#i want to create my own take on these myths so thanks for inspiring me if nothing else

[professional-spectator]

Okay, a disclaimer and heads-up: I don't own Hoyo, Genshin Impact, or any related properties. Also, please be aware that this story will explore serious and sensitive themes.

This work is inspired by SAGAU (Self-Aware Genshin Impact Alternative Universe), isekai tropes, various isekai settings, creation myths, and fanfiction in general. Consider this my standard warning.

Many thanks to @quietplace26 for allowing me to write a story inspired by their work, and to @arn9tails for creating the Genshin size difference AU. This story is part of the Inverse AU, meaning the people of Teyvat are one-third the size of Earthlings.

Terminology for reader

(MC) Main Character

(LC) Little Character

This may be crackpot fanfic. Sumeru is forever on in my brain.

Doll Size part one:

Currently in Sumeru:

It began at Lambad's Tavern. Kaveh, Tighnari, and Cyno were engrossed in a card game, drinks in hand, while they waited for Alhaitham. Their conversation centered on a debate: who possessed greater strength, Cyno or Alhaitham? Cyno, naturally, argued in favor of himself.

"Alhaitham? A feeble scholar? That's a blatant lie," Kaveh declared, taking a sip of wine.

"Told you," Cyno nodded towards Tighnari.

"So, his supposed modesty is just a mask to conceal his true power?" Tighnari's ears twitched.

"Precisely," Cyno affirmed. He, of course, had firsthand experience, having battled Alhaitham in the desert with the Traveler as a witness.

"He prefers to keep his strength hidden," Cyno elaborated.

"Frankly, regardless of how strong he may or may not be…" Kaveh gestured emphatically, oblivious to Alhaitham's arrival and seating himself at the table. "You really don't want to cross him."

"I'd hoped you'd have learned to think before speaking by now," Alhaitham remarked with a smirk, signaling for a drink.

"We were only saying positive things, actually," Kaveh groaned.

"Oh really? And you didn't drag me out here to play cards?" Alhaitham sighed.

"Heh, we hadn't gotten that far yet," Tighnari admitted, adding, "We were just discussing your potential in a fight."

"You play your cards close to your chest, then?" Cyno inquired.

"Not at all," Alhaitham replied.

"So, you don't fight often?" Tighnari pressed.

"Yeah, right, with his temper?" Kaveh scoffed.

"I don't fight of-" Alhaitham's words were cut short. The ground trembled.

Strangely, only the four of them seemed to notice the tremor, or perhaps, only they felt it. And then, a loud, feminine voice echoed within their minds.

"Curse you, stupid computer! Don't fail me during my summons… Noooooooo!"

In an instant, it occurred; none of the four could react in time. They dematerialized, only to rematerialized in a pile atop an enormous desk.

"Hey!" Kaveh protested, ever the dramatist. "You're on my cloak."

The entity before them was colossal. Cyno, instinctively assuming a defensive posture, launched an immediate assault. Without hesitation, he summoned his staff, leaped into the air, and struck the giant squarely in the face. The impact was decisive. Blood erupted, and the giant collapsed, unconscious, to the floor.

Tighnari sighed, mentally cataloging the lacks of his current pack for what was clearly a developing situation. He glanced at the fallen giant, courtesy of Cyno's swift action, then turned his attention to a peculiar, illuminated screen. It displayed an image of Alhaitham.

"You might want to take a look at this," Tighnari stated, his tone suggesting an observation of considerable importance.

"Huh?!" Kaveh exclaimed, ever easily surprised. Alhaitham, on the screen, appeared visibly disturbed.

With our (Reader/(MC) Main Character) moments earlier:

Everyone simply knew her as MC. She was, in most respects, an average young adult, living in a modest two-bedroom apartment. But MC's life was far from typical; she wasn't living alone. She was raising her little sister, LC, a responsibility thrust upon her by tragedy. Their parents had passed away during MC's final year of high school, a devastating blow that forced her to drop out and find a job. She worked tirelessly, juggling her responsibilities while studying for her GED on the side. LC, on the other hand, was a vibrant child with a personality that filled their small apartment with life.

"Dinner ready, LC?" MC called out from the kitchenette, the aroma of garlic and tomatoes filling the air.

"Is it chicken nuggets?!" the four-year-old's voice piped up, full of hopeful anticipation.

MC glanced at the pot on the stove. No, it wasn't chicken nuggets. Instead, a heaping bowl of spaghetti sat simmering, accompanied by golden-brown garlic bread.

"You said you wanted spaghetti with garlic bread," MC reminded her gently. She had spent the last hour carefully preparing the meal, trying to recreate the way their dad used to make it, hoping to bring a little bit of comfort and familiarity to their evening.

"I changed my mind! I want chicken nuggets..." LC declared, jumping up and down with unrestrained enthusiasm. How could MC deny such an adorable, albeit demanding, request?

"No, we're eating spaghetti. We don't even have chicken nuggets..." MC replied, trying her best to stand her ground.

"But I want chicken nuggets!!!" LC's voice escalated, a tiny storm brewing.

"Nooo," MC said firmly, but with a hint of playfulness. LC, clearly displeased, shot a glare at MC before retreating behind the sofa, a small, sulking figure.

"Come on, eat it. I will get chicken nuggets tomorrow..." MC promised, sweetening the deal. "And some ice cream, chocolate?"

"Promise?!" LC crawled out from behind the sofa, her eyes wide with renewed hope. "Okay!"

With dinner finished, MC found herself with a precious pocket of free time. Her sister, LC, was happily engrossed in her toys in the living area, their usual play space and the home of the family's aging computer.

"Can I play outside?" LC piped up, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. Their apartment boasted a small balcony, a space MC had lovingly transformed with potted plants, a safety net, and a collection of LC's favorite outdoor toys.

"Sure, sweetie," MC replied, already turning her attention to the computer. As LC skipped onto the balcony, MC logged into Genshin Impact. From her vantage point, she could easily keep an eye on her sister. A smile touched her lips as the familiar game loaded; the Alhaitham banner was finally rerunning. She had diligently saved enough Primogems and felt a thrill of anticipation as she initiated her wish. But, as fate would have it, the ancient computer chose that exact moment to flicker ominously. "Not now!" MC instinctively smacked the side of the machine.

"Curse you, stupid computer! Don't fail me during my summons… Noooooooo!" she cried out, her voice louder than intended, laced with a mix of frustration and desperation. Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted from the screen, blindingly bright. As her vision cleared, she saw four small figures, each no bigger than a Barbie doll, materialize before her very eyes. Before she could even process the impossible scene, a pint-sized Cyno launched himself forward and WHACK! He struck her squarely in the face. Her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

Reality swam into focus, a dizzying mix of indistinct forms and muted noises. Panic surged as MC realized she was gagged and her limbs were tied. Through the window, a poignant scene played out: her younger sister, blissfully absorbed in her games on the balcony, completely oblivious to the peril within.

The faint sound of familiar voices drifted from somewhere close by.

"Since the giant brought us here, it stands to reason that they also possess the ability to return us," Cyno stated, his voice cutting through her fear with its usual logical precision.

A contemplative hum followed. "Hm," Alhaitham acknowledged.

"Furthermore, judging by what this interface appears to be, it sometimes resembles the Akasha Terminal, but for Teyvat... what implications might this have?" Tighnari inquired, his voice marked by scholarly curiosity.

Then Kaveh spoke, his tone bordering on dramatic despair. "I am an architect! My purpose is to build and design! To see this home assembled so haphazardly, without any planning, fills me with profound sorrow. Couldn't they have made an effort, even a small one? Such a magnificent space shouldn't be squandered." His words, an unintentional critique of her apartment's disorganized decor, struck her like a physical blow. She had furnished it on a tight budget, cobbling together items from flea markets and the streets. Yet, Kaveh's offhand contempt stung more sharply than any physical constraint.

MC's head tilted ever so slightly, her gaze settling upon an odd sight. There, on the computer desk, stood four familiar figures: Alhaitham, Kaveh, Tighnari, and Cyno. But these weren't the scholars and general she knew; they were doll-sized, miniature versions of themselves, all fixated on the Genshin Impact character screen.

Taking advantage of their distraction, MC began a slow, deliberate wiggle, her goal the distant kitchenette. Caution was paramount. She remembered all too well the last time, when one of them – she couldn't recall who – had managed to take her out, despite her considerable size advantage. She needed a plan, a strategy. Most importantly, she needed to keep her little sister, LC, safe from harm.

MC, desperate to escape, tried to wiggle towards the kitchenette, but a tiny weight landed on her head. A voice, sharp and commanding, echoed, "Where do you think you are going?" Blocking her path was a Barbie-sized version of Cyno, the General Mahamatra himself. She was still bound and gagged, a prisoner of these miniature Genshin characters. With a flick of his wrist, Cyno summoned his staff, transforming into his formidable Pathsworn Pathclearer form.

