't go crazy like Zeus does)

sorry i'm ranting here, anyway that's my headcanon

@seleneprince

YES YES YES

Fem Percy as Rhea’s carbon copy is so real 🤣🤣🤣 First time Zeus saw her he gasped and tried to not look guilty about something wrong that he did, a second later he started telling himself that that wasn't his mom, no need to be afraid. Yet, he still has nightmares that Percy Jackson is Rhea and that she is scowling him.

Which kinda turned true when Percy won the war and gave him the scowl of the century.

And ofc, this all is beyond amusing to Poseidon.

And about Kronos. My Kronos at least is kinda of crazy (side effect from eating godly babies) so to an extent he can't even differentiate Percy from Rhea most of the time. And his marriage, before kids and cannibalism, was exceptionally successful, so yeah, he is still sore about how it all ended.

So yeah, Jason falling head over heels at first time is so delightful. Especially because it terrifies the shit out of the big six, and also kinda leaves Gaea obsessed with them. I wouldn't be surprised if she felt some sort of claim over Jercy because they look so much like her kids, and That in a fem Percy context she would've wanted them as her sacrifices.

Also, Zeus pissed off that Poseidon’s forbidden child looks like their mom, while his looks like their dad.

EDIT: I FOUND IT IN MY DRAFTS AND I WAS PRETTY SURE I HAD ALREADY POSTED IT

[northlt03]

Rick is known to mirror myths a lot (Silena-Clarisse and Patroclus-Achilles, Polyphemus' cave, Hercules' labors, etc) He could and SHOULD have mirrored the Trojan war in HOO.

Let me set the scene. Gaea doesn't pop up until the last couple books. It's easy to be scared of something that is mentioned but not seen, which in my opinion, is why Gaea in the HOO books just wasn't scary enough.

So the antagonists in the first few books are the Giants working under Gaea's orders. Percy is kidnapped by them and given to the Romans in the hope that the Greeks and the Romans will go batshit crazy in a fight and forget all about the prophecy of the seven and destroying Gaea or whatever.

Camp Halfblood is fully ready for war. As soon as they find out (through an oracle or smth idk) that the Romans exist and they have Percy, not even Chiron can stop them. Percy is the hero of the Battle of Manhattan, of course, and the hero mentioned in the last great prophecy. He's like their modern Aristos Achaion.

Meanwhile, the Romans have no clue what's going on. There's this guy he's funny, he has no memories, he just shows up at their wolf goddess and trains and gets sent to them. Cool.

Juno can't stand to see New Rome be attacked. Whether or not they would win is a whole different story. So she plucks Jason from CJ and brings them to the Greeks just for some sort of a balance.

This mirrors the Trojan war in the sense that Troy was a fortified city, so is New Rome with tons of forts and walls. Aeneas' lineage went on to be Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome. And Helen of Troy was stolen from the Greeks.

Anyway so there's that conflict, but at the same time Camp Halfblood is getting ready to attack, Jason, Piper and Leo get sent on a quest to rescue Hera who has been captured by Porphyrion and Enceladus.

On the way, Jason starts to regain his memory a little bit, though he doesn't know everything yet. He's still super conflicted with everything. A pretty girl thinks they were dating, Leo says they were best friends, Annabeth says the Romans are enemies. But whom should he really believe?

Piper's whole arc through the first book could be about how she's the daughter of the goddess of beauty, she wrongly assumes her fake crush on Jason was her mom's fault. And she's learned so much bad stuff about her mom from myths, she outright rejects feminity and anything remotely girly at first but then slowly she gets to know Aphrodite isn't as bad as some myths make her out to be. Bonding and shit bc why should Poseidon be the only present godly parent?

Leo, meanwhile, has no idea he can essentially fire bend in the first book. His arc could be about discovering his mother's death was his fault, slightly and coming to terms with it with the help of his friends.

Reyna on the Roman's side is freaking out bc Octavian wants to go to war with the Greeks who are close to attacking them, there's a strange dude who keeps trying to pick fights with gods, a horse girl and not to mention monsters won't fucking DIE.

SON trio go on their quest to Alaska to kill Alcyoneus/ release Thanatos and things are getting clearer to them as well. Just when the Greeks are about to attack on CJ, Polybotes and the monsters attack as well. Somehow, both sides end up fighting the monsters together.

They're not friends, but they're not enemies either, bc Percy is reunited with his gf and Jason is returned to his home.

The Roman senate and the Greeks somehow come to the same conclusions- that a quest needs to go to their ancient lands. Over the next few months the work of the Argo II commences.

Things seem smooth for a while. But Gaea grows restless. She poisons Octavian and manipulates him through dreams and stuff like Kronos did to Luke. As is the nature of most Roman emperors, Octavian overthrows Reyna and declares himself the leader of New Rome like his namesake Octavius Caesar. (HAHA! HISTORY PARALLEL BITCHES)

This puts the actual quest on hold bc the seven now need to find the Athena Parthenos to bring together the Greeks and the Romans and to stop Octavian's plan of trying to fuck as much shit up as possible.

Reyna, Nico and say idk, Grover, are the ones to deviate from the quest and bring the statue to USA again. But the Seven are still very much in Europe after rescuing Nico.

Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus which helps close the Doors of Death, except this time since Nico isn't there, Hazel has to take on control over ghosts and the dead in the House of Hades and leading up to it. The powers of mist, in my opinion, should have gone to Piper since charmspeaking is a lot like bending the mist verbally.

Piper's arc through the third and fourth book is starting to discover herself and with the help of her mother, figuring out she doesn't like Jason romantically like she thought she did.

Hazel's arc is gaining control over what she once was (dead). She's jealous her dad was there more for Nico than her, but she pushes past it and never lets her anger and grudges get the better of her which is like breaking boundaries for children of Hades/Pluto.

Frank's arc in HOH was really cool, I like that. So no change to that.

Jason, poor guy is still very much confused about everything really. He's used to being the leader, he feels lost in the large group. He has his moments to shine ofc (please take away his excess amounts of head injuries), but he starts to feel inferior, which is where Leo helps him bc the guy knows what that's like.

Anyway, in the absence of Percy and Annabeth, Jason has to take charge. He discovers he doesn't really like it. That's not what he was meant for even though he had greatness thrust upon him at a very young age.

His BOO arc is earlier this time and takes place throughout HOH and BOO. He's content with himself, even if he isn't with anyone. HE'S THE ONE THAT GETS SENT TO OGYGIA!!!

And Calypso eventually does fall for him bc he's smart, nice, and just an overall swell guy. But he helps her to realize that she can be content in herself as well. And he promises her that he'll help her.

