#I also love greek mythology so I will always try to link it back

[impasta-wall]

I think it’s insane how much of Steve Rogers’ is intertwined with the idea of America—the war dream made real. And a part of me understands why he stayed in his time and the other part of me mourns what could’ve been, had he lived out in the future.

But maybe that’s just missplaced grief.

Because I can’t help but look at him and see Prometheus: fire-bringer, world alterer, martyr.

I can’t see at him and not think of Patroclus: peerless, most beloved, martyr.

Son.

I read a fic once that said it’s hard to see where Steve beings and the propaganda ends. They are so deeply woven; like a palimpsest Steven Grant Rogers’ becomes a faded parchment for the new etchings of America.

[dykeulous]

about me.

hello! i am apollo and i am aspiring to be an author and an activist someday. i come from a small, underdeveloped “post-socialist” country. i hope my blog will be helpful to everyone, and i try to be as open-minded on most topics as i can be. this is how i would describe myself:

i am a butch lesbian with heavy sex (& social) dysphoria. i would refer to myself as transmasc, and i am still very much trans-identified, as dysphoria has caused me much trouble over my formative years, and it has been making my life a true agonizing hell :)). i approach trans issues with sensitivity and criticism. i try my best not to be black-and-white about things; and i always try to be well-informed before speaking on anything. i love gender acceleration, and i would describe my views as gender critical. i am explicitly anti-racist, anti-capitalist & anti-imperialist. my views align with marxist feminism/proletarian feminism & radical feminism– which is why i would describe myself as a dual system feminist. my analysis & beliefs come from dialectical materialism, rather than idealism, which is why i’ve found myself in opposition with most trans rights activists. i am for abolishing the prison system, and i believe rehabilitation should be the goal, rather than punishment. drug addicts & recovering addicts have a special place in my heart ❤️‍🩹. i’m not vegan, but i appreciate & love all my ecofeminist sisters: i try my best to be vocal about animal liberation & climate activism. i believe the bpd diagnosis is being hyper-sold to female people, and this is because of medical misogyny & institutional sexism– it is being used as new age female hysteria. oh, and i’m also autistic. i love autistic women, and i wholeheartedly want to smash medical misogyny whenever i see how my neurodivergent sisters are being treated. 🇵🇸 FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE!!!

my special interest is gender abolition (i’m very very passionate about this!!!) and marxist politics. my current hyperfixations are harry potter (i’m a slytherin 🐍), greek mythology & mlp. i unironically use the word kinnie; my highest kins are severus snape, twilight sparkle and diane nguyen. i love punk rock music, and i love riot grrrl. ask me about ww2, i used to be very hyperfixated on it last year– i reviewed a lot of ww2-themed movies critically & pointed their historical revisionism out. i am a slavic patriot by heart, and will punch a westerner who chooses to ignore our beautiful history. tito, lenin, che guevara, rosa luxemburg apologist. also i’m very interested in soviet history (the night witches are so fascinating!!), north korean culture & cuban cuisine.

if you wish to block me, go ahead. if you don’t, cool. i don’t block people, i allow a wide range of people to interact, and quite frankly, i think dni lists are useless. won’t hold back if you’re going to attack me. will engage in respectful arguments, and also will engage in disrespectful arguments, with the same energy you give me.

check out @pokegyns! it’s a group blog modded by nuancefem discord server members, owned by our precious pikalay @tirfpikachu.

links to some of the posts of mine i find quite useful for people who are going to hate-scroll through my blog, and also for people who are interested in radical feminism, but are scared we’re a hate group.

1. Intersex People, Transitioned Trans Women & Transitioned Trans Men

Are Trans Women Privileged?; Gender Socialization & Transmisogyny

Intersectionality Is Key: Our Issues Intersect, but They Differ

2. Feminist Praxis & Tactics: Separatism VS Proletarian Feminism; My Personal Critique of Radical Feminism

3. Transmedicalists VS Queer Theorists; Transmedicalism: The Sexism, Racism, and Classism

4. Listen to Dysphoric Voices

5. What Is Gender?; Gender Acceleration

6. The Word “Cis”

#ftminism is a tag i use to talk & ramble about transmasc-specific [or transmasc-adjacent] struggles that i feel can be connected to feminism in one way or another. i also sometimes tag transmasc positivity with this.

*Thread: Transness and Radical Feminism Can Coexist*

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

🫀and ♟️?

Questions from here:

Fair warning: Lots of Lore dumping is about to take place /A long read... (but for those of you who want a quick read, you can just skim to the picture/image sections which will give a quick summary of what is being explained.) Have a great day!~

Lady Celestine was actually never supposed to be Merlyn... She was originally going to be the "Lady of the Lake... Nimue"

If you see in the earlier drafts I tried to hang on to the whole blacksmith idea/ and the creator of the scared items but then I just changed it to alchemist cause it was just I solidified her role as Merlyn~

She was going to be the soul inside the Galaxia, but she lost all her memories because she was the first to rebel against the ancients and withheld her creations as an act of protest towards them and the other Heroes of Yore... And was punished as a result, but before she was permanently sealed she performed her last act of defiance and scattered them about the galaxy.

(Via. Galaxia imprisonment )

While Sir Uther & Sir Icarus were supposed to fill the bigger roles of how the galaxy became a wasteland, she was written to be the only truly "Good hero of Yore."

Lady Celestine as Lady of the Lake:

I couldn't grasp what to do with her... She definitely had a more stern personality to fit Galaxia, but I just couldn't get on board with her character. The best way to say it is I think I made her "too perfect" (or the girl bossed her too much... I was reading Remarried Empress at the time, so basically, she had Navier's personality.)

Seemly cold & calculating but has a heart of gold underneath is all merely misunderstood. Very nonsense struggles with connecting Normally methodical and is always composed but has a sarcastic tic to her if you rile her up enough...

She was still an owl lady, but it was a reference to the Athena Goddess of Wisdom in Greek Mythology. (Owls often being associated with her and being her symbolic creature.)

I much as I loved the arctype (Navier's personality.)I wasn't in love with her character...

She had nothing really attaching me to her... it just felt like she was there to fill a slot as another hero of Yore she had nothing endearing about her... I didn't know what to do with her...But I didn't want to throw her away (I loved her design & color scheme).

That is until I ran into another problem...

For those who don't know in the original draft, Srir Arthur was supposed to be the villain in the series. (or the surprise villain so to speak~) However, once the rewrite happened and created Sir Uther in the au...all his evil went into him.

Especially once I changed his relationship with Meta Knight as his father figure and became the one who saved him from Sir Uther. But despite all my mind just kept seeing that man as a villain~

But then it occurred while creating this post (Link here ) ... Wait a second (*me taking a long good look, at Sir Arthur in the narrative*) WHY ARE YOU GOOD? I needed a reason why Arthur was good in the KBASW.

I wrote him too naturally accepting he just seemed too suspicious... plus... And besides with such a corrupt system in the GSA (the one created by the Ancients & Uther), how could one good egg exist...

So in a very "Meta" way (pun intended), not only was I trying to find a motivation for him to be good that convincing in the narrative... I was also trying to convince myself...

Perhaps if it was another character, it'd be enough, but... The Sir Arthur from the first draft kept creeping in my mind... (it's so hard to let go of your first ideas...)

Then the answer came to me... who (in Arthurian) was Arthur's mentor and confidant, and his compass in guiding him to become king...Merlin. I had a Sir Uther... why not have a Merlin! (Plus, in the show Merlin 2008: Arthur started out as a little jerk ward and only became a better person through Merlin's influence!)

Wait a moment... don't I have a character design on the back burner.

So, I fully committed to changing her role as the Merlyn of the KBASW... I was able to get a better feel for who she was in the story. This resulted in the current design & personality she has now...

Basically, I pulled both the Disney & TV versions and took my favorite aspect of both of them which resulted in the vigilante persona of "Merlyn" was actually a nod to the TV series Merlin's old man persona Dragoon...I did want to make a few changes to really make her more than just a counterpart to Merlin. (I think that's why I got so stuck on her the first time when she originally was the Lady of the Lake...)

So her future vision would always be the main part of her character. Though I made it the reason why she was such an empathic person. Not only seeing the future, but she can feel it too:~

To go along with the whole guide theme, I made it a part of her title as a Hero of Yore~. Celestine, the "Navigator of the Constellation." The four-pointed Star Crystal refers to the "North Star," the closest star to the celestial pole, the main compassing star to signal north... it was used to guide people home~. (The moral compass)

Due to her ability, she gets overly involved in situations and emotions. Since she has all these terrible visions, she feels responsible for them. Which results in her being overly critical of herself when things go wrong and lacking self-care. Despite hating her abilities, she is overly reliant on them...

Overall she's a smart, witty, scatterbrained, down-to-earth, well-meaning goofball with a sassy edge...

I was finally able to give Celestine the soul that she needed. And how did they become a couple, you may ask? When writing her her story was so entirely laced with Arthur (because of Arthurian legend) that their chemistry was undeniable...(Also I shipped Merthur in the TV series, so once I saw an opening I took it)

And she since was supposed to be Arthur's person. I used complementary colors to connect the both of them together. Adding orange & gold to her blues & yellow...

And so with that all said Sir Arthur became

The First Redeemed Villian of KBASW~

Redeeming the former baddies so they can use their skills and talents for the forces of good through kindness (Kirby). Celestine is basically the first one to do so... This did so much for the plot.

Sir Arthur: If someone like me could be given a chance and be changed for the better... Then so can this lot (Referening to Star Allies)

Arthur can naturally, relate to Kirby's menagerie of former villains who wanted to improve and be reformed. It fixed the problem of his niceness/goodness coming off as disingenuous (when I first was writing). There's a motive and reason behind them... Celestine. She showed Sir Arthur that there was a better way, a smarter way, a kinder way... It's her influence & example that inspired him to be a better man... a good man.

That's how Arthur gained the empathy & courage to stand up to Sir Uther and injustice when he was about to execute baby MK. It also enriches Meta's relationship with Sir Arthur... The man was barely holding on, and Meta gave him a reason to live.

