#off topic apollos rants!

[alliumsduo]

sometimes i look at my blog and think. am i posting. c!allium duo content in the year of twenty twenty four. (2024). is this a thing thats happening.

[alliumsduo]

holy shit the miraculous lady bug fandom comes back to haunt me but this whole entire post was powerful in a way i dont think even presidents have spoken

this screenshot is driving me INSANE. big ass table so many chairs and you can't even sit next to your son. i hate you. i hate you. he's literally two apples tall and he's all alone yet full of RADIANT love. he shines. he glows. he's bathed in light and you are DROWNING in the DARK. because you are HATEFUL. the reflection of the happy family portrait in the mirror, it cuts the room in half. why would you leave that hung up? just to remind your son of WHAT HE'S LOST? of what YOU DESTROYED?? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY. you could have LOVED your SON. but instead you choose hate. and that's why nathalie tried to kill you with a crossbow. i hate you. gabriel agreste KILL YOURSELF

[r4d0m-13]

Ranting about God Games (Specifically Apollo)

I’m so normal about this.

So the live stream just came out and AAAAAAAHDA TO ESTHFRR DE H

ok.

So a lot of people are talking about how Apollo really didn’t even have much of an argument and really didn’t want to be involved much. I raise you, he wanted to make it easier for Athena. Apollo and Athena are Knowledge and Wisdom, they get along well. They probably have tea and talk about what budding civilizations will grow into mighty empires. And they have probably broached the topic of Odysseus multiple times, once Apollo had gotten over the sacking of Troy. (enough for Apollo to be familiar enough with him to USE HIS NICKNAME)

So when Zeus chooses Apollo to be one of the Gods who needs to be convinced, he has no idea what to say AND wants to make it easy.

Another thing is the visuals, (THE ANIMATOR FOR HIM DID SUCH A GOOD JOB AAAAA) every other Deity shows Athena have to visually struggle even just a bit to convince the others.

Hephaestus was not that big of a struggle, Athena has to maneuver her way through his forge to get through to Hephaestus. He and Athena have a more passive relationship so she has to navigate more carefully than she would for someone like Artemis.

Athena and Aphrodite have a much more antagonistic relationship. Athena has no interest in love as an Eternal Maiden. Aphrodite has always had problems with that in myths. So they don’t like each other. Because of that, Athena has to stop her from dismissing the conversation and get her stop and think about it. Ares interrupts and he and Athena have that sibling rivalry as they are both war gods and Athena is more favored. They physically fight and argue and Athena has to win to convince Ares and Aphrodite in extension.

Hera and Athena could have varied relationships, but they seem somewhat cool with each other so it’s just a dance battle. All Athena needed was one good move but she didn’t know what was good enough for Hera, so she went for the “He respects the sanctity of his marriage” card.

However for Apollo, they were just in a pleasant spot with him playing his Lyre while they talked. He put up a small qualm he could reasonably have with Ody, and Athena responded in kind. It was a short exchange as they both agreed that he needed to be let go but they needed to put on a show of disagreement first. He didn’t want to waste time while Ody was wasting away on the island and sent Athena off fast as he could.

YOU SEEE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[angelicxboi]

LO critique / rant

(I haven't read LO in a while, this is based off memory.)

One thing of many things I didn't like about LO is that the fantasy world of the gods and mortals isn't explicitly explained or understood? Why do the gods need the mortals and vice-versa. How are they gonna tease Thetis and Achilles and then not really explain how and why that came to be. Why are most of the gods one dimensional, they have multiple titles and 'purposes'. And those with epithets don't clearly abide by those epithets (See; Artemis in LO. even Persephone herself. I'd argue everyone in LO...just is similar to the greek gods in name alone.)

And on the topic of 'powers' because I'm pretty sure that's how they describe it in the comic-whats the rules here? Why do some gods 'gain' different powers or titles, why do they get epithets if they hardly interact with mortals? Are other gods giving them their titles?

I understand that LO is, supposed to be a romantic, consenting re-telling of Persephone and Hades, thus these things shouldn't be my main strife but since the author added all these weird plots and plot-lines about succession to power (Apollo becoming..king?) and constantly having scenes where the gods just sit around in legit business meetings yapping about nothing- I think it'd be nice to at least have a consistent line of rules and thoughts to go along with these plots.

Also since Hades is 'king' i feel like there should be alot more discussion about that. Not just how his realm works but like, his relationship with mortals. He's a king, but unlike Zeus he's kinda a king of dead mortals, which once again. Why aren't mortals really discussed in LO? Gods without mortals are just...guys.

But even if I poke and prod at the romance aspect, its... alot. Alot wrong. Here's how I'd re-write LO.

I wouldn't model the characters entirely off real people I know. These Greek gods have literal centuries worth of characterization I can choose from, or include all of it. Ex. Persephone herself is described as 'girl' a child, her titles include the same ones as her mother, 'fruit-grower' 'lady of the harvest' etc. but she's also known as 'mad/dread Persephone' just based on titles alone this is a good basis to further develop this character.

Make it more campy and anarchic, and play into it. Or, make it completely serious. Having one panel or one chapter discuss themes of emotional abuse and dominance only to be followed by a scene where Hades dresses Persephone up as Marylin Monroe and calls her "kitten", is like whip-lash. I'd either try to make it as Barbie 2023 as possible or just not add the comedy at all.

Characters, (especially the main ones) need to be fleshed out. I cannot tell you any redeeming qualities Hades has by himself. He is a shitty partner to Minthe and creepy towards Persephone early on. (Full-grown god thinking about Persephone, a goddess not even half his age...WHILE he is still dating Minthe.) I don't know his personality other than his trauma, and that he apparently loves Persephone but...why?

^ Going off this point. Obviously, characters need to change, having Persephone as a 'blank slate' in the beginning of the story as we follow her while she grows up and discovers her strengths and boundaries is fine. But we also need that from Hades.

