#Medea Syndrome

[autumnmobile12]

Epic the Musical: Not Sorry For Loving You

Regarding the debate about Rivera-Herrans' choice in writing Odysseus as sympathetic to Calypso and telling her he loves her even though she trapped him on her island for seven years...I may have some context.

And I’m really hesitant in posting this because I know the ‘Calypso was Odysseus’ lover or abuser’ debate is a volatile subject. I guess what I’m saying is please be kind.  I don’t want to fight about this, but I do want to provide some insight with what I know about Greek mythology.

...

My guess is the song was largely inspired by this conversation between Calypso and Odysseus in the original Odyssey. (Abridged because the full text is too long to be concise):

“…Kalypso the goddess thus began: ‘Son of Laertes, subtle Odysseus--so then, your mind is firmly set on returning now without delay to your home and country? Go then, and joy go with you, in spite of all. Yet if you knew--if you fully knew--what miseries are fated to fill your cup before you attain your own land, you would choose to stay here, to join with me in calm possession of this domain, to be beyond reach of death…”

Subtle Odysseus answered her: ‘Goddess and queen, do not make this a cause of anger with me. I know the truth of everything you say; …. Yet, not withstanding, my desire and longing day by day is still to reach my own home and see the day of my return. And if this or that divinity should shatter my craft on the wine-dark ocean, I will bear it and keep a bold heart within me. Often enough before this time have war and wave oppressed and plagued me; let new tribulations join the old.’ -The Odyssey, Homer, trans. by Shewring.

…

In this conversation, we see Calypso asking Odysseus if he’s sure he wants to leave her and return to Ithaka, and that he would have an easier life if he remained with her forever immortal. And he asks her not to be angry/hurt and that whatever lies ahead on his journey, he’ll face it bravely. (Choosing a simple life but a life of obscurity as opposed to returning to hardship and being remembered as a stalwart hero.)

Giving this the context of the Ancient Greek cultural lens, Odysseus and Calypso were lovers.  The above conversation is immediately followed up with this:

So he spoke; and the sun sank and darkness came; then the pair withdrew, and in a recess of the arching cavern they took their pleasure in love, and did not leave one another's side.  -The Odyssey, Homer, trans. by Shewring.

Yes, Calypso trapped Odysseus on her island for seven years and by today’s standards, that's gonna be a huge yikes.  But their ‘lovers’ dynamic becomes easier to understand when you look at the wider collection of Greek myth stories and remember that what we consider a lovers’ relationship by today’s standards is practically nonexistent in this genre and if there is 'love,' it’s probably closer to what we’d recognize as Stockholm Syndrome and so on.

Look at Hera and Zeus’ eternal marital problems.

Jason the Argonaut just setting aside his wife Medea so he can marry another princess.

Helen of Sparta either willingly left Menelaus or Paris kidnapped her, depending on which version you hear.

Theseus abandoning Ariadne and then she marries Dionysus almost immediately after he stumbles across her.

Hades kidnapping Persephone, even in modern retellings where they form a mutual love.

I think the closest we can get to a romantic love story in Greek mythology is possibly Perseus’ rescuing of Princess Andromeda because that has more of the classic ‘hero saves princess from monster, they get married, happily ever after’ trope we're familiar with in fairy tales.

Even Odysseus’ marriage to Penelope calls consent into question because he technically demanded her as payment for helping her uncle, King Tyndareus, out of a difficult situation.

Getting back to the song and Epic: The Musical, the tone of the original text does give the impression that Odysseus is sympathetic for leaving, and I think Rivera-Herrans is trying to reconcile that because he portrays Odysseus as a faithful husband and that clashes with the Greek portrayal where Odysseus and Calypso were lovers in the poem, hence Odysseus giving a more heartfelt goodbye than Calypso may deserve. I go into the original story a bit more with this post.

It’s not a bad portrayal of Odysseus and I do like that Rivera-Herrans chose to resolve the toxic masculinity of the original story. Women in Greek mythology, especially if they’re mortal, are more often than not little more than a plot device while the men get the glory. That said, I think if Rivera-Herrans really wanted Calypso to be a sympathetic figure to his audience, it might have been better suited if he'd referred to the poet Hesiod’s version of events where she held Odysseus prisoner because Poseidon commanded her do it.  He could have easily spun her story as,

“Forgive me, I can’t disobey the sea god.”

That option would have robbed her of free will as much as Odysseus and we could have gotten more on board with pitying her for her loneliness when he leaves, and it would have still preserved Poseidon's role as the villain of the musical. As it stands, the ‘playful but socially clueless’ demeanor he gave Calypso only works if she detained Odysseus a day or two. Seven years of drawing that out is a little much and portrays Calypso as a foolish girl and not as the ‘mighty and beautiful’ goddess she’s described as, by Odysseus himself, in the original.

But that's me.

[avicebro]

I apologize if I seem like I'm harping on Kiyohime a lot, I just don't tend to see a lot of fans of her. What do you like about the character? I don't remember a lot interesting about her beyond that one short-story Nasu wrote where she didn't recognize the origin Anchin as her Anchin.

I can kinda get that - besides friends in JP, I haven't really met too many people that like her on this side of the fandom, and I did just mention that the fandom made me shy about talking about her.

So! Some things I enjoy about Kiyohime:

I think it'd be rude not to talk about her design. BLACK, in my opinion, excels in designs that appear rather plain but have a bunch of cute details thrown in. I love her horn design, I love the gold accessories, I love the small references to dragons in her clothes. When the colour scheme goes to black/yellow/white too I think that's really good. It's really striking.

I like the cherry blossoms in the background - a subtle nod to the first fate 'yandere' (I don't think Sakura is a yandere, but yk, sometimes fate likes to say she is so it's a solid reference nevertheless). [Also, her outfit harkens back to Kohaku. Again, don't think Kohaku is a yandere but still.]

I understand why people don't really like how often she appears in things, and how she acts. And also the fact that fate presented her as a waifu and then turned around and went, haha, nope! She's actually a pre-teen! But I think like, if you view her from the angle of a young girl first experiencing love with Anchin, it makes a lot of sense. Was what she did a good thing for her do? No, of course not. Is it that odd for a 13-year old girl who has never experienced love before? No, not really. In that sense, I find that she's similar to Medea Lily in their #weirdgirl behaviour.

(it also makes her dynamic with elizabeth make a lot of sense. they're two teens who are fighting on stan twitter.)

In that sense, her age explains her dynamic with Ritsuka. After being remembered as the dragon that killed the first man she fell in love with, who ran from her out of fear and broke their promise, it is only natural for her to fall for Ritsuka. Someone who does not care about her history, who or what she is. And further, Ritsuka's reaction to Kiyohime, as time goes on, makes sense too - like imagine trying to calmly let down someone who's your little sister's age while worrying you'll end up just like the last guy. Ritsuka is a nice person - of course they don't wanna make the pre-teen cry.

I think it's fun to think about her friends, too. Like she has this fun, bickering dynamic with Liz (who, I understand, also did show up a lot in the early game and so people aren't as fond of her).

She's e-mail buddies with Tamamo and Osakabehime. I want to watch her TikTok.

Also, the turas realta making it so that Ritsuka pinky-promises to summon Kiyohime (a reference to Kiyohime being a free servant) is a cute little nod to Kiyohime's previous promise by Anchin being broken. I just think that's really sweet. Finally, a promise to Kiyo that isn't broken.

I will say she does suffer from early writing syndrome, and she was often treated as the butt of a joke just like Liz or Nero. Unfortunately, unlike those two, she didn't have anything else besides some one-off lines by Tamamo in /Extra. And so I do understand why she's disliked, especially since she was so prevalent in early game (story chapters, other people's valentine's day scenes/interludes).

But I think it says something about how much people enjoyed her showing in Shimousa, even if it wasn't 100% her. And unlike the other yanderes we have in fate, despite all the stuff I've mentioned above, I think she definitely has the opportunity for more growth. We haven't really seen her since fate officially confirmed that she's a child. It'd be nice to see if that important element to her character affects her writing in the event. And heck, if it doesn't, that's cool! Compared to other popular servants, 7 years is a pretty long between relevancy all things considered.

One thing to note too is that her voice actress was unable to voice act due to illness - hence why we only just got Marie Alter this year. With Marie Alter and now an outfit for Kiyohime, it feels like a very nice 'welcome back' to one of the first voice actors to really make F/GO it is.

But fuck whatever Riyo does with her like dude your thinly veiled vore fetish is making it so hard to defend Kiyohime omg.

[asylumgarden2003]

How to romanticize your school life

Hi guys, it’s Medea! Let’s be real, school can be so boring at times. But we can change that! Romanticizing your school life is about finding the magic in everyday moments. With a few of these tips, you can create a vibe to make your school life 10x more bearable and fun. 

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪  ౨ৎ˚₊

Put more effort into your appearance!

➳❥  Don’t underestimate how much a cute outfit can change your day. Add cute accessories, pretty hairstyle, and even some makeup. When you feel good about how you look, it can really boost your confidence and make you feel more comfortable in school. It also makes going to school feel more exciting, like you’re getting ready for something special instead of just another day at school. 

