#i have many thoughts about the cursed lore olympus

[ephemeral-roses]

Talking more about this because I was watching The Moomins (1990s) and kept on almost crying whenever Moominmamma talked in the Invisible Child episodes since she is so sweet to Ninny, and it just made me more frustrated about authors' attitudes towards mothers.

Lore Olympus was the one who made me realize this about modern feminist greek myth retellings.

Demeter falls into both categories of rewritten just to be villainized and scorned for being a decent/good mother. She essentially made what was a paradise for nymphs and tried to keep them safe from gods like Zeus, was nervous about letting Persephone go to college in Olympus but still let her anyway, under supervision of people she could trust, and genuinely seemed to love and care for Persephone, but all of these things are ignored.

We find out that she was going to be Queen of The Mortal Realm, everyone else voted for her except for Hades, who begged Zeus to change his vote (which wouldn't even matter since the majority voted for her, but for some reason that doesn't matter) all because he didn't want to lose his volcanoes, which aren't even his to begin with, they are Hephaestus' and it is wild not to have him have volcanoes as his domain. Hades also insults Demeter's appearance when she rightfully confronts him about this, so there's that, too. Instead of having the reason why Hades brought up volcanoes as his reason why Demeter shouldn't be Queen of The Mortal Realm be that it would complicate things considering Hephaestus, it makes it so volcanoes are actually Hades' domain and was given them by his mother, for some reason??? We also find out that Zeus promised Demeter that she'd be his wife, and having sex with her, he decides to ditch her for Hera, who becomes his wife. Instead of being sympathetic, we get a whole monologue from Hera how she doesn't care about what Zeus did to Demeter and that she deserves to be Queen since she did so much during the war. During the Trial Arc, when Persephone is tried for killing a whole city of mortals in an Act of Wrath, Demeter receives the harsher punishment, which is to live 10 years as a mortal, meanwhile Persephone is sent to go back to work as Goddess of Spring as she has always been back home at her mother's nymph sanctuary, but we are supposed to believe and are urged to believe by the author that Persephone recieved the harsher punishment because she's away from Hades. In fact, Persephone's first thought when banished is not concern for her mother, but her wanting to be with Hades. During her punishment, instead of trying to communicate with her mother, she tries to communicate with Hades. After her punishment, instead of going to her mother to see if she is alright, I am not kidding, she cuddles with Hades and goes, "It feels like I'm missing something." Cut to the next panel later, Demeter waking up from the horrors. We are not supposed to sympathize with Demeter, according to how the author writes how Demeter is treated. When Demeter gained sympathy from the audience, Demeter was made to have a whole intervention to shame Persephone into returning back to maidenhood and the nymph sanctuary, an attempt to reverse the sympathy for her. At the same episode, after Persephone had told Hades that she wanted to wait and enjoy things as her own individual person, Hades shows up, proposes to Persephone, and takes her away.

Opposed to Demeter, the readers are supposed to believe that Hera is a more fitting mother figure for Persephone, despite Hera calling Minthe "nymph trash" (it is okay to not like someone as a person, but to bring up their race in an insult is just her straight up being a racist), insulting her own child daughter and making her make her alcoholic drinks, starts of as rightfully scolding Hades for being a creep for going after Persephone and knows that she is too young for Hades but then goes along with it after she realizes that Hades hasn't been married yet, completely ignoring Persephone's safety in favor of Hades, has a strained relationship with all of her children and does not go to see them after not having seen them for 10 years, instead goes to see Persephone first thing.

The story tries very hard to create conflict between Demeter and Persephone, even randomly adding in a mother-daughter heated argument. And what was the argument about that it got to the point of them screaming at each other? Persephone didn't like commuting for college, which 85% of college students already do with no problem. This is supposed to be a very tense scene, by the way.

Instead of addressing the real issues, it blames everything on Demeter's upbringing during the Titanomachy.

For Demeter's flaws, Demeter makes Persephone join a group of eternal virgins consisting of Hestia, Athena, and Artemis, and the story tries to paint it as a critique of purity culture, despite barely touching the subject at all and uses a very Christian idea of virginity, rather than how the Ancient Greeks viewed virginity. Demeter pushed Persephone to compete in many subjects as a young child, but this isn't to be trusted as Persephone has a very inconsistent recollection of her upbringing, and it changes depending on who she is talking to and what emotion is expected from who she is talking to and the reader; according to the story, Persephone is either the burdened golden child who has been pushed to be the best at everything and has traveled to Olympus many times or is just a naive farm girl who has never been to Olympus before or even seen a man before. A trait that is too similar to The Joker, who is also very inconsistent about his backstory and picks one, depending on who he is talking to.

Demeter isn't the only mother Lore Olympus chose to misrepresent and villainize (Hera counts as misrepresented heavily, but she is not villainized like the other mothers, instead her bad traits are praised).

Thetis is no longer the adoptive mother of Hephaestus in Lore Olympus and seems to have no relationship at all with him. Instead, she is Zeus' secretary and one of the women he frequently has an affair with, despite being one of the only women he strictly wanted no romantic or sexual involvement with in the myths. She is turned into a toxic friend who is willing to ruin her friends' relationships instead of a kind figure who cares for those in need. She seems to have little love for Achilles when he is born, being disgusted by the fact that he is mortal, but is tolerant of him because he is good at stuff.

Leto is no longer the titan goddess of motherhood, childbirth, modesty, and the kindest out of the gods, but another sun god who is an antagonist in the story. At first, she is unaware that Persephone does not like Apollo, and when she finds out, she opts out of trying to get them married, but in a poor attempt at having conflict, turns out she was helping Apollo all along to overthrow Zeus and marry Persephone. She prefers Apollo over Artemis, scolding Artemis more than she scolds Apollo.

In the myths, Nyx was a mother that Zeus was very afraid of, threatening him in return after he threatened to punish Hypnos, which caused Zeus to back out on his punishment. But in Lore Olympus, she ditched Thanatos when he was a child because he wasn't interesting enough for her. She dumps Thanatos on Hades, who adopts him, and their father-son relationship is revealed in a courtroom full of people as Hades scolds Thanatos, saying that he gave him his job (despite Thanatos being the god of peaceful death and was going to get the job anyways) that he put clothes on his back, and that he should be grateful that he took him in after his mother abandoned him. After people pointed out this was borderline abuse on Hades' end, the author wrote Hades giving Thanatos a very poor apology, saying that he was afraid, so that's why he was a terrible father. By the way, in multiple instances, Hades fantasies about starting a family with Persephone, acting as if that would be his first time being a father, with Thanatos nowhere in sight or mind.

I've been starting to realize that a lot of modern greek myth retellings that proudly claim about how feminist they are, have a weird and strong hatred towards mothers, either doing everything in their power to completely rewrite them so they are a bad person, or not change their actions or character but just scorn them for being an either decent or good mother. I need to start a list soon that I will present to everyone while losing my mind.

[posallys]

all right here is my word vomit live watch

IMMEDIATELY i am slapped in the face by toby stephens as poseidon i am FERAL

THE LUKE AND PERCY PARALLEL “LOOK, YOU DIDN’T WANT TO BE A HALFBLOOD” OH MY FUCKING GOD

THE MISSING LUKE AND PERCY TRAINING SCENES OH DEAR LORD THANK YOU THANK YOU

“When am i ever going to use this” percy i LOVE YOU

“So you can use them against your opponent” OH BOY

Finally some action i love a good sword fight

But where's annabeths necklace imma kill people

Ooh some god strength okay okay tasty

HELL YEAH POSEIDON POWERS FUCK HIS SHIT UPPPPPP 

“I WARNED YOU. IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL, YOU'LL FIND OUT WHO I AM” OH I LOVE THE ENERGY YESSSS FUCK YEAH

GO OFFF PERCY 

“AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST A KID”

Ares didn't curse him i hate it here

OH WHAT IS THAT VOICE

OH MY GOD THE CABIN SOMEBODY SEDATE ME

this can go one of two ways

“Violent seismic activity” MMM YUMMY

UH HULLO THIS IS NOT WHAT I EXPECTED ALECTO!???

I lied there was a secret 3rd way this could have gone and it happened 

OOP THERE’S THE NECKLACE

“Where's the glory in that” wow tell me you don't understand Percy's character without telling me you don't understand Percy's character 

“I don't have an appointment” THATS SO FUCKING ICONIC OF HIM

Wait i kind of fuck with this olympus i was picture all white and pristine but this FUCKS

“SHOULDN'T THEY BE JUST AS AFRAID OF US AS WE ARE OF THEM” OH MY FUCKING GOD. OH MY GOD. HOLY SHIT 

“you're learning fast” OH MY GODDDDDDDDD

“Things that are small and scary….��� BROOOOOOOOOOOO

the show has rights for the luke and percy content and posally and percabeth and that's IT

LANCE REDDICK ❤️❤️❤️ greatest of all time rest in peace ❤️ (you'll always be Cedric daniels to me)

Ohhh king he does a bad ass zeus

Where's poseidon though DONT TAKE HIM FROM ME 😭😭😭

Lance ily

Lance reddick zeus you're perfect to ME

OHHHHH YES GOOD SHIT

percy jackson king of audacity 

AGHHHHHJJJDHH POSEIDON I LOVE YOU BRIAN BROMEN OH FUCK YES IM. SNKDKKWKWJFKMQ3LI4HRND IM VIBRATING NRJNW OHMYGID

IM THROWING UP OH MY GOD

“I SURRENDER” OH BROTHER DO I HAVE THOUGHTS THOUGHTS TOO MANY THOUGHTS FUCKKKKK

OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDD IM GOING TO PUKE

TOBY STEPHENS LOVE OF MY LIFE

I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE UNWELL IN MY ENTIRE LIFE

SHUT UP NOBODY TOUCH ME

“OBEDIENCE DOESNT COME NATURALLY TO YOU DOES IT” ohhhhhhhh brother call me an ambulance 

“I must take some of the blame i suppose” so you CAN read the books you just chose not to for the other 7 episodes….

THE SEA DOES NOT LIKE TO BE RESTRAINED FUCK YEAHHHHHB BROTHER

HIM ONLY UNDERSTANDING THE WORD FATHER IM GOING TO KILL MYSELF IM SOBBING 

POSEIDON SMILE IM DYING 

I DIDN'T LEARN IT FROM CHIRON AND THEN POSEIDONS FACE OH FUCK IM PUKING SHAKING CRYING

IM SO SO SO UNWELL IM LITERALLY INCOHERENT 

“Ares is a moron, as you noticed” STOP I LOVE HIM THERES THAT ASSHAT POSEIDON ENERGY IM LOOKING FOR

“of course we dream, why do you ask” “DO YOU EVER DREAM ABOUT MOM” I AM DEAD I DIED I ASCENDED IM FLOATING LEVITATING FLYING OH DEAR LORD OH MY GOD IM SO SO SO ILL

TOBY STEPHENS THE MAN THAT YOU ARE POSEIDON THE MAN THAT YOU ARE OH MY GOD HIM GOLDING PERCYS HEA DIM VIMITING SHITING MYSELF KILLING DYING DEAD DJFICJJWOKDKDJN FUCK ME FUCK FICK

TOBY TOBY TOBY YOURE PERFECTVTHE PAIN THE FACIAL EXPTESSUINNS IM DYING DEAD

THE PEARL KILL KILL KJAJDJWKKDJJDJDUEJJ2NH3H

I AM HYPERVENTILATING 

Not to be greedy BUT WHERE IS THE QUEEN AMING WOMEN WHERE THE FUCK WAS IT YOU CANNOT GIVE ME ALL OF THAT AND THEN NOT GIVE ME THE MOST FUCKING ICONIC LINE OF ALL TIME WHAT THE ACTUAL ABSOLUTE FUCK I AM GOING THROUGH SO MANY EMOTIONS WHATBTHEFUCK

there's still 20 minutes left taylor breathe it can still happen 

PERCABETH HUG MY RELIGION

annabeth luke percy trio is SOOOOO interesting to me

I hate percy knowing :( ur a bit too perceptive buddy but it's okay 

“I DIDN'T THINK YOU'D GIVE THEM TO GROVER TO WEAR” SHOOT ME IT WOULD PROBABLY FEEL ABOUT THE SAME

THE GODS ARE MY ENEMY, YOU IM HERE TO RECRUIT OHHHHH BROTHER

OH HELLO BACKBITER LORE OKAY

LUKE I GET YOU I UNDERSTAND

I MET YOUR DAD *SLASH* OH THEY GOT HIM THEY GOT HIM GOOD

LUKE PERCY FIGHT MY EYES HAVE BEEN BLESSED IN THIS DAY

PERCY APOLOGIZING HONEY UR TOO SWEET

ANNABETH OH FUCK OH HELLO

So tell me what are the plans for ttc now lol

I HEARD EVERYTHING ANNABETH HONEY COME HERE I NEED TO HUG YOU

I must ask….where the FUCK was this energy the rest of the season this episode is literally so insane it almost makes up for the rest of everything

“How does she feel abt all of this” ooh yummy i like the foreshadowing 

“I imagine she's thrilled” WRONG thalia would stomp freddy chases head in if given the chance

LEAH UR BRAIDS ARE GORGEOUS

stop percy had HEART EYES 24/7 FOR HER IM GOING TO COMBUST

“JUST BE A KID” IM SOBBING

THE SEARCHERS LICENSE IM CRYING SOBBING UR PERFECT GROVER 

“I'LL FIND YOU” FORESHADDDDDDDOWWWINGGGGGGGG

“NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS WE MEET BACK HERE NEXT YEAR”, OH I LOVE THEM IM CRYING SOBBING OH MY BABIES

MONTAUK IM GOING TO KILL MYSELF FUCK DUDE U CANT DO THIS 

i want poseidon to be there i know he wont be but i NEED it

Stop honey percy ilyyyyy you're such a sweetheart im kissing ur forehead and tucking u in

OH HELLO “IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP” WOOOOAHHHHHHHH OKAY

“WE'RE STILL DOING THIS” LMFAOOOOO

“TURNS OUT IM PRETTY GOOD AT THIS….COME FIND ME” CRAZY 

……MOTHERFUCKER if they dont show gabe dying im gonna riot

WHERE WAS THE REST OF MY POSALLY 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 YOU CAN'T GIVE ME SOME AND THEN TAKE AWAY THE LITTLE FROM THE BOOKS

WHERE IS SALLY MURDERING GABE HELLO

AHHH END SCENE LOL AH THE BOX

THE IMPLICATION THAT IT WAS ALL POSEIDON……..WHAT IF I DIE OH MY GOD

[midnightmah07]

Mah I just woke up and thought of this so I gotta tell you.

