#prometheus figure my beloved

[crumbleclub]

the song Witch Image by ghost is just. michael and william having the battle of the ages

[maliciousblog]

Nightmare (Taehyung)

The the light started to fade.

The undergrowth crunched under your feet

Cutting into your skin as you desperately tried to run away from the figure that was chasing you.

If it wasn't the forest floor that was slicing into your skin it was the cold winter air that enveloped the entirety of the forest that stabbed your skin like a hundred little needles.

But you could still feel his presence no matter how fast you ran.

No matter how much distance you thought you created between him and you.

He was everywhere you couldn't escape his overbearing presence.

You couldn't espace his terrifying aura no matter how much you ran.

He would always find you.

You could feel his icy breath on the back of your neck making your spine tingle.

"Let me in my beloved"

You refused to answer as you felt his arms wrap around your body.

His skin was as cold as ice.

He did not radiate the warmth of a human.

As you collapsed into his vice like grip.

It felt like you were trapped in a never ending loop.

You felt his lips touch the skin of your neck as he sank his many rows of fangs into your neck setting your entire body on fire.

The pain felt like nothing you had ever experienced before.

It was like someone had set you on fire at the same time it felt as though you were being submerged into a frozen lake.

Rendering your absolutely powerless in his arms.

As you let out screams of agony that were music to his ears.

A beautiful melody as his poison coursed through you veins.

He grabbed your arm and extended it to dance to the melody of your agony.

His beloved.

You jolted awake drenched in a layer of sweat covering your heated body.

Like Prometheus you were stuck in a loop of what felt like eternal suffering.

It started off slowly a nightmare every few days a month.

It was like slow poison slowly seeping into you.

As time passed the more consumed you became by his darkness.

You couldn't take it anymore

You couldn't take the pain you couldn't take the suffering.

You tried everything in your power to rid yourself of him.

But the devil never left your sight.

Potions, spells, countless blessings

Nothing helped he always came back when the light left to pray on you.

All you had to do was let him in.

Your body was growing weary and weak

You couldn't live like this any longer.

You had to put an end to your suffering.

Swinging the bathroom cabinet door open you pulled out a vile of sleeping pills ingesting as many as your mouth could fit in hopes that atleast in death he would leave you alone.

But to your dismay you ended up throwing up the pills as fast as you had ingested them.

You saw his face in the mirror grinning at you those rows of sharp fangs drenched in blood looking at you. You couldn't look away he was beautiful so hauntingly beautiful.

He brought fear to your bones but you couldn't help but stare at him.

"All you have to do is let me in my beloved"

He said

You moved closer to the mirror as he placed his hands on it you placed yours on top.

Letting yourself being consumed by him.

You no longer resisted you let him in.

There is no escaping now you were his forever.

Before you could atleast escape his clutches when the sun ate away the darkness.

But now he no longer left when you woke up

As you joined him in an eternal nightmare.

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

Sorry it’s be awhile! I was in a slump trying to figure out a good Mythology Story but I did write a list on what JJBA characters would be for certain Gods

Johnathan as Zeus - Hear me OUT!! (He is faithful to his beloved Erina instead of an unfaithful cheater!) He would take a more platonic route because he has his beloved Erina unless they both end up infatuated with someone and are fine with sharing (I fucking hate mythology Zeus because he’s such a dick and deserves death for all the shit he did)

Erina is Hera - She trusts her beloved as he’s faithful to her (Because he would never cheat on her)

Jotaro as Poseidon - This works so well since he’s a Marine Biologist (I feel like he’s the one who ends up being harassed instead of the other way around)

Joseph as Ares - Both are cocky, arrogant and proud when it comes to a battle

Caesar as Aphrodite - This works because of his personality, though he’ll come off as a womanizer and he’s about love and romance (Though I did have a thought of him being Eros a god of Love)

Dio as Hades - He and Johnathan are brothers after all (I feel bad for Hades for this pick because Hades is actually the nicest God in the Greek Pantheon) and it fits since Dio is a Vampire

Kars is either Erebus or Chaos (Because the Pillarmen are an ancient race) and yes, I know it would fit with the Pillarmen to be Aztec/Mayan Gods but I’m unfamiliar with that Pantheon (Except that the gods have long and impossible to spell names that you need to constantly look over to see if you spelt it right 😭) anyways! The Pillarman work as either Primordials or Titans because they’ve been around longer than the Gods

Esidisi is Prometheus (He stole fire)

Wammu is Boreas (He was known as the strongest and cruelest of the 4 Titans of Wind) and he’s known for acting upon violence as it’s more natural to him

Santana is Epimetheus (He lacked foresight in creation but is intelligent, as he was the one who gifted every animal a unique trait until it came to humans)

This is what I have so far! But I have different ideas for certain characters as certain gods or mythical creatures for stories!

Ok so we've already covered Joseph and Caesar. I see Giorno as persephone, born between Dio and a mortal and being taken in by Jonathan and Erina before being brought to the underworld once Dio knew about his existence.

Jonanthan and Erina as Zues and Hera

I like the idea. I think darling would be someone with a position associated with Erina (midwife or celebrant) and excels at it. (Need more poly Jorina in my life)

Erina takes notice of her work and offers to bring her to Olympus to bless her as disciple. However during darlings stay Jonathan and Erina notice certain actions towards darling that they would share. She's sent back before the two eventually they talk about it to eachother and are rather open to the idea of having darling as a third in their relationship.

Awhile later darling is told to come back as there is a wedding being held at Olympus. Wanting to surprise darling that they'll marry her, perhaps under the impression that darling will reciprocate.

Dio as hades

Angered that his brother earnt the loyalty of the other gods Dio has been waiting for a moment to strike Jonathan in a way that hurts.

So I propose that I tie in this part with jojo and Erina's. If darling didn't want the marriage Dio steps in. He offers her to stay in the underworld until this mess all blows over (it won't). After a few months he decides he'll make his move, he tells her that it seems the only way Jonathan and Erina will stop is if she marries another God. He's right there, it doesn't even need to be an actual relationship, she can just go back like nothing ever happened. What darling doesn't know is that the pomegranates he's so graciously offered her have bound her to the underworld, he's told her nothing but lies to fool her into marriage. It's his elaborate plan to make Jonathan relinquish his role to him.

He's considered unleashing the titans but he knows that if he did so that would only put him beneath them. No different then now.

Jotaro as Poseidon

Ok basing this loosely the tale of Andromeda.

Darling is the princess of a coastal kingdom. In an attempt to marry her off they claim she is more beautiful then the sea nymphs. Upon hearing such they begin to ravange the coastal kingdom with tsunamis, promising to stop only when darling is sacrificed.

So darling is chained up to the bottom of the cliff as the tide comes in. The nymphs telling her tales of the serpent that will soon eat her. Only for Jotaro to arrive instead. He tells them to leave before breaking the chains.

Truth is he's had his eye on her for quite some time and now happened to be the perfect opportunity. He will bring her into the depths of the ocean, never to see the land again.

Titan pillarmen

Darling has entered the underworld (either dead or looking to bring someone back) and gets lost deep within, eventually met with four stone statues before her. She hears a voice echo through the cave. "Free us and you shall have whatever you desire" they bellow.

Foolish darling accepts the offer and is told how to break the seal and she does unaware of the titans. She gets what she wants but of course the titans would not simply let her go. She must have the honor of serving them after her fruitful labor. They're probably around 18ft compared to the gods who are around 10 to 12ft.