Imagine you’re the main character (dont get main character syndrome tho.)

➳❥  You are living your own unique story. You should appreciate the little moments, like walking through the halls with purpose or enjoying a quiet moment by yourself. This mindset helps you see school as a part of your personal journey, making it feel less like a grind and more like something meaningful.

Try studying in the library or nearby cafés!

➳❥  Changing up your environment can make studying feel less like a chore. Being around others who are also working hard can motivate you to do the same and studying in another place just feels more aesthetic. 

Get cute stationary and decorate your notes!

➳❥  Invest in some cute pens, highlighters, notebooks, and other stationary. When your notes look good, it makes studying feel less boring and maybe kinda fun. Plus, you get to look back at all your hard work at the end of the year and feel proud. 

Listen to music whenever

➳❥  Make playlists to fit the vibe of your day! A good playlist can totally change your mood, so fine songs that match the feeling you want to create and let it carry you through your school day. 

Record little moments of your school life!

➳❥  This is probably my favourite tip, it might sound a bit odd, but recording yourself studying or getting ready is really motivating. It helps you stay on track, plus making vlogs or having these little clips of your everyday life makes everything feel more fun and memorable. 

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪  ౨ৎ˚₊

So there you have it! Romanticizing your school life doesn’t have to be complicated. Just embrace the little moments to make each day feel special. 

[apollos-forgotten-flower-bf]

Can we talk and rant about Leo valdez and valgrace please

ALWAYS.

Leo is, and has been, my FAVOURITE Heroes of Olympus character since I opened The Lost Hero. The "stupid", impulsive, comedy relief, who also are EXTREMELY relatable characters have ALWAYS been favourites of mine. Many other people like him too — and it's completely deserved! He's funny, he cares for his friends, he's extremely talented, and he's smart! Really, there isn't a "stupid" part about him. Even the negatives to his personality — the jokes made at inappropriate times, imposter syndrome, faking arrogance, etc. — make him feel so much more human! He is so well-written; an amazing character who is easily loveable, and IS loved by the fandom! I think a lot of the people who dislike Leo, and say they dislike him because he's "overrated" are just...wrong. He isn't "overrated", he's a good character receiving the love a good character deserves! Are you going to tell me that Percy is overrated? Or Annabeth? And I'm not saying that you can't dislike Leo for no reason. Though, I personally won't agree, I can't stop you. I'm just saying that, giving a reason like "he's overrated" will just be wrong.

The only part that I don't like about what Rick Riordan did with Leo over the course of H.O.O and T.O.A is pair him with Calypso. Like, really? A 16-year-old with obvious self-esteem issues and a lack of social awareness with an overly-critical, argumentative, 5000-year-old TITANESS? REALLY???? I had liked Calypso at first, in Battle of the Labyrinth, but every time she shows up after that just...pisses me off. And the fact that Leo didn't even need a relationship in the first place. Why could Rick just leave Leo single? Or; make valgrace canon.

Speaking of valgrace (haha), I have been a valgrace shipper since before I even read H.O.O (i saw some of it on tiktok and was just like "yep. That seems about right.") so I have been piling up reasons that they should've been endgame. They obviously care a lot for each other! They had their little Medea-induced fight in TLH, sure, but even afterwards; Jason apologized, and they went back to being friends, so easily! Jason seems to be the only one who can tolerate Leo and his bafoonery at times, much better than Calypso does, and Leo is one of the only people to actually treat Jason like a person, rather than "the Mighty Son of Jupiter" or "the Great Warrior of Camp Jupiter." To Leo, Jason is just Jason. Some guy he met, and who happens to be his best friend. Who cares that he could snap Leo like a twig? He's just a dude. And, even though a lot of characters see Leo as this dumb guy that can only work with machines, Jason knows otherwise. That's why they'd be so good together! They KNOW each other, beyond what their pasts and abilities are. In all of their interactions together throughout the series, they always seemed more comfortable together than with others. Jason never knew how he was supposed to act around the others of the 7, because he knew they saw him as some kind of leader, and expected him to have the answers all the time. But with Leo, he knew Leo didn't set some ridiculously high standards with him. And, they'd be better together than with their canon partners. I shouldn't need to give reasons why caleo sucks, right? And, Jiper (or Jasper) was doomed from the start. Imagine randomly waking up on a bus, no memories, holding a girls hand — and she claims to be your girlfriend. Anybody would be confused. Jason stated multiple times in H.O.O that he didn't know what he was supposed to do in his relationship, with fear of not living up to Piper's expectations of him. Neither of them even asked to be in the relationship! It was completely based on fake-memories caused by Hera, which would be a horrible basis for any relationship. Also, I headcanon them as gay & lesbian, so I also see it as a form of comphet. A really fucked up form of comphet. I think the only reason Valgrace wouldn't work out would be the fact that one was destined to die — "to Storm or Fire", not "and". Which makes the ship even more tragic! The person they knew best, and that knew them best, destined to die before them with no way of getting around it? FUCK, that hurts. The amount of times I've cried over Valrgace could have my tears used to restore rainforests. Finally, this was a great excuse to post my first valgrace fanart, so thank you.

I spent 2½ hours on this, 7—11 am this morning, and ohh my god(s) my back hurts so bad rn. I got the design for Jason and inspo for this overall piece from the tiktok page @miles (meowrales) (one of my fav h.o.o artists AND THEY LIKED THE SPEEDPAINT I POSTED of this SO 🎉🎉🎉)

If requested, I'll upload the picture w/out the text (which are the lyrics of I, Carrion (Icarian) by Hozier.)

Share your rants or favourite headcanons of valgrace, Leo, and/or Jason :) I'd love to hear them!

[tomboyjessie13-artblog]

Sorry for the late update, this took me a few days to make due to having to redo the poses so many times and being distracted online. 

Anyways, as some of you have already known from following me: I had a bit of a mini cold starting from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday morning. That dilemma sort of acts as the inspiration to this drawing here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This took place during mid to late-May, shortly before DIO and my OC Medea had an affair. Enyaba shot her with the arrow that granted DIO his own Stand from the back of her left shoulder.

She was able to survive its thrall due to being strong in spirit and was able to gain the new ability [Drunken Lullaby] and arm blades for her Stand, who at the time was named [Molly] before the second piercing. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to withstand some of the side effects that came with it and ended up being sick with a nasty fever(kind of like Holy Kujo's illness but not fatal). She ended up being bedridden for a week with little to no energy, and of course during that time she started having fever dreams depicting the arrow that shot her and DIO and the Stands that it manifested, namely the Stands belonging to him and the Joestar bloodline. Meanwhile, [Molly] was watching over their user in worry and guilt over making her sick, making sure that she's safe while she slept, as well as watching the poison seeping from Medea's back to them.

DIO on the other hand is just treating the whole thing like it's nothing and that she'll get over it like the drama queen that he is and just reads and drinks wine like he normally does, paying no mind to Medea tripping balls in her sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, I kind of retconned [Flogging Molly] being nameless before the second piercing as mentioned on Medea's profile, but like I said I was still developing her at the time so there will be some changes along the way.

I also like to imagine that the Stand used to have darker and shorter hair like Medea, but the Arrow caused them to outgrow and lighten their hair, kind of like Marie Antoinette syndrome.

Lastly, I threw in an easter egg inspired by the "Evillious Chronicles"; any EC fans here take a wild guess on what that is? ;-)

Medea and [Flogging Molly] belongs to me

[medicallista]

So I made some realizations about Helio and Helidea and I'm not sure if I like them or what to do with them. So I'm dumping these thoughts and opinions here

I really did not like Helio and Helidea for a really long time. Like among the main five characters, Helio was my least favorite, and his relationship with Medea was my least favorite between any of the five.

My opinion of Helio was "just another case of shounen love interest syndrome". Basically the thing with het romances where the love interest sucks ass and the mc's friendship with another character of the same gender is honestly way more romantic and meaningful? Cuz heteronormativity and gender roles and misogyny (for male mcs) and blah blah. He spends most of his screen time being a Medea simp, being Medea's right-hand man/assistant/servant/dog?? We're given hints of his backstory but it felt like most of it was just to support the Medea simping. I found him really boring and bland compared to the other four main characters.

And his relationship with Medea? It's toxic, which was pretty obvious way before the story started spelling it outright in chapter 100+. The relationship was stalling his character development in favor of what... some mid one-sided romance? (See, shounen love interest syndrome) His entire character was just his devotion to Medea, and we barely see Medea give a fuck about him. I lost all respect for him at that one scene where he kissed Medea's foot and called her his god. Like, gurl get the fuck up??

However, I did recognize back then that Helidea actually had tropes that I really like if they were handled differently. Even more now, that my taste has changed a bit from when I was reading Your Throne back in 2020-2021. I'm a sucker for devotion and loyalty actually. I fucking love "I'd do anything for you, I'd die for you, I'd go to hell and back for you." Dependency and toxic relationships are actually things I'd sometimes enjoy. So there was an inkling of "maybe in a different world or handled differently" even back then.

