#but Hera also being a cheater feels off

[fabuloustrash05]

I don’t know if this is a hot take or not, but I dislike it when in modern Greek myth retellings nowadays there’s a side plot of Hera having an affair with one of Zeus’ brothers, Hades or Poseidon.

Webtoon’s Lore Olympus and Netflix’s series Kaos have both done this and I’m already tired of it.

[genericpuff]

Persephone has a very nasty habit that needs to be talked about.

Have y'all ever really sat down and observed the when of Persephone's actions towards others?

There are three actions specifically I want you to recall and try and remember what happened preceding those actions:

1.) Persephone turning Minthe into a mint plant

2.) Persephone cornering Tori at his job

3.) Persephone invading Leuce's home with barn animals and low key threatening her life

Think very hard for a second about the when of those events. What happened leading up to them?

First, Persephone turning Minthe into a mint plant. This happened right after she made out with Hades at the shopping mall, but more specifically, this happened while she was hiding out in Hades' home from Zeus, while also fearing the worst of her situation with Apollo.

Second, Persephone cornering Tori at his job. This scene came right after she saw the "Apollo for President" sign in Olympus.

And third, Persephone invading Leuce's home. This came shortly after she had felt insecure over Hades calling Hera 'Bunny', which for some reason she pinned on her own "jealousy" instead of calling out the elephant in the room.

It also came right after the Zeus/Dionysus incident and Demeter trying to force her to stay in the Mortal Realm, but I think the Hera incident is the most damning because it's the most related to Persephone's clear insecurities that are being compounded by dating / being married to a serial cheater.

What do all three of these things tell us about Persephone?

It shows that Persephone has a bad habit of projecting all of her problems onto other people that have nothing to do with the bigger issues.

Minthe ratted her out, yes, but she was still running from her inevitable trial, attempting to use the Underworld's policies to play the system and get herself off as scot-free as possible. I mentioned this already in a previous post, but these aren't the actions of a person who claims to feel as guilty as they do over committing mass manslaughter. Point is, she would have gotten caught eventually, and she still had to answer for her crimes. Minthe was an easier target for her anger and frustration than Zeus.

Tori gossiped about her in college, yes, but it came from a very real incident in which Hades ripped out his roommate's eye and beat him half to death. Tori wasn't even gossiping at that point, he was deadass just telling his side of the story and warning people that Persephone was affiliating herself with an abusive man. None of what he said about her being "Hades' dark concubine" was untrue, but he had the unfortunate luck of being at the bank right after Persephone was triggered by the Apollo sign. Tori was just an easier target for her anger and frustration than Apollo.

Leuce attempted to 'seduce' Hades, yes, but she was manipulated by Thetis in an attempt to get her planted just like Minthe and I think a lot of people forget that. Not to mention, Persephone says that she had "ten years" to make the moves on Hades, but like... no she didn't, because Hades was either possessed by Kronos or in a coma for those 10 years, and then he got married to Persephone like 5 days after that LMAO (not saying that excuses her trying to seduce him, I'm just wondering when she was supposed to find the time in those 10 years to talk to him LOL). And finally, and most importantly, Hades had already rejected her advances. She was already embarrassed. She clearly wasn't going to attempt it again. She is of no threat to Persephone, the now wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld. So Persephone raiding her home was purely just for her own entertainment and, again, to satisfy her own insecurities. Leuce was just an easier target for her anger and frustration than Hades and Hera.

Point is, instead of actually dealing with the root of her issues, seeking legitimate help for her trauma, and/or learning any amount of self-care techniques to manage her frustration and refocus herself on the bigger issues, Persephone is instead relegating herself to a bully who takes out all of her issues onto people weaker than her, oftentimes people who have nothing to do with those bigger issues or have no real bearing on her life.

I'm sure now that I've written about this (because I'm not 100% convinced Rachel isn't reading this lmao the odds are low but never zero) there's gonna be some arc where Persephone goes "aw, I saw the bigger issues but now I'm a different person so life goes on!" without actually doing anything to make up for how she's harmed people (there already is sort of a 'twist' like that in the newest FastPass and it's uh... yikes) but until that happens (again, odds are SEVERELY low but never zero) Persephone is literally the worst person in her own story. She doesn't need a sugar daddy, she doesn't need power, she needs some bitter doses of reality and, most importantly, help.

[vodika-vibes]

hello!!! Any chance you’d be willing to write an Ezra x Reader with opal and winter??? I read your other Ezra fic and liked it so much I wanted to see another one! Preferably while he’s still with the ghost crew (like 18 or 19), if ya can! Thanks so much 😀

Life Day Conversations

Summary: It’s hard, being on the run from the Empire. You signed up for it, sure, but it’s still hard. Luckily, Ezra is always there to help you feel better about the choices you made.

Pairing: Ezra Bridger x Reader

Word Count: 722

Prompt: Opal - Faithful Love

Warnings: Kind of bittersweet, based off of what I know happens to Ezra

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: So, I still haven't watched Rebels. I just don't have the time, so I hope I didn't butcher him too badly. And I'm sorry if I did.

“Are you sure you want to stay out here?” Hera asks from the ramp of the ship, shivering as she pulls the thick winter jacket tighter around her, “It’s freezing.”

You glance at her, and flash the smallest smile, “Yeah. Just a little longer. I won’t stay out long, promise.”

“I’ll hold you to it. We can’t afford anyone catching pneumonia.” You hear the sound of her clomping back up the ramp, and you sigh and tilt your head back, your eyes drifting shut.

1 year.

It’s been one year since the day you defected from the empire. A year since the last time you saw your parents, your siblings, your nephews.

You don’t regret it. Not really.

The Empire is made up of monsters, the worst kinds of monsters. Monsters who look like your next door neighbor.

But you’ve never felt so alone in all your life.

Though, you’re fairly certain that your loneliness stems from the fact that this is the first major holiday away from your family. And as much as you love Hera and Kannan and Jacen…you can’t help but feel like you’re intruding.

You release a slow breath, your eyes opening again as you feel something cold and wet against your cheek. “Huh. It’s snowing-”

How…sad.

It fits your mood perfectly.

“Knock, knock.” You start at the familiar voice from behind you, and you turn to blink at Ezra, “I know you don’t like it when people just barge in, but I figure since there’s no doors-” He trails off, “I bring hot cocoa?”

“Hera is going to kill you if she catches you out here.” You note as you slide over on the boulder to let him join you.

“Pft. I’m not afraid of her.” Ezra hands you both thermos and jumps up to join you, before taking his thermos back, “I also brought a blanket, to ward off the cold.”

You shoot him a look, “What’s wrong, Bridger? Can’t handle a little cold?”

“Hera will kill both of us if either of us get sick, so scoot in. We’re gonna get cozy.”

“I thought you weren’t afraid of her.”

“Wasn’t me, must have been the devil speaking through me.” Ezra says solemnly, before he tucks the blanket around himself and then you, “So, why are you looking so glum?”

“I’m not.”

“Are too. What, you think I can’t tell what you’re feeling?” You scowl at him and he grins as he taps your temple, “Jedi, remember.”

“Cheater.”

“Is it cheating to use your god given powers-”

“Yes.”

He laughs, and drapes his arm over your shoulder, “Come on. It’s just me.”

You’re quiet for a moment, and then you sigh and drop your head on his shoulder, “It’s my first Life Day without my family. I suppose I’m feeling a little…melancholic.”

“You having second thoughts?”

“No.” You shake your head, “Just…feeling a bit lonely.”

“Well, that’ll happen when you’re sitting out in the cold rather than celebrating with your chosen family,” Ezra points out gently, “What’s really bothering you?”

“...I don’t know.” You pause, and pull your knees up to rest your chin on them, “What happens when you leave?”

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Sure, you say that now-”

“No.” He turns to face you and holds his pinky out for you to hook, “I’m not leaving you. Not now. Not ever.” He wiggles his pinky at you, “You know a pinky promise is eternal.”

“What are you, five?”

