#Myth!verse

[mrblank-0]

Myth!Verse Nightmare (Redesign)

Art made by @apaidh, inspired by Le design

Info of Myth!Verse Nightmare

In this verse, Nightmare doesn't have a soul, he is still made of negativity but is not an embodiment of negativity but likes to call himself that

This Nightmare feeds on the souls of humans, literally as after he has torture them enough, he will rip out their soul and consume it, the soul itself is not destroyed but is kept alive inside nightmare surrounded by negativity meaning its constantly in agony and suffereing

Nightmare prefers human souls as they taste better

Nightmare becomes more powerful as he consumes more souls

This Nightmare is still immune to magic and physical attacks, things like spears or arrows will simply melt in his body

Nightmare cannot "teleport" instead he travels through the shadows between worlds

[avanalae]

Athena and Ares

omg guys guess who came back months later to this in her drafts /cries

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Title: Athena and Ares Fandom: Batman (DCU)/Greek mythology  Verse: Myth!verse Characters: Tim Drake, Athena, Ares Pairing: Ares/Tim, (forshadowed) Ares/Tim/Aphrodite Rating: 2052 Warnings: I have since played Hades and will never not be able to escape thinking about it when writing about Greek myth. Thus, Ares and Aphrodite are totally married and Hephaestus is with his Charity, Aglaea, who is not Athena. Wordcount: 2053

___

It had been a typical day before this, but considering how things had been going the past few months, maybe this could be called typical as well?

“Since I couldn’t do anything about my fool of an uncle at the time, I made it so she could protect herself instead. When I ask her about it and gave her some options, she was most enthusiastic about that one. And so…” Mocha-toned fingers make a wiggling motion by her head.

“Huh. I had wondered about that, admittedly,” Tim hums and takes a sip of his coffee.

“Yes, many have and while I do not like to involve myself in such things unnecessarily, once the internet became more common it was easy enough to use to get the ball rolling.”

“Ah, were you involved in that, too?” he tilts his head consideringly, “Being the goddess of wisdom and all.”

The woman shakes her head, her curly grey hair swaying against her cheeks. Tucking a lock behind her ear, she explains, “While I was not directly involved, it’s reasonable to think so. Other gods of wisdom and invention were the first to trigger the process, but all of us with such things as our domain become involved in such monumental developments, even if indirectly.”

“Like an inherent collaboration thing?”

Athena squints at him over her frappuccino. “…I suppose you could think of it that way. All things are intrinsically connected, after all, and gods are not free from this principle. While I am a completely separate entity from, say, my dear Saraswati or Benzaiten, I have a deeper connection with them than I do others from their pantheons. We are not interchangeable, but it’s easy enough to help and cover for each other when needed.”

“Wow, neat,” Tim comments, “I wish I could have copies of myself to help out, like, all the time.”

She rolls her eyes, “That is because of your tendency to overwork yourself unnecessarily.”

Tim glowers, but she just looks down to the table at the three empty mugs left at the edge of the table. Two had been cleared earlier and one, mostly empty, was in his hands.

“…I just like coffee.”

“Uh-huh.”

“…”

Athena raises an eyebrow.

“Okay fine maybe I work a bit too much. But all of us are busy these days.”

“An interesting thing about wisdom is that there are many facets to it. It is wise to know your skills and how to utilize your abilities to benefit yourself and others. However, it is equally as wise to know when it is time to do nothing.” The goddess leans back in her seat, crossing her legs, “While I greatly admire your intelligence, strategic mind, and more… I find your wisdom often lacking.”

Resting a hand over his heart, Tim gasps, “Rude?!”

Rolling her eyes again, Athena picks up her frappuccino and loudly slurps the last of it through the bright pink straw.

Tim pouts.

“Anyway,” she sets the empty cup aside, licking her lips, “I should get going. I have a feeling that-“

The doors of the coffee shop burst open.

“Hey, ’Thena! Are you here?”

“-something annoying is about to happen.” She finishes, her deadpan expression only mostly obscuring her contempt.

The tall man in the doorway is dressed rather typically for an Olympian, unlike Athena’s casual jacket and jeans. His broad frame, dark skin, and stark white hair only making him more intimidating in the eyes of the regular customers. However, like true Gothamites, they just go on edge instead of panicking immediately.

Looking around, the man quickly spots the two of them and strides over.

Glancing between the two gods, Tim quickly concludes.

“Ares?” he mutters to Athena, and she grimaces. Ah.

The god slams his hand on the table, thankfully not causing any damage, “My dear sister, did you think I would stand still after realizing your trickery?”

Athena looks at him blandly, “To be honest, dear brother, I don’t expect much of anything from you. Ever.”

“Ha! Well, then I shan’t bother considering it. I will, however, gladly take my revenge for you running off and meeting with Timothy first.” Ares snaps out, and Tim feels his heart drop in sudden anxiety when the man turns and looks straight at him.

“Ah- I-ACK!!”

Tim is grabbed and hefted over a bulky shoulder so quickly that his head spins.

“I will be on my way, now,” Ares chuckles and turns around. Tim is disorientated but he manages to look up and he sees Athena grumbling while waving over their waitress.

These gods are all so rude.

__

After a few minutes of his stomach against the unforgiving surface of Ares’ shoulder, Tim’s had enough. As the god leaps up to the next highest roof, Tim grunts out in pain at another punch to the stomach. He stabs his elbow into the nearest weak points he can reach, “Ugh! Put me down!!” He doesn’t do much damage, but he doesn’t expect to. He just- “Augh!”

Ares lands on the roof and adjusts his hold, flipping Tim and sliding him down until his back rests against the crook of his left arm. Tim is left disorientated once more, his right hand on that troublesome shoulder and his left atop the large hand by his hip.

