#it's such a fun trope to play around with

[quarterlifekitty]

more medieval fantasy au time! reader whose life sucks and wont be missed by anyone in the present life suddenly finds herself back in time after blacking out and being mistaken for the assassin who was given orders to kill any of the cod boys (or price becos he's my hubby). cod boys/price decides to keep her under their watch closely in case she makes any more attempts to kill them. love myself some slowburn enemy to lover shite <3

Fun fact about me. I enjoy that shite, played out isekai manga/manwha trope where a girl gets reborn into the story of her favorite dating simulator except she’s reborn as the villainess and has to try to use her knowledge of the game to change the story and avoid dying to the heroine or one of her many devoted love interests. But often her sudden change in personality piques the interest of one of those love interests…. Here’s a very dark hentai with a somewhat similar plot to this trope, if you’re interested! Ghost coded, imo. Noncon warning.

Anyways

Prince!Gaz doesn’t believe you when you say you weren’t trying to kill him, but he does believe you when you say it isn’t your fault. Poor thing. Must’ve been forced into it! You don’t have to worry about that anymore, he’ll keep you safe from whatever criminal underbelly manipulated you into doing this. He turns you into a bit of a pet project. A perfect rehabilitation of a criminal. It’ll be a brilliant morale boost. Maybe even more so if he takes you as his wife? Controversial, yet romantic— the bards will eat it up for sure.

Knight!Soap thinks it’s a bit fishy. Why go after him? Why not the captain of the guard? He’s kind of a dickhead, but he doesn’t make any personal enemies. He’s just gonna have to keep you until you fess up and tell him who hired you and what the motive was. And how lucky he is that the assassin they sent was so cute and squeezable, too! He doesn’t mind having to keep you.

Warlord!Ghost considers this an open proposal for marriage. He’s very much attracted to your gall and open animosity towards him. Both excellent qualities in a wife and a mother. Very well— he accepts!

Lord!Price can see that you’re not a natural born killer. This must have been your first time. Your attempt failed— so he won’t have you killed… he takes a look at you and decides that humiliation is a more fitting punishment. So he’ll be keeping you collared and on a leash for the foreseeable future.

Artificer!Nikolai can see what’s happened right away. You have the smell of otherworld clinging to you. You’re not from around here. But he’ll play along as if he doesn’t know that. As for your punishment… he’s been wanting an apprentice. Some cute little thing to help him around his workshop. Looks like you fit the bill on that.

[superkooku]

Just saw this reblog and I'd like to clarify stuff about my opinions (respectfully of course).

I don't ask anyone casually liking Greek mythology to read every single poem or play and source. Even I myself didn't do that yet. I understand that modern media is more accessible and this style of prose can get tedious (but I still love the stories and content ofc). The plays are easier to read.

Again, I like Epic, I like Disney's Hercules, I like Hades. Are they perfectly accurate? Nope. But I still enjoyed them. So of course adapting mythology and changing stuff around isn't inherently wrong or anything. There still needs to be care, effort and respect for the original source and the new story.

The concept of making character-driven stories out of myths is also a very good idea. Expanding on the lore is also an awesome concept. Going off the rails and making a completely new world inspired by familiar themes is also neat. I like all of those directions.

BUT my problem comes when people confuse modernized versions with ancient legends and the found their judgment of these figures on adaptations. That's what I meant with misinformation. When people mix headcannons with what actual sources state (I almost always find the ancient version more nuanced than most modern takes on mythology, like the ones I listed in my original reblog).

Or when the changes are so big that the main story is unrecognizable, the core themes are absent, the story is taken out of it's culture.

And when some adaptations replace the interesting themes of the original story to put cliche YA tropes instead because "it sells more", now I'm complaining.

These adaptations, even those I don't like, have the right to exist. People have the right to like them. But I also have the right to criticize the aspects that don't fit my personal standard and expecting more in-depth work.