“Five times more fun than you.” Ezra quips. “Come on, even if I do have to go away for whatever reason, I’m always going to come back to you.”

“Until you don’t.”

“Nope. Always. Forever. I’ll always be faithful to you. I love you after all.”

You sigh and hook your finger with his, “Then, I hope you know that I’ll always be faithful to you too.”

Ezra beams at you and uses your joined fingers to tug you in so he’s able to kiss you, “Now, we’d better get back inside before Hera sends Sabine after us.”

“Oh…well…”

Ezra hops down off the boulder, and offers you his hand with a blinding smile, “Come on, gorgeous. It’s Life Day, you shouldn’t be alone.”

You release a quiet sigh, but slide down the boulder to take his hand. 

Maybe change isn’t so bad after all.

[winns-stuff]

See I normally like the "a-hole with a heart of gold" trope because usually when done well it shows layers to the character, like why they act the way they do and it also shows them growing out of being an a-hole or has them change for the better. For the most obvious ex ever that people harp about (but for good reason actually I promise) - Zuko from avatar the last airbender and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.

Hades we get to sort of see why hes a closed off jerk (he has some trauma regarding his parents and relationships) but the difference is, it seems like this is used to excuse his actions and even justifies them. Like instead of showing hey hades might seem like a cold hearted jerk to his citizens hes actually fair and decent all we get is... Hades doing the exact thing that people accuse him off / 'misunderstand' about him.

The citizens don't seem to recognize him because hes always cooped up in a building but we never actually see hades do any work. The citizens see him as mean and uncaring and instead of contradicting this he... Pulls out a college students eyeball and breaks his bones over a photograph. There's one day a year or something that citizens actually get to use to complain / offer suggestions to Hades for the underworld and Persephone skips the entire line and uses the day to have lunch with him and also to have him fix her problems (that he created).

We see the underworld itself getting fixed but what about the citizens? Nothing about the time change or sleep curse affecting them?

Persephone mentions hades and his brothers are known for their sordid affairs and instead of him being loyal to Minthe he... Kinda cheats on her with Hera and does cheat on her (emotionally at least) with Persephone herself, who says she doesn't like Minthe but she doesn't deserve to be cheated on... Then they don't really set up boundaries or stop trying to see each other they just agree to "slow their relationship down".

So I don't think Hades deserves to quantify as a-hole with a heart of gold if the only things we see from him is him being nice to one person (his love interest whos interactions are a bit weird anyway... With Persephone often having to console hades over both his own trauma and hers, him love bombing her etc.) And him... Liking dogs I guess?

Like even in comparisons where its trying to say Hades is somehow the better man compared to the rest of the cast, even Zeus ... Fails. Hades shouts at Zeus for trying to basically sell him Leuce and at Zeus for being a cheater and not knowing what loyalty is... When again, hes cheated on Minthe before with Zeus' own wife, his sister in law, Hera.

We don't see Hades contradicting really anything people "misunderstand" about him. All we see is confirmation of it.

I agree! I enjoy the trope as well when it’s done right but when it’s so one sided that it feels like they’re just an asshole and nothing else it gets boring. Especially when they have no actual acknowledgement of their behavior, like Zuko realized he was wrong and he decided to help the Avatar just to right his mistake. Hades never rights his wrongs because no matter what he does both himself, the people around him, and the story justifies everything and it feels like he’s never wrong. There’s always an excuse yet never any accountability and that’s what makes it breaks the whole “asshole but has a heart of gold trope”, you can’t just make an unlikeable and terrible character and instead of actually developing him you try to label him a good guy without ever doing any good guy things. It’s pointless and defeats the trope as a whole.

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. It took over a 150 chapters for Hera to face the consequences of trying to set up her niece and brother in law knowing full well her sister would hate that union. 

2. i just dont get how rachel is totally ok to listen to and take ideas by random people to add to LO, but is offended over the idea she listen to even minor input from literal greeks for her GREEK MYTHOLOGY story. like she'll take suggestions to add r4pe to her story for shock value, but listening to greeks to make it even a little accurate is too much to ask of her? im not saying she has to do a "presents" line like riordan does, but silencing greeks out of their own culture's stories? really?

3. am i the only one who hate the modern setting? something about it is so underwhelming, and rachel focuses on it way too much to where when she finally tries to add fantasy and/or ancient elements (flying around, the ancient clothes, growing big (??), the magic pom, etc) it just feels out of place. a lot of stories have a blend of modern and fantasy but LO just overemphasizes the modern too much for too long that the fantasy now being added seems random over a natural fit.

4. im not against the idea of making up new stories for the gods to work in, but i think the issue with LO is none of the stories add anything? like why do we need a chosen one story in persephone? why do we need hades to now be a kaiju to take out his dad? why have hera be a cheater? why have persephone need to teach hades slavery is bad? why have a trial? & the list goes on. theres so many interesting new stories you could use with them and LO picks the most useless ones, esp in a romance comic.

5. Idk if this is just me or what, but the panel of Hera snorting in laughter after Hestia talks about Persephone being a candidate for TGOEM comes off so poorly timed considering Hera is fully aware that Persephone can't be in TGOEM bc of the Apollo thing

And ik the scene is supposed to be more like "haha hestia thinks she doesn't love Hades bc of TGOEM" so maybe I'm looking Too Deep but that was the impression I got when I first read the scene, it made me feel really icky rather then laughing with her 

6. the idea of rachel even touching the other pantheons is a threat, also would just lead to a bigger mess. rachel for starters cannot stand hxp not being the top so?? would persephone take out the abrahamic god when they become more culturally important than the previous pantheons?? like she can joke the other gods are out there but she cant even keep one pantheon together, imagine her trying to connect a bunch of others that she cant rip off from tumblr text posts. it'd be a disaster.

7. rachel: i hate people acting like PJO is the best depiction of myth. also rachel: you should 1000% see my completely made up story masquerading as greek myth as the most accurate thing ever.

-----FP Spoilers/Mention-----

8. (Spoilers for chapter 190!)

So I have a lot to say here but I'm gonna keep it brief

Firstly, are we really saying Persephone having wrath is just Eris' meddling? Is that what we're doing? And that Persephone only has ambitions because Eris gave her wrath? Okay. Okay. Persephone literally couldn't have dreams without interference from someone else, idk what else to say other then how fucking sad that is, and more "Oh see shes not bad at all, it was Eris who made her do it because she cursed her uwu"

Secondly, ik it was done for bad reasons but Zeus' punishment for Persephone is the highlight of season 2 for me. That's all I'm gonna say. 

9. FP Spoiler: Man, my prediction that Persephone will be the one to cause winter looks like it might be coming true. I’m calling it now - Persephone will mess up doing her mom’s job, get angry about not being able to see Hades (I doubt she’ll give a shit about her mom now living as a mortal - it’ll be a passing, one panel mention at most) and then she’ll cause the winter by “oopsies”.

Also, let’s see how bad RS messes up the Demeter’s Exile to Eleusis. She already messed it up by making it a Zeus punishment instead of a self-imposed exile. Screw the importance of Demeter exiling herself from Olympus I guess. 

10. FP Spoilers Episode 190: I'm fucking crying, Persephone has absolutely nothing to make her interesting anymore.

Her intelligence was warped into her brain by Athena, she's pretty because Aphrodite slapped her with a pink cushion (and also because Hera), she's kind not because that's her personality, but because Hestia literally crammed kindness down her throat and her ambitions and anger issues aren't the natural result of her smothered childhood, they're just Eris deciding to be a dickhead for no reason.

I have asked this question many times throughout the trial, but exactly what was the point of this entire scene again??? Why did RS have to give Persephone a pseudo-Sleeping Beauty backstory??? What has this accomplished??? Everything this episode told us about Persephone we've already known since mid-season 1! Why is RS so determined to suck all the intrigue out of her characters via bs-retcons??