So in Greek mythology Apollo is a pretty chill guy who has chill things that he’s the god of. Music, beauty, prophecy, dance, healing, medicine and some other stuff like that(bitch took everything I swear like chill)

But, he’s also a god of some other scary as shit, liked disease, plagues, archery(not that scary but it can be)

And while in many myths this guy lets people disrespect the fuck out of him because he’s just chill like that, he will cause a whole village to die if they disrespect his mom or sister(Artemis), and can and DID harm people for harming his lovers (see hyacinthes)

So what I’m getting at here after that long ass explanation of Apollo(my favorite Greek god if you couldn’t tell) is that while he usually just vibes and does anything he want, if you anger him you fucking die with no excuse, or at least get a fucking horrible curse of he isn’t that mad (king Midas)

So in conclusion, Cyrus will and has thrown hands with with people for disrespecting his mom and twin sister, and sometimes even his other siblings and step moms. And has no problem ruining people lives over it.

But from a romantic point, imagine someone trying to kill Kalim right in front of him, like they usually do. Those fuckers are not surviving, like he won’t kill them sure, but they sure as hell better have health insurance after what he might do to them, and then ruining the shit out of their lives.

Moral of the story? Cyrus is the definition of “hurt them and you die”. And if you do hurt someone he loves, not even god ascending from the heavens can stop him.

That’s all, I really love this idiot blonde.

Ohh that's fun! Protective over loved ones is always a cool thing, and also this is a very different vision of the Apollo I know and hold a slight grudge of (Lore Olympus; I personally don't care about Greek mythology much tho, I obviously knew the characters were probably very wrong/different from what they actually were lmao)

Cyrus is very cute tho, love him protecting his family💙

[neonpartyrocker]

greek mytholgy and the modern age

So recently I have seen a lot of takes on modern adaptations of greeks myths and how they are bad (or in that vein), and I just kind of want to rant about it, for a hot second.

Recently most of us have consumed some variation of a greek myth based story (PJO,HoO, Lore Olympus, Neon Gods, Touch of Darkness, Olympus High, Hadestown, so on and so forth), there seems to be a string of thought that not knowing the original myths or whatever is bad (again I’m not actually sure what these people want, but it just seems to be negative to these stories based on the notion they aren’t true to the myths).

First, good luck adhering to the original myths. There is zero coherence in primary sources that “original myths” is a myth in of itself (Where did Aphrodite come from? Who is Hephaestus's father?). Already we have reached a problem.

But my bigger issue comes from the way people talk about the characterization. “They have stripped them of there complexities/personalities/stories.” Yeah, probably. That’s what happens when you adapt characters that were created in the BC era. Like it’s a completely different culture/society.

Zeus is a cheater/ horrible person - Zeus was known to sleep around, and has many children with people that aren’t Hera (legit half the Olympians are his kids). He’s a horrible person? Yeah, we don’t tend to look favourbily at the top guy (King of the Gods)

Hades is just a sad boi who wants to love his wife- there is some mythological precedence to suggest part of that. We also tend to romanticize the under dog (think the Lucifer tv show). He also doesn’t have a list of lovers a mile long

Demeter is a either a horrible mother or a helicopter mother- if you’re adapting Hades/ Persohphe, it makes sense. Also that myth does showcase her starving out the world to get her way

Hera is usually a bitch- she curses all of Zeus’s lovers 

Hestia doesn’t really exist in adaptations- technically her character doesn’t appear in a lot of myths/ arguably kind of boring

Apollo is an ego maniac- he’s the legit Sun god/ golden boy. We don’t tend to like that in the 21st century story telling

Aphrodite is vein/ the mean girl- she’s the goddess of beauty and sex, and is shown in myths to not be the nicest of people

On and on and on...

It’s just weird that people seem so upset by it, when it just seems like the natural progression of adaptation. It’s a mythos most people have a passing familiarity with it (mainly because it is one of the few that survived to this day relatively in tact), has A LOT of characters/ character dynamics to play with, and tends to avoid the issues that comes adapting stories from more marginalized groups.

TLDR: adapting characters from older sources means we place our own ideals onto it, which isn’t a bad thing when your simply looking for entertainment.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

hi yes im still alive

DON’T MIND ME, I’M JUST--

HAVING A MOMENT TO PROCESS ALL THE LORE AND STORY CHAPTER 6 JUST DROPPED ON US, I CAN BARELY WRITE

AHHHHHHH, I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS 😭 kjdbbaufbiafafvoaybo LEMME PUT ON MY THINKING CAP AND THROW SOME STUFF OUT ASDYUBUASDLI;AGVUOQIB;VI You’ll understand why I used Leona’s face here even though it’s Idia and Ortho’s chapter after you read my thoughts--

***Chapter 6 (and other main story) spoilers below the cut!***

Okay, just to keep it simple, I’ll try to keep things in chronological order!

First is a bullet point list of my thoughts on chapter 6 so far, then all my questions and theories (mostly a biggish theory on Ace) are at the end of the post.

Expectation: Idia cowering in his room, Vil and Rook busting down his door using Epel as a battering ram, dead Ortho theory confirmed

Reality: SWAT TEAM RAID ON NRC, DORM LEADERS (sans Kalim) AND JAMIL GET KIDNAPPED

Admittedly, I’m disappointed to see that the injury Grim inflicted to MC was basically just a cat scratch and nothing more. I thought it would be a lot more impactful if MC had to deal with juggling the realization that Grim has betrayed their friendship and trust while also on the verge of death (or at least while being severely injured)... And given how MC reacted to the attack at the end of chapter 5, I would think whatever struck them was much more substantial than just a cat scratch. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say either the script got scrubbed by Disney, or the intent was that MC was still woozy from VDC / OB Vil, MC felt so betrayed that it shook them emotionally, or that MC was just that weak by default that they can’t defend themselves against cat claws.

Hey, Ramshackle’s finally getting renovated! Proceeds to immediately get destroyed again--

I feel like????????? They tried to retroactively explain why Neige won to try and mitigate the uproar over how VDC ended. There’s some dialogue between the VDC group about how they didn’t perform at their peak because of having just walked out of dealing with OB Vil, and how Neige’s fans were going to vote for him anyway because they resonated with his background. Honestly, I think they should have moved on from that sore spot instead of bringing it up again, even if how chapter 5 ended didn’t personally bother me.

BOOM, HERE COME THE TWST TERMINATORS--

NOT GONNA LIE, THOSE STYX GUYS LOOK HOT SO COOL

AAAAAAND IT’S KIDNAPPING MONTAGE TIME, KIDS

JOABSFHUPAUABDBADB CALM DOWN, RIDDLE??????? YOU’RE GOING TO COMMIT ARSON IN BROAD DAYLIGHT--

Okay, I know this chapter’s focused on Ignihyde and Grim, but the standout part to me (so far) has been the scene where Leona’s being kidnapped. Historically, Leona has not been a character that I like (excluding that one time I had to pretend to like him for a game). I feel like he’s one massive missed opportunity (he didn’t show up much in chapter 2, he’s pretty similar backstory-wise to his Disney counterpart compared to the other Dorm Leaders, he didn’t seem to learn anything or become a better person even a LITTLE after chapter 2, etc.). I’m not a fan of his lazy and arrogant attitude either (even if it is justified by his backstory). But here? THIS IS THE LEONA I ACTUALLY LIKE AND WANT TO SEE MORE OF. 

LIKE????? I CAN’T DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW MUCH I LIKE THIS SCENE???? Yeah, we have Leona fighting STYX at first, but as soon as he realizes who they are, he wises up and surrenders because he knows better than to resist arrest. AND NOT ONLY THAT, but he uses King’s Roar in a smart way--to turn the falling greenhouse glass panes into sand so they don’t hurt anyone nearby (namely him and Ruggie).

And after he turns himself in????? LEONA TELLS RUGGIE TO TAKE CARE OF SAVANACLAW FOR HIM!!! THIS is what a real leader would do. He looks after himself and his people, but he knows when to surrender, AND he leaves his “kingdom” (the dorm) in good hands while he’s away. THIS is the Leona I want to see.

AJBDUASHPFBUABFIABIYFBIPFAAFIAF I ALSO REALLY LIKE HIS SASS WHEN HE JUST THROWS HIS HANDS UP AND ASDBIASBIABAIODDAYOFAIPPADAIDB SAYS “I’ll go with you, but be careful while escorting me, okay? Despite my looks, I'm a precious prince. I’ll get sick/dizzy if you drive recklessly.” SARCASTIC SASSY SMARTASS??????? IF YOU HAD MORE LINES LIKE THIS, I’D LIKE YOU MORE

I love how Azul’s still talking about capitalism/how he can profit from Idia (apparently the Shrouds are like the TWST equivalent of Google??????) as he’s being escorted away by the agents?????? IF I WERE HIM, I’D BE PISSED OFF THAT THEY INTERRUPTED MY BOARD GAME????? At least let the man finish first--

Damn, everyone’s being tasered???????? And apparently all the STYX agents are equipped with anti-magic plates? I guess Bind the Heart can just eat shit then--

Lilia’s ringtone is cute, period.

CROWLEY CALLED STYX TO CAPTURE GRIM???? GRIM IS OFFICIALLY A SCP THAT NEEDS TO BE CONTAINED????

WAIT WHAT CROWLEY’S BEING KIDNAPPED TOO??????? Oh well, the school is probably safer in Trein’s hands anyway--

askhlbfbilhidbabbidasb RIDDLE WAKES UP POST KIDNAPPING AND HE’S USING LEONA AS A LAP PILLOW?????!

How does it feel to be held in a room against your will, Jamil? Yeah, don’t like a taste of your own medicine, do you?

OH HI IDIA, NICE YZMA MAD SCIENTIST GETUP YOU GOT THERE

Wait, what????? THAT’S IT?????? SERIOUSLY???????

MAN.

I have so many questions??????? Specifically about STYX and what they do, and how the Shrouds are tied into all of it.

So they say STYX is a specialized unit called in to quell serious Overblot cases. And if Crowley called them to deal with Grim... well, bad times ahead for Grim. STYX has also been studying Overblot for a long time, which is why (I think?) they captured Riddle, Leona, Azul, Jamil, and Vil. 

There’s been some allusions made between Grim and Stitch in a lot of fan art and fan theories I’ve seen, since their struggles have some parallels: that being them struggling to decide if they are “good” or “bad”. I don’t know if this was intentional on the part of the TWST writing team, but regardless, it’s a really good concept that plays into the themes of TWST itself. There’s no good, there’s no evil, no black and white--most of the characters we see may be BASED on villains, but that doesn’t MAKE them villains. They are good, and bad, in their own ways--and now Grim is dealing with that crisis as he fights to keep his sanity and avoid completely succumbing to Overblot.

Though Idia seems to be involved with STYX’s research, it doesn’t sound like he personally gave the order to retrieve those test subjects (or at the very least, he’s not happy about roughing up the test subjects), it sounds like the orders came from other people in the organization. His parents, perhaps?

They mention briefly that Idia’s parents are asking him to “come home”, so it must be for something urgent. Are they worried about his safety? But Idia’s lines at the end of chapter 5 lead me to think he is estranged from his family, since he straight up rejected a job offer linked to them (Olympus Corp is owned by the Jupiter family, and the Shrouds are a branch family of Jupier), and says something like “I’m not welcome anywhere”. Has Idia done something to disgrace him from the rest of the family? Or is it more of a self imposed/self inflicted statement, given that he always says he’s “cursed” and acts like he’s guilty of something that deserves scorn?

Why is Idia participating in STYX research, even if it means experimenting on his fellow students (and fellow board game enthusiast Azul)? People are speculating that he wants to use blots to fully revive Ortho (if dead Ortho theory is true), or that Idia actually has heroic intentions (he wants to know more about blots to prevent OBing from happening?), but at this point??? Literally anything could happen?!

In future parts, I’m guessing Pomefiore, MC, and Adeuce will team up to break Jamil and the Dorm Leaders (except Malleus, Malleus got left out again www) out? And HOPEFULLY we get to see Rook’s Unique Magic or at least more screen time, since I feel like he got so little in chapter 5... Another thing I’d like to see is Ace and/or Epel getting their Unique Magic, or at least starting to develop it. It’s really mostly Ace I want more details for.

