#i'm figuring out how to draw hermes

[lovelylulib]

Omg guy it's happening IT'S HAPPENING

me, taking a break: omg i am so tired i need to rest

My brain: listen listen LISTEN.......Hermes.....bright colors...very saturated..... A very interesting illustration.....

[goldhawk18]

Character Design Concept Sketch for Hermes

This is by no means the final design for Hermes. In fact, this doodle initially began as a challenge to draw a genderbent Hermes (since one of my best friends was curious to see how he hot he'd be as a girl asdfghjkl).

I ended up liking the design so much that I just decided to make it my Epic the Musical design for Hermes as well. The androgynous vibes are pretty cool, if I do say so myself. They oddly suit him somehow.

I didn't have space to add a pouch/purse, but I'll definitely add it next time I draw him. His caduceus and iconic winged sandals are there of course. I'm still figuring out how much I want to mix historical accuracy and creative liberty with his petasos (hat used for travelling), so I just stuck with what felt right for now.

Also, I'm not sure how short and free flowing his outfit should be. I tried combining bits and pieces from actual statues and depictions of him in ancient art to make it work. I'll keep trying to find the designs that click with me the most.

I was inspired by TROY's (his VA) hair and how wonderfully curly it is, so I gave that to my design as well. I opted against the facial hair, however, since my research indicates that Hermes was either bearded or clean shaven. I went with the latter since I wanted to show a more youthful look to the god.

Instead of keeping Hermes's face half hidden (as most Epic character designs of him have his eyes shrouded in mystery), I chose to show off how uncannily beautiful his eyes are. The dual colored eyes were actually an accident at first, but I liked the idea so much that I even accentuated the contrast between them by coloring his eyebrows differently as well.

Lastly, I gave him extra wings to frame his head because why not? It adds a certain ethereal quality to his design, and it elevates his speedy movements (along with the wind lines I drew at the bottom).

Extra note: I did my best to make Hermes have a dynamic pose in the air, but I may or may not have messed up the proportions during the process. Apologies for that. I'll attempt to improve that outcome in future artworks of him.

[kafkasgirlhood]

how does soul children work? i’ve been trying to find info but most of it’s saying things like “that’s not possible” and i figured i’d ask you since you are a soul child?

also good luck with your possession.. 🫡 /j

sighs shakily i've made two full-page-length drawings save me... /j

anyway! perfect opportunity for me to make my own post about soul children ^_^

it relates back to the concept of divine families , which is a upg that ... i don't really know how to put into words , i'll be honest ! the easiest way i can explain it is with using myself and hermes as an example .

hermes is my soul father , and i figured this out through tarot and through numerology ! at first i was pretty confused , because i didn't really see much of hermes in me , but then i realised i'm literally like if someone had a desi child of hermes pjo oc . i'm multilingual and have a deep love for linguistics and learning languages , i've travelled a lot in my life and i want to travel more , i cope with humour and i'm the funny friend of every friend group i've been part of , i stress out about getting to places on time , i'm a pretty fast runner and i can get things done quick , i speak fast ... yeah , you get it . it's not necessary that you have to have traits of your soul parents' domains ( in fact , recently i figured out kronos is also my soul father but i have yet to spot similarities between us save for my obsession with history and like i said being places on time ... )

so i guess , it's kind of like patron deities ? except it's like ... a level higher maybe ? i'm not really sure how to explain it , unfortunately :(

but i can tell you how i found my soul parents !

method 1: tarot

whip out that deck , meditate for a while ( pro tip: if you have clear quartz , hold it in your hand or keep it nearby with the intention of allowing it to act as a booster and strengthen your connection to your divine family ) , once you feel ready , instruct any entities you feel ( or don't feel ) that you will be picking the first , middle , and last cards in the deck , and to show identifying cards .

after i do that , i mostly just guess which deity it is while trying to gauge any energy i feel ( little energy work practice ! ) but if you don't wanna do that ( or can't , understandable because i don't always have spoons either ) then i point you to this post , however keep in mind this method usually only works for the hellenic pantheon so look for those gods ! ( unless you're looking for other pantheons then like ... go ahead ! )

then i try to verify whether i'm correct or not with the deity i believe is my soul parent ! you can do this through pendulums , tarot , or any other form of divination ! ( psst , for you i'd suggest that yes/no page ... ) don't be disappointed if it turns out to be a no ! ( psst part 2 , sometimes the deity is part of your divine family but just not your soul parent ! so if you get a no for them being your soul parent , then ask about other divine family connections ! )

method 2: numerology

get out your calculator , c'mon , time for some math . i can't explain this method very well , but @/theic-manic did a wonderful in-depth post about it right here so there you go !

good luck !!! <333

[blade-liger-4ever]

Just saw this last night, and HOO-BOY, I LOVED IT!

So, I won't really get into the plot, at least for now, because I just gotta get the cast talked about first.

The casting of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is perfect! Pierce Brosnen nailed Chiron, and I get the feeling he would have stolen more scenes if he'd had more screentime (the moment he said "Are you kidding? This is the best part", he became one of my favorite background characters.) The kid doing Percy made me really like the character; I never read the books until recently, and even then I skipped straight to the second arc where the Romans are involved, but even with this current book where Percy is a POV character, I did and do not care for him as much as Movie Percy. Kid was great, ten outta ten acting.

Annabeth struck me as far more interesting in the movie than the books. Heck, even before I read from her viewpoint she didn't interest me at all; in the movie, she's rather arrogant and snobbish, but it works in the character's favor and makes her far more compelling. The actress did great, and props to her for endearing Annabeth to me: that was a feat.

Grover was THE BEST of the trio, I will not take criticism. He protected Percy, took everything in stride, and figured out what they were dealing with on the fly easily - all without being Mr. Perfect and still being humorous (e.g. when they leave Medusa's severed and sunglasses-laden head in the hotel sink, Grover responds, "Guys, really? I cannot pee with her staring at me." Top notch comedy, I need more films with this actor.)

Sean Bean was good as Zeus. I don't have much to say about his part, honestly; he wasn't there much, but 1 he made Zeus tolerable, and 2 he had the most presence out of all the actors, with Kevin McKidd being a close, and I mean close, runner up.

Speaking of, Kevin McKidd, AKA Fenn Rau from Star Wars Rebels (and the big draw of this film for me), was. Absolutely. AWESOME.

And he only really had ten minutes in the film!

Seriously though, he played Poseidon so well. You could tell he was thousands of years old, still in his prime, and resisting every instinct to run over, hug Percy, and never let him go when they were within a hundred feet of each other. Even when all you could get from him in the movie was his voice, the care and urgency for his son's safety carried through beautifully.

The other actors - Hades, Persephone, the mortal actors in the background - they were all equally great. They made the characters likable, despicable, or somewhere in between. Bravo, people!

And then there's the second draw of this film for me: Jake Abel as Luke, son of Hermes, and the true lightning thief.

If there was ever anything that showed how much wasted potential the writers of Supernatural had when consistently throwing Jake Abel out the window after having him appear like six times in the show, this film was it.

He made Luke funny, likable, and mischievous, garnering the love of the audience, and then broke the hearts of those who liked him when he turned around and revealed he was an angry, hurt young man who wanted to overthrow the Olympians and take over in their stead in order to "right" their wrongs of being neglectful jerks (the only one who wasn't actually completely neglectful on purpose was Poseidon. My guy was trying his hardest to stay in touch with Percy and did everything he could to help him out.)

Jake Abel, I'm sincerely sorry you never got the next four films that should have come after Sea of Monsters, and even more sorry that you got so dissed in Supernatural. Consider this post of mine a letter of apology.

Okay, plot discussion time - well, at least the gushing of how it was handled.

So, setting up the whole war between the Olympians actually doesn't strike me as horribly handled. Yes yes, there's more "concrete" reasons for it in the book, but for the public who have never heard of these books, it's not all that farfetched. I mean, public opinion of Hades is always bad (I'm sorry Hades, you really don't deserve that rep), Poseidon doesn't particularly care for drama, and his mood tends to switch on a dime, and Zeus? Please, we all know how much of a jerk-butt he is. Be honest: Is it really all that hard to believe Zeus declaring war if his master bolt isn't returned in two weeks? And as for him jumping to the conclusion of Poseidon's son stealing it - just look at the opening scene of the film. The way Poseidon got physical that fast, and moments before was practically spitting venom at Zeus for banning him from seeing his son, it's no wonder Zeus thought Poseidon would've done something to make Percy steal it from him.

Now before you come at me, let me put it this way.