I said I enjoyed those kind of relationship in fics because usually the ships/characters I like are the ones where I'd root for them to be in a healthy relationship over a toxic one, cuz usually those are the type where you're rooting for what's "good". I do enjoy them outside of fics and headcanons, but it's usually when the story actually is the kind of story that tells and explores a toxic relationship. But with Your Throne, I didn't think it was that kind of story. Given Medea's development, I was rooting for her success and happiness and for her to end up in a good relationship (if there is an endgame ship). So whenever I looked at Helidea I was like "this is supposed to be canon???"

I do want Your Throne to break the norms, not just in terms of tropes but also societal norms (like a not heteronormative romance or queer characters), but I didn't really expect much from it. Even if I didn't want Helidea to be canon, I still judged them through the lenses of "this is supposed to be canon???" cuz I expected it to be, and that was my mistake.

Yes, Helidea's kinda fucked up. They're pretty ass if you judge them on the basis of a good healthy romantic relationship. But as a toxic fictional relationship between morally dubious mentally ill characters, they're great actually. That's what the author intended to portray (I think so anyways), they're doing their job? They're interesting as a concept, something I'd wanna poke around at when I have brain worms. Kind of similar to how I feel about Medea x Eros (Mederos?). I never wanna see them in an actual relationship though, unless there's some huge development at Medea's end.

Speaking of Medea's end in their relationship: one of the reasons why I disliked it was because Medea never treated Helio like an equal. She cared for him to an extent, but that's more of how a master would love their favorite servant, nothing like the devotion Helio had for her. I would've been fine with that toxic master/servant dynamic if that were the point. But seeing how Medea treats Psyche, how she treats her like an equal and encourages her growth, while with Helio she just enables that toxic behavior and let him worship her? It really just didn't feel like she cared for Helio at all. But with rereading, and the more recent chapters with Helio's backstory (i havent caught up to it tho), I can see now that that behavior wasn't just a "she really don't give a fuck", but something more complicated. I don't think Medea could ever love Helio back the way he loves her, but she does care?

Anyways, as frustrated I am about Helio's backstory being way too long, he kinda needed it. He hasn't developed much for nearly the entire story, so like thank fuck he has an arc? The fact that it's so late tho?? I've had a negative opinion of him and Helidea for such a long time that idk what to feel about them even when my views are kinda changing.

[thesovereignsring-if]

You motherfucker you! I had a feeling—a horrible little feeling—from the first page that if I continued to read this demo, I was gonna instantly regret it when it ended! Because now I have to wait!!!! Seriously, this was SOOOO good it’s ridiculous. It’s riveting, it’s scandalous, and I don’t know who to trust! I wanna love aunt Maeve but can she be trusted? Can the memory of our father be trusted? Can I be trusted? Can Medea be trusted? Can Thea be trusted? Can these Eirik simps be trusted?!?!? Oh, wasn’t there supposed to be four brothers?

Please up the good work!

Hehehe

Sounds like someone's got a few trust issues...would really suck if they get worse-

But thank you sooo much for the kind words! I cannot express how encouraging and uplifting it is to hear that people enjoy the demo! 😭 I makes me feel like I did something right, y'know? Sometimes when you're writing you get that stupid imposter syndrome and the self-doubt comes and it just eats at you. And as a writer you can only hope and pray that sometime (anything!!) sticks to the reader. It's hard!

Thank you very much for taking the time to hang out. See you for Chapter 1 ;)

oh and um, idk what fourth brother we're taking about. 😭 Might be a typo. You got two bros and a cousin (who has a bastard sibling). Two aunts and one uncle!

[rotisseries]

‘he is haunted by the specter of the women who came before him’ rin girl trauma is genuinely so good do you want to explain your thoughts

YESSSS!! this got long lmao

ok so some obvious things straight up. he's azula, he's lady macbeth, (which. very interesting because these women could easily be considered masculine figures in their stories but tbh villainy in media always includes some level of the character acting in ways incongruent with expectations of their gender.) he's reaching for a goal that is unachievable and he's losing everything in pursuit of it and when he realizes he's done it all for nothing he loses his mind entirely. out damned spot out

he's not a physically strong or imposing character, he's sly and cunning, traits often given to female villains, also his weapon choice, I said this to hella in an ask gathering cobwebs rn but he uses poison!! poison is his weapon and poison is a woman's weapon, all the way back to like, medea. I actually found this really interesting thing real quick just by taking a quick google search for poison as a woman's weapon:

it's a weapon of intelligence and elegance, it doesn't leave a mess, it's for a death that's clean and pretty (also so often the reality of death by poison is a brutal and choking one, which. ughhh you get me) however women also die more by poison, which is interesting but idrk where to go with that. also in general it's a weapon of betrayal and intimacy of COURSE it would be rin's weapon.

anyway girl trauma time. ok so admittedly some of it is just vibes like I was just sitting around like "hmm the specific way rin is impacted by kiva and lugalia and how he handles it FEELS very Girl Trauma™️" which is obviously not a very academic way of discussing that. and like obviously trauma and trauma responses are not exclusively linked to your gender but he doesn’t feel like a man with mommy issues he feels like a woman with mommy issues you know? he's full of grief, not hatred. also this is coming from me who does not have eldest daughter syndrome and does not know a man with visible mommy issues so. take it with a grain of salt.

anyway he's a middle son who acts like an eldest daughter and I don't just throw that around because I kinda don't love when people say "this man has eldest daughter syndrome" when they just mean parentified like you can just say parentified it isn't always eldest daughter syndrome but rin HAS eldest daughter syndrome and I actually feel like that's a bigger deal here because he's NOT really being parentified like kiva actually does very well with parenting drako so rin doesn't need to step in or anything. no, rin is an eldest daughter because he has to be uniquely aware of kiva's mental state in a way drako just. isn't. drako knows lugalia was awful obviously and that kiva hates her for good reason but drako doesn't really seem aware that it's made kiva. not the perfect mom. rin is bearing the brunt of it all, he doesn't know about lilla obviously but he has to sit with the knowledge that something is holding kiva back from him, he can tell. he's also being permanently held to this standard he'll never meet.

a firstborn in general but especially a firstborn daughter is supposed to be your perfect example, the child always going above and beyond meeting your every expectation which lugalia does to him in the most obvious sense but kiva is also holding him to a standard he can't meet. she's holding him up next to lilla. obviously she's not hoping to replace lilla with him in fact it's the exact opposite but the fact he ISN'T truly her firstborn he CAN'T truly be lilla is something that keeps kiva from loving him properly. he isn't lilla he can't bring back lilla he will never be lilla he will never be kiva's firstborn daughter and the impossibility of this standard is HAUNTING THEM BOTH. very interesting that being the middle child gave him eldest daughter syndrome btw lmao. (also I saw this tiktok (<- bad start) that I sent a screenshot of to hella in ANOTHER ask that's gathering cobwebs but supposedly older children coming out of their mothers leave dna behind in the womb that becomes a part of the next kid can we TALK about the rin+lilla and drako+rin implications of that???)

and then the way he HANDLES his issues. he doesn’t really blame kiva OR lugalia he doesn't even seem fully acknowledging that they've done him wrong he just keeps reaching for these standards he'll never be able to meet. if he can just be the perfect heir he will no longer feel the ghost of lugalia digging her fingers into his shoulder if he can just be the perfect son kiva will love him wholly but this isn't true and it's not his fault but he won't see that because if something isn't wrong with him then it means something was wrong with the women who raised him and if something is wrong with them he's spent his life reaching for something he can't have and if he's spent his life reaching for something he can't have then where does he even go from there? how do you move on? it's all been futile? unacceptable.

so he tries to meet the standards he's being held to. and he's haunted by the women before him. he's haunted by lilla, occupying a space in his mother's heart that he can never have. he's haunted by kiva, her gentleness standing in contrast to his learned pragmatism, her feeling like she's looking into a portait of her mother, horrified at his every action, when he does it all for her anyway. he's haunted by lugalia, crafting him in her image, the perfect heir, hiding everything under a calm and icy exterior. he's haunted by hammari, reaching higher and higher for an impossible goal, wanting, needing, to be good, to be loved, committing greater and greater sins in pursuit of it, until it's gone out of control, and it's too late to quit, because if you quit, what was it all for? you lost everything, and for nothing. and at the end of it all, with a knife in his hand and hair scattered around him, he's once again haunted by lilla, who was the perfect daughter he could never be, without even trying.

he is forever living in the shadows of the women from before him he is constantly shaping and reshaping himself to try and fit to their place in the puzzle he was sculpted in their image and now he continues to sculpt himself and he will NEVER BE FREE of his sister and his mother and her mother and her mother and yeah I just think that's very girl trauma of him

[bluepurpleviolatte]

Psychology in Pop Culture - Analyzing Rust's Interrogation Skills in HBO True Detective:

Rust Cohle’s interrogation technique in True Detective is a fantastic example of the psychological skill behind an empathetic yet probing interrogation. Rust’s approach when interrogating Charmaine “the bayou Medea” (a mother who killed her children) is a powerful demonstration of building rapport, carefully guiding the conversation to draw out the truth, and using controlled empathy to avoid triggering defensiveness. Let's see how Rust’s strategy unfolds and why it works so effectively:

Initial Gentle Approach and Reassurance: Rust begins by suggesting that the children’s deaths were due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a known pathology. By doing this, he frames the situation as possibly being outside her control, creating a moment where she feels protected from blame and where he appears to be offering a logical, non-accusatory explanation. This step prevents her from becoming immediately defensive and builds initial trust by removing an immediate threat of accusation.