Hades in LO is kinda written as a guy who doesn't want to look like he's in the wrong, but by being wishy-washy he's just a really worse guy. I'd write him completely differently.

Maybe the real villain was the patriarchy...kinda like the original Hades and Persephone myth. I would cut the nonsense and villanification of Apollo, and instead give that to Zeus if we were to demonize anyone in the story.

Demeter... I love Demeter and her and Persephone's relationship would be rewritten and reworked so much.

Expand on mortals. Mortals can be the backbone of this god society, they can be envied or treated like dirt in the eyes of the gods. but regardless they are interwoven with the gods and shouldn't only be mentioned just to mass slaughter them off.

Expand on nymphs. As is, I'm not really a fan of LO's deception of them. But, big fan of Hades (game) nymphs.

TLDR; I initially thought LO was fun because of the...different character design and the premise was funny to me, Persephone being a broke college student just like me. But...then the story went on and the plot holes became bigger and less meaningful and i remember reading a panel where Hades called Persephone 'kitten'

All this to say, LO was good if you have no previous knowledge of greek myth. It was a nice way to dip your toes into it- otherwise if you are familiar with greek myth and start reading LO expecting a cool new spin or reimagining of these figures. You will only get mad.

[thedansemacabres]

Hello! As one Hellenic Polytheist to another, and since you have such a huge knowledge of wine and wine making, I was curious if you have any good wine suggestions that might also be good offerings? Unfortunately, do to medical reasons, I can't drink alcohol but I'd like to find some wines that I could use as offerings to Apollo and Ares. I'm sure they wouldn't fault me for grabbing any wine from the grocer, considering I cant actually drink it to see if it tastes any good, but if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear. Thank you and hope you're having a good day :D

Of course! I actually have many thoughts on this, so I'll provide a quick brief on wine in grocery stores:

Grocery store wine tends to be a nightmare to winemakers. The common person does not know what wines they want to purchase, or good wines to buy, and there's a large state of confusion--it does not help that grocery stores throw wines on a self without worry. I'll see Italian wine next to Spanish with completely different histories and flavour profiles, and the history behind it will not be explained. Especially when a Spanish cooking wine is put next to Prosecco... which is why so many winemakers are putting attention into modern, cute, and pretty labels. People buy labels most often instead of decent wine.

So, grocery store wine shopping!

Personally, I avoid any bottle under 10$. This is due to labour and environmental concerns. I do not think you need a full rant on the labour issues of Blackfoot wine, but it's certainly a topic.

Then, what to buy? I associate Ares with full, harsh reds (or even a nice rose...), and Apollon I believe is both a red, rose, and white wine sort. As a general rule, affordable and drinkable (usually food) wine tends to be Italian (DOCG - Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita): Italian for “Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin” means that it was made under certain quality control constrictions. Besides, a 10$ Chianti is a perfect offering. The quality system on wine labels goes far beyond DOCG, but that's a different post or if anyone asks.

For Ares, I would recommend any wine that states itself as "tannic" "bold" "courageous" etc., and grapes like Cabernet Franc are famous for this. A Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has similar traits, but it tends to be expensive. If the bottle is blue/green, that means the wine is meant to age, and bolder reds tend to do so. I also think he is definitely a rose guy, so I would gravitate towards rose that calls itself "floral" "light" "refreshing" "breezy" etc., especially one of my favourite grapes, Black Muscat. Chambourcin is also a great grape for him--the floral nature and dark purple hue is beautiful.

Apollon - I would gravitate towards more yellow/gold whites, such as an older Chardonnay or Orange (skin contact white wine) wines. I personally associate him with Traminette, though that one can be rare to find. These tend to be expensive, but noble rot wines I believe fit (often called botrytis wines, but these tend to be more expensive) or straw wines--wines made by grapes shrivelled in the sunlight--which will require some research to find if it's a straw wine if not directly stated. Straw wines are sweet wines, so let's go into that.

Sweet wines will be more "accurate" to the ancient world if you care for that. Sweet wines have hundreds of names depending on region, so here's a tldr;

French wine - demi-sec and above is sweet, especially doux.

Italian - completely opposite of French wine, it's extra-sec (off-sweet), sec (sweet), demi-sec (very sweet), and dolce (syrup sweet)

German - Germany has a whole different approach to sweet wines, with sweetness being a mark of quality; trocken, halbtrocken (half-dry), feinherb (off-dry), lieblich (semi-sweet), and suß (sweet.)

Or the bottle just says "sweet" or "residual sugar" level. This is the easiest.

I hope this helps and may you enjoy offering wines to the theoi!

[rockgodklav]

“Ahh. Ja.” Klavier then took a seat in a counter, elbows leaning on his knees as to not to hit his head. He hasn’t judgmental or rude—simply acknowledged what Apollo said—and dropped the bread thing.

He was thinking, apparently, by the way he played with his hair for a moment before looking at Apollo.

“Hm.. Achtung! I do wonder if my card would work here; I… carry very little cash, I admit,” Klavier thought aloud, now giving fixing his hair one more valiant effort. He didn’t have a brush or hairspray and instead tried to make it neater with his hands; really, he had been thrown into this world with only himself.

”Ah, Gott.” He smiled at Apollo, still on the counter and failing to straighten out his appearance. “I don’t.. suppose you have any ideas, Herr Stirn? If this isn’t temporary, anyway.”

Klavier was nervous, once more, thinking about his situation realistically: Vongole is still at home, he was relying on Apollo not kicking him out, and it seemed this world was awfully different. It made him homesick for his empty, cold penthouse.

