#please give athena her own game

[ravenrambles6229]

FINALLY SOME ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FOR MY BELOVED! She is my absolutely deranged blorbo. Her bullshitting puts phoenix and Apollo to shame. She has a gift for being utterly batshit. Putting the parrot on the stand would be idea number 1 for her. She'd see a parrot and say "oh cool easy witness this one can't speed away on a segue" "but Athena it can fly" "we'll just make sure to keep bread with us" she is insane. No sense of direction. Gets lost a lot. Runs to work. Makes Apollo run laps around the courthouse. Will fight God with her bare hands. Genuinely a shame she's only gotten to lead two cases. Just does whatever the fuck in court and gets away with shit usually only the prosecutors can. Sure tie me up Apollo. Let's make me into a phoenix wright statue. Let's play my emotion iPad game. Try to run from court and shed probably beat the bailiffs to catching you. Would convince the judge to go with her to see the steel samurai movie. They make plans in the middle of the trial. She is the definition of "think zebras not horses" which is okay because this is the goddamn ace attorney world. And then she'll have a traumatic episode in the same beat. Probably knows like six languages. One of them is from Star Trek. One is Latin. One is Esperanto just in case. Cries during kids movies. Performs character analysis of steel samurai characters. Has stood with Maya under a waterfall just to do it. Says it "sest luh vie" intentionally. Nearly killed Apollo by forcing him to play ddr with her. In their suits. Makes Apollo feel like an old man. And then just when she feels like she can't get anymore childish she turns around and says one of the most thoughtful or kindhearted things you've ever heard. And they remember she's not stupid she just enjoys life and lives it to the fullest.

Anyway If you haven't played dual destinies, do so. It's worth it for Athena alone.

I do genuinely respect the writers of dual destinies for making Athena completely fucking unhinged. The woman suplexes a man in her first fucking scene and says things while investigating crime scenes that would put Maya to shame. She is feral. She is rabid. She is incredibly smart and yet has zero common sense. This is a series build off the backs of weird little girls and yet she is quite possibly the weirdest of them all. She's absolutely perfect and I love her with every ounce of my being

[epicgaymer96024]

Replaying Dual Destinies has only strengthened my want for an Athena Cykes: Ace Attorney game

[anotherlongstoryshort]

Things about the Wisdom Saga that have plagued me all damn day

Legendary

Whether intentional or not, Miguel's Telemachus really sounds like a younger version of Jorge's Odysseus. And that hurts.

"If I fight those monsters, is it you I'll find?" The layers. Could he go out and hunt for his father? Could he find his 'legendary' strength within himself? Or will Odysseus be the 'monster' he finds?

"Somebody help me, come and give me the strength" And his call is answered T_T

20 years.

Antinous fully interrupts this bop. Rude.

Ayron sounds legitimately scary and Telemachus taking a stand is so O.O

Little Wolf

I wanna fight this guy. Love that Athena agrees. (The beat of the song and sharp bursts of vocals really emulate blows.)

The quaver on "I don't know how".

Athena is immediately charmed by Telemachus' enthusiasm. She sounds so fond.

The fact she sees heart in him as an advantage when it was Odysseus choosing heart over mind that drove them apart. Guh.

Did she tell him to bite Antinous? XD

"Oh, maybe I pushed you a bit too hard." The change in her perspective is already so apparent - she wouldn't have admitted a mistake or miscalculation to Odysseus.

We'll Be Fine

"I had a friend before..." A FRIEND? FRIEND?!?!

An admission that she didn't fully appreciate what Odysseus was going through, that she feels guilty for having "missed it all".

It's unclear to begin with if she's come to Telemachus for Odysseus, or to try and replace him. Both are equally heart-breaking.

"I don't know who your friend is, I don't know what he's like" UNKNOWINGLY ECHOING HIS OWN THOUGHTS IN 'LEGENDARY'. NO IT'S FINE I'M FINE.

"The best day of my life because I got in a fight and I didn't die! :D" Telemachus, child, please.

"We'll be fine" using the same run as "this is my goodbye" T_T

Him immediately offering up friendship to Athena, like Odysseus once did, must hit her so hard. "You're a good kid." Yes he is - because he's more like his dad than he knows.

Love in Paradise

"Old friend..." FRRRRRIIIIEEEENNNNNDDDDD!!!!!

10 years.

The memory fragments sounding so fraught and chaotic together, hitting harder because they're hitting Athena all at once. She missed a lot.

"She's my wife." "Anyways..." Calypso, girl, please.

Love that they're singing completely different melodies through the first half of this song for two reasons: because Odysseus is revisiting previous motifs, once more trying to hold onto the man he was, and also because it shows Calypso is not willing to compromise on what she wants.

"Last I checked goddesses can't die." We'll come back to this later.

Then Odysseus realises he is truly trapped and he sings along to Calypso's melody in muted horror.

POLITIES OUT HERE STILL HAUNTING THE NARRATIVE.

Just the words "open arms" are enough to confront Odysseus (again) with all he's lost. All he hears are screams.

And the one he screams out for is Athena.

"He needs my help." NO KIDDING GO GET YOUR BOY.

God Games

"Father, God, King..." There's a lot to unpack in that fun family dynamic.

"To untie apprehensions that were placed on that Greek?" Zeus is like, nobody likes that guy, why do you care?

The gods being called out like X Factor finalists is everything.

So there's a great contrast against the previous song - unlike Calypso, Athena is matching each of her singing partners with their tone and beat as she convinces them. She isn't winning by 'imposing her will', she's meeting them where they are.

Rational arguments work until Aphrodite, where Athena says "please" for the first time. She softens to appeal to Aphrodite, which is why Ares has to step in.

The way she says his name XD

Ares' lines sound like as much of a fighting chant as 'Little Wolf' did, which makes it all the better that the mention of Telemachus is what gets her to 'fight back'.

"His son's my friend!" YES HE IS. And Athena of all people declaring "a broken heart can mend" is fascinating. Can't help but wonder if she's talking about herself coming around to forgiving Odysseus.

"Never once has he cheated on his wife." Handwaving the source material is worth it for this line ALONE.

Zeus is so pressed by everyone openly knowing he cheats on Hera. Stop doing it then my dude.

Ares sounding genuinely concerned for Athena is doing things to me. Goddesses can't die, huh?

Her time motif flitting in and out like a weak heartbeat.

The soft piano of 'Warrior of the Mind', touching on a whisper of 'Legendary', then rising to a triumphant crescendo as Athena regains herself. I will be forever haunted by visions of Odysseus and Telemachus helping her to her feet.

And then, finally, she faces her own father and begs. Because Odysseus and Telemachus deserve a chance to be father and child.

The parallel, by the way, of Athena entering this saga to help an outnumbered Telemachus, and now closing it with him/Odysseus unknowingly helping her win her own battle too. JORGE HOW DARE YOU T_T

[transbutchblues]

could you please elaborate on your feelings on the gods' characterization in the wisdom saga? Not forcing you tho!

sure! keep in mind that i love EPIC and that even if i complain about things here, i totally respect the choices that Jorge makes. it’s his musical and i admire all the work put in the songs.

disclaimer : most of the time i try to dissociate EPIC from the Odyssey in my mind, because thinking of EPIC as an adaptation tends to make me upset due to how different it is. but it’s also amazing on its own! there are creative liberties that i deeply love (like having Odysseus know about Scylla but not telling anyone, and changing the context of the mutiny), others that i don’t like that much but that i can get behind, and others that i really dislike. i understand why everything is done the way it’s done, but i still have opinions.

before talking about the Wisdom Saga i’d like to explain how i felt about the gods in the other sagas. as a classics student and a hellenic polytheist i tend to dislike most modern portrayals of the gods, mostly because they’re usually flat and lack nuance. up until this saga, i had never been disappointed by any choice done regarding the gods in EPIC. they were all so interesting.

i loved Zeus in Thunder Bringer. it’s one of my favorite songs, and i found that Zeus was beautifully portrayed. he’s the villain, sure, he offers an awful choice (for the second time), but the situation was created by Odysseus and his men. i loved the lyrics and their double meaning.

