#myth lore

[mistresskayla-blog1]

Title: The Faroe's Curse

May 1st : Selkie (Scottish mermaid) Prompt 18+

Characters: William Farrow and OC Selkie (Delphine)

(William Farrow developed by Josephine Hart "Damage")

Word count: 3.4k (total in 2 parts)

Warnings: near drowning, sailing, mermaids/selkies (dark siren), Female receiving, height sameness, female rescuing male, fisting, sex, character death.

Fandom: Richard Armitage - Obsession

Obsession - Post series: William takes some time off work and home and decides to go on a boat excursion to the Faroe islands west of Scotland, to reflect on his family's origin.

History: A Selkie according to legend is a Scottish/Nordic derived mermaid of sorts. A women’s form with “seal’s” tail but can shapeshift at will and are thought to be incredibly attractive and captivating creatures. In the Scottish tradition, they are often alluring and can said to grant wishes, before leading to an untimely death. In Norse myth, the Margyge are said to be dangerous and vicious creatures that conjure storms to lure seamen, clawing ships to capsize them, and drag the men out of the boats to a watery grave.  

Definitions: (merfolk translator – twilightrealm.com)

Verdant Eddy – green, vibrant vortex

Ed aib gehi – Oh yes more

Uzz gil gobp bojjih pdi bugi jupi – All men must suffer the same fate

Gil uhi bowd bygqzi whiupohib – Men are such simple creatures     

Far off the Coast of Scotland sat a boat, adrift in the icy and murky waters of the North Atlantic Sea. The circulating waters moving the 42’ sailboat about in high winds. William was unconscious on the bough. A gorgeous and naked woman hovered above him, wet from the seawater. She cradled him against herself and whispered an enchanting tone in her native tongue. William stirred and looked up into icy green eyes and a smooth face. He smiled, then froze remembering how moments ago he had been thrown overboard and was drowning. He coughed up some sea water, its saltiness burning as it forced its way out of his lungs and through his mouth and nose. She patted him gently on his back. He sat up, noticing her nudity. The Selkie’s skin, glowed green and grey, and glistened even in the grey skies. William scurried back a moment, not sure what he was looking at. The Selkie cooed, “Its alright. I am not here to hurt you”. William gulped nervously, “Good thing”, he nervously laughed, scratching the back of his neck, “Did you get me back onto the ship?” He asked her. The Selkie nodded, and looked down, it was then that he truly noticed her breasts and crease of her belly running down to long legs, and delicate feet. She was, in a way, remarkably beautiful. He felt entranced a moment, then tried to shake it off. He tried to stand and fell back on his bum, his legs folding beneath him, “I’m sorry, (chuckles) I must not yet have my bearings back”. The selkie spoke then, “Its alright”, the voice was a bit broken, and raspy.

Below from the midpoint of the schooner, a male voice shouted out towards William. William suddenly grabbed a blanket from the seating compartment and tossed it over the woman. Donald stood a bit above the hatch, and looked towards the bough, “William, are you alright?” he said in his Northumberland brogue. William nodded quickly, “yeah, yeah. Just getting my bearings”. “We thought we lost ya”, Donald said. William turned toward the Selkie, whose eyes were cloaked in the blanket now, looking at him. “Yeah, nearly” a lighthearted chuckle, “Is everything good down there?”  he shouted back over the wind. “Oh yeah, no worries. We will be back on a track in about 30 minutes or so, the current shifted on us, with that last storm”. William nodded and waved at him. The Selkie looked at him tentatively, William came to her, and started to rub her dry, absently, not sure what to do with such a, woman? Her dark hair was tendrilled with seaweed and peppered with salt from the deep water. He looked into her emerald eyes again and lost his breath. When his breath returned he asked, “What is your name?” The Selkie smiled, “Delphine” she said, her throat warming to the open air again. William noticed that she was nearly as tall as him, her long legs lying well past the woolen blanket. Delphine did not shy away, as his hand moved to touch her ankle, and caressing it lightly. He shook his head, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have” William said. Delphine looked at him, “Its ok. I know you have never seen my kind before. It can be quite shocking”. William’s brow furrowed, “Your kind?” he looked inquisitive.

