#i think it's very interesting how most works i read say zeus loves apollo

[blackknight-100]

More Apollo fic excerpts for you all, because I'm on a roll:

Looking at Father is hard. Apollo has learnt this early on, but Apollo is also either incorrigibly foolish, or insurmountably stubborn. Either way, he tries and tries and tries; the truth is his, and he will look into the King's eyes while he gets it.

Lightning crackles around Zeus's lashes, fine white scars upon his dark skin. He sighs unhappily, and somewhere around Cretan Ida, rain-black clouds are blown away. "Why do you ask that, child?"

"Hekate thinks it is unjust."

"Did she say that to you?"

"No."

Apollo does not mention that she said that to his sister and his mother, because that was not what Father asked. He does not speak of her grief either - the King is a forge of hot power thrumming with ill-supressed rage, a rush of deadly cloudstrike and bitter ozone under his tongue - and Apollo is... apprehensive, if not afraid.

Zeus sighs again. The rain clouds return, and drought is averted. His beard droops, and the riot of spiked hair curls into itself. "It is fate," he says. "There had to be a safe place for you to be born."

"And fate is greater than justice, then?"

"You know the Fates. You know Fate is greater than everything."

Apollo says nothing. In the following silence, father and son stare at each other, picking away at the other's minds.

As always, Father breaks first. "I could not lose you," he says. "You are to be a great god."

Perhaps Apollo should be kinder, perhaps Apollo should be blind. But he is not. Here too the Fates are unfair - he can see Ares' quiet pain, he can see Hera's righteous rage. And his memory is terrible in its divinity - a hundred thousand words of fatherly love will not wipe away all those days of his mother's tears.

Or perhaps it is not fatherly love at all. Apollo is to be a great god, a mighty cog in the automaton that is Fate, and like Hephaestus, Zeus its builder cares little for who the cogs are, or where they come from. They must only exist.

Or perhaps it is just him - Apollo, the Destroyer. Under his hands is the ruin of a hundred women, and then some more, and Hekate is one notch among many others. Perhaps Apollo blames fruitlessly, for it is his father who chased his aunt, and his birth that holds her down. Perhaps his father loves them - him and Artemis and Mother Leto, and has only sought to turn fate in their favour through his ruthlessness. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. So many chances, so many answers.

Apollo looks at Father, and does not believe even one.

"I see," he says. "Thank you for your time, Your Majesty."

Zeus-King frowns. He holds out a hand as if to call out, then drops it and turns away. "You may leave," he says, and Apollo does.

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Some recent discussions I’ve seen about EPIC: The Musical, The Trials of Apollo, and Greek Mythology itself have prompted me to make this post.

With me, at least, when I’m talking about one of the Greek gods, I’m talking about them as they are portrayed in a specific thing.

It’s the same in my fanfics— I would not portray mythology Apollo the way I do ToA Apollo, and vice versa.

A good example of this I think would be my Marsyas fic. In it, I do not have Apollo flay him, because that makes more sense in the rrverse world. If I was going purely on the myths though? I would have had him go through with it. And have a crisis about it. Because that’s what happens.

I just wanted to put it out there that there are people capable of keeping different depictions of the gods separate from the myths. I felt the need to come out and say this, because I don’t want people thinking that my favorite media’s fandom (ToA) ignores/misportrays the myths. We are very aware of what is ToA and what is myth, and I want to set that straight.

Plus, I think it’s worth mentioning that some people in the ToA fandom connect so deeply with it because of the themes of change and the cycle of abuse. And for that to work, the gods have to be more dysfunctional than they are in the myths. It wouldn’t hit as hard if they weren’t.

idk. I just feel like there’s some layer of…hm, instinctual dislike towards fandoms of medias with Greek myth inspiration, because of certain inaccuracies and how that consequently reflects on the myths.

And I didn’t really like seeing that directed at ToA’s fandom, where we have fun discussing the differences between the rrverse and mythology and do in fact keep them separate. I’d argue the ToA fandom’s the most informed on the Greek myths in the wider rrverse fandom because we’re actually interested in the gods. Many have read the myths, or are reading them, like myself! We are educating ourselves on the mythology! And when we find something that has an interesting vision because of ToA’s context? We incorporate it into the setting of the rrverse. But we do not treat that vision as mythology canon.

A very good example of this is Zeus and Apollo’s relationship in ToA. It’s a stark contrast to the myths. I get why people wouldn’t be a fan of that. I like learning about their mythological relationship myself! I love the Greek myth soap opera. I love the Greek gods. I don’t know why someone would be into the mythology without liking the gods.

But I also feel like there needs to be an understanding that how the gods are portrayed in fictional stories are not always intended to be accurate. There are creators out there who treat their retellings as gospel truth, and that is definitely annoying, but there are others who just want to tell a story— and that’s what ToA is. A story. It’s essentially an AU of Greek mythology where Zeus succumbs to paranoia about the cycle. That’s how I see it.

It’s not accurate to the myths, because it’s not meant to be— it’s meant to tell a story, not retell one.

I’m beating a dead horse here because I’ve talked about this specific thing before. But yeah.

Just something I wanted to clear up with the mythology side of tumblr.

[worlds-oldest-teenager]

I’m interested. How do Apollo and Artemis’s desire to protect each other drive a wedge between them?

I'm glad you askeddd. Thank you for being my first anon ever btw. (@crowmakeska-boom idk if you are the anon but anon, whoever you are, sorry for the wait). This is probably not a very good meta cause it's mostly vibes, gut feelings and filling in the blanks with below the bare minimum of textual evidence but oh well. 

First I'd like to talk about why I think Artemis and Apollo's relationship is kind of distant. They're a confusing duo. When you first meet them in the titan's curse it may seem they don't like each other much or atleast Artemis seems to not be paticularly fond of her brother. Calling him “irresponsible”, “lazy”, “big headed”. But reading between the lines reveals how much the two of them care for each other, especially on Apollo's part from all the illegal help he was dishing out to the questers.

But then when you read some more, their relationship just feels a tad too distant to completely take what they say as just banter. When we see them on Delos in Blood of Olympus the distance is literal. They're recycling banter that's getting old and you can tell that even if it had been lighthearted before, it’s definitely getting on both their nerves now (stolen from fsinger lmao). They’ve both been playing the part for a long time but it feels like they don’t have the closeness anymore to recognize they’re both just playing parts. 

So what happened?

I think it's their need to protect each other that's causing this rift between them. From my point of view Artemis & Apollo are protecting each other from different things but Olympus is at the core of it for the both of them.

The twins have a very different experience of Olympus. Since her introduction Artemis seems pretty critical of Olympus. According to the hunters she's the only one who can get the ball rolling during solstice meetings and she's shown to not really act the Olympian way. Taking the sky off the shoulders of a mortal girl. Shrinking herself down to make the human heroes feel more comfortable and demanding they get rewarded.

It wouldn't be far fetched to assume that she's never fit in with Olympus and doesn't agree with most of the views of her family.

Then there's Apollo.

Who fits in so perfectly with the messed up inner workings of Olympus or so people think. He's perfected his mask over the years and no one is the wiser about the abuse he's gone through or even the fact that this isn't actually who he is.

To me, Artemis wants to protect Apollo from Olympus' true nature. In her head she's got every part of Olympus figured out and for the most part she has. Even if it's not something that works for her I think she would want to protect her younger brother from knowing what the kind of people he surrounds himself with are truly like.

I feel like Artemis would be conflicted on it for other reasons too because if Apollo is aware of the kind of people the Olympians are and he's alright with that, what kind of god is Apollo?

So she'd much rather think of him as stupid and irresponsible cause those atleast mean that it isn't he isn't a bad person. But I feel deep down she doesn't really believe completely that what she knows of her brother is correct.

But then she sees the way Zeus loves Apollo and cares for him and in her mind it's the right decision to let him live this way. He is safer now than they ever were as children.

Apollo on the other hand wants to conceal their father's true nature from Artemis. We know that he cares deeply about appearing fine on the surface because of how others would worry and who would worry more than his older sister.

Artemis and Apollo may be the protectors of youth but the first ever youth they protected were each other. It's the foundation of their relationship and caries on into the present day. Both of them feel a desperate need to protect each other.

I would go so far as to say that this is THE relationship they have with each other. The both of them never find comfort in each other, only protection. You can tell that comfort is not something they usually derive from each other from the way they're both completely blindsided by simple things like an "I love you" , a hug and just concern in general.

Comfort from each other is not a priority for them no matter how much they crave it. The twins purpose to each other is to protect.

So of course Apollo would never tell Artemis about the way Zeus hurts him.

I also think there's a little bit of denial on Artemis' part on just how abusive Zeus is. Cause Apollo is dropping hints. Even the way Artemis talks during Blood of Olympus makes it clear that she understands Zeus is gonna massacre the guy. She just doesn't want to believe it will be permanent.

And it's got a lot to do with the fact that she wants to protect him. Because if she acknowledges this isn't a situation Apollo is gonna come out from unscathed that means that she's incapable of protecting him. That means that she's failed to protect him before and cannot protect him again.

So she'd much rather pretend that Zeus is persuadable and not that bad. That it's Apollo's fault Zeus comes down so hard on him and if he were a little better and a bit more like her he could be safe.

And this would hurt Apollo because Artemis can pinpoint exactly what Zeus is like. But instead of comforting him she confirms for him that this is his fault. That if he could be better none of this would happen. Artemis helps prevent but never helps heal because helping her brother heal means he was in a position to be hurt in the first place.

All this mess and miscommunication and disbelief stemming from the fact that they love each other and never want to see each other hurt creates an impossible distance between them.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Slowly but surely they're trying to comfort/ seek comfort instead of just protect each other.

I wept on my sister’s shoulder. I felt like if I let go of Artemis, I would fall back into Chaos. Huge parts of my identity would shake loose, and I would never be able to find all the puzzle pieces. “Whoa, there.” She patted my back awkwardly. “Okay, little fella. You’re all right now. You made it.”

Apollo's trials sucked. But I'm glad it's given the twins the opportunity to bridge the gap between their relationship again.

[antiloreolympus]

5 Older Anti LO Asks

1. I'm gonna say something controversial here: I don't mind LO's depiction of Zeus for the most part. Portraying him as a self-absorbed asshole who rarely owns up to his mistakes and sleeps around with any pretty woman he sees (including ones who are only complying due to pressure like Aphrodite) is pretty in-character to the myths. And Zeus was the closest thing to a main antagonist (besides Hades)  the original hymn had, what with him selling Persephone off to Hades without her or Demeter's consent. So I don't mind him being an antagonist in LO.

But!

If you want to make Zeus the bad guy... maybe don't write your story in a way that makes him seem more in the right than HxP???? The whole trial is framed as Zeus just being a petty coward who breaks up Hades and Persephone not for any justifiable reasons, but because he's afraid Hades or Apollo will use Persephone's power to usurp him. It's played out as if Zeus doesn't actually have a leg to stand on in persecuting Persephone when he very much does??? Persephone committed mass murder and then ran away when asked to stand trial. If anything, Zeus only banishing her to clean up her mess, like she should have from the beginning on, is remarkably gracious on his part. We've seen multiple times in the comic that he could've done worse and just flat-out could have made her an example like Prometheus for her crimes.

2. I haven't kept up with LO in the slightest, so I'm almost jealous of you guys who've actually been able to read along and see the hilarious shit crop up because the schadenfreude--unfortunately I cant bring myself to catch up because to me, LO isn't like, interesting but bad, it's just ugly, stiff art and super boring and stilted writing with occasional thigh-slappingly funny garbage takes on the mythos. I'm addicted to this blog like the morning newspaper, however, so thanks, mod!

3. The constant mentions of how “beautiful” Persephone is doesn’t help when Rachel seems to be using it as “proof” she’s the best goddess ever for it? Like we do not see her intelligence, or goals, or any sort of discernible personality to make everyone so obsessed with, so we’re supposed to just go off how horny she’s made everyone else over Persephone and that’s it? Which as you said, that’s a bit 🤔 when Persephone is fundamentally the more boring design and isn’t even unique in comic.

4. I just love how RS claims LO is “for adults” when it’s so obviously written for a tween/child audience. I’m sorry but everything about it from the art to writing choices are so painfully child friendly. Yes I’m aware of the random violence/SA, but edited those out and it’s easily something only children would consume. Midnight Poppy Land is the same way.

5. I love the excuse of the fans to go “um she’s a woman who puts a lot of hard work into this :/“ like wow, I didn’t realize she was the first woman ever to make a comic. Who knew. Do they think she’s invented the concept in 2018? Or there aren’t thousands of better comics on that app alone over her? Or how y’all love to shit ok other female creators? why y’all white knighting for a woman who literally has no idea you exists and does not care about you. You’re are just dollar signs to her at best.

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

To ''Anonymous asked: did you see how Apollo was happy and sad for Electra'' because the situation of Electra reminds Apollo of his mother Leto. When Leto was pregant with the twins she was pursued relentlessly by the goddess Hera, who drove her from land to land preventing her from finding a place to rest and give birth.

Continued Anon Message: “I love this moment where Hera was trying spy on Electra and Zeus but Apollo took his place to make Hera believe that Apollo was the one seducing Electra. I even believe that if Heron was born Apollo would say that Heron is his son but unfortunately Hera was not stupid. i will not lie i despise both Hera and Zeus both are selfish and toxic to each other and what i hate about them the most is that they are cowards. Zeus is a coward because he cannot tale Hera that their marriage doesn't work and they should end it but no he thinks that he still loves his wife and still cheats on her. Hera is a coward because she only punishing Zeus lovers and children and that because they are the most easy to destroy.” 

Hi, anon. Thanks for the note! Yeah, wow, it’s like we were sharing a braincell for a moment because in my new BOZ one-shot, Sentiment, I very heavily focus on Leto and her history into why Apollo does what he does to help Electra. And that’s an interesting thought about Apollo accepting Heron as his own child, if the ruse could have worked. Could be an interesting AU fanfic!

I was kinda worried that BOZ Apollo would be a total trash bucket, but I really liked what they did with his character so far. 

As far as Zeus and Hera, yeah they’re both incredibly toxic, lol. It did feel true to the myths in that sense, that they are very imperfect and are not paragons of virtue. So from a fatalistic perspective, these imperfect gods are an explanation for why human life is so rife with catastrophe and tragedy. (Although it’s wild that Hera thought Zeus would be faithful to her, considering that according to some sources, he even left a pregnant Leto in the dust specifically to make Hera his wife. So…Hera, honey, the writing was on the wall there, but you still love him, don’t you, which is why you go after his victims instead of just him. And yeah, Zeus was an interesting gray-morality character in this show because he’s a gaslighting and deceiving trash can while still having some lines in the sand. Like, it hurt to see him manipulate Electra’s trust in her husband’s image, and to see him outright lie to Hera about how he’d be faithful. But like, at least the show specifically highlights his problematic behavior. And he could admit to it. Which, to me, felt like a fairly refreshing narrative lens instead of other shows that pretend he’s without fault/above scorn/all-powerful, etc. So yeah if you like exploring toxic relationships then oof, Zeus/Hera is definitely one for the books, haha.

And ahh if you like Leto, I do turn her into an active character in my BOZ fanfic which you can read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27266872 

Thanks for the note!!

[naerysthelonesome]

Time spent together

Part 3

Library fic

I am very much not okay. Lit and Apollo haven’t seen each other much the past two days, and I’m getting bored!

Golden boy had gone over to Lit’s dorm room once, to loan him one of his favorite books. And Lit had spent all his free time reading it, claiming it was because they were going to be referencing it in their project. But all of us with any kind of sense know better.

And now we’re in this old, rundown public library that looks like it’s been here forever, but what do I know? It’s not even particularly quiet in here. The sounds of drilling from whatever construction work they seem to be doing upstairs, and the unashamed couple violently making out against a bookshelf, are very distracting.

Apollo is staring at them, almost contemplatively, while Lit stoically ignores them gazing intently at his (well, Apollo’s) book. I’m not sure he’s reading.

“You bastard! How dare you?!” he shrieks, causing Apollo to startle and jump. Gah! Lit’s plenty loud when he wants to be.

“Wh- what?” Goldie looks so confused, I’d be laughing if I too wasn’t just as lost.

“You killed him! How could you. Fuck” I’m gonna go ahead and assume this is about the book.

Apollo lets out a short laugh. “You are aware that we aren’t the same Apollo, right?”

“Fuck you. Fuck your horrid namesake. And fuck this book!” That’s a lot of swearing.

Lit makes an unintelligible noise and buries his face in his hands. Who knew he’d get so worked up over a book?

“Surely you knew what was going to happen. It’s a pretty famous Greek myth”

“Of course I did! But Ughhghhnn- Damnit Apollo.”

“You really should finish the book, you know? I think you’d like the ending”, Apollo soothes, smiling slightly.

“This better end well”, Lit replies, wagging a finger at Apollo, as he picks up the book and resumes reading.

Neither of the two seems to care that they aren’t actually getting any work done, which would be fine with me, except I don’t want to deal with the two dummies failing a class. That’s just unnecessary drama.

The couple is still making out. How much could you possibly explore someone else’s mouth?? I think I’d like to find out…

Sometime later, I don’t really know how long; time isn’t real anyway, Lit slams the book shut with a bang, which is impressive as it is a paperback.