"Cyno," Tighnari sighed, jumping down with an air of utter exasperation. "I don't think she's going to hurt us..."

MC shook her head vehemently, trying to convey a silent "no."

"Then she should be able to answer some questions..." Alhaitham stated, joining the peculiar gathering. He emanated an aura that made him the most intimidating of them all.

The interrogation had been relentless. Barbie-sized Cyno and Alhaitham had pried every secret from her, forcing her to reveal everything about the game, about the world of Genshin Impact. Finally, she was free, but the weight of her confession hung heavy. The four miniature men from Sumeru were masters of composure, their faces betraying little. Except for Kaveh. He looked perpetually on the edge, a single push away from a complete mental collapse.

Just as the tension reached its peak, the door swung open, and her little sister, LC, bounded into the room. Panic flared. Acting on instinct, MC swiftly concealed the miniature Sumeru quartet behind her back, hoping against hope that LC wouldn't notice.

"Are those dolls?" LC's eyes sparkled with innocent curiosity.

"Nope," MC stammered, her voice wavering. "No dolls here, none..." She could feel the tiny Genshin characters kicking and squirming in her grip, their protests muffled against her back.

"They are!! I wanna play with them!!" LC jumped excitedly, reaching for the hidden figures.

"I said there are no dolls...run along..." MC made a desperate dash for her room, her mind racing. Her life had taken a bizarre, unexpected turn. Now, she was harboring four Genshin characters, shrunk to the size of Barbies, and desperately trying to hide them from her kid sister.

To be continued

[evesedenramblings]

I want to talk about the Greek Myth of Damon and Pythias and how I think it could tie into Project: Eden’s Garden. For those unfamiliar, the story of Damon and Pythias basically goes like this:

A man named Pythias is to be given the death penalty for his crimes of protesting tyrannical authority against a man named Dionysus (not the God, just named after him). However, Damon volunteers to take his place so Pythias can tend to his affairs (basically say final goodbyes). If Pythias does not return by a certain time, Damon shall be executed in his place. Pythias arrives in time and neither character dies, and Dionysus praises the two for their friendship and loyalty, and even asks to join the two in their friendship but is rejected.

It’s important to look at the framework of the story rather than the details. If we do that, I think there’s a lot to work with.

The story ties very neatly into the idea that Tozu’s Killing Game “continues until there’s only two people”, those two people in this context being Damon and Pythias, especially considering Tozu has the ongoing theme of lying! The Killing Game would end, but then maybe only one person gets to leave, and then begins the free-for-all seen in the Prologue. But then if Damon is Damon, who is Pythias supposed to be? Who is Damon willing to go against his entire ideology for with the belief they won’t kill each other? Honestly it’s too early to say. But that’s not all we can take from the story.

I think Tozu is our Dionysus. Dionysus is a tyrannical ruler named after, but not actually, a God, which is interesting in terms of a power complex. His role in the story is to pit Damon and Pythias against each other, making them doubt and question their trust for each other. The key difference is obviously Tozu will be relying on them to kill each other- however, should the story follow beat-by-beat, they won’t kill each other, and Tozu will be so impressed, he may let the two of them go. Frankly, I have another theory pertaining to Tozu that I haven’t created it into a proper post yet, but I think Tozu may try to bring them into his organization, and the two reject.

It’s an interesting story that makes for a fascinating theory. Considering how often the myth comes up in the origin of the name Damon, I imagine it has to have some form of relevancy. Not to mention the story is just a little bit too perfect of a character arc for Damon and a kick in the nuts for Tozu.

Brief aside: thanks to @panomiels-box for inspiring this analysis! They reminded me my “Damon and Pythias” draft exists and did their own analysis on Damon and Pythias. Our theories are pretty different which is why I’m not reblogging off their post, I’d hate to take away from their theory. Make sure to read theirs too, they make a lot of interesting points!

[thenightling]

The MYTH that you cannot make up faces in your dreams

There is a popular misconception simply accepted as fact because it has been said so many times on various social media posts and memes that even some scientists have started to believe it without question. The myth is that you cannot make up faces in your dreams. There have been similar myths in the past. Sigmund Feud believed that sense of smell doesn't work in dreams yet many people can recall the stink of a monster's breath, swamp water, cigarette smoke, or the smell of food in their dreams. Another myth (from the mid-twentieth century) was that people usually dream in black and white. You will find that this belief died down quite a lot in the years following the invention of color television. It wasn't that dreaming in black and white was the norm, it's that people were dreaming of being in a TV broadcast- movie or show and didn't realize that's what they were doing. Now the popular myth is that you cannot make up faces in your dreams. And, unfortunately, thanks to the existence of memes with this statement, and social media, this myth has become more wide-spread than even Freud's belief about smell. It's a curious thing that we try to restrict things like our own imaginations. What can be imagined can be dreamt. Novelists are often inspired by real people when creating their characters but not always. Now what is the evidence that people cannot create faces in their dreams? Well, this "theory" passed off as fact merely comes from the neurological fact that the part of the brain we attribute to memory is most active when we are in REM sleep (Dreaming).

But by that reasoning we're only remembering turning into a werewolf and finding out you've slaughtered innocents, a skeleton chomping on a cigar while declaring he's come for you, or wrestling a tree creature that wants to steal a sample of your blood, or watching Count Dracula declare war on two rival factions of vampires who he feels has disgraced their race. (I've had some strange and vivid dreams...)

It's so easy to disprove the claim that we cannot make up new faces in our dreams. Ever dream of a monster you never saw in a movie before? A boogey man created by your own imagination? Did you recall ever seeing that face before? Ever dream of a character you only know from the pages of a non-illustrated novel? Now, did that character resemble anyone you know or a celebrity? Not likely. Ever imagine someone in your dream who has the hair of someone you know but the eyes of another person? Perhaps they have the skin tone of someone else, the voice of someone different from that, and maybe even some dream-logic details that wouldn't make sense in reality like elfin ears, fangs, or cat pupils? Congratulations! That's a made up face. You took bits and pieces from other sources but you made up a face.

Even just taking a character from a black and white movie and adding color detail you've never seen before, you're making that up. It's true that in our lives we see thousands, if not millions of people's faces, whether extras in a movie, or on the street, classroom, or in the office. But if we don't consciously remember every face why do we assume our subconscious is merely remembering them? And why do we take for granted the very odd and very surreal faces in dreams that no human truly has? (I have a dim childhood memory of a dream where I was arguing with a sentient care safety belt that wanted to strap me in against my will. Where the Hell did I see that face before?!?)

There are so many misconceptions about our dreams and what we "cannot do" in dreams. Even the old belief that you cannot read in dreams isn't entirely true. It was a popular belief and is often true but not necessarily true. It was such a popular belief it became a method of figuring out if you're dreaming to induce a lucid dream, and a plot point in an episode of Batman the animated series. And yet there are lots of people who say they have read in their dreams. Sometimes it has to do with the wiring of the brain or how awake the "left side" of the brain is.

My mother believed that the phrase "Pinch me, I must be dreaming." is because you can't pinch in a dream or can't feel a pinch in a dream. I remember after she told me that (I was only about five) having a nightmare where I was trying to pinch myself but was physically unable to make contact with my own skin. Through the whole dream I frantically tried to pinch myself but couldn't and yet in another dream years later I could recall feeling being stabbed, the sensation didn't entirely go away until I fully woke up, and another dream where I felt the cold weight of an iron ankle shackle that I'd never worn.

Why do we do this to ourselves? I don't mean having these dreams. I mean why do we try to limit the capacity of our imaginations by pretending we have these arbitrary restrictions? Why try to restrict what dreams can do? Every time we try to say what you can't do in dreams it turns out to be false.

Everything we "know" about dreams is re-written every decade or so. And every "fact" about what limits there are in dreams has been proven false for at least some people. Are you just challenging the God Morpheus to be more creative and defy these arbitrary limitations? If there's no limit to our imaginations by that reasoning there's no limit to what we can dream when sleeping. Dreams can be vague but they can be very detailed. By the way, REM doesn't cause dreams, it's the symptom of dreams. REM is rapid eye movement, that's it. It's the phase of sleep where your eyes start moving around rapidly behind your eyelids. It's a sign of the stage of sleep where dreams happen, not the cause of the dreams. People without eyes still dream. They can't literally have the rapid eye movement but they still dream when they hit that stage of sleep where the rapid eye movement would have happened. But I digress. TL;DR. Yee, we can create faces in our dreams. No, they are not merely faces we remember seeing. If that was true a lot of really weird monsters must be out there and literary characters! The only "evidence" that we can't create faces in our dreams is that the part of our brains associated with memory are active when we dream but by that reasoning all our dreams are just memories. And if that's true, Count Dracula and The Vampire Lestat have a lot they have to answer for!