Again, simple fun stuff is cool but if someone wants to apply a deep moral theme or feminism, then I want it to be done correctly and respectfully.

I agree with you on certain points, like letting people enjoy adaptations as a starting point, the beautiful aspect of retelling known stories to not let them die, different versions being as legitimate (though the ancient sources ≠ modern media and we need to make that clear).

Also yeah, if these adaptations didn't use the names of the myths, then I would only criticize them for their own worth and not for the research.

Since that subject seems to piss you off a bit, I hope I didn't come off as too condescending. I'm just some goober on the net expressing my opinion and my want to represent mythology more accurately. But yeah, interpretation isn't evil.

Have a good day.

Greek mythology has evolved over the course of hundreds of years, and with all those… retellings now, it’s gotten me thinking about just how many people have been spreading false details of myths through word of mouth to the point of becoming the most common interpretation, when if you were to look back in history, a great number of them were only recently made up, barely a a few centuries prior. Example of this is King Midas and his turning his daughter into a gold statue. I remember this part having been included all throughout my childhood, only to find out it was never part of the original myth but a recent addition in a book from 1852. (suddenly, the daughter being aptly named “Marigold” makes a lot more sense.) My ask is: which commonly told misconception of this type regarding any Greek myth is most infuriating to you and why?

oh my god misinformation can be INFURIATING smh

Let's start off with the Apollo misinformation.

"He raped Persephone/is a serial rapist!"

First of all, no he did not. LO, toss yourself into an eternal blaze and incinerate.

and secondly- he's not a serial rapist. There's only two accounts of rape, specifically Dryope and Creusa, but that depends on interpretation and the source so if you want to discard it, you can. No one can tell you you can't.

"UwU Apollo's love life is terrible!"

do i even need to say anything?

"Athena hates women!"

hell to the fuck no. the evidence people use for this is the Medusa Myth: Ovid's Version, and CONVIENTLY IGNORE THE ONES WHERE SHE HELPS WOMEN ESCAPE BEING RAPED!! AND THAT OVID IS THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES THIS!!

Even with the ones where she punishes the victim, the older versions do not have that! She made Nicymene her eternal owl companion, for heaven's sake!

"Hermes/Dionysus/Hephaestus is the only unproblematic god! UwU"

uh... *waves Leuconoe/Choine/Philonis around* no matter which version you go with, Hermes/Mercury does rape her...

...and in the Dionysica Dionysus rapes like two women...

...and Hephaestus tried to rape Athena... (oh wow, would you look at that...it's like Athena would have *gasp* sympathy for assault survivors...)

...See the double standards? :/ Ignores Roman/late Greek literature when it's convenient, and then exaggerates it to suit their own needs.

"Demeter is a terrible mom!"

GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NO ONE DISRESPECTS THE QUEEN

"Hades only kidnapped Persephone because Zeus told him too!"

Hades is his own man and wasn't being held at gunpoint to abduct her. He did so on his own merits. From a literal perspective, what was stopping him from just. you know. talking to her. kidnapping was not necessary.

(yes, yes, i know about the symbolic perspective, hence my use of 'literal'.)

"But Hades and Persephone are the only ones who don't cheat!!"

uh, nope. Hi Adonis, Minthe, how're you doing?

"But Adonis was more of a son to Persephone!!"

uh, NO. Even the ancients saw them as a couple!!

"Artemis is a girlboss who hates her brother!"

*kicks open door* OUT!

"Orion's the only man Artemis ever loved!"

how dare you disrespect my boy in this way Apollo was the first man she ever loved and no one will be able to replace him how dare you-

-and how dare you disrespect Hippolytus in this way he did not die in the name of all aroace people to be disrespected like this smh

"Zeus's only quality is how he fucks around!"

look, I've joked about this before but I know that's not all there is too him and that it has a symbolic representation.

Sure would be nice if people focused on that more :)

also anything that villainizes Aphrodite or Hera. god forbid women do anything.

