#To have a participating role so important as to be daugher of one of the main antagonists

[lazanhaazeda]

I wish people could understand that Mel CAN be a manipulator and an empathetic person, one does not cancel out the other, and the fact you guys keep trying to say for others to, "understand the complexity of the character" but KEEP IGNORING IMPORTANT CHARACTER FACTS its frustrating.

Mel is a good manipulator bc she understand others, her empathy is used to work towards others feelings, and THAT'S why she can manipulate Jayce so well, because he is ALWAYS open with his feelings, he always feels the need of aproval, and Mel is always there to say what he wants to hear, and I swear if I see someone else saying "Jayce wanted to be manipulated" I will jump (Wth is WANTING to be manipulated??? manipulated is doing something for others want, not yours).

This is not only throwing away ALL of Jayce's arc and character through the window, but is ALSO throwing away all Mel's character, she IS A FCKIN GOOD MANIPULATOR THATS WHY SHE IS THE FOX AND NOT THE WOLF AND HER ARC IS ABOUT TURNING INTO BOTH NOT JUST BEING ONE

And that's why they couldn't work out, they were meant to help eachother grow in character, yes, but not to grow together (Not criticizing people who ship them). But thats why all their scenes together just doesn't feel right, Mel is always surprised when Jayce comes to her seeking confort, yes, she can care about him, she can love him, her manipulating him doesn't mean she can't love him (after all she is the daugher of Ambessa, she only knows this about love, she doesn't think its something so big), and at some point she could have loved him romantically, but deeply? I don't think she knew Jayce deeply enough to really love him that way. The same with him.

Mel used Jayce, Jayce used Mel (In ways he probably didn’t even know, he used her for confort, for being a safe haven for him, also, maybe thats why HE apologized in the end to her, I will probably analyze this scene better later), Mel used Jayce for all her purposes and thought it was doing good for him too, after all, who wouldn't want a chair at the council sit? With all the investments and privilegies. Mel did have good intentions all the time, but she doesn't come front with people to ask what they want, she assumes, she do, she never asks, she tries to never show weakness but she always will show compassion, in many ways she is like her mother.

Mel is a interesing character because she commits bad things with good intentions, not noticing she is also hurting others, she does to others what she would want for herself, but never actually asks herself if others would REALLY want that. In top of that, she IS classicist towards Viktor, the same way all characters of piltover are in one way or another, this is embedded in their heads internally and sometimes they don't even know, the way she ignores him and is just going towards Jayce's aproval to get aproved the hextech weapons, the way she looks at him with arrogance, she looks down on him.

The thing with Arcane characters, is that most of them have more than one facet, they wont fit perfectly into the "good" or "bad" person, and I really wish Mel's character to not be boiled down into just "did nothing wrong ever" or "Girl character that stayed bettwen my ship"

[eros-vigilante]

octopath stories favorite to least favorite? !! including both 1 & 2 if u want!!!

hey. hi. hwat's up. i'm the #1 apologist/defender of the ot1 stories so it's more like tiers than ranking OK. this includes my biases.

mild spoilers for ot1

tier 1: cyrus & therion this one is obvious. biggest parts i like are how strongly cyrus' story indirectly characterizes him through how he makes very scary situations feel lower stakes bc he doesn't treat them very heavily (even if he should) / and how well written i think therion's thought process + Brain Problems are. specifically in the area where his healing is not linear. in fact with how he acts in cotc (summarized as: about as "friendly" as his early ch3 but not as much as ch4) it makes me think the events in ravus manor was a big push back for him and it wasn't only wellspring that gave him a kind of relapse or obstacle...

tier 2: primrose, h'aanit, alfyn. primrose is carried by her backstory imo. disclaimer i hate her visual (outfit) design but this is stories. and it's soo cool that the game does not dance (eheh.) around her being a sex worker nor does it imply she hates it or was forced into it. she chose to work in sunshade knowing what she was getting into because she decided it was her best chance at getting the information she needed. the job itself is neutral to her and its helgenish that's negative. i love h'aanit's story so much because it puts such a focus on her love for her adoptive father. she's super nonchalant about every incredible thing she does in her journey because "master has done jobs like these all the time." until she gets to the monster her father hasn't killed and even then she's like OK i need to go reunite with my fath- i mean mentor now. alfyn's is really good in theming & using foil characters to the fullest with vanessa, miguel, and ogen. really good at the nuance of the medical field and such.