Empathy through Personal Connection: Rust then shares his own traumatic experience of losing his child and his marriage, establishing a personal connection and shared understanding of profound loss. This creates a space of mutual vulnerability and understanding, so she feels he’s not just there to judge her but truly grasps her suffering. By aligning himself with her experience of pain, Rust subtly signals that he isn’t simply an interrogator but someone who can relate to her struggles.

Validating Her Perspective: With his next step, Rust probes her mental state, subtly guiding her to reflect on any pressures she might have felt by saying, “Child is wonderful, but sometimes people mistake a child for the answer to something.” This phrasing is both sympathetic and insightful, leading her to feel that Rust understands the complex emotions she might have been struggling with. It provides her with an opportunity to interpret her feelings of desperation or dissatisfaction without shame or immediate repercussion, making it more likely that she’ll open up.

Mentioning “Munchausen by proxy” and showing the cardiograph of her deceased child: it adds an essential layer to his approach. This tactic works in several ways. It can be further broken down here:

Introducing Munchausen by Proxy: By mentioning this rare psychological condition, Rust subtly suggests that he doesn’t view her as an intentional, malicious killer but rather as someone who might suffer from a mental disorder. Munchausen by proxy involves caregivers causing illness in someone under their care, often due to deep psychological issues. By bringing it up, Rust gives her a plausible psychological explanation for her actions, which can reduce the likelihood of her feeling directly blamed. She may not understand exactly what Munchausen entails, but she perceives it as a possible justification or explanation Rust might use on her behalf.

Setting Himself Up as Sympathetic and Non-Threatening: The mention of Munchausen by proxy positions Rust as someone who is empathetic, knowledgeable, and willing to consider the possibility that she may not be fully in control of her actions. By giving her this possible “out,” he presents himself as a supportive figure who might even “help” her by framing her actions as a medical or psychological issue, rather than cold-blooded murder.

Using the Cardiograph as Evidence of Serious Concern but Not Direct Accusation: Showing her the cardiograph—the heart monitor printout of her deceased child—underscores the gravity of the situation without direct accusation. It subtly reminds her of what’s at stake, while the focus remains on uncovering the truth in a non-hostile, “understanding” way. This visual cue subtly reinforces that Rust is thorough and that the evidence is there if she chooses to cooperate.

Building an “Ally” Persona: By bringing up a condition she may not fully understand, Rust subtly implies that he’s an ally with specialized knowledge. This creates a sense of Rust as someone who could “explain away” her actions as an illness, giving her a glimmer of hope that a confession might not lead to harsh judgment. The technique is a combination of expert authority and compassionate empathy, presenting Rust as a figure who, like a defense attorney, might protect or mitigate her responsibility.

Guiding Her Towards a Confession by Offering a Way Out: The implicit promise here is that if she confesses, Rust might view her actions as symptomatic of an illness rather than intentional wrongdoing. This psychological loophole lowers her guard and invites her to confess under the guise of “working together” with Rust, rather than confessing to a crime outright.

In essence, Rust's entire approach hinges on the illusion that he is not there to pass judgment but to understand and potentially provide a sympathetic explanation. It’s an intricate psychological play, drawing her toward confession by positioning himself as a supportive, understanding ally rather than an enemy.

Rust’s interrogation technique in this scene is a form of controlled manipulation, where he shows understanding not to excuse her actions but to remove her defensive barriers. This type of interrogation demonstrates how trust, empathy, and a shared connection can lead someone to self-reflect and reveal their secrets. The scene underscores Rust's skill as a detective and the emotional toll this method requires, as he uses his own loss to connect with her in a profound but emotionally taxing way.

It’s a brilliantly nuanced display of how a skilled interrogator can walk the fine line between empathy and truth-seeking, making it a memorable example of this interrogation technique in pop culture.

Further reading: Get the Truth by P. Houston, M. Floyd, S. Carnicero

[tleeaves]

You're lucky I'm up at midnight this one time. Honestly, the whole spirit of it feels a little... idk, blunt? Almost rude? But at the same time, they're expressing issues I've had with modern retellings for a long time now. We're seeing more frequently a divide between what popular media says Greek mythology is and what it is to Greeks and its connection to our culture. Hell, the actual connection to GREEKS has been lacking, save for the gods, and a few mythological figures of tragedy (who have definitely been warped by modern retellings to serve the kinds of stories they wish to portray).

I know there's many who disagree, including some good friends of mine, but respectfully, theirs is not the culture that's being detached and created into its own strange fandom.

Hades and Persephone are not as romantic as people make their story out to be and I am tired af of the takes I see of them. But on the flip side I am terrified by the idea of someone turning it into a Stockholm syndrome nightmare.

And I fully believe in letting characters remain as problematic as they always were in the original myths. Our gods were not made to be likeable. They represented lessons, figures to learn wisdom from, but their personalities were also to reflect their respective domains too. It's poetic that Hades, god of the underworld, steals away Persephone, goddess of the springtime, creating not just winter but symbolising the cycle of death and return/rebirth (rebirth also being important in Greek culture (we talk about it today too even in immigrant circles)).

Medea is allowed to be a little fucked up. Patroclus is actually more of a hunk than Achilles was, and was quite well-respected despite their relationship, because he was a great fighter in his own right.

And actually, if there's anything about the figures in mythology, it's that they're all a little bit fucked up, even Odysseus and Penelope with his easily their relationship could have tumbled into toxic territory if she really was earnest with the suitors or Odysseus was not so good at reading her (or thinking he knew her intentions).

I have not read Circe yet, so I can't accurately judge that specific retelling. Lore Olympus has been a bit of a thorn in my side for being basically the catalyst for Hades and Persephone retellings. The other is a game, I believe, and I can never remember the name of it, but it's characters aren't wholly accurate (I do appreciate the niche myth of Hades' potential second lover, and the character designs are more pleasing than most). I don't think Zagreus is a real mythological figure though and he's the main character as far as I know.

Anyway, regular disclaimer that I am a second generation immigrant child and was never enrolled in Greek school sooo a lot of this is just knowledge accumulated randomly over the years and I'm bound to not only be occasionally wrong but also not represent the thoughts/feelings of all Greeks.

”this book is a reimagining of hades and persephone as-” it’s the final month of 2023 as a society we need to move on and fast.

[aglaxy]

♡Yandere manhwa characters,

Headcanons♡ [Part 2]

Tw:Unhealthy relationships,obsessive themes,

Yandere,violence,blood,mentions of murder,

Manipulation,stockholm syndrome

Characters:Medea solon,cayena hill,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medea solon

•Medea is a very possesive and manipulative

Yandere who is also quite controlling.

•You and her first met when you're parents

Arrenged an alliance with her father,you met

Her as a smart and shy child who is very skilled

In swordmanship.

•Medea slowly gained a cute crush on you,the

More time you visit her and hang out with her.

And everyone notices it,making everyone tease

Her.

•Her nanny immediately liked you since you

Were the first person to ever make medea smile

Very brightly due to you're sweet nature.

•She admired you're dreams and hobbies,and of

Course you're whole being.you truly were the one

To be so kind to her besides her nanny and helio.

Her brother also liked you,since you are his

Little sister's friend and you even able to make

Her smile more in the mansion when you visit.

•Though,it can not say the same with helio as

He is envious of you.he sees you as someone

Naive and useless....so what did medea even saw

In you?he really envied you for getting medea's

Love and affection.

•As you two grew up,medea grew to gain even

Bigger feelings for you,her crush turned into

Hard love,into obsession.medea always make

Sure she was with you,making sure you ate and

Healthy,making sure you give you're attention

To her than anyone else.

•Medea also seemed not to mind you're

Kind and energetic nature as you always turn to

Make her fall for that smile like always.but

Of course,some nobles are going to insult and

Talk shit about you behind making medea beat

There asses very violently,she threatened them

In the most terrifying way to never try to insult

Her gorgeous dove.

•Yes,that is what she sees in you.a graceful but

Energetic dove who had the wings of freedom on

Their side,she always had this deep red blush

On her pale cheeks as she looked at you from

Afar not really listening to what the other

Astirocats are talking about at all.

•When it was the time you two met psyche,she

Almost viewed her as a rival if it weren't for her

Noticing the blonde girl always stalking her.you

Quickly warm up to the girl making psyche

Warm up to you as well.medea is chill about it,

But does get jealous when the two of you hang

Out while she trains and work hard for you to

Give her praise and time.