"Clytemnestra is a girlboss who did no wrong!"

OH MY GOD THE DOUBLE STANDARDS.

funny how people fawn over Cassandra one moment and then COMPLETELY FORGET HER EXISTENCE to becry the woman who murdered her!

AND ALSO GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HATE APOLLO FOR CURSING HER WHEN THEIR STORY IS LITERAL ABOUT A WOMAN'S AUTONOMY BEING RESPECTED!!

AND GUESS WHAT!! APOLLO AVENGES HER DEATH!!

anything that is "UwU Achilles!" omg i am sick of it.

that bitch had everything coming. he deserved everything he got. Tenes, Troilus, and Hemithea did NOT deserve what he did to them! APOLLO AND PARIS HAD EVERY RIGHT TO TAKE HIM DOWN!

i'm probably forgetting some but here's the one that popped into my head :)

[meggiejolly]

A Quiet Storm (I Think It's You)

This is a gift for @monologichno written for the Steddie Winter Exchange 2024 ( @steddieexchange )

Happy Holidays, I hope you enjoy your gift and that I hit on some of your favourite tropes in the right way. I had fun writing these two figuring their stuff out. Eddie was a little all over the place in some places, but I hope I wrangled this into a coherent story. 

Summary: Eddie doesn't postpone Hellfire campaigns. The weather doesn't care about that and when a snow storm cancels Hellfire for him, Steve and Eddie make the best out of a bad situation and spend the day with food, blanket forts and some feelings that have been buried beneath their relationship as roommates and occasional friends with benefits. Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson Tags: Roommates, Friends with Benefits, Blanket Fort, Getting Together, Blow Jobs Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61518877

"It's really coming down out there," Steve said, looking outside their living room window. 

"Is it?" Eddie asked while going through the notes for that night's campaign. "Bad enough that the kids have to stay over after Hellfire?"

"Nah, more like bad enough that they might not even make it here tonight." 

"What!" Eddie exclaimed dramatically and jumped up to join Steve at the window. "Doesn't the weather know I don't postpone campaigns?!"

Steve shrugged, amused by Eddie's antics. "I doubt the weather cares about your nerd game, dude." 

Eddie scoffed. "You can call it nerd game," he made air quotes around that, "all you like, but I know you pay attention when we play and I know you're dying to find out how they'll manage to defeat the second Displacer Beast and if Inspector Grotesque is still alive."��

Steve had the decency to look a little embarrassed. "Yeah well, maybe. You're just a really great story teller, Eddie." 

Eddie had to fight a pleased little grin and instead turned back to the window. "Looks like you'll have to wait a little longer for the conclusion to that story. I haven't seen that much snow in years." 

As if on cue, the phone rang and Steve went to pick it up. 

"Harrington. - Yeah we figured. - No, of course, stay safe. - Eddie will survive." He was clearly talking to one of the kids who had called to cancel and Eddie dropped into a dramatic heap by the window. 

"You don't know if I'll survive. I might die from a lack of DnD. It's been known to happen!"

Steve just laughed at him and Eddie huffed. "Rude." 

"Yeah, that was him. He's being dramatic. I'll have him call you to reschedule once the weather has calmed down. - Yeah, we'll call them. - You too, say hi to your mom from me. Bye." Steve hung up the phone and walked back over to Eddie, offering him a hand to help him up. 

"That was Dustin. His mom won't let him leave. He's calling Lucas and Max, and wants us to call Mike, Will, and El." 

Eddie allowed Steve to pull him up with a defeated groan. 

Continue on AO3

[alrightberries]

i absolutely adore the notion of bkg with an assassin wife

[arcadiii]

sorry marcy, you’re just so easy to angst

[casualavocados]

It fits the character, okay?