Delphine slid off the seat and onto the bough planks. She stretched her legs straight and hummed a little tune. William watched her legs transform into a silken grey flipper, and his hand went over his mouth, as she took his other hand and slid it along her tail. William was entranced again, the sparkle of her skin, a beautiful grey-green resonated, as he touched her he felt the warm and cool of it and shuddered. He had an impulse to just taste her, but he didn’t know why. William sat down across from her, and just stared. Delphine, giggled, closed her eyes and rubbed her at her seal skin into legs again. Her female sex now showing as the blanket over her shoulders shifted, and William’s cock twitched almost instantly. Then a thought struck him, which he didn’t say out loud (what if they find out? How will I explain her on the ship?)

Delphine looked at him, shrouding the blanket across her flesh, “You seem puzzled”. William looked at her, “I am. I’m not sure how to keep you on board, but I want to,” smirks. Delphine looks down, “I understand, maybe we can come up with a story together? Were the others up here when you fell?”  William grimaced, “Other, there’s only one man down there. But no, he was not”. Delphine smiled broadly, almost sinister, her glow seemed to brighten then, as she showed her sharper teeth. William shuddered again, titillated and frightened. “You speak quite well for a, mermaid, is that what I call you?” Her dialect had a slightly Nordic lilt, “No, I’m a selkie, half man, half seal. Our kind has traded with men for centuries, so its best to be able to communicate”. William thoughtfully paused. He couldn’t look away from the flesh that was exposed by the woolen blanket, “I see, sorry for the confusion then”. Delphine ignored the apology. His eyes continued to dart back and forth with hopeless abandon. Delphine knew she had her mark. “What’s your name?” Delphine asked. William snapped out of his fixation a second, “William, Farrow” Delphine smiled, “Of the Faroe isles?”

William smiled, “Rumored to be, yes” rubbing the back of his neck to wipe away the sweat that was building there. Delphine now moved to stand, a little unsteady on her feet, William stood to help her. She smiled, nose to nose at him, meeting his height. “I’ve never met a woman as tall as me” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist, the blanket maintaining its position. Delphine, “not many have either, I have found”. William formed an ‘oh” with his mouth, and Delphine kissed him, her arms lazily around his neck as they both stood on the deck, the waves settling down around them. William returned the kiss, wanton and sweetly. Delphine licked his bottom lip, her razor-sharp teeth, dragging along it seductively for a moment. William groaned in “

From the observation window Donald saw William and a woman kissing and blasted the horn, causing them both to fall apart, crashing onto the deck. Donald came up on deck and looked at William first before he gazed upon Delphine with suspicion and intrigue. Her long naked legs, against the deck, and nothing else covering her but the woolen blanket. “Now what’s all this? William, what’s going on?” Donald said, perturbed. William guffawed looked up at Donald, as he made it to his feet, “I... I went overboard to retrieve this woman, (looked at Delphine) floating in the water, and” Donald cut in, “And you suppose you needed to resuscitate her while standing in my viewing window, is that it?” he said sarcastically. William put his hands up, “I meant no offense Donald, obviously. I just, I” Donald snapped back again, “Well, anyways, no harm done, right? Hello lass, its nice to meet you. I am Donald, captain of the Verdant Eddy welcome abroad” Donald tipped his hat to Delphine and she smiled closed mouth at him, “Thank you, sir. Captain. I am Delphine”.

William needlessly stood next to her, a subtle claiming of territory, his hand making it to the small of her back. “How did you get out here?” Donald asked her. Delphine looked out to the sea, in a longing fashion, and pointed exactly where land existed about 10 miles ahead, “We were coming off the isles, and capsized, I have been adrift for days it seems. Used most of my clothes to lash together a raft, but eventually that succumb” Delphine looked down sheepishly, “I must look an awful mess, my apologies”.