“Terribly sorry for the bumpy ride, dearest Tim.” Ares apologizes and leans over him, his large form nearly covering him completely. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh,” Tim opens one eye to glare at him, “Do I look alright to you?”

The god leans even closer and presses his lips to Tim’s temple, “Do accept my apologies, dear. I wished to remove you from there sooner rather than later.”

Tim stares at him once he pulls back, suddenly wondering if he’s going to have to fend off more advances. He then registers their position and startles, pushing on the god’s shoulder. “Uh, can you let go of me, please?” The gods he’s met have all been impressive, but this one in particular is possibly as big, if not bigger, than Bruce. It’s intimidating.

Ares hums and doesn’t move. “I’m not sure. Now that I’m finally holding you, I can’t seem to bring myself to let go.” He moves and pulls Tim closer so that their chests are against each other and braces the young man against him with one arm. The other runs up Tim’s side, getting a delightful shiver. “You are even more enticing in person, my dear. While I have admired the strength you bear in such a lithe body, I find myself appreciating it more upon closer examination.” His large hand runs down from his shoulder to caress his arm, prodding and manipulating to admire the musculature.

Tim isn’t normally so sensitive, but the position they’re in is not helping his heart calm down. “Lord Ares-“

“Just Ares, my dear,” he hums, Tim’s smaller hand in his as his thumb massages into the soft palm, digging into tension Tim hadn’t notice (or had been ignoring).

“A-Ares…” he fights against the urge to melt and let the massaging continue, or worse, like asking him to massage him elsewhere. Clearing his throat, he tries to compose himself, “Ares, please, um, let me down.”

The god hums and looks down, drawing Tim’s eyes to- to where his hand is clutching Ares’ chiton right against his pectoral. Choking, he lets go and tries to pull back, ignoring the pouting god. “I need- I have things I need to do, so please let me go.”

Still pouting, Ares tries to catch Tim’s gaze and fails, “Ah, alas. Alright, my dear, I will capitulate.”

Why is this man’s vocabulary so extravagant? Tim wonders, distracted once again. But the god does put him down, incredibly gently, to his surprise. He swats at the hand lingering on his hip and tries to ignore the god of war’s sad face. What is he now, a puppy?

“Are you really here to see me? Don’t you have something better to do?” He doesn’t mean to sound so accusing, but he’s flustered.

“I believe visiting a beloved hero such as yourself is a worthy cause on its own.” He chuckles at Tim’s flustering, “My dear Aphrodite has also been interested in meeting you.”

“Huh?”

“She originally intended to send me to kidnap you so we could spend some… time together more intimately.”

“WHA-?!”

“She made a bet with Athena, however, and it would seem that we lost. So, I will just have to enjoy this moment to share with her later.”

Tim gives up and just tries not to think too hard on the implications the war god is dropping like candy. He’s not unexperienced with such things, after all, and he can tell that if he tries anything, Ares will take the excuse to really kidnap him.

“Then I will ask you for one thing of you before I go, if I could.”

Hesitant, but desperately wishing to get out of this situation, Tim nods, “If it’s something I can do, sure.”

“Wonderful! Then, excuse me,” Ares gently grasps Tim’s chin and tilts it up. Leaning closer, the god grins at Tim’s wide eyes, “would you allow me a kiss?”

He asks, as their lips are already close enough that Tim can almost feel them already. But the much larger figure teases by keeping them millimeters apart, even nudging Tim’s nose with the point of his own. Finally realizing that he needed to respond, Tim releases his lower lip, not having noticed his nervous biting until then.

“I-“ he looks into sparkling ruby-red eyes and has to swallow. “Um, yes?” God, he’d meant to say no but he doesn’t regret it as the intimidating puppy before him beams and swoops down.

Again, Tim is pulled against the god of war by his waist and bent backwards as the god finally captures his lips. It’s an immediate and consuming heat that steals his breath away. The burning lips part for a heated tongue to stroke its way into Tim’s mouth, enticing, leaving him falling apart in Ares’ arms. All he can do is grip thick biceps weakly, trying not to melt.

Is it due to being Aphrodite’s lover? The other Olympians who’d managed to steal a kiss weren’t quite as…. Skilled? Intense? It’s hard to think of the right word with his brain melting under Ares’ talented tongue.

He’s not sure how long they stay like that, but Tim is breathing heavily by the time the separate. He blinks a few times, eventually managing to focus on Ares a minute later. On Ares, whose smug grin is both aggravating but also well-deserved. Instead of smacking him upside the head, Tim submits to his skills and just sighs. He pushes at the broad chest, still catching his breath, “Alright, you got what you wanted, so let go.”

“Alas,” the giant puppy sighs sadly, “I suppose I shouldn’t be too greedy, for now.” Tim doesn’t feel great about that “for now.” “Many thanks for the kiss, my gracious one. I will treasure this memory for a long time.”

“Yes, yes,” Tim pushes again, flustered, “Glad to help. Or- Ugh, just, if there’s nothing else, please go now, like you said you would.”

Ares lets him go slowly, reluctantly, but eventually Tim can take several steps away from the potential threat. “Alright, my dear, I will go. Hopefully I will be able to see you not too far into the future. Perhaps with my lover in tow?” He seems to consider it for a moment, before moving on. “Then I shall depart. Do think of me tonight, won’t you?”

With a flash that has Tim shielding his eyes, Ares disappears.

“Ugh,” he rubs his face after making sure the god had really gone, “damn it. He really got me, didn’t he?” Tim licks his lips, then flushes when he realizes what he just did. “Ugh, why did he have to be such a good kisser? That’s not fair.” After burying his face in his hands until he’d calmed down, he sighs and tries to pull himself back together.

Looking around, though, Tim realizes something.