Show me Leo, Jason and Percy trying to think of ways of helping the goddess.

In any case. BOO could have been like Iliad pt 2 also known as the Odyssey. It takes them the whole book just to get to Athens. Meanwhile, they've understood that Gaea is the main main villain. She's even raised some of the other primordials against them.

Percy and Annabeth already saw Tartarus, and then there's Oceanus who makes their travel much harder than necessary. Something something about how they get tossed all over the place and somehow manage to gather all the correct ingredients for the potion (i forgot the name lol) on their small adventures in the different places. In the end they finally make it to Athens. Except this time, there's only a few giants there bc they killed the rest before.

Annabeth and Percy are taken hostage, like it happens in the books, but PERCY WILLINGLY GIVES UP HIS BLOOD TO RAISE GAEA RATHER THAN LETTING ANNABETH GET HURT BC OF HIS FATAL FLAW LIKE ATHENA TOLD HIM WOULD HAPPEN EVENTUALLY!!

The Gods DON'T SHOW UP PLEASE!! That was so lameee. Why even do the whole quest if their mommies and daddies were going to show up to help them????

So while Percy and Annabeth are battling the remaining few Giants, Leo, Piper, Hazel and Frank go up against Gaia herself. In the old myths four titans held Ouranos down while Kronos chopped his essence up. In the same way, they battle Gaia away from her turf in the air, keeping her distracted enough. All these demigods are needed because she's a primordial dammit!

Jason, my guy, comes in a clutch, chops her to pieces and sends her essence to Tartarus!!

The world is saved, the end!

[everythingannoyingpjo]

Octavian: Final Thoughts

I don't actually think this is the last time we will discuss Octavian on this blog. However we've had a lot of good discussion about his character so I wanted to finalize my thoughts on the subject so that I have a reference I can look back on going forward.

Facts

Octavian is not 100% Evil:

Octavian is a child.

Octavian is a product of the culture he was raised in.

Octavian has reason to believe that the attack on New Rome was legitimate.

Octavian has reason to believe he is doing what the gods want.

Octavian is Definitely Guilty of:

Warmongering

Seeking power.

Being a jerk.

Octavian Might (Not) Have:

Killed Gwendolyn

Blackmailed Hazel

Prophetic Abilities

Been manipulated by Gaea

Intentionally allowed Bryce back into the military despite his questionable history.

Octavian's Narrative Function

An entrenched power for Percy, Hazel, and Frank to overcome. (But they already had the giants to overcome and didn't need a secondary antagonist.)

To make Hazel, Percy and Frank's quest more difficult. (His only opposition was in not giving them very much money and a crappy boat, but that could have happened whether Octavian was present or not.)

To make Reyna appear more sympathetic. (I feel like this could have been better handled a different way.)

To create a sense of urgency. (Again, there are other ways.)

Conclusions

Octavian Doesn't Make Sense

His actions, implied or directly stated, contradict his motives.

This could be because he's "complicated."

This could be because he's a plot device and Rick never intended him to be a "Real Character."

Octavian is Frustrating (Because)

He could have been "complicated."

Now I will never have the satisfaction of piecing his mysterious pieces together.

No one likes him.

I know how it feels to be unliked and the butt of everyone's joke. I don't like seeing people treated that way unless their truly irredeemable.

He doesn't make sense.

I can't even enjoy disliking him because he has no substance.

He serves no larger purpose.

The story would have been just as good as, or even better, without him.

Final Conclusion: Octavian is a poorly written character and an unecesarry plot device. We all cry for the villain he could have been. RIP.

[hollisxwrites]

Hi, can you do a short piece for Luke Castellan x reader, where Luke saves a mortal reader from a monster and they fall in love please?

as long as i'm with you, hero

gif is not mine!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REQUEST!!!

word count: 1.1k

warnings: one singular swear word, reader calls luke a pretty boy, slight mentions of violence, overall just fluffy and cute, probably a little ooc and definitely doesn't follow the main plot.

summary: after luke saves the {reader} from a horrifying monster, they fall in love. that's it, that's the plot.

Before I even knew it, a creature I had only ever heard of in myths was approaching me. I was terrified when I saw the Antaeus, an ugly, brooding, red creature nearing where I sat on a bench in Central Park. I looked around, hoping someone saw the demon too, but no one even looked up. I felt crazy, deranged even, hoping, and praying to any and every god I knew possibly existed. I didn’t want to die today. I was frozen onto the cold, metal bench, not knowing whether to run for my life or not, wondering if I was hallucinating all of this. The creature was ten feet away from me. Well shit. I thought. I didn’t know I was dying today. 

Suddenly, as the creature continued to tramp towards me, a young man, about my age, in a highlighter orange tee-shirt ran at the monster head on. I was shocked. I thought I was the one who could see the horrible thing, but apparently, the handsome boy with the dark curls could see him, too. His sword slashed at the creature, but every wound the boy inflicted on him was healed by the Earth. I guess Gaea was his mother. The boy, then coming up with a strategy, jumped up on the monster and hoisted him up with his...what is that? Flying shoes? Then, he sliced the head of the monster, and it turned into ash. The boy fell to the ground with a sickening smack. He didn’t move, so I rushed towards him. No one in the crowd looked at the poor boy, except me. Could no one see what was happening except me? I rushed to the boys side, kneeling down on the ground. I placed a hand on his chest to make sure his heart was beating, and it was. His breath was steady, but it looked like he must of fainted from impact, possibly having a concussion. I couldn't tell if he hit his head or not. I shook him slightly, and then again, when eventually his eyes fluttered open, and oh my god, his eyes were stunning.  

“Are you alright?” I asked, concerned about the boy. He winced a little bit when he tried to sit up, obviously embarrassed to be lying flat on the cold ground.   

He sighed and winced at the sun that was directly in his eyes. “I’ve been better. Who are you anyways? Did you see everything that just happened?” 

I nodded my head. “Yeah. I feel like I’m the only one who saw the Antaeus until you came out of nowhere.” 

“Well, I guess you’re just different, like me.” He met my eyes, and I swear I could feel my heart beat out of my chest just looking at this stranger. “What’s your name?” 

“My name is {reader}. What’s yours? Thank you for saving me, by the way. I would probably be dead by now if it wasn’t for you.” 

He finally sat up to meet face me, ruffling his hair, trying to make it look a little more presentable, I assumed. “Luke. Luke Castellan. And, you’re welcome. Never hurts to help a pretty person like you.” 