Think of yourself in Zeus' mindset. You're a capricious jerk, who won't take the blame, don't care for your offspring at all, and are constantly at odds with your brothers over power/territory struggles. Using your kid is gonna be as natural as breathing to you, so why wouldn't you assume your brothers would do the same? Hmm?

Now, the family and school drama was done excellently as well, especially that moment where one of the kids at the school grabs another and slams him against a locker while Percy and Grover make tracks. Gabe was perfectly detestable, and it was immensely satisfying to see Grover wallop his butt. The race to Camp Half-Blood was done well, although the Chevelle didn't deserve that fate (I will, however, accept the obvious fact that it only got dinged up and lost the hood. A modern day car would have exploded on impact with the ground and sent shrapnel everywhere.)

The scenes with the camp were good, especially how it was quickly yet subtly established that everyone there had lived there for some years and were already pros at combat and other physical activities. Hades' entrance was great, the progression across the country was well-paced, and Luke's help throughout was done neatly and in a manner where the audience only got a glimmer of resentment from him before the bolt was found in the shield.

Speaking of, the scene in the Underworld is severely underappreciated. The effects were grand, the acting well-done, and the positioning of the Underworld in Hollywood is genius on many levels.

The fight scene in Manhatten was good, though I confess Luke's aerial combat was a bit spotty at the beginning. Otherwise it was great, and the first show of Percy's powers was magnificent. No joke, that CGI and other effects are gonna hold up for another thousand years.

Olympus was beautiful, quite honestly, and I love 1 the sheer difference in scale they showed between the humans and the Olympians, and 2 how Poseidon "sheds" water to shrink and appear more normal. More effects that are spectacular and underrated.

The last scene - the return to camp and training - not much to say, other than that it felt really organic, natural, and beautiful. All in all, a great film that's unfairly hated on.

Okay, now for some personal gushing on my part.

So, I'm sure you guessed by now that I was here for Kevin McKidd, mostly because I knew him first in Star Wars Rebels. This is my first time watching him onscreen, but it was amazing and captivating on his part. Not only did he make me believe that he was the Greek god of the seas, but he made me feel Poseidon's pain of not being with Percy and his desire to connect with him, and he certainly made me believe that Poseidon would do anything in his power to help Percy, no matter what loophole abuse he had to commit lest raising Zeus' ire.

As for the dynamic itself, I'm so so happy.

I love how Poseidon risked so much to physically be at the museum while Percy was across the street from him, just to make sure that he could both warn Percy completely and see him in case something went wrong. And although it's a sore spot for the fans, I love how Chiron shows Percy his own little home at Camp Half-Blood, and outright states that Poseidon built it for him. Just Percy, no one else; that's like a father making a specific room for his son, and the fact that they allowed Poseidon to be shown to love Percy more than anything through little things like that is enough to make me burst in happiness.

I loved how Poseidon guided Percy to the water to heal him and give him a second wind in Capture the Flag, and that he woke up Percy and refused to let him be lulled back into the Lotus Eaters' trap until he was sure Percy was back to his senses and able to get out on his own. And when Percy's in the hall of Olympus, Poseidon is practically begging Zeus, his younger brother, to let him speak with Percy, because he knows a chance like this won't arise again for a while. And the sheer relief in his face when Zeus allows it, man, I could've died at that.

The talk between father and son, it was beautiful. It makes sense that Percy has some remaining resentment toward Poseidon for leaving, for not kicking out his stepfather, and the fact that Poseidon doesn't even hold it against him is wonderful. The moment he explains why he couldn't see Percy, and the second Percy realizes the law forbidding the Olympians from seeing their children had been passed because Poseidon loved him so much he was abandoning his duties is golden. And Poseidon telling him that he was always watching Percy and helping him as best he could, and how he promised to always be there for Percy, even in his thoughts and dreams - beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

And the icing on the cake? You remember that I mentioned a training round at camp at the end? It's between Percy and Annabeth, and they're on a hill, but guess what can be seen below the hill?

The lake.

Where Poseidon can watch his son training, and has an easier time of making contact with him.

This movie is a masterpiece, and if you're not a fan of the books and have never seen it before, please, go give Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief a watch! You won't regret it!

[khaire-traveler]

Hello again friend! I just had a quick question if that's okay. Last night I called out to Hermes in which I asked for guidance in being able to believe in an afterlife - it will have been worded differently to that, it's just that unfortunately my memory is rather poor 😭

Anywho, today I've been seeing more to do with things like people dying and near death situations. I'm just having trouble trying to figure out whether this is me just being farfetched or it could be some kind of sign? However, in saying all this, I don't blame you if you don't answer this or anything because I do recall you saying something like Hermes will want you to draw your own conclusions from what he gives you, I believe? Either way, thank you for your help ^^

Hey, Kurtis, thanks for the ask!

When it comes to signs from deities, the advice I often give people is straight-up "Does it feel like a sign to you?" Signs from deities are often very personal, as deities have different ways of communicating with different people, so I can't really make this judgment call for you, or anyone else for that matter. I encourage you to trust your own intuition here. Here is a post that gives some good advice about how to tell if you've been sent a sign, though, in case it helps.

I will say that, in my personal opinion, it does sound like some sort of sign, especially since you prayed to Hermes just the night before. If you're truly unsure, though, I'd ask him to make it more obvious because trust me, he absolutely will lol. If there is one thing Hermes is often not with signs, it's subtle. If you need clarification, he will almost certainly provide it.

I hope this helps! Take care, and have a good day/night, friend. <3 :)

[oleander-neruim]

Hello hello!! Absolutely pumped for the Myth’s Voyage AU :DD!!

What made you pick certain characters for certain roles? I’m particularly interested by Owen as Antinous 👀👀

Bare with me this is gonna be a doozy

I'll be honest. It all started with me being real emotionally attached to p!Will & me falling down a rabbit hole of associating the song "Open Arms" with him because- even if I'm not fully read on p!Will's story & character- the way I've come to view him is a relatively forgiving and optimistic type of person. So him as Polities came natually.

I also have a frequent habit of doing a thing where when I associate one character to one song/character of a musical, I start to try and figure if there's way to fit in other characters.

I believe what came next was Sausage and if I recall correctly, that was due to 1. Me just liking Sausage all together and 2. Me seeing him as the most "Captian-Like" guy in pirates. Also revolving around headcanons, others' interpretations, and maybe an artist or two's ways of drawing him. After that, Joel & Hermes as Penelope and Telemachus came pretty easy. I've also played around with previous ideas of "What if Joel was in Pirates SMP" and added in my constant Empires Brainrot ™️, that all just fell into place.

I believe Lizzie was my first established God cos. Giant fish/ocean associated person, yk. And then Jimmy as Polyphemus due to fishy relations and then I think Fwhip was actually my next one due to the "silly & unhinged" vibes I got from Epic Hermes. Then with a lot more stubborn brain storming, more and more gods fell into place as I started following an Empires Season 1 pattern with the Gods

Krow was also a fun one to workshop in cos I also don't know much about his Canon character but what I do know & just the fascination I've gotten with him, I thought he fit the role of Eurylochus pretty well. Mostly on the side of more of a survivor when it comes down to a "You vs Me" mentality & leaning more on aggressive tactics when it comes to handling certain situations. He is one of the ones I'm certain doesn't fall into complete Canon-type of personality, but I like how my au's Krow is a lot.

Now. The fun situation with the suitors and Ithica in general.

I can explain a bit further if anyone's interested, but the way my storyline worked out is that there's actually no Herons that are part of Sausage's crew in the story. They're either still on the Faction Isles or traveling elsewhere. Having said that, when I came around to figuring out Antinous, it was right when I was finding out very bare-bones about him. And given that the Heron characters will ideally be characters shown on "Ithica" I was working to see if anyone would fit that roll.

Having said that, Antinous was noted down in my "Working-Out" list with the note of "Mr. Steal your wife and kill your son" and while discussing my character plans with my partner, we started to joke about Antinous being Owen. Given her more player-esque personality, at the time I figured it'd be a decent fit- or at least a place holder- for a character who I started to think was just someone wanting to court "Penelope".

However, thinking more on it & finding out better how Antinous plays in this story, I started getting more invested in the idea of Owen still being him. The idea of Owen becoming a villain, manipulative with his charm and almost vindictive in her motives just started to appeal more and more to me.

When this takes place, it's 20 years since the rough-end of Pirates SMP, following Epic the Musical's timeline. A lot can change in a person in 20 years. Seeing the Factions fall, loves in your life die or disappear, people coming into power that you feel either don't deserve it or are strangers who don't understand all that's happened here or you feel are too weak irresponsible to handle it. It can grate on a person, certainly.

