#entity: hera

[khajiit-journal]

Middas, Morning Star 01, 2025

(Wednesday, January 01, 2025)

Lots to report on today. Decided to be open about my Buddhism and Shinto practice on Tumblr that I've been doing for a while. I didn't share them before because like... I'm really just a baby in both regards, I have One(1) book on Shinto and it's as introductory as introductory gets. (The book is Shinto: The Kami Way by Sokyo Ono, it is a good read if you're interested in Shinto. It is mostly geared to explain to non-Japanese people, and I found the section on home worship the most useful to my position because I'm not lucky enough to live near a shrine). And as both are "living" religions, as in a religion that still has faith leaders and etc, I really want to follow them properly than my blasé "I can make my own rules and do whatever I want within reason" that I do for my PCP and magic. Same for things like HelPol, I don't interact with it much or do much about it on Tumblr because while it's considered a "dead" religion (keep in mind these terms are about things beyond if it's still practiced) it still has a lot of rules I don't quite fully understand. And while I have Zeus and Hera to guide me away from major mistakes and help me learn, I still don't wanna piss anybody off.

I've been seeing a lot of discourse lately, though, about how you can't be friends with the Gods, and I think there's an important caveat that there's a major difference between friendly and friends. And like. You can be friends with your elderly neighbor, without putting yourself on her societal level, as well. I firmly believe and stand by that we can be friends with the gods (if we can date/marry them, why can't we be friends or even family with them? you guys are chill with godspouses but not godfriends/godfamily? granted, some of these folks are probably anti-godspouse for the same reason which I at least appreciate the consistency) as long as we still always remember that we aren't on the same status level as them, and remember that they are Gods and we are not.

As well, I deeply trust my Gods to tell me what is and isn't okay, and I trust them to be honest with me. I put their words and their guidance above any random discourse post I see on Tumblr lol. If I step over the line, I trust that I'm gonna get told off and even bonked for it.

I'm gonna leave my thoughts there, though, I don't really want this to be a discourse blog, it's just been haunting my mind and I really needed to slap it somewhere lol. (If you have thoughts, feel free to send them to my askbox on this blog, or else it won't make sense to my other blogs, I'll answer them, but not if you're rude. I think this is a good thing to discuss.)

I did this "13 wishes" ritual thing. I wrote down 13 wishes on pieces of paper, folded them up, and put them in a bowl. Starting today, I'll take a piece out, not look at it, and rip it up (the original ritual is to burn, but I don't have many liberties to burn so ripping it up it is), to send it to my Gods and the Universe to handle, until there's one left, and that one I do read and is for me to handle and make come true.

I'm a bit worried about which one will end up in my hands - I made them all realistic and achievable, even if some rely on outside sources than my own two hands. But I still worry that the one that ends up in my hands will be one I really wanted the Gods to handle lol.

Also today, I've made a deal with Clavicus Vile for some help with a certain haunting. I wasn't requested too much in return, because, and I'm paraphrasing but saying directly, Liege Clavicus feels a bit bad for me that so many of my attempts to reach Them have failed (and thus I've been receiving next to no help despite asking for it repeatedly) and my offerings I've been leaving for Them have been stolen by the spirit haunting me.

It's an act of compassion I deeply appreciate, that I've been given a kind and pretty sweet (literally in some aspects) deal. I was requested to uptick my worship for Great Clavicus once the haunting is dealt with for a good while, and to make Him some cookies, and She "better get the first fresh ones" in Her words, which all of this is very within my means.

I plan on making hot chocolate cookies, as Their favorite is ones with tons of fillings, and I think hot chocolate cookies should count because they have marshmallows in them. (I just worry it'll be too sweet for Their tastes). It is a lot of work, but anything for the Gods helping me with the haunting. And besides, I did promise.

I'm probably gonna do more than this because I can, but I'm definitely gonna fulfill what parts we more explicitly agreed on. I just have to figure out what all to do for the increased worship... Probably make a playlist and play it every day for a while, and make moodboards and reblog more art of Them. That should do something at the least in the offering sector.

[yaboyspodcastpalace]

yknow i dont think a lot abt the wolf-in-tma part of this crossover bc let be honest, im not that fond of tma's story, BUT i was just thinking abt pryce and cutter and ok ok thats Fun. Im big on web / webholding cutter and i Definitely wanna think more abt his goals in the au but rn yknow what im thinking about? flesh avatar pryce, flesh/stranger avatar pryce following the theme of doll maker where she makes these bodies for the people that aren't exactly people (and for cutter, of course)

which would mean that hera herself is a stranger entity, which is an ENTIRE can of worms that id love to think more in detail, later

[zarnzarn]

The doors to Olympus are sturdy and strong, given everyone's preferences for drama and slamming said doors open and sending them cracking into the wall whenever the opportunity arises. Which is why it's a surprise when they creak open during the once-a-decade pantheon meeting; less so because no entity worth their salt would take so long to open the doors, and more so because everyone who is anyone is already there.

But if everyone is being honest with themselves- which no one is, usually- these gatherings are boring enough that the bland conversation is dropped immediately in favour of craning their necks to catch a glimpse of whatever is coming to relieve them of their boredom.

When the doors finally open however, several of the pantheon murmur in surprise.

"Odysseus," Athena whispers, wide-eyed as she pushes herself off her throne to her feet. It is him- in the king's garb he was buried in but the face he has when he reached home, hair till the shoulders and speckled with grey, face oddly blank. His feet are transparent.

"What are you doing here, sceptre?" Poseidon booms, hair the color of a stormy sea. Zeus, beside him, looks reserved, observing the ghost with something approaching curiosity- eyes flicking to the lightning scars on his daughter's face and back. "Your time has long passed, and Hades-"

"It is a temporary agreement," Odysseus says curtly, barely sparing him a glance as he approaches his patron. "Athena."

Her armour clinks as she steps forward and the gods all twitch, trading glances. Owls are silent creatures- to have her aspect so affected to make noise was... uneasy to say the least. She even holds herself different than usual, something like confused delight shining in her eyes. "How did you-"

"Did you sleep with my wife?"

The throne room is silent. Several jaws drop.

Athena straightens back up, blinking in surprise. She looks a bit shifty, some of the nymphs closest whisper to each other, which- well, almost every single god present owed some part of their existence to the mere story of Odysseus loving his wife.

Would he fight his own patron goddess over it in front of Mount Olympus, though? He certainly was unbalanced enough; Athena herself looked rather uncertain of her odds, even though-

"Are you addled in death, King of Ithaka?" Artemis drawls, looking amused. "Did you forget that your own patron is celibate? Whatever rumor you-"

"No, I-" Athena says suddenly, shifting her spear to her other hand. "I did."

Artemis chokes on her breath and several assorted divine beings gasp in shock and the rest shouting for explanations, although everyone is nearly drowned out by Aphrodite's loud, "WHAT?"

Odysseus inhales sharply and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I cannot believe you."

"She asked-" Athena starts, only to be drowned out by the din of various beings screeching and shouting about the scandal.

"ATHENA!" Hera hisses, peacock tail fanning behind her sharply as she pushes herself up. "Explain yourself!"

Athena half-turns to face her, face creased in a frown. "Mother, I-"

"LET ME REPHRASE!" Odysseus cuts in loudly, and the shouting settles down into silence. He walks to his patron, eyes blazing. "I cannot believe," he throws his clenched fists wide as he growls the last word, "-you took Penelope to bed-" Athena surprisingly stays still as he reaches her, mouth falling open as he grabs her by the chiton to yank her down, uncaring of the gasps of horror from all around as he snarls, "-before you ever kissed me."

And then Odysseus grabs Athena by the face roughly and kisses her.

This time Aphrodite's shriek cannot be escaped by anyone.

"Aphrodite, please," Zeus says a few moments later, wincing as his throne reforms around him, stained oddly pink. Quite a few minor entities have discorporated, and the ones nearest to her are still trying to regenerate their hearing. "Control yourself."