[[ AS A CONTINUATION OF THIS POST (REALLY LONG REBLOG CHAIN) ]]

[[ @jaydovekj ]]

// before I continue I want to point out that this is what Apollo looks like right now. It's not that important, he just looks funny. ignore the tiny chair/giant apollo, drawing furniture is hard & i made that while dead tired

"Advice? Hm." [The voice paused in thought, the man's wry smile easily visualized even with his lack of presence.] "Now, what would you need my advice with? You can make decisions for yourself, can't you?"

[Another pause occurred, more palpable than the last. But after a moment, he continued again, Kristoph's voice switching to a much more light, saccharine tone.]

"...But, who would I be, to not help guide you?"

[While his eyes had diverted off to the side, Apollo's brows were furrowed at the part of the conversation he could hear. Even the simple concept of Klavier talking to someone else, possibly about him, made him nervous... and going off of the man's demeanor, it could only really be one person, right?

He paused his thoughts, closing his eyes.

Frightened? No. If anything... he felt more embarrassed about the potential of him knowing. Knowing that left an odd pit in his stomach, his mouth pulling into a thin frown.]

[a-sentient-penrose-triangle]

On the topic of Apophis (and Neheb-kau)

Part 1: Unpacking My Worship

Go ahead, scold me for using Apep's name. The reason gods are evil and vengeful and hateful and all the other nasty things that the gods have done to each other and to man (Zeus, Loki, Medusa, Persephone, the entire rivalry of Set and Horus), but in the end like all stories it has a moral. It has morality, a reasoning, a balance in the end. I use the name of the "accursed primeval force" because, unlike many, everything deserves love as long as they 1) do not hurt others and 2) do not force things of self/themself upon those unwilling.

The Christian God, Yahweh, and His many counters are one such example. You think you know God? If you've been in an abusive Christian house you probably know Him for his rage and hate, and I'm sorry for that, but it was never God, but whoever forced this view upon you. Negativity clumps together like Grey Goo, I know because my Mom would invite all kinds of nasty shit in unintentionally, and I'm traumatized by pictures talking and constant nightmares. God is as stated in the Bible, Existing. Exhilarating, right? Well yes, when you look at the entire universe you start to realize how odd our existence is. At the edge of a mild galaxy, we sit and fester with our evil, just like all the ancient texts state humans have done for, well, ever. We are a petri dish, an experiment like all the gods after Him. That's why we see fuck ups in all these texts. Mistakes were made, and now, do you ever see a god just chilling on the street?

Morality is the reason we're here, its the reason things have right and wrong, because God saw that like all the deities he created below him to help with delegation, that Him and them would make mistakes and fuck up. (That's why the bible drops off so far, and is hard to find actual historical evidence of as well. It was wiped for a clean slate, without the gods and God interacting. The Flood is the biggest example.)

Now, what does this have to do with Apophis and Neheb-kau? A whole lot. Snake invocation was always two sided, one wrong move and you could be envenomed, but also its how we harvest the antidote. Neheb-kau, for as little as i can find, is (a form of) Apophis. The biggest point I use is not only their similar primeval nature, but also their energy. I work with Neheb-kau and a good chunk of the gods, and God (all in all I'm universally Polytheistic, believe in nearly everything). I work with God under the simple pretense of one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shall not worship another before me." Never really states you cant worship, like, Apollo or Hades as long as you understand "Hey, thanks for creating all the others who can interact with us as you sit observing the fish tank of Creation."

Neheb-kau (Who i shall call Neheb for brevity) has actively given me permission to use both Apophis and Seta/Sata (A deification of becoming one with the snake, mentioned in The Book of the Dead of Ani, and i believe others) as names or acknowledgement. Neheb has shared over dreams, meditation, and other methods about his past and where he sits on the totem pole, which happens to be a layer or two below God.

Why I believe this is from experience as a Christian. God's love is as strong as his wrath, and i believe this is from the fact that He simply cannot, and will not interact with man again until we learn to all get along, even with the deities we victimize, villanize or put upon a pedistal. Neheb gives me very God vibes (like Ra) both very primal entities, and thusly are very raw and hard to connect to.

I wish I had a better outlet to rant this all too, because as you can see theres a lot of things going on that even I struggle to keep track of. I feel as though there is justifacation in cultures demonizing or hating, but it gets to a point that it feels as though a medical or scientific process created an entity for no reason. Apophis is fine to be around, and i do not worship any gods as of yet. I am a student under them, using their energy to work myself. Whatever opinion you have, please share. I'd be more of a Thoth devotee if it wernt for the fact that he simply hasnt called.

I am by no means done, but i can only let anger fuel me for so long before i realize im forcing my opinion down others throats. Also will admnit, lost a couple of thoughts writing this, its a rant after all.(hopefully the #tw covers those with triggers)

[thebright3ststar]

☆

about me

my online name is salvia (sal), and I am an intj, a capricorn, an sx5, an ambivert, and a slytherin i speak eng/fr/esp i worship apollo and aphrodite my pronouns are she/her and i'm sixteen, so don't be weird with me i am autistic and a chronic overthinker never beat the odd, off-putting girl allegations the one loud girl with a shaggy wolfcut and leather jacket yk that type ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

what to expect

i share my assload of angsty and fluffy marauders headcanons and make shitty commentary about books and movies i like. i also make moodboards for characters i like. sometimes i go on balls off the walls insane rants about my special interests. once in a while i'll share my thoughts on random topics that pique my interest

interests

the marauders are my main obsession as of right now ! i love wolfstar, jegulus, and rosekiller. i'm like if sirius, regulus, and barty were combined into a weird girl. i adore reading, and my favorite books are 'american psycho', 'the secret history', 'on earth we're briefly gorgeous', 'the bell jar', and 'the song of achilles'. i also like cinematography, specifically obscure weird indie films, horror, thrillers, and movies from the 1980s-early 2000s (my favs are 'requiem for a dream', 'heathers', 'thirteen', 'american psycho' and 'black swan'). i love music, and i'll link my spotify on this post :) i also like aquatic creatures like leafsheep and cyerce elegans! i love art; painting, writing, sculpture, dance, etc. i love mythology of all kinds, and religious imagery. i want to study criminal psychology ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ

if you'd like to dm me and be friends i'm cool with that !! i like talking to people

do not interact if:

racist, mysogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, zionist, ableist, terf, etc.

proship

over 19 or under 13 link to my spotify link to my pinterest ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ

[winns-stuff]

LO RANT:

Okay this is more of an observation but has anyone else noticed that the comic as a whole tip toes around the Apollo situation yet goes off on minor occurrences or inconveniences towards the lower class? Bare with me while I explain myself.