William shook his head in time with Donald’s response, “No, no. of course not. Listen that is quite an ordeal, is there anyone I can radio for you?” Delphine looked up then, a bit panicked, William spoke up, “She was the only survivor”. Donald grimaced, “I’m sorry lass. But I’ll bet your hungry.. huh. I’ve got some good grub downstairs in the galley. Come on” Donald invited, Delphine walked cautiously away from William and towards Donald. William followed after them, stepping down into the lower section of the boat, trying not to bang his head on the ridge of the hatch. Donald was chipper and rattled off things, as Delphine sat down in the galley. William went the back, to his sleeping quarters and ruffled through his suitcase trying to find some sweats and a shirt for her. Delphine sat quietly watching both men fuss over her, she giggled under her breath. Men were so easy. (and so tasty, she thought)

Donald busied himself at the counter, preparing her a sandwich with fish and sauce, as Delphine watched. His Northumberland accent thickening in places, “Your lucky you didn’t get eaten out there pet” Delphine, “Yes, I am very grateful.. is this boat yours, captain?” Donald nodded not facing her, “Yep sure as the sun sets she is. Bought and paid for. And still kicking about. Now I just do these small charters, takin’ Rich men around, (pointing a butter knife towards Williams’ quarters) wherever they wanna go (chuckles) though that one, is strange for sure, haunted I think”. Donald turned to place the food in front of Delphine, who looked at it expectantly.

“I would retire,” Donald paused, “But no one to retire with, you know. My wife, god rest her, passed away about 10 years ago now, no little ones neither,” he trailed off as William re-entered the galley and sat next to Delphine. “You got one for me, Captain?” William asked, looking towards the sandwich. Delphine pushed hers towards William, “Its ok, William, you can have mine”. Donald huffed, “I insist you eat something lass, get your strength back, you look like you’ve lost a stone since you hit the water”. Delphine dutifully took a bite of the sandwich knowing this to be a custom of men. Donald smiled, “That’s a good girl, (to Delphine) now, what about clothes, William?” William handed the bundle of clothes he had found and laid it next to Delphine on the seat. “Sorry I didn’t have anything better, my, (pause) ex-wife didn’t pack my suitcase.” Delphine smiled shallowly at both men. It was almost too easy, two men with no one to look after them when they go missing, Delphine thought. Delphine took another bite of the sweet fish, her soft pink tongue lapping at her lip at bit, Donald missed it, but William was enthralled. “There you are boyo,” Donald handed William a sandwich and went up to the deck. William nodded, and looked oddly at him, before Donald left them alone in the galley.

William, “So, how, um, well old are you?” Delphine, looked at him, clearly thinking, “Well by your standards I would be about 30, I suppose (She looked down at her soft abs and bouncy breasts) But I am 150 storms old”. William looked inquisitive, “Storms? Is that your only method of time measurement?” Delphine, “The larger parts yes. Its darker where I live, and the agitation brings things around, but I can survive up here, for a little while”. She smiled sweetly. William handed her the bundle of clothes, “Listen you can get dressed in my quarters, and feel free to clean up, if you wish,” smirks, “I will stay out here”. Delphine stood, and walked towards his quarters, “You think I’m suddenly shy, now?” William rose immediately, “I was trying to be respectful” cleared his throat into his fist. “Your respectful customs do not interest me, but I am curious about what other things men can do”.  Taking that as a challenge in acceptance, William gulped again, “I am happy to oblige, ask me anything you like”. Delphine, walked away, swaggering her bum under the blanket, “Its something you’ll have to show me”.

@scariusaquarius a @fizzyxcustard @legolasbadass

Thanks to the lovely people that have been so encouraging!!

Lyn's Writing Event 2024!

[forbiddensaintessandsinner]

SIDC (Mission Groups)

(SIDC Main Post: Here)

__________________________________________

After being sorted within the eight ranks within the company, there is also a grouping for team missions other than solo missions.

The rank captains will then decide their officials and trainees on which the group, either from the same rank or not, or they be trainee or official worker.

After that, the head chief will then decide the team's leader and replacement leader, them the group is settled.

-------------------------------------------

Team Lead: Leader of the group.

Replacement Lead: Takes the lead for the team if the main leader isn't present.

Party Members: People in the team.