[milky-rozen]

Hello 🤗, I’ve kind been following your project for months now and I have to say I’m glad people are still acknowledging Egyptian Mythology. I know it doesn’t really have all the drama and pizzaz I suppose Greek or Roman mythos does which is why people like it more, however I find your work refreshing because it seems like you actually care about Egyptian Mythos. I’ve been obsessed with it for years and I’ve even done my own research over the years myself and could never fully understood why people didn’t care for it as much. Even after watching Hollywood Blockbuster films like “Gods of Egypt” the movie frustrated me in so many ways but the biggest one being that it felt like a knockoff of Clash of the Titans. So I’m done with my little rant but I was curious on what sparked your interest in making this project? How often are you taking creative liberties with your story? Also how do you come up with such creative designs for your characters will also keeping the historical consistency of Ancient Egypt?

P.S. Hope this all made sense 😀

Heya!

So, first of all, thank you so much for your kind words, they really made my day!

Second of all, let me reply to all of your questions in order so I don't forget anything lol

Ok so, as for what sparked my interest in making this project, It all started with me playing a mythology-themed video game called Dislyte. I've always been into Egyptian Mythology since I can remember, but when I was a kid, things were a bit different from now and I didn't have access to the Internet as I have now as my father would set up a limited screen time for me and my sister on the computer, and also at that time, I just didn't know how to research things properly lol. So, nostalgia led me to explore new and old media about Egyptian mythology and do some proper academic research to get to know the main and minor myths better. During this "research phase" I discovered the Korean manhwa Ennead, which inspired me and my character designs a lot. Afterwards, as I realized how little material exists about this mythology in particular, I decided to create something myself that could help fill that gap, something that could bring people together and spark their interest so that I could have someone to talk to about Egyptian Mythology lmaooo. But also, I always wanted to work on an original comic series and so I thought that this could have been the best time to start! And so, House of the Sun was born!

Now, talking about artistic liberty, it really depends on the comic we're talking about. In Thoth's Library, I try to be as accurate as possible to the actual myths, only taking some artistic liberty when I need to link some facts that would otherwise sound a bit random and incohesive to the narration, adding some motivations and sub-plots to link all the stories together while trying to stay true to the original sources. Although, this might change in some future arcs. In Young Horus, although some connections are accurate, I decided to fill all the gaps I could with an original coming-of-age story for Horus the Younger to create something new and have fun with it, so the majority of the things happening in the comic are purely fictional. Of course, I always make sure to put a disclaimer for that in every episode just in case ahahah

As for the inspiration behind the character designs, I wanted to create something very personal and somewhat accurate in terms of clothing and overall presentation without including those classic elements we all know, like the animal heads or masks we often see in other media. I was especially inspired by something I noticed in Ancient Egyptian art, like the fact that some gods like Ra have both a human and animal form, and so I was like, you know what? I'm leaving the animal iconography to other contexts, I'm going full human this time lmao. Well, kind of, since I still wanted to include some animal traits that are very iconic to Egyptian art, like the tails (often used in classic Egyptian iconography to depict power and royalty), the ears and sometimes the paws too because, why not? 😂

Man, this was a very long reply lol I tried to be as brief as possible but I'm not good at it honestly ahah soooo, thanks for sticking with me so far! 😂 and, oh! Before I forget , Happy New Year!

[winxanity-ii]

✦ 𝐏𝐒𝐀: 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬, 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 ✦

I love when people are excited about my work. I really do. The fact that someone wants to share a thought, headcanon, or random idea with me because they believe in my writing? That means the world.

That being said—I do not take full story or book-length requests. Especially not ones that come with deep plots, backstories, power systems, and expectations for credit or accuracy. That's not how I work, and I want to be honest with that upfront so no one feels misled.

Here's why:

• My creative process doesn't work like that.

I'm already juggling multiple storylines and characters in my head at all times. I don't write from blueprints—I write from sparks. Give me one sentence, one emotion, one moment—and I'll build a world around it. But I don't write based on outlines someone else gives me. Not because I don't appreciate the idea, but because that kind of story no longer feels like mine.

• I change things. Like… a lot.

If you give me a premise, I will twist it, flip it, and transform it until it's something else entirely. A perfect example is Godly Things. It started with a single line: "What if Apollo accidentally created his own self-fulfilling prophecy?" That was it. One idea. And now? It's evolved into a multi-layered, myth-based epic with politics, trauma, romance, and divine war. That's just how I create.

• There's a line between inspiration and expectation.

Sharing a cool headcanon or what-if scenario is fun. But sending full plots, expecting me to stay true to them, and asking for credit crosses into a territory that makes writing feel pressured—not joyful.

So let me make this clear for everyone:

I am not accepting book-length ideas or co-writing pitches.

One-shots, moodboards, or "what if..." suggestion?

Sure. That's fun.

But I will never write someone else's full story.

Please don't take this personally—it's not a jab at anyone. It's about protecting my creative energy and making sure the stories I tell feel true to me.

Thanks for understanding, and for always supporting the wild ideas that do come to life.

— Xani

EDIT [05/12/2025]:

I posted in ch.55 a/n but imma paste it here as well. but like i said above, in the PSA:

I promise, I didn't just wake up one day and write Godly Things fully formed. my first works on here were… HORRIBLE AS FUCK!! lololo:

(info before reading: this was a fic I made at 12 💀 after reading James Patterson 'Maximum Ride' series, it was named 'Windless' and since I was also obsessed with BTS at the time it/this was a fem!reader x Jungkook with hints of various)

Blurb:

00 |

⊱ ── ⊰

"Code red!"

"Code red!"

"Subject S-04 has escaped the premisses!!" A robotic voice says over the intercom, causing you to cover your ears due to the loudness.

"I repeat, subject S-04 has escaped the premisses!!" The voice screeches on the intercom.

Your heart thumps against your chest as you run down the white hallway.

Everywhere you turn, it seemed as if you started right back at step one. Each hallway identical to the last, with red alarms blazing above you.

"Get her! She couldn't have gone far!!!"

Hearing this, you push yourself father than you've ever did before.

You stop, pushing yourself against the wall as soon as you meet a dead end. Panic fills your entire being at the thought of getting caught.

Your heart races as the sound of thundering footsteps comes closer. Having no where to turn, you fall down onto your knees in a surrendering position, ready to give yourself up without a fight.

"Come on [Y/N]! Let's go!" A voice screams out, roughly grabbing you by the shoulder.

A breath of relief tumbles pass your trembling lips when your eyes land on your captor.

"Taehyung," You nearly cry out, so happy that he made it out safely.

His hard eyes soften just a little bit once it lands on you.

"Come on [Y/N] we don't have time to waste, we have to meet the others at the spot." He says, quickly pushing you up a flight of steps as the sounds of yells and gunshots fill the air.

Just as you turn around the corner, Taehyung nearly misses getting hit by an array of bullets.

"There's two of them on the twelfth floor! They're trying to get to the rooftop! Block off all possible exits!" One of the soldiers radio as soon as the both of you come into view.

"Roger that." A grumbled voice replies through the walkie talkies.

You shiver as a dangerously low growl pass through Taehyung's lips.

Your eyes grow large as his usually light brown, doe ones begins turning pitch black.

In a flash, he un-arms the group of soldiers, killing them execution style with their own weapons, without a single remorse.

"All exits closed. Backup is being sent to the twelfth floor to detain fugitives." A disoriented voice crackles out through the device on one of the soldier's body.

The heavy footsteps of Army boots echoes against the walls the longer the both if you stay in place.

"Let's go." Taehyung spits out, walking through the pile of dead bodies as if they were nothing.

The two of you continue your journey towards the rooftop. Just as you reach the door, a series of loaded guns stops you in your tracks.

"Put your hands on top of your head, and freeze." A soldiers orders, surrounding the both of you in red dots.

Shaking, you do exactly as they say, only to tense up once you notice Taehyung not.

"I said get on your knees with your hands behind your head." The soldier spits out, fed up with Taehyung's resistance.

"I'm not about to do shit." Taehyung lazily says, as if he didn't have multiple guns pointed at him all at once.

"If you don't do what I have ordered in the next ten minutes, you will be shot." The soldier yells, spit flying out of his mouth, angry at Taehyung's resistance.

When Taehyung refuses to do what was told one of the men shots a stray bullet your way, scarily missing your head. A whimper falls from your lips as it skims past your ear, grazing it.

"I said drop onto your motherfucking knees, or your friend gets one right through her fucking head." The soldier yells out, sure enough moving the laser right between your eyebrows, directly on your forehead.

A low, inaudible growl pass between Taehyung's lips.

