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mornyavie · 4 years ago

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Glossary of references in The Bifrost Incident

It’s Very Long and yet also not really complete. If there are any questions / clarifications I can add, or I’ve messed anything up and need to fix it, let me know!

The tl;dr is that nearly every word in the album draws from either Norse mythology or the Lovecraft / Cthulhu mythos, directly or indirectly.

@moony221b here’s that glossary that I promised forever and a day ago.

Edit: I decided to create this document of annotations (x). Lyrics taken from Genius; I’m not totally sure how accurate they are, but hopefully they help get the point across! Again, questions and complaints both welcome.

Arcomba

I can’t find anything on this, would be interested if someone knows.

Asgard

One of the Nine Worlds, specifically the one where most of the Æsir (the subset of gods most associated with humans, including the well-known ones like Thor and Odin) live.

Thus Asgard is the planet on which the most powerful inhabitants of the Yggdrasil system, and those named after the gods, are found (though the subjugation / colonization relationship does not exist in myth).

Azathoth

This one’s from Lovecraft; Azathoth is the greatest of the Outer Gods, often served and worshiped by other gods themselves. Often described as mad, a demon, a sultan, or putting it all together as the Mad Demon Sultan. Resides at “the center of the universe,” where he appears as some sort of vast, amorphous, bubbling, roiling mass of “nuclear chaos.” (Nuclear probably refers to center, not nuclear power, which didn’t really exist when this was written). Servants about him play drums and flutes.

Mentioned briefly as the train travels through the Bifrost and into his realm, and a lot of the narration in those few verses draws directly from Lovecraft’s descriptions.

Baldur

The god of light and beloved by all, Baldr was killed by Loki in his final betrayal of the gods. After the murder Loki was tracked down and imprisoned, and will escape at the start of Ragnarok. In particular, Loki used a spear made of mistletoe... or, in the album, missile two. And tricked another god into throwing it, which I think is mimicked in the distance and impersonality of the crime. Look up more of his story if you want, it’s interesting and important, but that’s the relevant info here.

Bifrost

The rainbow bridge that the gods use to travel between worlds.

Which is, of course, directly analogous to the wormhole-ish extradimensional-ish space of “shifting, undulating hues” through which the train travels.

Edda

The Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda are the names given to two pieces of literature that are most people’s main source for Norse mythology. The Prose Edda was written by Snorri Sturluson around 1200 to teach his (mostly Christian) contemporaries about the mythology and mythological references that made up a big chunk of Norse literature. The Poetic Edda is a set of poems that serve as a major source for Norse tales.

This is partially just a way to connect our hero Lyfrassir Edda to the Norse traditions, but also definitely a reference to their (presumed) role as the main “recorder” and source of information to get out of the Yggdrasil system.

Fate

Honestly the way the Mechanisms deal with fate in general is very interesting and arguably sometimes quite Nordic... but in particular, Bifrost Incident references fate or destiny a number of times and features a number of situations where the outcome is fixed and can’t be changed, but you have to fight anyways: “Killing me won’t save your world” “I don’t care” or how Loki and Sigyn can’t stop the train, but can only delay it. A lot of Norse tragedy revolves around people heading into battle knowing that they’re doomed and fighting anyways, or around the cycle of conflict that marked the cultural requirements for avenging insults. And the myth cycle is notable for the fact that the gods know, explicitly, exactly what Ragnarok is, what’s going to happen, and how they’re going to die, but will fight in it anyways.

Inevitability and helplessness in the face of what you can’t possibly understand, let alone fight, which is a depiction slightly sideways of the Nordic version, are very Lovecraftian themes.

Fenrir

A wolf, child of Loki and father of Skoll and Hati, who was chained by the gods (particularly by Tyr, who placed his hand in the wolf’s mouth as “hostage” to assure him they would unchain him later, and lost the hand). He will break free at Ragnarok to join the battle against them and kill Odin.

With his association with monsters and with Loki, it’s fairly clear why he was aligned with the resistance movement. He’s serving “five life sentences” as a reference to his being chained, and the whole motif of the train’s journey being hijacked for a prison break certainly references the various characters who will be freed or break free as Ragnarok begins.