-------------------------------------------

__________________________________________

-SIDC Groups-

'Group no. 441'

Members:

Lynette (Team Lead)

Kiara (Replacement Lead)

Amelia (Member)

-------------------------

'Group no. 099'

Members:

Freya (Team Lead)

Yaeko (Member)

Akio (Member)

Cynthia (Member)

Saburou (Replacement Lead)

Hibiki (Member)

-------------------------

'Group no. 231'

Members:

Yuzuki (Replacement Lead)

Jovanni (Member)

Izumi (Member)

Irelyn (Member)

Aimi (Member)

Chouka (Team Lead)

Doremi (Member)

-------------------------

'Group no. 032'

Members:

Miyoko (Replacement Lead)

Sayoko (Team Lead)

Khamari (Member)

Eugene (Member)

Chenoa (Member)

Arianna (Member)

Sylvie (Member)

__________________________________________

(Will be updated-)

[bambiilooza]

nerites design cuz he has the funniest myth ever imo

[mytholympus]

*Hera finding out about Dionysus*

Hera: YOU’RE ZEUS’S SON?… THAT UNFAITHFUL,DOUBLE-CROSSING, TWO-TIMING ASS OF A HUSBAND! I am going to kil-

Dionysus: WAIT! But I’m the god of wine!

Hera: -keep you safe… I’m going to keep you safe is what I was about to say!

Dionysus:

Hera: …Do you have a wine list?

[katy71561]

[gigizetz]

Everyone’s Tiresias designs now be like:

twinkfication: ACTIVATE

already brainstorming ab this

[spookberry]

just remembered this idea I had of drawing my oc styled like her pokemon and wanted to do more

[clown-cult]

Being a Greek myth lover nowadays is way harder than one would think, y’all…

[hycinthrt]

shh they are sleeping

[preposterousjams]

My opinion on the Latino Jason Todd headcanon

While I do understand ppl's criticism of the latino Jason todd headcanon and how its kind of racist to make the kid with parents with drug problems as the latino one, to me its more of a reclamation BECAUSE of DC's racism.

Read any 80s/90s batman issue that covers gang violence and drugs, most if not ALL of the criminals are poc; black people and latinos visibly make up the majority in the poorer neighbourhoods in Gotham. Aside from the caricaturist way they r drawn/speak, its not THAT weird cause its a reflection of irl big cities where immigrants and marginalised ppl are often forced to live in such situations, (like most of my dominican family lives in the bronx... it aint racist to say dominicans tend to flock there), BUT...the weird part is when the second a sympathetic character comes from that area, he's white and has a name thats "too fancy for the streets".

Obviously, Jason was created to look like the old robin, so I can't say that the whole "diamond in the rough" situation was purposely a tad bit racist, but its still a lil weird (especially with bruce's comment).

If Jason were a part of the overwhelming demographic in his area, the good-kid-in-a-bad-area trope has less connotations. DC is currently trying to fix this trope is by making crime alley whiter, which isn't bad but they could've just yk... humanised the non-white residents.

I also feel like the messed up way Jason was treated post-death is what makes him so relatable to latino readers. His tragic story of dying while trying to save his only living relative is turned into a lesson for newer vigilantes. Jason's particular disdain for abusers on a few occasions was twisted (by both writers and characters) into him always being dumb, reckless, cocky, angry and disobedient, always violent, never having been able to get over his upbringing. None of those things were true (he was a normal level of reckless and cocky like every other robin, not more), but its an easier narrative to digest compared to how it was in reality; a kid who worked so hard and loved even harder, died to save a woman who couldn't care less about his existence. He was an emotional AND smart kid who wanted so bad to help others get better but was remembered as too emotional (in a bad way).

THIS is the reality for many latino diasporas in day to day life; Theres no question that Latino culture is passionate and emotive, but people from other cultures assume that it is followed by instead of logical. both can coexist. emotion does not mean u have no logic. Emotions can be irrational but they aren't inherently that way, and I wouldn't say that the moments where Jason lashed out as a teenager were irrational (in og runs, not rewrites post red hood), they were mostly done to protect someone (going crazy on abusers, disobeying batman to save sheila, that time he got into a fight at school to defend his friend).