“Well! You’ve done it. You’ve broken my heart”, he says with a vacant shrug, then smiles slightly as he adds “So I guess you don’t have to flirt with me anymore, huh?”

Apollo, who looked pleased at him having finished the book, now looks taken aback. I too am taken aback because this means that Lit is more perceptive than I thought!

“That’s not why-” “Heyy I’m just kidding”, Lit cuts him off with a grin. Now why would he do that? You humans are so tedious.

“Besides, the book was great, but we should actually get some work done”.

That’s disappointing, but not wrong. They were only given a week to complete the paper, out of which they’d already wasted three days first flirting, then ignoring each other.

They place their books on the table. Well, Lit places his books on the table, sliding a new notebook toward Apollo, who I suppose he knew would have come unprepared. He was obviously right in his assumption. Oh wait! Apollo has a pen. Surprise surprise, it doesn’t work.

“Okay so I’m not opposed to referencing Madeline Miller’s books in our paper. They’re REALLY good. What others can we use?”

“Don’t you have any suggestions? Some books you read as a child?”

“Look I don’t know what kind of child you were, but the extent of little Lit’s literacy was Ms. Enid Blyton and all the repetitive nonsense she wrote”

Apollo wheezes into his hand at that. To be fair to him, that was the most humorous thing Lit’s said in a while.

“Aren’t those for girls though?”

“Shh don’t unnecessarily gender things”, Lit replied with an easy smile, “But yeah, they were my mom’s and she still had them for whatever reason. I found them, read one, and was hooked”

“Huh. Very cute” Apollo teased, grinning.

“Anyway!” Lit exclaimed, a blush making its way up his face, “I did read a lot about mythology, you know, because of my name, but I haven’t really read any retellings. And it was you who chose this topic so. Suggestions”

“Maybe we should do one about Midas and the Golden touch”

“Oh shut up. Apollo skinning a satyr sounds more interesting, no?”

Apollo shuddered at that. “Always hated that myth. What about Hades and Persephone? There’s a LOT of retellings about them. We could pick our favorite.”

“Sounds cool. Let’s go with the one where she wasn’t kidnapped. I’ve always liked your uncle, and don’t think he’d do something like that”

“Can you not-!” Apollo says with a laugh.

Lit picks up his phone, then scribbles something into his notebook. He slides it across the table, to Apollo. I was hoping for a cute love letter, but it’s just a list of books. The blond chews on the pencil Lit gave him, and smiles a little as he ticks off some of the names.

“Have you even read these?”

“Nope! But you have”

“And you’re just going to trust whatever I say?”

“It’s a group project, Apollo. I highly doubt you’d sabotage the both of us”

Apollo smirks and jots down some more names, drawing tiny little suns next to some of them.

“We’ve only got a couple more days to complete this paper, but maybe read the ones I’ve marked, after? They’re really good and you’ll find them all here”, he says, gesturing vaguely at the dingy space around them.

Lit takes the book, his fingers not close enough to brush against Apollo’s, and skims it. “Alright. Show me where they are.”

This has nothing to do with the project! What the hell guys?

They stroll between the aisles, Apollo occasionally picking up, and dropping books into Lit’s arms. At one point, they both reach out for the same book and blush furiously. Apollo quickly picks it up and drops it onto the pile in Lit’s arms, turning away swiftly. The brunet stares after him, then follows.

Once Apollo looks over and figures that the pile is big enough, they head to the front desk to check them out. Lit also needs a new library card, so they’re there for a while.

“So what was the point of coming to the library exactly? It’s not like we got much work done.”

“It was supposed to be a nice, quiet place to work, but…”

“But you really didn’t think all the books would be a distraction? This definitely wasn’t your elaborate plan to get me to read your favourite books?”

“No no. Of course not”, Apollo said, glancing at Lit out the corner of his eye, “If you’d have read more books, maybe we’d have gotten more work done”

“I’m sorry I picked the wrong topic… oh wait!”

They both laughed and Apollo reached out to punch the other boy in the arm. His hand lingered on his shoulder for a bit, but I’m not sure Lit noticed.

“You’re going to be doing most of the brunt work, anyway, because I’m the one with all the information, so I don’t mind.”

“And you expect me to believe that that’s a coincidence and not the very reason you picked this topic in the first place. Right.”

Apollo simply smiles brightly, “Yepp!”

“Lazy son of a bitch”, Lit mutters under his breath.

“Hey don’t talk about Leto that way. How rude.”

“I was talking about Zeus, actually”

Apollo snorts, just as the librarian comes back with Lit’s card. They check out the cartload of books, then head back to campus together. I do wish it were hand in hand, but maybe we'll have that some other day.

[itsclydebitches]

Why do you like Lore Olympus? I'm genuinely curious because I've seen a lot of harsh criticisms toward the comic, from its inaccuracies regarding its use of Greek Mythology to the plethora of harmful queer stereotypes. I tried reading it myself but honestly, if you took out all the Greek Mythology references and naming, it just seems like another "far older man courts a barely adult woman" love story with bad queer rep thrown it.

Happy to explain! Let’s tackle what’s perhaps the most complicated aspect first. 

As a former Classics major I can tell you that there is no “Greek Mythology.” Meaning, there is no singular Greek Mythology that can be referenced and consulted in any uniform way. Which is a really difficult thing to conceptualize in an age of print publications and careful record keeping. Unsure about whether Harry ever cursed Draco with such-and-such hex? Re-read the Harry Potter books to find out. Want to claim that Sherlock was horrible to Watson and frequently insulted him? We can comb through Doyle’s shorts stories and novels, tally every insult, and find out. These are canons and, as messy as the term “canonical” has become with more adaptations and transmedia storytelling, most characters have a set, fixed existence that we can return to and use as evidence. Not so with Greek Mythology. Born of oral storytelling, there are a hundred different versions of every myth, some changes more stark than others. Some of those versions were written down. Then written down again (differently). Then written down again (differently still). Then we realized they were almost all being written down by men and huh, I wonder if that has any impact on how they framed the story (spoiler: it absolutely does). And all of this doesn’t even take into account the issue of translation. Regardless of what Ovid may have put down on the page, you’re going to get a different experience depending on whether you read Melville or Gregory. There’s a reason why everyone was so excited over Emily Wilson being the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English. Her perspective and her experience as a woman by default changes the way she approaches the text. Even something as simple as a single description can have a HUGE impact depending on how it is translated. Take this excerpt from a NYT article: 

“The prefix poly,” Wilson said, laughing, “means ‘many’ or ‘multiple.’ Tropos means ‘turn.’ ‘Many’ or ‘multiple’ could suggest that he [Odysseus] is much turned, as if he is the one who has been put in the situation of having been to Troy, and back, and all around, gods and goddesses and monsters turning him off the straight course that, ideally, he’d like to be on. Or, it could be that he’s this untrustworthy kind of guy who is always going to get out of any situation by turning it to his advantage. It could be that he’s the turner.”

Is Odysseus a poor victim turned around by monsters and fate, or is he a schemer capable of turning it all to his advantage? It all depends on how it’s translated and whoever wants to make a case for Odysseus being a “good” or “bad” guy can point to this translation as evidence… or another. Or another. There are just too many versions for anyone to definitely say what these gods and others are “really” like. 

I put so much emphasis on this because the biggest criticism I’ve seen leveled against the comic is the characterization of Apollo. He would never rape Persephone! How dare you twist his character like that! Except Apollo isn’t a character that exists in a fixed canon. He belongs to an overwhelming corpus of complicated, contrary, contrasting myths… and yes, in some of those he raped. Arguably. It, again, comes down to translation and interpretation. Take this excerpt from Nancy Rabinowitz’s paper “Greek Tragedy: A Rape Culture?” 

Creusa, raped by Apollo years ago, conceived a child and abandoned him… For the purposes of this paper, I have to address the question of whether Creusa was in fact raped by the god. Hermes mixes the terminology in the prologue; he asserts that the god Apollo “yoked the daughter of Erechtheus in marriage (γάμοις)”, but he also says “by force (βίᾳ)” (10-11). Ion later (1524-25; cf. 341, 325) wonders whether Creusa was really raped, or whether she was just alleging that the god took her by violence to cover up an indiscretion of her own – a similar situation could be imagined in our own day, where false allegations may arise from young girls’ fear of confessing consensual relations to their parents. Lefkowitz argues that women tend to cooperate in their seduction by a god. While it might seem obvious that Ion is simply wrong, there is the further implication that though Apollo raped Creusa, she also desired him” (11-12). 

So if we’re looking for evidence that Smythe’s interpretation of Apollo is the “correct” one, it exists… depending on what you read and how you choose to interpret it: whether a mortal woman can ever truly give consent due to the power difference between her and a god, whether it was safe to say no, whether she might have lied to protect herself, whether it was something a part of her desired but perhaps didn’t entirely want, etc. It’s that last bit in particular—those difficult questions—that Smythe explores in her comic. Persephone wants to explore her sexuality. She wants a way out of her virgin obligations. But she’s also pressured into sex by Apollo. He doesn’t stop when she expresses discomfort. She doesn’t feel safe asserting herself and telling him to stop. It’s rape, but it’s a far more complicated situation than the rape scenario of “Evil man forces himself on woman in the back of an alleyway” and Smythe treats the tragedy with nuance and respect, even in a comic filled with so much humor. 

The people I see most upset about Lore Olympus are those who talk about the gods and their associated mortals as if they’re characters out of a book. They read one version once—or maybe two—and, as is natural in the 21st century, decided that This Is How The Story Goes. Even though every academic would be losing their mind over such definitive statements as, “Such-and-Such would never do this.” That’s simply not how records this ancient, sporadic, political, and downright messy work. So as someone with some knowledge of how Greek Mythology functions, I’m not at all put off by the comics’ “inaccuracies.” Because they’re simply not inaccuracies, just interpretations. Not liking those interpretations is fine, but that doesn’t mean Smythe was wrong for providing them. 

As for the rest, I’ll try to limit myself to bullet points: 

The age difference between Persephone and Hades is definitely A Thing and I admittedly didn’t realize that was the case when I started reading. I assumed that Persephone, like most of the cast, was hundreds/thousands of years old and just had a child-like personality. I basically realized around the time Hades did that she’s so young. That being said, the issue of age differences changes for me once you reach such insane ages. That’s why I still ship Ozqrow: Ozpin is hundreds of years older than him but at that point he’s going to be older than everyone. Always. Limiting his ships to only those who are close to Ozpin’s age means you can’t ship him at all (unless you ship him with Salem post-grimm pool and… no). It’s a similar situation with Hades. Yes, there are plenty of gods his age that he could date (and indeed he does) but he is always going to be thousands of years older than Persephone. She can literally never catch up to him, so if someone has an issue with the age gap then they have to accept that it will simply never go away. They can never be a couple in which case yeah, then the comic just isn’t your thing. 

Really, I think the bigger issue is not the gap itself but Persephone’s age, period. Again though, I appreciate that Smythe treats the situation with a great deal of respect. This isn’t a story of a much older man hunting a younger woman. It’s the story of a much older god who, like me the reader, assumed he had fallen for a slightly younger goddess… and then freaked out when he found out he was wrong. He’s called out for his ignorance. Others are incredibly protective of Persephone. They both try to stay away from one another and find themselves struggling. Which, to be frank, is an interesting dilemma to me. And it’s one I’m more interested in with gods as characters as opposed to humans. Because it feels less predatory to me. A man going after a much younger woman is threatening in part because we’re mortals who have so much to lose, including our youth. If you enter an abusive relationship that alone is horrible enough, but it also means you’ve lost all those years and all that experience to toxicity. When a god goes after a much younger goddess… they’re kind of static. They have eternity stretching out before them. Persephone potentially “losing” ten years to a relationship with Hades just isn’t the same thing as a mortal losing ten years to a relationship of their own. Gods, though they seem quite human, simply aren’t and thus for me questions of morality and what’s ethical in any given situation changes. We have a cast who, when Eros gets upset and murders a whole bunch of humans, Zeus shrugs and says they’ll just make more. Their concept of right and wrong differs from ours and it invites the reader to apply that to every situation: is it as wrong for an older god to go after a 19yo goddess as it would be for an older man to go after a 19yo woman? Many readers may decide it is—to some extent the text decides it is—but the story still possesses ambiguity and invites the reader to grapple with it. That’s compelling. 

Connected to this, I like how much agency Persephone has throughout the series. She’s very much a character who defies expectations, particularly when it comes to her sexuality. Far from being a meek, vulnerable woman who is preyed on by Hades, she is making constant, active decisions about her own romantic and sexual encounters. Even if that decision is just acknowledging how unsure she still is: does she want to remain a virgin? Does she want Apollo? Does she want Hades? Is it okay to make out with Ares? Wear this very short dress? Get drunk? Explore a city? Invite this person over? Have feelings for your boss? Persephone is grappling with a lot of questions that don’t have easy answers and the fact that the story gives her the room to do that grappling is fantastic. I’ve spoken before about my dislike of the Strong Female Character—someone who is not just physically intimidating but who also never, EVER hesitates. She knows precisely what she wants and she’s going to take it! Which is a great portrayal of one kind of woman… but I’m not that kind. I hem and haw and am anxious like Persephone. So for me it’s refreshing to see a story that paints uncertainty as strength. She’s allowed the space to be unsure and confused and is never belittled for that. 

Honestly I’m not sure what the issue with the queer rep is? Beyond the fact that Lore Olympus doesn’t seem to have any (unless I’m forgetting some. Very possible). Which, admittedly, is far from great, but if I dismissed every story due solely to a lack of queer characters I would limit a lot of my potential media. So for me, personally, that’s not a deal breaker. Taking a stab in the dark, I’ll make an assumption that people are upset about certain characterizations like Eros? Which, fair. But we also have the flip side that effeminate, flamboyant men do exist. It’s another complicated, touchy subject, but there’s a fine line between enforcing stereotypes and acknowledging that those stereotypes often do arise out of something. Some people hate the media image of the queer kid decked out in rainbows. Other people look at their own wardrobe and backpack and go, “Actually… yeah. That can be accurate.” For me stereotypes are primarily an issue given their prevalence. It’s an issue when that’s the only way queer characters are portrayed, but Lore Olympus doesn’t have that problem because, again, it’s focused on het relationships. Eros might potentially be a (non-confirmed?) queer stereotype… or he’s a battle-hardened warrior who also likes to gush about gossip while baking, the sort of complex gender portrayal that people claim to want. It depend on how you approach it. So no, Lore Olympus isn’t breaking any ground with queer rep but, as said, I do appreciate how it treats sexual assault—among other sensitive, relevant issues. It’s a trade-off. No piece of media is going to be perfect. I could say the same thing about so many great stories. The Mandalorian doesn’t have any queer rep! No, it doesn’t, but it is giving us a fantastic story about a bounty-hunter turned dad that challenges a number of Western gender assumptions so… trade-off. 

I likewise enjoy that characters call one another out on shitty, toxic behavior without completely losing who those characters are. (Again, supposedly who they are based on the lecture I gave at the start lol). Meaning, it would be kind of weird if Zeus wasn’t a womanizer. That’s what we expect of him, so changing that would likewise change one of the most fundamental aspects of what makes Zeus-Zeus in the general public’s perception of him. But we still have scenes of Hera and others calling him out on that shit, so it’s a balance between modern sensibilities and character expectations. 

The characters overall are just wonderfully complex. Persephone doesn’t seem so at first glance, but that’s partly the point: she’s nothing like what everyone assumes she is and it’s those assumptions that she’s learning to push back against. But overall Smythe has a real knack for emphasizing the human (or god) complexity. We hate Eros for helping Aphrodite punish Persephone. Then we feel bad for him because of his sob story. Then we pull back because he’s called out for being a dick and making himself look like the victim. Then we come to the realization that his side of the story was still accurate in many ways and finally end on… he’s flawed. He’s just a flawed person. He’s not a saint. He’s not the devil. He’s a guy who screwed up one moment and did something good the next. Perhaps it’s just me coming out of the nonsense that was Volume 7 of RWBY, but it’s refreshing to read a story where that complexity is emphasized and (most) flaws are forgiven while still being acknowledged. 

Overall I just find it to be a fun, entertaining story! lol. The artwork is beautiful. The humor is great. There’s a nice balance between plot and introspection. There are issues with the series, sure, but none thus far have kept me from enjoying the experience of reading it. I fully support anyone’s right to go, “Nope. Not for me.” For any reason. But I also feel like Lore Olympus is a good example of Tumblr’s recent emphasis on pure media: it must be PERFECT. Otherwise chuck it in the bin. Lore Olympus does a lot of the things that people on this site call for. Respectful depictions of assault. Emphasis on mental health. Storytelling from a woman’s perspective. Numerous types of woman characters. Being careful about who engages with sensitive material and how (each chapter that contains such issues has a trigger warning at the start, impossible to miss). Lore Olympus does a lot right… and some things wrong. Which is what we would expect of any good story. So it feels disingenuous of me—if not outright dangerous—to paint it as worse than I actually think it is. I want media to continue to improve, but I also don’t want to scare off authors from even trying because they were raked across the coals for not creating perfection. Smythe, to my mind, is definitely trying and that should be acknowledged. 