•She will give you a soft smile when you do

Praise her for the hardmanship she put herself

To,and she blushed hard when you admit on that

Was one of the reasons why you like her.

•Since you and her knew each other for a long

Time just as helio,so medea knows you for a

Life time and knows everything you like or

Dislike.it was weither her asking questions or her

Stalking very stealthily.

•Medea also knew about helio's feelings for her

But doesn't give a single damn since she had

Feelings for you instead leaving him heartbroken.

•You and her were the greatest friends anyone

Could ever ask for....but of course,good things

Won't last longer.you're family were turned into

Commoners making you and you're family a

Fallen noble all caused by her father,when she

Learned this,she was more than enraged.she

Wanted to make her father pay for making you

Left her,you were supposed to be with her

Forever!just like wife and husband/wife....but

Now it is all broken dreams because of her

Damned father for ruining everything!

•When she heard her father arranged her in

Marriage with the crown prince,she was angry at

First until she realized that this might be the time

Where she can finally overpowered her father,

And the perfect oppurtunity for you to bring

Back you're title.

•But of course,it all turned to shambles because

Of one bastard of a crown prince as he chooses

Psyche instead.returning home,she saw her

Beloved nanny dying by the hands of her father,

Her brother now leaving her.she couldn't take

It anymore.she needed at least someone she

Loved in her life,you.

•She truly needed you.please,comfort her,

Embrace her in you're arms,even a letter will

Make her pain go away for a little.

•Medea will be so happy when you did try to

Comfort to the best of you're abilities.she is so

Glad that she still had a person who cared and

Loved her.

"My dove...are you an angel?heh,who am i

Kidding?of course you are."

•This made her realize,she needed to make her

Moves fast.what if eros finds out you are her last

Weakness and will get rid of you? ....no.no,she

Won't allow it.there will be no fucking way that

She'll let you die by the hands of him.never.so,

This makes her force herself to work even harder

And it was the time where she and psyche

Switched bodies.

•Although,it was nice that she finally can get

Her revenge and you finally able to get back

You're honour.she hated,no...loathed the way you

Smile at psyche(who is in her body)it was the

Thing she despises since you are not techincally

Looking at her.instead,it was psyche.was she

Planning to steal from her again?

•That what has medea in mind but the truth was

Pscyhe thought that if you got to partcipate the

Ball,it might make you happy like old times when

You were still a noble.and not noticing the way,

Medea glare at her hatredly,she just continued

Being sweet to you while medea silently shakes

In rage and jealousy.

•After where medea and psyche make up,met

Perion,had a little agruement with helio and

Finally able to know that eros had feelings for

Her,medea knows she can win this little war of

Game.she manipulates eros to getting you back

The title of nobility,and tricked him into actually

Agreeing to his proposal.

•But,eros disappointed her when he told her,he

Will give you back that title when the marriage

Between him andd her are over.this,of course,

Enrages the future duchess solon but had no

Choice to make,she agreed.(as much as she

Hated it)

•After medea kills her father,she offered you to

Go to her mansion.once you got there,she

Asked you to be her assistant in order to save

Money for you're desperate parents searching

For a good job to help themselves,especially you.

Since,you don't want you're parents to suffer

Anymore,you took the job making her grin in joy.

•Medea never go hard on you,she gave you the

Smallest and easiest tasks,she lets you eat some

Of her food and always spoil you as well.this,

Gradtually made some servants jealous of you

But none had the guts to slander you as they

Never want to face the terrifying wrath of the

Duchess who can kill them in a second.

•As more time passes,medea grew and grew

Even more possesive of you.no one now ever

Talks to you anymore because of the memory

Of medea who intimidates and threatened them

If they even dared to talk to her dove,so as

Expected,every one of them kept silent as they

Still did want to live afterall.

•Remember when her relatives now slept in

Her house and saw you?well,one made a grave

Mistake on flirting with you.a noble male even

Had the nerves of trying to touch you making

You incredibly uncomfortable.medea got that

Information when you told her that,the noble

Never tries to look at you nor touch you ever

Again.since he had payed the price of losing his

A hand by the very wrath of the duchess.

•Everyone seems to even got more terrified,so

No one even looks at you now making medea

Feel joyful since they were able to learn that you

Belonged to her.and her only.none deserved to

Look at you're gorgeous figure as she can only

Take care of you right.

•Now,if you ever ask her on to why is no one

Ever talk to you anymore.she'll brush it off at

First,but if you keep answering her then she'll

Just had to make you stop.medea will trick you

Onto believing that none of the mansion ever

Talks because of there jealousy of you.they

Were so jealous of you being the duchess

Favorite,that they never talk to you out of spite.

•She carressed you're cheek,as she'll just

Smooth talk her way out of the question making

You forget on why did you even ask her that.

•But....you began to notice her very posessive

Acts,if you ever confront her about it,she'll

Think of it as it isn't a big deal but if you ever

Try to raise you're voice at her,then it is time for

You to see her ever true colors.

•She slapped you,hard.so hard,that it made

You bleed in the mouth ever so slightly.don't

Forgot that she was the one who ever taught

Helio he needs to know in this world,she'll look

At you with slightly angered eyes as she grabbed

You're wrist and drag you to her room.

•As you two got in,medea will punish you very

Harshly.she will grab a whip,and ordered you to

Stretch you're arms to her and when you did as

You are told out of fear,she whipped you're

Hand several times and it didn't took an effort to

Make you're hands red and bruised.

•Of course,she'll take care of you afterwards

Since she doesn't want her dove to be so hurt

Because of her.

•Now,expect to be punished severly if you ever

Think twice to yell at her again.either her

Breaking a bone or two,or her forcing you to

Be on you're knees until it's bleeding,or her

Starving you,or her slightly burning you're hands.

It was all for you to learn you're mistakes,don't

Blame her,besides....who was giving you money

To provide you're parents a good life?her.

•Medea will always use you're parents against

You and it always works.she smirked at the

Submussive face you gave her,the first time she

Mentioned you're parents.this gave her a sense

Of power than ever.and she could never be

Happy when you're parents thought she was

Treating you......."right".

•Now,you are a real dove in a cage.medea's

Pure and gorgeous dove,that will always be her

Possesion and love.nothing can take away her

Dove.nothing.

"There,there my dove....yes,i know this is very

Painful but,don't think of leaving.did you

Forget about you're parents?that's right.if you

Behave,they won't starve anymore,that's what

You want,yes?"

Cayena hill

•This princess is also a manipulative and

Obsessive but soft yandere.

•Cayena first met you as rezef's maid,when he

Was still in control of the lady in waitings,she

Never thought she could fall inlove in first sight

But here she was.

•She was incredibly confused to why she was

Feeling like this in the first place,she just met

You now so why is her heart beating so loudly?

•Cayena will continue to observe you if she

Had the chance.she saw how obedient and

Polite you are.such a clever thing,yet you're here

Just to serve her brother?not any longer.

•Cayena would definetely manipulate rezef into

Giving you to her,telling that you might be a

More valuable asset to her to make him the

Emperor.and since he's such a greedy little shit

For both the throne and for his sister's love,he

Gave you to her willingly.

•When you first met her,you saw just how

Gorgeous she is.her beauty was ethereal,you

Heard the rumours but goddamn,she was

Making you're eyes burn due to her beauty.

Anyways,you expected her to act bratty and to

Be a foolish princess but that didn't came as she

Acted elegant and graceful,something only a

True princess would act.

•Suprised as you are,you didn't waste anytime

To ask her what will be you're duties to serve her.

She smirked and told you that you will become

Her new lady in waiting,which isn't a suprise to

You but what did,was how soft and gentle she

Was to you.

•Elegant gestures,authoritive way of talking,

She really is different from the old princess you

Know of.

•Cayena really did want for you to see her as a

Princess you wanted to work with,a gentle

Lady who is capable of solving any problems.

That's what she succeeds in,and you believe

It as well since you can truly see her being the

Perfect empress for the empire.

•After months of working for her,also

Meeting olivia,vera and the other ladies in

Waitings,cayena grew absoloutely more and

More obsessive of you making her only letting

You work beside her only.this also results on

Julia,being jealous causing tantrums whenever

She saw you as the favorite lady in waiting.

•Which is kinda true,since everyone can see how

Fond the princess act towards you but that was

Not a excuse for the girl looking at you with

Very hateful eyes whenever she sees you.

•Rezef also is quite hateful towards you as you

Manage to make his lovely sister to be so soft

With you.it made him sick.it should be only him

That cayena should even act like that.but seems

Like fate wasn't on his side since cayena can

Now only think and talk highly of you,not him.

Not anymore.

•So that made him enrage but not wanting to

Be on his sister's bad side,he kept his emotions

In check.raphael doesn't hate you,but it is quite

Hurtful for him to see you and cayena together

Smiling and chatting oh so happily.he does not

Want to lose her,but anything to keep her happy.

So,the duke lets her go.