Frey

The brief reference of Frey being killed by the raging fire of the sun, with “no weapon, no defense,” is a direct translation of the god’s role in Ragnarok, when he will be killed by Surtr. Frey gave away his sword for the opportunity to woo his eventual wife, and so will be armed only with a stag’s antlers in his final combat. Also called Freyr.

Freya (“weeps tears of red-gold”)

Like her brother Frey (and yeah, these names get confusing), Freya is associated with harvest and fertility, though unlike him she also gets battle. In the song she weeps red-gold tears at the death of her husband Odr, which in myth she is said to do when her husband is absent. Also called Freyja.

Garm

Garm is another wolf, who guards Hel’s gates. He also breaks free at Ragnarok, and his howling heralds its coming. As in the album, he will fight and kill Tyr. Also called Garmr.

Hati

There’s a lot of wolves in Norse mythology. This one is a child of Fenrir. He chases the moon across the sky, and will swallow it when Ragnarok comes.

Mentioned briefly only as one of the resistance members on the train.

Heimdall

Heimdall is the watchman of the gods, with keen eyes and foresight, and guards the Bifrost as the entrance to Asgard. He will blow his horn to summon the gods to the final battle during Ragnarok, and he and Loki will kill one another. Also called Heimdallr; you’re probably noticing a pattern. It’s a grammar thing.

Mentioned as guarding the train and “doing his part.” His dying screams initiate the train’s destruction and echo throughout it, which presumably recalls the horn thing.

Hel

Another daughter of Loki, and, as the name will imply to English speakers, a guardian of the dead. She refuses to give Baldur back to the world of the living after Loki kills him. Also the name of the realm in which she resides, and to which go those who die of disease or old age. Doesn’t necessarily have the same bad-punishment connotation as modern Hell. I don’t know whether there’s any indication of what she herself is doing in Ragnarok, but many of her people and associates are certainly fighting against the gods, and I’m fairly certain the ship Naglfar, which carries Loki and his allies to Ragnarok, sets sail from Hel.

Hel as a prison colony clearly references the various characters the gods have chained or otherwise imprisoned (though, in myth, not all within Hel) as well as her alignment with “other side” during Ragnarok, and the jailbreak the resistance members are planning recalls the breaking of all these bonds as Ragnarok begins.

Hoddmimis

The woods in which Líf and Lífþrasir (see Lyfrassir) will shelter to survive Ragnarok and the various disasters accompanying it.

So, good news! We can be marginally assured of Lyfrassir’s survival after taking shelter at the mining-colony of Hoddmimis.

Jormungandr

The world serpent, which lives in the seas and encircles the earth. Will arise during Ragnarok, causing great floods, and fight Thor; Thor will slay the serpent, but in turn the serpent’s poison will cause his death, after he staggers “nine steps back.”

Thor’s fight with Odin-turned-serpent is pretty clearly analogous to this, especially the taking nine steps to the window before destroying it with his hammer, resulting in both their deaths. I don’t think there’s any mythological basis to Odin turning into the serpent, though

Kvasir (“blood drained out”)

Kvasir was a very wise man/god and the originator of poetry. I’m leaving out a fair amount of his birth and life; the important information here is that two dwarves who were jealous of his knowledge tricked him, killed him, drained his blood, and mixed it with honey to make mead. Any who drank of the mead gained the gift of poetry / scholarship; eventually the gods stole it.

I’m not sure if there’s a reason they decided to specifically describe him as a resistance member, but there’s a clear parallel in Kvasir’s blood being drained and used to power the train, especially with the language of glyphs and sigils providing power.

Loki

Ah, Loki. Male in the general canon, though not without genderbending (he turns into a mare and gives birth to Fenrir, Hel, and Jormungandr, for instance). Inasmuch as the Norse myths we have can be organized into a “chronology,” you could do it (in my opinion) along Loki’s path from a mostly benevolent trickster god whose antics occasionally cause trouble to a genuinely malevolent figure. Associated with wit, magic, and trickery. Despite how modern lore (I suspect influenced by Marvel) often portrays Thor and Loki as brothers and children of Odin, in the myth Loki and Odin are bonded as blood-brothers. But Loki also often appears alongside Thor. As mentioned, parent of three of the main figures of Ragnarok. In the “final” myth, he jealously arranges the death of the god Baldr, who was loved by all; then he appears at a feast, where he exchanges insults with the other gods. This is the last straw; they capture him and chain him to a stone, over which they tie a serpent. Venom drips from the serpent’s fangs, causing him great agony. His wife Sigyn stays by his side, catching the venom in a bowl, but when she is forced to leave for a moment to dump it out his thrashing causes earthquakes. He will break free at the start of Ragnarok and sail to Asgard, where he and Heimdall will kill each other.