Also, wow, really feminist of RS to introduce a new, supposedly super-powerful female character, only to have her literally dragged down by Asspollo and humiliated in front of everyone. So empowering. So cool./s

Eris did legit nothing. She showed up, rattled down some more "look how cool Persephone is"-talk disguised as a "tragic" backstory-twist, got pulled around a little bit and then disappeared. Cut out her scenes and absolutely nothing changes. Same for Apollo revealing he's Zeus' son. (Which, wow, what a plot-twist. Who could have seen this coming. Not like Apollo and Artemis being Zeus' kids is basically a cornerstone of their mythos./s)

Also also, this episode tried way too hard to make me feel bad for Persephone after the verdict. Like, oh nooo, you got put on the gods' equivalent to house arrest and community service? In a literal paradise, far away from the guy who wanted to force you into marriage and everyone else who could hurt you? And you get to be ruler of the mortal realm too? You poor baby, however will you bear this cross?

There is literally only one downside to this outcome and it's that hxp won't be allowed to see each other for a while. (Though even then, I wouldn't really call it a downside, hxp has been nothing but forced and terrible.) Zeus even says, right after verdict, that the punishment is temporary and that he'll lift it when he's convinced Persephone and Demeter have atoned for their crimes. But hxp act like this means they'll be separated forever and do all this overly dramatic kissing and I'm sitting here like "calm the fuck down, it's literally not that bad???"

[minthe-lover]

I think it's funny that when Leuce is introduced Hades goes on a rant about how much Zeus sucks because "only a Man with Zero Sense of Loyalty would think this behavior is okay"

Like, sir, you emotionally cheated on minthe with Persephone (and minthe and Hades had an off and on again relationship, sure. But minthes pov makes it clear she very much thinks they arent on a "real" break And that she thinks they'll easily get back together. Not to mention Hades physically cheated with his own brothers wife. Same brother whom he is admonishing for being a cheater...

(Not to mention the letters that persephone read while breaking into Hades' house - which are Not meant for her eyes anyway because they are a therapy exercise, supposedly locked into his desk - admits he "has feelings for" / implies hes already fallen for Persephone after 4 f*cking days). So even if he got back together with minthe theres that.

And there's something to be said about the parallels between Persephone and Hera and the comparisons etc, but yes, RS. Please go off about how much better Hades is for supposedly being loyal.

(I agree if the gods were simply in open poly relationships this would not be a problem. Zeus cheats and its wrong but Hera the goddess of Loyalty and marriage basically can with her own brother in law and its fine).

Also also, almost everyone cheats in this comic so?? And it feels as though rs is implementing "the love of a good woman" trope for hades where a older man meets a young demure teenager, excuse me, woman, whom he falls for and subsequently realizes the error of his ways and fixes himself so he can gain her approval and love. Not because he realizes what hes doing is wrong (making the shades basically slaves) but because it took Persephone to tell him it is.

Honestly the treatment of cheating and whose cheating is justified and whose cheating is a moral failure is just so inconsistent. that I just wish it could have just had them all be poly...

[godsofhumanity]

⚝───⭒─ 30 DAY HC’S | HERA ─⭒───⚝

HERA | her skin is fair. her hair is a dark chocolate, always tied up into a bun that sits on the crown of her head, with two neat strands resting on her shoulders. her eyes are a turquoise colour. she is always seen wearing her crown. she is an average height, leaning towards the taller side. she has a slender build.

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i've always imagined Hera to be the epitome of regality. she is elegance personified, a magisterial beauty.

yet, i hc her to have another side; though it is true that Hera is always dignified and cool, i think she can also be fun, and even crazy.

i like the idea that Hera is always wearing fashionable outfits, looking incredibly sophisticated, but at the same time, she's also prepared to eat cake off the floor and swear with language you didn't even realise existed.

she's a party girl, she's insane. but she's also beautiful, and she's powerful.

i think this idea is enforced by Hera's usual role in myths, where she plays the part of the vengeful, jealous wife, the pursuer who makes the hero go through all forms of hell. and yet, Hera herself always remains the Queen of Olympus, and few are bold enough to tell her off.

something else which i don't think people talk enough about, is how Hera is a skilled warrior. during Dionysus' Indian War, and during the Trojan War, Hera shows off her skill when she beats Artemis without breaking so much as a sweat.

i love the idea that archery is one of Hera's skills, and i love the idea that she shared her skills with her war children; Ares, Enyo and Eris.

as we all know, as a child, Hera was swallowed by Cronus along with her other siblings, so she didn't have much of a childhood, nor did Rhea have much of a chance at parenting.

i have this hc that Hera is the most similar to Rhea from all of Rhea's children. and i think that because they're so similar, Rhea has the hardest time bonding with her.

this explains, for me at least, why it is said in the myths that Hera spent time in Oceanus and Tethys' house, and why Hera often calls the two her "parents".

relating to the idea of Hera spending much of her youth in Oceanus' house, i like the idea that Hera was close friends with many of Oceanus' daughters. in particular, i like the idea that Metis and Hera, while not close, were at least decent towards each other.

some might say that Hera would have never liked Metis because of her relationship with Zeus, but Metis was Zeus' first wife, so i've always seen it that when Zeus was with Metis, it was before he had loved Hera, and before Hera had loved Zeus. thus, there was no reason for Hera to feel jealous or malicious towards Zeus.

and if Hera and Metis were friends, then it explains why Hera inevitably forms a rather good relationship with Metis' daughter, Athena, despite Hera usually being quite cold to her step-children: they become allies during the Trojan War, they both support Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece, they team up to overthrow Zeus when they get sick of his arrogance, etc. (Hera's anger at Athena's birth wasn't so much directed at Athena herself, but rather Zeus for having performed the role of "mother" and "father" by giving birth to Athena on his own; an offensive act to Hera, being the goddess of women, family, and childbirth.)

going back to Rhea and Hera; something that has always stuck out to me about Hera is that she always takes Zeus back even though he cheats on her so many times. part of this is, of course, that Hera doesn't want to lose her status as Queen, but i definitely think that part of it is because she loves Zeus.

so yes, Hera does go pretty insane sometimes, and she does some terribly cruel things to the unfortunate lovers of Zeus, but why would she reduce Semele to mere ash, or torment Io with a gadfly, or force Leto to run from island to island unable to give birth, why would Hera do such malicious and evil things if she didn't feel genuinely hurt and betrayed by Zeus? if she didn't love Zeus?

Amphitrite is the wife of Poseidon, another notorious cheater in the Greek pantheon. yet, the retribution of Amphitrite against Poseidon's lovers are significantly less known than the antics of Hera. i personally think that this is because Hera's love for Zeus is real. it's not simply out of duty. she really, willingly loves him, and i think he returns that love, though i won't go into Zeus' perspective here.

now back to Rhea; Rhea goes through unimaginable pain at the hands of Cronus. in my Rhea hc's (scroll down to Rhea's section) i wrote that i imagine Rhea to have a forgiving nature. i like the idea that in spite of what Cronus does to her, she still forgives him. and i think that Rhea's forgiving nature is mirrored in Hera.

time and time again, Hera continues to forgive Zeus and welcome him back. Hera is devious at times of course, i think this cunningness comes from Cronus. but she is also forgiving. in a sense, she is stubborn and determined. and i think this headstrong characteristic is what she gets from Rhea.

related to the previous discussion, i've seen a lot of people say that by having so many affairs, Zeus disrespects Hera's domain as the patron of marriages. that it's ironic that the goddess of marriage herself is the one most in need of a divorce. but honestly, i disagree.

in fact, there is no one more suited to the role of marriage than Hera. she is the model of loyalty, steadfastness, and purity. no marriage is perfect, Hera's least of all. but still, she somehow finds the strength to continue. she remains loyal to Zeus. there is no one who understands the meaning of marriage more than her. and i think that's what makes her so perfect as the goddess of marriage.

now, on a semi-related note; i've heard of the take that Hera would be close siblings with Poseidon. personally, i disagree. as i said earlier, after Zeus, Poseidon is probably the next most infamous cheater. i can't imagine that Hera condones his actions, and as such, i just can't see Hera being extremely buddy-buddy with Poseidon.