A theory I’ve been holding onto for a long time is that Deuce getting his UM will spur Ace on to become jealous (since he has always seen Deuce as an idiot/”lesser” than him), and that will cause a rift in the friendship, or for Ace to throw himself into a dangerous situation to prove himself (he has done it before with Riddle)... and has his ass rescued again. This would make Ace even angrier, since he feels like everyone is treating him like a little kid or rubbing it in that he isn’t “as good” as they are. I don’t know where it would go from there (I’m sure TWST would get creative), but ultimately it would culminate in Ace making amends with everyone and rushing in to save them from either Grim or Idia OB.

I don’t think Ace would discover his UM in a similar manner as Deuce (Deuce had to embrace his own stubbornness and straightforwardness, but as the term “Unique” Magic implies, the way a magic develops and manifests is “unique” to the user). While Deuce has to learn to accept his own way of thinking, I believe Ace is already sure of his own way of thinking and has totally accepted it. I think what Ace has to deal with instead is coming to terms with his fickleness. We’ve seen him time and time again treating his loved ones kind of callously, from constantly bullying MC, Grim, and Deuce to ghosting his own girlfriend and flaking on people when they are counting on him to do a task.

The issue with Ace isn’t that he isn’t aware, it’s that he is aware and he seems to think this behavior is totally okay. He demonstrates little to no remorse in what he does and says, and he doesn’t seem to care about the consequences either (how many times does he get punished by Riddle, yet he keeps doing the same dumb things over and over?). Ace appears to operate under the mindset of always being in the right, or (if he’s in the wrong), he won’t really acknowledge it, or he will wave it off as “no big deal”--and I think that’s his greatest weakness.

In the scenario I described earlier, I mentioned that Ace’s jealousy will cause a wedge between him and his friends, and I think this will play into him realizing the error of his ways. When he has finally driven away all of the people that supported him, what will he have left? Nothing. Then maybe Ace suddenly finds himself relating to Idia, or to Grim, who have Overblotted and are in a similar emotional state as he is. Confused and lonely... and that energizes him to pitch in again, even if all he has is wind magic up his sleeve. Everyone could be shocked that Ace has returned, and in that moment, he could finally realize his true potential and unlock his Unique Magic!

(Maybe that’s too specific, but that’s a scenario that I’ve had playing in my head for a long time!)

... Buuuuut given that Ace has gotten little to no spotlight so far in chapter 6, I’m not sure if they’ll lean into him developing his UM yet (unless they pull a chapter 5 and really start addressing Ace in the latter half of the chapter like they did with Deuce). Seeing as chapter 6 is dealing with a lot of heavy topics (death, Grim lore, Overblot lore), I’m thinking maybe the TWST team will push off Ace’s UM development to chapter 7???? The only way I can see it happening in chapter 6 is if the chapter is SUPER long, or if the writing is REALLY good or really bad. 

Anyway, I’m keeping my fingers crossed!!! I’m so excited for the rest of chapter 6... I hope that we don’t have to wait too long for it!

[iiceddorklatte]

a discussion on greek mythology and its modern adaptations || importance of sex and wrath in mythology

okay before i get into this a couple of things:

this is more of a rant/tangent style post and is just something I thought I would talk about in regards to a major interest of mine. If you dont agree with some of the things I say or reference, thats okay! again this is my perspective on the issue but I do think it adds insight to many communities involved in adaptations of mythology.

this talk involves discussions of sexual assault and uses the word rape and dissects the word in regards to its original meaning, if you are not in the headspace to read stories or read the word, please come back later or do not read.

this talk also focuses on the harsh treatment of women in mythology, and same warning as before click off if you wish

okay now that youve been fully warned, lets get into it.

as someone who reads Lore Olympus(i know! blasphemy) i will say that there are a lot of controversial themes or storylines that do not sit right with me. If you know the series you probably know that I am talking about the storyline between Persephone and Apollo. This is not a defense of it at all, however I am also not fully condemning it.

First, I want to look at Greek Mythology as a whole. To make it clear, not all myths are told the same. A good majority of mythology has been passed down through word of mouth or paintings or any other art form and will have inconsistencies or changes. Mythology as a whole is a tool used to explain human nature, the universe through the eyes of a certain group, and hierarchy systems along with many other things. Mythology and their stories are also used for morality based subjects. What I mean by this is that these stories are meant to teach a lesson or a type of behavior. This is typically why you will see inconsistencies between the retelling of myths. To use a very popular example of this, the myth of Hades and Persephone varies, but still have their own messages attached. For example, the myth where Hades forcibly kidnaps Persephone and highlights Demeter's determination to get her daughter back is a story about how a mother's love conquers all and how that love made her continue on her quest. However, in another telling where Persephone willingly enters the underworld and marries Hades, the story is about breaking free from authority and gaining back your own control. Again, myths vary depending on what message they want to send to their audiences.

Now I want to look at the gods and their behaviors throughout mythology. I know that everyone is tired of the 'Zeus fucks everything' joke but it is important to note it. Specifically, in the Greek mythos, Gods are the reason many things exist. Or at least are involved in some way in that process. This is why sex and wrath are important jumping-off points in creation mythology. Uranus(or the night sky) was born from Gaea, and then produced the Titans. Because of his hateful nature Uranus had his children imprisoned, until his son Cronus(time) castrated him and dispersed his remains. From this, he created Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The cycle of sex and wrath is seen time and time again through these myths, and unfortunately the combination of these two is also very commonly seen in mythology.

//Tw SA (i am speaking about this topic from a mythological perspective, but also adding in modern day views of it)

Sexual assault is unfortunately very common place in Greek Mythology. Zeus is typically the mastermind behind these plots, however other Gods are also involved in it as well. The story of Medusa is another myth with many different iterations, however I want to look at the version that falls in line when her name which means "protect, rule" or "guardian". In this myth, Poseidon being jealous of Athena decides to rape Medusa, a servant to Athena, on the steps of her temple. This is again where wrath comes back into play. Athena, being infuriated by the violation of her temple, curses Medusa to become a gorgon. Depending on the interpretation, this 'curse' can also be seen as a gift of protection under the guise of punishment. Most of these horrific acts done by the Gods can be seen as being caused by their own or an outsider's wrath. I do also want to note that the word 'rape' meant something slightly different. Rape used to be defined as "to seize or abduct; carry off by force" as well as our modern definition to it. While in cases like Medusa or anything to do with Zeus really, we understand these cases do mean sexually assalt. Here is where I want to talk about Persephone.

The myth of Hades and Persephone goes by many different names, however one that can be seen around is “The Rape of Persephone”. While in some myths, authors have concluded that Hades may have assaulted persephone, the rape that is being refered to here is abduction. The Rape of Proserpina is the title of a popular sculpture created by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini between the years of 1621 and 1622. While this statue is about the Roman counterparts of Hades and Persephone, Pluto and Proserpina, the Romans basically stole the Greeks mythos and changed the names slightly. While it is more complex than that, the stories are the same if not similar, which is why I am bringing this statue up. The statue depicts Persephone, being held up by Hades, with her arms and legs in motion kicking away from him. Her expression is fearful and terrified. Hades is joyful and excited. He doesn't look hateful. Why is that? One way to explain it off is the lighting or the fact it's a statue, or that art and its meaning differs from person to person. However, I'm me and I'm very annoying so I'm going to go deeper into this by looking back on a different spin of their myth. While Hades did fall deeply in love with Persephone and was given permission from Zeus to kidnap her, another telling of the story from the Roman perspective sheds more light on the situation. According to a section from Metamorphosis, Aphrodite was wronged by the Gods and wanted to enact revenge. She elected her son Cupid or Eros to shoot Hades with an arrow of love, which would cause him to become infatuated with the Goddess of Spring. It appears wrath is commonplace amongst all the Gods. 

I know that I am bouncing all over the place, but stay with me. I now want to talk about Apollo and his connection to all of this. To reference back to Lore Olympus, Apollo in the series plays the role as the story's main antagonist. In the series, he sexually assaults Persephone. Now before I continue, I would like to say that using Apollo in this way is a gross misrepresentation of his mythology and Persephones. In actual Greek mythology, Apollo is a candidate to be married to Persephone. It is even cited that the God of the Sun and Music stated that he was in love with her. Granted this is mythology, and different versions of the story do appear with Apollo involved or not. Even though the series did not capture the true interaction between Persephone and Apollo, he is not free from the nature of his older counterparts. The myth of Apollo and Daphne shows this plainly. In this myth, Apollo falls in love with a nymph named Daphne who is the daughter of Peneus the River God. However, Aphrodite and Eros become involved again. While Eros shoots Apollo with a love arrow, he also shoots Daphne with one full of hate. This causes Apollo to constantly chase after Daphne, even though she has no romantic interest in him at all. While evading him during a chase, she calls out to her father to help her. To save his daughter, he answers her pleas and turns her into a tree right before Apollo catches her. While this very condensed retelling of the events that took place may not seem like Apollo was going to assault Daphne, it is heavily implied. Because of his infatuation from the arrow, his emotions towards her include not only romantic but also sexual attraction. From patterns we have seen from Gods such as Zeus and also Aphrodite, its only common sense to believe that Apollo was going to rape Daphne if he caught her. Even though Apollo did not sexually assault Persephone, Gods in themselves are selfish and narsasistic, and will take whatever they see as rightfully theirs. It's in their mythological nature. 

Even with the background of Apollo falling in the trend of Gods taking advantage of beings deemed ‘lesser’ than them, one could argue the cycle of sexual assault of women is still problematic and that the modern adaptations of these stories diminish what happened to these women. Which to an extent, I agree. However, I do think it's also important to look at the society that these myths were circulating around. The Greeks and Romans were a dominantly patriarchal society and women were given few rights compared to men. While some Greek city states differed and there were a few acceptions, thats all they were, acceptions. Because of this role of women in society, it is not hard to believe that women were treated this way as if it is commonplace. When looking at greek goddesses, this narrative heavily tracks. Even though they are powerful and in their own right bring more fear into the hearts of men compared to their counterparts, they are treated with malice and violence. These goddesses are sexually assaulted, pushed to the side, or diminished simply because of their gender and this is not an accident. A powerful female figure is terrifying to men, specifically men seeking power, which is why these events could have happened to them in myths. These goddesses are portrayed to have envy, anger, disgust, remorse, sadness, alongside a lot of other emotions. They portray human emotions. 

I know I know, youre gonna say to me ‘Wrena/Kore, seriously? Now we're talking about humanity? In comparison to Gods?” Yes, but there is an important distinction in this mythology. Mythology is human created. While it does portray all-powerful gods and mighty heroes, it's still human. However, this tends to split from Greek and Roman mythology. Remember when I said the Romans stole the Greeks myths and just switched around the names, well they did do that! But they also took some of the humanity out of the Gods. Greek mythology is known for being very human, having a moral in its stories. While Roman mythology also has a story, the Gods are more like objects, representing their roles and being all-mighty hammers of justice for the 'greater good'. Greek and Roman tellings of mythos can get interchanged or swapped due to how long ago these myths were and how similar they were. This is why mythology is so complicated, you either have an overload of information or not enough. Some events are the same, some contradict each other. This is why mythology is a wonderful source of stories. They tell a different version based on what that individual or society needs at that moment. 

To get slightly more personal and not just throw facts or hypotheses at you, when I was little I was told the story of Hades and Persephone. My grandmother told me the version of Persephone being kidnapped by Hades, but falling in love and choosing to stay on her own accord. When I got older, I learned about the other version. I was upset and distraught at this revelation. I thought my grandma was trying to spin a story about stockholm syndrome to get me to accept the patriarchal society we live in. I was pissed. Now that Im older, I realize that wasnt the message she was trying to tell me. What she wanted to say in the story is that even though people will try to control me or take control away from me, dont. Take back the reins and never let someone decide my life for me. Each version of different myths have their own meanings and interpretations, and all are correct.

Unfortunately, that also means all of the bad ones are correct as well. Lets loop back on over to Persephone. Persephone in her myths has been sexually assaulted. Even though Apollo was not the one doing the act, its still stated that it happened. In the creation myth of Zagreus, Zeus sexually assaulted Persephone(his daughter) while she was unconscious. It's fucking despicable and awful to read. But Zeus is gross and that does not diminish the fact that she was in fact sexually assaulted. Wether people like it or not, it's apart of her mythos. Or at least a version. You see, the ‘romanticization’ of mythology is more of a modern trend. Taking old greek myths and modernizing them to make it seem like everything is not terrible is a common trend in writing. However, this attitude is harmful to mythology as a whole. While the modernization of greek myths does leave out some of the awful parts of the stories or ignores them, like incest or graphic violence, it still serves a purpose. While some reasons for re-vamping them could be interest or purely for entertainment sake, some try to stick with a moral messaging. Lore Olympus, while ignoring or misconstruing some of the more graphic details, still has an important story behind it. Persephone being assaulted in that story is a representation of modern day rape victims. She’s scared to tell anyone and terrified of the person who did it to her. When she does finally tell people, she is met with support and comfort. This is the narrative that survivors need today. Support, love, a safe space. Humans are always trying to relate to each other, or see themselves in the things they consume. And mythology is one of those things we just cant help but insert a piece of ourselves into. Mythology changes and shifts with individual needs, and it is all up to the individual and their needs. All versions are right. 

TLDR: While I dont like the storyline between Apollo and Persephone in Lore Olympus, it does serve a purpose and reflects on Persephone's mythology without creating a culture shock for modern audiences. Wrath and sex are the two most important themes in greek mythology, and more than often combine in an unsavory way. Mythology has many different versions of its stories, and each version has their purpose. All of those stories are correct depending on the society and individual. Again, you can enjoy an adaptation of mythology while recognizing that there will be inaccuracies and changes you don't like. You can also enjoy traditional mythology while recognizing the values and morals portrayed are from an ancient society with a different view on the world. 

heres some links to articles that were insightful into this topic, i recommend checking them out if you want:

[harrypotter-imaginess]

Part 1 Here!

