#No More Eros

[liyrical]

(jjk266) confession

[blended-ice]

What if they made it a pair skate?

[naturecalls111]

It feels as though I’m looking at my very own grandson

[guzhufuren]

Huaien feeding Xiaobao a pill

Uncensored wuxia BL Meet You At The Blossom (2024)

[billievalentine]

A fun photo session and a little character backstory inspired by a hidden piece of gay history: beefcake magazines. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these simple photo-heavy men's "health" magazines showcased the figures and routines of muscle boys and body builders. But what the public didn't exactly catch was that the magazines were mostly made by and for gay and bisexual men in an age where queer content had to find ways around censorship and laws targeting LGBTQ+ people. Many of the images featured were as saucy as they could get away with! And while I'm no strongman, it was fun to try out the concept!

♡ ig iheartbillievalentine

[teiasviago]

That very night, after their lovemaking, Psyche approached the blissfully asleep Eros with a lamp and a razor. It didn’t take her long to identify him: she didn’t only see hairs of gold, purple cheeks, and neck whiter than milk, but also her husband’s bow and arrows lying beside him. Awestruck and curious, she pulled one of the arrows out of the quiver and pricked herself while doing this. The pain startled her, and a drop of burning oil fell from her lamp upon the shoulder of Eros; this awoke the god momentarily and, just as soon as he realized that his wife had broken her promise, he fled away without a word. Too bad that Psyche, owing to the arrow wound, had now fallen even more intensely in love with her husband.

— The Myth of Eros and Psyche (inspired by @nic-coughlan)

[thebluemallet]

Eros/Psyche Parallels in Bridgerton Season 3

The show was not subtle with the Eros/Psyche parallels this season. So I attempted to go through episode by episode and find the connections. If I miss any obvious ones, let me know and I'll edit the post.

3x01- Out of the Shadows

Starting off strong with the opening credits! You briefly see a butterfly. Not only do the Featheringtons use butterflies as often as the Bridgertons use bees, but the butterfly is a symbol of Psyche.

When Penelope opens her wardrobe to that sea of YELLOW, her butterfly dress from the first ball of season 1 is visible.

Penelope talks with Genevieve about needing to find a husband this season and then we cut directly to Gregory with a bow (sans arrow) and he's pointing it directly at Colin. The bow and arrow is a symbol of Eros/Cupid.

Penelope sheds her cloak at that ball like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

The original Eros/Psyche myth has some jealous sisters and Prudence and Philippa, while maybe not jealous per se, are not happy to see their baby sister shining so brightly when she arrives.

And for more connection to the sisters--Psyche is the youngest of three daughters and her two older sisters are married before she is.

This one is, admittedly, a bit of a stretch but in the original myth there's some ire from Aphrodite because of all the attention Psyche is getting. And Cressida rips Penelope's dress once she is getting all the attention at the ball, specifically from Lord Debling.

Eros is sent by Aphrodite in the original story to marry Psyche off to marry someone/thing horrible (or just making sure no man wants to marry her) but Eros ends up falling for Psyche himself. Colin offers to help Penelope find a husband as a way to make up for what he said about her last year and, well, we all know where this is going!

3x02- How Bright The Moon

Edited to add (credit to @bridgertonblue)- Colin cuts his hand on the glass in the study. They flashback to this scene a few episodes later when Colin finally decides to take action with Penelope and his feelings for her. This can be a parallel to Eros getting struck with his own arrows and falling for Psyche.

Eros only visits Psyche at night. Colin comes to see Penelope at night in the garden after their scheme is exposed.

Eros accidentally struck himself with his own arrows and that's how he came to fall in love with Psyche. Colin kissed Penelope because he thought he was doing it for a friend, and he ended up awakening feelings he didn't even realize he had for her.

3x03- Forces of Nature

In the Architectural Digest Bridgerton Set Tour video, you'll see butterflies on the staircase in the entrance hall of Featherington House. It's not exclusive to this episode, I just thought I'd highlight it here since it's when we have the Eloise apology scene.

THIS ONE IS A HUGE STRETCH BUT I'LL PUT IT IN HERE ANYWAY--remember how windy it was with the balloon and Colin's arms that Penelope couldn't stop drooling over? Psyche was carried by Zephyrus-the West Wind-to her fancy new home and the godly husband she never sees.

3x04- Old Friends

Eros is tasked with marrying Psyche off, falls in love with her, and marries her instead. Colin offers to help Penelope find a husband earlier in the season, realizes he's been in love with her this whole time, and we get the iconic line, "For God's sake, Penelope Featherington! Are you going to marry me or not?"

3x05- Tick Tock

This one is another stretch, but Psyche has some jealous sisters who are not permitted to visit her at her new home (until Psyche convinces her husband to let them visit many months later). Prudence and Phillipa are being mean to Penelope over her engagement and Portia doesn't allow them to attend the engagement party. A Bridgerton engagement party, so you know that stings.

And another stretch! Psyche gets pressured by her sisters to find out her husband's true identity. Penelope gets pressured by Eloise to reveal her secret identity to Colin.