“Nice to meet you, Luke.” I said, blushing slightly. “Now tell me, what just happened and why could I see something no one but you could?”  

That day, Luke told me all about the world of demigods, Greek myths, and gods, and how everything that I have been told about them is real. He told me that his father, Hermes, abandoned him to fend for himself a long time ago, and now, nine years later, he was here, fighting off monsters for a camp that he felt didn’t appreciate him.  

Something else I discovered that day was that I am in love with Luke Castellan. His dark eyes and scar on the side of his face that I wanted so badly to kiss, and his demeanor of confidence that I learned was a ruse all made me fall deeply in love with him.  

All of this happened six months ago, and now, this mysterious demigod who saved my life is my boyfriend, and I am an honorary member of Camp Halfblood, due to my inclination to see through what the people at the camp call the mist, which put me in danger. The camp was beautiful, and I learned skills such as sparing, archery, and sword fighting. I spent time with Luke on the beautiful sunny days that seemed to last forever at the camp. 

I was walking across the archery field in my camp tee-shirt and bathing suit, using my hand to cover my face from the sun. I was alone, or so I thought, when all the sudden I heard footsteps following me to the lake. I looked back and saw the beautiful face of my even more beautiful boyfriend. I paused my walking and let him catch up to me. He picked me up in his arms and spun me around. I let out a joyful laugh, holding on to him in order not to hit the ground. He sat me down carefully and looked into my eyes, smiling his gorgeous smile that captivated me all those months ago. 

“Hi.” He said, smiling down at me. The sun hit his face at the perfect angle, illuminating all his features that I loved so much. He looked like a god, and I guess that was fitting, because he technically was partially one.  

“Hi, pretty boy.” I replied, in awe of him. My hands rested on his shoulders as I continued to admire every part of his face. My fingers went up to trace the scar on his face up and down. He relished the feeling, leaning onto my hand. I moved to caress his face, embracing his warmth.  

His eyes fluttered to my lips, and I smiled at him, pressing my body closer to his. He pressed our lips together, and every time, I felt blissful. He tasted like sugar and sunshine, and he was so gentle and soft with me. He started to press kisses all over my face, causing my face to warm up, not due to how hot it is. He placed one more lingering kiss to my lips, grinning into me. He grabbed my hand.  

“Let’s got swim, sweetheart.”  

“Anything as long as I’m with you, hero.” 

He smiled, pressing a kiss to my neck as we walked. I hoped in this moment that these days of sunshine and my pretty boyfriend never ended.  

[literallyjusttoa]

What’s better Christmas present than a bit of angst huh?

When Apollo was young, not yet a year old, he was banished from Olympus due to his crime of murder. Gaea called for his head, but Zeus shielded him.

“I will not rule as my father did,” he said “The boy can learn, he can be better.”

Apollo was sentenced to exile. Nine years, though he was not told this. No, Apollo was certain that he had lost his chance to join his family in the heavens. His father had spared his life, and as penance he now had to stay on the mortal realm for all eternity, alone.

The young god made due with what he had. He wandered through the fields of Greece, tending to the animals he found along the way. He would sing, as light and clear as the birds, and mortals would flock to the sound. Apollo was never allowed to linger long, but he fell in love with that feeling of warm comfort mortals seemed to carry with them, that joy that he could never quite reach. When he could, he worked, often for little reward. He wanted another taste, another glimpse of a less lonely existence. So he became a shepherd, a soothsayer, a musician, always a few steps away, watching but never being.

One day, in the middle of the coldest months, Apollo was hired by a farmer in the Vale of Tempe. He had a large herd of cattle and was in desperate need of a someone to care for them. Apollo traveled through the backroads and forests, making his way to the valley. When he arrived, however, he found no farmer, and no cattle. Instead, a lone man sat at the base of the river that flowed through the vale. The water was near frozen over, but the man did not shake. Instead, he turned, and smiled wide.

“Apollon,” Zeus said, “Olympus has missed you.”

Apollo was shocked. Had his father truly come for him? He dropped into a low bow, too nervous for words.

Zeus chuckled, low and warm, “Rise, son. There is no more need for humility. It has been decided you have done enough.”

“Truly?” Apollo asked, “May I truly join you on Olympus?”

“You may join me at home, Apollo.” Zeus responded, “Your home. Come, we shall perform a rite of purification in these waters, and then you will ascend to your throne.”

And so the rite was performed, and Apollo was cleansed. As far as the rest of the world knows, the two immediately ascended to Olympus, to the glorious applause of the other members of the divine court. Apollo took his throne, next to his dear sister, and began his immortal duties.

But there was a moment, one moment, which was kept away in that sheltered vale. Once Apollo had been cleansed, he stood at the bank, waiting for the next step. Any demand his father asked of him, he would have agreed too. But Zeus held nothing over his head. Instead, he summoned a cloak of sheep’s wool, and placed it over Apollo’s shoulders.

“A gift,” he murmured, “The golden treasures you were born with will bring you glory, but this my son… I hope this will keep you warm.”

And Apollo believed, with all his heart, that he would never be lonely again.

Time is a cruel master. As years bled into centuries that bled into millennia upon millennia, Apollo realized that loneliness would be his most constant companion. He realized that the source of this loneliness, this suffering, would often be the very man that promised to keep him warm. The fire of his father’s hearth burned everything it touched, leaving Apollo with blistered hands and a scorched heart.

But he still wore the sheepskin. When the loneliness crept into his bones. When the lightning crackled across his limbs with a burning pain, as warm as his father promised with an agony he’d never mentioned. When all seemed lost to the ground and the dust. Apollo found that wool cloak and cast it over his shoulders. Even broken promises can bring some sort of comfort. Even old sheep’s wool can bring an illusion of warmth.

I was his child once. He used to love me.

If only the bite of a king’s cruelty could be chased away as easily as the chill of a winter’s day. The wool does nothing, and the loneliness remains. Apollo shivers, and goes to rest.

[rachiebeee]

some Leo headcanons I have

Leo doesn't know what day his birthday is. He knows its in July, but he hasn't done anything on it since he was 8 and he used to act like it was/wasn't on certain days based on how well they went (he thinks its the 7th, but he hates the number 7 so he ignores it).

Leo has stolen and crashed a police car. He will do it again.

Leo's mother and Aunt Rosa both had dreams from Gaea that told them Leo was going to kill Esperanza, but Esperanza took it as an "he'll do it on accident bc he doesn't know how to control his powers" and Rosa took it as "It's a sign from God and this child was sent by the devil".

He's asexual biromantic, but in love with the idea of being in love.