[thewhisperofzagreus]

hello there. i hope it’s okay to ask, but your personal pantheon aligns very closely with my own, and i was wondering if and how the spirit/deity of Lucifer appears to you or your understanding of Them? ive seen you have a few posts tagged with Their name, and was just wanting to hear your perspective. it’s been a journey figuring out where They fall into my persona cosmology, and hearing the experiences of others can be very enlightening, but if you’re not comfortable sharing or this doesn’t apply feel free to disregard! thank you for your time regardless

Hi! It’s totally okay, don’t worry

I wouldn’t say that I consider Lucifer to be a deity (more like an “entity” or “spirit” as you described it) to begin with and he's not exactly included in my pantheon, but his mythological figure will always be warmly beloved by me and I like to post something about him from time to time.

To me his role is the same as Prometheus and Phanes: bringer of knowledge, light and liberator. Just as Phanes originally lighted the whole world with his golden wings and Prometheus stole fire for our human race, Lucifer rebelled against oppression in the name of his and our freedom. I like to focus on his light side because that is what he has always been to me. Light-bearing, protective and gentle.

And I wish you the best of luck on your spiritual journey! It is always a precious experience to discover something new connected to the entities you love.

[limetameta]

Plans for 2024

Finish these wips:

Psych Eval (goal by nov 1st, might not happen i dont know i am travelling but well see)

Witch story (by like 1st dec)

Seasons (by the new years who knows)

Thesis (by the new years well see)

Figure the fuck out what to do with Black Honour (somewhere within this year)

So i can only have for 2025 the following:

Metallic Crimson (NO MORE SIDE STORIES WE DIE LIKE MEN AND IF MC BECOMES 350K THEN SO BE IT UR GETTING THE RETIRED PROMETHEUS TREATMANT FROM NOW ON)

Black Honour (I REALLY REALLY REALLY THINK THIS THING JUST NEEDS 30K MORE)

Thoros story (heavily considering just skipping ahead and then going back and forth like why does chronology even exist no it doesnt im not writing this for an audience this is for me and two other people who know me by now)

Retired Prometheus rewrite my beloved my dear my darling my love my soul i love you i want to smooch you promise not to turn into bugs this time

[goblinngay]

as a mythologist who speacializes in trickster figures let me also add- lighthouses are physical manifestations of the axis mundi. axis mundi (discussed heavily by northrop frye) is the line (figurative) that travels from the heavens to the surface to the underworld. it is THE thing that brings together life and death, time and space and dimension.

the lighthouse is often connected to the trickster (and martyr) Prometheus (my beloved). his burden? sacrificing himself for humanity, being punished daily for his crimes against the gods. now if that doesn’t sound like solas…. he beats himself up every day because of his actions. it’s a more personal form of punishment, taking the nuance of self-sacrifice away, but nonetheless a trickster who coexists as a hero/martyr (think Jesus) is forced to withstand punishment for their actions.

so solas, who is thus intrinsically connected to these symbols, can be viewed as a Jesus/Prometheus figure. this means he will likely experience redemption in the eyes of the people, but will also likely have a punishment to face from outside his own self-punishment. additionally he will likely be able to escape the punishment and return from it somehow (think Prometheus Bound and Prometheus Unbound, Jesus returning after death, etc)

Transferring a twitter Dragon Age 4 theory to tumblr:

This is a theory about the very latest DA4 information that people were upset to learn about because they want to wait for the game rather than hear too much, so look elswhere if that is you. I suspect that Rook is called "Rook" for a reason. I suspect their color is purple for a reason.

Rook is associated with trickery and death, a bad omen.

Hmm.... that reminds me a little of a "dread wolf."

I, for a long time, thought the game was called "Dreadwolf" because the main character would be taking on the trials and tribulations and responsibilities of the Dread Wolf onto their own shoulders. This suspicion has expanded hugely in my mind when I think about DA4 because what exactly is the story set-up, here? What is the Dread Wolf?

Solas, who is playing the role in the story of Dragon Age of an ancient trickster deity, has claim and power over the functions that trickster gods. Namely, power over doorways, thresholds, boundaries.

It doesn't matter what Solas thinks about godhood if he has all the trappings and power of godhood. There is no material difference in a fictional story.

(I love that Solas in the prologue is demonstrating exactly what you would expect from a Trickster God in this situation - manipulating boundaries, and then being Just a Little Guy.)

So the game prologue opens on Solas, a trickster god, delicately manipulating the magical boundary between worlds, which is something that you would expect a trickster god to do. Then unfolds a scene in which a tiny figure (Rook) causes a larger-than-life god (Solas) mischief and, with Rook's foolish meddling, undoes the very fabric of normalcy, trapping the trickster god and throwing the world into chaos, upsetting the very balance of power between the gods, threatening the end of the world.

Rook then recieves power over the Veil the trickster god has, the sacred knife that the trickster god wields, the ability to traverse back and forth between the boundaries only easily traversed by the trickster god, the magical mirror teleportation network of the trickster god, the magical floating Lighthouse home of the trickster god, the responsibilities of the trickster god, etc.

Rook also recieves the advice of the trickster god, whether they want it or not (it seems).

Do you see what I'm saying?

"They call me the Dread Wolf, what will they call you when this is over?"

I think this game may be about Rook becoming a trickster god.

As Felassan tells Briala in The Masked Empire, "[Becoming a god] is for the stories to decide."

Tricksters in folklore are very often mortal, human heroes. Very often, they act stupidly and foolishly (like we are said to do by interrupting Solas in the prologue) and somehow win anyway.

And what more powerful figure could there be, to fight with gods? Only a little guy like Solas or Rook, could hope to fight multiple gods and win. A little tiny trickster hero who makes foolish mistakes but is unkillable like Bugs Bunny is actually the perfect challenger to all-powerful deities.

Anyway, so if we get all of Solas' powers and his responsibilities, if we're, in a way, in training to become a trickster god. We may be stepping into myth and doing his job for him, disrupting things the way he does, and there will be comparisons. (the articles tell us that Solas is comparing himself to Rook, and that he doesn't like what he sees of himself in Rook). People always acted like Solas' situation was incredibly easy, but imo we could never actually understand what his story was, or see it from his point of view, enough to judge him. But if we actually walk in his shoes, then maybe we can actually have a part of the conversation. And later, maybe part of the myth.

The little Rook-bird that tugged the Dread Wolf's tail and let the creators free again, the little trickster Rook that destroyed or saved the world. I wonder what kind of trickster they will call us, when it is all over?

[godsofhumanity]

Prometheus: there is only one thing worse than accepting random gifts.

Prometheus: *tears off paper below "accepting random gifts" so now the board says "accepting random gifts from Zeus" *

Epimetheus: Zeus

Prometheus: yes

[raayllum]

One thing I haven’t seen anyone directly address in the comparisons of Aaravos to both Prometheus (fire-bringer) and Lucifer (literally means “light bringer”) is the relationship the two figures have with the concepts of Love and Curiosity and Punishment. Both are quasi-deities who turn against the King of the Gods (or God King) and bring possibility to humanity by way of civilization, survival, and temptation. They’re crafty and clever, Prometheus having the power of foresight and empathy for humankind, Lucifer with a far more scheming aspect in mind and fuelled by spite. 

Both are punished for their ‘transgressions’ by being cast out and imprisoned. Prometheus is chained to a rock and has his liver (believed to be the seat of human emotions in Ancient Greece) eaten by an eagle (symbol of Zeus) every day only for it to grow back at night. Satan / Lucifer is cast down to hell and  pandemonium (all demons) and vows to have his revenge by ruining God’s latest creation, humanity.

The part 2 of the mythos is also exceedingly similar. A first woman is gifted to the first man (or men) to be a wife to a primary figure and her curiosity dooms her people. Pandora opens the pithos (not box) she had been instructed by Zeus to leave alone, releasing all evils into the world except for Hope. Likewise, Eve is tempted by the serpent and eats the apple of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, before Adam does the same; one of the most popular and prominent adaptations, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, shows Adam taking the apple not of out ignorance but out of wanting to stay with his wife at all costs, so that whatever happens, they are at the very least together. Both versions of the mythos end with the end of a former glory age shown by Death being brought into the world, and that more knowledge isn’t necessarily a good thing. 

