#baby semele

[cocoanmelaninsims]

Baby life

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They’re tired but baby Semele is pretty easy to take care of. Semele has the Angelic and Inquisitive traits and is now 3 weeks old. 

For all my new followers if you’d like to check out the beginning, click here. 

[beetlewine-art]

Hey, LO fandom, i need some help here. I think i finally realised why the white hair in Dionysus desing bothers me. Well, not really, i think the hair looks nice with the purple skin, but that's not the point. What bothers me is that he has white hair "Like Hades and Ouranos" is not even about the creators giving him white hair so he would remind Persephone of Hades and having her wanting to keep the baby, i know a lot of LO fans and LO antis didn't like that. And while i am not against the idea of Perse wanting to adopt baby Dio because he reminds her of Hades, i have a problem with the execution of that idea.

First , i want to point out that... Hades doesn't really have white hair (?) i might be totally wrong because i have terrible eye sight and i'm not good with colors, but i am almost sure that Hades hair is a very, very, light shade of blue.

Like:

At least it looks blue to me. I thought "meybe his hair IS white, but it reflects the cold blue tones of the underword and it makes it look blue-ish" but under that logic, Dio's hair should do the same and it doesn't:

Dio's hair is REALLY white, white like a cloud and Hades is light blue. I am not saying that it has never been a panel where Hades hair looks white, because LO is extremely inconsistent when it comes to colors and i do remember at least one or two panels where Hades has white hair, But you can't tell me that Dionysus has white hair "like Hades" and then show me this:

You can really tell that they don't have the same hair color. Also, remeber this:

Is true that Hades and Ouranos have very similar hair color, mostly because Ouranos hair are clouds, but again all i see here is light blue with white lights (?)

And this is where my problem with Dio's desing comes in, because Persephone said this:

And, NO? HE DOESN'T? Perse, sweetie, this kid doesn't look anything like your husband. He Is purple like his dad (Zeus), has his brother's curly hair (Ares) and doesn't even have the same hair color as your husband, i understand that most men in LO look the same but having the same hair color is not enough to make me believe that Dio looks like Hades. Specialy when we have Hades looking like Pepaw Ouranos and Zeus being a purple version of Kronos.

Meybe is just the shading, because we have other characters with white hair, like Thetis, Athena and Thanatos, but they have the same problem with their hair changing colors in each apereance they have. I mean, Thetis has white hair in her debut:

And now her hair looks munch more blue:

Meybe it is just the shading. Do i have a point here or i did i really just miss that Hades hair is white? I am not trying to crap on the webtoon or anything, i just want to see if anyone else noticed this, because i haven't seen many people point it out.

Tag list: @nymphsupremacy @incorrect-lore-olympus-au @apollomes-supremacy

[sarafangirlart]

Honestly ino is extremely evil

I know right? Like Hera is evil too but at least she’s complex and interesting (and serving cunt).

[monstrumpuella]

Chapter 93:

[presefone]

remember that wild time when hera asked persephone to send the furies to drive dionysius mad because he was ''a bastard'' and ''a mortal''? just girly activities

[endlessly-cursed]

Semele: Kaari's so stupid, I can't believe I'm marrying him

Aldéric: You don't have to though

Semele, watching him twerk on a desk: Nah, I'm gonna

@kathrynalicemc @cursed-herbalist

[nightsongs]

∗ o7﹕ sender  wraps  their  arms  around  a  hysterical  receiver  to  calm  them . Zeus and Semele?

This episode had been one of the worst she'd ever had. Dionysus hadn't been able to calm her, nor had Ariadne, and so they had apparently called in reinforcements. Semele was screaming and crying when Zeus came into the room, tearing at her hair and sweeping things off of tables.

It wasn't until Zeus wrapped his arms around her that she stopped. Stock still, as if frozen, rigid in his arms. It only took a moment before she melted into his chest, burying her face in his shirt as she sobbed.

"Make it stop! I want it to stop!"

[iiseult]

Hello, I was wondering what the life of the female reader would be like when King Baldwin was not a leper. I mean, what would their life be like together as a married couple?

𝐵𝒶𝓁𝒹𝓌𝒾𝓃 𝐼𝒱 𝐻𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓈: 𝒩𝑜𝓃-𝓁𝑒𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝐸𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃

CWs → fluff, smut, probable historical inaccuracies, she/her pronouns, afab reader, mentions of religion, childbirth

Note: I know this took like over a month to get to, but in my defense I was working on completing the first arc of my multichapter Baldwin x reader fic. Also, if anyone’s interested, I started posting an alternate version of that on ao3 that’s in third person and from the perspective of a girl named Semele. As far as actual writing goes I think it’s much better quality simply because I don’t have to do all that corny second person bullshit or use the words “Y/N.” That’s a real pain in my ass. Anyway! 

Wordcount: 852

King Baldwin’s standards are high. He is a gorgeous young man with the world at his fingertips and he wants a woman, not a girl, to explore it with him. 

She must be good. She does not need to be rich or noble, but she needs to be selfless and kind and bold. And he needs someone who can match him in intellect so he doesn’t get bored. 