[flightfoot]

What's your favorite Rick Riordan series between Percy Jackson, The Kane Chronicles, Heroes of Olympus, Magnus Chase and Trials of Apollo? (or like, if you can't choose, what do you like about the series you've read?)

Trials of Apollo, no contest. 

I liked Percy Jackson a lot, it was VERY well done. Percy was hilarious and relatable, but also just super awesome, his dynamic with Annabeth was fun to read, along with his dynamic with Grover, the quests had a lot of entertaining encounters, and it had some well-executed themes that tied in with the overall conflict nicely, mostly about how parents’ and adults’ negligence and even abuse can harm their kids, the overall effects of that, and just... generally trying to get the parents to shape up, as well as the effects of not respecting others in general, like with how the minor gods and by extension, their children, are treated by the Olympians. It comes up with Percy’s relationships with both Gabe and Poseidon, and most of the campers’ relationships with their godly parents, and that’s a MAJOR cause behind the entire conflict, and one of the major things that Percy tries to make better at the end of the last book.

Kane Chronicles... it’s been awhile since I read it. I don’t remember it having as prevalent a theme as Percy Jackson did, though there was definitely social commentary on racism, with how Carter was sometimes treated, and with how people had trouble comprehending that Carter and Sadie were full siblings, since while both are mixed, Carter’s pretty dark-skinned, while Sadie looks White. It was more of a background thing though, not a major plot point. I liked the characters and the plot fine, they were entertaining, and it was good overall - but it’s not a series I’ve felt a pressing need to reread either. Only real complaint I have about it is the romances centering around Sadie. Her and Anubis were kinda cute, but it would’ve been a lot cuter if she was older than 12-13, and he wasn’t a 4000-year-old god who looked, acted, and was treated as a 16-year-old. And then the whole thing with making it a love triangle with Walt who’s ALSO 16 and Rick’s method of “solving” the love triangle... look honestly I just would’ve been a lot more ok with the romantic shenanigans there if Sadie wasn’t a middle-schooler throughout it. Overall still good though, I’d be down for an adaptation of it, but it’s one of the few cases where I hope something IS flat-out changed to make the romances more palatable.

Heroes of Olympus is where I originally fell off of the Riordanverse. There was just so long between books and I could barely remember what happened between them, and with most of the books being like parts of the same quest (especially books 3, 4, and 5), unless you were constantly refreshing your memory of them via fandom, they were hard to follow, especially with several main characters and different character dynamics to keep track of. When I went back and read the whole set of them though, getting back into the series, it was WAY better, since I could read them as a coherent whole. I could tell he was struggling to juggle all the characters, but I thought he did a fairly decent job of it for what it was. I ended up liking all the characters - ESPECIALLY Leo, I thought he was great and relatable and funny, but I also wanted to hug him - and while the quest could drag on a bit at times, there were some interesting parts there. And Percy and Annabeth’s journey through Tartarus was GREAT. 

The themes for Heroes Of Olympus overall were pretty much the same as with Percy Jackson, but with less emphasis I think. It was mostly just “the gods (mostly Zeus, really) are being crappy again, but this time we have enough support among ourselves to manage, except for when a god is technically required to defeat a Giant”. A lot more emphasis was placed on individual character arcs and circumstances, which I think was a good choice, since with so many main characters, they needed more concentrated character development in order to put them up to par with Percy and Annabeth. Plus it allowed Rick to still go into some different themes a bit, like racism with Hazel, trauma with Leo, insecurity with Frank, etc, in a way that felt natural and relevant. It helped that they were broken up into different books for their introductions, so not everything was dumped in at once.

The ending of Heroes of Olmypus... yeah the final battle with the GIants was lame as all hell, and honestly the quest ended up feeling a bit like busywork, but screw it, I did LOVE one part of the ending. The imagery of big, bad Gaia, who even Zeus is so scared of he just wants to hide away with his head in the ground, physically manifesting and being about to take everyone out, everyone losing hope... and then screaming as Festus appears and snatches her up into the sky as Leo gives a shit-eating grin and hurls fireballs at her while insulting her the whole time is just GREAT. I always giggle, and I honestly found it a lot more memorable than the Kronos fight, even if it was technically less epic. It seemed fitting for her to be taken out in such an embarrassing way, by the boy she’d personally taken the most from.

Magnus Chase... yeah that’s the only one I didn’t finish. Quick note: its been over a year since I tried it, so I’m operating off of memory here. I wanted to like it, and after reading through Heroes of Olympus (which i originally stopped reading after Mark of Athena) and Trials of Apollo, I was all hyped up for more Riordanverse... and was disappointed. The basic elements were there, and the writing itself wasn’t bad, but... well, I never really got attached to most of the characters this time, I didn’t find the quest very interesting, and... well, you see how I mentioned about the themes in the earlier reviews? I thought Rick bit off more than he could chew with Magnus Chase, at least with the first book. (I slogged through the first book, got a hundred pages into the second book to see whether Alex, who I’d heard a lot of hype about, could save it, thought Alex was only ok but not someone who saved the book, and called it quits). 

So in Magnus Chase, Rick went DEEP into the social commentary on a lot of disparate subjects, trying to really tackle homelessness, child abuse (because no duh, that’s pretty much a staple, I think the only of his series that DOESN’T have major themes around that is Kane Chronicles), Islamophobia, ableism, and... I’m having trouble thinking of the exact term for it, but Blitzen was heavily looked down upon and derided for wanting to make fashionable armor and just being into fashion in general, so... I think it’s supposed to commentary on making fun of people for having interests that are generally seen as feminine? I guess? I dunno, it was definitely social commentary on SOMETHING, but I think the dwarves having their own particular culture here hurt whatever Rick was trying to say, since social commentary is very much tied to the culture it’s in, and we only have a small taste of dwarven culture, at least in the first book. 

In any case, all these things are fine to do social commentary on, but when you’re trying to go in-depth and really address them, it helps if they’re more tied in with the overall conflict in the book, and if each issue has room to breathe. As it was, it kinda felt to me like the characters were being paraded from location to location to confront some different social issue. I just thought it was too much, too crammed into one book, and the overall conflict had pretty much nothing to do with that. Like, at the end of the book Rick tried to tie it together with some sort of “we’re a band of misfits” message, and... well, a message based on NOT fitting in with society, isn’t one that’s very satisfying or cohesive. And the individual issues, while there’s certainly cross-sectionality between, aren’t intrinsically linked, so... they just don’t mesh together very well. Not so many, all mashed into one book. Plus I just didn’t care for any of the gods, and the only characters I liked were Magnus and Sam. Blitz and Hearthstone... they were just sort of “there” for me.

I can see why people like Magnus Chase, and it’s not BAD by any means, but it just wasn’t for me. Maybe I’ll take another crack at it at some point, but I’m not super optimistic about it. As it was, I just ended up looking up the parts where Magnus met with Annabeth and read those.

Trials of Apollo though, I ADORE. Apollo was hilarious (along with the books in general), it had a pretty focused message about child abuse and abuse in general, along with how a privileged position can blind you from the travesties that are going on around you, or that you yourself cause, and I just thought the themes worked very well. Rick went more in-depth this time on the exact consequences of child abuse and the ways that a parent could abuse and manipulate their child, something that wasn’t covered as much in his earlier series, as those were more based around neglect. I’m a sucker for a good redemption arc, and I was really impressed with how it was kinda slipped in with Apollo. Like, he didn’t even know he NEEDED one, and the good guys weren’t especially pressing him on that point, it’s a realization he slowly came to over the course of several books. And you can clearly tell that he’s conceited and has issues, but isn’t actually malicious... and slowly the reader comes to the realization that he has hidden depths, that not even HE knew he had. It’s really interesting how he did some pretty bad things (or DIDN’T do, a lot of it has to do with inaction and just being uncaring), but he never comes off as being like, evil. He comes off as being an arrogant, narcissistic person at first, but then slowly finding out that beneath that is a lot of pain and trauma, and part of that persona he’s built up has been to deal with this. Watching him slowly change and grow and discover himself during the series, in a way he never had before... it’s just amazing to read. Also puts a nice cap on the Greco-Roman saga, in that the past two series had a heavy emphasis on how the gods didn’t care enough and had to have their hands forced a lot, and Apollo sort of acting as a stand-in for those other gods, showing that yes, they CAN change for the better - something that most of the gods, and even other immortals, didn’t think was possible, even as they did it.

Well that was super long. But yeah, I have strong feelings on the Riordanverse, and Trials of Apollo is far and away my favorite.

[haec-est-fides]

Filodox’s Trials of Apollo Reactions [Part I]

Welcome to part one of a reflective journey through Trials of Apollo ft. my original ebook annotations! I’ll be your host, 2020!filodox.

For this first episode, we’ll be going back to May 2016, the beginning of it all: The Hidden Oracle.

Annotations for this round are brought to you by 2016!filodox.

Is there anything we should know before we begin, 2016!me?

2016!filodox: I swore on the Styx never to read another Riordan book after he killed Octavian. And yet here we are.

... Alright then! Let’s get started.

But first, a more detailed overview on how this series will work: I will excerpt bits and pieces of the books based on what I highlighted / annotated on my first read. Beneath each quote, I will share what I wrote in the annotation. Below that, I will (occasionally) laugh at my past self, clarify the note, or say how my view has changed.

I encourage questions, comments, and concerns (of which there may be many), so go ahead and use that replies feature if you feel so inclined! However, these are just my opinions and (occasionally) emotional reactions, so no hate pls. <3 (Or, if you do send hate, pls make it funny.)

Now, diving right in with Riordan’s dedication!

To The Muse Calliope. This is long overdue. Please don’t hurt me.

2016!filodox: Hurt him. He didn’t even name the chapters.

As you can see, I had yet to experience Lester’s haiku and was already mad based on the table of contents alone. I went into this series very salty...

I inflicted a plague on the Greeks who besieged Troy.

2016!filodox: At least he did something right. Once.

I was just,,,extremely ready to die on Octavian’s hill. (Though I was a huge Troy / Aeneas stan before all this, just to be clear.)

Is anything sadder than the sound of a god hitting a pile of garbage bags?

2016!filodox: I actually find this particular god crashing into a dumpster quite amusing.

I also blamed Apollo for what happened to Octavian. I think that had a lot to do with how Apollo acted on Delos in Heroes of Olympus, basically disowning Octavian and whining about how some “creature” scammed him? That was bullshit. Apollo needed to own the fact that he blessed Octavian, but he just abandoned him and denied all the blame. TL;DR I had a grudge, okay?

My mind stewed in confusion, but one memory floated to the surface -- the voice of my father, Zeus: YOUR FAULT. YOUR PUNISHMENT.

2016!filodox: Wait, is this bc everyone blames Octavian and therefore Apollo? Bc lol but also no?

*cough* Octavian did nothing wrong 2k16 *cough*

Zeus will reconsider, I told myself. He’s just trying to scare me. Any moment, he will yank me back to Olympus and let me off with a warning.

“Yes...” My voice sounded hollow and desperate. “Yes, that’s it.”

2016!filodox: Apollo is a self centered frat boy, I forgot...but it is slightly...endearing? *narrows eyes*

Ah, how close I was to stanning Lester in the first chapter, when he was at his most “goddy”. You know, I actually made a rule for myself when I started reading Trials of Apollo that I would not under any circumstances stan Apollo. That was a naive goal, because it was never really a danger.

Regardless, Zeus had held me responsible for Octavian’s delusions of grandeur. Zeus seemed to consider egotism a trait the boy had inherited from me. Which is ridiculous. I am much too self-aware to be egotistical.

2016!filodox: I am going to Murder him.

*chef kiss* the hypocrisy ! the lack of self-awareness !

“I just...I assumed -- I hoped this would be taken care of by now.”

“You mean by demigods,” Percy said, “going on a big quest to reclaim the Oracle of Delphi?”

2016!filodox: That sounds like a decent quest, or you know, QUESTING FOR THE SIBYLLINE BOOKS

I’ve always said I can see the future but an inch to the left. Also, I don’t like Ella.

It warmed my heart that my children had the right priorities: their skills, their images, their views on YouTube. Say what you will about gods being absentee parents; our children inherit many of our finest personality traits.

2016!filodox: AND HE’S MAD ABOUT OCTAVIAN?!

I mean ?

Apollo, when Austin and Kayla show ambition: THEY GOT THAT FROM ME <3

Apollo, when Octavian (or Nero, or Caligula) shows ambition: srry i don’t know him ??

He had a weak jawline, an overlarge nose, and a beard that wrapped around his double chin like a helmet strap. His hair was curly and dark like mine, except not as fashionably tousled or luxuriant. His lips curled as if he smelled something unpleasant. Perhaps it was the burning seats of the bus.

2016!filodox: Nero ???

Not quite sure how to feel looking back at this moment. Call out post @ myself for instantly recognizing Nero, when afaik this scene was before we had any hints that Roman emperors were even a plot point? But here’s the thing: I don’t remember why I could recognize him so easily. I don’t remember where 2016!me obtained this ancient Rome knowledge. A mystery.

On another note entirely, did Nero really like,,,astral project into Apollo’s fever dream to address him directly? Because Rhea does. And sometimes Python does. But Nero? Can he do that?

The man laughed as flames licked at his purple sleeves. “You’re not sorry yet, but you will be. Find me the gates. Lead me to the Oracle. I’ll enjoy burning it down!”

2016!filodox: I too enjoy burning things down. # Nero confirmed

My only comment here is “oh you sweet summer child,,,”

Oh. Perhaps some of you are wondering how I felt seeing [Will] with a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend.

2016!filodox: No, actually. I wasn’t wondering. I was plotting how to kill you, them, and quite a few other people. Do you think I could trade you for Octavian?

Oh man, back at it again with the salt. XD

I could only remember my conversations with Octavian, the way he’d turned my head with his flattery and promises. That stupid boy...it was his fault I was here.

A voice whispered in the back of my mind. This time I thought it might be my conscience: Who was the stupid boy? It wasn’t Octavian.

2016!filodox: I can’t really...explain my emotions upon reading this. I’m still not quite okay, but this...it’s bittersweet in a way. I don’t know if this is a poor attempt at a proper closure, the author’s way of beating a dead horse, or just a way to make Apollo seem pitiable. Whatever it is... Octavian was important enough to remain in Apollo’s mortal memory. He somehow made promises to a god and had Apollo wrapped around his finger. And despite being so much like Apollo, the god blames him. Like everyone blames him. But Apollo also realizes, accepts on an infinitesimal scale, that “it wasn’t Octavian”. He wasn’t perfect, but neither is Apollo. Apollo is (at least) subconsciously admitting his own guilt in the whole affair.

...yeah. I will note that this bit isn’t meant to develop Octavian, but rather uses Octavian as a prop to support Apollo’s development? Which is why it still stings. Like thanks, I guess.

“Your judgement in the past has been...questionable. I wonder if you have chosen the right tools for this job. Have you learned from your past mistakes?”

2016!filodox: Nero has made plenty of mistakes to learn from

Love how I just assumed it was Nero back in chapter 10 and went with it, zero hesitation. Also love how I heard Python say Nero has made mistakes and went “oh absolutely”. In fact, here’s something funny in retrospect that will become more and more apparent: I did not like Nero in 2016. Or, at least, I thought I didn’t. There’s something really odd going on here that baffles me, looking back...

“A triumvirate is a ruling council of three,” I said. “At least, that’s what it meant in ancient Rome.”

“Which is interesting,” Rachel said, “because of this next shot.” She tapped her screen. The new photo zoomed in on the building’s penthouse terrace, where three shadowy figures stood talking together....

2016!filodox: Is it bad that I’m smirking? Because it’s getting interesting ~ *clear malicious intent*

Wow, edgy. Triumvirates are just a neat, Roman thing and I stanned.

“The last triumvirate I dealt with included Lepidus, Marc Antony, and my son, the original Octavian. A triumvirate is a very Roman concept...like patriotism, skullduggery, and assassination.”

2016!filodox: THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL EVERYONE. MODERN OCTAVIAN IS A VERY GOOD ANCIENT ROMAN. POLITICS, ESPECIALLY SHADY AF POLITICS AND POWERPLAYS, ARE QUINTESSENTIALLY ROMAN. Also, I’d like to note that it’s confirmed, in this universe’s canon, that Augustus was a son of Apollo.

Ohhhh, wait. I think I’d watched the HBO series Rome by 2016, which would at least partially explain my ancient Rome knowledge. (Amazing tv show btw!)

“He heard them talking in Latin.”

“Latin? Were they campers?”

Pete spread his hands. “I--I don’t think so. Paulie described them like they were adults. He said one of them was the leader. The other two addressed him as imperator.”

2016!filodox: !!!! (obligatory 💕)

I was such a simp for Latin in high school. And the Roman Empire. Still am, but hey.

“The Beast is planning some kind of attack on your camp. I don’t know what it is, but it’s going to be big.”

2016!filodox: Runs in the family I guess

The Octavian / Triumvirate parallels are everywhere... 👀

“The emperors made themselves gods. They had their own temples and altars. They encouraged the people to worship them.”

2016!filodox: # deify me

*smacking my past self with a stick* You stop that! Edgy child!