Taehyung slowly moves and drops onto his knees, hands behind his head

"When I say go, I need you to go through the window that's to the left of the guards." Taehyung mumbles to you underneath your breath.

Wide-eyed, you look over only to see that there was indeed a window.

"B-but what about you?" You ask him, tears beginning to cloud your vision.

"Don't worry about me [Y/N]. My only priority is getting you out of here and to Jungkook in one piece." Taehyung mumbles out as the soldiers creep closer and closer.

"Now when the time comes. You need to do exactly what I told you [Y/N]. Do you understand?" Taehyung asks, his eyes turning pitch black once again.

You fail to answer, wanting nothing more then to just jump into his arms and never let go.

"Do you understand?" Taehyung growls out when he doesn't receive and answer.

"Y-yes." You say bowing your head in defeat.

"Good." And that was all he said before all hell broke lose.

As soon as the first guards came close enough to reach you, Taehyung breaks his neck in seconds. The rest of the guards still in shock, not expecting it to happen.

"[Y/N]! Run!" Taehyung screams, breaking the trance everyone was in. A second later, bullets fly everywhere as you bound towards the window.

Just as you bust through the glass, you take one more look behind you, and your heart nearly leaps out of your chest when you do.

Taehyung fighting off the throng of soldiers that's surrounding him. One stab him in the shoulder with a silver knife, but he rips out his throat with his bear-hands as if he was nothing.

Taehyung makes eye-contact with you for a split second, making it his downfall. Taehyung eyes widen once he realized his mistake of getting off track, but it's too late because a solider behind him stabs him in the neck with a needle.

A tear fall down your face as he stumbles around, unable to fight off the remaining soldiers tackling him to the ground. Shots ring out just as you throw yourself through the glass window.

You shelter your face. For a moment you feel at peace as your body falls down towards Earth.

Your wide, black wings rip out from beneath your back just as you're about to hit concrete ground, lifting you up into the air.

With a small smile on your face, you welcome them back as the wind whizzes through your wings, ruffling up your feathers in a way that brings comfort.

You fly into the night sky, the only thing on your mind is reaching Jungkook and the rest of your family.

Ahhhhhh!!! Y'all don't bully me too hard fr. I swear I was literally convulsing in my bed from secondhand embarrassment 😭😭 but yeah this was baby-writer me in all her chaotic glory. and the only reason I didn't continue past chapter 7 (which is a mess, like genuinely what was I doing 😭) is because I hadn't figured out how to manage my writing energy yet. I burnt myself out. BUT. even now, I still love it. It was my first real attempt—and though it's so fucking horrible and cringey to me now, I love how far I've come since then. anyways, I subjected y'all to that little time capsule of horror just to say: we ALL start somewhere. reading has always been my obsession—it was my comfort, my escape, my main fixation for years. writing came later, and when I finally gave it a try, I quickly realized I wasn't some natural-born prodigy or anything 💀. I wasn't the best, not by a long shot. but it was something. It was mine. and that was enough to keep going. so if you've got something in your head or heart—even if it feels messy or unworthy—just start. because the truth is, nobody writes a masterpiece on their first try. what matters is that you begin. that you make something that's yours. 💗

[msbunnat]

thank you for your answer, in any case I was already very excited by your comic and I cannot wait to read more about it!

I honestly cannot understand the people hating on your work. I feel like fandoms has been invaded by a wave of purity/moral policy that shouldn't exist anymore. it's even more wild to me knowing you're working on a greek myth, and the greek myths are KNOWN to have many versions. that's the beauty of them in my opinion, the way these authors all wrote their own versions and they passed them to us. I love the fact you picked Ganimedes, and you decided to explore both Zeus and him. And the mystery you keep about your relationship really makes me wonder which take you will follow!

and speaking of take, I really enjoy yours on Zeus. Gods are complex beings, and sure they're problematic (like duh) and bad, and everything but it's funny how people will decide which pick for who. Like everybody love Poseidon but oh boy, he can be as bad as Zeus people. So yeah, I am actually excited to read the way you're gonna write him! I don't hate Zeus, sure he does seem one of the "worse" when reading most of the myths, but my favorite thing is the way you can love one god in one story, and hate him in another. they're immortal beings. they're not just black and white. so I happen to enjoy when authors write Zeus as more than just a big bad villain. But I also enjoy when they just don't make him a "sweet lovely daddy".

Oh by the way, I didn't know the version of Metis abusing him and I'll have to look into it! We had a more "feminist" vision of her myth in my class, so it's not something that was talked about hmm.

Also, my bad for saying he died. It was a sum up because of him turning into a constellation. I cannot say we studied this myth so unfortunately I don't have sources to help you on it! It's assumed he lives on forever young but the fact he turns into a constellation is why people think he died?

Thanks! I want to post soon, but I'm so tireeed ;w; I prefer to make people wait and do a good job tho.

About the hate... People re affraid (artists have to much power kkkkk) and we live in a time that you need to share your opnion to get validation. In my case, they need to say that Zeus is bad and hate on him and me so they know they re on the rigth side and have good morals. And even after all this, I think its a good thing they just warning people, that way I can get to my real target that can enjoy characters more complex that re not good or evil, but mess up beings (that includes Ganimedes). And even if people in the end critizied my aproach, its also fine, I dont claim to be perfect and just hope that even to the mad ones, they feel inspired to create their version as well. I think they forgot that, like, they can have their version and will be as valid as mine, dosent matter the story.

(I really enjoy everything about Ganymede, if people go and do their versions, its a plus to me! More about him is best for me heheh. I came across two versions of Ganymede on tumblr and I LOVE BOTH!! I really want to do a fanart of the second one, but I'm a lil afraid if they dont want to interact with me, which is fair, but I'm just judging by the dark aproach on the myth, as a horror story).

Thanks for liking my Zeus u.u I'm really more found of him, as I think about his past, but I'm trying not to focus to much on him! He steals the scene to much!!!

About Metis, its not a version, but a interpretation. I'm looking to see if I find a sourse, but anyway, its intresting, since they met when Zeus was still young. And there re some greek myths with female abusers, so... its something.

Oooh! I see. hm... I never see the constelation as a death, so its not clicking with me, but I understand. Any way, I kinda dont like the constelation, for some reason looks wrong to me, but its a valid version and Im totally using the aesthetic kkkk

[darkcrowprincess]

I so want to write a romance like Lukercy or Pernico... Fanfics aren't really my thing, but I'm often inspired to create my own stories. There is so much potential behind these dynamics. I'd love to know if you have any ideas to offer, because I don't really have a starting point, or even a concrete idea. Maybe there will be nods to Romeo & Juliet, who knows ? Your posts and reblogs on them finally made me see and understand the beauty of this love story. Most of my romances will certainly have nods to it now, like with the case of Beauty and the Beast.

@darklinaforever

Do I have ideas!!! I got tons. And if you want to take them off my hands I'd love that!

Percico:

I have this idea for a potion of Endymion fic. Where to save Percys life Nico gives Percy a potion that heals him but puts him in immortal sleep(look up the greek myth Selene and Endymion to understand). Now Nico has to find a cure for Percy. The catch is though Percy and Nico can meet in dreams/have shared dreams. The dreams are very addictive. Nico and Percy are both very tempted to stay in the dream world where nothing bad could hurt them and thry can be together(Nico thanks since its a shared dream its the obly reason why Percy has feelings for him). The dream world is something they both can share and create together.

A 2004 troy movie au where Percy and Nico are Helen and Paris. Percy is in an abusive arranged marriage(it doesn't have to be Annabeth, but if i were to write it thats how I'd see it) so Nico his secret lover hides him away on his sister Bianca's boat when their heading back to Troy. Now war is on the horizon because Percy's abusive spiteful spouse wont let him go. But Nico will fight for him(look up the plot for 2004 troy)

Romeo and Juliet style romance between Percy and Nico who are young gods. They are children of Poseidon and Hades and are forbidden from seeing each other.

Lukercy:

Luke and Percy runaway together(Canada or Alaska) sometime between canon and dont look back. They start a horse ranch together. Maybe someone from their past finds them.

This one is based on the tv show. But them aged up. Luke kidnaps Percy and takes him with him through the portal when Annabeth finds them.

Luke is resurrected during Heroes of Olympus and helps the seven. He has gold angel wings and mainly protects Percy. He and Percy fall in love.

Tv show again, Luke finds where Percy lives in New York before season 2. Luke keeps trying to convince Percy to join him. Also apologizes for hurting and lying to him. Percy also wants to convince Luke to leave Kronos. Adventure and romance in New York for a year before summer. Who will convince who?

Hope you like my ideas.

[0wl3tt3]

Reflection on my practice (for future me)

Hello, so I wanted to do write what has been my practice so far for future me to read and reflect, I discover a lot for myself, so this might be long so please sit and relax.