His hair frames his face in charming golden waves that fall to about his chin. His eyes are a deep cerulean, lined by long lashes, and his lips are pink and shapely, if a bit on the thin side. The nose is strong and straight, the jaw is square and sharp, the cheekbones are high and structured, and the skin covering it all is smooth and healthy. A light smattering of tiny freckles paint his nose and cheeks. His body is strong, with substantial broad shoulders, and what muscle he has is subtle but genuine. 

Sometimes his movements are awkward, a little different from other well-bred boys his age, and perhaps that’s what makes him so appealing. So mysterious. And, by the way, he certainly is appealing. 

Every woman that lays eyes on him, and even some that have never had that honor and know of him only from word of mouth, want him. Every woman thinks she can somehow be good enough for him. Of course, maybe one in one thousand of them actually is. 

When a lady finally catches his eye, it would be for her wit or her bravery. Perhaps she would beat him in a game of chess, or speak out against what she thinks is wrong. The more cruelty in her smile, the more attractive she becomes. 

When he proposes, it’s very romantic, very personal, and above all, very private. Though he surely makes the experience memorable for his future wife, he doesn’t do anything over-the-top. It does not involve other people, and perhaps it doesn’t even take place at a particular spot. The most important part of the proposal, after all, is the words he is speaking, the vow he is making. He puts his silver tongue to good use, so that saying no isn’t even an option anymore. How could she possibly turn him down? 

 He can’t wait to get his hands on her. The wedding night is something he has long been looking forward to, knowing that it would be worth it to wait for the right woman, and of course, it exceeds his expectations. How could he have guessed how soft, how supple her flesh would feel beneath him? How sweet and yielding? There was nothing that could have prepared him for the feeling of warmth that wholly enveloped him the first time they made love. It was something that could never be recreated by his own hand. It could only ever occur by the soft hand, or the cruel, relentless lips of his young wife. 

His body is young and robust, as is hers, and they are both brimming with passion and want. The first month of the marriage is spent mostly alone together, trapped in an endless cycle of tiring each other out, sleeping, waking, and doing the whole damned thing all over again. It would take no time at all for the seed to be planted in her fertile womb and a baby to begin to grow. 

Seeing his wife pregnant would only make him fall in love with her more, if such a thing were even possible. Now she is carrying a little miracle inside her, and to him, the world around her positively glows. He is, in a word, infatuated. So proud. He takes her into town and practically parades her around, the curve of her swollen belly growing more and more obvious under the fabric of her gown. Isn’t she beautiful, he would say to Raymond, and to Sybilla, and to anyone else who was unlucky enough to engage him in conversation. 

During the birth, he stayed by her side. He was the one to wipe the sweat from her forehead with damp towels, to hold her hand and cry softly from seeing her in such pain. He loves her so much, and he was going to love that baby, too. He was going to positively spoil it. That is, if it didn’t kill her! He cries more than she does during the birth, and though he does everything he can to ease her pain and help the midwife speed along the process, mostly he can do nothing but stand around and wring his hands and look helplessly at his love, his eyes swimming with wild fear and affection and awe. She’s so strong, how is she doing it? 

Once the baby is born, though the sheets of her bed are soiled with various fluids, he lays down next to his wife and holds her in his arms and she holds their baby in her arms, and they all sleep, a perfect family. The baby is going to look just like her, he thinks, and he will love it. 

[cupidvision]

𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓪- 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓸𝓭𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓰𝓮

𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎

hera is the child of cronus and rhea, as well as the sister of her future husband, zeus. she was swallowed by her father cronus, and was saved by zeus. since gods and goddesses are immortal, they couldn’t do anything, but wait to be released.

after this, the greek gods vs titan war begins. she sides with her siblings (the gods) and fights against the titans. during this, she is attacked by the titans, but zeus sacrifices himself to save hera.

𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝒶

hera represents marriage, but she can also represent jealousy, which i will get into later in this post

she has powers such as, shape shifting, weather manipulation, mind control, and being able to change creatures into different creatures

she was said to help other greek goddess into having healthy babies and good marriages

𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒

zeus actually made attempts at courting hera, but he failed. he then turned into a cuckoo bird, and hera pitied the bird so she held it to her breast. he then turned back into is god form and pleasured hera. she felt much shame, so to cover it up, she married zeus. the had a very beautiful wedding, that the gods and goddesses enjoyed

during their relationship, zeus cheating on hera multiple times, which grew hera to become jealous, envious, and vengeful.

one of zeus’s lovers, leto, was a victim to hera’s revenge. hera made everyone shun leto, she sent a huge python to attack her, and cursed leto so she wouldn’t be able to find anywhere to give birth

another of his lovers, io, was turned into a cow and was watched by argus panoptes, who was a giant with 100 eyes, so zeus could never see her again

alcmene, was refused birth by hera, who was the mother of hercules. in some myths, it’s said that for a birth to occur, the goddess eileithyia, must be present. in which, hers forced her to sit outside of the delivery room.