P!Owen is, once again, another character I'm unfortunately not fully familiar with, though that may change if i have a chance to watch his pov in the future. And who knows, maybe I'll workshop the story, change e!Owen's personality or motives, maybe even choose someone else entirely to fit the role.

But as it stands, the idea of e!Owen, 20 years in the future with heavens knows how much baggage and pent up anger and frustrations left on his shoulders starting to get desperate or almost hungry even for some sort of control or power or just even a sense of stability in her life just seems to be a very interesting & fun-to-work-with storyline to me.

Thinking about seeing Owen getting aggressive and animalistic and breaking that carefully-crafted facade of charm and control when it comes to fighting and trying to kill someone just. It's so interesting and fascinating in my mind, you've no idea.

And, again, I'm awfully weak to villain Owen nonesense so that certainly doesn't help.

There you have it. My essay & a half summary over some of my reasonings.

Again, things are always subject to change and sometimes I get a little Silly with my trains of thoughts but, hey, it'll be fun either way. If you're interested in me trying to explain my through process for more characters, feel free to ask, I just figured I'd keep this as short as i can physically manage. If it comes off as a bit rambling or you want me to clear anything up, you're always welcome to ask. It's technically super late for me so my writing compression might be a bit off.

Tl;Dr, I zone out to music and play "Song Association Games" too much & Owen as Antinous started off as a silly joke but now it's eating my brain whole so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[boggy-auggy1]

Small Intro!

Hi, I'm Auggy! I use He/Him/It/Its pronouns, I am transmasc, bi(?)/ace-spec, and I just started practicing Hellenistic Paganism quite recently!

I am currently a devotee to Apollo, Hermes, Aphrodite, and potentially Ares (More research is being done to see if I would like to work with him) and I will graciously accept any advice anyone has to offer, especially with communication, tarot readings, alters, and offerings!

I'm 18 and currently going to college for Fine Arts, so my posting consistency may be a bit erratic! I will also do my best to upload a few of my pieces here and there (when i figure out how to do that with my laptop lol). SO you many get a few posts here and there about what is happening with my focus, major, work, campus, etc.. (I will not reveal the exact campus/college I go to for privacy reasons, only the state of where it is located will be mentions, unless I transfer (of which I will).

Here are a few of my current interests:

Moomin Valley/Moomin Franchise

Percy Jackson

MYCT

Drawing/painting

The Magnus Archives

Welcome to Nightvale

DnD

My OC's

FNAF

Gravity Falls

Adventure time/Fionna and Cake

Dungeons and Daddies (NOT a bdsm podcast, but a dnd podcast about 4 dads who travel into the forgotten realms to rescue-)

Dr Stone (the anime, I'm a dirty anime only watcher IK)

Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss

Re-animator (The movie(s) from 1985, NOT lovecraft, while I think it is well-written in some aspects, it is VERY racist towards black people, especially in chapt. 3) (If you feel inclinded to watch the movie(s) HUGE trigger warning for g0r3, bl00d, visible 0rgans, and SA/'grape' BE CAUTIOUS!)

And SO MUCH more!

I'm so excited to share my journey with Hellenism with y'all as well as my art!

(Real quick @kingofdrawing is my old account, however I've decided to make a new one and switch over to here, where this acts as a sort of public diary?? Either way I wanted to start from scratch and make an account i can really be proud of!)

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Besties when I tell you I'd KILL for Leo Valdez -Danny Words: 2,269 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Don't You Dare' -by Kaden MacKay

XVII. Never Been More Offended by Something I 100% Agree With

Ara wakes with a start and discovers Nico's jacket is gone, but she's got her Tyrian cloak back, freshly washed jeans, a new camp t-shirt, and brand-new black Converse. Her hair feels clean and smells like honey, and she's no longer tired or cold.

She's sitting outside a café with the others. It's the early morning of the winter solstice, and everyone looks like they're attending wildly different events. 

"Mother!" Piper gasps.

"What? Fight who? Where?" Hedge sits up straight and Ara has a hard time not looking at him. This is not the vibrant she meant when talking about colors.

"Falling!" Leo yelps. "No—not falling. Where are we?"

Jason blurts out another question. "What are you wearing?"

Piper pulls out her dagger to look at her reflection. "It's nothing. It's my—It's nothing." 

"What's that?" This is the first time Ara sees Piper's weapon. "Who gave you that?"

Piper frowns. "Annabeth. It was in Athena's shed."

Ara wants to snatch the dagger out of her sister's grip and throw it away in an abrupt wave of jealousy, and she feels extremely confused by it. "Is that Katoptris?"

"Er... you know it?"

"Of course I know it," Ara scoffs. "Who doesn't know about Helen and Paris? Mom was their biggest fan."

"Aphrodite strikes again, huh? You two gonna be the best-dressed warriors in town, beauty queens."

"Hey, Leo," Jason replies. "You look at yourself recently?"

"What... oh."

Ara looks at the boy, and she... hates it. Thank the gods! Those clothes make him look put together, but Ara likes him more when he's messy and huggable. Huggable. Ara cringes at her own opinions.

"God, Leo, I think my dad wore that to his last premiere, minus the tool belt."

"Hey, shut up!"

"I think he looks good," Hedge hums. "'Course, I look better."

"Well," Jason sighs, "at least your mom overlooked me."

Ara and Piper share a look but say nothing. Ara seizes her cloak, and when she pulls it forward she realizes there is an embroidered image on it. "What the..." She turns. "Piper, what's on my back?"

"A huge Omega in the middle... top left I see Hermes' staff, top right has a dove, and a little to the side there is a crescent moon..."

"My blessings," Ara recognizes. "Cool!"

"How did we get here?" Piper puts Katopris back in its sheath.

"Oh, that would be Mellie," Hedge beams. "Those winds shot us halfway across the country, I'd guess. We would've been smashed flat on impact, but Mellie's last gift—a nice soft breeze—cushioned our fall."

"And she got fired for us," Leo pouts. "Man, we suck."

"Ah, she'll be fine. Besides, she couldn't help herself. I've got that effect on nymphs. I'll send her a message when we're through with this quest and help her figure something out. That is one aura I could settle down with and raise a herd of baby goats." 

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Ara looks at him with an aggravated expression. "But please, stop sharing your feelings."

Piper snorts. "Anyone else want coffee?"

"Coffee!" Hedge says happily. "I love coffee!"

"Um, but—money? Our packs?" Jason looks around.

Ara peeks under her chair and finds her T-Rex bag in one piece. She fishes it out, completely restored with the exception of a heart-shaped eyepatch covering its right socket. "Thank you, Mom!"

Piper pulls out a stash of money and a potion from the pockets of her jacket. Leo lets out an exclamation. "Allowance? Girls, your mom rocks!"

"Waitress!" Hedge calls, picking up a flower and nibbling on it. "Six double espressos, and whatever these guys want. Put it on the girl's tab."

After a while, Leo takes out the drawing from one of his pockets and looks at it with a scowl. Piper notices. "What is that?"

"Nothing. You don't want to see my kindergarten artwork," he folds it again.

"It's more than that. Aeolus said it was the key to our success," Jason mentions. 

"Not today. He was talking about... later."

"How can you be sure?" Piper frowns.

"Trust me. Now—what's our game plan?"

"Climb the mountain," Hedge lists. "Kill everything except Piper's dad. Leave." 

"Thank you, General Eisenhower," Jason mutters.

"Hey, I'm just saying!"

"Wait wait wait," Ara sits up straight. "I'm exhausted."

Leo scoffs. "Take a nap?"

"No, I mean, our situation can't continue like this," Ara replies. "Demigods are all liars by nature—and yeah, technically you're not lying, Jason," she gives him a look. "But we can't keep hiding things from each other, otherwise we'll lose."

"You want us to hold hands, share our thoughts while the solstice dies along with Piper's dad?" Leo frowns.

"Wow, such a nice way to put it," Piper kicks his foot.

"No. What I'm saying is... I'll be your friend. A real one, but you have to be honest. I can't help if you aren't," Ara looks at Leo intently. "Understood?"

Jason is the first to agree. "You got my word, Ara. As soon as I get my memories back, I'll tell you everything. I think you're right, whatever's after us, it wants us to feel like we can't trust each other."

Leo continues to avoid her gaze, pretty much on purpose. Piper decides to speak. "Well, there's more you need to know... about... a dream I just had."

Ara knows it is perfect timing after she listens to Piper's dream. It's time to share her theory. "Mother Earth's the answer. This is spelling out her name."