He learns a form of script-based magic - the same thing that is etched on each stone used for the Hecate cabin. Jo is his teacher, but when he visits camp all of the Hecate cabin are happy to help him too. He views it as a code instead of magic, and only ever uses it in the things he builds because he forgets it can be useful on its own.

He's a Fall out Boy stan. Loves all types of rock too, but FOB was his gateway into it.

Every time he went to a new school if they had a music program he could join for free he would. Originally he'd just choose a new instrument every school, but on his third try he learnt drums and decided to stick with it.

HIs eyes look like yooperlite while it's glowing, but more like burning coals while he's using his powers.

On that note, Leo's body temperature can be way hotter than the normal person's. On a normal day where he's fine in everyway, he's hot but not hot enough for people to think he's feverish. When he's excited his temperature rapidly increases, as it does with stress. When he forgoes sleeping his body forgets to regulate his temperature, which leads to him either going very cold or very hot.

He can't really get fevers at all really. It's also very hard for a lot of illnesses to effect him because half the time he burns it up before he even knows its there. When he does get sick it's really bad though, because his immune system is actually pretty weak.

Related to that, he is the only known person who can currently be a theoretical host to a thermophile virus. Not that he would, but it is a thought that has crossed his mind.

He has a hobby of making little robots. He makes Piper a bronze eagle one as a present and he slowly starts to make them for his friends

Annabeth gets a cat because he thinks she has cat vibes and an owl would be basic. Percy gets an otter because Leo did not want to think about making a robot fish that works well out of water. Frank gets a chameleon as a joke, but he makes it so it can turn into a small dragon too. Hazel gets a snake, again for the vibes. Nico gets a lizard. Just like, a nondescript lizard. He makes Reyna a bronze dog to "complete the metal set", but it's based of a Molossus of Epirus instead of a hound. Jo and Emmie get matching gryphons, and Georgina's little robot is a llama. Leo makes himself a wolf in honour of Jason.

On the topic of making things, Leo also gets really into all forms of metalsmithing. Which includes making jewellery, which leads to him getting a lot of piercings. Piper does too, because they went to go get the piercings together. He loves giving people little friendship bracelets, and charms, and ornaments. He makes people themed cutlery sets.

His love language is gift giving, if it's not obvious.

He stays in contact with Apollo, but in order to not upset Zeus they frame it as 'music lessons'. As the inventor of the Valdezinator (and its best player), it's a pretty good excused. Leo does make new instruments occasionally when they feel like they're pushing the 'lesson' excuse.

They fr just gossip during them though, and then give each other a scuffed form of therapy. They go from talks about petty drama to unanswerable philosophical discussions to jokes that make no sense.

[shishuri]

Ive been rewatching Vision of Escaflowne (because youtube algorithm compelled me to).. ohh boy.. watching the anime with adult brain you realize a lot of things you probably missed when you watched it when you were a child

Ex.

Allen was 21 in the anime, and Millerna and Hitomi were 15.. it gave me big ick whenever one of those two flirts with him. And every time he kiss one of them i keep saying "15, Allen, get away).

When i was a kid i did wonder about the Dilandau/Celena situation, specially what goes on down under.. i mean Dilandau is suppose to be male so does Celena grows the matching parts too.. I realize now that Dilandau is probably a split personality for Celena to cope with whatever experiments were done to her, the experiments probably just enhanced Dilandau's presence. Because at the end Jajuka told Celena that its ok to turn back to the gentle Celena. And that is way sadder than what i thought when i was a kid and also what the hell was i thinking 😂

Dilandau was a major jerk, i never thought of it before but he was so abusive with his subordinates and now i wonder why those guys are so loyal to him.

Duke Freid is based af, he is the father who stepped up. He knew, he fucking knew that Chid wasnt his but he acknowledged him, loved him, took care of him and even trusted the future of the Duchy to him. He didn't care about Marlene's former lover, and the fact that she still chose him in the end, I am 100% sure this man is a green flag.

Chid was swole at 5 yrs old. This little man was able to carry a huge ass sword twice his size to present to the zaibach empire for their treaty. Either that shit was not as heavy as it looks, there is magic shenanigans involved or Chid was swole af. Also, for a 5 yr old he speaks like he's 10. Either he is a genius or children in Gaea age faster or the author never met a 5 yr old.

To this day i am still upset that Van and Hitomi never really got together in any media made (manga, anime, movie), Hitomi will always end up going home, now i am more upset that Allen got to kiss Hitomi and Van only got a goddamn hug at the end.. I want my farewell kiss at the very least.

Since Van is a king he may still need to be married to have heirs to continue the Fanel bloodline. However, if he was responsible enough and realized that he shouldn't have kids to avoid the Draconian bloodline to be passed on and possibly repeat the same problem he had with Escaflowne. I know he wanted Escaflowne to never be used again, but shit can still happen and may inevitably be needed to be used again. If who inherits the throne is not very strict in Fanelia, this should be fine.

What the actual hell was Asturia's power hierarchy. The king had 3 daughters, supposedly, the first born should be the heir, but he sent her off to marry into the Duchy of Freid, but the duchy doesn't seem to be part of Asturia, so it's probably a duchy of another country. The next in line should be Eries, but when the king couldn't do his job after Zaibach attacked Asturia, Dryden was in-charge and he married the Mallerna the 3rd princess, and even before that Dryden assumes or maybe told that he will be king when he marries Mallerna. Even in a 90s anime there was a middle child syndrome. I didn't care about this when I was a kid, but somehow it bothered me now. Justice for Eries (the forgotten middle child).

Dryden was actually a green flag.. i think when i was a child I didn't like him for whatever reason. But now I realize that he isn't so bad. Aside from marrying a 15 yr old (he was 21, according to wiki), but that's Royal marriage for you, unfortunately. Besides the ick when he flirts with Mallerna. He bought a mermaid to set it free, paid the repairs for Escaflowne (the price of his main ship), helped Asturia during the war, and he wanted to wait for Mallerna to choose him.

Escaflowne has a "click here to call the Repair guy" mechanism in it. Literally, they can call the Ispano and they'll come right away whenever, wherever if they need it repaired 😂. Top notch Customer Support service. Nowadays, if you call the repair guy it might take 5-7 business days.. that's being generous.

I still dont understand Folken's motive to destroy Fanelia.. he is literally the first born of the king of Fanelia, he can open Escaflowne, he could have just returned with a dragenergist and claim his right to the throne to get Escaflowne before Van's coronation. But instead he let Van claim Escaflowne and had Fanelia destroyed. It could be argued that Van needed to take Escaflowne. But at the start the target was just "the dragon" Escaflowne, not Van.