hera poisoned, and successfully killed a majority of oenone’s island, by throwing a snake into the water source

the final story i will be sharing involves semele. zeus got semele pregnant, and this caused hera to be jealous and upset. hera then manipulated her into asking zeus to show her his powers to their fullest potential, which then burned her alive

𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝓉𝓈

other names: juno

symbols: cuckoo bird, peacock, cow, flowers, crown, pomegranate, sceptre

asteroid meaning(my opinion): marriage, fertility, childbirth, women, jealousy, vengefulness, envy, wanting to harm someone out of jealousy, being tricked into love, marrying/ falling in love with someone out of guilt or shame

dwelling: mount olympus

children: hephaestus, eileithyia, hebe, ares

dividers by @anitalenia @aquazero @i-mmaculatus

[lo-shouldve-been-an-email]

Why Dionysus was actually clever but got botched.

Okay,this is my first big LO essay so please don’t mind a bit of awkwardness.

The thing with Dionysus is that on paper it’s actually really smart.

Let me explain-

To understand why Dionysus in particular was chosen we need to understand the original myth of his birth,or welll,the original myths.there’s technically two of them but I’ll explain it later-

Let’s start off with the simpler one,aka:

Semele is the mother.

The myth goes like this:

Zeus falls in love with a mortal named semele,and tells her he’s Zeus.

Semele gets pregnant and Hera gets jealous.

Hera turns into an old lady and implants the idea that Zeus might be lying to her about being Zeus,so she must ask him to show her his divine form.

Semele does this and is-unsurprisingly- burnt to ashes,but Zeus saves baby dio and puts him in his thigh until he’s born,by then being upgraded from demigod to straight up god.

Who raises him afterwards depends on the story,sometimes it’s Hermes,sometimes it’s nymphs,and sometimes it’s-you guessed it-Persephone.

So you already have some inkling on why Persephone is raising dio,but oh wait there’s more.

So let’s gets into another version:

Persephone is the mother(?)

Okay,so have any of you played hades?go play it.

But,there’s a character that has an story tied to Dionysus,and people who’ve done a certain side quest might already have an inkling:

Zagreus,the prince of the underworld.

Now,you may be wondering wtf zag has to do with this but I can explain.

Basically here’s the ancient Orphic version of the myth:

Persephone and Zeus have a son named Zagreus.(it’s important to note that hades didn’t really exist at this point or at least he was merged with Zeus,hence why it’s Zeus and Persephone and not hades and Persephone,since yes Persephone actually predates hades)

Zagreus is the golden boy of Olympus and Hera gets jealous.

Hera RELEASES TITANS FROM TARTARUS and they tear Zagreus apart,the part remaining being his heart.

And dio is made with that.

There’s more to the general ancient Orphic origins of Dionysus but that’s just the basics.

I highly recommend overly sarcastic productions video of Dionysus if you want an in depth look at this explaining his origins to his cult.so yeah.check it out.

Why it fails within LO.

I admit,dio is a good reference.

He’s a good nod and a fun idea,it’s just the execution that leads it to having as many positives as a house fire.

First of all,it definitely wasn’t planned from the start.

Other have talked about this but RS has a habit of bullshitting things into the story to reference a real world date.

In this case,dio was supposed to be a Mother’s Day thing,but when matched up to the timeline?well…I don’t know why it’s such a bad decision on Persephone’s part…may be it’s because HER AND HADES HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR LESS THAN A DAY.

Also the whole thing comes out of nowhere.

Zeus just bust into persie’s house,says he’s giving birth and instead of going to a doctor(Asclepius isn’t the only one,zeus)

Then,Persephone straight up refuses to give him to Zeus AFTER HE GAVE BIRTH and takes the baby for herself because “he looks like hades”.

Never mind the fact he’s literally purple-

After that Persephone realised she’s fucked up and ignores hades,but he bursts in and she explain how she basically kidnapped a child.

And it’s supposed to be romantic.

Anyways,I’m probably gonna make another of these rants soon,just with Apollo,but this is why the dio plot point…frustrates me.

On paper it’s an interesting reference but in the end it just ends up being stupid.

[bugwolfsstuff]

Hera's hands havent always been stained with blood of Zeus's lovers and children! Her face hadn't always had tear tracks! She was kind once!

Zeus's hands havent always been cruel! He hadn't always struck those who pissed him off down! He was a loving father and husband once!

*clawing at my enclosure walls* I NEED GOOD HERA AND OR ZEUS FICS

Someone needs to make them soft for at least a moment! Let them be kind even for just a day! Let them let their anger and guard down and just melt into whatever softness someone offers them!

I know I ship Sally x Semele as my OTP crack ship, I made Semele swear to not sleep with Zeus until Dionysus's punishment is over and I do think Zeus loves Hera deep down.

