#and like. it's. painful. for him esp if he believed himself to be mortal and

[kk-cats]

Alfred Pennyworth is immortal.

It's a running joke, really.

And it helps. It really does. Because Alfred is a constant, and the thought of losing him is a terrifying thing, isn't it?

Alfred Pennyworth is immortal.

It's a running joke, really.

When Bruce's hairs start going grey. When his bones ache just a little more than they normally do. Alfred's still there. And so they laugh over it, just a little. They joke that he's going to outlive them.

Alfred Pennyworth is immortal.

Isn't that a good thing, this little joke?

He's got contingencies, after all. Preparations. So the family can take care of themselves when he's gone. Notes and books. Reminders. He worries, after all. What they'll do when he's gone.

Alfred Pennyworth is immortal.

Isn't that a good thing?

Generations after generations of Waynes. And he'll be there. To watch over the children. To be a steady constant.

Alfred Pennyworth is immortal.

But Bruce Wayne is not.

What does it mean to outgrow your young charge? To watch him go into danger. To watch him don a suit and fight.

No parent should watch their child die of old age.

But you do anyway.

Alfred Pennyworth is immortal.

But none of his children are.

[icharchivist]

I can subscribe to the belief that Belial really leaned into his horny persona as a way to cope

Push away the bad feelings and just focus on physical pleasure to drown out the pain

It even works on a meta level, since the first thing you notice when you see him is that, wow, that guy sure is horny

But you have to catch a glimpse of what's behind the facade to realize that he's actually a very sad and tragic man

This is exactly the way i see it personally, yeah.

Esp since, while he had some horny moments in the flashbacks, pre-Lucilius's death he seems to be much more contained with himself in general. Could be because he just tried to behave to be up to Lucilius's standards but mhmm idk, esp seeing how he has never shown any of his horniness in front of Sariel for example, it feels more like the horny is him playing everything up.

i genuinely feel like the horny stuff may have started as a way to overcompensate how much Lucilius didn't love him. That, if Lucilius was unable to show him any positive emotions, then Belial must have ended up compensating in a "if he can't love me can he at least touch me" (which would make him more accepting of the beatings too, and extended into him being into SM), and therefore, started to really only feel release on the idea of being touched, since emotions were out of reach.

And then once Lucilius died, he just doubled down. That the more he indulges in carnal release the less he has to think about how lonely he is, how unloved he is.

Idk to me this is especially the way i read Parade's Lust, with his dismissal of Love as something that's "an ideal that is cheap, takes a poor sod to fall for it", while we KNOW he has romantic feelings for Lucilius, romantic feelings that will always be unrequired. Esp since then his dismissal of love is followed by "dirty hands for dirty love, searching for some kinda carnal release". To me this is really this idea "if i can't have love, if love is for fools, then i'll take any type of carnal release i can get". Especially also with the line later that boils down to "you may know joy, but are you living if you don't know pleasure" that gives me the impression Belial cannot believe in a happy loving life with his beloved, so he has to find his pleasures where he can, if only to distract himself

I don't think it's an act in the sense that i do believe Belial is horny and loves sex a lot, but i do think it's likely he became this involved into it because it became his way to cope with how unloved he was, and with the loneliness of his life.

In his rant he talks about how the mortals all end up dying eventually and everyone who could understand the suffering of a primal will be gone at some point and everything will be forgotten. I feel like, maybe early in his banishment, Belial tried to have a proper connection to a mortal, and perhaps managed to create a friendship, and then lost it enough to realize that creating new bonds just to lose them is just playing with his own heart yaknow? and even if he didn't have anyone like that actually, he could easily come to this conclusion just by observing people.

So sex is the way. sex gives you release for a time. It doesn't require you to emotionally involves yourself. You can move on from it.

So yeah personally i'm 100% on the "the horny became worse because this is how he coped" gang when it comes to Belial.

And therefore the horny makes me sad!!!!!! poor man. But also i'm never forgiving him for making me sad over listening to PARADE'S LUST OUT OF ALL THINGS LIKE COME ONNNNN.

[valcalico]

Athena and Ares

(Just my thoughts on them and their relationship)

I have a lot of feelings about these two. They have a very complex dynamic, where they don’t really like each other, but they can’t work without each other either.