Already we can see tenants of Callum’s curiosity being a dangerously powerful force, the crucial aspect of a love pair, and devotion of following your beloved into the deep unknown, of choosing to throw away your current world so that you can stay together at all costs. We can even see this somewhat reflected very early on in 1x04 with Rayla (the quasi-Eve) fetching the Cube for Callum, neither of them knowing the consequences that may lay in store for it. 

Other notes: 

We get the name Lucifer from an old name for the planet Venus, the Roman version of Aphrodite, goddess of Love.

Pandora’s name means “one who sends up gifts”

“He thinks that if he cared for the idea, he’d like to remember the taste of a smooth red fruit a human had plucked from a tree for him, once. It had been so crisp, and so sweet.” (Aaravos birthday post)

“That can be my first gift to you [...] I’ve got one more gift for you, Callum. It’s not cake or kisses, but it’s something more important than that. I’M GOING TO KEEP YOU SAFE. [...] Taking on hard choices and going to dark places is an act of love. It’s a gift. So, please let me give you this gift, Callum. Stay safe, and stay in the light.” (Rayla’s goodbye letter to Callum)

Rayla’s name being a reference to “Ray of Light” and Aaravos’ name meaning “between light and dark” 

[cashthecomposer]

Let's see if these line up with my songs for Fantasmagoriana:

Raging against society: Funny enough, "A Modern Prometheus" is the title of this one, too.

Epistolary love song: Closest I've got is "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty", but it's a poem, not a letter.

How exciting the 19th century is: No, nothing that fits the bill. The opening number mentions some period things, but that's not the point of the song, just to establish setting, but I'll list it anyways, "The Year Without a Summer"

Rousing number by the antagonist: Problem is, there isn't really an antagonist; the closest thing is Lord Byron, and he does indeed have a rousing number- the title song, "Fantasmagoriana"

Female love interest can't understand protagonist: Turn it around the other way- Percy is enamored by Mary and sings how he'll follow her in "I Will Follow You".

Exciting quartet that can't pull off multiple vocal lines: I feel called out. "Happy to be with Him"

Falling for the Byronic Hero: Does falling for Byron himself count? "I Will Follow You (reprise)"

Emotional support by parental figure: There's no parental figure to our characters, but there is a song about being a parent, "Children and Stories"

Creepy ensemble number about London: Nope.

Tragic solo about losing one's beloved: No, hasn't happened yet....

Internal conflict: ohoho you betcha "Lullaby"

Incoherent finale: again, I feel called out "Finale"

It’s the mid-2000′s, and you want to write a musical based on a gothic novel that will flop spectacularly on Broadway? You need -

- A rousing solo by your protagonist in which they rage against the strictures of their society (”Sweet Liberty,” Jane Eyre; “I Need to Know,” Jekyll and Hyde; “A Modern Prometheus,” Frankenstein)

- An epistolary love song (”Whitby Bay,” Dracula the Musical; “Dear Victor,” Frankenstein)

- An ensemble number in which everyone sings about how new and exciting the 19th century is (”Modern World,” Dracula the Musical; “A Golden Age,” Frankenstein, “Welcome to the New World,” Lestat the Musical)

- A character-establishing rousing number by the antagonist (”Alive!” Jekyll and Hyde; “Fresh Blood,” Dracula the Musical; “The Waking Nightmare,” Frankenstein; “I Can Get Away with Anything,” Woman in White, “I Want More,” Lestat the Musical)

- A love song about how the female love interest can’t really understand the protagonist (”Take Me As I Am,” Jekyll and Hyde; “The Workings of the Heart,” Frankenstein)

- Exciting quartet that can’t really pull off multiple vocal lines (”His Work and Nothing More,” Jekyll and Hyde; “The Hands of Time,” Frankenstein, “A Perfect Life” trio version, Dracula the Musical)

- A gothic seduction/falling for the byronic hero song (”Life After Life,” Dracula the Musical; “Sirens,” Jane Eyre; “Embrace It,” Lestat the Musical; “It’s a Dangerous Game,” Jekyll and Hyde)

- A sentimental emotional support song by a parental figure (”Beautiful Boy,” Lestat the Musical; “Your Father’s Eyes,” Frankenstein; “Letting Go,” Jekyll and Hyde)

- Creepy ensemble number about London (”Lost Souls,” Woman in White; “Facade,” Jekyll and Hyde, “In Paris,” Lestat the Musical gets honorary inclusion)

- Tragic solo by the male love interest about losing his beloved (”Before the Summer Ends,” Dracula the Musical; “Evermore Without You,” Woman in White; “Farewell Good Angel,” Jane Eyre)

-  Internally conflicted solo by the protagonist (”All for Laura,” Woman in White; “Painting Her Portrait,” Jane Eyre; “No One Must Ever Know,” Jekyll and Hyde; “These Hands,” Frankenstein; “If I Could Fly,” Dracula the Musical, “The Thirst,” Lestat the Musical)

- An incoherent finale with way too much plot resolution happening too quickly

[rockislandadultreads]

Nonfiction Picks: Greek Mythology

Troy: The Greek Myths Reimagined by Stephen Fry

In this brilliant conclusion to his bestselling Mythos trilogy, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry retells the tale of the Trojan War.

Full of tragic heroes, intoxicating love stories, and the unstoppable force of fate, there is no conflict more iconic than the Trojan War. Troy is the story of the epic battle retold by Fry with drama, humor, and vivid emotion. Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Helen, their lovers, and their mortal enemies all burn bright in Fry's compelling prose. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this gorgeous volume invites you to explore a captivating world with a brilliant storyteller as your guide.

Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths by Philip Freeman

From acclaimed writer and scholar Philip Freeman, a contemporary retelling of classic Greek and Roman mythology. The Greek and Roman myths have never died out; in fact they are as relevant today as ever in their sharp observations about human nature. For thousands of years they have inspired plays, operas, and paintings; today they live on in movies and video games. Oh My Gods is a contemporary retelling of some of the most popular myths by Philip Freeman, a noted classicist. These tales of errant gods, fantastic creatures, and human heroes are brought to life in fresh and modern versions. Powerful Zeus; his perpetually aggrieved wife, Hera; talented Apollo; beautiful Aphrodite; fierce Athena; the dauntless heroes Theseus and Hercules; and the doomed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice still inspire awe, give us courage, and break our hearts. From the astonishing tales of the Argonauts to the immortal narrative of the Battle of Troy, these ancient tales have inspired writers from Shakespeare to J. K. Rowling. In Philip Freeman’s vibrant retelling they will doubtless inspire a new generation of readers.

Men and Gods: Myths and Legends of the Ancient Greeks‎ by Rex Warner, Edward Gorey (Illustrator)

This outstanding collection brings together the novelist and scholar Rex Warner's knack for spellbinding storytelling with Edward Gorey's inimitable talent as an illustrator in a memorable modern recounting of the most beloved myths of ancient Greece. Writing in a relaxed and winning colloquial style, Warner vividly recreates the classic stories of Jason and the Argonauts and Theseus and the Minotaur, among many others, while Gorey's quirky pen-and-ink sketches offer a visual interpretation of these great myths in the understated but brilliantly suggestive style that has gained him admirers throughout the world. These tales cover the range of Greek mythology, including the creation story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, the heroic adventures of Perseus, the fall of Icarus, Cupid and Psyche's tale of love, and the tragic history of Oedipus and Thebes. Men and Gods is an essential and delightful book with which to discover some of the key stories of world literature.