I also still dont understand why Zaibach needed to wage war and it was necessary for the Zone of Absolute Fortune. Of course everyone's wishes will be tainted with their thoughts of war, that was the last thing they were doing, their adrenaline is still working overtime. They haven't sat to think what is going on so of course they would unintentionally wish for the fight to continue, they were still on survival mode.. i think they would have a different result if the Zone was activated when everything was peaceful. Did they need the situation to be dire?

Dornkirk is Isaac Newton. Lol

By the way, the way Dornkirk described what happened when he arrived in the Zaibach Empire.. bro was having a major god complex, "sent there to save these people" like sir.. you end up there cause you wished hard enough.

I kinda missed animes having a bit meta in it with their opening and ending songs.. ex. The opening song for Vision of Escaflowne is the tune in Marlene's music box.

[mediumgayitalian]

fic rec friday 4

hi!! welcome to fic rec friday. every week, i pick five fics i have bookmarked and rec them with a little review. check them out!

Serenade by @porcelaincas

“Will Solace,” Nico said. They were so close now that Nico could see that there were golden flecks among the blue in his irises. “Are you trying to serenade me?” or the one where Nico falls for Will even before the battle against Gaea and it all culminates on a warm summer night.

i am always a deep deep sucker for fics where will and nico know each other, at least slightly, before BoO. theyre so fascinating and for what. in this one in particular...oh will helping nico in the bronze jar is crazy. i don't want to spoil it but my ass was sat on that seat reading.

2. Stupid Teens by tihsho

Will likes getting gifts, and Nico likes the way Will blushes whenever he gives him anything. It should be a simple situation, but nothing's ever simple for Nico. Something's bothering Will, and Nico can't do anything about it. Never mind that he still can't seem to put a name to these feelings, either. Maybe there's a point in here about anger and nuance, or maybe it's a point about being young, or self acceptance, or whatever else. Or maybe Nico's just reading into it too much.

yes the homophobia scene is a little gratuitous. HOWEVER. the beginning scene is so dorky and ridiculous that i actually smile WIDE every time, first time i read it i laughed out loud. and the whole nico likes to spoil will a little bit (a lot bit) even well before they got together headcanon is GODSENT its one of my favourites. and i also like in this one how will maybe needs a minute to get comfortable in his sexuality too!!

3. Find Happiness in Misery by percyspandapillowpet

"Nothing can make me happy, Solace," he spat bitterly before turning away and wiping furiously at his face. "I like to try." --- In which Nico is searching for happiness, for his childhood, and for a Christmas present.

this is an older fic, but i think it still holds up!! i love any fic that goes over the whole mythomagic thing tbh. theres so much story potential there and this fic had a very sweet premise.

4. Looks Like We'll Be Trapped Here For A While by percyspandapillowpet

Nico stopped in his tracks and turned towards Will. “The Aphrodite cabin is planning to prank us. Today.” Will raised his eyebrows. “How do you know?” "They were talking about it. I just heard them.” Sighing as if it were just what he was expecting to hear this morning, Will reached up to scratch the back of his head. “Okay. What do you want to do about it?” Nico pondered this for a moment. “I think we should hide.” “Hide? Where?” Will asked. “We can’t leave camp, and it’ll be awfully boring to stay in the forest or something all day.” After a quick mental scan of all possible locations, Nico realized there was only one unfortunate solution. “Um…how about my cabin?”

cheesy and fun!! the mythomagic scene in particular made me giggle. in particular i love this part and feel like you should all be made aware of it:

“It’s…a game I used to play, when I was little,” he replied carefully.

Will looked up at him. “Do you still remember how to play?”

He felt his entire face turning red. “Well…kind of, I guess, but I’ve outgrown it…”

Will glanced at the back of the box. “What’s the attack power of Athena?”

“Five thousand,” Nico replied automatically, and then immediately groaned. That stupid game was so hardwired into his brain, and now Will was going know how much of a weird geek he was—

But Will was smiling. “That’s adorable. Teach me how to play.”

nico being physically unable to hold the stats back....unbeatable headcanon. adore

5. Pawsitively Perfect by percyspandapillowpet

“Is that…” Nico couldn’t even finish is sentence when suddenly the thing mewed. A moment afterwards, it revealed its tiny brown face, turning to face the son of Hades with round, curious eyes that seemed much too large for the rest of its head. Nico would be lying if he said it wasn’t the most adorable little creature he had ever laid eyes upon. But soon enough, the reality hit him. Will had a cat. Cats were not allowed in camp. Will had brought the cat into the Hades cabin, so if they were caught, they would likely both get in trouble. Not that Nico was scared of getting in trouble with the cleaning harpies—it was safe to say he’d been through a lot worse. What he didn’t think he could handle was the shame of being ridiculed as the kid who tried to hide a kitten with Will Solace. Jason would never let it go. Nico glanced from the kitten’s face back up to Will’s, which was somehow equally as endearing with his pleading-blue-puppy eyes. He knew what he was going to ask just from his expression. He sighed. “Will, you can’t keep it.”

bleeding heart will my beloved. sweatshirt thief nico u are so real. honestly a power couple what more could u want. a kitten? there's a kitten, rest assured.

thank you for joining me this friday!! happy reading!!

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

i love thinking about apollos anatolian origins 😵‍💫

It stews in the back of my head too :3

There was this really good podcast on Spotify I found about Ancient Greece, and I listened to his Apollo episode first (because I honestly can't stomach the ones who paint him as 'terrible assaulter'/'epitome of the patriarchy'. Can't stand it. Seriously, there was this so-called 'feminist' mythology podcast i found and I Noped out of there as fast as I could - she didn't even mention Eros's involvement in the Daphne myth! She immediately went 'Apollo: the man who doesn't know the meaning of No' and I was like I'M OUTTA HERE.)

(It's very hard to find good Apollo content out there when you have educated yourself on what he's actually like :( )

(At least you immediately know those people didn't do their research shrug)

Thankfully, this one had a really good, really in-depth discussion about Apollo; his origins, his domains, his myths, ect!

COMPLETELY FREE OF BIAS TOO! HE JUST GIVES YOU THE FACTS, THE SYMBOLISM OF THE MYTHS, HOW THE CULTURE INFLUENCED THEM, ECT!

On my first (and only rn) listen I was like "damn i need to take notes on this sometime" that's how in-depth it is!

Here's the episode link if anybody is interested, btw!