Due to the Ancient cursing & erasing Celestine from existence, she was, he could not even speak her name. But Arthur was able to walk around this by speaking about that funny whimsical rouge that he was never able to catch "Merlyn." The stories always made Meta laugh; however, he could never understand why Sir Arthur would speak of this failure so fondly.

He deeply blames himself for not being able Celestine. Everything that happened to her was out of his control... This is why Arthur wants to create a better world, a place where Meta & Celestine would've been accepted.

Not only that, but he has this fear of being alone left. This is why he made the safest route for Meta Knight (to be one of the holy knights to keep him safe...), but wasn't the right path for him which (Leads to "Birth of Lone Swordsman...") and misunderstands. This makes it all the more heartbreaking to Arthur that Meta Knight thinks he doesn't truly love & care for all of him... when he does </3.

(Don't worry) He learns his lesson, and they make up (early on during Falsapr getting punished for the Fisher King incident, spontaneously meeting up when they're both saving Falspar...) It wasn't a proper talk and it was mostly Arthur and Meta apologizing because they missed each other.

MK only understands Sir Arthur after the war (& the Knightmare's End Saga). And goes to apologize to him again during the Kirby & Crystal Shard (I need a reason why the Meta wasn't there during the game... perfect excuse...)

Also presents a reason why Sir Arthur allows Meta Knight & Kirby to stay in Dreamland. "You deserve a chance to find yourself after this war... that man (Uther) can no longer have a hold on us... You have nothing to prove, you're free now... but if you need anything I will always be here waiting, just visit when you can okay?"

He learns his lesson, too, allowing him to leave & stay as he pleases... and the door was always open for him & Kirby the gang!~

(and someone gets rather jealous of this bias.... *cough* Dragato)

And of course, they do visit often (the plot demands it)... This leads MK to re-establish closeness with his mentor (learning from his own time with Kirby). Sir Arthur was trying his best too & he isn't perfect... he's not invincible... Wait what's happening to him...Why is he moving slower... His protector who seemed so unshakable...his father-... Is he getting weaker?

The early reconciliation is to make way for the true conflict: Meta realizes that his father figure is growing older & weaker. But why (*cough* Trip to Underworld *cough *the deal *)... like I said the man did not leave for free, a price had to be paid... (Did I have these two rekindle their wholesome father-son relationship only to have something tragic happen to the father... yes!)

There's such an emotional reason why Meta Knight has to become the leader of GSA. He's not only continuing Arthur's legacy but also Celestine's legacy. With the way Arthur raised him, he was able to instill the beliefs of her as Merlyn... And I also:

In the Kirby game series, Meta Knight always offers a sword to Kirby. It comes into play with Arthur's story. This act was done with Arthur & Celestine, however, not for the sake of due... for a very different reason... And this action & courtesy is passed down. (There's a hidden special meaning behind it... SWORD & THE STONE REFERENCE)

And so, making Celestine Merlyn was the best decision I ever made!

Celarthur/Merthur

Really, I wanted to engineer a love story that complemented the series as a whole... I was able to write Arthur as a fuller character as well as give an emotional core to him. And Celestine became a fleshed-out three-dimensional character and found his place in the narrative.

I KID YOU NOT THESE TWO SAVED EACH OTHER'S CHARACTER WITHIN AND OUT OF THE STORY! I LOVE THESE GOOBERS WITH ALL MY HEART!

@kirbyoctournament

Fun Fact:

Guys I kid you not she was so close to being named "Celestia..."But then I kept associating the name with My Little Pony~ (hardcore Brony back in the day) So she became Celestine...

~

@ceoofmetagala I got so excited when I got your ask (♟️it was the question I really wanted to get), and the fact that you were the one who asked made me so happy... I JUST HAD TO GO ALL OUT ON THIS POST~ And then I think I got carried away and ended up making it too long!~

I know you wanted this was just a questions 🫀 &♟️ on them:

♟️: When did you make your oc?

But it ended up being snowballed into the trial & error of creating Celty and how she wound up as the final version of herself.

🫀 : is there anything your oc and canon characters don’t like about each other?

I promise I'll get into this 🫀 A lot of people asked this. I'll get to the one soon... I wanted to do something extra special for this one... comic maybe~ (this was the one where I hinted jokingly that everyone wanted Arthur to get the couch~)

I hope this is enough & that you like it!

[thebindingofpillo]

What's your favorite character mod (can be for AB+ or Rep, RIP alphabirth)? Are there any that you feel would fit in your au and if so which one(s) and why?

My faves are Samael and Mei. They're on my list of "If I delete these assume I've been hacked" mods

Honestly I don’t know T.T I only play on console and I’ve never tried any of the mods. I do have tboi on my pc but the brick struggles enough with the base game already and I don’t want it to explode lmao. I could try with my partner’s pc sometimes, but to be honest, I’m not very good at the game in general (and I haven’t played in literal years), so I think I wouldn’t really have fun with any of the mods. Fiend Folio seems interesting, but it’s too difficult for baby me, and I already hate melee characters so Samael wouldn’t be my first pick. My personal favourite character mod is Andromeda, but only because I like the design and the story i could build with it. Did you know that Andromeda is the wife of Perseus in Greek mythology? Now you do. I took that idea and ran with it and thus Perseus was born (and his askblog that’s NOT DEAD I PROMISE T.T)

As for what mods might appear in the story… I don’t know! When I first started coming up with concepts Samael had a decently big role in it. He was supposed to be the angel of death (before I gave that role to one of my OCs, Azrael) and his part in the story got shuffled around so now it’s actually Eden’s. He’s just kinda there now, I’m sorry skfjhskh maybe I’ll have him make a cameo sometimes.

Other than that there’s the Epiphany mod, but only Tarnished Judas has found a way into the story so far (link, link, link) and it’s here because I liked the idea of Judas fighting back against Belial’s possession and using his powers against him to save his loved ones.

Edith (does she count as a mod?) also exists in my universe I guess, but she’s literally a pillar of salt. For all intents and purposes she’s dead, but her soul is still trapped in the salt and can’t go to heaven yet. Thankfully God also put her into a deep sleep so she wouldn’t go completely mad, having to spend all eternity waiting for the Apocalypse. Have a link.

Rebekah does exist in my universe, but I made the OC waaaay before I knew a mod existed with the same name. I had an inside joke with a friend that Mod Rebekah was just a fangirl who was obsessed with Isaac and his comics, but it was a bit dumb and it never got past the joke stage lol. I’m not going to have a yandere in my story for now.

I guess also Fiend from Fiend Folio could technically exist in my AU? He’d be just a regular demon, so he’s probably kicking around in Hell right now. I don’t really know what he might do in the story, probably not much, but I’m keeping him in mind as a wild card I could always use.

Sorry this wasn’t the answer you were hoping for T.T I know literally nothing about character mods aside from the bigger ones, and I’ve never played anything that wasn’t the base game. Have these as an apology.

[literallyjusttoa]

Ok I have just been scrolling on your blog for like ages now and I just wanna say that I find your greek mythology rants literally so interesting bc a) they are so informative and when reading them it's obvious your dedicated abt it and b) I just love the way you write??? There's so much passion and it makes reading all your posts so interesting. I just love the info dumps especially bc I really want to know more abt greek mythology but I just don't have the time + have no idea where to start finding this information.

Plus I just really really love your art. It's so adorable?? I love your style and the way you draw your characters I just want to bundle them all up and never let go like I am literally etching every last bit into my brain.

Anyways I hope this doesn't seem like weird ☀️

These are like the kindest compliments, thank you!!!!

I'm so glad my passion for mythology comes through in my writing bc I do care so much about greek mythology and like mythology in general, if I thought I could make it in academia I would totally get a job in mythology research it is one of my favorite things. AND! I have a couple of resources I would totally recommend for a good place to start researching!

Theoi.com: oml this is such a phenomenally good resource for greek mythology. It has a whole bunch of different information and all of it is linked back to it's original source from antiquity. I will say that the writing on the website can be a bit dense, but it's not horrible and I could not recommend this site enough as a source for information.

If you have the money to buy a book I would recommend getting a copy of the Apollodorus' Library. This is a collection of mythography (It's like a mythological dictionary) that is thought to have been written around 2nd century BC. So, two plusses. 1. It's a primary source. 2. It has a lot of myths in a small package. Obviously, the original book is in ancient greek, which I sadly have not learned to read, but there are a lot of really good translations in english that are readily available. The one I have was translated by R. Scott Smith and Stephan M. Trzaskoma, and it's really cool because it also has the translated Hyginus' Fabulae, which is also mythography but this time it's roman. So like, two in one go! Woop woop!

After these two resources, I would recommend going trying to find resources that go more in depth on whatever myth catches your eye. Of course, that could be anything, so I can't really offer up a certain book or website for that, but I can give a couple of tips I use when looking into potential sources of information!

Primary resources!!! Always look for primary resources!! These are the sources that are actually from ancient greece, and have little to no additions from an author. I know these sources are usually more dense and harder to get through, but I think it's good to have an understanding of the original myth before you start looking at other people's interpretations of that myth, just so you don't get their thoughts confused with the actual original text. If you're having trouble figuring out if a book or site is a good primary research, search it up and look for reviews! Usually there's at least a couple people talking about how good the source is academic-wise.

I would always encourage researching ancient greek and roman history alongside researching mythology. These myths did not exist in a vacuum, and a lot of the time certain myths and stories are the direct result of the culture and politics of the era. I think the connections between greek mythology and history give you a greater understanding of both topics, and is always a good step!

(Also just my bias showing, but greek art history!!! is so good!!! and tells you so much about the culture!!! and then roman art history is also great!!! Because you get to see how the artists of rome used the cultural and artistic values of greece to create meaning and influence the people!! Like, Octavian purposefully had himself sculpted in a hellenistic style so that people would be less worried about him ruling from such a young age?? That's so interesting!!! I love art history!!!!)

I will say a lot of this does take a lot of time (I only really have time to research now bc it's summer so i'm not in college ;-;) but I really think it's such an interesting field, as you can probably tell by how long this was.