AI DI + the Little Red Riding Hood saga KISEKI: DEAR TO ME (2023)

[002yb]

For as rough as his brother's hands can be, they're gentle with him. Even when Ace couldn't return the kindness, Luffy endured him; holding fast to clenched fists and knuckles that were split and swollen. Persistent, stubborn even after Luffy pried his hand into Ace's and grit his teeth through the ache of Ace's bruising grips. Whining because he was a crybaby and it hurt, but never pulling away. Only squeezing just as tight in playful retaliation. Smile wide as he coaxed Ace's fingers out of their vice grip to clasp their hands together - warm and soft in a way that made Ace flinch. Because while there was dirt beneath Luffy's nails, there was blood beneath his.

And in spite of that—in spite of everything—Luffy never let go of him. Whether or not Ace feels worth that love and tender devotion, Luffy holds on to him: hands clasped together as Luffy beckons him on new adventures, a reassuring squeeze whenever Ace wavers, a bruising grip when Luffy is overcome; nails cutting into Ace's skin until Ace soothes him. Lips ghosting over knuckles - swollen and split).

Rough, but gentle with Ace. Always.

[dreamingticklee]

what do you mean one of my irl friends that knows i like being tickled has now converted to knismo and hopped on the tickling train as a ler and is excited he gets to learn how to wreck me?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN

[silverhalla]

I think it would be rly sick if you went to go build a crow rook and the surname was Arainai

like…. just another little compradi trying to bring glory back to your house - rinnala and taliesin are dead by the house’s hand, zevran failed and deserted, guili murdered in the night, all semblance of power lost once again. the house is trying to claw its way back up, futile as it seems. that’s the way of house arainai, isn’t it? talon to knife to talon to knife to nothing, same as it’s been since the house first lost power in the early dragon age. but you, bright-eyed little crow, you’ll break the cycle, won’t you? for the family?

after all, caterina’s prized heir is right there - the demon of vyrantium, the infamous mage killer, sleeping just down the hall. you can be quiet, can’t you? all those means at your disposal, and all the opportunities you could want. you could find a way in under that armor, get to something soft and bruisable and make it bleed. he’s far from home, isn’t he? without a friend? confidantes are few and far between - even a demon must get lonely.

maybe he’d even trust you. you’re a clever little bird, right? you can find something to exploit. after all, what does a would-be talon do except claw, except maim? what else would you be good for? there is no gentleness to crows - you are here to deliver a message: run, little demon, quick as you like.

house arainai will make carrion of you yet.

[demonsfate]

I'm trying to take a nap but I just GOTTA write this real quick 'cos due to the New DLC Character, there have been alotta discussions and I just feel like many ppl forgot the original points of the earlier games. ESPECIALLY the original trilogy.

Of course, there are many ppl who are saying Clive looks outta place and that he'd fit Soul Calibur more. And the many ppl arguing against this popular criticism just... don't understand? Like they're like "but he's Anime Boy! How does he not fit in?" or old tired "this game has bears and devils!! But HE doesn't fit in??? Lolwhut!! XD" Even though ppl are making jokes about how TK8 is the first time Clive will see a car or billboards (and uh... y'know. that already explains how he's outta place LMAOOOO)

Yes, the original Tek series has ALWAYS had some kind of supernatural or wild element. Notably Yoshi, Jack, the bears (and Roger) and devils / monsters. But like... REALLY THINK ABOUT IT. What were the context of these characters? The animals still fought rather traditionally than flashy or magical. And plus, they were joke characters. They weren't intended to take seriously. Jack, Yoshi (And Yoshi's counterpart, Kuni) and Mokujin are the only really fanatical serious characters in the whole cast. (Even Jack, you can still argue he has more of a "technological" aspect to him than magic or fantasy) Yes, there are demons like Ogre and Devil. But... they were literally final bosses and there's a reason why. Like it was supposed to be a GRAND THING for the mostly normal cast to be fighting fucking monsters in the end. Like that's why they saved it for last, it was something to build up to, and something to be shocking. I think a lotta modern players miss the point of that.