Catholicism

I grew up Roman Catholic for most of my life, living and breathing on those values, going to Catholic school and going to church but it doesn't really have an affect for me, I didn't feel connected to Catholicism, so I was semi atheist (I didn't know that Agnostic exist) for most of my early teenage years until I was in grade 10, where I was kinda chilling in class, I wasn't interested with the subject so I just pulled out my phone and thought it would be fun to search on tumblr about witchcraft and it really interested me. Everything about it looked fun and maybe I wanted to dipped my toes in the water. Later on I created an account specifically for that! I enjoyed it as a newbie liking the vibes and looked to find Paganism

Kemeticism

Anyone who followed 15-16 year old me will remember I was a Kemetic pagan, I worshipped Anubis and Ra (Along with Heru-Sa-Aset) but I was close to Anubis, I prayed to him after my dog died which did started my path to paganism where I now just denounce myself silently as a Catholic. I prayed and gave him offerings that I have access to and just let him guide me to cope. I started being open to my practice to my friends as well which they all really support! I never said anything to my family knowing what they believe was that I'm just catholic.

I really do thank Anubis and the gods I did pray for those hardships of my own mistakes and leading me to comfort even when I'm arrogant. It inspired me to admire history more that I ever did, I wanted to read more about old religions, I wanted to just eat every single information I can find tiring to be the best version of what I should do and value.

Hellenism and Athena

I've already told this but I wasn't Kemetic pagan anymore now, I adored Anubis but it felt like my time of mourning had passed and it felt like I might have to part my ways with Kemeticism. Its a beautiful religion and the people there are lovely! but I just don't follow it as a follower anymore and I was called to Hellenism.

I wasn't gonna lie and say Hellenism didn't intimidate me, it did, I knew to never take the myths literally for me to not act dumb but there were a lot of things I had to learn now that I wasn't following Kemeticism. I wasn't sure who to look, well, for a bit until I settled with Athena which makes sense.

Listen, I am a girl that loved the greek monsters, dragons, drawing, and war history, of course I'm gonna pray to Athena!

I felt like she was the goddess for me and later became the kinda the only goddess I prayed for when it comes to tests and being strong. Sometimes I don't do prayers because of school and my own laziness, I'm happy that she's patient with me and a tarot reading by a friend, where I asked "What's Athena thinking about me? I haven't done much for her..." "Talk to me more! and stop procrastinating!"

Is just... I STILL THINK ABOUT IT LIKE OH SWEET GODDESS THANK YOU BUT ALSO DON'T CALL ME OUT😭😭😭😭/j

But I really do thank her for that, it's just so sweet for me to know she is around even when I'm not always acknowledging her.

Now and future

I think one, buy a fucking tarot deck for myself and just talk more, sometimes when no one is around I just talk out of no where to her which I see as my baby steps to coming back since last and the early months I was pretty dry on my worship and practice. This summer I hope I can read history books and just talk about it to her, start doing divination and do something about that rain water from one year ago lmao.

I think this year will be witchy and pagan for me! I'm excited for shenanigans to ensue with my irl witch friends!

And I will say it again, thank you to the deities I worshipped before and now for guiding me to where I am now, no matter how chaotic it is, you're there for me.

So for future me, let's do this!!!!!

[groofz]

PART I: "Midlife Crisis for Dummies"

How would I describe a midlife crisis, in a nutshell? Complacency seeps in, slow and silent. Before you know it, you hate your job, your wife, yourself, and your life. The everyday routine that once brought you peace has turned on you. It sneaks into your home, screws your wife, and burns down the house with the kids inside—all in slow motion, right in front of you. And somehow, you've forgotten how to even find words for the feeling—not even to yourself. It's not like anyone would listen, anyway; you don't speak their language anymore, and they can't see you at all.

Halloween just passed, but that's not why I sketched the Invisible Man. I sketched him because I'm living through a three-year midlife crisis that started back in 2021 and hasn't let up. I used to think the "midlife crisis" was a myth. I mean, what could possibly top puberty? Many of us barely survived that as it is! But this feels a lot like puberty, minus the zits and hormone spikes (though there's still confusion, the feeling of being an outsider, and plenty of horniness and depression). After one of the most productive phases of my life, I lost touch with everything | ever believed in.

I drifted away, forgot how to connect with other people, lost my sense of self, my identity, my sense of belonging. Just like that, I was gone.

The first sign? An onslaught of angst and the overpowering urge to reread The Catcher in the Rye for what must have been the 25th time. At first, I wondered if this was puberty all over again-maybe thanks to the COVID vaccine. Once I started becoming aware of it, though, there was still nothing I could do. I got more depressed and suicidal than l'd ever been. Like so many creatives, I left art and comics behind years ago, focusing on a responsible, modest lifestyle, building a career and a family. By 29, I was an ordinary guy-content, or at least settling. Then life came along and sucker-punched me in the balls, stole my powers, and burned it all down. Out of nowhere, though, I felt the spark of something new. It was time to go on a quest.

PART II: "There and Back Again"

I wanted to draw the Invisible Man because that's exactly how I feel. I feel like Gregor Samsa, trying to murmur an "I love you" through my own twisted exoskeleton, only to terrify anyone who matters. I feel like Frankenstein, Godzilla, or Toru Okada in a surreal, postmodern search for meaning, lost in a dark hole. I am body horror-aging itself is body horror. It reminds me of that Cronenberg film Shivers, where an old man opens his trench coat to expose his shriveled body, croaking, "Even old flesh... is erotic flesh." It's grotesque, yet somehow, it's all part of this journey.

PART III: "How to Survive a Midlife Crisis (Or Any Crisis) "

How do you survive a midlife crisis—or any crisis? By diving into the toxic wreckage of this post-apocalyptic, dystopian nightmare we call life and finding the art buried inside. Let it in; let it take over like radiation or cancer. Become someone new-reborn, inspired, creating art and comics, and vomiting pop culture.

During the worst of it, I went back to my old survival strategy. I gorged on every piece of media I could get my hands on-comics, manga, art books, classics, film noir, vintage BDSM movies and magazines. I started drawing again, and fast. Now it's all coming together, fusing into something new. This is what I wanted. More to come?

P.S. Did I mention I might've jerked off 40 times a day and visited a few escorts in all this? Guess that should've been in here too, since I'm drawing hentai late at night.

Feels like this is going somewhere. I'll just have to follow my heart and see where it

[denimbex1986]

'In contemporary fandom, canon is king. This is not a jab against an admiration of an ordered continuity and worldbuilding, the necessary aspects of creating a story to be lost in. But what goes beyond it—a yearning for raw, wiki-able data and facts that can be collated and held in amber, where interpretation gives way to a singular thesis—often threatens to override it. Which is why for Doctor Who, a show that has spent 60 years growing and changing and writing over and under itself, its latest shock is less about breaking its own world, but rather setting itself free.

It did so in the final act of “The Giggle,” the last of the three special episodes released over the last few weeks to mark Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. Starring David Tennant not as a returning incarnation of the Doctor, but a new, fourteenth face, audiences came into the specials expecting one thing as their only guarantee: by the end of the third special, David Tennant’s latest Doctor would die, and transform into Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th.

Which he did... of a sort. Mortally wounded by classic villain the Toymaker, the 14th Doctor’s regeneration began just like every other contemporary imagining of the process has, inspired by Who’s long history—coalescing orange-yellow energies coursing through the Doctor’s body, preparing to explode in beams of radiant, transformative light. But here, they didn’t. Instead, the glow faded, and the Doctor, with the help of a push and a pull from his friends Donna and Mel, somehow split into two co-existent beings: the 14th Doctor and the 15th Doctor, together in one place.

“I’ve Bigenerated,” the 15th Doctor explains to his past self, confused onlookers, and the audience alike. “There’s no such thing. Bigeneration is supposed to be a myth, but... look at me.” It’s unquestionable in this, or any moment that comes after, that Gatwa is anything other than the definite article, although there have been valid concerns of the optics of making this choice with the transition from one of, if not the, most beloved actors to ever take on the role to the first Black, openly queer man to play it.

But the episode clearly establishes that this is the Doctor’s future staring right back at themselves—Time Lord rehab out of order, as 15 puts it later, imploring his past self to go on the journey of healing that has lead to his own currently revitalized lease on life. From the 14th Doctor’s future, his continued existence is not seen in so much as cheating death but once again, getting to see his own future reflected back at him. Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor. David Tennant is the Doctor. It’s just that for the first time in Doctor Who’s long history of regeneration, we saw a version of the process that was less about physical death and rebirth, and more about divergence in time itself.