[anarchy-and-piglins]

In honor of my pjo/greek mythology hyperfixation trying to drag me back into its clutches by the neck - your thoughts on sbi as demigods? I like to imagine phil as a son of thanatos (bc death) or hermes (bc wings). Techno as a son of eris (often considered the goddess of strife and discord but also bloodshed) or athena (obvious choice with his strategies). Wilbur as son of athena (bc he was the strategist during much of the dsmp era iirc). Now this was hard to figure out but i'd imagine Tommy as a son of hestia (bc he was loyal to a fault at times, and very attached to the people [and things] he loved and considered his family, to the point of betraying others which, i know, is the opposite of loyalty but i feel like it still fits)

I should probably preface this by saying I know absolutely nothing about Percy Jackson and all that, so I'm going 100% based on my knowledge of Greek mythology and not any in-universe lore for that franchise.

I think Hermes is pretty spot on for Phil, also being the god of travel and such. Additionally known as both a trickster AND a protector which feels very fitting for Phil. Thanatos is definitely also a fun choice. I relate Phil a lot to themes of stars and night, so Nyx could also be an interesting option.

For Techno, while a bit of a cliché choice, I think Ares fits as the god of war, courage, and bloodshed (more so in my opinion than Eris because I wouldn't personally relate Techno to her specific connotations of strife or chaos). Alternatively, I'd like to suggest Demeter. Not only does personifying Techno with the goddess of harvest and agriculture slap hard, Demeter is linked to the upholding of sacred law and the cycle of life and death, which feels fitting for Techno's anarchistic tendencies. I'd vibe with Athena or even Artemis too honestly, those are good picks.

Wilbur is the one I'd relate more to Eris, I think. It feels very fitting. Apollo could also be fun, the god of music and poetry and prophecy. Apollo is heavily tied into a bow and arrow, which always feels like a Wilbur thing to me (bonus points if Techno is the child of Artemis then, since Artemis and Apollo are twins). Another good option for Wilbur is Dionysus, god of myth and theatre, but also instability and madness. That's Wilbur to a T.

Then Tommy, I think you're again pretty spot on with Hestia, that's a very Tommy-coded goddess. Nike, goddess of victory, also feels Tommy-coded to me. But as usual my Tommy thoughts are pretty limited, sorry about that.

[mysteriouslytransparentwitch]

energy of meghan markle September to December 2023

oracle of energies: harry and meghan are linked, they cannot communicate about the status of a couple, she would like to talk about it to open doors, there is a lot of reflection on this subject between her and her team. Because she sees possibilities for herself but at the same time she needs money.

with the oracle of Greek mythology the question is Why is Meghan at Beyoncé's VIP concert:

She seeks protection because Meghan is determined to move forward but she moves forward in the dark. She feels very weakened because she was devoured by vultures (image game with the royal family) I explain: Meghan is like Prometheus, she stole the sacred fire, she went to war with the royal family except that she came out with injuries that she is still paying for. She is looking for a rebirth, a transformation, a change of image in Beyoncé. His relationship is a real challenge, their problem returns with force.

There it becomes interesting: she comes as a Trojan horse, she comes with lies about her fortune, about her plans for abundance. She is waiting for a victory on this new adventure which is Meghan her bloh her Instagram….

Her relationship is undergoing a transformation, she wants to use this as a gift, as a game changer. Like Athena, she wants to build an empire, a community.

She is seeking, with the help of Gaea's energy, a meeting, a real connection with Beyoncé.

with the Akashic Tarot: the link between Meghan and Hollywood.

Hollywood observes his change of position. Meghan is surrounded by no one in the industry. Hollywood sees that she sold the love story and their children but Hollywood is also aware of the storm in the couple Meghan & Harry.

There is a desire to clear the way for Meghan, so it is not as simple it is rather in transition, it is more complex than imagined and it does not require a lot of work to get to the top of the mountain.

There is also a problem around the children Archie and Lilibeth we cannot write as much because there is protection or prohibitions around them.

There are significant difficulties between two parties (but I don't know who)

prediction between September - December 2023:

We start with the tower, a change, a movement in our plans, we are obliged to refine, to rework. We must admit that we are currently at an impasse. We cannot deploy our energy as we wish. We have a King of Cups and a Queen of Wands. So it's a king of cups who is able to isolate Meghan, there's a transition here for Meghan, we're starting to find freedom but she's not as prolific.

Lots of difficulty and internal dialogue, despite everything we try to move forward even if it requires a lot of mental effort or ego problem. There will be losses later, we will make a decision because the past comes back, the lies come back. Will we expect clarifications from her?

her project is her baby, it's something she's always wanted (it could be around children) but it's a wish that comes true. She will soon announce her new project. There is a king of wands here who has worked and refined this project but with the 5 of cups he is losing something and he would like to make it known.

There is disappointment from a king of cups here he feels betrayed.

there are some half-truths here. For her it's a rebirth for her, something that will grow and increase over the years, she hopes in any case

the energy of beyoncé on meghan: we observe, we take the time, we think, we make measured decisions we hope for great success for her and her family (béyonce wishes the best for people) but she does not forget the past, beyoncé looks at things with her third eye

[bi-bats]

5, 6, 10, and 18 <3

Hiya bestie!! Thank you for the ask 💖

5. What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

Probably The Birth of a God, which is a very complicated greek mythology au where Jason is Icarus and he falls in love with Apollo (Tim) and builds the wax wings because he's trying to reach him. After his death he gets revived as Ares (I've assigned out greek gods to over half of the characters in this fic including Dick as Aphrodite, Bruce as Hades, Damian as Thanatos, Barbara as Hephaestus, Cass as Athena, Alfred as Hestia, Duke as Helios) and doesn't tell anyone, but Tim goes to Bruce to get Jason back, which Bruce refuses because he can't. He doesn't tell Tim that he can't because Jason isn't actually there, so of course Tim wages war on him, which drags Jason into it because he's the god of war even though Tim doesn't know that and adkljfdlkfjdlkfdlfjlkdj

Look I love this idea and I'd love to read it but. I'd have to WRITE it and the amount of research I would have to do to twist the plot around the way I want would be insane so it's probably going to die in my brain 😭😭😭

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

Oh yeah absolutely. Lemme link a few (that aren't just smut lol):

sweet dreams (are made of thee) by @yasmindifference (jaytim dreamsharing 😭😭😭)

and a hand to bite by Sister (the jaytim exes to lovers of all time and also the fic that inspired Rooftops and Bookshops)

chaos is a color I wear well (and it looks mighty good on you) by @glaciya (jaytim angsty feels fic I love this one so much)

Like a Bat out of Hell by @allacesandeights (this fic. This fucking FIC. It's literally one of my go-to recs for when I'm trying to get people into JayTim and it deserves so so so much more recognition than it has holy shit this fic is so fucking good like. I very rarely read fics where I think the plot is perfect but this one is just so well done all around and akjdfajdfsdf read it)

I Didn't Say I Liked You by Generatorcat (I reread this one a LOT it's just delightful I love when they play chicken and you do it SO well, thank you for this one 💖)

Show Me the Meaning (Of Being Lonely) by @timmyjaybird (like. holy shit this whole series. I owe my life as an author to this series. This is the series that got me to consider shipping jaytim and also the first damitim fic that ever made my brain go brrrrrrr I've literally read this series like. 20 times at least and I never would have fallen deep enough into this fandom to start writing without it so thank you thank you thank you and everyone go read it)

10. Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Definitely, and it's Now Kiss. I did not expect the response on that and if you know me, you've heard me talk about that. It just felt so rushed when I was writing it and I didn't get a chance to really edit it the way I wanted to and I've worked way harder on fics before and even if it was one of the ones that I was the most excited to share for JTW, there's just a part of me that's like: that's the one everyone loves so much?

That said, one thing about the response that has been lovely is that I've taken it as permission to trust myself a little more. There were a lot of things with that fic that I was uncertain about, but I liked them and decided to leave them alone even if I wasn't 100% sure because I was on a deadline and wanted it posted. They were probably the kinds of things that I would've fretted about incessantly and edited to death if I'd had more time, but people liked them, so it's been really nice to be able to let go of some of my self-doubt!

18. What’s one of your favorite lines you’ve written in a fic?

Damian has always hated that Tim can carve the meat from an action, pull the bone of it out clean.

grughauhgaruharhgau just. I love this line so much. It says so much about both of them. It was also a tight race between that and this:

Everyone believes Goldie, all of the time. He just flashes that gorgeous smile like a fucking master key, and Jason’s always been a tiny bit jealous that everyone else turned out so goddamn endearing. 

also this one 😭😭😭 I really like the way that it reads like Jason's voice and also this is one of those things that he would never ever say because he can barely admit that it's true, even though it is

[moiraweaver]

Cloudless skies and idyllic ocean views | A Moiraweaver NSFW one-shot

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56824789

Synopsis:

Moira O'deorain is looking for a break and she, for once, chooses the sea to visit. Despite not believing in mythology, in Illios she might have just found herself a god in form of Niran Pruksamanee, the local lifeguard.

Or

Moira and Lifeweaver have steamy beach sex and Niran skips work to get railed.

Moira was long overdue for a vacation, however her plans to go somewhere always failed. Or rather, she seemed to love work much more than taking a break. Working as the Minister of Science would have its perks, such as a high salary, but also several tasks to run at all times that would lead anyone to burnout. Even so, at nearly 50, Moira handled it all very well. She thrived on several deadlines and it left her with almost no time to ponder about her personal life or lack of interpersonal relationships ever since she divorced at 40.

However, her employers demanded her to take the days off that have been adding up for 5 years now. And thus, Moira wouldn’t just have a vacation. She could call it a sabbatical, being away from work for the whole 5 month period her added up vacations allowed her to. Moira wasn’t even sure what to do or where to go, however one place popped in her mind: Illios. Despite the beach not being somewhere she was exactly fond of, she was willing to give it a try. With cloudless skies and idyllic ocean views, she truly couldn’t get that in Dublin. She even considered going back home for a visit, but it’s not like any member of her family was too fond of the scientist.

Thus, she got on the plane to Illios on a sunny morning in Iraq. She arrived by night, not having planned too much besides visiting the local beaches. Being off work made Moira’s brain finally slow down and she could catch a breath. In her five star hotel room, granted by her generous salary, she stared out the window and lit a cigarette, looking at the full moon in the sky. She wasn’t too bothered by being alone, after all that came with being so busy all the time.

Quietly, she went to bed and prepared to spend the entire day at the beach. She was opening to everything after all.