Their eyes land back on where Athena has dropped her spear- dropped her spear, Ares in the corner seems to be having some minor hysteria over this, well warranted- and is also on the floor, still being thoroughly kissed by that insufferable, mannerless hero of hers, perched on her stomach to reach. Zeus inhales in fury, Poseidon close behind him as the shock wears off, lightning crackling around his fingers as he opens his mouth to shout- of all the indignities-

"If you two ruin this for me," Aphrodite thunders, warping in front of them and glaring. "I will make you both regret it."

Both gods visibly blanch at the threat, taken aback for one brief moment. Threats from Aphrodite are far worse than any of her more violent siblings, at the end of the day.

Zeus visibly gathers himself just as Athena's helmet clatters to the floor, and he gains a second wind immediately, eye twitching as he spreads a hand to the spectacle in the middle of the hall. "WHAT MANNER OF DISRESPECT IS THIS? TO BARGE INTO OUR MEETING AND THROW ONE OF THE OLDEST GODDESSES TO THE FLOOR LIKE A COMMON WENCH-"

"Zeus," Hera says quietly. Everyone falls silent, although it's not quite enough to stop the two tangled together on the ground. She clears her throat, which finally seems to get through to Athena, who had finally seemed to have gotten over her shock enough to reach out, hands hovering over Odysseus hesitantly. Still, at the noise she seems to remember herself, pushing herself up on an elbow and dislodging him enough to break their necking. He pouts at her, but Athena's eyes are too glazed over to notice, heaving for breath.

Hera opens her mouth to speak, crown manifesting on her brow as she steps in front of the throne, but closes it as the door rattles again.

This time, the spectre shimmers with a faint hint of scales that comes with a freshwater nymph's heritage and excited whispers starved for drama explode across the room as the Queen of Ithaka steps into the room, skirts hitched in her hand and panting as if she'd been running.

"Your Graces," She bows respectfully before entering, Spartan princess through and through, until she catches sight of her husband and Athena, the former of whom seems to have taken the opportunity to start kissing the wisdom goddess again, fingers in her curls.

"What are you doing?" She snaps, rushing over. The entire courtroom holds its breath. She slaps her husband upside the head, making him yelp and move back to shoot her a betrayed look. Athena looks even further dazed than before, cheeks red. "Argos has more manners than you! No wonder Lady Athena wanted nothing to do with you- ah, hello, darling, by the way."

"Penelope," Athena murmurs hoarsely, and the Queen of Ithaka leans down to kiss her as well.

Odysseus chuckles, then jumps with everyone else as Hera slams a hand down on the throne elegantly, cracking it to the base.

"Ah, goddess-" He says, clambering off Athena to bow.

"Silence," Hera interrupts, holding up a hand, eyes cold. "You will not say anything to me apart from an explanation. My agreement for your release from Ogygia was due to the assurance that your marriage was one of the truest I have ever witnessed, conveyed by Athena herself when bartered with all of us to let you go. Tell me, was it a ploy? Because from the disgraceful looks of it, this seems to not be the case in the slightest."

Odysseus frowns, face twisting in confusion. "Athena bartered with...?" He turns to look at his patron, who stares back, unspeaking. His eyes flicker to the lightning scar over her right eye as Penelope traces it with horrified eyes and a gentle thumb, and understanding seems to dawn.

For a moment, rage seems to fill him, glaring with a hatred towards Zeus that everyone whispered later wasn't met by the god king with anger, but a flicker of remorse- before he visibly throws it away behind Athena's old smile and bows.

"God-queen," He says formally, gracefully. Hera twitches a bit, and they'll all talk later about how odd it was to so clearly see Athena's younger mannerisms in the man, down to the curl of the letters. "My marriage to Penelope has never been false, never been broken, this I promise you." He takes Penelope's hand and squeezes it for emphasis, and she raises them as acknowledgement. "But... can you not argue that Athena has been part of our marriage all this time? From its start, where she advised me on courting and her on what to look for, to the twenty years she spent with both of us- me on the battlefield and Penelope in the court; to say nothing of how she helped raise our son and lived in our palace in the days after. And is she not so unbearably beautiful that even my Penelope couldn't wait-" He shoots a glare at her, which Penelope returns with a smile. "-when the chance was presented? How can you fault us for disgrace, after being so long apart from our wife?"

Hera raises both eyebrows at the impudence, the kind of disbelieving expression that hides a warning to tread carefully. "So you claim to be both married to Pallas Athena?"

"In every way that matters except legality," Odysseus says, fearlessly. He is dead, after all, what much can you do to a shade that they didn't already put him through when alive. He is sort of worried about Athena, though, as they both help her back to her feet, Penelope busy whispering compliments and updates and endearments in turn- she's not usually one to be quiet in face of a problem.

Hera tilts her head. "Ah, but you see. I need the legality, if I am to finally-" A helpless, excited smile pulls at her lips once, twice, before unfolding into a bright grin, peacock tails unfolding to their full wingspan. "-finally arrange for a marriage for my eldest daughter who has not once- oh finally, I can hardly believe this day has come-"

"I do not like the way you grabbed her, Sacker of Troy," Ares steps forward as Hera starts ranting half to herself, half to an equally loud assemblage of joyful entities about wedding arrangements, eyes narrowed.

Odysseus barks an incredulous, loud laugh, gesturing to Athena with a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "This lady has broken- and I do not exaggerate- every single bone in my body before I saw my sixteenth year. I have punched her a hundred times in the face when she taught me how to fight. We'll survive, thanks."

"That is fair," Ares steps back, hands raised.

"What duties will you provide as spouses, Ithakan Queen?" Hestia questions, stepping forward.

"Oh, the same we did when we were living," Penelope huffs a laugh. "Keep her busy, make her laugh, be of mild frustration to her, love her well, worship her-"

"I do not. Need to know," Hestia closes her eyes and raises a hand to cut her off, stepping back. Around them, the din catches speed and volume as no further objections arise, excitement spilling into the air.

"What is happening?" Athena says faintly, looking around as if she was just waking up.

"-oh, and we can get out the decor once more! Hebe, Aphrodite, loves, do you remember where we kept the fountains-"

"-finally, a reason to celebrate! Call them all out of hiding-"

"-can't believe this is finally happening, oh sister, what songs should we-

"Why am I getting married," Athena says with much more alarm and horror. She turns to Odysseus and shakes him by the shoulder, eyes wild. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"How is this nothing? Do you have any idea the headache-"

"Athena, sweetheart, will you consider changing into that beautiful piece you made for the ceremony?"

Creakily, she turns her head to Hera, disbelief pasted across her face. "Mother," She says slowly. "They are both dead."

"Oh, I'll make a deal with Hades or something, you hush!" Aphrodite leans forward and snaps, before her irritation melts back into a manic joy. "Oh, what paint shall we do?"

Paint, Athena mouths, looking afraid for possibly the first time since her conception.

Penelope laughs and tugs on Athena's hand to make her turn, tucking dishevelled curls behind her ear. She wonders if the goddess knows how beautiful she is when she's flustered. "Take us away," She whispers. On Athena's other side, Odysseus leans against their patron with a besotted, helpless smile as he stares up at her, her helmet and spear in hand. She'd missed Athena like a limb, missed her deep laugh at night when they'd discussed the day's court, the dry jokes, the hands over hers as she weaved- but Odysseus wasn't himself without her, happy though they were in Hades' lands together, all of them.

"I'm-" Athena wavers, then looks around once more at all the excited screaming, something unreadable flashing in her eyes. Almost against her will, her eyes fall to Zeus, who is sitting silently and staring back at her. Poseidon looks like he still wants to start a fight, but clearly by his wary looks below can tell he will be heavily outnumbered by the overexcited crowd to not try, but Zeus just stares back at her, face blank of any emotion.

"We ask you formally this time," King Odysseus says, walking in front of her to take her attention away, holding onto her hand. His voice has strength in it, drawing the eyes of the murmuring crowd, but he's deaf to it as he stares up at her.

"Will you be our wife?" Queen Penelope asks, joining him, watching their beautiful patron shudder for breath she does not need as her eyes flick to one of them and then the other.