A lot of euro-centric culture is OBSESSED with the idea that rationality is separate from feelings and emotions, but not crying at a funeral doesn't mean you're better than those who do. Emotions are the basis of human ethics and morals, they define the way we interact as a collective and ignoring them does not mean they are not there. Theres no winner to a contest of who can feel the less. And the way Jason's emotions are treated (pre-rh, hes definitely unhinged afterwards lol) is so in line with how white culture tends to punish those who aren't ashamed to feel.

I TOTES UNDERSTAND that some ppl who headcanon Jason as latino are doing it for the complete opposite of reasons, like "oh here some angry emotional guy with druggie parents, haha must be latino". Its weird. I dont like it. And its only brought up so he can swear in spanish in some rlly bad text post where his emotions are getting out. But to me there's so much potential for metanarrative and commentary on how latinos are treated in media that can be exemplified through the way his character is treated. Being latino would add SO MUCH DEPTH to his character and his dynamic with the others.

[mistresskayla-blog1]

A Superior Find

Part 2

Characters: Dr Scott White x OC Mika Deerheart

Fandom: Sleepwalker - Richard Armitage

Friday morning came through sharply as Mika squinted past the bright sun reflecting the snow again through the gaping large picture window of the cabins south facing side. Mika groaned and put her arm over her face, blowing out a deep breath against the crisp air. The heat had gone out again, so she scurried over to the potbelly stove again in her woolen covered feet and hoodie and started up the peat again. A whoosh told her the flame was good and she adjusted the vent again for the flew. Mika jumped back under the covers for a few minutes letting her limbs stretch and warm to the idea of the day.

She had agreed to come to the clinic today to visit with Dr John and someone called Dr White. Apparently, Dr John felt him to be a specialist in sleep and Mika did relieve her uncle of his worry by seeing them both today, but she admitted, she was curious if someone from the outside could help her. Mika padded to a shower and got dressed. She laid on her bed, and looked up at the myriad of dream catchers that hung on the ceiling of her bedroom. Like faeries spinning and grinning above her, keeping her safe. Some were new, she had just picked up one Wednesday when she went for groceries, others were left there from the centuries of her people that had called this little cabin their hearth and home. She wasn’t even sure how old this site was, just that it felt old, it creaked and groaned and whistled and called to her. She could even sense it when she left it for a hike. Could feel its resonance call her back home every time.

              Mika checked on the kiln before she put on her coat, and gloves and hat and left the cabin. Locking the ratchety door, that caught a little, so she had to slam it shut sometimes. Her gruff, “come on” as she pulled the handle hard, which made her hat puff up above her forehead, showing her dark, ebony hair and charcoal eyes, against the stark white and blue sky above her. The peaking overhang of the porch, she stepped down the steps and checked the ignition switch on the snowmobile. Strapped her gear bag to the back and flipped the ignition switch. It started up with a low rumble and whine. Mika turned the handlebar to rev up the engine, it caught and held, the rumble sustained. She put in her ear buds, hit the playlist on her phone and put it in gear, squealing through the fresh snow with a sloosh, down the hill, and through the woods to the towns.

---

Scott had arrived a little worn out. Some busy nights had kept him wired and when he landed at 10 am Friday morning near Marquette, he was ready for a nap. John met him at the airport and they both rode in John’s Chevy truck to the clinic in Gwinn.

“Listen, I don’t have a lot of equipment, but I have the standard monitoring frey you need. Mika may not have a good night here, but we can still test her and see what comes up. Do you want to interview her first?”

Scott looked out to the stark whiteness of the land and squinted affectionately, a slow smile creeping on his face, as it rested against the headrest of the passenger seat, “Yes, I would. I think that may help deduce this particular focus, don’t you?” Scott turned slightly looking at John who kept his eyes fixed on the road. “Honestly, I think that may be the problem. She has been studying that creature for her sculpting project, and its just infiltrating her. But somehow when she’s awake she doesn’t see the connection”

Scott sat up a bit, “Do you think she’s purposefully forgetting or some kind of dissociation?”  “Well that’s what I’m hoping you can deduce, honestly, I’ve known her all her life and she has been spooked before, but this thing is definitely getting under skin” John looks over at Scott, “You know what I mean,” (soft tone), “Sure, right” Scott said.