Part of understanding that divergence has been made all the more universal to Doctor Who beyond just this specific moment, thanks to returning showrunner Russell T. Davies. Speaking on a supplementary commentary track released to accompany “The Giggle,” Davies offered his own interpretation of what Bigeneration means:

“My theory... I think what with Peter [Davison] having been in, with with Colin [Baker] having been in, I think down the timeline, they all seperated. They all went like that, all the Doctors came back to life, with their original TARDISes, the gift of the Toymaker. They’re all traveling out there, I’m calling it a Doctor-verse. I want to create a future where, you know, Sylvester McCoy survived [the 1996 TV movie] and has an adventure! One of the things about [the first 60th special] “The Star Beast” is to get [David Tennant] back and get Catherine [Tate] back, we have to jump through so many hoops. Which is a great story, but it’s just like... ‘why can’t you just arrive and step out the TARDIS?’”

It wouldn’t be the first time recently that Davies proposed such an idea, either. In Tales of the TARDIS, a special anniversary miniseries cutting down classic Doctor Who episodes with new interstitials from returning Doctors and companions, it’s floated by the various Doctors that there are, in the universe, many intertwined timelines—timelines where, unlike the ones we saw onscreen, incarnations of the Doctor survived their regeneration stories and kept going, offering an explanation as to why Doctors can return looking older than when we saw them “die.” An interpretation then, as Davies put it, that realities can now intersect where all these Doctors, regardless of where they are in their own personal journeys and what we understood to be the end of those journeys, can come back. In one single moment, every Doctor becomes the Doctor forever, versions of themselves echoing out across time and space. It’s huge!

But it also isn’t. Because that’s all it is: an interpretation. None of these details, about what Bigeneration is and isn’t, are sourced from within the primary text itself—Doctor Who, the television show—and perhaps it should stay that way. In fact, part of what makes “The Giggle” so freeing is that all it makes actually explicit about this process is simply what our base understanding of what it is in the first place already was. The Doctor changes faces, and goes on forever. All we’ve added is that those faces can go on forever too, in whatever way we or the show might one day want them to. It might contradict things said in the past; in another 60 year’s time should we be blessed with both a livable planet and the continued health of Doctor Who, a new writer could completely upend “The Giggle” altogether and bring us back to our prior understanding of it all. Or they could do something completely different all over again! We don’t have a logical, scientific, biological breakdown of how the process works, right now Bigeneration is a vibe, a feeling. It is, as the Doctor himself puts it, a myth, and the whole point of myths and their persistence is that the story is retold and reinterpreted by different texts and perspectives across eons.

That’s the magic of Doctor Who, that’s the point of it: it carries on and it grows and it changes, all the time, forever and always. I don’t want to explain to you, reader, what Bigeneration is, because Doctor Who doesn’t want to right now either. For every once in a while, in a very long while when the wind stands fair, Doctor Who simply just ask us to have our own view on something, instead of treating its story as a series of definitive, immutable facts. On its own 60th birthday, it gives us this beautiful gift: to be free to imagine what might be for ourselves.'

[derectumart]

'Across Acheron' in tribute to Gustave Doré

Hello dear reader, stop by for a little tale.

So back in the days before the AI and Photoshop, there was, once upon a time, a great artist called Gustave Doré. He decided that it would be a really great idea to illustrate Dante's Divine Comedy, probably one of the most famous works of biblical myth aside from the actual Bible. He created 75 illustrations for it and they are all incredible masterpieces.

As an artist, I'm super obsessed with the past, and mythology! Especially works of art like this, that run the risk of being forgotten. The one I wanted to bring back to focus is the one from 1857, namely "Plate X: Canto III: Charon herds the sinners onto his boat." Not only is this work extremely atmospheric and a dark rendition of the mix between Greek and Biblical mythology, it is also an incredibly skilful display of Doré's grasp of human anatomy. Each and every human body is portrayed in a compelling, dynamic way alongside the emotion of complete tragedy and hopelessness. #Charon himself is inspired by Michelangelo's prior depiction in the Sistine Chapel.

My aim was to bring back this incredible piece of work in a modern way and recreate it with colour, while trying to preserve the emotion behind it. I wanted to focus on a re-interpretation of it, so to speak. So, I added a few modifications to the mountains in the background, fixed up Charon a little to make him stand out, and applied my own style to the piece.

The final result was this:

And I'm very pleased with it!

Doré's style and work is phenomenal and he has become my greatest recent inspirations. His works on the Divine Comedy is full of emotion, and a gothic impression pervades every line drawn.

As the tale goes, Charon is the ferryman of the dead, taking the lost souls across the river Styx (or in this case Acheron); Dante mixes Greek and Biblical mythology in his work about the famous journey through the underworld, which is honestly really awesome and inspiring to me.

Thank you for reading,

[milkbabysstuff]

Hey, this isn't my usual writing here, but I think it's important. I have a personal writing project where I write a letter to someone who has passed every day. It's inspired by a book called "Love Letters to the Dead," hence, that's what I call the project. Today's letter was hard, and I took multiple breaks. However I think it has important meanings. Below is the letter. Please read, especially if you live in America (like me) or if the recent election heavily affects you! (Tupac quotes are in Red)

Dear Tupac Shakur,

I took a break from writing in this project, however with recent events (Election) I have been listening to some of your songs again. I’ve been thinking about you and the life you lived. You brought so many smiles and so much joy to so many people. You touched people's lives and to this day still do.

I’ve been listening to your song “Keep Ya Head Up” from your 1993 album, “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.” Sense womens rights are a big topic, and the future is unsteady. There is one part I've seen online a lot, and it's stuck in my head. The Lyrics are as follows:

And since we all came from a woman

Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman (yeah, yeah)

I wonder why we take from our women

Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? (Why? Why?)

I think it's time to kill for our women (why? Why? Why? Why?)

Time to heal our women, be real to our women

And if we don't we'll have a race of babies

That will hate the ladies, that make the babies (oh, yeah, baby)

And since a man can't make one

He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one

So will the real men get up

I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

I want to say, while this is SO important right now, there's another part I also frequently look at, but I haven't seen anyone discussing the importance of it as of now. This part goes:

But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up

Forgive but don't forget, girl, keep your head up

And when he tells you you ain't nuttin' don't believe him

And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him

'Cause sista you don't need him

And:

Last night my buddy lost his whole family

It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity (no, no, no, no)

It seems the rain'll never let up

I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin' wet up

You know, it's funny when it rains it pours

They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor

Said it ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is

It ain't no hope for the future

And then they wonder why we crazy

He also mentions, “We ain't meant to survive, 'cause it's a setup.” I mention these because so many people will just suffer now, not just women. So even if I'm scared, and don’t want to promise false hope, As much as I want to melt into my depression, you've made me realize there's always hope. So as you said, my message to everyone is, “Keep ya head up!!” Hope and strength is how we, everyone, has gotten through tough times in the past. Community is important, and keeping hope is even more important. So please, don’t give up, ever. Our pasts might be shit, our future may go into it, but we will make it out and make a better world for our futures, and the next generations. We fight, not always for our own futures, but for the future of those important to us and that may come after us. The rain may seem like it wont let up, but it will. I promise.

“We ain’t meant to survive, ‘cause it’s a setup.” But, we are meant to fight to make it easier to survive. We may have not been meant to survive but we will fight for it, and keep our heads up.

Thank you Tupac for lightening this dark time in my, and many others, lives. The Man, The Myth, The Legend, The Hero. All ways I will think of you.

-Gee <3<3

[aikoiya]

Thank you. I really do appreciate it.

I hope you sleep well. You can read the rest tomorrow.

Honestly, I try very hard to separate reality from fiction.

Like my fourth wall is very thick.

And I like it that way!

And, when I enter the realm of fiction, I what what happens there to remain fictional & to have its own rules.

But, I suppose that there are layers of fiction.

There's mythos, which is what I tend to categorize other religions, folktales, etc, as. Not real, but interesting to look over from the perspective of a storyteller. They aren't, however, things to be worshipped. (Like, good heavens, Zeus especially. Ugh!)

There's modern media, which is what LoZ is part of.

And, finally, media fantasy, which is where we, the fans, expand upon that media.

Where the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit exists is firmly in the realm of reality. He is real.

Then, again, that could very well just be me wishing to hold onto my ability to marvel at human creativity to come up with such odd stories. Because that's all they are to me, stories.

Now, if it turns out there's something more sinister to it, then I will endeavor to separate myself from it.

At the same time, I very rarely use actual pagan deities from actual religions when I expand the Zelda world. I may take elements from here & there, perhaps some inspiration, but for the most part, I mostly just make my own characters.

But I also don't want to make any of them all-powerful. That is for God only. So, I make them fallible. I make them human, just with more power, but only in certain areas.

I give them stories like people. Real motivations. Things that they are also going through & struggling with. Because I refuse to make them perfect in any manner. But I am more than willing to make them doing the best with what they have & also trying to figure things out.

In this way, I honestly don't even see them as gods at all. Just people higher up on the food chain that typical Hyruleans.