A/N: I’ve been writing this since March, and finally wrapped it up. Slightly NSFW, and apartment scene is inspired by Lore Olympus by Rachel S. 

- You’ve been dating for 2 or 3 months.

- You do it basically every chance you get

- You moan as he pushes you up against the wall, trailing kisses down your neck, sucking at your collarbone

- “Dra-Draco please” you mumble into his shoulder

- “When do you have to be back at work?” He asks between kisses, piercing grey eyes peering into yours

- He never seems to lose his composure, not even during sex

- Which of course only makes you more flustered

- The first time, it had been fairly dark

- But over the past few months you’ve been with him so often you’ve got a very good idea of what his body looks like

- Toned arms, a firm outline on his abs, pale skin blooming with the hickeys you’ve left

- Not to even get started on that face

- No wonder you couldn’t keep your hands off of him

- He bites your collarbone and you yelp, only to be met with a raised eyebrow in return

- You feel your face grow hot, you were so busy admiring him, you forgot to answer his question

- “H-half an hour I think” you mumble.

- He frowns, that’s not as much time as he’d like

- “I guess you’re going to be late” he mumbles against your skin, his hand making quick work of your blouse

- You’ve got this glow, and everyone has noticed

- “Hey! Took a long lunch today?”

- You feel your face growing warm, your hand moving over the new hickey forming on your neck

- “Just lost track of time” you say with a laugh

- You haven’t told anyone at work about you and Draco because of his popularity in your office

- “Hey (Y/N)! Come over and look! The hot guys walking by our office again!”

- Draco’s got a scowl on his face, thin, pale eyebrows practically pressed together. His eyes hold a fierce glare.

- God, you haven’t seen that expression on him in months

- You had completely forgotten that you both hated each other at first

- You catch a glimpse of his soft, pale hair, falling against his eyes. A gloved hand moves to push it aside.

- A hand that had been somewhere rather intimate only a handful of minutes ago.

- Draco’s never been happier in his entire life

- Even his employees have noticed

- “Is it just me, or does Mr. Malfoy seem more chill than usual?”

- “Yesterday That part timer, Natalia, spilled coffee all over his coat. He didn’t even blink, just said ‘these things happen’, usually he’d sack her on the spot!”

- “Maybe he finally got laid”

- They both laugh at that, while Reginald is practically sweating buckets at his desk behind them

- Little do they know they’re spot on.

- Ever since Draco started seeing you, he’s constantly come to Reginald for advice on “navigating the muggle world”

- “The traps of the muggle world are terrifying” Draco had said with a shiver. “Y’know she wanted me to use one of these?”

- Draco pulls out a condom

- “I mean what even is this? A sweet? It tastes just like plastic”

- Reginald’s not sure what’s more embarrassing, that his boss tried to eat a condom, or that he had to spend an hour and half explaining what a condom was to him, and how to use one.

- “So you can shag as much as you want with these, and nothing happens?” Draco says with a face of sheer amazement.

- Reginald has to remind himself to be empathetic. He’s lucky his parents are muggles, and generally very open minded.

- It’s not surprising Draco doesn’t know anything. The wizard world’s typical propaganda encourages procreation to increase the wizard population.

- The truly desperate can drink a potion or cast a charm, but Reginald’s sure something of that sort is never discussed in pureblood familys.

- “Muggles are pretty brilliant aren’t they?” Draco’s staring at the small plastic square in his palm, with true wonder.

- Reginald can’t help but smile, he looks like a kid that just discovered sweets

- “They are”

- Draco’s feeling pretty good, he’s got your favorite take out in one hand, flowers in the other, and a smile on his face

- He’s got someone he loves, he knows what condoms are, he’s on top of the world

- “Draco, how come I’ve never been to your place?”

- Happiness is fleeting, and reality is a lie

- He’s just set down the take out on your dining table, watching you sitting on the edge of the sofa

- You’re only a few feet away from him, but you feel an ocean away

- Well, he can hardly tell you that he still lives with his parents and that they despise Muggles and would probably curse you before you could even make a sound

- His mouth opens, brain scrambling to find an excuse

- He’s going to go with “he lives at his parents estate” when he actually looks at you

- You’re not looking to him, waiting for an explanation. You’re looking at your hands, eyebrows creased together and teeth nibbling into the flesh of your lip.

- He places a hand under your chin, nudging your face to look up at him.

- “Is that really what you’re worried about?”

- It’s not

- You were too much of a coward, and chickened out asking him your initial question

- You hadn’t thought of it before today, when all the women in your office crowded around the window to look at him

- He must have women throwing themselves at his feet

- You were together so often, you doubted he had the time to have anyone else.

- But you never had dates at his place, always yours

- In fact, you had never visited his place

- He could have an entirely different life than what you imagined, and this relationship, the blossoming feelings inside of you could just be in your head.

- Well, you’re only half right. Draco does have a whole other life, but not like you think

- “It’s just- what are we?” Biting on your lip, mustering up every ounce of courage you have you add “...are we dating?”

- Or are you both just f*cking

- He’s taken aback that this is what you want to ask, and honestly he’s a bit annoyed

- In his mind he’s already given up so many things to be here with you now

- His pride, his family, his heritage, he’s even ready to give up magic if it comes to it

- It’s all so obvious to him, that he doesn’t realize it’s all in his mind, he hasn’t conveyed any of this to you

- A softer expression moves across his face, as he takes you in, your gaze lingering on your hands. 

- Of course you’re confused

- He kneels beside you on the ground, his fingers wrapping around your hand

- “Of course we’re dating, you’re my (girlfriend/boyfriend), my lover, my significant other, my partner” each title is pronounced by a soft kiss on your knuckles. He peers up at you through his eyelashes, taking in your flushed face

- You’re his entire future

- “How do you feel about me?” He asks, his breath held in his throat as he watches you carefully

- He’s only now realizing that much of your relationship has existed in his mind

- The thought that perhaps you don’t see your relationship as anything long term only occurs after the words leave his mouth.

- You’re flushed hiding your face in your large sweater

- It’s hard for you to be honest with your wants and needs, especially in relationships

- “I want you to be my boyfriend” you mumble, and he squeezes your hand

- The words take courage you didn’t know you had, but Draco’s grin is worth it.

- He places kisses on your hand, then your face, and finally your lips. You feel his smile, and can’t help but smile as well.

- Then his kisses trail to your neck

- “Draco... the food will get cold...” you murmur, but your hand creeps under his shirt.

- “It’s fine,” he mumbles against your neck. “Gives me an excuse to invite you to my place for a proper meal next time”

- Cue to the next day, with Draco sitting across from his mother in their home. She’s flipping through a book with her wand.

- “I want a flat!” He practically shrieks out, Narcissa doesn’t even look up

- “To own, or rent?”

- Crap. He didn’t think this far ahead, he didn’t really think the words would actually come out. But he promised you a date at his place, and he can’t exactly bring you to the manor now can he?

- Besides, possible hexes and curses aside, his parents being here would definitely kill the mood

- “Rent, I guess. It’s just hard commuting to the office from home.”

- He half expects his mother to tell him to quit then, not like he needs the salary anyway. They have plenty of money.

- But instead, she says:

- “Fine, I’ll tell your father to contact our real estate connection.”

- Draco lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, about ready to walk away, his mother looks up from her book for the first time

- “And Draco,” He meets her gaze, stopping midway from exiting “do bring them home sometime.”

- He’s attempting to play dumb when his mother adds

- “And make sure to cover up the marks on your neck before you see your Father. You know how he is.”

- Draco just nods, feeling the heat creep into his face.

- Apartment hunting is surprisingly stressful. Partially because of how little he understands the muggle world.

- “This is the electrical closet, it stays locked.”

- Muggles. Don’t they realize he can just use a quick ‘alohomora’ to open it.

- When the realtor isn’t looking, he opens it, takes in the air conditioning unit and the wires, and promptly closes it again

- The muggle world is truly terrifying

- He ends up choosing a flat a few streets away from yours, in a posh upscale building. Naturally he lives in the penthouse. 

- He considered moving into the same building, but decides against it

- He has to remind himself that even though he plans on marrying you, he has to play it cool.

- From your perspective you’re a new couple that’s still falling in love

- He hates his apartment, he doesn’t understand how anything works, he has to cook all his meals himself, and he didn’t realize how much cleaning went into living without servants

- He has a newfound respect for house elves as he scrubs pasta sauce off of the ceiling

- In addition, none of the appliances in this place are enchanted, which means he has to actually use his hands to turn on the water or open the refrigerator

- He hates it

- “Wow, I considered this building too, but it was pretty expensive” you say as he helps you out of your coat

- You wonder if the reason he never invited you over was because he was trying to hide the fact that he came from money

- Not like it was a secret, what with the clothes and the restaurants he took you to, he was either rich or close to bankruptcy

- Draco’s just hoping you haven’t figured out he only moved in a week ago

- Thankfully the red sauce stains on the ceiling and Draco’s inability to clean very well thoroughly mislead you into believing this is a well lived in apartment

- Your eyes twinkle as you take in the incredible view from the large panel window in his living room

- “The views absolutely bewitching” you murmur with a smile, enchanted as you gaze at the twinkling lights of London

- He watches you, watching the lights. You look like you’re almost glowing, your form wrapped by the scenery

- “You’re the one that’s bewitching” he murmurs, watching your grin

- Well he can manage for a bit longer

[darkdeltakai]

“Can manhwa ever be as popular as manga?” -A Question from Quora

I couldn’t submit my answer for one reason or another, but I spent a lot of time writing it so I’m throwing it in the Tumblr Archives.

“Can manhwa ever be as popular as manga?”

But isn’t it?

I won’t look up and show statistics and such. This answer just comes straight from what I’ve observed in the country/state where I’m from.

And where I’m from, more people definitely read manhwa and webtoons than they do manga. And the reasons are pretty obvious.

(Shoutout to CurtRichy from “Get in the Robot”/”Beyond the Bot”, he has a very popular "Anime you can't watch in public" series on YouTube.)

If I was in public and was watching, let’s say, “Kill la Kill”, I would instantly be labeled, and honestly? Probably be reported depending on where I am and how many people can see it. No matter how good or cool I think the story and animation are, that’s just not the issue here.

A lot of Japanese media is heavily sexualized, and sometimes for absolutely no reason. The small number of female anime fans who find wardrobe malfunctions, unrealistic proportions, and jiggle physics “entertaining” is dwindling and fast.

I can’t remember the name of the anime, but for Valentine's Day, my university Anime Club had an event where singles and couples could all come to watch romantic animes together. They went all-in with decorations, games, candy, and more. Normally the club would carefully review the animes in advance before blasting them across those large lecture room projectors. But this time, someone screwed up. The anime we ended up viewing was about some yandere chick kidnapping a little boy for salacious intentions.

Oof...

We had an unusually high turnout that night of about 30 or so people, and it was a great way to socialize and introduce more people to the world of anime/manga. And we lost 90% of them 30 minutes into the event. It wasn't an "H-anime", but it was still pretty disturbing and walked a very thin line. Luckily, no administrators or deans were present and no one was reported...

I also have another funny story about a 10-year-old(?) kid trying to get his dad to let him buy manga and watch anime at an anime merch store. But TLDR, the dad’s first exposure to manga was Peter Grill. Tough break, kid… See ya in a few more years.

Manhwa, on the other hand, is very tame and appeals to larger demographics. The “free-to-read” and “read-online” formats only make it that much easier to access.

A large number of friends who I thought had no interest in comics or manga all have Webtoon downloaded on their phones. Last year I went to a birthday party with a dozen or so friends and strangers, and come around 8:30 p.m., half of our phones went off at the same time. We all looked at each other and realized it was the Webtoon app. It was a pretty good laugh and a long discussion about what we were reading.

Shockingly, at least to me, most of the guys (who didn’t seem like the type) were reading stuff like “Lore Olympus” and “Cursed Princess Club” while the girls were reading everything from that to “The Boxer” and “Sweet Home”. Some of them aren’t Korean manhwas, but still.

I’m constantly recommending manga to my anime/manga friends, I’m pretty much the “manga guy” in my friend groups. No matter how much I recommend “Terraformars” or “Killing Bites” to those who I KNOW would love it, those black and white pages for 14.99$ (or incomplete to read free online with “You won’t last 5 seconds playing this game” ads) would just be put aside for “later”. But if I bring up the colorful “Jungle Juice” that’s being updated on a reliable schedule and free-to-read right now on a popular mobile app?

It’s no contest.

I think a lot more people are opting out of all the shonen, large “plot”, and Isekai manga stories, and getting into the deeper/emotional and more varied stories manhwas have to offer.

It’s happening slowly but surely.

[seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana]

The Girl in The Blue Dress

Chapter 21: Planning the End

@megatraven and @aallotarenunelma and @catlovingwitch

I finally got this chapter done!! Even tho it took almost 3 months!! I like it and I hope y'all like it as well! And feedback is appreciated!

And while I did like this chapter, the next chapter will definitely be my favorite. It will have lore reveals, emotions, and some nice Olympus time. More information on the other Gods and it probably will mainly focus on Olympus. SOO!!! I'm excited for that one!! There's proofreading, but if something is wrong or sounds weird or text looks wrong or repeats itself, then my bad :(.

.

.

“Because she’s my sister,” Oizys whispered out, her voice slightly shaky.