of course, i think that Hera loves all her siblings, and they all get along somehow or the other, but if i was to name her closest siblings, i feel that Hades and Demeter would be the most viable candidates.

even though Demeter has a child with Zeus, i don't think that Hera has ever been malicious towards Demeter because of it. i say this because i can't recall any myths where Hera is cruel to Persephone, the lovechild of Demeter and Zeus. in fact, Persephone ends up joing the ranks of Hera and Amphitrite as a fellow queen, so i don't think that Hera hates her terribly.

one last final thing; related to Hera's step-children. i read somewhere that Hera only ever attacked the lovers of Zeus whom she feared Zeus loved more than her or who could threaten her status as Queen. so, Hera didn't attack all of Zeus' lovers (actually, i think this explains why Hera doesn't attack Demeter- i don't think that Zeus was ever in love with her).

furthermore, Hera is the goddess of motherhood and family. she has a strong maternal nature. i think Hera is undoubtedly peeved about the fact that she has so many step-children, but i don't think that she hates them.

there are many instances in the myths where Hera works well her step-children. she forms an alliance with Athena during the Trojan War, when Hera and Artemis are fancied by the giant sons of Poseidon, Artemis slays them both (and one could argue that she defends Hera's honour in doing so), Apollo became her ally when she tried to overthrow Zeus, Dionysus was the one who summoned Hephaestus to free her from the golden chair which imprisoned her, and i can't think of a specific example relating to Hermes, but it is generally said that Hermes was so charming and well-spoken, that all the gods loved him, including Hera.

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[greetings-humans]

Hera Character Study

Alternative title: Why Hera being bitchy makes sense

Let's start with the most obvious point, Hera is the goddess of marriage. She was raped by her brother, according to some tales, and she got pregnant with his child. As a goddess of marriage, she couldn't have a child out of wedlock so she married him. She married Zeus and the outcome of his violative, cruel and disgusting act was Ares, the God of War, Bloodshed and Violence. While it is not right, it makes sense that she is not friendly to the god. He is the living reminder of a traumatic event that she cannot escape, seeing as she was tricked into marrying Zeus, who had already proposed to her only to be denied. As if that was not enough, Zeus treated her like arm candy. Flashing her around, calling her his Queen, only to forbid her of going against him and cheat on her time and time again. She is the goddess of marriage for crying out loud. And she is a cheated wife. Her next child, doomed to be of her rapist, was deformed and, innocent as it was, it did not make her husband more loyal to her, it did not bring them any closer. She was so mad that in her fit she threw her baby out of Mount Olympus. She was wrong to do so but like a serial killer has the insanity plea so does she.

Myths have showed as many times that she is cruel and unforgiving, but out of all she is specifically cruel to demigods, especially children of Zeus. All that can be explained. Demigods are the children of a god or goddess and a mortal. More often than not, that god or goddess is married. Therefore the child is not only born out of wedlock, it is also a bastard child. I used to think that still it was wrong of her to blame the children but while it is wrong what else can she do? Can she declare war on Poseidon because Theseus was born? Who will fight with her? She will perish and her husband(rapist) will live happily ever after without a bitch to annoy him. So she takes it out on the kids and it is wrong in all ways but wrong doesn't mean senseless. She survives best she can and if the only way she can keep insanity of her is to take revenge on Zeus by annoying him and harming mortals then so be it. She is a survivor and it is kill or be killed.

As my final point I will summon the following. Greek mythology is a product filled with old ideals. It's creators are unknown but many have used the gods to write variations of their doings and origins. I guarantee that a myth created by, say, a raped woman wouldn't just say "Zeus slept with her and then they married". The whole point we all forget is that those myths used to be a religion. And what have we learned from this year's religion teacher? Sometimes we are brainwashed to accept things by religion. Not always, but it has happened. And anyone who disagrees is welcome to comment as such kindly. The whole point of Hera being constantly portrayed as a villain was some married cheat who was saying cheats are good just for putting up with their nagging spouses. The whole idea is that you should accept being cheated on because if the goddess of marriage in the very end does, then why shouldn't you? But the ancient Greeks? They were too smart. Hera was painted as a villain, someone who was always reacting and always had the power to. It gives off the feeling to all those who are demanded to stay unresponsive to being cheated that they have power. Those myths give those victim an illusion of power, in the minds of the creators of the myths. Because those same creators? They know that the victim have power but they play their cards right. The cheated thinks that staying quiet is the powerful thing to do and the cheater thinks that they hold the power, as the cheated is having illusions. Someone, the one who created all those myths, played every single one of those people. Probably to gain something. But what I don't know... yet

Comment your thoughts 💭!

[genericpuff]

I was kind of curious: What do you think of Persephone's therapy scenes in episodes 160-161?

I personally liked them, but you and many other LO critics always seem to see things that totally flew over my head (I mean that in a positive way).

I think the idea behind them was fine, just the execution that felt really half-baked. Rachel doesn't like scenes to sit too long so the therapy scene, of course, wound up being rushed in the course of 2-3 episodes (meaning she had to have Persephone dump everything all at once) and while Persephone's dialogue is handled relatively well, the direction of the scene itself feels entirely mismanaged (which is both a side effect of Rachel's directionless writing and the fact that she clearly doesn't want to do more than one of these kinds of episodes so she needs to speedrun it).

TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion concerning sexual assault ahead!

Like, let's start with Persephone's intent in going to therapy. Wanting to pursue therapy doesn't just happen suddenly, there's usually a "trigger event" to make someone realize "I need help", whether it be hitting rock bottom or even just going "I feel like I don't have the skills or tools necessary to deal with what I'm dealing with, I need a professional opinion".

Despite Eros advising her to go to therapy all the way back in S1 to address her assault-

-she actually finally goes to therapy in S2 not to address the assault, but to address... how she feels insecure in comparison to Hera who she just found out Hades had a long-term affair with??? At least that's definitely the implication.

And then of course the therapy session itself segues immediately into "Persephone is a high achiever and it's because of her mom being overbearing" which Rachel doesn't connect at all to either the SA or her feeling insecure compared to Hera (which, by the way, barely even has anything to do with her, but she didn't - and still doesn't - have the emotional maturity or self-respect to realize that Hades is a serial cheater-)

That's where the first therapy episode cuts off, and then the next episode immediately opens with Persephone writing her entire backstory on a whiteboard, so we can assume time has passed and she's talked about everything from her childhood up until this point.

Then we get Chiron asking Persephone... what could go wrong if she leaves TGOEM??

Even though we never saw any of the actual sequence so it just feels like a question that's coming out of nowhere? Like did Persephone say during that schpeel that she wanted to leave TGOEM? Isn't that something we should have seen to connect these two trains of thought?

Ah, right, because we have to get into Hades. Because this comic fails the Bechdel test so hard it can't even have a character talk about their trauma or childhood without it seguing into "well there's this one specific main character guy I just really wanna sleep with-"

Don't get me wrong, if Rachel is trying to "deconstruct purity culture" here, I can get her angle with this, if Persephone has been "groomed her entire life" to be an eternal maiden then there's clearly some thought processes about sexual attraction there that are being challenged by her attraction to Hades. But it just feels so rushed purely for the sake of getting her through her trauma and childhood problems and everything that Rachel tacked onto her backstory (in an attempt to make her seem more than just a self-insert) so that Rachel can get her back on track to sleeping with Hades, the one and only man she's clearly ever felt sexual attraction to enough to want to leave TGOEM and question her entire childhood.

And then we get this and I just-

Like first of all, again, Persephone being a complete airhead and not realizing that it has less to do with her possibly being an inadequate partner and more to do with Hades being a serial cheater who also used her as an emotional affair partner;

but ALSO the fact that the conclusion is some "eureka" moment of "you're a bad decision maker" ??? I was a fan of the comic still when this scene happened and even I went "huh?"