Also using characters from TK6+ instantly makes the argument invalid 'cos that's when ppl started criticizing the game for "getting too anime / far fetched"

Also another cool thing about the earliest games is that a lotta them had aesthetic themes. TK3, for example, had a very gritty aesthetic. Most of the characters looked like they belonged to the same game -- having a biker or sporty look (if not a martial arts look, which is obvious) You can see what the theme they were going with here. In TK8, we have characters of all kinds of different styles -- some clashing. (We got Jin and Xiao, who match with their black outfits. But then we got some military outfits, and then some in suits, and some that look like fairies like Alisa, and so on) Which just makes me feel like as the games go on, they just stopped caring about "style" as much, y'know? Like sorry but I can't picture TK8 Alisa (even if I do love her) or Clive in TK1-TK4.

Gon is another example they like to use of a third party feeling totally out of place. But... again, context matters! Both Gon and Dr. B. were secret characters that were meant to be taken as jokes. Like Gon literally has a move where he farts on the opponent. The difference is, we're meant to take Clive seriously. This totally out of place character isn't meant to be funny.

Like I'm glad some ppl are happy about Clive, of course. But like, I totally understand the criticism / concerns some people have. And like, I just feel like a lotta ppl talking about it just don't rly understand the issue.

[cherrylight]

dreamily sighs and screams

[papaiyatree]

the issue with the prime!sonic shenanigans is the fact that. i agree with the twitter users but they r taking it too seriously. like yeah i agree, sonic wouldn't be too open with his affection and emotions, yeah i agree that the folks on the crew saying it's canon to the mainline thing should've showed it through the actual writing, yeah this kind of characterization goes against the point of the show, yeah they kinda maybe nerfed sonic etc etc

but here's the THING tho: it's not that serious? i can point out 300 other mischaracterizations that are 10000x more serious. like, sonic is going to be the type of character that changes thru time to match the demands of whoever they wanna cater to. it's obvious. and for sonic prime? didn't one of the crew of this show straight up say that yeah they are targeting a younger audience but still allow longtime fans to have a piece of the cake. it's obvious from the absurd amount of flashbacks, it's obvious from the dialogue. i think this is just smth thay they think the kids want, most esp with the sonic films.

Yeah, you can be upset that ur fave version of this character might get lost to time. yeah, you can be critical of the show and the way it handles everything. but lord almightyyyy this is a cartoon hedgehog!!!!! this is not thay serious!!! talk about it but don't be a bitch about it oh my godddd

[quantomeno]

The Gilded 7 Casino

This song is clearly influenced by Take 5. Or at least I want to think it is. I discussed time signatures in my previous song analysis, but like I said then the most common time signature is 4 4 (it's even called common time). It's 4 crotchet beats per bar. If you can dance the Macarena to it, it's 4 4 time. If you can dance a waltz to it, it's 3 4 time. Take 5 uses a very unusual time signature: 5 4 (5 beats per bar). Take 5 also always makes me think of casinos, even before I played this game.

Now, the Gilded 7 Casino also has a relatively uncommon time signature, but it sadly hasn't got the number 7 in it. This felt like a massive missed opportunity but it would have also been quite odd to write so I can accept it.

Anyway, to the actual analysis: the song is written in 6 8 time. Note that both numbers are different from usual. The unit beat is different: instead of a crotchet (quarter note) it's a quaver (eighth note). This is known as compound time. It's the time signature used for songs such as Greensleeves or INXS' Never Tear Us Apart.

It is my favourite time signature.

A waltz has the accent repeating every three beats (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3 for an example see this video at 1:22), and so does 6 8 (but it's more like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). You have to imagine it like two beats played per bar, and those two beats are split into thirds.

The easiest way is to say 'coventry' two times a bar.