Anyway, a much better point here is like,,,the Imperial cult was huge in the ancient Roman world. Looking at Apollo’s explanation here, why did only the “worst” three emperors get to be immortal? Did famously “good” emperors like Augustus and Marcus Aurelius have the option of becoming minor gods, but they chose Elysium or something? Are there slightly less infamous emperors just hanging around anywhere as minor gods? A lot of Roman emperors live on in human memory is all I’m saying.

“Wait!” Will said as I reached the door. “Who is the Beast? Which emperor are we dealing with?”

“The worst of my descendants.” My fingers dug into the doorframe. “The Christians called him the Beast because he burned them alive. Our enemy is Emperor Nero.”

2016!filodox: I honestly can’t believe it took this long to reveal this? Was anyone surprised?

Nero’s reveal is rather late in the book compared to Commodus, Caligula, and even Tarquin iirc? But it makes sense, being the first book of the series. Also love how 16-year-old me was like “this reveal is silly because everyone, like me, recognizes Nero on sight” and didn’t question that assumption at all.

“Germani.” Instinctively, I moved in front of Meg. The elite imperial bodyguards had been cold-blooded death reapers in ancient Rome. I doubted they’d gotten any sweeter over the centuries.

2016!filodox: BITCH. See? This is why I love Rome. They knew what they were doing.

Ngl, as someone of Germanic heritage, I felt really represented by the Germani, which is hilarious on so many levels.

He tried to compensate for his ugliness with an expensive Italian suit of purple wool, his gray shirt open to display gold chains. His shoes were hand-tooled leather, not the sort of thing to wear while stomping around in an ant pile. Then again, Nero had always had expensive, impractical tastes.

2016!filodox: I don’t exactly like Nero, and actually think he was quite the shitty emperor, but I guess I mildly respect and “like” him on principle (in this book at least).

OH YOU SWEET SUMMER CHILD. I was so convinced that I didn’t actually like Nero, despite all of the lowkey evidence to the contrary? Who hurt you, past me? (Lmao, it was Tacitus, Suetonius, and Cassius Dio.) My working theory is that I was too much of an Emperor Augustus stan at the time to admit liking Nero. It’s hysterical. Look at me equivocating like a champ.

I’d been so proud of my son, the original Octavian, later Caesar Augustus. After his death, his descendants became increasingly arrogant and unstable (which I blamed on their mortal DNA; they certainly didn’t get those qualities from me).

2016!filodox: I’m glad Apollo and I can agree on something. Augustus was amazing and those who came after him...significantly less so.

See! The propaganda really got to me, what can I say?

Nero clasped his hands as if in prayer. “Oh, my. It seems we’ve had a slight miscommunication. You see, Apollo, Meg brought you here, just as I asked her to. Well done, my sweet.”

2016!filodox: This was obvious but I still find it...gods, the only word I can think of is “delicious”

. . .

“The Beast killed my father. This is Nero. He’s -- he’s my stepfather.”

I could not fully grasp this before Nero spread his arms.

“That’s right, my darling,” he said. “And you’ve done a wonderful job. Come to Papa.”

2016!filodox: Okay, but we should have known this since it became apparent her weapons were Roman. Also, oof. Also also, WHY did Riordan feel the need to add that last line? Why?

ASDFGHJKL: I CAN’T

“After the fire, we’ll rebuild,” he said. “It will be glorious!”

2016!filodox: The amount of times I have used this very logic is worrying.

For (some) context, Firelord Ozai is my favorite character from AtLA. <3

The scene might have been funny except that the Germani were now back on their feet, five demigods and a geyser spirit were still tied to highly flammable posts, and Nero still had a box of matches.

2016!filodox: Oh, I find this plenty amusing!

The emperor stared at his empty hand. “Meg...?” His voice was as cold as an icicle.

2016!filodox: The various ways his tone / voice have been described throughout this conversation are just 💕

*looks at camera like I’m on The Office*

Seriously, though. Nero’s voice is like the central descriptive element of his character because he’s so manipulative. It’s really cool and a great use of detail.

[Meg] turned to Nero. “You told me never to lower myself to my enemies’ level.”

“No, indeed.” Nero’s tone had frayed like a weathered rope. “We are better. We are stronger. We will build a glorious new world. But these nonsense-spewing trees stand in our way, Meg. Like any invasive weeds, they must be burned. And the only way to do that is with a true conflagration -- flames stoked by blood.”

2016!filodox: Real 👏🏻 Gods 👏🏻 Require 👏🏻 Blood👏🏻

I was way too enthusiastic about this whole situation, wasn’t I?

Nero grinned. “Good-bye, Apollo. Only eleven more Olympians to go.”

2016!filodox: Wait, shit, WHAT

Having read Tower of Nero, this probably had something to do with Python interfering with the Fates, huh? But does that mean it’s more Python’s plan or Nero’s? If this was Nero’s plan (with his 12 kids literally replacing the Olympians) that’s,,,really fucking bold.

Then I heard the screaming from Camp Half-Blood.

2016!filodox: Music to my ears ~

I’m presenting every edgy detail of my annotations so I have a proper case file when I inevitably have to face the question “On a scale of one to ten, how relatable is Emperor Nero and why should you have realized it’s a ten sooner?”

In a flash of silver light, the camp’s magical barriers collapsed. The Colossus lurched forward and brought his foot down on the dining pavilion, smashing it to rubble like so many children’s blocks.

2016!filodox: Payback! Dear gods, I can’t stop smiling! I’m just like “YES!” I know this will all probably get fixed or whatever but I’M HAVING A MOMENT.

I’ve learned to appreciate the small wins. <3

Percy grabbed one of the crown’s sunray spikes. He sliced it off at the base, then jabbed it into the Colossus’ forehead.

2016!filodox: As much as Nero is FAR from my favorite, I really don’t like defacing ancient (or replicas of ancient) statues and art...

This is where I just start laughing at myself tbh. I was so insistent on not liking Nero. Like, I sound like I’m in denial. Peak equivocation. What happened to that heart emoji a few chapters back? Why did I suddenly make it about *checks notes* ancient art? Updated translation: nooo don’t ruin the Colossus Neronis it’s so sexy aha

Just as the [arrow] reached its apex and was about to fall back to earth, a gust of wind caught it...perhaps Zephyros looking kindly on my pitiful attempt. The arrow sailed into the Colossus’ ear canal and rattled in his head with a clink, clink, clink like a pachinko machine.

2016!filodox: HOW MANY EX MACHINAS IS THIS ?! The dryads, the arrow, Percy, the enchantment, and THIS ?

One of my criticisms of Trials of Apollo in general is just that the stakes are so much higher and Riordan usually solves that problem by having his heroes win on long odds. The chances of them succeeding at like,,,anything they attempt are astronomical, but of course they manage. It’s not surprising but it does get a little tiring.

“Yo, Nico,” Leo called, “please tell me that’s it for the physical abuse.”

“For now.” Nico smiled. “We’re still trying to get in touch with the West Coast. You’ll have a few dozen people out there who will definitely want to hit you.”

2016!filodox: Oh I’d love to hit him. With the flaming, Imperial gold payload of an onager. Preferably WITHOUT the Pontifex Maximus attached to it -- unless of course you mean the false pontifex, Jason Grace.

Leo was the salt in the wound for this one, ngl. He rekindled my undying ire over Octavian’s death. As I said at the beginning of this, I was extremely ready to die on Octavian’s hill after Heroes of Olympus. That sentiment sticks around for a while...

And we can call that a wrap!

Though it may seem like it, my annotations are not, in fact, a compilation of Nero’s greatest hits. There are a lot of scenes of his that I love (naturally) but I didn’t have anything to say about them when I first read the series. Maybe I’ll share those another time.

In any case, I hope you got something out of this ridiculously long post! Until next time! <3

[alatismeni-theitsa]

answering LO/anti LO asks:

(1) Let’s also not kid ourselves, it’s creepy Smythe imagines the majority of her female characters as “PoC” and they only exist to be sexualized, infantilized, and be props for the male characters (Persephone is Hades’ prize, Psyche is a prop for Eros, Aphrodite is a literal sex object, Minthe is nothing but Evil incarnate, etc). As a person of color myself and as a woman, I do not feel represented, I feel insulted and mocked, though I’m sure her lily white self thinks she’s a beacon of progress!

(2) Did you read today episode of Lore olympus? It was so creepy. Hades watched on a tape how few years earlier teenage (around 15-17 years) persephone was sitting NAKED on him when he was drunk. Then he rells demeter about amazing pink goodess and how he wants to ask zeus is she available. Demeter freaks out and wants to get him more drunk so he wont remember her. And he is mad about that demeter protect her teenage doughter from a wine addicted old man.

Oh and also fandom didn't see anything wrong with moment when persephone ended up naked in front of him (and at that time she was an teenager) and they were like oww so cute he acted like an gentelmam and i was like bitch were? And level of oversexualization persephone in this episode was highlike showing her butt when she run or many svenes when she was nacked and this wouldnt be bothering me if the fact that in this episode pernephone was teenager. It was sick

(3) I don't think anyone can deny LO made Webtoons a big platform in the West but at this point they're big enough to let LO fend for itself and start promoting other works to get more people reading, especially now as LO is getting more criticism that Rachel won't listen to and dropping numbers. It'd be like Netflix only promoting Stranger Things or Amazon only promoting Ms Maisel. It's rude to the other series that are better in views/numbers but also isn't a good business practice either.

(4) I’m so glad i found your blog and the anti lo tag, everyone seems to love this comic... granted i’m not overly familiar with greek mythology but i know a bad story when i read one. Persephone really gives Bella Swan a run for her money in stupidity. She’s just such a bad character.

(5) I don't agree with the WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS! take that video took since i don't think young women are just that dumb to be manipulated by a comic, but the rest was on point. Smythe can't take criticism, she openly lies about her storytelling, she botches what could be interesting elements, Hades is downright creepy, the relationship is horribly toxic/imbalanced and he's aware/seems to relish in it, the teenager is way too hypersexualized, etc. Wish Webtoons would promote other comics...

(6) OOOF that video was rough to watch but way too true. I really never noticed how damn near father/daughter-like Smythe made her version of HxP be (&the power imbalance) and framed it as the only healthy relationship in story & claims its "supposed to be uncomfortable". Why would you want your audience to be uncomfortable supporting the main relationship? Though it was funny that the commentator said she obviously has a fetish for older men. He must not know she's pushing 40.

____________________________________________________________

(1) As I said in another answer, I am not sure if she imagines them as poc? She had casted White and Black people for most and maybe they wants to say some of the characters have “Black vibes“??? (which is weird ngl) Honestly, I don’t know. Plus, you cannot make a person Black in a predominantly White area and not talk about their experience or their different culture. Persephone made it a big deal that she was from a different area (Sicily) but she never mentioned she looked different than the locals.

I think if anyone from the main cast, someone on our screens most of the time, was Black or generally not looking like the average Greek we would know it because of references. So maybe Smythe just wants the African American and/or Black vibes for her characters and not actual Blackness. Everyone is like “deities can be whatever race you like“ and they forget that many times being a specific race gives you unique experiences, as well as advantages and disadvantages.

Psyche has probably an African mother and, unfortunatelly, she wasn’t depicted very respectfully.

I am Greek and not even I feel represented by any of those characters even those who are clearly white and old deities of my culture. (That is because they are just “White” and not “Greek” culturally). Smythe doesn’t know how to write cultures...

As a PoC, do you feel like we have any indication that certain characters (except Psyche) are not White? Because I haven’t seen such a thing. As I mentioned, I don’t even think they even act like Greeks but that’s another story xD Because of the setting, I see them as charicatures of White Americans who don’t even have the white American culture.

                                                          ✷✷✷

(2) Yesss I read it!! And I hadn’t thought that she was so young back then! Jeeeez!! Smythe sexualized her even in the episode where she was barely legal!

                                                          ✷✷✷

(3) That’s probably a good idea. More works need to be advertised so everyone getst an equal chance. Betting only on one horse won’t give profit to Webtoons.

                                                           ✷✷✷

(4) Welcome!! Here, take some tea with salt!

                                                           ✷✷✷

(5) It’s true that young girls are not going to be influenced only by this comic and then go ruin their lives with abusive men. It’s just that there is this general culture of women having more value the younger and more innocent they are, while for the men it’s the opposite. This comic and other works are part of a bigger problem which tells girls it’s ok to meet this behavior in an older man and you should want to be with such a man when you are 19. Again, it’s not only about this specific comic. But we have to start fixing this culture by beginning from something, right?

I am glad that you agreed with the rest of the points. That means the youtuber says what most of us think and want to express - but we don’t dare because the LO fandom will eat us alive.

                                                          ✷✷✷

(6) I wanted to hear someone else talk about the problems of LO but at the same time it made me uncomfortable because it talks about difficult issues. There are some dynamics appropriate for certain ages. You CAN write about unhealthy relationships and leave the reader decide for themselves but now when your audience also has teenagers and when the HxP relationship is presented as the GOOD relationship in the story. Smythe went as far as to have the storyline with Apollo so we can see how Good Hades is in comparison.

Ah yes, she just likes men her age! But I think he was kinda correct on the “Daddy and Little“ kink xD Especially after I took a glimpse of that NSFW picture from her patreon with the spanking.

[mustafa-el-fats]

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Ancient Wisdom Revealed: 5 Hidden Magical Knowledge That Can Transform Your Life

We are usually amazed when we discover hidden knowledge related to mysticism, magic, and witchcraft. Not only does this ancient knowledge enlighten us but it can also help us understand the very essence of our being. However, most of the times valuable magical information and insight are hidden right before our very eyes. We simply need to know where to look.

“Secrets have a way of making themselves felt, even before you know there’s a secret.” – Jean Ferris

It’s true that this is World which has never actually cut off from the Old Ways. In fact, so many things we still do, reflect on the Old Religion and our Witchy Ways. Therefore, we decided to publish an article, on all weird things that actually got Pagan Origin or even Witchy! This is going to be really really fun!

Magical Knowledge Hidden in Plain Sight

“It is hidden but always present.” – Laozi

The list is endless. We could keep going on and on about it but we chose 5 facts which make more sense to almost anyone.

1. Why do we Wink to signal about secret knowledge?

A Winker actually signals the Winkee that they share or s/he is about to share some secret knowledge. It’s not obvious why or what it is, but this is a sign to immediately question reality. This is an awakening call. If you really think about it, it’s already pretty weird.

Wink & the one eye of Odin

Odin is the mighty and wise father of Norse Religion. God of Wisdom, Healing and Victory he is beloved in all germanic traditions. He is famous for his thirst for Wisdom and magical knowledge. According to one story, Odin was traveling again in his quest to expand his awareness. One day he ventured to Mimir’s Well, located beneath the world tree Yggdrasil. The Guardian spirit of this well, whose wisdom and magical knowledge for the Realms was unprecedented, greeted Odin. Odin asked for some water.

I know where Othin’s eye is hidden, Deep in the wide-famed well of Mimir; Mead from the pledge of Othin each morn Does Mimir drink: would you know yet more?

I know where Othin’s eye is hidden, Deep in the wide-famed well of Mimir; Mead from the pledge of Othin each morn Does Mimir drink: would you know yet more?

The mystical creature knew exactly what Odin was asking and he tried to make it as hard as possible. Thus he demanded his eye. Odin was asking for true and absolute wisdom and the price seemed fair for the Guardian. However, Odin gave it instantly and the Guardian gave the God of Wisdom what he was asking.

Hidden Magical Knowledge of Wink

In many ancient depictions, and due to the fact that Odin has one eye, he seems like he’s winking. This is where the ‘wink’ came from. As Odin lost his eye for hidden truth, we reenact his divine sacrifice by winking, to signal someone for secret knowledge.

“The only secrets are the secrets that keep themselves.” – George Bernard Shaw

2. Why do we give the ‘middle finger’ to insult someone?

Greeks understood the power of sex & sexuality, thus sexuality was part of each God’s powers. Thus, the ‘Phallus’ aka the erect penis, was a symbol of great potential, a power which could fight every demon, reverse bad luck to golden opportunities and create a new and successful beginning in everyone’s life.

Middle finger represents a phallus – a magical symbol

Indeed, the middle finger represents an erect penis. The middle finger also is known as “digitus impudicus” or “the impudent finger”. Saint Isidore of Seville explains in his Etymologies that the third finger is called impudent because it often expresses vexation, insult. But why?

“A graceful taunt is worth a thousand insults.” – Louis Nizer

This rude gesture actually dates back to ancient Greece. This was a sacred and magical gesture – something like a Mudra. Greeks used it to instantly counter any negative activity and dark arts that targeted them. Just like the statues of Phallus in crossroads and anywhere, they did it to repel dark magic.

Therefore, by ‘giving the middle finger and insulting’ the receiver we actually attempt to bind his/her power against us.

3. Why are Days Seven?

Have you wondered? Why aren’t the days of week 5 or 10 or 12? Why 7? Is there special power in it? Well YES!

Seven are the Days, Seven are the ‘Planets’ of ancient Witches

In the ancient World, astrologers and mages worked with the energy of the ‘7 Planets’. These 7 celestial bodies – which are not all planets – embody the diverse magical forces and energies from which everything is born into creation. Each ‘planet’ has a distinct vibration that can be directed and channeled in every magical work.

Each of the seven Days of the Week represents each of the ‘Planet’ of Astrologers and Witches which of course correspond to one God.