He was on the roof of a building that had no easily visible access point. He was in civvies. And it was still only the afternoon.

“That damn-!”

[elexuscal]

Imagine, if in two thousand years, everyone was obsessed with Omelas.

Alright, not everyone obviously. But you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't at least know its name. You were absolutely told the story as a child, might even have watched a movie or played a game about plucky kids rescuing the child of Omelas from their cell and taking down the city's corrupt priesthood. You definitely have vague memories of browsing the holo-channels as a kid on a sick day and watching a documentary about how the city fell, analyzing the texts of the historian Le Guin, and attempting to track down its "true" location.

There are whole societies dedicated to that question. Not just people on the Feed Boards, but like, actual archeologists and historians (that's how they describe themselves, at least) who literally head out to various moons and dwarf planets, doing all sort of complicated scans and digging up rock formations and old habitat ruins that they claim, based on ancient texts, to be a prime candidate for where Omelas was located.

It goes deeper than that, you realise later, if you dig deeper. There are entire belief systems based on Omelas. Many claim that Omelians were not humans at all, but actually advanced aliens or even gods, who granted humanity the first technology for space flight. There are political parties, some quite popular-- and powerful-- who claim descent from the Omelians, and who argue that descent makes them rightfully superior to all other races. These people rarely, if ever, bring up how the moral question at the story's heart about the Omelian's corruption. Omelians were wise and just and powerful, obviously, and that's why they should be in charge now.

This is what happened to Plato's story of Atlantis.

[awzominator]

Everyone’s favorite spider 🤟

[s0rr3l]

MODERN AU - PART 1

lore under the cut!!!

Lǐyú 🐟

25 years old

Grew up poor, but a hard worker - was in the student council throughout highschool and captain of the debate team; bit of an overachiever

Earned a scholarship to university and became… an accountant

Always had dreams to be a marine biologist or illustrator, but life got in the way and one has to pay the bills

Had no passion for their chosen career, becoming a workaholic and reclusive, plus being piled with extra work due to to being the lowest in the work hierarchy

Started a webcomic series to relieve stress from the job and posted on a whim, unexpectedly got really popular!!!

One time got caught in the rain without an umbrella and ran into an open cafe

Met the the owner @maiden-of-the-waters Beike and worker @marcu-bug Yu, who took one look at their sad, soggy form and immediately (unofficially) adopted them into their cafe

Lǐyú cried (which they’re still embarassed about) from the simple kindness of strangers, and started frequenting the cafe more

With support from the others, quit their accounting job and started posting comics full time, even picking up shifts for the cafe

Noticed by game company, scouted and hired for character design/concept, illustration and storyboarding

Co-workers with @marcu-bug’s monkey (Tao), who works in a different department

Unexpectedly ran into @dunanana Birdie in the cafe, and fainted from shock; has always been a big fan of her music

Did get over their embarassing hero worship after getting to know Birdie, and the gang always teases them about their reaction to their first meeting

Met @szynkaaa Oz while working a shift in the cafe, casually doodled a lil star on her to-go cup based on the accessories on her bag

Becomes roommates with Birdie and Yu after their apartment got flooded

More social and passionate about life; it really was going great! Surrounded by awesome friends and loving their new career; seriously, what could more could they ask for?

That was when fate decided to throw a Monkey their way

Destined One/Yēzi 🥥

24 years old

Star of the martial arts world since he was a child, has won numerous competitions in various fields

Impressive enough to be scouted for minor movie roles but didn’t enjoy the spotlight. Transitioned to stuntwork

Elder monkey is his grandfather and runs a dojo - he joins as a teacher and regularly holds classes for all levels

(the kids all love him, he is their favourite teacher!! Don’t tell him he said this, but he likes teaching the kids too)

Going to inherit the dojo when his grandfather retires, but that seems to be a while yet…

In his youth he was a massive menace, challenging all the dojos/martial arts associations with his own lil’ gang

He’s totally mellowed out now that he’s older, but his friends keep teasing him about his ‘younger days’

ANYWAYS, because of his wild challenges in his youth, he became a local legend and set off a trend for the up-and-coming students of other dojos to start challenging HIM

His friends call him Fruit Punch. And somehow it SPREADS and others start calling him the legendary Fruit Punch

Gods he was so mortified he wore a mask to try and hide, but it just fueled the rumours even more

So he’s always being interrupted and challenged by all these flashy characters and gained a reputation for being a delinquent/vigilante

(since they’re disturbing public areas, Yēzi always drags them off to the police station after the fight)

Grumpy guy

Of course he is, always getting interrupted by a bunch of guys when he just wants a smoothie or shopping for groceries

-

He enters a cafe, ready to order and hears this:

"Ah! Fruit Punch"

*sighs*

its gonna be a long day

Lǐyú and Yēzi 🐟🥥

He loves doodling. Unironically thinks Lǐyú (and Tao) has the coolest job in the world

Yēzi kept the cups that Lǐyú doodled on. Sentimental nerd

Lǐyú did not understand the culture around fighting for the longest time and had some... misunderstandings about it. Had a long sit down with Yēzi to talk about it :)

-

UGH they are both so oblivious

Lǐyú: Yēzi is so cool but a bit scary => actually he's kind of a dork => um wow that was hot- => oh!! What a cute laugh! => hey- shhh shh. Yēzi, I'm not going anywhere.

And it hits them like 'oh. OH'.

Yēzi is So Stupid:

Ugh they called me fruit punch => huh. They're kinda cool I guess => pretty fun to tease => pretty eyes~ => oh no. Why are you crying? I'll do anything, so please, don't turn away from me-

'oh. OH.'