"Gaea?" Leo raises a brow. "Isn't she supposed to have, like, flowers in her hair and birds singing around her and deer and rabbits doing her laundry."

"Leo, that's Snow White," Piper replies sternly.

"Okay, but—"

"Listen, cupcake—the girls are telling us some serious stuff, here. Gaea's no softie. I'm not even sure I could take her."

"Really?" Leo asks half mockingly.

"This earth lady—she and her old man the sky were nasty customers."

"Ouranos," Piper says.

"Right. So Ouranos, he's not the best dad. He throws their first kids, the Cyclopes, into Tartarus. That makes Gaea mad, but she bides her time. Then they have another set of kids—the twelve Titans—and Gaea is afraid they'll get thrown into prison too. So she goes up to her son Kronos—"

"The big bad dude," Leo turns to Ara. "The one you and your friends fought last summer."

"Yeah. Well, Mother Nature talked him into cutting up his father. Aphrodite was born from Ouranos' blood, you know? That means we're tough," Ara brushes it aside. "Anyway—It didn't take much convincing, all she did was take off his leash."

"Definitely not Snow White," Piper shivers.

"Gaea is so old and powerful, so huge, that it's hard for her to be fully conscious. Most of the time, she sleeps, and that's the way we like her—snoring." Hedge adds.

"But she talked to me," Leo frowns. "How can she be asleep?"

"Because godly sleep is not the same as ours," Ara explains. "It's like autopilot. Leaves the basics on, and makes sure nature works as it's supposed to. Bet that leaves her with enough energy to make an eight-year-old have a manic episode."

"But believe us," Hedge warns them. "You don't want to see her fully awake."

"But she's getting more powerful," Piper guesses. "She's causing the giants to rise. And if their king comes back—this guy Porphyrion—" 

"He'll raise an army to destroy the gods," Jason concludes. "Starting with Hera. It'll be another war. And Gaea will wake up fully."

"Which is why it's a good idea for us to stay off the ground as much as possible," Hedge concludes.

"So... climbing a mountain," Leo grimaces. "That would be bad."

Ara hugs her T-Rex. "The more a demigod knows, the more dangerous it gets, but you need to know now, to get ready."

Her words don't do much to encourage the others. Jason makes a face. "You mean all we've been through so far it's been what, a warm-up?"

Ara's expression doesn't change as she replies. "Basically. The dragons and the Cyclops were higher up on the ranking, but they're easy to defeat if you have the proper tools, which we had. A king giant, though, that'll take all of our wits... and power."

"Guys, I can't ask you to do this," Piper says miserably. "This is too dangerous."

"You kidding?" Hedge grins. "Who's ready to beat stuff up?" 

"I'm ready to beat you up if you don't calm down," Ara leaves her seat. "All with due respect, of course."

The satyr smiles. "Same ol' Ara, always looking for a fight."

Ara snorts. "Been a while since I did that, Hedge..."

It isn't enough that Percy and Annabeth are the most thick-headed lovebirds in the world, this is also the year Drew decides to start torturing me.

I have just gotten to camp after almost dying in the orientation tour of Percy's new school—and you may ask: "Ara, why were you there? You're thirteen!" I'm a month away from turning thirteen, mind you, and I'm no longer allowed to be alone. 

At school I eat with Percy, I can't go to parties where he's not invited, and I can't take him cause most of my classmates are scared of him, all because he thinks Nico will send monsters to kill me.

Anyway, once at arrive at camp, Lily grabs my hand and drags me toward the cabins. "You saw our new sword instructor?"

"Yeah, he has a huge dog!"

"He's good. We should ask him for extra lessons," Lily says, straight to business.

Connor approaches, he's holding a pair of pliers and I don't wanna know what they're for. "Birdy! Saw you coming down from the hill. All good?"

"We almost got killed by lady vampires."

"The usual, then. Hi, Lily," he fidgets with the pliers. "Having a good day?"

Lily squeezes my hand and pulls me along. "Yup! I'm taking Ara to her cabin, see you!"

I look at her with confusion. "What was that?"

"Shup ut."

"Di immortalis! You got a new crush?" I absorb the whirlwind of feelings coming from her.

"Shut up!" Her ears are red now. "Don't use your powers on me!"

"Why are you blushing?"

"I'm mad at him."

I giggle. "He's too cute to stand?"

"He says that if I go into the labyrinth he'll stop talking to me..."

My smile vanishes. "What labyrinth?"

"Don't worry about that," Lily glances at me. "We got cabin inspections and I won't have you last on the list, you need to train so we can knock some sense back into Nico."

I look down, still embarrassed about the mistake I made last winter. "I'm sorry I put you in a tough spot..."

"You were my friend first, he must understand..." I don't know if she's talking about Nico or Hades.

Piper and Hedge go to pay for the food and Jason goes to look for a taxi, which leaves Ara and Leo waiting on the sidewalk. The silence engulfs them, but it doesn't matter how weird things are between them, it's still not awkward.

"Is it true?" He asks. "That you're always fighting people?"

Ara blushes, trying not to think about how she almost fought Drew before leaving for this quest. "That was a long time ago."

Leo raises a brow. "So Coach was telling the truth? About you blowing up things and attempting murder?"

"I mean, it wasn't quite like that..."

"Then it's also true what Thalia said, that you look after everyone no matter what," he sighs and turns to face her. "I've been... well, I don't even know, but I think I hurt you."

"Really?" Ara stares at him. "When, exactly?"

"You know, when we..." Leo gestures vaguely between them. "That."

"Yeah, I figured," Ara doesn't want to say it, saying it means it's real, and when things are real, they're easier to ruin. "You know why Jason and I are getting along?" She asks, knowing that's been bothering him. "He's trying to understand himself."

Leo shrugs, not meeting her gaze. "I know who I am."

Ara raises a brow. "Then tell me why is Gaea so afraid of you?"

"She's not afraid of me," he snorts. "Didn't you hear Coach? She's the final boss—"

"And yet she went after you first, years ago," she insists. "You're a threat to her but you don't see it, you don't know who you are."

"Alright, Mufasa—who am I, if you've got me figured out?" He asks with annoyance.

"I didn't say that, that's exactly the damn problem," Ara frowns. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad here, it's my job to help you—"

"I don't want to be another deadweight on your back—"

Ara stomps her foot in frustration. "Guess what? That's the point! You're part of a puzzle, and I'm meant to put it together, but you keep squirming out of reach—"

Leo steps forward. Ara steps back and his expression hardens. "And that is my point! You're afraid of me!"

"W-What?"

"You flinch like I'm going to set you on fire—"

"That's not—I'm not—" Ara's blushing bad. "Maybe I wouldn't do that if you didn't stand so close to my face!"

"Just admit you don't trust me!"

"I trust you with my life!" She takes a step forward and snatches the porkpie hat from his head. "The things you think make you a deadweight... I know them for what they are. I haven't scratched the surface of your talents, but I help others find their place, and I'm not giving up on you yet."

"Sorry for the delay! Hedge had like seven expressos so he had to fight his inner demons in the bathroom..." Piper stops. "Er—is this a bad time?"

Ara glances at her. "No," she looks back at Leo and pats his cheek. "We've reached an understanding. Right, Valdez?"

"Hundred percent," he says hoarsely.

Jason comes back with a taxi. Leo's silly hat gets handed to Hedge before Ara enters the vehicle. "All yours, coach."

The satyr tries to take a bite, but Leo snatches the hat out of his grip, hugging it tightly against his chest. He scowls at Piper, who's grinning at him. "What?"

She pushes him toward the taxi. "Nothing, Romeo. Just get in the car."

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen

[regaliasonata]

@mo-ok So I think i am going to end up drawing the other rangers with the aesthetic I did for Amelia's redesign. One thing I decided was the orbs and their stars on the suits will correspond with said characters.

I'm still enjoying the whole greek and roman aspects kyuranger had so with their designs and the comsic fury ones when fusing them I'll still add in details and such.

Aiyon's has flames and bolts representing his kind and fun personality. Outgoing and such(I also think adding some details from Hermes might be cool with the suit.)

Ollie's has spherical like stars orbiting his orb which signifies how he's like the nerdy one of the group but also attentive to stuff(like an astronomer gazing at space).

Javi's has sharp orchestral notes that kinds give off an intimidating vibe but we all know he's a sweet guy and loves creating music(I almost did keytar parts but I couldn't figure it out).

Izzy's star is jagged and formed from sharp chunks correlating with her cool nature(I'm intrigued on what might be her design tbh🤔).