That sentence made him pause and he shook his head in disbelief.

“That's not possible.”

“It’s the truth,” she fired back at him. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door behind her.

“It can’t be. She’s a human. You’re a goddess. If she was your sister she’d have to be a goddess or some kind of demigod.” He felt anger at Oizys because the implication that she could be a goddess was going to give him false hope. He was used to teasing and tricks, but this was too far. He wouldn’t fall for it.

“What if she isn’t human? Hm? Did you ever think of that?! Ever think of the mere possibility at all?” She narrowed her eyes and that anger was rising again.

He shook his head slightly and let out a deep breath. “She’s dying because she has a curse," he explained. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the ground. He didn't know if he should believe her, but his mind began to wander.

Is she saying the truth?

He ran his hand through his hair and began to think, but Oizys wouldn’t let him do anything. She walked towards him in quick steps and stopped in front of him.

“She is my sister. My other half. I’m the goddess of despair, so you should know what she is,” she whispered in an angry tone. “Why do you think she keeps coming back, huh? Don’t give me the ‘fate’ bullshit. She is cursed. She is cursed by being a goddess and always forced to come back.”

“No. Lumie cursed her in her first lifetime. She follows her everywhere! Including me,” he said as he looked up at her. Surprisingly, he saw a sad look on her face.

She nodded at him. “Yes, she did. But that curse was not to keep coming back. She knows what Rose is and she uses it to her advantage. She makes her come back over and over again and curses her to terrible fates.” She let out a shaky breath and continued. “And I’ve been searching for her, trying to protect her just like you have. But I can’t do it up close. My aura is just everywhere!” She stepped back and gestured to the area of the room, holding her arms out.

She dropped them and took a moment to put her words together. “People feel my presence and I can’t turn it off. I can’t stop these feelings from happening to her, I can’t help her from up close. I have to help her from afar, and that is a curse on its own.” She gets up in his face and points at him. “But you have been able to, and still haven’t figured out the obvious. Can’t you feel it? Or see it in any way?”

He then remembered about the woman he sees in his dreams and in the real world. “What did she look like when she was a goddess?” His voice was quiet as if asking a deep secret.

Oizys backed up and shrugged her shoulders as she thought. “I think she wore this like blue and white dress? And her hair wasn’t brown, it was actually black.” She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. “But what does her look have to do with anything?”

He opened his mouth to tell her, but he felt like he couldn't. He couldn't get the words out for some reason. Something was holding him back, and he didn't want to fight it. "It's nothing."

Oizys narrowed her eyes and he knew she didn't believe him, but she didn't care anymore. She already shared enough. "Fine. Just go to her." Her voice was full of venom and he didn't want to push her anymore. He opened the door to leave, but stopped when he collided with Rose.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she said as she backed up with a small smile on her face.

He laughed and closed the door behind him. "It's okay." He was about to ask her something, but he stopped when he saw her gaze looking at the door. She had a confused look and she looked like she was trying to remember something. "Are you okay?"

She looked back at his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I'm just a little tired." She smiled and held out her hand. "Will you walk with me?"

He nodded and they held hands as they walked through the crowd of people. Apollo looked at many things in the palace as she led him through it, and looked even more in awe when he realized she was leading him to the garden. It was beautiful and Apollo couldn't stop looking at everything. Yes, he was from Olympus and there were more beautiful things there, but the fact that this was on Earth made it better for him.

"Wow. I didn't know you'd be in shock like this," she said with a laugh.

He looked at her and saw her smiling at him. Her eyes were so bright and seemed to glow in the shine of the night. Everything about her was beautiful, and he forgot everything that happened earlier. He just focused on her and the garden.

"I've just never really seen anything this beautiful." He kept looking at her, making sure she knew what he meant. And by the blush on her cheeks, she definitely did.

She let out a fond sigh and laid her cheek against his shoulder as they walked. They walked in peace and kept admiring the garden, but they stopped in front of a statue when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They turned around and saw a woman who was clearly a queen. She had a golden crown on, a yellow dress on complete with multiple jewel accessories, and he felt Rose stiffen beside him.

"Queen Anastasia. What brings you here?" Her voice was clear and formal.

Queen Anastasia smiled at her and walked closer to them. "Sweetie, you don't need to use formalities with me." She laughed and held her arms out for Rose.

Rose smiled and gave her a tight hug that lasted for a few moments. They both pulled away and Anastasia looked at Apollo as Rose moved to be back by his side.

"Who is this?" She looked at him with suspicion and it would be terrifying if he was a normal commoner.

Rose looked up at him and squeezed his hand. "This is Andy. He's...". She struggled for a moment as she looked at him. She looked back over at Anastasia with a smile. "He's my very good friend."

Anastasia gave Rose a look that meant that she didn't believe her. But she smiled at him anyways. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Any friend of Rose is a friend of mine." She looked back at Rose and now her smile disappeared and she looked serious. "I wish I was here for nice reasons, but I am not. I need to speak with you privately."

Rose looked concerned and she nodded without hesitation. But then she remembered that Apollo was with her, and she looked at him with a sorry look. "I'm sorry, but I have to go with her alone. I'll be back soon, I promise!" She squeezed his hand and followed Anastasia to who knows where.

He felt a little confused as to why she needed to talk to her, but he knew it was probably mercenary business or perhaps it was personal reasons. He just decided to go back the palace and mingle with the people.

.

.

Anastasia led Rose to a private room in the palace. It was the room where important decisions were made. May it be plans for war, plans for a party, or daily talk with the council. They always happened here. And now Rose felt worried for being here.

She led her to the table in the middle of the room. They stood beside each other and Rose got to see a map of the area. There were circles surrounding Anastasia's palace and a circle around a border between her and someone else's kingdom. She didn't know the little details, but she did hear about conflict spreading in different kingdoms.

"I need your help once again, old friend." She placed her hand on Rose's shoulder and looked at her with genuine need.

Rose sighed and placed her hand on Anastasia's and gave it a slight squeeze. She kept staring at the map and asked what she always did. "What are you fighting for?"

"This kingdom," she pointed at the kingdom behind the little border, "has been attacking me and my people for some time. It never was too serious. But now they are sending death threats, assassinating some of my council members, and are trying to kill my husband. This is going too far."

"Do you know why they are attacking you?"

"They are attacking because of the last war. You were there, and you know why we fought. And I need to ask of your help once more."

Rose thought about it for a second, but she knew what she needed to do. It was what she promised to do. She looked over at Anastasia and gave a sad smile. "I have to talk with my crew before I make a decision."

Anastasia looked slightly irritated at not being given a clear answer, but she knew Rose and that this is what she always done. She always went to her crew before she did anything. She wasn't alone and working solo, she had a crew and did everything together. So, she nodded at that response and let Rose go back to Apollo.

When she did return, she told him that they needed to go back to the ship immediately. He noticed her worried and uncertain look and felt worried himself. When they did get back to the ship, she made everyone come together on the deck and people looked concerned.

.

"Alright. I've got some news and it's not really good," Rose said with a laugh.

Many members of the crew looked at each other with unease.

"Queen Anastasia came to the party as well and found me. She asked me for another favor. The kingdom is going through some troubles. A kingdom that is on the separate side of a border is attacking hers, and she asked for my aid. I'm considering helping her, but I need your opinions first." She looked at all of them with a serious look.

"Are you sure this is good? You still have your back wound that isn't completely healed," Melody said with motherly worry.

Rose looked to her side. "I know. But she doesn't seem to be actively going to the war. There is just planning so far. But if the time comes, I want to go and help her."

"Do you want some of us to go?" A crew member asked.

She looked back out at the crew and shrugged slightly. "It's up to you if you want to go, but I will not judge you for being afraid or not wanting to go. You have your own lives and only signed up for being a crew, not soldiers."

Some people looked relieved while others looked serious.

"I say you go if it is necessary. I'll go with you," a man said.

Many more voices followed saying that she should go if necessary, and the only person who didn't speak was Melody. She was beside Rose and she looked worried.

Rose looked at her and was waiting for her input. Melody was afraid, and everyone could tell, but her daughter had her own life. She shouldn't be afraid to live it because of her mother, so she nodded and squeezed her hand.

"I say you go if you need to." Melody smiled at her daughter and Apollo knew she was proud. She was worried, but proud and supportive.

Rose nodded and smiled. "Yes, I believe I have to go."

.

.

Next thing Apollo knew, he was training with Rose more than normal. She was training him while he was training her. It was practice every day and he noticed something different about Rose.

She seemed distracted. When she was free, she would look at her book, but never really read it. And she loved that book. She only kept focusing on doing work, spending some time with the kids, and practicing. She was running herself ragged and he felt worry for her. He needed to talk to her.

With a loose plan, he decided to offer her another stroll. He walked up to her bedroom door and knocked. After a few moments, she opened the door wearing her blue toga. Usually she looked happy, but now she looked a little exhausted.

"Rose. I wanted to know if you'd like to go on another walk."

She nodded immediately. "I definitely need to talk with you," she said with a tired tone.

.

They were now back on that shore where they first talked. The night was cool, the waves were calm, and everything felt good, even if it wasn't. They were both silent as they stood next to each other, but they knew they needed to actually speak.

"Andy, I have to tell you something."

He looked over at her and she was facing him with a worried look. "I'm open for anything, Rose," he said honestly. He smiled at her and she smiled back after a few moments. It was shaky but it was there.

"I think I like you," she said quickly. She was looking down at the ground and picking at her nails. Her voice was quiet with embarrassment.

He stared at her for a moment and was in shock. He never would've guessed she liked him back. She never truly showed it, or was he not paying attention? "You do?" He asked with a tiny bit of happiness.

She slowly looked up at him and nodded. He expected a smile on her face, but a frown was there. "But I don't know if that's good."

"What do you mean?"

She turned back towards the ocean and walked closer to it. She stopped when her feet were at the edge of the shore, the water always coming close to touching her. She stared at the horizon and he knew something was going on in her mind. Something she struggled with.

"I've never really liked someone before...I never let myself like someone. I thought it was useless and I thought it would only distract me," she said softly. She was embarrassed and scared. She never admitted this to anyone except her mother, so no one else knew what was going on in her head. They never understood why she only had one special night with a person and choose to never see them again.

She didn't want to get too close.

He walked to be beside her and looked out into the horizon as well. "What are you afraid of?" He directly asked. He knew she was hiding something and that she was afraid to tell him. Afraid to tell anyone.

She went silent for a moment and struggled for words. She was good with snark and arguing with people if need be, but talking about her personal feelings? It was too difficult and hard to deal with, but she needed to do it now. She needed to face her fear.

"I'm afraid of being left behind," she whispered out.

Apollo felt his heart drop at that. She was the one following others, leading them to a good fate, helping anyone who reached out, and helping the ones that she had to reach out to first. She helped everyone, and now he wonders if it was because she was scared of no one being with her.

"I want to help people, everyone knows that. It's because I do like helping people, and whenever I got that feeling that was deeper than just liking someone as a friend, I would cut them off. I was scared that eventually they would leave me because I'm doing a dangerous job, and if they didn't leave me, then I didn't want them to ever get hurt because of me. And I didn't want to lose friends because of my job that I love. I'm afraid of others leaving me, so I do everything for them," she said shakily. Her voice was tight and she was holding back words and feelings.

He reached out and grabbed her hand lightly. She looked down at their hands and went stiff for a moment, but eventually squeezed his hand gently. She looked back up at him and smiled. "But I guess that's a little stupid, huh? I tell people to hold each other close, yet I push people away."

"No, Rose. That's not stupid at all. It's okay to be afraid of something," he said in a gentle voice.

She kept looking at him and her thoughts were tangled together. Happiness went through her because she felt that it was okay to be afraid, but fear also went through her again. She was still scared of seeming weak because she was afraid of such a small thing.

She looked back down at the ground. "But...how is that okay? I'm a captain. I'm supposed to protect my crew at any cost and I work for the people. I don't listen to anyone. I listen to myself, and when I do that I feel fear."

He turned his body to face her and he made her face him. She had a pout on her face and looked truly scared. He moved his hand to cup her cheek and she leaned into it.

"My words will never be enough, but trust me when I say that it's normal to feel like that. Everyone feels like that at some point. Even I feel like that. I'm always scared of people leaving me, I'm scared of hurting people who I don't want to, and I'm afraid of myself."

"Yourself?"

He nodded and didn't explain. He didn't know how. He was a God and he couldn't tell her. He had all of this power at his fingertips and he kept it at bay, all for her and the people. But he scared himself because he worried one day it would slip out. One day his strength would be out of his control and he'd hurt someone.

"I'm scared all the time, Rose. But...when I see you, I feel okay," he said softly. Now it was his turn to be shy. He was glad it was night so she wouldn't be able to see his blush. He always was honest with her, but it always made him shy in each lifetime of hers, and each time he met her.

Her eyes widened slightly and a blush appeared on her cheeks as well. She'd been with a few people, but none of them made her feel like this. This feeling she didn't know how to describe. She'd read so much about love, adored it, but didn't even know she felt it.

She moved closer to him and pulled him into a hug. She rested her cheek against his chest and heard his heartbeat. It was calm and she wished hers was the same. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his cheek on the top of her head.

"I'm scared for the war. I still have wounds and I don't want to die. Not yet," she said. She was muffled but he heard her clearly. It made his heart drop once again, and he tightened his arms around her.

"I'll do my best to protect you, Rose. I'll follow you every step of the way, every day, and do what you demand."