Many powerful people know about what happened to Persephone whether it was by her recall (even if she wasn’t in charge of it) or some otherworldly intuition of it. They all know what happened to her, and listen when I say I do understand that she deserves to get justice at her own pace and I in no way want to push this narrative where if it happens to you you must tell someone immediately or whatever because it takes a lot of time to process and in this society, crimes like this are rarely taken seriously. Especially when it involves the victims. But I just don’t understand any of it, Persephone obviously wanted justice for herself during season 1 (or 2??) with the whole Lyre thing if she didn’t want to call Apollo out she wouldn’t have stolen it. But now that she has more people willing to believe her and even Hera wiped the pictures (or at least that’s what’s implied with the comic? Idk, the whole meeting with Hephaestus) so shouldn’t they be at least trying to take action?

Apollo is literally running for president yet no one cares. He’s still in a position of power even though many other powerful gods know about the disgusting shit he’s done, I’m just not understanding why no one has at least tried to strip some of his access away from him. Everything surrounding the Apollo situation has been so quiet, if you understand what I’m trying to say, there’s been no real resolve and everybody acts like they’re over it and Apollo isn’t a free man. Even Persephone played it for a joke in recent chapters (when she was describing the whole monster thing she was referring to Kronos and Apollo) and it doesn’t even feel like it ever happened.

Then what really irks me about this whole thing is that Apollo barely gets demonized as much as he deserves. Let this be a nymph that Persephone had a bad encounter with after 10 years though and they get all the threats and repercussions. I hate the fact that this comic punches down on the lower class citizens and shit on them whenever they can yet when you have someone like Apollo walking freely he barely gets half of the shit that they do which just baffles the fuck out of me.

Listen I know Apollo is demonized by the fandom, that’s great, but it’s hard to even correlate that with the comic when it doesn’t even share the same energy. Apollo is untouchable in this comic because the comic itself doesn’t do anything in order to actually persecute and demonize him. It’s incredible how it’s been this long yet no one actually brings it up nor do they have a motivation too, it just feels like to me personally the comic walks on eggshells with Apollo (not because it’s a sensitive topic but because it’s just not seen as a big of a deal as it actually is at least to me personally) while if they’re dealing with any of the lower class citizens they don’t hold back. Why is that the morals of this comic? It’s idiotic.

[1jemmagirl22]

Okay so, like, I’m in a Percabeth obsession stage right now, stage is light, I worship them and have been doing it on and off since April 2023, but it’s been constant since early June 2023 . Anyway, I digress, I digress very hard. SO back to the topic of hand, in my obsession I’ve like finally realized something, I want someone who’s been in the Percy Jackson fandom longer, someone who’s read more than just the original series (Cause save Heroes of Olympus there is no way in hell I’m reading the other series, I know just enough to know that 'fuck you' isn’t strong enough to show my hatred for the character decisions made, Trials of Apollo quite probably might drive me mad, but again, this is not the point). 

Here’s my question, or well, my realization is, and I mean this, has anyone thought of this before, please tell me. Okay so, in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, we are introduced to the idea, quite early on, that Demigods die young. But, okay, but, at the same time, like really early in the book, we are introduced to the fact that World War II was caused because the children of the Big Three went to war, so like. I mean, um, these two things do not go together. Demigods passing 16, from what I’ve seen through fandom and friends that like Percy Jackson, is a big deal, but in book 1 it’s not. In book one, Luke aside, there is at least one or two clearly older campers we see, or at least hear mention of. And for fucks sake World War II, like come on, I know everyone reading these books is not as big a World War II history nerd as I am, but like, everyone should know the major players in World War II were older than fucking 16! Hell, the period technically classified leading up to World War II is more than 16 years! The lead up to World War II started in 1918, it started right after the first World War. This is basic, like googlable information. 

So, that rant aside, like, what the fuck? And like Heroes fo Olympus made this worse, The Civil War was between the Greeks' and Romans’, like again, those players in that massive piece of history were at least twice the average demigod life span if most of cannon is to be believed. Like seriously have we never thought of this before?  Have no one ever said, hmm, these things do not compute! What the actual fuck! I’m so confused! Look, I’m a passive Star Wars fan, a third generation Tolkien nerd, and a self proclaimed Shadowhunters devotee, I know weird painful to follow and confusing world building; I know it like I know Fitzsimmons, but fuck me this takes the cake. 

[alliumsduo]

rip ctommy you would've loved being a sleeping bag burrito

[kimiskip]

speak ur truth on todays stream i will listen 👍

it wasn’t anything too bad lmao i was just really REALLY frustrated with steve and his chat from yesterday

[3-enbies-in-a-trenchcoat]

I need to rant for a second sorry if this doesn’t make that much sense it’s late

I am currently in two fandoms that are both waiting for new canon content starring a yellow queer boy named Will as he finally stops getting sidelined and actually gets to be a main character next to the emo boy he’s in love with.

And people keep calling death flags for both of them.

And, despite the fact that bury your gays is very much a thing, I actually think that them being queer makes them less likely to die? Let me explain.