The Universe, the Gods, and Men by Jean-Pierre Vernant

In this enchanting retelling of Greek myth, Jean-Pierre Vernant combines his deep knowledge of the subject with an original storytelling style. Beginning with the creation of Earth out of Chaos, Vernant continues with the castration of Uranus, the war between the Titans and the Olympian gods, the wily ruses of Prometheus and Zeus, and the creation of Pandora, the first woman. His narrative takes readers from the Trojan War to the voyage of Odysseus, from the story of Dionysus to the terrible destiny of Oedipus to Perseus's confrontation with the Gorgons. Jean-Pierre Vernant has devoted himself to the study of Greek mythology. In recounting these tales, he unravels for us their multiple meanings and brings to life the beloved figures of legend whose narratives lie at the origin of our civilization. With remarkable psychological acuity, Vernant presents a picture of the world as the Greeks understood it. The relationship between the human and the divine -- realms that have always been intimately connected -- and their place within a world of potent natural forces are evoked effortlessly in a narrative that retains the magical quality of myth and reads with the compelling momentum of a good novel.

[yanderesmythos]

🎼Yandere! Apollo(General) Headcanon⚕:

Tw: Violence, implied dub-con, delusions, mention of flaying, slight nsfw, toxic relationship, curses.

Ah, Apollo is known to be attracted to those that represent beauty. So when he got the gist of rumor spreading through the island of Kythira, that a young maiden has a mellifluous voice and an equally divine figure. He declared that he had to investigate, to make sure the rumours are true.

Thus, the blond god decided to pay a visit to meet the cryptic maiden; that had lit the flames of his curiosity as if it was the flames of Olympus* itself!

Before he descends to the village, Apollo disguised himself as man in his mid-thirties that have a flowing chocolate locks for tresses and stubbles beneath his chin. ' Now, to find the μούσα* of this village.'

The first thing that came to his mind, is that to search for her in the fields of flowers. Alas, he didn't find her which made him the more so frustrated. Were those rumours a mockery, just to taunt him for every lover he had met a tragic end?* If so, how dare they!

Yet, a kind gentlemen has came his way and saw the impatient expression painting Apollo's face. 'χαῖρε*, friend! I saw you were troubled, that's why I am here to help. As far as I am concerned, you're here to meet the allegedly fair maiden of our village. If you want to her, then head to the south east of chora. You'll find her humming a hymn and playing with animals, and Ὑγιαίνε!*'.

Before, he could give his blessing and gratitude to the man. The individual vanished into thin air as if he never existed. Nonetheless a smile tore Apollo's face, as he began heading to the place that stranger told him to go.

When he arrived to the location, his breath was hitched by not the beauty of place. But, with the woman in a flowy white dress who was singing her heart out. His heart was thumping so hard, that he feared that it may stop thanks to the woman in a simple village dress. It seems that the rumours were not an empty gossip, after all. Oh, did he finally 'meet' his muse and he won't let what occured to his past lovers happen to you!

Apollo is obsessive, clingy, delusional, and overwhelming-ly overprotective to the point of being overbearing. But, that's understandable when most of your lovers either wind up dead or turned into some kind of plant!

Apollo adores you immensely, so much that he will go as far as to defying you to his worshippers. Any mockery of you is akin of insulting him, which will steer his wrath. And his wrath isn't something to be taken so lightly, especially if his darling is involved.

It's a guarantee that Apollo will write poems, hymns*, and songs of praise for you. As well as, ensuring one of his devoted servants to sculpt you in the most pristine form and to be spread all through Greece. Then, he'll get rid of them* because he is the only one who has the right to appreciate s/o naked figure. 'What a fair woman you are, my μούσα. How fortunate, for the sisters of fate had decided to bind us together. So, let's take advantage of it and create the masterpiece of our deathless love.'

In fear of your death, the first thing Apollo will do is to force the ambrosia* upon you. Whether be it you're willing, or kicking and screaming to be let go. He simply will ignore it, as he believes those are 'signals' indicating that you desire him as much as he desires you. 'Shhh, μούσα. No need to be afraid, after all we will be together forever. Aww, those tears of happiness has blessed my day. Now, let me return the favour in our private chamber.'

If you're were to be taken away from Apollo, or worse injured significantly. Then, those imbeciles must be prepared to accept their fates. Oh dear, it has been itching him for a while to use his bow and arrow! Or, maybe flay them for their discretion of his sacred beloved.

Plus, he may or may not consider cursing their homeland with a terminal illness to make an example out of any mortal who has any ill intention toward s/o.

On another notice, rejecting or escaping him won't effect the outcome. As he'll accumulate you one way or another, in addition you'll be punished severely for 'breaking' his fragile heart. But don't worry, he won't hurt you....that much.

If you happened to escape on your own accord, not only will you make Apollo upset but also Artemis for upsetting her twin brother. (In which case, I believe from this scenario Artemis would've developed platonic obsession. Mainly, that you make her brother happy and that you haven't been dead yet. And, for that she promised to protect you until her last breath. Not only for her brother, but for herself as it has been a while since she met a kind mortal.)

Then, you'll become the prey of both Apollo and Artemis hunting game. If Artemis was the one to catch you, then you'll be handed to the lovesick god as he begin to drown you in his hold. However, if Apollo was the one to catch her then the s/o must be in for an intense 'love' session. In both scenarios, you'll be handed to him. It's just his reaction, that will differ.

Oh, also don't even attempt to break Apollo's delusions of you. As he will become a horrendous individual to meddle with, if he ever become lucid. And, the punishments will be amped to mind-shattering level. So try not to tread on his delusions, and you'll be safe for the most part. The more you escape, the more he'll be aware. Thus, he'll slowly become lucid. Oh, and just because he's lucid doesn't mean that he'll give up his beloved. NO! he'll be more persistent and bitter in his approach than his deluded state which is more softer and sweeter than any honey.

Anyways, one of his favored hobbies is to enact your and his fantasies with you. He can't help, but gushes at your flushed and drooling visage as he overstimulates your genital. 'Ahh, you're so.... dazzling especially with that flustered expression upon your face. Oh? You want more? Ask and you shall receive. No need to be shy with me, my βασίλισσα*.'

Anyways, as long as you play your cards right you might escape with your wits and sanity intact. But.....at the cost of either becoming the most dreaded immortal or cursed so no one can love you, but Apollo himself.

In which case, the isolation and ostracizion from the mortals will most likely drive you to return to him. 'Ah looks like you've learnt your lesson, κακῶς κόρην*. I forgive you now, so come into my warm embrace.'

Notes:

* Flame of Olympus: Here, I was referencing the myth of the first flame that Prometheus gave to humanity. Leading him, to be punished by Zeus.

* μούσα: Muse in greek.

* Tragic end: Poor Apollo. Each time he loves someone, they die or turn to plants. First, Daphne(turned into a Laurel tree) then Hyacinth(turned into Larkspur flower) then Cassandra(cursed for the rest of her life with the misfortune of no one believing her oracles). The last one, was a prickly act from Apollo ngl. But, then again there is no one right in the mythos. Everyone must've done something shitty for petty reasons with few exclusions (hestia/hades).

*χαῖρε: Hello in ancient greek.

*Ὑγιαίνε: Good luck in ancient greek.

*Hymns: are songs of praises towards a deity.

*then he'll get rid of them: you'll ask why would he spread sculptures of you around Greece, yet will punish anyone who worships it. Simply, because that's called hypocrisy and boy there is alot of it in the mythology. *Cough* Zeus *Cough*

*Ambrosia: Called 'the food of the gods', it is guaranteed to make any mortal into immortal.

* βασίλισσα: Queen in ancient greek.

*The first one to answer this will get a cookie from me: Who was the mysterious man that spoke with Apollo?