tier 3: tressa, ophilia, olberic. to me no tier is that far below the above one i love them all so so much. so instead of rehashing the usual criticisms i'm gunna keep saying what i like about em. tressa's is well-suited to the coming-of-age theme while still keeping her in the context and stakes of the world. i think putting her in a port town was a great way to have her already be very well-versed in how to handle herself and conflict. ophilia's makes sense in her being 'bland' or her early chapters being too calm because like. that's kinda how she's been her entire life after joining the church. i think people just ignore lianna's part of the story beyond [major spoiler ahead] her being morally grey/temporarily antagonist because their dynamic is incredibly important to the story. lianna was always the one participating more directly in the church, delivering the sermons, and she was the one who was supposed to do the kindling. its their fathers illness that forces ophilia into that role that wasn't 'suited' to her because shes 'just' adopted, 'just' an orphan, 'just' a nice girl. also lianna's half of the story is about how people get coerced into joining cults so i dislike when she's reduced to a villain for being actively and intentionally manipulated (one of my friends didn't know, but mattias poisoned their father. he killed him, specifically to have power over his daugher/s. lianna wasn't decidedly turning to him for answers, he was pulling her along.) OK. i will be the first to admit that olberic's story is super weirdly paced but its a fun story. it escalates a little bit each chapter and ends with finality and closure. also ERHARDT ! !!!!!!! ERHARDT ERHARDT IS IN THIS ONE. we love that guy. i love that guy. olberic loves that guy.

[brisim-claimhte]

ancient greek society didn't have the same concepts of sexuality that we have now, it's incorrect to describe virgin goddesses like artemis and athena as lesbians, BUT it's also not wholly accurate to describe them as aromantic/asexual, it's more complex than that

okay so fun fact, for Athena and Artemis (and Hestia and Hippolytus) it is accurate to describe them as aro/ace!

The only time in myth when a persons sexuality (as we know the concept) is described is when mentioning their lack of it.

For Artemis, Athena, and Hestia, HAph lines 6-24, describe them as beyond the powers of Aphrodite, which within the context of this specific poem refer to lust/love.

For Artemis, Sappho fragment 44a, states that Eros never crosses her path/comes near her.

For Hippolytus, Hippolytus lines 75-85, describes how he can enter a meadow no one else dares to because it is only for those who are naturally chaste, aka naturally do not experience lust/love.

And for Artemis and Athena specifically, their lack of attraction is key to their roles as goddesses. According to Walcot (1984), what the Athenians feared was not women themselves, but rather their unrestrained sensuality. It was believed that their inability to control their attraction led them to make irrational decisions and therefore they could not be trusted with leadership roles, participate in warfare, etc. which were typically male spheres.

But because Artemis and Athena do not experience attraction at all, they can hold domain over typically male spheres, because it does not interfere with their decision making. This is why Athena can be the goddess of strategy and wise council, how Artemis can be goddess of the hunt.

So not only are they aro/ace, but it plays a huge role in both their depictions in myth and cult worship!

myths have lots and lots of retellings, there isn't one singular "canon", but we can try to distinguish between older and newer versions and bewteen greek and roman versions

okay so this is more complicated than there is or isn't a canon. Canon does exist, but its a spectrum starting from Homeric epic all the way to the likes of Lycophron's Alexandria. High school and introductory courses at university will often just teach you that there isn't a canon because the level of context needed to understand how it works requires literal years of studying. But a quick summary is:

Homeric epic was taught in schools, and poets competed to have the most accurate recitation of the songs. Once it was written down by Homer it became codified, and we can safely presume it didn't change much because of said competitions of accuracy.

Next there's hymns. These were intended to accurately depict the gods, (hence the invocation to the muses/Apollo at the start which is also seen in epic) but could vary region to region as they also served to link regions to mythic events (see hymn to Demeter linking the story of the kidnapping of Persephone to Eleusis). Here we start to see some variation but the general stories and themes remain the same.

Next there's Athenian tragedies, which were kind of like modern historical fiction (the Greeks viewed myth as their history. Herodotus, Thucydides etc. treated mythic events and figures the same as ones we know to be real). While they were fairly faithful to the myths they were changed to reflect the socio-cultural context of Athens at that time. They were also used by Athens as propaganda to promote their imperial hegemony.

Now we start getting into small stories that are local to specific regions, these are often foundation myths of cult sites, or cities. So like how in Libya, Athena is the daugher of Triton, to link her to the lake Triton and therefore make that region more important.

And finally, we have the likes of the Alexandria. Ptolemaic poetry especially is renowned for having the most obscure and niche references and stories possible in order to flex the author's understanding of myth, as well acting as a way for the reader to distinguish themselves as learned. Education was super important in this context because it acted as a unifier for the many ethnic groups within the court setting that would not consider themselves as similar otherwise (Strootman (2010) is a great crash course on this topic).

most of what you know about sparta is probably incorrect

Paul Cartledge's books are a great place to start learning about Sparta!

reading/watching retellings is not a substitute to reading the original myths, read the iliad! read the odyssey! i know they may seem intimidating, but they're much more entertaining than you may think

Fagles' translations of the Iliad and Odyssey are available free online. They are the OG translations created specifically to make the stories accessible to the general public, and were so incredibly done they were also adopted by academia! They are also free in audiobook format on youtube!