And finally Zayto's, his star resembles both a burning nova and comet. I know I want his design to have some elements of Apollo, this all references how while he may not be the red ranger anymore he's still brave and helpful. Also since he used to be the leader if I ever color this I may make his outfit a bit more orange or who knows just have him be red as well(quantum ranger vibes).

[acidproofnotebook]

I posted 44 times in 2022

19 posts created (43%)

25 posts reblogged (57%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gofancyninjaworld

@katyatalks

@koumbaya

@opmanime

I tagged 41 of my posts in 2022

Only 7% of my posts had no tags

#opm - 31 posts

#translation - 19 posts

#manga - 14 posts

#mob psycho 100 - 9 posts

#revisions - 9 posts

#omake - 7 posts

#genos - 6 posts

#drive knight - 3 posts

#update 160 - 3 posts

#update 163 - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 114 characters

#and it's good to see sekingar carefully weigh up his options before deciding to trust the hero with the dodgy past

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Volume 26 Bonus chapter “The Great Selection” -- partial and rough translation

The first four pages (of eight).  It’s not joking about being rough and there may be some passages that will be understood differently once a fuller translation is done.  But it’s still interesting!

Translator/ Typesetter: u\Bald_Caped

Date: 3 June 2022

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n-UghKI90sQY1vT6WNBgk_vjiCyzfTaL/view

14 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

#4

Update 160 (previously 159). Changes between online and print versions, part 2

Yup, this goes on!

Unlike the previous version, this time Nyan ignores Food Battler and was dragging just Waganma off to his most painful doom when lo, an intervention!

Fear not! Drive Knight is here!

See the full post

18 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

#3

Update 163 (previously 162). Changes between online and print versions. Part 2

So, where we left off, it looked like a tense standoff between Genos, who wants to go back to the battle, and Sekingar and Waganma, who most desperately don't want to be ditched by an S-Class hero. Food Battler Futoshi steps up to offer a solution (revised version on top, old at the bottom).

Sekingar does some thinking before deciding to trust Genos (no equivalent in older version)

See the full post

25 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

#2

ONE/Murata 2015 Joint Interview

Because I'm always concerned about old blogs going down and taking material with them, please find below a transcript of one of their first interviews on the subject of One-Punch Man.

Link: http://opmcityz.blogspot.com/2016/04/onemurata-2015-joint-interview.html

Translator: Herms

Translation Date: 2 April 2016

For no Earthly reason, it’s taken me this blasted long to finally translate the ONE/Murata joint interview from the 2015 guidebook OPM: Hero Encyclopedia. The notes throughout are the same ones as in the actual book, although towards the end I got lazy and didn’t write out the full details on such topics as the plot of Eyeshield 21 or the explanation for what fencing is. The curious may look that stuff up on Wikipedia. --Today I’d like to ask you two to provide the “definitive edition” of the story of One-Punch Man’s birth ONE: I’m much obliged. Yusuke Murata: Yes, thank you very much. --ONE-sensei, tell us how you began drawing One-Punch Man. ONE: Well, I wanted to try drawing manga digitally; that’s how it all started. There was this place (*1) online for posting up manga, and lots of people submitted their stuff there, so I wanted to submit something too. I bought a PC and some tools for drawing pictures digitally (*2). I tried out drawing 15 pages, and uploaded it with my PC for the first time…that was One-Punch Man Chapter 1. I didn’t have any real plans for continuing the story, and just posted it up without thinking of what to do next. But perhaps because I submitted it as “Chapter 1” it got a great response…OK, maybe not “great”, but a decent response. So I figured I might as well try drawing a continuation of the story. That’s when I really sat down and worked out how the story would continue, which made me realize this could turn into quite an interesting manga. And that pretty much brings us from Chapter 2 right up to the present. --Where did you get your ideas? ONE: To start with I simply tried to draw the sort of manga I’d want to read myself. I’ve read loads of Shonen manga throughout my life, and am particularly fond of battle manga. Generally speaking those types of stories are all about growth, meaning that by the last chapter the main character has grown stronger than anyone else and lives happily ever after. So I wondered what would happen if I started the story off with the main character already in peak condition. That became my jumping-off point. --So it’s a complete 180 from existing Shonen action manga? ONE: Which makes it fun for people who have already read lots of those typical Shonen manga. It’s like they’ve run the first lap, and this is their second time around. Murata: Yeah, it’s really exciting for Shonen manga aficionados. ONE: I also love it when a series creates friction between drama and humor. With One-Punch Man I wanted to try doing that through the worldview itself, rather than through specific plot points. The series is set in a dangerous, monster-infested world, but since Saitama’s there you don’t really notice just how bleak the world is. I think it’s that friction between Saitama and the rest of the world that makes things interesting. --Murata-sensei, what do you think makes One-Punch Man so appealing? Murata: It all boils down to Saitama’s appeal. In some ways, Saitama is incredibly similar to Son Goku from Dragon Ball (*3). It was Dragon Ball that first got me started reading Weekly Shonen Jump, so I find those similarities particularly appealing. Dragon Ball’s Goku (*4) is a very memorable protagonist: he does whatever he wants, fights strong guys…he’s only after excitement! He goes through life full of spirit. Even when the world’s in peril and he’s surrounded by chaos, it doesn’t bother him one bit. Like when Piccolo’s reincarnation entered the Tenkaichi Budokai (*5) and if Goku lost the world was doomed, even then Goku himself simply fought to win the tournament. After he beat Piccolo, he didn’t care that he had just saved the world, he was just happy to finally be crowned tournament champion. It’s that sort of detached easy-goingness, the sense of operating under a completely different logic than those around him. This type of aloofness, of doing things at one’s own pace, really screams “hero” to me. That’s what Goku and Saitama have in common. Another similarity is that they’re simply the strongest guys around. When things are looking hopeless, the moment

they show up you know things are going to be OK (laughs). --How did you find out about One-Punch Man, Murata-sensei? Murata: I follow this illustrator called “Akiman” (*6) on Twitter, and when I heard about One-Punch Man on his blog, I read the entire series overnight. I got a bit frustrated, because I realized I had become a manga artist precisely to draw something like this (laughs). At the time I was in sort of a dead-end career-wise, and (my apologies to Ootagaki-sensei[*7]) thanks to my incompetence things weren’t going very well with Donten Prism Solar Car (*8)…It’s safe to say I ended up causing Ootagaki-senseiand the readers a lot of trouble. Back then, I viewed my job simply as illustrating the stories given to me. But really, isn’t an illustrator’s job to visually convey the charm of the characters? You’ve got to understand what makes the characters appealing, or otherwise you’ll have nothing to show the readers. Once I read One-Punch Man, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. I sent ONE-sensei a message right away, asking if we could meet. I told him point-blank I wanted to work with him… ONE: I was surprised to get a message from Murata-sensei. Frankly, at first I thought it might be a prank… Murata: Sorry… ONE: It was a real shock! (laughs) --Did you two hit it off? Murata: Yeah. I was so nervous about meeting him that I ended up being 30 minutes late (laughs). By that time I was already starving, so first I suggested we go get some yakiniku. (laughs) --What did you talk about at the yakiniku restaurant? Murata: I asked “hey, why don’t we do a one-shot together first?” --Your first collaboration was Earth Monster. ONE: With Earth Monster, I made storyboards so that Murata-sensei would have something to work off of, and to give us something to show the editorial office. I took it as an opportunity to make something really flashy, the sort of thing I could never draw on my own. I stayed within manga contest regulations (*9), so it was probably around 31 to 45 pages. Murata: But I wanted to use bigger panels, and expanded it to roughly 60 pages. --So you submitted Earth Monster (*10) to the editorial office as a one-shot? Murata: Actually, wasn’t Cockroach Busters (*11) the one we ended up showing to Young Jump first? ONE: That’s right. Before that we showed it to your then-current editor at Weekly Shonen Jump; I think we made about four copies. Murata: At the time I had an exclusive contract, so I felt obligated to draw it for Jump, but it wasn’t really panning out…And while I was wrapped up with that, I came down with gastroenteritis. ONE: Your wife found you and called an ambulance. Murata: I couldn’t move at all…That’s when I started thinking that if this exclusive contract was going to keep me from doing the work I wanted, then I had better do something about it. I called ONE-sensei from the hospital and told him “I’m terminating my contract, so how about we get a bunch of different one-shot manuscripts together and shop them around at different companies?” And that’s how things went. --How did you end up at Neighborhood Young Jump? ONE: Several different people had approached me with proposals for commercializing One-Punch Man. The question was, would I handle the illustrations myself, or get someone else to do them? Although personally I thought Murata-sensei was the best man for the job…Later there was discussion about me trying to draw a revised version, but after drawing about two chapters worth it became painfully obvious it would never sell. At that point Murata-sensei asked if he could take a stab at it. He redrew the first chapter with a felt-tip pen, and it blew me away. From there we started thinking about the best place to distribute this out to the world. With Murata-sensei’s connections we hooked up with an editor at Young Jump, and this led to the plan to run it in Neighborhood Young Jump, on condition that it be drawn by Murata-sensei. I thought it was incredible of Murata-sensei to publish this manga on the web rather than in print form, and I was sure