A/n: I apologize for uploading late, as I am busy with studying for my finals. Lastly, I hope you enjoyed this and thanks for requesting! Take care!

[agerefandom]

I would love any content you wanted to write about greek deities. Apollo is one of my favorites. Do you have any favorites?

That’s a hard question!! There are so many versions of them that it’s hard to really pick a favourite, you know? 

In general, I love figures that hold the bridge between the underworld and the overworld, so Hermes and Persephone are probably my all-time favourites. We love liminal, boundary-blurring figures. It’s hard to choose between them: Spring is my favourite season, so obviously Persephone is my favourite, but also I have an ultimate weakness for trickster figures in mythology. 

Apollo and the Muses are obviously way up there as a person who’s grown up in music and art and theatre. Apollo’s role in prophecy and the way that’s used in Greek myths is also so interesting, I could study it forever. 

And then there’s the maiden goddesses!!! Power!!! Obviously Athena is amazing, and I had the biggest crush on Artemis when I was a kid, and Hestia has been the goddess my mum devotes herself for the last decade, so honestly I just kind of think of her as a mother figure. 

My favourite series when I was a kid was all about Hades and re-telling the myths from his point of view, so I’ll always be affectionate towards him as well. I always get Hades on those ‘who would your godly parent be’ quizzes but I feel like it just makes my goth aesthetic a little Too Much if I’m all about Hades. So I try and focus on other deities, but, like... I love Hades a lot. 

Oh!!! I didn’t gush enough about Dionysus! Obviously, all the Greek gods have been used as symbols of queerness, but Dionysus is my favourite because he blurs the gender binary as well as encouraging that lovely hedonistic style of queer pleasure and desire. Of course, I’m a very quiet person, and I’m uncomfortable around drinking, but I like to think that 3am screaming along to silly 2000s music videos with friends and drinking sweetened fruit punch also falls into the delirium of Dionysus’s reign. 

I’ve... almost certainly missed some other favourite mythological figures, but there you go! (Honorable mentions: Hephaestus and his relationship with Aphrodite, Prometheus, the Furies, the Fates, Medusa and her sisters, Charon my beloved, Hecate, Nyx, Psyche, Helios, Eos, and Gaia) 

Ask me about Greek Deities!!! Give me an excuse to babble! 

[satbiym]

Read it on 🍞 AO3 Link or below:

Lio knows what he looks like.

He knows what people think when they look at him, especially as his appearance makes them fall under the illusion that when it comes to him, they can get away with unleashing the beasts they have lurking underneath

At least until Lio shows them what it means to house a beast too large for your body and circumstances.

The thing with Lio now is, when he talks, people listen.

Now.

but that hadn't always been the case

born to a family who gave too many fucks about public appearance and too few about their own flesh and blood

he was taught from a young age that children should be seen and not heard

to be controlled and not control

to be polite and proper and use their words

(Lio had always been better at letting his actions do the explaining for him)

(his bare hands - all fists and bones and cleanly healed callouses)

(his fire; fire that had nothing to do with housing aliens from another dimension in his body and mind and heart and soul)

Lio was the strongest of the burnish

“When the Boss’s flames are alive, the flame of the Burnish will live on!”

The promare, he now understood, wanted to burn it all to the ground, and his urge to burn had been the strongest of them all

what did it mean

did the promare prefer him most because his bloodlust matched theirs?

Lio wore duty like a beloved security blanket. He was Atlas and Prometheus and Helios all at once. He was the burner and the burned.

He was-

he was-

he was-

(Atlas shrugged.)

When Lio was younger and still unfamiliar with the literal simmering heat of bone-deep rage that never seemed to be quenched and the monsters it made of them all-

Lio Fotia used to have a sister.

Younger.

the only thing they shared were their last names - Fotia

she had been born in front of him and the first time he had held her, still trembling from her perilous journey into this world that had already started testing her

their father had been on the phone, hammering out the last negotiations for her betrothal

And blinking away trembling tears that blurred her crunchy baby face from view

he had then sworn an oath, I will protect you

it was the first - but not the last - time he had taken up arms for someone else

Eos, they named her

if he was Helios of the sun, then she was the dawn of his light

Hello Eos.

Welcome to Earth.

It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. I'll teach you how to ride a bike and sneak out of windows at night and use a slingshot and push you on the swing even though it’s my turn to fly.

Eos, if there is something I could tell you, god damn, you've got to be kind, despite it all. You've got to be kind.

I will make sure you have ample luxury to be.

It used to bother him

how they looked nothing alike

and it used to fill him with rage, that burned burned burned, whenever her fiance would come by and dismiss her with a glance and not look at the hair she had painstakingly learnt over multiple hours from Youtube videos and then made him learn to do for her, and the dress she had changed her mind on, no less than 10 times

Eos liked pretty things

and, she used to laugh, Lio, you are the prettiest of them all.

she liked to hold colourful butterflies and delicate sparrows in her hands and admire them

and then, she just... let them go

she always let them go

no matter how much it delighted her to look at them

she always let them go

and with her, Lio too, learnt a little about what it meant to be kind

(but he still hasn't learnt how to let go)

One careless afternoon, her fiance made her cry

That summer afternoon, Lio Fotia almost took his first life (and came into his burnish identity)

It was her cries that alerted him before he dealt the killing blow

Later-

Later.

when he was allowed to see her next

she brought with her bread and an unopened letter from their father

"What's in it?"

"I haven't read it"

"Hm."

they talked - not about the, now literal, flames that lived in his soul

but just talked

while breaking pieces of the bread to feed the fish in the fountain next to them

it was nice

right before she had to leave, she sat up and said the magical, familiar words, "Do you want to try something cool I saw on Youtube?"

Lio had smiled.

she had then taken out the bread clip that had been holding the bread packet closed

and clipped it onto his ear

"There." She had said, satisfied. "I knew that would work"

Lio had looked at her questioningly

Eos had smiled, "Your ears are just as thick as mine, Brother. So, I figured this trick would work."

Lio blinked.

Their ears were the same?

Lio had always searched for traces of similarity in her face, but had never found any

but maybe he had always been looking in the wrong places

"How do I look?" Lio said smiling, for the first time in a while

Eos had smiled brightly

and then

that smile trembled

"Like the prettiest thing in the world" she had said and then clutched him to her, not letting go

(but Lio caught sight of the white envelope from the corner of his eye)

and for the first time, he let go.

gently loosening her grip on him, he smiled, "Impossible. You are in the world."

Wiping at her eyes, too open and not knowing enough about the world to be discreet about it - and if Lio had any say in it, she never would have to be discreet about it - she had shaken her head stubbornly

"No. A-and you have to promise me. You will remain the prettiest person in the world. Brother, oh, Brother, your flames felt so warm and safe."

Lio blinked.

Safe, huh.

For her, he swore - the second oath he ever made, they always would be.

After she left, he opened the letter

Son, the Burnish Task Force will be collecting you in a day's time. We cannot be held responsible for harboring illegal burnish and this will impact your sister's prospects. She will be getting married when she turns 18, and cannot have a burnish for a brother-

Lio had just smiled, letting his flames consume the letter

"What's in it?"

"I haven't read it"

When did you learn to obfuscate, little dawn?

and tugging gently on the bread clip still attached to his ear, but not enough to make it let go.

That night, Lio Fotia ran away from his home and made the third oath of his life and started figuring out what it meant for his flames to be warm and safe.

Lio Fotia used to have a sister.

The only thing they shared were their last names - Fotia, and... their thick ears

and when she was to be married, her name would go but her thick ears would remain.