•Now,time skip when cayena meets ethel

Lindberg,who she claims to be her half sibling.

She got kidnapped and you were the one who

Barged into the prince's chambers as he read a

Book.yes,after a long time working with the

Princess you get attached to her.who wouldn't?

She was a kind and gentle princess,that you can't

Help but fall into her charms of grace.

•You kneeled and begged for the prince to go

And find her highness,he lifted you're chin and

You can see how angry he was.danger was

Written all over his being as he shuddered in

Rage when he heard you said that his beloved

Sister was kidnapped.

•To let out his anger,he stabbed and snapped the

Few of the people in his chambers while you

Tremble in his presence.you couldn't understand

How you used to work for him,sure you knew of

His very violent behavior but you didn't know

That it could get this far when his sister is

Involved.when he did head over to save his

Sister,you felt yourself breath again,you just

Hoped that cayena was safe.

•And speaking of the princess,she was not

Only worrying about herself,she was also

Worried about you.since she fell unconsious

A lot earlier,she can only think of you're safety.

She truly hoped that you aren't hurt,she begged

Herself for her not to think you aren't harmed

But she can't help but worry for you.

•She then got saved by the duke,and she

Thanked him quickly not after asking if you are

Alright.he answers her that yes,you are fine and

Not a single scratch was on you're body.she lets

Out a breath of relief,that is truly a relief.

•When cayena was brought back to the palace,

That is how everything were placed into danger

As she grew to be more visible on showing her

Affections towards you.people just thought that

The princess was only being kind,but you can

See how she loves to spoil you.

•It is always her routine to spoil you.indeed,ever

Since you worked for her it became a routine

That she loved,even if you get overwhelmed by

It,she still manages to spoil you with headpats.

•So,uh,remember her crazy ex husband?yeah...

When he learned about you,he was disgusted

That the princess was giving affection to a

Rat like you.he thought that you seduced the

Princess and when cayena visited him in his cell.

He explained to her that he could be a better

Lover than you could ever will be.

•This...just made the princess shoot him in the

Leg,making him scream in agony and pain.

"You dare speak such words to my beloved.?

Scum such as you,deserve nothing but death."

•And she did bring him death,she shot him

Multiple times,but of course the cell was empty

Because of her seducing the guards to get out

So she can talk to gillian alone.

•She knew it would be a great idea to steal

Rezef's gun,it was a perfect oppurtunity for him

To take the blame for her.when morning comes,

She'll put on a face and everyone will believe her.

Of course,anyone will believe her.she was the

One who got kidnapped,so of course it

Wouldn't be her.and no one will even suspect

That it's her.

•At this point,cayena managed to make you her

Lover and she absouloutely showered you with

Lots and lots of love and hugs and kisses.

•She's just so soft to you that no matter what

You do,she'll always take you're side.ALWAYS.

•Of course,cayena can see that you are starting

To act up to her but she'll just pat you're head

And soothe you with sweet words.if that doesn't

Work,then she can gently whisper to you're ear

That you're parents can always be on the line.

She's the princess of this empire,and you are

Her lover.enemies will be using you're loved ones

As hostages and they might even torture them.

Only SHE can save them as she is the princess.

•Cayena's punishments aren't bad,she will

Only scold you harshly like a child being

Disciplined by there mother.after that,she'll

Give you some kisses on the forehead and will

Assure you that she's just a little mad at you.

•Cayena might also try and make you're loved

Ones use you as a tool of power.so that the only

Person you can only love and depend on is her.

And this will just make her obsession for you

Grown than it could ever will be.

•This will also just result in you loving her back,

As she is the one who gave you the affection

No one could ever give you.she is so happy that

Her beloved loves her back,you are her beloved.

Hers and hers alone.

"My beloved...you always look so precious!

Oh,i love you so much.my,did i spoil you

Rotten again?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[umbran6]

The Argument Against Caleo

Spoilers up to Blood of Olympus and beyond. Beware! (Or not, the book series has been out for a few years, get over it). I wrote this after seeing a user wondering why people didn’t like Caleo, or in some cases, hated it. Here, I want to explain the answer as much as possible while doling out my own points. 

One of the main grievances I have as a fan of Leo Valdez would be the ship Caleo, or Leo x Calypso. It’s a complicated ship, to say the least, with multiple issues that make me question why people like the ship. And I admit it, they initially had some chemistry, but there’s multiple issues that Uncle Rick produced through making such a relationship that makes it extremely open to criticism, criticism which I will explain through this post.

One of my main points against them is that the ship was created on a very limited time scale. Although we aren’t given an exact date to date of when Leo and Calypso met to when they fell in love, we can safely estimate it to be a week at best. Such a limited amount of time from going through the multiple stages of a relationship already stresses the limits of the suspension of disbelief.

A counterexample would be Percabeth, or Percy x Annabeth. Throughout the series, we aren’t introduced to them being romantically involved until the Titan’s Curse, which was two years after they met. Specifically, this is brought up by Aphrodite, the goddess of love herself. Admittedly, Percy and Annabeth were twelve years old when they first met, when romance was definitely out of the picture, especially with a quest to get the Master Bolt.

However, from there we get to see multiple examples of their character depth, ranging from their respective fatal flaws to their ambitions, hopes and dreams, and their friendship. We get to see the slow build up of their chemistry, which was a really good writing move on Uncle Rick’s part. These characters took their sweet time to get to where they wanted to go, and despite the false romantic lead of Rachel, they still got together.

On the other hand, we don’t see enough of this between Leo and Calypso — we only see one book where they interacted with each other in The House of Hades, and that was only for a handful of chapters. While they are definitely older so they can jump straight to romance (some may say too old, but I’ll get to that) its still a pretty huge gap to jump through without making it stick. This makes it hard to root for a ship when it is built on a rather faulty foundation from the ‘they just met’ to ‘they get together’, especially when they don’t have a lot of events to show their chemistry.

Which brings me to Ogygia, which has raised a few red flags for me when looking at it from a retrospective point of view. Now, we know what the main issue of the island is that the hero who landed on said island can’t leave until Calypso falls in love with them. And we’ve seen this with Percy during the Battle of the Labyrinth, where he lands in the island and Calypso falls in love with him while tending to his wounds from, you know, being erupted from freaking Mt. St. Helens. Needless to say, this falling in love with each other montage happened quickly to the point of suspicion, which sets up the complication that Calypso and Leo might have fallen in love due to magical intervention.

And hear me out, because although this  might be a pretty big pill to swallow, we have evidence for this through Percy. It only takes one chapter for Calypso and Percy to meet, and the next he’s willing to consider leaving Camp Half-Blood and Annabeth behind to live on the island when Hephaestus gives him the choice to leave Ogygia or stay. We don’t even get an explanation on why Percy considered giving it all up just so he can be with her. All we know is, girl meets boy, now they want to live on an isolated island forever. It’s especially absurd considering Percy’s hamartia (fatal flaw) is freaking loyalty to those he loves.  Needless to say, It’s a huge YIKES, especially when we apply it to Leo and Calypso. 

It also raises the possibility that the romantic relationship between them is doomed to failure. And if you guys want to fight me on this, let’s look at Jason and Piper, a couple whose relationship started with a similar foundation. Piper had romantic memories implanted into her brain by Hera through the use of the Mist, while Jason was reduced to a Tabula Rasa (a blank slate for those who lack culture) by said goddess. They broke up before the Trials of Apollo because it was clear that when the dust settled, Piper had been aware that their romance was a lie and that their intentions to stay together was a mix of delusion and pressure from freaking Aphrodite. Leo and Calypso get together under what is arguably a very similar set of conditions if Ogygia’s magic had any influence on their relationship, and that this magic could wear off if given enough time. 

Third, and here’s a pretty big one for me, would be Calypso’s character, mainly because there are a lot of unfortunate implications attached to it. In The Blood of Olympus, she was turned into the divine equivalent of Princess Peach, with Leo being her Mario (except he saves her with a badass metal dragon). Its extremely unnecessary to make a character, especially as one such as Calypso, get  turned into the typical reward of a B-Class action movie. It’s insulting and puts her up as a trophy, a narrative that is definitely not ok by any means necessary.

In another direction, Calypso is also really, really worrying when things don’t go get her way. First, let’s look at The Odyssey, the first myth she pops up. Calypso had imprisoned Odysseus for ten years on her island until Hermes said to let him go, and although it gives them plenty of time to fall in love, it also raises the implications of stockholm syndrome. Then we’ve got the fact that Calypso cursed Annabeth out of spite, implicitly saying that she wished the daughter of Athena would suffer the same isolation that she did, which came to reality when Percy and Annabeth met the Arai in Tartarus. And Annabeth wasn’t even aware that she was still in Ogygia, much less intentionally intervened in the matter. When Percy left Ogygia, rather than be angry at Percy, Calypso cursed Annabeth out of all people to suffer the same loneliness and misery she went through. That’s some Hera at her worst levels of spite. 