But gods do I want Semele and Zeus to just be soft with each other

Idk Zeus and Semele are just dear to me cause of all his lovers, she seemed to be a very loved one myth-wise and Semele is one of the few consensual relationships

And just AwwwWWW IDK I JUST WANT A SOFTER SIDE OF ZEUS

...Also I was listening to a sweet duet cover of Home on tiktok and the woman's voice sounded exactly like how I pictured Semele's voice to sound

@smileyalater I am being consumed by THOUGHTS

[tylermileslockett]

HERA

“I sing of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bare. Queen of the immortals is she, surpassing all in beauty: she is the sister and the wife of loud-thundering Zeus-"  (Homeric Hymn, translated by H.G. Evelyn white)

HERA (HEH-ruh) Queen of the Gods, is both Zeus’ sister and his wife, and is Goddess of mothers, marriage, and protector of women in childbirth. In one hand she holds her lotus-tipped scepter, and in the other, a pomegranate fruit; a symbol of fertility. At her feet rests the Nemean lion, who she raises and sends to destroy Heracles. She has associations with the cow, a symbol of maternity and fertility, and is even described as “cow-eyed” in the Iliad. Mourning the death of her loyal servant, a hundred eyed giant named Argus, Hera creates the peacock by placing his many eyes on the feathers. Behind here stand Caryatid style female form columns holding up her hall.

Being the wife of a serial cheater, the queen of the Olympians has acquired a reputation as a bitter wife seeking vengeance against Zues’s mistresses. She chases the pregnant Leto(female titan and mother to Apollo and Artemis) out of Olympus, and disguised as a maid, convinces Semele(pregnant with Dionysus),toforce Zeus to reveal his true form; which fries the princess to dust. Hera also attempts to kill the offspring of her husband’s infidelities; most notably, sending snakes to kill Herakles in his crib as a baby, or preventing Dionysus from being born from Semele’s belly. Hera gives birth to the crippled metalsmith God, Hephaestus, but cruelly casts him down to earth for his lame leg. 

She has a substantial role in the Argonautica; wishing to punish King Pelias, she assists Jason and the Argonauts as they quest for the golden fleece.

Thanks for looking 

If you like this art, Please support my upcoming kickstarter:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tylermileslockett/lockett-illustrated-greek-gods-and-heroes

[jennrypan]

Let's go down the line of fuckassary: LONG ASS POST AHEAD.

1: Gaia looked and acted like everyone else. She should've been WAY angrier, she should be pissed at Persephone for bringing about winter first of all. Should be pissed that she was a sleep and NOTHING got better over the centuries. But sure, she's giggling and happy.

(I liked that she shoved her hand in Ouranos' chest tho.)

2: It's soo funny that people keep SAYING that Persephone and Hades have true love but the comic hasn't showed us that ever 🤨, like if anything those two losers are obsessed with each other. Be so fr.

3: Once again..this should be Persephones story/POV but its in Hades' always. Fascinating.

4: "You have to spend 3 months away from your sugar daddy" OH NOOOO BUT WEVE BEEN APART FOR SO LONGB 🥺. God. At this point does she even NEED to be in the Mortal Realm fr?? Like..Demeter, Metis and Rhea are back now so..what's her purpose there.

5: The way Gaia just isn't. Gaia is baffling. Anyways. Demeter FINALLY found out what happened to Persephone but she's not..having a moment with her daughter?? Not talking to her about it?? Okay.

6: As usual. They're eager to have sex cuz that's the only thing they do. "I can't wait to see that ass--" ..how very Zeus and Posedion of you quote on quote romantic 🤨

7: She gets her coronation but..didn't she already have that when she married Hades?? Ig not then. Also..Apollo just got a slap on the wrist, not surprising.

DEMETER GOT PUNISHED MORE THAN HIM??? Hell the Titans got punished more than that bitch what the fuck??? God.

8: The disrespect to Zeus is so. 😶 Zeus would literally not sit back quietly for this shit the fuck??? Also..Hera didn't divorce Zeus all those years and now she did ?? And she's what..gonna get with Echo now??? Fascinating. Zeus needs to start tossing rocks. Rachel did Zeus and Heras relationship so fucking DIRTY!!!! GOD!! FUCKING DAMMIT. I hate how she wrote them. Anyways.

9: The Mortal Realm is a lot easier cuz Hades is there?? YOU WERE BORN THERE!!! ITS YOUR HOME!! You ungrateful ass spawn. It wasn't that fun cuz you didn't have a man there?? Insane.

10: The way Persephone clearly doesn't love her own mother is sickening actually. Like..we can't even have them talking to each other?? Dancing?? Even the comment about her doesn't have that much emotion. Also..Dionysus' hair looks goofy, and I guess Hades is all for bringing back mortals now despite making a big stink about it in season 1 but whatever. Yay Semele.

11: "hera just gives him busy work" ..He's literally the king. Literally-- oh my god. "His powers having been the same" which..MEANS WHAT?? And the way Zeus would literally not be happy about this shit is so-- UGH. God it's infuriating. Hades and Posedion clearly don't give a shit about their brother if they aren't concerned about his fucking powers 'not being same'??? Die.

12: Echo needs to stand SEVERAL feet away from Hera. That ship is so god damn tasteless and unnecessary. If you're gonna give hera a new love interest. Maybe give them actual moments?? Make it make sense!!