----

Moira laid down on her beach chair, it felt hot, but not unbearable. She spent at least 20 minutes applying sun cream to her body. As pale as her skin was, she wasn’t taking any chances of getting burnt or worse. 

Since it was the middle of the week, Moira had the beach basically to herself. However, a man with tan skin and blonde-ish hair leaned against a small wooden house in the middle of the beach. There was a big sign that read “Lifeguard” and some equipment thrown by the sand. He seemed bored of whatever he was doing and the scientist noticed from far away. Wearing sunglasses, she assumed he didn’t notice. But it took a few minutes til he approached the older woman to chat her up. “ Great… ” Moira thought as the fairly tall man, even a bit taller than her – which was hard to achieve – approached her.

“Hey! I never saw you here, are you on vacation?” The man had a bright smile. He also wasn’t shy to show his toned body, his pecs and… His surgery scars? Moira blinked behind the sunglasses, adjusting herself on the chair as she noticed his body. She hoped he didn’t notice how she stared up and down, from head to toe. Illios was located in Greece after all, this man could be a Greek god, if Moira ever believed such fictional thoughts.

She turned her head to the side, “Yes, indeed, why? I don’t appear to be drowning, so what did I do to grace myself in your presence?”

Moira’s sarcastic tone didn’t catch the man off-guard, like some might be. He, instead, let out a hearty laugh and Moira couldn’t help but notice how he moved when he laughed. “Oh, nothing, I just love chatting with strangers. Plus… There isn’t lots to do during Thursday at my job,” He shrugged and sat down on the remaining chair next to her, “My name’s Niran, and you…?”

“Moira. Moira O’deorain.” She said it simply, but he perked up, gasping.

“You… are the Minister of Science at Oasis University in Iraq, right?” Moira hummed, staring at the sea. “I have been looking into getting a chance to study there. My dream is to actually work with science, I even have prototypes for inventions,” Niran said excitedly and Moira put down her glasses, placing them on her bag, which was on the sand next to the chair. Niran blinked at her multicolored eyes, “Your eyes look lovely, by the way.”

She chuckled, “Flattery will not get you an opportunity at the University. Why are you here if you want that? This is the last job a scientific mind would take, I believe.”

“I don’t have much of another way to save up money so I work here and I study, to try to join any university really. Doesn’t gotta be Oasis. But you… truly are an inspiration,” He looked away at the sea as he said that, his hair flowing with the wind. Moira couldn’t help but notice his side profile. His cheeks had strong bones and his eyes were hazel.

“I simply worked hard to be where I am,” Moira explained, “I assume you know I was once from Dublin.”

“Oh, I have read all your papers and- Oops, maybe that sounds a bit obsessive,” He giggled and Moira hummed.

“You are not the first and you won’t be the last to tell me so. I appreciate it,” She nodded and then looked at his chest, “Since when have you got your top surgery?”

“Y-Uh? Oh! Sometimes I forget! I… Transitioned at… 21, I think? And my surgery came at 29… So it’s been only two years since I got it done,” He smiled, “Uhm… Why the curiosity?”

“I am trans myself,” Moira spoke and surprised Niran, “Oh, what? I thought you were my number one fanboy,” She made him look away, blushing. “I barely put this out in public. On top of my sexuality, my gender would have broken my career. Thus, I was never fond of putting it out there for eyes to see. But… I believe science and being transgender are highly linked. How else could we be ourselves if medicine and science didn’t strive for it?”

Niran smiled widely at Moira and put a hand on her thigh, without thinking. Moira didn’t mind it, but the lifeguard instantly took it away. “Oh, sorry, I should maybe go back to work though I-”

Moira grabbed his hand back, placing it on her pale thigh. The contrast between their skin was very apparent. “You may stay, there isn’t truly any other person here. Are you not bored of just standing around?” Niran widened his brown eyes. “I believe we could find ourselves a past time,” She put her hand on his exposed abs, feeling how they were toned.

Niran looked around the beach, there was nothing but seagulls, the crashing waves and sand around. He looked down at her and took a deep breath. “I don’t see why not, Doctor.” Moira smiled up at him.

She grabbed his hips and pulled him on top of her lap. He only wore his shorts and lifeguard vest, which wasn’t even fully buttoned up. He quickly threw it off on the sand. “Don’t think this will give you an advantage in case you attempt to join Oasis… However, I might give a look into your case, depending how well you perform,” She smirked, teasing Niran.

Niran was used to being with different kinds of people. Men and women alike, some admittedly were a bit older than him by a few years. However, the man never gave the chance to a near 50 year old. Truthfully, he didn’t regret it. The grip Moira had was different than anyone he had been with, she knew how to hold his sides at the right place, in the right strength. Not too strong, not too weak, just right.

He chuckled at her, “Oh, I will give you my best then, Doctor.” Niran leaned in to kiss her, being met with her tongue entering his mouth. It was sloppy and warm, making him feel even hotter under the parasol. He moaned against her lips as she squeezed his ass and ran her long nails up and down his sides, sending chills up his spine.

Breaking away from the kiss, Moira shoved herself on his neck, sucking on it before going down to his broad shoulders. For someone much less strong than him, she truly was moving Niran like a doll right now. It must be because the lifeguard enjoyed letting people take control of him. Truth be told, Moira hadn’t had sex with someone for a while now. She was full of work and had no time to seek such trivial matters. One of her usual hookups was Olivia, a hacker who worked at the IT department in Oasis. However, she hadn’t seen her in a year by now. And her marriage with Angela Ziegler came to shambles long ago.

Thus, she would be lying if she wasn’t pent up. And this delicious man on top of her, just offering himself to her so easily, wasn’t helping how she felt. 

She bit down on his neck and slowly made her way down to his pecs. Niran didn’t think twice, adjusting himself on her lap. He let her catch his tits on her lips, tasting his nipples while she ran her hands through his toned arms. He squirmed and bit down his lips when the older woman pulled his nip, once, twice, three times. His feeling of that area wasn’t truly the same since surgery, but the little he could feel was enough to make him wet.

Getting more turned on, Niran started to grind against Moira’s bulge. It was starting to become apparent now. She was wearing a plain black bikini, underwear and a top. He started to pant as he grinded and felt Moira continue to lick, kiss and bite his chest. “Your build is truly impressive,” She said under her breath before leaving another hickey on his chest. He smiled at her, running a hand through her red hair.

The older woman grabbed on the hem of his red shorts. She swiftly pulled them down, revealing a vision that surprised her. He was wearing a jockstrap, covering only his pussy. Niran helped her fully remove the shorts, throwing it by the side on the sand. “What? These help when I need to run around to save people! But… also for situations like this,” He smiled, implying this wasn’t a first for him. Moira wasn’t too surprised, with a body like his, he must’ve caught attention.

“Hm, very well,” She ran a hand through his clothed pussy, feeling if he was wet enough. “This will be easier than I thought,” Her sultry, low and hoarse voice made Niran shake a little. Her hands grabbed his sides again and pulled him into another deep kiss, grabbing his now bare ass. Her fingers dug deep on his skin, leaving marks. Niran moaned against her lips, but it wasn't unpleasant. “Do you, by any chance, have any lubricant?” She asked as they pulled away. 

“I have some back in my purse at the lifeguard post…” He looked around, no one was there still. “I will run for it,” Moira was going to demand he at least put his shorts back on, but it was too late, he sprinted to the little house and came back running with a small bag in hands. “I’m always prepared, you see.”

Moira hummed, “Finger yourself for me,” She told the lifeguard straight up. He didn’t seem phased though, he happily obliged, turning around on top of Moira and stretching an arm back after applying some lube in his fingers. Moira stopped him for a second, using her own fingers to rub his asshole. It was a pleasant surprise, making him jump a little. She was careful enough with her nails, not actually inserting her fingers. She rubbed the entrance slowly in circles, making Niran moan softly, before stopping. Just as the rest of his body, his ass was toned and big. Moira truly enjoyed the view.

He took her stopping as a sign to insert his own finger inside, feeling his hole already pulsing from her teasing. He shoved one finger inside and started to thrust in and out slowly, moaning softly. It felt tight and warm, a bit hard to move around. But truly, Niran needed this. Not only was she one of the people he admired, but Moira was also extremely hot. And he hadn’t had sex in a few months, with how busy and tired studying and working got him.

Moira suddenly grabbed his ass and started to squeeze it as he continued to thrust inside his hole. He decided to add another finger when he felt his walls loose up. It felt better, but like it wasn’t enough. He bit down his lips as he started to go faster, but suddenly Moira grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “You are not about to make yourself cum without me, Niran,” The way she said his name made him shiver.

He removed his fingers and gave her a pleading look, but she softly pushed him off her lap to get up. Moira looked around the beach, “Let’s go to your lifeguard house, it will be more private there,” She demanded, already walking towards the wooden house a few meters away.

Niran was a bit disappointed he wouldn’t have the whole outdoor sex experience, but they had risked a lot already. He put his shorts on and took the lube with him, running after Moira. As soon as they got inside, Niran shut the door and put his shorts down again. His asshole pulsed, feeling sensitive after the fingering. Moira slowly pulled down her bikini underwear, revealing her cock. It was fully hard by now, being long, not extremely thick, but good enough to hit deep.

The lifeguard didn’t wait for Moira to say anything before he got on his knees to the woman. “I will be good,” He said, looking up at her. Moira smiled down at the man and undid his hair tie, letting his beautiful hair down. She grabbed his head by each side, pushing his face down on her dick. He caught it on his lips eagerly, giving the head a lick before fully taking it on his tongue and rolling it around the shaft. Moira backed against the wall, grunting. It had been some time since she got sucked off. Her own hand just wasn’t this good. And Niran was truly skilled with his tongue.

It ran up and down her cock as he started to bob his head. He took her dick up to nearly the middle, thrusting back and forth to jerk her off with his wet lips. He could feel a precum leak and go to the back of his throat, swallowing it happily. Moira held his hair, starting to push her cock deeper in his mouth, making him wide his eyes, but tried to take on the challenge. She started to thrust slowly in and out, going deeper to nearly the base of her dick. Niran moaned against her cock, his hazel eyes filling with tears.