Theoi.com is a digital encyclopaedia of people from mythology. It provides a summary of the persons exploits, as well as direct quotes from the sources. Please be aware that it is incomplete, and therefore is just a starting point for further research.

Perseus Tufts Library has free translations of the original myths, as well as the original Greek. But again its incomplete.

Steven Fry's books are great entry points, as they accurately adapt the original stories into modern language! Mythos covers the gods, Heroes covers the heroes pre-Trojan saga, Troy covers the Iliad, and Odyssey is self explanatory.

a quick psa to anyone recently getting into greek mythology and is a victim of tumblr and/or tiktok misconceptions:

-there is no shame in being introduced to mytholgy from something like percy jackson, epic the musical or anything like that, but keep in mind that actual myths are going to be VERY different from modern retellings

-the myth of medusa you probably know (her being a victim of poseidon and being cursed by athena) isn't 100% accurate to GREEK mythology (look up ovid)

-there is no version of persephone's abduction in which persephone willingly stays with hades, that's a tumblr invention (look up homeric hymn to demeter)

-as much as i would like it, no, cerberus' name does not mean "spot" (probably a misunderstanding from this wikipedia article)

-zeus isn't the only god who does terrible things to women, your fav male god probably has done the same

-on that note, your fav greek hero has probably done some heinous shit as well

-gods are more complicated than simply being "god of [insert thing]", many titles overlap between gods and some may even change depending on where they were worshipped

-also, apollo and artemis being the gods of the sun and the moon isn't 100% accurate, their main aspects as deities originally were music and the hunt

-titans and gods aren't two wholly different concepts, titan is just the word used to decribe the generation of gods before the olympians

-hector isn't the villain some people make him out to be

-hephaestus WAS married to aphrodite. they divorced. yes, divorce was a thing in ancient greece. hephaestus' wife is aglaia

-ancient greek society didn't have the same concepts of sexuality that we have now, it's incorrect to describe virgin goddesses like artemis and athena as lesbians, BUT it's also not wholly accurate to describe them as aromantic/asexual, it's more complex than that

-you can never fully understand certain myths if you don't understand the societal context in which they were told

-myths have lots and lots of retellings, there isn't one singular "canon", but we can try to distinguish between older and newer versions and bewteen greek and roman versions

-most of what you know about sparta is probably incorrect

-reading/waching retellings is not a substitute to reading the original myths, read the iliad! read the odyssey! i know they may seem intimidating, but they're much more entertaining than you may think

greek mythology is so complex and interesting, don't go into it with preconcieved notions! try to be open to learn!

[midnightbluefox]

Our Reylo Discord server, The Writing Den, held its first ever fic gift exchange! We are incredibly lucky to have so many talented writers among us to participate in this and make it an amazing experience. Plus, we got tons of new Reylo content to enjoy!

+ fic is mature/explicit

* fic is a WIP/ currently incomplete Just for Tonight by @aknightofwren for @reylo-ology :  Leia departs this life for the next, becoming one with the force. Rey and Ben are the first to notice.

Lights On by @reylo-ology for @reylocalligraphy :  Modern AU, Rey is insecure about her body weight being too heavy and/or Rey and Ben admit their love to each other for the first time.

+ The Life You Always Dreamt Of by @kylotrashforever for @avidvampirehunter :  Ben Solo has always followed his obligations. He is expected to take over his family’s enterprise, Skywalker Steel. He is expected to marry a reputable girl who will make him a fitting wife. He is expected to do as he’s told without question. He had long accepted his fate in this regard, until he met Rey. Her presence in his life was like that of a storm, blowing through his calm existence over the better part of a decade and leaving him wrecked on the other side. She was not his, but if he had his way... she would be.

Paradise Island by @ashtyntaytertot for SaveThePorgs : Ben Solo is a Porg conservationist on the remote pacific island of Ahch To. Only a few hundred Porgs remain on planet earth and Ben is adamant the species WILL. NOT. DIE. OUT. Rey is a poacher, an orphan and poor pacific islander with no, money and zero future. Porg eggs are highly prized on the black market, a rare delicacy. So she steals them from nests so that for at least a while she can eat. But what will happen, when Kylo catches her in the act? As the Clock Winds Down by @reylocalligraphy for Erulisse17 :  Who is Ben Solo, Crait High School’s star point guard, hiding from? And why is he suddenly taking pointers from a random nobody? High school Reylo AU featuring tech nerd Rey (who seems to be the only person Ben listens to) and arrogant but actually soft basketball star Ben.

+ Surf with Me by @j-dryless for @reylorobyn2011 :  Rey and Ben catch some much-needed vacation. Swells, kisses and smut.