13: "Ares is still a dog!" *cue laugh track sound*, god this is so..why ?? Ares, baby I'm so sorry people keep disrespecting you in every iteration 🤦‍♀️

14: ignoring the Artemis bit cuz she wasn't relevant for any of the major plots and she still isn't. Anyways. Hades stay the FUCK away from Thanatos. "They can have conversations" oh?? How fascinating. Hades just NOW deciding to care about Thanatos doesn't make up for years of his neglect.

15: Persephone, Ares and Aphrodite should beat Eros' ass for being useless about Apollo. I still think that. Eros is an ass of a friend.

16: 'new powers' ..Girl your powers are basically your old powers with one extra step. Shut UP!!! anyways. (No one cares about kassandra, sorry not sorry. Who was worried about that )

17: Hades and Persephones millionth drabble of nonsense fluff. They're not saying anything new, nor are they doing anything new. I do like the art tho. It's just..baffling how..they're relationship started soo much nonsense and we're suppose to see it as a good thing??

THIS is a good ending??

Nevermind the fact Persephone didn't spend time with her friends or her MOTHER, nevermind the fact Zeus and Posedion don't even get to speak to their mother either.

Hera, Hestia and Demeter don't have a moment with Metis either.

Like..what was the point of bringing them back if you weren't gonna bring it to a satisfying conclusion?? Absolutely insane

Also..Eileithyias design is ass. It's sooo boring. It's literally just pilot Hebe but darker. Oh wow she's yellow with purple eyes??? Insidious. Also she just looks boring and bland to be the daughter of the literal king and queen but sure. Give us nothing.

And..again with making the children boring copies of one specific parent! Macaria is so..boring to look at just like Melinoe. Also...hades can..have kids now?? 🤨 okay.

So basically..this was insane from start to finish.

This wasn't a good conclusion. It was absolutely a wreck.

[caramelcleopatraa]

iv. SUIT & TIE

word count : 1,400

x : hey y'all, its the owner of The Bank speaking! Finally got this shit finished, and I'm halfway into part 5 already 💋 Here are the playlists loves! I will actively be adding to these as the story progresses. We got ms. plot in the building as well xo

content : Mafia!Roman Reigns x Designer!Reader, suggestive

Playlists 💋 Spotify Apple Music

“Rommannn! Are you done yet baby?” A high pitched yell on the other side of the door startles you. Roman’s grip on you tightens and you give him a confused look. He plants a tender kiss on your cheek, leaving you a little bit flustered, and he smiles at your flustered expression. His hand pushes your head down on his shoulder and you take a deep breath. 

“Yeah. Just be patient, ok?” Roman says sternly. “But Baaeee! You’ve been in there too lon-” “I’m not finna tell you again. Wait,” Roman says, rubbing the back of his neck. Annoyance was written all over his face. De’arra groans in defeat and the comfortable silence settles back into the atmosphere

‘Pleeaase! Please! Pleeaassee! Don’t let this turn into some drama…’

You let your nails drag across his chest. “Am i gon’ have to worry about her fucking up my shop?” 

“Nah, she all bark no bite,” Roman says, looking down at your hands. “She’s not that petty or jealous.” You look at him with your eyebrow raised. ‘For him to be a ladies man, he should know how petty bitches are. ESPECIALLY when it comes to a man.’ “I hope so. I don’t wanna deal with yo’ loose ends,” You say, getting off of him and standing up to pick your bottoms off of the floor. 

“I got my shit together girl. I already told you i’m not fucking with her. She’s only around me cause her daddy likes my money.” ‘Money? Who’s her dad?’

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“The couples are finished.” Aahkilah yells at you from the otherside of the door. Both of you get dressed and clean up the dressing room. You were about to walk out of the room until Roman grabbed your hand and pulled you closer to him. You were going to question why he pulled you away before his hands rose above your head. His hands firmly smooth down your hair and fixed some stray hairs. You couldn’t take your eyes off of him. He handled you with such care and delicacy. You tell him thank you and he responds with a short hum.

 You open the door to greet your clients. Gio and Madison are working as cashiers, ringing both of them up for their suits and dresses. Jey and Jimmy are putting in their payments while Talia and Trinity are talking. “Girl come over here real quick!” You hear Talia yelling at you to come over. From the tone in her voice, you couldn’t tell what this conversation was going to be about. However, you wouldn’t be in the dark for much longer. “Wassup?”

“Girl you ain’t hear?” Trinity says looking at you with a confused face. You shrug your shoulders and replied, “I be busy. Enlighten me.” “There’s a new family trying to replace the Anoa’i family.” Talia crosses her arms and sits into her hip. The blank expression on your face says everything. The Anoa’i family has been managing Florida for decades. To challenge them would be like walking straight into a turf war. Apparently, someone wanted that war. “They’re offering hella bank tryna take their spot too. I wonder if that shit’s fake… or a bluff maybe.” 