Athena provides rationality to the cruelty of war. She is the strategy and logic behind it. The objective. One might say she represents the generals, and the politicians and the main heroes. Basically the big players.

And Ares? He’s the opposite. He represents the emotion associated with war. He is the bloodlust and the desperate fight. Where the battle is thickest, where there is no room for thought, and when its pure survival instinct that drives you, that’s Ares. He represents the worst parts: the blood and the violence and the cruelty. He is accompanied by fear and terror (Phobos and Deimos). One might say he is the god of soldiers.

So they need each other. If they actually worked together, they’d be one of the dangerous forces ever, even in god circles. But they don’t. Not only because of how differently they view the world, but also because of deeper nuances in their relationship.

Athena is beloved. She is Zeus’ favourite child and his right hand goddess. The people love her. She is the patron of one of the most powerful, influential cities, Athens. She is highly respected everywhere else too. A protector of heroes and a friend to humanity.

Ares, on the other hand, is disliked by many. Zeus says he is “the most hateful of all gods” and says he would have thrown him into Tartarus if he wasn’t his and Hera’s son. (Its in the Iliad) (This part always makes me sad poor ares) He is highly respected in Thrace and Sparta. But Athens dislikes him and worships him out of necessity only.

Even in modern times, Athena is considered a feminist icon and badass lady, while Ares is labelled a brute.

Most people know this. So why did I just type out all that? Cause context is important when delving into the myths.

So first of all, let’s debunk that last point I made. In the ancient myths (and I’ll try not to include romans esp. Ovid), it didn’t work that way at all. Of course it’s important to keep in mind that ancient Greece was very misogynistic. But still, Athena was not feminist at all. Her being a “masculine” woman (mostly) was what made her so acceptable to Athens and she was regularly used to shut down other women. Also:

(The actual translation of this scene was circulated a while back. So you’re probably familiar with this. Also I’m not saying this to offend any worshippers of Athena or anyone who admires her. There are a lot of bad things in greek mythology and Athena’s internal and external misogyny is probably the least of my concerns. Plus if the greek gods did exist, i believe they change with the society, so they will no longer be Like That in the present day.)

Ares, on the other hand, was incredibly feminist, especially for that time. He surrounded himself with women he loved and respected. (Aphrodite, Eris, Enyo, etc). His lovers were often famously women who challenged the status quo (Otrera, Cyrene). He was regularly show to be a good father to all his daughters, immortal and mortal. (Harmonia, Hippolyta, Penthesilia, Alkippe). Also:

If that isn’t the coolest thing EVER-

Anyway, I won’t delve deep into that (well, any more than I’ve already rambled about it).

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can get to the hypotheticals.

I headcanon that despite ALL the evidence to the contrary, they maybe don’t despise each other completely. I see them having more of a love-hate relationship.

The thing is, gods are very contrary creatures. Zeus and Hera’s fights shake the world one moment, and in the next, they are as loving as any. Apollo is smiling and singing in one moment and skinning a satyr alive in the next. This complexity should be given this relationship too.

Like I said above, they need each other. Both general and soldier are equally important in war. And I don’t think you can completely truly need someone and hate their existence at the same time. (There are exceptions)

This scene in the Iliad really got me thinking:

If you take the scene at face value, this is probably not something to think too much about. Its Athena going to Ares, insulting him a bit, and taking him away from the war.

But its more than that. First off, Athena goes upto Ares and can calmly convince him to listen to her. Second, look how she frames the question. She says “shall we” which i think is pretty important. Athena doesn’t need to worry about Zeus’ anger or his rules, as she shows later on in the Iliad, and before, during the Rebellion. Both Athena and Ares knows this well. So why does she also need to withdraw? She can make the point without adding herself to the equation. She can also fairly easily run him off the battlefield like she does later. But she doesn’t. And there isnt any hostility from Ares.

Instead, they go together, away from the battlefield and...sit down near a river bank? Basically relax as much as they can? That doesn’t sound like a hateful relationship.

There is also the fact that Ares was going to join sides with the greeks (aka on Athena and Hera’s side) until Aphrodite convinced him to join her instead.