this all fell apart in God Games, for me. it just didn’t feel like the same Zeus anymore. and as much as i try to dissociate EPIC from Homer’s epics, i love the Iliad and the Odyssey too much not to point out that Zeus would never be like that. in the Odyssey, Zeus immediately agrees with Athena on the fact that Odysseus must be freed from Calypso’s island. Poseidon is the only god who really wants to stop Odysseus, Zeus doesn’t exactly care about him. he knows Odysseus’ fate and he won’t go against it. besides, Athena is Zeus’ favorite daughter in Homer’s works. he loves her. he doesn’t like it when she defies her, that’s very clear in the Iliad, he even threatens her when she does that, but he loves her dearly and he gives her nearly everything she asks for. he would simply not strike her down like that. and Zeus has no reason to go against his own word. if he sets a challenge, he respects the terms. he’s a fair god, he’s a ruler, he’s all about divine justice. i don’t mind changes, but i dislike these ones.

and Athena… Athena was always the deity i felt the less sure about in EPIC. don’t get me wrong, i love her in the previous songs. but i never knew where exactly her character arc would bring her and i felt uneasy. now i know i was right to feel this way.

there had to be an explanation to the fact that Athena hadn’t helped Odysseus during the years he was imprisoned by Calypso. i understand why in EPIC, this explanation is that Odysseus and Athena fought and fell apart. in fact, i love My Goodbye. i think the way Odysseus is portrayed in the Cyclops Saga makes him way more of an asshole than he is in the Odyssey (and that’s alright by me!), because he’s stupid and hubristic and he refuses to listen to Athena. in the Odyssey, Athena never abandons Odysseus, she helps him during his entire journey. but if he had talked to her like he does in EPIC, she probably would have left him! i find their fight interesting, how cold Athena can be, how betrayed they both feel.

but! here comes the Wisdom Saga. and i love Athena in Little Wolf. i like her in God Games too. maybe even in Love in Paradise. but i can’t get over We’ll Be Fine, it just doesn’t sound right to me. i like Telemachus. but i hate that this is how Athena suddenly decides to go back to Odysseus. "i could sleep at night", really? why would she feel guilty about leaving a hero who refused to listen to her? i enjoyed how cold she was in My Goodbye, it was an interesting choice, and i would have liked for her to remain this way. or to change more slowly. the loneliness aspect could have been great if it had been explored more in depth (which i know wouldn’t have been possible since she doesn’t have enough songs to allow for slow character development). this just felt rushed and strange.

i would have liked for Athena not to reach out until Odysseus does. the moment where he cries out her name at the end of Love in Paradise is heart-wrenching, i love it. that’s when i would have loved for her to suddenly hear him and go back to him, instead of already being there. that would have been a moment where she could have decided to help him despite what he said and did, because she still cares about him and she sees him being so desperate. that could have been a moment where she feels guilty or lonely.

i know it’s done that way so that Telemachus saves Odysseus’ life by giving advice to Athena. it’s fine, it’s a nice idea. i understand why people like it, and i’m glad they do. it just feels off to me.

regarding the other gods: firstly, Calypso is great and i love her! now, on the other ones: i think instead of all this weird Zeus portrayal in God Games, it would have been nice to mention Poseidon. if there had to be a reason for Zeus not to want to release Odysseus, it could have been something to do with his brother. Apollo’s appearance felt unnecessary, his argument was weak, i’m still glad he was there but i didn’t love his portrayal. my opinion for Hephaestus is similar (though i liked his portrayal better, he just felt unnecessary), with another thought: i’m already starting to see more art of him and i really wish people would depict him as disabled, because not everybody does. i liked Aphrodite’s and Ares’ part, and Hera’s was fun. i don’t necessarily like the overall vibes of God Games but that’s just a matter of my music tastes, there are multiple songs in EPIC that i don’t really listen to because of that while still enjoying their role in the storyline.

obviously most people disagree with me, and i’m glad everyone seems to love that saga. some parts were just really not for me, namely, We’ll Be Fine, the beginning of Love in Paradise, and the end of God Games.

[audreyscribes]

Ω PJO DEMIGOD HEADCANONS: ✌ NIKE: Goddess of Victory 🏆

Author's note: Hello everyone! In lieu of posting the major gods demigod headcanons, here is the minor gods version!As usual these headcanons will contain what it's like being claimed and what it's like for the respective god and cabin, followed by a small story between you, the reader, and the respective demigod of that god. Thank you for reading and please like and reblog! [PJO MINOR GODS DEMIGOD HEADCANONS MASTERLIST] Disclaimer: To new fans or strictly TV watchers of the PJO series, future spoilers for the entire PJO series books will be referenced. Read at your own risk.

When you get claimed, it’s after winning. It could be beating an arm wrestling match, winning at rock paper scissors, you get the gist. 

The desire to win is so strong that it’s borderline obsessive.

Competitive is the defining word for a child of Nike. 

You have the last laugh- even if you lose at that moment, you’ll find yourself winning in the end, even if you have to play the long game. 

Perfection, or near perfection, is also part of your drive. It may not have to do with everything and anything, but it is there.

You’re athletic as heck as Athletics fall under her domain. If you weren’t before, well, not if Nike has something to say about it. Consider it the equivalent of Aphrodite’s blessing, where her children are blessed with perfect makeup and hair, except in your case, you have a boost in athletic skill, intelligence, and etc. Even if you have a chronic disease or disability, Nike has you covered in ways you didn’t know were possible. 

If you aren’t competitive, you’ll start to feel the need to win when you see someone outpacing you. This often leads to a choking hazard when more than once, a child of Nike overheard a “Let’s see who can eat the fastest!” or something of that degree. If one child of Nike starts doing it, then another will follow, and a chain of Nike children are shoveling food into their mouths. Then the sheer energy produced by the chain of children of Nike affects everyone else. Food competitions and food fights, especially, are banned in Camp Halfblood for these reasons. This is one of the few times Mr. D intervened with his godly power with his own, and oh boy. 

In games like Truth or Dare, they will definitely commit. You can imagine what’ll happen. The Hermes cabin is banned from asking or starting a Truth or Dare game when there are children of Nike around. It was not pretty. Limits were tested and broken. Absolute truths unbearable to hear as everyone felt some emotional reaction; but mostly unbearable, intense second-hand embarrassment that some just walked out of. Impossible challenges were met and there was much, much regret. Travis and Connor Stoll are, as expected, the perpetrators of this ban. 

Spite. So much Spite. You will do things out of pure spite. Being kind out of spite is also on the table. You can be even spiteful out of spite. How that works, I have no idea and only you know.

Any form of congratulatory tokens are handled by the children of Nike; especially the Laurels. 

You have a natural affinity with a child of Athena, due to her connection Athena, but also children of Ares. This is mostly due to the fact of their domain of war.

The bit of having a natural affinity with a child of Athena or Ares is crucial because more likely than not, they will either enable you or they will be the ones to pull you back and give you a down to earth level. This is usually done by the children of Athena, but when an Ares’ child does it? Oh then you know, a line has been crossed.

Depending on how many Nike children there are, Chiron does his best to split you guys in the middle, and put one half in the team with the Are’s team, and the other half with the Athena’s team. This is to balance out of the gods on the behest of the Nemesis cabin due to…incidents. Very bloody and catastrophic incidents. 

Likewise on never challenging a child of Nike, this also applies vise-versa. NEVER ACCEPT A CHILD OF NIKE’S CHALLENGE. YOU WILL LOSE. YOU WILL REGRET IT. A CHILD OF NIKE’S CHALLENGE IS ONE THEY KNOW THEY WILL ABSOLUTELY, GUARANTEED WIN. [Accept at your own risk and peril.] 