“They’ll take that offer back when they realize who they’re messing with,” You mutter to your friends.  Even your family didn’t dare challenge them, because they’re smart enough to know it’ll go every other way but good. Your family, the Semele’s and the Anoa’i family have always been on good terms. The Semele’s don’t own turf however, they are known for having access to a lot of things most mafia’s don't. Your family is known for being suppliers of information, stolen goods, weapons, you name it. So if Reigns is being threatened, that means you could be in trouble too, since everyone knows these two families are tightly tied together. A power duo, if you will. 

“You’re not worried about this?” Trinity’s face is laced with concern for you. You shrugged your shoulders and rolled your eyes. “This could just be a scare tactic, and those don’t work on me,” You said confidently as you gave them a reassuring smile. 

“That’s not something for a pretty lady to worry about. I’ll handle it,” Roman says, looking straight into your eyes. Goddamnit, those eyes. Somehow they made you so flustered. His presence was enough on its own, but his stare was so damn powerful. You were ashamed that someone you had only met an hour ago was making you so giddy and out of character. The tension between you two was thick, and everyone was starting to see it. “You gon’ let me handle it?”

“Well you're not gonna let me handle it?”

“It’s not your problem,” Roman says sternly, deading the conversation then and there. You walk closer to the cashier desk to talk to him directly. “Is this your way of caring for me?” Roman smirks at your comment. “When I said I'd take care of you, I wasn't just talking about that pussy.” Gio and Madison’s jaws drop at his comment. You could see them looking at you through the corner of your eye and you knew you would have to explain what he meant by that. You couldn't hide the smile forming on your face. “You like that?” You didn’t even have to look at him to know that he was smiling. You could hear it all in his tone. “Boy, I’m not playing with you,” you say, walking away, still wearing an existing smile. Roman laughs to himself and hands Gio a stack of cash.

“Neither am I.”

You finished another successful busy day. A shit load of fittings and pickups. Roman had someone pick up all of their suits and dresses, which completed all of your custom orders for the day. Finally, a chance to get off of your feet.

“Ummm what the hell was that this morning?” ‘Ahh shit’. You internally roll your eyes. Eventually, they were gonna bring it up to you. Maybe trying to play dumb was not the best decision on your part.

“What was what?” You innocently bat your eyes at the two ladies. “The smile off you had with your private client. Don’t tell me something went down after I dropped off your drink,” Madison says, sitting down in the swivel chair next to you. You almost muttered a snarky comeback when you were hit with flashbacks from this morning. How he spoke to you and how he touched you kept replaying in your mind. A pool between your legs was forming just from the thought of him. 

“Oh he definitely put it down.” You are quick to defend yourself just as Gio says, “You’re over here in lala land! And at your job too!” Gio acts shocked and puts her hand over her heart and lets out an exaggerated gasp. You hit her in the side and shy away from their investigating eyes. The deafening silence was telling the truth for you. 

“Well we didn’t fuck.. But he did eat my pussy,” you shyly said, still looking away from them. You didn’t have to look at them to know that their mouths were wide open again. What you didn’t know was those open mouths turned into wide smiles. “Ok! Ms. CEO gettin some head! Was it good?”

‘WAS IT GOOD? GOOD’S AN INSULT’ “Um…” 

Before you finished your sentence, Madison interjects with, “Musta been, you looked like you were in a good mood today too. Especially after Roman’s fitting” You regrettably looked back in their direction and saw Madison wiggling her eyebrows. You lightly shove her away from you and stand up. “No, the fitting went well with no complications. That's what I was happy about.” You attempt to defend yourself, but you should’ve known that it was falling on deaf ears. Madison and Gio help you close down and lock up the shop. Of course, Madison had to tell you her two cents before going your separate ways. 

“Look at you smilin-”

“Shut up.”

Welcome to your new addiction

Hi guys, back with part 4 and the playlist that you guys wanted. As always comment and tell me what you think <3

🏷️ tags :) @2-muchsauce @theninthwonder @harmshake @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @alyyaanna @empressdede @badbitchcentralinc @christinabae @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41

[aliciavance4228]

Okay but ignoring 99,99% of Zagreus' myth versions (which by extension leads to the erasure of his original relevance in Orphic Greek Mythology) and making him the son of Hades is shallow.

Now, I do understand the fact that fanfiction is here for people's headcanons and reinterpretations. Because what's the point of writing a Greek Mythology fanfic if you're not going to change or add anything new anyway? As long as you're not going to claim your own version of Greek Mythology to be canon (bonus points if you encourage people to read the original ancient written works) then there isn't anything inherently harmful in doing that.

But Zagreus particularly is an interesting case, and that because his relevance resides in his death, reincarnation, and overall his title as the first Dionysus.