They pulled up to the clinic about 45 minutes later and parked near another towering drift of snow made by plows. Scott stretched his long legs out of the truck and felt the sun on his face a second before John came round and handed him his rollaway. “You can get checked in over there at the hotel, Mika will be here in a few minutes”. Scott nodded and walked toward the hotel on main street. He checked in with an elderly steward and got his room key, an actual physical key, he chuckled and looked at it almost imperceptibly.

Then doubled back outside to the Clinic, and walked in. Finding himself in a quiet but busy waiting area. John came out of a hallway, “Scott, this way.” Gesturing for him to come back to the hallway with him. Just then a blast of cold air hit his whole frame as the door blew open and revealed all 5’10” of Mika standing in her riding gear, she shook her hat off letting her ebony locks cascade around her face. Scott turned to see, and visibly swallowed.

John immediately spoke, “Mika, how was the journey?” Mika smiled broadly, “The usual, can I get a cup of tea though, Mary. (woof)” She exclaimed, “I’m a bit cold”. Scott smiled, and there eyes met, Mika strode past him with a nonchalance of a confident woman. The receptionist got up and started some tea in the back office, responding to her request.

John looked to Mika and then to Scott, “Mika, this is Dr, Scott White the one I told you about”. Mika looked him up and down as she removed her snowpants and coat, her gloved hand was still wet, as she thrust it out to him, “Hey,” she said, and Scott took her hand and smiled, “Hello, Mika” in that dulcet tone, Mika’s hairs stood up on her arm through her sleeve, as she stared into that crystal blue of his eyes. Scott held the gaze boring into her charcoal eyes.

“Well, let’s head back shall we?” John corralled them both down the hallway to an exam room. Mika continued to shuck out of her over suit in the exam room, taking off her boots and leaving her woolen socks. Scott just observed her demeanor and stayed silent as John asked her some preliminary questions. “Any new scratches or marks since Tuesday?” John asked her. Mika shook her head, “Well, maybe this one?” She pulled her flannel up off her belly and exposed her side, Scott came up to her then, he had been resting against the countertop, “I think I had an attack last night, but I don’t have any recollection” grimaced, and set her shirt back down. John and Scott got a scant glance before the curtain of her shirt was replaced, “Do you think its connected?”  Scott looked at her, “Did anything get into the cabin last night? Or could have?” Mika looked up at him, “If it did I’m sure it would have woken me up, (she turned to John) that tea did its number on me, but even I will wake from actual animal attack”, Scott looked smilingly at her, “I wasn’t suggesting you slept through an attack, can I see the gash again?”

His hands moved towards her shirt, and she let him lift it up on his own, she observed him, as he touched her skin cautiously. John too got another look and they both looked at each other puzzled, “I’ll give you some ointment for that, it looks a bit angry” Mika huffed, “Its because I scrubbed it too hard this morning, I was crying hysterical” Scott eyebrows furrowed, “So you remembered the dream then?”  Mika looked up at him from her seat on the table, “Yes, of course, why, what have you heard? (Mika chagrined towards John), you told him I forget things didn’t you?” John put his hands up in a professed gesture and sat down against the counter himself, “Look, Mika I just want you to talk with Dr Scott and see what we can discover. I’m not blaming you for this, you know how I feel about your fixation with the Wendigo,” the very mention of its name drew air from Mika’s lungs a second, and Scott resumed his observance of her up close. Mika closed her eyes, “Its not a fixation, I just was curious, and.. (trailed off), I just want to understand it”.

“Then lets do that together. Can you tell me about the dreams you are having?” Scott asked Mika. Mika looked to Scott then genuinely warm, and answered, “Sure, where do I start?” Scott returned, “Wherever you think would be helpful to us”, he paused and waited for Mika’s reply.

Part 3.. coming soon

@lathalea @middleearthpixie @legolasbadass @fizzyxcustard

@riepu10 @scariusaquarius

Let me know if you want to be tagged.