Its clear from this that Ares doesn’t really have much of a stake in this fight. He doesn’t care much about the greater objectives of the war. The only thing that can convince him to take a side is the people one the sides. He fights for the people he cares about, not for any greater good. He easily changes his loyalty because of his love for Aphrodite. He frequently gets into fights to save his children. He goes against Diomedes partly because of how he wounded Aphrodite. All of this means that he cares for Athena too. (And for Hera ofc). Maybe he doesn’t care for her as much as he cares for Aphrodite, but its not really fair to expect him to.

I like to think they genuinely do care for each other a great deal, they just kinda suck at showing it. Maybe that changes as time passes. I can see Athena being quietly protective of Ares (maybe she makes up an excuse to send him away during the Rebellion because she knows he will be in danger otherwise). I definitely think she felt a little guilt (guilt, not regret) at stabbing Ares, seeing as it wasn’t really fair. Ares didn’t know she was there.

I also think that Ares, who spends a lot of time with awesome women and is very fierce in standing up for them if the need arises, will be the one who calls her out a lot of the time on her misogyny or hypocrisy. Athena also has a habit of suppressing any “vulnerable” emotion. She likes to keep all her guilt, sadness, fear, hurt, and regret all locked up tight. I feel like Ares is one of the few people she lets a few of those emotions out around, even if she still tries not to. And in the lighter moments, in private, maybe they joke around a bit and laugh, too.

Okay, now for the heavier bit. While i do think they care for each other, there is also a lot of resentment there. A lot of it, unfortunately, comes from how they are treated by their peers and elders. They like different people, they are liked by different people and they are liked to different degrees. Let’s talk about 3 of the main players.

1) Zeus. Does this surprise you?

I do think Zeus loves all his kids. He doesn’t like some of them, but he does love all of them. And he isn’t as bad of a father as everyone thinks. People have discussed that better so I’ll not rant about it here.

All that aside, he definitely has favourites. Athena is his favourite child (Apollo, I think, being his second). And this favouritism is SUPER OBVIOUS. Its like none of the rules apply to Athena, which is weird considering Zeus isn’t forgiving of those who defy his authority (did someone say Prometheus?)

Ares, on the other hand, is on the other side of the spectrum. The one Zeus dislikes the most.

We can see how this affects them in several instances. The most notable is probably in the Iliad, after Athena deceitfully stabs Ares and forces him to flee to Olympus, injured.

Ares calls Zeus out on his favouritism. He says that gods weren’t allowed to fight each other and if it were anyone else, they would have been punished. He says Zeus always does this, always lets Athena get away with everything, and that he needs to start getting his daughter under control.

Zeus doesnt like this too much and basically tells Ares to stop whining and that he isn’t much better when it comes to destruction. He says Ares is the most hateful of all gods and loves bloodshed. He says he would have gotten rid of him if he weren’t his son, but seeing as he was, Zeus cannot bear to see Ares in pain. He then gets Ares healed.

I can definitely see how this kind of blatant favouritism from someone who should be better to Ares would affect him. Ares is the firstborn son of Zeus and Hera. He should be getting a lot of respect, as per ancient standards but instead, he is overtaken by his virgin half sister from Zeus’ previous marriage, and many bastard half siblings.

Athena being able to break rules left and right, and Ares having to be nervous about even toeing the line will cause distance between them.

This in addition to his position as a god of civil order is a reason that i think he wouldn’t want to break any rule until he deems it absolutely necessary, like if someone he cared about were in danger.

I can totally see a situation where both of them try to help a hero but Zeus orders them not to. Athena then wants to break the rules, but Ares is very hesitant about doing so. Athena convinces him, either by taunting or by calmly urging him, to go along with it. They get caught but only Ares gets punished. Ares can then truly show Athena the difference between her and everyone else.

Remember when i headcanoned earlier that Athena sends Ares away during the Rebellion? That ties into this. She knows that if they get caught, ares could get into trouble whether or not he did anything. I expect Ares will be furious about it when he returns and finds out what happened though, thinking it was just to get him out of the way, until its revealed why she did it. Then he’ll probably be super awkward.

2) Poseidon

The equal and opposite force to Zeus.

Well, maybe not equal, but quite close.