Monday is the Moon’s Day, day of Artemis / Diana – Goddess of the Moon

Tuesday is Tyr’s / Ares / Mars’s Day – God of War

Wednesday is Woden’s / Hermes’s / Mercury’s Day – God of Communication and Knowledge

Thursday is Thor’s / Zeus’s / Jupiter’s Day – all God of Lightning although Zeus is also King of Gods

Friday is Freya’s / Aphrodite’s / Venus’s Day – Goddess of Beauty and Love

Saturday is Saturn’s / Krono’s Day – old God of Time

Sunday is Sun’s / Apollo’s Day – God of the Sun

4. Why do we make Tattoos?

A tattoo is an ancient form of art appearing in different ancient cultures throughout history. Our modern word ‘tattoo’ comes from the Tahitian word tatau which means “to mark something”. Does this remind you of something? Maybe the Witch Marks?

“Tattoos are like stories — they’re symbolic of the important moments in your life.” – Pamela Anderson

Tattoos are in fact Witch Marks

Tattoos are similar to the Marks of the Witches. It’s a sacrifice we make to our bodies in order to connect deeper with what the symbol we chose represents. An eternal mark on our mortal bodies which can also pass through our incarnations. So please, before you decide which tattoo to do on your body, choose wisely the meaning and symbolism!

5. Why do we wear our wedding ring on our ‘ring finger’?

Haven’t you always wondered? Why do we choose to put our Wedding Rings on the ‘Ring Finger’? Well, as you can understand, the name of the finger itself actually implies its participation in Wedding Rituals.

Why a Golden Ring on Ring Finger?

This part of Wedding Rituals actually dates back in ancient years. First of all, the Ring symbolizes the Wholeness and Unity. It’s the perfect shape of Alchemists and it’s linked with Ouroboros – the symbol of eternity.

Now, why on Ring Finger? This finger is associated with the Sun and Apollo, the god of all blessings. When we ‘activate’ this finger we actually activate the power of the Sun and Apollo in us. As every ‘Planet’ is associated with one Metal, the Sun and Apollo are associated with Gold. Thus, to properly activate the Ring Finger we need to wear a Golden Ring on it. Check more on how to wear Rings to pursue your purposes here!

Therefore, in Wedding Rings, we conjure the blessings of Apollo and the Sun, the bring timeless happiness.

“Secrets are made to be found out with time.” – Charles Sanford

Esoteric wisdom can help you transform your life and the lives of your loved ones. Once you know how to access and decode such ancient knowledge, you can get a better understanding of different religions, practices and spiritual self. Now that you have gained some valuable insight, use this hidden ancient magical wisdom to build a happier and more purposeful life.

Post originally published on Magical Recipes Online

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Magical Recipes Online

Magical Recipes Online consists of a core team of 4 people who have dedicated their lives to bring Magic to a wider audience, to teach and to be taught, to help everyone in our World tap to the Great Source of All Things and bring happiness and love into their lives. We are everyday ordinary people who have lead extraordinary lives. We have heard our call to Magic from a young age but followed different directions.

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How to Decode Emotions In Text Messages: 6 Effective Ways To Get Started

“How do you decode emotions in text messages?”

Text messages can often be very confusing. It can be especially challenging to understand emotions when we communicate through text messages. With the lack of facial expressions and body language, we can often misinterpret the intended message and tone resulting in disastrous misunderstandings. So how can we read emotions in texts? Let’s find out.

“What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you’d like it to mean?” – Antonin Scalia

It’s easy when people say they are angry or sad or excited, or if they tack an emoji to the end of a text. But when they don’t? Given that even face-to-face communication can be confusing, it should not surprise us that truncated, dashed-off text messages can result in disastrous misunderstandings.

In the age of technology, we not only need to decode in-person interactions, but we also need to decode textual transmissions.

How do we know what a person is feeling when we can’t see their faces or body language?

Here are six tips to help you better decode emotions in text messages, or at least prevent yourself from jumping to conclusions based on scant evidence.

1. Assume good intentions

In general, text messages are short. We have very little information to work with. A smiley face or series of exclamation points can help assure us that the text is meant to express positive emotion, but texts do not always include these extra emotion indicators. Our friends’ busy schedules lead to abrupt messages, and our partner’s playful sarcasm isn’t always read as playful.

Keep in mind that texts are a difficult medium for communicating emotion. We have no facial expressions or tone of voice, or conversation to give us more information. If the text doesn’t say, “I’m angry,” then don’t assume that the texter is angry. We are better off reading texts with the assumption that the texter has good intentions. Otherwise, we may end up in lots of unnecessary arguments.

“Texting is a fundamentally sneaky form of communication, which we should despise, but it is such a boon we don’t care. We are all sneaks now.” – Lynne Truss

2. Cultivate awareness of unconscious biases

In my research, I have had to train numerous teams of emotion coders. But even trained coders who meet weekly to discuss discrepancies don’t agree on which emotion (or how much emotion) is being expressed. People just do not see emotions in the same way. We have unconscious biases that lead us to draw different conclusions based on the same information.

For example, every time I lead a coding team I am reminded that males and females often differ in how they interpret others’ emotions. If Bob writes: “My wife missed our 10-year anniversary,” men may think Bob is angry, while women may think Bob is sad.

I don’t presume to know exactly why this is, but I can say confidently that our emotion-detection skills are affected by characteristics about us. When it comes to detecting emotion in texts, try to remember that our unconscious biases affect our interpretations. The emotions we detect may be reflective of things about us just as much as they are reflective of the information in the text.

3. Explore the emotional undertones of the words themselves

The words people use often have emotional undertones. Think about some common words—words like love, hate, wonderful, hard, work, explore, or kitten.

If a text reads, “I love this wonderful kitten,” we can easily conclude that it is expressing positive emotions. If a text reads, “I hate this hard work,” that seems pretty negative. But, if a text reads, “This wonderful kitten is hard work,” what emotion do we think is being expressed?

One approach to detecting emotions when they appear to be mixed is to use the “bag-of-words” method. This just means that we look at each word separately. How positive are the words “kitten” and “wonderful”? And how negative are the words “hard” and “work”? By looking at how positive and negative each word is, we may be able to figure out the predominant emotion the texter is trying to express. Give this bag-of-words method a try when you are having a hard time figuring out the emotion in a text.

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Tchiki Davis, Ph.D., is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology. She has helped build happiness products, programs, and services that have reached more than a million people worldwide. To learn more about how Tchiki can help you grow your happiness & well-being, visit berkeleywellbeing.com

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Artemis: Where Fate May Have Gone Wrong

Okay, this might be stupid and fruitless, but, okay, here’s a meta post defending some (not all) of Artemis and Orion in Fate/Grand Order. This is mainly “where might have fate gone wrong”,  really. 

First off, let’s get the obvious out of the way:

Artemis and Orion’s relationship is horrible, non-consensual, and is overall not funny. Orion is not interested in Artemis at all, insults her, and he routinely talks about or hits on other women. In turn, she appears to be obsessed with him, in almost-yandere territory. Most of the jokes involve Orion trying to escape her and her making jokes about awn, he loves her so much! The art usually includes Orion escaping Artemis, or Artemis doing something harmful to him.

I’m not going to talk about this a lot because people have already discussed it a lot, and I think it’s the main reason why people dislike her. Maybe if she spooked you, too. Her writing in her own event and the Okeanos chapter leaves much to be desired. Nevertheless, I think people have already spoken enough about why they dislike her.

Here’s why I think she’s not…as…bad….as I think people make her out to be.

Second point: let’s talk about Artemis and Orion in mythos.

Artemis is characterized in mythos as being a pretty fair goddess, associated with hunting, childbirth, her brother Apollo, and virginity. She asks her father Zeus to stand by her vow of chastity and kills a man, Acheron, for seeing her and her huntresses bathing.

I say she’s pretty fair because for the most part she isn’t a very vengeful goddess? Acheron did see her bathing. She sends down plagues and arrows against the Greeks because one, she supports Troy, and two, because they defiled Apollo’s priestesses. Similarly, she hurts Niobe because Niobe boasted that she was a better mother than Artemis and Apollo’s mother.

Depending on the version of the myths surrounding Agamemnon you read, she refused the Greeks leaving for Troy because Agamemnon boasted that he was a better hunter than her. She makes less sense if you use the Aeschylus reasoning, where she basically makes up an excuse. Something could be said for making Iphigenia be sacrificed, but then again, some variants of the myth have Artemis saving Iphigenia. The matter of whether or not gods are fair, or should be fair, is a whole matter of debate that I have no time to get into, but if we compare her to Athena, for example, then I would say that she’s fair.

If we discuss Orion, he’s characterized as a typical son of Poseidon (we’re going to ignore the version with Poseidon, Zeus, Hermes and a bull hide. If you’re curious, it’s on Wikipedia). He has a large, commanding presence, a giant who could walk on water. He is blinded after attacking a princess, and after being healed by Helios, he meets Artemis and Leto. He’s a very skilled hunter, and boasts that he will kill every beast on Earth. Gaia, mother Earth and more famously the mother of these beasts, sends a scorpion to kill him. After his death, Artemis asks Zeus to place him up in the stars, which he does.

In many ways his characterization echoes similar Greek heroes, primarily other sons of Poseidon, Theseus and Bellerophon, and of course, as this is Greek myth: Heracles.

Orion is the only man Artemis exhibits feelings for, having a strong bond from hunting together. Whether or not this is romantic is really up to you. If anything, they're close, enough that when he is killed by his own hubris, she asks for him to be put into the stars. I’ve seen this used as an example of why she’s demiromantic asexual, or sometimes her relationship with Orion is shoved under the rug. I don’t think this relationship is a la Athena, like her and Odysseus, for example, and it isn’t on the Aphrodite side. While it is fun to try and look at god’s sexualities, I would say that in the Greek Pantheon canon, her relationship with Orion should be viewed as romantic. Or, for any a-spec people, a QPP.

This is all to say that I think that Artemis being summoned with Orion, for me, makes sense. She was one of the first goddesses to appear in fate/grand order. I think that their subversion of expectation by making her actually be Artemis, and not just a cis-swapped Orion, was actually kind of smart for fate? It’s still…not good…because Orion is a teddy bear… but I mean… part of it was smart, I guess.

Artemis being summoned with Orion makes sense because Orion was the only hero Artemis cared for. She mourned for his death. If you wish to summon a goddess, having one that is perhaps with the hero that they cared most for, makes sense to me. If Hera comes with Jason, or Athena with Odysseus, or if Aeneas gets summoned with his mom Aphrodite.  

Unfortunately, this doesn’t explain a) why Orion hates Artemis or b) why Artemis acts like that.

Anyways, now we gotta talk more about Greek Mythology and why it’s complicated.                                                                                                             

Greek Mythology likes to push gods together. Dionysus is probably a whole bunch of gods squished together which is why his characterization makes no sense. Aphrodite is probably much older than Ancient Greece and probably comes from somewhere else, which is why her backstory is confusing. Poseidon and Zeus are likely the same Indo-European god, just split in two. Some gods are the literal beings of things: Gaia, the Earth, with her son/husband Uranus, the sky. The mountains, the sea, the ocean, the darkness, the night, the underworld and the eternal chaos, are all gods, too.

This makes a lot of gods are not…necessary? Okay that’s rude. But a lot of gods have similar roles. This sometimes results in gods being squished together, like with Dionysus. The most common variant of this is with Apollo and Helios, and Artemis and Selene.

Helios and Selene, and their sister Eos, the dawn, continue the days with their chariots by drawing the sun, the night, or the dawn, behind them. Sometimes they’re also the personification of the sun or the moon, which is why Helios can see all. Apollo taking over the role of drawing the chariot of the sun wasn’t hard, because Helios isn’t really known for too many myths and ultimately Apollo’s characterization is pretty simple, but Artemis and Selene were a little bit more difficult, because of one myth, about a man named Endymion.

Endymion is a beautiful man, and Selene falls head over heels in love with him. Unfortunately, because she is either the moon or can only come out at night, she only sees him when he’s sleeping. But that’s okay! Some variants of the myth have it so that she prefers when he’s sleeping! Anyways, she goes to Zeus, and asks for him to be immortal. Depending on the variant of the myth, he either needs to keep him asleep so he remains immortal, or she asks for him to remain asleep. Either way, she marries him, and has 50 children with him. While he’s asleep. Selene, please. That’s… that’s not consensual Selene.

So, when Selene’s myths were going to be combined with Selene’s, this one has never really fit. Diana, the Roman equivalent, does have the Endymion myth attached to her as well, but again, it doesn’t really work with the rest of Artemis’ (or Diana’s) myths. This one sticks out as basically Selene’s myth, which was awkwardly tacked onto Artemis.

Now I hope you can see where I’m trying to go with this in terms of fate/grand order.

I feel like FGO wanted to incorporate Orion, because he’s a famous Greek archer. And perhaps they didn’t know how they wanted to design him, or maybe originally, he was going to be a cis-swap, with more moon aesthetic because he is in the stars. It’s difficult to really say. Either way, when the twist that it’s actually Artemis with Orion as a tiny bear was decided upon, and the question of how to characterize Artemis, and Orion, came up. For some reason they were at the ‘we can’t have heterosexual couples in fgo’ part of FGO (thanks Cleopatra and Caesar), so instead of having them be either two good friends who help and have a strong bond with each other, or having them be romantic partners, they decided to have them be the stock ‘husband hates wife who loves him’ trope.

(side note but thank you lost belt for writing good heterosexual couples I love Sigurd/Brynhildr).

This may have come from Artemis’ “myth” with Endymion. Endymion, while probably well known in Japan because of Sailor Moon, probably isn’t strong enough as a hero. So, they took “Artemis’” characterization with Endymion and used it with Orion. Instead of telling the real story.

This is still really shitty on so many levels. The terrible writing. The fact that they took a bond formed on hunting talent and turned it into…that. Artemis’ ‘useless goddess’ personality, because for some reason goddesses can’t be talented and strong in their own rights, and have to be clumsy and ‘useless’. The continued problem with fate where a female character can’t be a little more complex. The fact that even if Artemis, in this interpretation, loves Orion, if you ask, male master, she will totally leave him and will love you. This continues to be a reoccurring problem, even with newer female characters.

Her design. Don’t worry, I didn’t forget the design.

When you picture Artemis, you imagine a muscled, sporty woman, probably around early twenties, with a bow, arrows, and a deer. Her hair is pulled back and her clothes don’t exhibit her from the hunt. She’s not commonly sexualized, partly because of the vow of chastity, but she isn’t in the sense that Athena wasn’t sexualized, for example, or Hestia, another virgin goddess.

The design for Artemis is more similar to Aphrodite with some moon aspects thrown in.

I’m not saying the design is…. bad…I’m just saying it’s bad for her. This is not what you imagine an Artemis, or a Diana, for example. It feels too sexual for someone who, based on the myths, doesn’t exhibit a desire for sex. I do enjoy the bow and the moon aspects, and I think if it was Selene, it would probably work pretty well. But it doesn’t work for an Artemis.

(Also, her skillset doesn’t really work with Artemis either. I digress. This is too long anyways.)

So, what we get is a tacked-on myth and characterization that fits Selene on top of Artemis, for a hero that Selene doesn’t even interact with, Orion. This culminates in Artemis being a ditsy, love-obsessed, useless goddess that keeps Orion in an abusive relationship. However, fgo has given itself, and is slowly working on, a way to fix this.

This is when we put our thinking caps on.

This is mainly from Beast’s Lair from what I gather, so props to them for this. Mainly the idea is that Artemis isn’t a goddess, but a robot. There are a couple of pieces to support this idea. Ishtar, when discussing Orion, says, “I hear that person is a deity of Greece? I guess she is a robot?”

During the most recent summer event, Artemis gets upset when Orion doesn’t want to buy doujins related to robots. Finally, there’s her final art, which includes her pulling a reactor-like device from her hip/thigh.

Whether or not this is true I don’t know and why fate is doing this but anyways.

The second thing is that Orion might be showing up in Lost Belt, and probably Lost Belt 5, which is going to be centered around Greek servants. Spoilers but it’s probably going to include Poseidon, who is Orion’s father, so there could be something to that that they could explore. Furthermore, Lost Belt has done a good job at creating healthy, heterosexual relationships. If this Artemis is a robot, then maybe Orion is the real Orion. Maybe Orion likes this version of Artemis, like how Sigurd likes Brynhildr, despite her strong personality. Maybe it will be revealed that Artemis is really Selene, and the teddy bear is Endymion, trapped. Maybe she acts like this because those who created her didn’t understand her myths.

Anyways. I try to end these by possible improvements but we just have to wait until Lost Belt 5 is released, I guess.

I guess what I’m saying is that FGO has a lot that they can do to make Artemis work. And they don’t want her to be shoved under the rug. So, they should do the good things with her. Continue the trend with healthy heterosexual relationships (and some non-fetishistic homosexual ones, please, too) in Lost Belt, please.

And finally, Artemis deserves better.

[frickengreenfrickyeah]

An Irreverent Intro to the Iliad

A/N:I’ve taken the introduction to the Lombardo translation and condensed it. Any time I says something to the effect of “don’t quote me on this” that means I’ve added my own analysis or thoughts that I cannot back up in any way, so don’t, like, put it in an essay if you don’t plan on doing your own research.

Anyway, you don’t care about that stuff, you came here to read about the Iliad.