Through such evidence we can see that Calypso is extremely wrathful towards those who break her heart even though they don’t want to. It certainly implies that Calypso isn’t in a good state of mind, and could easily repeat said actions if provoked. We could almost compare it to Medea and the original Jason, but at least in that case, Medea has every right to be pissed off at Jason and take her revenge. Calypso’s curse and how she handles things certainly implies a level of immaturity that would end in disaster if they broke up.

One issue that, I’ll admit is more from my personal point of view is that the ship took a lot of Leo’s character and threw it in the garbage in Blood of Olympus. Though we see him do a lot of stuff behind the scenes, the fact that its all for the goal of reaching Calypso just reduced him to someone who is more focused on love than, you know, fighting the evil goddess that was responsible for killing his mom and getting sweet sweet revenge. While the revenge plot can be cliched sometimes, it can be played well, while romance and the typical ‘always save the girl’ trope is just overdone. If Leo had been allowed to, you know, be more focused on other things rather than Calypso, we could have seen a lot more variety in his character.

For example as one of the possible character arcs he could’ve gone through, Leo has always been alone among the couples, often being isolated. Heck, Nemesis herself stated that he would always be the seventh wheel, and that he would never find a place among his brethren. Though some fellow tumblr users have taken this in multiple ways, either saying that he should learn to be happy by himself or that he is socially isolated in the Argo II because of these romantic relationships (I prefer a mix of both). Uncle Rick just giving him a girlfriend seems like taking the easy way out of solving such an issue and abandoning what could’ve been a rather interesting character arc. The relationship isn’t a bad thing if we remove some of the unfortunate implications, but it is a bad way to end what is a complex and realistic problem for a character and in some cases maybe possible in real life.

One more minor but still yikes worthy point is that there’s a huge age gap between them. We’re not talking about the ‘Hazel is 15 and Frank is 17 and in one year that’ll be a problem because then Hazel will be jailbait’ age gap. And even then, we can argue that Hazel is older since she is chronologically ninety-one years old. No, Calypso is older by millennia in terms of mindset and body due to the perks of being a goddess, while Leo is sixteen.

God-to-Mortal relationships are already complicated, even with emotionally and socially well-functioning adults. The fact that Leo is underage, inexperienced with romance (despite his flirting, Calypso was his first kiss), and has been through a freaking ton of trauma in his youth, does not make this okay. At best, they’re both mutually interested in each other but may have different expectations when it comes to a relationship. At worst, Calypso is taking advantage of a boy just so she can get out of Ogygia and possibly dumping him later on like the wrapping of a candy bar. Even though Calypso lost her immortality during The Trials of Apollo, that doesn’t even compensate for the immense age gap alongside Leo’s guilt at the possibility that he might’ve been responsible for her losing said immortality.

Oh, and about Leo... I’m a fan of him, but I can admit that he is in a bad spot both mentally and emotionally throughout the series. He’s lost his mom due to a mix of his own powers and Gaea’s trickery, and never had the chance to fully process that event and come to terms with it. The foster home system alongside his own trauma has forced him to hide his emotions through a façade of happiness and jokes when it’s quite clear to me he needs a therapist, stat. He's also run away from several foster homes, implying this means he was and still is being affected by the event. His mask is still on during The Blood of Olympus considering he hid a lot of things from Piper and Jason.

Speaking about them, not helping this matter is the fact that he’s rather isolated in terms of friendships since Jason and Piper, his supposed best friends are more interested in locking lip rather than, you know, actually hanging out with each other.  He doesn’t have good friendships with the rest of the Seven, and the closest ones he does have is with Hazel and Frank. And even then they start off in the wrong spot since Frank is very insecure about possibly losing Hazel to him during Mark of Athena while Hazel in the meantime, is also dealing with the fact that he is the descendant of her possible boyfriend Sammy Valdez. 

This could indirectly have made him desperate for affection since he has nobody else to confide in during the rest of the series, which is a bad mental state to be in when one lands on Ogygia, the island that we’ve seen could possibly force two people to fall in love with each other. A romantic relationship is not something that he needs or something that will help him in the future. He needs more than that, and having him in one that could end in disaster is the last thing he needs. 

And that does not make him a bad person, much less a bad character. While some who are similarly emotionally and socially isolated may turn to violence or creepy behavior on those they want affection from, Leo does not do that to the other characters. It just means that he as a character needs more time to recover and develop before we go giving him romantic relationships, much less one with Calypso.

That’s not to say that they don’t have some things in common. Both are starved for love and affection, with Calypso being constantly rejected by heroes while Leo was rejected by foster homes and his own family. It’s a trait that they have in common, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that they have in common, especially since it is laced with a trauma that is clear they haven’t had help processing. They need to develop more as characters and as friends before they should be paired together.

So… yeah. The Caleo relationship is, in my eyes, doomed to failure, or at least heavily flawed after taking the above points into account. Uncle Rick, as if seemingly aware of these criticisms, has put the relationship in a rocky place by The Tower of Nero, giving them the possibility of overcoming the above criticisms and their own flaws, or giving fanfic writers an out and pairing Leo with another character or have him single, but happy. Either way, in my opinion Caleo is a bad ship when it comes to how it was created, alongside the flaws and unfortunate implications it has.

While I can see some of the chemistry the ship has, you can’t just use a couple of moments where they get along as evidence that they belong together, especially with the above reasons. That’s like using a band-aid to cover a bullet hole without removing the bullet, stopping the bleeding, and preventing infection. If both characters and their relationship had been given more time to develop, I would understand how they would get together. 

[otnesse]

I may have my negativity towards Belle right now (mostly due to paranoia regarding certain historical events that would likely play out in the future and Belle's possible role in that. That, and Woolverton not only repeatedly bashing her predecessors to prop her up as some sort of feminist icon, but also audaciously comparing her to Maleficent, and by that, I mean that horrible rewrite she did for the character), but I would NEVER consider her as having stockholm syndrome. She repeatedly talks back to Beast during captivity, which is something an actual Stockholm Syndrome sufferer would NEVER even consider doing to their captor.

As far as Gaston, he's got his vices, and he most certainly was a bad guy (now, whether he should have been the actual main antagonist is a different story. Personally, I felt that Enchantress was a far better fit). I would NOT call him a misogynist, though, being sexist and a male chauvinist at worst (yes, there is in fact not only a difference, but an actual distinction between the two terms). He still wanted to marry Belle, not to mention thoroughly enjoyed being popular with the ladies, so he failed the definition of misogyny (which, last I checked is "hatred of women") for that reason alone. Had he truly been a misogynist, he'd try to stay as far away from Belle as possible, not try to marry her precisely BECAUSE she's female (probably the closest he'd have in ANY interactions if he can stomach it would be outright raping the female villagers due to being a sexual sadist). Put another way, he'd behave a lot more like this guy from Dragon Ball on the subject of Belle or, heck, ANY ladies in the village for that matter:

Or at most like Jason of the Argonauts in the Medea play (who made it clear he didn't like any ladies, much less the eponymous character, and the only reason he even puts up with her at all is because he's smart enough to know he can only have kids with a lady).

People who say Belle has Stockholm Syndrome for Beast and Gastom is the true hero are just...like- DID WE WATCH THE SAME MOVIE

Ah yes,because a man having actual character development because his female love interest is a good friend to him is way worse than a man being a raging misogynist and trying to force the same girl to be with him🤨Y'all shipped Dr///amione and are still H*p fans and it shows

[bonmotx]

inspired by @agadah​ the List Of Issues I Have My Muses Represent Dot Org., featuring those present and not yet present with completed pages, where getting them right DOES award you one virtual internet cookie

in order with spoilers if that is the word (if a character does not have their class, they aren’t a servant)

FIRST IMAGE

murder is legal because i hate humanity immensely: anastasia (caster), andromache (avenger), medea lily (caster), vortigern (avenger), koyanskaya of light (assassin)

tfw you have so much famiy dysfunction but still love them but also god they’re so dysfunctional holy shit can i have a vacation plea-: ares (saber), uther (avenger), naoise (saberserker), amdusias wolfgang mozart (pretender)

ANXIETY DOT JPG: arsene lupin (pretender), paris (archer), phantom of the versailles gallows (louis the 16th, ruler)

Clown.: ashiya douman (alter ego), beast of mourning (beast), saber of the all-mother’s land (???, alter ego)

sacrificing your own happiness for others: beni-enma (saber), cassie vogel-westenra, asvatthama (archer), lakshmibai (saber)

I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS (ESPECIALLY NOT THE PERSON I NEED TO IMPRESS OR I WILL DIE): connla (saber), the little mermaid (ruler), galatea (berserker), patxi (archer)

hahaha ha hah ah a I DON’T WANT TO DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE: cthylla, fafnir (rider), lavinia (foreigner), yua saito

see the issue with absolute power is that i don’t have it :): medb (rider), octavius augustus (foreigner)

the struggle of the other trying to understand the ‘normal’: melpomene (caster), rhongomyniad, franz schubert (foreigner)