Moira suddenly pulled him away, making him choke on spit a little. He coughed as she still held onto his hair, “That is very good,” Her cock twitched as she watched his face, rubbing her dick against his cheek. “I want it in. Now.”

“Of course, how else could I show everything I know?” He got up from the ground and put himself against the wall, leaning his ass up in the air, while he stood up. Truly, a stuffy house in the middle of the beach wasn’t the most fancy place Moira had fucked in. But she doesn’t remember the last time she felt this turned on. Niran might not have been able to tell from her expressions, but her dick made that quite clear.

Moira reached for his sides once again, grabbing onto him and making him gasp. She rubbed her cock on his asshole’s entrance before pushing it in. Her cock was wet from Niran’s spit and his hole was lubed, making her slip in easily. It slid in quickly, making Niran moan as it hit deep. Moira grunted under her breath, feeling his walls hugging her cock. As she shoved it up to her balls, pressing against his ass, Niran threw his ass back, eager to finally feel her move.

It wasn’t long before the woman started to move in and out at a desperate pace, clinging onto the man. Her slim hands reached for his broad shoulders, not needing him to lean on the wall anymore as she held him from the shoulders and made him arch his back. Moira started to pound his asshole, shameless and letting the lust take over her. After all, no one could see them there. Moira felt her cock slide in and out, his walls became more and more loose and the house got filled with noises of their skins slapping against each other at a fast rhythm. “Fuck, o-oh Doctor,” Niran moaned as her cock continued pounding his hole, “Pl-ll-lease,” He had a hard time uttering words as Moira took on a ruthless pace. Even while being topped by men, he never had a hookup treat him like this off the bat. It drove him crazy. She was not trying to be soft, she was simply delivering, or taking, what she wanted.

Moira thrusted a few more times before stopping and letting go of his shoulders, her hands descending to his sides again. There they stayed as she felt her cock twitch, Niran felt as she came inside his hole. He moaned, leaning back on the wall, shoving his face against it. Moira panted, her pale skin somewhat rosy now. She used one hand to fix her hair, slicking it back. Niran watched from the side of his eye, finding the vision of the older woman absolutely sexy. She then let her top go, tossing it aside

She pulled out and watched as her cum ran out his asshole. It fell down on the wooden floor and would most likely stick or stain, but that wasn’t her problem. Niran chuckled, adjusting himself, standing straight up and taking off his jockstrap to reveal his glistening pussy. It was visibly wet and had stained his jockstrap. Moira smiled, but sat down on a small wooden box that was on the corner of the room. “Ride me,” She ordered and Niran didn’t think twice.

He got on top of her lap once more, this time he faced her again. “You’re… breathtaking, Doctor O’deorain,” He said, before downing himself on her cock, which was now half hard. She held it up and helped him by pushing it up on his cunt. Niran moaned, feeling it fill him up. 

“So far, your performance has been splendid. Maybe flattery will get you somewhere after all,” She smirked, grabbing on his hips and thrusting up til she was fully in. Niran grunted, biting down on his lips.

“Oh, fuck me please,” He said shamelessly. Moira hummed and leaned in for a quick kiss as she started to slowly thrust in and out. “Doctor… I’d love to experiment a lot with you.”

“Is that true?” Moira blinked at him as she kept thrusting, hearing his little moans fill the room. He clung to her hard, hiding his face on the crook of her neck. “I think we could arrange that. And you might be my lab rat for the next five months of my vacation, hm?”

“I would love to contribute to science like that, but… What kind of experiment?” He teased back, chuckling as he rode her, feeling her hands on his hips.

“Oh, many. If you get through it all, I might just help you in Oasis,” Moira smirked. It actually didn’t sound bad. Having a lover boy for five months, all to herself? Even if he was in it just for her money, or hell even for the chance to be in Oasis. As long as she got the chance to fuck his holes, she thought this might be just great. “We can arrange it later, but now… If you allow me…”

Niran moaned and nodded to her, letting Moira have her way with his pussy. She started to pick up the pace, the sound of his wet hole filling the room as her cock went in and out and he bounced on it, helping Moira move. They both moaned and groaned, clinging onto each other. They felt desperate and Moira forgot she came to relax. Maybe this was relaxing after all.

The older woman pounded him more and more, his hole feeling stretched, pulsing, his T-dick felt harder than ever. Niran moaned loudly and clung to the woman, stopping his bounce as she kept thrusting through his orgasm. She slowed down, helping him ride it out. It was strong and sudden, his T-dick squirting a bit on her belly. She smirked, pleased with his climax. Moira was about to pull out, but Niran groaned and looked at her. “You can cum inside, please.”

Moira hummed, “So be it,” But instead of her moving, Niran bounced up and down on her cock, helping her orgasm again, this time inside his pussy. The feeling of having both his holes filled was enough to make him moan thinking about it. Moira let her cock slip out as she finished cumming inside him, it was now soft and slapped against her thigh. Niran hummed, feeling his pussy pulse, it was wet and messy.

The older woman and the lifeguard stayed in that position for a bit. It was admittedly a bit uncomfortable, Moira’s ass hurt from sitting bare on the wooden box. Niran got off her after a few minutes clinging to her and put back on his jockstrap and his shorts, along with tying back his hair and putting on his cap. He looked back at her and grinned. “How was that, Doctor?”

“Call me Moira,” She got up and put her top and bottom back on, quickly tucking. “It was… pleasing. I am in a nearby hotel, the Arche. In room 433. If you wish to come by, tell the receptionist you are a friend,” She suggested.

“I am?” He chuckled, “Oh, I’m flattered! Thought you said it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

“You have many things to learn, Niran. And I could teach, if you like. I will be here for quite a bit,” She brushed against him as she walked out the house. “Now excuse me, I must go get my things and you should go back to work, yes?” The doctor swiftly walked out and Niran walked out, looking around. He felt like a truck just hit him.

But if he were to describe Moira’s effect, it was more like a venomous insect bite. Acted fast and the longer you left it untreated, the worse it got. Thus, it wasn’t long before he went to meet her again for round 2.

[eclipsejynx]

i head cannon that he named himself "Midnight" (who is also an OC in a book i'm writing).

he went with it to kinda go with the matching thing he has with Dream, and I feel like both before and after the corruption, he liked the color "midnight blue" because it was a reference to the night sky in his favorite book. he always liked the stars and the sky because of how fascinating it was just an endless void full of stuff that some people didn't even know existed. The name "Midnight" stayed like a nickname for himself, though. Like a name he uses for personal use only instead of telling people. It's similar to a trans name. "Nightmare" is like his dead name, and "Midnight" is his new name, but he's surrounded by "transphobic people" (aka the village), so he has to keep it to himself. I try to make my Nightmare trans-coded because it fits him well in my opinion.

This has two ways it can go after the corruption, depending on how you see Nightmare:

A. Nightmare is the same person, before and after the corruption

After the corruption, he went back to Nightmare as his name because it matched the whole "evil" thing he had going on. I also head cannon that Nightmare forgot most of his previous life after the corruption due to his head and spine being injured very badly to the point that he gained memory loss, leg problems, and very bad mental illnesses (inspired HEAVILY by @signanothername and @mikimakiboo). Focusing on the memory loss, he forgot fragments of his past, including his fake name. He does get his memory back after a few couple decades. They slowly come back in quick flashes that he has to piece together. After he finds his "new name", he usually disregards it. After using Nightmare for a few more decades, it feels wrong to go by Midnight. He often uses Midnight to refer to his past, naive self instead, not wanting to be linked back to his past.

B. Nightmare and the corruption are two separate entities

Going with the more canon! Similar to how some people name them "Passive" or "Night" for original Nightmare and "Corrupted" for the corruption (obviously), "Midnight" refers to the past, dead version, and "Nightmare" is for the new, corrupted version of him. Dream doesn't figure out about this until a few decades after he's broken out of stone. I'm still figuring out the lore, but I want him to find out about it though the gods. This part was inspired by @ancha-aus, so please check them out!

The gods include everyone from a universe called [ REDACTED ]. There's a whole system, but basically, it's a "category" that all the gods fall under. It's like an area where only gods are allowed, so they can all live in harmony (most of the time) to discuss it. If you're familiar with Greek Mythology, it's like Mount Olympus in a way. Except it's a new universe entirely. There, they can take care of a specified place.

Anyways, Dream found out about the place through Reaper, who sensed the unbalance after Nightmare's first clash with Dream. This unbalanced actually signaled all of the gods! So Dream was taken to the new universe and met all of the gods. These gods gave assistance to Dream, especially with how disoriented he was with meeting other gods. There are books with everyone's story in it, written carefully to make sure the story goes perfectly.

Dreamtale was in a special case due to the story being infected by corruption. This corruption is similar to the goop Nightmare has. Dream later realizes all of his past was a lie. The villagers, Nim, everything.

In that book, it also mentions Nightmare's preferred name, "Midnight". Because of this, Dream always uses the term "Midnight" to refer to his actual brother. Because of this, the Star Sanses didn't realize that Nightmare was his brother because of the fake name.

-----

geez I yapped WAY too much

anyways, credits! (in case you read past)

@signanothername - please notice me I love your rants and your au and head canons are beautiful <3 I would love your feedback, but no pressure!

@mikimakiboo - I love your writing! It's incredible! You're so talented! don't forget to take breaks though. hope I did your disability head canons Justice!

@ancha-aus - I literally inhale your writing it's an unhealthy addiction lol- stay determined!^^

I wonder if passive ever wanted to rename himself (before the apple incident)

Like, Nim legit named them ‘dream’ and ‘bad-dream’. Not only the favoritism (using that loosely cause. nim. Just in general) but the fact he’s been demonized from the start by his own name. Having his twin brother who’s the golden child and loved be the ‘good’ version while he has to be the bad one? That had to hurt, on top of everything else.

His bullies probably used that fact too. “Oh you’re the bad one, it’s literally your name” kind of bs

But then what would he name himself?

Maybe after a character in a book? someone he looked up to/didn’t treat him as badly? maybe even after a plant since he was in nature all the time

Idk. just thinking about the fact passive might have wanted to be named something else, but then when he died and was corrupted Nightmare took on the name as a defining part of himself. It’s his name, it’s what he is so it has to be who he is

And if he was ever reformed/fixed/stopped being evil, would he change it then? Shed the name in order to feel less like the monster he’d been?