[chaos-and-sparkles]

In Which I Ramble About Pavitr's Character Design and the Indian Cultural Stuff Related to It

DISCLAIMER: I'm an Indian, and these are all my thoughts and analyses, but I'm also just one person and by no means am I speaking for everyone. I am not all knowing, and I am not immune to being wrong sometimes. These points are all my own thoughts and stuff that I know through my lived cultural experiences and some history and book knowledge, but I've not particularly researched any of these. I'm just out here giving my take from what I know. This is mostly just going to be me rambling, okay? Okay. Let's go!

Anyway okay so I just wanna go from the top down:

No. 1:

First of all his hair

His fucking hair

This is one aspect that i k n o w I'm overthinking and probably wasn't as significantly thought out in the design but it just Spoke to me and by all accounts I'm not the only one

But I'm so glad we have him with his thick gorgeous fricking hair, especially them being like curly/wavy and slightly long instead of straight and cropped or whatever

Like. Indians usually have very thick and luscious hair, not everyone ofc but generally it's a thing, and it's considered a point of pride to have long dark thick hair.

And the thing is for the longest time the beauty standard in India was to have very straight and shiny hair, all the actresses and heroes were doing it, even though that's literally not the realistic case for a lot lot LOT of Indians. There's a pretty big variety of hair texture in India; some of it is regionally concentrated too, eg. in South India you get a lot of frizzy, tightly coiled hair that's rough textured, whereas curly hair is usually silkier and looser curled as you go Northwards,, Bengalis tend to have very wavy thick hair,, etc. By no means a rule or anything, it's just a thing that there's a lot of curl variety and a lot of it was for the longest time considered ugly and unkempt (there are some classist/regionalist elements to this stereotype also unsurprisingly) still is by some people,,, bc the standard was Shiny Straight Hair. It's a standard that's slowly shifting. It's currently leaning more on the wavy and voluminous side. But it's def a thing still.

All that to say, it makes me so so happy to see Pav with his curly-ish lush hair that he wears with such pride and style,, that are a symbol of his own pride and self care too!!!

Also the line about "coconut oil, prayers and good genetics" - I LOVE THAT REFERENCE AHAHABSSK, using coconut oil for the hair is a very common thing here, it's so so good for the hair and the scalp alike and it's relaxing to massage it in too.

I've seen people try to write Pavitr in fics as "quickly brushing some coconut oil through his hair" as part of his morning routine and. Um. That's not how it's done askaskjas, I don't mean to be rude to the writers at all, everyone does the best with what they know and no one knows everything, but also practically speaking that would be greasy and awful.

There are multiple ways to apply coconut oil, ofc. Coconut oil is often massaged into the scalp and rubbed into the hair like an hour before washing, sometimes with lemon juice mixed in, and then washed off when bathing. Some people, especially those with drier and finer hair, apply it as a regular after-hair-wash thing, too, but even so it needs to be rubbed in.

A really beloved thing we have is coconut oil champis, too! This is basically when you sit down cross legged in front of youe mother/grandmother, and she massages the coconut oil into your scalp and hair in a way that literally cures all tension and headaches and leaves your head reeling and is so so good for hair and stress and everything. It's a family bonding thing more than just a hair routine. It's not always done by the mom/grandmother ofc, it's just how most of us first experience it, and they have a technique that none of us can ever quite replicate to the same effect later. As we grow up, we often do it for ourselves and for others. It's a weekly or monthly or even just occasional thing depending on who you ask. But yeah that reference was great I love it dearly!

Also about the hair length

So in the current modern "civilized" standard (Indian schools and society in general tend to do a lot of shit trying to assimilate us into western culture and stamp out our own,, for example all my life I've been in schools where speaking Hindi and Telugu and stuff in class or in the hallways was Wrong and Forbidden and We Must Speak Only In English Bc We Are Educated And Cultured. This is so fucking hypocritical bc they would also have Hindi and Telugu classes and then criticize us for not getting it right or whatever), boys are meant to have short hair. Teachers literally single boys out in class for leaving their hair longer, not the exact length they set as the limit. This was my entire school experience; thankfully it doesn't seem to be the case in college, but that may just be bc I'm in an artsy college. In the workplace it's less stringent but it's still a thing.

HOWEVER, historically and culturally, long hair was considered good and even Important for both men and women. There's huge regional variations in this ofc; Maratha peshwas and higher classes and stuff for example wore a "pilaka" (idk what else it's called), which is the head shaven clean except a tuft in the middle that's sometimes braided. Brahmins still do it too.

But my point being, long hair was considered good for the most part, at most it would be worn in a bun for fighting and working,,, braids are a pretty big deal too. Having to cut your hair short=a symbol of dishonour and/or exile, or reserved for menial workers and so called "low classes".

(This is not stuff you even get explicitly told btw. This is stuff I've mostly inferred and studied from history and mythology and stuff , so there's no guarantee I'm 100% right)

Also, in Sikkhism (I'm not Sikh myself so correct me if I'm wrong, this is just what I know) having long hair is super fucking important for men. The hair is wrapped up in the turban, and the turban is a symbol of honour and pride and literally considered life. The long hair is considered sacred.

Removing the turban is basically a symbol of literally losing your honour pride and sense of self,, not just in Sikkhism, just generally at this point. Cutting your hair? Insult on injury.

Pavitr doesn't have particularly long hair ofc

But having grown up with such rigidly enforced things abt boys having very short cropped hair, it makes me so happy to see an Indian character who defies that.

Also!! Quick tangent about braids and their significance,, they're considered very beautiful and another symbol of pride, intricate buns and what not too! Just wanna drop this to give you an idea of what i mean:

In the Hindu myth of the Mahabharata, Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas (she's a very interesting and important and beloved character, regionally also considered a goddess, she was a princess born of fire married to five princes and the vengeance for her honour literally fuelled the war for righteousness etc etc) vows never to braid her hair again until she has washed it in the blood of Dushasana, a man who forcefully tried to disrobe her in court (it's a whole myth of its own). At the apex of the war, Bheem, her husband, brings her his blood. She washes her hair in it and then for the first time in thirteen years, she braids it.