[manggaeteokki]

Secret Garden || intro

summary: for years and years, your mother whispered to you stories of the mythical secret garden, and for years, you thought they were just that: stories. but what happens when one day you stumble upon a place beyond your wildest imagination and not a clue how you got there?

come in and discover the legends of the Secret Garden.

pairing: ___ x reader, BTS x reader 

genre: fluff, romance, fantasy, alternate universe! au, smut (possibly?? *eyebrow wiggle*)

words: 1.7K

a/n: this is my first series and i’m super excited! this series will have a story in the garden for each member. please read the intro before delving into the stories!!! the intro sets up the stories, so its important to read, cuties. choose one to read or choose them all. either way, can’t wait to see you in the Garden!  (send an ask to be added to the taglist!!) 

“Do you ever think there could be other worlds besides ours?” your friend, Aila, asks while shoving a fistful of buttery popcorn in her mouth. 

It was Movie Night in your shared apartment, and your friend and roommate, Aila’s, brilliant suggestion of Prometheus was gracing your T.V. screen. She loved movies about otherworldly creatures coming to Earth and especially loved when an invasion was involved. You often questioned her movie taste, and she would explain that she likes the idea of Earth “not being the only planet with viable and intelligent beings.” It sounded insane, but in some ways it made sense, you rationalized. 

You shifted on the comfy couch to look towards her. While you didn’t necessarily refute the point, you couldn’t be sure that you could answer such a question or even know where to begin with an explanation. 

“When I was younger,” you started, “my mom used to always tell me stories of this other world that had a garden.” 

“Sounds fucking boring,” she retorted. You hit her shoulder and she winced in fake pain. 

“Shut up. Like I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted, she would tell me stories of this place. The way she talked about the garden… it made it seem like it was real,” you smiled remembering. “She said that every flower in existence bloomed there, and that as soon as you entered, a wave of calmness immediately washed over your body. ‘A pure form of serenity,’ she said.” 

“No offense but it sounds like that time I got high at the Botanical Gardens with Nico last summer,” she laughed and you shortly followed suit. 

“Yeah, but she also talked about these beings that lived there. I think she said there were seven of them. She said that they looked like humans, but on a closer look, their beauty was too ethereal to be so,” you babbled. 

Aila’s face contorted into confusion and wonder as you recalled the stories your mother told you at bedtime each night. The movie long forgotten, Aila inquired more and more about your beloved stories until the music signaling the end credits began to play. Aila stood up and began clearing the popcorn strays from the couch while you walked over to turn on the lights in the living room. 

Your roommate let out a yawn paired with a sound that could easily be compared to a banshee, and let you know that she would be heading to sleep as she had work early in the morning. You nodded your head in acknowledgement and let her know that you would be staying a while in the living to catch up on a show you had been binge-watching that week. Her door to her room closed and you landed on your couch with a fwump! 

“Finally I get to watch this damn show!” you exclaimed, reaching for the bucket of popcorn Aila left out for you. The intro to Elite started rolling, and you snuggled deeper into the worn-in couch. You let out a sigh of relaxation, allowing yourself to get immersed in the show. 

Two episodes and about 3 hours later (you used one of the hours to mindlessly scroll through your social media), you decided, albeit belatedly, that you should head to bed due to work being in seven hours. Working in research wasn’t as taxing as you thought, but it still required you to be awake and not slobbering on a keyboard for eight hours, as great as it sounded. 

You started to head toward your own room when you heard a thump against one of the doors in the small hallway where the doors leading to the bedrooms existed. You decided that you were more tired than you felt and thought the result was auditory hallucinations; however, as you got closer to the middle door between you and Aila’s bedroom, you heard it once again and this time louder. 

“Aila, what the hell are you doing in there?” you called out but there was no response. 

When you and Aila first toured the apartment, the middle door did not go unnoticed. When asked about the door and why it was locked, the landlord simply said that he bought it that way and never received a key. Many jokes were made in terms of what lie beyond the door; moreso by Aila and her extraterrestrial fantasies than you, but they induced plenty of laughs nonetheless. 

The thumping occurred from the middle door again, and fear slowly crept into your veins making your body feel a rush of coolness in the process. You knew not to try to open the door, not that it was even possible, but you also knew that you wouldn’t be able to sleep with that incessant noise. You started banging on Aila’s door. 

“Aila, girl, I KNOW you hear that noise. Hurry up and come out! I’m scared,” you whined, but she still didn’t reply. You knew Aila was a heavy sleeper, but damn was she sleeping deep if she couldn’t hear you. 

You twisted the knob to her door and ran in expecting to see a lump on plump blankets in a human silhouette. Instead, you found her bed completely made, no human in sight. There was no way that Aila could have gone out the window, you guys were on the tenth floor. Things weren’t adding up, and you were on the verge of tears. 

A morbid curiosity suffused throughout your being as you slowly began walking towards the middle door. The thumping got louder with each step you took, and at some point, you couldn’t distinguish between the pounding of your heart in your eardrums and the perpetual beat against the mahogany entrance. You reached the door, and your hand encased the golden knob. You noted that it felt warm for a door that had supposedly not been used for a lengthy amount of time. With a twist of the knob, you were shocked to hear a click indicated the outdated door had been unlocked. You stood there for what seemed like forever, an array of questions racing through your mind. You finally gathered what little courage you had left and swung the door open. 

It was a bittersweet feeling when you listened to your mom. All those times when you wished you were spirited away from your life only to continue the mundane quickly taught you that stories were just stories. Myths were myths. Lies were lies. And gardens of every flower didn’t exist but in fairytales. 

So why, beyond a mysterious door in a crappy apartment, are the most beautiful meadows of flowers swaying in the wind, dancing a dance of entrancement, almost as if they were personally inviting you inside? Your eyes glassed over as you tried to process the view. It was as if your eyes were stuck in their place. 

You were frozen. 

It wasn’t until you heard the door shut behind you that realized you had moved inside. Your eyes whipped back, but you found yourself staring at acres and acres of flowers, not a door in sight. 

“Is there a reason you’re standing there like an idiot?” you heard a voice say. 

When you turned around, your eyes met your best friend and roommate. She donned a sheer ivory dress with golden acacias adorning her bodice and train. The silk threads shone in the sun almost as if the dress had been sewn by the heavens themselves. Her skin was as smooth as glass and possessed a beautiful brown pigment with a hint of olive. Champagne glitter bedecked the areas around her eyes, and her hair was tied up in a braid full of a different selection of flowers. Her eyebrow was raised and her arms were across her chest. You could hear her foot tapping against the ground in irritation. 

“Aila?” you whispered. 

“Who?” she practically yelled, “That is not my name, nor has it ever been.” 

You blushed, “then who are you?”

“Who am I?” she scoffed, “More like who are you? You’re the one who stood in the middle of the meadow as if you were waiting for someone to check you into a hotel.” 

Her tone was pissing you off, and if you had felt more comfortable in this situation, you would have told her exactly where she could have put it. Instead, you were too busy trying to figure out whether or not Aila put something in her popcorn. 

“I’m Y/N, and I don’t even know where I am or how I even got here,” you choked. 

The girl gave you a look then closed her eyes and sighed. She turned on her heel and began walking in the opposite direction without saying another word. Your eyebrows furrowed and your temper threatened to lose itself, but when she found that your footsteps were nowhere to be heard, she stopped in her tracks. 

“Are you coming or what?” she bleated. You nodded slightly and began walking quickly to catch up with her. 

You walked beside her for what seemed like forever, not sharing one word between each other, so you decided to take in your surroundings. 

You could see the flowers, yes, but you also saw little creatures you had never seen before participating in different tasks. Some were watering sections of plants, some were flitting and flying, sprinkling an unknown substance from the air that shone like diamonds, and some were simply laying down and napping in the sun. You walked further and found little manmade living spaces made from materials like twigs and leaves, and silently thought how adorable it all was. Just when you were counting your hundredth house, the girl suddenly stopped. 