What's cool is that he said that before Apollo came along, oracles and the like weren't as common in Greece - they existed, because Gaea was a thing - however, when he was imported in (possibly also with Leto! She has Anatolian origins too!), oracles became more of a thing as Apollo's popularity skyrocketed!

If you look at the number of Oracles Apollo had, you'd also notice that a lot of them are in Anatolia (Turkey today)!. Didyma, Miletus, Claros, ect ect! I think this just adds to the theory that Apollo's main origins come from Anatolia! When he moved to Greece, oracles came with him!

Which is so cool because in my drafts I currently have a picture of a webchart I made of Apollo's (many) domains, and I narrowed down the ones I think are his Big Ones - and Prophecy is one of them.

Very cool that Prophecy has always been part of him <3

Also, Apollo has many cities he is the patron of in Anatolia - Troy is obvious, but the island of Tenedos was his too (his son Tenes founded the city there), and he was the patron of Miletus (the city where he met Branchus btw for my Branchus fans out there)!

And going to Leto real quick, her migration from Anatolia religion to Greece's is probably represented in the Hymn to Apollo! Sometimes myths about wandering from place to place were meant to symbolize the importation of a god (Aphrodite floating ashore of Cythera, for example), and Leto...well, she was doing a lot more than the typical wandering in the hymn, but it still fits!

Some versions say she was guided to Delos by wolves from Hyperborea, others say Boreas helped her escape Python, still others claim a rooster was present when she finally was able to give birth and thus became her sacred animal (also she apparently gave birth to Apollo as a wolf? I don't quite remember which version says that but it's something I've heard XD).

Also Delos was very self-conscious about Apollo being born on it because it was afraid he would judge it for not being up to typical island standards XD

Moving to Apaliunas now! He's a Hittite god, but I haven't been able to find out of what :( The main piece of evidence we have of his relation with Apollo is Troy - Apaliunas was the god of Wilusa, who has been found out to be another name for Troy! There was a treaty signed between Wilusa and another city, and the representative of Wilusa's name was commonly translated to "Of Ilios" - and Ilios was another name for Illium, aka Troy.

(Fun fact: The son Apollo had with Ourea was named Ileus, after Troy! They are but a footnote in mythology but I made them Important in my Troy fic XD)

Plus, Apaliunas's name was connected to the Hittite reflex of Apeljōn, which scholars have theorized to be an early form of Apollo's name - remember Apollon? :D

Apollo also has connections to various other deities - the Italian Etruscan god Apulu (Aplu), the Celtic god Grannus, his Egyptian equivalent is Horus and his Phoenician one is Resheph! He's also been identified with Baldur from Norse mythology.

Apollo be wearing that trenchcoat, and he is wearing it well XD

[solarzilla]

The fact that out of the five main Marvel based tf universes, there's three future timelines where everything goes to hell, with Unicron possibly escaping from the matrix, a new generation of even more powerful Decepticons ready to restart the war, and an Autobot civil war breaking out even further into the early 26th Century.

You can possibly count Classics/Primax 207.0 Epilson as well seeing as SG Ultra Magnus destroyed the universe with only it's Earth remaining (who turned out to be Gaea, Primus's and Unicron's sis)

Ironically it seems the universes that have the happiest endings were G2 (being part of the main US Marvel comic) as Furman's novel, Alignment happened and so the Maximals & Predacons were born and so the Beast Cartoons happen, and Regeneration One where the original Autobots and Decepticons die of old age after being severed from the rest of multiverse but decide to do good with what time they have left and again the Maximals & Predacons eventually are born. There's also Rhythms of Darkness/primax 490.0 Gamma which ironically was presented as a dark alternate future but eventually did have a good ending with the remaining Autobots and humanity teaming up with a reformed Cybertronian Empire to defeat Unicron.

[huntingrays]

i’m bored and wanna ramble about my works in progress (esp since it’ll be a while until i post a new fic) so little summary time! also you can ask questions if you want, i don’t mind rambling about my fics and/or even spoiling some stuff

small summery of current WIPs (all valgrace)

1: Main long fic - wrapped fic

3/5 chapters done, 2/5 fully edited

Will be betaed. Trying to get it done before the end of the year but no promises. Can’t post finished chapters rn bc hasn’t been betad yet and need to make sure the endings of the chapters are consistent with the ending of the fjc

Jason POV. Angsty with an “open to interpretation” ending (but i, as the author, consider the happy interpretation ending). Multiple AUs told through dreams, main au is canon divergence where the war with Gaea never happened (so valgrace didn’t have their og meeting), contains MCD (is it rlly MCD if it happened in a dream? Will be a warning anyway). Asks if you would love someone if you knew how it would end

Est word count: was SUPPOSED to be 80k (20k each chapter besides chap 5)

Current Status: 104k (no clue how that happened uuuuuh)

____

2: College AU - 5+1 fic

Unknown word count, oneshot. Honestly all word counts besides first one are unknown. I just let the words wash over me

Leo is traumatized after confessing to a “sweet guy” who outed him so he doesn’t read to much into people being overly nice to him. Also, he doesn’t believe any guy could like him. This is unfortunate for Jason, the guy who is into him because his method of flirting is being very nice to him and “subtly” flirting with him.

The five times Leo thinks Jason is just being nice (and the one time he realizes he isn’t)

Current Status: 2k

____

3: A/B/O AU (rated T don’t worry, I love sfw omegaverse)

Leo is a late bloomer and presents as an omega very late. He realizes (after recovering from sudden presentation) that Jason is his fated mate (based on the scent on some clothes he left). The problem? Jason has already met his fated mate and it isn’t Leo. So, Leo hides his scent and vows to never tell Jason.

Basically Leo angsting over Jason and dealing with new instincts. Meanwhile, Jason gains feelings for Leo and realizes his relationship may not be what it seems. Deals with some ideas i had for omegaverse that i thought would be fun to play with (like can you manipulate scents and what happens if you end things with your mate?)

Multichaptered fic that I’ll likely write chapters for whenever i get into an omegaverse mood. Only have plans for beginning, twist, and ending (kinda).

Current Status: 800 (just started)

____

Other WIPs that I am off/on writing:

1: Modern/No Powers “Fake Dating” AU

Leo wants a bf and keeps annoying his friends about it. Jason doesn’t want their friends to murder Leo so he volunteers to be his fake bf and fulfill his romantic needs. They both have feelings for each other but are dense af. Their friends have to watch this train wreck happen

Current status: 1k words

____

2: Canon divergence/post canon AU

Crack treated seriously. Leo is turned into a kitten. That’s it that’s the fic.