Braids are not as significant now but it was basically a Pretty Big Deal and I just wanted to talk abt it.

In Hinduism too the gods are portrayed with long hair, it's a Thing.

No. 2:

Okay so moving more downwards,, I have a bunch of Thoughts abt Pavs mask design!

Okay so obv we have the spiderweb-pattern that's a given.

But. The interesting parts are these:

The bindi-like design on his forehead.

Bc my point is

Sure that looks like a bindi. And that's beautiful in itself but I HAVE ANOTHER TAKE

Bindis are traditionally worn by women as a symbol of beauty, prosperity, and again, pride. But while nice, that's not quite a symbolism that fits imo

You know what else is ver similar where my mind immediately goes? A tilak.

The shape is kind of off for a tilak actually, a tilak is more of a U or a V with a dot or a flame-like stroke in the middle. So in that case it looks more like a bindi

But i really like thinking that it's inspired by a tilak too, bc

While a bindi is a decorative mark stuck or painted on a woman's forehead as a symbol of beauty and prosperity

A tilak is basically a mark that's finger-painted on the forehead of , usually a man but there's a softer smaller version for women too and ofc there are women warriors who got tilaks, for auspicious and blessing reasons. So in a Puja or ceremony, a tilak is put as a blessing and an auspicious thing, also meant to impart strength. The head of the household usually gets the most striking or biggest one.

Pandits usually wear tilaks for blessing purposes too, although their design is different and more elaborate than the ones given to others

Gods and goddesses had their own tilaks, some of them very distinctive like Shiva's

The part that applies to Pav is the warrior tilak

Basically before a king or warrior went to battle, it was customary to do a small sending off ritual and for the wife or mother to put the tilak for them and say "Vijay bhava" (may you be victorious)

It's still done for big undertakings and challenges like exams and new jobs and stuff.

It's basically for strength, bravery and victory

The main difference in a bindi and tilak is the intent:

Bindi is for beauty

Tilak is for valour

Which. For a HERO. Just. Chef's kiss.

2. the markings around his eyes!!

I'm sure this has been said before, but it's very very reminiscent of kathakali makeup.

Regionally there's a lot of eye makeup stuff also btw. There are some absolutely beautiful tribal designs and regional designs with a lot of colours but I cant remember specifics rn

Also!! The very distinctive black lines around Pav's eyes?? I love them sm bc they feel so so based in kohl and kajal. Another huge beauty and often pride related thing.

There's even a whole thing where a mother or older sister will often rub a bit of her kohl off on her fingertip and press it behind their loved one's ear so that "buri nazar na lage" (no one's bad gaze catches you). It's called a kaala teeka

The idea being that you're so beautiful and/or cute and bright and lovable and nothing should jinx that and nothing bad should happen to you. It's very rare now and I've never experienced it myself but it's so so precious <33

3. the white markings on his cheeks!

I've seen that explanation of how it's reminiscent of Ganesha, the elephant headed god who is kind of a symbol of new beginnings, intelligence, prosperity, and a ton of stuff I don't even know how to explain honestly, but he's very cool and beloved and has a lot of Good Vibes™ and i love him basically.

I personally am reminded more of kathakali makeup again!! But that explanation is very cool too and i like it!! I don't know if I agree bc i think it m i g h t be a blasphemy to have that imagery on your face, afaik no one here does it for any reasons and we have literal festivals and pujas dedicated to Ganesha

But then again I am a human with limited knowledge and i don't know everything

I personally think the tusk like designs are very cool. However, I also think it would be a bit of a No No for religious reasons. I also think it reminds me more of classical dance face makeup and stuff.

I also think if they meant to make it a Ganesha reference, then he should only have a tusk on one side, bc there's a huge deal about Ganesha being "ekdanta" (transl: one toothed) bc he has a well known myth of breaking off one of his tusks to write a mythologically and culturally significant epic.

There are also a lot of actual cultural face painting things in India that are way cooler than the Ganesha thing in my opinion. So while that theory is cool, I don't personally agree with it. I could be wrong, again, idk what the design intent was exactly.

No. 3:

Next thing: this is a very very small thing and i only have a sentence on it, but i really appreciate Pav's neckline in his suit.

The neckline here? That's the kind of cut that's most typical of kurtas. Especially more ceremonial, kingly, wedding sherwani, or generally festive attire; a regular kurti might have a v-neck or something, but this curved collar? Very Indian and classy in a way I can't fully explain.

No. 4:

This next thing I'm going to go completely ballistic about, everyone hold on to your seats!!!

THE FUCKING MOTIF ON HIS UPPER ARMS. IT'S EVEN ON THE MEHENDI-ISH PATTERN ON HIS WRISTS AND HANDS. THE SPIDER SHAPE TOO. I AM NOT NORMAL OKAY

LISTEN.

LISTEN TO ME

TBIS IS CONFIRMATION THAT KRISHNA PAVITR IS CANON

HE IS SO SO KRISHNA CODED

Idc if I'm delusional, i DARE you to look at that blue design and tell me it doesn't look like a peacock feather

THE SHAPE OF HIS FUCKING SPIDER IS OH SO SUBTLY CURVED TO BE PEACOCK FEATHER SHAPED TOO

There is no human way for me to be normal about this i need a minute

Okay for context:

Krishna is a very important and beloved god in Hinduism. I cannot overstate the love I have for him, even being mostly non religious myself.