“We’re here,” she stated. 

In front of you, seven paths diverged and outstretched throughout the pasture. Each one looked uniform at first glance, but the longer you looked, the more you could see the slight differences. With your lips slightly parted, you turned back towards the girl, however, the space she occupied was now taken up by a lanky, ginger, cat-like entity licking its paw. 

“What?” it spoke with the girl’s voice. 

You jumped back slightly but a calm hushed your body. You took a deep breath.

“What am I supposed to do now?” you asked.

“What do you normally do when you see multiple paths?” she snickered, continuing to lick her paw. You stayed silent and looked towards her. She stopped licking and instead arched her back gracefully. 

“Choose.”

[limetameta]

Wips as they stand now by priority

Psych eval - there are like 2 chaps left and i got 12k written so all thats left to do is add like 5k more and Split that shit

Witch story - longer than anticipated. Who couldve expected that of me - a megalomaniac

Seasons - i fucked myself i fucked myself so hard w this one i dont even care for it anymore and thats a death sentence for the story my brain is only kimblee again

Black Honour - if i can just figure out... how to outline... this bad boy... and condense the plot... and kill my darlings... and just say ok i need 30k more and then be done w it ... thatd be grand actually (in my head 30k is a chapter but dont worry ill split it)

Metallic Crimson - if only... i can... outline... and figure out... the pacing... (i did delete some side stories *west and the woman in black* because integrating them into the main storyline is much better for pacing and im not spreading myself too thin anymore) . Goal: 100k more and thats it. (Limeta that's a lot of words - no its not thats a small amount of words for my epics)

Rota Fortunae - i fucked myself w this one i shot myself in the fucking foot why did i do this to myself who cares for this why its so much bigger in my head

Thoros story - i am trapped in hogwarts hell. Can i just skip ahead and write them being fucked up 20 year olds???

Retired Prometheus rewrite my beloved *kisses it w tongue and dips it in my arms* *it turns into bugs* *some get in my mouth* *i begin screaming and weeping*

Thesis

[avelera]

Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

Late last night I finished “Circe” and admit I breezed through it in a couple days. It was a rare pleasure to read a book that captured my attention from beginning to end, something I’ve struggled with lately. I admire Miller a great deal, (indeed have written fanfiction in her style for my Steve/Bucky / Achilles/Patroclus reincarnation fusion fic “Sing, O Muse”) and looked forward to her take on another great figure of Greek mythology.

So, let’s get right to it:

Pros: 

The story has a lot to recommend it. Miller’s prose is well-renowned for its poetry and eloquence. She paints a vivid picture of a fantastical Ancient Greece where gods walk the earth and a witch/demi-goddess like Circe has a rich internal life. In no particular order:

- The Gods - Authors often struggle with how to include the gods in retellings of the Iliad and Odyssey. Most try to simply ignore them and chalk their involvement up to superstition. Unfortunately, that attempt usually runs into the brick wall of Thetis, who is key to the story of the rage of her son Achilles, and who shows up on the beaches of Troy, where no normal woman could. Miller has always leaned into the existence of the gods rather than run from it in her reimaginings of Greek myth, and paints a fully fleshed world where they reside side by side with mortals. Her use of language elevates their appearance and evokes a Celtic Faerie Court of powerful, capricious and otherworldly beings who are both intoxicating and deeply dangerous to mortals. Miller’s prose jumps off the page whenever one of these beings takes the spotlight and is by far one of the most creative takes I’ve seen of characterizing the Ancient Greek Gods.

- Passion - It is clear in the very DNA of this story that Miller loves Greek Mythology. There is a tenderness with which the great heroes and tragic figures of those myths like Odysseus and Prometheus are presented, almost a yearning to be able to reach out and offer them comfort in their trials that is very apparent. There is awe in how Athena is depicted, for all that she serves as an antagonist. There is wonder in the descriptions of beings like Helios and Scylla. The prose shines from within when these figures appear with a sort of joy and sadness that is infectious to the reader. The sense of love for this time and these characters is inescapable.

- Emotion - Particularly with the more melancholy emotions like sadness, resignation, and helpless anger there is a profound and powerful thread running through the story. One deeply feels the appeal of characters like Glaukos pre-transformation, Daedalus, Odysseus and Telemachus. When Circe falls in love with these men, I don’t for a second wonder why. They are presented with heartbreaking beauty and appeal. Circe’s own moments of tragedy are also evocative, she is deeply impacted by the ugliness of the world in a way that evokes understanding and sympathy. 

Cons:

I’m going to try my best in this section to not fall too much into the trap of “I would have done this differently” but... well, I’m not entirely sure I succeed. 

- Agency - The problem of character agency has plagued Miller’s two forays into Classical myth retellings, and for me personally present the most frustrating aspect of her prose. Circe, one of the most terrifying and powerful women of Ancient Greek mythology, is almost never the driver of her own destiny in this book and I found this aspect of the story baffling and at times infuriating. The moment this realization of her passivity in her own tale hit me hardest, almost enough to stop reading, was when Pasiphae, a mythological figure known almost solely for sleeping with a cow and being the mother of the Minotaur, was somehow a more terrifying and ambitious witch than Circe, one of the great villainesses of Classical literature. 

Pasiphae is presented as eagerly seeking out marriage with a powerful man, and while at first she is disappointed by her match to the mortal king Minos, she is comforted by the fact he is a son of Zeus  and will one day be one of the great judges of the Underworld. The events that take place after this are all mostly off-screen, but upon reaching the kingdom of Crete and its capital city Knossos, we learn she took the court over within, ruling with terror and poison, and that even when she was laid low by the shame of sleeping with a sacred bull, she still managed to twist this event to her own benefit and indeed even orchestrated the situation, deliberately giving birth to one of the most terrifying monsters of all time on purpose, using the opportunity for a multi-part palace coup including shaming her sister Circe by forcing her to help birth the monster and clean up the fallout, securing Pasiphae’s place in history and her dominance over the court with almost no repercussions. If she suffered at all from the fact that these events lead to the death of her daughter, Ariadne, we never see it, or any other negative consequences for her actions or opportunities for remorse, because at this point in the tale, Circe is (for no real narrative reason) no longer sleeping with Hermes and is therefore no longer privy to what is going on in the world outside her island. Even once she is free of her exile, she never follows up with the fates of her siblings.

Upon reaching this part of the book, all I could wonder was why were we not reading the tale of Pasiphae? This terrifying witch who took a weak position as the wife to a “great man” and twisted it to make herself one of the most powerful women in the world? What a fascinating subversion of the typical view of this mythological figure that would have been! 

Why Circe? Was a question I asked myself over and over. Surely if you wanted to tell the tale of such a passive character, there were plenty of other women in Greek mythology who would have been a better fit for the themes of the story that Miller eventually told? Why take Circe and make her a cringing good girl who always does what she’s told, whose one defiance in giving comfort to Prometheus as a little girl which as a flaw is basically  “being too good” and “caring too much”. Her aid of Prometheus is barely defiance at all, yet is blown into massive significance as one of the defining moments of her life when she does literally nothing purposefully bad, or even purposeful at all, for huge stretches of her life after that? Her transformation of Glaukos is cringing and secretive and almost totally accidental. Her transformation of Scylla in revenge for stealing Glaukos’s affections is more sullen than wrathful. We’re told she has a talent for transformation that exceeds the power of the gods themselves, but no sooner does she achieve these incredible feats then she apparently needs to start over and learn witchcraft from scratch and never again works such a great spell until she’s turning herself mortal so she can die at the end once she achieves her white picket fence ending. 