Like she doesn't bother to try and connect it to everything she just learned and said about her childhood and how she wants to be the "perfect daughter" who will make everyone happy, Chiron just reduces it to "oh you just suck at making decisions". As if "sucking at making decisions" isn't like, a reactionary extension of deeper problems. She's treating it as if Persephone is some "puzzle" to be solved and her being a "bad decision maker" was the answer when it's undoubtedly just one of many side effects of her upbringing. It feels like she's addressing the cough and not the virus.

Also a little off topic but-

Gotta love how we've never seen Persephone actually employ this homework from her therapist because she's constantly stapled to Hades and the only thing she cares about is his happiness. Literally, I don't think Persephone could possibly answer that question because she's never been independent enough to even learn what makes her happy - she's jumped from wanting to make her mother happy to wanting to make Hades happy but we're supposed to condemn the former and celebrate the latter.

Buuut of course we don't get her answering that question because again, Rachel can't spend more than 30 seconds on a single scene because that would demand too much writing and thought from her. So we cut to Hera having a discussion with Asclepius regarding her scars re-opening, yadda yadda.

By the time we cut back to the therapy session at the start of the next episode (that's three episodes that have been spent basically accomplishing nothing because none of the thought threads tie together in a meaningful way beyond what the audience has to assume) Chiron is conveniently wrapping things up and it's then and only then does Rachel try to actually incorporate the SA plotline that was Persephone's ORIGINAL MOTIVATION in going to therapy.

Now, the scene for the most part is fine, I don't really like how the therapy session was written leading up to it, but her describing her freeze response and how she feels guilty she couldn't "fight back" is a very real feeling that I can definitely say was well written.

My one gripe with it though - and sure, this might be nitpicky, but here me out - is this:

I don't particularly like that Chiron the therapist just found out about her patient being a rape victim - someone who's also said she doesn't like people grabbing her / touching her without her consent - and then decides the best course of action is to comfort her... while touching her.

Now I want to make it perfectly clear, it's not against the law or even the code of ethics to make physical contact between a therapist and their patient. Loads of patients have made breakthroughs with their therapists that have called for hugs and while some therapists may not be okay with it, there are definitely therapists who are who fully understand that hugs in those moments are the best thing for a person. But it's still a general boundary that is there and even with patients who aren't victims of SA, consent needs to be asked for / given.

So Chiron just... coming over and touching Persephone on the knee, while undoubtedly seen as a "warm and comforting act" by those who have had similar sessions with their own therapists or even just those who have no clue and see it on the surface level as being "sweet", really irks me, because it just seems so tone deaf to do with a character like Persephone who is supposed to be a victim of having her bodily autonomy taken away from her.

Again, it's a small criticism, and undoubtedly a nitpick in the eyes of some, but a simple "can I give you a hug?" from either Chiron or Persephone would have gone a long way in accomplishing Persephone's need for consent and bodily autonomy a lot more than just having Chiron come up and touch her leg without her consent. Please, for the love of god, let Persephone have some autonomy, asking for consent doesn't ruin the moment.

And that's pretty much it, Persephone talks about how she feels like she's tethered to Apollo, and Chiron assures her that's not the case, session over, Persephone goes outside to Hades aaaand notice how we never actually tackled that "I feel insecure because of my partner having former partners?" thing? Notice how the best we got was her talking about her fears of being an "inadequate partner" which focused entirely on her not being "enough" for Hades and being a "bad decision maker" rather than pointing out 1.) Hades' own faults in being a serial cheater that would undoubtedly contribute to her insecurities and 2.) what Persephone could do for Hades rather than what Hades could do for Persephone? It's always "I don't know if I'm good enough for him" and never "I don't know if he's good enough for me."

Yet another F-- on Lore Olympus' Bechdel test. Every single thing tacked onto Persephone's backstory is meant purely to get her with Hades - TGOEM is just an obstacle preventing her from having sex with Hades, the assault is just a framing device to show how much "better" Hades is for Persephone than Apollo, her overbearing childhood is just to show how much more "free" she is now that she's not living with her mother and is living with Hades instead, etc.

No agency, no autonomy, no character, even when it tries.

[fyrapartnersearch]

Flower's Search for New Partners

Hey, I'm a 30 year old writer in search of new partners. 

About Me

Posting Schedule: I do my best to respond to my stories once every two to three weeks. There are times when I respond more frequently on weekdays but other times when I post primarily on weekends. It all depends on how busy life becomes. Fair warning, sometimes my writing partners may have to wait longer than a three week period. Being made to feel guilty about not posting is a massive turn-off for me. Spare us both the headache and please search for another partner if you are the type to become anxious while waiting for posts.

On Smut: Smut tends to take me longer since I am very critical of my writing in those types of scenes. Intimate scenes take me twice as long to write for male characters in comparison with females. Again, just being upfront and honest with you. I enjoy smut as an added condiment rather than main dish.

OOC Communication: We do not need to become best friends but I need to feel comfortable with my partners. I need to feel like we can have our characters have a dispute or dislike one another without it leading to misunderstandings between us as writers. 

Types of Writing Partners Desired: Anyone is welcomed here. I want your brain. Your real life gender is irrelevant to me. I prefer partners who write in past tense and third person. First person is perfectly fine in character thoughts. I want to craft a story with another person. Give me your ideas and I will give you mine. We can beat it together into something we both are eager to write. Must be 18+ in regards to your actual age.

Characters I Play: I am perfectly capable of writing either a male or female character. Usually, my female characters tend to be either bi-sexual or heterosexual. Other labels (bi-curious, lesbian, pansexual, etc.) will sometimes make appearances as well. My male characters are more times than not heterosexual but they are capable of being bi-sexual. 

Post Length: I can post a lot or I can post a little. It depends on where we are in the story. While I do value quality over quantity, I despise one-liners.

Malleable Ideas: I thoroughly enjoy collaboration. Typically, none of my ideas are set in stone because I prefer to build a story with my partner rather than dictate all of the terms.

Stories I like:

Diversity: The world is filled with a lot of similarities but there are differences too. I enjoy writing people of color (PoC) within my stories. I look through through those face claims first when searching for character inspiration. I don't mind writing other races either! In fact, I am happy too. However, if you would have an issue with me using a PoC, either as an NPC or main character, I would rather not write with you

Drama: I really, really love drama in my roleplays. A lot of my characters have tragic pasts. My partner would need roll with the punches and maybe even return them because it's boring for me to play submissive characters with no backbone. It's also boring for me to write the perfect couple. I need hellfire dammit! Now, this does not need to happen all of the time. As with all things, too much of something lessens its appeal

Humor: Make me laugh. It is one of the greatest gifts you can give a person and I will like you ten times more for it.

Low (Modern) Fantasy: A good example of this genre, for me, would be the television show, Supernatural. I write these types of stories most because they are so much fun!

Superheroes: I like playing superheroes! I haven't done it in a while but my interest has not waned. I should warn that I don't like playing canons like Storm, Thor, or any of those awesome creations. I don't feel like I can do them justice so I rather just make my original character.

Mythology: Admittedly, I have a bit of a weakness for mythology. While I am most familiar with Greek myths, I am more than happy to explore others. Stories that entice me are mortals falling in love with gods. Recreating a romance between gods such as Hades or Persephone. Or defining the reason why a god might be perceived as something such as why Zeus is seen as a cheater or what not.

Lycanthropy: There’s a special place in my heart for werewolves. Not only do I enjoy reading and watching movies about them but I really love writing them.

Vampires: Same as above. I’ve been reading about vampires forever and I do enjoy a good movie, like the Underworld series. I’m pretty flexible on the lore we borrow from to craft our own versions.

Angels: Love them! They can be sent from heaven on a mission, stolen by some bold demon, or banished for a misdeed.

Demons: Love them!

Westerns: Westerns are a tricky category. As such, it really depends if I’d enjoy writing them or not. I like the idea of rural setting in modern times. I’m not sure if that’s what someone might consider a western. I also really love Westworld. The grittiness of the characters and such. It really just depends with this one.