SECOND IMAGE

i have so many issues and 99% are abuse destroying my ability to have normal relationships: bei (caster), beryl gut, duryodhana (assassin), kamadeva (assassin)

who t he fuck am i again: ophelia phamrsolone, ‘ritsuka ‘riko’ fujimaru’, mephistopheles (caster)

it’s totally normal to live and do everything for one person right haha what’s a danlere??: sophia vogel-westenra (psuedo-servant, berserker), haydee (moon cancer)

empathy fatigue coped with badly: sadhbh-y-nos (rider), enkidu (berserker), king gawain of new camelot (ruler), mercedes bianco

Terminal Teenager Syndrome: sei shonagon (archer), kaguyahime (moon cancer), cu chulainn ‘setanta’ (saber), katsushika oui hokusai (saber)

i have been defined by being nice which is an issue bc i wanna go apeshit: margaretha ‘mata hari’ geertruida zelle (assassin), the prince (alter ego), matthew ‘mash’ artoslight (pretender), ludwig von beethoven (berserker) 

actually you know what? [ruins ur life bc you were mean to me Once]: mercury rover ‘curio’ (???-servant foreigner), tamamo cat (berserker), yang guifei (foreigner), oberon (pretender), calamity jane (archer)

i’d literally Rather Die than lose control: mother of harlots and whore of babylon the queen draco nero (beast), persephone (assassin)

susceptibility to cult brainwashing tactics: abigail (foreigner), jeanne of the black goat, host name gelda (alter ego)

[artemissoteira]

Do 10 50s!!!!!! (Any questions you want)

thanks casey ily for enabling me <3 (d&d ask meme here) this is, obviously, a long post bc of who I am as a person. you're all welcome.

6: Which of your d&d characters has been the least like you?

Honestly, probably Medea! And even she has slipped so much towards me lmao. Girlboss is not really my vibe but has been so so fun to play. I don't think I could have found her without Isaac's Sphinx to play off of because I don't have to feel bad about being mean to him sfdsdf and she needs an outlet for that. I'm not a person who carries much guilt or bitterness so that has been really interesting to poke at.

12: Have you ever fought a beholder?

Yes, an undead one, in a oneshot @brogendered ran! iirc we fucked up trying to get into the house over the wall instead of through the door and dropped right into a deadly encounter. we scooped a magic sword and fled back over the wall but left the beholder in some AOE damage spell, then took a short rest, and by the time we came back it was fully dead lmao. Extremely scary surprise encounter to start off the oneshot and extremely kind of jake to let us cheese it that way instead of killing us immediately which we probably had earned.

16. What is your favorite D&D pod/vodcast?

Anything by the Streampunks (Twitter here; most of their shows & others currently hosted on Queuetimes on YT/Twitch). Most of their stuff isn't in the D&D but all of it makes me cry. I started with Callisto 6 back on Geek & Sundry as my first ttrpg foray outside of CR and have never looked back. Strongest of recommendations to anyone interested in superheroes in dystopian cyberpunk Los Angeles 2119 combatting megacorporations with the power of eternal gay love and direct radical action, with a ton of loving care put into worldbuilding and rooting their characters in specific neighborhoods of the city.

It's a story about deliberate compassion and the enduring connection of communities in an unkind capitalistic world, with a storyteller who knows and takes care of his players by giving them every chance to explore what choosing kindness means and to reclaim agency for their own characters, allies, and antagonists alike. Fundamentally changed my understanding of ttrpgs as storytelling you can do, on purpose, with everyone throwing themselves wholeheartedly into a shared story with a deliberate commitment to theme. I think genuinely every single character made me cry at least once, including the ones I originally didn't connect with who ultimately had such powerful arcs that revealed the actors had been paying real damn attention the whole time.

Also has my favorite gay flirting via mechanically suboptimal combat choices that I've ever seen. I simply can't get into it here because I WILL scream but my jaw dropped. gina devivo’s mind. if you want even more longform gay yelling from me send me questions about callisto 6 or other streampunks shows lmao.

watch the first 2 seasons (24 eps) of callisto 6 on youtube. season 3 currently only available on geek and sundry's twitch archive, which you can access for a month for $5 and binge all 12 episodes.

14. Have you ever had a romance with an NPC or another PC?

Casey I will love you forever for turning my sheer lesbian energy and chronic Support Women syndrome into an actual romance for Medea and Medusa. Galaxy brain. I think that's the only romance I've dealt with, unless we count Tony wingmanning Tuck by strongly implying she'd fucked a lot of giants, which we shouldn't, even if it was iconic.

18. Do you use props/minis/terrain in your game?

using this as an excuse to say Roll20 my beloved. still extremely proud of the first oneshot I made from scratch last spring, when I taught myself javascript in order to code puzzles into the Roll20 API. I made: pressure plates that trigger walls to move up and down to allow water to flow; an automatically rotating lantern puzzle that revealed hidden text on the walls and featured actually climbable lanterns that I could hook character tokens to; and most importantly a secret button to change the icon of the goose barbarian, Duck Duck the Goose, from the standard Untitled Goose holding a knife into an edited version of the icon with "then perish" laser eyes.

Oh also a secret pressure plate trap that would only trigger when the bard stepped on it, played a magical sound effect and teleported him to another page where he had to solve a penis nonogram puzzle to be sent back to the party.

Aaand a magic electrical spark that worked as a laser pointer to guide a kitten around the map, complete with both the spark and the kitten’s icons switching orientations as they moved depending on whether they were above/below and left/right of each other.

20. If you run a homebrew game, give an out of context spoiler.

The rats don't like weasels.

21. Drop a picture of a mini you painted (if applicable).

No physical minis, but in the dark ages before heroforge had color options I manually recolored this mini of Tetra using fake photoshop by isolating each part of her body and fucking around with hue filters until I liked it.

tetra with hat dot png:

[ID: a purple merfolk mini from heroforge with webbed ears, an orange-tinted vest, a bright green kelp skirt, gold leather armbands, a large pink shell on one shoulder, a green kelp headpiece and orange flames rising from one hand. a clipart image of a purple propeller hat covered in gold stars has been edited onto her head. end ID]

yes the propeller hat image is from club penguin. yes i added the stars myself. yes I am this sexy and correct all the time and yes it is exhausting.

32. Most memorable NPC you've encountered in a game you played in.

There's so many, but I've periodically heard Najiba's voice in my head saying "Ithren, are you crazy? Like, you're a little bit crazy, right?" for weeks. her voice is so lyrical I want to listen to her talk for hours.

Ithren doesn't get her at all, but they like when she asks them questions bc it makes them feel like they are doing something useful by answering, even if their answers are completely incomprehensible to the party. I love that after every big thing that happens she goes, "Um, was that okay? That we did that? Like is that a good thing or did we do something bad here?" & makes everyone give their opinions. queen of nosiness.

34. Favorite accent to do for characters?

I've only found one accent I can do reliably so far and it's, like, surfer bro frat boy himbo burnout. Instant hit with the children and got my hapless bandit captive adopted by the party so quickly and now he's in charge of their horses. I love him so much.

all my other NPCs inevitably slide towards vaguely british snooty woman or gruff gravelly uncle no matter what I try to start them as. the two genders etc etc.

36. What was your first d&d character you made?

Tony the Tabaxi, my beloved. Orange tabaxi thembo swashbuckler rogue. The name is a fakeout for Tony the Tiger; they're actually named after Antonio Banderas who voices Puss in Boots. They’re just Puss in Boots. Thought I was gonna have to do something funky for the build but swashbucklers literally get the Panache ability at level 9 that is a free non-magical charm that works perfectly for Puss's big sad cat eyes. Love them so much.

Shrek 2 isn't on Netflix (or wasn't at the time) so for character research I watched Puss In Boots (2011) as well as "Puss In Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale", which is a choose your own adventure interactive special?? And a few episodes of The Adventures of Puss in Boots which (spoilers) takes place in the town of San Lorenzo which puss protects for years until the bloodwolf gets summoned and puss & friends get sucked into a dimensional portal (?) and Puss has to choose to have his friends' memories of him erased in order to correct the timeline, but carries them with him always. From what I recall. He adopts some piglets I think.

[semantiques]

Mothers in greek tragedies

I’m studying for an essay in ancient greek tragedies and I just noticed that we always say about how no hero can ever be happy, but man, mothers can never catch a break either. 

Hecuba? Lost 18 children in the trojan war (and let’s not talk about how she saw Hector get dragged around the walls or Polyxene get sacrificed on the grave of Hector’s murderer). She only saw Cassandra survive, but even she ended up concubine to the leader of their enemies and prophesized her own terrible death.

Clytemnestra? Saw Ifigeneia get killed by Agamemnon as a sacrifice to start the trojan war and then she was killed by her own son for taking revenge on Agamemnon.

Andromache? They killed her baby, throwing it off the trojan walls and then she was a slave to her husband’s killer’s son. Then she was thoroughly tortured psychologically by his wife and almost saw her second son get killed in the process.

Jocasta? Boy oh boy what she went through with Oedipus.

Medea? Don’t even get me started.

I swear it’s like reverse anime mom syndrome.