#also applies for the

[anotheroceanid]

don't be shy, post the long text

Since you asked, I'm posting it here xD

I hope this make sense.

The Aspect of Gods In My Fics or Why There's No Aspect of Gods in My Fics)

For context:

This covers all my fics and aus, though I currently have only posted TTG and WTHB. Unless I ever state otherwise, this is always my approach to the theme.

I first read the Riordanverse books as a kid, and then the only books available were the og PJO series, Heroes of Olympus and The Kane Chronicles. Only when I was much older I would find out about the new series, and I decided not to read them because I don't really like interacting with new canon content of media I enjoyed as a kid. I had bad experiences. The only one that I interact a little more is TOA, but just from a fandom perspective (I've read fics about it, but they were all Perpollo). Therefore, as I do not have any knowledge over these series, I'm not considering them here. Mostly because I might be the person to bend canon the most, but I make sure I really know canon to do it. Since I don't know canon of those stories, I never engage with them "seriously".

More or less in the same topic: in my fics, I don't consider the existences of multiple pantheons. The only gods that exist are the gods I'm writing about (mostly because I feel counterproductive unless I’m writing crack fics). This is another talk, thought I might've mentioned it every now and then. I just feel like the actions of the characters actions lose impact if there's a whole new apocalypse happening the next week with another pantheon. Like, I don't like shared universes. In general. Polly, Barbie and Max Steel all belong to Mattel. I don't need them all together in the same universe.

Most important of all: this ain’t an attack to Rick or the canon. This is just me being a silly ficwriter and picking what I think makes more sense when I’M writing my NON-PROFIT stories in my own free time. It's literally not that deep.

So, before anything else, let's touch on the subject of fading, because fading and the aspects are, in my vision, two elements that bleed into each other.

Fading, in canon, happens when a god or a monster is forgotten by humanity (or when their domains are diminished, like happened with Pan). What I will say know sounds terrible pessimistic, but I don't like mortals having this deep influence in the gods existence.

As I'm considering the gods as being the only gods, then they exist much before humanity. And I'm pretty sure Prometheus didn't make us powerful enough to do anything that damaging against gods. We can be annoying or amusing? Yeah, pretty much. But to the point they need us to remember them to exist. Nope. Not at all.

I do like that gods can fade, but in a more "they've been so emotionally damaged that they ceased to exist" way. Like, Pan saw all the things that he loved being destroyed, that must been affected him beyond the "destroyed realm" level.

Now, about the aspects. First of all, I want to remember everyone that there wasn't an unified Greek in ancient time, and while they shared similarities they were not all the same. Their gods were not the exact same. Or their cults, etc.

When I'm reading stories with Roman vs Greek aspects, I let suspension of disbelief do it's magic. But not when I'm writing, because I start to think: what about the other hundreds of aspects? It's not like religion was unified for either Greeks or Romans. And while one can use the excuse of "they also changed by what modern people think of them", because again… Who's deciding it? Who's "modern people" in question? Because the world is waaay to big to pick one place's point of view and stick with it.

In a way, I do think that the gods changed with time, but they lived thousands of years, they interacted with multiple people and their culture, of course they'd change. We as human change from school to collage, why can't they change after living through literally everything? (Also, it's interesting that even if they changed, they're the same to their core, but I won't enter in this topic here.)

Their interactions with mortals might have affected them somehow, but not so deep they have different personalities that clash with each other. Humans can worship them in different ways, I simply think the gods care more about being honoured and worshipped than how it's done. If it is something they find offensive, then okay, they'll turn against you. It's not like most mortals spend enough time with gods to pick up their whole personalities.

Then, if the gods are always the same in my fics, why there are two camps? I'll need you to hold my hands when I tell you this: the gods will be gods tag doesn't exist for nothing. They'll do things just because they can.

Demigods are wild cards. There's only so much control you can have over them. Having a two sets of demigods that historically hate each other is kinda useful. "Oh, they're fighting and praying for us? Kinda annoying, so many voices in my head. Time to separate them again. Now with about half the population from before. Oh, these things happen. Time to set them apart until it's needed again."

Also, this removes the "we're roman/greek demigods" from the equation. Some are greek demigods because they were found by a satyr. Some are roman demigods because they ended up with in the Wolf House somehow. Nobody is Greek or Roman (my brothers and sisters, most of you were born in 20th century USA), but it's fundamental that these identities exist just so they can hate each other. Especially for the Romans, as their identity as Roman is fundamental so they can keep sending their kids and grandkids to a military colony.

When Thalia says that her father came back "different", it's totally dismissive because: one, she was a child, and two, a child who barely knew her father at all to pick up his personality and set in stone "he was different". This makes Jason story even more tragic, as his fate was decided entirely by the gods. He was not born Roman, he was made one because it was beneficial to Hera.