There’s a 120% guarantee that a child of Nike will take any challenge with any sort of prize. It doesn’t matter if it’s something very minor like a cheap toy, they will do what it takes to win it. The icing on the cake? There’s a rumour that there’s an actual prize that Nike herself promised to her children that whoever wins the most by the end of the year, they will receive a prize from herself. Most people know it's a golden laurel, but there’s a rumour that they could earn a pair of golden wings much like Nike herself (of course a dumb down version but still very powerful regardless). The kicker about this? The bar is set higher every year; where the children of Nike must win at least above the minimum from the previous year. The bar is constantly moving. No one’s sure if it’ll end. 

Don’t worry though, the children of Nike have (some sort of) honour in winning. Sure they might use tricks and schemes to win, but there won’t be any dirty or easy wins from them. They’ll earn their win as fairly/honourably/squarely as it can be. On the other hand, if it’s an easy win or win by default, some children of Nike might not take it. 

You were coming down from the high of winning and the claim of Nike over your head. When Chiron announced who your godly parent was, you thought “Yeah that sounds about right” and as you were basking in the afterglow, you heard incessant yelling from the distance that was quickly getting louder. 

People were either moving to the side, diving and pushing others to get out of the way, and those who didn’t were bouldered over by a pair of identical twin girls. They both had brown hair and were practically pushing at each others’ heads, while rushing towards you while trying to push the other away, but inevitably were knocking others around them down.

They looked around before their eyes locked on you and you froze like a deer in the headlights as they barreled over to you as they both stuck their hands out at the same time, and yelled in your face excitedly,

“Hi! I’m Holly Victor, child of Nike and cabin leader!” “Hi! I’m Laurel Victor, child of Nike and cabin leader!” 

Their words sounded like you were hearing stereo and you were reeling from everything. Upon instinct, your hands both stuck out to take their hands and before you could even think of introducing yourself back, the twins snapped their heads at each other and they glowered, 

“Hey I was first! No, I was! Stop copying me! I won first!” they both said and your head was spinning. 

You stammered out an introduction, as helpless at it may be but they’re focus turned to you just as you finished saying, “-and who are you guys…?”

Before the two girls could even think to explain first, Chiron stepped from behind them and placed his hands on their heads to get them to stop. 

“They’re Laurel and Holly Victor, twin sisters and daughters of Nike, just like you. They’re also the cabin leaders of the Nike cabin” he introduced. 

“But aren’t there supposed to be one cabin leader…?” 

“Normally yes, however, when deciding who would, being children of Nike, the two argued and fought for a very long time to be cabin leader before we all agreed it was better for both sisters to be cabin leaders.”

You paled at your future being at the Nike cabin as you prayed to your godly parent for strength, but remember they got this from Nike, and more importantly-

The Victor twins both grinned and shook your hands at the same time, “Welcome to the Nike cabin, new sibling!”  

You just stared at them and thought, ‘This is going to redefine sibling rivalry in all history of sibling rivalry” 

[mvltisstuff]

hello again!! im the anon who requested sweet nothing (also, saw the edit note and don’t worry it was a fantastic fic and i love it, thank you so much for writing it ❤️) i was wondering if i could request another fic for buck where reader is like athena’s protege and she’s a lot like athena so athena and bobby basically play match maker for them, thinking they’d compliment each other very well but buck and the reader have secretly dating since they met bc they hit it off so well and athena and the 118 end up finding out and are shocked they had no idea. thank you if you get to this, no stress if you don’t. i hope you have a lovely day and remember to take breaks and drink water!!

the feels - e.b

summary: above :)

evan buckley x reader

a/n: i love seeing these requests so much, please leave as many as you want, this one is so sweet 🫶🫶 i wanted to recreate the funny scene when may walked in on athena in bobby’s turnout 😭

the grants were sitting in the kitchen waiting for another delicious meal from bobby to be ready to eat. athena was sitting down, playing a card game with her two children as bobby was stirring a boiling pot. sharing stories about their days, athena begins her own.

“the station welcomed a new recruit today,” athena starts while cleaning up the cards. “i think i was telling you about her.”

“y/n? i remember you told me she was going to be working there, i just didn’t know she’d be with you.”

“she’s not riding along with me, but we’ve spoken a lot. she reminds me of myself. she’s young but one of the most determined ones i’ve seen. i think she has a lot of great potential.”

“maybe you should bring her along one day,” bobby suggests. “she sounds cool, you should bring her to the station one night for dinner there.”

“i’ll have to check her schedule. she’s trying to get more comfortable in LA, so that could help her. give her some friends,” athena says. “i know she came here to get away for a bit, i’m not sure why but i think something at home.”

“might wanna be careful bringing her, now that i’m thinking about it.”

“what makes you say that?” she asks.

“i’m worried someone might take a liking to her. buck loves you, and he reminds me of myself. and if she’s really similar to you…” athena walks over to bobby, giving him a light kiss before beginning again. “i’ll see what her timing is, i’ll let you know so you can tame the lion.”

the next day at work, y/n walks in uniform with her chunky belt with her gear. she sweetly says good morning to the people at the front with a cup of coffee before returning to her bosses office. “y/n?” she hears someone say from behind her.

“sergeant grant! hello, i was just about to go get started,” y/n says politely to her superior.

“you can call me athena, officer.”

“ok, athena,” y/n has a bright smile that could be the source of light to the room. “is there anything i can do for you?”

“no, you’re all set. just making sure things are good for you here,” athena knows that she’s strong despite the kindness act she puts on. she’s seen she’s not afraid to stand up for herself against all the men at the station. similar to herself, she’s ready for anything god throws at her. “if you get off earlier tonight, i was going to the 118. my husband is bobby nash, and he’s having dinner. i thought it would be a good place for you to settle in.”

“that sounds great, athena. i get off a bit earlier today.”

“good,” athena says with a thin grin. “i’ll see you then, y/l/n.”

they both walk away, going to do their paperwork and jobs of the day. on the first call, they had to deal with a specific threat, making two arrests as y/n shoved them back into the car.

she had easily clicked into her workplace, impressing everyone with her skill and ease with the job. her quick thinking came in extreme need, and athena knew she was going to be one of the best eventually.

after another call, the fire department had been at a site of a crash with drunk driving robbers. the police had been called to observe the suspects and ask them questions about the accident and even before that. after some of the crash on the street was cleaned up, y/n had been on the side, informing dispatch on the current nature of the situation. she was hanging around near one of the trucks when a man, couldn’t have been over 30, walked over to her.

“hey,” he says with a seducing smile, looking her uniform up and down. “i haven’t seen you around yet.”

“i’ve just started working here, i was a cop before but i recently moved here.”

“you liking it? LA can be a lot,” he tells her. “i’m evan buckley, 118. buck.”

y/n smiles and shakes his hand. “you’re from 118? athena and bobby invited me over for dinner tonight.”

“y-you’re y/n?” buck asks, a little surprised. she’s gorgeous, her hair was done back in neat braids. her uniform complemented her well, making her look like a boss, but also looks sweet with her bright smile and laugh. buck noticed her beauty and grace in handling herself.

athena and bobby stood to the side, meeting up at the end of the shift. “i think it’s too late,” bobby says, pointing to y/n and buck flirting very clearly to everyone but themselves. athena would never admit it, but she was actually happy. she thought buck needed woman like her, and she needed one like buck, and after a whole night of convincing each other before bed, they finally decided to take up a new career in match making.

the dinner had gone well, the team asking y/n about her past and why she wanted to become a cop. someone in particular was mesmerized by her stories. “so, y/n, where did you grow up?” eddie asks.

