#Cere’s Death is Not the Point of Her Story

[jonberry555]

New Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Review Shorts

Games offer a Different Emotional Storytelling Experience #starwarsjedisurvivor #starwars #shorts:

Comparing #starwars Jedi: Survivor and Fallen Order Story & Gameplay #starwarsjedisurvivor #shorts:

Cere’s Death is Not the Point of Her Story #starwarsjedisurvivor #starwars #shorts:

Facing & Fighting Vader is Every Star Wars Fans’ Fantasy #starwarsjedisurvivor #starwars #shorts:

[pharsalianostra]

Finals took me out for a bit, but I’m back, and I finally finished!!! Here’s Cleopatra and Livia in all their glory :)

Parallel Lives

To me, Cleopatra VII and Livia Drusilla are two sides of the same coin. They were born exactly ten years apart (Cleopatra in 69 BCE and Livia in 59 BCE), and were the female rulers of two of the most prominent Mediterranean powers of their time. Their families were deeply entwined: Julius Caesar was the father of Cleopatra’s son and Livia’s (adopted) father-in-law; Mark Antony was Livia’s brother-in-law through his marriage to Octavia; when Augustus conquered Egypt, he had Cesarion killed because he was a threat to Augustus’s apparent right to rule.

Both women grew up in a time of civil war and ended up on opposite sides of their families. Cleopatra openly fought her brother Ptolemy XIII and her sister Arinoe VI. Livia’s father and brother died fighting for Brutus and Cassius at Philippi. Her first husband sided with Fulvia and Lucius Antonius when they fought Augustus.

Both of them have been misrepresented by ancient sources and modern media.

Augustus’s propaganda hinged on the presentation of himself as a proper and modest Roman returning to tradition after so much civil war (other than the autocratic ruling ofc). He presented Livia as the ideal and perfect Roman matron, chaste, modest, and pious. He presented Cleopatra as the opposite. She represented the extravagance and backwardness of foreign monarchs. Augustus presented her as domineering over Antony, a reversal of the proper order (his slander of her was largely slander of Antony after all). And although Augustus publicly looked down on Egypt, he adopted many elements of Egyptian monarchy into his dynasty, such as the association of monarchs with gods—as Livia was associated with Ceres, Magna Mater, and Venus, Cleopatra mostly associated herself with Isis (who shares an origin with Venus).

Both were accused by historians of poisoning family members—Cleopatra her brother Ptolemy XIV among others, and Livia Augustus as well as a number of his heirs.

In modern media, Cleopatra is often seen as an over-sexualized seductress, Livia as a conniving and manipulative wife and mother.

Whether or not they did any poisoning, they were both incredibly intelligent and fascinating women and I love both of them a lot.

There are some of motifs in the drawing I want to point out:

- Cleopatra is wearing an Isis knot (the top layer of her dress), a common feature found in depictions of Ptolemaic queens that associates them with the goddess Isis

- She is also wearing a simple cloth diadem as often seen in depictions of Alexander the Great and all the dynasties that emulated him. It’s often seen in Cleopatra VII’s coinage

- She has the melon hairstyle, which she is seen with on coinage and in Roman sculpture. Apparently she popularized it among Roman women when she visited the city!

- Her snake bracelet and bull earrings are also common Ptolemaic motifs

- Livia is dressed like a proper Roman matron in her palla, stola, and tunica. The lack of jewelry is meant to show her modesty as well. Augustus and Livia went out of their way to present as a normal senatorial class couple rather than opulent foreign monarchs

- Her hair is in the iconic nodus style, as seen on basically all her statuary as well as that of other women in Augustus’s household such as Octavia

- Both Livia and Cleopatra are depicted holding cornucopias in their statuary. It associates them with fertility, wealth, and number of mother-goddesses. Pomegranates are a symbol of Juno and Proserpina, wheat and poppy sheafs are associated with Ceres. Wheat is also important because it was a resource Egyptian had in abundance and that Rome was desperate for. A lot of the politics between the two nations were based around that trade.

- And figs. Well, there are a lot of stories that get told about Cleopatra and Livia, many of which paint them with misogynistic stereotypes. Cleopatra’s death has long been the subject of speculation and fantasy. Shakespeare writes that she snuck the snakes she used to commit suicide past the Augustus’s men in a basket of figs. Livia has often been implicated in Augustus’s death. A popular version of that being that she poisoned him with figs. These two women are connected by the imagery and symbolism of the fruit: femininity and fertility, poison and death.

[mhevarujta]

There is an excellent post explaining away Thomas bestowing upon himself a heroic role and how Ellen chose to deceive Thomas and to call Orlok out of love for the vampire.

I've seen the post in question and I've read a lot of meta from that person because, regardless of whether I agree or not, they are really eloquent and I love their references and their well thought-out posts.

Nevertheless, I do see a tendancy to overinterpret and to try too hard to project other stories onto Eggers' work. I remember a part claiming that when Thomas says that he will put an iron spike through Orlok's chest Ellen fears for Orlok. And yet this is absolutely not true. This is not the first time that Thomas says he'll kill Orlok. When he DID say it for the first time, the script gives us Ellen's raction: ELLEN fears it is impossible. She does not fear FOR Orlok. She fears(deep down knows, and this is a growing realisation as things unfold) that Thomas will fail. When she has made her choice? SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE MUST DO. NO MORE SHALL DIE FROM THIS. The emphasis is on Ellen wanting to save everyone. On wanting Orlok to be stopped.

Again, different interpretations are valid. But sometimes, when the focus is to prove a point rather than on the source material first and foremost, it can result in takes that blatant misinterpretations. To be fair, death of the author IS a thing. But trying to say that this is what Eggers himself intended is easily contradicted by a cereful reading of his shooting script.

[bassiascoparia]

On ToA: Octavian was Roman. He died when a strategy of his failed, and Apollo was punished. Did I get it right? So, the pjo! gods have both a "Greek" and "Roman" self , "they prefer to keep separate from each other". Now, we see time and time again how that custom / "law" creates a loophole usually working in the pjo! gods favor, but why didn't "Lester" end up in Camp Jupiter? Ok, in English, both of his names may not differ. However, irl, they'd be spelled like this: Apollon (Greek), Apollo (Latin). Even after Octavian's death, there were still "enough" children and legacies to "make suffer for godly mistakes". Why it's CHB that must watch Olympus' raging? I repeat: What does CHB have to do with CJs "hybris"? Can you help me understand ToA (better)? I like the series very much and don't want to criticize something that may not need improvement.

This ask was very interesting.

On ToA: Octavian was Roman. He died when a strategy of his failed, and Apollo was punished. Did I get it right? So, the pjo! gods have both a "Greek" and "Roman" self , "they prefer to keep separate from each other". Now, we see time and time again how that custom / "law" creates a loophole usually working in the pjo! gods favor, but why didn't "Lester" end up in Camp Jupiter? Even after Octavian's death, there were still "enough" children and legacies to "make suffer for godly mistakes". Why it's CHB that must watch Olympus' raging? I repeat: What does CHB have to do with CJs "hybris"?

It seems to me that Rick prefers the Greeks over the Romans, CHB over Camp Jupiter. I'm not sure if he even did that much worldbuilding when plotting out Camp Jupiter-in any case, he definitely knows CHB better than CJ, so that was where Apollo was going to go.

That's the best explanation that I can give-though it would be very interesting to see Apollo at Camp Jupiter and have a Roman daughter of Ceres. Being Roman (with all their strictness and discipline) would also contrast with Meg's wild, free nature which would have been extremely interesting to read about.

Can you help me understand ToA (better)? I like the series very much and don't want to criticize something that may not need improvement.

Oh, trust me, Trials of Apollo could definitely have been improved on and you absolutely should allow yourself to criticise things because everything should be subject to criticism (which is not hate, by the way. Criticism does not equal hate).

Two Hunters of Artemis were kicked out just because they were lesbians, and no, this is not ok. Ace lesbians do exist and love does not equal sex.

Its theme of abuse are amazing and well done, but the ending of it just defeats the entire point of the first series, which was to break the system of abuse.

Also, the way Rick portrays the troglodytes and the pandai is......definitely a choice. Not a good one either.

The way he sexualised Piper (her body was softly curved in all the right places) was extremely disgusting.

You should search up TOA crit on tumblr to get more information. Fair warning that some criticism is really just what the posters wish would have happened or their personal thoughts, not actual criticism of the story, so watch out for that.