3x06- Romancing Mr. Bridgerton

Eros tells Psyche that she can never know what she looks like, which is why he only visits at night. If Psyche knows who her husband is, then eventually Aphrodite will find out and she'll be pissed. But Psyche, filled with doubt thanks to her jealous sisters, lights a candle while Eros is asleep, revealing his identity and betraying Eros.

Penelope writes/delivers her Whistledown column at night. Colin follows after her, discovers her secret identity, and feels betrayed.

3x07- The Joining of Hands

Eros leaves Psyche, feeling betrayed even though he still loves her deeply. Colin is cold and distant to Penelope in the fresh sting of his betrayal. But he still loves her and goes through with the wedding.

3x08- "Into the Light"

Eros refuses to see Psyche because he's been so hurt by her betrayal. Colin sleeps ten feet away from his wife's bedroom door (they must have had other bedrooms!) and leaves soon after she wakes up in episode 8.

Psyche has to go through some trials put forth by Aphrodite to get a chance to see her husband again. Penelope is confronted and blackmailed by Cressida when the latter learns that she is Lady Whistledown.

Psyche approaches two different goddesses to help her find Eros. Sometimes they refuse to help. Sometimes one of them points her in the direction of Aphrodite's place. Those two goddesses are Hera and Demeter. Two members of the most unlikely dream team in this episode are Portia and Eloise.

Hera is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and she doesn't have the reputation of being an upstanding mother in mythology. She parallels Portia, mother to three ladies who she wants to see in secure marriages.

Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture. This is more of a reach, but she can parallel Eloise. In her book, her love interest Sir Phillip is experimenting in his greenhouse with peas(?) (I should probably read that book again) to increase their yield. Eloise also initially refused to get in between Penelope and Colin in the previous episode.

When Psyche goes through these trials, she's pregnant with Eros's baby. The showrunners confirmed that Colin knocked up Penelope in that mirror scene so she's in the very early stages of pregnancy here.

Psyche is indirectly helped by Eros (Zeus's eagle helps her out when they remember they owe Eros a favor). This angers Aphrodite and makes things worse for Psyche. Colin tries to save his wife by appealing to Cressida and ends up making things worse for Penelope.

Psyche's final trial involves going to the underworld. She deems this an impossible task and intends to sacrifice herself before she finds another way. Penelope decides to reveal her identity to the Queen and the ton, effectively sacrificing her reputation and potentially her marriage.

Zeus listens to Eros's pleas and grants Psyche immortality. The Queen is merciful to Penelope and doesn't punish her for Whistledown, allowing her to keep writing.

Psyche is often depicted either with butterfly wings or with a butterfly near/around her in art. Mrs. Varley releases the bugs (butterflies) directly after the Whistledown reveal.

Eros and Psyche are reunited and live a rare Happily Ever After in mythology. Penelope and Colin reconcile and go on to their own Happily Ever After.

[mango-peach-strawberry]

My horrible horrible man is born

A theoretical Kid Icarus version of Eros: a spineless, momma’s boy, deadbeat dad who makes Pit help him with the humans on Valentines Day

[landscape-suicide]

I think that the best comparison to Lynch in terms of cinema is probably ero guro as a film movement and its offshoots its like all about shallow almost simulated "normal" worlds that make way into cavernous subterranean lairs emblematic of both base carnal desire and the infrastructural violence that scaffolds the "normal" world above it. its like all self destructive eroticism and fetishistic infatuation and disgust towards war and human violence, and a dissolution between artifice and truth that sort of inevitably makes its way into all consuming true love. literally almost always follows the same symbolic lines as Lynch too, lots of doppelgangers and starlets and voyeurs and guys in white face paint and spooky red rooms and a big focus on disability and a sort of kitsch "new money" sensibility and the fearmongered imaginary of gang/subculture stuff. and the awesome thing is that it basically entirely predates him like it saw its most major booms in the 60s and 70s. everyone who likes Lynch should definitely watch Horrors of Malformed Men and Blind Beast

[darkfluffydragon]

Cookie Run AU Ideas #9: Masquerade Dreams

[Once upon a time, in a realm bathed in moonlight and dreams, there lived the goddess Moonlight Cookies. She spun dreams from stardust, guiding all creatures into a peaceful slumber.

Long ago, Moonlight Cookies lost her chance to find her own soulmate, a love now forever beyond her reach. Her heart heavy with regret, she made a solemn vow.

From that night on, whenever fate whispered its call, Moonlight Cookies would pull every fated cookie into a dream. There, the current director of dreams would use their unique methods to help each cookie discover their true soulmate.

And so, under the moon’s gentle glow, dreams became the bridge to destined love, ensuring that no cookie would ever miss their chance at true happiness.]

Healer Cookie did not believe the fairytale spoken by the village elders, the ones the children whispered of so giddily. What reason did he have, when the one he believed himself to be fated to (and he had thought that she would see it too) had left him alone once more?

He had nothing but his name and duty, one he fulfilled diligently. Yet he desired perhaps something more, for the nights to no longer be lonely and cold. For someone to be there by his side.