“i was raised in boston, and i went to suffolk for criminal justice,” y/n says. “i knew i wanted to help people, and i came to LA as an escape honestly. just try something new.”

they all nod and smile as they finish their food, laughing about shared stories and the two spend the night eyeing each other.

a couple months had gone by, and buck and y/n had been better close. very close. they were seeing each other almost every day, meeting up outside work to see each other. for being a bad liar, buck was hiding their relationship very well. they started dating a few weeks after the dinner, and no one had any idea. or at least they thought.

buck was definitely head over heels for y/n. she was a person who dominated wherever she was, but carried herself around with respect and a soothing personality. coming home from work, she was always a person to talk to. her sweet and gentle words were always a comfort to him. he thought she was the most lovely person ever.

y/n was obsessed with buck after she met him. he was incredibly charming, being able to light up a room at any time. being able to spend time with him at the end of their shifts was truly the highlight of her day, and she hadn’t felt this happy in a long time. he helped her get settled in the new city that she was venturing. he was always a shoulder to lean on during the bad days, and one to celebrate with after the good ones.

chimney and maddie had been driving over to bucks apartment. they had all agreed to have dinner together so she could spend time with her little brother.

buck on the other hand, had been too preoccupied to remember the plans.

y/n was dressed in a lace bra and panties set, wearing bucks work shirt with his name and badge on it. she was sitting on top of the counter with buck standing between her legs.

when chimney and maddie walked in, they saw bucks bare back, and both of their half-naked bodies. luckily, buck still had his boxers on, and y/n had his shirt. her arms were wrapped around his shoulders, a pair of handcuffs in her hands. “oh my god! evan!” maddie shouted and buck turned around.

“jesus, maddie!” he yelled and his immediate instinct was to cover up y/n. “what are you doing here?”

“some of us had dinner plans,” chimney adds, watching in a humorous way.

“you had dinner plans?” y/n asks.

buck throws his head back in frustration. “im sorry, guys, i completely forgot.”

“clearly.” maddie and chim say, together. “we’re going to go in the hall, give you a minute. while i call bobb-“ chim starts.

“no! do not call bobby because then he and athena will hate me!”

“i think athena would fire me,” y/n says.

“are you kidding? they’ve been trying to force you two together for months!”

y/n and buck give each other a confused look because they both thought they’d want them separate. surely, they weren’t stopping it but they especially didn’t think they would encourage it. they start laughing at each other hysterically at the thought of their superiors trying to get them hooked up. maddie and chimney exit in a hurry, leaving to the hallway.

“well, wanna continue?” buck asks and y/n gives him a questioning look.

“we have like 2 minutes, babe,” she smiles. “i don’t know if we have time.”

“you doubting me?” he says, leaning back in and kissing her again.

“prove me wrong, then,” she smirks and they spend their few minutes not wasting a second.

“bobby! sorry to bother you tonight, but you’re gonna want to hear this!” chim says after calling the captain.

bobby hangs up the phone, and is sitting next to the athena on their couch. athena hears the whole conversation. “i’ll quit my job if you quit yours, and we can start our own business.”

“agreed,” athena says, giving bobby a high-five at their dating app skills. “i will say i’m surprised they kept it a secret. she did seem a bit more upbeat though.”

“so what’s next? getting them engaged?”

“ok, woah. let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. we’ll give ‘em a bit i guess.”

“fine, but i’m getting every detail about this tomorrow from him.”

“i’ll get it from y/n, we will reconvene after a short recess.”

[frogwiththephatahh]

I really like the Leveling System in God Games

I think it's really interesting how Athena's trial is written. She's the goddess of wisdom, so everyone, including Zeus, knew she was going to use her wits to convince each of them. And Zeus seems to have set up each God in the order of easier to hardest.

Only for it to backfire in his face.

Apollo's up first. And honestly, I don't think he wanted to be here for the sake of arguing against Odysseus. He literally opens up his first with, "you all know I'm a fan of catchy songs." Which is a very fitting thing for the god of music to say. I think, no matter what Athena said, Apollo was going to agree just for the sake of being included in a catchy song. But I don't think Zeus knew this.

Obviously, he would know Apollo's intentions- being part of a song. But Apollo says a "catchy" song. Not just a song. I think Zeus believed he'd come up with an argument in order to get more time in the song. But Apollo, as a true enjoyer of music, would know there's only so long he can stretch his time before the song lost it's catchiness. And he's right. His part is an earworm, even if it's short.

Then there's disciplined, strict Hephaestus. Who has a very solid argument against Ody. "Why should I give him my support? He sacrificed his own cohorts." Odysseus doesn't deserve mercy because he showed no mercy to his own men. This is a good case, and one Zeus probably agrees with. But the thing about Hephaestus is that I don't think he was EVER on Zeus' side to begin with. Instead, he seems more like he was waiting for Athena to give an answer, daring her to prove him wrong. And she gave him a satisfying enough answer for him. Yes, Odysseus sacrificed his crew, but they also disobeyed him multiple times, and then literally stabbed him in the back. And that's also a valid argument. Hephaestus isn't hard to please.

Now the levels are getting harder. We're at Aphrodite. Leaning more into the mythology itself rather than the characterizations we're given in Epic, Aphrodite is notoriously a very vain, very prideful goddess. Just like Zeus, she wouldn't want to change her mind so easily. And, famously, she was also one of the only gods to sit out on the Trojan War, seemingly because of a disdain for conflict. Which is why Athena mentioning the war and fighting doesn't do anything to pierce Aphrodite's shield.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love. So of course her argument mentions Odysseus hurting the people he loves. It's interesting, however, that she specifically mentions his mother and not any of his crew, friends, or his wife and son. I think this actually says a lot of Anticlea. "Claimed to love his mother, but let her die of a broken heart." None of the rest of Ody's family is "heart broken." Penelope and Telemachus still have hope that Odysseus will return. They're still alive, fighting every day to keep his place as king, even in the face of adversaries who want to hurt them. But Anticlea can no longer do that. Her disappointed that she waited so long to see her son, only for him to never make it home, must be immeasurable. And according to Aphrodite, Odysseus did this on purpose by antagonizing Polyphemus.

Is this a good argument on Aphrodite's part? No, not really. Obviously, it was stupid of Odysseus to reveal his name, but he wasn't doing it to purposefully spite the cyclops. We know this. He was doing it as a warning, so that Polyphemus would always remember what happens when he chooses not to have mercy. It's a good sentiment, on Odysseus' part.

What's interesting about Aphrodite is that we never see Athena truly convince her. There is that moment right before Ares enters where Athena asks her to reconsider her decision. I, personally, think that Athena was going to mention Odysseus' other loves- his wife and son. And Ares choosing this exact moment to interject is most certainly planned.

It's not that Athena was using "old tricks." It's that Aphrodite was about to start agreeing with her.

Ares' part is by far the most interesting to me- because he's the most right! "What kind of sick coward holds back his powers while his friends get devoured?" We've seen Odysseus think his way out of tight spots before. We know he could have spent longer trying to find a way around Scylla. Ares knows this, too.

And the way Athena goes about convincing him otherwise is fascinating to me. She could mention that Ody is "just a man." He can't possibly be expected to have the energy to think his way out of every situation. By the time he gets to Scylla, he's exhausted after three years at sea. Of course he wouldn't be thinking clearly. But Athena knows Ares wouldn't care about this.

Instead, she appeals to Ares' on a more human level. "You want more bloodshed? Then set him free!" Ares, as the literal god of bloodshed, would love that shit. Now, I've seen Ares be called a hypocrite over this, as he was literally just talking about how Ody let blood shed when it didn't need to be.

But it's actually fitting. Ares isn't just the god of bloodshed and violence, but the god of war. Odysseus standing by and letting his ALLIES die is shameful to Ares. That's not how you win a war. You don't sacrifice the many for the good of the few. Odysseus instead killing enemies as a means to get home is a much more honorable act than letting his comrades die. It's the message Ares has probably been wanting to scream in Odysseus' face for three years.

I think this is why Ares is so far up. Because honestly, it doesn't take MUCH for him to agree with Athena. But that "much" takes a lot to get to. Because anyone who didn't know Ares would try to be actually reasonable, and point out Odysseus' circumstances and why he came to make the decisions he did. Ares is Athena's brother. And her rival god of war. She knows him. And Zeus underestimated that.

Then we come to Hera. This is speculation, but I think Hera is in the same boat as Hephaestus. She was always willing to agree with Athena, she just wanted to see what kind of argument Athena could come up with. But unlike Hephaestus, she's hard to please. Athena's first tactic is going all in, giving the reason why she, personally, is drawn to Odysseus. "He's got the mind of a genius." To which Hera answers with, "Try Harder." She immediately sees through Athena, and knows she just named the first good trait that came to her mind. Throughout her verse, Hera is waiting for Athena to give her "one good reason." One good trait, is what she's looking for.