Also, if you want to criticise or hate on TOA, then tag it under 'toa crit' or 'anti toa' because people want to look at things that they like about TOA.

[wantonwinnie]

I want to make so many posts about Jedi Survivor (HEAVY spoilers ahead btw) but one of my first thoughts is what a cruel twist of fate the title for the game is.

I mean, by the end of the story of all the current or former Jedi who are major characters (Cal, Bode, Cere, Eno Cordova, Dagan Gera), only Cal survives. Jedi Survivor (singular) in the most literal sense. And each die in their own tragic way.

Eno gets killed just because Bode wanted to be an asshole (there was no reason for Bode under the circumstances to kill Eno when he could've left with the compass) and needed Tanalorr for what ultimately amount to selfish albeit understandable reasons. I don't know what it means but it's especially tragic because there's no time to even think about Eno's death. His death is meaningless. It just happens and not even to Bode's particular benefit. It's a perfectly terrible conclusion for the Jedi Master of the older age, for someone who was able to escape the needless death from a clone trooper's blaster but ended up getting betrayed by a trusted ally anyway.

Cere's death was heroically tragic and quintessentially Jedi. She tried to take down Skyguy and gave herself up to buy time for everyone else to escape. She could've ran but didn't. And this time facing Vader, she didn't use the dark side at all. She was able to put her dark past behind her despite facing a part of it again. There isn't much else to say; it's a dreadful end to someone beloved by Cal as his mentor and beloved by me too.

Bode's end is heartbreaking, almost inevitable, and ominous. He betrayed everyone for what he rationally believed was a worthy cause. He thought that he was doing everything necessary to save his daughter, his one true love left in the world. But in the end he sacrificed what could have been an opportunity for so many others to seek shelter to only give shelter to one person. And his daughter did not at all appear to be on board with his plan. Bode was given chance after chance by Cal to stop, to surrender, but he kept going. He probably told himself he was in too deep, that there was no other option, blinded by attachment. Despite being a former Jedi, he became attached to the point where he killed one Jedi in cold blood and was ready to kill another, all so he could keep Tanalorr for his own family. Cal could've taken his direction; kept Tanalorr all to his own family, sacrificing an opportunity for others in need. But Cal knew that others needed as safest a haven that could be mustered, and Bode was only looking out for himself, so much so that he proactively worked for the Empire.

Dagan's death shows another window in Cal's potential path. Dagan was always obsessed with achieving Tanalorr, blinded by its majesty even after 200 years in bacta. He never stopped to reevaluate, after the Nihil invasion, after Sanatari pleaded with him, after waking up in a new era. He never stopped, always kept going, never thinking, never taking a breath. And that would have ultimately led to Dagan accruing power for its own sake, not for the sake of helping refugees or even really concerned with stopping the Empire. Cal fortunately was self-aware enough to realize that he couldn't afford to be that obsessed with fighting the Empire via Tanalorr to see the bigger picture of who needed help and how. And Cal spent the past 5 years and much of the game never having a chance to stop and think. His contemplation allows him to see that Tanalorr needs to be for refugees, not just as a base of operations.

Like Bode, Dagan is a fallen Jedi seeking Tanalorr, but unlike Bode, Dagan is obsessed with it in the abstract, in concept only. He was stuck in the past (literally so stuck he spent 200 years in a tank!) while The High Republic Jedi moved on to the present. The Order of old recognized that places are meaningful but only to the extent they help people, and if it would put more people in harm's way to stay somewhere, they shouldn't stay. That simple! But Dagan got lost in Tanalorr's potential as an end in itself, and simultaneously forgot its purpose. Extrapolating the lesson, Dagan represents what happens when Jedi get attached to the Force as a source of power for its own sake, instead of it as a means for good.

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Getting To Know You

Fandom: Supergirl

Characters: Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers, Lillian Luthor

Summary: Kara and Lena run into a familiar face while on a trip to Chicago. Whether it is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

Word Count: 3,015

Chapter: 1/1

Trigger warning: There is a mention of a death in the story. It happens before the events of the story.

Notes: This is for the Writing Workshop Week 3: Stories of a Place with @bettsfic and @books

Lena huffed as she finally got the coat over her body and zipped up. She looked down and smiled. It warmed her heart to see her six month pregnant belly. It took years to get to this point. She cupped her belly and started rubbing it.

“I can’t wait to met you guys.”

She looked up looking for her other half. She smiled when she spotted Kara coming towards her now all button up in her coat as well.

“Sorry I took so long. Clark had more photos that he wanted to show of Johnathan’s little league game.”

“You know that will be us in a couple of months.”

Kara cackled which caused Lena to smile more. Kara’s smiles were always the best part of Lena’s day.

“I already told Clark and Lois to be ready for the tons of photos we will be sending them soon. Speaking of….”

Kara slipped her arms around Lena and caressed her stomach.

“How are our little peanuts doing?”

Lena looked up at Kara pouting while holding her belly.

“We are all hungry.”

Kara kissed Lena on her forehead and said, “Let’s fix that. We can go to Ceres Cafe which is a couple of blocks from here.”

She held out her arm which Lena eagerly grabbed and headed out into the brisk October winds.

As they walked, Kara asked, “Are you okay to walk to the place? I could always fly us there.”

Lena sighed and rolled her eyes.

“It is only a couple of blocks. I think I can make it.”

Lena looked up to Kara pouting. She tried not to, but couldn’t help to chuckle.

“I just you and our little peanuts to be safe,” Kara muttered.

“We appreciate your attentiveness. You don’t have to worry about us all….”

Lena stopped and stared across the street. Kara noticed her stopping and eyes started to bulge.

“Lena, are you ok? Is it the babies? Do we need to get you to the hospital? Do we…”

Lena turned around and placed a finger on Kara’s lips to silence her.

“Nothing is wrong. It is just… Well, look.” Lena pointed across the street. Kara followed her finger and groaned.

“Your mother is here.”

“It is not just that. Look at what she is doing.”

Kara frowned and said, “It looks like she is standing in line for something.”

“And you don’t find that unusual?”

Kara looked at Lena puzzled.

“I feel like I am missing something here.”

“My mother has never waited in line for anything. She always claimed her time was too precious and would send her assistants to get her things for her.”

Lena started to cross the street with Kara trailing behind her.

“Why are we going in the direction of your mother?”

“To see what she is doing.”

“Do we really have to? Anyway, I thought that you were hungry.”

Lena stopped and looked back at Kara with huge round eyes and a large pout.

“Our little peanuts and I want to investigate.”

Kara sighed and shook her head.

“Fine, we can say hi. But if she does something even slightly shady…”

“I know. I know. We will leave immediately if she tries something.”

As they walked across the street, Lillian looked up and noticed them. She looked startled. Lena smirked. She has hardly ever able to surprise her mother before. Once they were in front of her it was a weird feeling. It was like they were strangers instead of family. Lillian went towards Lena to try to hug her, but stopped after seeing the glare on Kara’s face. Lena was surprised to see a wince on her mother’s face, but it was quickly replaced by one that was passive.

“Lena and Kara. What brings you to Chicago on this fine day?”

“The Art Institute of Chicago did an exhibit on the planet of Krypton. We showed up in support along with Clark and Lois,” said Lena.

“Ah, I heard about that event. It was a good gesture on their part.”

“Yes, it was just swell,” said Kara.

They all started at each other awkwardly as the line moved forward over the next couple of minutes.

Lena cleared her throat and said, “What is this line for anyway?”

Read the rest on AO3

[lesbian-cal-kestis]

it's all downhill from here (in the outer nowhere)

Summary: Cal Kestis is reminded of his past, causing havoc while trapped in a memory he will never forget. Title from Bleed Me an Ocean by Acid Bath.

Warning/s: Minor Character Death

Pairing: Merrin/Cal

Characters: Cal Kestis, Nightsister Merrin, Greez Dritus, BD-1, Kata Akuna (mentioned), Prauf (mentioned), Jaro Tapal (mentioned), Original Character/s

Additional tags: Cal Kestis needs a hug, he doesn't get one, canon-typical violence, angst, hurt no comfort, okay maybe there's a little comfort, post-Jedi: Survivor, Planet Jakku (Star Wars), panic attack, dismemberment (brief mention), Cal needs to understand that avoiding his problems is not a substitute for therapy, flashbacks, Order 66 (Star Wars), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD

Language: English

Word count: 3.1k

Cal Kestis was by no means a lucky man. 