One night, after a particularly exhausting day, Healer Cookie collapsed into bed. As he drifted into sleep, a gentle, silvery glow enveloped him, pulling him into a dream.

He would awake to the sound of enchanting music and found himself in the midst of a grand masquerade ball. Elegantly dressed cookies danced gracefully around him, their faces hidden behind intricate masks. Healer Cookie looked down to find a mask on his own face, ornate and shimmering under the ballroom's ethereal light.

Confused but intrigued, he wandered through the ballroom, the music guiding his steps. The air was filled with laughter and the soft rustle of silk. As he moved, he caught sight of a figure standing alone by the edge of the dance floor. The figure wore a beautiful, ebony-black suit and a mask adorned with markings. And their eyes, two different, vibrant blues.

The cookie smiled and approached him. Each step was light, almost as though they were gliding across the marble floor and the crowd seemed to move to allow him space. They tilted their head to the side and swept down into a graceful bow.

"May I have this dance?" They asked, extending his hand. “And perhaps, a name?”

“…” Healer Cookie found himself hesitant to answer, yet unable to deny the stranger. 

“Pure Vanilla Cookie.” He murmured, quickly thinking of a fake name, “my…name is Pure Vanilla Cookie.”

He took the Dream Director’s stranger’s hand.

[kaorym]

[littlesparklight]

Talking of effeminacy, there's something interesting(?) going on with vase art of Eros in the Greek South Italian mid-late 300's - especially Apulian art.

The most elaborate version of Apulian art has basically everyone decorated to the nines in a very delightful style, but there is still a difference between how women and men are portrayed.

An illustrative example of what I mean:

Artemis, Apollo, Athena, Eros, Aphrodite and Zeus.

Even Apollo is more similar here to Zeus in his portrayal than Eros is. Eros isn't just decked out in (the same) jewellery like the women, but has his hair up in a very female style (with some sort of cap, too?)

Eros and the woman here have the same hairstyle and basically the same sort and amount of jewellery. This hairstyle is again, certainly nothing you'll see on male figures otherwise (not even Apollo, I think, even if he otherwise shares the ribbon-like hair-knot style with Aphrodite).

In earlier Attic/west Greek vase art, Eros' body is sometimes highlighted in white, like women's figures, and I have actually managed to spot at least two arts where he has the high knot/bun hair style even at this point in time/place. I'm just unsure if that implies something for the art/Eros this early, since aside from the exuberantly effeminate Eros in South Italian vase art, texts at no point(?) seem to bear out any effeminate idea of Eros otherwise.

It's just curious, to me. And very charming, this effeminate Eros is utterly delightful.

[atesomerocks]

favourite homoerotic sexually charged katsudon performance

[gingermintpepper]

Little idle thought I've been having recently but I think Cyparissus' story is very important for characterising Apollo and Apollo's love. It's so easy to think of love and loss as two ends of a spectrum, likewise, so often, death is seen as an ultimate and tragic end in love stories - something final and inescapably tragic, the only force that halts love by separating the lovers.

Cyparissus' story is... not that. Yes, the deer dies and one can conclude then that death is once more at the heart of separating two lovers, but I think Cyparissus specifically requesting to die, specifically begging Apollo to let him grieve forever even after Apollo has done his best to help Cyparissus move on from the accident and Apollo letting him is a powerful thing.

Because Apollo not only puts Cyparissus' wishes over his own, he's also able to see past his own building grief to immortalise Cyparissus in such a way that both grants him his wish and allows other people to glorify Cyparissus as well! And I think such a beautiful thing is something criminally overlooked!

It's become something of a joke that 'all Apollo's lovers turn into plants' but from a functional perspective, flowers are the most brilliant way to keep the spirit of a beloved thing alive. Flowers are like stars - as long as there are humans, humans will always contemplate the nature of flowers and as the god of poetry and song, Apollo creating opportunities for his beloved mortals to be remembered eternally even if they never seized glory in the traditional way is such an intimate and beautiful thing. Even then, Cyparissus is elevated to a similar status as Daphne with Apollo's actions - not merely a plant or flower but one that specifically symbolises him, one that is extremely fragrant and beloved by him. Just as Daphne's laurels were synonymous with glory and victory, Cyparissus' cypress became a emblematic of grief and remembrance. Even today, thousands of years later, people still view cypress trees as mourning trees and plant them in cemeteries and use the ash in incense burnt in remembrance of others. How's that for Apollo keeping his word.

[rin-sith]

Idk how unpopular this opinion is but instead of the Iliad or anything around that I would love for Jorge's next musical to be an adaptation of Eros and Psyche.

First of all, that myth is HIGHLY underrated and not nearly adapted enough. Second of all, there would be another protagonist on a quest she doesn't even really want to go on, motivated by the desire to reunite with her beloved... Do you see my vision?

[rising-above-stars]

I've decided I'm posting my art again

This is the Starcrossed Lovers series

Artemis and Kallisto / Apollo and Hyacinthus / Achilles and Patroclus