Where is Circe?! Where is the witch that became the subject of art and literature for millennia, one of the great female antagonists of Greek myth on par with terrifying villains like Medea? In the reimagining of this figure from her own perspective, we don’t find a great mythological figure but a tailor-made “perfect victim” - nothing bad is done by her on purpose. In fact, almost nothing she does is on purpose except to serve others in her life, like Glaukos, or Odysseus, or her son. Even her transformation of men into pigs is a result of her trying to help sailors who land on her island, only to be raped for her trouble and turn vengeful towards all other men after that. Well, until Odysseus apparently, when she gives up on transforming sailors after that, the most famous aspect of her character from mythology. Circe is given a prophecy for her fate at one point that is only that a man named Odysseus will come to her island, and that paltry prophecy turns out to be the sum total of the important events in her life as once again, she stands around in limbo until the actions of a man nudge her into actually doing something. Odysseus changes her life, not that this was hard, because she wasn’t doing anything before he came around.

Even Circe’s one great selfish act, the transformation of Scylla, brings her no joy and instead haunts her entire life like an albatross around her neck. Nothing she does is joyful, except perhaps glimmers early on as she embraces her skill with magic, and her love of the animals on her island which are presented as essentially house pets. One is left with the unshakeable sense that Circe has been re-imagined as spinster cat lady who has a couple nice little romantic flings over the years before having a kid on her own and eventually settling down with a nice husband to retire and die.

Which is fine. Perhaps it rubs me, personally, the wrong way because this is now the second iteration I’ve seen of powerful mythological women being used as modern feminist parables, only to be stripped of all their power to make these points. The other was “Penelope” by Margaret Atwood, in which Penelope is reimagined as a thinly veiled metaphor for a dissatisfied 50s housewife with a cheating husband. There’s barely any of her cleverness, her authority (for god’s sake, the woman was a queen) or her love of Odysseus, one of the great het romances of equals of ancient mythology, practically the only marriage of equals one can even point to,  and it’s torn down to make a point about not liking your husband very much when he cheats on you to feel better about himself. 

“Circe” at times feels autobiographical for the author (and of course this is speculation to a great extent), showing struggles with love and men, finding oneself, mourning beloved pets when they die, trying to escape the shadow of an emotionally abusive family, and learning to make decisions on one’s own in a patriarchal world. Which is fine, “Hamilton” by Lin Manuel Miranda is not perfectly historically accurate because at times it makes the choice to instead delve into autobiographical notes about Lin Manuel Miranda and his father, the experience of being a writer and the immigrant experience, the latter of which is hardly something the real Hamilton would have ever touted about himself but the strength of passion in telling that story elevates the text so it can be both about Alexander Hamilton and about Lin Manuel Miranda at the same time. There were moments in “Circe” where I was almost yelling at the page, just pick one! You can use the story of Circe to elevate a modern autobiography, to give certain aspects of life mythic proportions and tell the story of a woman who feels emotionally exiled eventually finding herself and finding love, but you have to go for it. To try to tell the story of Circe and tell a modern woman’s story at the same time is to do a disservice to both stories, where Circe is brought down into the dirt with other indecisive mortals, and the true pathos of a modern woman’s striving for agency in her life is outshone by the myth and wonder of Circe’s world.

My final note on agency, but “Song of Achilles” struggled with a very similar problem. Patroclus was reimagined as the passive, doting lover of Achilles. This allowed some really beautiful meditations on love and sacrifice, but it absolutely stripped Patroclus of many of his canonical qualities. The Patroclus of the Iliad did not shrink from battle or become a healer to avoid the war, he was a willing and joyous warrior as much as Achilles was. He begged Achilles for his armor in order to keep prosecuting the war and raise morale even if Achilles couldn’t fight. 

With Patroclus, as with Circe, you have two aggressive figures who are reimagined as passive perfect victims, who spend the entire book working themselves up to the courage to make a handful of active decisions for themselves. 

Going back to one of the Pros, which is the love felt on the page for these great figures like Odysseus and Prometheus, there are times when Patroclus and Circe both feel like the passive vessels for a self-insert adoration of these heroes. When Odysseus appears, I was struck by how overjoyed I was to see him. What a striking contrast Odysseus presented! Active, clever, tricky, beset by trials that he overcomes only to seek out more - contrast that with Circe who is none of those things except in glimpses. What a striking reminder of what a fantastic protagonist Odysseus is, how he is one of the greatest protagonists in almost 3,000 years of literature. Because he does things and he chooses things and he has unique qualities like his cleverness that help him overcome obstacles in fascinating ways that we still read about today. 

Similarly with Patroclus being the passive narrator of Achilles’ life, we feel the reflected glow of Achilles desire and drive, we yearn for it, because almost none of that quality is present in the protagonist and narrator of the story Patroclus! I am reminded of “Nick” in the Great Gatsby and his passive viewing of events, and I’m reminded that Nick wasn’t even supposed to be a character, he was only meant to be a narrative voice until Fitzgerald’s editor stepped in and said he needed to be characterized. At times, Patroclus and Circe both skirt the line of being so passive in their own story that on some level, they feel like little more than a narrative lens through which we glimpse the true heroes from afar.

I held off until I finished the book before making a final judgement of Circe’s passivity, because at every step I kept expecting her to finally change and take charge of her own life. Early on, I thought her comforting of Prometheus would launch her into taking control of her own destiny, which would have been a fascinating inciting incident, mirroring humanity’s gift of fire. Then I thought Glaukos would. Then Scylla. Then her exile. Then Odysseus. Then her son. And at every point, she fades into the background after and goes back to doing what she’s told. The book ends with her finally making a decision and that decision is to settle down with a kind husband and eventually die. She stands up to her father, the Sun, to make this stand and it is a beautiful, melancholy ending of the story but by god, woman, it would have been a much more satisfying retirement for a character that burns and makes decisions and does things than a character who takes hundreds of years to screw up the courage to ask for a quiet retirement on her own terms.

“Circe” is beautifully written. It is a lovely, melancholy anthology about one woman’s encounters with the great figures of mythology, lovingly told, as she seeks to find herself and what she wants out of life. I do not feel my time was wasted.

But if I were to sit down as an editor with the author and point out the three things I’d like her to work on for her next story it would be this:

- Structure - the story meanders and stays glued to the scattered known events of Circe’s life. It has no internal rising and falling action. It is a series of short stories with Circe’s life loosely tying them all together. Like JK Rowling no longer understanding how to plot a story when it isn’t built around a typical school year, I speculate that Miller struggles with building a structured story without having a pre-laid track of mythical events to hang it off of, and I’m not sure she is able to sculpt a tale into having a structure outside of “slice of life” moments in those fictional biographies, beautifully told.

- Agency - characters need to want something. They need to seek out something, they need to do something. Even if they are buffeted about by the events in their lives, they should at least have a way they wish things were going instead and take some steps to making the future they want real. Passive characters who sulk their way through the events thrust upon them by more powerful, dynamic characters, may have beautiful, languorous commentary on the world but they are essentially narrators rather than protagonists at that point.

- Telling rather than showing - I know this advice is often misunderstood and badly implemented. Telling is actually clarifying and provides structure to showing. But there are huge stretches of the book that read like just a laundry list of the narrator telling us what happened next “And then, and then, and then” without couching these moments in a scene that we could feel. There are some absolutely gorgeous scenes but they feel scattered and indeed, anthological, for the exact reason that we get a handful of strongly depicted scenes in Circe’s life, strung together by her telling us rather than showing us what happened in between. The fact that none of it really builds towards any sort of climax or true reversal of her fortunes makes those moments of telling, which I forgave at first because I felt they were in service of getting us to the good part, a greater betrayal when it became clear that the only thing those stretches were getting us too was the next mini-event in her life when she met another character more driven than herself.