Three of the previous missions he embarked on had gone sour, the Empire somehow finding him at every turn; he didn’t doubt this mission would be any different. Time and time again, the people he tried to help would be killed or captured or maimed or-

“Kid, grab some seat! We’re coming in on Jakku - lots of Imperial chatter going on there…” His pilot, the vertically-challenged hairball he’d been venturing with for most of his adult life, announced over the ship's communications system. 

Cal inhaled shakily, wrapping his hands around his lightsaber and fighting the urge to sense the few echoes he had not seen. Imps were never a good sign, but the young man could only hope the force would fulfil his request for a peaceful rescue just this once. 

The hyperspace travel time was long enough for Cal to familiarise himself with the Hidden Path’s target; an Abednedo male, relatively tall with a solid build, who had an impressive collection of communication codes stored in his safehouse. The codes also contained locations of hidden refugees throughout the galaxy, all hiding from the Empire for one reason or another, and the Path was bent on assisting them no matter the cost.

Cal jogged into the Stinger Mantis’ cockpit, sitting in the co-pilot’s chair - his rightful spot, now that Cere was gone. He looked back towards the cockpit section that allowed the Mantis to track communications from external channels, eyeing Merrin in her position, her eyes firm on the console. Her hair was tied up in a style that Cal adored - A neat bun with a few stray hairs that weren’t long enough to be tied up hanging down, framing her face beautifully. He couldn’t get over how gorgeous she was. 

He then looked to his left, opposite where the Nightsister was seated, and let his gaze rest softly on Kata. It was hard for him to believe how much she had grown and matured, even with her father's absence. She may not have been force-sensitive, but she made up for her lack of abilities with “space magic” - a term that Merrin laughed at - with her capabilities in marksmanship. 

“Cal, you are staring.” Merrin pointed out, her voice sending a wave of warmth throughout Cal’s body, her soft tone putting a slight smile on his face. 

Turning back to look out through the windshields at the barren planet below, Cal noted the Star Destroyers that weren’t far off from them; far enough away not to notice them, but relatively close to their mark. The planet reminded him of Jedha, with plenty of ancient sites burrowed beneath the sand, grasping at the force for somebody to tell their story to. 

Not today, Cal thought. I have somebody to meet. 

Descending into the atmosphere of Jakku, the city of Reetskii grew as they flew across the horizon. The Mantis crew marvelled at the structures they flew past, watching the sands of time move with the winds the ship created as it sped through, eager to find the Abednedo. 

There were few landing bays in the near-forgotten city, but it made sense to have less than 10 areas for spacecraft. Reetskii roughly translated to “the leftovers” in Galactic Basic Standard, having no minerals or ores to mine, and barely enough agricultural facilities to support the settlement - the perfect place to hide away from the Empire. 

Though, not perfect enough, it seemed. 

Upon docking, Cal eyed a stormtrooper squad, their armour gleaming harshly in the Jakkuvian sunlight. It was almost blinding, and had Cal not turned around, he was sure he would have had colourful spots dancing in his eyes from the glint. The Abednedo’s hideout was visible from the landing pad the Mantis was stationed on, his purple skin only just noticeable through a gap in the door. 

“You guys see that?” Cal asked, kneeling behind the ship’s controls to remove himself from the trooper’s field of view. “Small batch of troopers right near the hideout. Do you think they found out about the codes?”

“No,” Merrin replied, squinting to get a better look at the area around their mark. “I do not think they did. The Abednedo is still alive, his body would be dumped outside the building and covered in scorch marks if they knew of the codes.”

“They might want him alive.”

“They do not.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because, Kestis. They have no reason to take him alive.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do, actually”

“Well if you know so karking much why don’t you just-”

Greez cleared his throat, eyes darting nervously between Cal and Merrin. The Latero knew things had been on edge for them lately, and stars knows what caused it, but they had a mission to focus on. Bickering like an old married couple was helping nobody. 

Rolling his eyes and standing from his crouched position, Cal put his arm out to the ship's console, BD-1 taking his place on his shoulder. 

The clock was ticking, and minute by minute the deadline to retrieve the codes was drawing closer. 

Exiting the Mantis to set foot on the dusty walkway of the landing bay, Cal walked with purpose towards the Abednedo’s residence, his gaze flittering around between multiple threats he took mental note of. Funny, he thought, we’ve been communicating with this guy for three cycles and we still don’t know his name. And it was true; the Abednedo was nameless thus far, merely being referred to as “the Jakku contact”. It made Cal feel uneasy, not being able to put a name to the face - it allowed his mind to wander too far, likening the Abednedo to… him. 

Pulling up the hood of his lightweight poncho, Cal continued to close the gap between him and the building the contact was located in, BD letting out a string of beeps and trills. 

There’s a lot of Imperials around here, the droid noted, Merrin might’ve been wrong. 

Oh, how Cal loved it when his little companion took his side during his and Merrin’s spats - it made him feel less lonely in the world. The boy let out a slight chuckle, more a huff of laughter than anything, and strode closer to the door that held the codes. His gait remained confident, to not give away his anxiousness about the entire situation. The force signatures that resided within Reetskii were ill at ease, almost screaming to Cal that something was wrong.

He ignored them. 

Knocking on the door of the hideout, Cal rocked gently on his feet, energy buzzing around him. A small security hatch opened, with a singular eye visible through it - the eye was waiting for a password.  

“Tanalorr welcomes you,” the redhead muttered loud enough for the individual behind the door to hear him. He picked up on the sound of a complex locking mechanism opening, the door sliding open just enough for him to squeeze through. Cal jumped as a large hand rested on his shoulder, his gaze rising to look at the being before him. 

Prauf-

“I got to give you the codes now, kid. Don’t know if you noticed, but the Imps are sniffing around like starved tooka-cats,” the purple-hued brown-skinned humanoid stated, his mahogany eyes trained on Cal, alerting him to the urgency of this task - but Cal couldn’t look away. He couldn’t move. 

Cal knew that he would struggle with this mission before the Mantis entered its two-day-long hyperspace journey to Jakku. He didn’t think he’d freeze up under the watchful eye of an Abednedo that was the spitting image of the second person in Cal’s life to sacrifice their existence so his could continue. Eyes beginning to well with tears that would forever remain unshed, the boy shook his head lightly to bring himself out of his catatonic state. 

“Yeah, yeah, the uh- the codes, right,” he stuttered, grabbing the data disk that contained the valuable information from the Abednedo’s outstretched hand (when had he outstretched his hand?), offering it to BD-1 for safekeeping. “Are you coming with us? There’s plenty of space on the Mantis -  the Hidden Path could use somebody as versatile as you,” he questioned, instilling his tone with a kind of curiosity he could not will himself to truly feel at the current point in time, his mind digging memories to the surface that he would prefer to have stayed buried. 

“That’s the plan, kid,” the contact replied, grabbing a small bag of supplies from a hook behind him. He was dressed casually, with clothing that would keep his large form cool in the desert heat. Cautiously stepping out from the hideout, the Abednedo took a wary glance around, ensuring the stormtroopers wouldn’t notice their hasty departure. 

The Abednedo signalled for Cal to follow him, so he did. Weaving through relatively small alleyways and passing by market stalls, it was evident that the red-haired human was being led a backway to the Mantis’ location. 

They couldn’t be more than twenty paces from docking bays when Cal heard it- the unmistakable shout of a stormtrooper alerting his peers to an individual running around with a lightsaber on his belt. There was no star system in which this could be good for them. 

“You! Stop right where you are, in the name of the Empire!” The trooper shouted, his blaster aimed directly at Cal’s heart. Looking back to the Abednedo, who already had his palms raised in surrender, he knew a split-second decision had to be made. 

Reaching slowly for his lightsaber, the trooper stalked closer to the unlikely pair - perhaps not all that unlikely on Jakku, but still unlikely - barking orders at Cal to not do what he was thinking of doing. Hearing the plastoid dog alerting the rest of his squad to the presence of the Jedi, he knew it was too late to stop what was happening. Blaster bolts began racing towards Cal and the contact, being easily reflected by the Jedi’s brilliant orange ‘saber, its glow matching that of the desert sunset that was encroaching on the horizon. 

The death of the reporting trooper seemed to summon two, three, ten more in front of the two men, most wielding blasters with a few baton-wielding hounds accompanying them. If he were on his own, this group would be easy to dispatch. With an ally in tow, however - not so easy. He would have to keep note of any stray blaster bolts, fired or reflected. He’d have to take note of who the baton wielders were targeting, he’d have to-

The hum of a crimson lightsaber. A scream so primal that it reawakened the abilities of the force that the padawan had lost during the purge. The unmistakable thump of a body hitting the ground.