Again, my thoughts are that a lot of religions are simply an expression of cultural identity. So, by looking at their myths, I think I can get a feel for how the culture sees life & the world around them.

(Except for gnosticism & other such ridiculous ones. Just no. They stand in direct opposition to God. Therefore, I find myself unable to respect such beliefs that refuse to respect Him.)

That isn't to say that I am correct in doing so, I could very well be extremely wrong & if so, then I pray that the Father corrects me.

... I guess that I just try to reframe things.

Regardless, I actually tend to take far more inspiration from the cultures themselves & even how they percieve how they're supposed to worship.

Like, evidently, the Norse believed that their deities helped those who helped themselves. This, from my perspective, resulted in them being a culture that focused on self-reliance & proaction rather than just words.

So, from their perspective, simply praying over & over, but doing nothing, would seem simpering & whiny & possibly even downright lazy.

However, if one were to apply this to a more Christian idea, it's similar to how in "The Red Fern Grows," there is a belief that you sometimes need to "meet God halfway."

Honestly... the only way in which I even associate Demise with the devil is basically in his fall from grace, the desire to destroy all, & the fact that he's already been beaten & will not be redeemed. Everything else about him, I've sort of created something pretty dang new.

Now, again, there are some influences from other religions, but most of them are thematic in nature.

For instance, I tend to also associate Hylia, Demise, & the Fierce Deity with the Shinto trio, Amaterasu, Susano'o, & Tsukuyomi. But again, a bit more so thematically speaking.

The reason being that I see a definite association with them in the form of Hylia's sun imagery, Demise & Ganondorf's connection to lightning, & in Link & the Fierce Deity's moon association/imagery.

And, in this particular instance, I do sort of see Ganondorf as Demise's "successor." But in the way that Demise fell, tried to shoot his shot, lost & was sealed, lost again & died, forced his grudge stank on Ganondorf, Ganondorf slowly over several incarnations, gets saved through the power of real legit love & the realization that he was little more than an attack dog for an overpowered toddler who couldn't even do the job himself. Then, when he finally gets to the point of reaching a better self, he takes Demise's old role before he gave it up for more power.

Though in more Christian terms, in my mind, Ganondorf rejecting Demise can symbolize when someone who'd been raised by Satanists looks at their life & casts off the shackles that they were born into by rebuking the devil, choosing light, & being freed from his influence, thereby killing whatever was left of Demise. Which eventually leads to the breaking of the cycle as a whole.

To me, I think that that would probably really sting.

Though, in this situation, I'd more so be going the direction of how God works through us to reach others.

Because in the legends of Susano'o, he eventually falls in love & earns back his place in heaven.

So, in this way, I suppose that I'm more sticking to symbolism & possibly themes?

You know, sometimes I worry...

When I write about Ganondorf. Admittedly, part of it is due to me seeing him as attractive.

However, his association with Demise gives me pause.

I want to treat others' religions with a degree of respect. Not because they are true, nor because I think they are good. But more so, because I view them as expressions of a culture's values.

So, while I know in my heart that they are wrong, I see value in acknowledging their existence. Which is why I don't like it when people try to fit other religions into the shape of Christianity, because, simply put, they aren't Christianity.

And we shouldn't try to treat them as if they are. For one, it's an insult to God.

So, while I can definitely see the Christian overtones in LoZ, at its core, I see it as its own thing. A wonderful story, but still just a story.

At the same time, I suppose that, subconsciously, I want to portray Ganondorf as a person who as been raised astray. But, at the same time, someone who can still be saved. From Demise.

Perhaps, I see it as a symbol of how far redemption can reach? Or, at least, I think that's what I'm going for. Because I don't see Ganondorf as Demise. Not even really, as Demise's hatred reborn.

More so as a man unfortunate enough to act as Demise's pawn.

And maybe I use a tiny amount of elements from my own real-world beliefs, but I don't want this to be an outright... allusion.

Like, if it were, then I think that Ganondorf would already be doomed. Period. End of story.

I guess my problem is that I see the parallels & the implications. Like, even though the closest thing the games have to an actual devil allegory is Demise & I never intend to redeem him, I still sometimes worry that I'm playing a dangerous game.

Perhaps... perhaps I can make it an allegory for Jesus' victory? Subtextually, I mean.

I dunno, I'm struggling because the closer I get to Him, the more I want to live in a way that will do right by Him. But sometimes I look at the things I write & worry a bit about if the things I write are wrong.

Like, obviously, some of the subject matters are wrong, but like I said before, I try to acknowledge that such things are wrong.

Try being the key word, I'm afraid that I don't always succeed.

It's somewhat like the struggle you were having earlier, but with a much more important Judge.

Do you sometimes worry the same?

I'm sorry to put this on you, but I suppose that I've been thinking lately is all.

Or today, at least.

Hmm, that's a tricky one. I'd phone in C.S. Lewis if I could.

Allow my to ramble my rambles and pray they make any sense/are helpful.

Personally I feel like I'm always going to be more inclined to produce that more allegory-like material, so I tend to be real careful with religiously bound figures. Zelda's also an interesting one because the Book of Magic was literally the Bible in the Japanese version and Link to the Past has an official artwork of Link literally praying at a crucifix and it appears that Nintendo America's "no real religions" policy was what threw it into... whatever we have now. So I feel it definitely depends on which game you're directly spitting at. Personally, I've only played the Three "Breath" games, Skyward Sword, and a liiitttlleee of Twilight. And Skyward especially I feel is one of the closest we got to having an allegory like that, with Breath's Gerudo deviating from Hylia to the Heroines (as the old lady mentioned) reminding me of modern times. I've always kinda seen Nayru, Din and Farore/the Triforce as kind of a Holy Trinity reference that they had to split out from Hylia due to the No Real Religions thing, but that could be me being... optimistic might be the word? I know Japan is not a Christian country, but Miyamoto was obviously making a point with the first couple of Zelda games having those very overt themes and so a lot of me wants to believe he's continued to sneak those in.

I've been that way too, recently. I've noticed I've collected a lot of spirits that I'm... not sure if I want to keep in there. Saint-like characters? Sure. But I'm talking more like Egyptian gods kinda thing. Which I definitely don't want. Quite a bit of the Hateno Village stuff is loosely based or inspired off the big ol mess that's called my life so I think I'm more comfortable putting that in there because to me that is redemption. Link's story there, from the tragic story of his parents to him breaking that "curse" of inbreeding by marrying Zelda who is 100% not related to him because all of the 'worldly' ways Link, his family, his tribe, try to fix it just blow up even further, but the journey he (and later Zelda) takes through faith ends up being better than the solution they crafted with their own force (ah let's not cry here).

However, I think it's good to remember that we're sucky little humans who are really good at "Hey, don't do the thing!" *does the thing* (and I can laugh while saying that because my Xanax is still active haha.) That's literally the whole point of Jesus coming here in the first place and while definitely don't discount that or use it as an excuse, it's good to keep in mind.

What I also try to do is I try to always look for my 'why'. Do I want this because its trendy currently? Am I looking for shock value? Do I need to stick my face in cold water and come back to this concept in a week or two when I'm less hormonal? (This happens often when I'm fooling with those darn Wolfbred, I have to be really careful who I bounce ideas off of with them, because their story can very easily tumble into a dumpster fire of Bad if I'm not being very careful, which is why I currently don't permit myself to write any fics where an important part of the main premise is Wolfbred in the Spring because that's been a problem in the past). Usually I require myself to hold new lore for a week so I can take a good long look at it outside of whatever influence I may be under. I have done absolutely 0 holding of lore recently and I have been telling myself off about it for a while because I should be. Especially with those Wolfbred, who I am the worst about holding lore for!

And there's definitely different types of "putting God in the story".