This one is also interesting because it takes a moment for Athena to appeal to Hera specifically, like what she did with Ares. "Never once has he cheated on his wife." Which is a hilarious dig! For those out of loop, Hera is the wife of Zeus, a serial adulterer. Zeus has more children with mortal women than he does with Hera herself. So of course she'd be against cheating. But THEN you remember that Hera is also the goddess of marriage. So of course she's won over by the mention of Odysseus' faithfulness to his wife and family.

I don't remember who said it, but I do recall a post mentioning that it's strange Athena didn't immediately mention Odysseus' family and his need to get back to them. I think this was actually smart on her part. Hera could have easily shot back with, "okay, but what about all the men he let die who also had families and wives waiting for them?" So I don't really think that argument would have worked anyway.

Zeus is technically the final level, but I don't think he thought of himself like that. At the beginning of God Games, Zeus names all the other gods then says, "OR me." That doesn't mean, Apollo OR Hephaestus Or Aphrodite Or Ares Or Hera Or Zeus. It means Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, and Hera OR Zeus. As in, convince the other gods, or just try to convince me.

Zeus sees himself as just as hard to convince as all the other gods combined. And he's pretty much right. Considering he denies Athena's wishes, even when she won the game.

[chaoticm0therfvcker]

Warrior Penelope AU God Games

An altered version of the six gods’ verses in God Games by Jorge Rivera-Herrans to fit the Warrior Penelope AU by @gigizetz. Enjoy!

Note: this is only the main part of the song, not the introduction or Zeus’s hissy fit at the end

Apollo!

Apollo: You all know I’m a fan of catchy songs

So with so many sirens gone,

I think Penny’s in the wrong

Ares: They were trying to do her worse!

All she did was reimburse them!

Now they’ll tread with caution first,

To live another day and sing another verse!

Apollo: if that’s true, release her

Hephaestus!

Hephaestus: trust is not given, it’s forged

Why should I give her my support?

She sacrificed her own cohort!

Ares: Did you forget they failed to listen?

She was betrayed and then imprisoned!

But if you make the right decision,

She can still build a future with those who miss her!

Hephaestus: fine, release her

Aphrodite!

Aphrodite: your little high and mighty,

Penelope,

Claimed to care for Ithica

But then almost let it drown

Ares: She was busy fighting!

Aphrodite: More like busy spiting

The cyclops,

Why don’t you come to your senses,

And let her get what she deserves

Ares: Wait!

Please reconsider this…

Athena: Really Ares, this sentiment?

Ares: Athena!

Athena! Athena!

Athena: what kind of sick, hothead

Releases all her power

While her friends get devoured?

Abandoned her friends to fight of Scylla

She wasn’t even able to kill her!

Never thinks things through before getting them done!

Treats bloodshed like mindless fun!

Psychotic and hotheaded like her son!

Ares: hold your tongue now!

Her son’s my friend!

And tell my lover that Penny can keep a level head!

You want more strategy, then set her free!

To get back to her homestead,

She’ll let her knowledge take the lead!

Aphrodite and Athena: ugh, release him

Hera!

Hera: so many heroes!

So many tales!

Give me one good reason

Why yours should prevail!

Ares: she’s got the spirit of a hero!

Hera: try harder

Ares: she wins a fight every day!

Hera: you can do better than that!

Ares: she’s kinda clever?

Hera: ehh…

Ares: never once has she tried being someone else’s wife

Hera: release her

[runic-dreamer]

Epic the musical gonna consume me

Not me, choosing God Games as my first animatic of epic the musical. You know, the longest song? with the most characters?

No, never. It's not like I have to conserve energy for a dracula theatre production or anything. Nooo.

Anyway, here are some rough designs and some even rougher frames. I did storyboard the whole thing for the most part, but I still have so much to do, anyway:

Let's start with Athena:

I made her hair in rough wing shapes, and her cape is technically wings, but can turn into snakes. When she needs those.

I'm quite pleased with her spear design, since she is also the patron goddess of weavers, and spinning, I took inspiration from a distaff, which as far as my research goes is used to hold loose fibers to be spun into thread?

Next up is Apollo:

At first I wanted to go with a more plague heavy desing, since that is mostly what he did during the trojan war, which would be Odysseus's reference point, I guess. But that would not have fit so well with the lyrics, so he got a snek instead. And he has hyazinths as his laurel wreath. (and the last touch is his hair, which is inspired by Mortius on YouTube, through whom I properly discovered epic)

Next up: Heffefuff (Hephaestus)

I wanted to include the whole: "was thrown from olypus as a baby"-thing, so I gave him two prosthetics: his arm and lower leg. His arm is made from metal. Engraved is his fall/push from Olympus on his bizeps, and the legendary weapons he crafted on his lower arm (including but not limited to: Achilles Helmet and Spear). His lower leg is made up from fire and Magma/Lava.

He's also got an eyepatch, cause those are cool.

Next on the roster is Aphrodite:

From the beginning I knew I wanted to go for Aphrodite Areia, the Aphrodite which would have been worshipped in Sparta. The Armed Aprhodite in full armor, with weapons and shield. The first draft on the left, was just that: a first draft (though I am keeping the Spartan Shield). The second draft (which became the final one) Is what I'm gonna go with. I am givng her legs a seafoam patters, as the : formed out of seafoam -origin, is the funniest in my opinion.

In her hand, she is holding a rose, which kinda doubles as a weapon, not sure about the practicality on that.

Ares is up next:

Like Aphrodite Ares also has 2 drafts, the left one is more traditional or rather mainstream I think. I wanted to lean into the "breaker of walls" epithet which he holds. So I gave him a hammer and a matching shield to Aphrodite.

Fun fact another ephithet of Ares is (according to wikipedia), "Wearing the gore of men", or sth similar. So his clothing is made from blood. Ain't that neat?

For the final product I'm leaning more towards the brawler version on the right, with the big gauntlets. Just like him more. more antithetical to Athena in that way, me thinks.

Next up: Hera

The only one I really struggled with. There are so many cool designs for her out there, and I did not want to copy anyones. So I tried to do my own thing. First of: her sleeves are those of an 80's wedding dress. To match her vibe and domain as goddess of marriage. The veil is of a similar effect, being essentially one long peacock feather. This design also does not have her crown yet, whoops.

She is associated with cows, but I did not want to give her horns, so instead she got the legs. Another association with her is pomegranates, which is very interesting as those are usually associated with Persephone. But since both rulers of the Underworld are very absent in Epic the musical, I think Hera can have them. As a treat. Specifically, she's got a scepter with a pomegranate on top, which transforms into a microphone.

Now for Zeus.

He don't get a picture. Nor specific art. Buddy is gonna be a cumulus nimbus and be happy about it. Fuck him. Actually that would be a really dumb idea.