"Yes," She whispers and cheers erupt all across Mount Olympus.

"Finally!" Odysseus complains, and then pulls her down once more to kiss her, all three of them fading at the edges as one of the generous gods present there- who seems to realize that they're not very inclined to stop anytime soon- thankfully teleports them away into a nice room with a large bed.

"Finally," He whispers as he breaks apart to lay her down, cupping her face, voice heavy with the longing of a full lifetime and more. Penelope circles to the head of the bed and starts undoing Athena's braid, staring at them both lovingly.

Later the ones closest will murmur, as the silhouettes faded away, that tears had slipped from proud Pallas Athena's eyes as she placed one hand against Odysseus' cheek, trembling.

"I missed you," She will whisper back, and all three of them fade away to their own story, yet to be made.

[the-mortuary-witch]

TAROT ASSOCIATED WITH DEITIES AND ENTITIES

MAJOR ARCANA:

THE FOOL: Pan, Zeus, Dionysus, Loki, and Hermes.

THE MAGICIAN: Hermes, Thoth, and Odin.

THE HIGH PRIESTESS: Persephone, Demeter, Hecate, The Morrigan, Lilith, Selene, Isis, Freyja, Artemis, Ganesha, and Tsukiyomi.

THE EMPRESS: Hel, Aphrodite, Hera, Freyja, Isis, Hathor, Frigg, Demeter, Durga, Astarte, and Ishtar.

THE EMPEROR: Zeus, Lugh, Odin, Horus, Ares, Osiris, and Ra.

THE HIEROPHANT: Dionysus, Osiris, Athena, Thoth, Sestet, Ogma, Horus, Apollo, Hermes, Odin, Brigid, Saraswati, and Ganesha.

THE LOVERS: Aphrodite, Frigg, Aengus, Rhea, Gaia, Demeter, Inanna, Parvati, Hathor, Isis, Brigid, Freyja, Osiris, Cernunnos, Freyr, Dionysus, and Pan.

THE CHARIOT: Thor, The Morrigan, Nike, Athena, Inanna, Astarte, Ishtar, Anat, Freyja, Bastet, Durga, Odin, Horus, Sobek, Ares, Set, Apollo, and Bellona.

STRENGTH: Thor, Hestia, Athena, Sekhmet, Bastet, Macha, Brigid, Danu, Isis, Lilith, The Dagada, and Lugh.

THE HERMIT: Odin, Isis, Hestia, Persephone, Hades, Hecate, Cerridwen, Brigid, The Muses, Sarawati, Hermes, and Ogma.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Zeus, Hathor, Isis, The Dagda, Ma'at, The Moirai, and Arianhrod.

JUSTICE: Lugh, Aengus, The Morrigan, Nemesis, Inanna, Hades, Themis, Ma’at, Nike, Athena, Zeus, and Forseti.

THE HANGED MAN: Odin, Artemis, Oriris, Persephone, Inanna, Dionysus, Buddha, and Ishtar.

DEATH: Persephone, Hades, Inanna, Ereshkigal, Isis, Nephtys, Izanami, Hel, Freyja, Morana, Seth, Anubis, Osiris, Santa Muerte, Manannan, Odin, Manannán, Thanatos, and The Morrigan.

TEMPERANCE: Artemis, Isis, Nepthys, Iris, Ma'at, Hebe, Apollo, and Vishnu.

THE DEVIL: Lilith, Dionysus, Lucifer, Pan, Set, The Morrigan, Baphomet, Satan, Baba Yaga, Veles, Banshees, and The Horned God.

THE TOWER: Hel, The Morrigan, Kali, Ares, Pele, Sekhmet, Anat, Sedna, Ceres, Shiva, and Chernobog.

THE STAR: Nyx, Aphrodite, Thoth, Hermes, Ishtar, Astrea, Isis, Arianhrod, Inanna, Nuit, Zorya, and Nodens.

THE MOON: Hecate, Santa Muerte, Artemis, Rhiannon, Selene, Hati, Cerridween, Isis, Phobe, Mani, Thoth, Arianhrod, Tsukiyomi, and Chang-e.

THE SUN: Lugh, Apollo, Kupaula, Helios, Brigid, Sol, Artemis, Bast, Sköll, Athena, Sekhmet, Aine, Freyr, Horus, Aten, Ra, and Agni.

JUDGEMENT: Hades, Persephone, Ma'at, Crisis, Hephaestus, Isis, Kuan Yin, and Horus.

THE WORLD: Demeter, Aengus, Isis, The Dagda, Gaia, Cernunnos, and Green Man.

THE SUITS:

SUIT OF SWORDS: The Morrigan, Freyja, Hades, Odin, Athena, and Hel.

SUIT OF WANDS: Lugh, Hephaestus, Ares, Bellona, Pele, Aine, Brigid, and Apollo.

SUIT OF PENTACLES: Gaia, Demeter, Macha, and Freyr.

SUIT OF CUPS: Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hera, Isis, Boann, and Hathor.

KINGS:

KING OF WANDS: Ares, The Dagda, Zeus, and Apollo.

KING OF CUPS: Lugh, Poseidon, Manannan, Njord, Apollo, and Mac Lir.

KING OF SWORDS: Odin, Tyr, Hermes, Zeus, and Horus.

KING OF PENTACLES: Hades, The Horned God, Freyr, Pan, Cernunnos, and The Dagda.

QUEENS:

QUEEN OF WANDS: Brigid, Hestia, Bellona, and Aine.

QUEEN OF CUPS: Aphrodite, Venus, and Hera.

QUEEN OF SWORDS: The Morrigan, Freyja, Athena, and Themis.

QUEEN OF PENTACLES: Hecate, Gaia, Eostre, Aine, Ceres, Artemis, and Demeter.

KNIGHTS:

KNIGHT OF WANDS: Apollo, Brigid, Lugh, and Bellona.

KNIGHT OF CUPS: Aphrodite, Boann, Isis, and Hathor.

KNIGHT OF SWORDS: Badb, The Morrigan, Athena, Hermes, and Nemain.

KNIGHT OF PENTACLES: Athena, Macha, Persephone, Lugh, Artemis, Demeter, and Ceres.

PAGES:

PAGE OF WANDS: Artemis, Brigid, Apollo, and Athena.

PAGE OF CUPS: Aphrodite and Lada.

PAGE OF SWORDS: The Morrigan, Freyja, Odin, Athena, Nike, and Bellona.

PAGE OF PENTACLES: Athena, Lugh, Apollo, Pan, The Muses, and Hathor.

[aimseytv]

the au finale was really good, but it did leave one huge lore question unanswered: what happened to oli's villagers? did hera smite them as punishment for not running the experiments?? were they taken by the worms like nik??? so many possibilities...

worse… the fate of the villagers suffered a much worse fate.. and that was me accidentally killing all entities twenty minutes before the streams went live

[helniiic]

all about aphrodite ꨄ

𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼

𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𓍊𓋼𓍊𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼

aphrodite / Ἀφροδίτη is the goddess of love, beauty, harmony, pleasure, the sea, procreation, and fertility.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

BACKSTORY

there are two different versions of aphrodite's birth and backstory, from the works of Hesoid & Homer.

in hesoid's theogony,

uranus (previous god of the sky) was overthrown by his own son, cronus (god of time). to achieve this, cronus used a sickle to castrate uranus and threw his genitals into the sea.

as his gentials fell, they mingled into the sea's foam. from this divine mixture, aphrodite rose from the sea near cyprus (or cythera, depending on the source) already fully grown.

hesoid depicts aphrodite as an independent entity who's power and beauty inspires gods and mortals.

in homer's iliad,

aphrodite is described as the daughter of zeus (god of the sky) and dione, ( goddess of the divine feminine & previous earth goddess ) a lesser-known goddess.

this version places aphrodite within the olympian pantheon and includes her within the conflicts.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

MYTHOLOGY

themes of aphrodite's myths often include love & desire, jealousy & rivalry, passion & tragedy.

the judgement of paris

the story starts with the wedding of peleus (a mortal hero) and thetis. (goddess of the sea)

this marriage was attended by all gods and goddesses as it symbolised the union between mortal and divine entities. however, eris (goddess of discord) was not invited to the wedding due to her tendency to cause trouble. offended by this, she decided to disrupt the wedding.

to create discord, eris created a golden apple inscribed with the words "to the fairest." (kallistēi in greek)

three goddesses — aphrodite, hera and athena claimed the apple, each believing they were the fairest. unable to agree, they all turned to zeus to settle the dispute.

zeus couldn't settle on a decision, not wanting to offend any of the goddesses — so he turned to a mortal, paris. (a trojan prince) he was known for his impartiality and fairness, making him the ideal judge.

all goddesses came to paris on mount ida and exchanged a bribe for his favour:

1. hera promised paris power and domination, offering to make him the ruler of all known lands and people.