System Roleplays: I’ve been wanting to try a system game for the longest. It just hasn’t happened yet. If you are looking to write one with me, whether if in a 1v1 or group game, you will need to be patient. I have no experience with it other than a few brief games and watching Critical Role every week.

Historical Settings: Again, like with Westerns, it really depends with this category. Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely adore period pieces. I’m constantly searching for one to watch on Netflix. They’re just so hard and my confidence in writing them is pretty shaky.

Apocalyptic Settings: I don't mind these types of games. I will usually take a peek at group games with this setting but I have never ventured to do a story in a one on one setting. Doesn't mean I am not opened to it though.

Fandoms I Like (Original Characters and sometimes Canon Characters):

Westworld, Sense8, Charmed, Blade Runner 2049, Altered Carbon, The Magicians, Potterverse, Merlin, Penny Dreadful, Critical Role, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Downton Abbey, The Dragon Prince, My Hero Academia, Mirai Nikki, Akama Ga Kill, Sword Art Online, Elfen Lied and loads more! 

Here are some examples of story ideas I've come up with in the past. These are all modern mythology retellings.

Eye of The Storm

Story : Your character has always been troubled, the type who skipped school on the daily basis and stole lipstick from stores, even though there was not a need. People, who have the misfortune of knowing her, view her as being another ungrateful brat, destined to end up in some expensive rehab center or overdosed in a darken corner of the club. They were correct. She turned out to be a blemish upon the face of the world and her parents’ constant shame. No one understands it as there is no visible explanation for it. Either way, somehow, she ends up at the chaotic shores in the middle of the storm, garbed in her vomit stained clothes and deadly intent. She walks out into the water, seeking to end her life, and finds herself rescued by the most unlikely of sources.  Setting : A college town a few hours out from the city. The only qualifier I have in regards to setting is that it must take place near the seas.  Keywords : Romance, Substance Abuse, Suicide, Modern Fantasy, Mythology(Poseidon)  Seeking : Your character, of course, is our troubled young woman, who desperately needs to be guided away from what has been destroying her from within for years. I have a loose idea that something escaped the mysterious and dangerous depths of the ocean and has taken up residence within her body for years, potentially poisoning her beyond redemption. Maybe she discovered a necklace as a kid or something? We can discuss this together.  Kinks : Due to lack of a better word or descriptor, this might be considered a Dominant/submissive type of roleplay with Poseidon (Ishmael) assuming the dominant role. The God has possessed a lifelong obsession with water so there would obviously be a few scenes within that type of environment. Water is open to change though so he would be willing to permit whomever he’s with to lead every once in a while. 

Waste Not, Want Not

Story : Apollo has often been regarded as being a fairly lighthearted god, one who brings constant sunshine and inspires brilliance into whomever surrounds him, much like the sun which is essential for the creation of life. However, with the disappearance of his wild but truly believed twin sister, his gentle countenance has become resigned and withdrawn from the world. Unfortunately, his grief is not one to be experienced alone. Without the presence of its sun prince, the world becomes dark in consequence, not just in temperature but also in creativity .Where people experimented to create a new, they have become content with their ignorance and current circumstances. Apollo finds inspiration though in the most unlikely of places; however, what price is he willing to play to regain his muse? Setting : This can take place in a modern (rural or urban) or historical setting.  Keywords : Romance, Modern or Historical, Mythology (Apollo),  Betrayal, Punishment, Teasing, Exploration  Seeking : This is a fairly loose idea. I am basically seeking someone  who is capable to break a God’s muse block. 

To Kiss A Spy

Story : Marriage is not to be broken. Zeus has sworn himself anew to his wife, Hera, determined to take his vows seriously and be loyal to her until the end of their days. Faithfully, he ignores the temptations of the flesh, no matter how succulent, from both human and goddess alike. His temper suffers as a result but those around him have learned to adjust to their new leader’s temperament. In other words, he is given a wide berth. All that matters is that his Hera is content, basking in being the sole owner of his affections.  At least, he believes she is. In truth, the Queen of the Gods does not believe her husband is capable of the barest hint of monogamy. She is certain that he is still cheating on her even though her evidence suggests he speaks truthfully about his change of heart. Determined to prove herself right, she acquires some temptation, one which her husband would not be able to resist.  Setting : This can take place in a modern (rural or urban) or historical setting.  Keywords : Romance, Historical or Modern, Mythology (Zeus),  Betrayal, Punishment, Teasing, Cheating Seeking : Whomever Hera has bribed, hired, or threatened to do this piece of dirty work for her.

Contact: Please contact me at hyacinth.elliquiy@gmail.com if you're interested in writing with me. 

[the-ink-bottle]

Live Blogging Disney’s Hercules

Okay I’m gonna start with the fact that Hercules was actually named Heracles, and Disney says that his parents are Hera and Zeus but REALLY he was the product of Zeus’ fling with Alcmene. Zeus named the baby after Hera so that Hera wouldn’t kill the little guy out of rage at her cheater husband. But for the sake of the movie we’ll stick with:

00:01: a weird museum full of vases and statues, featuring the muses. I’d like to point out that there are actually nine, versus the featured five. But we all know that these ladies have enough personality to cover those other four. I can JAM to that gospel truth. We next see a view of Mount Olympus. The real Mount Olympus isn’t actually all that big, and really it would have been easy for the Greeks to climb up there and SEE the gods they believed lived there. But they didn’t Do That, which I think says a lot about the Greeks.

00:04 “I haven’t seen this much love in a room since Narcissus discovered himself.” A great joke, but Narcissus was actually a human who was later turned into a flower.

In this scene, Zeus gives his newborn son a gift: a winged horse named Pegasus. Pegasus may have obeyed Zeus, but he was actually the son of Medusa after her rape by Poseidon. He never really had any contact with Hercules that I know of.

00:07 The Fates and their threads of life- creepy right? Well they weren’t actually like that. Disney’s version combines the fates with the Gray Sisters, who were featured in Percy Jackson as being all-knowing and sharing a single eye and tooth between them. The Fates had the power to end life, but they didn’t look the same or have quite the same knowledge.

00:10 So this is just gonna un-do the ENTIRE plot but, suffice it to say that Hades did not give a flying pterippus about Hercules OR Heracles. Hades is pretty well known for staying in the Underworld. He likes it there! Or rather, he hates being near his brothers. That and he isn’t exactly allowed to leave very often...

Anyways, Hercules greatest feats were actually the result of his punishment by King Eurystheus....more on that later.

00:17 A true thing! Hercules was indeed raised on earth, mortal, and strangled two large snakes when he was an infant. In the myth, however, the snakes were sent by Hera. (Fun fact: Hercules was a twin, but his brother, Iphicles, had no powers.)

00:20 Hercules’ song in the movie SLAPS. Go the Distance is a banger and Michael Bolton killed it.

00:23 Zeus tells Hercules that if he becomes a hero, his godhood will be restored. Now - where is the lie? This actually isn’t too far from the truth. His punishment from Eurystheus was to complete a series of labors. At the completion of these tasks, he would be purified of his crimes and be allowed to live on Olympus. What were his crimes? Well....we’ll get there. Patience.

00:31 This movie has a lot of great songs, mythology errors aside. Philoctetes may be a rapist and a creep, but he can sing well enough.

00:35 Now is the time when we finally meet Megara! Megara was indeed the first wife of Hercules. A bit of a downer here: Hera, in one her infinite attempts to ruin the hero’s life, drove Hercules insane one spring night. In his insanity he killed his wife and children. After coming to, he was sent to Eurystheus for punishment. Luckily, Disney skipped that part of the myth. That doesn’t necessarily mean Megara gets a happy story, as we’ll see later.

00:37 Hades is wildly interpreted by several different adaptations of myth. In this movie, he seems like a very sassy, stressed-out gay. To be fair a lot of the ancient greeks were bisexual, including Hercules! But I digress.