Anyway, here are some Apollo v. Athena frames:

[ostiviawrites]

I want to give God Games its own running commentary so here I go:

YES ATHENA GO SAVE HIM

OH SHIT GOD GAMES

Fuck you Zeus, wait no he'd like that

Huh Apollo was easy to convince

So was Hephaestus

APHRODITE! IT'S NOT HIS FAULT HE WASN'T THERE FOR HIS MOM

ARES IS SCARY YES FIGHT HIM

Weird way to convince Ares to agree

HERA IS SO COOL AS A DISCO GIRL YES

"Never once has he cheated on his wife" "Release him" LMFAO

ZEUS OMG NO WHY FUCK YOU

NOT A FLASHBACK TO ODY AND PEN WITH INFANT TELEMACHUS

ATHENA NOOOOOOO

Please let Athena be okay

DON'T LET HER LAST WORDS BE "LET HIM GO" NO SHE NEEDS TO SEE HIM AGAIN

FUCK THAT ANIMATIC WAS SO GOOD

Jorge I love you I went through so many emotions

[extraterracetrial]

So a while ago I saw orivode's post reminding us that in Greek mythology, everything is ultimately the gods faults

Which yeah, the gods play with mortals like little chess pieces

And at first I was like "yeah except the cyclops thing, that was Ody's fuck up"

But no, that was Athena's fault

In the beginning of my goodbye there's a part that goes "and I warned ya, and you failed the test"

She made sure they ran into polyphemus. Yeah, they might've run into him anyway, and yeah Ody DEFINITELY shouldn't have given him his name

But if Athena hadn't interfered because she didn't like Ody (who totally isn't her friend btw, jsyk, she def doesn't care about him beyond her own goals) wanting to be kinder, they might've been in and out with a few sheep with no problems

I've been thinking about that one for a while but it did recently give me Fun New Thoughts about god games (wisdom saga spoilers)

Disclaimer ig: I've only listened to the god games snippets so this is mostly based off those

So as others have said, having Aphrodite talk about Ody's mother means the musical acknowledges she's the goddess of all kinds of love, not just romantic love

Obvs Athena directly calls Telemachus her friend, and if I didn't make it clear enough above, despite what she said I think Athena does care about Ody (i think the whole "I'm not looking for a friend" part was her like, trying to keep up a Godly Reputation, or just being mean bc she was mad at him, or both), and it's her love for them that gets Aphrodite on her side

(also, Athena's "please reconsider this" sounds a lot like Ody's "please don't make me do this" to me)

Which brings me to the Fun New Thoughts about god games

Does Athena feel guilty for kicking off the whole train of tragedy? She's a god I'd actually believe would feel remorse. It certainly goes against the teachings she referred to in my goodbye, but we've already seen her flip on friendship.

Is this another case of Ody (and Polities, indirectly) (and probably Telemachus) influencing someone to take a chance on kindness, connection, etc., while he slides further away from those? Maybe the real tragedy was the friends he made along the way /hj

[epic-kotlc-crossover]

God Games

last chapter of Wisdom!!!! and on a weekend :O vengeance will be out starting Monday!

@myfairkatiecat @sombrathedragon @bookwormgirl123 @justalunaticfangirl @ham-cheese-toastie

@thesfromhms

Athena was ready. And she was mad. At Zeus, at Poseidon, and mostly, if she was being honest, with herself. Odysseus had been suffering for two decades, and she hadn't helped.

Her uncle drowned five hundred people. Her dad had killed the remainder of the crew. And Athena...

Athena had left him alone when he'd needed her. She'd left him to fend for himself.

And now, she needed to fix that.

"Father!" She called out, stepping into the gold-plated throne room. Zeus sat at the end of the hall, looking regal and pompous as ever, his hair crackling slightly. "Rarely do I ask for favours, but I'm asking in hopes to save someone who's a prisoner far from home,"

Zeus looked up, bored expression slipping slightly. He stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

Athena knew he'd hate this. "Fitz." She told him, fighting to keep her voice from waivering.

Storm clouds instantly crackled, and Athena could feel her hairs stand up.

"Divine intervention? Is that what you seek? To free that Greek?" Zeus spat the last word, almost like an insult. It probably was, Athena thought.

He laughed, a booming sound. "But if he's worth the risk," Zeus shrugged. "Why not make it a game?" Athena's blood ran cold. The god's games were never any good, and were always a trick.

"Convince them—Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Area, Hera—that he should be released. Or, convince me." He grinned, teeth glinting.

The aforementioned gods appeared in a circle around the room.

"Bring it on," Athena turned her back on Zeus, enjoying his surprised expression for a second. He'd thought she'd choose him.

Athena walked over to Apollo, who looked vaguely annoyed and extremely impatient. He sighed, and half-heartedly plucked at his lyre.

"You know I like music, and with so many of the sirens gone because of Fitz, I think he's wrong." Athena scoffed internally. Zeus couldn't even pick gods who cared enough to put up a proper argument?

"They were trying to kill him," she told Apollo. "He only did what they wanted to do to him."

He shrugged. "If that's true, go ahead and release him."

That was easy.

Next, Hephaestus. He, in comparison to Apollo, actually looked like he had an opinion. "Trust is not given, it's forged! Why should I give him my support if he sacrificed his own men?"

Hmmm. This would be harder. "They didn't listen to him, though," She said slowly, knowing she was using extremely flimsy logic. "He got betrayed, and now he's on an island with a woman against his will." Hephaestus paused and scratched his chin.

"If you let him go home, he'll build a better future with the people who miss him." Athena finished, hoping it would be enough to convince him.

Hephaestus scowled. "Fine. Release him."

Two down. Three to go.

Athena turned to the goddess of love, bracing herself. Athena wasn’t a “loving” god. She was planning, strategy, wisdom. Not the best qualities to use against Aphrodite.

“Athena,” Aphrodite said with a singsong voice. “How can you defend Fitz? He claimed to love his mother and promised her he’d come back. But he let her die of a broken heart.” 

“He was busy fighting!”

“More like busy taunting a Cyclops,” Aphrodite responded. 

“I…” she couldn’t argue with that. 

“Let him feel the same pain his mother felt. Leave him on that island to rot forever.”

“Wait! Please reconsider this,” Athena begged.

“Really, Athena? This old trick?” A metallic voice growled from behind her. She spun around, tensing up as she gazed at the speaker. 

Ares. God of War.

“What kind of sick coward stands around and lets his friends die? He didn’t fight Scylla! Didn’t even try to kill her! He hid in a wooden horse to win the Trojan War. Fitz is as pathetic and weak as his daughter!” Ares roared.

“Hold your tongue!” Athena shouted. “His daughter is my friend!”

“Of course you befriended him. You really can’t stop protecting mortals,” Ares spat.

Athena ignored him. “And tell your lover that broken hearts can mend!” Maybe if she said it enough, it would be true… “You want more bloodshed? Then set Fitz free. He’ll do anything, kill anyone, to see his family again.”

Ares and Aphrodite exchanged a glace, but then shrugged and said, “Ugh, release him.”

Yes! Only two more to convince. Let’s see….

Hera. Goddess of marriage and family. Uh-oh.

“Hello, Athena,” Hera murmured. “There are so many heroes, each with such terrible tales. What makes you think yours is so special?”

"He's got the mind of a genius."

“Try harder.”

“He-he’s pretty skilled with words,” Athena stammered.

“You can do better than that!” Hera chided.

“He’s…kind of funny?”

“Eh.”

Then an idea came to her. Hera was the goddess of marriage, after all…. “Never once has Fitz cheated on his wife.”

That seemed to do the trick. Hera snapped her fingers and simply said, “Release him.”

I can’t believe that worked. 

“Zeus!” she told her father, staring up at him. “I’ve played your game and won! You have to release him now.”

“Ha!” the god laughed. “You think I’ll allow you to beat me? No one wins my games!” With that, he called out, “Thunder, lightning! Show her I’m the judgment call, the one who makes her kingdom fall!”

The sky opened, shaking the palaces of Olympus. The sky darkened in seconds, sheets of rain falling as the clouds roared. Lightning surrounded Athena, and she smelled singed owl feathers mixed with electricity. 

An arc of white light crackled down with a massive wave of thunder, and then the goddess of wisdom collapsed. 

“That was a little dramatic, dear,” Hera observed.

“Is she dead?” Ares added.

~

Not…...yet.

Fitz stood over the body of the dead boar, a triumphant grin on his face.

“Maybe one day I’ll reach him, and I can build his skills as I teach him…”

“If there’s a problem, I’ll find the answer!” Fitz assured her.

“We are the warriors of the mind!”

“I have to be legendary,” Marella whispered, curled up in a ball in her room.

Maybe you’ll be a warrior of the mind, too.

“It’s all gonna turn out great! I know you’ll be fine…”

“Let him go, please…..Let him go.”

[redlazuly]

pjo tv show 1x04 : what i liked and what i didn't. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

What I liked :

The chimera : i absolutely LOVED the design. ik it's not really "mythologically accurate", but it was menacing (finally!) and the monster made "real" damage. i liked echidna too, bc she made me feel nervous, and the way that she treats the "chase" like a game for her child.