Except this time, it wasn’t a lightsaber. It wasn’t a scream. It was a shout of surprise, and a body hitting the ground. A body hit the ground. It hit the ground, it hit the ground, it hit the-

An electrified prod woke Cal from his panic, reminding him he was still in a fight. Reminding him he wasn’t on Bracca, he wasn’t being stared down by Inquisitors as he helplessly watched his best friend be murdered in cold blood. He was on Jakku. He was on Jakku, gathering contact codes for the Hidden Path. He was on Jakku, following Prauf - no, not Prauf, an unnamed Abednedo - to the Mantis. 

An unnamed Abednedo that sat against a wall, head slumped, body motionless. An Abednedo that had thumped to the ground. An Abednedo that, like Prauf, was dead. He was dead. Because of Cal and his carelessness and his incorrect assumption that his lightsaber wouldn’t be seen. The incorrect assumption that nobody would notice him slow time, that nobody would notice him use the force. 

Cal couldn’t think. 

He couldn’t breathe.

Prauf, his body lifeless, the ever-present spark in his eyes dissipating, his force signature disappearing, the blade in his chest extinguishing. 

Lifeless. 

Dissipating. 

Extinguished. 

Dead. 

And then Cal was on the Albedo Brave, clones firing at him, his master urging him to activate the controls for the escape pods, and this time? This time, he would fight back. 

Cal spun his ‘saber in his hand, raising it above his head with determination and striking down any clone that dared to show its helmeted face to him. One, two, three, ten clones were dispatched, limbs and heads rolling across the deck of the ship, and as Cal turned around to check on his master, nothing had changed. 

His master lay lifeless on the floor of the escape pod, the rise and fall of his chest dissipating, his life extinguishing before Cal’s eyes. Dead.

One thing had changed throughout all the chaos and confusion felt by the young padawan. 

No last words were exchanged. 

And, Merrin was beside him.

She was resting a loving hand on his cheek, turning his gaze from his Master - no, it was Prauf, and then his Master again - to her. The warmth of Merrin’s touch helped slightly with grounding the boy, but nowhere near what either had hoped.

“Merrin, Merrin you need to go, the Clones are coming, and the Inquisitors, I can’t hold them off for long but you need to run,” he stammered out, breaths ragged and eyes darting around frantically, unable to shake the surroundings his brain had convinced him were real. The walls were closing in, or at least it felt they were to the Jedi. He felt small next to the Nightsister, his juvenile form from the Purge enveloping him the way a jaw plant would to smother its prey. Cal’s breathing continued to be erratic as he brought his hands to the back of his head, interlocking his fingers and rocking himself back and forth in a sorry attempt to release himself from the memories that plagued him. 

A distant voice spoke, and though Cal could not make out what it was saying, he could tell it was trying to comfort him as smoke shrouded him, followed by a flash of green and a feeling of warmth surrounding the young boy. 

He was so, so tired. 

Maybe he should sleep.

Something was wrong, Merrin could tell that much on her own. Even without force abilities as complex as Cal Kestis’, she had enough insight with the power Dathomir bestowed upon her to tell that something was wrong. She had already instructed Greez to start the engines of the ship, and to keep it idle until her return - she didn’t doubt her decision. 

Coming across a tide of amputated appendages and the smell of charred flesh, Merrin’s belief that Cal was in trouble further solidified itself in her mind. Seeing him crouched over a body, body shaking as he took harsh, jagged breaths. She had seen her Jedi like this before, when they had shared a bed at night and he tossed and turned so viciously that he unconsciously threatened to fall out of the Mantis’ sleeping cots. How could he be having a nightmare in broad daylight? Was he sleepwalking? No, he couldn’t be - he was awake when he left to gather the codes, and he slept as well as he could the previous night. Maybe it was what Cere had told her about all those moons ago, something that resembled a nightmare while the person suffering was awake. 

Merrin believed Cere had called it a ‘flashback’. She couldn’t be entirely certain, however. 

As she approached Cal, Merrin could hear him mumbling hurriedly, his sentences sporadic and nonsensical to ears unfamiliar with his past. He was sputtering about how he had failed, and how he was sorry, begging please Prauf I’m sorry, please Prauf, please wake up. The names changed from Prauf to Master too many times for Merrin to keep track. 

She had no idea how to stop this, she didn’t know if she could stop this, but Dathomir be damned if she didn’t try. 

Reaching out an ungloved hand, Merrin rested her palm gently on Cal’s cheek, softly turning his face towards her and away from the body of their contact. Cal had a far-away look to him as if he was looking through her instead of at her, as if he was standing on a planet and looking absent-mindedly to the stars. She rubbed circles on his jawbone with her thumb, willing him to wake from this nightmare, to come back to her and the gifts the future would provide.

And he did. 

Just not in the way she had hoped he would. 

The terror visible in Cal’s eyes tore apart Merrin’s heart, the tears in his eyes falling without shame. Her Jedi was being tortured by his mind, and though he was aware she was here, he did not wake. Spouting out obscenities about the Clones and the Inquisitors closing in, how they would hurt her and how he would hold them off for as long as he could, Cal rose to his feet. He ignited his lightsaber, in a stance that would allow him to block or parry any blows thrown at him, but there were no enemies nearby. There were no Clones or Inquisitors, nor were there any Stormtroopers nearby - he had already dispatched them in ways far more barbaric than Merrin had seen him use before. 

“At ease, my Jedi. You are okay, there is nobody here but you and me. Rest, allow sleep to overcome you,” she whispered tenderly into his ear, worried she might cause him to run. The magic she imbued into her words stopped his flight response, attempting to lull him into a dreamless slumber. Curling himself into the fetal position, Cal sat down and rested against the wall of a hut, interlocking his fingers behind his head. He was… scared. What had he seen that terrified him to the extent it made him regress into a child-like mindset? She could only wonder, as she knew asking Cal any questions while he was in this state would result in answers that made no sense. 

Allowing her magic to surround both of them, Merrin summoned them back to the Mantis, laying Cal down on the potolli-weave fabric of the couch cushions. Greez and Kata looked on with concern, but all she had to do was give a slight nod and they were off, making their way home to Tanalorr. 

Her Jedi could rest easy tonight.

[goldenteaset]

I'm having so much fun with Virche Evermore! It's exactly the level of Gothic Romance I wanted, and often more romantic than I believed it would be. Scien is currently my favorite, but perhaps that's to be expected from someone who continually got "Pragma" (or "Ludus") on Cupid Parasite's love quiz. XD

On that same token, though (just unlocked Yves' route): am I doing sci-fi "wrong" if I'm considering the science as a vehicle for emotion and character rather than something "plausible"? Because I keep seeing people complaining about that and I'm so confused.

Analysis and spoilers for Lucas and Scien's (pre-Salvation) endings under the cut!

For example, I started with Lucas' route first. I went into it expecting this quiet, grief-filled story of a man struggling to choose between dying as himself VS continuing the vital community role he loves (teacher) at the risk of losing that passion for teaching. As the route progressed, the conflict became more, shall we say, "man vs man", but to me it didn't seem to lose much in that switch? If anything, it became clear that sometimes in this story love "comes too late", but it's worth feeling and sharing all the same. The themes of cults and Weird Science (tm) are there to enhance those emotions and that sense of loss--they're almost metaphorical that way.

Where that does fall apart for Lucas' route specifically is how he as a character feels very focused on the spiritual, not science and medicine. "What is the nature of the soul? What makes us human?" I think the antagonist chosen for him falls flat because of this: Cappuchine acts in accordance with those spiritual conflicts for 99% of the route until he's suddenly The Most Science Person. His way of "loving/preserving" is genuinely fascinating if viewed as a foil for Scien, but as a foil for Lucas specifically? They don't quite mesh. (Love the evil lair and outfit switch though, very classic and classy!)

To wander back to my point: I think Scien's route (pre-Salvation Ending) gave me more Feelings because the spiritual and science themes are better woven into his and Ceres' relationship. Both of them have these suffocating, abstract mantles placed on them by others, and through each other they learn to embrace and reject those mantles simultaneously. "To err is human", and yet "what a piece of work is man". Scien never stops thinking of Ceres as a human being, even when things spiral. Ceres has her sky-high expectations of Scien dashed to pieces by his hand, and as a consequence can point out his flaws with impunity. Their love is exhilarating, born of madness and hope. They're nothing less than devotee and God, offering and receiving tribute and acceptance at their lowest points...but they're also nothing more than a man and woman who respect and love each other.