Lets start with the canon. Poseidon HATES Athena, despises her completely, and he frequently clashes with her father too. They worked together one (1) time and as a result, Athena wasnt punished while Poseidon was enslaved for years. Then there is the fight for Athens, the whole epic of the Odyssey, and so on.

Meanwhile he and Ares are actually shown to be close. Other than the Halirhothius incident, they are pretty chill. Poseidon is the one who vouched for him after the Net Thing With Hephaestus. Poseidon is also pretty cool with Aphrodite and they work together occasionally.

I think Poseidon thinks of Athena as this bratty kid of his brother, who is constantly working against him. You know that one annoying cousin you have who you try to avoid during family reunions because you KNOW you will clash? This is that, but a thousand times worse.

Meanwhile Poseidon really cares for Ares, and Ares takes fatherly affection from anywhere he can get it. Poseidon maintains a good relationship with both Aphrodite and Ares. He is closer with Aphrodite and doesnt love Ares quite as much as Zeus loves Athena, but he still cares a lot.

3) Aphrodite

It is no secret that Athena hates Aphrodite. Even when Athena warns Diomedes not to harm any god, she says Aphrodite is the exception. Athena, along with many of the other Olympians, see her as nothing but a silly, flighty, hysterical goddess.

On the other hand, Aphrodite and Ares are known for their intense love for each other, from even before her arranged marriage. They have a lot of kids together, and are shown to be close with all of them. They each have like one story of jealousy/one story where they are at odds with each other, which is pretty good for such a high-profile couple (Aphrodite curses Eos and Ares kills Adonis). They are there for each other, like in the trojan war, when Aphrodite was wounded and Ares gave her his chariot to go back to Olympus. He also changed sides very soon, just because Aphrodite asked. Athena complains about this too.

I think I wouldn’t be far off in saying that Athena is definitely resentful of how close they are, and how much sway Aphrodite has over her brother.

While Athena definitely doesn’t see eye to eye with Ares, and disagrees with his domain, she still sees him as a War God. One of her kind. And she just doesn’t see how a War God can go for someone like Aphrodite. Basically, she doesn’t think Aphrodite is, for lack of a better term, good enough for Ares, seeing as she is a Love Goddess.

Ares, on the other hand, does not want to hear anything like this. He is fiercely defensive of Aphrodite. He defends her warlike aspect (Aphrodite Areia), while everyone else tells her that she has no place in the battlefield. He sees Aphrodite as more than what people have labelled her to be. Which is why I believe (other than Eos and Adonis), they have one of the healthiest open relationships in greek mythology.

This can definitely cause animosity between Athena and Ares, because of Athena’s scorn and Ares’ temper. It can also increase the conflict between Athena and Aphrodite.

Maybe as time goes on, Athena can start seeing Aphrodite as having more depth. I certainly hope so. While they wouldn’t be best friends, I don’t see why they can’t learn to get along. This could also strengthen Athena and Ares’ bond. As long as people don’t insult her or lay their claim on her domain of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite is often very supportive. I truly think Aphrodite can help Athena overcome her misogyny, with Ares.

In conclusion, Athena and Ares have a very complex relationship. They do not simply hate each other, and neither do they have the most loving relationship. But they do care for each other. But strain can often be put on their relationship from their relationship to other people as well. Hopefully as time passes, they can overcome that, and have a healthier relationship, instead of sharing a good moment and then proceeding to fight each other for the next 500 years.

[notapaladin]

votgs replied to your post “real talk here one of my fave mental images re. The OT3 is picturing...”

I have been converted to your OT3. Hadn't gotten around to reading this series; now I'm on Kindred of Darkness. Where do I get my membership card? :-D

JOIN THE CLUB WE HAVE T-SHIRTS.

fave OT3 moments from the first five books:

Those Who Hunt The Night: james snarking/standing up to simon and simon like We Respect One Mortal.

also that intro? like damn that’s Good.

THEY HAVE SO MANY SIMILARITIES it’s excellent

lydia being generally a Research Genius & how james loves and trusts his wife so much they are so married

“if lydia met you she’d be pestering you for a sample of your blood within five minutes”

also, unrelated to OT3, I love Grippen and Simon’s interactions

THE PART WHERE LYDIA'S IMMEDIATE REACTION TO AN INTRUDER IS ATTEMPTED DEATH BY HATPIN 

imagine james helping simon brush up on modern languages, okay. imagine!!!