[theribbajack]

"Both of you, faithless fools who would dare to take up arms against the king of earth and sky!"

The words "Zonai Ganondorf" entered my head and I haven't been sane since. Perhaps in the Zonai version of the legend, the warlord "Gannon" sought after the secret stones, and the incarnation of Hylia draconified herself to stop him alongside the Ancient Hero.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

Gandalf said ‘do not offer me that’, Galadriel said ‘I would be a queen, great and terrible,’ but Elrond said ‘get that the fuck away from me’ and this is nonsensical.

The other keepers of the elven rings were most challenged by the One, why not Elrond? Is his struggle merely hidden? Is it his Maia blood? Is it simply his mixed blood? Is that why Aragorn withstood, too?

Canonically the race of men are most easily corrupted, yet Elrond half-elven, who is almost 40% man, doesn’t notably bat an eyelash. Why?

[bosenmoriyoru]

Context:

Sun wukong tells her everything about his plan to get rid of his "crown" and wanting Yèwǎn to join Erlang Shen to "kill" him.

[szynkaaa]

This is my first time asking but I'm going to ask anyway (and English is not my native language) I'm curious to know how your OC and the destined one met (I mean how was their first interaction)

hi hi! thank you so much for your ask, this is the first time I have received one about my OC <3

probably something like this (read right-to-left)

Gonna use this chance to talk a bit more about my AU lol

Wrote in a separate post here that Oz has met Sun Wukong before when she was a child and he was buried under the mountain.

So when she got whisked back into fantasy ancient China, she landed where Yuan Shoucheng aka Gourd Grandpa (the old man carrying a big gourd on his back) was already waiting there for her. He foresaw her arriva. The vague gist of my AU is that the the reason why this Destined One succeeds in retrieving all artifacts and becomes SWK is because he is also sort of the manifestation of that childish promise 5-years-old Oz made that she will save SWK one day (from under the mountain but clearly that didn't happen lol). But also since her ancestor is from this world, her descendants were fated to return back here one day.

Gourd grandpa updates her on her ancestors and their roles in the Celestial Court and the shitstorm that happened that ultimately let to the clan being massacred and one person escaping to "our" world, where magic doesn't exist and all those people are just characters from myths and stories. But also her ancestor isn't the only person that traversed through the two worlds - over the centuries more have come and gone. This is also why people in her world have those myths and deities. In my AU Wu Cheng'en also escaped from fantasy ancient China into her world and then wrote Journey to the West. He took artistic liberty to change some things for his novel, hence some things in BMW are different than in JTTW (like the ZBJ and violet spider love story or how SWK had a romance with White Bone Demon).

Anywayyy, Oz task on the adventure is to document their journey together, and she is responsible for using the magical gourd to suck in the will of the defeated bosses in.

And 2-3 days later the Destined One shows up. I don't think Oz was very happy about leaving gourd grandpa and join the Destined One on his travel, but if he is her best chance to find a way back home to see Taylor Swift live, then she will do it.

The Destined One is indifferent to mildly annoyed about this, but doesn't protest too much, as long as she doesn't slow him down yadda yadda. I do think that DO did feel some sort of special connection to her, because he is sort of a manifestation of that promise. it doesn't really take long for him to get used to her and also to care for her. One of Sun Wukong's massive core trait is that he cares so much for his loved ones and does not hesitate to do the impossible for them, and I like to imagine that even though SWK senses have been split into 6 different parts, the caring part stayed with each Destined One reincarnation.

[genericpuff]

i find it funny that one of rachel’s drawings of herself in the afterword that just went up is just fully persephone. is that something she does a lot?

Alright so I've been making it a general rule for myself to like, not harp on Rachel in any way outside of LO as much because frankly the horse is dead now and there's not much left to say outside of what can be analyzed in hindsight. I think despite everything I have to say about her and her work, she still deserves to get away from this nonsense and I don't wanna spend eternity hovering over her shoulder.