2. the athena discussion : i reaaaaally like how the show tries to tell more about the gods as parents and how they are unfair and harmful to the children. i don't remember if it was like that in the book but learning that athena HERSELF refused to protect her own daughter bc she tainted her image + the whole chat about it creates such a prideful and unloving image of the gods ! i love it !!

+ this scene and the many since the beginning of the show where they show that the gods don't treat their children well are such good set ups for the dilemma that luke is about to give to percy!

3. kronos never appearing clearly is cool, i like that they are letting him be a mystery, but i will admit that he is easily forgettable.

4. the scene where percy is struggling the water is cool, the black cuts make us feel his panic but i didn't like the large shots, i think they could have made either way larger too show us the depth of the river of narrower to show us that percy feels trapped (but that's really just nitpicking)

What i didn't :( :

THE URGENCY : I love the scenes that they have when they're talking about the gods and their past etc etc but OH MY GOD THERE IS A CHIMERA CHASING YOU. MOVE ! and it's always the same thing ! the plot of the season is to find the bolt before the solstice and it genuinely look like they don't care at all. PLEASE THE FATE OF THE WOLRD IS IN YOUR HANDS ?? PANIC? AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT ??

there is way too much exposition scene where they just tell percy stuff. like the pan thing which make satyrs chase after him. they could have very well showed it in the council scene in ep 02. instead they just chose to have annabeth and grover explain everything. same thing when they are in the museum : "he doesn't like it when people hurt animals" (i don't remember it correctly, don't @ me) they could have also shown it to us. ofc these are not the best exemples but it's been going on since the beginning of the show.

that's it for now. PLEASE TELL WHAT YOU THINK I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT, COME INTO MY DMS EVEN. sorry i know the writing is a bit clumsy, english is not my first language, i'm still learning :(.

[ink-bunny-blue]

Find The Word tag game

Tagged by @blind-the-winds . Your excerpts were so much fun! I'm in love with the concept of demon summoning in a mall. The chosen words were Gold, Green, Great, Glass, and Give.

I tag @sparrow-orion-writes @attemptingwriter @the-down-upside-finch and your words will be Leaves, Letter, Smile, Strange, and Broken

As always, excerpts are from A Pocket Of Moons, since its currently the only wip that's fit for human consumption.

Gold

Her panic began to smoulder, but the dread still burned close to her heart. When her breaths levelled out, Madeline looked around the room, the silhouettes of the clocks gathering around her like sympathetic strangers, all ticking back and forth to one another in a language she couldn't understand. Rising up, she took the candle and held it to the face of the tall clock to her right. Its hands glistened a thousand shades of gold, and a low heartbeat sounded within its chest.

Green

“We both are alone out here. Whether beast or man, I want you to show yourself to me. Please. I want to know you.” Outside, the moon came out from beneath the clouds, and a single ribbon of light fluttered through a window above, illuminating a pair of eyes right in front of her own. He had been standing in front of her the whole time. Instead of recoiling in terror, Madeline smiled. The eyes across from hers had the same green wisdom as the wolf’s eyes, framed with long lashes and pale eyelids. They held her own gaze as they had done before, then wandered down to the book in her hand. He spoke in a voice just above a whisper: “Can you read to me?”

Great

Athena hushed him and spoke to him like the child she remembered him as. “Let's get you inside. There's no use standing here in the cold, is there?” She led Enoch into the front room and brought him to the couch to rest, draping a blanket over his shoulders. Though his head was hung, his eyes scanned the room as he remembered all the years he had spent in it. The wide mantelpiece where the family had told ghost stories on Midwinter night, the cameo portraits hung on the wall, the great Persian rug which spanned the room. But then he closed his eyes and shut the memories out. He couldn’t bear to think of the past when the present hurt enough already. “Well…what a surprise.” Athena said, nestling on the couch opposite. “I am glad to see you again- so so glad."

Glass

Soon, the sky opened and poured out the first of November’s rain, dotting the marble headstones with dark wet spots. Madeline packed her materials into the wooden box as Enoch led her into a mausoleum behind the yew, pulling up his hood again. The names on the marble vaults had long since faded, and the colours of the small stained-glass window were dulled by the rain. Outside, the drops fell in diagonal chrome shafts, drumming the roof, and dissolving the world in its haze. Both friends smiled wide, eyes soft, as they sat beneath the low ceiling, waiting for the rain to pass.

Give

Then slowly, he turned his head, and over his shoulder was a figure raised above the rest, sat up and watching him with eyes reflecting the moonlight. Enoch was sure his legs would give from under him. But as his vision cleared, he made out the auburn curls of the chorister. He stood, unsure what to do as his face burned with panic. But very slowly, very gently, Saxifraga raised a single finger to his lips, bringing a rush of relief to Enoch’s mind. I won't tell. He nodded in return. And turning back, he made the final few steps then passed the treeline, before bolting into the dark, leaving the cruel hounds sleeping behind him.

[bigfan-fanfic]

I’m so tired of seeing the Medusa victims post. She was literally just born like that. In the original mythology she and her sisters were born with snake hair. And Medusa with the power to turn people to stone. Can you please write a story about the original version of the myth?

TL;DR: The Gorgons evolved over time, starting as three sisters with serpents for hair and pertifying eyes, and monsters, before Ovid wrote that it was just Medusa, a beautiful woman who was turned into a monster.

So, myths are... funky. We can't really call any one version the definitive original because we can't really tell when they were made up, you know? However, we can look at the origins and history of a myth to see how it evolved over time.

At the earliest, the proto-Gorgon was a snakelike, boarlike, winged creature that showed up in the iconography of the temples of oracles, suggesting some kind of protective theme. It wasn't until later in the game that the Gorgons became multiple specific individuals. In fact, around this time the Gorgon is described as one of the many children of Echidna, mother of monsters, birthed to help in the Titanomachy and was slain by Athena.

Homer refers to a Gorgon whose head adorns Athena's aegis and is a creature of the Underworld. It isn't until Hesiod that the Gorgons are individualized and recharacterized as monsters of the sea, and they become three sisters.

So here, Medusa (aka Gorgo) and her sisters Euryale and Stheno were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto (a primal sea god born of Gaia and Pontus, and his daughter/consort/baby mama), who basically went around birthing all the sea monsters. Eventually the main conceit is locked down - three sisters, all of whom have snaky hairdos and petrifying peepers, but Stheno and Euryale are immortal, Medusa mortal. Weird, but maybe that's why she's the one of the three that got singled out for Perseus, since she's the only one that coukd actually be killed. Who knows?

It is about the time of Roman poet Ovid (of Metamorphoses fame and basically the writing that everyone in classical art looked to for their depictions) that the myth again evolves. Ovid drops Stheno and Euryale and just keeps Medusa, who explains the origins of by claiming it was Athena/Minerva who turned her hair to snakes after she and Poseidon/Neptune copulated in her temple (not even getting into the consensuality of it all, because the ancient Greeks didn't really give much of a fuck about that anyway). But, considering that most of the stories that portray Athena as not a very, shall we say, wise, wisdom god come from Ovid, who knows, really?

So we have Medusa the monstrous daughter of monsters, the mortal one amongst her sisters. Basically just another monster living her life and stone-atizing any heroes coming along to slay her until Perseus comes along with a crafty new strat.

Or we have Medusa the cursed woman lashing out and Perseus killing her.

Theoretically, if you wanted to sort of combine all these separate versions into one condensed version, it could be that all three sisters were immortal monsters, and Poseidon just ended up doin it with Medusa (which produces Pegasus and Chrysaor), and maybe Athena got mad that it was in her temple, or their watery affinity gave Athens some kind of flood. Or maybe the sisters Gorgons were killing too many heroes. Either way, Athena curses Medusa and makes her mortal, and eventually helps Perseus slay a monster and gets a cool new shield for herself with a stonifying face on it.