There is SO MUCH about him he is such a big deal and thanks to him being made a character in popular Indian cartoons and so many animated and live action movies being made about him, he is literally woven in the fabric of our collective consciousness and love for our culture

He's a mischevious and fun and chaotic and lowkey antiestablishment kid deity. He contains the literal universe. He has a deep abiding love for his people and his family and loved ones and the world he serves. He is a dancer, flute player, sweetheart, lover of life. He has a thousand wives, yet one Radha who he never married but is his literal immortalized soulmate. He guides heroes to duty. He is full of wisdom but also silly hijinks. He is so so beloved.

The peacock feather is his symbol! You could see the peacock feather anywhere and it's immediately OH KRISHNA! He wears a peacock feather, famously. In all his iterations, from childhood to adulthood. Peacock feather is his emblem.

Krishna is depicted through the peacock feather. It's become a very common motif in arts like mehendi and various textile arts to have peacock feather and peacock patterns; I'm sure that existed before Krishna too in several cultural circles but he is definitely a huge part of it since. There is a chikankari motif that is very recognisable that's reminiscent of peacock feather but I'm mostly unsourced on that, going off my own interpretation

But there's a definite link between peacock feather=Krishna=inextricable part of culture and art.

At least in North India. He's less of a big deal the further south you go. Still very widespread and overall loved tho.

So anyway seeing that peacock feather type motif on Pav?? Mixed with his Spiderman identity??? Is so amazing to me.

Krishna coded Pavitr real ✨

(Also yeah people have already pointed out that Pav's hand designs are based on mehendi so I don't need to go into that askjasjkas)

No. 5:

Also. Huge fan of his arm cuffs. It's just another Indian warrior thing; often in ye olde times and in mythology, the cuff would be a lot simpler, often just a thread with an amulet to grant you protection. But it steadily became fancier, and now it can be decorative or a valour thing or both

Very often just decorative now actually. Often seen in weddings and ceremonies too

No. 6:

Okay about his bangles now:

I absolutely LOVE THEM I love them so much I am so obsessed with them actually!!

So. First of all

I remember there being a confusion in like earlier fics especially on whether they were bracelets or damrus or bangles or what

And i have Thoughts

So first of all

They are not damrus/damarus.

Damarus are a musical instrument made of wood and with two beaded ropes to beat on the small drum-like ends. They're also symbols of lord Shiva who uses a damaru.

They are very different from what Pav wears and i remember my fucking whiplash when earlier fics called his bangles damarus. I think i choked on my maggi.

I don't mean to be rude to the writers ofc, they were doing the best with what they knew. But it's just very jarring to me to hear that

I think an explanation I heard was that Pav's web shooter design was inspired by damarus? Which yeah I get that and I actually wanna talk about it bc I very much see it. But they are very much NOT damarus themselves

So

First of all i personally have never seen nor heard of the kind of bangles Pav wears which appear to have a strip of cloth in the middle? While being gold cuffs on both ends? Which is new and interesting actually and opens up aspects abt his character that i find really interesting

Bc first of all: that implies he made them himself from stuff he already had inspired by things he saw. It seems, at least to me, like he used bangles/kadas he had to make the shooters he uses, which are designed the way they are for easier slinging and his cool tricks with them which would be harder if they were solid gold, and also the shape when he does the cool yoyo-y trick and hits The Spot with it and everything is very damaru shape. Which is also pretty cool if it's meant as a reference to Shiva and his damaru (he's a very fierce god with the damaru) or a reference to the street performers who use it nowadays.

Either way - and also additionally the fact that PAV LITERALLY DOUBLED HIS BANGLES AS WEB SHOOTERS WHICH IS SO CREATIVE AND SMART - and developed his own whole signature skillset with it?? And made his own bangle/shooters as I said before????

My boy is PEAK jugaadu

He is the embodiment of jugaad

Never has anything been so true to the Indian spirit than jugaad

Okay so for context, the jugaad that I keep talking about:

It basically means makeshifting and/or inventing stuff you need from the limited stuff you have. That's a very simple way of explaining it. Just imagine that, but up the silliness level x100.

For example, a guy jugaaded a showerhead by poking holes in a sprite bottle and putting a hose in it and routing it to the tap.

Jugaad can be both very smart, and very funny and silly

And it usually involves combining useless stuff/trash/just stuff you had lying around to make smth that you didn't wanna waste money buying, and often ends up having more functions than the stuff it was meant to replace. This but it's also very crackheaded. Like idk how to explain. It's basically makeshifting, but it's just developed into such an Indian Spirit Thing™ that we have a word for it

So i love that Pavitr's bangles do all of that. He is a true Indian boy to his core!

No. 7:

Okay I have thoughts on his dhoti too!

So.

Blue.

I know why they used blue for his dhoti, what with the spiderman colours, the need to complement his bright red with smth softer, and everything. I get it and i love it so so much. What I'm about to say next is not a complaint against this at all, it's very good design imo

But.

Everytime I look at him in his fucking blue dhoti

I just remember all the times my grandmother has apprehended me and made me go and change for trying to wear blue or black at a Puja

Bc they're apparently unholy colours ;_;

Basically yellow, saffron, red are the appropriate holy colours. Now that i think about it, I've never seen a god or mythological king depicted in a blue dhoti or generally blue clothing either - farthest they go from the three i described is pink or green

I never really thought about it until my Nani pointed it out. I'm still not sure if anyone except her even knew or cared about it.

But that is the memory that bonks me on the head every time i Perceive the blue dhoti

Bro upgraded from funeral colour (white, which is his dhoti in the comics and absolutely infuriates me on a visceral level) to unholy colour askaskjjska it's so funny to me

Purple was still a luxurious colour, but generally warmer and/or lighter colours are The Done Thing. It's an old notion and the cultural connotations are now very diluted by Western influence and also none of us Caring about a lot of it anymore (not necessarily a good or bad thing particularly)

Indigo also has. Loaded connotations.