LYDIA YOU HAVE KNOWN HIM FIVE MINUTES

Traveling With The Dead: can I say the whole book or is that cheating? but if I have to pick out SPECIFIC PARTS it’s uh

okay it’s most of simon/lydia’s interactions but esp the contrast between their meeting and parting.

AND THEN HE IS WRITING HER SONNETS. SONNETS. S I M O N. vampires are known for their selfishness and caution and here he is traveling across europe and risking his Actual Life for her and james!! (every time any later book mentions how he got those scars i die)

“a lady worthy to her bones”

simon: i will lie to her and let her think I killed Miss Potton because that way she will hate me, there can be nothing good between the living and the dead. it will be a Clean Break

Blood Maidens: simon, the second he sees lydia again: Failed Step One. read that scene while listening to this for Even More Feelings.

 JAMES/LYDIA IS SO GOOD IM LOVE

also, this. look at these FUCKING NERDS. imagine them poring over medical journals together! (with cats)

james and simon also have a ton of excellent interactions in this one

also: “he was not with you?” was def simon Internally Screaming

LYDIA THINKING OF SIMON WHEN SHE THINKS SHE’S DYING. simon: o no. o fuck.

james! making the decision not to kill simon even when he Totally Could but.....it would make lydia sad and maybe he also likes One Vampire

Magistrates of Hell: THEY’RE SO MARRIED

James realizing that his first thought if anyone hurt Miranda or Lydia would be to go to Simon = A+

"He'd do it. And he wouldn't care."

James

Jamie

Jim boy

simon would care very much and make their deaths as painful as possible

james: "not the point"

honestly you probably wouldn't even need to ask! when miranda first gets her heart broken simon will be like "there there, do you want me to kill him?"

THIS PART

simon keeps his casket next to the ashers’ hotel which i really like

THE HUG AT THE END. THE HUG.

i need a million fanarts of that hug. also with simon and james respectfully doing the arm clasp thing

HAVE I ALSO MENTIONED I LOVE LYDIA TODAY with the “no there’s nothing I wouldn’t do if miranda was in danger”

also please imagine ysidro recovering from the events of Magistrates of Hell and one of the chinese vampires being like "you don't meet a girl like that every dynasty"

Kindred of Darkness: once again, pretty much all of the book is Peak OT3 Chest-Clutching Territory but special shoutout to the following:

lydia telling simon that miranda’s been kidnapped and simon fucking yeeting himself into her dreams and back into london at Mach Fuck

"He took my child,’ she whispered at last. ‘Grippen took my child.’ Just being able to say it was like a steel band breaking from around her chest. She didn’t have to keep silent any longer, or be strong, or explain.

Don Simon Christian Morado de la Cadeña-Ysidro understood.

He said one word, in Spanish, that Lydia guessed would have taken paint off a gate.

“you want me to eat him bc I will totally eat him”

this part:

"‘What …?’

‘She thought you another of the maids.’ He was smiling slightly, a far-off twinkle of brightness in his yellow eyes that she had never seen there before.

He’s enjoying this.

He was almost laughing as they slipped out into the garden. ‘Think you not, that if we can trick the eyes of the living so that they do not see us as we are, we can also – with a little practice – trick them into believing that we are someone else they know? Someone who has every right to be in the upstairs hall? Ere she reaches the parlor with her mistress’s shawl, she’ll forget that she even saw us.’

 ‘Wretch!’ Lydia poked him again. ‘No wonder Jamie’s worried about one of you hiring on with the Kaiser! And no wonder there are all those legends about vampires making respectable married ladies think they’re their husbands—’

‘So they said,’ retorted Simon. ‘I never had call for such a trick.’

‘You are dreadful!’

no, simon, you ALREADY have a respectable married lady in love with you!!

james is the best dad we love him

at one point simon gives lydia a FANTASTICALLY expensive necklace and she is Shocked at the impropriety and i love it

i don’t want to spoil it because I dunno if you’ve finished it BUT IT’S SO GOOD.