Take a listen. Note that the tempo is quite slow relative to each 'coventry' (it's almost one coventry a second, I think it's 48 a minute), but because it's three little beats per each two big ones, it feels quite fast.

(Note that I've seen people write sheet music for it using 3 4 time. I think this wrong, but if you change the tempo the two time signatures are virtually indistinguishable, so who knows.)

So, why 6 8 (or 3 4 even)? What does this bring?

Let's take a step back and look at the rest of the song first.

It's rich. The piano feels weighty, with nice, heavy chords punctuated by deep, low notes which anchor us to the beat. You have that warm, arco violin paired with that husky-voiced saxophone. We have that constant heartbeat of the piano along with a walking bass in the back that fills out the sound nicely. It is a thick texture that is veritably thrumming with life, yet... there is still something not quite wholesome about it, isn't there?

My sources tell me it is written in D minor. This accounts for part of the discomfort it engenders. The minor key brings a sinister atmosphere to the piece; you feel like something bad is happening, if not evil than at least something dodgy. Exactly how it feels to be in a casino, surrounded by all the money being thrown around and the shady dealings going on. The casino is a Family-run business after all.

(D minor to me is also an elegant and rich key, that evokes deep purples with touches of crimson. It's because of the D being the tonic. It just is OK.)

The dynamics are decidedly loud, again creating a bustling atmosphere. I feel it is pertinent to note here that the first time we hear this song (correct me if I'm wrong but I distinctly noticed this last time I played) is during the slot machine gun scene. Unless you voluntarily choose to go back to the casino afterwards, this cutscene is the only time you'll hear the song. This piece is designed to evoke a sense of chaos and thrill.

And now, we reach the rhythm.

6 8 time. It evokes a waltz or a ballroom dance, which aids in building that elegant, luxurious vibe, but, being 6 8, it is notably quicker than a normal waltz would be. It gives the piece a briskness, but since each fundamental beat (the 1 and the 4 I pointed out earlier) is quite slow, it doesn't lose that languid, almost bloated feeling.

Then we have the violin and sax. The violin tends to jump between playing short, detached, strongly accented notes (e.g. at 0:52) and longer, smooth notes, but never really losing any intensity (e.g. 0:41). The saxophone is much the same (listen from 1:20 to 1:43). Again we have this contrast between the stateliness, the weighty feeling of wealth, and the buzz of the casino. It's a bit like the ostentatiousness of the nouveau-riche compared to old money: the casino has cash and it's showing it off. The elegance here is all bought and as a result it ends up feeling tawdry. It also helps with the action-packed scene that it features in. This is further evoked by the sax's tendency to add ornamentation to its longer notes: little flitterings of notes at the start of the drawn-out ones. It feels like it's trying to impress you.

Also, big shout out to the percussion: that cymbal crash really brings out the bam! and could be a bit of a play on the sound of coins falling. The drum beat enters quite late, at the same time as the sax. It doesn't quite work to keep the beat, however, if anything it seems to land on off beats, opposing the regularity and pacing of the piano. Once again, we have a song that brings out unease but also bewilderment and hustle and bustle. The song feels fun, it just has a dark undercurrent.

Exactly how the casino should feel.

It is not Layton-esque, and it highlights how future London has become a seedy city ruled by criminals. Recall that Layton, a man of simple elegance and refinement, who appreciates the craftmanship of a simple lacquered stool, is now (supposedly) the owner of this den of iniquity.

It evokes all the things Layton patently isn't and in doing so encourages a sense of revulsion that things could become so bad. The whole casino makes me feel sad, because it stands opposed to everything Layton believes in, and the thought he has changed so completely he would forgo those values hurts.

[noirineverysense]

yes yes gay knights and nimona is trans but the soundtrack fucks thats the important part

[sysig]

! Can I also have Ishida and Mitsuru in halloween costumes? Party or some such?

Day 15 - You know, just to sure 💕

[popponn]

confession: i really really like enemies to lovers trope