"But you don't have to. You are your own man. What I want is for you to live as you want to and not follow my demand. Do what you think is right, Andy." Her voice was tight once again but it also was demanding. She meant business and it made him laugh on the inside.

"I know. I don't have to, but I believe what you do. I've followed you this long. I don't plan on quitting now, okay?" He looked down at her and hesitated for a moment before kissing the top of her head.

She was silent as she continued to think and listen to his heart. It was constant, calm, and it made her slowly calm down. It reminded her that she was still alive, he was still alive, they were still here, and everything wasn't over yet.

They still had time. And maybe with this time, she'll realize that she doesn't have to cut him off.

.

.

That time, however, wasn't spent fooling around. It was filled with everyone planning for the worst possibilities and the best ones. They had to be prepared just in case she did die. Everyone didn't want to think about it, but they had to. And one person who really didn't want to think about it, was dear Ellie.

She was afraid of the idea and she didn't want to lose her mother. Apollo didn't know her background, but if she was on a ship filled with mercenaries, then something must've gone wrong. She finally found a family and a mother, and doesn't want to lose it.

Rose spent as much time with her as possible. Her attention was split between multiple people. Apollo, her mother, Ellie, the people, and her crew. She managed to spend time with everyone, but it took a lot out of her and he felt sympathy for her. She had all of this on her plate and barely let anyone know. The only time she let anyone know was when she went to sleep with her mother or joined Apollo back at the shore.

He felt worry, but he knew she could handle this. She had her crew and she had him always backing her up. She practiced every day with him and always made sure the people who were joining the war were ready. The only time he got to see the other side of Rose was when she spent time with him on the shore. She looked tired, but happy to be with him and he felt that happiness too. She let her walls down and he was happy to see the real her.

But every night when he went to bed, his heart would hurt. He finally got to see her, but...she was going into another war. She was already in a war before he met her, and all those scars proved that war wasn't kind. It never is, and he knows what else isn't kind.

Her curse.

It never showed mercy, it always hurt her no matter what, and no one could stop it. And now he knew the ending once again. He knew what was going to happen, but he still kept hope. He still believed he could change it. No matter how many times he had to watch her die, he believed he'd find her again and he'd do his best to protect her and end this. He wasn't going to stop now.

.

.

Before they knew it, it was only a week before the war started. Rose's anxiety was rising and she felt scared. She agreed because she cared for Anastasia and wanted to help her and her people, but now her anxiety was getting the best of her. She didn't want to die, and she didn't want her friends to die, but she knew this had to happen. She knew Anastasia hated war just as much as she did, so she wouldn't propose the idea of war without reason.

But it still bugged her at night. The ship's rock would now make her feel sick and she felt like she couldn't breathe at some points during the night. She dealt with them alone and no one would get the chance to know.

.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Apollo asked Rose.

She was getting dressed in the room they shared and he stood outside. The door was slightly cracked open so they could hear each other, and Apollo couldn't help but share his worries. They had just gotten out of another meeting with Anastasia and her council. They were still finishing the final touches of the battle and everything that still needed to happen.

She sighed as she pulled the nightgown over her head. "I'm not sure, Andy. But we don't have a choice. It's too dangerous to walk out this late at night. She held us longer than anticipated."

"She sure did," he whispered under his breath.

"You can come in!"

He entered the room and saw her sitting on her side of the bed, taking off jewelry. He smiled and laid on his side.

"You really love jewelry?" He asked with a smirk.

She huffed a laugh and shook her head slightly. "No, not exactly. I mean, if it's shiny, I like it. I'll wear it a few times and here and there, but I do not love it."

"So you're conflicted about it?"

She paused for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

They both laughed at each other and they ignored the seriousness of the situation for a moment. It felt nice to both of them to just think things were okay. To imagine that they were spending a night with a friend and going to face a bright day.

Once she was done, she laid on her side, facing away from him. She wanted to face him, but she still felt anxious and confused. She read books about love, but experiencing it? It was different and difficult. She wanted to face him just in case it was the last time she saw him, but she couldn't.

"Andy," she started. "Do you think this is the right decision?"

Apollo was facing away from her, but could still hear the hesitation in her voice. This question caused him to remember her past lifetime, and how she asked him the same question at one point. He took his time in thinking for an answer, not wanting to let her down or worry her more.

"I do. Violence is terrible, I know that, but I think we both really know that sometimes it has to happen." He waited for her to reply and she eventually sighed.

"Yeah. I guess we do know." Her voice this time was quiet and he could tell she was lost in her own thoughts now, and he decided to let her be.

However, someone wouldn't let them sleep in peace. Apollo didn't know how it happened or what truly happened, but the next time he opened his eyes, he saw Rose standing against the wall beside the door, hand reaching into the dresser there and grabbing her dagger, and waiting. He wanted to get up and ask what was wrong, but he knew someone was coming, and if he gave her position up, then she'd be in trouble. More trouble than he would.

He kept his eyes barely open and waited with her. Within a few seconds, a figure was walking slowly into the room. Somehow, the person didn't notice Rose right there and was shocked when she shut the door quietly and letting the sound of it closing scare them.

The person turned around with fear and took out a dagger of their own, but Rose was ready for that. She pulled a smaller knife out of the drawer and threw it at the person. The person groaned in pain as the knife landed right in their thigh. Rose took the opportunity to rush over to them and grabbed both of their hands and held them in the air. She took her other hand and placed it around their throat. She looked truly menacing.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

The person didn't hesitate on answering. "I was on orders to kill you," they chokingly said.

She tightened her hand around their throat. "And by who exactly?"

"Queen Anastasia's rival."

Rose cussed under her breath before throwing the person to the ground and knocking them out. She looked over at Apollo and gave a worried look before running over to wake him up.

She shook him gently. "Andy, we have to go check on the others."

He opened his eyes immediately, surprising her, and getting up in a rush. "Where are we going first?"

"Anastasia and her husband. They'd be their first target."

He nodded and grabbed the dagger the person dropped and went with Rose. They walked down the hallways, being as quiet as they possibly could, and made it to Anastasia's room. Rose threw open the door to find Anastasia and her husband fighting off attackers. There were three, one with Anastasia, and two with her husband.

"With him!" Rose told Apollo as she pointed at the king.

Apollo nodded and followed her demand as she went to Anastasia's side. She took the attacker by surprise and stabbed them on their arm. It shocked them enough to where she could snatch the sword out of their hand. She threw it on the ground and out of reach. Anastasia knocked the person out as soon as she could and they both looked over at the king and Apollo to see them doing the same as them.

Once they were sure they were unconscious, Anastasia ran over to her husband and held his cheeks in her hands. "Are you alright?" Her voice that was usually stable and strong, was now weak with fear. Fear because of love. The king reassured her and she gave him a tight hug.

Apollo walked over to Rose and placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her up and down. He didn't see any wounds, but she was good at hiding them. "Are you alright?" He said with the same amount of worry that Anastasia had. Maybe even more.

She gave him a tired smile and nodded. "Yes, I'm alright. The attackers didn't have a chance against us, huh?" She placed her hands on his and squeezed them gently.

He nodded and kept looking at her until Anastasia cleared her throat. Apollo moved to be beside Rose and they both saw Anastasia holding her husbands hand tightly. She had a look of anger on her face.

"I hate to do this, but we have to have this war tomorrow."

Rose gasped. "Tomorrow?" She said in disbelief. "We can't do this so soon!"

"We have to. They were under orders, were they not? That man is trying to get rid of us before the war even begins! We have to strike back," she said with authority.

Rose opened her mouth, ready to retort, but the king held up his hand motioning for her to be quiet. She closed her mouth and nodded as she looked down at the ground. Apollo looked over at her and saw her hands in fists. He moved his hand to hold hers, and after a few moments, she held his hand back. It was tight and comforting to both of them.

Now, she felt like everything was going wrong. Everything was going to end, and Apollo felt that too. He knew her end was coming, and he had to get ready to face it again.

.

.

SOOO!!! I kinda sped this one up. I mean, it took awhile to come out, but recently I worked on it and tried to speed it up in a way. I have the next chapter basically almost done!! I wrote ahead because I was so excited and I think it will be a great chapter!! I hope you three enjoyed this and I'd love to hear your thoughts♥♥!! Once again, there's some proofreading, but sorry if something is off.

[antihero-writings]

Before It Kills You Too 

Fandom: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)

Fic Summary: Anger was a fire, it burned white hot and devastated the world around it. But then it faded...This was more than anger. 

Hera goes for a drive after a fight with Zeus, and has some time to think. Her internal monologue and memories, using Blackpink's "Kill This Love" as a prompt.

Character Focus: Hera

Notes: If you haven't listened to, and/or watched the music video for Blackpink's "Kill This Love" (I’ll put a link in the replies!), I highly recommend you do so either before or after reading, as the fic is based on the lines, and a few of the visuals of it!

Also, fyi, I am very new to the world of kpop myself... I deeply apologize if I didn't do the song justice!

I am a big fan of Greek Mythology (though I don't know it super well), and adore retellings of it, (as well as retellings of classic literature in general). But the two characters I've never liked in other retellings + the original myths are Zeus and Hera. But Rachel does such a great job with the characters in LO she managed to create a version of both Zeus and Hera not only do I like, they are in my top favorite characters of the series. 

I've wanted to write a fic for Lore Olympus for a while (as well as something using "Kill This Love" as a prompt), and I decided to write one about them, both because I don't think there are as many fics about them, and to honor what a great job she's done with these characters, and how much she made me like them (and because the song fit too well with her!)!

Chapter 1: I Owe It All to You 

Hera kept glancing from the road to the speedometer, the dial sneaking steadily upwards: sixty miles an hour to seventy in seconds.

She leaned over and took a cigarette from the pack, putting it between the fingers of the hand on the steering wheel. She took out the lighter and clicked it open, lighting the end, then closed it again and set it back down in the cupholder while she breathed in.

Smoke never tasted so sweet as when she was angry with him.

Eighty, ninety.

“Good to see you again, Bunny!”

“It’s only been a few days!” She laughed, “And who’s Bunny?”

“You are!” Zeus took her hands and gave her eskimo nose kisses. “Who else?”

The golden girl smiled, big and bright—

—the kind of smile one can only give when the world itself is big and bright. When one lives in a realm of hope, where beings keep their secrets, and their promises, and no one lies, or steals, or cheats.

She breathed out, smoke billowing like her mouth was the gates to the Christian’s hell—(they say hell hath no fury right?).

Sometimes she wished she had Zeus’s power; that she could set the world on fire with a glance.

A hundred.

The world was nothing but streaks of light across her vision. Not trees, people, and buildings; not distinguishable as life or meaning, just lines of color as she flew by. Maybe things were better that way. She could dance in the in-between, reach up and grab the ribbons, twirl around with them in beautiful absurdity. Only absurdity was beautiful; truth and sanity were far too ugly.

“Bunny I—”

“Don’t ‘Bunny’ me!”

She took another long draft, letting the smoke’s medicine filling her lungs.

And out.

Breathe out, feel the negative emotions leaving your body, all the meditation gurus say.

What a load of bullshit that was.

For every soothing inhale there was always an exhale that felt like it was clawing its way out of her throat. For every sweet hello there was a bitter goodbye, full of curses at his back, in return. For every incredible high there was a unfathomable price. That was the rule to life; what goes up, must come down.

And she had risen too high, once upon a time.

The test of life had no answer, let alone a right one. Even the gods were slaves to fate, and emotion.

The tires screeched hellishly as she rounded corner.

Hera walked around the corner.

“It just—I feel like the world’s on fire when I’m with him! You know?”

The queen stopped. It was that nymph’s voice. The one who came by earlier.

“Ahh I’m so jealous! Tell me more! Tell me!”

“Well he just…I don’t know! When he kisses me the whole world just kind of…stops. You know? And when he listens…I feel like he’s actually listening.”

“Ugh, too sappy! Tell me the dirty stuff!”

“Oh stop! I’m not gonna tell you about our sex life!”

Hera rolled her eyes, beginning to walk away when—

“Well he is the king of the gods. You’re right; It’s better if I imagine.”

The queen froze.

“Eugh I don’t want you imagining me in bed with him!”

“No, I’m imagining me in bed with him!”

Hera couldn’t hear them anymore. Couldn’t see the world in front of her. She was staring at a space before her eyes only she could see; a space, a memory, where the world was wide and she and Zeus were the only beings in it.

That space was shattering piece by piece.

Her breath was shallow in her chest, her blood pumping her ears.

“Mama?” Ares’ little voice brought her back to the world. “Mama, you’re hurting me.”

She immediately let go of her son’s tiny hand. “I’m so sorry sweetheart!” She crouched down and took his hand in both of hers, this time with the most gentleness she could muster, and kissed his fingers. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…‘m okay.” He took his hand back and rubbed it.

He looked at her apprehensively.

“…Are you okay, mama? …Are you angry?”

She whizzed passed broken stop sign, catching her reflection in the rear view mirror; her hair in tattered locks like rags about her face, eyebrows permanently furrowed, lip permanently pursued, blue eyes dim and hollow, with nothing of the brightness they once contained; only a few lingering sparks of electricity in an abandoned power plant.

‘Okay’. ‘Angry’.

Such ugly words.

“I just…” the golden girl pushed her hair behind her ear sheepishly, her eyes bright, “I feel like the world’s on fire when I’m with him…you know?”

“Can’t say I do,” Aidoneus muttered softly.

She put her gently hand on his. “Don’t worry, I know you will one day.” She grinned.

And what made it better was that she really meant that.

He tried to smile back.

“So what’s that…like?” he asked softly.