Current Status: 700

____

3: Multiple whumptober fics (~7)

Will likely be very short (like under 5k hopefully fingers crossed). Mainly Leo centric but have a Jason centric idea for one. Have 5 ideas, need to work on the other two. Also have 3 additional prompts that I like and may play with

Current Status: 2 started, on hold until wrapped fic is done then they’ll be the main focus

____

4: Please Please Please

Based loosely on Please Please Please (but not a wrapped fic since that song came out this year).

Leo has a bf but Piper is worried bc of his last (toxic) bf. She’s sus when they (Piper, Hazel, Annabeth, and Percy) meet Jason but she eventually realizes he’s a smitten fool and approves

Status: 3k words

____

5: A/B/O drop fic

Scents change after presenting. As a pup, Leo hated his scent since it was similar to smoke. After his mom dies, he hides it. He continues to hide it even after camp. He ends up presenting but doesn’t realize. He keeps suppressing/ignoring his instincts. His inner omega gets upset at him and causes him to drop. He goes to Piper and Jason (he considers them his pack) to help him through it.

Current Status: 700

____

6: Soulmate AU. Also college AU

You have dreams of your soulmate through the eyes of their close friends. Jason hasn’t had a dream for years. Then, one day in college, he suddenly has a dream (and worries about his soulmate’s best friend who nearly burnt their place down trying to bake a cake). He’s very happy and already smitten with his soulmate. Meanwhile, Leo had spent so long thinking his bond was one sided that he doesn’t know to react to this new development. He’s worried about not being good enough for Jason and worries about his friends hating him.

Status: 9k

[anotheroceanid]

Moral of the story, Percy should have told her full name to the kids at the least once, maybe even told them what their last name was

She should’ve formally presented herself to them, but it never crossed her mind 😂😂😂 I mean, it’s been years since she heard her own name, Gaea only calls her “girl” “my child” and things like that, she forgot her own name was a thing 😭

[shykittykat39]

Headcanon

For Christmas every year at Camp Half Blood, people would put presents under Thalia’s tree, but when Thalia woke up people had to put a stop to that tradition. Cut to a couple years later, after the Gaea Incident, the hunters are visiting Camp and Thalia wakes up with presents surrounding her bunk. But the twist is that only one of them is for her, a couple campers *cough* Percy *cough* had somehow snuck in past all of the hunters and laid the presents by Thalia as a tribute to the old tradition. Thalia then hunted Percy down and tied him to a tree where Annabeth had to eventually come untie him, but he still claims it was worth it.

[sleepy-baby-witchy1]

iris

"but ceaseless war's upon us! time and again i've gone to battle, fought with men but i've never seen an army great as this. too much - like piling leaves or sand, and on and on they come, advancing across the plain to fight before our gates." - the iliad, book 2

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

family

iris was the daughter of thaumas (the personification of the wonders of the sea & an old sea god) & elektra (also known as ozomene, oceanid nymph & possibly a cloud nymph of storm clouds illuminated by the sun). she is the granddaughter of pontos (also known as pontus, primordial god of the sea), & gaia (also known as gaea, primordial goddess of earth); & also the granddaughter of tethys (primordial titan goddess of fresh water nourishing the earth) & oceanus (also known as okeanos, primordial titan god of the great river okeanos, all fresh water - wells, springs, rivers, rain clouds -, & regulated which divine beings rose & set from his waters).

her siblings include the harpies (also known as the harpyiai & personifications of strong gusts of wind), arke (also known as arce), & hydaspes (a river god of northwestern india). the harpies have quite a few names; aello, okypete, podarge, okypete-okythoe-okypode, aellopos-nikothoe, kelaino, & podarke-aellopos. the harpies were depicted as either winged women sometimes depicted with ugly faces, or winged women with the lower bodies of birds. arke was the messenger of the titans (before being replaced by ithax) & took the side of the titans in the gods vs titans war & got her wings cut off by zeus as a punishment. she was sent to tartarus. often, a faded rainbow is a sign of arke.

unlike many other gods, iris only had one lover; zephyros (also known as zephyrus). zephyros was one of the four seasonal wind gods (also known as the anemoi), the god of the west wind, & the god of spring. together, they had pothos (also known as pothus), the god of sexual longing, desire, & yearning. pothos was considered one of the erotes. the erotes (winged love gods) were a trio comprised of eros, himeros, & pothos. additionally, some sources say iris & zephyros are also the parents to eros; however, eros' parents were also said to be aphrodite & either zeus, hermes, ares, or hephaestus.

while iris only had zephyros as a lover, he on the other hand had quite of few lovers and children with them. in addition to fathering pothos & possibly eros, he is the father of xanthos (also known as xanthus) & balios (also known as balius), arion (also known as areion), karpos (also known as carpos), & the tigers. xanthos & balios were a pair of immortal horses gifted to peleus from poseidon, their mother was podarge, one of the harpies & iris' sister. arion was also an immortal horse who was said to be the fastest (or one of the fastest) horses; he had several people who owned him, such as onicus the arkadian, heracles, & adrastus. his parents were debated as either being poseidon & demeter, gaia, or zephyros & one of the harpies (suspected of being podarge). karpos was the goddess of fruits on the earth, her parents are zephyros & chloris (also known as khloris). some people say that karpos is actualy karpo (also known as carpo), same role but a god instead of a goddess.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

about the goddess

iris was the first messenger for the gods & the goddess of rainbows. after hermes assumed her former messenger duties, iris became a servant of hera. according to the iliad, though, iris was the main one to relay messages from zeus & hera to people - not hermes. besides being a messenger & the goddess of rainbows, iris is said to assist those with grieving & death as well. she is also present whenever the gods would make oaths, a pitcher in her hands filled with water from the river styx. whenever a god or goddess lied, they'd fall into a deep slumber for a year - this was all, of course, due to iris. besides being a messenger, iris would serve the gods nectar from her golden pitcher as well. nectar was seen as a delicacy, i'm assuming.

oftentimes in art, iris is indistinguishable from hebe. whilst both goddesses were very, very different from each other, they were identical in artistic depictions of them. iris was thought to be shown as a gorgeous young woman with golden wings, a water pitcher in hand, & a herald's rod. sometimes her pitcher was depicted with nectar in it, other times it was water from the river styx. iris was often shown to be by zeus or hera's side, further affirming her role as a messenger.

this goddess is connected to rainbows, communication, truth, grieving, rain, the sea, messages, and new journeys. she is one of a handful of gods that were allowed to travel between the underworld & the depths of the sea. much like hermes, if you pray but don't know who to pray to, iris likely will.