But the afterword was posted within the LO series and is clearly meant for readers of LO in the functioning of being an afterword so let's just call it fair game LOL

I will say, on the whole, it does feel very honest and sentimental and I can respect Rachel for taking the time to write out and illustrate her afterword in a way that was personal to both her and her fans. I can understand why she went at it from the angle that she did and I'm not gonna fault her for that.

But there's also something that feels deeply... disingenuous about her approach right from the starting gun. I will say, before I continue, that I'm well aware I am biased towards Rachel as a creator, and I fully acknowledge that I could very well be reading too much into things. This is just my opinion, take it with mountains of salt.

I can get looking back on your own childhood, your past self, whatever, and going "see! it all got better!" because sure! For a lot of creators like Rachel, it must be wild to look back on where they came from and there's a lot of sentimentality on expressing that through an afterword like this where she reflects on where she came from. Though she STILL didn't acknowledge her other comics outside of LO, I can understand if she wants to leave those skeletons in the closet.

But I feel like her drawing herself as a child who's being given an Eisner by her adult self and all that just feels like some gross attempt to disarm any criticism of her because "don't make fun of me, I'm just a sad lonely baby girl!"

She's not a child. Child Rachel didn't grossly misappropriate Greek myth into their own self-indulged vanity project. Child Rachel didn't claim herself a folklorist of a culture's works only to bastardize them completely. Child Rachel didn't create a hostile environment within her fanbase by bullying anyone who she perceived as a threat, sneaking into critical spaces to try and cause trouble, and writing her own clapbacks into her comic. Child Rachel didn't claim to be challenging misogyny and purity culture only to reinforce misogyny and purity culture through her own self-insert baby-virgin-gets-rescued-by-rich-tycoon power fantasy that regularly glorified abuse towards women and the lower class.

30-almost-40-year-old Rachel did though.

At best it comes across as really cringe sentimentality from a Greek-weeb (heh, greeboo) and goes to show how much Rachel inserted herself into Greek myth without ever absorbing its messages or cultural contexts, it was all about her and her feelings as a sad New Zealand girl with dyslexia who thought Persephone's story was about another sad girl being rescued from her "horrible childhood".

At worst it's an active attempt to play on people's heartstrings by drawing herself as a child who people will naturally not want to criticize. I don't want to assume she's doing it intentionally, I really don't want to leave her afterword on a bad foot, as I can definitely understand as both a creator and a person who struggled with learning disabilities in their own childhood how and why she wants to pay homage to her past and where she came from... but let's just say, as someone who's also gotten way too "lost in the sauce" concerning personal self-reflective projects, I think there's a lot to say about how this confirms that Rachel made LO entirely for herself, about herself, without any actual intention to respect the original myths, because she never truly separated them from herself when she was a child. And, in my humble opinion as someone who has Been There with the self-insert OC's and self-reflective angsty plotlines, I can fully attest to the fact that that's not fucking healthy. Even with personal projects, you NEED to learn to get your head out of the sauce, you NEED to learn to objectively separate yourself from the narrative so the story doesn't fall apart under your own hubris and ego, you NEED to learn to draw a line if you want to have any sort of identity as a human being outside of what you make for people. And that's with just normal original stories, this was a story based on Greek myth which doesn't belong to her.

And this goes for a lot of the things she's said and done in the past, so much of her own "sources" even are tethered to things that she read / watched in her childhood and only vaguely remembers, as if she never mentally left her childhood at all, which just... if the point was to highlight her past and the traumas she went through and how they contributed to her present, an Eisner isn't going to validate those experiences. And drawing attention to her past through the lens of her childhood self absolutely 100% does not absolve her of the negative effect her work has had on the modern Greek myth zeitgeist nor the things she's said and done as a 38 year old woman who should absolutely know better.

The community she entered and took from will forever remain changed by her influence and taking, in many ways not for the better. She has the privilege of walking away and never having to think about it again, with all the awards and accolades that were bought for her, the bravado that she built around being a "folklorist" with zero credentials, and the platform she was given over many other creators struggling to even be heard.

That "place" she claims to have now was built entirely on inserting herself into another culture's works and doing nothing but taking, taking, taking, while offering nothing in return but vanity and lip service. That "place" was paid for and brought to you by Webtoons.