Hopefully that’s enough to give you a good background for Loki’s role in the album... it’s pretty clear why she’s framed as the opposition to the gods and the “leader” of the resistance movement, as a call to her role in Ragnarok. Her association with magic and trickery make sense for her being the “expert” in the twisted Lovecraftian “science” that produces the train. It also parallels her role in myth; her actions often get the gods into trouble, but they just as often need her wit and knowledge to get them out of it, as Odin needs her knowledge despite her taking action to destroy the train. And the setup at the end - drip, drip, drip, her face twisted in pain, her wife beside her, her “release” heralding the end of the world - precisely echoes the language of her bondage in myth; though her mind-destroying imprisonment by Odin also invokes this.

Lovecraft(ian)

A highly influential horror writer from the early 20th century. He’s largely credited with the creation of the creation of the “cosmic horror” genre, a type of horror which emphasises a vast, unknowable, uncaring universe against which we cannot hope to even begin to fight. His ideas and the gods / demons / creatures he created form the basis of the “Cthulhu mythos” or even “Lovecraft mythos,” which today is a sort of standard set of assumptions on which writers can build. Lovecraftian themes of apocalypse, inevitability, and powerlessness are highly prevalent in the album. Several of the gods in this mythos are used; in particular, Yog-Sothoth (see below). Also, a lot of the general description (madness, roiling chaos, undulating colors) draws from his distinctive vocabulary that remains staple of the genre. It’s worth noting that Lovecraft was a horrible and very racist person, but the genre today is widely used by people who are not terrible.

Lyfrassir

Líf and Lífþrasir in Norse mythology are the two humans who will survive Ragnarok and rebuild humanity; a hopeful sign for our album’s protagonist!

Midgard

In Norse mythology, the “middle” world where humans live. Earth.

Nagthrod

I don’t know this one.

@acorn-mushroom pointed out that it may be a mis-transcription of Naglfar, the name of the (ocean) ship which will carry Loki and his followers from the shores of Hel to the battlefield at Ragnarok. It’s made of dead men’s nails.

Odin

The king of the gods in Norse mythology. As the god of both wisdom and madness, Odin’s role in the album as a researcher and technological ruler whose discoveries drive her slowly mad is both very Lovecraftian and a reasonable leap. I could say a lot about the figure of Odin, but I think this character is one of the most divergent from the myth, in detail if not in role.

Odr

Óðr is Freya’s husband.

Outer gods

A Lovecraft thing referring to several of the most horrible and powerful gods, including Yog-Sothoth.

Ragnarok

The apocalypse, basically, in Norse mythology. Proceeded by various catastrophes, especially a very long winter, mentioned in the album, culminating in a great battle between the gods and their enemies, and resulting in the death of the majority of gods and other creatures of the world.

Ratatosk

A squirrel who runs up and down Yggdrasil, carrying messages between some of the tree’s other inhabitants and sowing discord. The Ratatosk Express links the worlds of the Yggdrasil System, and causes “discord” in the resistance’s opposition to it.

Sigyn

Loki’s wife. See Loki for her role in his imprisonment.

Skoll

Sköll in Norse mythology is the wolf that chases and will someday eat the sun. Association with Fenrir (another wolf) and other monsters motivates his inclusion in the list of resistance members.

Thor

A Norse god, associated with war, lightning/thunder, strength, and in general sort of... common people, as opposed to Odin’s association with kings and royalty. Prone to anger, which makes sense with his depiction as a volatile military leader in the album. He is heavily associated with his hammer mjölnir, hence jokes about “throwing a hammer in the works” and whatnot. Often associates with Loki, both as friends and as enemies as Loki progresses from a mostly-harmless trickster to actively opposing the other gods; thus how in the album he and Loki were once friends. See above for his death fighting Jormungandr.