Because Britain did a Colonialism and a lot of Indians suffered for it. It's a whole history lesson.

I would rather not get into the whole details but basically Indigo (the plant from which the dye was made) was a valuable commodity and Britishers essentially forced farmers to grow only that, ignoring their need to grow food or sustenance or care for the land in general, especially in the Bihar-UP regions. There were eventually a lot of revolts where many people, esp farmers, died.

Basically a double whammy of starvation and death as a direct result of colonialism. It was a major part, historically, that sparked rage for the freedom movement

If you wanna learn more abt it you can search up Champaran farmer revolts!

Also about the drape of Pav's dhoti:

I've seen a couple of memes and reels abt how Pav, in an emergency, suiting up for Spiderman duty, would be taking an hour to drape the dhoti and stuff

And those are hilarious and i love them

But also

That's literally not even a proper dhoti -

So the thing pav wears is basically more of dhoti-pants with a cummerbund.

So okay I need to explain this better hold on

A dhoti is basically a sheet of fabric that is draped around the waist and down. The elaborateness of the cloth can vary vastly from intricately patterned silk and brocade, to plain white cotton with a thin gold border optional

The drape of the dhoti varies even more depending on region, occasion, occupation, and status. You can have everything from the casual simple towel like drape and tuck that some men wear to relax on a daily basis, to an intricate thing with many folds and pleats and tucks and the middle part that hangs (I forget the name for that) that would actually legitimately take hours and is often adorned with jewellery . To a thing that's flexible to move in and also looks very pretty and is genderneutral some dance forms call for.

Basically. The drape varies vastly. And it's all one cloth, maybe a second one for a separate cummerbund sometimes, I'm not that well versed abt dhotis tbh.

But the thing Pav wears?? It doesn't seem to me to be folded the way I've ever seen any dhoti

The way it's folded and shaped is not how those style of dhotis work. There would be a lot more pleats and folds, for one. But it's not shaped the way to match the less-folded dhotis either.

Now, I'm no dhoti expert, but that leads me to believe that's not a full on dhoti. What it's more likely to be is dhoti-pants

Dhoti pants are this fusion thing. It's in the name. I haven't seen it much but I know/think/am pretty sure its a thing, bc most Indian guys now don't know how to drape a dhoti either and it's a good solution. Worn like a pant, looks like a dhoti. Simple. A cummerbund for the middle drape, and you're set!

Also side note: the fold with the distinct two legs and the middle drape that Pav has? Is the most commonly depicted warrior and king drape,, at least in North and Middle India, I'm not as well versed about the South but I think it's the case there too. The gods are depicted in that drape too

I have fewer comments on his leg design, I like that it's reminiscent of mehendi even on his feet bc yeah that's also done on the feet, although rarer now and also a bridal thing

No. 7:

He has gold cuffs on his ankles that I really like!

Okay so here's the interesting thing:

I could be wrong, but

But that kind of thick ankle cuff is not actually an Indian thing?? At least not in the warrior hero context that a lot of his design seems based on. At least not of that shape and width.

What we do have though are very simple metal ankle cuffs put on (I think) one ankle of young kids for protection,, again a tradition I'm not very familiar with, it's more localised

The other thing we have that's more interesting tho:

We have payals and ghungroos!!! Which opens up so many exciting prospects to me because those are both dancer things

Like. The payals are ornamental. They are beauty things as well. All women would wear them, their elaborateness and style depending on status, money, and region ofc

They double as dance and performance things too ofc

But ghungroos are specifically dance things

Very very sacred and honoured to the dancers, too. Quite personal

(These are all little bells on the ghungroos btw!! Hundreds of them. They ring out when the dancers dance)

This is what Pav's ankle cuffs most remind me of. It's not the same thing ofc, and idk if the designers were even thinking of this.

But it would be really cool if he was inspired by ghungroos to have cuffs of similar thickness and placement on his legs. Perhaps even familiar to him hmmm?

This is me theorizing HARD to support my headcanon, but combined with Pav's classical dance-n-martial-arts-y moves, i present to you: Pav learning classical dance when he was younger (a thing that a lot of Indian kids do and only a few seriously continue for their lives) is real.

I rest my case

Like yeah it's known at this point that Pav's moves are based a lot off the martial art of kalaripayattu. Which is SO AMAZING AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! But I also think this would be a cool influence alongside that, bc it really feels visible too.

No. 8:

The fact that Pavitr is barefoot is so so important and dear to me!!!

In Indian culture, you're supposed to take your shoes off as a mark of respect, before entering the ranabhoomi (literal transl: battleground, but not in an actual war with swords and shit ofc)

Being barefoot for pujas and in temples and on sacred ground in general is very important

As is being barefoot when you're walking onto a kabaddi or wrestling ground,, basically any fight that's supposed to be important and/or with honour. It's a respect thing for the opponent and for the earth you fight on.