everyone else would be impressed with it too. So with that, we made our proposal to Young Jump, and it began. --Murata-sensei, were you in any way reluctant to publish the series online? Murata: Back when I was doing Eyeshield 21 (*12), I had never read any webcomics, and my thoughts towards them didn’t extend much beyond “eh, doing one might be interesting”. But when this proposal came up, I had by then read ONE-sensei's One-Punch Man, so I felt like publishing on the web had real merit. For instance, with a weekly magazine each issue disappears from stores when the next one comes out a week later, but on the web people can read the previous chapters too. And since it’s available to the entire world, it seemed like a good way to gain a larger audience. Viewing something published online on my monitor, I was amazed at how pretty the lines were (laughs) (*13). But since up until that point I had only ever worked with lines on paper, I had absolutely no skills at making them look pretty on monitors...So me and my staff went through a lot of trial and error. That's what made it so interesting! Mastering a new field was a lot of fun. Another advantage of drawing on the web is that you can make corrections. With Eyeshield 21, I was always pressed for time, which didn’t leave room for much trial and error…I’d question if what I was drawing was really up to snuff…then realize it wasn’t. But even after a chapter ran in Jump, there still wouldn’t be any time to fix it, so it would just remain as-is forever. This happened all the time, and really stressed me out. Online though, I can fine-tune things until I’m satisfied. Particularly the characters’ faces. I mean, when anyone other than ONE-sensei draws Saitama, he ends up a different character. Though at first I was real keen on putting a Shonen manga spin on him. --I hear there were a lot of rejected Saitama faces. Murata: That’s right. It wasn’t until I had drawn a good number of pages that I finally got the hang of his expressions. It was when he and Genos are listening to Sneck’s lecture at the Hero Association, and he’s noisily chewing gum. The moment I saw this bored-looking Saitama, a lightbulb went off in my head (laughs). I realized that because Saitama is so strong, for him everything is always boring. This made me want to redraw the whole thing from square one. Me and the staff had by then learned the ropes of drawing online and were really into it. I told them that this was the first step in what would be a historic manga; I was drawing in a daze of ecstasy. --How do you two work together during the writing process? Does ONE-sensei create new storyboards? Murata: With the main storyline or anything else where I’m going off of ONE-sensei’s original, I’m generally given free reign with page distribution and whatnot. But I’ll ask ONE-sensei if I have any questions. ONE: That’s right. Murata: For the main storyline, the dialogue stays pretty much the same. But with side-stories, sometimes I’ll try adding in scenes to ONE-sensei’s storyboards, or change the dialogue up a bit. In such cases, I’ll always ask ONE-sensei’s opinion. We’ll go back and forth fine-tuning it…and sometimes it’ll just end up reverting back to how it was in the beginning (laughs). ONE: Murata-senseialways shows me whenever he thinks up new scenes or dialogue to add. For instance, with the A-Class hero Spring Mustachio, my storyboards just had his name and general appearance. He talked a bit and got beat up by the monster, nothing more. I didn’t plan to highlight what weapons he used or anything like that; that part was really cut short. But the storyboards Murata-sensei came up with featured him using his weapon against the monster, showing off his fighting chops so that the monster looked even more impressive by comparison. It was fantastic! Murata: When I heard his weapon was a fencing (*14) rapier (*15), it reminded me of that cool swordsman from Wheels on Meals (*16). Sometimes it’s fun to add in more action like that. --On the flipside, has ONE-sensei ever given you pointers on how

to draw something? Murata: On occasion. For instance, during the big showdown with Boros. Since I felt this was the heavyweight championship of the universe, I tried to make it as flashy as possible. However, midway through when Boros starts losing ground to Saitama, there were places where he appeared clownish…ONE-sensei pointed out to me that the reason Boros is popular is because he always retains his dignity, even against Saitama. That made it all click for me, and I redrew things from square one. When it comes to the storyline, characters, and dialogue, all of that flows from ONE-sensei’s head, so I constantly check in with him. --Thank you very much. Finally, what do each of you consider a “true hero”? Murata: "Even if you’re the strongest around, not letting it go to your head”, I guess. Abiding by your own rules. A true hero never waivers. ONE: I agree; someone who never waivers. A true hero is someone who follows their dreams to the very end. ==[Notes]== *1: ONE-senseibegan serializing One-Punch Man in Weekly Shonen VIP on the community site Toshanai in 2009. *2: A graphics tablet and related software. *3: One of Weekly Shonen Jump’s most well-known series, a battle/adventure series by Akira Toriyama that ran in Jump from 1984 to 1995. *4: The protagonist of Dragon Ball. A member of the Saiyans (a warrior race) who grew up on Earth. Though pure-hearted, he is also a super-warrior who loves fighting against strong opponents. *5: The 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai (“Strongest Under the Heavens” Tournament). The reincarnation of the supposedly defeated Demon King Piccolo entered the tournament and battled Goku. *6: A Japanese illustrator who has worked on numerous games and anime, including Street Fighter II. *7: Yasuo Ootagaki-sensei. Wrote the story for the series Donten Prism Solar Car, which ran in Jump Square from 2010 to 2011. *8: The aforementioned series which ran in Jump Square from 2010 to 2011, depicting the struggles and friendships of young people involved in the development of solar cars. *9: There is a set number of pages for Rookie of the Year awards. For instance, the Tezuka Prize requires 31 pages. *10: Original story by ONE-sensei. A doujinshi by ONE-sensei, Yusuke Murata-sensei, and Kinu Nishimura-sensei. An action story depicting the struggles of a father who becomes a giant to fight monsters, and his frustrated son. *11: Comedy depicting the adventures of soldiers who undergo special training to exterminate cockroaches. Ran as a guest one-shot in the July 2015 issue of Young Gan-Gan. *12: American Football manga series which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2002 to 2009. *13: The current Neighborhood Young Jump browser is improved constantly to allow everyone to read the latest One-Punch Man as soon as possible. *14: A European style of swordplay, and now an Olympic sport. *15: One-handed sword with a sharp point. *16: 1984 Jackie Chan movie.

27 notes - Posted January 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Update 171 (previously 170). Changes between online and print versions

Murata has taken advantage of the revisions he's doing for volume 25 to make a few small but important changes to update 171.

Amai Mask calling for help

No excuses, just a straight out plea for help. Which isn't forthcoming

See the full post

28 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[pixilator]

Sporadic Update: Day 5, April 15th 2023

I finished the actual drawings of Hestia and Flavius' designs! Yeah, I said their designs were finished [or half-finished] but I never actually had them on paper. Just in a document. Sorry. ^^;

They're in the same style as Mayhem's design sheet. If you haven't seen it, which you probably haven't, you can find it a few posts below this one.

...speaking of style, I sort of messed up slightly on Hestia's with the style. I had to edit Mayhem's design sheet's style IRL because of it. Mostly because I don't like the nagging thought in the back of my mind, 'it's just not right. it's not like the other ones. make it like the other ones.'

So I'll probably edit the original post with the sheet. Or maybe I should just wait until all the sheets are digitalized and post them all in one huge post. :p

Hestia's personality column is basically finished now. It's still bound for changes later, but I'm satisfied with how it's turned out so far.

Adrian's design is actually becoming a thing! I didn't have a real design for him yet but yesterday I woke up with an exact picture in my head of his design. It's not the most flashy, but it's certainly iconic, and I like it! :]

I've been wondering, since there's 3 males and 2 females, why not make another female character to even out the group? Since we're still so early on in development, I can easily do that. I think. I've already got sort of an idea in the first place. Maybe I'll call her Artemis or Hermione. I actually really like the name Hermione, who was the daughter of Helen and Menelaus in Greek mythos, and her name is the feminine form of Hermes, which... probably means 'woah, a whole bunch of rocks!'

And I could have her be a blonde, to even out the ginger-noirette-blonde thing I've got going on. Even though Mayhem is a brunette with ginger highlights and Hestia is a dark brunette. :p

But then again, I don't really have a reason to have her exist just yet. I dunno. I'll figure it out.