Tyr

Another Norse god associated with war. He sacrificed a hand to bind Fenrir, and will be killed by Garmr during Ragnarok, both events referenced in the album.

Yggdrasil

The world-tree of Norse mythology, which supports the nine worlds of the cosmology.

Yog-Sothoth

An Outer God of Lovecraftian mythos; also called the Gate and Key. It is associated as sort of the substance of time and space, binding together the cosmos. A lot of the description during the Ragnarok sequences draws directly from the “canonical” descriptions of this deity, and the invocation spoken by Lyfrassir in Red Signal draws from a story about this creature, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

#the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #information #references #thoughts #norse mythology

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honestsycrets · 5 years ago

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Like Me XVI: His Mark

❛ pairing | ivar x reader, past!reader x rorik, freydis x ivar

❛ type | multi

❛ summary | ivar is angry. but it isn’t for reasons you might think. you’re angry too, and really, rorik is just thrown in the middle of all this shit. then there’s freydis.

❛ warnings | verbal arguments, osteogenesis imperfecta issues, OI!reader, anger issues, intense jealousy, god!debates, fighting, character death, referenced infidelity, ivar being jealous, reader being annoyed, rorik being a rorik, don’t die rorik, talk of abortion, talk of stillbirth.

❛ sy’s notes | so i lied and this is not an ending. i have one more coming, i think.

The clang of weapons became louder, rivaling Bjorn’s battle cry. When had he gotten in? You don’t know, but does it matter now to you? Whatever came of Kattegat, of this Great Hall, it was better than its prior state. Bjorn or Harald-- both would be a finer king.

Inside Ivar’s Great Hall, a pin might have dropped on the ground and you would be none the wiser to it, trained upon Freydis as you were. She stands there as guiltless as the bitch you thought her to be-- because at one time, you loved her. At one time, she was someone you thought could be your confidant.

You never would have thought that she would try to bring about your death.

Your hands tremble around the grip of your weighted longbow, drawing the butt of your arrow back. Every moment that you stand there, lungs swelling with heavy exertion is another moment that you have to focus on standing because you aren’t graced like the others-- like Freydis who thinks nothing of keeping herself upright. And, if possible, that makes you hate her even more.

You came so far. Dragging yourself over the wet mud, as the rain pelted down upon you. Having your skirt flipped by strange men. And now, your mind was clear. It was as if you had been walking alongside a mountain path with puffy clouds obscuring your vision. Whether Odin, or Frigg, stripped the clouds-- all was clear now. You saw with a clarity that wasn’t there before. The bottom of this mountain wasn’t a wonderful patch of green grass. It was a ravine.

“What has gotten into you?”

Ivar calls you by name. You shout at him to stand his ground. In no plan of yours was there an intention to kill Ivar whose mind was so poisoned. So wrong. It was not his fault that he was so easily impressed by her. You were too. Now, the only thing you wanted was retribution. One he could not give you.

“You were…” you exhale, quivering. “You were going to sacrifice me.”

Ivar holds your eyes in his. He gives you the look-- that look. The one that could will you down, cause you to get lost in his eyes. Obey him no matter the cost. Like you had that day he arranged your marriage to Whitehair. The worst part of it is that you want to give into his will. Just to make him smile one more time. He tilts his head to the side, only slightly so, allowing for you to go on. “For this-- this whore.”

“It’s what you wanted.” His voice holds a soft quality. Torn between pained by his belief and a sort of accusatory tone, that sits there, waiting. “Isn’t it?” he widens his hand out, hobbling closer.

“Why would you think that? Because she told you?” you gesture, stopping him by letting loose the bowstring. The arrow collides with the footboard of the hall, stopping him from taking a step forward for just a moment.

“Because you love him.” You mull his assertion over just a second, snatching another arrow, and preparing it swiftly. If you wavered, Ivar might have unholstered his axe. One swoop, and he’d embed it in your shoulder. Or face. “Look at you. You even have his bow.”

“I don’t love him.”

Soft, but sturdy and yet he still does not accept it. He brings his hand up, pausing where he is, scratching at his braids. He scoffs and descends into a crass laughter, marked by an air of foul turning hate.