00:45 Hercules is faced with battling a Hydra, aka a dragon with multiple heads which regrow after being cut off. This was indeed a feature of the myth, as defeating the Hydra was one of Hercules’ tasks set by Eurystheus. In the myth, he is assisted by his friend and kin, Iolaus. The movie does a good job depicting this, even minus the help. The scene is followed by another SMASH of a song, Zero to Hero. It is during this musical montage that we glimpse his other achievements: the slaying of the Nemean Lion, for example, whose hide is later seen as a cloak around Hercules (peep the Lion King reference).

00:51 Hades: “What are THOOOSE”

00:56 There’s the Lion King ref I mentioned, among several other pieces of comedic relief following that scene with Zeus.

00:59 I CAN HEAR THE BEGINNING NOTES OF “I Won’t Say I’m in Love” AND I AM REAAAADDYYYY also peep the prick of cupid’s arrow in Megara’s back.

00:01 HERE IT IS THE SONG OF THE CENTURY GET IT SUSAN EGAN

01:06 I’m gonna take this time to point out a major change from the myth. Hercules never really had a “trainer” in any story I’ve read, unless you count the musical tutor who Herc killed for being too critical. In actuality, Philoctetes was another hero and friend of Hercules who was badly wounded at Troy. There was never a satyr rapist involved (a sapyst? A ratyr?)

01:15 Hermes is the chaotic good sassy gay and Hades is the chaotic evil sassy gay

01:16 The power of animation is making Megara look gorgeous even after being crushed by a pillar

01:18 If Hades’ hair is fire does that make him flamingly gay?

01:22 A total Orpheus and Eurydice moment, Hercules was never able to get is wife back from the dead in the myth. He did go to Hades in order to dog-nap Cerberus once, though.

01:23 Hades: “MR STARK I DON’T FEEL SO GOOD”

Finalé: Hercules is a great movie for little kids getting started on mythology. I’ve always loved the humor and sound track, even if almost everything is inaccurate.

Aaaand a bonus panel: my favorite meme

[demonstarfish]

Them Gods  (Part 1)

Greek Myths, Gods and Titans. (Just the major ones cuz I'm lazy af)

The earth herself, Gaia, is who I like to call  ``Mother nature´´  ,gave birth to the titans, who later had the olympians we all love and hate…. (aka Zeus.). Uranus, the embodiment the sky (?) and Gaia had the titans….which are too many to list so the ones you need to know about right now are Cronus and Rhea.  When Cronus had taken down his father he and his sister Rhea, incest family fest, had Zeus and his siblings. He was afraid that his children would surpass him so he ate them all….except Zeus….because Rhea thought ``He has eaten all my children except this one so maybe I should make sure he is safe´´ so she gave him a rock instead. Rhea then sent Zeus off to Crete where he grew up. He later came back to take down his father, Cronus, and make him throw up his sibling that he ate like an eternity ago. The titans got defeated and thrown into tartarus, which is a completely different and a 10X more confusing story.

The three male children of Rhea and Cronus then drew straws of what part of the earth they would get to rule. Zeus got the longest and so he became the king of the Gods and Goddesses and also got to rule the heavens and air. Poseidon drew the second longest one,he got to rule the Oceans and the seas. Hades, who drew the shortest straw, got to rule the underworld and thereby became the King of the Underworld. Zeus took his sister Hera as wife and she then became the Queen of Gods and Goddesses. The other two female children were apparently not as important to the story.

From there on the Gods and Goddesses would go ahead and have children of their own with humans, Other myths such as Nymphs and each other.

There were of course Gods and Goddesses who were not Rhea and Cronus children but these are the ones people seem to remember the most.

I'm now going to try to get at least one myth about each god and goddess, but most of them intersect so it won't be too hard, and some about other creatures and characters.

We´ll start with the Olympians. I won't be able to find specific myths for all of them

Zeus: Son of Cronus and Rhea. He is known for not being able to keep it in his pants. Cheater. Cheater. Cheater. I think he transformed into a bull and raped a human girl who became pregnant and gave birth to the minotaur. He is a jerk. God of thunder and sky. King and ruler of Olympus.

Hera: Daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Misguided anger. Anger issues. Deserves better though, Zeus is real mean towards her. Threw her son Hephaestus off of Mount Olympus. He got revenge though. Goddess of  women, marriage, family and childbirth. Queen of Olympus.

Poseidon: Son of Cronus and Rhea. Kind of a bitch, not as bad as Zeus though...no one is. Turned into a horse once to have sex with a Demeter, his sister, who herself had turned into a horse to avoid him. Together they had the magical horse Arion who I don't feel like writing about. Had his son Triton with the sea nymph Amphitrite. God of the Seas.

Hephaestus: Son of Zeus and Hera or just Hera….not sure which. Notoriously ugly. Either born with a form of physical disability or got deformed when thrown of Mt. Olympus by his mother. Got to marry Aphrodite as kind of an exchange to lend his services to the Olympians. Blacksmith to the Gods. God of fire, volcanoes, craftsmen, metalworking, sculptors etc.

Ares: Son of Zeus and Hera. Represents the violent parts of war: Violence and bloodshed. In love with Aphrodite. He and Aphrodite had Phobos: The personification of fear, Deimos: The greek god of terror, Adestia: She is referred to as the Goddess of revolt and retribution and in some versions they are also the parents of Harmonia: The goddess of harmony. God of war.

Apollo: Son of Zeus and Leto. Twin brother of Artemis. Was feared by both humans and Gods. When he first came to Olympus he took aim with his bow and the Gods left their thrones out of fear; until his mother disarmed him. God of music, good health, prophecy, truth, light, plague, poetry and a lot more which I don't have time to write.

Part 2: https://demonstarfish.tumblr.com/post/182891293925/them-gods-part-2

Part 3: https://demonstarfish.tumblr.com/post/182891355790/them-gods-part-3

[antiloreolympus]

8 Anti LO Asks

1. It doesn’t really make sense for a long term comic such as LO to have such a drastic change in the artstyle, and even more you can’t really call it an improvement when all the interesting parts of the art style are now gone and all that it is now it’s just some basic same-face and body art style with barely any backgrounds. RS is incredibly talented for illustrative artwork and it’s really a shame she’s not doing that anymore and instead has left it to her team, with leaving them very messy sketches. The artstyle in the beginning had life and glamour and now it’s just very dull and boring. That’s not an improvement

2. I genuinely can’t think of any man in LO that’s even half way decent. Poseidon maybe? Hephaestus? Those are the only two I can manage, meanwhile the rest are either Rachel purposely ruining them because of her own biases (Zeus, Apollo, Thanatos to an extent) or are “good” men who are just creeps who disrespect all the women around them and are super creepy and obsessed over a literal teenager who acts like a child (Hades, Ares, Hermee, Eros, etc). The women aren’t much better either. 

3. About Perse making Hades childish: (this is no way defending him, just some speculation, and tbh I doubt that RS has thought this through haha) I wonder if he becomes a horny teenager around her because she’s a goddess of fertility? Would that have any affect on him? Doesn’t excuse his creepy ass behavior, but could explain it a bit, I guess?

4. Okay so I'll be honest I dont really see any reason to 'simp' over Any of the LO characters?

Also, not to start sh*t, but - I think part of the reason why some of the LO fandom does not like Zeus (and perhaps gives Hera more leeway - at least in terms of cheating) is because:

Mythologically Zeus is a known cheater / rapist (Io for example, or Semele)

They see Hera cheating a Zeus as okay (its not) because he's been known to cheat on her in the past / fans see Hera cheating on Zeus with Hades as 'justified revenge' for what he's (Zeus) put her through

I'll be honest I dont really see Zeus (or Hades for that matter) as good rulers because

Despite other deities (like Eros) doing 'acts of wrath' - they get away with it because they often have someone to back them up (like Aphrodite offering to sleep with Zeus to get her son out of trouble) - but the one time Persephone does something wrong (an act of wrath) - Zeus wants to give her the Prometheus treatment - mainly so he can feel like an in control king whos subjects respect him

The reason this sound so odd is because of RS writing choices. Zeus is a grade A d*ck who is willing to destroy a 'young girls promising career' because she made 1 mistake that one time. But at the same time the act of wrath is framed oddly because Demeter doesn't want her daughter to get in trouble so she covers it up (its like the equivalent of hiding a murder from the cops).