Will Solace

People have been saying that Will is gonna die in the Solangelo book since it was announced because *checks notes* he’s blond?

They could talk about the symbolism of him dying despite being the best healer at camp, the son of Apollo and having a brother who can literally bring people back from the dead + literally everyone Nico loves being dead (Maria, Bianca, Jason…) but no. Every time I see someone being serious about this, they only talk about his hair.

And I am absolutely not saying that Rick’s queer representation is flawless, it can get really bad (fierrochase is one of my favorite ships but I still have so many critiques about the way Alex’s trans identity was handled), but there is an actual queer writer working on this with Rick, he’s not alone. I don’t fully trust Rick to not bury his gays, but I do trust a fellow member of the LGBTQ+ community to give Nico the happy ending he deserves — and that includes his boyfriend not dying in superhell.

Nico was the first canonically queer character in the Riordanverse, and Rick has taken away his mother, his sister, his childhood, his memories, his right to privacy regarding his sexuality and his first real friend who fully trusted him and cared about him regardless of his heritage and sexuality. Literally not a single queer person who has a say in how his story will go from here would agree to kill off his boyfriend. So despite the fact that I have never read a single thing written by Mark Oshiro, their presence on this project is enough to convince me the gay will not be buried.

Will Byers

I was writing this and I realized I forgot why people are so adamant he’s gonna die? Like I literally cannot remember a single argument that they have? But that might just be my memory. So, while I do not look up why people think Will is going to die, let’s look at why I think he won’t.

This show has three canonically queer characters ; Vickie, who has like 2 minutes of screen time, Robin, who only joined in season three (also the way that she was used to push Stancy this season makes me cringe but that’s a topic for another time) and Will. Will who was bullied(for being gay), abused(and called homophobic slurs by said abuser), kidnapped(everyone thought he’d been hate-crime’d), trapped in a hell dimension for a week with monsters, possessed, used to kill multiple people including his mom’s boyfriend, tortured(mentally and physically), burned alive from the inside out, sidelined and ignored, all while figuring out his identity as a gay person and his feelings for his best friend, watching said best friend fall in love and start dating some girl(who he can’t even hate for that because she saves his life and later becomes his sister) and living in a small american town during the AIDS crisis. No matter how much it would make sense with the plot(which it wouldn’t, but I’ll get to that.), killing off a character like Will after making him go through all that shit would be extremely cruel, especially with him being gay. This being the queer representation in a show supposedly targeted at ��outcasts’ and ‘freaks’ would be a punch to the face to literally everyone in the community.

Even ignoring the fact that he’s queer, Will dying would be such an unsatisfying ending to his arc? The fuck kind of story would it be? ‘Let’s traumatize this child as much as possible and then brutally kill him for no reason’? He hasn’t been genuinely happy since the first scene of season 1 and thinks of himself as a mistake, killing him when he finally begins to heal and love himself for who he is would be an enormous waste of potential.

The premise of the fucking show is that everyone loves Will too much to give up on him. The first two seasons are about saving Will. Literally almost every character in this show would die for him. Killing him off would go against what started the fucking plot. Grow a brain. (I know this is rude, but I have no patience for people who don’t care to understand the basic premise of the shows they analyse, or even have an opinion about. It’s the same reason why I lose my shit when I think of the fact that there are people who genuinely believe Simon from Infinity Train could’ve been redeemed, like, holy fuck, did you even watch the show?)

I have other arguments but it’s 1 am and I don’t have the patience or energy to use my shitty iPad keyboard much longer, so we’ll leave it at that.

I’m pissed

We should stop calling death flags for our favorite queer characters because we don’t trust the writers to see us as more that props, and instead hope that they will actually treat us like human beings who deserve a happy ending. I don’t want to be scared that this queer character I love is going to die, and I don’t want to see members of my own community say that someone like us is more likely to die than to get a happy ending.

I want to see people say that we deserve to survive and be happy. I want to see people say that this endgame-coded, semi-canon queer ship between two main characters will be canon without calling themselves delusional because of it.

Let yourself hope, for fuck’s sake.

[iiceddorklatte]

a discussion on greek mythology and its modern adaptations || importance of sex and wrath in mythology

okay before i get into this a couple of things:

this is more of a rant/tangent style post and is just something I thought I would talk about in regards to a major interest of mine. If you dont agree with some of the things I say or reference, thats okay! again this is my perspective on the issue but I do think it adds insight to many communities involved in adaptations of mythology.

this talk involves discussions of sexual assault and uses the word rape and dissects the word in regards to its original meaning, if you are not in the headspace to read stories or read the word, please come back later or do not read.

this talk also focuses on the harsh treatment of women in mythology, and same warning as before click off if you wish

okay now that youve been fully warned, lets get into it.

as someone who reads Lore Olympus(i know! blasphemy) i will say that there are a lot of controversial themes or storylines that do not sit right with me. If you know the series you probably know that I am talking about the storyline between Persephone and Apollo. This is not a defense of it at all, however I am also not fully condemning it.

First, I want to look at Greek Mythology as a whole. To make it clear, not all myths are told the same. A good majority of mythology has been passed down through word of mouth or paintings or any other art form and will have inconsistencies or changes. Mythology as a whole is a tool used to explain human nature, the universe through the eyes of a certain group, and hierarchy systems along with many other things. Mythology and their stories are also used for morality based subjects. What I mean by this is that these stories are meant to teach a lesson or a type of behavior. This is typically why you will see inconsistencies between the retelling of myths. To use a very popular example of this, the myth of Hades and Persephone varies, but still have their own messages attached. For example, the myth where Hades forcibly kidnaps Persephone and highlights Demeter's determination to get her daughter back is a story about how a mother's love conquers all and how that love made her continue on her quest. However, in another telling where Persephone willingly enters the underworld and marries Hades, the story is about breaking free from authority and gaining back your own control. Again, myths vary depending on what message they want to send to their audiences.