By this marriage with the heavenly Drakon, the womb of Persephone swelled with living fruit, and she bore Zagreus the horned baby, who by himself climbed upon the heavenly throne of Zeus and brandished lightning in his little hand, and newly born, lifted and carried thunderbolts in his tender fingers [i.e. Zeus marked him as his heir]. But he did not hold the throne of Zeus for long. By the fierce resentment of implacable Hera, the Titanes (Titans) cunningly smeared their round faces with disguising chalk, and while he contemplated his changeling countenance reflected in a mirror they destroyed him with an infernal knife. There where his limbs had been cut piecemeal by the Titan steel, the end of his life was the beginning of a new life as Dionysos. He appeared in another shape, and changed into many forms : now young like crafty Kronides (Cronides) [Zeus] shaking the aegis-cape, now as ancient Kronos (Cronus) heavy-kneed, pouring rain. Sometimes he was a curiously formed baby, sometimes like a mad youth with the flower of the first down marking his rounded chin with black. Again, a mimic lion he uttered a horrible roar in furious rage from a wild snarling throat, as he lifted a neck shadowed by a thick mane, marking his body on both sides with the self-striking whip of a tail which flickered about over his hairy back. Next, he left the shape of a lion's looks and let out a ringing neigh, now like an unbroken horse that lifts his neck on high to shake out the imperious tooth of the bit, and rubbing, whitened his cheek with hoary foam. Sometimes he poured out a whistling hiss from his mouth, a curling horned serpent covered with scales, darting out his tongue from his gaping throat, and leaping upon the grim head of some Titan encircled his neck in snaky spiral coils. Then he left the shape of the restless crawler and became a tiger with gay stripes on his body; or again like a bull emitting a counterfeit roar from his mouth he butted the Titanes with sharp horn. So he fought for his life, until Hera with jealous throat bellowed harshly through the air--that heavy-resentful step-mother! And the gates of Olympos rattled in echo to her jealous throat from high heaven. Then the bold bull collapsed: the murderers each eager for his turn with the knife chopt piecemeal the bull-shaped Dionysos [Zagreus].

Do not get me wrong, the myth itself is very disturbing and covers a lot of depressing themes which you simply cannot overlook, since they play a major role in this story. But this is exactly why this myth particularly is morbidly fascinating in the first place. It also adds more dynamic to the relationships between the characters and makes a lot of further events and aspects (Hera suggesting Semele to ask Zeus to reveal his real form to her, Persephone raising Dionysus in some versions of his myth, Demeter's panic and desperation when her daughter was kidnapped, Dionysus' violent and dark side etc.) way more understandable.

Now, I know the fact that Timothy Gantz considered Zagreus to be a stand-alone deity who later got sincretized with the Orphic Dionysus, or that Aeschylus identified Zagreus either as Hades' son, or as Hades' himself (which are basically the arguments people who desperately want Zagreus to be the son of Hades and Persephone would choose to go by for the rest of their lives):

Aeschylus, Fragment 124 Sisyphus (from Etymologicum Gudianum 227. 40) (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) : "Now [I came] to bid farewell to Zagreus and to his sire, the Hospitaler." [N.B. In this fragment Sisyphos describes his departure from the Underworld. Haides is the "Hospitaler of the Dead" and as husband of Persephone is the father of chthonic Zagreus.]

However, I'm more inclined to believe that preserving in one way or another Zagreus' myth and Dionysus' background story respectively is way more compelling, and also remains true to the original Greek Mythology. In fact, I can think of numerous ideas just by following this myth:

a) Persephone's whole process of maturizing herself and struggling with her trauma throughout the years would make her a more complex figure compared to the usual Mary Sue/Self-Insert that I've usually seen in many fanfictions featuring her; (though I will be honest and say that this requires great writing skills so that her trauma could be treated with respect instead of turning the entire situation into sad porn)

b) This would also help in portraying Dionysus as a complex, broken character. Imagine him still remembering his past life and perceiving it as an old yet painful memory, or his previous death being one of the reasons why he has a dark, violent side that he's not afraid to show when he's challenged. It would be much better than the shallow drunk party animal he's often depicted as.

c) Persephone and Semele meeting in the Underworld and sharing each other's sufference after losing their child. It would also make the myth where Dionysus goes into the Underworld and receives Persephone's permission of rescuing his mother more nuanced.

d) For those who desperately want Zagreus to be Hades' child: Persephone gives birth centuries later to another son whom she also named Zagreus, in the memory of the one whom she lost a very long time ago.

There are a lot of great headcanons and interpretations to play with. Just have more courage and try to explore more dark themes and subjects, rather than stick to the Vanilla Greek Mythology.

[mask131]

The myth of Dionysos (4)

The Dictionary of literary myths does not have just one article about Dionysos… But two! And since I translated the first, let’s journey through the second: it is titled “Dionysos: The evolution of the literary myth”, and it was written by Ann-Déborah Lévy-Bertherat.

According to the imagery of the Ancient Greeks, Dionysos is supposed to be a young god – he is often depicted as a teenager, sometimes even as a child. This perhaps explains why his Greek name was thought to be the counterpart of the Phrygian “Dioskouros”, “the boy of Zeus”. However, it seems more plausible to link Dionysos’ name to Nysa, both nurse and homeland of the god. But no matter which of these explanations is right: both highlight and insist on a foreign origin for the god. A foreign origin that we know to be purely mythical rather than historical – indeed, the Mycenaean texts proved that the cult of Dionysos was implanted in Greece since a very, very old time, and was not a “recent importation” as classical Greeks believed. But then, why make Dionysos a “foreign god”? Maybe because, in a symbolic way, it is important for Dionysos to be a god that “comes and goes”, a “god that arrived” – or maybe, it was a much needed element to explain his strange, bizarre and frightening character.