“Well…when he kisses me the world kind of …stops. It feels like there’s nothing and no one in the universe but him and me. We can talk about anything. And when I talk it feels like he actually listens. He always makes me laugh. When I’m with him…it feels like nothing else matters…”

She hated that word: okay. It was too simple, too easy; one could always throw it out as an answer. It didn’t mean, I’m doing very well, or I’m doing poorly—(though it could mean either depending on the context). Okay was just, ‘fine’, ‘alright’. Okay could mean you were doing wonderfully, having a great day, and okay could mean you would rather be dead, and either way people would smile and say good! I’m okay too!. Okay was never truly satisfied, never fully living. Just existing. ‘Okay’ was a word for ghosts; for those who are neither dead nor really alive, neither sinners nor saints. Just floating through the world, caught in between.

She was always okay…and she was never okay.

She rolled down the window, cool air rushing in to the car and scooping up all the smoke, taking it out into the night, giving it to some other lonely Goddess who needed it.

“Ugh, this again? I thought we were done with this…Just leave it for now. You’ll feel better after lunch.”

And, anger, anger was a fire that blossomed like a rose high, and bright, and scorching for a while, eating everything it saw. Then it dwindled. Sometimes it could be lit again by a passing breeze, if the embers were still fresh enough. And sometimes that relight could touch a passerby leaf or bush, and from there desecrate forests and cities. But often, even then, once it had finished blazing it would wither and die. Anger burned white hot and violent at first, but eventually it would fade, and the world would be left to deal with everything it blackened in its wake.

She sometimes had a vague image of smashing Zeus’s head in, of him clutching his big ugly skull, golden trails of blood intermixing with his violet hair, draining down his cheeks. And there she was, holding the stem of glass, half of the vase, in her hand, the rest of it in pieces all over the floor before them. Sometimes. Sometimes it felt good to take out all that anger out on innocent paintings. Sometimes she had to destroy something, before it destroyed her.

“You’re acting crazy.” He had said.

Crazy, was she?

Crazy for believing visions in her head, which were always right in the past? Crazy for being angry? For kicking him out? No.

Crazy for staying with a being like him?

Yes. If she was crazy, that was why.

If I’m crazy, well, then…

She smirked, taking a long draft, and letting it out, grey wisps filling the air around her.

Thanks, baby, I owe it all to you.

She had a faint recollection of being sane once. Before him. He always made her crazy, be it when she was first fell in love with him, or when she rose in hate for him. But there was a time, when, before all this, she was a sweet, naïve little golden girl in the forest, with her sanity in tact, who loved animals, and taking care of broken things, her innocence still put together.

He thought he knew crazy. He hadn’t even scratched the surface.

But then that impulse would fade as quickly as it came, and she was left with guilt for even thinking that way. She’d never do that. She might burn his picture, but she wouldn’t actually hurt him…would she? She hoped it would never get that far.

No. That was anger. The boiling thing rising inside her that made her want to smash, and spit in, his face, and burn paintings, that was anger. Anger rose, vehemently, but in the end it dissolved.

This was more than just anger.

This, this feeling; this dull resounding ache at the back of her consciousness like an unending death knell; this thing that bored a hole in her stomach, making her feel constantly sick; this thing that hung as a weight in her chest; this thing wrapping around her, chaining her wings; this thing that stained her eyes with sleeplessness; this thing that broke into her mind and ransacked her thoughts, tainting all those happy memories, making them seem diluted with lies, and sickening to think of, and never, ever left her house—

This was heartbreak. Eternal, infernal, heartbreak.

She was on a long stretch of road now, out where nature still bloomed and she didn’t have to look at anyone’s faces or talk to anyone. The ribbons of light still outlining the air—(was it two hundred now? She’d lost track.).

Lucky me.

Everyone always told her she was lucky. Not everyone got to be the wife of the king of the gods. Just her. She was lucky she had a husband who was powerful. Who was rich. She was lucky she had a husband who adored her. Who doted on her. Who listened to her. Who she could talk to. Who made her laugh.

Not everyone had that. Some had husbands who were poor. Who were weak. Who didn’t love them, and whom they didn’t love. Husbands who didn’t dote on them, or give them so much as a wanton kiss. Who fixed a permanent scowl on their faces. Who they couldn’t talk to. Husbands who lied to them, and cheated on them.

She was lucky she didn’t have that.

Not everyone got to be queen.

Lucky her. So lucky he chose her. So lucky she got the crown. No one else.

No one but her.

So lucky she had that handsome face to wake up to every day.

(Every damn day)

So lucky could talk to him every day. So lucky could kiss him, and hug him, and make love to him.

(Sometimes she couldn’t even look at him.)

So lucky she had Zeus. That goofy, dumb, brave, arrogant king as her better half. So lucky she had a husband who was so sweet, and kind, and gentle, and funny, and patient, and forgiving. So lucky she didn’t have had a cheating, lying, conniving, backstabbing little weasel for a husband, who put that crown on his head, and walked into his office like he owned the world—!

And he was the one person who could say he did. Including her. Sometimes she couldn’t say a word against him.

He owned the world. Along with every fucking girl in it.

And he did fuck them.

After it all, what would he say?

We all lie, so what? Something like that.

So what.

Him; the illustrious king with his throne, and his lightning. Her; a jealous queen with a stolen crown.

The only one to blame was herself.

“I just feel like everyone’s lying, everyone’s—!” the golden girl cried, her hands over her eyes.

Someone took her arm, someone whose grasp was gentle.

He put his finger on her chin, tipping her gaze up to him.

“I’d never lie to you.” Zeus said, giving a gentle smile.

And what made it better was he meant it.

She returned the smile, placing her hand over his. “Nor I to you.”

That naïve little ray of sunlight darkened by his moon.

We’ve both lied, so what? That would surely be his excuse.

“You know what?! Why don’t we talk about you for a change?”

He’d said he was sorry before. He’d promised to be better.

And she believed him, then.

He’d spent enough time telling the truth that she believed he meant it when he apologized. When he made promises. When he spoke to her, she thought he meant the things he said.

I cheated on you, I’m sorry.

I lied to you, I’m sorry.

Now she questioned everything he had ever said. His apologies, his promises, his compliments, his kisses. Were those words so long ago just another lie? His promise to never lie to her, was that just the first lie of a thousand? As numerous as the hours they spent together. Did he ever intend to keep his words back then?

That was the unfortunate thing about lies; they could reside in even the most sincere of promises.

I’m sorry.

(I’m not sorry.)

Long ago she’d wanted him to apologize. She’d been more than desperate to hear those words falling from his lips.

Now she knew they meant nothing. They could, and usually would, be just another lie. And, even if he meant them, they wouldn’t fix this aching hole he’d left in her chest.

She remembered herself at her wedding; them, the picture of a perfect, royal couple, his violet a compliment to her gold. Both of them practically shimmering, wearing traditional wedding attire—(though impossibly embellished and adorned)—and those goofy, light-filled smiles. The whole pantheon applauding, smiling, wiping away tears at their back.

In other countries, at weddings, they said they’d be together in sickness and health, till death did them part.

Did this count as sickness? As death?

Didn’t he break that promise? Did her promises matter after he broke his? Was her faith and faithfulness worth nothing anymore?

She now imagined herself in a black dress, standing at the back of that ceremony with a bow, and an arrow made of adamant, laced with the venom from a certain many headed monster, its gleam reflected in darkened gaze. She breathed out as they spoke, and loosed that arrow, shooting that girl in the back. Olympus shouted in vain, as she watched all that gold flow out of her past self, those blue eyes fade to a cool grey, keeping her from making the biggest mistake of her life. And she’d look at Zeus’ horrified face and think

I’m sorry.

(I’m not sorry.)

That was surely better than this. Better than dying slowly, the blue in her eyes dimming day by day into lifeless grey still animated somehow, better than that gold leaking out of her with each forsaken sunrise she woke up next to him.

Would he be happy then? Without her? He could fuck around with whoever he wanted.

Would she be happier, dead, without all this?

There was no way she could have known, back then what their lives would become after a few millennia. How that god who held her hands and said he’d never lie to her, who hugged her and kissed her, and seemed so in love, could become dissatisfied. That lust would overtake him; he’d keep wanting more and more, gorging himself on it. She had no way of knowing that she wouldn’t be enough one day.

She was young, and innocent then, and didn’t know better.

She couldn’t forgive herself for that.

Something flashed gold in the headlights before her, and for a second her mind manifested before her; she saw that golden girl still, her own hair draining down the street like liquid, that white wedding attire—old, ragged, covered in burns—her own naïve eyes, still full of light and life, staring up at her, terror overtaking their innocent frames. And her own eyes boiled.

The sound of breaking glass was like a cooling rain upon a fire that had been left raging too long.

*****

Zeus was doing important business work. Focus was imperative.

Someone knocked on the door. “Your majesty.”

He fumbled with the spinner he was playing with, dropping it on the floor, sitting upright. He folded his hands on the desk, clearing his throat, trying to look professional.

“Yes? If it’s Hermes wanting to install racing tracks in the sky again—”

“Uh, n-no,” the messenger poked her head in the door, looking nervous, “It’s… about your wife.”

He blinked, then sighed, leaning back in his chair. “…What’s does she want this time?”

“Um…” she swallowed, avoiding his gaze, “S-She’s been in a car accident.”

*****

Notes cont.: Do you guys have any ideas for what song I could use for Zeus for the next chapter? (I want the next chapter to be framed like this one--based around a song, but for him, and from his perspective.) Let's see...In the simplest terms, I'm looking for a song about someone who knows they've made mistakes and/or hurt someone, and wants to do better. It doesn't have to be kpop, it can be anything XD

I'm not sure if this fic makes it seem like I hate Zeus and think she should ditch him or something...I really really don't. That's kind of the point; I actually like him a lot, and am very excited to write his chapter. Hera is just (understandably, and rightfully so) really angry with him for treating her so poorly. and I was trying to convey that to the best of my abilities...but it does make him seem pretty douchey (and, let's be fair, he definitely can be). Their relationship is broken indeed...but I hope it's not beyond repair. (though...the myths don't give me much hope...).

Speaking of the myths, I know Zeus and Hera might not have been in love in the way I describe in this. I'm not very familiar with their early relationship in the myths, but let's just say I know them getting married certainly wasn't all sunshine and roses. And Rachel's been pretty accurate to the myths in her own way, so it may be true of them in LO too. But when LO Hades was talking about them in the past I kinda got the impression maybe they were at least somewhat in love, so I decided to go that route. Also, I don't know if using Ares' in the memory places things to early, I might change it to Hebe later...I just like the symbolism of using Ares, especially as I have him acting very differently then we know him as. I might decide to alter parts of this fic if and when she reveals more about their early relationship though, especially if this ends up being super inaccurate...

Sorry, I'm rambling now XD

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the fic!! I'd really apprecaite it if you could leave a comment and/or reblog to show your support!!!

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

1k Follower Q&A

I said I would do a Q&A for 1k followers but uh I didn’t curate questions because I am a disaster SO I literally looked up “Q&A questions vlog gay” and it was weird so here we are

I have another plan for 1k BUT I am slow and haven’t done it yet so I suck don’t @ me please I’m just a tragically messy creator

HERE WE GO!

Name: Steph or The Space Bard, whatever you vibe with

Gay?: Yes. Next question! 

...Finefinefine I am a bisexual genderqueer who leans feminine but like *shrugs* 

Relationship Status: Married to Bard Husband :) 

Daytime Alter Ego: Video Game Guide Writer and Author 

First Girl Crush: 0_0 Probably Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame 

First Guy Crush: ... Kovu from The Lion King 2 don’t @ me 

Fictional Doppelgangers: I vibe aggressively with Captain Kirk and Jaskier the bard (hence Space Bard, folks) 

(Current) Top Ships: Geraskier, Spirk, Catradora, Korrasami, Shakarian, Cullen x Inquisitor, Eivor x Soma 

Romantic Weaknesses: TSUNDERES and AWKWARD NERDS (Bard Husband is both, I might as well off myself) 

Writing Style: A weird blend of serious emotional drama and romcom? I love it, and I hope other people like it, too

Current Project: The Stargirl of (Almost) Seattle, the story of a non-binary shapeshifter finding her own voice (It’s like The Little Mermaid meets Hunchback of Notre Dame and I am OBSESSED) 

Dream Job: Author and mom 

Weirdest Sex Dream: Once I thought I was getting in on with Thor (Chris Hemsworth style) and then halfway through magically remembered I had Bard Boyfriend and started sobbing because it meant I cheated on him.

...I cockblock my own sex dreams a lot

First Book: It was called Tainted Dreams and it was the most shameless self-insert. The main character was a 13-year-old “were-dragon” and it’s objectively horrific. The narration honestly isn’t terrible, but the dialogue....

The creepy part of it all is that her best friend/future love interest is alarmingly like Bard Husband and it makes me uncomfortable

I’m Watching: The Queen’s Gambit, Kill la Kill, Stargate, Star Trek: Discovery, and Star Trek: TNG

I’m Listening: Doja Cat’s “Say So”, Three Days Grace everything, the rest of Doja Cat’s Hot Pink album, Tessa Violet, Annapantsu, “Michael in the Bathroom” (it will haunt me for the rest of my life I swear)

I’m reading: Sophie Kinsella’s Twenties Girl, Patrick Ness’ The Rest of Us Just Live Here, and TOO MANY WEBTOONS 

... Okay but what Webtoons?: FINE the skinny list of my favorites that are CURRENTLY RUNNING (Sorry finished stories)-

Space Boy

Lore Olympus

Heir’s Game

The Curse Princess Club

My Giant Nerd Boyfriend

Castle Swimmer

Muted

The Croaking

Suitor Armor

Newman

Fluidium

Nothing Special

Conspiracy Research Club

... Guys considering that is my SHORT LIST and only mentions currently running stories (trust me, there’s AT LEAST ten more finished ones I could add),  let’s just say I’m an addict

Anything else?: Uhhhh.... not really! I struggle to think of things people might find interesting about me in any sort of way so this was really pushing my brain cells already. If anyone has a question, I’d be happy to answer. But for now, back to writing! 