Allow me to quote from this video

There's the Complete Allegory (Aslan - Narnia)

Partial Allegory where some parts of God are represented, but not Him in His entirety (Gandalf's defeat of the Balrog - Lord of the Rings)

Different World/Different Name - Same God; where its very clear that characters worship God simply under a different name (God being named "The Maker" in Wingfeather Saga, and I've actually played with this one before in an original concept where He is called "The Protector" and the major village where His people are located is "Ecclesia" (Named after the Greek city from Ecclesiastes because apparently Past Me is clever)... I think it will work better as a children's book because I cannot think of any coherent young adult/new adult concepts for it. It would also help if I didn't leave myself SUCH CRYPTIC NOTES)

Ahem. Anyways

There's also the Biblical Retelling, self explanatory (a fantasy take on Ruth's story in A Bond of Briar's... or a massive chunk of VeggieTales)

Themes - Biblical messages and values are passed on without God's explicit mention (I throw this one around a lottttt)

Symbolism - Baby allegory. No one character symbolizes God, but objects or situations reflect Him

~~~

I don't think I've really gotten to the point. I think I've just run my mouth.

But yeah, I think maybe stopping yourself and really getting a look at why you include what you include/why you want to write that specific thing is a nice place to start! Maybe I'm too much of an old stickler for this one but I try not to let myself play with other religions. I've seen a lot of good people get stuck to Greek/Roman/Egyptian gods out of what was originally a good intention of cultural awareness or simply scholarly intrigue. Although I am a former furry/therian so I hold myself to very rigid standards about how I interact with non-Christian materials, especially ones without humans or with extremely humanized animals, and this probably isn't a necessary standard for everyone. (Don't get me started on my conspiracy regarding Warrior Cats and Wings of Fire being a pipeline to this. I'll never go to bed and I have to be awake in 6.5 hours.)

But ooh! Allegories and shenanigans! The Pride Wars is a good read while I'm thinking of Narnia/Lord of the Rings/etc. Anti-Religion-Only-Science Kingdom meets Very Religious Kingdom. Anti-Religion kingdom's heir turns out to be able to tell magic parables/fables. It's got a lot of Hebrew woven in as well, and follows that Different World, Same God setting. (God is named Alayah)

I'm fond of this proverb from the second book (which I still need to finish... I should really just buy them). I think it's a paraphrase of a Bible verse, but if so, the verse it paraphrases escapes me

[pirunika]

Now that the Lovestruck is ending i wanna say 1 more thing abt my fave series, route — the worst part of Astraeus' story is that you can't be less apologetic about destroying Olympus... (I wanted to like..rub it in Zeus' face (,,ΦωΦ,,) and like.. What gives? Why am I supposed to feel bad... other than like.. harming one of my friends (Cyprin) mother who i also don't care abt... they are there doing absolutely nothing good but being rich and petty

Fr tho never in a moment it felt like the DarKest EndIng as people like to say here, to me its in fact the only Good ending - you save a persecuted group from eternal torment and get to have revenge on the rich elite, get revenge on your unjustly sacrificed mother, gain your freedom and give knowledge to the ordinary people (knowing gods exist etc), have your own power w/o depending on the love interest and w/o giving yourself as sacrifice to Pantheon (everytime she declared she was ThE GoddEss of FaMilY in some of the other routes I cringed so hard.. No girl you ain't) I literally couldn't enjoy any other routes BC it simply does not compare.. At all

Hydra was good I guess but I thought the mc was too much of a damsel in distress and Hydra was a total asshole who's only redeeming quality was not liking Hades

Didn't read Medusa but from what I heard I know I wouldn't like it

Chimera and Cerberus... yeah nothing good to say about it Chimera was slightly better i cant get over the fact mc literally had to b passed around like sheep in Cerberus' story, oh good now Cerberus owns the mc bc he Fought W Another Man how romantic

Alex.. I could never get into it... idk can't really place it... But I can't see them anything but a friend to the mc - not even a crush.. It felt so mild and emotionless.. Anticlimatic.. WhERE ARE THE FEELINGS,, THE LOVE??? Annnd it lowkey pissed me off when the story said the mc's mom was buried in Olympus tho like -- no? i totally refuse that lol she died a horrible death bc of the gods.. no way let the woman Rest

Hades --- yeah the capitalist in a suit we established that.. i liked his route for a moment when i ignored %75 of it, wouldve liked it better if he had long hair and robes or sth different.. sth charming.. But nooo we cant let men be pretty here </3

[merchantarthurn]

if you dont mind me asking what is witch hat atelier about and would you reccomend it

I would recommend it with my whole soul!!!!!

The manga centres on a girl named Coco who wanted nothing more than to be a witch, but believed she couldn't since she wasn't born as one. Then, after a local witch named Qifrey comes to buy fabric from her mother's shop she witnesses him performing magic - with a pen, ink, and hand-drawn symbols.

Copying a spell from a book given to her by a mysterious masked witch years earlier, she learns she too can do magic - that everyone can do magic. But not all spells are created equal, and doing magic without knowledge is dangerous: she does one final spell by tracing the patterns in the book and accidentally turns her house and her mother with it to stone.

Qifrey returns and takes her in as his fourth apprentice witch - despite witch law dictating that her memory of magic should be taken on two counts: one, she is an Unknowning, a person who was not born a witch who has learnt the secrets of magic and; two, she's committed taboo - performed magic on the human body. It's not going to be simple to save her mother - especially not with the masked witch vying for her to cast forbidden magic again.

And that... is barely scratching the surface. it's so hard to summarise this manga without underselling it but I'd hate to spoil anything. Every character feels alive with personality, backstory, hidden and open agendas; the world is ever expanding with culture and myth and history and allegory. Tetia says thank you to people who thank her because it makes her happy to be thanked. This manga is perfect.

More than anything - if you've got a creative streak, even if you wouldn't call yourself an artist, WHA is so deeply inspiring - and not just because the art is beautiful. The magic in WHA is a pretty open metaphor for art (or that's one thing it can be understood as, you could expand it to general ways to live often enough) and the ways characters use it makes you naturally reflect on art in general - how to maintain your own originality without stunting your growth; jealousy and artistic weakness; art block; dangerous art; art as societal good; gatekeeping and hierarchy; the doors artistic teaching can open; rigidity in teaching and it's negative impacts.... and that's not even starting on the class and disability commentary that feels so naturally presented. And beyond the allegory... god the story!!! There's so many threads and gut-punches and foreshadowing and heartwarming moments and!!

At the end of it all it feels like such a kind-hearted manga, even when it makes you cry or gasp. Coco is reaching for new answers in a world that only offers two shitty choices to her and not just to save her mother, but to help whoever she sees needs it and it's... inspiring, truly. There's so much love in this manga where there easily could have been bitterness and cynical loss and it's worth the read just for that tbh.

[writingquestionsanswered]

hello!! hope you're doing well and I'd like to start by thanking you for all your help and responses:)) Now, i was wondering where we draw the line in between creating a fantasy country and culture inspired by a real life country, and simply creating a fantasy country that IS a real life country. I would like my story to happen someplace where the readers will be able to recognize as Italy-based, just as they recognized, for example, Leigh Bardugo's Ravka as Russian-based. How can i do so without copy-pasting every single detail from Italy?

Real-Inspired Fantasy Country without Creating a Carbon Copy

First, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so glad you're finding the blog to be helpful. ♥

There are several things that I think make Leigh Bardugo's portrayal of Ravka work so well:

1) Roots in the Language

There's actually an article in the archives of Leigh Bardugo's web site that talked about how she borrowed from the Russian language without using it completely. One way that she did this is by taking familiar English words like "sovereign" and combining it with a Russian root word or affixes, which is how she came up with the form of address "moi soverennyi" for the Darkling. Other words simply sound like Russian words because they use the same prominent letters or combinations of letters, or because they look/sound similar to Russian words. For example, "Ravka" bears some similarity to "Russia." They both begin with 'R' and end with 'A,' they both have a vowel as the second letter, and in the case of Ravka, the "vk" together are strongly reminiscent of Russian. In some cases, she did use actual Russian words, like Tsar and kvas, but only in places where she didn't feel it would take the reader out of the story.

2) Specific Time and Place

No country or culture is a monolith. "Ancient Egypt," for example, stretched across thousands of years of different dynasties, rooted in somewhat different parts of the same region. Old Kingdom Egypt at Giza would be somewhat different from Ptolemaic Egypt in Alexandria. Ravka was largely inspired by 19th century Tzarist Russia, which would be quite different from say 15th century Russia under Ivan III or Soviet Russia in 1955. Choosing a specific time, place, and culture within your inspiration country brings focus to the details that will best give the look and feel you want for your story.

3) Choose What to Use

There are all sorts of things from your source country you can use as inspiration for your fantasy country: geography, flora and fauna, language, architecture, food and drink, dance and song, mythology and folk tales, cultural traditions and festivals, clothing, social customs... the list goes on and on. It helps if you choose a few specific things to use as inspiration in your story. You might use the architecture, clothing, food, and drink as inspiration for your story, but everything else is wholly your own. Or, maybe you create your own architecture and clothing style, but you use the language, song and dance, and myth as inspiration. There's no right or wrong combination or amount, but knowing what you're using and what you're not creates much-needed consistency.

4) Use Your Original Ideas, Too

Ravka may bear similarities to Russia, but it has a lot of its own unique elements, too. The Grisha and their use the country's Second Army, the Grand Palace as home to the king and the Little Palace as home to the Grisha, the Fold, West Ravka, and their specific enemies are all concepts entirely unique to Leigh Bardugo's imagination. But, although they're not necessarily inspired by anything taken from Russia, the ideas are still complimentary with the Russian elements she did use as inspiration.

You can read more in my post Using an Existing Country as Inspiration. Good luck with your story! ♥

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