2. athena promised paris wisdom and military prowess, offering to make him an unbeatable warrior and strategist.

3. aphrodite promised paris the love of the most beautiful woman in the world: helen of troy, the wife of king menelaus of sparta.

after some consideration, paris eventually gave the apple to aphrodite in exchange for helen's love.

true to her word, aphrodite facilitated a meeting between paris and helen. he travelled to sparta to see her, either seducing her or abducting her (depending on the version of the myth) and they both sailed off to troy.

menelaus was furious to discover his wife had left, and called upon greek kings and heroes to help him get his wife back which was the beginning that led to the trojan war.

ares love affair

aphrodite was married off to hephaestus (god of fire & craftmaking) by zeus, to prevent arguments among the other gods over her beauty.

the couple were an unlikely match, as hephaestus was always focused on his craft and depicted as being physically unattractive whilst aphrodite was passionate and radiant. so, she turned to ares (god of war) for companionship.

the two deities were polar opposites — aphrodite symbolised love, harmony and beauty whilst ares symbolised violence, chaos and war. their love represented the intertwining of love and conflict.

the couple would meet up in secret, away from the eyes of the other gods to keep their affair hidden... which didn't last long.

hephaestus eventually found out about aphrodite's infidelity through helios — furious, hephaestus set a clever plan to expose and humiliate the couple.

using his skills, he crafted an invisible and unbreakable net of chains which he set up over the bed he shared with aphrodite so the next time her and ares met in secret, the net fell over the two which caught them in the middle of the act.

hephaestus invited all the other gods over to witness the trapped lovers, intending to humiliate ares and aphrodite by exposing their betrayal publicly.

all gods attended and laughed at the situation and envied ares, whilst the goddesses did not attend.

hephaestus demanded compensation or retribution from zeus, but he dismissed his demands and no real consequences were given to ares or aphrodite.

adonis' death / the curse of myrrha

a mortal woman named myrrha (adonis' mother) fell in love with her own father king cinyras. she tried to trick him into sleeping with her, which enraged her father and so he tried to kill her. to escape her father's wrath, she prayed to the gods for protection. but instead, the gods looked down on her for her incestuous acts and she was cursed to transform into a myrrh tree... and somehow, gave birth to adonis.

after the birth of adonis, his unbelievable beauty caught the eye of aphrodite - however, she was not the only goddess enamored with the child.

aphrodite placed the infant adonis in a box and entrusted it to persephone for safekeeping.

persephone opened the box, seeing how beautiful the child was and refusing to give him back up to aphrodite — which caused a massive dispute.

zeus intervened, declaring that adonis would spend one-third of the year with aphrodite, one-third in the underworld with persephone and another one-third with whoever he likes.

(later on, adonis chose to spend that time with aphrodite, only deepening her love for him.)

as adonis grew older, he became aphrodite's lover. the goddess was deeply in love with him and often joined him on hunts, despite her distaste for those types of things.

aphrodite was anxious of adonis' mortality, so she warned him to be cautious of the dangers in the wilderness. — but despite her warnings, adonis was emboldened by his pride and desire and pursued hunting with reckless abandon.

one day whilst adonis was hunting, he encountered a wild boar. some versions of the myth suggest...

1. ares became jealous of aphrodite and adonis' love, and sent the boar to kill him.

2. apollo sent the wild boar to seek revenge after aphrodite blinded his son, erymanthus.

3. artemis was seeking retribution and sent the wild bosr after aphrodite played a role in killing her favourite mortal, hippolytus.

adonis struck the wild boar with his spear, but the wounded animal retaliated by goring him fatally.

aphrodite sensed adonis' pain, and quickly rushed to his side — but she arrived too late, letting him bleed to death in her arms.

heartbroken over his death, she mourned deeply. as her tears mingled into his blood, she transformed him into an anemone flower — symbolising love, fleeting beauty and loss.

following his death, adonis descended into the underworld where persephone claimed him as her own. aphrodite protested, begging to zeus once more where he only reaffirmed the previous agreement.

this cycle represents the seasons — time spent with aphrodite symbolising spring and summer, whilst time spent with persephone symbolises autumn and winter.

eros and psyche

psyche was a mortal princess. she was so beautiful that people began to worship her instead of aphrodite — which angered her.

so, aphrodite sent eros (her son / cupid) and ordered him to make psyche fall in love with the ugliest creature.

however, when eros first saw psyche he was struck by her beauty and accidentally pricked himself with his own arrow, causing him to fall deeply in love with her.

instead of honouring his mother's wishes, he wanted to secretly make her his own.

meanwhile, psyche was alone. despite her beauty, men feared to ask for her hand in marriage. psyche's father was desperate for guidance, so he consulted in the oracle of delphi which delivered a tragic prophecy.

"dress your daughter in funeral clothes and leave her on a rocky cliff. she is destined to marry a fearsome, winged serpent that even the gods fear."

reluctantly, her family obeyed the oracle's words. they dressed her up, and left her on a cliff. however, instead of a monster, zephyrus gently lifted her up and carried her to a beautiful palace in a hidden valley.

in the palace, eros came to visit her in disguise and forbade her to see his face. despite his secrecy, he was gentle and loving with her which caused psyche to fall in love.

during the day, she wandered around the palace and was attended to by invisible servants, and at night time she would spend time with her husband.

however, the curiosity ate away at psyche. this was only enabled when her sisters came to visit.

upon seeing the luxurious life of psyche, her sisters became jealous and poisoned her mind with doubts — they convinced psyche that eros was a monster who would eventually kill and devour her. they urged her to take an oil lamp and a dagger, look at him whilst he slept, and be ready to kill him if he was a beast.

that night, psyche's curiosity got the best of her and followed her sister's advice. she lit the lamp, and beheld the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

overwhelmed with love and regret, her hands trembled and a drop of hot oil landed on eros' shoulder, waking him up.

heartbroken by her betrayal, eros declared: "love cannot live without trust" and flew away.

heartbroken, psyche decided to try and win back eros by calling upon aphrodite.

aphrodite saw this as an opportunity to torment psyche further, so the goddess assigned psyche a list of nearly impossible tasks.

1. sorting a mountain of seeds — aphrodite poured a vast pile of mixed grains and demanded psyche to separate them by dawn. eros, who was still secretly in love, sent an army of ants to help her complete the task.

2. fetching golden wool — psyche had to collect golden fleece from violent rams. a river god advised her to wait until the rams slept before collecting the fleece from a bush.

3. filling a crystal flask with water from the underworld's river —psyche had to fetch water from a deadly river guarded by dragons. zeus' eagle assisted her by carrying the flask.