“Do you hear that, Freydis?” he asks her. “She doesn’t love him. That is good. Good. That is why I heard you let him touch you, hm? Because you don’t love him. Maybe you were easy.”

“What is it with you?” you shout, drawing the bow down. Freydis seems to visibly relax, as arrogant as she was before, you think she might have been thinking of course, of course you wouldn’t shoot her. “Freydis fell pregnant behind your back in a barn and here I am the one to blame?! She is the one who fucked your--”

“I know that!” Ivar booms.

There it was, in the open. You chuck the bow onto the floorboards, regarding Ivar, then Freydis. Her eyes have shifted now, narrowing upon the brown floorboards, too afraid to look up. But this time, it’s not your wrath that she’s fearful of.

“What?” you say.

“I know she fucked my slave.” He turns his head, just slightly toward her. For a moment, he says nothing, pinching his brow. His hand flicks up from the tension on his brow and Ivar relinquishes his great sigh. “It was something I could forgive,” he sighs through his statement. Raising another man’s son-- was that truly something he’d do on the back of disloyalty? You didn’t think so, and yet, it raised the question.

“But you can’t forgive me?”

“...you killed our baby.” You thought he was over that. That-- he understood why you couldn’t have his child. Because it would kill you to carry. Your womb was not blessed in this way, you couldn’t. “Did you do it for him?”

“What?!” you snap your head around, finding Rorik peering into the great hall at just the wrong time. Ivar’s eyes train upon him. “Did you do it for him?!”

“What is happening?” Rorik leans into you, wiping the blood off of his brow.

“For you!” Ivar snatches the axe free from his belt. As if perceiving the motion, Rorik rips one of Ivar’s shields from the wall, taking cover underneath it when Ivar whirls his axe. It crashes into Rorik’s shield with a hard crack. He steps back under the weight of the blow. Ivar’s hand snaps to his belt again, clearly searching out another. To stop him, you do the one thing you know he’ll pay attention to-- your words. Your hand presses over Rorik’s chest, stopping Ivar from setting another loose. His face contorts under his realization.

“Then go be with him,” he flicks his hand. “If you want to protect your Odr so much. Go fuck off with the Rus.”

“Do I look like Freyja to you, Ivar? We can’t be divine. I am not a goddess and you are not a god. We are cripples, Ivar. Cripples. Strip away the calibers and what is left?!” You stomp your foot, and cursing yourself when you stumble forward to catch your balance. Rorik raises his hand out to steady you. You shove him back, stubbornly holding your place. “Let go. If he wants to divorce me--”

And then she does it. That small, scoffing laughter that sets something off, deep within you. It should be her that was divorced. Throughout this whole, short marriage, you had been nothing but loving toward Ivar.

Yes-- you knew what you had done to his child. Your child with him. It was not your fault that Ivar could not see things for what they were. A childbirth would drag you toward the gates of Hel, and your child too. The child could not survive a birth so treacherous.

It was Freydis’s delusions that told Ivar they would be able to do so.

Even Ivar, who was so trained upon Rorik, pauses his pursuit of his weapon in that instant. Her sight refills your cup with the rage you thought you suppressed again. Freydis holds her arrogant stance, chin slightly tilting, exuding all the confidence she had in her body. Then, she dares to follow it up.

“She’s lying to you, Ivar.”

He’s not listening-- but you are stomaching it for one last time. He calls your name, softening you over, biding you to look him in the eyes. He is silent, and you are silent, and the only fuss is from the men outside. Unlike that fuss outside, the silence is short lived.

“Shut up!” You snatch the axe free from your husband’s shield, whirling around to throw it. It soars through the air, leaving you with only a blinding pain from Ivar’s weapon that careens into your hand. The bones shatter in your hand, and you shout, losing your balance and nearly crashing into the floor. Rorik is there, supporting your waist with one arm.

“You s-see,” Freydis asks from her place over the ground. Ivar’s axe is remains stuck in her shoulder. “You see now, don’t… don’t you?” Ivar settles beside her. You’re all but forgotten for the moment, glancing over her face, down to the tears breaking free from her cheeks. “She-- she.”