she is described as being incredibly fast. iris delivers messages & disappears just as fast as she appeared. whilst she isn't in charge of any domain in particular, iris is loyal to the 12 olympians - namely hera. due to her quick nature, usually you can see where she's been from rainbows. she's very colorful (obviously). i personally don't think she enjoys conflict very much. i feel she's a very soft-natured goddess as well.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

festivals

little is known about how iris was worshipped. there are no valid sources i've found discussing festivals dedicated to her, though i imagine people would invoke her for various reasons. although, the island of delos was known to offer her basymiae (type of cheescake made from wheat-flour, suet, & honey).

while i can't find a festival for her, nor a sacred day, belgium has a holiday called iris day on may 8, which is celebrated to mark the victory over the germans in world war II. additionally, people celebrate this day as a victory for democracy & a loss for facism. may 8 is significant to them as it's the feast day of their patron saint, saint michael.

fun fact: france's national flower is the iris, & tennessee picked the iris to be their state flower.

there is no known day for this goddess, unfortunately :(.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

symbols

postage stamps/cards, rainbows, feathers, water, prisms

flowers/incense/crystals/scents

frankincense, aura quartz, violet, moonstone, iris, sunstone, rainbow obsidian, myrrh, labradorite

sacred colors

all of them!

sacred animals

hummingbirds, other brightly colored creatures (especially birds)

sacred day

unknown

tarot cards

ten of cups, page of swords, temperance

offerings

wine, fig cakes, learning about her, spending time in nature, milk, honoring her & her family, using color theory, cloud gazing, writing poetry, baking cheesecakes for her, donating to charities focused on peace/ending wars, working on being in tune with emotions, honey, sending postcards to people, artwork, looking for rainbows (rainbow gazing?), olive oil

epithets

dewy, wonderous one, golden footed, blessed, of fair sandals, storm-footed, daughter of thaumas, wind-swift

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

sources

[superectojazzmage]

Of everything that happens in the new issue of Immortal Thor, this scene stands out the most to me as something I feel will be one of the most important scenes of both the issue and the run as a whole.

In the very beginning of gods, of Earth, of humanity, of stories, among the very first incarnations of the archetypes that Thor and Loki embody - the mighty warrior and the devious trickster - see each other and immediately get into a fight out of sheer revulsion of everything their twin stands for.

Good vs evil. Light vs dark. Order vs chaos. Brawn vs brain. Control vs freedom. Life vs death. Fate vs choice. Peace vs war. Mundanity vs magic. Law vs crime. Creation vs destruction. Love vs hate. And many more. Clashing opposites, battling for supremacy. A cycle of violence and debate passed down the generations, from father to son, mentor to student, predecessor to successor, and so on. Brother waging battle against brother just to prove a point, to fulfill their role in the story. An ideological blood feud applied to archetypes and titles and narratives. Trickling all the way down into it's present expression... Thor and Loki.

Already it's clear that cycles of this sort are going to be a very large theme of Immortal Thor. The concept of recurrences and stories being retold over the years have been talked about a lot by the narrator. The comic goes to great lengths to draw attention to how Thor and his cast and, by extension, their own world in the form of comics are falling into patterns that transcend through time. And I feel that's going to be the crux of a great deal of the plot.

Loki hates the cycle. In their roles as both the goddess of stories and the god of mischief, they abhor stagnation and repetition. They want to be free of the roles "assigned" by the narrative. They want to be free of the debate, the never-ending battle of good and evil that ha destroyed their family time and again. Thor would want to be free of it too, if he realized he were part of it. But he struggles to do so. He's a rock in the sea of time. A god among mortals, a child of two worlds watching in confusion and grief as his human friends age and change and die around him while his divine brothers and sisters continue to stay the same. In this, they are trying to do what Gaea wanted to do but couldn't; to break the cycle.

Toranos and Utgard-Loki don't want to break the cycle. They ARE the cycle. Embodiments of the sins of the forefathers carrying down to their children. Representations of the archetypes of Thors and Lokis at their absolute worst, shorn of all true depth and compassion and true belief in their aspects in favor of continuing the godforsaken argument. Shades of the old festering in the blood of the young, infesting them with their baggage, holding them back from growing better, and lashing out at them when the new generations fail to meet the standards of the elders. And they may not even realize they're doing so.

This isn't the first time this theme has come up in Al Ewing's work.

Immortal Hulk presents the conflict between the Hulk and his archenemy, the Leader, as a similar generational feud. Both in a literal familial sense (the Banner and Sterns families being divided and warring after Robert and Samuel Sterns turn on each other) and a larger ideological sense (people using the power of gamma for good or ill, going all the way to the first Hulk being born from a leader's selfish desire to misuse magic as a tool of conquest). Sometimes the thoughtful man is the hero, sometimes the brute is. But they always fight. Senselessly and pointlessly. And the Green Door and the horror it brings was only stopped... by breaking the cycle. By defying it. By Hulk choosing to never sink to Leader's level, or those of his predecessors, and instead choose to forgive.

And Ewing makes clear cycles and wars spanning centuries like this are common in the Marvel Universe. The Eternity Mask is passed down generations of men and women, always fighting for freedom against those who would deny it. Nick Fury passes his name and identity and role onto his son. There's always an Ant Man, inheriting their predecessor's problems, and there's always an Ultron, trying to claim dominion. Arakko and Krakoa alike are divided between those who hold to the old ways and those who seek new ways. Ebony and Ivory Kings do their work, from within and without. On and on, the wheels turn.

It even goes back to the very beginning. To prior multiverses. All tracing back to the first super battle, the first superhero and first supervillain - Lifebringer-One and Anti-All, the cosmic knight and the entropic dragon - fighting for the fate of the nascent world.

Effectively, Ewing views and represents the narratives of superhero comics as we know them, as a sort of repeating song. The metatextual commentary is that all this has happened before and will happen again, because humanity will always dream of heroes battling monsters. There will always be a knight and a dragon. A warrior and a trickster. A superhero and a supervillain.

But he also acknowledges how this can go too far. How comics can fall into stagnating loops of repeating stories and stall status quos. Spider-Men being denied their stories because editors want to live in nostalgia instead of the now. X-Men getting their progress towards coexistence undone because writers can't handle change.

And this is all what Immortal Thor is about and will be about. The struggle for balance between opposites and extremes. Cyclical narratives and worlds. Ideas and stories being inherited and passed on. And all of it a commentary on comic books themselves and their history and role in culture.

It's brilliant stuff.