4. retrieving persephone's beauty in a box — finally, aphrodite ordered psyche to descend into the underworld and retrieve a bit of persephone's beauty in a box. persephone complied, warning her not to open the box. however, curiosity overtook psyche once again and she opened it up — she saw it did not contain beauty, but rather the sleep of death. psyche quickly fell into a deep slumber.

eros, unable to bear psyche's suffering any longer, flew to her and gently wiped away the deadly sleep and revived her with a kiss.

he pleaded to zeus to allow them to be together. zeus, moved by their love, made psyche a goddess and allowed her immortality.

psyche and eros were finally united, having a grand wedding on mount olympus. eventually, aphrodite accepted psyche for her now divine status.

pygmalion and galatea

pygmalion was a gifted sculptor from cyprus, known for his exceptional artistry.

he chose to live in solitude, deciding not to involve himself with any woman romantically as he believed no woman could ever match his ideal of beauty and virtue.

one day, pygmalion began working on a statue of a woman from pure ivory. he poured all his skill and passion into his work, ensuring every detail was flawless.

he named the statue galatea, and his admiration for his work quickly formed into love.

he would dress her in fine clothes, accessorise her in jewellery, spoke to her and slept next to her as he longed for her to come alive.

during the festival of aphrodite, the people in cyrpus gathered to honour and celebrate the goddess of love.

pygmalion approached the altar and made a silent but heartfelt prayer to aphrodite for a woman "as perfect as his ivory maiden."

aphrodite had secretly been watching his devotion and sincerity for his statue for awhile now, and decided to grant his prayer.

when pygmalion returned home, he kissed the statue as he always did. but, something was different...

her lips felt warm.

surprised by this, he touched her arm and felt warm, soft skin instead of cold ivory.

galatea's eyes fluttered open, her rigid form softening as she came to life before pygmalion's astonished gaze.

pygmalion was overwhelmed with joy, repeatedly thanking the goddess for her generosity. galatea, now a living woman, reciprocated his love and the two were happily united together.

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

RELATIONSHIPS

- ares (lover)

- hephaestus (ex husband)

- apollo (ex lover)

- poseidon (ex lover)

- adonis (ex lover)

- hermes (ex lover)

- anchises (ex lover)

- dionysus (ex lover)

- zeus (father?)

- dione (mother?)

- eros / cupid (son)

- hermaphroditus (son)

- aeneas (son)

- priapos (son)

- phobos (son)

- deimos (son)

- harmonia (daughter)

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

OFFERINGS

- candles ( red, white, pink )

- crystals ( rose quartz, rhodonite )

- seashells / sea water / sand

- jewellery ( pearls )

- flowers ( roses, tulips )

- wine ( red, white, pink )

- beauty products ( makeup, skincare )

- perfume

- chocolate ( dark, milk )

- fruits ( strawberries, pomegranates, apples )

- incense ( vanilla, lavender, rose )

always remember to wash your hands & cleanse yourself before giving an offering!

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

WAYS TO HONOUR HER

- compliment yourself

- do your makeup / dress up for yourself

- make a skin / body care routine

- paint your nails

- keep pictures of her or any loved ones in your home

- drink some wine

- listen to love songs / watch rom-coms

- visit the beach / go swimming

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

HER SYMBOLS

- doves

- seashells

- roses

- myrtle

- swans

- sparrows

- golden apples

- pomegranates

⋆｡‧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚‧｡⋆

do your own research, don't fully trust everything you read online & please correct me if i've spread misinformation!

[ledesaid]

Nothing is said ▼►☼ #1

Magic, that branch of life that brings problems and joys. Mary has known both, and now she just wants to close her eyes, but she still can't.

Superman is hugging her while her body is consumed by darkness, a fair price for using a forbidden and lethal spell... Mary would be offended if it had been something less. Not just any spell would take down one of the champions of magic.

"Miss Marvel, please, keep your eyes open! You have to fight!"

"No... it can't be helped, this is my punishment for killing my brother..."

"Constantine will be here soon, you have to fight!"

"There is no cure, Superman... It's part of... my sin. But you could do something for me..."

"Please, tell me..."

Mary looks in the direction of the crater left by her spell, the place where the Captain had ceased to exist and where there should be nothing left. Tears clouded her vision... No one would cry for them.

"Billy, that's his name... and mine is Mary... Remember us, Superman. Please remember us even if the world doesn’t... Don’t forget us."

She wanted the Batson siblings to be remembered. No one would do so after that day; they would just be two orphaned children who disappeared in the middle of the battle of Fawcett, never to be found...

Billy and Mary would be ashes together.

"I never do that..."

"We believe you..."

Superman hugged the woman, what was left of her, before she completely turned to dust...

And so, the woman and the girl vanished.

In just minutes, Constantine, Batman, and Wonder Woman arrived. No words were needed... it was already too late. Fawcett was destroyed, and they had lost two friends, along with the pillars of the magical world. Captain Marvel had been compromised by an unknown entity, and his sister had sacrificed everything to stop him.

Diana took Bruce's hand to offer comfort... Everything fell into a respectable silence, mourning for two heroes.

Suddenly, that silence was broken by an unexpected, gentle sound.

The battlefield, was interrupted by a small cry.

"A baby" The sound reached Batman and was unmistakable.

Batman was the first to run toward the crater where there should have been some remnants of the Captain Marvel. Wonder Woman and Superman closely followed.

"I told you, magic is capricious," Jon Constantine felt it first, sensing a spark.

"It's a baby..." Batman lifted him from the dirt.

"By Hera, it's..." Diana cupped the baby's soft cheek.

As Bruce covered the little one with his cape, he looked at him puzzled. He had rosy cheeks, black hair, and, he swore, blue eyes... Eyes like... Him.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

[chthonic-liar]

hera is a woman who does not have a body and whose shell (the hepheastus) was designed to contain something vaguely hera-shaped that would most likely have been an inanimate thing and as such she is repeatedly, affirmatively referred to as 'it' by her creator who programmed her not to be a person but to be an Object, a Listener and an Obeyer. she could have been anything, least likely of all a woman in the way that minkowski or lovelace or maxwell are women, but she is one regardless. the physical entity she occupies was someone else's before it was hers (and it did not become hers by choice) yet she made it her own and she made herself known to the crew living within it as hera, a living being who uses she/her pronouns, who uses the name that she prefers, who eiffel and the crew call a woman (or sweetheart, or blue barbie), because that is what she chose for herself, and to me that is basically the same as hera being trans. thank you hera the trans robot girl, i love you hera the trans robot girl. goodnight

[loth-creatures]

Sometimes I think about the Ghost post-rebels and its just so painful imagining it empty except for Hera and baby Jacen. Also chopper. But.

The memories are etched into the metal itself, the crew and the ship are intertwined, one and the same. But now its empty and quiet and hollow. The absence of everyone is so strong they feel like ghosts even though Sabine and Zeb are alive and well and still visit. I bet the memories and emotions are so strongly embedded that Jacen can sense them.

I bet anyone Force-sensitive who walks onto that ship can just feel how loved and lived in it was.

If the Ghost outlives Hera and Jacen and anyone else who might inherit it. If it sits abandoned for a hundred years on some wild peaceful planet. Any Jedi who found it would still feel the memories and know.

A ship is an entity all its own, its an amalgamation of the people who live on it and that goes for starships, sailing ships, any ship that people live on. Remember when the razorcrest got blown up in the Mandalorian? My heart fucking stopped. If the Ghost ever got blown up? Unspeakable grief. Its not just the ship that's gone, its not even just a home. Its part of your soul.

If you live on a ship you trade a little piece of your soul for a little piece of the ships' (that's how you get addicted to the sea or the stars)

[cynthiav06]

I had originally intended to make this post on Percy's birthday for some well-intended chaos, because why not? But I had a bit of a health crisis since then, and I had no time nor strength to do anything, so here's this now. I have seen so many strongest demigod tier lists, and half of them I find to be somewhat inaccurate, so here's mine:

If you guys want to see specific 1v1 between any characters just post an ask and I will do a breakdown on following criterias:

Strength Knowledge Durability

Speed Battle Strategy Abilities

Stamina Battle Experience FEATS

Now feats is in bold because in the end, that's what actually determines the power level, so keep that in mind. A lot of people might riot, but it is what it is.