When Scien says to Ceres "If the world will not forgive you, I will," it feels like the first time that mantle of Godhood has worth. And so it's not surprising when right after this comes his huge moment of self-discovery: "to forgive is divine", but "to err is human", after all. His downfall in his Despair Ending comes from hubris--but also, fittingly, from Lucas, the one character (so far) who adores Ceres like a devotee but can't accept her flawed humanity.

The science of Reliver technology and Death's Curse are like spotlights shining down on them--whereas for Lucas and Ceres, those same concepts get in their way as much as they help illuminate their love. And yet I can't find it in myself to discard the writing in the latter's case. I'd rather a story be as flawed as the humans that made it. That way, the emotional high points can be that much more exhilarating when they hit as hard for readers as they must have the writers when they realized, likely mid-sentence, it's working.

[thehumanityofgreekgods]

Pluto | Not a planet, but is the God of the underworld Hades

Background of the mythology

Pluto is the Roman name for the god of the underworld in Greek mythology, Hades. According to History Skills,  Rome in the third century BCE adopted Greek Goddesses and Gods; at this point the Rome’s religion was considered to be animism. When the Greek Goddesses and Gods were adopted along with their personas, they were given Roman names. In addition to Pluto, which is Hades, there is:

Jupiter (Zeus) Juno (Hera) Neptune (Poseidon) Mars (Ares) Venus (Aphrodite) Diana (Artemis) Minerva (Athena) Ceres (Demeter) Vulcan (Hephaistos) Vesta (Hestia) Apollo (there is not roman equivalent because they adopted his original name) Bacchus (Dionysus)

Pluto

According to NASA the planet Pluto was discovered in 1930 and declared as part of our solar system, then reclassified as a dwarf planet 76 years later in 2006. In short, Pluto was reclassified because it was too small. The story of how this non-planet got its name is quite charming. When it was discovered in 1930, an 11-year-old girl from Oxford, England, named Venetia, submitted the name Pluto with the help of her grandfather to the Lowell Observatory, where it was then selected.

Within Pluto’s orbit, there are at least five moons, all named after mythology that is related to the underworld. In the article “Two of Pluto’s Moons Get Names From Greek Mythology’s Underworld” (2013) from the New York Times by Dennis Overbye, he states that two moons were officially named in July of 2013, Kerberos (Cerberus) and Styx. The other three moons are named Charon, Hydra, and Nix (Nyx) were discovered and named before 2013.

Kerberos is the famous three-headed dog, Hades' pet who guards and protects the underworld. Cerberus (Kerberos) also makes a brief appearance in the Disney movie Hercules. According to Avi Kapach, some versions of mythology describe him as having a mane of snakes in addition to the three heads; other versions describe him as having more than fifty heads.

Styx famously referred to as the river Styx and the river of hate and death. According to Prof. Geller on mythology.net, “The word means hate in Greek and is named after the goddess, Styx. She was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys.” In the underworld, there are 5 major rivers; in addition to the most famous one, there is the river of pain “Acheron”, river of forgetfulness “Lethe”, river of fire “Phlegethon”, and last but not least, the river of wailing “Cocytus”. In my opinion since there are 5 moons discovered around Pluto’s orbit, then why weren't they named after the five rivers? Styx also makes an appearance on Disney’s Hercules as a river of lost souls.

In this picture, you can also see Charon (Kharon), the skeleton-esque figure next to Hades, who is the son of Nyx and Erebus. Charon is involved with various classic myths such as the story of Theseus, Odysseus, Orpheus, and in many telling’s involving the God Dionysus. Charon guides passengers and lost souls of the dead only if they give him a single coin will he take them on his boat over the river Styx and the river Acheron to face Hades.

Nyx is the Primordial  Goddess of the night, daughter of Chaos, and as previously stated, mother of Charon. According to “Nyx-Greek Goddess of the night” article, sources say “…she was created near the beginning of time.” She also lived in Tartarus, a realm within the underworld, as the night's darkness that punished the Titans for opposing Zeus. She was not a prominent figure in Greek mythology sources but appeared in many poems as the personification of the night.

The Hydra is a mythological creature with multiple heads and is technically Cerberus’s sibling since they have the same parents. Once again, the Hydra is featured in Disney’s Hercules as one of his many “Labors”. Dennis Overbye, the author of “Two of Pluto’s Moons Get Names From Greek Mythology’s Underworld“ claims that the Hydra helped protect and guard the underworld's entrance.

I wonder what the ancient Greeks would think about Disney's Hercules. Would they love it? Would they hate it? I guess we will never know.

[blytheblog]

Star Wars Jedi Survivor is a masterpiece. ♥️

!Warning: spoilers ahead!

I finally played this game. I'm happy because I managed to avoid any sort of spoiler before playing this game (since I had exams, I couldn't play it before), so I thoroughly enjoyed it (while for JFO I got spoiled the ending so I couldn't feel very fulfilled with it) .

What can I say about this game? I have no words. I'm speechless.

Let's start with the fact that I loved the first game, I fell in love with Cal, BD1 and the entire Mantis crew. I loved their dynamics, their stories and everything. So I had high hopes for this new game. And they managed to take those expectations and go even beyond them.

To me, it felt more of an interactive movie than a game itself. The graphics were amazing (even if there were few issues with frame rates, although they didn't prevent the overall enjoyment of the game in general).

The story and the characters were so well-written: the final betrayal of Bode, the death of Cere, another appearance of Vader and this time we could fight him (I honestly didn't expect that we would find Vader again), the final battles, the story between Cal and Merrin taken to a new step. I loved it all.

Also all those new skills and stances we could apprehend were amazing; the fact that we started with the abilities already learned from the first game and then developed new ones here was so on point, because it felt like we were growing even more with Cal, discovering new sides of himself and his connection with the Force.

One thing I adored with all my heart was Cal's darkness towards the end of the game, because as we know all Jedi go through a fight within themselves with the dark side. And feeling all those sentiments of hatred and rage with Cal, and embracing the dark side as an actual ability in the game was phenomenal. I low-key wished we could unlock a force choke ability (since towards the end of the game Cal was almost force choking that commander if it wasn't for Merrin). I really hope for the third game we will have something like this, because it would be so freaking cool.

Speaking of third game, the plot points for the next game are very promising. There's this fight within Cal with his dark side, his relationship with Merrin, and then there's the thing with Kata. And there's the Hidden Path too. It'll be interesting to see where they'll go from here, but it all seems very promising and I can't wait for it all.

Exploration was on point as the first game, although the planets to fully explore are just a couple (Koboh and Jedha), with one actually not being that new (Jedha was just another sand planet 🙃). Nonetheless, it was exciting discovering new characters and new boss fights while exploring, it was thrilling.

Also, I loved how in this game they added so many friendly interactions with animals: petting boglings and nekkos has become an obsession of mine 🥲😍

Also, the rumors were nice. It gave you the chance to explore even more places and meet new random characters along the way, and that gives a sort of authenticity to the game in my opinion .

Another things I absolutely loved in this game: the freaking SOUNDTRACK. Guys, seriously, the music had a ton of impact, especially in the final cutscenes: Cere's death with Cal beside her, the final fight with Boss, the trip through the Abyss. Seriously, kudos to the composers, because music is so meaningful to me in a movie, or in this case a game: the right music can do magic, but the wrong music would kill the mood in a second. I have been listening to the soundtrack album a lot, no kidding.

Cameron Monaghan is an incredible actor, that's nothing new (especially if you've watched his roles in Shameless or Gotham, which I LOVED); so I could basically feel what Cal felt, his acting was top tier *chef kiss*.

Having said so, there were more pros than cons while playing this game (the cons being as already said just some small issues with frame rates, nothing really big).

I will definitely be playing this game more and more times, and probably won't ever get tired of it. The new game + with the red lightsaber? YES SIR.

Thanks Respawn for gifting us this beautiful piece of Star Wars story.

[amikoroyaiart]

Hey, it's been a while.

I heard that you finished playing Jedi Survivor.

Awesome!! 😃

Overall, what did you think of it? As for me, I thought it was excellent, and I hope we get a third game in the future 🙂

Oh I have a lot of thoughts about this game, I will put them under cut since they will contain major spoilers :D

Graphics were amazing. I was so excited when I saw Coruscant. It's beautiful, I keep going back to that planet and keep imagining Corries there. Tanalorr was beautiful as well.