Zeus wanting to Prometheus Kore seems overly harsh because she is a Child. (Well a teenager) - so it adds to the "Zeus is a d*ck" card, because she doesnt have the life experience to "get away with" stuff like the other deities because she is young AND sheltered.

Like again, the whole concept of Human Laws applying to Gods is so confusing:

Would Zeus have been this harsh if Demeter had simply come forward in the first place about Persephone's murder rampage? Why did she blackmail / get other deities involved to cover it up? Is Zeus THAT much of a d*ck in Demeters eyes that she knows he would harshly punish a child for something "she didnt mean to do" (killed mortals based on a feeling?)

Why is there a motherf*cking trial in the first place? Do All the other deities get the right to a fair trial or is this a special case? (Like can any deity just offer to sleep with Zeus and he'll let them off the hook?). If the other deities had commited the same crime would the trial / punishment be the same or does Zeus just have a rage boner because he was lied to? If thats the case then why are the other deities taking Persephones side during the trial? (Ares I can maybe understand cause hes the God of War and stuff but everyone else is taking Perse's side because their either her personal friend or family member (Hecate, Hermes, Demeter, Hades etc).

Why are there certain laws like "Zeus cant get to Persephone because she has clemency in the underworld" but other deities - including Leto, Demeter and others (like Perse's nymph family) can just stroll into Hades house? Why is Hermes still on house arrest? Why are Hades + Persephone throwing a house party when shes on trial for scythe crimes??!!!

Why are the gods bound by such petty squabbles?

The way RS set up the governing "laws" in universe just doesnt make a whole lotta sense. Also, sorry this got ramblely.  

5. Tbh i don’t think that Hades acting differently when he’s with Persephone is a bad thing, as a concept. But there are many issues with this such as the fact that Persephone is barely legal and Hades act like an actual child around her. Obviously when you’re with someone they are going to act different than they do when they are at work. The problem is that Hades essentially goes from the “cold-scary king” to a 17 year old hormonal boy when he’s with Persephone. And him making out with her in a middle of a store or them golfing with diamonds or him making out with Persephone again in front of his workplace is not exactly acceptable behaviour from a king. If Hades acts all lovey-dovey with Persephone when their at their home together it’s different, but when they’re at a public place they can’t really do that. I would say that he has to keep a status about him but from what we’ve seen all the citizens of the underworld hate him and don’t respect him at all, from yelling at him to actually fighting with him, so idk how much status there is actually attached to him 

6. I swear, the majority of the “cute” HxP moments in LO just seem like a single father dealing with his hyperactive 8 year old over the supposed future intimidating rulers who Rachel is obsessed about talking and drawing their sex life. Is it really that hard to depict Persephone even acting like a smart teenager at the very least, as opposed to an airhead grade schooler? It doesn’t scream cute to me, it seems more like a father/daughter relationship. It’s just weird. 

7. i mean, i have a LO oc who's persephone's brother (fertility god) between demeter and zeus. dude got thrown into tartyrus to cover up the affair and now serves cronus. he was the god of summer, and my reasoning was demeter's seasons/harvest + summer thunderstorms. wrote a whole minific i will never post about him and persephone realizing everyone around them are assholes and healing together. so the mistress-of-zeus oc isnt that weird.

8. I’m not a Zeus stan by any means, but I do find him one of the most interesting characters, and one that RS has, in her attempts to make him be the worst ever to make Hades look better, actually way more interesting and compelling than the majority of the cast. He doesn’t lie or whine to the audience he’s some good person like Hades when he’s not, he owns that he’s a dick and doesn’t bullshit the audience into thinking he’s someone he’s not. RS tries to show us he’s a “bad” king, yet we see no proof it beyond what, he wants to uphold the law P broke and doesnt kiss Hades’ butt? That’s not a bad king, it’s a good one that he doesn’t let family ties or lust cloud his judgement, unlike Hades or Hera, for example. I don’t condone his cheating either, but it’s not fair to hate him for it, but love it that Hades cheated on Minthe so he could get into a teenager’s skirt and praise Hera for sleeping with her brother in law while punishing Zeus’ mistresses because she’s being a fake “loyal” wife. Just because he’s a deeply flawed, even a bad person doesn’t make him a bad character. Hades and Hera and even Persephone are awful people who do worse than Zeus, yet they’re loved and praised for it, all while being written with the depth of a puddle. 

[discordrhythm]

Colette wa Shinu Koto ni Shita Review

This seems a bit different for a typical manga from the start. I said this because the title as you can see when you read it in english it says “When Colette decides to die”. Before I scan and read this manga I prepared myself for more tragic moments(I guessing there will more heartbreak or a sudden death). Then I was like a bit sad since it might be one shot manga. However, let just say that all of those assumptions that I’ve said were all wrong at the beginning.  This manga revolves around a girl name Colette a countryside doctor who due to a sudden burst of work decided to jump off a well.Yes your read it I’m not joking its definitely that she decided to run from those patients that she jump off a well. Then the most exciting part was when she wakes up she found herself at the underworld. Happy that she’ll get a day off like all the doctors dreamed of, since the underworld doesn’t have any sick people at all. Her minute time vacation ended when all of the hell’s servant captured her and bring her to their master who is seems to be having some kind of sickness.  And this master whom we talk about was the Lord of the Underworld Hades. Thus, Colette’s story started as a country side doctor from a personal doctor from the realm of the dead. 

Colette’s Involvement

1. Hades - one of the 3 great Gods and was the King of the Realm of the Dead. He told colette from the moment they met that when colette was still alive to make him proud when they met again when she die. Well it didn’t go as he said since colette becomes his private doctor. He seems to develop a romantic feeling for her but unfortunately due to the fact that he was a God he cannot openly tell her that thing though as the manga progress it seems we could describe his action speaks louder than his words.

2. Zeus - Hades little brother whom also got acquainted to Colette when trying to find out if his brother was able to see through what he did when the 3 of them choose which realm they take to govern. He got a wife(Hera) whom a bit strict when it comes to his husband being a cheater.

3. Apollo - The doctor from heaven. He used to take a little time for a vacation and that was the time when all the goddesses seek colette for medication. Zeus then fetch colette from mandane realm to bring her to heaven as Apollo temporary Substitute. 4. Nike - Follower of Goddess Athena. One who consulted Colette to make her hair grow faster since she cut it off due to a sudden incident during work. She become close to colette during her stays in heaven

5. Demeter - Goddess of Harvest who hosted a party in heaven during the feast of Harvest. She was close to Hades and sometimes talk to him.

6. Hiragi(Nymph) - Resides in Apollo’s temple. She was the servant of Apollo who becomes a close friend of Colette.

7. Poseidon - Hades sibling whom got a servant that he fired for his wife’s sake. Later that servant become Hades’s Servant.

8. Karon/Hari and the other 4 skull servant - Hades’ servants in the Realm of the dead and was also close to colette except to the other 4 skull servants.

Usually this manga focuses more on the adventure of Colette as a doctor however as the story goes deeper you’ll see some progress about both Colette and Hades. In some website the latest released chapter was 22 however if you got an Otakumole account you’ll be able to read this beautiful Manga up to its recent Chapter which is 59. I’ll definitely recommend this manga to all of you. Every chapters of this manga is full of heartfelt and heartwarming that it left a memory on your mind. 

In addition, it makes you think what is like to be loved by a great Deity like Hades! I’m going to spoil you guys a bit I know you’ll be asking some Divine protection in the end from the Deity in this manga.  Author: Yukimura Alto Hana to Yume manga Credits for all the photos used in this review belongs to the author and those involved in this manga.