I/ Births and rebirths of Dionysos

Semele, a mortal woman loved by Zeus, died because of Hera’s jealousy: she asked her divine lover to appear before her in all of his glory, but this resulted in her death struck by his lightning. Removing the child she was bearing in her womb, Zeus placed the unborn into his own thigh, where the baby completed his growth. As such, Dionysos knew a double-birth, and his cult was deeply marked by this. One of the Dionysiac rites is the ritual of the liknites (child in crib) – where a child has to disappear and be searched by women in vain, for he will only reappear one year later.

The Passion of Dionysos: The myths of Dionysos’ childhoods and wanderings depict him as a persecuted god. One time he is dismembered, boiled and devoured by the Titans before being resurrected by Demeter. Another time Hera curses with madness Semele’s sister, Ino, first nurse of the god. In a third tale pirates kidnap the child to sell him as a slave. Homer, in the Iliad, retells of how Lycurgus, armed with an axe and a desire to kill, hunted down Dionysos and his nymph-nurses – the child had to throw himself into the sea, where he was saved by Thetis. The true “passion” of Dionysos (in the Christian meaning of the term) always suffering, always dying, but always resurrecting, seems to be a symbol of the vegetal cycle. As a result, it is no coincidence that the four great holidays of Dionysos are all placed between the end of December and the beginning of April – aka, between the winter solstice and the arrival of spring.

Ivy and vine: Legends insist on the ties between Dionysos and other vegetal deities, such as Cybele or Rhea – two incarnations of the great Earth-mother, two deities that shield Dionysos from Hera’s revenge. There are the agrarian nymphs that constantly surround the god; there is his lover, Ariadne, that was originally a Minoan goddess of vegetation; and there is of course Demeter, to which he is tied through the Mysteries of Eleusis (and Pindar even goes as far as making Dionysos and Demeter a couple). Dionysos is also called Bacchus (a named which, according to Euripides, comes from “bacchos”, the “branch” the “bough”) ; he is said to be a “ploutodotes”, a “wealth-giver” ; he was believed to give strength to plants and to help them grow ; and among his numerous attributes, his most prominent ones are the ivy (of which he is crowned) and the grapevine (which he offered to the world). These two plants have always a savior role in his myths. It was said that the child Semele bore was protected from the lightning by ivy ; the pirates were frightened when ivy and vine started growing around their ship’s mast ; a nymph hunted by Lycurgus turned herself into vine to choke the murderous king… And yet, these two plants are such a contrast they can only make the god ambiguous: ivy is coldness and sterility, where the grapevine is warmth and generosity. Dionysos is almost most famed as the god of wine: it is the wine that symbolizes the presence of the gods during festivals; during the Lenaia festival (January-February) the new wine is offered to the god (symbolized as a bough-decorated mask). Dionysos “polygethes” (joyful, happy) is said, according to Euripides, to have the power to “laugh and put to sleep all our problems”.

Fertility and fecundity: This god, friend of the nymphs, who found a home with Thetis at the bottom of the sea, whose statue is ritually plunged in water at Halai, who was said to have entered Athens on a naval chariot, has too many affinities with water and humidity (an universal symbol of fertility) for his power to limit itself just to plants. Indeed, let us take a look at his cohorts and parades: w find in there donkeys, goats and bulls, usually painted in an ithyphallic position; and he is surrounded by Satyrs and Silenes whose lubricity and lust are meant to parallel the chastity of the Maenads. Dionysos himself, during the Anthesteria festival (February-march) knows a physical and sexual union with the Basilinna, and by doing so ensures one year of fecundity for all of Athens. The exaltation of fertility in Dionysos’ cult is most expressed through phallophoria – but the particularity of Dionysos is that he depicts a complete and “full” fecundity, with both its masculine and feminine attributes. Dionysos, in his myth like in his cult, is surrounded by women: Aeschylus calls him “effeminate”, explaining his youthfulness (he hasn’t grown a beard or body hair yet), and his clothes (he usually wore the women’s peplum). Some even depict him as an androgynous figure, and the ambiguity of his sex reminds the one of the hermaphrodite and their “ideal fecundity”. The French poet Baudelaire will even interpret the thyrsus, a long, leafed staff held by the followers of the god, as the union of the masculine symbol (the straight staff) and the feminine one (the curvy boughs wrapped around it). Dionysos is “polygethes” and “ploutodotes” – but reducing Dionysos to this sole role would be removing from him his “dark side”, the eviler part of his power. For Homer calls him “mainomenos”, the “demented one”. He is a god that disturbs, he is a god that break the order.

More about this next time, in “The Frenzied God”!