When it comes to gameplay I have a love-hate relationship with it. I love all the new fighting styles but all the acrobatics and jumping made my hands sweat so much. I don't think I've ever swear as much as I did while I was playing Survivor XD but it's just me struggling with these types of adventures games. Fighting was awesome. While I love all the new quests, I was a little bit overwhelmed with stuff to do on the planets. At some point I had to force myself to stop doing side quests and finally progress the plot because people were spoiling the game everywhere while I was still in the beginning of the plot... (I wish some people understood that not everyone can finish a big game as this one during one weekend...)

As for the story, I liked it, I was living for all the High Republic bits. I kinda wish there was more of it. Overall the plot was an emotional rollercoaster and I cried like a baby during the last hours. Cere's death was tragic, especially when she called Trilla in her last words, Bode's betrayal hurt me so much.

Speaking of Bode, such an amazing character. I only wish his end was different. While I stared being wary of him, I did not expect him to be a Jedi. I love the bromance between Cal and him (or even romance, I already read some fics with them haha) and I understood Bode's point of view and why he did things he did. But I feel like the end was a little bit too extra. I get that we needed a villain but I wish Cal and Bode came to an agreement. I cried like a baby when I found the echo of Bode an his daughter singing the Ghost lullaby. I really wished them the best.

As for the romance between Cal and Merrin I still have mixed feelings. It's just that I see their banter more as siblings' banter rather than flirting but I am happy for the people who ship them! <3

I think that's it. I am still trying to digest the story as I only finished it yesterday and there is still so many things to discover for me. It's a neat game, maybe not always for me when it comes to gameplay but I have my fingers crossed for the third part.

[saemi-the-writer]

XV , XXIII and XXIV for all of your Arcana OCs please 💫

Thank you! *rolls up sleeves* now, here you go:

Btw: cheating a bit and giving 2 theme songs for my OCs!

XV.) What does your MC do to get ready for the day? Do they have a routine?

Niamh is a (very) early bird and has indeed her routine.

She's usually up around 5 o'clock in the morning, after getting washed and dressed, she does her morning exercise - physical then magical - followed by a long meditation. Once Niamh is done meditating, she makes her bed and then goes to prepare breakfast and some lunch boxes. After eating and washing the dishes, she goes down to the shop for a quick check-up and cleaning if needed. Niamh burns some incense in the room for readings and eventually prepares or finishes brewing some potions. If she has some time to spare, she will sit for a bit and read a book or do some crafting.

When Asra is here, she checks on him and wakes him up if needed and the two finish preparing the place before opening.

XXIII.) What is your MC’s theme song?

 I see Fire - Celtic Woman

This would be Niamh during the Plague, right before her death, but it also fits resurrected Niamh.

Rasen - Chihiro Onitsuka

Look, if I could make a show of my AU, this would be my pick for the ending song animation!! (Me crying in "I can't make animatics">_<)

Here's the lyrics translation: Wherever I am, Something is dying, I try to cast off My rusting wrath.

Chorus: I change into a bird Flying away from the crowd My doubts change into feathers I freely shake them off of all of it Life My life My fragile life Finally, I've realized...

This arm stretches out Changing into a branch or thin air Forgetting about you I reach Paradise

In a crowd of people The pace is violent I secretly run away from someone Who clings to my legs

(Chorus)

Life My life My precious life Finally, I've reached it.

XXIV.) What is your MC and their LI’s romance theme song?

Anywhere But Here - SafetySuit

This song screams "Asra" and the pairing to me. The "love that will never be" is when the two still have some doubts and haven't confessed yet.

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

XV.) What does your MC do to get ready for the day? Do they have a routine?

Réamann's routine is quite similar to Niamh's until a point:

He wakes up early and does his morning exercises then meditation before anything else. After his breakfast, he grooms and feeds Ceres then he checks the to-do list he prepared the previous day. Depending on his schedule, he either starts practising his scales or does some sketches. If he has to meet a client for a painting, he checks the commissioned art he made and/or only prepares his material. Once he's sure that everything is ready, he checks to see if he still has some spare time for a morning stroll either to the docks or the forest, or just to get some pumpkin bread. When the time comes, he passes by his sister's shop to get the lunchboxes she prepared for him before going on his day.

XXIII.) What is your MC’s theme song?

 Never-Ending Story - Within Temptation

It definitely reflects a lot about the way Réa sees the world and his "philosophy".

A spark inside us - "The Princess and the Goblin"

This is a bard song, you can't change my mind! Plus, it fits Réamann's optimism.

XXIV.) What is your MC and their LI’s romance theme song?

I bring you a song - Bambi

I know I already picked this song for Muriel my post "Disney themes", but come on! "I bring you a song" / "I'm singing for you" ? Of course, it would make me think of Réamann and RéaMuri!! 😂

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

XV.) What does your MC do to get ready for the day? Do they have a routine?

This family is full of early birds! Erwin is another one! His day starts at 4 - 5 o'clock, and he starts with a cup of strong tea, a bowl of rice porridge and his solo morning training which consists of:

50 lap races

a certain number of press-ups, push-ups and stretchings

training against a dummy - first without weapons, then with his sword

a sequence with his sword on his own

He takes a quick shower/bath afterwards and eats a solid breakfast. Depending on the day, he visits the forge and helps start the fire and sharpens some blades. After that, he checks the schedules and goes to meet the soldiers from night patrols to listen to a quick report. If something needs to be attended to, he goes himself or sends the vice-captain and reports to Nadia if anything is amiss and she needs to be notified.

XXIII.) What is your MC’s theme song?

 Shattered - Trading Yesterday

Post-plague, Erwin became depressed. Niamh died of the plague, the family is grieving and Lucio was "murdered" by fire and he couldn't save him. Poor guy was feeling lost but still tries to move on for his remaining family and loved ones, despite his struggles.

I'll fight - Daughtry

It shows Erwin's kindest and most caring side. He's not one to fight out of pleasure or just to show off, he mostly learnt to survive and protect himself, then he chooses to use his skills to protect his loved ones. Whether "fight" is used figurately or literally, he'll fight for them.

XXIV.) What is your MC and their LI’s romance theme song?

Promise of a Lifetime - Kutless

"The pledge you made to me" <- Erwin definitely made one to Lucio! And not just for his position as the Captain of the guards and bodyguard :p

These two are pining idiots too

[desde-los-cielos]

Hmm ok. I guess the biggest difference between the Scien routes is that in the original, he didn’t find out about Ceres’s genes until much later in the story. And no specifics either, as Ceres is the one who told him, and she was under the impression that it was a curse, not her genetics.

At that point, he had sorted through his non feelings and realized that while he could not experience love, Ceres was someone important to him. Someone he would like to fall in love with. Someone that cannot be sacrificed or experimented on. But now in this version, he was told of her condition before he had a chance to sort thru his feelings. And in much more specific terms than a “curse”. He hasn’t fully realized what ceres means to him, and has therefore let his ruthless pragmatism take over. She is only a means to a cure.

With these reflections, this might still turn out to be a good route. Especially if Scien feels the full brunt of his actions in the end. A bad end where ceres is dead directly because of him, and him being devastated because of it would be pretty cool. I guess it would be pretty similar to the original bad end, except her death isn’t directly his fault. But if the bad end involves him never feeling any remorse for his actions, then booooooo. The fun of characters like Scien is seeing them humbled.

[cryinginthecuckchair]

Hellenist here. (I worship the ancient Greek gods as my religion.)

A very quick run down for you:

The Olympians:

Zeus: Son of Kronos and Rhea. King of the gods and ruler of Olympus. Brother-Husband to Hera, and father or brother to most fellow Olympians. God of the laws of hospitality, lightning, kings, fathers, etc. Has a bad modern reputation. (Roman name: Jupiter)

Hera: Daughter of Kronos and Rhea. Queen of the gods and sister-wife to Zeus. Goddess of queens, women, and marriage. Had a tendency in the mythology to target illegitimate children of Zeus and their mothers. (Roman name: Juno)

Apollo: Son of Zeus and Leta. God of archery, prophecy, medicine, plague, art. Protector of young boys. (Roman name: Apollo)

Artemis: Daughter of Zeus and Leta. Goddess of archery, the hunt, the wild, childbirth, protector of young girls. (Roman name: Diana)

Hermes: Son of Zeus and Maia. God of travellers and roadways, messengers, thieves, shepherds, diplomacy, language, trickery, writing, athletic contests, etc. Also guided soles into the land of the dead. (Roman name: Mercury)

Dionysus: Son of Zeus and Semele. God of wine, partying, madness, androgyny, rebirth, pleasure, theatre. Sewn into Zeus' thigh at one point (complicated circimstances) and was born from his father's thigh. Had mad followers (the Mainaids) who ripped Orpheus apart limb from limb. (Roman name: Baccus)

Hephaestus: Son of Hera alone. God of the forge, fire, metalworking, craftsmen. Thrown from Olympus as a baby by Hera shortly after his birth. (Roman name: Vulcan)

Aphrodite: Parents depend on which version you read. Goddess of beauty, love, pleasure, and procreation. Technically married to Hephaestus, but her lover is Ares. A central figure in the start of the Trojan war. She has aspects as a war goddess. (Roman name: Venus).