[willowthephotographer]

HOROSCOPE COLLECTION | CAPRICORN

Presenting our next Horoscope Collection, CAPRICORN.

THE MOVEMENT OF THE HOROSCOPE COLLECTION IS ABOUT USING THE MODERN MEDIUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY TO TELL THE STORIES OF THE ORIGINAL MYTHOLOGIES. THE CONSTELLATIONS WERE STUDIED AND VIEWED AS MYTHOLOGICAL STORIES. DIFFERENT CULTURES, COUNTRIES, AND REGIONS HAD THEIR OWN DEPICTIONS AS WELL. GETTING TO LEARN ABOUT EACH ONE HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RIVETING. WHILE EDUCATING MYSELF, I GOT TO LEARN HOW IN-DEPTH THESE ZODIACS REALLY ARE.

THE DEPICTION OF CAPRICORN IS HALF GOAT, HALF FISH. HOWEVER, THERE ARE DIVIDING BELIEFS AND PERCEPTIONS OF WHAT CAPRICORN REALLY IS. THEIR STORIES, AND MYTHOLOGIES. THE SAYTR, HALF MAN HALF GOAT. THE MYTHOLOGY OF THE GOD, PAN. CAPRICORN SYMBOLISM

FOR MY PHOTOGRAPHY CHOICES, I DECIDED TO GO WITH THEATRICAL. IN THE FOREST. INSTEAD OF GOING IN DEPTHS OF THE BACKGROUND, I LEANED INTO A DARKER SETTING THEN TO SHOW OR COMMUNICATE ANYTHING OTHER THAN. SOMETHINGS I’D RATHER KEEP IN THE BACKGROUND. NOT ALWAYS, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THOSE CASES. THE HOROSCOPE CAPRICORN IS AN EARTH SIGN WITH THE COLOUR REPRESENTATION OF BROWN. THE STORY OF CAPRICORN... Capricorn is usually depicted as a goat or sea-goat, but in Greek Mythology he is the God Pan. Pan ruled over forests and woodlands, flocks and shepherds. From the waist down he was a goat and also had the ears and horns of a goat, and from the waist up he was a man. He was a horny little guy and was always trying to catch a nymph, who would flee because of his appearance. He, eventually, became the God of Nature, and some of his qualities, such as sexuality and love of nature have become part of the character of people born under this sign. THE STORY OF PAN… ”Part man and part goat, Pan was the god of wild groves, shepherds, and flocks. Born in Arcadia to Hermes and a Dryad, Pan was a precocious child whose goat’s feet and horned head delighted gods, but startled mortals. Nymphs weren’t too happy with his looks either and, as much as Pan loved them, they almost never loved him back. One of them, Syrinx, chose to be transformed into marsh reeds to save herself from Pan’s advances. Pan cut the reeds and joined them side by side in decreasing order, thus creating the very first set of panpipes. Ever since then, he was rarely seen without the instrument.”

CONNECTING LINKS

STORY OF CAPRICORN… greekmythology.com STORY OF PAN… greekmythology.com

The unveiling day for each horoscope will be at my Exhibition (NOW) on JANUARY 27th, 2022. I’ll be saving the best of each photoshoot for the grand opening! tickets are available noW. location details coming soon.

IT’S SO INCREDIBLY FULFILLING TO BE DOING ANOTHER ARTIST PROJECT AGAIN! EVERY MODEL IS OF THE ACTUAL HOROSCOPE (AND THIS TIME, QUITE LITERALLY A SCORPION) AND I’LL ALSO BE WORKING WITH AMAZING ARTISTS, MUAS, JEWELLERS, DESIGNERS, AND MORE. CHECK OUT THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA BELOW. HELP SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES.

RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK, STAYING ON OUR TOES (AND OUT OF MUD), THIS SHOOT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR ADAPTING AND IMPROVISING. CONNOR DID A FANTASTIC JOB IN improvisation AND KEEPING THE CHARACTER PAN ALIVE. IT’S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO BE ALL TOGETHER WITH THIS TEAM. ALTHOUGH THIS IS OUR LAST SHOOT. IT WAS AN HONOR TO HAVE IT ALTOGETHER. A big thank you to our outstanding team: Samantha St Jean, SILVIA BEAUDOIN, AND SARAH MOHSN FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO! CONSTANTLY ENCOURAGING AND INSPIRING ME.

[maryfoulger]

Blog Post 13

Methodology

When I began my MA course I was mainly thinking about portraiture and how I could approach it. I have always been deeply interested in people’s faces and painting/ drawing them. In the past I have often fallen back on trying to do traditional way of painting mainly trying to make it look as much like the reference photo as possible but when I began this course, I did want to push my self to try and tackle painting faces in a new way. I wanted to explore how far you can push the boundaries of a facial form and still see it as a face – I also wanted to look at lighting and how it can change a face.

During my first tutorial I was guided towards depicting Medusa as a starting point– as I had done a painting of her quite a few years ago and there was something in it that stood out to my tutor – a certain confidence in the strokes compared to other paintings. I ended up pushing myself away from portraiture and expanding it to figurative art as well. Extending my subject choice helped bring out certain aspects that I wanted to draw on with the story of Medusa. I am looking into the idea of ‘female monstrosity’ (Karoglou, 2018), where throughout Greek myth, even other myth and folklore, a lot of the villainous monsters are entwined with beautiful women – whether women being turned into creatures or creatures having feminine features; for example the sirens, Arachne or harpies. This draws a bit on psychology and the idea that men both fear and love women or lust over women – which is a very interesting paradox to explore through art. Extending my art to figurative art means I can play more on the idea of the male gaze (Korsmeyer & Weiser, 2021) when it comes to female bodies, and how I can link it to Medusa’s monstrous side or even her victimization.  

A problem – or what I believed to be a problem - I started to encounter from the beginning was my reliance on digital media as my references. I tried to challenge this by starting to explore what other practicing portraiture artists did– and for the most part painting from life does offer so much more to a painting but in itself limiting in many ways, due to its practicality. Studying a mythological monster adds another obstacle to this dilemma as well. I’ve tried my best to try and overcome this by studying other artists paintings, using myself as a reference, when I can, and also making my own sculptures to then paint from because I think clay (in my case Monster clay) can be just as expressive as paint strokes and it adds another dimension to work when swapping between mediums and allowing them to communicate with each other; Certain formations and decisions made with the clay can influence how I decide to paint a stroke – how thick I want the paint or fluid and handling something 3D to then transform into a 2D outcome gives me more understanding of what I am painting dimensionally and can inspire me to make decisions that I would not have normally taken when just looking at 2D images. Doing this made me think about the mediums I was using as well, and whether a piece was formed around the material I was using but for the most part I think my decision in medium was secondary to my choice in subject. I always chose my subject and composition first and then chose what medium I thought would best compliment it/ enhance it. I also started to question how much of a ‘crutch’ digital media as a reference is and I began to realise that it is not necessarily always a bad thing to refer to photos – especially when such unique digital manipulation can be made from them – and when creating my own photos I know the intent and meaning behind them to put into my work.

My overall approach to my practice is very subjective. The foundation of why I chose portraiture initially was because of how it inspired me personally and what techniques, mediums and subjects were used to only amplify my own inspirations and what appealed to me. There is a certain aspect of objectivity to my approach with my academic research as I tried to challenge my initial use of digital media as a reference. In addition, as I have chosen Medusa as a main topic in my work, the academic work I have read surrounding her is normally not of my own opinion but just giving general context to the story or how she has been presented in the past – as a monster – and how it was achieved. However, I do actively search for essays or articles that look at the feminist interpretation of the story, where Medusa is a victim and not a monster, which is my own viewpoint; I am also emotionally connected to the story in some sense and aim to convey that emotion within my work to connect to the viewer, so overall there is little objectivity in the subjects of my work and how I academically approach them. My work is fundamentally driven by my identity as a woman and the empathy I have for Medusa.

To approach the academic side of my research I investigated the old depictions of Medusa and essays on those famous works – like Caravaggio, Rubens, Bellini and how she was presented through paint and sculpture, using the University's online Library to search for academic texts; I was very much interested in how much monstrosity or villainy was conveyed and how the mediums used conveyed it. This played into my own practice-based research as I enjoyed experimenting with sculpture and paint to try and convey what I wanted to put across, and also the composition – Medusa’s expression, whether it was just a head, whether her head was being held by Perseus or whether she was the dominant figure in the painting – it all lent to ideas I had in my practice of how I can put across what I wanted to. The drawback to this was that a lot of depictions were of course from decades/ centuries ago and there was little contemporary art to explore, and a lot of the essays or books I found were not that current either.

Overall, my methods to achieve my work were not objective as it was completely rooted in my own emotions, identity, and what I wanted to portray – while I did try to challenge myself and my normal habits, the work was still rooted in me as a person.

Karoglou, K. (2018) Dangerous beauty: Medusa in classical art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Korsmeyer, C. and Weiser, P.B. (2021) Feminist aesthetics, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-aesthetics/ (Accessed: December 9, 2022).

[lunarheslwt]

Hi! I wanted to put together all the fics I've read and loved over November for this month's 28th appreciation, so here they are! Click on the links for full tags and summaries. If you read any of these make sure to show the authors some love by leaving kudos and comments!

🔸I know you rider (gonna miss me when I'm gone) by @cyantific

(9.4k | T | single-rider line au)

The one where Louis hates hippies and roller coasters and Harry tries to fix that with lots of fun facts, terrible puns and perhaps one very life-changing moment in a dark tunnel.

"Nostalgia inducing, simply delightful, summer 90's vibes"

🔸Adélfes psychés by pleasinglouis

(19k | E | Greek mythology au)

Harry has been hopelessly in love with a certain woodland nymph for as long as he can remember and no amount of wooing seems to be working

(summary cut so the post isn't too long!)

"poetic, a little ethereal, incredibly sweet."

🔸Everyone's entitled to one good scare by @levelofcharm

(10k | E | Halloween themed CNC vampire au)

“We can play hide and seek. Go on, try to hide bunny,” he coos as he taps the cool knife to Louis’ heated cheek teasingly, his voice switching with ease to something stern and serious, “but hope I don’t find you.”