Now I want to look at the gods and their behaviors throughout mythology. I know that everyone is tired of the 'Zeus fucks everything' joke but it is important to note it. Specifically, in the Greek mythos, Gods are the reason many things exist. Or at least are involved in some way in that process. This is why sex and wrath are important jumping-off points in creation mythology. Uranus(or the night sky) was born from Gaea, and then produced the Titans. Because of his hateful nature Uranus had his children imprisoned, until his son Cronus(time) castrated him and dispersed his remains. From this, he created Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. The cycle of sex and wrath is seen time and time again through these myths, and unfortunately the combination of these two is also very commonly seen in mythology.

//Tw SA (i am speaking about this topic from a mythological perspective, but also adding in modern day views of it)

Sexual assault is unfortunately very common place in Greek Mythology. Zeus is typically the mastermind behind these plots, however other Gods are also involved in it as well. The story of Medusa is another myth with many different iterations, however I want to look at the version that falls in line when her name which means "protect, rule" or "guardian". In this myth, Poseidon being jealous of Athena decides to rape Medusa, a servant to Athena, on the steps of her temple. This is again where wrath comes back into play. Athena, being infuriated by the violation of her temple, curses Medusa to become a gorgon. Depending on the interpretation, this 'curse' can also be seen as a gift of protection under the guise of punishment. Most of these horrific acts done by the Gods can be seen as being caused by their own or an outsider's wrath. I do also want to note that the word 'rape' meant something slightly different. Rape used to be defined as "to seize or abduct; carry off by force" as well as our modern definition to it. While in cases like Medusa or anything to do with Zeus really, we understand these cases do mean sexually assalt. Here is where I want to talk about Persephone.

The myth of Hades and Persephone goes by many different names, however one that can be seen around is “The Rape of Persephone”. While in some myths, authors have concluded that Hades may have assaulted persephone, the rape that is being refered to here is abduction. The Rape of Proserpina is the title of a popular sculpture created by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini between the years of 1621 and 1622. While this statue is about the Roman counterparts of Hades and Persephone, Pluto and Proserpina, the Romans basically stole the Greeks mythos and changed the names slightly. While it is more complex than that, the stories are the same if not similar, which is why I am bringing this statue up. The statue depicts Persephone, being held up by Hades, with her arms and legs in motion kicking away from him. Her expression is fearful and terrified. Hades is joyful and excited. He doesn't look hateful. Why is that? One way to explain it off is the lighting or the fact it's a statue, or that art and its meaning differs from person to person. However, I'm me and I'm very annoying so I'm going to go deeper into this by looking back on a different spin of their myth. While Hades did fall deeply in love with Persephone and was given permission from Zeus to kidnap her, another telling of the story from the Roman perspective sheds more light on the situation. According to a section from Metamorphosis, Aphrodite was wronged by the Gods and wanted to enact revenge. She elected her son Cupid or Eros to shoot Hades with an arrow of love, which would cause him to become infatuated with the Goddess of Spring. It appears wrath is commonplace amongst all the Gods. 

I know that I am bouncing all over the place, but stay with me. I now want to talk about Apollo and his connection to all of this. To reference back to Lore Olympus, Apollo in the series plays the role as the story's main antagonist. In the series, he sexually assaults Persephone. Now before I continue, I would like to say that using Apollo in this way is a gross misrepresentation of his mythology and Persephones. In actual Greek mythology, Apollo is a candidate to be married to Persephone. It is even cited that the God of the Sun and Music stated that he was in love with her. Granted this is mythology, and different versions of the story do appear with Apollo involved or not. Even though the series did not capture the true interaction between Persephone and Apollo, he is not free from the nature of his older counterparts. The myth of Apollo and Daphne shows this plainly. In this myth, Apollo falls in love with a nymph named Daphne who is the daughter of Peneus the River God. However, Aphrodite and Eros become involved again. While Eros shoots Apollo with a love arrow, he also shoots Daphne with one full of hate. This causes Apollo to constantly chase after Daphne, even though she has no romantic interest in him at all. While evading him during a chase, she calls out to her father to help her. To save his daughter, he answers her pleas and turns her into a tree right before Apollo catches her. While this very condensed retelling of the events that took place may not seem like Apollo was going to assault Daphne, it is heavily implied. Because of his infatuation from the arrow, his emotions towards her include not only romantic but also sexual attraction. From patterns we have seen from Gods such as Zeus and also Aphrodite, its only common sense to believe that Apollo was going to rape Daphne if he caught her. Even though Apollo did not sexually assault Persephone, Gods in themselves are selfish and narsasistic, and will take whatever they see as rightfully theirs. It's in their mythological nature. 

Even with the background of Apollo falling in the trend of Gods taking advantage of beings deemed ‘lesser’ than them, one could argue the cycle of sexual assault of women is still problematic and that the modern adaptations of these stories diminish what happened to these women. Which to an extent, I agree. However, I do think it's also important to look at the society that these myths were circulating around. The Greeks and Romans were a dominantly patriarchal society and women were given few rights compared to men. While some Greek city states differed and there were a few acceptions, thats all they were, acceptions. Because of this role of women in society, it is not hard to believe that women were treated this way as if it is commonplace. When looking at greek goddesses, this narrative heavily tracks. Even though they are powerful and in their own right bring more fear into the hearts of men compared to their counterparts, they are treated with malice and violence. These goddesses are sexually assaulted, pushed to the side, or diminished simply because of their gender and this is not an accident. A powerful female figure is terrifying to men, specifically men seeking power, which is why these events could have happened to them in myths. These goddesses are portrayed to have envy, anger, disgust, remorse, sadness, alongside a lot of other emotions. They portray human emotions. 