This current tier list is also based on the aforementioned categories:

1.PERCY JACKSON

(I don't want to argue over this there's. no argument to be had it's crystal clear)

Twice savior of Olypmus (the only one)

Was offered Immortality

Was War General of Camp-Halfblood during Titan War

Former Praetor of Rome

Bore the weight of the sky without Artemis's blessing

Survived Tartarus

Fought Kronos

Only one to survive the Curse of Achilles

Only one to overpower a primordial entity

Killed multiple Titans and Giants

Sat on a Gods Throne without any consequences

Blessed by Pan and Hestia

Defeated Geras

Wrestled Nereus

Considered to be the only one worthy of commanding a God by Apollo when he initially turned mortal

( Has killed so many notable entities and has probably hundred more feats but I won't mention them all or else it would all be a Percy list)

2.JASON GRACE

[ Okay, hear me out on this before everyone explodes. Nico has definitely one of the, if not the strongest, abilities in the verse in terms of both power and versatility. But he comes up short in terms of strength, stamina, endurance, and feats.]

Former Praetor of Rome

Defeated Krios

Has Killed more than one giant

Has Killed the Trojan Sea Monster

Has the highest combat experience/training out of all the demigods

Hera's favored demigod

Could go toe to toe with Percy for a good amount of time

3.NICO DI ANGELO

Survived Tartarus

Brought back Athena Parthenos, the Bane of the Giants

Faced a Primordial and got out alive

Half the reason the Titan War was won

The Ambassador of Pluto

(There's a few more but those are more on the abilities spectrum more so than feats)

The Ghost King

Could fight Nero equally for a while ( who is considered to be equal to a Minor God)

4. HAZEL LEVESQUE

(Between her and Meg I guess it's sort of debatable given Meg has more abilities and many feats, but Hazel has stronger feats and solid abilities herself)

Killed a Giant (more than one, with help but it's very impressive either way because of her significant contributions during those times)

Granted power by another God who is not her Godly Parent

Magic user

Has the strongest mist control out of all demigods

Tamed Arion

Praetor of Rome

5. MEG MCCAFFREY

(No don't bother debating this. It's true)

The sheer number of abilities she has alone is good enough to put her here.

Can summon Karpoi

Strongest demigod child of Demeter

Opened the Grove of Dodona(with Apollo)

Tons of feats ( check @respect Meg McCaffrey on reddit for elaborate descriptions)

Has mastered one of the deadliest forms of combat known (Dimachaerus, an ancient gladiatorial mode of fighting from the roman times. Apollo states it is one of the rarest and deadliest forms of combat one can master)

Was chosen to command a literal God turned mortal

6. THALIA GRACE

Fought all of Hades's furies and the worst of the monsters Underworld has to offer before her "death"

Has the blessing of Artemis

Lieutenant of Hunters of Artemis

Defeated Luke Castellan completely in pure combat who was before Percy, the greatest swordsman born in the last three centuries.

Fought Iapetus briefly and survived

Survived Orion's attack on the Hunters and fought him briefly and survived

Was considered the strongest demigod in Camp Half Blood before Percy Jackson

7. FRANK ZHANG

Praetor of Rome

Could lead a legion of dead soldiers

Neptune's gift of shape-shifting

As of ToA his life is no longer attached to the wood

The physically strongest demigod

Has the blessing of Mars which gives him enhanced strength and stamina

Can turn into a literal dragon (Need I say more?)

Fought and helped defeat a giant

Blitzed a minor God

(More cool stuff, people need to puts some respect on Frank's name)

8. REYNA RAMIREZ-ARELLANO

(Before the Piper stans roll in, Reyna worked for Circe for a good long while before she and her sister fled after the pirate attack so there's a good chance she knows how to resist charmspeak which is something alike Circe's enchantments.

Now Annabeth's a good contender to fight Reyna, but I am basing this on higher feats. Reyna fought and defeated Orion and was probably involved in overthrowing Krios while the only powerful being Annabeth has gone toe to toe with is Kronos inhabiting Luke's body and she does manage to corner Annabeth in Mark of Athena and Annabeth herself says she is unsure if she could win against Reyna, [it's super close though])

Former Praetor of Rome

Returned Athena Parthenos, the Bane of the Giants

Could easily go toe to toe with Annabeth who has far more training and combat experience than her.

The only Roman demigod to recieve Athena's blessing

Received a piece of Athena's cloak/shield Aegis.

Fought and defeated Orion, a giant who had previously almost completely decimated most of the Amazons and Hunters.

Has the blessing of Artemis

9. ANNABETH CHASE

(Yet again, to Piper fans,Annabeth is a child of Athena, born from divine, though, so i think Annabeth would be able to resist Piper's charmspeak to a certain extent and Annabeth has more feats and overall higher comabt and knowledge plus intelligence)

Held up the weight of the sky for half a day(with Artemis's blessing)

The only child of Athena to find and secure the Athena Parthenos

Fought Kronos and held her own while using just a dagger against his giant scythe

Outsmarted and trapped Arachne just using trickery

Tricked Polyphemus

Was able to fight the giant Mimas briefly with Athena in Blood of Olympus

Survived Tartarus

Architect of Olympus

10. LEO VALDEZ/PIPER MCLEAN

Honestly I can't decide between this. I am going to need you all to decide this one.

Most of Leo's feats are constructing or repairing things. Festus, Argo 2, Archimedies circle, convincing Apollo, and so on.

Piper's feats are all based on her charmspeak and nothing else. Khione, Medea, and even putting Gaea to sleep (because she was already sleepy and in mid-air cut off from her domain for long enough). The plan was Leo's, but the execution mostly depended on Piper, so it's a tie, I think, but let me know your opinions.

Feel free to share your honest opinions; though, mostly, let's agree to disagree on the Top 5. I can welcome debate over 6-10. But I think the Top 5 are mostly factually canonically accurate.

[call-sign-shark]

Hi Shark 💓 I saw your post with the three word sentences and I'd like to request 6. "Be gentle, please." with Tommy. If you're more comfortable with writing for a different character then you're obviously free to do so! 🥰

Hi Daisy! Here we go dear 🥰 Finger crossed, I hope you'll enjoy that Tommy x Reader blurb! Honestly, I really enjoyed writing it.

Words: 993

TW: Smut content but no actual pornographic descriptions, mentions of murder, ambiguous ending (the ending is up to you), reader is nicknamed Hera.

Fire spread under your skin as his strong and calloused hands ran down your naked back to grab your hips in a bruising grip. How did you end up here, laying on the giant fur carpet in front of a fire place with Birmingham’s most infamous gangster touching you? The question had been playing on repeat in your buzzing skull the moment he had laid his fingers on you. A feverish sigh escaped from your quivering lips when Tommy’s hips crashed against yours. The wet caress of his tongue left goosebumps in its trail each time you would feel it on the sensitive flesh of your bosom. It was like the dancing flames of the fireplace, whose hungry tongues of blaze licked the logs that were feeding them until all remained was ashes. You clenched your fist in his dark hair, squeezing your eyes shut and throwing your head back at ocean of pleasure that was drowning you each time his hips moved. As you made love in his living room, the melody of your sighs and flesh snapping filling the room and swirling up to the ceiling, you still tried to gather all your remaining strength to hang on the reason behind your meeting.

“Hera…” He moaned against your breasts, the vibrations of his hoarse voice echoing in your whole ribcage and shattering your bones in a sensual earthquake. Your toes curled as his pace, slow and gentle at first, quickened. Lost in a maze of feelings and lust, your hand left his hair and joined the other one on his broad and muscular back.

“Deeper.” You hissed through your teeth as your nails dug in his skin and pierced his flesh. Your voice, eternally collected, was now shaken by a light tremor you hated to hear. You sounded begging. You sounded desperate. You sounded weak. And only God knew how you despised weakness. Well, not only God but also Luca Changretta, to be true. When the godfather of the American branch of the Sicilian mafia took you under his protective wing, he called you Hera — queen of gods, and furious dishonored wife of a monster. Besides him and a few capo, no one knew where you came from and why Changretta had a soft spot for you. Yet, the story behind your relationship was tragic.