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Hi! I have heard a lot of pop culture paganism and I have a few questions about it that I have not been able to find so I figured I would ask someone who practices it directly.

What about pcp appeals to people who practice it?

How does it work?

Is the concept of worshipping and working with an egregore applied to pcp practices? Or is it more like you and others believe that interactions with deity and spirit are your deeper subconscious connecting with you and helping you achieve spiritual gnosis?

My last question is, how does it feel to interact with these deities and figures? It’s common to feel the energy in the room change when worshipping deities like Aphrodite and Hermes, is it similar when working with pop culture figures?

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I know there’s a fair amount of hate towards people who practice pcp and I want to say that I mean none of this with ill intent, I’m genuinely curious about how pcp works.

Also, I love your blog, I hope you’re well!

Oh boy, hi anon! To help differentiate you if you come back to my inbox after this, I shall now dub thee "PCP Anon".

You're asking a lot of questions that vary drastically depending on who's practicing, because at its core, pop culture paganism is deeply personal to those practicing it and will vary wildly, even if two people draw from the same source. I recommend also talking to @popwitch-astralae and @neonswitchhouse and @crimsondawnsdevotionals (though Crimson does pop culture hero worship, not pop culture deity worship/work, keep that in mind!) in addition to hearing out my personal experiences here. I'm not the end-all-be-all for pop culture stuff, after all!

With that disclaimer out of the way, let's break this down question by question, and I'll let you know my thoughts!

What about PCP appeals to people who practice it?

To me, the appeal is being able to reach out to something familiar. Some people are terrified by "historical" (my catch-all term for non-pop culture deities, though it's not perfect by any means) deities and would rather know what to expect going in. I'm not among those - instead, I like to stretch out and see what's possible.

I started pop culture magic in Pokemon and spread elsewhere, but the only pop culture paganism I currently practice is from The Elder Scrolls - Azura has an altar literally above my desk right now, so I can see her space when I lean back to stretch.

Though I am interested in Pokemon and Flight Rising paganism... That's a topic for another time.

How does it work?

As I famously said in the past, "shit's already so goddamn weird it may as well work".

Obviously, other people will have different explanations.

Is the concept of worshipping and working with an egregore applied to pcp practices? Or is it more like you and others believe that interactions with deity and spirit are your deeper subconscious connecting with you and helping you achieve spiritual gnosis?

I believe in neither of these options! I actually don't believe in some kind of singular higher Divine that deities are a facet of, I don't believe in the Universe being conscious, stuff like that.

To me, deities are individuals (though syncretism and overlap happens), and some of these individuals just happen to be from fictional sources.

My last question is, how does it feel to interact with these deities and figures? It’s common to feel the energy in the room change when worshipping deities like Aphrodite and Hermes, is it similar when working with pop culture figures?

In my experience, yes. The energy I feel when interacting heavily with Azura is almost just like when I interact with Athena or Aphrodite.

Here are some of my other posts on pop culture paganism and magic that I think you would find interesting! Also check the blogs of the three folks I mentioned up top!

My theory behind how pop culture magic works

How to Start Pop Culture Deity Research

Working with villains in pop culture

Hopefully this has given you a direction to start with, anon! And for those who are interested, feel free to reblog this post with your own answers to the four questions!

~Jasper

[scummynami]

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❝Hi! I was just looking though you posts and wanted to ask if your request are open. If you had time and mood (obviously you can ignore if you don't) could you write something for yandere Hermes x male assassin reader with a little nsfw (only if you are comfortable). Sorry for bad english❞ — ask by @elistheglitchme

pairing: yan!hermes x assassin!reader

tw: mentions of graphic behaviour, stalking, manipulation, mentions of murder, and yandere tendencies.

note: I placed my headcannons and a bit of a "prompt" because, I just think I'd be able to tell the story of how they met better this way. I hope you like it despite it being so short ≧◉ᴥ◉≦

!!Read at your own discretion~!!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Hm, so far, the only reason why Hermes would be intersted in an assassin, would be due to the reason that he almost killed Hermes's favourite blessed soul or someone he's looking after. Of course, thus bringing us to the first meeting.

Your first meeting with the greek god isn't romantic... at all.

You, covered in grime and blood, whilst struggling like a captured hare trying so hard to escape, and Hermes standing before you, nose flared out, angry out of his mind at the thought of some meddling mortal, you, just tried to kill his most prized possesion, a.k.a. the wheezing buffoon begging and holding onto your ankles for dear life.

You are tired, honestly annoyed at the god in front of you, cursing incoherently, and undeniably uncomfortable. (Mostly due to the intense glare Hermes sending is your way, the other reason is due to the quickly drying blood.) You just want to get this over with, but you can't even move due to the jerkwad of a blondie restraining your movements with invisible chains or something alike.

Grunting, you heaved out a sigh before looking up to the blondie. "Look princess, whatever your name is, you better release me right now before I try to kill you next."

The man struggling to keep himself alive looked up at you with wide eyes, as if he wanted to scream at you a; "You fool!"

But of course, you ignored the bald-headed bastard who is unfortunate enough to be targeted by your employer, a powerful figure in the inner circles of the Emperor, you assume, and scoffed once the blonde god rose an eyebrow, amusement flashing by so quick, you doubted you even saw it.

"I see that the younger generations are the getting bolder and bolder the more we approach modern era," he crossed his arms as he walked towards a chair, dragged it towards the spot he was originally standing, and sat on it. "You wish to kill me, without knowing who I am, or what I am capable of doing... I'm quite conflicted."

"Look here, blondie. I'm not here to chitchat. Let me get my job done, and I'll be on my merry way back to get my payment."

Hermes tilts his head, feigning worry, as a smile contradicting his eyes began to draw out on his lips. "Ah, but I don't really care of you nor your plans, of course, your mission to kill Aeneas being the only exception."

You huff, not really wanting to seem like you care, but this troubling blondie is causing you trouble, so why not just go along with it and gather information? "Huh. You're so persistent with meddling, what is he? Your father or something? I thought Aeneas was supposed to be, infertile, or something?"

Hermes stared at you as if you were an idiot before laughing out loud. "I can't believe you actually don't know who I am. Here I was, thinking you were just overly confident and a fool!"

"Hey man, lay it off with the insults alright? Anyways, if you're no relative of him, then who in the world are you?"

Hermes's grin widened, the golden speck in his dandelion-like orbs twinkling splendidly as he stared at you. "Let's just say, from here on out, I'll be watching you."

With that, he turned into smoke, making you and your victim wheeze and cough. You muttering, "Son of a bitch..."

Yeah... not really the most romantic first meeting.

Though, after he left, the restraints loosened around you and you stared down at Aeneas, before sighing, your eyes now filled with pity for the wheezing man then kneeling. "Hey old man, pay me higher than your enemy and I'll protect you from harm."

It was the start of your new other job, a bodyguard.

This was a development Hermes didn't expect at all, and unfortunately for you, this decision unknowingly ignited a fire that would end up being your downfall.

His curiosity is mostly directed towards why and how you came to the decision of being an assassin. Was it simple bloodthirst? Perhaps, you have something as dramatic as a soap opera as your reason?

Imagine his disappointment when he overheard you and Aeneas talking, and find out you were only doing it for the money.

Pity and curiosity blending into one, and you got interest! From there, stalking starts, then befriending, then manipulation. Hermes won't stop until he's got you wrapped around his finger, delusional and begging to be his.

He wouldn't even allow the other gods to see you, especially that man-child he calls his father, Zeus. Afterall, he doesn't deserve to see such beauty like you, no?

His twisted, delusional mind invites in paranoia, which is so bad for you. He thinks you'll leave him and whatnot, betray him at worst. And your reaction here will have huge consenquences.

If you decided to stay with him, and realise the emotional trauma behind those sharp, enchanting brown eyes, then he'd settle down, but of course his paranoia of someone taking you away won't ever disappear and will only worsen once you finish reassuring him.

Rest assured, you'll be living a wonderful life in luxury and peace. Hermes might even bestow you the honourable position of being his husband!

But, if you choose to worsen his paranoia by attempting to leave while he's at his vulnerable state, quickly turn around and hide. But, the inevitable is the inevitable and you'll be found anyways.

If you choose to beg for his forgiveness and mercy, sorry to break it to you sweetheart, but that wouldn't work.

Breaking a god's trust has worser consenquences, and honestly, you're better off staying silent and take the humiliating acts he'd do to you silently.

Trying to draw a line by acting indifferent would also do you no good as it would worsen his paranoia of you hating him so much that you'll attempt an escape mission once again.