I know I know, youre gonna say to me ‘Wrena/Kore, seriously? Now we're talking about humanity? In comparison to Gods?” Yes, but there is an important distinction in this mythology. Mythology is human created. While it does portray all-powerful gods and mighty heroes, it's still human. However, this tends to split from Greek and Roman mythology. Remember when I said the Romans stole the Greeks myths and just switched around the names, well they did do that! But they also took some of the humanity out of the Gods. Greek mythology is known for being very human, having a moral in its stories. While Roman mythology also has a story, the Gods are more like objects, representing their roles and being all-mighty hammers of justice for the 'greater good'. Greek and Roman tellings of mythos can get interchanged or swapped due to how long ago these myths were and how similar they were. This is why mythology is so complicated, you either have an overload of information or not enough. Some events are the same, some contradict each other. This is why mythology is a wonderful source of stories. They tell a different version based on what that individual or society needs at that moment. 

To get slightly more personal and not just throw facts or hypotheses at you, when I was little I was told the story of Hades and Persephone. My grandmother told me the version of Persephone being kidnapped by Hades, but falling in love and choosing to stay on her own accord. When I got older, I learned about the other version. I was upset and distraught at this revelation. I thought my grandma was trying to spin a story about stockholm syndrome to get me to accept the patriarchal society we live in. I was pissed. Now that Im older, I realize that wasnt the message she was trying to tell me. What she wanted to say in the story is that even though people will try to control me or take control away from me, dont. Take back the reins and never let someone decide my life for me. Each version of different myths have their own meanings and interpretations, and all are correct.

Unfortunately, that also means all of the bad ones are correct as well. Lets loop back on over to Persephone. Persephone in her myths has been sexually assaulted. Even though Apollo was not the one doing the act, its still stated that it happened. In the creation myth of Zagreus, Zeus sexually assaulted Persephone(his daughter) while she was unconscious. It's fucking despicable and awful to read. But Zeus is gross and that does not diminish the fact that she was in fact sexually assaulted. Wether people like it or not, it's apart of her mythos. Or at least a version. You see, the ‘romanticization’ of mythology is more of a modern trend. Taking old greek myths and modernizing them to make it seem like everything is not terrible is a common trend in writing. However, this attitude is harmful to mythology as a whole. While the modernization of greek myths does leave out some of the awful parts of the stories or ignores them, like incest or graphic violence, it still serves a purpose. While some reasons for re-vamping them could be interest or purely for entertainment sake, some try to stick with a moral messaging. Lore Olympus, while ignoring or misconstruing some of the more graphic details, still has an important story behind it. Persephone being assaulted in that story is a representation of modern day rape victims. She’s scared to tell anyone and terrified of the person who did it to her. When she does finally tell people, she is met with support and comfort. This is the narrative that survivors need today. Support, love, a safe space. Humans are always trying to relate to each other, or see themselves in the things they consume. And mythology is one of those things we just cant help but insert a piece of ourselves into. Mythology changes and shifts with individual needs, and it is all up to the individual and their needs. All versions are right. 

TLDR: While I dont like the storyline between Apollo and Persephone in Lore Olympus, it does serve a purpose and reflects on Persephone's mythology without creating a culture shock for modern audiences. Wrath and sex are the two most important themes in greek mythology, and more than often combine in an unsavory way. Mythology has many different versions of its stories, and each version has their purpose. All of those stories are correct depending on the society and individual. Again, you can enjoy an adaptation of mythology while recognizing that there will be inaccuracies and changes you don't like. You can also enjoy traditional mythology while recognizing the values and morals portrayed are from an ancient society with a different view on the world. 

heres some links to articles that were insightful into this topic, i recommend checking them out if you want:

[hychlorions]

yoo i love ur klapollys, esp when you talk about them in length in ur tags. i wanted to know ur opinion on if they would get married, if yes who would propose, how would their wedding and married life would go, if they would adopt a kid etc?

omg this is literally the best ask i've ever received AKJSHD i will keep this brief

edit as i'm typing this: it is not brief i am putting it under read more

i think they get married!! klavier is a romantic and a performer, so he would absolutely THRIVE at a wedding; apollo likes needless procedures, things being legal, and also the benefits (and admittedly the fancy suits. and the cake. and... and klavier... because duh *starts sobbing*)

as for who would propose, i do like the idea of klavier proposing! it's stupid but mostly it's because of this weird thing i have with my friends where we make apollo fall more in love with him over the most inane things??? for example: saving pasta sauce for toast, making dice-shaped hard candies with stuff like gold foil and edible flowers inside the one time apollo expressed a desire to eat dice, shopping locally, bringing his own cup to fucking starbucks... if you're wondering how that fits in with the idea of klavier proposing, i have Feelings over lab-made gemstones, so apollo gets to have those Feelings too, and klavier proposing with a ring with lab-made stones—apollo drops to his knees and proposes on the spot. never mind the fact that klavier was already doing that in the first place. speaking of proposals most of my ideas are always like? they both have rings hidden somewhere in the house but klavier always brings it out first. apollo never lets him get to the question though. or klavier just outright forgets to ask

their wedding, and this is the one thing i am dead set on, is a disaster. it's all because of kay, clay, and trucy, aka the chaos emeralds; and, according to my friend, operation: B.I.G. A.S.S. (Best I love you Gavin Apollo Spectacular Seremony with an S... they tried, at least) which is actually their attempt at giving klapollo the coolest wedding possible. athena is not originally in this operation bc juniper is the wedding planner and as much as she loves trucy and messing with apollo she loves her stress-free girlfriend more. that and also she's listened to apollo's stressed out rants enough to know she doesn't want one after smthn as big as a wedding. as fate would have it she gets involved though</3 but to her credit she does try to get phoenix to stop them, but narumitsu is busy in their little corner going "ah remember trucy and kay's super special operation for our wedding?" (which was also a disaster btw) in any case, many curtains are set on fire, many doves are set free, phoenix loses an eyebrow, and apollo can feel his blood pressure rising. klavier tries to calm him down by holding his hand but apollo almost breaks it from how hard he grips it