Ares: Son of Zeus and Hera. God of war, battle, courage, civil order. Gets a bad reputation in a lot of modern writing. One myth has him killing a son of Poseidon who raped his daughter and being tried by the other gods for it. He was a patron God of the Amazons. (Roman name: Mars).

Hestia: Daughter of Kronos and Rhea. Goddess of the Hearth and home. She is a virgin goddess. (Roman name: Vesta)

Demeter: Daughter of Kronos and Rhea. Mother to Persephone. Goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread. One of the most important myths about her that is discussed in pop culture regards the abduction of her daughter, Persephone. (Roman name: Ceres)

Poseidon: Son of Kronos and Rhea. God of the sea, earthquakes, floods, drought, and horses. Has beef with a decent amount of heroes, and had a dispute with Athena over the naming of the city of Athens. (Roman name: Neptune)

Athena: Daughter of Zeus and Metis, born from Zeus' forehead. Goddess of wisdom, war, defence strategy, heroic indeavor, weaving, and other crafts. (Roman name: Minerva)

Chthonic (Underworld) Gods:

Hades: Son of Zeus and Rhea. Ruler of the underworld. God of the dead and wealth that is beneath the earth. (Roman name: Pluto)

Hekate: Parents differ depending on the source. Goddess of Magic, witchcraft, ghosts, and necromancy. (Roman name: Hecate)

Persephone: Daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the wife of Hades, goddess of spring - her departure and arrival to the underworld explains the agricultural seasons. (Roman name: Proserpina)

Thanatos: God of peaceful death. Literally death incarnate.

Not gods, but important heroes:

Odysseus: an important king in the Trojan War. Important in The Iliad, but The Odyssey is the story of his journey home after the war. He is the great-grandson of Hermes, and his patron goddess is Athena. His father sailed with the Argonauts. (Roman name: Ulysses)

Achilles: Son of a king and a nymph. The strongest of the Greeks in the Trojan War, he was said to have been invincible.

Jason: Head of the Argonauts (generation of heroes pre-trojan war). His patron goddess was Hera before he fucked everything up.

Theseus: Most famous for slaying the minotaur. There are a lot of other myths about him, too.

Perseus: illegitimate son of Zeus. Most famous for killing Medusa*. One of the most celebrated heroes in the mythology.

*in the Greek myth, Medusa was always a monster. The version in which she was a woman cursed monster is Roman, and thus should use Roman names.

Heracles: an illegitimate son of Zeus named for the mercy of Hera. Most infamous for his 12 labours to make up for killing his wife after being driven insane by Hera. (Roman name: Hercules).

Places:

Olympus: the mountain top where the Olympian gods reside.

Hades (same name as the deity): Broad name for the underworld, named after its ruler. There are many different areas within the underworld.

Alyseum: the ideal afterlife. For the virtuous and the heroes

Tartarus: the hell-pit for monsters, titans, and people who REALLY fucked up.

Asphodel: the every-man's afterlife.

Resources if you want:

https://www.theoi.com/

Homeric Hymns

Orphic Hymns

The Illiad

The Odyssey

OSP on YouTube has some pretty good videos

Ok at this point I feel inclined to show you a little mercy and maybe a quick and dirty primer on Greek major deities because I'm now realizing you've hit almost 50k notes in less than 48 hours. And also because Apollo is male.

But if you don't want that mercy or primer you can say so!

(You really should read the Percy Jackson series. You don't have to be in the age demographic to appreciate the story, the characterization, and Rick Riordan's treatment of developmental disorders and sensitive topics. Plus it's just cool. Highly recommend. His other series' (Kane Chronicles, Egyptian pantheon; Magnus Chase, Nordic pantheon) are also cool too!

GREEK MYTHOLOGICAL HYPERFIXATORS! LEND ME YOUR ENERGY

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 193 Rundown

The Witch from Mercury: So this is a “shit hits the fan episode” Guel is gunning for Shaddiq with the Witch Hunters backing him up. This causes Shaddiq to hit the ‘fuck it we ball’ phase of his plan and goes out to confront Guel to stall until they can move his father to a new location. He also lets everyone out of the closet of hostages, leaving Norea to go on a rampage and try and destroy the school while Fake Ceres #2 tries to stop her because he’s suddenly developed empathy thanks to relating to someone that just doesn’t want to fucking die. The school goes into lockdown and Suletta is surprisingly passive during all this since yeah her main weapon is currently literally on another planet, and Petra gives off every death flag in the world so she can die tragically in front of her. Chuchu concludes her struggle with relevance by getting a new mobile suit to fight off Norea’s Gunbits and even reunites with Nika to get it tuned up. Guel and Shaddiq air their grievances and talk about how they’ve always hated each other and Guel’s brother kinda accidentally overhears how he killed their father so yeah. Shaddiq’s just mad that his bloodless coup has become a lot less bloodless and Miorine’s now the scapegoat for all of it and Guel’s sick of his ‘you know if you’d behaved I wouldn’t have had to make you kill your stupid father’ bullshit and the fight ends in a draw with Guel’s suit destroyed and Shaddiq and his supports’ being incapacitated with the Witch Hunters surrounding them. Meanwhile in the school Fake Ceres is trying to talk Norea down and gets her to calm down and think life might be worth living just enough for a sniper to take her out, they don’t call this episode “The End of Hope” for no reason. Ceres goes berserk and everything’s basically neutralized at this point but like half the school is fucking dead so that sucks. The gang tries to talk to Suletta about it but Suletta is the kind of person who processes trauma better through action than communication so they all get to work to help the relief effort. I really liked this one, Fake Ceres’s feelings for Norea kinda came out of nowhere but their moment was nice and the fight between Guel and Shaddiq is really cool and shows how Guel’s grown as a character and has taken his own variation of Suletta’s message to heart.

Castlevania: Lenore continues her griping about not being useful once war is the norm, and how Carmilla’s just gonna keep grabbing until her whole kingdom collapses, the basic stuff we’ve heard before and instead of talking to someone who can do anything about it, she tells Hector which granted he makes her feel heard and shit but he’s literally the only person who physically cannot resist the methods of this place. Alucard leads the town survivors to his castle and we kinda get the speedrun version of him sharing his story with the head lady and them hitting it off but I’m willing to accept he just kinda gets it up for anyone that’s not afraid of him, like father like son I suppose. Sypha’s observing how shitty everyone’s been about putting their lives back together and realizes it’s because they’re still being fucking taxed despite literally not having a bucket to shit in and stands up to the court lady about it before Trevor wakes up a bat demon who plants the court lady with a magical homing device to lead the vampires to the king since they’re probably staying in the same maze of catacombs. Also Isaac is finally here at Carmilla’s place and ready to ransack it and get revenge on Hector. I like how Carmilla’s kind of an afterthought despite her being the one that had to shit in Dracula’s pudding, like it really says a lot about Issac that betrayal pisses him off more than active malice.