“Ssshhh,” Ivar flips a knife free, gripping the side of her face with one large palm. You make out the words, only a heated whisper, it was always you, now no more lies. He actually-- he actually said it, and knew it, and as his blade slit across her throat, it was worth it. She gurgles, and hanging off of Rorik’s arm, there’s some sick pleasure in it.

“Hurry,” Rorik’s voice is hoarse, lifting you to stand upright. “Bjorn is coming.” The wet blood soaked on his chest bleeds on your back as he lifts you onto your calibers. Your knuckles cry out-- you can’t walk anywhere fast without your crutch. He zips by to find it, thankful that Ivar is in such a strange state, where nothing and everything matters and he’s in between the stages of life and death, and it’s quiet.

“And Oleg?”

“At the pier waiting for us.”

But Ivar. He cleans his blade, cradling Freydis close to his chest, almost as if after everything-- she’s still his everything. And that, you grieve, is something that you can never be. “They’ll kill him.”

Rorik groans long, and painful, and looks toward the man nestling a woman who just sputtered to death. “Do we have to?”

You shoot him a hard look, yes, you have to.

He’s gonna die-- he’s all but certain that when he walks over there, Ivar is going to take one of those picks to his face, and that will be that. Rorik tugs the handle of the axe free from Freydis’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Ivar fails to respond. It’s almost as if he’s unconscious as he sits there, thinking, but Rorik knows this man better. It’s not an issue of being unconscious or conscious or sane or not. Rorik kneels before him, reaching back to tug the fallen king’s hands over his shoulders. He supports Ivar under his knees and stands.

Ivar’s hand comes up, around Rorik’s throat, just enough to keep him steady. Not to snuff out his breath, or anything, Rorik tells himself. You turn, starting toward where he kept his chariot, past the gathered group of people. Then, you’d go to the pier. Rorik keeps his eyes level, following your shifting hips, your crutch jabbing the ground.

“Keep your eyes off of her,” Ivar turns his lips against his ear. His lips widen, part pleasure, part pain, He blinks, turning his head toward Ivar’s over his shoulder. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.”

He thought he escaped Ivar’s eye. Because-- a divorce was on the horizon, wasn’t it? And your anger with Rorik too, but maybe Ivar didn’t know that. He thinks it’s better not to tell a man what his wife doesn’t want him to know.

He stays quiet as they board the ship.

@tephi101 @alicedopey @supernaturalvikingwhore @tootie-fruity @titty-teetee @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla @ethereallysimple @deathbyarabbit @deathbyarabbit @readsalot73 @natalie-rdr @lol-haha-joke @lisinfleur @hissouthernprincess @marvelousse @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol @vikingsmania @wish-i-was-a-mermaid @lif3snotouttogetyou @gruffle1 @cris101071 @gold-dragon-slayer @babypink224221 @wonderwoman292 @naaladareia @beyond-the-ashes @generic-fangirl @chinduda @laketaj24, @peaceisadirtyword, @ly–canthrope @cris101071 @daughterofthenight117 @unassumingviking @ladyofsoa, @inforapound @winchesterwife27 @feyrearcheron44@readsalot73 @squirrelacorngliterfarts @gold-dragon-slayer @medievalfangirl @sallydelys @bluearchersstuff @affectionrabbitt @whatamood13 @notyouraveragegirl17 @igetcarriedawaywithyou @unacceptabletatertots @ivarandersen @stra-vage @tgrrose @cookies186 @learninglemni-blog @theleeshanotlouise @soiproclaim @msmorganforever @belovedcherry

#ivar x reader #ivar/reader #vikings imagines #vikings imagine #vikings/reader #vikings x reader #fanfiction: vikings #honestsycrets: like me #tw: disability #ivar the boneless x reader #ivar the boneless/reader #Ivar Ragnarsson x Reader #ivar ragnarsson/reader

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godsofhumanity · 2 years ago

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got tagged on my main, but doing this on my side :))) thanks @crowlilies ❤️

four ships:

Set x Nephthys

Heracles x Hebe

Freyja x Odr

Typhon x Echidna

last song:

say what you will // heaven’s edge

currently reading:

my third re-read of the mysteries of udolpho // ann radcliffe

last book i fully read? the iliad // homer

last movie:

either murder mystery 2 or clerks iii

both were bad

craving:

chocolate cake

tagging:

@lifeofroos @greek-mythographer @localgreekmythologywh0re @rikusqueenofhearts @possiblyhomer

<3 thank you @papillon82fluttersby :D

The Rules: Tag (9) people you want to know better and/or catch up with, then answer the following:

Four ships:

Zeus/Ganymede: feel like it'd be a crime not to start here, haha. I've always been into mythology, but randomly thinking about Ganymede's myth a couple years ago now (that long!!) got me wanting to read Greek myth stuff, and I started with the Iliad (for the Trojan-related angle) and the Bibliotheke, and so. I might currently be more focused elsewhere but this is still my beloved ship <3 You can do so much with them, and, especially, I'd say, by interpreting them as mutually in love. There's obviously other m/m couples in Greek myth and even one of those that at first looks tragic doesn't need to end that way (Apollo/Hyacinthus) but there are so many reasons Zeus/Ganymede is the one that has me by the throat.

Menelaos/Paris: Honestly, looking back I'm not quite sure how I didn't zero in on this one from reading the Iliad itself the first time, because this is definitely one of the flavours of ships I love. This ship is also what led to, first, Helen/Menelaos/Paris for me and then Helen/Paris, because 99% of the time I just don't care at all about het ships. This ship is also why I currently am like I am about Paris! Make no mistake, I didn't hate or dislike him before that, either, like the majority of Tumblr (and elsewhere) seem to do; reading the Iliad I mostly thought him kinda hapless and inoffensive, so going from there and liking him wasn't that big of a step. The possibility of them having bonded during those nine days in Sparta (or in Troy!), going from friends (or more) to enemies with complicated feelings still in the background is just so damn juicy to me.

Carmilla/Laura: original novella flavour! One day I hope to do a rewrite/retelling of my own, that would definitely end with Laura going or otherwise together with Carmilla, one way or another. The way Carmilla talks to/about Laura and what they feel for each other is just. so great. The caterpillar quote. The one about Laura loving her or hating her, and especially "love will have its sacrifices; no sacrifice without blood". And you know. The boob-biting to feed is extremely inspired and very hot, even if Le Fanu undoubtedly didn't mean it that way. I don't care. They're mine now. :)

Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker: Since I am so deeply into gen&family ships aside from romantic/sexual shipping, it feels, again, like a crime not to mention these two. The ST might have broken the back of my fannish engagement in SW currently, but these two? I love them. I love Luke's impossible and earnest belief in his father's inherent goodness, I love that fucking scene at the end of ESB where Vader reaches out and Luke reflexively, despite everything, says 'father?' HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE IT???

Last song: Oh, uhh... I don't remember, but it's possible it was Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer (happens to be one of my Helen/Paris songs for late war lol). I end up listening to a row of songs while drawing, sometimes (which is the only time I can listen to music and actually do something else at the same time), but it could have been another one, just as well.

Currently reading: Iliaden - en cover, by Dimitrios Iordanoglou, which is a (pretty heavily, sometimes) abridged and modernized version of the Iliad where the language is extremely slangy sometimes and the setting has been moved into "present day". Everyone uses guns and stuff. Apollo's main epithet is now "the Bomber" lol and he uses bombs and grenades. It's both extremely fun(ny) and really interesting, even if the language used sometimes make me wince even when I get why he's chosen it. But it's exactly because I know the changes he's made etc. that makes it extra interesting. When he keeps lines word-for-word from the Iliad they both stick out and fit in very well and it's interesting to see that, too. Also, and much longer than the above, is Paris in the Epic Tradition : a Study in Homeric Techniques of Characterization by Roberto Nickel, his thesis from 1997! I've mentioned it before; Nickel is exploring the possibility of the Iliad having changed/presented Paris (a lot) differently from how he might have been in traditional oral epic material. It's really interesting!

Last movie: Dungeon and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves! Loved it, a lot of fun, and despite how long it was, it all moved along at a good clip, nothing dragged.

Craving: Uh... :C Fics/art for my rare pairs? lol

Tagging: @a-gnosis @battlinghurricanes @crowlilies @my-name-is-apollo @scribeprotra @kebriones

#been like 2 years since i’ve done a tag game i swear #tag game

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