It’s really fricken long, so, for the sake of mobile users, everything’s under the cut except for this:

“Rage. Bitch, lemme tell you about the time that Achilles fucked over the entire Greek army by Rage-quitting.”

Timeline for the Noobs 

Ten years ago:

Aphrodite bribes Paris so she can win a beauty contest between herself, Athena, and Hera. Paris’ reward for his ‘heroics’ is Helen

(There’s probably an essay’s worth of symbolism you could dig into here, what with the goddesses all representing different priorities: erotic love, wisdom/justice, and familial duty. I wonder what Paris’ choice reveals about his character?)

There’s some disagreement about whether or not Helen when with Paris willingly

Seeing as literally no other woman in the Iliad (and maybe the entire Cycle? Don’t quote me on that) willingly went with her kidnapper, I’m calling bull on that. Do with that what you will.

Menelaus gets really mad that Paris stole his wife, so he rounds up the Greek army, and they go to war. (It’s worth noting that Athena and Hera are both on his side here.)

Present day:

Agamemnon(Boo), Menelaus’ brother kidnaps a girl. Then he has the balls to get upset that the girl’s father called Apollo’s plague down upon the Greeks until she’s returned

Achilles points out that Agamemnon’s being a dick and people are literally dying because he won’t let go of one girl. Agamemnon says, “Fine. If I have to give up my lady-war-prize, I’m taking yours as recompense.”

Achilles allows Agamemnon to take his girl, then Rage-quits. As consequence, people die.

Hypocrites. Hypocrites everywhere. If you wanna analyze that for an essay, I think there’s plenty to talk about. 

The Theme Worth Giving a Shit About (Because it Drives the Narrative)

Heroes risk their lives on the battlefield in exchange for Prizes

Ie. riches, bitches, and clout

Honor <--> Shame is how they judge the value of others and themselves. Honor wins Prizes, Shame loses Prizes

3 Characters Worth Giving a Shit About (Because They Explore the Aforementioned Theme)

Achilles: Main character. Rage is his thing. Also, pouting. 

His honor is insulted by Agamemnon(Boo) taking away Briseis, his lady war prize. Since war prizes are how their society rewards heroes for risking their lives, Agamemnon is basically saying he doesn’t care of Achilles dies or not.

And that hurts Achilles’ feelings because he knows he’s gonna die. There’s a prophecy about it. 

The only reason he’s fighting is because society conditioned him to believe that Prizes and eternal glory were worth dying for.

Now that he doubts everything he knows, he refuses to fight for the Greeks.

The entire poem is the consequences of his Rage-quit

Agamemnon: fuck this guy

He loses his lady war prize, so he takes Achilles’. Because short-sighted spite is the best motivator.

He and Achilles start the poem in the same place, believing that material goods should equally compensate a loss. Achilles is the one who learns that that’s not how that works.

Agamemnon starts as a dick and ends as a dick. Google Iphigenia if you want to learn more. And that shit he pulls with Cassandra? Major dickbag. Fuck this guy. 

Hector: The Trojan hero, and honestly the only likable guy here. 

He is Achilles’ foil. 

Just like Achilles, he’s separated from society - but, unlike Achilles, it’s not because he rejects their values. It’s because he never questions them.

He’s basically the perfect hero, and he suffers for it:

His son is scared of his war helmet

He can’t stay closer to home to fight defensively because that’s ‘shameful’

And he can’t even stay in the city that long on his breaks because wine and women are too tempting. 

Side Characters to Maybe Give a Fuck About

Patroclus: The most important of the supporting cast, and he’s only in it for, like, maybe a book

Achilles’ BFF and probably more

(Read: Definitely more. If you listen carefully, you can hear me chanting OTP OTP OTP every time you open your book.)

He is Achilles’ double

He never doubts society but supports his bestie’s midlife crisis anyway

His death at the hands of Hector symbolizes Achilles’ death because he was wearing Achilles’ armor at the time

Achilles causes Patroclus’ death btw

When he Rage-quits, he asks Zeus to help the Trojans (because short-sighted spite is the best motivator). Patroclus goes to help the Greeks wearing Achilles’ very recognizable armor, causing Hector to target and kill him

His death redirects Achilles’ Rage at the Trojans instead of the Greeks

Diomedes: a badass fighter

Greater Ajax: a badass fighter

and (I think) the guy who talks sense into Achilles at some point

Ajax the Lesser: a badass fighter (are you sensing a theme in these characters?)

Odysseus: the only smart guy here

The Odyssey is about him btw

The Trojan horse was his idea, according to the Aeneid (and maybe other places? But definitely the Aeneid.)

WTF is an Epic Poem Anyway?

Epic Poem: recounts events with far-reaching historical consequences, sums up the values and achievements of an entire culture, and documents the full variety of the war

Basically, if “’Murica, Fuck Yeah” sums up America, then the Iliad sums up Ancient Greece

(Actually, Hamilton is a better comparison, but I needed to make a joke. Fite me.)

That “full variety” thing is why Book 2 and a couple other places just list off a bunch of ships or leaders and their dads. That shit is boring. Skip it. 

But also, that ‘full variety’ thing is what makes other parts of the story so interesting. Homer will sum up a dude’s life story right before he kills them or some shit. It magnifies the scale of the narrative by showing how insignificant one person’s experience is - no one person can stop the war.

That’s what makes Achilles’ story even more powerful --> because his impact on the war is significant. His Rage controls the ebb and flow of it. 

He can’t stop the war though. No one can. 

The Gods are Petty as Fuck

Homeric gods look/act like humans, but they’re different mainly because of two things:

1. They can’t die.

That means they treat the events of the war less seriously than the mortals do.

2. The gods know about fate

To the modern reader, it seems like the humans have no agency, but that’s not really the case

Knowing fate is a bit like knowing the plot of a movie. It gives insight into a character’s actions that would otherwise seem random.

By reading this poem, you’re basically a god. Don’t let it go to your head. (But, hey, there’s a reason I’m majoring in this shit)

Bards like Homer would more directly be gods because they changed and adapted the story as they told it, just like the gods influence human actions in the story.

Don't quote me on that tho

Character choices are usually doubly motivated - by the human, and by the gods

Ex: Achilles chooses not to kill Agamemnon because Athena tells him not to.

This is personifying the literal thought process he had so that the reader understands what’s going through his head.

Fate doesn’t force anyone to act out of character --> fate is the consequence of their life choices

The gods not caring about death and his own lack of foresight is what Achilles messes up on

He asks Zeus to help him get revenge on the Greeks because he assumes Zeus cares about that sort of thing, but Zeus is bigger than that.

That leads Patroclus’ death, btw.

The “Enduring Heart” Shit

Achilles is really butthurt that Agamemnon wronged him

The lesson he has to learn is that even if material goods can’t make up for losses, there’s no other option --> you can’t bring people back from the dead, so you have to move on

That’s the Enduring Heart shit

also, if you abstract that concept it sounds kinda like entropy to me (Don’t quote me on that tho)

He learns that lesson by feeling pity for Priam (Hector’s dad) instead of perpetuating the Rage Train

And, hey, that Enduring Heart shit is a lesson that all of us could take to heart. None of us want to die, but it’s gonna happen. Maybe that’s not fair, but throwing a temper tantrum isn’t going to change anything. Really, the only way to avoid being miserable is to embrace our mortality so we can appreciate life while we have it

don’t quote me on that tho

In a nutshell, Achilles has to accept his mortal-ness. Otherwise there’s a lot of unnecessary suffering. 

That’s why we don’t need to see him die in the Iliad even though everyone makes such a big deal about the prophecy about his death. His journey was completed as soon as he found pity in himself instead of Rage - essentially rejecting the godly side of himself (oh yeah, I forgot to mention. His mom is a goddess) and embracing his mortality. 

because gods don’t have to deal with death, they can Rage all they want, remember?

Also, if he never dies, he can’t be reunited with Patroclus. 

OTP OTP OTP

You could probably write an essay about how Achilles died as soon as Patroclus did.

Honestly Boring Historical Context (That might be interesting if you’re a nerd like me?

The poem was basically historical fantasy even when it was first written. There are gods and super strength and shit

Greek History Over-Simplified: The Mycanaean Period was prosperous but ended suddenly. The Dark Ages of Greece followed, and we don’t know much about what happened during that because they forgot the written word was a thin. 

The events of the poem probably take place during the Mycanaean Period because they use bronze weapons. 

But warfare is described from more of a Dark Ages perspective. Like, they don’t use chariots the right way

Which suggests that chariots were part of the source material, then the Dark Ages made people forget how they were supposed to be sued, so the bards just kinda made shit up to explain their presence. (Don’t quote me on that tho)

The Oral Tradition of the poem means that this story was told thousands of times over hundreds (thousands?) of years. So the narrative is hones at shit.

it has the sculpted body of an Olympic athlete. Each muscle toned to do a specific job and everything works perfectly together to accomplish the sporty feat of interest. Every verse is packed with character, setting, plot, and cultural significance

Except for that Catologue of Ships shit. Boooo boring ships.

There were probably lots of other versions of the poem, but Homer told it best. His version was written down as soon as the written word was (re)invented

Side Note that wasn’t in Lombardo’s Intro

The Iliad and Odyssey are both parts of a larger body of work known as the Epic Cycle 

(The Aeneid is basically Caesar Augustus-insert fanfiction at that, btw. Virgil was a satirical fanboy and I’m living for it.)

Characters and events are introduced with the assumptions that the reader already knows their importance

But we only have fragments of the rest of the Cycle today because it was either never written down or the manuscripts were lost

I’m looking at you, Burned Library of Alexandria

*sad fiddle music plays in the background

Videos That I Learned Shit From (Only, like, the first two links are relevant to the topic at hand, btw)

Basic Plot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faSrRHw6eZ8

More about the Epic Cycle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3bn0eKt4Rw 

Iphigenia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifFsKCrH3GM 

Oresteia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kpGhivh05k             

The Odyssey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-3rHQ70Pag&index=4&list=PLDb22nlVXGgfwG1qbOtNgu897E_ky_8To (Also, this story is my favorite of the Epic Cycle)

The Aeneid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRruBVFXjnY&list=PLDb22nlVXGgfwG1qbOtNgu897E_ky_8To&index=5  

Ancient Greek History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzGVpkYiJ9w&index=2&list=PLDb22nlVXGgexsbafIwirG6Tk9uww9dSW    

And, yeah, these videos are all from the same channel. I’m a basic bitch and a ho for not leaving my comfort zone. Fite me. 

Honestly, if anyone has other sources, let me know. Youtube history/video essays are my shit.

I hope this was helpful.

[antiloreolympus]

12 Anti LO Asks

1. its victim blaming of hades to tell minthe its HER fault she "couldnt get over him". like? you lied to her! youre the one who blurred the lines to date her! you were just as toxic to her if not more so by controlling where she lives and her job, all while never defending her to your cruel family! you had all the power over her while she had nothing! you dumped her for a 19 year old and dont care she crippled minthe! i wont excuse minthe's actions, but hades is ultimately the worse of the two IMO

2. you know why fans claimed "Minthe should've reacted better"? since the first episode Rachel has been drilling into their heads Minthe is an irredeemable monster, and her not bending over backwards to H/P means she deserves the absolute worst. Minthe reacting how anyone logically would doesn't matter when LO is designed to coddle H/P, and anyone against them must suffer for it, even if the victim to H/P's actions. they never wanted her to be "redeemed", they want her head on a silver platter.

3. i know this is not what she intended bc the only characterization rachel has of hxp is "the best over everything" but uh, does she know having hades control all the petroleum and gasses and whatever else is actively destroying the planet, right? like hes helping the very thing persephone draws her power from and what she's connected to be destroyed to appease hes need for wealth and power. its kinda gross hes being romanticized while he commits horrible acts like this for his bank account.

4. its not impossible to go opposite in their original myth personalities and still have it work. like in hades game, sisyphus is one of the most likable characters, achilles is gentle and kind, ares is calm and rational, etc, but it makes sense within the context of the story. LO in comparison goes "all these loving mothers are evil because i said so! this beloved god is now evil because i said so! minthe is evil because i said so!" and that's about it in terms of logic to these wild changes.

5. I can kinda get behind anon's theory about the flower nymphs looking like P to help her be undetected, the problem is there are also unrelated women in comic who are bright pink and look just like her, with hades even confusing them for her! if i had to bet the only reason they look like that is because rachel just wanted daphne to look like her to hammer home apollo is "obsessed" with P and to fake them as her "real family" over demeter. also just laziness in designing characters in general.

6. its weird hades and persephone are well aware what they're doing is bad even openly admitting it and yet the narrative is so hellbent on excusing their bad actions?? like hades being the major toxic factor in his relationship to minthe, persephone killing people, or hades wanting to bone an eternal 19 year old? like rachel you know thats not how character growth works, right? you cant show they have horrible flaws and leave them to never grow and learn from it, that's not good writing at all.

7. what i also dont get is the hierarchy makes no sense? like zeus is framed as the top god, but that would mean hades cant be the most important man ever so rachel also made him equal rank with zeus (and i guess poseidon too) so?? how does zeus have all that power over them then if theyre all equal? is it because zeus swallowed metis?  also how are the fertility goddess so powerful and rare yet so easily taken down? how are they overpowered and super weak at the same time? i just dont get it.

8. Re reading chapter 144 and other anon is right we do see the pomegranate pin on Hades outfit (so Hades gifts it to her)

But also some things to note

During the makeout session persy begins to disappear in butterfly form and hades is like "no don't leave!" And he grabs her, preventing her from leaving. Which is..kinda Ick considering they were on their way to having (public) sex and he doesn't want her to leave which seems like he's not really respecting her boundaries? (because if she does he'll "be lonely")

The pomegranate pin is Hades' to begin with so technically one of Persephones symbols is not hers (yes I know in the original myth she ate it in the underworld / was forced to eat it but still its supposed to be her symbol)

Hades notes that he "doesn't want to overstep his boundaries as host" because Persephone is a guest (too late for that)

Persephones main concern (after what a week or 2?) after being raped is when Hades wants to stop her reaction is "dont you want me anymore?"

Girl you aren't even dating ...??

Persy's literal one and only concern is that she thinks if she doesnt sleep with Hades right then or when/if he wants to that "she wont be able to give him what hes used to" ... Which is reinforcing that she went to therapy to get "over being blocked" in regards to having sex

Although Hades does mention that she shouldn't feel like she needs to please him and that a kiss can just be a kiss which would be nice

(And yet his thinking of marrying her amd he's known her for 2, 3 weeks? ... And he says "the beginning of a new relationship is exciting and scary" so hes basically indicating thay their dating at this point, I think?)

And later the nymphs in the store are like "do you wanna be the dominatrix of the bedroom?? Buy this lingerie!" And persy does. So??

Meanwhile Demeter is very worried for her daughter who is busy sitting in Hades lap in a pool. 

9. Can we talk about how anons are making fucking flow charts for the LO Timeline cause it's so ridiculously jumbled?

10. im not even against rushed relationships, ive known actual couples who met and were married all within the same year and it worked out great, the difference though is these were people who had their own lives and previous relationships. the issue with LO is RS designed it so Persephone can NEVER have relationships or a life outside of Hades, and if they did get married offscreen, it's framing their marriage in a toxic and unbalanced light. That's not a romance, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

11. i feel like there's a difference between drawing an interesting hooked/aquiline nose versus whatever the hell RS puts on Hades' face. It honestly looks like he's in between morphing into a bird half the time since it just looks like a beak over an actual facial feature.

12. are there shareholders or a board of advisors or something at underworld corp? because if there is id say they have more than enough reason to kick hades out and strip him of his titles/shares because of all the shit he's caused by being guided by his broken pp over thinking with his head. liking dating TWO employees? and getting one of them phsyically crippled by the other bc he can't be honest with either of them and she's a walking time bomb? he's a walking HR nightmare.

[caddyxjellyby]

Alcott Readathon 2018: Jo’s Boys (1886)

"Miss Alcott's books are all delightful, and Jo's Boys is one of the best of them." - Boston Evening Transcript

"Thousands of readers will approach this later book with keen curiosity. They will find it lacking in some of the spontaneity of its predecessors, yet still an interesting volume[.]" - Unknown

"Its romance has a singular strain of youthfulness about it, which hardly enables one to feel in it the dignity of real love, courtship, and marriage." - The Critic

"The fault of the story is that there is too much of it. One is bewildered by the numerous boys and girls, and finds it hard to keep the run of 'who is who.' " - The Providence Sunday Journal

"A trifle labored and tedious." - The Graphic

In 1882 LMA helped start Concord's temperance society, destroyed most of her mother's diaries, raised her niece Lulu, and mourned her hero Emerson. In October she started Jo's Boys, originally intended a St. Nicholas serial. That same month Bronson had a stroke. In February 1884 she described the book's future as uncertain.  In December 1884 she started again, writing two hours for three days, which made her ill with vertigo for a week. In April 1886 she mentions working on it for one hour a day, a limit ordered by her doctor. In June she moved from Boston to Concord and was able to finish 15 chapters. July she turned in the manuscript and it was published in England in September and America in October.

1: Ten Years Later

Mr. Laurence is dead and left his fortune to found Laurence College. Marmee is also gone. Hannah is not mentioned. Mr. March is the school chaplain.