There are a lot of contexts where being barefoot is important or a given

There's the prayer ground bc it's sacred and holy and you can't be dragging your dirty ass shoes there it's super disrespectful. You gotta enter with clean feet specifically, dirty feet are considered disrespectful too. that's also why there wil often be feet washing areas outside of temples here

Then there's the ranabhoomi that I just said, which is more of respect for your opponent and the earth. Respect to the earth especially is very important in the combat forms and sports I know of at least

Then there's the basic respect and tbh the hygiene thing too, of always taking off your footwear before entering another persons house. That one is more flexible, sometimes you can take it off inside, but the done thing is to take them off outside generally. Especially if you're a guest who's not particularly close. You'd be considered really rude if you didn't take them off at all. But again that still varies by person,, the older generations are way stricter abt it

Then the bride thing,,, it's actually a whole small ritual. The bride and groom will enter the groom's house for the first time,, which is considered the bride's new home bc misogynistic tradition so yeah. But basically it's supposed to be an auspicious beginning to a new home and life. (Btw being barefoot during the wedding ceremony is also generally required)

Usually, at least in North Indian tradition, a small vessel of rice is kept at the threshold that the bride must tip over with her foot when entering. It's for prosperity. Then she steps directly into a plate of a red liquid I forget the word for, but it's basically a sindoor paste type of thing. Her first steps into the house must be taken leaving those red footprints behind. That's for auspicious beginning

So Pavitr being barefoot is so so cool from a cultural and a character building standpoint

He takes his job seriously, he does it with respect and honour!!! He seems so chill and happy go lucky, but he's deliberate and respectful abt it!! And he's super connected to his culture too, bc you could just Not and no one would care, but it's so important that he does!!

So yeah!

That has been my full ramble askjasjkas. If you made it this far, have a cookie! Thank you and I hope this was interesting <33

[backpackingspace]

Wait going off the idea that Athena keeps things from her favorite people:

What does diomedes give her?

[skykiuwu]

Technically the first art of the year tho I started it last year pfft

[charmed-redemption]

CAP: A Team of Two

[causalityparadoxes]

I think Mrs. Flood may be an Osirian. Specifically, Isis / Alozza

If they focus on the Osirian/Egyptian Mythology side of Sutekh, it would make sense: Isis is a goddess that has been associated with a million things. Importantly for this, she is connected to the sky, to rain, and to fate. She was also the sister-wife of Osiris, who himself is associated with cycles of nature. Including, the annual flooding of the Nile.

From there, the name 'Mrs. Flood' tracks! She is both the flood of rain and the wife of its endless cycle. She's also a widow, so of course she would have a married title yet no spouse.

It would make sense to include her specifically, as she is important to the Osiris Myth that Sutekh's history is based on. In it she collects pieces of Osiris that Sutekh/Set scatters after murdering him. After finding them, she resurrects Osiris for long enough to have Horus (or an aspect of him at least). Horus then 'defeats' Set. Which parallels the story in Pyramids of Mars.

Being an Osirian would explain her creepily ominous warning to Cherry. As while she would not be with Sutekh, she would still be a higher being with alien priorities. Her being on earth would also somewhat fit with the dweu. Where Isis waited on earth for Sutekh's awakening. Though not 1-1.

It could also connect back to Ruby, as Isis' has strong connections to motherhood. If Ruby was say, secretly an Osirian, there are options. Especially considering her name's reference to both the Sun and the colour red, like girl is nearly a verbal description of the Eye of Ra. She could be the daughter of Isis herself, maybe a younger aspect of Horus (God of Light but also a god of the Sunday), hidden away as a human. Though that would be a very literal take. Honestly, when it comes to Ruby I'm not sold on anything specific.

Lastly, If they go this direction, I'm guessing the "vital object on a distant planet with no name" that rtd teased, will be related to the Osirians. Since they've already used the Eye of Horus, perhaps the Eye of Ra? It is has been depicted in relation to Isis. It's also often personified as a Goddess so, maybe Ruby herself? A living trap/weapon, idk). Whatever it is though, Mrs. Flood would be instrumental in defeating Sutekh. We'll see.

(Also: disclaimer and apology in advance to both people who actually know about the religions I'm mentioning, and to EU/Faction Paradox fans. For anything I may have got wrong 🙏)

[afamiliar-presence]

I AM COOKING WITH ART AAHAHA- *Agressive cough*

Anyways my myth au Nightmare meets RW!Verse Nightmare!!!

RW!Verse by @passive-nightmaresans !!

I luv ur au dewd

[mrblank-0]

Myth!Verse Nightmare

Art made by @lemp6

Nightmare made by @jokublog

Myth!Killer

[zombiecicada]

Note that such takes place during Wolfbell’s meltdown during The Beginning of The End.

-

Oc Master List updated.

[l0ustganymedes]

Two Ganymede desgin, the more the merrier!

One is greek mythology based, the other is zodiac/moon based

Click for better quality

versions with just themselfs under cut

And transparent bc why not

[greekmyth-simon]

Is Across the spiderverse my new favorite movie? 100%, I love it so much I plan to go watch it again this week, and already got planned another piece with my favorite squad 😔🤎

🌟 Instagram | Commission Info | Ko-fi 🌟

[nightingale2004]

Arachne as a goddess hcs 🕷

I personally think Arachne would be the Goddess of pride, spiders, insects, weaving, along with arts, and crafts (thank you, @rey-diem)

After what happened with Athena, and she was transformed into her spider form, God hood quickly followed, and she became a goddess

She does not like Athena at all in any way because of what she did to her and her tapestry that day of the weaving contest

Arachne made her own domain where she weaves her own tapestries in solitude, telling stories about the many events in ancient Greek and her own works of art showing the gods (mostly Zeus) as they are. Which were hypocritical, egotistical, tyrants. In her opinion, at least

Similar to Medusa, she does not like most of the gods and is also disobedient towards Zeus, which causes problems for her demigod children

In my opinion, Arachne's followers would be artists that don't color within the lines or strive for perfection. They are messy and imperfect and have a unique way of seeing the world. I also believe her followers will also be insect and bug lovers

She's not very hands-on as a goddess, but only when she intervenes if she sees it's necessary.

Her tapestries may look normal, but when you take another look, her pictures on the tapestries start moving

She also has the ability to see future events, which she also weaves on her tapestries

Every time someone kills a spider, Arachne senses it

Her followers are also rebels, and those who have spider and spider web tattoos (not racists or terrible hearted people)

(All I got for now. Enjoy)