Louis has suspected his husband isn't what he says and is determined to be right this Halloween

(read tags please!)

"thrilling, dizzyingly hot, perfect Halloween gift"

🔸Where sirens fear to tread by @aliensingucci

(28k | M | siren forbidden love au)

in the royal line, there are only a select few sirens with the ability to transform into humans once a month. harry is one of those sirens. he mostly sticks to the rules. when he's on land, he reads his books. he buys copious amounts of ice cream. he keeps to himself. that is until he meets a lifeguard named louis working at one of the luxury resorts on St Barts. and unfortunately, harry doesn't know the rules about falling in love at all.

"endearing, gripping, characters you root for"

🔸Compete against the stars by @daggerandrose

(30k | M | arranged marriage a/b/o)

“We should probably keep our distance,” Harry says, now backing up until he’s leaning against the wall opposite of Louis. It already feels too far away. “I don’t know if I can handle not being able to touch you in some small way.”

Louis nods and looks down. “The solstice will be here soon,” he murmurs.

“And with it, our mates,” Harry finishes, his voice cracking at the last word.

An ABO au where Louis finds out he's claimed to another Alpha. Angst ensues.

("ridiculously soft, smidge of tension, fuzzy vibes")

🔸When love is enough by @larrysballetslippers

(5k | E | poly relationship)

“Please, daddy,” Harry begged, he wanted Louis so much. Louis shuffled to his side and kissed his lips. Harry felt like he was in heaven, Louis’ kisses were always soul-healing but also so devilish.

Louis pulled back, eliciting a whine from Harry, and stroked his cheeks “I’m going to make you cry today, edge you so hard you don’t know how-”

Louis stopped talking when they heard the bell ring in the distance. Louis’ eyes grew large when it rang for the second time. “Harry, who are you expecting?”

Or, Harry gets an unpleasant surprise visit in the middle of a scene.

"part of a must read series, heart warming, sweet"

🔸You go undercover (you cross your fingers) by @forthetherapyy

(25k | E | kid fic)

When they reach the top of the steps, Harry puts the buggy down gently.

“Thank you,” Louis says. “My hero.”

Harry laughs.

“You don’t need rescuing,” he says.

or

louis didn’t think that motherhood would be easy, but he certainly wasn’t prepared for just how challenging it would be. he also wasn't prepared for a certain alpha called harry appearing each time he needs help until accepting is no longer a difficult thing to do.

"incredibly sweet, warm, and a comfort read"

🔸Every witch way by @falsegoodnight

(36k | E | a witchy au)

The last thing Harry wants to be doing this summer is running his aunt's occult shop while she's away, but that's where he finds himself, bitter and bored. That is, until a boy and his cat stumble into Harry's life and turn it upside down.

"incredibly gripping, stunning world building, flawless"

🔸A Springtime's Wilt, an Autumn's Bloom by snowcaplou

(20k | E | chauffeur au)

Harry is Louis' personal chauffeur, and although he hides his feelings for his boss behind a wall of rigid professionalism, Louis still manages to squeeze through the cracks.

"perfect for a quick read, sweet, wonderful characters"

🔸Dip you in honey by @eeveelou

(28k | E | omega x omega royalty au)

Princess Harry, the pearl of England, is set to be married to the youngest prince of France in just six months. Anxious about his performance on his wedding night, he enlists the help of his loyal handmaiden Louis to help him practice everything he needs to know

"delicate, pure, and delightfully scandalous all at once"

🔸what a wicked thing to do (to make me dream of you) by @maroonmoonlouis

(44k | E | enemies to lovers dark academia heirs au)

Heirs Louis and Harry have been promised as mates to each other their whole lives. It's expected that they will be the perfect pair to bring honor to their families. Louis cannot let that happen.

"captivating, electrifying, and perfect"

🔸Even on my worst days by @homosociallyyours

(21k | E | sick fic, chronic illness)

When they meet at a party, Louis is instantly drawn to Harry like a moth to a flame. They hit it off, and Louis is eager to get to know Harry better-- maybe even take him out on a date --but Harry is hesitant. Cautious.

Since developing chronic fatigue a few years earlier, a lot of things have changed for Harry, his once active lifestyle reduced to the occasional outing like the one he met Louis at, visits to the doctor, and doing his best to take care of himself on hard days. He can't imagine that anyone-- especially not someone like Louis --would ever really want to be with him.

It takes time to convince him otherwise, but Louis can see he's worth it. He just has to get Harry to see it too.

"beautiful, touching, characters you will adore"

🔸Wanna play you like a game, boy (what's the thrill of the same toy?) by @thebreadvansstuff

(10k | E | humiliation kink)

Louis is Harry's boss, and Harry has a humiliation kink. (for full summary click fic link 😩)

"stupidly hot, hot and hot."

🔸You Can Lay Your Hands On Me by @momrryrights

(37k | E | bdsm au)

a non-famous, established relationship BDSM AU where Harry would really like his very sweet and caring boyfriend to dom him. Said boyfriend is more than happy to do so.

"delightfully detailed, super hot, incredible"

🔸wanna wake up with you and say baby let's do it all over again by @alwaysxlarrie

(16k | M | service kink fic)

“Harry, it’s okay. This is a safe space.”

“No, it’s not. You throw cheese puffs at me any time I walk around naked.”

“Okay.” Niall tilted his head in acknowledgement, then corrected himself. “It’s a safe space for things I deem acceptable.”

“Of course.” Harry rolled his eyes. “So, what’s the thing?”

“Your service,” Niall flailed his hands in the air for a few seconds, “thing.”

“My service,” Harry paused to mimic Niall’s hand movements, “thing?”

“Yes.”

"the dream duo dynamic, equally hot and cute, a gem"

Thank you wonderful writers who keep giving us the most amazing works<3

[autumndreaming7]

Oooohhhh I would love to discuss this with you!!!!

This is such an interesting theory and there are a lot of points that you have already raised and discussed that do tie each character with their respective Greek God/Goddess.

I think your theory of Lucien as Hephaestus is really interesting with you linking the arranged marriage of Aphrodite and Hephaestus to the unaccepted bond that lies between Lucien and Elain. This links back to Elain feeling she doesn't have a choice with the bond, having something forced on her and her own wants and desires not being considered. Of course we don't know how their relationship will develop, but as it stands at the moment the similarities are strong. Especially when you add Azirel/Ares into the mix! And who knows what Lucien is/isn't aware of when it comes to that Solstice evening.

I would love to add to this theory by saying that also, depending on which scholars you believe, Zeus, the father of Hephaestus (we are ignoring that he is also Aphrodite's father in this) is often combined with the Hellenic sun god 'Helios'!!!!! Coincidence, I think not!!!

Day Court and Helion have always given my ancient Greece vibes, add in the pegasus and the libraries and you could be in ancient Athens! So it would make so much sense for SJM to bring in Greek mythology for Lucien and Elain's story, given Lucien is the heir to Day Court. And all that you have summised above strengthens some of my own beliefs even more.

Add in another take for Aphrodite, who, some say, was born from sea foam. Now you could equate this to Elain being reborn from the cauldron - it may be a leap for some, but again, the relationship they have with being born, or reborn in Elain's case from water cannot be overlooked.

Anyway, what I am trying to say is I think you might be on to something Mama Daisy 🌼❤️🌼 and ai. So glad you posted this theory, and I too would love to hear other's views on this.

DAY 6: THEORIES

@elainweekofficial 💛 just felt like also tagging a few of my fellow Elucien people, @velidewrites @separatist-apologist @autumndreaming7 @acourtofthought @ladyelain @moononastring @the-lonelybarricade @vulpes-fennec @headcanonheadcase what do we think? I am open for discussion

[smndragon]

GODS AND HOW THEY AFFECT PEOPLE PT 2

PLEASE REBLOG IF YOU ENJOYED IM SO TIRED

Okay, so we established this is a possibility that they associate and gift their talents and eyes to people living. If you haven't seen that post it's on my master list/pinned post.

Gotta thank @i-would-marry-thunderhead though they didn't try they helped me find a missing piece on what I was looking for.

More thanks to @medusa12346 and @tulatodivine for helping me find the click to read more thing, I'm new so😶

It's not random. As planets rule zodiacs, it's know some gods rule them, and it's not just planets as not all mythology and religion is based on planetary stuff. For example, if Ares rules mars and Mars rules Aries. People with Aries in their chart are gifted some of the small things Ares has.

So here are the planets and what they rule along with some things the gods may gift you Greek and Roman style. If you would like other gods please ask I'm not well versed in many others it's been a while since I've researched.

Links (minor searching sorry it's late I also may have to finish readings tommorow though I do have to go somewhere so sorry): Wikipedia gods and planets ruling with this link there is also more religions and gods with planets so if you're interested look into it.

More on the planets and gods in longer versions

What zodiacs the planets rule

Let me clarify Wikipedia is not always trustworthy but my research will be short tonight.

Preferably they will be within the big 3 but there are also minor things to look into I can't remember all of a sudden I REMEMBER

Basically depending on if it's the sun, moon, or ascendant. These emotions could come out at certain times or moments

SUN:

Apollo seems to be talked about with the sun but it also looked like Helios was the main with Apollo helping out at times or more often so they'll both be here ig: like said they rule the sun and the sun rules Leo (guessed it lol ily guys) some gist given to you Leo charted people you may be gifted with the ability to partially know if something is a 'yes or no' you may get deja Vu at times as signs from Apollo. You are also of course gifted with the ability to look good in gold. Other things could be his beauty, tanned skin, gut senses, nice legs, running and etc I can't remember

From Helios you may be gifted with good sight and vision, strong feet I feel idk?, And so far strong connection to growing things (will maybe add more if found)

OKAY this is gonna be a while.

MOON:

Artemis and Selene (of course her) rule over the moon which rules over Cancer. Possible talents and gifts are animal connections, animal eyes watching over you as companions, medical knowledge, natural medicines also, Excellence in athletics Kirk archery and stuff to do with jumping.

Selene gifts you oohhh it's possible you could slide some Helios gifts here to because they're siblings apparently. I see youth, strong arms, strength (not overboard remember), elegant style in clothing, and the moons watch during the night.