long story even longer they end up in the hospital. for the spice and the funnies and also the silly goose anesthesia trope i am breaking klavier's leg. i've never broken a bone before (flex) so i'm just hoping there's a chance they'll give you nitrous oxide for bone pain... i mean teeth are bones too or whatever. for extra funnies i want him to pass out but beforehand he makes apollo lean in so klavier can tell him something but all he says is "tell trucy... this was the best... wedding... ever..." i can't tell if that's a lie or not actually. as long as trucy’s happy<3 ANYWAY i am getting off-topic but my one purpose for breaking klavier’s leg is for him asking apollo to marry him but apollo, who wants to mess with klavier, tells him he’s already married and like. you can just SEE the light go out in klavier’s eyes. apollo has to reassure him that yes, he’s married, but also he’s married to klav but all it does is make klavier cry harder?? and when apollo asks him why it’s apparently because “i don't remember the wedding… i wanna remember how handsome you looked” AND IN RESPONSE APOLLO’S LIKE “well i'm still in my suit, you're technically in a gown? (lol) we can get married again so you remember, alright? so stop crying” AND THEY DO. AND EDGEWORTH OFFICIATES. AND KLAVIER PUTS THE RING ON THE WRONG FINGER. AND—

anyway after that? klavier jokingly tells trucy that if he ever gets married again she definitely has to plan it and apollo glares and says “you better pray there’s no second wedding” and klavier just blinks and goes “why? don't you want to do a renewal of vows?” which, you know, KLAVIER, WE JUST GOT MARRIED, WHY ARE YOU ALREADY THINKING SO FAR AHEAD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH—

Their married life is pure domestic bliss, don’t ask me for more details because i will short circuit and never answer. i think a lot of people have headcanons about who takes the other’s last name though, to which i say: they definitely just append the other’s last name to the end of theirs, so klavier gets to keep his branding and apollo gets to stay a lawyer pun. idk i guess klavier justice or apollo gavin just don’t do it for me… hyphenating is way catchier imo. they also don’t get kids??? they don’t feel like the type, and as someone their age… yeah</3 no thanks. as compensation though i do think they have hundreds of cats and dogs<3 (actually four cats and two dogs. there’s more to this but this reply is getting SO long i’ll have to end it here)

anyway that’s it for my klapollo marriage thoughts ! i’m sorry you had to read them all, or you’re welcome i guess@?#@?# n thank you for reading ^^ idk how people feel abt long replies. as a peace offering here is THE first klapollo thing i ever drew, which i am just now realizing it foreshadowed my entire life up to this point, aka my current klapollo domesticity era

[greektravelblog]

Day 3 (part 1)

I slept in waayyy later than I was planning to. Finally up at noon, after getting ready, M and I decided to go to a pizza place down the street from us, called Bellagio's. Man when I tell you that was the best pizza I've ever had, I mean it. American food sucks in comparison to even street food you find here.

I mean come on, who wouldn't want this every time they ate pizza? Not to mention it was only around a buck per slice! M and I were the only ones in the restaurant despite it being two pm. After picking up more lemonade at the Bazaar, we headed back home to get ready for a downtown Athens tour at 4pm. After changing and applying a religious amount of sunscreen, we walked across the street to the R1 lobby where we were meant to meet up before the tour. We were the first ones there and I started out hopeful that the tour would be small.

Boy was I wrong.

Our poor tour guide. She was a wonderfully sweet greek woman who spent the whole time speaking over these college students who wouldn't know respect if it slapped them in the face. I struggled to listen as she explained to us the history of this amazing city and what buildings we passed. She eventually grew tired, I know, because she would cut off her stories and switch to a different topic if they were talking over her. I was livid. Not only are we in the most historically rich city in the world, but you've been given a FREE excursion with a tour guide who is taking the time out of her day to inform you about the city and all you can think about is getting piss drunk and going clubbing? Do what you want, but you shouldn't have signed up for the tour if you weren't prepared to listen and participate in it. To that tour guide: I'm really sorry for what happened today. Please know that the information you provided wasn't completely ignored and it was greatly appreciated by the few people who were paying attention. To the college students who are on this trip with me: put up or shut up. You're not just here for a vacation. You're here to STUDY abroad. Do whatever you want with your life, just don't hinder those around you who are actually trying to learn.

Anyways,

Rant aside, the views were stunning. We passed several buildings and landmarks that were erected in the 19th century when Greece finally won its independence from the Turks. While these buildings date back to only the 1800's, they are still ancient historical landmarks. Below is the very first college ever created in Greece and one of the oldest in the world. It is still a college today and a statue of it's founder, Plato stands before the building. Guarding the academy, Athena and Apollo are placed on either side of the building on tall pillars as protectorates and sponsors. The building next to the college is it's library.

Our first stop was to an original arena from the 4th century BC.

(The girl next to me is my roommate, M)

Originally, it was made of wood until a rich sponsor a couple hundred years later paid for it to be completely re-done in marble. Now, obviously it wouldn't have lasted in this condition, so in the 19th century it was restored using the same marble.

Why was it restored?

Because the very first modern Olympics were held in this very arena!

Of course, the arena is now too small for the capacity of today's Olympics, so it now stands as a museum. People even use the track to exercise!

We then saw the official Cathedral of Athens. Its official name is: The Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (a lot I know.) And the small building in front of it is a Cathedral from the Byzantine Empire. We arrived right at seven so we got to hear the bells! (volume warning).

We saw beautiful statues with so much history, I'd be here all day typing.

(The bottom one is Alexander the Great)

I have to do this in two parts because tumblr only allows 10 photos per post.