Instead of making them have multiple personalities based off aspects, I prefer to keep them unified because it feels more consistent when I'm writing, but also keep them accountable. The whole "oh, I didn't know, it wasn't me" don't stick out to me. They have a personality, the stories as we know were written by mortals that had their own interpretation, some are more accurate than others. It's not that deep.

Of course, some mortals were particularly creative and their versions became really famous. This don't change what really happened or the gods personality. Using Medusa as an example, I always follow the myth in which she was born a gorgon, the fact that there's a version she was a priestess of Minerva won't change the fact that she was born a monster (and that Poseidon liked her that way).

Finally, I also prefer keeping them with one single aspect because I don't want them removed from the narrative. In the Trojan War (the Trojans also had their "own" versions of the gods, btw) they picked their side, no headache made them absent. They had kids in both sides, so? For me, having them actually picking sides is simply more interesting.

That's it.

I said it was long.

[color-ns]

Sometimes tweeter people know their stuff- this is the right kind of toxic angst I want to read.

[aidenwaites]

I think in the same way there's a 90/10 rule with horror and comedy (horror works best when it's 90% horror and 10% comedy and vice versa) there's a 90/10 rule for some relationships in fiction that's like. Wholesome and fucked up. A good friendship is at its most compelling when it's also 10% a bit fucked up. Fucked up relationship is at its most compelling when there's at least 10% of something actually sweet and substantive within. Do you get me

[luetta]

[bedupolker]

Do u think the rat guy and mouse lady would try having their own kid? Or are the six she had is enough?

This doesnt answer your question but I think if they did want to try for another litter, going to the rodent OB-gyn would be an experience

[orgyofthedamned]

me when a character who was completely powerless gains power and proceeds to lose themselves in the intoxication of it before coming to and being horrified by their own capacity for bloodlust

[wardensantoineandevka]

is that piece of media actually bad, or is it just not following the blueprint you projected onto it? is that work actually not good, or are you just demanding something from it that is absolutely antithetical to its themes, genre, tone, and narrative goal? is that story actually poorly written, or do you just dislike that it is not the specific things you wanted from it that it never set out to be, never was, and never is going to become? is it actually bad, or is it actually well-executed and you just dislike the story it chose to be because it isn't catering to your specific desires and expectations?

[baristabomb]

...weird amount of dunmeshi fans have been saying being a caretaker in a relationship is the worst thing ever..marcille must want to killl everyone soo bad because doing things for people suuuucks sooo muchh

it's an act of love, not just a job i promise. we all want someone who's willing to take care of us in some way, just like how senshi shows care for others by cooking for them :'|

[troythecatfish]

[who-always-pays-their-taxes]

He might be 6’0 and built like a brick but i see the rage of a teenage girl in his eyes

[wishing-well-art]

Wake up it's time to get blocked and reported

[stjohnstarling]

To truly, successfully eroticize the monstrous you must be brave enough to make the object in question actually ugly. At the heart of the fantasy is a person whose very form is so profoundly unacceptable that there is significant social stigma attendant upon finding them attractive - a person who feels deeply their own repulsiveness, who expects universal rejection for their appearance - and, crucially, another person who treats them as if they are beautiful.

For this to be effective, the monstrous character can't just be plain - they have to be wildly, fascinatingly unacceptable - prodigiously, fantastically, sublimely ugly. If you're anxious about the character not being hot you'll never pull it off because the entire fantasy is about not being afraid.

[tempo-takoyaki]

Listen, I love the "XL helps HC to see how beautiful he is" scenario as much as the next person... But I also see it like this.

[justarandombrit]

A teacher during sex ed in primary: Well, you may not like it now, but someday all the boys in this room will fall in love with a girl, and someday all the girls in this room will fall in love with a boy.

Me:

[inkskinned]

i hate to say it because i'm neurodivergent and a chronic-pain-haver but like... sometimes stuff is going to be hard and that's okay.

it's okay if you don't understand something the first few times it's explained to you. it's okay if you have to google every word in a sentence. it's okay if you need to spend a few hours learning the context behind a complicated situation. it's okay if you need to read something, think about it, and then come back to re-read it.

i get it. giving up is easier, and we are all broken down and also broke as hell. nobody has the time, nobody has the fucking energy. that is how they win, though. that is why you feel this way. it is so much easier, and that is why you must resist the impetus to shut down. fight through the desire you've been taught to "tl;dr".

embrace when a book is confusing for you. accept not all media will be transparent and glittery and in the genre you love. question why you need everything to be lily-white and soft. i get it. i also sometimes choose the escapism, the fantasy-romance. there's no shame in that. but every day i still try to make myself think about something, to actually process and challenge myself. it is hard, often, because of my neurodivergence. but i fight that urge, because i think it's fucking important.

especially right now. the more they convince you not to think, the easier it will be to feed you misinformation. the more we accept a message without criticism, the more power they will have over that message. the more you choose convenience, the more they will make propaganda convenient to you.

[sylvrndoodles]

*:･ﾟ✧