Franz is in Germany with his merchant uncle. Emil was sent on a long voyage in the hopes that he would give up on sailing, but the opposite happened. Dolly, George, and Ned study law. Nan and Tom study medicine. It's not mentioned where Nan went, but LMA's friend Dr. Rhoda Lawrence went to Boston University School of Medicine.

Jack is in business in Chicago. Nat attends the Conservatory. Dick and Billy are dead, the narrator claiming "life would never be happy" for them which is both disgusting and an odd contradiction of statements made in Jack and Jill. Rob is gentle and quiet but manly inside. Ted is loud and mischievous. Demi disappointed Meg by becoming a reporter, as LMA's elder nephew Frederick Pratt did. Daisy is "her mother's comfort and companion." Josie, 14, amuses them with her love of theater. Bess, 15, is tall and beautiful. Dan went to South American for a geological expedition, then Australia for sheep farming and is now in California.

Nan and Tom walk to Plumfield. He's in love with her and she brushes him off. He got a blue anchor on his arm to match hers. Josie runs after Ted, who stole her copy of The Lady of Lyons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

The four meet Jo, Meg, and Daisy for tea. Demi arrives with the news that Emil will return soon and Franz is engaged to Ludmilla.

2: Parnassus

Amy and Laurie's house. Laurie critiques Bess's clay baby. "You can't see beauty in anything but music," she answers. Amy made marble busts of Beth and John.

Nat's about to leave for Leipzig. He loves Daisy, but Meg disapproves because they don't know his family and music is a hard living.

Josie and Ted ask their grandfather to weigh in on their debate.

'Why, we were pegging away at the Iliad and came to where Zeus tells Juno not to inquire into his plans or he'll whip her, and Jo was disgusted because Juno meekly hushed up. I said it was all right, and agreed with the old fellow that women didn't know much and ought to obey men,' explained Ted, to the great amusement of his hearers. 'Goddesses may do as they like, but those Greek and Trojan women were poor-spirited things if they minded men who couldn't fight their own battles and had to be hustled off by Pallas, and Venus, and Juno, when they were going to get beaten. The idea of two armies stopping and sitting down while a pair of heroes flung stones at one another! I don't think much of your old Homer. Give me Napoleon or Grant for my hero.' Josie's scorn was as funny as if a humming-bird scolded at an ostrich, and everyone laughed as she sniffed at the immortal poet and criticized the gods. 'Napoleon's Juno had a nice time; didn't she? That's just the way girls argue—first one way and then the other,' jeered Ted. 'Like Johnson's young lady, who was “not categorical, but all wiggle-waggle”,' added Uncle Laurie, enjoying the battle immensely. 'I was only speaking of them as soldiers. But if you come to the woman side of it, wasn't Grant a kind husband and Mrs Grant a happy woman? He didn't threaten to whip her if she asked a natural question; and if Napoleon did do wrong about Josephine, he could fight, and didn't want any Minerva to come fussing over him. They were a stupid set, from dandified Paris to Achilles sulking in his ships, and I won't change my opinion for all the Hectors and Agamemnons in Greece,' said Josie, still unconquered. 'You can fight like a Trojan, that's evident; and we will be the two obedient armies looking on while you and Ted have it out,' began Uncle Laurie, assuming the attitude of a warrior leaning on his spear.

They're interrupted by Emil, Josie's favorite cousin, who has presents for everyone. Nan's earrings are skulls, but Josie says she won't wear them.

3: Jo's Last Scrape

Several years before, when Plumfield was in bad shape, Jo "hastily scribbled a little story" about herself and her sisters. To her astonishment it became a bestseller. Rumors exaggerate her fortune, which makes me wonder about the rumors because in 1887 LMA gave John and Frederick Pratt $25,000 each. In then dollars.

Rob reads her fanmail over breakfast - people seeking autographs, advice, donations; a love poem; and a little boy who thinks her books are first-rate.

Ted tells a reporter who visits that, "She is about sixty, born in Nova Zembla, married just forty years ago today, and has eleven daughters." (Forgive me the mixed quotation marks.) A woman and her three daughters come, Fritz with a bunch of his students, and a woman collecting a grasshopper and a shawl to put in a rug.

Jo retreats to her room, determined to finish 30 pages, but there's a man who won't leave. It's Dan. "I've been longing to see you for a year," she says.

4: Dan

He tells her about California and the money he got from investing in mines. He doesn't recognize Bess - "I thought it was a spirit." "Two years have changed you entirely," she replies.

Everyone starts making plans to head West. Dan thinks he might settle on a farm or return to the Montana Indians. They're dying of starvation, "a damned shame."

I don't think I understood before that "she never grudged her Jack a glass" referred to alcohol.

Jo calls the girls and the seven boys "the flower of our flock" and mentions for the first time Alice Heath, a Laurence College student.

Dan brought Ted a mustang, Josie a dress to play Namioka in Metamora, and a buffalo head for Bess.

'Thought it would do her good to model something strong and natural. She'll never amount to anything if she keeps on making namby-pamby gods and pet kittens,' answered irreverent Dan, remembering that when he was last here Bess was vibrating distractedly between a head of Apollo and her Persian cat as models. 'Thank you; I'll try it, and if I fail we can put the buffalo up in the hall to remind us of you,' said Bess, indignant at the insult offered the gods of her idolatry, but too well bred to show it except in her voice, which was as sweet and as cold as ice-cream. 'I suppose you won't come out to see our new settlement when the rest do? Too rough for you?' asked Dan, trying to assume the deferential air all the boys used when addressing their Princess. 'I am going to Rome to study for years. All the beauty and art of the world is there, and a lifetime isn't long enough to enjoy it,' answered Bess. 'Rome is a mouldy old tomb compared to the “Garden of the gods” and my magnificent Rockies. I don't care a hang for art; nature is as much as I can stand, and I guess I could show you things that would knock your old masters higher than kites. Better come, and while Josie rides the horses you can model 'em. If a drove of a hundred or so of wild ones can't show you beauty, I'll give up,' cried Dan, waxing enthusiastic over the wild grace and vigour which he could enjoy but had no power to describe. 'I'll come some day with papa, and see if they are better than the horses of St Mark and those on Capitol Hill. Please don't abuse my gods, and I will try to like yours,' said Bess, beginning to think the West might be worth seeing, though no Raphael or Angelo had yet appeared there. 'That's a bargain! I do think people ought to see their own country before they go scooting off to foreign parts, as if the new world wasn't worth discovering,' began Dan, ready to bury the hatchet. 'It has some advantages, but not all. The women of England can vote, and we can't. I'm ashamed of America that she isn't ahead in all good things,' cried Nan, who held advanced views on all reforms, and was anxious about her rights, having had to fight for some of them. 'Oh, please don't begin on that. People always quarrel over that question, and call names, and never agree. Do let us be quiet and happy tonight,' pleaded Daisy, who hated discussion as much as Nan loved it.

Jo, Meg, and Amy all vote for the school board; Demi says he'll escort Nan and Daisy next year.

5: Vacation

Funny how in books like this and The Secret Garden, exercise makes you grow less thin because working up an appetite makes you eat more.

Demi takes photos, particularly of Bess. Nat and Daisy hang out all they can.

At the good-bye dance Laurie takes Jo on a tour. Emil sits on the roof serenading girls with Mary's Dream and tossing them roses.

The second window framed a very picturesque group of three. Mr March in an arm-chair, with Bess on a cushion at his feet, was listening to Dan, who, leaning against a pillar, was talking with unusual animation. The old man was in shadow, but little Desdemona was looking up with the moonlight full upon her into young Othello's face, quite absorbed in the story he was telling so well. The gay drapery over Dan's shoulder, his dark colouring, and the gesture of his arm made the picture very striking, and both spectators enjoyed it with silent pleasure, till Mrs Jo said in a quick whisper: 'I'm glad he's going away. He's too picturesque to have here among so many romantic girls. Afraid his “grand, gloomy, and peculiar” style will be too much for our simple maids.' 'No danger; Dan is in the rough as yet, and always will be, I fancy; though he is improving in many ways. How well Queenie looks in that soft light!' 'Dear little Goldilocks looks well everywhere.' And with a backward glance full of pride and fondness, Mrs Jo went on. But that scene returned to her long afterward and her own prophetic words also.

Nan takes a splinter out of Tom's hand; he says it's the only time she was kind to him and too bad he didn't lose his arm. "I wish you'd lost your head," she says because his hair pomade stinks.

Ted poses on a stool as Josie and others give commentary. Jo explains they're planning for the upcoming play.

George and eat while complaining about the unladylike amount the girls eat. It proves that studying is bad for them.

A girl says to another that the dress she thought was elegant at home looks countrified here. Second girl tells her to ask Mrs. Brooke for advice.

Nan and Alice interrogate the young men over whether they believe in Women's Suffrage (yes, yes, and yes). You know what I really like? When people recognize that voting isn't the be-all end-all of women's legal right. When people recognize that legal rights aren't social rights and the former existing doesn't magic the latter into existence.

6: Last Words

Meg, weren't you married at 20? Isn't Daisy 20? I'm just saying.

"Girls, have you got nice pocket handkerchiefs?" jokes Jo as her sisters leave for church.

Jo talks to Nat about himself and about Daisy, claiming it's better to have no promises made until his return. "No one will be quicker to see and admire the brave work than my sister Meg. She does not despise your poverty or your past; but mothers are very tender over their daughters, and we Marches, though we have been poor, are, I confess, a little proud of our good family. We don't care for money; but a long line of virtuous ancestors is something to desire and to be proud of."

On the roof she lectures Emil on his new duties as second mate. "Jack ashore is a very different craft from what he is with blue water under his keel," he says. The narrator hints he'll remember this later.

Dan confesses that in San Francisco he gambled a little. Jo cautions him against it and he reassures her. He knows his biggest fault is not gambling but his temper, and he's afraid he'll kill someone one day. She gives him Undine and Sintram to borrow.

7: The Lion and the Lamb

With their parents at the mountains and the Laurences at the shore, Rob and Teddy have the run of the house.  Dan's dog Don won't eat or play. Ted suggests he's sicks; Rob says he's just pining for Dan and goes back to writing Latin verses. Ted switches Don, Don gets angry, Rob jumps in front of Ted and Don bites his leg. Nan decides it must be burnt with a poker. Rob takes it like a trooper but Ted faints.

Jo and Fritz note that Rob's even more serious and Ted's a little less wild. Ted claims it's his brother's influence but Jo coaxes the truth out of them.

8: Josie Play Mermaid

Josie's idol Miss Cameron is also at the shore, but she has a private beach and it's hard to see her. One day she loses her bracelet and Josie dives down to fetch it. Miss Cameron invites her over and Josie gives Ophelia's mad scene and a bit from a farce and Portia's speech.

"You've a good voice and natural grace," says the actress and advises her to finish her education and start training when she's older. They blah blah about purifying the stage. Josie starts hitting the books and piano to the delight of her family.

9: The Worm Turns

Tom appears at Jo's with an awful scrape: he's engaged. Oh no Nan didn't! says Jo, but it's not Nan, it's Dora West. Nan mentioned her in Chapter 1.

Down at Quitno he was rowing and the boat capsized but she wasn't mad about it. Later she was riding on the back of his bicycle and a donkey kicked it and they fell. She cracked up and said "Let us go on again" and he replied about going on forever. Jo thinks it's hilarious and a good match. Dora's ability to take things in stride will serve her well if their hypothetical future child is anything like young Tom.

Tom hints that Demi flirted with Alice. "A great dead of courting goes on in those [tennis] courts."

Nan is pleased and resolves to buy Dora a medicine chest for a wedding present. He gives up medicine and goes into business with Bangs Sr.

10: Demi Settles

Demi tells Meg he quit reporting and she's very glad. He got a place at Jo's publisher as Frederick and the real John did.

They talk about Josie and the upcoming plays and Demi promises he'll protect her if she treads the boards.

Josie teases him, via a reference to The Old Curiosity Shop, about spooning with Alice and he tells her not to be silly.

11: Emil's Thanksgiving

My favorite chapter! The Brenda, Englishman Captain Hardy commanding and his wife and daughter Mary aboard, is en route to China when there is a FIRE IN THE HOLD. ABANDON SHIP. Captain Hardy is pushed overboard by a falling mast and knocked out.

They float for three days and then start to worry. During the fourth night two sailors steal the brandy bottle and fall overboard.

A sail appears, but it's too far away to notice the little boat. Emil despairs during the night until Mary singing a hymn he knows from Plumfield brings to mind Jo's talk.

Then it starts to rain and a ship comes to rescue them. What day is it? Emil asks. Thanksgiving!

12: Dan's Christmas

Dan, traveling west, befriends a younger boy, Blair, who reminds him of Ted. Some guys cheat at cards with Blair, Dan calls them out, one draws a pistol, and Dan punches him. The guy hits his head on a stove and dies. Dan gets sentence to a year in prison.

A real life incident appears. LMA and Bronson visited a prison in 1879 and she told the occupants a hospital story. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, the same thing happens to Dan, and it inspires him to not participate in the revolt the other men are planning.

He sends Jo a note at Christmas.

13: Nat's New Year

In Leipzig, Nat brags a little too much about his connections, so people assume he's upper-class and invite him to balls and plays and beer-gardens. He spends a little too much money and plays the gallant with Minna, whose mother confronts him about his intentions. When the bills and a letter from Plumfield arrive at New Year's he resolves to stop being a socialite.  His landlady gets him a job teaching English. It must be nice to have connections.

14: Plays at Plumfield

"As it is as impossible for the humble historian of the March family to write a story without theatricals in it as for our dear Miss Yonge to get on with less than twelve or fourteen children in her interesting tales, we will accept the fact, and at once cheer ourselves after the last afflicting events, by proceeding to the Christmas plays at Plumfield; for they influence the fate of several of our characters, and cannot well be skipped."

Everyone is excited by Miss Cameron's attendance. First a farce with Alice as Marquise, Demi as the Baron, and Josie as a soubrette. An accident with the scenery leads to Nan plastering up Demi's injury, but the look on Alice's face makes it worth it to him.

Meg stars as a country widow with Demi and Josie as her kids.

Up until now I thought Owlsdark Marbles was a real play, but turns out it isn't. Laurie is a professor who introduces the audience to his statues: Ted as Mercury, Josie as Hebe, Nan as Minerva, Demi as Apollo, Jo and Fritz as Juno and Jove, someone (Tom?) as Bacchus, and Bess as Diana.

Dan's letter arrives but he gave Jo no address.

15: Waiting

Word reaches Plumfield of the shipwreck and they all mourn Emil. Jack writes and Ned actually visits. Josie takes it very hard until Miss Cameron tells her to take her tragedy like her fictional heroines do. They learns he's not dead and Ted expresses it: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious by these sons of Bhaer!"

Nat studies hard, gets a visit from Franz and Emil (a good potential fanfic scene), and is chosen to play in a London concert.

Dan counts the days til he's released in August. He can't bear Ted and Jo knowing his shame so he decides to head back to Montana.

16: In the Tennis Courts

Josie and Dolly play tennis and drag each other's schools. Bess chimes in that the cousins are accustomed to sensible conversation, not gossip. Dolly asks why she wears Harvard's color if it sucks so much and she tells him her hat is scarlet, not crimson.

The cousins leave and Jo brings finds Dolly and George. "I knew the boys would be killing themselves with ice-water; so I strolled down with some of my good, wholesome [root] beer. They drank like fishes. But Silas was with me; so my cruse still holds out. Have some?"

She lectures them about overeating, alcohol, and having sex with girls from the Opera Bouffe.

17: Among the Maids

Jo, Meg, and Amy host a sewing circle for the young women.

Here Mrs Meg was in her glory, and stood wielding her big shears like a queen as she cut out white work, fitted dresses, and directed Daisy, her special aide, about the trimming of hats, and completing the lace and ribbon trifles which add grace to the simplest costume and save poor or busy girls so much money and time. Mrs Amy contributed taste, and decided the great question of colours and complexions; for few women, even the most learned, are without that desire to look well which makes many a plain face comely, as well as many a pretty one ugly for want of skill and knowledge of the fitness of things. She also took her turn to provide books for the readings, and as art was her forte she gave them selections from Ruskin, Hamerton, and Mrs Jameson, who is never old. Bess read these aloud as her contribution, and Josie took her turn at the romances, poetry, and plays her uncles recommended. Mrs Jo gave little lectures on health, religion, politics, and the various questions in which all should be interested, with copious extracts from Miss Cobbe's Duties of Women, Miss Brackett's Education of American Girls, Mrs Duffy's No Sex in Education, Mrs Woolson's Dress Reform, and many of the other excellent books wise women write for their sisters, now that they are waking up and asking: 'What shall we do?'

One girl would like to be George Eliot and Jo likes her but not as much as Charlotte Bronte. I haven't read Eliot and I love Jane Eyre the character but not so much the book.

Amy's friend Lady Ambercrombie visits them.

18: Class Day

I used to think Class Day was a Victorian thing, but I found that Harvard and Yale still use it. Harvard's website has

a piece on its history from the year JB was published.

Ted dandies up, leading Jo to call him "the ghost of a waiter" and Josie a "long, black clothespin." For part of the day he wears a false mustache which leaves some visitors thinking there are three Bhaer sons.