Delicious in Dungeon: Kabru and Shura’s group finally get back to the surface and discover the elves are already here to discuss taking the dungeon from them and destroying it by force, not only to get their hands on the soul-trapping spell but also to stop it from doing the eldritch shit dungeons tend to do when they get too big and dangerous. Kabru was apparently orphaned by such a dungeon extermination plan and warns against just rushing in and makes a convincing enough case that the elves decide to slow their roll a little, mostly because Kabru’s smooth and definitely scheming something and they wanna fuck around and find out. Like if the elves can destroy dungeons that easily why don’t they do it sooner before the local genocide shit starts happening? Either way back with the main group, Izu senses Laios’s partner ghost that’s been following him since they saved Falin and that running gag is finally done as he agrees to listen to the ghost and the whole group is teleported to a town that’s been around for a thousand years, coexisting with dungeon monsters and immortal people. Izu’s kinda nerfed and is basically Nezuko during this arc thanks to the monster-pacifying barrier and the group just kinda run around checking out all the cool town shit like the first episode of a One Piece arc. They go on about how Laios is the prophesized hero to conquer the dungeon and beat the mage which will undo everyone’s immortality which they’re fine with because they’re in the later stages of Who Wants to Live Forever. A neat touch is that Delgal who the Mage is currently looking for was originally from this town and received instructions from a chimera to go out and spread word of the dungeon which he was the one who started the whole “Beat the mage and find the One Piece” prophecy but he’s also who the Mage is currently looking for despite the fact we confirm here he died. Now we establish people who leave the town die and become ghosts so he may be looking for his ghost but given Delgal died on the surface that’s probably where his ghost would be and it’s been a few hundred years so it’s probably been exterminated by now. We get some navelgazing about how without death or hunger these guys have no reason to do anything and are just pantomiming living their daily routines so they don’t go insane and it’s really unnerving but also maybe it’s just because I grew up in a modern and overstimulated society but with free time if you’re a whole community there’s gotta be all sorts of shit you can do to entertain yourself like this isn’t Jinako Catagiri getting stuck in a skyboulder for thousands of years, this is a whole town that can evolve however it wants without fear of death or age like they literally have each other and can write libraries of books or invent new technology since they don’t have to put all their resources into just surviving but the “they don’t need to suffer so they don’t have to grow” philosophy never really sits right with me, like I get where it’s coming from but I think people can grow without being on the brink of starvation and death all their lives and that moral’s always dangerously close to saying that suffering is the point of life and that’s not something I’m willing to accept.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: So we actually get a followup on Fern’s staff being broken and her being mad Frieren told her to throw it away since it’s basically a jigsaw puzzle where all the answers are stick. However after Denkin visits Richter’s shop to tell him to rally himself and try again for the next test in three years, Frieren also visits him and gets Fern’s staff repaired. The gesture reminds Fern of Heiter telling her that even though Frieren’s not good with people, having no natural aptitude for socializing does make her extra sensitive to hurting people’s feelings so she’s really quite caring. Meanwhile Serie takes on the proctoring of the final exam, taking over for her student who became the first one to pass the test under her, Serie lamenting that he grew as a match to Frieren but is too advanced in age to be her equal and noticing that even he can’t see she’s holding back her mana just like Frieren does despite it being a huge pillar like hers. It’s kinda interesting that Serie asserts Frieren basically carried everyone through the tests resulting in a weak crop larger than they intended but like Frieren actively made the second test harder for everyone and kinda jacked up everyone’s chances on the first, if anything Denkin’s the one getting everyone to band together and improve their chances. The last test is basically having everyone walk into a room and Serie telling at a glance that they can’t pass because they’re frozen by her power. Frieren comes up and despite not being afraid of Serie, she still fails because Serie’s butthurt that Frieren just goes around doing whatever she wants instead of mastering useful magic, though Frieren gives the story of how she met Himmel as a child and showed him the field of flowers spell and tells her not to underestimate where useless things can get you since her dumb flower spell literally saved the world. Meanwhile Fern comes in and immediately recognizes Serie’s holding back since she’s watched Frieren do it her whole life, impressing Serie enough to try and take Fern off Frieren’s hands, though Fern obviously refuses but still passes overall. Kinda fitting since Frieren didn’t care about titles and shit anyway just kinda funny that Fern outranks Frieren now and is the reason they’ll get to go further North, I mean I guess she always outranked Frieren since Frieren literally doesn’t have a rank since she’s older than the system but yeah.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: It’s a Nanami episode so yeah we’re basically in for the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen in my life. Her new Team Rocket plot to humiliate Anthy and Utena is to… make really spicy curry and for some reason this… makes them swap bodies… like they don’t even pretend this makes sense in any way. Either way Nanami has to go to India to find the spice she used in the curry and the gag of her getting chased by elephants in increasingly improbable ways just fucking breaks my brain, this show is the stupidest fucking thing ever and I love it. Meanwhile Utena and Anthy have to walk a mile in each others’ shoes and it’s kinda neat, they don’t swap voices or anything so it’s just the VAs doing impressions of each others’ inflections and I would never call the voice acting in this show great or anything (it doesn’t help that the sound quality makes it sound like these lines were recorded in a closet so that’s not the actors’ fault) but they do a pretty good job of conveying the difference in personality with just their tone. Utena!Anthy gets approached by Saiyonji and experiences the genuine love he has for Anthy that almost makes her forget what an abusive jerk he is until he sees him making fun of her in his diary and she rightly tells him off in a hilariously gleeful way, very demure. Nanami returns with the spice (there’s a Dune joke in there somewhere) but thanks to slapstick shenanigans it gets destroyed. Later they discover they never used the super rare spice (because yeah why would they sell something that takes 200 years to make in a fucking store and put a label on it that’s like ‘super spicy, doesn’t swap your bodies at all’) and it turns out Anthy’s cooking just… does that? Like idk if this is plot shit because she’s the Rose Bride Reincarnation of Dios or if it’s just like that because this plot makes no sense and Nanami had to get trampled by elephants six times but I could see it going either way. Anyway everything’s back to normal and ChuChu and Saiyonji swap bodies next, truly the best timeline.  

[goldenteaset]

2023 Fic Writer Year In Review (Part 1)

These came from this ask post here, but I felt like answering them in chunks on my own, similar to what I did in 2022. I was a lot happier this year. :D

Answers 1-10 under the cut!

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

Messing with formatting and POV in "An Act of Husbandry" (Virche Evermore, Scien/Ceres)! I think it turned out great, thanks to the Despair Ending that inspired it having a lot to work with. I definitely want to try it again!

2. How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

...I have no idea, actually. ^^; A lot? Let's go with that, yeah.

3. What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

Being honest with what I want to write makes the act of writing go so much easier. Also a lot of things I thought I'd never consider writing I absolutely would if given the right characters.

4. What piece of media inspired you the most?

A lot of media, not even ones that I wrote fic for! Cupid Parasite wound up being a huge inspiration just for how it handled the different "love types" in each route so effectively. Baldur's Gate 3 has helped me put into context how I want to write Legato in Ligature. Virche Evermore has made me adore visual novels as a medium more than ever. Anne Rice's books once again reminded me of why I write in the first place...I could go on. XD

5. What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

Alphabetically: Berserk, Death Note, Granblue Fantasy, Trigun ('98 and Stampede), Touken Ranbu, What in Hell is Bad?, and Virche Evermore.

6. What ship(s) captured your heart?

This was the year of Legato x A Good Chunk of Trigun's Cast, with special mention going to Legato x Vash, Legato x Meryl and Legato x Knives x Vash. Allan x Lynette from Cupid Parasite also occupied my thoughts a lot, but I didn't feel the need to write fic for them. ^^; Also, coming in at the end of the year: is that Scien x Ceres from Virtue Evermore with a steel chair?! Yes it is, and I've never been happier to be bludgeoned.

7. What character(s) captured your heart?

Legato waited 10+ years before setting up shop in my heart and I still don't know what happened. Later, Scien kicked down the door and Ceres apologized before also stepping in too.

...Also, I feel it's worth mentioning, but good lord was this ever Belial's year as well, even more so than the last five. Confound this man and his ability to make anything sexy as long as he's involved!!

8. Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

With the exception of Berserk, GBF and Touken Ranbu, they were all new this year! (And even GBF had new faces, like Lodi.) In general I let myself run wild.

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

...Hmm. It says something that there are so many contenders this year, doesn't it? Every time I think I have an answer, two more options appear. In general, there were points where I really felt characters' emotions as I wrote, and I hope readers felt the same.

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Again, a really hard question! XD But I do have an easy answer for that: Baby Princess Training Diary (GBF, Belial x Lyria and Belial x Lyria x Djeeta, rated E). It's a combo of being happy that I finally knew what I wanted out of it, and also just...I love Lyria so much and wanted her to have the best possible time, "even" in a kinky, dubcon story like this one. For whatever reason, she brings out Belial's most Dangerously-Caring Boyfriend Energy, and there are moments in this where I had to look away because they were so cute together! And adding Djeeta into the mix made it all the sweeter. It just wouldn't stop, even when it was time to edit. The fic itself isn't going to be to everyone's tastes, and I knew that, but still. It was just so fun...