Oh and of course, thanks y’all for following. Stay queer and very, wonderfully incorrect. 

More stuff should be up by wednesday :)

Love,

The Space Bard 

[i-need-a-second-library]

Reading List 2019

So I thought to celebrate the fact that I actually read 100 books this year, I could list them all, give them a short raiting and quickly summarise my thoughts (as far as I remember them, my memory is terrible). So strap in, this is gonna be a looong list.

(The formating is gonna be: Title, Author, Language I read it in (D = German; E = English), rating, short thoughts)

1. The Toymakers, Robert Dinsdale, D, 3/5, Wants to be The Nightcircus but fails. Still sweet and thoughtful.

2. Deadly Sting (Elemental Assassin 8), Jennifer Estep, D, 4/5, Don’t remember specifics just that I was impressed the series was still this good.

3. The Labyrinth of Magic Volume 1, Shinobu Ohtaka, D, 1/5, Note to self: I don’t like Mangas (The Anime is fantastic though).

4. The Labyritnh of Magic Volume 2, Shinobu Ohtaka, D, 1/5, See 3.

5. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman, D, 3/5, Not my style but I can see what others like about it.

6. Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman, D, 4/5, Very informative and entertaining.

7. The Master Magician (The Paper Magician 3), Charlie N. Holmberg, D,3/5, Adequate ending, I absolutely love the magic system.

8. The Plastic Magician (The Paper Magician 3.5), Charlie N. Holmberg, D, 4/5, Great spinoff, better story than the original with exactly enough cameos.

9. Heart of Venom (Elemental Assassin 9), Jennifer Estep, D, 3/5, see 2.

10. Inkdeath (Inkworld 3), Cornelia Funke, D, 5/5, Always a favourite, read it because I was feeling down cheered me right up.

11. The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus 5), Rick Riordan, E, 4/5, Why did I wait so long to read this?

12. Vulkanjäger, Katja Brandis, D, 3/5, Good adventurebook for younger readers.

13. Double Crossed: A Spies andd Thieves Story (Heist Society 2.5), Ally Carter, E, 3/5, Should really have read Gallagher Girls first.

14.  Wizards: The Myths, Legends, and Lore, Aubrey Sherman, E, 4/5, Very interesting, smiled everytime Harry Potter or BBC’s Merlin was mentioned.

15.  Vampires: The Myths, Legends, and Lore, Aubrey Sherman, E, 3/5, Not really a fan of Vampires but if you are you have to read this!

16. Nice Dragons Finish Last (Heartstrikers 1), Rachel Aaron, E, 3/5, Amazing worldbuilding!

17. The Tomb, H.P.Lovecraft, D, 2/5, I don´t even remember it.

18.  All the Ever Afters: The Untold Story of Cinderella's Stepmother, Danielle Teller, E, 3/5, Great new perspective, unfortunately not enough magic.

19. Stars Above (Lunar CHronicles Short Stories), Marissa Meyer, E, 3/5, I would read anything in this universe no matter if it´s good or not.

20.  To Kill a Kingdom, Alexandra Christo, E, 4/5, Really good, always love a dark fairytale retelling.

21. Her Royal Spyness (Royal Spyness 1), Rhys Bowen, E, 3/5, Expected more, it´s a bit slow.

22.  Mein Reckless Märchenbuch (Mirrorworld Readalong), Cornelia Funke, D, 5/5, It`s Cornelia Funke of course it´s brilliant. Also, everyone needs a collections of fairytales at home, just for refference. I have gotten into many a discussion about the specifics of a classic story that we needed to look up.

23. Air Awakens (Air Awakens 1), Elise Kova, E, 5/5, Fantastic read, couldn´t put it down.

24. Renegades (Renegades 1), Marissa Meyer, D, 4/5, Marissa Meyer writing about Superheroes? More please!

25. Fire Falling (Air Awakens 2), Elise Kova, E, 4/5, see 23.

26.Tales from the Front (Air Awakens 2.5), Elise Kova, E, 3/5, Kind of unnecessary, didn´t really add anything.

27. Earth´s End (Air Awakens 3), Elise Kova, E, 4/5, See 23.

28. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars 1), Rob Thomas, E, 3/5, Was good when i read it but now after season 4 it just makes me sad.

29.  Mr. Kiss and Tell (Veronica Mars 2), Rob Thomas, E, 3/5, see 28.

30. China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians 2), Kevin Kwan, E, 4/5, A LOT of Characters but otherwise really great.

31. Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians 3), Kevin Kwan, E, 3/5, see 30.

32. Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle 1), C.L.Polk, D, 5/5, Won it on lovelybooks (thanks again for that), amazing queer fantasy (often shelved as YA, it´s NOT, the protagonists are like 30 it´s not YA).

33. Water's Wrath (Air Awakens 4), Elise Kova, E, 4/5, see 23.

34. Crystal Crowned (Air Awakens 5), Elise Kova, E, 4/5, I read this and Water´s Wrath in one night, couldn´t put it down for the life of me.

35. Vicious (Villains 1), V.E.Schwab, E, 3/5, Do you know the kind of book that while you´re reading it is like meh but then you just can´t stop thinking about it?

36.  A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers 1), Brigid Kemmerer, E, 4/5, Great retelling, love the mix of modern and fairytale worlds.

37. Ninja: First Mission, Chris Bradford, E, 1/5, Just makes me want part 9 of Young Samurai even more.

38. DOORS: Der Beginn (Doors 1), Markus Heitz, D, 2/5, Love the idea but couldn´t really convince me.

39. Heartless, Marissa Meyer, E, 4/5, Really heartless, in the sense that it rips your heart right out of your chest and then crushes it, I think I cried... a lot.

40. Truthwitch (Witchlands 1), Susan Dennard, E, 4/5, Great start to a series, didn´t manage to read the sequels this year will try again in 2020.

41. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman, D, 3/5, A classic of the genere for a reason.

42. A rumor of Dragons (Dragonlance Chronicles 1), Margaret Weis, D, 1/5, Boring.

43. A Discovery of Witches (All Souls 1), Deborah Harkness, E, 4/5, The love story is a little rushed, still loved it though.

44. A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic 1), V.E.Schwab, E, 4/5, Why didn´t I read this years ago? I mean it´s been on my shelf? And it´s so good!

45. Catching Fire (The Hunger Games 2), Suzanne Collins, D, 5/5, Couldn´t stop even at 4am.

46. Mockingjay (The Hunger Games 3), Suzanne Collins, D, 4/5, I think I read this and 45 in one night (Yes I didn´t sleep).

47. Wicked Fox (Gumiho 1), Kat Cho, E, 3/5, Was in a Fairyloot box, underused setting therefore very interesting.

48. The Glass of Lead and Gold (Mirrorworld short story), Cornelia Funke, E, 3/5, Lovely but when are we finally getting book 4?

49. The MirrorWorld Anthology (Mirrorworld Readalong), Cornelia Funke, D, 4/5, Turns out we´re getting book 4 in 2020. FINALLY!!!!

50.  The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman, E, 2/5, Meh...

51. Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold, Stephen Fry, E, 3/5, Informativ but I prefer the ones by Riordan.

52. Shadow of Night (All Souls 2), Deborah Harkness, E, 3/5, Love the timetravel but like the first one it felt a little rushed.

53. James Acaster´s Classic Scrapes, James Acaster, E, 2/5, I really like his stand up but didn´t really enjoy this book.

54.  The October Man (Rivers of London 7.5), Ben Aaronovitch, E, 3/5, It´s always funny to read foreigners writing about your culture, if you like the other rivers of London books you will like this one.

55. A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magyk 2), V.E.Schwab, E,4/5, As good as the first one but with Pirates!

56. Caraval (Caraval 1), Stephanie Garber, E, 3/5, It´s ok but I can´t really understand the hype.

57. Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars 1), Elizabeth Lim, E, 4/5, I love this one, the writing is so beautiful.

58. Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days 1), Susan Ee, E, 3/5, The Story is ok, but I absolutely love Penryn.

59. The Sleeper and the Spindle, Neil Gaiman, E, 4/5, Great story with amazing illustrations.

60. World After (Penryn and the End of Days 2), Susan Ee, E, 3/5, see 58.

61. End of Days (Penryn and the End of Days 3), Susan Ee, E, 3/5, see 58.

62. Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer 1), Laini Taylor, E, 4/5, Lovely Story with great Characters.

63. Pan´s Labyrinth: The Labyrinth of the Faun, Cornelia Funke, D, 3/5, I read it while listening to the movie soundtrack, can reccomend.

64. Kill the Queen (Crown of Shards 1), Jennifer Estep, E, 4/5, How does she write this many books in so little Time? And how are they all so good?

65. The Return of the Warrior (Young Samurai 9), Chris Bradford, E, 4/5, Noooo its over, I could cry this series was one of my favourites as a kid.

66. Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik, E, 3/5, Good retelling that gets a little over-complicated sometimes.

67. Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer 2), Laini Taylor, E, 3/5, Wow this turned very dark very fast.

68. Skyward (Skyward 1), Brandon Sanderson, E, 5/5, Spensa and M-Bot are deffinetely some of my favourite characters ever.

69. The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon, E, 5/5, Very long but deffinetely worth it.

70.  The Test, Sylvain Neuvel, E, 2/5, Very relevant but not really my style.

71. Archenemies (Renegades 2), Marissa Meyer, D, 5/5, Love it.

72. Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy 1), Leigh Bardugo, E, 4/5, God I just love the Setting.

73. Siege and Storm (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy 2), Leigh Bardugo, E, 4/5,  I know it´s not a very popular opinion but Mal is my favourite.

74.Ruin and Rising (The Shadow and bone Trilogy 3), Leigh Bardugo, E, 3/5, Bit disapointing as an ending but a rollercoaster in terms of feelings.

75. The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn 1), Reneè Ahdieh, E, 5/5, I think this is the 3rd time I read this it´s so good.

76. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Hogwarts Library 1), Newt Scamander, E, 3/5

77. Quidditch Through the Ages (Hogwarts Library 2), Kennilworthy Whisp, E, 5/5, I love this one it´s so funny.

78. The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Hogwarts Library 3), J.K.Rowling, E, 3/5

79. Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (Pottermore Presents 1), J.K.Rowling, E, 4/5, It´s about McGonagall and Lupin of course it´s good.

80. Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (Pottermore Presents 2), J.K.Rowling, E, 2/5

81. Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide (Pottermore Presents 3), J.K.Rowling, E, 3/5

82. Harry Potter: A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, J.K.Rowling, E, 2/5

83. The Traitor´s Kiss (The Traitor´s Circle 1), Erin Beaty, D, 2/5, A friend of mine realls loves this but I thought it was quite boring but I think that was just the translation that didn´t sit right with me it was kind of weird.

84. Mermaids: The Myths, Legends, and Lore, Skye Alexander, E, 2/5, Not as good as Vampires or Wizzards.

85. The Rose and the Dagger (The Wrath and the Dawn 2), Reneè Ahdieh, E, 3/5, Disapointing after the brilliant first one.

86. All Fall Down (Embassy Row 1), Ally Carter, E, 3/5, Didn´t really like it.

87. The Book of Life (All Souls 3), Deborah Harkness, E, 3/5, Good Ending, again very rushed.

88. Supernova (Renegades 3), Marissa Meyer, E, 4/5, God I love Simon and Hugh so much Spoilers!: I didn´t like that Ace turned out to be evil after all, I thought we would get a story with respectable leaders on both sides  which is really rare. Really loved the ending when we learned more about Magpie (i really hope there will be a Sequel or Spin Off).

89. Starsight (Skyward 2), Brandon Sanderson, E, 5/5, It was amazing but I missed the  original Crew.

90.  A River of Royal Blood ( A River of Royal Blood 1), Amanda Joy, E, 3/5, So many unanswered questions left!!

91. + 92.  The Grift of the Magi (Heist Society 3.5), Ally Carter, E, 4/5, Read it twice this year once in spring and the again before Christmas.

93. Red, White & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston, E, 5/5, Maybe the best one this year, reads like really good FanFiction, it´s sooooooo good why aren´t you reading it right now?

94. Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society 2), Ally Carter, E, 5/5, Always fantastic

95. + 96. Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society 3), Ally Carter, E, 5/5, So good I read it twice in a row.

97. Doctor Who: The Legends of River Song, Multiple Authors, E, 3/5,

98. Winter´s zerbrechlicher Fluch, Julia Adrian, D, 3/5, Only read if you really know your german fairytales it´s really confusing even if you know a lot about them.

99. Aurora Rising (Aurora Cycle 1), Amie Kaufman, E, 4/5, “They are not the heroes we wanted. They are just the ones we could find.”

100. Palace of Glass (Reckless Readalong), Cornelia Funke, D, 4/5, Can´t wait for Book 4!! Untill then i love everything that even mentions Jacob and Celeste.

Did you read any of these this year? Or any other year? Do you want to? What were your favourites of this year?

I hope you all had a fantastic 2019 and will have an even better 2020!