BUT! Hermes as a lover isn't that bad! The love and attention and the money you'd have special permission to touch—! You could ask for more and Hermes wouldn't hesitate to give it to you on a golden platter.

For strong characters, especially like the assassin reader, he would willingly become your lapdog, well, as long as it's done in private.

I headcannon him as a secret sub who'd do anyting for his lover as long as they're just as devoted as he is to them.

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[khaire-traveler]

2, 10 and 17 for the asks?

Hey, Alice! Thank you so much for the ask! ☺️🧡

-

2. What draws you to your Gods? What do you like about them?

Well, I worship A LOT of the Hellenic gods, but I'll just stick with Hermes for this question, otherwise we'll be here for an eternity. 😂 Hermes is my main deity; he's my homie, my pal, and my Father figure. I appreciate him beyond words, for many reasons, and truly, I love him with all my heart. 🧡 He has saved my life countless times, supported me through my darkest hours, and cheered me on through my greatest accomplishments. Whenever I needed a friend, or a Father, he was there, ready and waiting for me. Sorry, that got a bit sappy. 😅

10. If you could have a direct conversation with your deity/deities right now, what would you tell them?

Again, I'll just stick with Hermes for now because I have too many things to say to too many deities lol, but I'd say something along these lines: "What can I say, really? All these days and nights, countless hours I've spent praying to you, and now I get the chance to speak with you directly. I guess first off, I'd like to say thank you. Thank you for all the times you've sat by my side as I cried out to you, all the times you've saved me from incredibly dangerous situations, all the times you've answered my prayers as quickly and kindly as you could. You've never failed to see me through to the end of a day, and for that, I am beyond eternally grateful. Secondly, I love you so much. Like, there is a ridiculous amount of love in my heart that's reserved only for you, and honestly, I hope you know how much I care, even when I'm unable to leave offerings or pray to you every night. I will always adore and cherish you; you hold such a special place in my mind, my heart, and my soul. Lastly (since this is getting long), I want to address all that we've been through together. All the abuse and hardship that you've seen me through to the other side of... Despite everything that's happened in my life, despite everything certain people have put me through spiritually, emotionally, and even physically, you have always been there for me. There is not a moment that I reflect on our relationship and don't think of all that we've gone through. Thank you, truly, for loving me, helping me, uplifting me, understanding me, forgiving me, guiding me, saving me, holding me... Above all, thank you for reaching out to me. My life has never been the same since I met you, and I couldn't be happier for it."

17. Do you associate certain Gods with specific songs? Share them!

Yes, I do, actually! I have quite a lot of songs I associate certain gods with, but again, I'll stick with just Hermes, to make things much easier lol. Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce, Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi, and Alright, That's Enough, Let's Get You Home by Will Wood. And this one is just for fun and is an inside joke for me, but for Hades, My Shiny Teeth And Me by Chip Skylark. 😂

[capriciousvisage]

so i spent like the last hour or two trying to figure out what lahabrea's real name would be based on the connections to athena and erich and i really think i've come to a fitting conclusion? under the cut though because it's spoilers for pandaemonium etc

genuinely i think that erich is going to become the lahabrea we see in arr+...

he's got lahabrea's mask on his transformed self.. plus the gold part of the mask directly below the red mask is reminiscent of lahabrea's sigil, which...

...is a bigger part of mateus's sigil, whom lahabrea (ffxiv) is based off the counterpart of (the scion of light, lahabrea (ff12)), and erich is notably...

...wearing the same glyph on his robes?

pandaemonium in ff2 is also the final dungeon and is where Emperor Mateus (from which ff12's lahabrea draws upon) dwells after having overthrown Satan and became the Hell Emperor.

mateus in ff12 is also someone who was corrupted by evil beyond belief due to his greed etc which is exactly what's happening in pandaemonium

erich in greek mythology was famous for supposedly inventing the 4-horse chariot and then went on to become the charioteer constellation. he also taught the people of athens how to use horses for transportation/how to yoke them. lahabrea is often shown to like horses, teased enough that we all call him a horse girl.

so i'm really thinking that pandaemonium raids are relying on us, the viewers, to assume things. i've been seeing a lot of assumptions. i think the biggest assumption it's leading us on to make is that this is the same timeframe in elpis that we had visited before, during hermes & co quests.

i know many people assume that the phoinix in p3 is the same immortal bird in the one shadowbringers sidestory where emet has to return the wayward soul to the underworld. but themis says in pandaemonium that the concept was completed elsewhere, and implies that the phoinix in p3 is simply a prototype of sorts they were studying. some of the phoinix's move names are prefixed with "experimental", too.

themis is most definitely elidibus -- or he will become elidibus. he's part of an auxiliary group (one of which azem (us) is a part of, the one giving us orders) and assuming from his clothes + introduction, he's not part of the convocation yet.

erich says a lot of how he doesn't have a lot of magical prowess and only became a warder because of his mother, athena. i was always thinking it odd that lahabrea, his father, had taught him how to use the shackles when he was young, but his mother had actually been the one to appoint him as a warder. based on how young themis is, we can posit a theory that erich will go on and follow in his father's footsteps and become the grand lahabrea of phantomology that we all know of... as a side note, remember that the seats are filled in accordance with how well they fit the role, so every lahabrea has been gifted with creation magicks beyond others.

this dialogue exchange after hesperos is defeated is especially interesting. it's essentially a parallel to what happens to lahabrea in arr~hvw. if we continue with this as a parallel, and we assume that zodiark is not who lahabrea is trying to impress, then who is it?

i think it would make a lot of sense storywise. i think a lot of people have this impression of lahabrea being just a cold-hearted villain. even with the small snippets in akadaemia anyder or otherwise. emet says in shb that lahabrea wore himself down and eventually post himself. but we don't see the lahabrea before then.

... but if we introduce a cute young man who seems to be a little too trusting and down on himself, then show his character arc slowly progress... well, it might make the audience (me) cry. I don't think the audience would sway their (general) opinion of Lahabrea if this weren't the case, too — many people already think him as hostile and cold, so pandae is presenting nothing new if we think Erich's father is our Lahabrea. But we all know that shb and endwalker are all about flipping out expectations...

I can't see a reasonable explanation for Erich to sport Lahabrea motifs even if he's Lahabrea's son, if nothing else. The mask and glyph are too damning.

[alyona11]

I posted 3 428 times in 2021

969 posts created (28%)

2459 posts reblogged (72%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.5 posts.

I added 2 527 tags in 2021

#me being me - 725 posts

#hadestown - 512 posts

#hadestown fanart - 237 posts

#hades - 213 posts

#my art - 195 posts

#hades x persephone - 151 posts

#gallifrey - 132 posts

#persephone - 130 posts

#hadestown shitpost - 119 posts

#hadestown broadway - 113 posts

Longest Tag: 100 characters

#олсо инглиш спикеры очень часто игнорят гугл транслейт под постами на чужом языке и требую перевести

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Look, I'm really happy how this background with Hadestown in all of its glory turned out! Also I'm figuring out how to use 2D camera, so I made this quick shot and added Hades and Persephone moving in the background.

329 notes • Posted 2021-07-06 13:37:30 GMT

#4

*terrible storm outside starting*

Hermes in the bar: *throwing his chair out of the window* CAN’T YOU TWO GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER?! 

343 notes • Posted 2021-02-10 20:17:51 GMT

#3

I have a soft spot for NYTW Orpheus and Eurydice actually. Wanted to draw smg with them for a while. Got you two versions: rendered and sketchy cos I kinda love both. Used a photo from the production as a reference, also recorded a timelapse for the coloring part (because I forgot to turn on the recording for the sketch huh). Both ref and a timelapse are under the cut.

Look at them!!!

And the timelapse:

350 notes • Posted 2021-02-24 21:18:47 GMT

#2

From baby to bastard: evolution. So here we have: 1) Baby. Eaten by his dad. 2) Young man. Less eaten by his dad. 3) Warrior during Titanomachy. 4) Wedding man! 5) Guy who got himself a train 6) The bastard we know and love

Lmk who’s your favourite!

Also please appreciate Hades’ belly in the 5h one, thank you 

364 notes • Posted 2021-03-14 20:39:14 GMT

#1

I loved Luca so much I wanted to draw a fanart. The movie so touching and cute and it has these summer vibes, check it out!

Made this a little challenge for myself, so I tried to keep the style true to the original movie.

P.S. I don't have a constant way of coloring stuff, so today I went with no texture and sharp shadows. Tomorrow? Who knows.

642 notes • Posted 2021-06-23 16:12:28 GMT

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