He saw you one dreary summer night, crying outside of the church in your magnificent white dress stained with little crimson droplets. From what he had understand, you had caught your future husband cheating the day of your wedding and he was so enraged you found out about his secret affairs that he had beaten you until your legs collapsed and until your body was black and blue. When Luca Changretta cupped your face and laid a protective kiss on your forehead, he made you a promise: no other men would hurt you again, for he would make the most terrifying and beautiful monster out of you. Luca dived in your eyes and smiled, and as he did Y/N vanished in the aid of this new fierce entity that was now inhabiting you.They said Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and how right they were.

“Fuck —“ Tommy swore, at the edge of climax. All of his muscles tensed under the coiling and maddening pleasure that was consuming him — but Thomas Shelby was as stubborn as you were, and he hated to show any sign of weakness even more than you. That was why he choked his moans against your mouth and let his tongue force its way between your juicy lips. You scratched his back in response, small beads of blood darkening your nails. His pace was now frantic and brutal, turning your love making into more a battle than anything else. Sex was a fight you were both fiercely decided to win. But if Tommy had the rage of winning, you had the disgust of losing.

“Let it go, little boy…” You whispered against his mouth, waving your hips like a dancing succubus willing to milk him from his life. Your victory became evident as you felt Tommy’s legs shaking. He sunk his teeth in your lower lip and growled like an animal as he gave in — blown away by the fiery blaze of his little death, the gangster felt tears dawning at the corner of his turquoise eyes when he came. The burning sensation was so unbearable at some point he thought he was in hell. But was it really hell if he liked the way it burned?

You smirked, enjoying the end of the war you’ve just won.

Tommy and you were now sharing a cigarette, both naked and sitting on the comfortable rug while watching the dying flames that were flickering in the hearth. But despite the doubt that had started to plague your cold mind, you mentally repeated the mantra you lived by for years: You have to rise above the squabbling and chaos, and keep believing. You have to always keep your goals in mind… And your goal was to murder Tommy Shelby.

Why?

Because you were the most terrifying and skilled hitman of America, and someone had paid you to kill him.

And you were heartless.

You had not always been like this though… But the young eighteen years old crying princessa Changretta had almost raised had met the same demise as her savior: she was no longer alive. All remained was the still smoking ashes of a maimed heart and an empty body only animated by pure anger.

Tommy had barely stubbed out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray nearby when you pressed the cold blade of your knife against the fragile flesh of his throat. Yet, he did not seem surprised. Nor afraid. Quite the contrary, Thomas Shelby was tired. Just… Tired. He looked at you, his sky blue eyes staring into the void that constituted yours, and parted his lips to speak.

“Be gentle, please.”

That was all he said.

Somehow, he did not mind to die if the last embrace given to him was soft — even if it came from Death herself. You could kill him, it did not matter anymore, as long as you were as no one else since Grace had been with him: gentle.

You pulled him in your arms, hugging his exhausted frame in a final clasp, and tightened your grip around the knife.

Fine, you thought, I’ll be gentle then.

[honestlyboringperson]

Persona 5 AU anyone? No? Just me? That’s fine.

Anyways, welcome to an AU that’s been bouncing around my head for nearly a year now! It was inspired by @/chrisrin’s take on the MCYT x Persona series as well as @/scruffyturtle’s ACAU! Go check ‘em out!

Team B.E.S.T.

The Scottage + Gem

Fairy Fort

Magical Mountain + Cub

More Information is under the cut!

Grian - “Ace” - The Sun Arcana - Lafayette/Eris

Grian is a college student working for a degree in architecture. He lives with in roommate Mumbo and does journalling and photography as a hobby. For some odd reason however, he can’t seem to remember anything about his past beyond simply going to college, doing a part time job, and spending time with his cousin and friends. This is because Grian isn’t really human. In this AU, the Watchers take the role of Yaldaboath, and created Grian to begin the mental shutdown cases to scare people into looking for someone to look towards. In this case, The Watcher Cult (Called the Pupils) for the Watchers to take control. During his creation, false memories were implanted in certain people in the Pupils for Grian to more seamlessly appear. But unbeknownst to them, the Velvet Room interfered and erased Grian’s memories of his purpose.

Anyways, onto the personas, Grian’s persona is Lafayette, a key figure in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. In both wars, he was known to lead his armies in decisive battles of the war to secure their victory. Even today, he’s celebrated as a hero in both France and in the US. This fits in with canon Grian’s habit of rebelling against any governmental entity that’s in the Hermitcraft server (although he is currently the government) l

His Ultimate persona is Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos and strife. She was the instigator of the Trojan war, where she threw at apple at Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. She stated that it was for the “fairest goddess” and one thing led to another, and several kingdoms are now at war with each other. Wow, starting a war for shits and giggles? That sounds like Grian!

Jimmy - “Sheriff” - The Fool Arcana - Black Bart/Baldr

Grian’s cousin and charmingly unlucky, Jimmy is often the target of teasing. He’s the one to egg Grian on to actually go to class instead of just doing the online assignments. He’s personally seeking a degree in education, and is a stickler for the rules he agrees with. Unbeknownst to him, he was a victim of the Pupils and one of the people that had false memories implanted in him. He’s extremely excited about being a phantom thief, but his joyous excitement will be tested through the story.

His Persona is Black Bart, an American Outlaw who is known for the poetic messages he left behind after two of his stagecoach robberies. He is considered a gentleman bandit with a flair for style and sophistication. He brandished a shotgun, but was noted to never fire it during his robberies. He was famed to the point there is an annual parade in Redwood Valley, California where there is a Black Bart Parade where he is played and portrayed as a stereotypical Old West Villain.

Anyways, Baldr is Jimmy’s Ultimate Persona. Baldr is a Norse god, and was well loved by everyone in the Aesir. He had a prophetic dream where everything is destroyed and gets terrified. His mother then makes everything in existence to personally promise her they won’t hurt him, rendering him near indestructible. But there was one thing that didn’t promise his mother; mistletoe. Loki kills Baldr when the other gods made a game where they throw countless weapons at the newly indestructible Baldr where he throws a spear made of mistletoe at him. He was the metaphorical “canary in the mine” due to his death being the first domino that trigger Ragnarok. Baldr only returns from the dead after Ragnarok throughly destroys everything.

Impulse - “Rook” - The Hierophant Arcana - Wayland/Hephaestus

Impulse owns a small prop weapons company where he forges and creates prop weapons in his own garage. He is coined the “dad” of the group, but would let a stupid scheme play out if he thinks it’s going to be funny. Unknown to anyone but his close friends (Skizz, Gem, and Pearl), but Impulse has a criminal record. He once worked under the one of the biggest mafia families in the country, and he was caught by the police after his teammates from the mafia abandoned him and used him to distract the cops. Ever since then, Impulse has been secretly trying to locate his former teammates to enact revenge on them.

Wayland is Impulse’s persona. Wayland was a blacksmith who was enslaved under a king. He had revenge on the king by killing both his sons and built wings to escape the king. Afterwards, he supplied weapons to several other people in myths and stories such as Charlemagne and his paladin as well as Beowulf as their weapons maker. Impulse is an advocate for burying the hatchet after using the hatchet to brutally destroy those who wronged him.

Impulse’s Ultimate Persona is Hephaestus, the Greek god of the forge and blacksmiths. After being thrown off Mount Olympus, he swore revenge on Hera. He enacted said revenge by trapping her on top of a golden throne that made her unable to get up. Not only in this story, but also in tales such as Aphrodite’s affair, he is noted to be very vengeful and will not yield unless his demands are reached.

Martyn - “Knave” - The Judgement Arcana - Atlantis/Judas

Martyn is a stagehand in the local theatre known for his friendly and amiable demeanour. However, under that cheery demeanour is a burning desire for revenge. Martyn’s parents were devout worshippers of the Watchers and worked under the Pupils. He was subjected to several grievances due to his parents volunteering him for the Pupil’s experiments and abuses. Ever since he’s escaped, he has focused on destroying the cult. He’s been working as a grey hat hacker to clients with varying levels of morality to get money and further his research on the cult.

Martyn is the navigator of the team with his persona Atlantis. Atlantis was a city that was sunk beneath the sea for being too greedy. It was noted to possess technology that surpassed the technology of times and even to this day, it’s still being searched for. The people were of divine descent, and lost their humility as they became more human after each generation.