Alice gives the best speech of the day.

While everyone's chilling and singing a carriage rolls up. Out step Franz, Ludmilla, and Emil with Mary. "Uncle, Aunt Jo, here's another daughter! Have you room for my wife too?" Wouldn't you love to see this scene on film? I so would. Why not tell us? asks Jo. Because you thought it was hilarious when Uncle Laurie did it, says Emil.

19: White Roses

Demi wants to tell Alice; Josie suggests he copy a Maria Edgeworth story and send her three roses - bud, half-blown, and full-blown. Josie delivers them and Alice ponders the questions. Her parents are ill and need her at home. Is it fair to ask him to wait? She overhears Meg and Daisy praising her and John.

They meet at the party and good old Tom interrupts them. "Music? just the thing." Alice starts to play Bide a Wee, which describes her situation so well she can't even sing the middle verse. It was one of the first things I ever researched on the internet.

20: Life for Life

Dan chances upon a mining friend who hires him as overseer. The mine caves in and Dan leads the rescue of the miners. He gets injured but they all survive. The family learns about it from a newspaper. Ted runs away to see Dan and Laurie chases after him.

When he's better they bring him to Plumfield. He confesses to Jo about prison.

21: Aslauga's Knight

Everyone fusses over Dan; Josie reads to him; Bess molds her buffalo head in his room. He asks Bess to read him Aslauga's Knight. She and Jo are surprised he likes that story. Jo realizes he's in love with Bess. Dan confirms it and tells how he used to dream of Bess in prison.

22: Positively Last Appearance

Laurie's connections get Dan a post as a Native American agent. He startles Bess by kissing her good-bye.

After Dan leaves, Nat returns. It's a bit strange that barely interact in this book. Daisy cries and hugs him. He plays the same song he did at the beginning of LM.

Epilogue time. All the marriages turn out well. Nan, Josie, and Bess have successful careers and the younger two find "worthy mates." I love how mates doesn't mean husbands. "Dan never married, but lived, bravely and usefully, among his chosen people till he was shot defending them, and at last lay quietly asleep in the green wilderness he loved so well, with a lock of golden hair upon his breast, and a smile on his face which seemed to say that Aslauga's Knight had fought his last fight and was at peace." George is an alderman and dies of apoplexy. I don't think LMA likes him. Dolly finds himself in a tailor's employ. Rob is a professor and Ted follows in his grandfather's footsteps as a minister "to the great delight of his astonished mother. And now, having endeavoured to suit everyone by many weddings, few deaths, and as much prosperity as the eternal fitness of things will permit, let the music stop, the lights die out, and the curtain fall for ever on the March family."

The final line gets brought up a lot. IMO it reflects LMA's state of mind and her struggles with her health. She died less than two years later.

[westywrites]

Story with Gods - Chp 3

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

Hey @ratracechronicler @whollyart @concealeddarkness13 if you’re interested in reading some of Sophia’s way with words in canon, you’ll enjoy this. I’m away for work this week (I scheduled this on Sunday), so I’m posting chapter three instead of a short story since I probably won’t have the time to write something new anyways. This will make more sense if you read chapter one and chapter two. 

Warning for depictions of death and dead bodies

"Olivia," Sophia whispered this time, standing shakily. She examined the row of bodies, her breath caught in horror. Everyone was dead, Olivia was dead. She should be dead, but, she wasn't. Sophia stepped out of the row, stretching cautiously and touching all over her own body. She felt for her own pulse and breathing, both were there just as they should be. In fact, she felt great. Aside from a feeling of pent-up energy, she felt perfectly fine. None of it made any sense. Olivia's body fell sideways to the floor, and Sophia ran over. No pulse, she was dead for sure. Sophia gently moved her body over into the row, her dead friend seemed so light, so fragile. Tears streamed down Sophia's face. "What the hell is going on?" She begged the universe for an answer.

"We could have guessed it would be you." The announcer's voice made Sophia jump, she hadn't expected a response. "You'll be great in our ranks if you can take orders well enough. None of us can guess who you're a rebirth of though. With golden hair like that, you could totally be an Apollo. That's where my bet is."

"Woah, what? None of that made any sense." Sophia glared at the speaker. "Tell me what's going on."

"It'll all make sense in due time kid. We have to wait for any others to wake up to explain though, I'm not explaining more than once." The announcer seemed to be very casual now that they had all died, though he still sounded rather bored.

"Am I a ghost? Is this some kind of afterlife?" Sophia kept pinching herself, trying to make sure it was real.

"No and no. That's all you're getting for now kid. I'm sure the others will wake up real soon." The slight click told Sophia that the announcer had turned off the mic. She kicked the wall and started pacing the room while mumbling angrily to herself. Hours seemed to pass, and she was so incredibly bored, no one showed any signs of being anything other than dead. Sophia doubted if any of it was real and was starting to think she had been dreaming the whole thing. She paced and mumbled to herself as she thought but rather than finding answers she just found herself getting more and more restless. Time seemed to pass strangely, she wasn't hungry or tired but knew enough time had passed that she should be. She gave up trying to make sense of any of it and fidgeted in silence.

"C'mon it's taking forever, I don't even think it'll happen,” Sophia complained loudly. "I need to know what's going on."

"It's only been a day and a half since you woke up, be patient, you died five days before most of them." It hadn't felt like a full day and a half, but she honestly didn't care about that.

"So you admit I'm dead?" She pressed for more.

"No, you were dead. You're not anymore." The announcer sighed like he had said all this a thousand times before. "I'm not going to explain yet."

"So I'm undead. A zombie?" She planned to irritate him with obvious questions until he gave in.

"Not at all. Look, kid, you can't manipulate me into giving you answers, I'm trained against manipulation. Trained by the very best." The announcer was overly proud when he mentioned this and Sophia had an idea.

“So you must do some pretty important work if you’ve been trained by the very best, huh?” Her tone shifted slightly, so she was praising him as she asked.

“Well, I would say it’s pretty damn important.” His voice swelled with pride. “I actually work for the king and not just like as part of the system but pretty much directly for the king.”

“Oh wow, that’s impressive.” Her voice dripped with false honey. “To work for such a big powerful man from a big powerful family.”

“Well actually that’s not quite how it works for us, and King Rylan’s really new as a king, but he’s a good king.” The announcer’s voice had changed entirely and now was charged with a boastful excitement.

“How can someone be a new king?” Sophia asked as if she was dying to know. “What happened to the old king?”

“The old king, if you can call him that, was a tyrant. An evil old crook.” Sophia was taken aback by the malice in his voice. “The great king of today led an honourable rebellion, like the stuff straight out of movies and dreams. Course there’s still those damn old fashioned folk who want the old king back in charge.”

“What does the king do about these folk? I’m sure a great king like him doesn’t just put up with disobedience like that!” At this point, she was genuinely interested in what he had to say, but she continued to play into the announcer’s pride.

“Of course he doesn’t! That’s why the program exists, to gather troops and build an army worthy of fighting for our king.”

“Wow,” she paused, “I’m sorry I just realized I don’t know what to call you. I was going to say you are so smart and seem to know so much, but I don’t know your name.”

“Oh, uh, I’m Robert, yeah and thanks,” he seemed flustered by the compliment, “I’m not that smart though it’s just my thing to know stuff.”

“Well, Bob, can I call you Bob? You seem pretty darn smart to me.” She smiled gently towards where she thought the camera was. "This here," Sophia gestured at the room, "is part of the program, right Bob?"

"Exactly. This is my method of enacting the program. Deals with the testing and rebirths in one step. Though it takes longer than some of the other facilities in North America, it is cheaper by a landslide." Sophia had always been good at manipulating people, and Bob’s pride made him incredibly easy to manipulate.

"I'm sure the king appreciates that, though probably not as much as you deserve." Sophia smiled sweetly again.

"Y'know kid I really like you. You've got the right stuff, and I'm sure you're gonna do real well with us." He laughed slightly, but a dejected tone began to seep into his voice. "You'll probably be my boss one day, seem powerful enough."

"I doubt that. As I said, you're smart, Bob, you'll get promoted eventually if you really work for it." Though her words seemed stiff and fake in her mouth, Bob ate it up.

"I love the human notions you've got. Things don't work like that in our world, you'll see soon enough." He sighed, and now all the pride was gone from his words. "The world of gods is ruled by who you're a rebirth of, simple as that. Power is everything." Sophia's eyes got wide at the mention of gods.

"Gods?" She stuttered slightly. "Do you mean like Zeus and stuff? Wait, are you implying I'm not human? That I'm a god?" The idea had made her drop her act completely. "You're speaking metaphorically right?"

"Shoot, I didn’t mean to say that." Bob paused. "Did you do that on purpose? You manipulated me didn't you?" He seemed amazed. "Good job I guess." His tone dropped into disappointment and boredom again.

"Yea I've been playing you this whole time, didn't even do a good job of it." Sophia felt disjointed from the situation. "But it's too late now, you've got to explain."

"I'm not speaking metaphorically in any way.” His explanation held no conviction, and it sounded as though he was reading a script. “Though maybe not exactly as you've thought of us, gods walk the earth. We inhabit the same spaces as humans, but we stay hidden, running our own society with its own ruler. For millennia that ruler has been Zeus, a horrible and tyrannical king who gets glorified by the old myths of humans." Bob practically spit the name Zeus, like it was the most despicable thing he could imagine. "Recently Rylan, a rebirth of Loki believe it or not, took the throne. Zeus is captured somewhere, and a lot of older gods are still fighting to get him back on the throne.” He sighed again. “The whole thing’s a mess honestly."

"Loki and Zeus are from whole different mythologies, they're both real?" Part of her love of history branched into mythologies, so this was a subject Sophia had thought about before, what could happen if certain or all mythologies were true. She never thought they actually could be real though.

"Just about all human mythologies are real in one way or another. Most are based off real things that happened at some point." He paused as if to think and then confessed, "me though, I'm just a rebirth of Seshat, an ancient Egyptian goddess of knowledge and known as the one who opened the doors to heaven for the souls of passing pharaohs, no one you’ll ever have to care about. She was downplayed to only a scribe and wife of Thoth.” His voice held a restrained pride and anger as he talked about her. “Most humans don't even know or care about her, and even when they did, she got demoted when Thoth showed up." He sighed again. "But you, well you’re obviously someone important, you won't be stuck with some repetitive and boring job." He paused and then breathed out heavily as if he had got some weight off his chest.  

"I was just thrown into all this nonsense, and I definitely do care. I've read a few things about Seshat before, she was insanely smart, she's supposed to be the one who invented writing, that's a pretty big deal." Sophia was immensely glad for the hours she thought she had wasted reading Wikipedia articles about gods and goddesses. "Besides, even if she hadn't done all that stuff it wouldn't matter, she'd still be just as important and so would you. What powers you have or whatever shouldn't determine anything. That's just plain stupid."

"Are you just sucking up to me again?" His voice was accusatory.

"No, you're already giving me what I wanted. I just think that that system is complete BS." She was actually pretty pissed about it, Bob seemed like a cool enough guy, apart from the whole starving them to death thing, and he was obviously unhappy with how he was treated. "I firmly believe that everyone is equal, adding god stuff into that changes nothing. You are every bit as important and deserving as I am and as anyone is.” She gestured as she spoke and one movement brought her attention back to the row of bodies. “Now where does killing people fit into all of this?"

"There's only so many things I'm allowed to tell you until we know for sure who you are." There was a shuffling sound from his end. "I've got to go." The speaker cut off. Sophia shouted for him to come back. She shouted and begged for him, but there wasn't a response. She waited in silence, surveying the room, so small but it felt so large without the others living within it. She waited and waited.

A hot anger started to bubble inside of her, not exactly anger at Bob but anger at the situation. Anger at having believed his story even for a second. Gods couldn't be real, it would be impossible to hide. Her teeth ground together and tears brimmed in her eyes, she looked at all those people lying dead in front of her. The anger grew inside of her, and it felt like she may explode if she didn't do something. And so she screamed. Just one solid screech of emotion and suddenly all the lights were out. There was a faint smell of something burning and a crackling sound. She looked at fluorescents above her, they were launching small sparks, and in a few spots, they had shattered. The announcement system made a crackling sound before fizzling out completely. Except for the sparks from above, the room was completely dark.  A strange sound made Sophia jump before light filtered in from the food slot.

"Kid," Bob's voice came from the slot, "there seems to have been some sort of electrical overload for this room. We have to move you to a different room. The door will unlock, go out and turn right. There will be one other door open, go into that room and wait for further instruction." The food slot slid closed with a quiet squeak which was followed by the metallic swish of the big door unlocking. Sophia stepped out into a brightly lit white hall with four doors. The one she had just come out of, one directly across the hall, and ones on either end. As Bob said it would be, the door to her right was open. For the sake of her own curiosity, she tried the other two doors, both were locked. She cursed under her breath and stepped into the room on the end, it was an exact copy of the room they had been kept in, only without the row of bodies on the floor. Being in another room made her realize just how badly those bodies had smelt.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Bob interrupted her thought process over the speaker in a somewhat sarcastic voice. "We need you to do something for us, kid, you have to go back and get any bodies that don't seem entirely dead."

"They're all dead, how can they seem not dead if they are, well, dead?" Sophia was still flustered from emotion and the surprise of the power outage. She didn't want to deal with the cryptic things Bob was saying.

"If you pay attention to the bodies I'm sure you'll see what I mean." He assured her, his tone was now sympathetic. Sophia noted that his mood seemed to change pretty quick. "There's a flashlight on the counter here for you." For lack of anything better to do, Sophia went back to the other room, flashlight in hand. Holding her nose against the horrid smell of week-old corpses, she shined the light across each body. They all seemed pretty dead to her. It only seemed appropriate to fix their hair and wipe some dirt off their faces before leaving them in the dark. She worked her way slowly down the line, singing nonsense gibberish to the tune of a song she could hardly remember through her tears. She left Olivia for last, gently running a hand through her thick dark hair. Sophia's finger brushed against Olivia's forehead, and she paused. Olivia's forehead felt warm, all the other bodies had felt cold and dry, but Olivia was different. Without thinking, Sophia scooped up her dead friend and carried her back to the other room. Olivia felt so delicate and light in her arms, Sophia felt idiotic for believing she was anything but dead. Sophia placed Olivia gently on the ground and sat beside her in silence.

"Are you sure she's the only one?" Bob's voice startled Sophia. She nodded assuredly and received a quick apology from Bob. "Our system normally gets at least half of every group, it's been all out of sorts for a while now."

"Even half dead of every group is a lot of people to die." Sophia glared at the speaker, unknowingly locking eyes with Bob through the camera. Her piercing blue eyes felt like they could burn through Bob's face. He turned away from the camera and shut off the mic. At the distinctive click, Sophia sighed and pulled Olivia's head into her lap. She ran her fingers around her dead friend's face, wishing she would wake up at that exact moment. As Sophia looked at Olivia's limp body, she began to feel stupid. She held her fingers against Olivia's neck and wrist to check for a pulse. When she felt nothing she started crying, how could she have actually believed her friend would be alive? Olivia held no signs of life other than being slightly warmer than the others. All of this god stuff had to be nonsense, it didn't make any sense. She pushed Olivia's corpse off her lap and started pacing the room. The more she paced, the more agitated she felt, and the air seemed to fill with the metallic energy of her anger.

Eventually, a slip of paper slid in through the slot. Upon looking at the paper, Sophia saw that it was some kind of personality test. Both sides of the long sheet were filled with questions and spaces to respond on a scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. She couldn't help the small cruel laugh that escaped her, the last time she had done a test like that was to find out what kind of dessert she would be according to some dumb website. After reading a couple of the questions, she put the paper back on the counter and announced, "There's no way I'm doing that for you."

"Please, Sophia, it'll help us figure it out so much quicker." Bob knew he wouldn't succeed in convincing her, but he had to try.

"Help you figure what out exactly?" She was still rather restless and started pacing again. "Who I'm a rebirth of, or whatever? What does that even matter?"

"It determines where we send you once you're ready to go." He had completely missed that the question was rhetorical. Sophia told him again it was bullshit.

"That paper won't tell you anything because I'm not the same as whoever I'm supposedly a rebirth of. I have my own personality, and a dumb test doesn't mean anything." She gestured angrily across the room at the page on the counter. It fluttered dramatically to the corner as if it had been blown by a strong wind. It took a second for Sophia to realize that the same wind had bounced back to brush gently on her face. She glanced around her for any source of a draft but the only opening was the food slot, and the wind had blown the wrong way.

"Holy cow, it was you." Bob immediately clicked off his mic.

"What was me?" Sophia called after him, it felt like a stone had dropped into her lungs. "Bob, please come back." She was starting to feel afraid. She had no reason to panic, but something within her was freaking out, the metaphorical stone in her lungs making it hard to breathe. An illogical thought kept swimming through her mind. What if Bob meant that she had caused the wind? If the god thing was true... She couldn't let herself start thinking that way, she knew it would freak her out, but she really couldn't help herself. Soon she was sitting in the corner crying over the seemingly nonsensical possibility that she was in anyway responsible for the wind or even the power outage. 

Silence engulfed the room, leaving Sophia with only her sniffles and shaky breaths. No, there was another sound. Something had rustled, something else had moved in that cold, confining room. Sophia looked up to see Olivia stir again.