So, not really certain about how to write an actual story, but here's a look into the most basic of basics, and perhaps that'll encourage you to do your own research, since I'm just a lil guy who likes myths and not, you know, an antiquities scholar or professor/reliable source!

[sunstone-smiles]

I would like to request Apollo and Athena from Ace Attorney getting into a tickle fight, please. Playfulness between them is very much encouraged! :)

A/N: Playfulness you say? Luckily for you, playfulness is my middle name (Lol). My Ace Attorney babies! Oh, how I’ve missed them! I’ve had this concept in my notes for a bit and I thought, what better characters to use a theater related concept than with the “theatrical” lawyers of Apollo and Athena! So, I hope you enjoy and thank you for your patience!

Improv Activity

Series: Ace Attorney

Characters: Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes

Word count: 1,352

Summary: When Athena and Apollo are working together in an improvisation activity, an unexpected, yet playful, turn occurs in the scene. Enjoy!

—

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Apollo asks with crossed arms. He watches Athena carry a fold out chair towards the middle of the Wright Anything Agency Office's living room. 

Athena places the chair down. She wears casual attire of a yellow t-shirt and sweatpants during their off time. “Improvisation, also known as improv, is a crucial skill in theater if something doesn’t go as planned.”

“But we’re not doing theater, we’re attorneys that go into court.” Like Athena, Apollo also wears comfy clothes of a red t-shirt and sweatpants.

“Exactly. And even in court, things might not go our way, so we have to be able to think on our feet to get our case back on track, hence the improv exercises.” Athena points to the seat. “Now sit in the chair.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, it’s part of the activity.” Athena grabs him by the shoulders and moves him towards the chair. “Now sit,” Athena shoves him down into the plastic seat.

“Fine…” Apollo grumbles with his arms still crossed.

“Now, this exercise is actually a team building one. Put your hands behind your back and I’ll be behind you with my own arms sticking out to replace yours, so you’ll be speaking while I do hand gestures that would match what you’re saying. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, I got it.” Apollo repositions his arms to rest at the back of the chair. 

“Good.” Athena then kneels down behind him and sticks her arms under his, creating the silly illusion of Apollo’s body connected to Athena’s hands. She peeks out from behind his shoulder. “For the first scene, act as if you were an elementary school teacher. Aaaaand go!”

Apollo rolls his eyes, but he eventually goes along with the game. “Hello everyone, welcome to class,”  the lawyer in red says with a tone lacking enthusiasm. “Today, we’re going to do something fun…”

Athena huffs. She peeks her head out from around his shoulder again.  “It doesn’t sound very fun when you say it like that.”

“I’m just doing what you told me too,” Apollo back sasses her. “So now class…” Apollo returns to his halfhearted monologue. Athena growls under her breath as she moves her hands to his words. Her robotic necklace, named Widget, contorts its digital face and glows red with anger. 

Clearly, Apollo isn’t taking the improv activity seriously. Perhaps Athena needs to give him a little push in the right direction so he can become more engaged in the activity.

Unaware of what Athena has in mind, Apollo keeps on acting as if he was talking to a class. “We’re going to have a lot of laughs today. Ha ha—HA! Hehehey!” Apollo suddenly yelps when Athena uses the hands she’s supposed to be lecturing the “class” with to instead tickle Apollo from behind. He wriggles in the seat with loud giggles exploding from his chest and tugs his arms out from behind the chair to use them as a defense mechanism against Athena’s attack. The female lawyer stands for leverage with her hands still scribbling at her friend’s sides, keeping Apollo glued to the chair. 

“See how fun this can be, class?” Athena says to her imaginary audience while also teasing Apollo in the process. 

“Whahahahat pahahart of the clahahahass is thihihihis?!” Apollo giggles while trying to twist his way out of the chair. With a forceful tug, he loses his balance and topples onto the ground. While Apollo rolls over to his back, Athena runs from behind the chair and pounces to her knees by Apollo’s sides. She dives her fingers back into action, making Apollo jump when her fingers plunge into his belly.

“Athenahahaha! Nohohoho!” the lawyer squirms and swings his arms to try and push Athena away through his bubbly laughter.

Athena smirks as she scribbles her fingers around Apollo’s tummy. “First rule of improv, Apollo! Never say no and always go with whatever happens!”

“Ohoho yeheheah? Thehehen go alohohohong with thihihihis!” Apollo launches his hands forward into Athena’s ribs. She shrieks like a little bird and immediately wraps her arms around herself as she bursts into giggles of her own. She twists her torso in an attempt to shield herself from the tickles, allowing Apollo to sit up and turn the tables on her as he now scribbles into her ribs from behind. Around her neck, Widget changes from its neutral blue to glowing green with happiness.

“Scene change!” Apollo grins over Athena’s shoulder. “There’s now a monster loose in the forest and it feasts on laughter!” the lawyer in red turns his fingers into wiggling claws and squeezes down to her sides. Athena shrieks again and tries to squirm her way out of his grasp. Her orange side ponytail whips around alongside her as she shakes her head with mirth.

“Hahaha! I've been cahahahaptured by the mohohohohonster!” Athena plays along. “Buhuhuhut I wohohon't go dohohown withohohout a fihihihhight!” 

Athena wriggles in Apollo’s hold, eventually finding leeway to nudge him backwards with her elbow. Quick to react, Athena spins around and lunges at Apollo’s ribs, causing the male lawyer to let out a roar of laughter. Apollo squirms in his spot like a fish on a hook to avoid her counter attack, until he flops onto his side, then flat on his stomach. 

In his attempts to crawl away, Athena swiftly takes advantage of the situation and catches his ankles in a headlock. Sitting on on the ground by his hips, Athena uses one hand to scratch at the sole of his socked feet. Apollo yelps and claws at the ground with another giggly eruption.

“Scene change!” Athena teases as she tightens her hold on Apollo’s feet. “It’s the last round of a wrestling match and it looks like the yellow corner has taken down the champ!”

“Dohohohon’t cohohount the red cohohohorner out juhuhuhust yehehehet!” Apollo exclaims. He twists his middle like a knotted spring and playfully yanks the back of Athena’s shirt. Athena lets out a lighthearted scream as she’s tugged to the ground and releases Apollo’s ankles. Rapidly chaining the tides, Apollo leaps up and dives his fingers towards Athena’s ticklish middle.

“Nowhere to run now, supervillain!” Apollo switches the scene again, now to a superhero scenario. “I’ve found your weakness!” Apollo aims right for her belly. Athena squeals and instantly tries to shove Apollo’s hands from her tummy. She squirms, kicks, and her laughter increases tenfold. Apollo smirks from above her as a sly superhero. “Now, do you surrender, supervillain?

“I gihihihive!!! I gihihihive!” Athena manages to screech through her laughter.

“So, do we have a truce?” the lawyer in red teases his friend one more time.

“Yehehes! Yehehes! Nohohow gehehet ohohohoff!” Athena uses some of her remaining strength to reach up and tickle Apollo’s underarms. Apollo reels back with a squeak and immediately pulls his hands away from her. 

“Ah! Okay! Okay! I’ll stohohop!” Apollo squeezes his arms to his sides, then plops on his tailbone. Athena lays flat on the ground, and both lawyers release any remaining giggles into the air. Both of them place their hands on their rising and falling stomachs.

After their small breather, Apollo leans back on his arms. “Is this what usually happens in these improv lessons?” the lawyer in red asks while any leftover ghost tickles leave his skin.

Athena chuckles and also sits herself up on her arms. “Well, how the activity is supposed to turn out is never planned in improv. But the fun and team bonding aspect of it? Yes, absolutely!”

The female lawyer stands up on her feet. “Come on, Apollo! Let’s go to our next activity! And don’t worry, it'll be different this time.” She pauses to smile at him. “Unless of course, the scene calls for it.”

Apollo performs a lighthearted eye roll. “Alright, I’m coming.” 

Athena helps him off the ground and the two prepare for their next improv lesson. It may be difficult to see the purpose in something like improv at first, but Athena and Apollo were able to find the use, and the joy, in the entertaining activity.