Martyn’s ultimate persona is Judas. Judas was one of the original disciples for the Big J, and sold out him out for 30 pieces of silver. Martyn’s story in this AU revolves around his grudge against the Pupils and the Watchers, so his persona is someone who betrayed a religious figurehead.

Mumbo - “Vamp” - The Hermit Arcana - Galileo/Thoth

Mumbo is Grian’s roommate and a self proclaimed “spoon”. He is working towards a degree in Computer Science and is often found tinkering with old technology in his room, often to the point him and Grian step on loose screws and pieces of plastic on a weekly basis. Much like Jimmy, he had false memories of Grian implanted in him, which would come into conflict when the origins of Grian is revealed. This was because the main reason he joined the Phantom Thieves was out of concern for Grian. According to him, the day he turned 18 is when his signature moustache just grew spontaneously.

Mumbo’s persona is Galileo, the father of modern science and the scientific method. His studies were considered blasphemous against the church and he was sentenced to house arrest. Even though he was imprisoned, he still had faith in his discoveries and continued his studies within the confines of his house,

His Ultimate Persona is Thoth, the Egyptian God of the moon, wisdom, knowledge, writing, hieroglyphs, and judgement. He’s associated with Hermes and due to the connection, created the epithet Trismegestus. He is someone who solves his issues with diplomacy and reason instead of pure power and strength.

[elithesia-autem-danguarde]

Arcane x EPIC Crossover

Hello there, curious peeps. So me and a couple friends in a Jayvik Discord server were talking about some cool ideas about blending Arcane with Epic the Musical, and it ended up turning into a whole thing where we cast every major role:

Main Cast

Odysseus: Jayce

Penelope: Viktor

Telemachus: Ekko

Eurylochus: Caitlyn

Polites: Heimerdinger

Gods

Athena: Mel

Zeus: Ambessa

Poseidon: Silco

Hermes: Vi

Aeolus: Isha

Apollo: Mylo (+ Claggor in the background)

Hephaestus: Vander

Aphrodite: Sky (Astral form specifically)

Ares: Rictus

Hera: Felicia

Others

Polyphemus: Sevika (Losing her arm instead of her eye)

Circe: LeBlanc

Scylla: Jinx

Tiresias (The Prophet): Mage Viktor

Calypso: The Hexcore

Charybdis: Warwick (Separate Entity)

Antonius: Salo

Anticlea (Odysseus's Mother): Ximena

If you have any questions about why a certain character was cast in a certain role, feel free to ask! We have an answer for everything lol.

Big thanks to @sparrow-in-boots, @thetroubledmedic, and @arya-skywalker for all of their contributions to the discussion. We were all in this together!

[ph4os]

I hate it when pagans say they hate "Epic: The Musical" and any other adaptation of mythology because they consider it blasphemous/offensive. I understand that they can be considered as such because they are written and produced mainly by non-pagans but in some cases we have to be objective, some are real works of art and, more importantly, we must not forget that in ancient Greece (when the citizens of the poleis were obliged to practice religion) staging myths was the order of the day. So no, it's not offensive and no, it's not blasphemous, maybe you may not like them for your own personal taste but if you go against certain readjustments just to be alternative you're not cool and you're not respecting the Gods better than others do. I'm the first one that doesn't like a lot of retelling, especially when it comes to books, but frankly we should remember that the Gods are not the same entities as the myths. The only purpose of myths is to reflect the behaviors of man and teach what is right and what is not (according to the customs of ancient Greece of course). I understand that some representations do not reflect the way we perceive the Gods but unfortunately (or fortunately) we can't do anything about it. If, for example, you don't like Hera is rapresented in "Blood Of Zeus", don't watch it but you can't say that, if another pagan likes it, then they're doing something wrong. According to this reasoning we should erase all Greek and Roman mythology because "x deity would never do such a thing!!!" You're right, they wouldn't, but the person who wrote x myth needed to teach a certain behavior and the person who wrote x readjustments maybe wanted to talk about a certain topic and using greek myths seemed to them the best way to do that. I'm not saying it's respectful, I'm not saying it's okay for non-pagans to use our religion to do their comforts, but I'm saying we shouldn't start judging what other pagans hear/read/watch. I hate "the song of Achilles" but because I can't stand mythologically accurate Achilles and that book it's mythological accurate, if there's a pagan who follows the cult of heroes and worships Him and reads that book and likes it, I'm certainly not going to insult that person. I'm a devotee of Apollo, and I personally love Rick Riordan's trilogy about Him, and if someone came to tell me that I don't have to like it because the God doesn't like it, I would honestly tell them to shut the fuck up.

[mask131]

I just thought of bringing back some of the Homeric versus Hesiodic differences, after a chat I had with @themousefromfantasyland . This is not exhaustive but just a few points you can bring up in discussions.

Hesiodic Aphrodite: born from Ouranos' cut-off family jewels thrown into the sea (most popular version today). Homeric Aphrodite: a more "regular" Olympian born of Zeus and Dione (poor Dione goes from prominent Homeric character to secondary Hesiodic character).

Hesiodic Eris: One of the children of Nyx the Night, born in primordial times and part of a whole host of personifications of the afflictions of humanity. Homeric Eris: Part of the Olympian family, sister of Ares, daughter of Zeus and Hera.

Hesiodic Hyperion: Definitively different from his son Helios, not the same dude. Homeric Hyperion: almost always an alternate name for Helios (except maybe for one instance...)

Hesiodic Oceanos and Tethys: just part of the regular host of Titans. Homeric Oceanos and Tethys: primordial entities considered father and mother of all the gods, and very likely creation gods that predated or equaled Gaia and Ouranos.

Hesiodic Moirai: the three spinsters we know today, a trio of specific goddesses dealing with lifespan of mortals and the greater fate to which all the gods must abide (though the Hesiodic tradition offers two different lineages for them, either Zeus' children and thus part of the Olympian family, either daughters of Night and thus primordial forces like Eris). Homeric Moirai: do not really exist, as "Moira" (singular) is more of an abstraction/figure of speech than an actual goddess - meanwhile it is Zeus, as king of the gods and master of the universe, who is the "god of fate", in charge of stuff like weighing individual destinities on a scale to check what to do next.

Metis and her legend comes from the Hesiodic tradition. There's no mention of Metis in Homeric tradition: we know Athena was born "without a mother" out of Zeus, but we don't know the how and why. In a reverse, the Hesiodic Hephaistos was born of Hera alone, without a father, while Homer (according to later commentaries and scholia) pushed forward the Zeus+ Hera parentage.

Also... Hesiod doesn't (at least from what I recall) evoke the whole "Aphrodite cheated on Hephaistos" thing? I don't recall seeing him talk about Aphrodite marrying Hephaistos anywhere. The story is present within Homer, but in the Hesiodic tradition, while we do have Aphrodite hooking up with Ares and Hephaistos marrying Aglaia, we don't have anything about a possible adultery that led to this situation... Though for this last point I am not certain, I haven't checked this part in a while.

There's much more, of course - and feel free to add more. But it's already, I think, a good reminder of how the very "basic" texts, the "foundations" of Greek mythology are born of two differing tradition, an "older" one (Homeric) and a more "recent", classical one that dominated in later texts (Hesiod) - meanwhile what we have in "common culture" today is a random mix of the two.

[the-mortuary-witch]

DEITY AND ENTITY PLAYLISTS

ASMODEUS

ANUBIS

APHRODITE

ARES

APOLLO

ARTEMIS

BAPHOMET

BASTET

BEELZEBUB

CERBERUS

DIONYSUS

DEMETER

FREJYA

FENRIR

HECATE

HYPNOS

HERA

HERMES

HADES

HEL

LOKI

LUCIFER

LILITH

MELINOË

MEDUSA

NYX

ODIN

OSIRIS

PERSEPHONE

POSEIDON

SELENE

SATAN

THOR

THE MORRIGAN

THANATOS

ZEUS