To clarify, there also things to think of like planet aspects and fuck the numbers the tilt or some shit uhyy yeah that will tell how strong these abilities may be.

MERCURY: all this got deleted guys ughhh

Hermes rules mercury which is both surprising and not. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo (who is also associated with Chiron). Possible gifts include running, determination, medium abilities (determined by what I stayed above also on strength), probably funny ass jokes. Fly, you're just gonna be fly af. Hermes was a very important god to me, he also signifies glory, domination, and success full filled to me so yeah. The ability to soother the people around you with either your voice or your touch, clear or nice voice.

VENUS: WHY ARE THERE 3 HERE?!!??!? I wanted to include the goddess Venus but we'll see😭

Aphrodite rules Venus understandably, Venus rules Taurus and Libra I believe. Possible talents and gifts are of course beauty, loved eyes, this so kind weird but musical talent, telepathy (little), birds as helpers (as in messengers to the clouds or many realms), possible skill for design.

I saw a name called cypris but I'm not sure that's true I looked into it just a bit and found someone named Cypress I don't know if they're related but I believe it's possible? Other names are Cyparissus or Kyparissos. They were liked or loved by Apollo. It's not big but what I read was interesting.

There was also a Cytherea, this was probably an alias or second name given or that of Aphrodite, knowing this there was also a place called Cyprus which leads me to believe Cypris was another alias or typo.

MARS:

As talked about before. Most of us know they rules over Mars, mars rules over Aries. Possible gifts could include determination (he may have been a little cowardly which makes sense as an Aries sun with my shyness), strength, talent in art or drawing idk why I just feel that, piano (also applies to Sagittarius ppl honestly), understanding languages also possibly? Crafty with tools and objects, tactic smart in small ways.

JUPITER:

I saw the name Dias which I wasn't sure on, Dias I believe is another alias and modern name for Zeus. Zeus rules Jupiter and Jupiter rules Sagittarius so thats also no surprise. Gifts and talents may be swimming, science, young literature and old, an eye for good things, blessings through touch (more on a topic I'll bring up later not strong here), dancing, hunting, generosity, a promise of children. I feel many people with Zeus or Ares in their chart may have been accused as witches in those centuries. (Random) that'd all I get right now

FOUR MORE

SATURN:

It said Cronus, I knew him as chronos (hit chronological order) which may have been wrong. He can go by that cronos, or kronos. He rules Saturn and Saturn rules Capricorn which also is understandable with relations between them. Talents and gifts may include: I feel like y'all may have thought you were telekinetic when you were younger💀, I see ginger hair here also, sticky fingers (stealth), time control (as in good with keeping time on track), perception of lies (the man was fooled right? True but I feel it's still smth small), faithfulness (also crazy uh), a gift of great smell, good taste in food choices, I feel like he raised a bunch of hand holders 💕💕 idk why I just do. That's all here

URANUS:

It says Ouranos which makes me think of Ouran highschool host club for some reason, I really would like a season 2. But it's funny cause I didn't know him and he seems pretty interesting though it seems like a minor role if he's the heavens personified that's some big stuff. He rules Uranus which rules Aquarius, possible talents and gifts could be (BLINDING LIGHTS IS PLAYING THIS IS GOOD UGHH I LOVE THIS SONG) alright back to it. Talents like, singing, clairaudience, intuitiveness, a love for curiosity and knowledge, liked skin and proportions, natural attraction, believable, natural leader when younger though maybe not as grown idk.

NEPTUNE:

Of course ruled by Poseidon. Idk why I still add the planets it's the thing above🤦🏽‍♀️ I just make this harder on myself. Neptune rules Pisces. Gifts and talents could be creativity, building, imagination, pull towards earth, swimming, attraction to people also (in a way that your looks capture people as Pisces is beautifully soft), strong senses of the eyes and ears, technology, either quiet or loud voice.

PLUTO:

The official one for Greeks is Hades, there was a name before called Plouton or Ploútōn another name for Hades. Pluto rules Scorpio, also guessed. Gifts and talents may be excelling in curricular concepts like philosophy, leadership (you guys can lead double lives but you're good rulers ngl kinda manipulative at them tho), you guys could probably background check me through connections with ppl lol, people confide in you often this is good cause I feel you feel loved by this, risk takers (Hades is kinda 'out of the circle' which leads to thoughts that Scorpios like to explore and be chaotic because of this at times they're finally free on earth), down to earth or way up high one way or another no in-between, natural ideas that people can't help but fall for, the ability to be unnoticed when wanted, stealthy, quick under pressure. you guys make this world more enjoyable over all there's not much ik you guys are just amazing to me for some reason.

END

that's all there but more to add on are things like blood line theory, if you are a natural descendant of a god (not by literal blood just chosen exactly by them) then there's a chance your abilities will be stronger and you will make a more greater imprint on the world. Not all of these were used for good. They cna be used to any advantage.

I believe asteroids also have something to do with the gods so if you would like to hear something on that please ask!

All in all this post took about 2 hours and 30 mins or close which isn't bad. Sorry if anything was missed and please share your ideas on this I love hearing them!

Coming back to say I'm surprised Hera wasn't here I was looking forward to her

[where-theres-smoak-2]

My last post got me thinking about Alina's favorite flowers and their symbolism. One thing that blue irises represent is hope. Thus, they match Darklina's "Hope for the Future" theme, making them an appropriate love token for Aleksander to give Alina. Also, irises were sacred to Hera/Juno, the Greco-Roman Queen of the Gods that ruled over the heavens, womanhood, matrimony, and motherhood. Interestingly, there are also black irises that have dark blue and purple undertones. They are gorgeous!

(warning book spoilers)

The symbolism of irises is really interesting. You are right blue irises represent hope which really fits darklina and pairs well with their 'hope for the future' theme. I'll be honest I've never heard before that the irises were sacred to Hera/Juno as far as I am aware (if I am remembering my college and uni studies well, it has been a while so I might not be) Hera/Juno's sacred flower is the lily with her sacred animal being a peacock, which is irrelevant to the rest of this post but I love peacocks as they are so beautiful, so I felt compelled to add this in here, sorry. But that being said there is still a link between Hera and the iris flower as the flower is named after the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. Iris was Hera's handmaiden and Hera and Zeus' messenger. Many saw Iris as a bridge between humans and the gods. Which fits Alina really well with the whole people seeing her as a Saint. Irises are also symbolic of faith and have alot of religious significance which again fits in with Alina becoming a religious figure. As I mentioned there is also that link between Iris and Hera and as you said Hera is the Queen of Olympus and goddess of womanhood, matrimony and motherhood. However weirdly Hera is also worshipped as a virgin goddess despite being a mother, it is believed that she would renew her virginity in a spring annually. Got to love how weird Greek mythology is. But I suppose that could tie into how the people see Alina as being this pure being whilst also being supportive of her marrying Nikolai and how she is still seen as an eligible wife despite the image of purity. Also into how whilst her worshippers see her as this pure being its a deception and she herself doesn't see herself that way and actually thinks she is tainted and sinful.

The other thing that I find interesting is that M*l specifically says that Alina likes the blue ones and not the white. This is interesting to me as the white ones, as you would expect, represent purity and innocence. It is interesting to me that Alina doesn't like the white ones and I kind of think it ties back into how she rejects the image that the people have of her being pure. Its not how she sees herself she doesn't think she is pure or innocent and is uncomfortable when others see her this way.

Another thing that is interesting about irises is that they also represent royalty and have been connected with both French and English monarchs in the past. Which can connect back to Hera being the Queen of Olympus. So it's really interesting that Aleks presents Alina with this flower as he does offer her a crown and throne in book 2 or 3 not sure which. His dream is for the two of them to rule side by side so once again the irises really fit into that.

Devotion is yet another thing Irises represent and again this can fit into Alina's position as a Saint and the devotion the people have to her. But I also like to think it represents Aleks' devotion to her. He worships her just as much as her followers do and always wants her to be her best self. He wants her to grow in power and become someone who is important and loved and he devotes himself to this cause and making sure that she doesn't become the next heretic like she fears. I think Aleks has two causes he is devoted to the protection of the grisha and Alina.

Yet another link that we can form is between Hera and another goddess that I think has some symbolism in darklina's story. Hera is often depicted holding a pomegranate, this is a link to Persephone who becomes trapped in the underworld when she eats pomegranate seeds. When she eat the pomegranate seeds she permanently tied herself to hades and the pomegranate is symbolic of marriage and also the indissolubility of marriage. Many in the fandom have made the connection between the myth of Persephone and the pomegranate seeds and Alina drinking whatever it was that Aleks offered her in the war room scene in ep 4. You can also find the symbolism of Persephone being tied to Hades by eating the seeds and the stag collar tying Alina to Aleks and the connection and tether that then exists between them. The part that I find really interesting about the tale of Hades, Persephone and the pomegranate seeds is that it has become warped over time to be this story of an evil god who kidnapped a young woman and tricked her into being his wife and prisoner for all eternity. But that's not the actual story. Yes Hades does kidnap Persephone but whilst in the underworld Persephone fell in love with Hades. But she also missed her mother. When Hades offers her the pomegranate she knows that if she eats the whole fruit she will be trapped in the underworld and unable to ever see her mother again but she also knows if she doesn't eat the fruit she will return to her mother but never see Hades again. When Persephone ate the six seeds she did it deliberately and willingly. Zeus says that as she ate six seeds for six months of the year she would have to return to the underworld. Persephone planned this because she wanted a reason to return to Hades. He had told her how lonely he was in the underworld and how he longed for her to be with him and she loved him and so wanted to return to him. Obviously I think there are alot of similarities between Hades and Aleks both experience isolation and crushing loneliness because of it. Both are feared and misunderstood because of the powers they wield. Both fall for a beautiful young woman and long to keep her at their sides even going so far as to try and deceive the woman they love in order to keep her. I also think like Persephone does with Hades, Alina did fall in love with Aleks and saw that loneliness and saw him for who he really was and not the intimidating persona that others see.

Anyway kind of got deeper into the symbolism than I intended to so thank you for attending my talk on greek mythology and flower symbolism and how it relates to darklina. I shall stop waffling on and go now.