+ A Demon is A Girl’s Best Friend by AmberDread for @asongforjonsa :  Rey finds a mysterious box, it seems impossible to open, yet there is something rattling inside it... 

+ Our Disparate, Naive Souls by SaveThePorgs for @reyssolo : Once a year the Smuggler Ben Solo, visits Jakku to trade with junk boss Unkar Plutt. Whilst there he meets the scavenger Rey. Talented and enigmatic, over the years he watches her grow up. But as Rey’s burgeoning connection to the Force grows, can Ben continue the hide the truth of who he is. Or will he help her become who she is meant to be?

+* Beneath the Sea by @asongforjonsa for @lilia-ula :  Rey and Ben meet working at The Royal Treat in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Sparks fly immediately.

+ Taste of Elysium by @lilia-ula for @mallie-3 : Thanks to the presence of a tall, dark and handsome classmate, Rey's Greek Mythology summer course was hotter than hell. She'd given up trying to concentrate, and so had he, drawn by their chemistry into a game of enticement that couldn't last. Weeks of endured longing end in a tryst steeped in the mythical elements of their focus.

+ Raising Hope by @spiegatrixlestrange for @dalzonii :  Ben Solo is a single dad with a crush on his daugher's far too pretty, young and kind nanny. He doesn't have a chance obviously, or at least that' s what he had thought until now.

+ The Prince and the Scavenger  by @reylorobyn2011 for @gopherbroke :  Kylo (or Ben) is the sole heir to the Skywalker Estate. He comes across a hungry young woman, scavenging outside the kitchen for scraps after the staff has gone to bed. Despite his icy treatment to her face when he orders his men to capture her, he has her washed, clothed, and fed. She is unrecognizable when she is next presented to him and is immediately taken with her. + Diet Coke and Mentos by @gopherbroke for @ever-so-reylo :  Alpha Rey Jakku is in charge of a major project at Rebel Enterprises, an architecture firm. Her bosses son, Alpha Kylo Ren is added to the project near the completion, sharing the leader role with Rey and immediately stirs the pot, causing rifts and arguments. Rey is not used to backing down. She also isn't used to the way her body reacts whenever Kylo gets too close. With two top dogs, who is going to be the one coming out on top?

+ Firefighters and Puppies by @kpopandstarwarswhynot for @ashtyntaytertot :  Just because Kylo puts out fire for living, doesn't mean he can't start one.

+ You should see the things we do by @ever-so-reylo for @loveofescapism : “Maybe Ben will come home from his business trip and bend me over the nearest piece of furniture and fuck me hard and fast.” In which they are roommates, and they hate each other until they don't.  

+* forced out (into you) by @dalzonii for @spiegatrixlestrange : “Alright kids. There’s no other way around it.” Maz paused, her wide beady eyes regarding the pair carefully, face unnervingly too serious. “You two might just have to, well... engage more intimately.” When Rey woke up in Senator Ben Organa’s body, she never thought fixing the problem could feel so good. Only, the Force simply isn’t letting up – and Jedi aren’t supposed to develop feelings for hot-headed, impulsive, politically-inclined men. Or, the force really wants Ben and Rey together and will go to great lengths to achieve this.

+ Other Voices by @reyloandotherfandoms for AmberDread :  Just a random day aboard the Millenium Falcon.

+ Consider...  by @loveofescapism for @kylotrashforever :  Rey Kenobi has a new job as an editor for K Trash Magazine where she has to edit the infamous Ben Solo's work. Things don't get off the best start and they instantly hate each other. The one thing that is making her days worth while is the handsome stranger she keeps bumping into in the elevator and the hungry, dark looks he continues to give her.

Come Home by @reyssolo for @aknightofwren :  Ben Solo enlists in the army to better his future, and the future he dreams of building with his girlfriend Rey. He just hopes he can come back from his deployment in Afghanistan in time for one of the biggest, most important events of his and Rey's lives.

+ Screensaver Sweethearts by @avidvampirehunter for @kpopandstarwarswhynot : When Clyde's new cell phone connects him to a woman halfway around the world, he never expected to fall in love. But, as luck would have it, that's exactly what he did. Reylogan.

Sex on the Beach by @kylohhh for @reyloandotherfandoms :  Rey walks into Ben's world renowned cocktail bar and just wants a beer. Ben sets out to convince her to see the error of her ways.

* Echoes of Memory by Erulisse17 for @kylohhh :  It couldn't be. What are the chances she'd be here? At this college? And yet... When Kylo catches a glimpse of his childhood friend, he has to follow her. To see if it's her. To see if she remembers him. If she's forgiven him. Getting doused in pepper spray was not part of the plan, but it did answer one question. She *definitely* remembered him.

Every single one of these fics was so amazing and well thought out! A huge thanks to everyone who participated, we can’t wait to do the next one! <3